First Arcanum playthrough... disappointed :shrug:

[Carlos' Bitch1]

I enjoy Arcanum in spite of the combat engine (which gained some small extra points after discovering the 'called shots' that can be made to different body parts), which says a lot. Excellent game that a could have been brilliant if only they had got the combat downpat.

The whining about the dungeon crawling is hilarious...god help you lot if you ever play anything with real dungeons in it. The Arcanum dungeons were a walk in the park.

 

[Multidirectional]

I enjoy Arcanum in spite of the combat engine (which gained some small extra points after discovering the 'called shots' that can be made to different body parts)

Would you share this wisdom with me? I've been meaning to give it another go, I'm really determined to finish and start liking this game someday. I only managed to like the setting, writing, graphics and soundtrack so far. How do I use "called shots"? This might actually bring a minor degree of fun to the combat system.

 

[visions]

Keyboard shortcuts, should be somewhere in the manual.

 

[Multidirectional]

Keyboard shortcuts, should be somewhere in the manual.

How about just naming the fucking keys bro? No I didn't buy the game nor do I have the manual. Nor do I wish to look for a pdf file just now. Well no rush, I'm out to ride my bike and get high under the sun for now.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

The three buttons located left from the shift button are used for called shots, and are, from left to right - hand, leg, head, if I recall correctly. Don't worry, I didn't think you had bought the game; Thirdworldia and all that.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Re: First Arcanum playthrough... unimpressed :shrug:

I remember someone from former Troika claiming that ToEE was their best-selling game.

Leonard Boyarsky did : http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic ... 610#104610

Thanks, I couldn't find it.

The whining about the dungeon crawling is hilarious...god help you lot if you ever play anything with real dungeons in it. The Arcanum dungeons were a walk in the park.

I think that's the point of the "whining". The Arcanum dungeons are banal shit boring. There's no point to their existence. Personally I dislike Arcanum for its length (which in practice means that I rarely get to see stuff like Caledon), too much combat, crappy dungeons, poor combat system and from zero to hero syndrome taken to extreme.

 

[memebot3.0b]

ITT:

 

[Mastermind]

The whining about the dungeon crawling is hilarious...god help you lot if you ever play anything with real dungeons in it. The Arcanum dungeons were a walk in the park.

I've never seen anyone complain about their difficulty. Everybody complains that the combat is shit and the dungeons are large. In other words, it's boring, not hard.

 

[Multidirectional]

The three buttons located left from the shift button

Thanks! That is easy to remember.

 

[SCO]

The three buttons located left from the shift button are used for called shots, and are, from left to right - hand, leg, head, if I recall correctly. Don't worry, I didn't think you had bought the game; Thirdworldia and all that.

I bought it and didn't know that.
Rushed.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

better replay it now with this knowledge to get the full experience

 

[sea]

Yeah, the called shots thing is completely buried in the manual. They never mention it in-game and there's nothing in the interface that suggests it even exists. Makes combat a bit more enjoyable, but not necessarily what I'd call better.

 

[commie]

Re: First Arcanum playthrough... unimpressed :shrug:

I'd argue the opposite - that Arcanum was too big for its own good, especially that you can't reach locations like Caledon until late in the game, which means that often one won't see them at all before getting bored with it.
The size and length of Fallout 1 would be perfect for it.

This. all the C&C, different possible builds etc. would lend great replayability to the game had it been a lot shorter, maybe not quite Fallout 1 but 1 1/2 times long. There's too much fucking around through the same lame ass locations before you get to the good stuff making replaying a chore.

 

[Topher]

I do remember that they cover called shots in the manual, which I've got around here somewhere, but it's definitely only mentioned once and very briefly at that. I've never actually used them myself... of course I've never 'actually' completed the game either. I do love the game; however, I don't love all the damnable newfags.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

I don't really know how much you want elaboration on called shots other than 'you can do called shots. they are harder to succeed at. here are the keys. here are the body parts they correspond to'.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

How about just naming the fucking keys bro? No I didn't buy the game nor do I have the manual. Nor do I wish to look for a pdf file just now. Well no rush, I'm out to ride my bike and get high under the sun for now.

The three buttons located left from the shift button

Thanks! That is easy to remember.

Couldn't you just press random keys in combat for 30 seconds until you find them, now that you know they exist?

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

The whining about the dungeon crawling is hilarious...god help you lot if you ever play anything with real dungeons in it. The Arcanum dungeons were a walk in the park.

I've never seen anyone complain about their difficulty. Everybody complains that the combat is shit and the dungeons are large. In other words, it's boring, not hard.

There is worse combat and the dungeons are puny.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

How about just naming the fucking keys bro? No I didn't buy the game nor do I have the manual. Nor do I wish to look for a pdf file just now. Well no rush, I'm out to ride my bike and get high under the sun for now.

The three buttons located left from the shift button

Thanks! That is easy to remember.

Couldn't you just press random keys in combat for 30 seconds until you find them, now that you know they exist?

You think he is being sarcastic? I truly hope that isn't the case, otherwise they really shouldn't be allowing somebody so dull out on a bike in public.

 

[RK47]

For anyone else trying to figure it out it's these three keys:

,
.
/

 

[Reject_666_6]

If you really hate the combat, just play it in real-time. It ends before you know it, no matter how big the dungeon you're fighting in is.

 

[Excidium]

Yeah, and you run out of bullets in 5 seconds.

 

[ZbojLamignat]

I find it pretty funny how many people claim that disliking Arcanum means you're "teh new shit" dumb gaymer and what not when pretty often it's the exact opposite. Because if you played Arcanum when it got released (and not a couple years later because "omg it's the trueiest crpg and lot's of c&c made by cult Troika") you sure as hell found a lot of good reasons to bitch about it

 

[aron searle]

Arcanum

60% crap dungeon crawling
30% running from A-B
10% interesting dialog or combat.

 

[Varn]

Gotta agree with you here, Arcanum was Le Turd. Felt like a poorly made, buggy Fallout rip-off with really bad combat and uninspired "steampunk" setting.

Also, what kinda subtitle is "Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura"? Fucken' queer, that's what it is.

 

[catfood]

Arcanum had a lot of potential that Troika simply wasted it. As someone else here said, had it been shorter (somewhere between FO1 and FO2) perhaps it could have been better. As it is now it's a mess. Sure, the world is big but it feels empty, there's no cohesion going on. You've got some cities, you've got some dwarf clans living in caves, you've got some elves (light and dark lol) living in treetop forests... I don't know, it feels that Troika threw everything in including the kitchen sink without giving much thought.

I really tried to like it but I just couldn't get into it. I finished it once just to see what everyone was talking about, waiting for the cool parts to show up, and I admit that there were a few but most of them were side quest related and spaced out far apart between endless walking and terribad combat and dialogue.