15 réponses à ce sujet

[Lilura]

Hi there, below are links to my in-depth retrospective on the original incarnation of Baldur's Gate & Tales of the Sword Coast by BioWare.

 

Do many even play the original anymore (i.e, not Tutu, BGT or EE), or am I one of a handful remaining?

 

Baldur's Gate Blathering - Part I: Introduction, Setting & Scope, Ruleset & Chargen, Basic Combat System, Perspective & UI, Experience & Treasure, Prologue, Initial Exploration & Encounters, Pathfinding, Ambushes & Waylays.

Part II: Stealth & Theft, Archery, Resting & Healing, Arcane Spells, Summoning Spells: Arcane & Divine, Wands.

Part III: Tanking & Melee Combat, Party Composition & Companions, Sidequests.

Part IV: Divine aka Priest Spells: Cleric & Druid, "Level Scaling", Boss Encounters.

Part V: Durlag's Tower: The Venerable Deathtrap, Overview, Upper Storeys, Cellar.

Part VI: The Labyrinth of the Warders & The Labyrinth of Doors.

 

(Four more parts to come, covering the rest of Durlag's Tower & the final stages of the original campaign)

 

Comments & criticisms welcome.

[Grimwald the Wise]

So far I have only read the first part Lilura

 

I wish that I had read this when I first got the game, but at that time I didn't even have web access. I'm glad that you didn't say anything about the easy ways to kill/get past  Tarnesh (for example) as you get such a buzz when you work them out for yourself.

 

I didn't realise that killing Phlydia was an option. Elminster CAN be killed, but you have to exploit the game engine to do so.

 

Sadly "improvements" to Tutu have made killing Firebead, Phlydia etc. impossible. Definitely NOT an improvement.

 

You have whetted my appetite to play it again as it was,

[corey_russell]

I haven't have time yet to read the reviews.

 

But to answer your question, yes I still play the original BG 1 now and then.

[Lilura]

You have whetted my appetite to play it again as it was,

 

I'm heartened, and happy that others still consider the original worth playing - or at least remembering!

 

My review isn't really written for new players, but more for veterans who might like to refresh their memory - and mine! - on finer details, or take a nostalgia trip. So yeah, I just sort of glossed over Tarnesh and wrote in more detail about other encounters, throwing out tips here and there.

 

Thanks for the tip about Elminster, I'll look into it.

[Grimwald the Wise]

I have never killed Elminster, but apparently it can be done by leaving NPCs who were previously in the party as a barrier, so that he cannot approach and speak to you.

 

I have read about this, not done it.

 

It might also be possible using summoned monsters.

 

I have certainly used summoned monsters to stop other characters initialising conversation. (The top floor at Candlekeep I killed a character that was obviously was not meant to be killed.) It wasn't worth the time and effort as the reward was minimal.

[Lilura]

Setting up Shandalar for the fall was annoying enough, I'm not gonna bother with E.

[Lilura]

Part VII was posted a while back and Part VIII is finally up!

 

Part VII: The Labyrinth of Elements & The Chessboard.
Part VIII: The Labyrinth of Durlag's Ghost & The Demon Knight, Ulgoth's Beard: The Return & The Beast Unleashed.
Part IX: To be posted. Begins the treatment of Baldur's Gate city itself.

The retrospective will be capped off with the Finale in the Temple of Bhaal. I've revised my projection to 15 parts, all told.

 

I hope you enjoy the read!

[Aasim]

Fantastic. Thank you.

[Jianson]

Oh dear, that pathfinding! Plus the fact that character circles didn't get nudged to give a passing character room didn't help. I quickly switched to babysitting one character at a time in those mazes.

 

Awesome write-ups, btw. Very enjoyable reading.

[Lilura]

Thanks, guys. In my opinion, Durlag's Tower is the greatest dungeon crawl in RPG history.

[CoM Solaufein]

Indeed it is, especially considering I hate solving puzzles in a game. I overlooked that since Durlag's is the best part of the game.

[Grimwald the Wise]

I don't mind the puzzles, so long as they are reasonably difficult.

 

So often in computer games they are far too basic for my liking.

 

Possibly because the games are aimed at children rather than intelligent adults.

[Lilura]

Indeed it is, especially considering I hate solving puzzles in a game. I overlooked that since Durlag's is the best part of the game.

 

The extra dimension of allegory (on the emotion of fear), the lore and history, the itemization that feels rewarding without going Monty Haul, the tricks, traps, riddles & rhymes, the timed respawns that keep you on your toes, the variability and vastness of the area design, the interesting combat encounters (the Warders, the Chessboard), the sensational theatrics of Ike - it seems like it's got it all.

[Lilura]

I'm running a second series of posts concurrent with my retrospective, treating all D&D user interfaces from Baldur's Gate to NWN2. The first part introduces the Infinity Engine and treats it within BG and its sequel:

 

User Interface Evolution - Part I

 

Enjoy!

[Yaroub]

This is amazing work - Kudos to you! 

 

I have to agree on Durlag's, it was a pure enjoyment, as all of TotSC, Tob on the other hand rarely captured my interest. It is good expansion no doubt about it, yet it should've been a full game rather than downscaled to an expansion.

[Lilura]

ToB was disappointing... it seems it just ran with BG2's monty haul nature, and added HLAs. Some parts are good, but I think there is a reason why Gaider and Weidu modders put together Ascension...

 

User Interface Evolution - Part II

 

This post references BG and treats Planescape: Torment, Icewind Dale and IWD2 UIs.

 

IWD2 UI > BG2:ToB UI.