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What do you guys think of Icewind Dale?

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  • neokarnyneokarny Member Posts: 39
    It's nice enough and I enjoyed it a lot when I played through it. The visuals/sounds are amazing, especially compared to the BG series.
  • SolyarisSolyaris Member Posts: 24
    They might as well just skip remaking IWD and go straight to NWN. If you want a Dungeon Crawler, NWN is a better choice simply on the merits of the content creation/multiplayer model along with the fact that NWN's 3E is simply less broken than 2E in terms of combat balance.
  • WardWard Member Posts: 1,305
    edited August 2012
    Nobody can write the story out and do it justice. All of these little things, like the story of Everard and understanding Jerrod. The betrayal of the shopkeep in Easthaven. The fisherman drunkard sobering up and you coming home to find him drunk again. The magical sword which you use to defeat the demon. The story of Kresselak, Yxunomei, the Severed Hand, Dorn's Deep and everything from there.

    Better than Baldur's Gate, I admit.


    Long ago, a sorcerer attempted to invade the barbarian homelands in the north. They settled their misunderstandings to band together to defend themselves from enslavement and they slowly beat down the opposers.

    In a desperate bid, the sorcerer tore open a portal between their world and the Lower Planes, unleashing every sector of vile demon over the snow. The barbarian shaman Jerrod, in an ultimate sacrifice, ended his life by infusing his body, his blood, with the magical energies of the portal. All that remained was a solid, frozen disk of stone, in which Jerrod's last breath of pain would remain for history.

    Now you are in Easthaven, where the town leader Hrothgar is planning an expedition to Kuldahar to investigate strange weather and giants in the mountain passes.

    Everard, a priest at the temple, doesn't think Jerrod a hero but a fool. A wasted sacrifice.

    All the bravest men and women left and were cut down, leaving Easthaven defenseless. Now you and your band continue to Kuldahar and meet the village eldar Arundel. He suspects this evil comes from the Vale of Shadows, but he is mistaken. It is inhabited by evil, yet peaceful undead and you must search elsewhere.

    You venture to the Temple of the Forgotten Gods to find this evil and discover that the Heartstone Gem, a powerful scrying object of great power has been stolen. Dragon's Eye, where the lizardfolk dwell and an even greater evil, is ahead.

    Deep within this complex is Yxunomei, a marilith, a soldier. She wishes to settle an age old vendetta with her enemy, perhaps, the sorcerer who invaded Icewind Dale all those years ago. The gem, the Heartstone, is a tool and she is to use it to end the conflict.

    When you retrieve it for Arundel, he is slain by a doppelganger and on his dying word he tells you to seek Larrel at the Severed Hand. It was once a thriving elven city, until a certain Drow sold weapons to Gnolls and the dwarves accused the elves. War broke out and left only ruins and spirits who live with no peace.

    You save Larrel and the Severed Hand from haunting and he reveals, using the Heartstone Gem, a statue of an elf and a dwarf together. Lower Dorn's Deep is ahead.

    Venturing through the complex and finally to the great bastion of dwarf based engineering is the heart of evil, the sorcerer's final triumph. You persue him and are taken to Easthaven which is now ruined. The sorcerer wants to reopen the stone Jerrod closed all those years ago to unleash pain and revenge upon the world.

    Everard now understands the sacrifice he made. He knows what it is to end your life for someone else and knows he must do the same.

    The demon is confined to the pits for one hundred years, in which time he chronicles the very story he was telling you all along. He is the narrator, the man, the demon, the sorcerer you defeated. Slowly he breaks down into nothing and with a single last goal, revenge.
    MoomintrollDragonspearKurumiCCarluNN
  • WardWard Member Posts: 1,305
    What do I think? It's great. It's the best game I have played ever.
  • xLegionxxLegionx Member Posts: 197
    Lol I'm trying to beat Icewind dale right now and so far the game is alot of fun! Atleast the 2nd one is because you got all these cool subraces and subclasses you can play as. AND its in 3RD EDITION which is epicly cool!!! I'm really more of a combat person and strategist than a story guy but I care about the story nonetheless.
  • MoomintrollMoomintroll Member Posts: 1,497
    @Ward that is a great story, and you remind me of it! I think the problem is that for most people that story skips past them as a series of jobs to be done. You've shown that the story is there! with some really nice personal elements, but why it doesn't sink in to most players (me included) I don't know.
    Ward
  • KurumiKurumi Member Posts: 520
    edited August 2012
    The IWD series has a very special place in my heart.. even more than BG!! ~ I play through both IWD-Games + Mods (and the NWN2 Remake) at least once per year.. the whole setting and atmosphere is just so perfect for real/raw "natural" adventure.. I just wished, that they already did some kind of combination of own-created party AND NPCs with the original game.. but perhaps this is exactly where a probable EE might shine :) !! Ah.. and please please (with sugar on top).. if there's any chance to see an EE of IWD and IWD 2.. use the 3.5e rules for it!!
  • KosonKoson Member Posts: 284
    Heh, all this talk about IWD made me reinstall it to have something to do until BGEE is out. Problem is, there's 7 characters I'd want in my party (fighter, bard, cleric, druid, mage, fighter/thief and paladin) and only 6 slots and can't decide which to leave out :(.
    Moomintroll
  • WardWard Member Posts: 1,305
    @Koson Ditch the Druid. Bards make good bait/scouts/looters/casters/fighters.
  • KosonKoson Member Posts: 284
    @Ward Ye, but HoW added some really nice druidic spells and using a ranger/cleric multiclass to have all divine spells for 1 char means slow leveling in a full party.
  • WardWard Member Posts: 1,305
    @Moomintroll What makes IWD great is Poquelin. He's the narrator, the sorcerer who invaded IWD in the first place, Yxunomei's enemy and the demon! He is equipped with all these storytelling plots which reveal him as the person calling the shots. You feel like a great wise old man is telling you an unbiased story, but really, it's the same demon who is having mental breakdowns over his imprisonment.

    Yxunomei has her own tales man. I reloaded it 30 times just to hear all her words. I loved it. The Severed Hand is an epic story in it's own right. The Vale of Shadows is a great starting plunder and I like the "Not evil undead guys".

    The bit where it turns out the Priestess of Auril is the barmaid in Kuldahar is fantastic.

    Dorn's Deep is just one awesome fantastic game.
    Moomintroll
  • mch202mch202 Member Posts: 1,455
    I agree that the story of Icewind dale ( 1 !!) is good and epic and about the music, graphic and atmosphere there is nothing more to say, best out there!

    but what are we going to do with the lifeless-frozen-hearted-bunch-of-snobs party members who wont talk to each other for the entire game?

    In BG1 there were no banters, but at least each character had a personality, in this game even that was taken away.

    Joinable NPC is not an option because its not the type of the game, one probable solution is a pre-made character with VO and banters, but that will ruin the 'experience' of making your own party. maybe an editable pre-made character? ideas?



    Ward
  • WardWard Member Posts: 1,305
    edited August 2012
    @mch202 They need to invent 'generic personality triggers'. You set a generic set of lines to a certain character and BOOM. Throughout the game they'll say stuff at random points.

    But they do have personalities in a sense. There are plenty of voices and portraits. Make your own!

    I don't need that anyway. I'm happy with boring NPCs. Putting in pre made NPCs like in Baldur's Gate is a stupid idea.

    Black Isle, where are you?
  • KurumiKurumi Member Posts: 520
    edited August 2012
    So something like this (100% optional mind you).. http://www.shsforums.net/topic/27367-icewind-dale-2-npc-project-at-gibberlings-3/ is a stupid idea? care to elaborate?
  • WardWard Member Posts: 1,305
    @Kurumi Yes.

    I don't like the idea of any joinable NPCs in IWD. I don't care much about IWD2.
  • SilverstarSilverstar Member Posts: 2,207
    mch202 said:

    Joinable NPC is not an option because its not the type of the game

    Erm... okayyyy.... so ID was just praised for its story and adding NPCs who has additional story and personality is bad, because it's not the type of game where such things belong...

    What?

    It's not like adding recruitable NPCs will affect you negatively unless you choose to use them. The ability to create your own party entirely doesn't suddenly go away. I don't see how additional options restricts how you can play and enjoy the game.
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    edited August 2012
    I tried IWD2 with the expansion pack. For me, at least early on, there wasn't a compelling enough story to draw me in. And I missed having NPC interactions. The game wasn't for me.
    Talvrae
  • mch202mch202 Member Posts: 1,455
    edited August 2012

    mch202 said:

    Joinable NPC is not an option because its not the type of the game

    Erm... okayyyy.... so ID was just praised for its story and adding NPCs who has additional story and personality is bad, because it's not the type of game where such things belong...

    What?

    It's not like adding recruitable NPCs will affect you negatively unless you choose to use them. The ability to create your own party entirely doesn't suddenly go away. I don't see how additional options restricts how you can play and enjoy the game.
    @Silverstar

    Don't get me wrong, I like joinable NPCs, its the main thing that was missing compared to Baldur's Gate.

    I just think implementing recruitable NPCs is trickier, you cant put them after mid-game because in Icewind dale your party is gaining levels so fast that after you invest in one party member you wont ditch him for somebody else. you will have to put the relatively early in the game - but overall I dont object for adding joinable NPCs


    @Ward

    Its not *stupid* idea, if you dont like it or want it is one thing, but calling it stupid idea is just unnecessary.

    Pre-made character bank with their own voice acting, banters, history and background which you could choose from could be nice, maybe with an option to edit their stats to your liking - it can add alot to the game in my opinion.
  • Fake_SketchFake_Sketch Member Posts: 217
    I didn't like Ice Wind Dale (I only played IWD II) because as you created the whole party the characters had no interactions whatsoever between them.
  • WardWard Member Posts: 1,305
    @mch202 You said yourself just before that it's a bad idea for there to be NPCs in the game. I think it is a stupid idea. There are two bases, Easthaven and Kuldahar. How are you meant to put 10+ NPCs there?
  • SchneidendSchneidend Member Posts: 3,190
    Talvrae said:



    That

    You do that in a lot of games that are, mechanically, nothing like an RPG. Gameplay-wise, IWD is definitely an RPG, and no new-age nonsense can change that fact. When D&D was invented it was just meant to be a tactical war game on a much smaller scale. Mechanics and gameplay define genre, not story and character interaction/development.
    JolanthusFake_SketchKenji
  • KenjiKenji Member Posts: 251
    edited August 2012
    Icewind Dale series won me over with the music scores (Yes, I'm a shallow person). The voice acting were just as stunning and lively as the ones in Baldur's Gate.

    Also, the isometric sceneries and chapter narratives just bested all the other series.
    DragonspearCCarluNNMoomintrollWoldan
  • LamorackLamorack Member Posts: 24
    I love the IWD games, though at first I thought they were inferior to the BG series. Now I just think they're different. The atmosphere is amazing. I love the music, the sounds, and the setting. I have a big thing for snow and IWD does that great. I think IWD2 is even better -- stronger story, less "clear 5 levels of dungeon" that happened in IWD1 and BG1. I also loved the new UI for IWD2. If they do IWD EE (which I hope they do), I'd like IWD1 to use that interface too. IWD2 was a pleasant surprise -- it felt like the developers had moved on to the 'next stage' of the tech with NVN, and it was great to have a 'classic' game again.
    Dragonspear
  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629

    I thought Icewind Dale looked stunning. I thought the music score was amazing. I thought the character portraits were beautiful. And I thought the game was really disappointing.

    It's just a linear series of battles. There are no characters, no real side quests, no humour. I've played it a couple of times but I can't even remember what the plot was or who I was fighting against. If you've played Baldur's Gate you are always going to remember Sarevok and Irenicus but I doubt many people could name the antagonist in IWD 1 or 2.

    This is exactly how I feel about Icewind Dale. It's a fun and beautiful game, but definitely not as memorable as the Baldur's Gate series.
  • jpierce55jpierce55 Member Posts: 86
    I prefer the BG party members that have a story to tell. The fighting, bickering, and past histories were interesting. That gives me a preference towards BG/BG2. I felt IWD was ok, but weak on storyline. I thought IWD2 was much more interesting, and felt more involved.
    Dragonspear
  • CCarluNNCCarluNN Member Posts: 200
    The nice thing about IWD2 is there are a lot of different spells to choose from. Some have really neat animations and effects. The sheer amount of magical equipment is also something worth noting. Some of the stronger and better items can only be found when playing in Heart of Fury mode, which adds to the replay value.

    So the fact that it uses 3E d&d rules sets it apart from IWD1 and the BG series, which I like. Looking back, I wonder how it would have been if IWD1 was made with 3E d&d rules as well.
  • WonKoWonKo Member Posts: 72
    I do prefer BG as a series but I felt that IWD 2 did a lot of things right with regards to roleplaying options for different class members. Especially in the first few chapters.
    Dragonspear
  • DragonspearDragonspear Member Posts: 1,838
    My main problem with IWD, especially IWD1, is trying to decide on a party and why they are there. So in an effort to finally get through it I'm going to make a topic and ask people to give me 5 characters of their choosing to take with me on my journey. Minimum stats, proficiency, class and race. Simply because I've spent the last WEEK at least going crazy trying to create one. For me parties in IWD2 are a lot easier to come up with due to the joy that is 3E.
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