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So I was rummaging through my father's old storage...

InvictusCobraInvictusCobra Member Posts: 108
in Off-Topic
And I found this.

image

I'm thinking of playing it, kind of an in memoriam thing. IIRC, the game is unfinished and the Circle of the Eight mod is necessary for playing with next to no bugs, correct?

Comments

  • scriverscriver Member Posts: 2,072
    Yes. It's a pretty great game, though, for the steaming pile of bugs and crashes that it is :D

    A very nice find. I highly recommend playing it.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    It is one of my favorites. Yes, at launch it had a whole host of bugs. But yes, go over to the Co8 forum and download the latest patch and you should be just fine.

    It is by far the best interpretation of the rules in a CRPG that I've seen.
  • LadyRhianLadyRhian Member Posts: 14,694
    My question. I never played this game. Is it exactly based on the module?
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    It's been a long time since I played the T1-4 modules. My recollection is that the game follows pretty close to the modules, right down to a lot of the maps being the same. Obviously there are additional things, people and quest lines. But yeah, I want to say it is definitely based on the modules.
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    Yes, the game is worth playing, though I have to say that the hardest part is getting through the opening couple hours, and character creation is a real slog as well. This game is EXACTLY like sitting down and rolling a 3rd Edition character, except you have to make 6 of them, and setting aside an entire night for simply making characters is a real turn-off.

    That said, it is universally recognized as the best implementation of combat in a CRPG. You MUST (I repeat MUST) get the Circle of Eight Modpack, the game is basically unfinished and nearly unplayable without it. With it, it lives up to 85% of what it could have been. There are still a few major bugs they weren't able to correct, but the read me will tell you what they are and how to avoid them.
  • MortiannaMortianna Member Posts: 1,356
    The turn-based play of TOEE really feels like you're playing D&D. If you like precision, you'll really enjoy that aspect of the game. Greyhawk is also a nice break from the Forgotten Realms setting (Praise the Ruby Sorceress!). The plot is centered around your party's alignment, which affects many of the choices you can make throughout the game, so there's plenty of replay options to explore.

    I was never a big fan of the joinable NPCs, so I usually went with my own party whenever possible. You can also solo the game, if that's your schtick. (TOEE is the only D&D-based CRPG game I ever soloed all the way through).

    The Co8 community has done an amazing job of salvaging the game from its bug-filled Atari release, and have added tons of new content, so I would definitely download their latest mod.
  • FandraxxFandraxx Member Posts: 194
    edited April 2015
    I played through TOEE awhile ago (all patches of course, seriously don't even try to play without them) and had a blast. A great game if you have some patience.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    Just a caveat, I strongly recommend that you play with the Co8 patch. You will have a much more satisfying game and much fewer headaches.

    However... It is possible to play and complete the game without the patch. I know because I did it back when the game launched. There are a few frustrating moments, quite a few quests that are broken (though nothing that will prevent you from progressing) and some stuff that simply didn't work properly. It was a fairly poorly vetted game, it's true. But it is possible to play without the patch.

    Get the patch. I'm not saying don't. However, it wasn't like Mech Warrior (I think that was the game) that literally wouldn't install/launch right out of the box without a day 1 patch.
  • VallmyrVallmyr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,459
    edited April 2015
    I always get owned at the start of the game by giant frogs or something >_<

    It's on my to-do list after Pool of Radiance, NWN, NWN2, DA:I, and PoE.

    My RPG backlog is just getting bigger and bigger.

    Edit: Said Pools of Radiance but meant "Pool of Radiance."
    /blech, typing errors.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    edited April 2015
    @Vallmyr - LOL.

    Don't go the Moat house so early and you should be fine. Explore around. Do some of the Fed-Ex quests in town to get some XP. Go to Dekolo grove and to the battlefield. THEN go to the Moat house.


    EDIT: Added spoiler tag.
    Post edited by the_spyder on
  • InvictusCobraInvictusCobra Member Posts: 108
    Uh... Don't mean to make this another thread like the first one I made ( @the_spyder you know which one I mean ;D ) but is it me or is ToEE harder than BG? I've been playing for a few hours now and I'm at the beginning of the Moathouse (when you enter the house, not the dungeon) and so far it's been a real fight for survival. I do basically what I'd do in BG and I just scrape by in most cases.
    If you're curious, I have a Human Paladin, Dwarf Fighter, Elf Rogue, Human Cleric and Human Wizard as a party.
  • Awong124Awong124 Member Posts: 2,642
    I never tried using the CO8 mod/patch, and just played the original game. The game saves get corrupted very often. It's a common issue. I got to the second level of the Temple near the end, and my saves got corrupted. I had multiple saves, but my two most recent saves somehow both got corrupted. That was probably a few hours worth of play. I got pissed off and quit. I never finished it.
  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511
    I thought it was perhaps a bit too faithful to the PnP module, with it's implausibly drawn graph paper maps.
  • scriverscriver Member Posts: 2,072
    InvictusCobra - It definitely is (or at least in a different way than BG), particularly to people new to 3.0/3.5, I'd think - there's a whole deal of information to absorb at the start of it. You also start at first level in a high-combat campaign, and the first few levels are always the ones where your character/s have the least survivability, no matter what enemies they go up against.

    On the plus side is that you feel the improvement as both your character/s and your own skills improve, which is very nice.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    @InvictusCobra - Try fully exploring the town and resolving all of the fed-ex quests there before going anywhere. Then there are two other areas that get uncovered that you should fully explore. With both of those done, you should be able to pack on a few levels before you head out to the Moat House.

    As for it being tougher than BG, it is absolutely DIFFERENT. Where BG is real time and therefore more fluid, ToEE is more tactical. Every single turn can make or break you. You have to carefully consider how to best use your spells and powers. It is a different way of thinking.
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    Awong124 said:

    I never tried using the CO8 mod/patch, and just played the original game. The game saves get corrupted very often. It's a common issue. I got to the second level of the Temple near the end, and my saves got corrupted. I had multiple saves, but my two most recent saves somehow both got corrupted. That was probably a few hours worth of play. I got pissed off and quit. I never finished it.

    Even with the CO8 patch, they recommend you never use autosave, and do actual hard saves yourself in the menu, and delete the auto saves if possible. But yeah, I can't ever recommend playing this without the patch. The game was nowhere near release ready, and it took a dedicated modding team YEARS to even make the game nearly 100% playable. It's one of the more commendable modding efforts I've seen, because there is very little that is flashy about it. They basically jumped in and completed a broken game.
  • Gulthias_AmarsonGulthias_Amarson Member Posts: 28
    Oh man. While it was buggy as hell, it was a always a treat to try and kill Old Wicked. Never pulled it off, but good God, did I get close once.
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