Temple of Elemental Evil

[thesheeep]

I bet any amount of cash that you won't be able to finish the game due to either obvious or hidden savegame corruption.

 

[MisterStone]

NoooOoooOooo

So if I start to have problems like this, does that mean that the save files are already fucked up beyond redemption?

 

[Crichton]

No, the corpse-looting is just a directX thing. Both the latest official patch and the latest Co8 mod fix it. Naturally the securerom-less exe can be found at GameCopyWorld.com.

 

[Gay-Lussac]

So is it worth playing? Is the combat as entertaining as in BG 2?

 

[Mefi]

The looting bug can be fixed in one of three ways:

install Atari patch 3

install the moebius dll hack on its own (hosted at sorcerors)

install Co8 which includes the moebius dll hack

edit: oh and the no-cd hack, make sure you get the right one for whichever Atari patch you are using. Co8 only uses up to Atari patch 2 (patch 3 is a little iffy...) and the no-cd crack is a 33kb file or thereabouts.

---

ToEE combat can't be compared to that of BG2 really. ToEE is true turn based with a horrifying but pleasing amount of combat options.

 

[MisterStone]

The looting bug can be fixed in one of three ways:

install Atari patch 3

install the moebius dll hack on its own (hosted at sorcerors)

install Co8 which includes the moebius dll hack

edit: oh and the no-cd hack, make sure you get the right one for whichever Atari patch you are using. Co8 only uses up to Atari patch 2 (patch 3 is a little iffy...) and the no-cd crack is a 33kb file or thereabouts.

---

ToEE combat can't be compared to that of BG2 really. ToEE is true turn based with a horrifying but pleasing amount of combat options.

I had the third patch and the Co8 patch, but it was still occasionally giving me problems with looting. The Co8 forums have a stickied topic that deal with this issue, and it says that sometimes it is necessary to replace the executable with a no-CD hack executable, because sometimes the install has certain .dll files that are used by the executable, and sometimes the install makes an executable bundled with the information from said .dll files, in which case the game does not use the relevant new .dll files from the Co8 patch. At least that was my understanding of it...

Anyway, it is working now that I got a hacked .exe file, but my antivirus constantly warns me that ToEE is a generic Trojan of some kind (which is not the case). Damn, this should have been a fine game... it is criminal that they would publish this thing in such a fucked up condition.

 

[Drog Black Tooth]

Anyway, it is working now that I got a hacked .exe file, but my antivirus constantly warns me that ToEE is a generic Trojan of some kind (which is not the case)..

The .exe is most likely compressed, perhaps with UPX.

 

[MisterStone]

Anyway, it is working now that I got a hacked .exe file, but my antivirus constantly warns me that ToEE is a generic Trojan of some kind (which is not the case)..

The .exe is most likely compressed, perhaps with UPX.

Huh, so the antivirus sees this thing unpacking itself and executing, and it thinks that it is a trojan? Crud...

Anyway, I think that the unpatched install from the game CD did this, and i know that the troika demo version definitely did. Its kind of annoying, but not show-stopping. I am amazed at how much crap I am willing to put up with just to get some tactical fantasy game play in. Maybe I should forget this and just buy the full version of Natuk or something...

 

[Mefi]

No mate - the problem with looting is a direct x thing. Nowt to do with the no-cd crack.

Co8 can only be used with atari patch 2 (or 1 + 2 which is same difference) and not with patch 3. Odd shit will happen. Really odd shit. So be prepared for some interesting results if you've installed 3 with Co8 :D

Erm, the no-cd - yeah if you're really concerned, throw my your-email addy and will send you one which I know has no virus. I had similar issues until I switched from AVG to Avast. AVG have come back and said that it is a fuck up their end I believe - or an unintended consequence etc etc... of their new super AV. And Norton is a virus itself, so never believe it.

 

[MisterStone]

That's OK, I managed to find a no-cd executable. It seems to be working, although the game is still a bit f'ed up here and there.

 

[Pussycat669]

Y'know, I still feel kind of guilty that I never commented on the Co8 mod in my LP since it might give the impression that I thought it was crap or something. After my second rerun with the mod I must say, quiet on the contrary, that I believe that this is one of the most well crafted and user-friendly mod packs that I ever used (mind you that comes from someone who seldom even looks at mods in the first place). Even though I didn't like some of the changes namely the new starting equipment, voice actors (admitted some were rather good like the mayor) and new NPCs (suckage is often indicated by the use of Baldur's Gate avatars ) but it doesn't really manage outweigh the good. Most of the bugs that annoyed me before have disappeared and I didn't encounter any new ones. Many of the fights are tougher, thanks to improved AI, occasional script events and some changes of the enemies stats and spell repertoire. The 'new' locations (the brothel excluded) are quiet decent, apparently bug free and if you can stomach that they merely recycle older levels, they are a good stepladder to gain a level or two. Also the added content for PCs above level 10 are quiet sweet but, as with the removal of the level cap in general, it also destroys the balance of the game despite the improved difficulty (although I mostly blame the D&D system for that). All in all however I think it's definitely worth trying out once you can beat the original game in your sleep.
Phew, glad I got that off my chest.

 

[Skald]

I downloaded a demo recently, but I can't seem to get it to run. It crashes instantly. And yeah, I'm on Vista 64. I want to buy the full version, but it seems it won't run.

Halp?

 

[MisterStone]

Hrrm, so right now my party has just cleaned out the moathouse and has visited Gelb. We seem to still be too weak for the temple quests, though... everyone is level 3. Do I just need to buck up and use strategy to stay alive, or is there another place I can go grin up another level or two?

Also, can you win the game even if you massacre everyone in Homlett? God, I hate that site...

 

[Pussycat669]

Also, can you win the game even if you massacre everyone in Homlett? God, I hate that site...

Definitely possible although with your level you should stay clear of any serious threats (Terjon, the druid, the tower). You can at least kill the two evil merchants and the jeweler without any notable consequences for your reputation. Good opportunity to gain some XP but since you're only level 3, I presume you got a full 7 people party with NPCs? In that case you might better be careful since some good NPCs may turn hostile when you attack innocents.

Otherwise you might engage some random encounters for training. Best advice here is to let your toughest fighter be group leader and put him a bit further away from the rest of the group before you start to rest (since enemies will always spawn close to the leader, at least in vanilla ToEE).

You should be able to deal with anything at the start of the temple. Just don't let your people run into every room headfirst as there are many large groups on the first level (if you decide to fight the earth temple that is) and the last thing you want at this stage is a gang rape.

 

[Wintermute]

So is it worth playing? Is the combat as entertaining as in BG 2?

It's the best implementation of D&D combat ever. The story and the bugs suck completely but it's still worth playing.

 

[Gaear]

Sorry to stick my head in here again, but I just wanted to remind everybody that the Co8 mod is in the process of being overhauled. Not that we expect you to wait around with bated breath for that, but you may find some of the changes satisfying.

btw Pussycat669 - I enjoyed your Let's Play very much.

 

[PorkaMorka]

So is it worth playing? Is the combat as entertaining as in BG 2?

The combat system is arguably much much better than BG2 in terms of the options and control it allows, and how true it is to the rules.

Unfortunately, it was used to create not a video game, but the world's greatest bugbear genocide simulator. Rest assured though, it's unmatched in terms of the tactical bugbear slaughter options it allows you.

(combat system better than BG2. encounter design substantially worse)

 

[SuicideBunny]

speaking of toee, does anyone know similar short multipath rpgs?

 

[Pussycat669]

btw Pussycat669 - I enjoyed your Let's Play very much.

Thank you. And here I was concerned that the Lord Grey faggotry and poor jokes had turned everyone off.

 

[Elwro]

So how's Keep on the Borderlands progressing? I don't see much info on the Co8, I hope the project isn't dead?

 

[MisterStone]

I wish someone would take the TOEE combat engine and make a game like Darklands- where you just go from place to place and situation to situation, navigate through most things by menu, and occasionally move to a map for some combat. I love good RPGs (like Fallout), but they almost never turn out very well, and with a sweet combat engine like this all I want to do is hack shit up and build up my party.

 

[Drog Black Tooth]

Yes, ToEE has an amazing engine and it makes me sad that modding tools for it (WorldEd in particular) were never released. I'm sure it would have spawned many awesome DnD modules. It's Troika's another big mistake.

 

[King Crispy]

I'm sure it would have spawned many awesome DnD modules.

For sure. Imagine some of the other classic Greyhawk stuff like the Slavers series, the Descent series and Against the Giants. Perfect for that engine...

 

[Gaear]

So how's Keep on the Borderlands progressing? I don't see much info on the Co8, I hope the project isn't dead?

Hi Elwro, thanks for inquiring.

KotB is still in development, though admittedly it's in a slow phase right now. But the project is most certainly not dead.

Gaear

 

[MisterStone]

The game is starting to piss me off...

If I do something like camp out in the barracks of the earth temple (the faction that I am friendly with) random monsters still attack the part AND all of the faction members in that room side with the monsters (which happen to be grey puddings).

The dumbfuck earth temple people blindfolded me and took me to an undisclosed location where their high priest gave me quests, but he didn't tell me how to find the exit of the temple.

When I try to make my party (which includes abuot 5 enslaved ghouls) go down the narrow hallways of the temple, about half of them get stuck and don't keep up with the rest of the group, so when I have a combat encounter, they are halfway across the level and unable to take part. Doors are almost impossible to make out half of the time.

At one point I went up a staircase, only to find no return exit.

NPCs grab useful magical items sometimes when I try to loot bodies or chests... this makes sense in theory, but it could obviously be handled in a better fashion.

After being recruited by the earth temple people, and going outside the temple in order to do a quest, I returned to the guard tower entrance where I was recruited. When I went inside, I was attacked by about 20+ people who did not bother to ask me who I am.

Half the time when I am in combat in the temple, I can't even see wtf is going on because the walls are not transparent enough. Half the time I try to move a character in combat, he ends up running around in a huge circle in the opposite direction.

... and so on. The game interface is glitchy, the quests and various scripting is glitchy, combat is glitchy, etc. etc. etc. I like the design of the game and the character development, but playing is becoming a real chore. Maybe I'll let the game rest for a while.