Shapeshifting?Originally Posted by Drake Sigar
i agree that bg1 is hard to get into. no argument here. but getting into bg2 for newbie to add is also going to be hard.
thats why i suggest pst as very very chill introduction to the rules. haven't played icewind dale so that might be good but i can't say.
He's talking about me, it's a medical condition.
I'm failing to writing a blog, specifically about playing games the wrong way
http://playingitwrong.wordpress.com/
I'm stuck.
>take amiga
You reach for the magazine, but as you touch it it disintegrates in front of your eyes. In its place are the feet of a man. That man is Kieron Gillen. He smiles down at you.
>talk kieron
I didn't understand that sentence.
>talk to kieron
You open your mouth but the words fail to come. Without speaking, Kieron's voice echoes inside of your head. He mentions something about Thief. Everything is right with the world.
>take kieron
I don't suppose Kieron would care for that.
>open kieron
He's not something you can open.
>absorb kieron's power
That's not a verb I recognise.
>ask kieron
What do you want to ask Kieron for?
>riches
You can't see any such thing.
>ask kieron
What do you want to ask Kieron for?
>bigger manhood
You can't see any such thing.
Okay, technically I'm not really playing it yet, but I'm about to play Half-life (1) for the first time. Played HL2 and loved it though. My question to you is: what's the deal with Half-Life: Source? Is it just HL 1 in the Source engine? Do I miss out on anything by playing that one instead of the original?
Ok, thanks
Just finished Geneforge 5, which caps off my playthrough of the entire series which I started way back in November. It really is the best of the series and one of the best RPGs I've ever played. It definitely rivals any of the late 1990s, 2D, isometric, classics. In fact, it kind of amazes me how a game with this many branching paths dependent upon your actions can be designed by just one guy (there are 5 separate factions in this, each with their own fairly complex storylines and quests....and thus the possible routes you can take in the game depending on your actions seem to be every bit as complicated and varied as something like Alpha Protocol, Fallout 2, or New Vegas).
But, yeah, if you only play one Geneforge game it should probably be this one. I realize that the prospect of playing 5 30-60 hour games is a bit daunting, but they really are worth the effort in the long run. Although, if you want a condensed version of the series, I think you would do fine by starting with Geneforge 2 (which is really just the same game as Geneforge 1, more or less, only with more factions) then skipping to Geneforge 4 and Geneforge 5. That would get you all the highlights and save you some time.
30-60 hours is actually less lengthy than I'd been led to believe they were. You say Geneforge 2 is basically a redone Geneforge 1? Why is 3 skippable?
Out of curiosity, have you played the Avernum games?
I think I know where you went wrong. Near the beginning of the game there is a boot you were supposed to collect. Throw it at the cat chasing the rat and said rat will later come to your aid. If you didn't do that, I'm afraid you made the game unwinnable. I hope you have an earlier savegame.
Yeah. I even played them all on torment, so if you play on normal they will probably be even faster. Although, average time is probably 45ish.
G2 isn't really a redone G1 in that they have different story lines. It's just that G2 plays like G1, only with more stuff. G1 is a good introduction to the world, though, so you could probably play G1 and skip G2, or vice versa.
G3 is a personal favorite of mine, just because I think it's where the series gets interesting. The quality of writing and complexity of character and plot take a huge leap forward, and a lot of characters are introduced who stick around until the end of the series. So in that sense, I wouldn't say it's skippable. However, the gameplay isn't as good. It's very, very, linear, and there are only 2 factions to choose from, so there isn't as much freedom. This kind of makes for an interesting storyline (both factions are very flawed so you end up having to make some very morally grey decisions), but most people tend to see G3 as the worst in the series.
Really, though, if you have the time it's worth playing them all in order as they definitely lead into each other and you'll miss out on various nuances and references if you don't. Although, they don't get really plot heavy until G3. And really any single game is designed to be played by someone who is new to the series, so even though there is an over arching plot, you technically probably could start anywhere.
And yeah I've played most of the Avernums. I like them for what they are (some more than others), but I don't think they are anywhere near as good as Geneforge.
Drawn:The Painted Tower, the best hidden object game I've ever played. (Rep -1 ?)
'Your sacrifice completes my sanctuary of a thousand testicles'
My Steam profile
Tried tiny bang story?
I'm failing to writing a blog, specifically about playing games the wrong way
http://playingitwrong.wordpress.com/
Yeah, Hard isn't it? Sometimes I really have to squnit to see anything there. I couldn't belive it last night, I did the map puzzle in about a minute, it's taken me at least 8 before!
Last edited by magnus1969; 27-07-2012 at 06:54 PM.
'Your sacrifice completes my sanctuary of a thousand testicles'
My Steam profile
Thanks for the posts, very interesting. What about the UI? is it clunky compared to Avadon?
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"You take the Klingon's detached hand"
In some ways its better, you can hit everything through keyboard shortcuts, and just hit tab to see what they are. In general it's not as refined, but it's more than passable.
Inventory in 1&2 isn't the greatest ever, fairly big change when you hit 3. No more encumbrance from inventory and it's no longer a list of items.
Any good Mods for Alpha Protocol ? This game is a MESS but I was hopping with mods that it will help since I love the characters...
Man, that would have been nice. To my knowledge it's not modable.
@Juan Carlo
Thanks for the detailed breakdown. Am I remembering right that Avernum is party-based but Geneforge is single-character?
I just finished the "Move all my shit between residences" game, and it SUCKED. Thankfully, nobody died in the adventure (spoiler), although it was a 50/50 shot at one point.
Anyway, now that I have my gaming PC wired to my living room, I'm looking forward to finishing up Rage and Rayman Origins this weekend. Maybe jump into some Stalker SoC, since I've never played it before.
There are no mods to my knowledge, but you can change some settings in the .ini files which make the overall experience a bit smoother. I'll just quote myself from this thread.
And before I forget it, there are some useful .ini tweaks that can be found here, which make the overall experience a lot smoother. Of particular note are these changes:
InteractDistance=250
CoverWalkSpeed=75.f
CoverRunSpeed=125.f
PlayerRotationSpeed=80000.0f
MoveSpeedNormal=220
MoveSpeedScoped=80
SprintSpeed=350
They slow you down somewhat, but they also improve Mike's animations and make the game feel a lot less jittery. I couldn't imagine playing without them.
Edit: Silly me. I forgot to mention those changes go into your APGame.ini (Documents\Alpha Protocol\APGame\Config).
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