This Game Really Could Have Been .....

[Philos]

An excellent RPG platform and starting point for a great system of modules. The more I delve into ToEE the more I see hints of some well thought out ideas and planning with future modules in mind. ALSO see the sad hints of places where this planning and the initial development was begun but then was left unfinished (I have read in many palces that the game was rushed into production). Reading the thread about "useless spells" kind of got me thinking on that again. Many spells really don't have a place were they can be used in ToEE, so I really suspect the developers were working out the spell system with future modules in mind. Another area that I really really wish had had more done with it is the "description" block of the inventory screen. "For me" a lot of the fun of finding a magic item is its history. This is one area where the Bioware games are fantastic. Not every item has a name of course but many do and often have an interesting story that goes with them. In ToEE, even items with names (like Lareth's plate or his staff of striking), have such minimal info it makes it little different than any other item. In the case of the Staff of Striking, it had been so long I couldn't remember the particulars about the item and had to go dig out my old PnP ADnD books to get any real info. In the case of some of the items with special features or uses (like the figurines for example) the lack of information is almost criminal IMHO. From the size of the info block I really suspect the developers wanted to say more but had to cut it short to get the game out. There are other areas of the game but I have rambled enough.
I really hope someone picks up this concept and runs with it.

[Lord Plothos]

Couldn't agree more.
Had Atari been patient with the devolopers, this game would have been utterly fantastic, I believe, and they wouldn't have had such poor sales either. Nobody heard about this game, because nobody who played it liked it, because it was so buggy. Once the modders got at it and fixed it, it became good, and now has a cult following of sorts, but had they produced a good game to begin with they'd have been rewarded, I think.
Anyway, all you have to look at is the final floor of the temple to see that there's a whole lot that never got done. Kinda makes the ending anti-climactic too.
But there is hope. Many and co8 are bandying around the idea of writing up other classic modules. The graphics, especially the backgrounds, will take a hit, but we may get more D&D with this system, and for free (else it'd be illegal).
Plus, the rights to the engine and D&D license have both been purchased, so one can only hope there are plans to do something with them. We'll see.

[Philos]

Other modules 'eh. Sounds intriguing, hope they do so. Mods as in modifications are one thing but new modules ahhh.