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Unpopular opinions

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  • SkitiaSkitia Member Posts: 1,054
    edited January 2020
    Arvia wrote: »

    Possibly unpopular opinion: We all use metagaming, even if we don't want to. Otherwise, we'd for example do the Windspear Hills right after the De'Arnise Hold.

    I did that on my very first run (In fact on another run I did the Windspear Hills first before anything else.)

    Lots of dying ensued.

    Now that I've played SoA so many times I've memorized trap locations and don't use find traps until right next to them, so meta gaming assessment is probably true.
    AerakarWise_GrimwaldPokota
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,977
    Aerie wrote: »
    NPC mods are silly. You should always use me instead.
    Oh I do, I gag you, restrain you in chains, connect the end of those chains to an iron ball or Anker and then push that Anker off the sword coast cliff and into the sea.

    Kamigoroshi
  • ithildurnewithildurnew Member Posts: 273
    Arvia wrote: »
    True, but that also requires metagaming. With his pre-test Wisdom, he's not that powerful.
    .

    Just sayin'... tis also metagaming for the charmain to know whether Anomen's got 12 or 16 Wisdom.

    megamike15semiticgoddessSanctiferKatzerchen
  • AerakarAerakar Member Posts: 1,014
    I love your post @Wise_Grimwald and ask everyone to raise a full flagon to you and your lovely wife :)
    Wise_GrimwaldsemiticgoddessStummvonBordwehrBlackraven
  • DragonKingDragonKing Member Posts: 1,977
    You don't have to like gambling to like wildmages, you just need to enjoy having fun.


    Powergaming and meta gaming isn't always all that fun.
    ThacoBellAerakarHalfOrcBeastmasterStummvonBordwehr
  • ArtonaArtona Member Posts: 1,077
    We all use metagaming, even if we don't want to. Otherwise, we'd for example do the Windspear Hills right after the De'Arnise Hold.

    I would even go further: conscious non-metagaming (e. g. purposely not using buffs before fight when Charname doesn't know about ambush, and so on) is the most mategamey way to play the game.
    Wise_GrimwaldAerakarsemiticgoddessStummvonBordwehr
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Anomen is actually a nice guy.
    Okay, that's an unpopular opinion indeed. :p
    StummvonBordwehrmonico
  • Montresor_SPMontresor_SP Member Posts: 2,208
    I like Neera and Rasaad in BG:EE but in BG2:EE they become a pain. Neera is an irresponsible brat and Rasaad should keep his opinions about my life choices to himself; he's worse than Anomen!
    StummvonBordwehrWise_Grimwald
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    I like Neera and Rasaad in BG:EE but in BG2:EE they become a pain. Neera is an irresponsible brat and Rasaad should keep his opinions about my life choices to himself; he's worse than Anomen!

    The better question is, what did you do that was so bad? :smiley:
    monico
  • AerieAerie Member Posts: 226
    Anomen is actually a nice guy.

    Oh my, this could not be further from the truth.

    In fact, I once saw Anomen shove a beggar to the ground and watched as he force-fed the poor beggar the entire Umar Witch Project Journal. Anomen also cuts down trees for fun.

    ThacoBellmonicoAngulimalaDapifer
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    I like Neera and Rasaad in BG:EE but in BG2:EE they become a pain. Neera is an irresponsible brat and Rasaad should keep his opinions about my life choices to himself; he's worse than Anomen!

    Maybe it's just me, but Rasaad and Neera feel quite dettached (spelling?) from the game, it's as if they have their own mini game inside SoA. It doesn't mean that other players won't like them, but I see all Bioware npcs as truly part of Athkatla and Amn, and their own problems blend in with the protagonist's quests in an organic way.
    Wise_Grimwaldmonico
  • ithildurnewithildurnew Member Posts: 273
    edited February 2020
    All the BD companions imo feel extremely disconnected from the original game content, which is hardly surprising given so many factors... completely different studio/writers/content creators/staff, a decade and a half with some dizzyingly accelerated cultural shifts between the releases, different voice actors (quite a few of the voice actors from the original games are legends in the business), definitely different voice recording technology (especially with audio, just because it's newer doesn't mean it's better), etc. etc.

    I remember being a little shocked the first time I saw Neera's 1st BG2 cutscene in the Bridge District - listening to Lanneth's voice track and watching the awkward dialog (the strange rip-off of Gaelin Bayle's "Coo!" did not impress), I had this sinking feeling... which Rasaad later only reinforced...
    Post edited by ithildurnew on
    Wise_Grimwaldmonico
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    edited February 2020
    yeah they do feel very disconnected from the rest of the npcs. even modded npcs feel more like they fit in the game then the bd ones. most of their content is in their quests and romances. they don't have as many banters as the vanilla npcs and they don't interject as often either.
    Post edited by megamike15 on
    Wise_Grimwaldithildurnew
  • AyiekieAyiekie Member Posts: 975
    I doubt new players to the series would even be able to tell which were the new companions were it not for a) how much more interaction they have in BG1, and b) their better audio quality.
    ThacoBellsemiticgoddessSkatan
  • ithildurnewithildurnew Member Posts: 273
    edited February 2020
    Ayiekie wrote: »
    their better audio quality.

    This is a subjective (and imho rather dubious) claim - at least as subjective as what I'm about to state: the audio mix for the newer content is of ... let's say uneven quality (that's me being nice).

    The voice tracks in the cutscene I mentioned is a good example of audio quality (not the quality of voice acting which is another issue altogether) being noticeably different in quality from the classic voicetracks. To be blunt, it was to the point of being distracting for me; I can noticeably hear the noisegate/compression effects- I remember thinking 'ok, I can understand if they couldn't afford/find better voice actors, but how much did they pay to mix this?'...

    Black Isle Studios' work is 2 decades old; it's primitive tech by today's standards, but they made the most of it and a lot of it stands the test of time which is a big part of the reason why these games are still played today. A HUGE part of their best work was in the audio/sound/voice/ambiance/music category, which for a lot of people is glossed over or experienced subconsciously (and yet powerfully - imo it's a big part of what gives these quaint, visually limited games such an appeal, even when people don't realize it).

    Visually, I have to give the nod to BD's updated chapter visuals for BG1 and such, and seeing the game at higher resolutions is great, etc. AI scripting, SoD is definitely miles and miles better than than the ridiculously bad classic AI. BIS/BW didn't get everything right obviously... but as far as food for the ear (as a musician it's something I'm partial to), imo it's BIS hands down, old school tech and all.
    Post edited by ithildurnew on
    BlackravenWise_GrimwaldmonicoAngulimala
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    semiticgod wrote: »
    I think Dorn's cartoonish villainy, Neera's wackiness, and Rasaad's sober religiosity fit in very well with Minsc's cartoonish hamminess, Tiax's craziness, and any BG1 priest's frequent invocations of their god. As for Hexxat, her very questline reeks of Shadows of Amn themes (her superior is a shadowy supernatural crime boss!).

    I think a new player, if they were asked to guess which characters were EE-exclusive, would probably name the EE NPCs accurately, but mostly just because they had more content associated with them. It would be easy to mistake BG1 Minsc+Dynaheir+Edwin and BG2 Haer'dalis, Aerie, Cernd, Jan, and Valygar as EE NPCs.

    I suppose I can go a bit further with my criticism here because it's the unpopular opinions thread. Well, IMHO Minsc , Haer D'Alis , Aerie , Cernd , Valygar and Jan have clear personality traits and distinct quirks but they sound way more natural, even gaudy figures like Jan and Haer D'Alis dont possess the "hey, look at me!" presence that Neera, Dorn and Rasaad evoke. I don't know if a new player would identify who's an EE Npc and who isn't, and I know that they are loved by most players, but the way they're written is definitely different and I prefer Bioware's style .

    I still appreciate BD for all their efforts making an EE version and a cool expansion, though.
    Wise_Grimwald
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    I remember in the early days of the EE, there were new players on the forums that had to ask which npcs were new. Its easy to point out differences when you've been playing the same game for years and decades.

    Back on topic

    Hexxat has the best personal questline in SoA.
    StummvonBordwehrWise_GrimwaldAerakarPokota
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    the only way you can tell the ee characters apart from the vanilla ones is in bg 1 ee if your not useing npc project. as they talk alot more then the rest of the npcs. in sod they are about even.

    but like i said in 2 they feel like they have alot less content then the rest of the party banter and interjections wise so they stick out like a sore thumb.
  • monicomonico Member Posts: 571
    Unpopular opinion: this thread is less and less about unpopular opinions.
    Balrog99SkatanPokota
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    monico wrote: »
    Unpopular opinion: this thread is less and less about unpopular opinions.
    You mean that it has posts like yours? :D
    Balrog99DJKajurumonico
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Unpopular opinion: Bodhi is a better, cuter and far more interesting little sister than Imoen will ever be. And Jon in turn is the perfect elder brother. Especially when compared to Abdel. Or Sarevok, for that matter.
    SkatanMoomintroll
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    Agreed! An unpopular opinion. :D
    megamike15
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