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Yonjuro

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Everything posted by Yonjuro

  1. Yonjuro
    Tribal culture still exists to some degree on every continent except Antarctica. Your local personal experience is one perspective but not the whole picture. That is a bit arrogant (though, I'm sure it you aren't doing it on purpose). Modern society has brought a lot of benefits including the ability (if not the political will) to end poverty. However, primary societies all over the place developed ways of surviving and thriving in their own environments that worked for them. If you want to open your eyes to this, a good starting point is a book written in the 1930's by a dentist named Weston Price who did an extensive study comparing tribal groups eating a western diets to their counterparts who were still eating their traditional diets. I'll spoil the ending for you: the traditional people knew things about health and nutrition that 'modern' people hadn't figured out. The poverty that you see in your backyard is due, in part, to people losing their tribal knowledge as a result of being invaded (the solution, as you said, is to fully modernize - lost knowledge is hard to regain and the world has moved on).
  2. Yonjuro
    Tolkein's Orcs might be more racist than you think (or, for that matter, than he would have thought). As, you said, the German army isn't a race but, during WWI, a lot of the propaganda in the U.S., Britain and, perhaps, elsewhere (?) tried to turn them into 'the other.' For an example, look no further than the poster earlier in this thread referring to them as 'The Hun.' The Huns were from central Asia (possibly further east, from Mongolia) and were the stereotypical foreign invader. In other words, there was a deliberate attempt to 'piggyback' on existing racism (or, I suppose, xenophobia) to demonize the Germans. Racism can sneak up on you when you don't expect it (you know, kind of like the Huns (d'oh!)).
  3. Yonjuro
    Careful, that is the good path. If you get the good dream (that is, the dream you get if your reputation is 10 better), it assumes that you pretended to join the bandits (which is what Drizzt advised you to do if you helped him). The evil dream assumes that you killed them.
  4. Yonjuro
    Well, if you like party based tactical combat the so-called micromanaging would be the interesting part. Soloing is certainly an alternative but AI for 5 of 6 party members really is not, as MReed pointed out. Imagine playing BG as a Bard. Combat would consist of hitting the sing button and waiting for your party to demolish your enemies.
  5. Yonjuro
    That is a fantastically hilarious and obscure reference. Awesome. Which is from..? (I was actually immediately very curious about this but Googling it returned only confusing mixed results ) It's the (confirmed?) urban legend that Disney staged a part of some nature documentary about lemmings. The idea is that lemmings will just follower the leader, even over a cliff and into suicide. This was then "confirmed" by a Disney documentary, that in actuality forced the lemming herd over the edge but then showed it as footage of the lemmings willingly killing themselves anyway. Yup, "White Wilderness." Apparently lemmings aren't that interesting on film unless you stampede them off a cliff: http://www.snopes.com/disney/films/lemmings.asp
  6. Yonjuro
    Hmm. Uh, yes mayor Ghastkill, it was the darndest thing, I went into this Xvart village and all of the Xvarts just stampeded off a cliff. Uh, yeah that's what happened. Yep. And the bear. Weird.
  7. Yonjuro
    Nooooooooooo!!
  8. Yonjuro
    Now I'll feel guilty if I kill a dragon. These poor little saps will lose their deity and turn to drink. What have I done!?!!!!! The humanity!!! (er, xauripity?) It reminds me of the Xvart genocide I inadvertently committed in BG1 including their guardian cave bear. That was a dark dark day.
  9. Yonjuro
    Hmm. Some kind of mentoring relationship (perhaps as mentee initially and as mentor later on) could be an interesting part of the story line for a series of games. This idea might deserve its own thread (because, and this is just a hunch, it could be that nobody from Obsidian is reading this thread).
  10. Yonjuro
    I've also one-shotted the city gate lich with Azure Edge twice. Once with an axe wielding kensai and another time with a cavalier (but, of course you need to axe first and ask questions later (and don't miss)). I've gotten lucky twice or he doesn't have good saving throws - I don't know which. Anyway, I suppose this has little to do with update 81 but it is kind of an interesting tangent.
  11. Yonjuro
    Ok, so it sounds like we agree about that - and this statement, specifically that the BG games are such a cakewalk that " if you know and understand AD&D, that you can easily solo-play both games, ...without a preliminary playthrough." was a bit of an exaggeration, yes? Thanks for the advice but, like many people here, I've solo played BG 1 and 2 multiple times (including several 'no-reload challenge' plays).
  12. Yonjuro
    Yeah, not really. That's a ridiculous statement. The games get easy when you have metagame knowledge, but doing a blind solo play through of either game is going to be a challenge (unless you consider reloading to be a valid battle tactic). If you started BG1 as a solo mage you would have gotten eaten by wolves or killed by a mob of gibberlings before you got to the FA INN and, if you managed to run fast enough and (by luck) in the right direction and get to the FA INN, good luck against the first assassin. Your extensive knowledge of D&D would have let you realize just how screwed you were in your last moments in Faerun (unless fortune favored you with some *very* lucky dice rolls). A cleric would certainly have done better against the gibberlings. In BG2, if you go through the wrong door at the wrong time you will die. Your knowledge of D&D doesn't protect you from that. Oh, and... Look. I don't wanna act like THE MEN. The first time I played BG I and II I already have years of experience with AD&D, and this gave me a BIG edge with these games. Having said that, can you honestly tell me that - rare circumstances aside - BG2 is not a cakewalk if you: 1) have at least 3 casters in your party; Yeah, about that. You can't have three casters in your party when you solo the game. So, why don't we just agree that you were exaggerating in your earlier post, ok?
  13. Yonjuro
    These guys are talking about an encounter as a level 10 caster. You don't get skeleton warriors until level 15. Before that you get one or two 'normal' skeletons.'
  14. Yonjuro
    I'm not so sure that strength equality=gender equality. Yeah, now that you mention it, I'm not sure of that either but I think it (strength inequality) must be a factor.
  15. Yonjuro
    This is a good point and we already know the answer to this. Men and women are equally physically capable in the PoE world (just as they were in BG and IWD). So, the inequalities that arose in our own world due to strength differences between the genders wouldn't exist in the PoE world.
  16. Yonjuro
    i realize there's been a few pages now, but I still want to respond. Would I prefer to still the see the content, but in a "good" way? Maybe. Although I don't begrudge there being evil content that I won't experience either. For example, the evil end of the Skinners quest in BG2. While I know this isn't the best example as it's rather short, it could have been much larger piece of content and I wouldn't have minded it's inclusion. So if it makes sense to have experience it both ways is fine, but I don't particularly mind if It gets locked out either. That's a good example. The evil resolution to that story line has you doing some different things which you will never do as a good character. Sounds ok to me. If one were to take that to the (ridiculous) extreme, there would be two games BG2(good) and BG2(evil) which would have entirely different content (and great replay value for someone who would do both but not for players like you who would only do one of them). So, it seems like a better use of funds to have a lot of the material accessible for both play styles. Of course, there can be significant differences. An example of what I mean is siding with Bodhi vs. the Shadow Thieves. You get two different stories but it didn't cost the developers twice as much because they use the same areas/characters etc. I'm fine with that. In a similar vein, I would prefer if companion related quests that had a romance version also a friendship version (as opposed to a romance version vs. nothing at all) because, just as you will never side with Bodhi, I will never see the non-friendship versions of the quests. That was the point I was trying to make originally.
  17. Yonjuro
    I find this sentiment interesting, because I personally have no interest in playing an "evil" character. Evil quest paths and the like will be game content that I never see if it is included. However, I recognize there are people out there that love "evil" stuff, and so I'd never say it shouldn't be included because I personally don't like it. I am kinda curious why people don't take a similar approach to in game romance. So, I think we agree? If there were romances, I would prefer it if there were non-romance ways of doing most of the companion related quests and presumably you would like to be able to complete most quests in a 'good' way rather than, say, not seeing half of them at all. Or, did you mean something else?
  18. Yonjuro
    The other issue (I suppose you could include this as bad writing) was that in BG2 there wasn't a polite way to shut down the romance plots - you had to choose the rude dialog options which often seemed out of character. I'm not against it, but I'm also not interested. It will be game content that I never see if it is included. I would prefer to be able to do any companion related quest material without following a romance plot.
  19. Yonjuro
    Pros: Obsidian owns the IP. This is huge. If the game is a success, they will be able to make sequels and new games without paying extortion money to rights holders. The game is beautiful - even the "unpolished" stuff that we've seen so far already looks great. RTwP, isometric and party of six - why aren't there more of these being made? Good writing instead of shiny crap. Good faith attempt to design out some of the rough edges of the IE games and rule sets (but also see cons below). Cons (these are mostly concerns rather than actual bad things): The IE games had very a simplistic alignment/reputation system. PoE will be more complex with gray areas. That's probably good but when I want ethical dilemmas and complex social situations there's real life - let's not overdo the complexity. No pre buffing. That could be good unless it isn't. I think PoE will be more tactical and less strategic than the BG games. No kill XP. I think this will be ok, but one way in which it might not be is that the objective XP might make the game less flexible (especially for a small party or solo). Then again, if done well, it could be better. This space intentionally left blank (oh, and happy holidays to all of our readers). This game is just too awesome. I have things to do. I can't be spending 100s of hours on this. Damn you Obsidian!!!!!
  20. Yonjuro
    I'm fairly certain these items are found in maps you visit while doing the main quest, You may be fairly certain, but you are also wrong . E.g., the constitution tome is in a cave on the coast south of Candlekeep (the lighthouse map) - the main quest will never put you there - in fact, you need to do a bit of exploration to find that map at all. I don't agree. In addition to gaining some of the best items in the game, there are side quests that take you to many of these maps (and new side quests that you discover when you get there). E.g. the gauntlets of Dex. (and the Tome of Leadership and Influence) are on the gnoll stronghold map. The only way you were even likely to have found that map was by doing a side quest for Minsc (or for Edwin if you played an evil character). I think you might be remembering what BG1 was like after you played it a hundred times. The first time you play, the side quests send you places and you meet challenging enemies. The hundredth time, you know where everything is and you know seven ways to kill everything, yawn. Hang on. The first time you did the lighthouse map in BG1 - did you really find two groups of sirines (who charm your party and shoot poison arrows) and a cave full of flesh golems underwhelming and boring? And, when you identified the tome, was that a good reward?
  21. Yonjuro
    Except exploring those areas only rewarded you with mindless combat from the boring trash mobs. BG itself is just as linear as Icewind Dale but requires you to leave the tracks to engage in the mindless combat with the boring trash mobs because there simply isn't enough quest experience to level your party. I disagree (mostly) - there were a fair few mini-quests (Ulcaster Dungeon, Firewine, Melicamp etc) that arose from wandering off the main quest path. And the rewards were also more than the fighting and xp (items, weapons, armour, the sense of fulfillment that comes from helping a chicken in need). The only item I can think of that is worth a specific trip off the beaten path is the Scroll of Cloudkill, you get better weapons and armor from the bandit camps during the main quest. There were a lot of useful items off the main quest path (and lots more in side quests you can do in the areas you visit to do the main quest). Here are a few of them: a tome to raise your constitution, gauntlets of dexterity, golden girdle (improves armor class vs. slashing, the kind of damage that Sarevok does), a scroll of Protection from Magic (there were 5 of these in the whole game, **very** useful for the final fight), some of the best weapons in the game, several wands, the best armor for some classes etc.
  22. Yonjuro
    Now that I think of it, level scaling is probably why BG2 is easier with smaller parties. By giving more XP to the PC in each encounter (due to the smaller party), the levels accelerate because each encounter then gives more XP due to the harder enemies. It's (probably) an unintended consequence of the level scaling. I know it feels like a super linear increase with a solo character even though, due to quest XP, you get less than 6X of the XP. If I weren't too lazy .. uhh, I mean busy, I would dump out the numbers and plot the level progression with and without scaling to see how much of an effect it has.
  23. Yonjuro
    Your math is a wee bit off. And so is your head. I can help you with the former. 50% would suggest that half of both the bestiary and the encounters are mage battles. This of course, is beyond dishonest. Beyond grotesque hyperbole. It's a flat out deliberately false statement. The bestiary doesn't need to be 50% mages for 50% of the encounters to feature mages. Besides, most of the bestiary boils down to creatures that cast spells (i.e. "mages") and creatures that don't; only some have any special ability. I don't know what you were trying to achieve by listing the entire bestiary. Well, we could count the actual encounters. Let's take Windspear Hills. I think there are two mage fights there: one in Samia's group and Conster, the disciple of Firkraag. There are also, Hobgoblins, more Hobgoblins, Crimson Deaths, a Ruhk and some kamikaze koblds, Orc Archers, Golems, a Troll, Orcs, more Orc archers, Vampires, Greater Mummies (depending on when you go there), Shadows and Shadow Fiends ... lots more ... and a Dragon. Stun makes a reasonable point about the variety of encounters and the entire bestiary is really not a bad proxy for the actual number of encounters in the game. Fine - hyperbole is allowed. However, there are a lot of ways of dealing with mage encounters. If you have a high level monk in the party then the monk goes and beats the mage to death. If you have a paladin, then the paladin goes and beats the mage to death with Carsomir. If you have a cleric, the cleric summons skeletons. If you have a mage, the mage casts breach etc. .... You could probably play each of the mage battles with a different tactic if you wanted to (maybe not all of them; I'm being hyperbolic; that's allowed).
  24. Yonjuro
    I see. I thought you were talking about something like what the IE games had for volume control - something like 10 discrete levels controlled by something that looked like a slider. I agree with you for continuous variables and, yes, strictly speaking, they all have discrete levels; I just want a lot more than 10 - enough to simulate a continuous control. (I would still rather have a non-slider for something with a few discrete points like difficulty level.)
  25. Yonjuro
    If something is continuous, like sounds volume, I would rather have a slider without notches. Otherwise you only really have two options: too loud and too soft. If something is discrete, like difficulty levels, I'd rather have radio buttons or a selection menu instead of pretending to be a slider. Down with notches! Buenos noches, notches! We don't need no steeenking notches! Etc.
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