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KotOR 2 is one of the best games ever made

Wyrmlord

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Lumpy said:
Okay, can anyone explain to me why the fuck I have to only have 2 followers active while the other floats in some kind of parallel dimension for me to summon them when I want to?
This was especially silly on the Telos portion where you have Bao-Dur. I chose Kreia and Bao-Dur, but Atton somehow also appeared at the final destination.
Games are not meant to be realistic.
 

racofer

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Wyrmlord said:
Lumpy said:
Okay, can anyone explain to me why the fuck I have to only have 2 followers active while the other floats in some kind of parallel dimension for me to summon them when I want to?
This was especially silly on the Telos portion where you have Bao-Dur. I chose Kreia and Bao-Dur, but Atton somehow also appeared at the final destination.
Games are not meant to be realistic.

With the exception of Oblivion, which is the epitome of immershun through realism.
 

Lumpy

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Wyrmlord said:
Lumpy said:
Okay, can anyone explain to me why the fuck I have to only have 2 followers active while the other floats in some kind of parallel dimension for me to summon them when I want to?
This was especially silly on the Telos portion where you have Bao-Dur. I chose Kreia and Bao-Dur, but Atton somehow also appeared at the final destination.
Games are not meant to be realistic.
That's not the point. Why limit the amount of characters for no good reason? I mean, it's not like it could have made the combat any easier.
 

MetalCraze

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because it is "bioware meets xbawks". no wish to work much? write all those in-party banters for too many characters? a fear that more than two npcs could overload brains of poor console kiddies? - you name it. and Obsidian had no time to bother with removing engine limitations (and according to TSLRP modders and Obsidian's devs - Odyssey/Aurora is so fucked up that adding one feature could send the engine into a coma).
apparently two NPC limit was too much for console kiddies as well - that's why JE had 1.
 

Lumpy

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skyway said:
because it is "bioware meets xbawks". no wish to work much? write all those in-party banters for too many characters? a fear that more than two npcs could overload brains of poor console kiddies? - you name it. and Obsidian had no time to bother with removing engine limitations (and according to TSLRP modders and Obsidian's devs - Odyssey/Aurora is so fucked up that adding one feature could send the engine into a coma).
apparently two NPC limit was too much for console kiddies as well - that's why JE had 1.
Seriously, skyway, that's doesn't really make any sense. How are 3 party members too hard to understand? You don't even need in-party banter, and most I've seen in KotOR 2 so far only happens when all PMs are together anyway.
 

Xor

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A maximum of two party members is apparently hard-coded into the engine. I can see Bioware doing that, thinking they'd never need to add more. KOTOR wasn't necessarily going to have a sequel. It doesn't really make sense, but then no one has ever accused Bioware of overestimating their playerbase.

Adding support for more party members could be very easy, or very difficult depending on how Aurora is written, but according to Team Gizka and Obsidian, it's a nightmare.

I doubt Obsidian wanted to limit you to two party members, and they were probably planning on expanding it, but it wouldn't surprise me if their programmers simply couldn't make more party members work in the engine. So they had to introduce cheap, artificial reasons for only sending three people out at a time.
 

MetalCraze

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laziness mostly. and 6 characters in KotOR could be a disaster. don't forget how stupid KotOR's (Aurora) AI is - especially when characters chase enemy to the other end of the map and stand there waiting when you will come and show them the way out. what other reason will be there for bioware to jump from 6 party members to 3 in all following games? they even blocked the camera rotation on the Y axis ffs to prevent console kiddies from crying about how camera is too hard to control (and somehow forgot to unblock it for PC).
third person view also doesn't help if you want to comfortably control many kotor npcs with aurora/odyssey engine.
 

Relayer71

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Most, if not all RPGs limit the number party members you can have active at one time.

The problem with KOTOR is that unlike say BG2 where if I recall correctly you had to pick up the NPCs you wanted from an actual location such as a tavern, they are waiting in a dimension within the FORCE kind of like in JRPG land.
 

Binary

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Quite a few hours in KOTOR2 and this is definitely a fun game... I just find it annoying that the allegiance is "black and white" (dark or light) which is the AD&D equivalent of "Chaotic Evil or Lawful Good". There should be some potential use in playing "neutral"
 

Volourn

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"A maximum of two party members is apparently hard-coded into the engine."

Eh? i find that hard to believe as the KOTOR series engine (Odessy) is heavily based on the Aurora Engine was has already proven to allow multiple joinable npcs. Not just in NWN2; but this is even possible in NWN1. In fact, it's technically possible to have unlimited joinables.

As for it having 'poor AI'. This is a myth comapred to most otehr RPGs otut here. I'd take Aurora AI over FO, IE, G, or any other RPG AI. That's for darns ure.
 

Lumpy

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Binary said:
Quite a few hours in KOTOR2 and this is definitely a fun game... I just find it annoying that the allegiance is "black and white" (dark or light) which is the AD&D equivalent of "Chaotic Evil or Lawful Good". There should be some potential use in playing "neutral"
If you're neutral you can cast all spells without alignment cost penalty, but you don't get the special bonuses, and you don't get the cost reductions for your alignment spells either.
Nonetheless, it's interesting to play a neutral guy, and you rarely are forced to make good/evil choices. There's usually a middle way.
 

Binary

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Lumpy said:
Binary said:
Quite a few hours in KOTOR2 and this is definitely a fun game... I just find it annoying that the allegiance is "black and white" (dark or light) which is the AD&D equivalent of "Chaotic Evil or Lawful Good". There should be some potential use in playing "neutral"
If you're neutral you can cast all spells without alignment cost penalty, but you don't get the special bonuses, and you don't get the cost reductions for your alignment spells either.
Nonetheless, it's interesting to play a neutral guy, and you rarely are forced to make good/evil choices. There's usually a middle way.

Yes but all the extras (and PrC) you seem to get when you go all the way to dark or light, are just too good to avoid. oh well maybe if I get to replay it
 

Xor

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You can still get a PrC if you're neutral, IIRC.
I could be completely wrong about that, though.
 

Wyrmlord

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skyway said:
third person view also doesn't help if you want to comfortably control many kotor npcs with aurora/odyssey engine.
Yes, and it is hard enough controlling the two of them.

In that Telos surface part of the game, it's hard to have your party fight one group of mercenaries at a time, because they automatically run off alone to fight another, and while you're having one move back, the other two go into the same suicidal rush.

What a terrible mess both the KotOR games can be. I remember having the same problem in Star Forge in KotOR I. One guy runs off to fight all the turrets alone, the other goes towards the Sith soldiers.

I agree with what Lesifoere was saying about Bioware and Obsidian at the NWN2:SoZ forums. They both can really mess up the technical aspects of their games.
 

Volourn

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That situation rarely happens, and it's easy to keep under control if you have some brain power. Plus, it's no different than most any other game with AI.
 

RK47

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Xor said:
You can still get a PrC if you're neutral, IIRC.
I could be completely wrong about that, though.

i am unsure about that. IIRC neutrals don't get to visit that cave in Korriban. some sort of Luke's Dagobah's cave. Not much but might worth some plot for you.
 

Binary

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Wyrmlord said:
I agree with what Lesifoere was saying about Bioware and Obsidian at the NWN2:SoZ forums. They both can really mess up the technical aspects of their games.

QFT

You guys finished this game way before I did so you know this better ... but that's highly frustrating for someone who's making an effort to play this in 2008:

- Landmine areas. While I set the Exile to disarm them, the rest of the party tries to rush to the enemy. As I set the 2nd character to also disarm landmines, the Exile forgets his task and runs to the enemy as well

- Jedi support. I set Visas to Jedi Support stance and go back to my character. After a few seconds I notice she isn't casting any spells but swinging her own lightsaber around. I click on her again and see she's on Aggressive stance again

Aaaaaaaargh frustration++

Still a fun game, but I think next time I'll avoid a weapon master, since it seems it's the only thing the AI knows how to do :-P
 

MetalCraze

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Landmine areas. While I set the Exile to disarm them, the rest of the party tries to rush to the enemy. As I set the 2nd character to also disarm landmines, the Exile forgets his task and runs to the enemy as well
another situation where having more than 1 party member (you) is too much.

Jedi support. I set Visas to Jedi Support stance and go back to my character. After a few seconds I notice she isn't casting any spells but swinging her own lightsaber around. I click on her again and see she's on Aggressive stance again
that is KotOR1's problem as well. fortunately the game is so easy that you don't need all those stances anyway. especially with the darkside - just spam lighting and you will end every fight in 5 secs
 

Relayer71

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I don't remember having any kind of trouble controlling the characters in the KOTORs - now NWN2 was a different story - those fucked up camera angles along with the whacky A.I. really make for a frustrating experience.
 

Xor

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I would just ignore my party members and kill everything with force lightning, a lightsaber, or guns depending on the playthrough.
 

Relayer71

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Actually, now that I think about it that's the same thing I did.
The game is so laughably easy that you needn't worry about your party members.
 

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