chibajoe

I think the first time I played, I actually already had the mushrooms when I got to Balmora, since endless hours of RPGing had already preconditioned me to being a total klepto :ph34r: ; it was the flowers that I had a hard time finding "

The way I see it, Bethesda has been making the same game for the last ten(!) years or so: a freeform RPG that doesn't limit the ability of the PC to interact with the game world in any way. They have, unfortunately, never succeeded... but they get closer with every try . Personally, I've always been impressed by the games; both by the level of ambition and the level of success, given the limitations of the technology that Bethesda had available at the time. I don't always agree with some of the choices that they have made, as far as game mechanics are concerned, but I've always applauded their efforts. At this point, they are (as far as I can tell) the only people trying to make a real CRPG, or at least one that lets you role play any character you wish (within the contexts of a sword and sorcery setting). Come to think of it, they might have always been the only company making this kind of game. In every other game that I can think of, you are the "chosen one", with a grand destiny that you must fulfill. Sure, you may be allowed to fulfill it in several different ways, but ultimately, it's either fulfill your destiny or don't play the game, because there's no content that lets you do anything else. The Bethesda games, in contrast, really could care less if you fulfilled your destiny; it's there, if you want it, but if all you want to do is run around pickpocketing everything with a pocket (and even some things that can't possibly have pockets " ) then that's fine too. The biggest problem (for me, anyway) has been that they've always been a bit dull; freeform works best with lots and lots of content. Fortunately, with every incarnation, the games get more and more content, and the interactions between your PC and the game world get better. As for the game mechanics becomming "dumbed down"... well, if it helps the game become more accessible to more people, all the better. Bethesda is wise enough to include the TES Construction Set with their games, as is very supportive of the MOD community, which means that any failings within the game can (and usually are) fixed within a short time (such as Blocking enhanced and combat enhanced). Bethesda is trying to do something no one else is doing, and blaming them for not making a better game is (IMO, at least) at best counterproductive, and at worst a bit childish.

Conceptually, this isn't all that different than what's going on in the Sims world now. They have the infrastructure in place for you to share your (self created) Sim content; this is basically SimEvo . What's really interesting is that the game "understands" physiology; design something (organic, structural, mechanical) and the game figures out how it (the thing that your created) reacts to it's virtual environment. That concept is so mind blowing, it is almost worth repeating... or at least reiterating . In any case, this definitely a piece of software (you could hardly call it a game) that's going at the top of my "buy" list!

PM me with your e-mail address and I'll send it your way. :ph34r:

Yeah, it's amazing what a difference a few (hundred) megs of textures can make BTW, here is the WindowGlow mod (see attachment) WindowGlow.zip

Chances are, you need the Europe (British) version of the patch. I had the same problem with Sacred; I got the Euro version (blood, gore, etc. ) off of e-bay, and had to wait for that version of the patch to come out. BTW, if you've got the no-cd patch installed, that might also cause your problem.

I thought it was hilarious that you could hire a pack rat (literally ) to carry all your stuff.

If you're still playing, you should try some of the texture packs; they make the game look awesome

Give ring to Fargoth, go to the shop. Sell everything you've got, except the lock pick. Buy Claymore and some armor. Go to the lighthouse and kill woman, steal book and lockpick chest for a valuable sword/axe - can't remember. Go back to shop, sell book and valuable sword. Then go to Balmora and give letter to Caius Crassius or whatever he's called. Something like that. Sometimes I feel I'm the only one in the world who actually likes Morrowind. ^^; <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I like Morrowind; it's just a very (very) different game than the KOTOR games. The vast amount of freedom that Bethesda games give you can be a bit disconcerting to players who are used to being locked into the main storyline. The fact that the Bethesda games play like a single player MMORPG takes some getting used to, and doesn't appeal to everyone...

Comparing the BG series to the KOTORs is a bit of an apple/orange deal. Sure, they're both frui.. ah, RPGs, but that's about the end of the similarities. Playing through the whole BG series could take well over 100 hours, and requires a fairly high level of dedication. It's sort of like reading The Hobbit+LOTR+The Silmarillion; the story is engaging and interesting, but like all epics, tends to drag in places. The KOTORs, whatever their faults, are much shorter and have better pacing. However, if you're looking for a good, well paced and relatively short RPG, why not check out Cult: Heretic Kingdoms? It's new, has good graphics, an engaging storyline, and can be picked up for $30.

I just finished my second playthrough ; it's definitely worth a look, and at $30 is also worth the money. It's a short game; you could blow through it in a weekend of hard playing, or a week if you took your time. I actually found the brevity refreshing, and the whole attunement system is pretty fun once you get used to it. The biggest drawback (for me, anyway) is that the game suffers from some balance issues, especially at the higher difficulty levels. Of course, talking about balance issues in a KOTOR2 related forum is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, but... Anyway, the game is still fun. Go out and buy it now, you won't regret it "

There are a couple of Mira vs Hanharr threads; I've always prefered Hanharr. From a pratical standpoint, he's the better fighter, even without a lightsaber (and is absolutely unstoppable if you exploit him). Plus, he's by far the most twisted NPC in the entire game

If you do it early enough, it is possible (without any exploits). You get Hanharr as long as you're DS (i.e. <50). I always do Nar Shadda first; that way, you get Hanharr and a lightsaber. As soon as you get him, you can use the dialogs to 1) get the stat bonus and 2)push you dark enough for Marauder. If you've been careful not to get too chop-happy, you should still be LV15 (and on GOTO's ship). Talk to Kreia to get your prestege class, then start playing nice to cure yourself of that skin condition you've developed " . Finish off the ship, get the lightsaber parts, help all the worthle... ah, I mean helpless, refugees, pack up the Hawk and burn sky until you see lines . Force crush and LS mastery, however, is not possible without cheating . Yeah, but Force Crush just looks cool

For me, playing LS was the better experience, simply because there are fewer plot inconsistencies. For example, on Nar Shaada, you play Mira in the underground escape sequence, which makes some sense as a LSider... but you have to play her as a DSider as well, which makes NO SENSE whatsoever <_<. There are a couple of other places where the DS path falls through big gaping plot holes that arn't there for the LS player. After several play throughs, though, the "best" method I've found is to go DS early and get Hanharr ("I did it all for the wookie" (w00t) ) for the stat bonuses, then push for LS mastery. That way, you get the best of both worlds; a Sith Maruder with force crush, fury and LS mastery !

Fury does not give you the extra attacks that it was origionally intended to. For whatever reason, the code is not there to enable them. Of course, there is a mod " (shameless plug) that reenables the extra attacks in Fury, as well as makes the game a bit more challenging so that you can actually see all seven attacks hit home... usually right before the mean old Dark Jedi bad guy guts you like a pig and sends you packing Seriously, though, the mod isn't that hard, but it will give you something to do with all those healing pot... ah stims cluttering up your inventory.

Jolee is definitely the funniest KOTOR character. HK-47 is amusing, but Jolee is just hilarious, especially on Koriban

I didn't really mind having to play different characters, except when they made no sense what-so-ever. The biggest faux-pas was on Nar Shadda as a DS Exile; playing Mira makes NO sense at all. I guess that's what happens when you try to cram 24 months of work into 12... <_<

Mira's only purpose is to die by Hanharr's hand

Waitaminute! Since when could you have kids in BG?!?

I admit to having had problems playing a female PC; but then Fallout came along. That's the first RPG I can remember where there was a noticeble difference in the gameplay based on the PC gender, and in order to get the everything out of the game, you had to play through as both. As the genere has evolved, devolopers are providing multiple gaming experiences based on what type of character you choose, and you would be cheating yourself if you don't take advantage of what they offer. Incidently, this isn't restricted to gender; for example, try playing through Arcanum as a really low int. character, or Bloodlines as a Malkavian, or OddWorld as crippled fish (with a bad attitude) . Ultimately, it's all about roleplaying, and the more roles the developers let you play, the better (for us).

I've played both games both ways, and the impression I got was that Revan was female, and the Exile was male. As far as the choice Atton gives you at the beginning of the game, I usually make Revan a DS female. Personally, if it wasn't for the Battle Precog thing with Handmaden, I'd play the game as a female Exile, if only because you spend a whole lot of time looking at the PC's butt, and I'd rather it be a female one than a male one :ph34r: "

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Hanharr is the most interesting NPC in the game (even moreso than Kreia). If you've explored his entire dialog tree, you come to realize that Obsidian did a great job of giving you a glimpse into the psyche of someone who's about as twisted as you can get. I mean, hell, he killed his whole tribe to save them, and hopes some day to rejoin them in the treetops and be given absolution... at least until you break him of that foolish illusion and bind him completely to your evil will

Whenever possible, I had Kreia with me, not only for the XP bonus but because of the Force Chain. The remaining slot is usually filled by whoever I need to gain influence with for a given planet. Of course, if you're asking which one I like best (as opposed to which ones I kept with me), I'd have to say Vista and Atton. The most intersting character, by far (IMHO) is Hanharr, though. You can't really like him, but I have to give props to Obsidian for creating a character that is truely twisted.