Sammael

That's not surprising, considering that A) I wasn't using Firefox at the time, B) it looked good in Opera, and C) it looked even better in IE. Add to that D) the lack of time, and E) some very problematic JavaScript I was working on at the time, and the picture is complete. From some of my more recent experiences, both IE and Firefox have rendering engine problems with W3C compliant code, although they are more pronounced in IE than in Firefox.

I only change avatars when I find one that better represents my personna. So far, the WAR pit fiend works.

I just re-read my own FAQ. It's amazing how much time I put into that thing, only to learn of the game's demise (I think I was one of the first fans to know, but I kept quiet to avoid outcry). For some reason, the stylesheets don't work at all in Firefox. If I ever find the time, I'll have to fix that. Info missing from the FAQ: Jefferson was Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound, the first part of a new epic trilogy set in the Forgotten Realms. It had lots of moral ambiguity and "shades of gray" style of play, and WotC would have likely had a problem with that. It had some very interesting "villains," and some very interesting "allies." At least two characters from IWD2 would have made an appearance in-game: Maralie (as a CNPC) and Iselore (as a cameo). There were numerous factions in the game. The game world changed with the passage of time. Skills were used extensively in dialogues. On the other hand, the graphics engine kinda sucked to work with, although the end results were quite good (so I was told).

Links sent.

I think Josh made the vast majority of posts for the Overseer account. Jessica's Overseer posts were easy enough to differentiate, and I don't think Feargus used the account much. I could be wrong, though. Hello people, nice to see some familiar faces. I have pretty much withdrawn from the world of computer gaming; I will likely get NWN2 whenever it gets released, but I have no intention of registering at the BioBoards to discuss what little is known of the game. As for my post count on the old (ancient?) boards, 99% of it was on-topic. I rarely replied to off-topic posts. And yeah, i didn't become active until IWD2 was announced, although I've been a member of every single IPLY-related forum since 1998 (I think).

I do not really have a preference, which is possibly a result of my GMing career. My current characters include a true jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none half-orc bard/ranger who can assume pretty much any role (FR), a droid with multiple (disturbed) personalities, ranging from Chef to Hunter-Killer (d20 Future), a former militiaman from the 1990s conflict in Yugoslavia who has psychic powers and now runs a private investigation business (d20 Modern), and an arabic-flavored pirate, former slave, and drunkard (Greek-themed low-magic D&D). Unfortunately, I don't have too many opportunities to play these characters, but I hope this will change in the near future (as I'm taking a break from GMing).

It depends on what books you consider essential to playing the game. Theoretically, you can play with just the core rulebook, but you'd need a pretty thorough knowledge of the SW universe to pull that off. A friend of mine estimated that the "essential" SW d20 RPG books can be bought for around $160 from Amazon.com. Dice are around $5 per set.

I should seek therapy, seeing as how I'm finding myself agreeing with Volourn and Di...

I just finished the game a few moments ago. All in all, it was a very satisfying experience, even though it was obvious the ending was mutilated. 1. TECHNICAL ASPECTS My computer is below what is considered average today (Celeron @2GHz, 512MB RAM, GF4Ti4200/128), and the game ran just fine most of the time on 1024x768. I had most of the advanced graphics options turned off. There were significant slowdowns on Dantooine, and the extremely annoying freeze/zoom bug from KotOR1 had not been fixed. I had 1 CTD (near the end), and two instances where the game froze for no apparent reason. I also had a dozen lockups while loading saved games, at 1/3 the load process. The recommended fixes for this problem did not help. I did not encounter any gamestopping bugs, and there was only one quest that was not marked as "completed" when I finished the game ("Redemption"). A couple of other quests were slightly bugged, and there were a few dialogue loops, but nothing major. Considering that I played Vampire: Bloodlines prior to KotOR2, I was relieved by the relative lack of bugs in the latter, particularly when compared to the former. Party AI and pathfinding is indeed horrible, although I noticed that it was worse in some areas than in others. Level design is comparable to the first game. Overall, 6/10. 2. GRAPHICS The graphics are nothing to write home about, slightly better than in the first game, but somewhat outdated by today's standards. Although graphics aren't a major factor for me, it would have been nice to see some better facial animations (HL2 and Bloodlines spolied me). I picked the "Young Jesus" model, as it is really the only acceptable male white character, which is something that really should have been paid more attention to. Overall, 7/10. 3. SOUND Both music and voice acting are superb. Unlike many others, I did not even notice that the music sampling quality had been reduced. The opening and ending theme were particularly well done, and I'd like to hear more from this composer in the future. Voice acting was very, very good - but that has always been a strength of RPGs coming out of Irvine. Overall, 9/10. 4. GAMEPLAY I played on default difficulty, and found the game too easy. I finished as a Jedi Sentinel 15/Jedi Watchman 13, with all stats in the 20-28 range, defense 40, and +39 to attack, doing 26-54 (IIRC) damage per hit (single lightsaber). Nihilus, Sion, and Treya did not give me any trouble, unlike Malak in the first game. Overall, there was too much combat in the game, and it was way too easy. I would have preferred less, but more meaningful, combat. Lightsaber forms were a nice addition, but it would have been far better if I actually had any reason to use them. Creating/upgrading items was well done. Although I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of items you can create at first, there were several in-game situations where this feature came in very handy. Random drops leave a lot to be desired, as I fail to see the logic of finding jedi robes on dead Onderon soldiers. The interface is a vast improvement over the original game. Overall, 7/10. 5. ATMOSPHERE Very good, but... not as good as the original game. I'll remember Tattooine and Kashyyk more fondly than Nar Shadaa and Dxun. This is a category that really defies further explanations, so I'll just leave it at that. Overall, 7/10. 6. STORY The story beats anything ever produced by Lucas Arts and Bioware. It is subtle and hinted at throughout the entire game. The main plot "twist" (if it can even be called that) is obvious and anticipated, and the game builds up to that moment - unlike the original which depended on the "shock" factor. Darth Nihilus and Darth Sion are underdeveloped, but it is questionable whether their further development would have actually added anything to the game - considering they were pawns in a game, just as the Exile. The story is comparable to that of Planescape: Torment (note that this is a MAJOR compliment, coming from me), which is not surprising given who the lead designer on both games was. It is a quest of self-discovery, and, if played on the Light Side, on helping your allies to accomplish the same. Overall, 9/10. Although it can be argued that the path leading to the ending could have been much better (Yet another Sith Academy? Stasis Field. Yawn. Fight. Fight. Fight. Yawn. Force Wave. Fight. Fight. Fight. Ugh.), I have no problem whatsoever with the ending itself. It was an adequate ending for a great story. Could it have been better? Sure. But it is nowhere as bad as the people are making it sound. So, my composite score for the game is 7.5/10, bumped up to 8/10 because of subjective preferences. This is the same score I'd give to KotOR1 and BG2, but lower than BG1, FO, and FO2 (8.5), and Torment (9).

You did not address my point of why the hell a drow wizard would summon a spectator beholder in the first place, Volourn. And yes, I agree that not all spectators are 100% the same (they aren't modrons, after all, and even modrons sometimes go rogue), but the spectator in BG2/ToB was a mockery of what a spectator should be.

They were created by Helm, which means they pretty much are robots.

Good example of BG2 flakiness. Spectator beholders are Lawful Neutral creations of Helm, deity of guardians and protectors, and are most certainly not something a drow wizard would summon. And they sure as Mechanus shouldn't act as comic relief characters.

I realize that Obsidian employees do not frequent these forums, but there are several user mods whose job should be to moderate. I am tired of seeing spoilers in this forum. As I type this, there are several threads with spoilers in their titles on the first page, and I've see dozens upon dozens of them over the past couple of days. Thank you.

I... agree. There, I said it. :D I must admit that I found Paragus a bit dull and overly long, but after that, the game really picked up speed and I was sucked into the story. There were several very Torment-like moments so far, and a couple of them made me shiver with anticipation. The NPCs are very well done, and I am enjoying the dialogues, so I am willing to forget the numerous bugs I have thus far experienced.

Neither could I. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Guys, just get some decent headphones (anything priced above 30$ will do). j/k. I can understand you didn't notice the low audio resolution, but the mono output is easily recognizable by anyone who's got both ears in good health (it's really UN-immersive). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Dunno. I have fairly decent 4.1 speakers (I paid around $100 for them three years ago), so I am either simply not paying attention to the music (and it's good enough that it isn't distracting me), or there is something wrong with my hearing. There are also lots of dialogues and sound effects that are probably drawing my attention away from the music. I have no clue as to why they sampled the music in such a way, but it's not bothering me in the least.

Neither could I.

I bought the Chassis off the Sullustani on Dantooine. It appears that HK-47 parts are randomly placed.

There are rumors that an updated d20 Star Wars game will be launched at the same time as Episode III hits the theaters, so you may want to wait a couple of months before shelling out the money. SW games are, in general, more expensive than other systems, because the licensing fees are outrageous.

That would explain A LOT. Unfortunately, I know that you are lying.

BTW, I would like the thread author to clarify what he considers to be "classic roleplaying" before we go on with the discussion.

I was very anti-3.5 DR, but I've since changed my mind. As stated, the system does not influence roleplaying much, if at all. The system is there to make the GM's life easier and to ensure smooth gameplay. D&D 3.x isn't perfect, but it's a quantum leap when compared to AD&D.

I only recall dying twice in BG2, first to the shadow dragon, and then to Irenicus. ToB was much the same, and I was only challenged by Demogorgon and Draconis. IWD2 wasn't too hard, but it utilized some very frustrating tactics, such as constant ambushes, respawning enemies, enemies appearing in clusters behind the party, etc. The first time I played, I had a very hard time with Isair and Medae, because I had a 4-PC party with 2 ECL characters, but I triggered the toughest possible versions of them. Chahopek wasn't particularly difficult.

After all these years of self-announced Torment hatred, you still force yourself to read Torment-related threads, ShadowPaladin? I pity you.

What happened?

Hmm, I never noticed this because I like to(always ) play mage character, but I like to say that kaftan has strong points in his(her, whatever?) behalf. Missing about 50% of the game for not making a specific kind of character is too much, way too much. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Nah, I exaggerated. However, I do think he may have skimmed through some parts of the game, and probably didn't bother to initiate dialogue with the NPCs. The thing is, you can only unlock the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon as a mage, and being a mage also helps you learn more about Ignus and Nordom. Most of the other stuff is available to all characters with appropriate stats - and Torment provides ample stat increeases all throughout the game (I once finished the game with all 25s, except for Str, which was 19 or 20). Having a high Wis, Int, and Cha from the beginning definitely helps, though.