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How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG

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Re: How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG

#111

Post by mancerayder »

I long for a proliferation of 'adventure' or slower RPGs, instead of the FPS-type we see so much of. One advantage of the former is there's often a party component, like the old-school Wasteland (or the new Wasteland II), old Bard's Tale, etc. Or perhaps the party component fell out of favor for a different reason?

I've quite enjoyed Witcher 3's atmosphere and story, but there's something hack-and-slash about the combat and the skill system that makes one not really want to explore the different skill paths. For example, almost everyone will deploy a large fraction of their points in strong and fast sword attacks -- because it's a hack and slash.

Is it there's not a lot of demand for RPGs, or they're too expensive to make, or the old-school creators are replaced with a younger generation?

Don't get me wrong, Witcher 3 and the late GTA series are great games, but they're not old school RPG's in their style of play: some of the missions are gauntlet runs (somewhat linear), and the energy is fast-paced and requires more reflexes than they require planning.

Re: How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG

#112

Post by xvector »

mancerayder wrote: post #111

I long for a proliferation of 'adventure' or slower RPGs, instead of the FPS-type we see so much of. One advantage of the former is there's often a party component, like the old-school Wasteland (or the new Wasteland II), old Bard's Tale, etc. Or perhaps the party component fell out of favor for a different reason? I've quite enjoyed Witcher 3's atmosphere and story, but there's something hack-and-slash about the com…

Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of the best RPGs I have played in a long time, and you can definitely plan out your combat.

Re: How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG

#113

Post by drak0n1c »

ulzeraj wrote: post #96
ArrayList wrote: post #79

Anyone remember Neverwinter Nights? That was my "thing". Also, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete was a high point in my childhood.

NWN Hordes of Underdark and NWN2 Mask of the Betrayer were fantastic. It had that “magic of the outer planes” flavor that reminds me of Planescape Torment. Weirdly enough the main character of HoTU was the one from Shadows of Udrentide (did I spelled right?). I remember meeting the ghost of one of the antagonists of the original game in hell and my character having her as a ghost girlfriend for the rest of his life.…

NWN Enhanced Edition is on sale for $6 on Steam, GOG, and Beamdog. $2 on Android. The multiplayer scene is having a bit of renaissance thanks to it, here's the live server list: https://nwn.beamdog.net/

Also, Darkness Over Daggerford is finally finished and polished by the original devs and is available as $4 DLC.

Re: How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG

#114

Post by tomc1985 »

mancerayder wrote: post #111

I long for a proliferation of 'adventure' or slower RPGs, instead of the FPS-type we see so much of. One advantage of the former is there's often a party component, like the old-school Wasteland (or the new Wasteland II), old Bard's Tale, etc. Or perhaps the party component fell out of favor for a different reason? I've quite enjoyed Witcher 3's atmosphere and story, but there's something hack-and-slash about the com…

I remember lamenting the fact that nearly every party-based RPG seemed to have smaller parties with each sequel... it makes me wonder if they don't focus-group well or something.

Re: How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG

#115

Post by vkou »

msluyter wrote: post #80

Incidentally, BG1, BG2, & Icewind Dale are available on iOS and play quite well on an iPad pro. Perhaps even better than on a PC, as using the touch screen is easier than moving a mouse around.

I've played BG2 on a tablet, and the interface is... Finicky. Playable, but everything takes much longer then it does on PC.

Re: How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG

#116

Post by guiltygatorade »

xvector wrote: post #112
mancerayder wrote: post #111

I long for a proliferation of 'adventure' or slower RPGs, instead of the FPS-type we see so much of. One advantage of the former is there's often a party component, like the old-school Wasteland (or the new Wasteland II), old Bard's Tale, etc. Or perhaps the party component fell out of favor for a different reason? I've quite enjoyed Witcher 3's atmosphere and story, but there's something hack-and-slash about the com…

Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of the best RPGs I have played in a long time, and you can definitely plan out your combat.

Old one but a good one -- check out Dragon's Dogma

It's an open world RPG with Monster Hunter combat mechanics (and tbh I think also influenced how HZD's excellent combat is designed)

You also need to plan your equipment / consumables before you go take on certain areas in the world.

It's a flawed gem but I love it to death.

Re: How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG

#118

Post by drak0n1c »

tibbon wrote: post #46
rebuilder wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's so good in couch co-op it seems incredible that, AFAIK, there are no other games in that particular niche.

Yea, this is the multiplayer I've been dreaming of. I really like how it lets you wander around separately and not get automatically stuck in all of their dialogues and decisions. Neverwinter Nights kinda tried to have some of this, but it wasn't quite this smooth.

For anyone interested - Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition is on sale for $6 on Steam, GOG, and Beamdog. $2 on Android. The multiplayer scene is having a bit of renaissance thanks to it, here's the live player world (mini-MMO) list: https://nwn.beamdog.net/

Re: How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG

#119

Post by tomc1985 »

fuball63 wrote: post #84

Baldur's Gate was really difficult as a kid. Without fully understanding how the stat system worked or the pause/play combat, my siblings and I really struggled with it. What we would do to overcome the difficulty was ramp our characters level when starting the game. In Candlekeep Inn, we would buy as many darts as we could afford, and throw them at the sorcerer in the lobby. Before he could retaliate, we would run u…

That's... hilarious

Re: How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG

#120

Post by elithrar »

ArrayList wrote: post #79

Anyone remember Neverwinter Nights? That was my "thing". Also, Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete was a high point in my childhood.

I played NWN1 for _years_, on "Persistent Worlds" - the (usually) 40 - 80 concurrent player worlds created by the community. Battledale and Dasaria. Had some of the best gaming & storytelling experiences on those servers.

Sidenote: I used to moderate PlanetNeverwinter, the NWN forum on Gamespy's ForumPlanet.

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