Baldur's Gate The Baldur's Gate Series Thread

[Robespierre]

So far I've installed:
Yugi-Oh Legacy of the Duelist

Games I don't plan to install:
Arcanum (NEVER AGAIN)
Fallout
Fallout 2
Wizardry 7

 

[Jason Liang]

After doing a day's worth of research on Gog.com and here, I've compiled a list of new-ish games to try. I also realized that I've been deeply affected by my time spent on rpgcodex so that I'm no longer ever excited about new games since I've read all your (collective) posts shitting on them.

New games I'm most interested in:
Shadow Tactics (seems to be the concensus good game released recently, but I'm still burnt out on squad tactics by Invisible Inc. and to some extent Age of Decadence)
Fallout: New Vegas (not a big Fallut fan but at least it's a different combat system. Is the gameplay like Bloodlines?)
Wasteland 2 (here I'm confused. Is it good or not? I still can't tell if Codex approves or disapproves of this game. This is why we need a new top 50 vote. The only conclusion I've reached is that it's better than Pillars)
Master of Orion remake (I watched the video on GOG and it looks awesome. And it's too new for you guys to kill it with shit posts)
Gabriel Knight remake (I do want to play through Gabriel Knight one more time before I die so why not see if the remake is any good?)
Banner Saga (I don't mind this type of game if it's well done, and supposedly it is)
Beholder (the GOG video looks kind of cool but I can't find where it's buried on here)

Baldur's Gate 1 and 2: EE are amazing but after plaything through both games 3 times they have nothing to offer me anymore.

 

[octavius]

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/what-game-are-you-wasting-time-on.50372/

 

[IncendiaryDevice]

I'm convinced the barkeep in Nashkel is voiced by Hagrid (aka. Robbie Coltraine). And probably many other barkeeps as well.

 

[Sigourn]

Been playing for a few days already. It's enjoyable fo the most part, definitely much more than Arcanum was, mostly because the combat is not shit. Baldur's Gate reminds me a lot of a game I used to play when I was a teenager, and I can't help but remember it when I see my party face a vampiric wolf with different party members having different fuctions. I like that this time I'm paying more attention than I had in my last playthrough, and so far the story is fairly simple and logical, which makes it enjoyable. Personally, simple stories are my favorite, as I heavily dislike when a story gets so convoluted you have no idea why the hell you are doing the stuff you are doing. One of the things I like the most about Baldur's Gate, just like Arcanum (and Fallout, and apparently a lot of these older cRPGs) is the interface. Each game has a clear aesthetic that was simply lost in the transition to modern games; Baldur's Gate has a very rudimentary UI with a mix of adventure (scrolls, notes, journals), Arcanum has a very decided steampunk UI with gauges, meters, wood and bronze, while Fallout has its uniquely industrial, computer-like interface.

My biggest issue by far is the pathfinding, there's no way around it. It's incredibly annoying, a lot of mechanics are tied to it and because it is so bad a lot of frustrating things happen (leaving areas, entering and exiting places, combat, even picking up loot becomes a chore because you need to move companions around). Not to mention shit like Dynaheir leading my party when I decide to switch directions in our travels, because characters like bumping into each other and standing still like morons. Had to keep her separate from the rest of the party when we went into the Nashkel Mines.

 

[Pizzashoes]

Did you play it with Ascension? It adds a bunch of neat things and is most renowned for making the fights more challenging while adding a few more choices.

I played BG2 so much it's pretty much pure hack'n'slash and fucking around with builds, so ToB is just more of that, and a final test of mettle for characters. Also Watcher's Keep is solid.

Yeah, I'm playing it with Ascension/SCS. It doesn't negate the fact I feel like I'm playing a completely different character. In most of SoA, I can roleplay a fairly intelligent person who knows what's going on with the exception of Irenicus and Bodhi's master plan. But in ToB, you just feel like a pawn. Or an idiot. Some of the times you're given three choices of dialogue and they're all nonsense.
I figured out I enjoy the game well enough while drunk. The problem is drinking doesn't mix well with no-reloads. So I ended my last playthrough a few days ago in the Irenicus/Bodhi/Imoen Ascension fight because I didn't properly prebuff enough (and I'd never seen the fight before). I did overall enjoy Wheels of Prophecy though.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

Had to keep her separate from the rest of the party when we went into the Nashkel Mines.

What are you doing ? You MUST gather your party before venturing forth.

Yeah pathfinding in IE games is a bitch. In fights that involve many enemies and summons, or in fights that require bottleneck tactics it can get really infuriating.

 

[Sigourn]

Ok is it common practice in D&D games like this one to just roll with whatever hitpoint bonus you got on level up? I'm going to start doing that because it reminds me of my good old Argentum Online where hitpoints worked pretty much like in D&D, and having a high hitpoint average for your character was kind of a status symbol, even though it was a curse when you realized you spend thousands of hours on a character with shit HP.

 

[octavius]

Save scumming for HP is lame, unless it's some unfairly difficult game (I can't think of any, though), which vanilla BG1 isn't.

 

[Sigourn]

Save scumming for HP is lame, unless it's some unfairly difficult game (I can't think of any, though), which vanilla BG1 isn't.

Thanks kitty. I encountered a group of around 11 Black Talon Elite archers in the area where you find Viconia (killed her), and it seems pretty much impossible to beat them at the moment (a shame because I encountered a much smaller group earlier and their arrows were cool). Imagine a medieval firing squad. Yeah.

 

[octavius]

AI is pretty bad in BG1, so they will only fire at nearest enemy. Give your best tank Boots of Avoidance, Large Shield +1, and Full Plate, and he'll be hard for them to hit, while the rest of your party use missile fire.
Web is very effective spell, which it seems to be much harder to save against than most other spells.

To me one of the hardest fights in BG1 was meeting a dozen bandits between the Crossroads and the FAI. Virtually impossible for a lvl 1 party of 4 characters.

 

[Melcar]

You died in those? What a pleb.

 

[Sigourn]

AI is pretty bad in BG1, so they will only fire at nearest enemy. Give your best tank Boots of Avoidance, Large Shield +1, and Full Plate, and he'll be hard for them to hit, while the rest of your party use missile fire.
Web is very effective spell, which it seems to be much harder to save against than most other spells.

To me one of the hardest fights in BG1 was meeting a dozen bandits between the Crossroads and the FAI. Virtually impossible for a lvl 1 party of 4 characters.

I did basically what you suggested (I shamefully read it from another site as opposed to using my wits), except I didn't have Full Plate and had to settle for Plate Mail, and it went great! Then again, this was against a much smaller group of six archers. Khalid went in and made everyone focus on him, while the rest spammed arrows and Jaheira used a Wand of Lighting to dispose quickly of some archers.

 

[octavius]

You died in those? What a pleb.

Hi, Lilura.

 

[Theldaran]

I did basically what you suggested (I shamefully read it from another site as opposed to using my wits), except I didn't have Full Plate and had to settle for Plate Mail, and it went great! Then again, this was against a much smaller group of six archers. Khalid went in and made everyone focus on him, while the rest spammed arrows and Jaheira used a Wand of Lighting to dispose quickly of some archers.

The wand should be a Flame strike wand (Wand of the Heavens or some shit) for Jaheira to use it. The wand that hurls lightning bolts is for mages and bards. Also I don't know how some valuable items like those are in your possession so early, have you ransacked a couple of treasure hoards?

 

[Sigourn]

I did basically what you suggested (I shamefully read it from another site as opposed to using my wits), except I didn't have Full Plate and had to settle for Plate Mail, and it went great! Then again, this was against a much smaller group of six archers. Khalid went in and made everyone focus on him, while the rest spammed arrows and Jaheira used a Wand of Lighting to dispose quickly of some archers.

The wand should be a Flame strike wand (Wand of the Heavens or some shit) for Jaheira to use it. The wand that hurls lightning bolts is for mages and bards. Also I don't know how some valuable items like those are in your possession so early, have you ransacked a couple of treasure hoards?

You are right! It was the Wand of Lighting, but it was the niggeress (Dynaheir) who was waving it around. I had to buy her some Darts just so she would stop charging into battle head on, for some reason she ALWAYS managed to get ahead.

It's a shame they run out. But I kind of like that as it makes me wonder when it is best to use them.

 

[rogueknight333]

... I had to buy her some Darts just so she would stop charging into battle head on, for some reason she ALWAYS managed to get ahead.

Characters in heavy armor have their movement slowed a bit, so it is a quite common annoyance to have squishy mages running ahead of the tanks if you are not careful. It would have been a nice feature if you could have the party move while staying in formation (technically you can, but only if you move painfully slowly). On the other hand, real world militaries required extensive training and practice in order to be able to move while keeping formation, so I suppose it is actually realistic that low-level adventurers who just recently started working together would have trouble doing it.

 

[Sigourn]

... I had to buy her some Darts just so she would stop charging into battle head on, for some reason she ALWAYS managed to get ahead.

Characters in heavy armor have their movement slowed a bit, so it is a quite common annoyance to have squishy mages running ahead of the tanks if you are not careful. It would have been a nice feature if you could have the party move while staying in formation (technically you can, but only if you move painfully slowly). On the other hand, real world militaries required extensive training and practice in order to be able to move while keeping formation, so I suppose it is actually realistic that low-level adventurers who just recently started working together would have trouble doing it.

Thanks! That explains it, then. Really, pathfinding and minor stuff like this are my only issues with the game so far from a gameplay point of view. Everything else is personal preference.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

used a Wand of Lighting

Wimp !

 

[octavius]

That Khalid...he's a bloody Critical Hit magnet.

And Tiax...did the BG1 NPC Project quest with him, and I was constantly reminded of Lilura on a bad day.

 

[Pizzashoes]

That Khalid...he's a bloody Critical Hit magnet.

And Tiax...did the BG1 NPC Project quest with him, and I was constantly reminded of Lilura on a bad day.

Critical hits are terrible for the early game. What, we want to encourage EVERYONE to stay back and range spam because we put in a mechanic that gibs melee characters? I "cheese" Khalid and Jaheira to be level two at the start with the justification that their history is that they're experienced adventurers.

 

[Turjan]

That Khalid...he's a bloody Critical Hit magnet.

And Tiax...did the BG1 NPC Project quest with him, and I was constantly reminded of Lilura on a bad day.

You forgot the @ in Lilura .

 

[octavius]

Critical hits are terrible for the early game. What, we want to encourage EVERYONE to stay back and range spam because we put in a mechanic that gibs melee characters? I "cheese" Khalid and Jaheira to be level two at the start with the justification that their history is that they're experienced adventurers.

Fortunately Helmets negate the extra damage, but it seems like monsters have a +10 modifier to their combat rolls against Khalid.
I agree that K&J should be higher level. Doesn't make much sense if they start with 0 XP.

 

[Wayward Son]

Doesn't Jaheira start with slightly higher XP? Not disagreeing, level 1 Jaheira and Khalid made no sense, especially when I got to her backstory in BG2 and learned all about her experience with the Harpers. If she was part of a group like that for an extended period of time, she should have been at least second or third level.

 

[octavius]

She does start with higher XP in BGT. Don't remember BG1 or TuTu.