Game MUST be good but ...

William Bobo · Post by **William Bobo** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:45 pm

I haven't bought it yet because I read the patches don't work on the retail version.

Its obviously a good game because people are obviously playing it and enjoying it despite all the frustration.

But I don't want to blow 50 bucks and then find out I can't patch the thing.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:52 pm

What is it that you're asking? Because the patches definitely do work on the retail version, and the game is really not all that great. It falls far short of the claims made for it during development, and still lacks a patch to deal with some of the remaining issues. While I suspect the developers will eventually provide a 1.4 patch for that purpose, you might be better off spending your money on Oblivion, which is due out in about 5 or 6 weeks.

thoon · Post by **thoon** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 12:33 am

I like it

I've played through most of the major titles. I've enjoyed this game as much as any and more than most, despite the many flaws and difficulties. It's the only game except Planescape:Torment that I've ever wanted to play more after the first time through.

According to posts on this forum, if you buy a copy of version 1.2, then the 1.3 patch won't install, but there's a post that tells how to fix that.

thoon

Gobatcha · Post by **Gobatcha** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:04 am

Any suggestions

Yes this game has some bugs, but I really enjoy the 3rd person perspective and the concentration on a single character. I've played BG, BG2, IWD, IWD2 and I thought they were the tops until I tried this. Does anyone have another game they would suggest for me that's like Dungeon Lords?

thoon · Post by **thoon** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:23 pm

Try Wizardry 8. It has some old-fashioned features (including a party) and some flaws, but a lot of the same feel as this.

thoon

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:28 pm

Yes, Wizardry 8 is quite good. I'd also recommend Morrowind or the Gothic series, which are both FPS RPGs. (Wizardry is a party RPG.) Morrowind lacks special moves, but Gothic has quite a few, as I recall.

And if you don't mind party-based RPGs and 2D, I certainly would recommend Baldur's Gate II and Planescape: Torment. Arguably, they're among the top 5 RPGs of all time.

thoon · Post by **thoon** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:37 pm

I think everybody should play Morrowind and especially Planescape:Torment, but to me they both had a different sort of feel than Dungeon Lords.

thoon

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:49 pm

True, but the same thing can be said of Wizardry 8: a multi-character RPG without special moves, and combat that is turn-based, as opposed to Dungeon Lords, which has one PC, who learns special moves, and deploys them in realtime.

Mind, I enjoy Wizardry8, and I'm seriously considering pulling it out again for a play.

thoon · Post by **thoon** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:32 pm

True, true. This is getting interesting. I wasn't thinking about the interface, and I may be missing the original point. For interface, the best similarity that comes to my mind is American McGee's Alice, or maybe the first Tombraider. But they wouldn't exactly count as classic rpg games.

I was thinking more of the extent to which you get involved in the plot, what you spend your time on, and the appearance of the graphic world. In Morrowind, the plot involvement is much heavier, and you spend an awful lot of time running plot errands. After the beginning, the fighting doesn't change much (except for enchanting weapons) and isn't that challenging. In PS:T there are all sorts of bizarre situations, but I couldn't say they resembled Dungeon Lords.

I don't think either game has anything similar to unexpectedly facing your first fire drake, or having to figure out a way to kill Nauselom. But in W8, getting past your first giant bug, or getting on the road after the first dungeon could be a part of Dungeon Lords.

thoon

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:44 pm

Good point about AMA and the interface. From my experience of Morrowind, though, you can pretty much ignore the plot and spend 50 hours or more doing nothing but errands for various guilds, temples and a grand house, or just wander around the large countryside, investigating caves, cities, and buildings. If you have the RAM to add mods, you can make the experience unrelated to the central plot last more than 200 hours. I know, because I have.

However, Wizardry8 certainly does ramp up the challenge sharply like DL, at times. Or were there specific challenges that you saw as very similar between the games?

thoon · Post by **thoon** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 1:19 am

I certainly agree about Morrowind, and I wouldn't recommend it to anybody who couldn't spend a couple of months doing nothing else outside work. It's almost as if it's a place to live, rather than a game. I spent much time on mods and wandering around -- tried to dress all the members of the Mage's guild in gothic attire, and turn a Tong hall into an art gallery. Less luck with outside dungeons because of bugs and crashes. I was very irritated that the players got no easily accessible home, and tried hard to make one with a 'home' teleportation ring, but my scripting just wasn't up to it ... etc. etc.

In W8 I wasn't thinking of specifically comparable challenges, just the level of challenge ... I remember being trapped in a hut by hordes of crabs for a week, playing every night, before I figured out a way to win. It's a much bigger world than DL but throughout you are primarily concerned with your party, getting better weapons, defeating the enemy, etc. Also, there are puzzles to solve, items you carry for half the game without knowing what they are, weapons found only in well-hidden chests, half-dressed females -- all D.W. Bradley stuff -- but if a DL player found a secret door and stepped into W8, except for the interface, he would hardly notice the difference.

thoon

Gobatcha · Post by **Gobatcha** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:59 am

Thanx for the recommendations

I really appreciate the recommendations and I'm a little surprised at how lively the topic became. It's interesting to note that nobody mentioned Dungeon Siege (I or II). I thought DSII was supposed to be the next sliced bread.
I'll check out the other titles you mentioned.

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 7:31 am

[QUOTE=Gobatcha]I really appreciate the recommendations and I'm a little surprised at how lively the topic became. It's interesting to note that nobody mentioned Dungeon Siege (I or II). I thought DSII was supposed to be the next sliced bread.[/quote]

DS2 is basically hi-octane Diablo II.

It's an action title, not an RPG, with a simple focus on hack-n-slash. DL, W8, Morrowind, and Gothic, all involve puzzles and more interaction with people, as well as choices you make.

Anyway, good luck with whatever games you do decide to get.