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Help me wade through the mountains of crap RPGs to meet my snobbish and very particular criteria

anvi

Prophet
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- True turn based combat
- Good combat
Shit combat = shit game.


I too would like the phone number of an overly attached sex addicted billionaire model that loves cooking, gaming, and back rubs.
 

deama

Prophet
Joined
May 13, 2013
Messages
4,352
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UK
Tale of Wuxia -- combat was ok for me, it was pretty hard though.

NightWatch -- it's like an indie russian CRPG, combat is ok, setting is kinda interesting. I think the highest squad members I've had were 3 (maybe 4).
 

hal900x

Augur
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
573
Location
A good place to own a gun.
Knights of the Chalice
Great game. Still party-based though. I prefer solo characters or solo with AI henchman or two.
Geneforge series definitely and maybe Space Rangers 2.
Tried the Spiderweb stuff many years back, couldn't get into it for some reason, but it's about time I gave him another shot.
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands, Voidspire Tactics
I enjoyed the Dark Sun games but iirc they are real time. Am I missing something?
Well, I see people are recommending games from the 90s. I thought you meant recent and already knew about all the good old ones.
I will play any good game, but I can still be a graphics whore in the sense that I prefer Fallout 1 graphics or better. Truly great games can exceed their graphical limitations but it is a factor. For example I liked Wizardry but prior to 7 it was just too primitive of a look.
If you can deal with strategy/RPG mashups...
I cannot, generally speaking.
Mark of the Ninja
Are you high right now?
I'm assuming you played Arcanum (in TB mode, which has just as bad combat as FO 1 and 2) so that leaves the following-
- F0 1.5 - very good, high production value. Consider it the real but more indie FO3.
OK
- WL2 DC, 4 party character creation, can have 2 recruited companions. Best party based crpg since ToEE. Hands down, only pederasts would not see it this way.
Finished it, pretty decent. Still party based but decent.
- Expedition Vikings - it is a good crpg with some strategy elements. But scratches the itch. The combat is decent, chardev is decent+, it is worth the money and playing
Isn't that a strat/rpg mashup?
- RoE BoD remake with all the DLC - awesome. Only for people with sophisticated crpg tastes. Not for sophomores or usual fake rpg loving philistines. Also Star Trail is in EA.
I thought the consensus was that this was fucking awful and full of bugs and unfinished aspects. Did they fix it all up?
- MMX if you haven't played that (you mentioned MM and Wiz but figured I'd throw it out there).
Played it
- The Shadowrun games are okay. I really enjoyed the mmo version called Boston Lockdown - I think it has better combat and better chardev and better itemization.
Yeah I played them and enjoyed them, but pretty simplistic. Also nearly complete lack of real C&C
- Blackguards 1 is a great crpg but isn't 100% traditional. It isn't a strategy game either. It has town maps like Wiz&Warriors instead of real towns. Blackguards 2 is a dumbed down version for idiots who whined about the first one being to much game for them to handle and developers were dumb enough to listen to them. It has great combat and great chardev and your small party is all recruited.
Very mixed reviews on this one, including from my GF who looked forward to it since it was announced and then ended up hating it. I'll give it a shot.
- Dungeon Rats since you didn't list it
AoD is one of my favorites, hundreds of hours into it. So yes I have Dungeon Rats. Bit light on RPG aspects, as intended, but I do love this simplistic combat engine somehow.
- T:ToN - fits you like a glove. I am with you with everything you said for the most part, and I I am the one who started the shit combat = shit game. That is me and has always been me. I dislike PST as a game because of the combat and other shitty game features of the IE engine, but TToN is a great crpg with better than average TB combat and chardev and even itemization. You are dumb if you don't give it a try. Don't listen to the real rpg haters on this site. They like children's games more than real rpgs or even rpg lite games. Real children games like pokeman and shit. They also love Asian rpg-lite games more than anything else besides Asian children games. Don't listen to these philistines.
Own it, about halfway done. Something is missing from this one, including the combat. But the setting is so fucking perfect I deal with it.
-Lords of Xiluma - Just look at the steam page. Non-traditional crpg with all the traditional elements. Good game, even better with mods that change the combat system in my opinion.
Sadly lacking in Chardev. Small number of skills, of which a subset is not worth taking.
 

hal900x

Augur
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
573
Location
A good place to own a gun.
LOL @ asking for games with good TB combat and listing FO1/2 as good examples of such
Yeah, not nearly as good as Arcanum's TB combat amirite? j/k Drog.
If you want to pass as a TB RPG connoisseur....
Nope, all yours. I like what I like, any portrayal of elitism is strictly intentional. And tongue in cheek. I do think Underrail's combat is at the top of the heap though.
 

anvi

Prophet
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TOME4 was made for this thread. Blackguards one of the best games I ever played, but not sure how it would be with 1 character or if it even lets you. But it would be worth playing either way. Also Baldur's Gate 2 with a single character! It has a turn based mode but you have to unlock it by pressing spacebar every 5 seconds. It is worth it.
 

LordofSyn

Scholar
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
113
My favorite games are RPGs with small party sizes and turn based combat. That means Fallout 1/2, Underrail and AoD are my all-time tops. I am looking for something I haven't played with the following very particular features:

- An RPG, not one of the trillion RPG recommendations on Steam that turns about to be yet another Strategy game.
- True turn based combat, not RTwP. It was hard to even type it, so much do I hate the latter. Not a huge fan of "simultaneous" TB engines such as Balrum either. There are a few full-party exceptions I enjoyed such as ToEE but yeah.
- Very small party size or else party members controlled by AI, scripted or otherwise. Ideally only a single character
- Isometric or top-down, ideally. I enjoyed the MM and Wizardry series but very few do that type well. Excepting Cleve, ofc
- Good combat, and lots of it. I have hundreds of hours into Underrail. Blah blah blah Planescape Torment best game evar blah. No, no it isn't. Shit combat = shit game.

Have I played them all, all 5 or 6 of them? Seems this type of game is extremely rare. Numenera was underwhelming, although the setting was fantastic.
Have you tried Heroes of Steel?

Star Traders 2 will also scratch your itch when it is released later this year.

Happy Gaming,
LordofSyn

Sent from my VS930 4G using Tapatalk
 

YES!

Hi, I'm Roqua
Dumbfuck
Joined
Feb 26, 2017
Messages
2,088
I enjoyed the Dark Sun games but iirc they are real time. Am I missing something?

No, both are TB with four party creation. AD&D ruleset with psionics and dark sun races and class specifics such as muls (half dwarves), half giants, trikren (like from KotC)

Isn't that a strat/rpg mashup?

Not more than most rpgs are now adays. It has lite city improvements but otherwise is a straight rpgs with some unique elements.

Very mixed reviews on this one, including from my GF who looked forward to it since it was announced and then ended up hating it. I'll give it a shot.

This game has great combat and a good chargen and greatchardev. It is a good combat focused crpg.

I thought the consensus was that this was fucking awful and full of bugs and unfinished aspects. Did they fix it all up?

The consensus is for fucking idiots who don't think for themselves. The consensus also states that all the IE games have great combat, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Kotors, Dragon Ages, Witcher games, and other games with no thinking combat for monkeys that are way to easy to be thought of as games are brilliant masterpieces.

The bugs are fixed, the game is finished with lots of additional content. If you are not familiar with the RoE games and what you can expect from the remakes I don't know what to say. The RoE games are all masterpieces in their own right, including the remake, regardless of what people who enjoy slightly interactive movies labeled as games claim, or the idiots who prefer actual children's games. Crpgs are my thing, and it does require the crpg equivalent of a sophisticated palate to enjoy the BoD remake, or any RoE game. If you are a sophomore, slightly interactive movie fan, or someone who enjoys actual children's games more than real crpgs then it is safe to skip the BoD remake.
 

YES!

Hi, I'm Roqua
Dumbfuck
Joined
Feb 26, 2017
Messages
2,088
Also, besides Grimiore there is a new game coming out soon called Demons Age that looks like it could be great (coming out after Grimiore, which is the next big crpg to be released). I am hoping Seven Dragon Saga will come out this year too, which is being made by SSI/TSR vets and should be the next great crpg and an instant classic. Also Bard's Tale looks pretty awesome. Those are probably the big name crpgs that aren't on the radar of general game or fake rpg fan players just in case you haven't heard of them.
 

YES!

Hi, I'm Roqua
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Joined
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Messages
2,088
TOME4 was made for this thread. Blackguards one of the best games I ever played, but not sure how it would be with 1 character or if it even lets you. But it would be worth playing either way. Also Baldur's Gate 2 with a single character! It has a turn based mode but you have to unlock it by pressing spacebar every 5 seconds. It is worth it.

Were you joking?
 

Alkarl

Learned
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
472
Just give Dark Sun a try, and come back and thank us later. I mean, it isn't super epic or anything, but it's quite interesting and pretty good for what it is. And you can snag it off of gog for a few rubles or w/e, I promise it'll scratch that itch if you can get used to the interface, which isn't really that bad. There are also multiple ways to complete certain quests and achieve certain goals.

Also, as Roqua mentioned, AntharioN isn't bad at all. It's actually pretty good, pick it up too, you'll like it, especially if you aren't an absolute storyfag.
 

Fowyr

Arcane
Vatnik
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
7,671
Yea, Dark Sun is awesome. I played first game three or four times.

Tried the Spiderweb stuff many years back, couldn't get into it for some reason, but it's about time I gave him another shot.

Exile series has both solid combat and exploration. It's six character party, though.
Geneforge was pretty good.
 
Joined
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Shitland
Also Baldur's Gate 2 with a single character! It has a turn based mode but you have to unlock it by pressing spacebar every 5 seconds. It is worth it.

You can also make the game autopause after every character turn during combat. What's not to love?
 
Unwanted

Fin

Unwanted
Edgy
Joined
Jan 12, 2017
Messages
58
- True turn based combat
- Good combat
Shit combat = shit game.


I too would like the phone number of an overly attached sex addicted billionaire model that loves cooking, gaming, and back rubs.

I to wald lik tha phone namber af the flip over the bed unstable hosrse thag live love a LIVE and getting the thire chocolate dimple covered asshole scopped out with a peanut butter dik to make reese's treats
 

coldcrow

Prophet
Patron
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
1,649
The BoD remake is at least functional now, still a horrible remake, since the engine is a blithering unoptimized mess. Not to mention the awful 3D-art and ridiculous VO. The original is miles better, even with its limitations.

PS: If you can get into roguelikes, Caves of Qud is pure awesome.
 
Last edited:

hal900x

Augur
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
573
Location
A good place to own a gun.
I did play the original Dark Eye games, just not the remake. I might give it a shot. I enjoyed the Dark Sun games when I played them many years ago and own them on GOG. I loaded up the first and yep, turn based. I think I had the rapid movement in my head when I was thinking it was real time. Great game, great setting.

Not that I haven't ever played a RTwP game using a single character and lots of pausing, but that's just trying to make apples out of oranges. If I'm going to play a real time game I'm going to play it in real time, to see the spell animations, the hits, the overall action. Constantly pausing is like playing Diablo at 5 frames per second...it's just not fun. Literally the only RTwP game I ever enjoyed was Hordes of the Underdark expansion: it's made for a single character experience from the start, so you don't have to pause every few seconds and you aren't gimped with no party. Only got to keep Deekin for comic relief and bardsong requires no micromanagement.

Baldur's Gate with only one character? Yes, let's remove the the intra-party dynamic. Next I will play only the combat of Planescape Torment.
 
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hal900x

Augur
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
573
Location
A good place to own a gun.
Thinking more about this, I also prefer a tile or grid system. It's not necessary by any stretch, and the tiles can be hidden, but replaying Dark Sun I realized this. The freeform movement isn't ideal in this game, because it's conducive to mistakes and sloppy combat. Still a good game, but yeah. I like thoughtful combat...precise. That's what makes Underrail so awesome. I've played it dozens of times and each time I find another facet to be exploited.
 

LordofSyn

Scholar
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
113
Thinking more about this, I also prefer a tile or grid system. It's not necessary by any stretch, and the tiles can be hidden, but replaying Dark Sun I realized this. The freeform movement isn't ideal in this game, because it's conducive to mistakes and sloppy combat. Still a good game, but yeah. I like thoughtful combat...precise. That's what makes Underrail so awesome. I've played it dozens of times and each time I find another facet to be exploited.
Heroes of Steel.

Available on Steam, Linux, Android, iOS, and Amazon marketplaces.

Sent from my VS930 4G using Tapatalk
 

Alkarl

Learned
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
472
Thinking more about this, I also prefer a tile or grid system. It's not necessary by any stretch, and the tiles can be hidden, but replaying Dark Sun I realized this. The freeform movement isn't ideal in this game, because it's conducive to mistakes and sloppy combat. Still a good game, but yeah. I like thoughtful combat...precise. That's what makes Underrail so awesome. I've played it dozens of times and each time I find another facet to be exploited.

Check out AntharioN. There is a release thread here on the Codex:

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/antharion-released.101331/
 

hal900x

Augur
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
573
Location
A good place to own a gun.
Prelude to Darkness

I had no idea it was ever finished. Do you have a good download link?

Also, replaying Shattered Lands. Can thieves actually backstab and if so, how? I took Telepathy for my fighter/thief in hopes that if there were issues with Stealth, I could "cast" invisibility psionically. Game doesn't have a lot of feedback so I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.
 

Fowyr

Arcane
Vatnik
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
7,671
Yes, it's finished, playable and awesome. You could find working links at the top of PtD subforum. And grab my patch as well.
 

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