Considering she played BG1 on a horrendously easy difficulty level, of course she finds BG2 better. I still don't understand why basically someone random playing the game and showcasing a particular difficulty mode that is quite A-typical for the game is being lobbied so much. It's bad advertisement, as BG1 is so much better than she made it out to be.
She only says that BG2 is good, not that it's better than BG1 or that BG1 is bad.
In the last stream, she recognized that playing BG1 in story mod was a mistake. I guess it's why the run ends early before even finishing the game. Now that she play on core difficulty, it's a much better advertisement.
And she's not exactly random, she's a game designer at Wizards.
And she's not exactly random, she's a game designer at Wizards.
The fact that she's a game designed at WotC, and her streams are broadcast in a sort of official manner is exactly what the problem is. It instills the viewer with the idea that this is not just some random noob playing the game, but an informed person showcasing the game. It's certainly poor advertisement to have someone play the game in a poorly informed manner and have that broadcast through official media.
Thels, that's an unfair expectation. You're effectively arguing that because it's an official broadcast it must demonstrate hypercompetence. I'd be surprised if more than a handful of people at WotC would know what we mean if we talk about abusing the Ranger/Cleric Bug.
Thels, that's an unfair expectation. You're effectively arguing that because it's an official broadcast it must demonstrate hypercompetence. I'd be surprised if more than a handful of people at WotC would know what we mean if we talk about abusing the Ranger/Cleric Bug.
There is a difference between an obscure detail such as Ranger/Cleric spells, and starting the game in Story mode while having no idea what kind of effect that has, thereby displaying a game that is completely different from what it's meant to be. Early in the stream, sne noticed that her character could carry thousands of pounds. Someone that didn't realize that this was due to her running in Storymode would probably consider that very stupid, and consider BG a very silly game. And that's just one of many examples.
Every time Kate turns into fire salamander form and then goes to any character's inventory, it crashes the game and corrupts the last quicksave file. It happened to her about a dozen times in this stream. It was making her have to replay fights she'd already gotten past.
It's very worrisome to see a crash bug this serious still in BG2:EE.
Every time Kate turns into fire salamander form and then goes to any character's inventory, it crashes the game and corrupts the last quicksave file. It happened to her about a dozen times in this stream. It was making her have to replay fights she'd already gotten past.
It's very worrisome to see a crash bug this serious still in BG2:EE.
Yes, it's quite unfortunate. I've already passed the info to the team. As I understand, the 2.6 patch is supposed to fix a ton of spell issues, so maybe the fire salamander form fix is also included. But alas the patch is delayed.
Thels, that's an unfair expectation. You're effectively arguing that because it's an official broadcast it must demonstrate hypercompetence. I'd be surprised if more than a handful of people at WotC would know what we mean if we talk about abusing the Ranger/Cleric Bug.
There is a difference between an obscure detail such as Ranger/Cleric spells, and starting the game in Story mode while having no idea what kind of effect that has, thereby displaying a game that is completely different from what it's meant to be. Early in the stream, sne noticed that her character could carry thousands of pounds. Someone that didn't realize that this was due to her running in Storymode would probably consider that very stupid, and consider BG a very silly game. And that's just one of many examples.
So somebody who is playing the game for the first time shouldn't play on story mode?
As I see it, Kate played on Story Mode because she really had no experience of playing such a complex game. When she got that experience, she switched to Core Rules (and BGII), and now all her fights are hard, and all. This is a normal way to get into these games for someone who didn't have experience of playing BG 10-20 years ago.
Thels, that's an unfair expectation. You're effectively arguing that because it's an official broadcast it must demonstrate hypercompetence. I'd be surprised if more than a handful of people at WotC would know what we mean if we talk about abusing the Ranger/Cleric Bug.
There is a difference between an obscure detail such as Ranger/Cleric spells, and starting the game in Story mode while having no idea what kind of effect that has, thereby displaying a game that is completely different from what it's meant to be. Early in the stream, sne noticed that her character could carry thousands of pounds. Someone that didn't realize that this was due to her running in Storymode would probably consider that very stupid, and consider BG a very silly game. And that's just one of many examples.
So somebody who is playing the game for the first time shouldn't play on story mode?
They could, but I'm not sure it's the way to go. Story ain't just easy, it's a joke. It's for when you want to see the story without actually bothering dealing with combats in meaningful ways.
Either way, I'm not blaming people for playing story mode, but for playing it on an official channel without broadcasting the proper information. It doesn't give a proper view of how the game is regularly played, and it can show the game off as pretty boring and dull, rather than the classic that it deserves to be, which is a shame. Sure, she may have stepped things up in BG2, but by then the damage was already done. Having someone present at the games and point out such outliers would've made these quirks more understandable to the viewers...
*snip*
Either way, I'm not blaming people for playing story mode, but for playing it on an official channel without broadcasting the proper information. It doesn't give a proper view of how the game is regularly played, and it can show the game off as pretty boring and dull, rather than the classic that it deserves to be, which is a shame. Sure, she may have stepped things up in BG2, but by then the damage was already done. Having someone present at the games and point out such outliers would've made these quirks more understandable to the viewers...
And who decides what's the "proper" way? Would you be as harsh if someone put out a stream of a person who have never played guitar before tried to play Yngve Malmsteen songs, perhaps first trying it out on Rockband and then switching to an actual guitar? Just take it for what it is, some plain old fun. Nothing more, nothing less. I for one find it refreshing to see someone playing blindly, someone completely new to game. There's plenty of other Let's plays out there to watch for those who want more emphasis on story, on difficulty or on other things.
This is what Trent said himself: "The way we have it set up, there is difficulty going all the way from story mode to advanced difficulties. Story mode, the combat basically ends instantaneously and focuses on the narrative. Easy mode simplifies while giving some immunities and reducing the damage enemies do. Normal difficulty, hardcore rules, and then some advanced difficulties can watch your party disassembled rather quickly. So, when you are playing on harder difficulties, especially on the PC. It really rules into this kind of scenario, where you are playing the game, get into combat and you are destroyed. The player is required to stop, fall back, and devise a new tactic, drink this potion, cast this spell on this person, and then go. And then you go back into it and you are destroyed. Then you go back and devise a new approach and this time, you destroy the enemy; it’s really tactical and you are going to have to think about how you are going to solve each battle."
The EE, with all its features, including the Story Mode that is often maligned in the community, brought a variety of customers. There are new gamers that go, “I have heard of this game. I have never played it. I saw it on the Best 10 RPGs of All Time. I want to know what it’s about.” So, there’s this whole new audience who has never seen or played the game before but they are interested and want to look at it.
The EE, with all its features, including the Story Mode that is often maligned in the community, brought a variety of customers. There are new gamers that go, “I have heard of this game. I have never played it. I saw it on the Best 10 RPGs of All Time. I want to know what it’s about.” So, there’s this whole new audience who has never seen or played the game before but they are interested and want to look at it.
And do you think that this new player who wants to try this game should start playing on story mode rather than easy difficulty? As I've always seen it, story mode was a specific mode for specific audience who just want to "enjoy" the story without the rest of things that make this game a game, especially combat. It's not actually a difficulty level. In my opinion, a new player who wants to try this game should actually be warned against story mode-in the description, because it takes away a lot of what it is about.
This is a single-player game, everyone should play it exactly as they wish. Those who start on Story mode can always switch the difficulty, or start again. It's much harder to do when you're streaming your game. In that case, you can just switch to another game.
Of course they should. Therefore they should be informed about what the story mode does to the game prior to the decision, no? But the existing description of story mode is quite insufficient in this regard: "Same as Easy plus you cannot die".
I think the latest episode shows exactly why playing on the Story Mode was fine at first. If she got killed by each gibberling and gnoll at lvl 1 or 2, what stream that would have been?
I feel really bad for Kate in this stream. It's reminding me what it's truly like to play BG blind. I think a lot of no-reload BG vets could benefit from watching this, if only to remember what their accomplishments really mean, that is, that they have the game memorized, first with vanilla, and then with SCS.
I think she could maybe learn a bit faster from her mistakes. For example, she has committed suicide via Lightning Bolt several times without realizing that she was killing herself by casting "The Suicide Spell". But I think that some of that "slow learning" may have to do with the fact that she is very distracted by trying to respond to her chat, and also, I get the impression that she is being distracted from off-screen by her WotC supervisors and/or tech support.
She is making a lot of mistakes that she never seems to learn from. Minsc is not wearing a helmet. She never has the insight that he is often getting critical-hit to death. She has party members wearing leather who could be wearing plate (e.g. Jaheira). She has mages and thieves constantly going into melee, and never seems to catch on that mages and thieves should *never* engage in melee. (She *does* understand D&D, presumably? Have 4th and 5th edition changed D&D tropes so much that now young players take their mages and thieves into melee with impunity? Honestly, I wouldn't know, as an old veteran of 1st edition AD&D.)
Also, how many times is Clara going to tell her "I will leave you now - I must find an item in the tomb", before Kate catches on that she is supposed to prioritize that if she wants to keep using Clara? Did Beamdog not mean it when they programmed her warnings? If that's the case, then Clara should be useable through the whole of BG2. You could just keep promising her to go to Hexxat's tomb, and then never actually do it.
I was reminded of my first BG2 playthrough, and what a disaster it truly was, when I watched Kate deal with the golem room in the De'Arnise Keep. And then with the umber hulks. OMG, the first time I had to face the umber hulk room! And Tor'gal! OMG, the first time I had to face Tor'gal!
One thing puzzles me - Have the later editions of D&D so changed that the younger generation don't understand the party roles? For example, thieves are for utility, stealth/backstabbing, and archery, and mages are for crowd control, etc.? Kate never seems to learn to use spells like Web, Chaos, and Confusion, even though enemies are constantly mopping the floor with her by using those spells.
Despite all this not learning as much from her mistakes as I would like, I appreciate Kate for reminding me what it's really like to play BG blind. I wish more of our community would remember their first time.
Would you be as harsh if someone put out a stream of a person who have never played guitar before tried to play Yngve Malmsteen songs, perhaps first trying it out on Rockband and then switching to an actual guitar? Just take it for what it is, some plain old fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
No, I wouldn't have any trouble with that, as that would not be streamed through an official channel. Kate's stream IS being broadcast through an official channel, which makes all the difference. If she just casually streamed this through a personal channel of her own, then it would have been an entirely different case.
@BelgarathMTH Later versions do allow for a bit more hybrid builds. Mages could potentially wade into melee, if they buff themselves appropriately to become melee gods for brief amount of times. However, the norm for them is to still be glass cannons to stay just far enough away from the baddies that they still remain within spell range.
I don't really see how you expect rogues never to enter Melee. Admittedly, I never played 1st, and started with 2nd, but in my experience, Melee has always been an option for Rogues. Of course, during 2nd edition, they relied on stealth before moving in for a Backstab to then disengage again. Since 3rd, they have easier ways to deliver their bonus damage, but they're still vulnerable, and have to withdraw when things get nasty.
Comments
In the last stream, she recognized that playing BG1 in story mod was a mistake. I guess it's why the run ends early before even finishing the game. Now that she play on core difficulty, it's a much better advertisement.
And she's not exactly random, she's a game designer at Wizards.
The fact that she's a game designed at WotC, and her streams are broadcast in a sort of official manner is exactly what the problem is. It instills the viewer with the idea that this is not just some random noob playing the game, but an informed person showcasing the game. It's certainly poor advertisement to have someone play the game in a poorly informed manner and have that broadcast through official media.
There is a difference between an obscure detail such as Ranger/Cleric spells, and starting the game in Story mode while having no idea what kind of effect that has, thereby displaying a game that is completely different from what it's meant to be. Early in the stream, sne noticed that her character could carry thousands of pounds. Someone that didn't realize that this was due to her running in Storymode would probably consider that very stupid, and consider BG a very silly game. And that's just one of many examples.
It's very worrisome to see a crash bug this serious still in BG2:EE.
Yes, it's quite unfortunate. I've already passed the info to the team. As I understand, the 2.6 patch is supposed to fix a ton of spell issues, so maybe the fire salamander form fix is also included. But alas the patch is delayed.
So somebody who is playing the game for the first time shouldn't play on story mode?
They could, but I'm not sure it's the way to go. Story ain't just easy, it's a joke. It's for when you want to see the story without actually bothering dealing with combats in meaningful ways.
Either way, I'm not blaming people for playing story mode, but for playing it on an official channel without broadcasting the proper information. It doesn't give a proper view of how the game is regularly played, and it can show the game off as pretty boring and dull, rather than the classic that it deserves to be, which is a shame. Sure, she may have stepped things up in BG2, but by then the damage was already done. Having someone present at the games and point out such outliers would've made these quirks more understandable to the viewers...
And who decides what's the "proper" way? Would you be as harsh if someone put out a stream of a person who have never played guitar before tried to play Yngve Malmsteen songs, perhaps first trying it out on Rockband and then switching to an actual guitar?
The EE, with all its features, including the Story Mode that is often maligned in the community, brought a variety of customers. There are new gamers that go, “I have heard of this game. I have never played it. I saw it on the Best 10 RPGs of All Time. I want to know what it’s about.” So, there’s this whole new audience who has never seen or played the game before but they are interested and want to look at it.
And do you think that this new player who wants to try this game should start playing on story mode rather than easy difficulty? As I've always seen it, story mode was a specific mode for specific audience who just want to "enjoy" the story without the rest of things that make this game a game, especially combat. It's not actually a difficulty level. In my opinion, a new player who wants to try this game should actually be warned against story mode-in the description, because it takes away a lot of what it is about.
I think she could maybe learn a bit faster from her mistakes. For example, she has committed suicide via Lightning Bolt several times without realizing that she was killing herself by casting "The Suicide Spell". But I think that some of that "slow learning" may have to do with the fact that she is very distracted by trying to respond to her chat, and also, I get the impression that she is being distracted from off-screen by her WotC supervisors and/or tech support.
She is making a lot of mistakes that she never seems to learn from. Minsc is not wearing a helmet. She never has the insight that he is often getting critical-hit to death. She has party members wearing leather who could be wearing plate (e.g. Jaheira). She has mages and thieves constantly going into melee, and never seems to catch on that mages and thieves should *never* engage in melee. (She *does* understand D&D, presumably? Have 4th and 5th edition changed D&D tropes so much that now young players take their mages and thieves into melee with impunity? Honestly, I wouldn't know, as an old veteran of 1st edition AD&D.)
Also, how many times is Clara going to tell her "I will leave you now - I must find an item in the tomb", before Kate catches on that she is supposed to prioritize that if she wants to keep using Clara? Did Beamdog not mean it when they programmed her warnings? If that's the case, then Clara should be useable through the whole of BG2. You could just keep promising her to go to Hexxat's tomb, and then never actually do it.
I was reminded of my first BG2 playthrough, and what a disaster it truly was, when I watched Kate deal with the golem room in the De'Arnise Keep. And then with the umber hulks. OMG, the first time I had to face the umber hulk room! And Tor'gal! OMG, the first time I had to face Tor'gal!
One thing puzzles me - Have the later editions of D&D so changed that the younger generation don't understand the party roles? For example, thieves are for utility, stealth/backstabbing, and archery, and mages are for crowd control, etc.? Kate never seems to learn to use spells like Web, Chaos, and Confusion, even though enemies are constantly mopping the floor with her by using those spells.
Despite all this not learning as much from her mistakes as I would like, I appreciate Kate for reminding me what it's really like to play BG blind. I wish more of our community would remember their first time.
No, I wouldn't have any trouble with that, as that would not be streamed through an official channel. Kate's stream IS being broadcast through an official channel, which makes all the difference. If she just casually streamed this through a personal channel of her own, then it would have been an entirely different case.
@BelgarathMTH Later versions do allow for a bit more hybrid builds. Mages could potentially wade into melee, if they buff themselves appropriately to become melee gods for brief amount of times. However, the norm for them is to still be glass cannons to stay just far enough away from the baddies that they still remain within spell range.
I don't really see how you expect rogues never to enter Melee. Admittedly, I never played 1st, and started with 2nd, but in my experience, Melee has always been an option for Rogues. Of course, during 2nd edition, they relied on stealth before moving in for a Backstab to then disengage again. Since 3rd, they have easier ways to deliver their bonus damage, but they're still vulnerable, and have to withdraw when things get nasty.