Arcanum Arcanum - No wonder Troika went under

[hivemind]

Still the best RPG ever made tho

dragon
age
origins

 

[Ladonna]

I wouldn't say it was the best rpg ever made. The content is there to put it in the running, but again, the combat system is very clunky. I bet half the people that played it never knew about the called shot system for example. It was obviously tacked on, and this is even reflected in the manual where it has been tucked away as a quick, last minute addition. I know it was the fault of the publisher who insisted that a real time system be in the game (which would have soaked up time), but the final outcome, while serviceable, is far from the best.

And then we got TOEE in which the system is excellent, and the content at best serviceable....I think Troika could have pulled it off if they existed at a different time...

Jesus, Black Isle had some talent tucked away at that time. Thankfully they were given their own little projects to run and largely overlooked (Tim Cain et al with Fallout, and Avellone with Torment).

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

I read the manual once already but it was about 2 months ago and thus forgot stuff before I played. Will have to revisit it. Was a great manual though, full of humor and quirkiness, much like the game.

P.S. I love you guys.

 

[user]

I was still going to school last time I played Arcanum... these were the times... Have any mods/overhauls been released for it?

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Tarant is amazing, I want to live there. Can't believe such a cool city exists in a game I never discovered before. Houses with street addresses, brilliant!

 

[RegionalHobo]

Tarant is amazing, I want to live there. Can't believe such a cool city exists in a game I never discovered before. Houses with street addresses, brilliant!

yea i've discovered Arcanum thanks to codex, and it s my favorite of all time. The combat is garbage, the companions are not that good, but the setting and atmosphere is the best i've ever seen in a rpg. i love the streets, the fact that you need to use social clothes, the beauty stat, etc.

only problem is that now i'm racist against gnomes.

as for your training question, they give extra bonuses, as an example, here's persuasion:

http://www.gamebanshee.com/arcanum/skills/persuasion.php

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Fluent is my favorite poster.

Watch his Lets Nerd, bros, its kinda funny. Let the vid flows in one monitor or in half monitor, and do your thing in the other half or in the other monitor.

Thanks bro. For those that may be interested I am doing an Arcanum "blind" Let's Nerd on my YT channel. Feel free to check it out if you'd like as I go through my first playthrough with Arcanum.

 

[Sukhāvatī]

Thanks bro. For those that may be interested I am doing an Arcanum "blind" Let's Nerd on my YT channel. Feel free to check it out if you'd like as I go through my first playthrough with Arcanum.

A quality of life tip is to make sure to buy a keyring in the Tarant general store, otherwise half your inventory will be keys. If it's not in stock you can wait 24 hours for the shop to repopulate.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

A quality of life tip is to make sure to buy a keyring in the Tarant general store, otherwise half your inventory will be keys. If it's not in stock you can wait 24 hours for the shop to repopulate.

Thanks, I definitely have to pick one up then. I thought it came by default and was wondering why my keys weren't stacking.

 

[Sranchammer]

You've been part of the forum for 6 years and now decide to try Arcanum?

 

[vortex]

So, what is Obsidian doing after Outer worlds? They have Boyarsky and Cain. Nice time to make Arcanum 2.

 

[laclongquan]

Why are airships better than teleport users?

Because an airship can bring tons of materials and passengers over long distance while teleport mages can not. Teleport mages can be a glorified post office delivery at most.

 

[luj1]

The first time I saw Arcanum it was like a fevered dream. Ogres in tuxedos, vintage cameras and shotguns, I was like what

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

How's my build so far? No build spoilers please.

Lvl 5
1 pt Melee
1 pt Persuasion (Apprentice)
CHA 14 (trying to get more followers)
Charm spell
Stun spell

I'm kind of useless in combat so far but hoping the point of Melee and Stun spell will help. The game has so much gameplay replayability that I'd love to go other routes with spells, tech etc..

My party is Virgil and Sogg Mead Mugg. Hoping to recruit Magnus soon.

And Tarant is now officially my favorite city in an RPG by far, dethroning Baldur's Gate by a country mile.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Does real-time combat (minus the Harm spell) make combat easier?

 

[Sukhāvatī]

Depends on the enemy as it's dependent on animation speed, so if you/your party have speedy weapons like the dagger and can click fast and the enemy is slow, you'll do alright. Other times you'll get mauled in a second.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

So the real-time combat is balanced at least. Very cool.

 

[Sukhāvatī]

I wouldn't go that far

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

It's funny how almost all publisher demands end up being terrible in hindsight. Has there ever been a publisher demand that people ended up saying, "hey, that was a pretty good idea" ?

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Also, I'm a really big nerd and I love how there's 'small' gear that only fits the little folk. Love those 'small' details in the game.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I'm a really big nerd

 

[Beastro]

Oh, and Tarant is the best part of Arcanum. IMO, the main path gets pretty shit after a certain mountain delve.

That's the part that hurts me the most having played it. Tarant is a blast, but then you realize the meat of the game is eaten by then leaving you the scraps of the interesting plot left to go on.

It's not the I'd want several Tarants kicking around, but it feels like so much was done there that the rest is like dropping of a cliff.

I'd still like to go back and replay it from a different style (I was full on in my hate magic mood when I did, so prolly go caster this time) and see how much I was right or wrong about it.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

hate magic mood

That's not a mood, that's the only right approach.

 

[hivemind]

this game needs like some remastered mod or something that fixed the abhorrent UI

the combat is like doable I guess but holy shit I quit the game like twice recently after restarting because of how ATROCIOUS the UI is

its unbearable to anyone with a spec of taste

 

[True Ukrainian]

A quality of life tip is to make sure to buy a keyring in the Tarant general store, otherwise half your inventory will be keys. If it's not in stock you can wait 24 hours for the shop to repopulate.

Thanks, I definitely have to pick one up then. I thought it came by default and was wondering why my keys weren't stacking.

Don't buy a keyring if you plan on using the throwing skill later. There is a bug that breaks the mastery quest.