Decline J_C fails his Codex check...again - Betrayal at Krondor is the best RPG ever, but I'm not feeling it

[Jezal_k23]

Madrigal has single-handedly made this thread shit. It's not OP's fault. Either way, I admit I haven't played BaK either, and this thread has made me very interested in playing it, before it was turned to shit that is. But I'm sure it can be steered in the right direction again once healthy discussion of the game is resumed.

 

[madrigal]

Either way, I admit I haven't played BaK either, and this thread has made me very interested in playing it, before it was turned to shit that is. But I'm sure it can be steered in the right direction again once healthy discussion of the game is resumed.

If you intend to get the game on GOG it also contains other unlisted goodies if you mount bak.gog like the interview with Feist.

how so?

Character attributes like strength and health and stamina rise over time so rest to heal not only was the cheapest way but increased attributes faster due to more in game time passing. It is one of the reasons why it was good idea that not everything was explained in the manual as part of the enjoyment was due to the exploration.

 

[:Flash:]

Edit: J_C, one thing you may want to do to make movement a bit better is switch the controls from the arrows to WASD movement, its pretty easy to do in DosBox.

I tried that but It didn'T work. I'm new to dosbox, so I might mess something up.

I have no clue about dosbox either but the mapping was pretty easy, how did it not work? You probably just forgot to remove the old binding first before you implemented the new one.

For all those that are new to dosbox, I wholeheartedly recommend D-Fend Reloaded. It's a GUI frontend for dosbox, and it allows easy configuration of every obscure Dobox setting that exists.
For Linux there's DBGL.

 

[Jezal_k23]

Either way, I admit I haven't played BaK either, and this thread has made me very interested in playing it, before it was turned to shit that is. But I'm sure it can be steered in the right direction again once healthy discussion of the game is resumed.

If you intend to get the game on GOG it also contains other unlisted goodies if you mount bak.gog like the interview with Feist.

Yeah I do. Thanks dude.

 

[Xorazm]

What do you guys think about BaK's combat?

Especially the combat fags.

Good? Bad? "Acceptable because of the rest of the game"?

Eh, it starts out OK but the distance between your power and enemy power grows out of control. Unless you have been beelining for chapter endpoints without wandering/doing sidequests you'll be 1-shotting everything by the 3rd chapter or so.

Well, yes and no. The game goes out of its way to keep mixing up the challenges that it presents to you so that, as the game goes on, it's less reliant on combat to provide the central challenge.

By the end of Chapter 3 you'll have grown in strength to the point that you can start to wander the open world comfortably, true, but it's also the first chapter where the goal shifts to solving a mystery rather than simply combatting your way to an end point.

Bang, just as you're getting comfortable with your strength, the next chapter you're crawling out of the North, sneaking past waves of enemies who can and will bash your face in. Once again you can't just fight your way out, you've got to hunt around and talk to enough people to figure out a means of escape.

Chapter 5 you're lugging around the dead weight that is Patrus (this is where I gave up on the game the first time back as a wee sprout, just too damn hard). Chapter 6 you're down a party member. It's your last chance to frolic in the big wild kingdom, but then you've got the wyvern deathmarch in Elvandar to reckon with. Chapter 7 you're fighting the clock with no opportunity to resupply your rations.

The combat model is solid enough, and the game throws enough curveballs to keep things reasonably fresh. What makes the game great, however, is how it starts reaching past the combat in order to place the core of the challenge in the narrative itself.

 

[J_C]

So I progressed to Chapter 2. How OCD were you guys regarding ephasizing skills? Right now I always switch to the one I'm actually using. If combat starts, I emphasize melee/defence/casting, if I enter a tavern, I click on barding, while on the road, I emphasize scouting and stealth. I try to get the max out of the skill progression, although it is a little tiring to constantly switch those. Are you OCD like me or you just concentrate on a selected few skills?

 

[SausageInYourFace]

I have never been a powergamer and constantly switching the skill emphasis would be far too tiresome for me personally. I just set them once and let them progress naturally from there on.

Man, I need to fire up the game again and actually play instead of just talking about it..

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

So I progressed to Chapter 2. How OCD were you guys regarding ephasizing skills? Right now I always switch to the one I'm actually using. If combat starts, I emphasize melee/defence/casting, if I enter a tavern, I click on barding, while on the road, I emphasize scouting and stealth.

 

[Renegen]

If you intend to get the game on GOG it also contains other unlisted goodies if you mount bak.gog like the interview with Feist.

BaK was released for FREE by Sierra as a promotion for BaA. I don't like the fact this was hushed up and now the game is sold on websites, it's not like Sierra is getting the revenues, just whatever smart IP holder owns them.

 

[Infinitron]

They only released the floppy version for free, though

Generally speaking, legally offering a game for free somewhere doesn't automatically turn the game into "freeware".

 

[J_C]

If you intend to get the game on GOG it also contains other unlisted goodies if you mount bak.gog like the interview with Feist.

BaK was released for FREE by Sierra as a promotion for BaA. I don't like the fact this was hushed up and now the game is sold on websites, it's not like Sierra is getting the revenues, just whatever smart IP holder owns them.

But...but...but you can't see the box on your virtual shelf if you don't buy it on gog.

 

[madrigal]

So I progressed to Chapter 2. How OCD were you guys regarding ephasizing skills? Right now I always switch to the one I'm actually using. If combat starts, I emphasize melee/defence/casting, if I enter a tavern, I click on barding, while on the road, I emphasize scouting and stealth. I try to get the max out of the skill progression, although it is a little tiring to constantly switch those. Are you OCD like me or you just concentrate on a selected few skills?

I wouldn't bother because it can be tedious and is not necessary. Although depending on your disposition you might want to focus before using skill books or using a skill trainer.

 

[J_C]

Although depending on your disposition you might want to focus before using skill books or using a skill trainer.

Yeah I definitely switch on the skills when I use those. But I won't bother with it otherwise. Thanks.

 

[polo]

I must say i've started playing BaK cause of this thread and im actually loving it.
My 'complains' would be:
1. Lots of backtracking because of inventory management and store's selective selling, or whatever you wanna call it.
2. At least in the first chapter, battles can be very lacking in variety. Maybe im doing something wrong, but my battles are "Blind thy eyes" hit hit, BTY hit hit, and so on.

 

[Absalom]

If you're having problems with inventory, stop hauling all the worthless kingdom armour around. Really not a game based on vendor trash.

 

[Absalom]

gotta pay for those greatswords and grey tower plate somehow.

Not gonna happen with selling those armours for 1 crown apiece

 

[polo]

If you're having problems with inventory, stop hauling all the worthless kingdom armour around. Really not a game based on vendor trash.

Yeah, i stopped picking up all the trash i came by. But its irresistible loot, what can a simple mortal like me do...Temptations.
Also, i found 2 Keshian Rapier or whatever... so i just need to buy some good armor.

 

[polo]

gotta pay for those greatswords and grey tower plate somehow.

Not gonna happen with selling those armours for 1 crown apiece

Those are actually worth 7sov. a piece when repaired, not bad! Elven armor can go up to 30 i think.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

It's Keshian Tapir, and yeah, even shitty moredhel lampreys go for 7-8 sovereigns, I think.

Also BaK is a great game, and Lims-Kragma take anyone who says otherwise.(J_C)

 

[J_C]

It's Keshian Tapir, and yeah, even shitty moredhel lampreys go for 7-8 sovereigns, I think.

Also BaK is a great game, and Lims-Kragma take anyone who says otherwise.(J_C)

It's a good game, but not great. Will Lims-Kragma still take me?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

It happened too fast.

As J_C crumbled against the inevitable wave of decline, he tried to steady himself one last time, one last swing, one more breath... But his feeble efforts were for naught as Schafer skewered him in the chest.

"Bastard..." J_C whispered, "Lims-Kragma... curse... you....."


Death came swiftly...

 

[J_C]

I know these words too damn well.

 

[Xorazm]

It's Keshian Tapir, and yeah, even shitty moredhel lampreys go for 7-8 sovereigns, I think.

Also BaK is a great game, and Lims-Kragma take anyone who says otherwise.(J_C)

It's a good game, but not great. Will Lims-Kragma still take me?

You're still in, what, Chapter 1? 2? I would also say, even as a fanboy, that the game is at best good but not great at that stage. Quality game, but where it really starts to shine is Chapters 3 and onward when the narrative starts to insert itself more heavily. Nobody looks back and fondly remembers BaK for the trek to Krondor or the trek to Romney. People (like myself) remember the surprisingly complicated tangle that you unraveled in Chapter 3, figuring out how to escape in Chapter 4, the strange landscape of Of Lands Afar, etc. Chapter 5 is a little bit meh, though. Fuckin' Patrus.

Keep us updated on your progress and your impressions, it's really interesting to see how the game strikes someone so far down the road.

 

[J_C]

It's Keshian Tapir, and yeah, even shitty moredhel lampreys go for 7-8 sovereigns, I think.

Also BaK is a great game, and Lims-Kragma take anyone who says otherwise.(J_C)

It's a good game, but not great. Will Lims-Kragma still take me?

You're still in, what, Chapter 1? 2? I would also say, even as a fanboy, that the game is at best good but not great at that stage. Quality game, but where it really starts to shine is Chapters 3 and onward when the narrative starts to insert itself more heavily. Nobody looks back and fondly remembers BaK for the trek to Krondor or the trek to Romney. People (like myself) remember the surprisingly complicated tangle that you unraveled in Chapter 3, figuring out how to escape in Chapter 4, the strange landscape of Of Lands Afar, etc. Chapter 5 is a little bit meh, though. Fuckin' Patrus.

Keep us updated on your progress and your impressions, it's really interesting to see how the game strikes someone so far down the road.

I've just started Chapter 3. The story starts picking up, looking forward to the continuation.

As for gameplay. Crossbows being useless are confirmed in each battle. They miss a lot, and have much lower damage, than melee characters. And since the first step of every enemy is to close up, you cannot even use them most of the time.

 

[Darth Roxor]

neger use poisoned bolts ffs