"Good Old Games"

[Creole_Ned]

Betrayal at Krondor is my favorite CRPG, though be warned that its graphics are pretty crude by today’s standards. It is party-based, though the party is only two or three strong at any time and you don’t get much in the way of customization. I found the turn-based combat to be immensely addictive and the overarching story is well-presented. As a bonus, the GoG package also includes Betrayal in Antara, which was the ‘spiritual’ sequel Sierra released when they (temporarily, as it turned out) lost the rights to the next Krondor game. BiA is not a bad RPG in itself and includes the same turn-based combat scheme as BaK.

[Cl_Flushentityhero]

As a bonus, the GoG package also includes the sequel, Return to Krondor, though it has a very different feel than the first game (and is inferior, IMO).

Actually, it includes Betrayal in Antara. Return to Krondor is sold separately.

[Creole_Ned]

Actually, it includes Betrayal in Antara. Return to Krondor is sold separately.

Durr, you’re right. How the heck did I get that mixed up?

Betrayal in Antara is actually a better companion to BaK in that it’s much closer to the feel of Krondor, since it uses the same engine (modified a bit) and story structure. While it’s a serviceable riff on BaK, the voice acting is teeth-grindingly bad.

Edited previous post.

[Jab]

I’ve heard good things about Betrayal at Krondor. And the Might and Magic 1-6 bundle is a steal - the first couple are probably a bit more primitive than most people would want to deal with, but 3 onwards have plenty of RPG goodness. I’m particularly fond of the 4/5 combination, each of which were a full sized RPG on their own, but installed together they combine to form the World of Xeen, with transport points between the two game maps and quests that can only be completed with access to both maps. VI I personally never got into due to a major engine/gameplay change that kind of put me off, but I know a lot of people swear by it.

I already have the bundle in my cart along with realms of arkania 1+2. I’ve played baldur’s gate 1 and 2 and thought they were ok but never played any of the icewind dale series.

[delirium]

And the Might and Magic 1-6 bundle is a steal - the first couple are probably a bit more primitive than most people would want to deal with, but 3 onwards have plenty of RPG goodness. I’m particularly fond of the 4/5 combination, each of which were a full sized RPG on their own, but installed together they combine to form the World of Xeen, with transport points between the two game maps and quests that can only be completed with access to both maps. VI I personally never got into due to a major engine/gameplay change that kind of put me off, but I know a lot of people swear by it.

Funny you should mention that. I was just about to download the M&M bundle and hopped into this thread to see if I should grab anything else while I’m at it. I have fond memories of playing Clouds of Xeen when I was younger and I’m looking for something to play on my laptop while I’m staying with my parents for the holidays. I haven’t played these games since they were new, though, so I guess I will find out if they still hold up.

[rowe33]

I played M&M 1 and 2 a lot back in the day then played 6+ but somehow skipped 3-5. I mean to correct that one of these days since I have the pack from GoG but time has not cooperated!

[Eric_P]

I think I may have borked myself in BG1. I wanted a ranger/cleric and picked the Archer kit but now it doesn’t seem like I can multiclass?

Is it worth it to keep playing as pure Archer or should I start over?

[Kunikos]

I think I may have borked myself in BG1. I wanted a ranger/cleric and picked the Archer kit but now it doesn’t seem like I can multiclass?

Is it worth it to keep playing as pure Archer or should I start over?

Kivan is an NPC that is already an archer, FWIW.

[tylertoo]

Betrayal at Krondor is my favorite CRPG, though be warned that its graphics are pretty crude by today’s standards. It is party-based, though the party is only two or three strong at any time and you don’t get much in the way of customization. I found the turn-based combat to be immensely addictive and the overarching story is well-presented.

Ah, good old games. I received BaK back in '93 as a promotion to sign up for a long distance company. Not even sure which company, and I always remember thinking it was an odd promotion, but you’d get 3 Sierra games for signing up, and BaK was one of those that I chose. I got only through Chapter 4, mainly because I was a completionist and wanted to do every quest. Returned to it in '99 for a short time but never got much further.

So today, spurred on your post Creole Ned, I finally paid money for BaK (down to $4.18 at GOG, finally hit my price point). As I downloaded, I went into my office and did some digging… and found a CD I’d burned years ago to back up an old hard drive.

Yes, there were my old Betrayal at Krondor save games, last saved in 1999. So tonight, I’m picking up where I left off nearly 12 years ago. Hopefully I’ll get beyond Chapter 4, and maybe finish BaK before it hits its 20th anniversary.

[Thraeg]

I think I may have borked myself in BG1. I wanted a ranger/cleric and picked the Archer kit but now it doesn’t seem like I can multiclass?

Is it worth it to keep playing as pure Archer or should I start over?

It depends on how far you are into the game and how attached you are to the idea of a ranger/cleric. You should be able to complete the game just fine as an archer, filling in the cleric role with an NPC.

Not sure how familiar you are with the quirks and inconsistencies of D&D 2E, so ignore this if it’s old news. Your options for combining two classes depend on your race. If you’re a human, you might still be able to dual-class and switch over to cleric later on, assuming your wisdom is high enough. Doing that would permanently switch you to cleric, and your old abilities would be locked off until your cleric level is higher than your ranger level. At that point you’d be able to use the old abilities again, though they would never improve. For non-humans, you have to make the decision to multiclass at character creation, and then you advance in both simultaneously.

[John_Many_Jars]

So I’m thinking of buying Arcanum to play on my laptop during Xmas break downtime. I remember reading that it was very buggy. Will the GOG version be all patched up, or will I need to patch it?

[sinfony]

Forums suggest that GOG version is patched to latest official version but that there are unofficial patches that should be installed.

[tylertoo]

So I’m thinking of buying Arcanum to play on my laptop during Xmas break downtime. I remember reading that it was very buggy. Will the GOG version be all patched up, or will I need to patch it?

That GOG post covers it, but also here’s an Arcanum modding guide with links to various patches.

[John_Many_Jars]

Thanks, dudes.

[Creole_Ned]

Ah, good old games. I received BaK back in '93 as a promotion to sign up for a long distance company. Not even sure which company, and I always remember thinking it was an odd promotion, but you’d get 3 Sierra games for signing up, and BaK was one of those that I chose. I got only through Chapter 4, mainly because I was a completionist and wanted to do every quest. Returned to it in '99 for a short time but never got much further.

So today, spurred on your post Creole Ned, I finally paid money for BaK (down to $4.18 at GOG, finally hit my price point). As I downloaded, I went into my office and did some digging… and found a CD I’d burned years ago to back up an old hard drive.

Yes, there were my old Betrayal at Krondor save games, last saved in 1999. So tonight, I’m picking up where I left off nearly 12 years ago. Hopefully I’ll get beyond Chapter 4, and maybe finish BaK before it hits its 20th anniversary.

Heh, that’s nifty. Good luck on the resumption!

I could never pick up where I left off from so many years back. Maybe that’s why I never finish so many CRPGs – if I leave them for any length of time, I feel obligated to start over when I go back to them. If I didn’t have such a massive backlog of unplayed games I’d seriously consider taking another run with Betrayal at Krondor (and did pick up the GoG version).

[Relayer71]

I could never pick up where I left off from so many years back. Maybe that’s why I never finish so many CRPGs – if I leave them for any length of time, I feel obligated to start over when I go back to them.

Haha, ditto that.

Usually do that with any game I’ve not played in a while, but tends to happen more with RPGs.

One of my favorite RPGs of all time is Wizardry 8. However, that’s based only on playing the game to the halfway point at least half a dozen times already. Never finish it, always put it aside for something else and then have to restart.

[scharmers]

It doesn’t help that Wizardry 8 is the mother of all grinds…and trash mobs level with you.

I generally get tired of it after getting close to clearing out the forest and getting inside the airstrip in town.

[red_guy]

This is very cool: every owner of Broken Sword 1 Director’s Cut now also has access to a download of the original version. So if you think the new version has been dumbed down (it has, but I don’t really mind), or if you want to experience the original opening cutscene (superior, IMO - the words “Paris in the fall” should be spoken by a naive patent lawyer, not by a cynical journalist), now you can.

[Alistair]

Is there somewhere to request titles for GOG? I want them to pick up Precursors and assemble the non-broken English version that requires juggling a few files. Seems like the kind of thing they would do, bless em.

[Kurina]

There is an old voting system they had on their website during the beta period. The link to this is removed, but the page still exists. I am not sure if is still of use or not, but here you go: http://www.gog.com/en/wanted/