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The Game is unclear in maps and areas to walk to

I spent at least 3 times looking to find an exit or egress or walkway. One time on a lift in a dungeon the other time in the same dungeon with an unclear stairway that looked like rubble. If I click the map it does not show the stairs or doors. I ended up having to read through a wlak through. Said there was some tower in Kundarhar with a wizard I look look and look and then wow - there is a path that leads to a tower! The game is needlessly hard in stupefying ways.

Comments

  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    The Tab key, (or magnifying glass on tablets and phones), is your friend.
  • ameliabogginsameliaboggins Member Posts: 287
    edited February 2015
    Cant really agree with you on this. the elf dungeon is pretty well laid out. Its actually a challenge. Only annoying part is the route from the entrance to the astrolab....makes it repetative to have to keep going back.
    Just admit it YOU failed at observation.

    one place that beat me for a while was the entrance to the ettins cave in dorns deep......took me many hours to find the path to it.
  • BeowulfBeowulf Member Posts: 236
    Ahh yeah I could go and list all the hard to spot areas / paths I did not know ere there until I hit a dead end and could not progress- then went to a walk through and it mentioned some area/ monsters and I was like- oh there is something on that part of the map? It is not at all intuitive and you simply do not know the area is there. The best example is that Wizard tower I found out about- as I read a walk through and it said- get a big exp reward by taking this to Orrick in his tower- I was like ahhh tower in Kundahar? It was not because it was an unsolved riddle I could not solve or some cool hidden lever- it was simply because I had no idea that existed on the map... in the future I guess I might not have this problem as I will recall oh yeah yeah I have to find this stair way with NO making on the map at all. If you hit TAB it soes not show the stairs or exits... you have to mouse over it exactly... anyway it is not some clever intel challenge rather it is just a matter of knowing or not.
  • MerinaMerina Member Posts: 303
    Beowulf said:

    The best example is that Wizard tower I found out about- as I read a walk through and it said- get a big exp reward by taking this to Orrick in his tower- I was like ahhh tower in Kundahar?

    Have you never wanted to explore the remaining black area of that map? The first time you enter Kuldahar from the left, you only need to go upwards a bit when exploring. It's not as if your party stops there and you would need to find a tiny entrance before you could walk any further.

    Gerth's shop possibly has distracted you too much. :wink:
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    I understand, @Beowulf, and to some degree I agree. If one hasn't played IE games in a decade or so, one tends to forget what it's like to play in a pseudo 3D environment. I had trouble finding a pathway in Kresselacks tomb since it wasn't shown on the map in any way (and no, tab does not reveal everything, only clickables), but I figured it out after looking at the map and seeing a pattern that each corner had a pathway.
    It's the same in BG where you always have to hover with the mouse over ie buildings facing upwards to see if they have a "hidden" door. You get used to it after a while, but it do kills immersion somewhat since obviously your charname would not have any issues seeing such a door without searching.

    So, what I mean is that it is a part of the game and the engine and once you get used to it, it no longer cause agitation. Go out and explore the map and then enjoy the beautifully drawn surroundings! One of my best friends had a hard time getting used to "next gen games" built up from tile sets after being used to BG/BG2/IWD and the likes.

    (If all else fails and you just want to get on with the dungeon crawling, mikesrpgcenter and the likes offer easy guidance.)
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    Awesome find @cmk24 !
  • MerinaMerina Member Posts: 303
    edited February 2015
    One of the townpersons in a house in east Kuldahar gives a lot of hints about the town, about Kresselack, about the wizard tower, about the vale of shadows, about the wheather. You can ask him so many questions, it should make you curious.

    Oh, I forgot the game is only about slashing monsters. :blush:
  • BeowulfBeowulf Member Posts: 236
    I just checked all the menus and could not get a highlight of exits doors and paths out - finally I clicked on the map and found if you click in the corner it will turn on the highlights of those spots. So I take that back you can see the egress routes if you look at the map... but they should make it so the tab key does that too... Merina I do not chat much with the local peasants as their ignoble presence sickens me Thee New Lord of Murder!
  • MerinaMerina Member Posts: 303
    Funny you would say that... talking to the first ordinary inhabitants you can meet outside in Easthaven leads to lots of experience early on. At least for one of them, there's even an option to choose between the good and evil path. Wouldn't you like it to threaten him and drive him out of town and gain experience for that? It's the earliest chance to take that path.

    For ignoring people, you won't get any experience at all ... not even personal experience. :wink:
  • ShoarmaPizzaShoarmaPizza Member Posts: 1
    You lack the spirit of an adventurer. Maybe you should go plow the fields somewhere safe and far away from the Icewind Dale
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    Beowulf said:

    I just checked all the menus and could not get a highlight of exits doors and paths out - finally I clicked on the map and found if you click in the corner it will turn on the highlights of those spots. So I take that back you can see the egress routes if you look at the map... but they should make it so the tab key does that too... Merina I do not chat much with the local peasants as their ignoble presence sickens me Thee New Lord of Murder!

    IWD happens long before Baldur's Gate and before the Time of Troubles. Heck, Drizzt isn't even around yet. The only Lord of Murder at this time is Bhaal. ;-)

    And check out @cmk24's post above to turn on highlighting stairs via tab.
  • BelanosBelanos Member Posts: 968
    edited March 2015
    Beowulf said:

    Said there was some tower in Kundarhar with a wizard I look look and look and then wow - there is a path that leads to a tower!

    If you're having a hard time with things like this, then you aren't being very observant.
    Beowulf said:

    Merina I do not chat much with the local peasants as their ignoble presence sickens me Thee New Lord of Murder!

    Like I said, you aren't being very observant. Don't blame the game if you're not bothering to examine the world within it.

  • ZeckulZeckul Member Posts: 1,036
    It's game from 2000, based on an engine from 1998. Much pixel hunting was considered acceptable back then.
  • ScotGaymerScotGaymer Member Posts: 526
    @Belanos - there really is no need to be rude to the OP. And the OP is right it CAN be difficult to figure out where to go in places especially when you are used to stairs and exits being clearly visible in the other infinity engine games it is not unreasonable to assume that it should be the case with IWDEE also.

    @Zeckul - that is a horrible excuse for it. This is the enhanced edition, they could have and should have made ease of use changes in the game (and did in other places) for the EE.
    BG1EE and BG2EE both have exits clearly denoted on the map. There is no reason why this couldn't have been done in IWDEE for the convenience of the player also.
  • BelanosBelanos Member Posts: 968

    And the OP is right it CAN be difficult to figure out where to go in places...

    I haven't had a problem with it, nor has anyone else judging by the lack of posts on the subject. All it takes is to look around carefully. I guess people have become spoiled by all these newer games that hold the player's hand for them.

  • ScotGaymerScotGaymer Member Posts: 526
    edited March 2015
    @Belanos - see you say you don't have a problem with such ease of use modifications but your word choice and phrasing of both your replies give the distinct impression that you DO have a problem with it - to me at least; that you feel that its wrong, and that people are stupid, unobservant, spoiled, and wrong for relying on or liking those ease of use improvements.

    Sorry.
  • BelanosBelanos Member Posts: 968

    see you say you don't have a problem with such ease of use modifications but your word choice and phrasing of both your replies give the distinct impression that you DO have a problem with it

    You do a good job of putting words in people's mouths, especially since the discussion has absolutely nothing to do with ease of use modifications. I don't have a problem with them, but if they aren't there you deal with it instead of complaining. It's just a question of showing some initiative instead of expecting the game to do everything for you. If the OP can't even be bothered talking to the characters in the game, that's not showing a lot of initiative. Same thing with finding the path to the tower. It's not that hard to find if you're making the slightest bit of effort at exploring the area. With these games it's imperative that you explore as much as possible, you never know what you may find tucked away somewhere. If you aren't thorough, you're going to miss something. And if you're being thorough, you're not going to have a problem finding your way around. There have been a few times where I've had some difficulty figuring out where I'm supposed to go, but a careful examination of the map soon put an end to that.

  • ZeckulZeckul Member Posts: 1,036

    @Zeckul - that is a horrible excuse for it. This is the enhanced edition, they could have and should have made ease of use changes in the game (and did in other places) for the EE.
    BG1EE and BG2EE both have exits clearly denoted on the map. There is no reason why this couldn't have been done in IWDEE for the convenience of the player also.

    I agree, I was just giving some food for thought.

  • ScotGaymerScotGaymer Member Posts: 526
    @Belanos - no I don't.

    Dude your being rude and confrontational for no real reason. It is not as clear nor as easy as you claim to find things in this game; as @Zeckul pointed out it does come from an era where guides were almost required to play these sorts of games.
    But as this is an updated "enhanced edition" it would have harmed nothing to do the same as BGEE and BG2EE and have exists marked clearly on the map.

    The OP quite clearly jokingly said that talking to NPCs was beneath his character. It was obviously a joke because its a ridiculous thing to say. At no point did he say that he couldn't be bothered exploring, or talking to the characters seriously.
    That is YOU making presumptions out of nothing, and an off hand joke; and being utterly rude and borderline insulting in reply. It's not me putting words in peoples mouths - it's you, and there is absolutely no need for it.
    All I am doing is looking at what you have typed, and telling you the impression your word choice and phrasing has given me of your position as apposed to what you say your position is.

    And the discussion absolutely has to do with ease of use improvements that could have and ought to have been made in the Enhanced Edition of the game. The OP says it in his first post; that he finds the game to be needlessly hard in some ways (like this).

    The OP finds it difficult to get used to locating exits (which ought to be clearly marked on the map as in BG2EE) and paths which can be difficult to see due to IWDEEs drab texture pallet. Neither of these things are entirely his fault because it CAN be difficult to see the paths, and exits.
    They could have tweaked the areas in places to make certain difficult pathways a little clearer for people; and they could have as I previously said, clearly marked stairs and exits (especially exits) on the map for people who have a little more difficulty with the game than others. This was absolutely within their mandate in doing an Enhanced Edition.

    Don't get me wrong I am thoroughly enjoying the EEs but honestly there are most definitely places where they could have made improvements and didn't.

    There would have been nothing lost to anyone if they had marked the exists on the map before the players "discover" that exit. Nothing.

    I actually do agree that if you are thorough you wont miss much; but to say you won't miss anything is inaccurate.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,754
    @ScotGaymer and @Belanos , please, try to respect each other and not go personal in your comments.
  • Avenger_teambgAvenger_teambg Member, Developer Posts: 5,862

    @Belanos - there really is no need to be rude to the OP. And the OP is right it CAN be difficult to figure out where to go in places especially when you are used to stairs and exits being clearly visible in the other infinity engine games it is not unreasonable to assume that it should be the case with IWDEE also.

    @Zeckul - that is a horrible excuse for it. This is the enhanced edition, they could have and should have made ease of use changes in the game (and did in other places) for the EE.
    BG1EE and BG2EE both have exits clearly denoted on the map. There is no reason why this couldn't have been done in IWDEE for the convenience of the player also.

    And they did: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/604207/#Comment_604207
  • ZeckulZeckul Member Posts: 1,036
    Pillars of Eternity does this out of the box. Might be a good idea to enable the option by default.

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