Icewind Dale The Icewind Dale Series Thread

[mediocrepoet]

Thanks. Everyone but you was unaware of what a bastard sword is and it's completely irrelevant that as the unmodded game stood that you cannot use it two handed at all.

 

[Average Manatee]

"Using" it two-handed doesn't necessarily mean you have both hands on it all times. Just that your other hand is unoccupied and ready to be used if needed. So yes, it needs to be usable as both a two handed and one handed weapon in game, because you certainly can't use your left hand to help out if it's holding something else. Taking "two-handed" to mean literally having both hands on the hilt of the sword at all times is stupid.

 

[Wyrmlord]

It's also worth noticing how a DRAGON is worth 356 experience points.

A fairly good amount in 3.5. Firstly, I think it's based on CR vs. level, secondly, he also gains quest XP (where the amount isn't listed).

Yes, if you have a small or solo party, you'll level so quickly that 99% of the encounters in ID2 account for zero XP.

The only XP I now get in this game are from completing quest objectives and killing bosses.

Which is just a very different kind of experience. Sneak through entire armies, head straight for the general or the wizard, use quivering palm on him, then use invisibility to escape the rest. Fighting becomes a survival thing, done only because you are forced into a corner. Never seen that happen in a D&D game. But it's also a little demoralizing, that you get nothing for killing 800 people.

 

[laclongquan]

I just lose interest. Whatever. It's not like my duty or responsibility to change your fucking minds. Thank god for that.

 

[Grunker]

NWN1 is way too ugly and clunky for my tastes.

BG:DA actually still looks pretty good even for todays standards:

Dark Alliance, which not only looks like crap, is also single-handedly the bearer of the consolization of cRPGs.

 

[Shiki]

NWN1 is way too ugly and clunky for my tastes.

BG:DA actually still looks pretty good even for todays standards:

Dark Alliance, which not only looks like crap, is also single-handedly the bearer of the consolization of cRPGs.

No. Dark Alliance couldn't possibly be responsible for the consolization of cRPGs.. because it's a clone of diablo. If anything the original should be the one reviled for this rather than something that's nothing more than a vulgar clone. I don't even think it's worse than Diablo, it's just your run of the mill copycat, with pad controls instead of keyboard and mouse. But for some reason, I think that pad controls would actually fit diablo more than spending your life clickety click on teh mouse.

BTW there isn't a single school of consolization. What brought consolization to Bioware for example is KOTOR. Bioware's games never were the same since KOTOR. KOTOR inspired Bioware to make interactive movies rather than RPG and thus spawned Jade Empire, Mass Effect, Dragon Age 2 and so on, games that try as hard as they can to look and present cinematic in game actions and dialogue rather than the traditional wall of texts. Anything else, like the combat, and actual interaction with the world is just a side dish. You could break your game in Baldur's Gate 2 by killing people you weren't supposed to kill but it just couldn't happen in games after KOTOR because ALL bioware games lost the already quite small amount of interaction they allowed you to have with the world. No more could you use a thief's skill on a merchant the way you did with BG and so on. After KOTOR you couldn't initiate combat anymore, you couldn't kill someone unless a cutscene allowed you to explicitely.
On the other hand, Bethesda has chosen a dramatically different path, their games became consolized but they didn't become more cinematic. They just became easier (read: dumbed down) and prettier. There isn't a huge different, conceptually speaking, between Morrowind and Skyrim. Not on the level of Baldur's Gate 2 vs Mass Effect. Skyrim has less skills, is more barebone, actiony, but it's still kind of like morrowind, you can see the lineage. They made it more idiot proof by creating "key" npc that you can't kill, but you can still kill most of the NPCs, and have far more freedom than in Bioware's games. As consolized as they are, Bethesda's games are still Elder Scrolls and RPG-ish first. Bioware's games are not.

 

[Grunker]

Shiki, taking extreme hyperbole seriously since 2011.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Shiki, taking extreme hyperbole seriously since 2011.

No, he is exactly right.

One developer explicitly states its motives are to move more towards interactive cinema.

The other developer still just wants to just make mere videogames only.

His examples, while seeming trivial, do illustrate an important point. A game where you can't initiate combat on a non-hostile does indeed put a bit of a straitjacket on you, because you can only kill or not kill someone if the story allows for it. That is but a small sign of narrative trumping player choice.

He is also right that there is a stronger connection between the older and newer games for one developer rather than the other. Is there a Firkraag or a Kangaxx or a Twisted Rune style fight in KotOR, JE, or ME? Nope. OTOH, exploring Dwemer ruins in Skyrim does at least mirror exploring Dwemer ruins in Morrowind. Basically, BioWare's games have changed significantly in style and focus, while Bethesda's games are still Bethesda games as they always were.

 

[Infinitron]

The first Dragon Age actually has an explicit Kangaxx tribute ("Gaxkang")

 

[Grunker]

confused stuff

You're rambling Wyrmlord. I was talking about Shiki taking my hyperbole seriously.

Besides that, most of what you say is untrue. The dragon in DA, for example, is pretty much mechanically identical to the Firkragg fight (you go through a long dungeon, end up at a final boss you probably won't be able to handle yet), even though it's much worse from a story-perspective.

So yeah, firstly you're commenting on something I haven't commented on, and secondly you show pretty evidently that you haven't played Dragon Age.

I don't even know why you're making the case that Bioware games have changed style and focus. I agree with you I guess, but again it has 0 to do with my comment, which was what you quoted.

 

[Wyrmlord]

confused stuff

You're rambling Wyrmlord. I was talking about Shiki taking my hyperbole seriously.

Yes, I went back a couple of posts, and I noticed the misunderstanding.

Sorry for that.

(And yes, I have not played DA.)

 

[Infinitron]

The Frenchman who made the IWD2 widescreen UI is still active and has made a new survey: http://havredest.eklablog.fr/quelle-resolution-d-ecran-souhaiteriez-vous-avoir-s84799

Vote for your desired resolution!

 

[Grunker]

deux autre maitenant

 

[Kukulkan]

Having a desire to drag this discussion back on-topic while at the same time being too lazy read everything before I would like to something.
Does Icewind Dale have major mods like BG and are they as bad?
Dumah, don't be confrontational like...hiver.

 

[Kukulkan]

No mayor mods that I know off...but hold on you mean you think Unfinished Business is bad?
Sorry I like to troll sometimes but it is fun in this site

No. I mean the really shitty big ones like Tortured Souls. Ones that give a light touch like UB are good.
You have to make sure that Surf would read your post for the troll to be effective. Have someone reply to you first.

 

[Jaesun]

Having a desire to drag this discussion back on-topic while at the same time being too lazy read everything before I would like to something.
Does Icewind Dale have major mods like BG and are they as bad?

Define major mods? There are like fixpacks and tweak packs on http://www.gibberlings3.net/#

Pretty much all you need (it does have a romance mod).

EDIT: The romance/npc mod is for IWD II

 

[Kukulkan]

Having a desire to drag this discussion back on-topic while at the same time being too lazy read everything before I would like to something.
Does Icewind Dale have major mods like BG and are they as bad?

Define major mods? There are like fixpacks and tweak packs on http://www.gibberlings3.net/#

Pretty much all you need (it does have a romance mod).

EDIT: The romance/npc mod is for IWD II

Like big content adding mods. Something that adds new areas to the game as well as subplots. I want to see if they exist for IWD.

 

[octavius]

Having a desire to drag this discussion back on-topic while at the same time being too lazy read everything before I would like to something.
Does Icewind Dale have major mods like BG and are they as bad?
Dumah, don't be confrontational like...hiver.

I guess Auril's Bane and the Icewind NPC Project are the most major ones.

Auril's Bane adds some quests, encounters, spells and items. It's mostly good, but with a few overpowered items. Overall it's a good mod that makes the game more challenging.

The NPC Project gives you a pregenerated party with lots and lots of banters and interjections (they never shut up). The writing is too girly/juvenile for my taste, and the voice acting is rather weak. It feels more like a group of sensitive and wholesome young do-gooders out on a picnic than a hardened adventurer party. It doesn't add any new quests, areas or items, IIRC.

 

[Kukulkan]

snip

Can't brofist through the normal means now.

 

[dream_the_cream]

Never could get into the Icewind Dale games. The first game is inferior to Baldur's Gate 2, and doesn't really offer anything new to the table. Baldur's Gate 2 had NPCs and kits to add some flavor, but IWD1 has very plain vanilla characters. And besides, why choose any warrior/rogue class when a fighter using bow and arrow is superior to anything. Just have a single 19 constitution dwarf tanking in the frontline, and have 2-4 fighters shooting arrows. IWD1 is very much like BG1 in that archery is the way to go. I never got into IWD2 because I never bothered to learn the D&D3ed rules. Anyway, I still prefer the BG series over the IWD series. I'd just like to say that there are some fucking faggots who play BG2 though, and I'm specifically talking about the faggots on the GameFAQs forum, especially this one motherfucker called Latronis. Yeah, they're fucking faggots who for some reason cannot stand the fact that the monk is a really good class. First of all, Latronis, you fucker, the monk does 1d20+4 damage eventually, so don't forget to add the +4 damage and to-hit in your calculations. Secondly, first of all, fuck the unofficial patches that supposedly "fix bugs" and shit, I'm specifically talking about the UNOFFICIAL patch that removes the monk's ability to use Wands of Cloudkill. Bioware had years to fix that if it were a bug, but they didn't. So I count it as legitimate. "Oh, but according to 2ed rules, monks cannot use wands." Well, there are a thousand things in the game that don't follow the 2ed rules. Anyway, the monk CAN use the wand of cloudkill, and it's extremely synergistic with the monk's natural immunity to poison, and also the monk's stealth abilities. Secondly, the monk does REALLY good damage. Yeah, you can use Improved Haste combined with Critical Strike, but you'll only get critical hits on weak enemies anyway that only take 1-2 hits to kill and also can probably be wasted by a single cloudkill. Third, in all your faggot ass damage calculations, you're using weapons that take time and effort to obtain, and are weapons that you'll use for maybe 1-2 battles before the game is fucking OVER. The monk is a fantastic class, so fucking deal with it.

 

[catfood]

 

[Grunker]

Having a desire to drag this discussion back on-topic while at the same time being too lazy read everything before I would like to something.
Does Icewind Dale have major mods like BG and are they as bad?

Define major mods? There are like fixpacks and tweak packs on http://www.gibberlings3.net/#

Pretty much all you need (it does have a romance mod).

EDIT: The romance/npc mod is for IWD II

Eh? There's an NPC-mod for both. Both are sort of alright, as far as NPC-mods go. The NPC-project for #2 has 10 NPCs, five of which of evil, which significantly reduces the teenage-whine, AFAIR.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Never could get into the Icewind Dale games. The first game is inferior to Baldur's Gate 2, and doesn't really offer anything new to the table. Baldur's Gate 2 had NPCs and kits to add some flavor, but IWD1 has very plain vanilla characters. And besides, why choose any warrior/rogue class when a fighter using bow and arrow is superior to anything. Just have a single 19 constitution dwarf tanking in the frontline, and have 2-4 fighters shooting arrows. IWD1 is very much like BG1 in that archery is the way to go. I never got into IWD2 because I never bothered to learn the D&D3ed rules. Anyway, I still prefer the BG series over the IWD series. I'd just like to say that there are some fucking faggots who play BG2 though, and I'm specifically talking about the faggots on the GameFAQs forum, especially this one motherfucker called Latronis. Yeah, they're fucking faggots who for some reason cannot stand the fact that the monk is a really good class. First of all, Latronis, you fucker, the monk does 1d20+4 damage eventually, so don't forget to add the +4 damage and to-hit in your calculations. Secondly, first of all, fuck the unofficial patches that supposedly "fix bugs" and shit, I'm specifically talking about the UNOFFICIAL patch that removes the monk's ability to use Wands of Cloudkill. Bioware had years to fix that if it were a bug, but they didn't. So I count it as legitimate. "Oh, but according to 2ed rules, monks cannot use wands." Well, there are a thousand things in the game that don't follow the 2ed rules. Anyway, the monk CAN use the wand of cloudkill, and it's extremely synergistic with the monk's natural immunity to poison, and also the monk's stealth abilities. Secondly, the monk does REALLY good damage. Yeah, you can use Improved Haste combined with Critical Strike, but you'll only get critical hits on weak enemies anyway that only take 1-2 hits to kill and also can probably be wasted by a single cloudkill. Third, in all your faggot ass damage calculations, you're using weapons that take time and effort to obtain, and are weapons that you'll use for maybe 1-2 battles before the game is fucking OVER. The monk is a fantastic class, so fucking deal with it.

Thanks for the very informative post. Now plz continue this conversation on GameFAGS.

 

[suejak]

Nice one.

 

[laclongquan]

Yet somehow it lacks the spittle and rolling eyes madness of a Grotnik's review...