mirrorshades
Liturgist
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2006
- Messages
- 297
Yeah, I replied back with the number of hours I had spent on the game to that point and that I felt I had already "given it a chance"....LCJr. said:
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Is Baldur's Gate worth playing?
- Thread starter Lumpy
- Start date
Walks with the Snails
Erudite
Volourn said:
It was a stupid plot device because they built it all up and then there was absolutely no difference if you got there in 6 hours or 6 years. I mean Irenicus could have started sending body parts to your stronghold after a few months or something. Plus the way the game was balanced, the average player would be in serious trouble if they were dumb enough to actually play in character and rush (i.e. steal shit from merchants, fence it, forego finding companions or loot, and take off in less than an hour at 8th level).
Well, hmm. When I listed BG1 for the Codex Top 10, I had in mind the BG1 that I played, which is different from the off-the-shelf game. For my game, I had installed the SotSC expansion. Also, I only played using BG1Tutu. That's important, because the game is much more tactical (and granted, maybe a bit less viseral) at 1280x1024 resolution. Finally, for my last run through the game, I had a mod installed that added many banters and extra dialogue for the NPCs. It was very well done -- for example, Imoen would mention how easy it is for her to read magical scrolls, laying the groundwork for her appearance as a spellcaster in BG2. (I don't mention that example to wow you with the writing, but to mention that the community mod tied in well with the game, making it feel like it "should" have been there all along.)Lumpy said:
The characters in BG1 were loved not for the dialogues you got by right-clicking and initiating (which don't exist, as you noted) but for the banters and interjections they would make during outings. It is an inferior system compared to what we're used to now, but at the time it really felt like the characters had some life to them. Doubly so, if you installed the mod for more banter goodies.
In addition, I was fairly happy with 2 other things about BG1. First, I was comfortable with the idea that I was playing something like chess. I played the game as if I had little pieces I could move around a game board, and I'd do my best to outwit the opponent's pieces. I found the fighting to be enjoyable -- at least, it was enjoyable if I had most of the BG2 pause options enabled, which is another advantage that BG1Tutu gives you. In that sense, the fights were fun (for me). Also, the party control was even better than in NWN 2. It is very practical to set 3 characters in a holding position while your rogue scouts ahead and lures back a critter to ambush. Archery is king in BG1. NWN 2 has its moments for archery, but in BG1, you can really get some joy from turning a baddie into a pincushion.
The other thing that I was happy with in BG1 is the low levels. Take NWN 2 (again) as a point of contrast. In NWN 2, a wizard -- typically the weakest, most death-prone class at low levels -- can gain his first 2 levels with nearly zero risk. Of course, this is great for someone who loves wizards but cannot keep them alive at low levels. It definitely opens up some options. However, it also robs us of the satisfaction of overcoming the odds. And that is where BG1 shines a little bit. The first few fights in BG1 can be nightmarish, depending upon your class. If you are new to the game and do not understand that it's OK to run away screaming like a little girl, you will die. If you do not appreciate that there are stronger forces out there, and that the game is not balanced perfectly in your favor, you will die. It's not that I like struggling. It's that I like having my brain challenged, and getting a nice payoff. I like scrounging around for every last gold piece not because scrounging is fun, but because finally getting my hands on some decent equipment is fully satisfying. I feel & enjoy the level gains because I've also felt weak at the early points. That kind of satisfaction doesn't exist in NWN 2 for me. It's just too easy.
kris
Arcane
Lumpy said:
Admittedly I have not played morrowind much at all, but I gave up on it due to not finding any interested character at all. the lack of character fell in them was staggering, back in the day where dialouge and characters wasn't prevalent in RPGs I could have standed it, but after having played superior RPGs then it just felt flat and empty.
Limorkil said:
It seems we are on opposite sides of the mirror.
There are many Mods for BG1 and some of them are even worth to install. For more and better dialoges get the BG1 NPC Project. It adds a lot of banters and overall the quality is quite good.
Lumpy
Arcane
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2005
- Messages
- 8,525
Ok, I've played it until I reached the Cloakwood mines, where I found the combat too hard, and no motivation to try harder - get another small bit of dialogue and unlock another boring dungeon? No thanks.
What I hate the most is the pathetic praise the game gets all over the internet. Great dialogue, interesting characters, great story - compared to what, Mario? The dialogue was boring and laughably poor at times, the companions had like 3 lines each, and the story was mostly about killing things.
Baldur's Gate 2, on the other hand, is much better. The starting dungeon is more fun and interesting than the whole first four chapters of BG1, the characters are actually developed now (although they still don't have a lot of depth). The quests, although still being all about combat, are much better (my favourite so far being the Circus quest). And the dialogues actually have choices, despite not having as much depth as PST.
What I hate the most is the pathetic praise the game gets all over the internet. Great dialogue, interesting characters, great story - compared to what, Mario? The dialogue was boring and laughably poor at times, the companions had like 3 lines each, and the story was mostly about killing things.
Baldur's Gate 2, on the other hand, is much better. The starting dungeon is more fun and interesting than the whole first four chapters of BG1, the characters are actually developed now (although they still don't have a lot of depth). The quests, although still being all about combat, are much better (my favourite so far being the Circus quest). And the dialogues actually have choices, despite not having as much depth as PST.
Lurkar
Scholar
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2006
- Messages
- 791
The biggest problem with BG2 over BG1 is the fact that you are slapped over the head with +20 swords right from the beginning, and it lasts until the end. In BG1, at least those poor bastards you went up against had a chance. And in BG2's expansion, where the level cap is, what, seventy?
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2005
- Messages
- 24,793
This is simply not true. The strongest weapons you find without the expansion are +4, and those are very rare. You can get +3 weapons early on if you know where to look.
The only real uber-loot are the +2 shortswords some random encounter bandits have.
The only real uber-loot are the +2 shortswords some random encounter bandits have.
dagorkan
Arbiter
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2006
- Messages
- 5,164
Having played both I can say definitively that the Baldur's Gate franchise fucking sucks. It's god a bad interface, the plots are stupid, the combat is horribly boring and it's filled with gay characters. I honestly prefer NWN1 which I now think is an awesome engine, at least for a solo character campaign with decent mods. BG is dead and the only reason we're talking about it is a over-obsessive nostalgia of some Codexers.
jefklak
Scholar
Kinda off-topic, where is that codex top10 located?
Can't find it. link?
Can't find it. link?
Lumpy
Arcane
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2005
- Messages
- 8,525
http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=9901
And I've played it tutued, with a Sorcerer. Still sucked.
And I've played it tutued, with a Sorcerer. Still sucked.
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