After Baldur's Gate II - Advice Pls

BlueMisty · Post by **BlueMisty** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 8:15 am

Hello

I just finished Baldur's Gase II - Shadows of Amn (the first AD&D game i've ever played) and I LOVED it.

I read a few things about Neverwinter Nights and I'm not very excited about it, since I'd like to keep playing with a party and not online.

Anyway, I'm a bit lost and I was wondering what I can play next.
Is there any extension pack to this game?

Thanks

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 8:23 am

Is there any extension pack to this game?

First, @Bluemisty, welcome to the forum.

Second, well...*cough* BG2: Throne of Bhaal, *cough*

It's the next category down, and you'll find lengthy discussions of BG2's add-on to SoA, there.

You should also consider, IMO, Planescape: Torment. It's probably the most BG2-like RPG that has ever been released, and a wonderful game. About 3 years old, it can usually be purchased for $15 or less. I strongly recommend it.

Bloodmist · Post by **Bloodmist** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 8:33 am

There are many, many unofficíal add-ons to this game. Most notably a mod called "The Darkest Day."

Most of these can be downloaded on sorcerers.net

I also strongly recomend that you go through the game once more, and discover the things you, almost certainly missed, the first time. Also going with a party of the opposite alignment proves a whole new gaming experience. If you haven't got the connection to download The Darkest Day mod, i suggest you get some other mod. Kelsey and Soulafein springs to mind, two new NPCs, both of them includes new quests and items, and are not as large as TDD.

And, welcome to the boards!

BlueMisty · Post by **BlueMisty** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 8:42 am

Oh dear... now I feel very self conscious for being so unversed in such matters.
And here I was thinking that reading Tolkien at the age of 16 (9 years ago!!) was enough!

Even so, thanks a lot for you advice to a newbie... I really loved the game and I’m buying those two you mentioned straight away.

Meanwhile, I’m reading the forum completely wide-eyed. Never thought it was this massive.
Very interesting.

Till next time...
Cheers and greeting from Scotland

DraySkullan · Post by **DraySkullan** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 11:11 am

The IceWind Dale games run on the same type of format, and are pretty fun, thought not as huge as BG2. I enjoyed them. You make your entire party, no NPCs. I like that, not sure if you do.

Littiz · Post by **Littiz** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 11:35 am

yep, follow Fable's advice. Torment is surely one of the 2 best role-playing games.
The other one is BG2....

BG2 is more combat oriented and more replayable.
People here have played it over and over...

ToB is absolutely a must.
After a couple of runs through SoA + ToB, IMHO also many fan-made mods are a must...
The right selection of them can give you the best possible game experience.

I couldn't anymore play a game without smart enemies as the Improved Beholders
or Improved Mindflyers (maybe the best done of all, IMHO)
And so I keep playing BG2....

Krimmy · Post by **Krimmy** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 11:38 am

If you haven't already you should also look at Baldur's Gate the first game in the series, you can create your character there and when you're finished bring him/her into SoA and then finish in ToB.

There was an add-on for Baldur's Gate called Tales of the sword coast, so there is a huge amount of gaming for you to do in the Baldur's Gate story if decide to.

KidD01 · Post by **KidD01** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 12:25 pm

OK, here's a quick rundown :
BG & BG exp : ToSC
Pros : The beginning of saga the char you play on BG2. You also can see how "powerful" and "scary" Sarevok was

Cons : the chars can't run and more gaming hours than BG2

IWD + IWD exp : HoW and IWD 2
Mainly hack and slash, less side quest than BG games. Intense gaming

NWN :
I believe it can be played without online feature. And FYI I've just installed it today. The graphics are great ! Black Isle really keep their promises

<EDIT> BTW Welcome to GB, BlueMisty

ARcheR_S_ · Post by **ARcheR_S_** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 2:06 pm

Which game (age: 1.5 year or younger) or "soon to come" game, comes closest to the romances and dialog that we experience(d) in BG SoA and ToB??

Cause this was a great game.......mainly cause of the dialogs IMO.

Ohh yeah......Planescape is a bit to old for me.

And another thing..... If I recue Imoen right away.....does she has dialog in Trademeat or Windspear Hills or anything?

Koveras · Post by **Koveras** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 3:30 pm

Hey guys, I'm considering buying PS:T sometime, what are your thoughts about it. I have seen it really cheap, but right now, I'm playing another game of BGII, so I'm in no hurry. Also there's so many mods that haven't come out yet.

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 3:51 pm

Originally posted by Koveras
Hey guys, I'm considering buying PS:T sometime, what are your thoughts about it. I have seen it really cheap, but right now, I'm playing another game of BGII, so I'm in no hurry. Also there's so many mods that haven't come out yet.

My thoughts are ....buy it. You can get it for as cheap as ten bucks, and the game is wonderful. It's another one of those games that draws you into it. Many people here will tell you the wonderful points oof this game, and they are speaking truth. It's a darker atmosphere than BG series, but the game play is incredible.

@Archer...don't judge the game by it's age. If you are looking for a great role-playing experience, You will not be dissappointed. Besides BG series, IMO, it's about the best there is.

fable · Post by **fable** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 3:58 pm

Originally posted by Bloodstalker
My thoughts are ....buy it. You can get it for as cheap as ten bucks, and the game is wonderful. It's another one of those games that draws you into it. Many people here will tell you the wonderful points oof this game, and they are speaking truth. It's a darker atmosphere than BG series, but the game play is incredible.

I second Bloodstalker's Planescape: Torment comments. It was intended as the spearhead for Interplay's "more intelligent RPGs" effort. Unfortunately, though it got rave reviews, the game sales were only good, not great, and a successor was vetoed. When the Black Isle staff tried to harness the same style and depth for TORN, their next effort, they were summarily fired for it. The crew that's left there is only fit to produce extremely linear, combat-to-combat games, like the Icewind Dale series.

Don't get me wrong: IWD and IWD2 are fun games, but they completely lack the non-linearity and in-depth characters of both BG2 and PS:T. If you enjoyed BG2, definitely try PS:T. You won't be disappointed.

garazdawi · Post by **garazdawi** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 4:17 pm

NWN is also a good game. So far it does not match BG2 completely IMO but it will. In NWN all fan created champains are bound to make it big time. Once people get the time they will begin to make massive modules where the gaming is so rich you can see yourslef walk about in the world. And it is also VERY easy to create your own adventures any way u like them. It might take some time but I'll guarentee that if u take the time u will not be dissapoined.

thaGforce · Post by **thaGforce** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 6:26 pm

Another member to the cult

Welcome to the boards, BlueMisty.

I don't know how someone could not love this game after completing it.

One thing I suggest, do not buy NWN until you have played it first. Rent it, or play it at a friend's, or play it at a net cafe, but don't buy it until you've played it first. I've read some reviews, which make it look to be worse than Pool of Radiance (the new one) and some that praise it endlessly. All I know is that the single player campaign definitely did not live up to all it's hype, but then again if you plan to play online and create modules yourself it might still be a good buy for you. I spent a couple years following the game, a pretty big waste of time.

Well, something good came out of it, I met a really good group of friends in a NWN guild.

KidD01, the graphics are not that great.

If you want really good graphics, get Morrowind. They're mind blowing. And BlackIsle did not have much part in making NWN, they did at first but Bioware and Blackisle broke their partnership partway through the development of NWN.

KidD01 · Post by **KidD01** » Sat Nov 02, 2002 2:42 am

Re: Another member to the cult

Originally posted by thaGforce
<SNIP> KidD01, the graphics are not that great. If you want really good graphics, get Morrowind. They're mind blowing. And BlackIsle did not have much part in making NWN, they did at first but Bioware and Blackisle broke their partnership partway through the development of NWN.

Ah yes...I ment Bioware no Black Isle *bang his head on monitor*

BTW I'm not quite fond of Morrowind - The games ask too much in PC specs. You might see some comments on Morrowind specs in Morrowind forum. Ans FYI I've tried Morrowind - seems like the game asking me to get new graphic card

BlueMisty · Post by **BlueMisty** » Sat Nov 02, 2002 8:31 am

I must say this has got to be the most friendly and informative forum I’ve ever seen.

Thank you for all the tips.

I did try to play the game again with an evil alignment, but I guess I’m not cut out for that... It must be a girlish thing

Speaking of which, there were only two quests I never did and that was because I thought they were “evil”: “Finding Mountaron” in the Harpers guild and stealing something for the rivals of the Shadow Thieves. I wonder if I should have done it?

I took a look at “Planetscape” and it looks a bit violent. Does it have a good story and interesting dialogues or is it mainly battles?

I’m getting “Throne of Bhaal” this weekend (I’m thinking of making my main character a wild mage) , but before that I’m going to download the patches that some people talked about.

So that’s me sorted... one last rhetorical question though:
Why did the only guy that fell in love with my character had to be the annoying Amoen (sp?)
Here was I sighing for a romance with Valygar... got to love the strong silent type.

Again, thanks for all the help everyone

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Nov 02, 2002 9:50 am

I did try to play the game again with an evil alignment, but I guess I’m not cut out for that... It must be a girlish thing

I'm inclined to doubt it--assuming you are of the female persuasion. (It is difficult to tell, up here.) Some of the most genuinely vicious people in the world are women--and some aren't. Last time I checked, the extra X chromosome affected matters other than social and ethical disposition.

As to alignment in BG2: SoA, IMO, it's largely nothing but scaffolding. While it's true you can do a few "evil" things, most of your quests are by nature good. And all of your evil associates in the game are really neutral, according to AD&D definition, rather than evil. Korgan may be greedy and abusive to people he's disagreed with, but he's loyal and helpful to his friends. Viconia is grateful, if violent. Edwin has severe image issues and is woefully immature, but he doesn't complain when you help others instead of trying to assert power.

Parenthetically, there is a class of RPGs that *do* allow PCs to develop along evil, rather than good lines. They're all made by Troika Studios: Fallout 1 and 2, and Arcanum. In each case, you can find and side with the forces of evil, and still end up winning the game--because you choose your evils to assist and oppose, so to speak.

I took a look at “Planetscape” and it looks a bit violent. Does it have a good story and interesting dialogues or is it mainly battles?

Do you mean Planescape: Torment? It's no more violent than BG2. And if you put a lot of your main character's attribute points at the start in intelligence and wisdom, it's a good deal less violent. Some of the battles you would ordinarily face instead become puzzles requiring solutions.

Why did the only guy that fell in love with my character had to be the annoying Amoen (sp?)

Lack of time on the part of the developers. They'd hoped to do more, but...well, that happened. If you want a romance with a male character, try the Kelsey mod. He's a lot less of a jerk than Anomen. Of course, even then Firkraag was less of jerk than Anomen, so that's not saying much, but still...

thaGforce · Post by **thaGforce** » Sat Nov 02, 2002 11:31 am

A long time ago...

I also remember there was a Valygar romance Mod being created by David Gaider and several members of the BlackIsle forums, but that was a long time ago and I don't know how that went but I'll do a quick search and see if anything pops up.

KidD01, you're right the requirements are very high, I was lucky I got a new computer just when it came out.

But if you ever get the chance to play it, I reccommend you do.

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Sat Nov 02, 2002 5:18 pm

Originally posted by BlueMisty
I took a look at “Planetscape” and it looks a bit violent. Does it have a good story and interesting dialogues or is it mainly battles?
I’m getting “Throne of Bhaal” this weekend (I’m thinking of making my main character a wild mage) , but before that I’m going to download the patches that some people talked about.

Planescape may have more dialogues than you bargained for... it's very heavy on the texts.

In BG2 (SoA and ToB) I had the most roleplaying fun with my wild mage. He was a very righteous, overly serious and lawful good char, always choosing the 'I will smite thee, villain!!' sort of dialogue options. Because of that it became real funny to have a lot of his spells go wrong or blow up in his face.

Still, if you going to play ToB, IMHO it might be more fun to use the character you finished SoA with... for story's sake. Also, the romance will continue if you do. Of course, if Anomen is your love interest you might not want that...

Koveras · Post by **Koveras** » Sat Nov 02, 2002 6:17 pm

...Sola romance is also very good.