1 réponse à ce sujet

[CBGB]

KotOR is ten years old, and still well-worth playing.
It's old-school, with simple graphics and a pen-and-paper 'turn based' approach to combat, but the story shines, the characters are fun, and the writing is excellent.

How to Run the Game Now
Detailed instructions can be found in this helpful Lucasarts thread. tl;dr? Here's the short version:

• Install with DirectX 9. I used the one on the disk, but if you want a parallel copy of DX11, see the second post in the above thread.
• Install the game by running Setup.exe with Win XP SP2 Compatibility.
• Patch only if needed. You don't need a patch if using the "Best of" collection. See the second post for details. Steam users may want to follow the tips in this bug-solving thread.
• Run the game as Administrator in Win XP SP 2 mode. I made a shortcut for this.

You may be up and running now, but if not, try these steps: set screen resolution to 800x600, and Disable Movies with the Configuration utility. More on that in a moment.

Still have trouble? See this Bioware Forum thread, and especially Michael1983's post, in the middle of the first page.

There are widescreen workarounds, but I quickly got comfortable with the 800x600 resolution. Disabling movies doesn't remove all cutscenes, just the logos at launch and certain transitions. The game feels fine without them, and here you can find ALL the KotOR movie scenes of that type, in order by planet (click 'Show More' for the full list), so you don't miss anything.


Resources and Guides
KotOR is designed well enough to enable play without a walkthrough: there's no Must-Have-to-Win Weapon, and no major plot cliffs until the end. That said, if you do want a guide, here are good ones in different formats:

Thuyker's text Guide
There are video walkthroughs, but the nature of the game doesn't suit them. You may prefer HTML guides, like these:
Old-Republic's Walkthrough
and
Tartarus' Walkthrough, with excellent Side Quest and Companion guides.

Pazaak Guide
Swoop Racing Guide - hang in there! You can do it!

Item Guide - no need to worry about particular items, but if you want a reference, here it is. Feel free to upgrade items at your workbench whenever you get an improvement - you can always remove and swap upgrades.

Planet Order - You can follow whatever order you like. The story will nudge you strongly toward a particular starting planet, and it's a sensible start, and the hardest planet should be equally obvious. But in case you want to plot it all out, the last post on that link lays out one good option. More explanation from VirtualCat. Links contain minor Spoilers.

Romance Guide - from GameBanshee forums. GameBanshee also has an HTML Walkthrough of the game in general. Spoilers, of course. Video guide here.

Companion Build Guide - Halfway down this main character guide is a section for Getting the Most Out of Your Party Members, with terrific build advice.


Character Creation
To keep this a Spoiler-free primer, I'm including only general points here. For more detailed thoughts on Intelligence and leveling, with minor spoilers, see the Low-Spoiler Mini-Guide in the Campaign Section.

For here, note that KotOR rewards a balanced set of attibutes. If you like melee more than casting, put more in Strength, by all means, but unlike other pen-and-pencil formats, KotOR doesn't reward making a fighter with Intelligence of 3. Use 10 or 12 as a baseline and you'll do fine.

You can enjoy the game with any class. Note that while I like Scoundrels, the Stealth mechanic is clumsy, and most Skills are available through your companions. Your combat Feats tend to be more valuable.

If you decide to make a change later, you can always use the handy KotOR and TSL ('KotOR2') editor. Run it as an Adminstrator or it won't be able to overwrite files.

Is using a savegave editor cheating? I much prefer it to spoling surprises by reading ahead in the storyline, and just knowing I can make changes lets me play comfortably without a walkthrough. As to whether it's 'wrong,' I'll quote Moderator Stanley Woo's earlier post in this Forum.

Stanley Woo wrote...
however you want to play the game, that's how you should play the game.
Having fun with the game is the most important thing

Modifié par CBGB, 20 septembre 2013 - 03:12 .

[CBGB]

What's After KotOR?

Ten years after release, players may be less familiar with the origins of KotOR2 ('TSL' for 'The Sith Lords'), and why it isn't listed in the Bioware forums.

KotOR2 was developed by Obsidian, and their Forum is here. It uses the same combat system, and has a few continuing characters, though the game largely stands on its own. The story focuses more on Jedi/Sith philosophy, and many players feel the ending was rushed, apparently in a bid to get the game to market by holiday time.

A helpful mod, TSL Restored Content, amends certain ending options and restores much missing dialogue. It also makes the game easier to run on a modern machine than KotOR. KotOR2/TSL patch 1.0b here, and more information on the TSLRCM plus widescreen options here.


Star Wars: the Old Republic
SWTOR takes place 300 years after KotOR (and after the two Revan books, which I haven't read). There's a fun timeline here.

People have strong feelings about MMO's, and I don't want this to slip into a SWTOR debate - Moderators here are quick to lock such threads, directing posts to the SWTOR site - so I mention the game here as reference. I enjoy it quite a bit, even though I prefer single-player player to most MMO's, and it does expand nicely on the lore.

It's also nice to see improved technology well-applied. Taris in SWTOR achieves the 'feel' I imagined in KotOR, and certain game mechanics, especially Stealth, come to life in the modern game.


Whatever you enjoy best, good gaming to you!

Modifié par CBGB, 20 septembre 2013 - 03:13 .