This changing world was also an aspect of Betrayal at Krondor that I really enjoyed. You got a sense that, despite your characters' importance, they were really only moderately significant in the scheme of things, and that people with more control over events were controlling and moving things along. Events occured, and you had to figure out how to fit in, and use 'em to your advantage.Originally posted by Dottie
After thinking some time on this I have another large complaint. In the BG series and all other crpgs I've tried you have the feeling that the world does only change as a direct result of your own actions. This takes all life out of the game, and much of the tension disapear aswell.
If the Villains had own minds they would do important stuff and the world would change while you were walking around in some city, fetching spellbooks and solving the personal affairs of strangers.
What improvements would you like to see in any future game?
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fable
- Posts: 30676
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To the Righteous belong the fruits of violent victory. The rest of us will have to settle for warm friends, warm lovers, and a wink from a quietly supportive universe.
Re: On backstabs n' stuff
That huge thing from the Mulmaster Beholder Meeting in the old SSI games? (again, no name I can remember...)
I give up!
Love that avatar.
Uhm... Er... Isn't that the thing from the D&D arcade game Tower of Doom? Can't remember his name, though (but damn, did I play that game often!).Originally posted by Xanth
Oh, and anybody who can correctly name my beholder avatar will be my new best friend, but I doubt anybody here will even recognize it.
That huge thing from the Mulmaster Beholder Meeting in the old SSI games? (again, no name I can remember...)
I give up!
Love that avatar.
[url="http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/SpellsReference/Main.htm"]Baldur's Gate 2 Spells Reference[/url]: Strategy, tips, tricks, bugs, cheese and corrections to the manual.
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samcu
- Posts: 281
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- Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Contact:
If people get backstab everytime people attack from behind, no-one will ever be able to solo the game.
I think if you can select other race, it will be fun! Wolf, lich, dragon, kobold and mindflayer would be absolutely weird. Raising them from lvl 7 to 25 or something...
I think if you can select other race, it will be fun! Wolf, lich, dragon, kobold and mindflayer would be absolutely weird. Raising them from lvl 7 to 25 or something...
Sorcery and Shadow together as one, the arcane and the dark united. Through our knowledge and skill none can stand against us. We are as one, infallible and invincible. The Shadow Mages.
But mama said to...
Okay, time for more. Talking about black jacks reminded me of this improvement I would like to see, and I shall phrase it as a question. Why do I have to kill everything? There's a feature in this game that lets you knock somebody unconscious but it is less than useless, because they stay there with a red circle around them preventing you from doing things like saving and shopping. The idea that comes to mind for me specifically is in BG1, in Beregost, when you go to the main inn and that angry father whose son died wants to pick a fight. Either you say all the right things (And if you ask me, BG2 Romance dialogs weren't as hard as saying the right thing to daddy) and it's happy times for all, or you don't, and you have to kill this poor guy. The majority of the time the characters I roleplay wouldn't say the right things to him, but I did anyway because killing him wasn't an option. I tried knocking him unconscious, and this worked well, except I couldn't enter the store in the inn, and there was no resolution to the event. It makes so much sense to me to have knocking somebody unconscious be an option here. You knock him out, his friend says something like "You didn't kill him, did you?" and you respond with something along the lines of "No I didn't, now take your friend someplace where he can sober up." Less experience than talking your way through it, but you don't have to kill him. It's the neutral path that gets ignored so often. Think of the ways it could be implemented in BG2. You could knock out Valygar, tie him up, and use him to open the Sphere without killing him. How about a thief guild quest where you knock somebody out and bring them back to headquarters for questioning and/or torture (for all you evil peeps out there: remember that a quick death is a pathetic act of kindness). How about if you pick a fight with that guy in the copper coronet (forget his name, but just inside the front door) and only knock him out. Then Aerie and Jaheira wouldn't throw a fit, and you could watch his friends make fun of him. Oh the joy of that.
Anyway, that's all for now. Next time I'll introduce my ideas for revamping weapons and weapon proficiencies
Oh, and Xyx, I'm glad you like my avatar. I thought you would either love it, or think I was stealing yours and hate it. I took the image from Neverwinter Nights (The original game on America Online). Some of us really dedicated players lovingly named this guy Fluffy. God I miss that game... Even after about 10 years it is still by far the best game I've ever played. I'd trade all the improvements in the world to get it back. Ah well, I'm out.
Xanth
Okay, time for more. Talking about black jacks reminded me of this improvement I would like to see, and I shall phrase it as a question. Why do I have to kill everything? There's a feature in this game that lets you knock somebody unconscious but it is less than useless, because they stay there with a red circle around them preventing you from doing things like saving and shopping. The idea that comes to mind for me specifically is in BG1, in Beregost, when you go to the main inn and that angry father whose son died wants to pick a fight. Either you say all the right things (And if you ask me, BG2 Romance dialogs weren't as hard as saying the right thing to daddy) and it's happy times for all, or you don't, and you have to kill this poor guy. The majority of the time the characters I roleplay wouldn't say the right things to him, but I did anyway because killing him wasn't an option. I tried knocking him unconscious, and this worked well, except I couldn't enter the store in the inn, and there was no resolution to the event. It makes so much sense to me to have knocking somebody unconscious be an option here. You knock him out, his friend says something like "You didn't kill him, did you?" and you respond with something along the lines of "No I didn't, now take your friend someplace where he can sober up." Less experience than talking your way through it, but you don't have to kill him. It's the neutral path that gets ignored so often. Think of the ways it could be implemented in BG2. You could knock out Valygar, tie him up, and use him to open the Sphere without killing him. How about a thief guild quest where you knock somebody out and bring them back to headquarters for questioning and/or torture (for all you evil peeps out there: remember that a quick death is a pathetic act of kindness). How about if you pick a fight with that guy in the copper coronet (forget his name, but just inside the front door) and only knock him out. Then Aerie and Jaheira wouldn't throw a fit, and you could watch his friends make fun of him. Oh the joy of that.
Anyway, that's all for now. Next time I'll introduce my ideas for revamping weapons and weapon proficiencies
Oh, and Xyx, I'm glad you like my avatar. I thought you would either love it, or think I was stealing yours and hate it. I took the image from Neverwinter Nights (The original game on America Online). Some of us really dedicated players lovingly named this guy Fluffy. God I miss that game... Even after about 10 years it is still by far the best game I've ever played. I'd trade all the improvements in the world to get it back. Ah well, I'm out.
Xanth
I would like to see that all bugs in the next game (nwn)are fixed before it is shipped out. Yes , it may mean a delay in playing the game but it will mean a more enjoyable experience ....an experience that isn't marred by crashes or recurring faults. And no-one should have to go through the familiar ritual of downloading patches from the internet. BG2 , as good as it is , would have been far more superior if all the faults had been corrected.
re: Xanth
I like the idea of more "neutral" options. There are too few evil options as well. . .for instance, if I was role-playing an evil NPC, there's no way I would have helped the Helmites out with the Beholder cult, especially with the tone of voice they use. But I would need the XP. Too bad I couldn't side with the Unseeing Eye. Would have loved to see him presiding over the Temple of Helm after his victory.
Also agree with the improved enemy AI that's been mentioned frequently in this thread. Of course, there are plenty of mods to do so for BG2, so I imagine there would soon be similar improvements out there for a future game. An improved mage AI I recently downloaded (I think it came with the Solaufein [sp?] romance) is currently kicking my. . .
I like the idea of more "neutral" options. There are too few evil options as well. . .for instance, if I was role-playing an evil NPC, there's no way I would have helped the Helmites out with the Beholder cult, especially with the tone of voice they use. But I would need the XP. Too bad I couldn't side with the Unseeing Eye. Would have loved to see him presiding over the Temple of Helm after his victory.
Also agree with the improved enemy AI that's been mentioned frequently in this thread. Of course, there are plenty of mods to do so for BG2, so I imagine there would soon be similar improvements out there for a future game. An improved mage AI I recently downloaded (I think it came with the Solaufein [sp?] romance) is currently kicking my. . .
@bob333:
Not possible, I fear.
This is a very COMPLEX game.
They can do some simulations, but the real bugs show up only when millions of players try all the possible combinations of
spells, situations and the like.
And the average player won't even notice the difference between
a patched or an unpatched game.
Here the game is pushed to its limits, and we discover many issues (half of them by User alone... ..), but fortunately
the game is so good that many find the time to make fixes and
improvements!!!!
Not possible, I fear.
This is a very COMPLEX game.
They can do some simulations, but the real bugs show up only when millions of players try all the possible combinations of
spells, situations and the like.
And the average player won't even notice the difference between
a patched or an unpatched game.
Here the game is pushed to its limits, and we discover many issues (half of them by User alone...
..), but fortunatelythe game is so good that many find the time to make fixes and
improvements!!!!
BG2 - ToB Refinements Mod: Website
BG2 - ToB Refinements Mod: Forum and announcements
"Ever forward, my darling wind..."
BG2 - ToB Refinements Mod: Forum and announcements
"Ever forward, my darling wind..."
couple of possible additions
greater variety of portraits and voices. I like them in general, just want more choices.
Certain followup quests (can I say 2nd Expansion Pack). For instance, its obvious that the Unsleeping Eye does not See All. He didnt see the Shade Lord. A cleric quest to revive the worship of Amaunator would have made sense. Even a non-cleric could do it, but it could result in an instant "dual-class" if you accepted the quest.
More romances for female PCs. I frequently pick a female PC on these games (all 2 of them, BG and Morrowind) and they dont give the female PCs any good romances.
greater variety of portraits and voices. I like them in general, just want more choices.
Certain followup quests (can I say 2nd Expansion Pack). For instance, its obvious that the Unsleeping Eye does not See All. He didnt see the Shade Lord. A cleric quest to revive the worship of Amaunator would have made sense. Even a non-cleric could do it, but it could result in an instant "dual-class" if you accepted the quest.
More romances for female PCs. I frequently pick a female PC on these games (all 2 of them, BG and Morrowind) and they dont give the female PCs any good romances.
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InfiniteNature
- Posts: 352
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I would myself like to see less circular story lines, you know you start somewhere in the beginning then go to the end and there you have beat the game, I would prefer to see a more complex game with multiple different facets, villains, heroes, herovillains, one in in which the story line itself changes in response to the prime character's actions, not sure if that is possible with current AI technology, you know a game more based on real life, but of course with a fantasy atmosphere still in the BG universe. I would like the option of having both third person and first person at the same time, choosing depending on how I want the game played. I would also like less simplistic villains, if there are any, often times its always a case of the good hero simply killing the villain, and thats that whether you are good or evil you play the essentially the same script, I don't like the idea of replayability, but I think that say after BG there should be a way of having further adventures, no matter which choice you make, You know a kindof random story generator, I don't know thats what I prefer, never said it was possible.
I would also like more consequences put in with the use of magic, often time its always gives +3 armor class, 50 percent fire resistance, etc., wouldn't it be logical that something that gives you fire resistance would also result in a decreased resistance to cold, I would like there to be more consequences using magical items, downsides to using them, not super uber weapons, like you know its cursed and drains your life but it gives you all these spell protections, you know makes it more exciting that way
Also I dislike the fact that you can't create your own magic items in the game, I mean is it really logical that you can't create your own powerful items when you are some great tough level 19 or 20 cleric or mage, otherwise you have to just use IEEP, I mean sure you put limits into item creation, you know you use part of your soul creating it or something like that, or your life force something like that.
You should also have the option of simply abandoning the quest and just setting out on your own quest, or becoming your own king or queen, decide that Irenicus is just really stupid and instead decide conquering the red wizards of thay is the better idea, You know multidisciplinary plots and creations, all based on a continually changing environment which changes completely randomly and realistically, and has side effects, like say you decide to save the kingdom free the princess and live happily ever after, there should be irritating bosses who won't let you go, or the fact that you are a peasant, or a goblin, or the princess is really bad, or she is in love with someone else, so you then I don't know decide to conquer the kingdom despite your wishes, then of course somebody else decides to unseat you.
I don't know maybe its to advance for right now, oh hell long as I am shooting for it, why not a virtual reality system where you could experience the BG universe directly.
Last but not least I would like there to be more sentient weapons, and more level up equipment, that is to say that certain magical equipment would level up with you as you level up, just like the Moonblade or something like that.
The above criticisms should not be interpreted as criticism but merely as the author's great love for the game, some would say obsessive love of the game, some would say a delusional need to live in the game, but anyway all no insult intended, but these are my two cents.
I would also like more consequences put in with the use of magic, often time its always gives +3 armor class, 50 percent fire resistance, etc., wouldn't it be logical that something that gives you fire resistance would also result in a decreased resistance to cold, I would like there to be more consequences using magical items, downsides to using them, not super uber weapons, like you know its cursed and drains your life but it gives you all these spell protections, you know makes it more exciting that way
Also I dislike the fact that you can't create your own magic items in the game, I mean is it really logical that you can't create your own powerful items when you are some great tough level 19 or 20 cleric or mage, otherwise you have to just use IEEP, I mean sure you put limits into item creation, you know you use part of your soul creating it or something like that, or your life force something like that.
You should also have the option of simply abandoning the quest and just setting out on your own quest, or becoming your own king or queen, decide that Irenicus is just really stupid and instead decide conquering the red wizards of thay is the better idea, You know multidisciplinary plots and creations, all based on a continually changing environment which changes completely randomly and realistically, and has side effects, like say you decide to save the kingdom free the princess and live happily ever after, there should be irritating bosses who won't let you go, or the fact that you are a peasant, or a goblin, or the princess is really bad, or she is in love with someone else, so you then I don't know decide to conquer the kingdom despite your wishes, then of course somebody else decides to unseat you.
I don't know maybe its to advance for right now, oh hell long as I am shooting for it, why not a virtual reality system where you could experience the BG universe directly.
Last but not least I would like there to be more sentient weapons, and more level up equipment, that is to say that certain magical equipment would level up with you as you level up, just like the Moonblade or something like that.
The above criticisms should not be interpreted as criticism but merely as the author's great love for the game, some would say obsessive love of the game, some would say a delusional need to live in the game, but anyway all no insult intended, but these are my two cents.
"In Germany, they first came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the homosexuals and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a homosexual. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a protestant. Then they came for me--but by that time there was no one left to speak up."
Pastor Martin Neimoller
Infinity is a fathomless gulf, into which all things vanish.
Marcus Aurelius (121-180) Roman Emperor and Philosopher
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
Frodo has failed, Bush has the ring.
Pastor Martin Neimoller
Infinity is a fathomless gulf, into which all things vanish.
Marcus Aurelius (121-180) Roman Emperor and Philosopher
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
Frodo has failed, Bush has the ring.
This happened, to some extent, in BG1, right?Originally posted by Dottie
After thinking some time on this I have another large complaint. In the BG series and all other crpgs I've tried you have the feeling that the world does only change as a direct result of your own actions. This takes all life out of the game, and much of the tension disapear aswell.
If the Villains had own minds they would do important stuff and the world would change while you were walking around in some city, fetching spellbooks and solving the personal affairs of strangers.
As for the comments on "more plots" and "go your own way", why don't you all go and play Pen and Paper DnD? It's like BG, but with more diversity.
Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes right down to the bone
@ InfiniteNature
Making one's own weapons and weapons that level up with the character make so much sense.
I had considered that, if you do a quest for a mage he perhaps adds an enchantment to your weapon. In addition it could be tailored, if you just beat a dungeon of spiders it would confer a save vs. posion or something.
My dream was for all rangers to have a dream based around their favored enemy. They would have a chance to help their enemy who was actually in the right in the dream or attack them because they are supposed to be evil. Joining the enemy would gain the ranger the benefits of the enemy, while fighting them would gain the ranger aid in fighting them in the future. For example I am a ranger and my enemy is lythancropes. If I join them I gain the ability to regenerate and maybe shapeshift once a day. If I fight them I gain a +1 to hit and damage against them in the future. I know it would be impossible with all the combos.
Going through the entire saga using bgII:soa rules (i.e. cap out at 20 some) with everything balanced to bgII rules.
Making one's own weapons and weapons that level up with the character make so much sense.
I had considered that, if you do a quest for a mage he perhaps adds an enchantment to your weapon. In addition it could be tailored, if you just beat a dungeon of spiders it would confer a save vs. posion or something.
My dream was for all rangers to have a dream based around their favored enemy. They would have a chance to help their enemy who was actually in the right in the dream or attack them because they are supposed to be evil. Joining the enemy would gain the ranger the benefits of the enemy, while fighting them would gain the ranger aid in fighting them in the future. For example I am a ranger and my enemy is lythancropes. If I join them I gain the ability to regenerate and maybe shapeshift once a day. If I fight them I gain a +1 to hit and damage against them in the future. I know it would be impossible with all the combos.
Going through the entire saga using bgII:soa rules (i.e. cap out at 20 some) with everything balanced to bgII rules.