Torment Beamdog's Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition

[Melcar]

Compare Beamdog's shit:


https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/17/mar/pst1b.jpg

with the original zoomed in:

https://i.imgbox.com/6TIYKA4H.png

How the fuck did they manage to make it look worse? Honest question. That takes some extra-level retardation, right there.

It's called skill. Retarded skills, but skills nonetheless.

 

[Drowed]

My question is, what are the differences of EE from a classic PST with:

• The Ultimate Fixpack
• Qwinn's Unfinished Business
  
• Qwinn's PS:T Tweak Pack

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

Biggest difference is you don't have to install any of those. :D

Just joking. I'm sure someone else can answer that better than I can. I'm just finishing up my Steam Controller configuration now and starting my Let's Play in 4K in a few minutes.

 

[aVENGER]

So no zooming in feature? Lame. That is the only enhancement I care for.

Zooming in/out works exactly as it did in the previous EE games. How area backgrounds and character sprites look in PST:EE depends entirely on your settings. Based on what you choose, they get smoothed (blur) or pixelated as you zoom in. If you don't use zoom and turn off sprite outlines and smoothing, the area art and character sprites are a pixel perfect match of the original game.

Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2

The first time you start a new PST:EE game, there's a "welcome screen" where you can choose between "Original" and "Enhanced" option presets. You can adjust these settings at any time from the Options menu if you change your mind later on.

 

[Melcar]

So no zooming in feature? Lame. That is the only enhancement I care for.

Zooming in/out works exactly as it did in the previous EE games. How area backgrounds and character sprites look in PST:EE depends entirely on your settings. Based on what you choose, they get smoothed (blur) or pixelated as you zoom in. If you don't use zoom and turn off sprite outlines and smoothing, the area art and character sprites are a pixel perfect match of the original game.

Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2

The first time you start a new PST:EE game, there's a "welcome screen" where you can choose between "Original" and "Enhanced" option presets. You can adjust these settings at any time from the Options menu if you change your mind later on.

Goddammit. Why are you trying to sell me this? I smell Jew. Must resist. FUCK. That checkout button is tempting me. Nooooooo.

 

[ShadowSpectre]

I'm in agreement with people saying the source code should have been given out to have the game fixed by the fans instead of giving it to Beamdog. Their "enhanced" PST is half-assed. Sure, some of you will try and tell some of us that at least it'll play on modern machines with less fussing, updated interface, etc. That we should all be happy. However, let's be real and objective here, they could have done a better job:

The new zoom makes things that shouldn't look cracked, seem cracked and crevassed because of the heavy pixelation. It does not make it look any clearer. Too many environments in PST have rounded edges which makes the zoom in EE worse than it needs to be. They should have went for if I say want 1080p, like in the mod I can see that much more of the screen, then if I want to zoom in, it just enlarges up to the original 640x480 kind of deal. This zoom seems to draw the visuals out instead of just bringing them in closer. If I'm wrong, someone please show me a zoomed in version of an area that looks smooth like the original with the original area to compare.

I will admit that the rounded green selection is crisper and more visible in EE (so at least that wasn't screwed up).

The remastered music sounds good from what I've heard.

As for quests and things in Unfinished Business that should or should not have made it into the EE version, I find it hard to believe that some of that content couldn't have been restored as it seemed like it was their original intent to at least have some of that to me. Chris Avellone not endorsing just seems like more of a lazy way to get this EE out the door as fast as possible while nuTorment dissipates and everyone runs back to the original.

 

[Infinitron]

aVENGER Don't you guys get tired of being asked whether the black outline can be turned off?

You seem inordinately proud of this feature, like it's your signature visual cue distinguishing the EEs from the originals, but ffs turn it off by default on PC.

 

[aVENGER]

aVENGER Don't you guys get tired of being asked whether the black outline can be turned off?

Good point, I should add that to the FAQ.

You seem inordinately proud of this feature, like it's your signature visual cue distinguishing the EEs from the originals, but ffs turn it off by default on PC.

Personally, I always play in pixel perfect mode with Zoom Lock on and sprite outlines/smoothing turned off.

 

[Melcar]

Planescape Torment: Black Outline Edition

 

[FeelTheRads]

Here's something to add to the FAQ:

Why add features that people always want to turn off?

It is a mystery.

 

[Luckmann]

Biggest difference is you don't have to install any of those. :D

Just joking. I'm sure someone else can answer that better than I can. I'm just finishing up my Steam Controller configuration now and starting my Let's Play in 4K in a few minutes.

You are decline personified.

 

[Sigourn]

I'll keep educating the masses if aVENGER gives me a copy of the game.

I'm in agreement with people saying the source code should have been given out to have the game fixed by the fans instead of giving it to Beamdog. Their "enhanced" PST is half-assed. Sure, some of you will try and tell some of us that at least it'll play on modern machines with less fussing, updated interface, etc. That we should all be happy. However, let's be real and objective here, they could have done a better job:

The new zoom makes things that shouldn't look cracked, seem cracked and crevassed because of the heavy pixelation. It does not make it look any clearer. Too many environments in PST have rounded edges which makes the zoom in EE worse than it needs to be. They should have went for if I say want 1080p, like in the mod I can see that much more of the screen, then if I want to zoom in, it just enlarges up to the original 640x480 kind of deal. This zoom seems to draw the visuals out instead of just bringing them in closer. If I'm wrong, someone please show me a zoomed in version of an area that looks smooth like the original with the original area to compare.

Vanilla Planescape: Torment, as well as the UI Widescreen mod, offer pixel-perfect PS:T graphics, as long as you don't do something idiotic like play 1280x720 fullscreen on your 1920x1080 monitor with the widescreen mod. And the EE will let you do exactly that.

The only way, I repeat, the only way zooming in would look good was if Beamdog literally overhauled the entirety of the games' backgrounds and sprites. All of them. Zooming in, unlike what CSI wants us to believe, doesn't add new detail into the game. It only makes the pixels look bigger (right image). Why would anyone want to zoom in that close to the characters is beyond me, as two times the zoom is enough for when you want to pick up loot from the ground. And this is because PS:T was designed differently than Pillars of Eternity: PoE uses much more detailed backgrounds, so zooming isn't that ugly, but PS:T was never designed with zoom in mind, so the closer you get, the uglier it gets.

The new zoom doesn't change how things look. They have always looked like that. Thing is, when they get bigger, the pixels are more noticeable. But the pixels have always been there, it's just that when the image is "small" (the right size) your eyes makes the pixels blend in with eachother. What the zoom feature is doing, as opposed to what you think, is literally bringing the visuals closer to you. I know because of my college learnings, though anyone who has a slight experience resizing images in Photoshop will know this too.

Only way I can show it to you would be to make my own edited pictures, as there aren't comparison screenshots of the same area around. But anyway, here you go:

Original:

Spoiler

Twice the zoom, a.k.a. "where the fuck is that loot around".

Spoiler

Four times the zoom, a.k.a. Mr. Magoo mode.

Spoiler

 

[Goral]

ShadowSpectre
https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/62g496/planescape_torment_vs_planescape_torment_enhanced/

 

[Neanderthal]

The only way, I repeat, the only way zooming in would look good was if Beamdog literally overhauled the entirety of the games' backgrounds and sprites. All of them.

You mean enhance the game, yeah pity they can't do that.

 

[supervoid]

#Zoomgate
You are a single step from going full retard. For example you are saying that badly scaled screenshot is better than original PS:T art.

I wish they haven't revelated that Avellone is writting/correcting this shit, lack of this knowledge could lead to the best drama ever.

 

[Sigourn]

You mean enhance the game, yeah pity they can't do that.

They've already enhanced it for those of us who want to play it like it is.

 

[Goral]

supervoid
Compare Morte in those 3 merged pictures, details are well shown only in the first one (left eye for example).

 

[Excidium II]

Maggot take a screenshot picture from PST to show those people what it's supposed to look like.

 

[Maggot]

bilinear filtering was a mistake

EDIT: Excidium II i'll reinstall it and post the mortuary after lunch

 

[Excidium II]

Well...not a screenshot...a photograph ofc

 

[Maggot]

Well...not a screenshot...a photograph ofc

close enough

 

[Infinitron]

http://blog.beamdog.com/2017/03/q-with-chris-avellone.html

Q&A With Chris Avellone


Chris Avellone has returned to Planescape as the Lead Designer on Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition.
Planescape: Torment may have been released nearly two decades ago, but it’s status as a beloved genre classic remains untouched largely due it’s amazing setting and unique story.

Chris Avellone, Lead Designer on Planescape: Torment, went on from PST to work on many other popular titles, including Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Wasteland 2, and Prey. Now he’s returned to his roots to help Beamdog bring Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition to life.

We’re glad Chris has found time to share insights about the original game and PST:EE.

Warning: Interview contains spoilers.

1. What was your involvement in Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition? Was an enhanced edition something you always wanted to do?
CA - A lot of people have mentioned Torment to me over the years, and the chance to do an updated version of it was appealing – not to change the core content, but with the goal of re-introducing a new generation to the RPG and allow them easier access to playing it without having to jump through hoops to make it happen.
While I love the original game deeply, I recognize that both interface design and tech across platforms have come a long way since ’99. I believe the Torment experience can be kept while taking advantage of the technical achievements over the past 15+ years, so when Beamdog contacted me to gauge my interest, I told them I was absolutely interested… especially if they allowed me a chance to do a real grammar fix of the discrepancies in the original, of which there were many (we weren’t able to hire an editor, who could have helped back then, so I am happy to have a chance to do it now).
Before anyone thinks editing was a lot of changes to the text, it was more along the lines of fixing basic errors, establishing naming consistency and formatting consistency, and elements that were never intended to make it into the final product (narrative bugs).

2. Take us through the development of the original Planescape: Torment. What makes this game different from other RPGs you’ve worked on since?
CA - I suppose it was largely the Planescape setting that TSR/Wizards of the Coast had established – it was a very freeing license, so it allowed for departures from mainstream fantasy tropes which was welcome. (See below for additional motivation.)

3. How did you come up with the idea of an RPG where combat is not a focus? Was it difficult to create a game where most of the quests can be talked through instead of just fighting?
CA - Unfortunately, I was so focused on dialogue interactions/verbal combat that actual combat in PST was something of an afterthought. Yes, that is my fault. Was it hard to do a narrative-focused game? No – it was one of the things I liked about designing the game in the first place, as I’ve always seen conversations as both dungeons to explore and also conflicts and challenges to resolve.

4. How did the name of the original game come up? Why Torment?
CA - The original name was “Last Rites,” but it didn’t pass marketing (if I recall – it may have been b/c of a name conflict with something else, but it’s been so long, I don’t remember).
So Planescape: Torment was the next choice – and once we knew what the title was going to be, we worked on reverse engineering the title into the theme of the narrative (esp. the player’s existence and the reason his companions join him/gravitate to him).

5. What inspired you to write a game in a (at the time) relatively obscure and strange universe a long way away from other popular, but more generic, fantasy world settings?
CA - The inspiration came from being exposed to several fantasy RPGs in quick succession that seemed to follow the same conventions (system and narrative) without even trying to break the mold or even the basic gameplay loop – I thought Planescape was a way to experiment with deviating from the design norms of fantasy RPGs all in one fell swoop.

6. Which parts of Planescape: Torment are you particularly proud of?
CA - I loved the Modron Cube, and kudos to our Lead Programmer, Dan Spitzley, for architecting the mechanics. I also enjoyed the final battle moments (esp. your companions squaring off against the antagonist), and the final sequences that followed – including the meeting of the other NPCs near the end of the game as well (no spoilers, but one of them I enjoyed writing immensely for reasons that are likely obvious to those in the know).

7. What parts of the game would you go back to rewrite or expand (if any)?
CA - Probably the Buried Village, as we didn’t have time to flesh it out in as much detail as we wanted. Also, we would have loved to include more plane-travelling in general, but we just didn’t have the resources and time.

8. Have you thought about extending the Planescape: Torment universe in the past or did you consider this story finished?
CA - While Planescape: Torment’s storyline is done (it reaches a definite conclusion in my eyes), I think the rest of the Planescape universe (multiverse) is ripe for further exploration – there’s countless planes and settings to explore, it would be a shame to let them go to waste.

9. With which character in Planescape: Torment do you feel the greatest connection?
CA - I care for them all in different ways – even Ignus and Vhailor, who have their own emotional moments where they go beyond their outward obsessions.
Each CNPC and NPC was designed to represent a certain story or emotional arc to inform the player about the Planescape universe – and the player’s role in it. I care about them all in different ways, so I couldn’t choose only one.

10. Which Planescape faction would you choose to join?
CA - None, actually. The factions (forgive me) were one of the things I didn’t like about Planescape because none of them really seemed to “fit” me (even the Indeps and Anarchists).
I did think they were great “foils” to test a character against, however, and were the source of fun narrative and political challenges.
If I had a “faction,” I suppose it would be a follower of Aoskar, since I always imagined his deity portfolio represented the true theme of Planescape – the ability to connect all the planes together and provide access to all of them through portals (and the secrecy of the portals and the nature of the keys to open them was another nice narrative layer).

11. What led you to keep the true name of the Nameless One secret from the player, even though the protagonist himself finds it out it eventually?
CA - Spoilers! I thought whatever name we chose would never be as cool as the one players themselves imagined – and in the end, it’s not what you’re called, it’s who you are, which the game has already shown you through your actions. The actual name wasn’t important anymore, and I thought it was more literary if it was a secret that only 2 people in the multiverse knew for certain.

12. If given the opportunity, would you cosplay as an PST character? If so, which one?
CA - I’d try for Morte, because I could just wear a black robe and put on a skull mask.
Of course, then people would likely mistake me for Darth Nihilus and challenge me to duels.

13. This is the second time you’ve worked Beamdog (Chris was a Narrative Consultant on Siege of Dragonspear). Would you be interested in collaborating with Beamdog again in the future?
CA - Of course. And have! Secrets!

14. What can change the nature of a man?
CA - The high Wisdom response at the end of the game is the “true” one (and there’s an Achievement for it to boot, in case there was any doubt).
From there, it’s up to the player to interpret what that truth is for them, I don’t feel it’s the game’s place (or any game’s place) to choose an answer for you.

 

[FeelTheRads]

So what, they're interviewing themselves, now?

Great questions, only one about the EE and then gems like: Which Planescape faction would you choose to join?

uhhh durrr i dunno i would like to join the bestest one

 

[Robespierre]

13. This is the second time you’ve worked Beamdog (Chris was a Narrative Consultant on Siege of Dragonspear). Would you be interested in collaborating with Beamdog again in the future?
CA - Of course. And have! Secrets!

No ! NO ! Oh God damn it !

 

[agris]

Modded PS:T interface looks nothing like what the game would look like, should it have been designed for high resolutions from the beginning.

Modded:

No one is making you play at your desktop resolution. If you're using a 1080p monitor, try modding the game to use 960x540, it will look beautiful and crisp.