Another Mask of the Betrayer thread!

[Andyman Messiah]

Oh man, the Codex is finally heading to happy land! :D

 

[Durwyn]

Oh man, the Codex is finally heading to happy land! :D

This thread needs internat dramah...

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Oh man, the Codex is finally heading to happy land! :D

This thread needs internat dramah...

You gonna bring it?

 

[pug987]

One of the best things about MotB is that it lets you deal with certain situations in many different ways. It's not just good/evil or lawful/chaotic. Having played the game two times, one "goodish" and one "evilish" there are still many things that I could have done differentely. Moreover most things you do have consequences ranging from simply having an alignment change to geting or loosing influence with a companion to getting or losing access to quests and merchants to affecting what ending you get. Also a there is a great deal of dialogue and several quests that change or never appear, depending on who of the companions you have with you.

 

[Kingston]

MotB is indeed pretty good. I got a new computer the other day and I'm now playing it again (didnt finish it) with a 22'' widescreen monitor and all graphics maxed out. It looks rather kewl.

 

[roshan]

MOTB isnt that great of a game... The combat is ridiculously easy, except for about 5 or so battles at the beginning, and you are still forced to autoresurrect after battle. Like other NWN/KOTOR games, you still cant enter most houses, and you cant attack whoever you want. Also, sometimes the game does not react to your actions well enough. The way I see it, MOTB is leagues better than any modern Bioware/Obsidian RPG, but certainly isnt old school.

None of the things you mentioned, except for the "react to your actions well enough" part, are necessarily required in a CRPG.

I didnt say it wasnt a great RPG, I said it wasnt that great of a game. MOTB, like the original NWN2 and pretty much every modern RPG, is designed with the assumption that the player is stupid. The exception to this in MOTB is the spirit eater mechanic.

 

[vrok]

Since I pretty much expected the combat and loot etc to be horrible, the thing that disappointed me most among the otherwise good things is still the influence system. I want to influence at least one of my companions profoundly, not just have them set rules that I either follow for bonus stats (that means they influence my decisions) or tell them to fuck off so I can craft stuff from their souls, though that's certainly a cool option too. More influence-affecting persuasion options please.

You know the white bitch in KotOR 2 that you could train in the force and if you were evil you could make her a dark jedi. That's what I missed. And no, Safiya doesn't count at all. After a certain point she was nothing more than companion #4. Tacked on romance, or not.

It's was still infinitely better done than the NWN2 OC though.

***minor spoilers***




Because Kaelyn was filled with doubt and her faith was fragile, I wanted the opportunity to cause her to fall and make her a fallen (half) angel, especially after Myrkul's little speech. Gain her trust and with slick words turn her to the dark side! Also, making friends with Myrkul (through One-of-Many) for the purpose of replacing Kelemvor seemed a more appropriate choice for my Banite cleric but I guess that'd require an extra ending deviating a bit too far from what WotC would deem appropriate.

 

[Starwars]

While we're busy gushing the game, let me just also say that the soundtrack of this game is pretty kickass. A very nice mix of ambient stuff, and melodic as well (for the city of Mulsantir for example). It's actually really great stuff, I just finished converting the BMUs for the game into MP3s.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Oh yes, getting the fantastic Alexander Brandon on their payroll sure paid off.

 

[roshan]

While we're busy gushing the game, let me just also say that the soundtrack of this game is pretty kickass. A very nice mix of ambient stuff, and melodic as well (for the city of Mulsantir for example). It's actually really great stuff, I just finished converting the BMUs for the game into MP3s.

Agreed, the music in MOTB is excellent and far better than the awful original. Any idea who did the soundtrack? The setting is also different from the regular fantasy stuff. There isnt an elf or dwarf in sight, isntead, there are hags, witches and spirits.

 

[Callaxes]

The Deus Ex guy? That's interesting, I guess I'll end up giving the game a shot after all. Although it's not because of the music.

 

[Ander Vinz]

Is it codex'es influence or am i at last growing up that i don't believe anyone talking about awesomeness of something?

 

[Andyman Messiah]

The Deus Ex guy? That's interesting, I guess I'll end up giving the game a shot after all. Although it's not because of the music.

Alexander is listed as audio director. I don't know if he did the soundtrack but I suppose it'd make sense, him being audio director and all. But whoever did make it sure did a great job.

Edit: According to the official info at NWVault he composed the music. Great! :D

 

[Kingston]

I like the dialogue checks in the game. (supar minor spoilar) When you get that spirit shaman from the prison and talk to him for the first time you can use a shitload of different skills and stats. I had bluff, intimidate, diplomacy, spellcraft, intelligence and charisma each on an independent dialogue line. Dialogues ftw!

 

[aweigh]

The soundtrack is indeed fantastic. I especially love the theme for the girl who becomes obsessed with Gann. (It's the music that plays when you enter the cottage where she and her father live.)

 

[Jaime Lannister]

What does everyone think of the spirit meter, which seems to be the main target of game sites' criticisms?

 

[Zomg]

I'm waiting for the game still, but I've seen people complaining about level 20+ characters that aren't supposed to be special people, "epic generic orcs" and so on. Obviously Obsidian is scaling content and narrative more appropriate for low-level characters up to soopa-Epic D&D power levels. In their defense they don't really have a choice - they have to spend the money making high-level spell animations and feat programming and so on, for modding and D&D autistic approbation, and not using it in the company campaign would never fly with a publisher.

Not even the Codex complains very often when a guy levels up from useless hick to living God in a nonspecific-but-short virtual time frame, which is the other side of the problem.

 

[Helton]

What does everyone think of the spirit meter, which seems to be the main target of game sites' criticisms?

Wanting. I got my craving down to 0 quickly and keep my spirit-meter between 85 and 100 easily.

I think they could have implemented it better. For one, unless your craving is obscene -- say 75%, I don't think your spirit meter should go down just walking around a zone. That's just annoying, to be honest. I think it should go down more when travelling or resting.

It shouldn't necessarily be more challenging to deal with: if you start trying to manage it immediately you should be able to keep it in check for some time. But it should be less of an annoyance and more of a threat. My spirit meter gets out of control if I actually play the game. Where as if I dilly-dally, run back to the shadow-portal often, and be a munchkin, I have no trouble keeping it towards 100. That's backwards.

Don't encourage me to cut out half-way through a zone, encourage me to do everything I can there and not waste (game-world) time.

edit:

I'm waiting for the game still, but I've seen people complaining about level 20+ characters that aren't supposed to be special people, "epic generic orcs" and so on. Obviously Obsidian is scaling content and narrative more appropriate for low-level characters up to soopa-Epic D&D power levels. In their defense they don't really have a choice - they have to spend the money making high-level spell animations and feat programming and so on, for modding and D&D autistic approbation, and not using it in the company campaign would never fly with a publisher.

Not even the Codex complains very often when a guy levels up from useless hick to living God in a nonspecific-but-short virtual time frame, which is the other side of the problem.

It's a generally acceptable evil. They handle it well, though. You get the impression you're genuinely dealing with more dangerous groups, so the higher levels are waranted.

 

[roshan]

What does everyone think of the spirit meter, which seems to be the main target of game sites' criticisms?

The game sites are basically run by idiots and retards. Anyone with common sense or average IQ can bring the spirit meter under control easily, after that, it becomes a non issue. Havent played the game as an evil character, so I dont know how the meter would affect those on the evil path.

It's a generally acceptable evil. They handle it well, though. You get the impression you're genuinely dealing with more dangerous groups, so the higher levels are waranted.

I dont think the sort of monsters one battles reflects high level gameplay. Some of them shouldnt have been in the game at all. Gnolls? Students? Leopards? Wolverines? The battles were also too easy and unchallenging. The monsters just come at you and engage in melee, they dont use any unique abilities.

 

[Starwars]

I liked the Spirit Meter overall. What I think it did best it that it injected some form of reality to the curse you bear. I think it serves to enforce that plot point instead of just having "omg youre cursed, now you can still roam around the country and smell the flowers forever before trying to solve it".

I could've done with it being more difficult though. But then people would've probably exploded over at the Bioware forums.

I also don't agree with some of the alignment shifts, but in the end they're not that big. I played through with a Neutral Evil character, and yet decided to use only Supress (which gives 2 Lawful and 1 Good point) outside of conversation stuff, and I still had absolutely no problem with keeping my alignment in check.

So all in all, I thought it was an extremely welcome addition (especially with regards to the plot), though perhaps not implemented perfectly.

 

[ricolikesrice]

....

i like the spirit meter too, its far from perfect, since some mechanics are easily exploitable (i.e. its barely noticeable if you play lawfull good, and IMHO that way the curse should be the most difficult, not the easiest.... ) and the allignment system of DnD sucks anyhow.....

...but overall, i like it. especially the gems of retardation it brings up in the bioware forums now alone are worth it ^^ like people talking about PnP and that a DM should never force something on his players.... uhmmm yeah right.
since when does roleplaying mean make your superhero character, collect tons of magic items, kill alot of monsters and marry mary-sue elf princess in the end ?

 

[RK47]

Where have you been? Roleplaying is about entering every house, taking everything you want, and joining every guild while taking time to hit lvl 40 before you save the world from a demonic invasion.

 

[Oarfish]

The spirit meter is a bitch if you play evil, you will find yourself needing the console to advance the clock as you can end up stuck in an area because you don't have enough energy to travel and too much to use satiate.

DM should never force something on his players

:shock: Forcing things on your players is pretty much mandatory for good P&P. So is deliberately overriding rules when needed. DMs are not referees.

 

[Helton]

I dont think the sort of monsters one battles reflects high level gameplay. Some of them shouldnt have been in the game at all. Gnolls? Students? Leopards? Wolverines?

Granted. A majority of battles, though, are with spirits which the locals revere. Maybe my ignorance of the setting helps, but nothing has jumped out at me and fucked up my enjoyment in this area.

 

[roshan]

I dont think the sort of monsters one battles reflects high level gameplay. Some of them shouldnt have been in the game at all. Gnolls? Students? Leopards? Wolverines?

Granted. A majority of battles, though, are with spirits which the locals revere. Maybe my ignorance of the setting helps, but nothing has jumped out at me and fucked up my enjoyment in this area.

The worst part was that the hardest overall area in the game was clearing a cave full of animals - and they werent even spirit animals, they were just epic level wolverines, wolves and leopards. It was absurd that the wolverines were tougher than the treants, wyverns, frost giants and shambling mounds that I massacred outside the cave.