Baldur's Gate Planescape: Torment — Original Incarnation. Also, MM, MoP and EED

[Lilura]

1. MJ was hot. Though those who dated Bulls players seem to think Pippen was more well-hung.

2. My vids are unvoiced because my speaking skills are not on par with my writing skills.

3. The paywall thing was a troll; I don't need money from a gaming blog.

4. Passive runs in PS:T are for pure wankers.

5. D&D is 100% combat-based. Go and play Ars Magica.

6. It's one thing to miss out on a quest/segment because you don't have the stats (reactivity); it's another thing entirely to get locked out of quests/segments/even plot for no apparent reason (just because you picked one benign/unimportant option before another or talked to the quest-giver to confirm something before solving the quest.)

7. "get back in the kitchen" tag was already there, but a mod added "the joys of pms" after I made the thread. I added the others.

To the "critics" in this thread. Thank you for your "insights".

 

[Roguey]

2. My vids are unvoiced because my speaking skills are not on par with my writing skills.

If you ever get around to recording yourself speaking English, send a link my way, I appreciate accents. Even though it made for a horrible transcribing experience, Bubbles was fun to listen to.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

6. It's one thing to miss out on a quest/segment because you don't have the stats (reactivity); it's another thing entirely to get locked out of quests/segments/even plot for no apparent reason (just because you picked one benign/unimportant option before another or talked to the quest-giver to confirm something before solving the quest.)

What exactly are you talking about here? Fallout 1 and 2 locked you out of content if you picked the wrong dialogue options, too, although perhaps that was better telegraphed (or perhaps not given the existence of the empathy perk).

 

[Lilura]

It doesn't have to be telegraphed but there are many instances in PS:T where the choice is just so benign and yet locks you out. There are dozens of examples such as Aola (no demon waiting in Curst for you), Narochj (no Dustman faction for you), Ingress (no Morte teeth upgrade for you), Festhall Clerk (no dodecahedron for you) etc. It's a QA/testing issue. Also, the multi-threadedness is at times absurd.

The Norochj one has not been documented to my knowledge. You can literally see the thread glitch out and skip.

EDIT - on the Narochj one... it's a complex interplay between other NPCs in the Gathering Dust bar, including Emoric whose threads alone are complex. It's possible to skip the Not-a-Dustman quest as a result and lock yourself out of the faction, which is pretty big for a Mage TNO (because you want the embalming spells). And unless you saw the thread jump-skip and have foreknowledge of the correct quest order, you won't know something is amiss. Even a veteran may miss it and return from the lengthy catacombs segment only to find that Emoric has no thread for joining the Dustmen.

Also, getting the proper quest order going in Dead Nations (with the interplay with the Warrens) is like pulling teeth. It took me 3 hours to work out the most satisfying conclusion.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

You should do D&D/IE games spell review ASMR videos.

Now there's a paywall my arachnid ass would build a web on. Think about it.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

Describing it as getting locked out for picking the wrong dialogue option makes it sound like a design issue, but if these are mostly bugs that’s a very different problem. Playing a 19 year old game with no fan made fixes sort of seems like asking for trouble.

#shewasaskingforit

Man goes to doctor, says, “doctor, doctor, it hurts when I raise my arms in the air and twist them like this.”
Doctor says, “don’t do that.”

 

[Lilura]

My blog coverage is for original and authoritative incarnations, and there is only one original and authoritative incarnation of PS:T: v.1.1. Everything else is irrelevant.

A retrospective based on the EEs/mods is not a retrospective; it's a fucking newbie write-up.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

My blog coverage is for original and authoritative incarnations, and there is only one original and authoritative incarnation of PS:T: v.1.1. Everything else is irrelevant.

A retrospective based on the EEs/mods is not a retrospective; it's a fucking newbie write-up.

https://lilura1.blogspot.com/2016/08/Baldurs-Gate-2-Walkthrough-Part-I.html?m=1

Don’t be so hard on yourself.

 

[laclongquan]

Fail to read and choose wrong dialog option lead to lock out content... I am okay with that. It's like saying choice "fail to read" and "choose wrong option" has consequence "locked out content". C&C is a bitch!

On another note: Magic Missile is like an emergency button of "Disrupt that fucker immediately or we all gonna dieeeeee". Five shot of MM hit that sucker has pretty good chance of that. it's the main use from middle game on.

 

[Lilura]

https://lilura1.blogspot.com/2016/08/Baldurs-Gate-2-Walkthrough-Part-I.html?m=1

Don’t be so hard on yourself.

Well, that one is primarily a walkthrough (see its address). I added "retrospective" in the title later on for cynical +SEO. Proper retrospective write-ups (IWD, BG, PS:T, NWN, ToEE etc.) and all pro-tip write-ups (several for BG2) are all based on original versions.

Fail to read and choose wrong dialog option lead to lock out content... I am okay with that. It's like saying choice "fail to read" and "choose wrong option" has consequence "locked out content". C&C is a bitch!

Examples given are not from reading comprehension failures, though. I am ok getting locked out if there is a "reactive" REASON for it.

On another note: Magic Missile is like an emergency button of "Disrupt that fucker immediately or we all gonna dieeeeee". Five shot of MM hit that sucker has pretty good chance of that. it's the main use from middle game on.

Main use of MM from mid-game on is direct damage due to scaling to 5. Plus, EED and sequencers. Projectiles are better at spell disruption due to increased launch speed/flight speed/collective ApR.

 

[SCO]

I don't dislike that PS:T locked you out , because i'm both not a 'accessibility first' fanatic when it comes to content and because it left a lot to discover in replays.


Almost exactly like Fallout 2 that, several things you 'could' do if you thought of them before resolving the connected quests, but if you didn't, you never could.

 

[Lilura]

SCO, I agree that the mystery of the multi-threadedness is nice (it allows aspies to distinguish themselves on public forums even after the advent of dumbed down wikis), but I'm talking about dumb lockouts that result from QA inadequacy. If one rests in dialogue before accepting a key in that same dialogue, it breaks plot progression. That's just one example.

 

[xav]

Acknowledge this user's agenda.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

So far, it seems no one has really understood what Lilura bitches about when talking about those locking-out dialogue situations. Reading comprehension indeed.

As for the blog article I mostly agree with what's said except for the small matter of the UI pop-ups that you found clunky but that I found very convenient.

 

[Lilura]

As for the blog article I mostly agree with what's said except for the small matter of the UI pop-ups that you found clunky but that I found very convenient.

True. I criticized the portable pop-up too harshly in Part II of my UIE series, and stubbornness caused me to make the same mistake here.

Since the portraits fill the bottom panel, from where are modal actions, spells and special abilities accessed? Well, right-clicking anywhere on the main interface pauses the game and calls up the portable pop-up, a circular menu system that can be repositioned (i.e, dragged) around the field of play; that contains multiple switches for modes, modal actions, quick-slots and character selection (the last by means of the central portrait). Black Isle called it "nifty" but I would sooner call it "annoyingly fiddly" due to its need for right-clicking and its tiny rotation arrow buttons. Apart from that, I have two other issues with the pop-up: one, it takes two extra clicks to perform an action; two, it hogs "right-click on the field of play" - and that means no party formation rotation! I think it would have been better to simply add another row of buttons above the portraits, perhaps of half-height.

Maybe PS:T should have just stuck with the original BG layout, but I was pleased its experiment caused Icewind Dale 2 to reuse the circular interface - and not the gimmicky pop-up: instead, they simply increased the height of the bottom panel to cram it all in (made more comfortable by virtue of standardizing 800x600 resolution, it must be admitted).

The pop-up! Grr, I hate this thing!

Now that I've been playing the game more concertedly, it's actually quite ok except for its size (would have been better if it "flanged out" for the spell ranges like ToEE's radial menu). And Beamdog removed PP in their EE, btw.

 

[ThisNameIsFree]

Why don’t you ever talk in your videos, is it because ur a dude

Just look at "her" avatar used in blog:

Spoiler

There is no way girl pick image like this
Also only male wizards can achieve such level of autism enlightenment.

 

[laclongquan]

Sad to say, I must agree with above poster~

 

[boobio]

Why link us to your blog rather than just post it here?

Be thankful you can even read it. I'll be changing domains and putting up a paywall soon.

NO! We need to hear your sexy voice in a jewtube vid or GTFO!

 

[Ninjerk]

The people have a right to know.

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

I would’ve bet money that she’s a very particular kind of type-A female. But man, if you wanted to juice your page views, a female persona would be a great way to do it. Hmm...

I still think it’s more likely she’s embarrassed about her accent or perhaps a not-so-adorable speech impediment. The latter would definitely go a long way toward explaining her intense love for video games. I’ll say this, if Lilura is in fact a dude, he’s very good at getting into character. Bravo, sir or madam.

 

[Ninjerk]

 

[Lilura]

Yep, my blog's hits will stem from its content alone. Not my accent/Sinicized spoken English (which is easy to fall into outside of formal situations), not my pics; just King Content.

And I'm still waiting on people to cite instances of my plagiarism and parasitism. YouTubers are using my write-ups as a basis (and dumbing them down), not the other way 'round.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

 

[Haplo]

You complain about FMV animations when casting highest-level spells. Well, but aren't cRPGs all about progress? Becoming bad ass and taking names? PS:T offers just that.
You cast ridiculous spells that shake the Multiverse. Summon hordes of extraplanar creatures. Channel energy beams from other dimensions. Hit your enemies with the pain of your own suffering, accumulated trough endless incarnations.

I thought this was awesome sauce.

As was Missile of Patience, a humble level 1 spell, learn-able only trough interactions with your companion, that can eventually rival epic spells... with enough patience.

 

[nobre]

Any way to disable those FMV animations? They get old real fast.

Anyway, an interesting read on PS:T spells. Never delved too far into it because the combat is so easy you don't really need it, but it could be interesting to do a magic-heavy play-through once.

 

[Blakemoreland Hybrid Boss]

If you ever get around to recording yourself speaking English, send a link my way, I appreciate accents.

I would’ve bet money that she’s a very particular kind of type-A female.

Get off my imaginary girlfriend!