I'm referring to the fact that he is automatically a human - I never play humans. I dislike that he is a single class thief, wizard or fighter. I don't like being denied cleric and multi classes though kits might help. Finally, his appearance is predetermined and I think suboptimal. I end up with no feeling of ownership or investment. Ive ever been able to get far in the game because of it. I'd rather they create more new and original work
Plus it's been a long long time but if I recall correctly the Nameless can't really wear armor, right? Making many styles of fighter pretty underwhelming
I think the whole "borrowing the monsters" thing points more toward Icewind Dale 2 than Planescape Torment. The only sprites that were in Planescape Torment but not in the EEs previously are the Abishai and Lemure sprites, and both of those sprites were in Icewind Dale 2. In addition, there were a lot of other sprites in SoD that were previously only in Icewind Dale 2.
Yeah this was my prediction several months ago. They have a new original D&D game in the works, but its release is at least a year away and more likely a lot further away than that. So they're spending resources on this game but won't be receiving any revenue from it for quite a while. Meanwhile, SoD sales are going to be tapering off very soon if not already there. For a small company like Beamdog, they absolutely must have some source of revenue to tide them over until that new original game starts selling. P:ST EE is the obvious choice for that revenue gap filler role.
I end up with no feeling of ownership or investment. Ive ever been able to get far in the game because of it.
Of course. PS:T gives only feelings of being owned and divested, this being no error in design but an intentional decision. It is a great work of interactive storytelling rather than a simulation of a D&D session. In fact, the game's biggest flaw in my eyes is that it does use D&D mechanics, and in a particularly tiresome way. It would be a much smoother experience as a stricter point'n'click adventure, without all the tediously repetitive combat encounters and inconvenient inventory micro-management stemming from the use of Infinity Engine.
While I don't particularly like the idea of Beamdog tackling PS:T, there is not really much that needs to be enhanced here. High resolution support, smart combat scripts and/or a Story Mode are really all there is to it. Anyone could have it done by Indian contractors in under a week's time on the cheap.
While I don't particularly like the idea of Beamdog tackling PS:T, there is not really much that needs to be enhanced here.
I mean, if you leave aside the obvious possibility of making the gameplay part of PS:T actually any good. Which admittedly would be a hefty task to attempt.
(Also, there's probably about eight or nine hundred bugs to fix at minimum, just like every other IE game.)
(They could also just add Neera. I don't care how many people here would flip out over it, I'd buy extra copies to make up for their tasteless selves. A fifth voice set for Neera, hooray!)
I end up with no feeling of ownership or investment. Ive ever been able to get far in the game because of it.
Of course. PS:T gives only feelings of being owned and divested, this being no error in design but an intentional decision. It is a great work of interactive storytelling rather than a simulation of a D&D session. In fact, the game's biggest flaw in my eyes is that it does use D&D mechanics, and in a particularly tiresome way. It would be a much smoother experience as a stricter point'n'click adventure, without all the tediously repetitive combat encounters and inconvenient inventory micro-management stemming from the use of Infinity Engine.
While I don't particularly like the idea of Beamdog tackling PS:T, there is not really much that needs to be enhanced here. High resolution support, smart combat scripts and/or a Story Mode are really all there is to it. Anyone could have it done by Indian contractors in under a week's time on the cheap.
Came here to post this. I abandoned PS:T during my first playthrough because i wanted a strategic RPG like BG or IWD, and i enjoyed it a heck of a lot more the second time when I started thinking of it as a p'n'c adventure game. Its strength is the story, and half the time the engine and D&D mechanics just get in the way. If they want to rerelease it with HD sprites and built in widescreen support, I guess that's fine, but there's nothing to be gained from fiddling with the core gameplay and content.
half the time the engine and D&D mechanics just get in the way
Actually, I remember seeing an Interview with one of the driving forces behind PST who said something along those lines. Let me see if I can find it again.
If they want to rerelease it with HD sprites and built in widescreen support, I guess that's fine, but there's nothing to be gained from fiddling with the core gameplay and content.
Why not? The budget and time constraint hurted the game in technical domain. If Avellone would be involved, the team could even pull director's cut and improve every hard edge there is in gameplay mechanics and content. Nevertheless, PS:T being story driven game, it's remarkable for as it is.
EDIT: ^ @Buttercheese , there was a chat with Guido Henkel and Matt Barton talking about it.
If they want to rerelease it with HD sprites and built in widescreen support, I guess that's fine, but there's nothing to be gained from fiddling with the core gameplay and content.
Why not? The budget and time constraint hurted the game in technical domain. If Avellone would be involved, the team could even pull director's cut and improve every hard edge there is in gameplay mechanics and content. Nevertheless, PS:T being story driven game, it's remarkable for as it is.
EDIT: ^ @Buttercheese , there was a chat with Guido Henkel and Matt Barton talking about it.
I guess the "why not" to me is that there isn't much to be gained, and I'd rather see Beamdog focus on new content rather than continuing to pump out EEs.
PS:T is considered one of the best CRPGs of all time, despite its clunky mechanics and technical issues, because its gameplay had nothing to do with what made it enjoyable. Polishing up that gameplay might make it a little more accessible, but it won't add anything of significance to the experience.
In terms of content, unlike BG, whose mod scene has demonstrated a clear desire and opportunity for more classes, NPCs, quests, etc., the PS:T mod scene has been extremely limited: other than a couple of "unfinished business" mods for restoring cut content, there aren't any mods for adding new content to the game. I can only speculate as to why that is, but I think it would be a questionable business decision for Beamdog to spend a lot of time and resources adding content that no one has been asking for.
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If memory serves, Ps:T had many encounters with the slimey blobs.
If this was all just a deliberatly placed false trail the devs places Kojima style.
I'd eat a broom.
I approve!
In fact, the game's biggest flaw in my eyes is that it does use D&D mechanics, and in a particularly tiresome way. It would be a much smoother experience as a stricter point'n'click adventure, without all the tediously repetitive combat encounters and inconvenient inventory micro-management stemming from the use of Infinity Engine.
While I don't particularly like the idea of Beamdog tackling PS:T, there is not really much that needs to be enhanced here. High resolution support, smart combat scripts and/or a Story Mode are really all there is to it. Anyone could have it done by Indian contractors in under a week's time on the cheap.
(Also, there's probably about eight or nine hundred bugs to fix at minimum, just like every other IE game.)
(They could also just add Neera. I don't care how many people here would flip out over it, I'd buy extra copies to make up for their tasteless selves. A fifth voice set for Neera, hooray!)
Nevertheless, PS:T being story driven game, it's remarkable for as it is.
EDIT:
^ @Buttercheese , there was a chat with Guido Henkel and Matt Barton talking about it.
PS:T is considered one of the best CRPGs of all time, despite its clunky mechanics and technical issues, because its gameplay had nothing to do with what made it enjoyable. Polishing up that gameplay might make it a little more accessible, but it won't add anything of significance to the experience.
In terms of content, unlike BG, whose mod scene has demonstrated a clear desire and opportunity for more classes, NPCs, quests, etc., the PS:T mod scene has been extremely limited: other than a couple of "unfinished business" mods for restoring cut content, there aren't any mods for adding new content to the game. I can only speculate as to why that is, but I think it would be a questionable business decision for Beamdog to spend a lot of time and resources adding content that no one has been asking for.
The only thing that I could see standing in the way would be some weird contractual/legal thing. You know how these things go sometimes...