Katarack21

How could that be? The reason that Engwithans made the gods was because there were no gods. None. I'm not certain this is true based on how the Leaden Key worked. They liked hiding the truth and people didn't know everything or each other. It's very possible that the people searching for the gods were lead astray purposefully in order to justify creating new ones. If you look at the pantheon, a big chunk of them liked to obscure the truth in their own ways and for their own reasons. The "there aren't other gods" thing could just be a carefully fabricated lie. Lead ashtray by whom? The Leaden Key was formed by Engwithans themselves. The point being to hide that there were no real gods, and that the "gods" that exist now are just constructs. For there to be secret gods that actually existed is to throw out a big part of the plot; which is that the Engwithans learned there are no gods. For what it's worth, the lore book that came with the higher tiers says that some of the gods appear in some ways to predate the others. Ondra and Rymgrand are specifically pointed out with this; the legends of Ondra are the oldest legends of any god, and references to Rymgrand are found in the oldest, earliest Engwithan ruins.

What are you talking about? You can go pretty much anywhere you want. I can't think of a single place where an area wasn't available to me if I went there on foot.

"It's going to be one full story that will go from part one to part two, but it's going to be two parts and anyone from Kickstarter that contributed will get both parts. They'll get the full expansion, but the best part is that they'll be able to play it early." My question has been answered. I'm very, very happy.

I have a SSD. Still having these issues. It's not the hardware.

Mhuhahahaha... There were plenty of them, along with zillions of common bugs. But since it's not Obsidian no one ever bothers to get angry about them (for whatever reason). Fact is, D:OS *still* has game-breaking bugs being reported in the forums on occasion. This isn't a mark against the game at all; this is in fact pretty damn normal.

Oh, I'm totally fine with concluding what you wish me to conclude: that its story is nothing unique in the gaming world. But then, that would leave PS:T without ANY redeeming qualities, wouldn't it. Unless of course you Applaud party-based RPGs where your companions have no weapon or armor choices, where your class options are limited to 3, where you can't pick your protagonist's race, or gender, or name. Where you can't equip your main toon with a missile weapon. Where you can't wear armor. Where "tactical combat" consists of clusterf*ck melee ('cuz there's only one archer in the game), And where dungeon design includes the Modron cube. Where your main character is immortal, where he gets a 7th level spell (resurrection) 3 times a day.... at level 1. Did I miss anything. Oh yeah. Where there's no swords. And where the bestiary consists of about 10 different types of monsters. I didn't say it was nothing unique. PS:T has one of the greatest stories ever told in *any* medium, let alone in video gaming. It will forever be one of my favorite experiences simply because of that. However, I don't think that this capability is somehow unique to PS:T. There have been many, many games that I played and enjoyed mostly or entirely based on story, but none of those stories has quite been equal to the life tale of the Nameless One. More than just a truly enjoyable tale, that story is truly thought provoking in a philosophical sense. Torment asks you some very tough questions and tasks you to come up with answers on your own. What can change the nature of a man? That's some truly deep stuff. Those kinds of philosophical, moral, and intellectual questions need to be asked--and they are being asked more and more in video games. We have mainstream popular video games based on questioning the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Gamers are maturing and the medium is maturing with them--thirty year old people want good stories, and strong characters, and powerful themes. It's not the only thing they want, but there is a strong market for games of this type. I would put the world of PoE up against Planscape for mature themes and intelligent questioning any day. PoE doesn't go easy; it makes you question the nature of religion, and it asks you to think about how a persons past affects their future. PS:T had brighter, mor interesting characters--but PoE's characters are much more realistic and grounded (no floating skulls here). PoE as a whole is more grounded in real-world events; it deals with racism and the effects of colonialism and things like that. In PoE, the death of a god brings with it serious moral and philosophical questions; in PS it's just another day.

If you don't like area looting, turn it off. How the hell did this go to 8 pages?!

I know, right? Clearly you're supposed to go on slow mode and hit that button in the middle of the screen. I figure the spacebar was some kind of developer tool they forgot to remove! Use it 'till they patch it, I say.

I agree that the spirit eating mechanic was annoying- you could mod it out though. And eventually I will probably play it through like that. My problem was that the gameplay mechanic interfered with my ability to get at the story, and that frustrated me to no end.

Indeed, You're certainly free to just spout silly hot air retorts like "Implausable!" and "yer wrong!". Without actually putting up a rebuttal. I, on the other hand, can point to 40 friggin years of Gaming history to back up my claim. No, what you have is a faith-based fanatical opinion about PS:T. You can't ever prove that PS:T is a special and unique exception that will never be equaled, all you can do is point at some games in the past and continue to spout your "unique exception" nonsense. I'm not a game developer. It's not my job to make the next PS:T to prove you wrong, nor am I under some requirement to engage you in debate until I change your mind. My plan is to laugh at you and continue to focus on story, character, and plot as something that is very much a demand of mine for good games.

I'm probably the only person on the planet that actually didn't like MotB. Funnily enough, for me it was a gameplay issue--the special soul-mechanic in that game is something I truly despised.

So you're argument is simply that P:T is unique and no other video game will ever be able to accomplish what it did because it's just that special? That game, and that game alone, is the pinnacle and ultimate achievement of storytelling in video games and no other game will ever be able to depend on things like character, plot, and story for success? I find that theory less than plausible. Go ahead. Prove me wrong, then. I don't have to. But I'm very glad that people don't listen to you, and will continue to try.

Guys, check it out: if you hit the spacebar, the game pauses! And you can take all the time you want to issue orders and consider your options! So cheat.

So you're argument is simply that P:T is unique and no other video game will ever be able to accomplish what it did because it's just that special? That game, and that game alone, is the pinnacle and ultimate achievement of storytelling in video games and no other game will ever be able to depend on things like character, plot, and story for success? I find that theory less than plausible. P:T is an example of what is possible and should be aspired to in the medium, not some godlike achievement that should be admired but never attempted.

But that's the entire point that I'm making. Story is absolutely vital to a "good" game; indeed, it is entirely possible for a game to stand as "good" or even "great" based *entirely* on the strength of it's story. A video game is less like a traditional board game in the sense of "game". This wasn't always true; there was a time when gameplay was literally all that existed and stories in video games were a distant dream. As the medium matured this changed. Much as how early films were more similar to plays in a great many ways and are now a medium all their own, so to have video games came past their roots as pure games and come to a point where story, characters, plot, and writing are, at the very least, every bit as important. In todays world a game can be focused on story or on gameplay, and if it's done well it can and will be successful. For me, personally, I'm a store driven person--and for me a good story with interesting characters will make or break a game.

No way! Why would they use a sword as a phallic symbol? That makes no sense. I mean, who does that?

Only if she's brave enough.

Exactly. I don't demand that every game I play has 800,000 lines of text, but there is a certain minimum standard of story I need to get. I'm the guy who *would* play the CoD solo-player game, and would probably ignore the multiplayer entirely.

I really, really dig the little story scenes with the drawings. The artwork in those never ceases to amaze me, and the combination of VO and sound effects really does a great job of setting up the imagination.

Depends on what kind of game it is. Some games are designed from story on up, and they can and do sell well if done properly. Nobody lost money on Planescape: Torment.

It's entertainment. I want story and characters; I'm not going to shell out 45 bucks for very pretty crap. I don't go see Michael Bay movies, either.

.....can I get that sword?

Environment interaction, yes. But PoE has combat that is so much deeper and more tactical. The environment interaction gives a sensation of strategy in D:OS that isn't really present; mostly it's very simple turn-based combat with occasional environment improv. The environment interaction in D:OS rarely get's more complex than anything you ever saw in Bioshock, or even Doom. It just looks so pretty, and is the first time it's really been integrated like that in an RPG. PoE's combat involves much more tactical and strategic analysis and reaction. There's a *reason* so many first-time and casual players complain about the difficulty; it's because this kind of deep and complex tactical combat hasn't really been seen in a long time.

When the Glanfathan mindhunters were first encountered, there was a period of time where the mindhunters worked along with animancers to understand exactly what they were doing and how they were doing it. Eventually the techniques spread. The island nation of Old Vaila has just as much access to it as anywhere else, although it is still somewhat rare outside of Eir Glanfath.

I just hit Twin Elms recently, then left to go do more sidequests without really doing much. I'm 109 hours in, and level 9. Seems pretty solid to me, but then I haven't done the bounty quests yet, etc.