Yesterday, after reading many good comments on planescape:torment, i installed the game, played it for an hour, and uninstalled it.
Now i feel bad about not giving it a chance, but i dont enjoy looking at dead bodies with their skin peeled off, even if it's just a drawing, even if it's just a game.
I would like to know from someone who finished he game if it's like that just at the beginning, or through the whole game?
I would really like to give it a second try, considering all the good reviews on the game, but if that means watching people with their guts falling out all the time, i won't. Even if it's the best game ever.
disgusting?
You won't come across gruesome graphics anywhere else than at the Mortuary and the Burried Village to a lesser degree (though there is a dialog with Marta that might turn your stomache over). It's just at the beginning, really. So, keep playing or else you'll miss the best story to a game, movie or book. 
Seriously, it's that good. Right now, I'm tempted to bang my head to the wall in order to lose my memory and play P:T all over again (a virgin experience).
edit: Try it out as a mage, the spell effects are really beautiful.
second edit: in red
Seriously, it's that good. Right now, I'm tempted to bang my head to the wall in order to lose my memory and play P:T all over again (a virgin experience).edit: Try it out as a mage, the spell effects are really beautiful.
second edit: in red
Thanks for your reply, that's just what i hoped to read
So re-install is on the way
edit: why did they put such graphics anyway? I'm sure i'm not the only one who stopped playing because of that.. Ok, i know it's a mortuary but still, is it really necessary to have a half-skinned or opened dead bodies around every corner..?
A mage (or maybe cleric?) is what i tried at first: int 18, cha 16, wis 16 so i'm gonna keep those stats.. hope there's not too much to carry around though (str 9..) Maybe you have some advice on my stats?
[QUOTE=Tavi] Right now, I'm tempted to bang my head to the wall in order to lose my memory and play P:T all over again (a virgin experience).[/QUOTE]
lol!!!
edit#2: spelling & a missing word :\
So re-install is on the way
edit: why did they put such graphics anyway? I'm sure i'm not the only one who stopped playing because of that.. Ok, i know it's a mortuary but still, is it really necessary to have a half-skinned or opened dead bodies around every corner..?
A mage (or maybe cleric?) is what i tried at first: int 18, cha 16, wis 16
so i'm gonna keep those stats.. hope there's not too much to carry around though (str 9..) Maybe you have some advice on my stats?[QUOTE=Tavi] Right now, I'm tempted to bang my head to the wall in order to lose my memory and play P:T all over again (a virgin experience).[/QUOTE]
lol!!!
edit#2: spelling & a missing word :\
To be honest, even though you won't see autopsy tables throughout the rest of the game, the "creepiness" factor never really lets up. You might get used to it, or you might not.
The best explanation I can think of is that the game is about MORTALITY. That means it's about flesh and blood, among other things, and those things decay. In Sigil, things happen just because people BELIEVE in them, so you end up with things like walking corpses and people who can swap out teeth and eyeballs and so forth. However, in Planescape Torment's defense, even if things are macabre, there is always a sensitive, humane underlying element. For example, you might meet a zombie later in the game who is weeping. She has feelings, and she is obviously very upset something. If you can look past the fact that she doesn't have tear ducts anymore and there's something else oozing out of her eyes, you might feel sympathetic. Even though she was a zombie, I was rather touched by her predicament. None of the companions who can join your group are human, and it's questionable whether the main character is human anymore after what he has done to himself (or what has been done to him, which is what you're supposed to find out). But you'll never question their "humanity", so to speak. After playing Planescape Torment, you might see things in a new way.
It's not like other roleplaying games. Instead of killing everything you meet and running up a body count as high as possible, you can spend your time reading about philosophy (there are fifteen different "factions" in Sigil, all of which have unique beliefs) and solving mysteries and helping people. To me, the lesson is that you should have respect for both the living and the dead. I only attacked other creatures when I was being attacked (although, if you want to put yourself in a position where you can kill a bunch of monsters for lots of experience points, you can do that).
I just want to emphasize again that the game really gets down to the nitty-gritty, so to speak, and it can seem rather bizarre. It might indeed be challenging to look past that. Personally, I didn't exactly enjoy the more gruesome elements, but sometimes I found them fascinating. Sometimes they're a bit funny. For example, your main character can't die permanently, so he asks other characters to do things to him that are a bit violent. For example, he thinks that something might be hidden somewhere in his body, so you have the option to ask another character to split his skull open and look inside. Things like that are so unexpected to normal people like us, you'll either find it disgusting or think it's kind of interesting. Or maybe after playing Planescape Torment, you'll just take things like that for granted.
By the way, here are my recommendations for stats. Start with:
STR 9
DEX 13
CON 9
INT 14
WIS 18
CHA 13
...or as close to that as you can. Every time you level up, you can add a point to one of the stats, all the way up to 25. Wisdom is the most important stat because it gives you the best dialogue options (if your Wisdom isn't high enough, you won't see all of the options), and if you have high Wisdom, you get experience point bonuses (up to 35% extra every time you gain experience, I think). There are also items in the game that raise your stats, and you get extra stat points just for talking to certain people. That's because your character, who is thousands of years old, can recover his old abilities when he starts to regain his memories. If he can recover enough memories, he has the potential to be almost god-like. I wouldn't worry too much about stat points, because you'll have plenty in the end.
When you level up, here's what I would add to each stat:
STR none (use items if you need them)
DEX max out at 16, then use items if you need better Armor Class
CON none (make sure you get maximum hit points every time you level up)
INT start with 13 or 14, use tattoos to raise it to at least 16, and add points until you're up to at least 19 (23 is optimal)
WIS add one more point if you start with 18, then follow the quests for other stat increases (24 is optimal)
CHA start with 13, raise it to 14, buy a tattoo to raise it to 16, then follow quests to raise it a couple more points -OR- max out if you prefer (23 or 24 is optimal)
As you can see, I think Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma are the only stats worth worrying about. Your character doesn't need to get into a lot of fights, you can let your NPCs serve as bodyguards if you like, your character always gets right back up if he dies, and he regenerates hit points pretty fast; so I don't think Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution make any difference. (There are a few dialogue options where it's nice to have Dexterity over 13, and it's nice to have better AC so you don't get hit, but other than that, a Mage doesn't need high Dexterity.)
Talk to everyone you can (just examine the Mortuary zombies, don't try to make conversation with them unless you want to be chaotic), read every book you can, look at every item description carefully, and think about your dialogue options carefully. You'll get more experience and stat points than you thought possible. There's a LOT of information to keep up with, but I found it very rewarding.
The best explanation I can think of is that the game is about MORTALITY. That means it's about flesh and blood, among other things, and those things decay. In Sigil, things happen just because people BELIEVE in them, so you end up with things like walking corpses and people who can swap out teeth and eyeballs and so forth. However, in Planescape Torment's defense, even if things are macabre, there is always a sensitive, humane underlying element. For example, you might meet a zombie later in the game who is weeping. She has feelings, and she is obviously very upset something. If you can look past the fact that she doesn't have tear ducts anymore and there's something else oozing out of her eyes, you might feel sympathetic. Even though she was a zombie, I was rather touched by her predicament. None of the companions who can join your group are human, and it's questionable whether the main character is human anymore after what he has done to himself (or what has been done to him, which is what you're supposed to find out). But you'll never question their "humanity", so to speak. After playing Planescape Torment, you might see things in a new way.
It's not like other roleplaying games. Instead of killing everything you meet and running up a body count as high as possible, you can spend your time reading about philosophy (there are fifteen different "factions" in Sigil, all of which have unique beliefs) and solving mysteries and helping people. To me, the lesson is that you should have respect for both the living and the dead. I only attacked other creatures when I was being attacked (although, if you want to put yourself in a position where you can kill a bunch of monsters for lots of experience points, you can do that).
I just want to emphasize again that the game really gets down to the nitty-gritty, so to speak, and it can seem rather bizarre. It might indeed be challenging to look past that. Personally, I didn't exactly enjoy the more gruesome elements, but sometimes I found them fascinating. Sometimes they're a bit funny. For example, your main character can't die permanently, so he asks other characters to do things to him that are a bit violent. For example, he thinks that something might be hidden somewhere in his body, so you have the option to ask another character to split his skull open and look inside. Things like that are so unexpected to normal people like us, you'll either find it disgusting or think it's kind of interesting. Or maybe after playing Planescape Torment, you'll just take things like that for granted.
By the way, here are my recommendations for stats. Start with:
STR 9
DEX 13
CON 9
INT 14
WIS 18
CHA 13
...or as close to that as you can. Every time you level up, you can add a point to one of the stats, all the way up to 25. Wisdom is the most important stat because it gives you the best dialogue options (if your Wisdom isn't high enough, you won't see all of the options), and if you have high Wisdom, you get experience point bonuses (up to 35% extra every time you gain experience, I think). There are also items in the game that raise your stats, and you get extra stat points just for talking to certain people. That's because your character, who is thousands of years old, can recover his old abilities when he starts to regain his memories. If he can recover enough memories, he has the potential to be almost god-like. I wouldn't worry too much about stat points, because you'll have plenty in the end.
When you level up, here's what I would add to each stat:
STR none (use items if you need them)
DEX max out at 16, then use items if you need better Armor Class
CON none (make sure you get maximum hit points every time you level up)
INT start with 13 or 14, use tattoos to raise it to at least 16, and add points until you're up to at least 19 (23 is optimal)
WIS add one more point if you start with 18, then follow the quests for other stat increases (24 is optimal)
CHA start with 13, raise it to 14, buy a tattoo to raise it to 16, then follow quests to raise it a couple more points -OR- max out if you prefer (23 or 24 is optimal)
As you can see, I think Wisdom, Intelligence, and Charisma are the only stats worth worrying about. Your character doesn't need to get into a lot of fights, you can let your NPCs serve as bodyguards if you like, your character always gets right back up if he dies, and he regenerates hit points pretty fast; so I don't think Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution make any difference. (There are a few dialogue options where it's nice to have Dexterity over 13, and it's nice to have better AC so you don't get hit, but other than that, a Mage doesn't need high Dexterity.)
Talk to everyone you can (just examine the Mortuary zombies, don't try to make conversation with them unless you want to be chaotic), read every book you can, look at every item description carefully, and think about your dialogue options carefully. You'll get more experience and stat points than you thought possible. There's a LOT of information to keep up with, but I found it very rewarding.
One thing to keep in mind is that PS:T keeps track of how your character acts. This means that if you choose the silly dialogue options to see what the answers are, then your character moves towards chaos quite quickly. This isn't a big deal if you want to be a chaotic character, of course.
Fortunately, I saw that early on while looking at my character info, and went through my save files to find the "problem". From then on, I would be sure to save the game if I wanted to follow a particular conversation thread, then restore - but in general, since the plotline was so immersing, I never even considered choosing options that were "out of character" after the first few hours.
A friend, when recommending (OK - forcing me to buy) PS:T gave me only 1 semi-spoiler. He said, "Only a wise man can rediscover his past"...
Fortunately, I saw that early on while looking at my character info, and went through my save files to find the "problem". From then on, I would be sure to save the game if I wanted to follow a particular conversation thread, then restore - but in general, since the plotline was so immersing, I never even considered choosing options that were "out of character" after the first few hours.
A friend, when recommending (OK - forcing me to buy) PS:T gave me only 1 semi-spoiler. He said, "Only a wise man can rediscover his past"...
[QUOTE=VonDondu]To be honest, even though you won't see autopsy tables throughout the rest of the game, the "creepiness" factor never really lets up. You might get used to it, or you might not.[/QUOTE]
That's ok, i'll probably get used to it. Maybe it's just that i didn't expect the game to be like that.
[QUOTE=VonDondu]For example, he thinks that something might be hidden somewhere in his body, so you have the option to ask another character to split his skull open and look inside.[/QUOTE]
lol, well as long as there's a funny side to it, it's ok too
[QUOTE=VonDondu]By the way, here are my recommendations for stats. Start with:
STR 9
DEX 13
CON 9
INT 14
WIS 18
CHA 13[/QUOTE]
I haven't played AD&D for maybe 10 years now, but won't a mid-level CHA take a few speech options out?
[QUOTE=VonDondu][...] don't try to make conversation with them unless you want to be chaotic)[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=iamweaver]One thing to keep in mind is that PS:T keeps track of how your character acts. This means that if you choose the silly dialogue options to see what the answers are, then your character moves towards chaos quite quickly. This isn't a big deal if you want to be a chaotic character, of course.
[/QUOTE]
The first time i played the game, i tried to speak to every zombie (the things he says them are funny), and couldn't resist pushing the one that can't stand on its feet. (that was funny too Maybe i needed that to contrast with the game's mood.)
But that means i'm heading towards a chaotic alignment..
If i understood well, it's better not to play a chaotic character if i want to know the complete story?
Vincent
That's ok, i'll probably get used to it. Maybe it's just that i didn't expect the game to be like that.
[QUOTE=VonDondu]For example, he thinks that something might be hidden somewhere in his body, so you have the option to ask another character to split his skull open and look inside.[/QUOTE]
lol, well as long as there's a funny side to it, it's ok too
[QUOTE=VonDondu]By the way, here are my recommendations for stats. Start with:
STR 9
DEX 13
CON 9
INT 14
WIS 18
CHA 13[/QUOTE]
I haven't played AD&D for maybe 10 years now, but won't a mid-level CHA take a few speech options out?
[QUOTE=VonDondu][...] don't try to make conversation with them unless you want to be chaotic)[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=iamweaver]One thing to keep in mind is that PS:T keeps track of how your character acts. This means that if you choose the silly dialogue options to see what the answers are, then your character moves towards chaos quite quickly. This isn't a big deal if you want to be a chaotic character, of course.
[/QUOTE]
The first time i played the game, i tried to speak to every zombie (the things he says them are funny), and couldn't resist pushing the one that can't stand on its feet. (that was funny too
Maybe i needed that to contrast with the game's mood.)But that means i'm heading towards a chaotic alignment..
If i understood well, it's better not to play a chaotic character if i want to know the complete story?
Vincent
[QUOTE=hjgf]won't a mid-level CHA take a few speech options out[/QUOTE]
It will make a difference later in the game, when higher Charisma is required for better dialogue options; but when you first start the game, the game understands that you have started out with a limited number of stat points, so even a 13 is considered fairly high.
There's one character you meet less than halfway through the game who will do a really big favor for you if your Charisma is 16 or higher. I can't think of any other really important dialogues besides that one, but I don't think you'd want to miss it.
[QUOTE=hjgf]If i understood well, it's better not to play a chaotic character if i want to know the complete story?[/QUOTE]
No. You can play your character any way you like. Torment gives the player more options than any other game I know. Some players think that having to play the "same" character is a big drawback, but they don't seem to realize how free they are to create their own character and do whatever they like in the game. When the Nameless One wakes up in the Mortuary, he's a blank slate, and his new "incarnation" can be anything you want it to be.
I ended up with a Lawful Good character because I always kept my word, I always chose the Good options, and I didn't do silly things. I was just being myself. (I was surprised that I ended up being "lawful".) Being Lawful Good lets you use a couple of items that can raise one of your stats, and being Lawful lets you have a dialogue that can raise one of your stats by up to three points, depending on how Lawful your actions have been. You might consider that to be an important advantage. But being Chaotic opens up a couple of paths to you, and you'll miss those if you're Lawful. So it's really up to you. If I were you, I'd play however you feel like playing; it's more realistic that way.
It will make a difference later in the game, when higher Charisma is required for better dialogue options; but when you first start the game, the game understands that you have started out with a limited number of stat points, so even a 13 is considered fairly high.
There's one character you meet less than halfway through the game who will do a really big favor for you if your Charisma is 16 or higher. I can't think of any other really important dialogues besides that one, but I don't think you'd want to miss it.
[QUOTE=hjgf]If i understood well, it's better not to play a chaotic character if i want to know the complete story?[/QUOTE]
No. You can play your character any way you like. Torment gives the player more options than any other game I know. Some players think that having to play the "same" character is a big drawback, but they don't seem to realize how free they are to create their own character and do whatever they like in the game. When the Nameless One wakes up in the Mortuary, he's a blank slate, and his new "incarnation" can be anything you want it to be.
I ended up with a Lawful Good character because I always kept my word, I always chose the Good options, and I didn't do silly things. I was just being myself. (I was surprised that I ended up being "lawful".)
Being Lawful Good lets you use a couple of items that can raise one of your stats, and being Lawful lets you have a dialogue that can raise one of your stats by up to three points, depending on how Lawful your actions have been. You might consider that to be an important advantage. But being Chaotic opens up a couple of paths to you, and you'll miss those if you're Lawful. So it's really up to you. If I were you, I'd play however you feel like playing; it's more realistic that way.Well i'll post the alignment i ended up with when i finish the game
Funny how the beginning of the game reminds me a bit of "fallout"..
And "countdown" too (ahh those good adlib days lol ) I remember that the company who made the game invented a way to make the pc speaker play voices and sounds (other than beeps)... being nostalgic, sorry.
Funny how the beginning of the game reminds me a bit of "fallout"..
And "countdown" too (ahh those good adlib days lol
) I remember that the company who made the game invented a way to make the pc speaker play voices and sounds (other than beeps)... being nostalgic, sorry.
