PC RPG Gaming - Taking the dive

I don't want to turn this into a Divine Divinity thread, but can someone help me with a quick quest-related thing?

I found the magic mirror in the starting village, AFTER I gave the healing gem to Simon. Big mistake, right? Yeah, it was, but I didn't know the magic mirror existed at the time. Anyway, now I'm stuck with this magic mirror in my inventory. Can I use it at some later time? Or should I drop it? Is it even possible to drop it?


I also made that same mistake, but it's only a minor sidequest. There's no other use for the magic mirror in DD, so feel free to get rid of it if you like. I put it in a chest in the starting village that I used to store items I didn't need or weapons that I couldn't use yet.
 
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Thanks for the warning. Is the difficulty spike a game-breaker? What happens if you don't have that spell?

It is not a game-breaker, but it is really annoying. I've beaten the mines without that spell, but it was not a pleasant experience (you need to be slightly over-leveled for this part to be doable unless you either have that spell, or know what you are doing).
 
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It is not a game-breaker, but it is really annoying. I've beaten the mines without that spell, but it was not a pleasant experience (you need to be slightly over-leveled for this part to be doable unless you either have that spell, or know what you are doing).

I can't remember if Dog gets hurt by attacking things there or not, but he's a big help in the early stages if you're not good at combat. Of course, he can be a bit of a game-breaker himself. :p
 
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Fluent, when you finish Divine Divinity, you might want to look at the hoards of shareware that is available. Eschalon, Avernum, Underworld, Frayed Knights, etc. Read the threads around here to find out which ones, if any, sound right for you. D'Art can probably tell you which ones have co-op or multiplayer.
 
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Fluent, when you finish Divine Divinity, you might want to look at the hoards of shareware that is available. Eschalon, Avernum, Underworld, Frayed Knights, etc. Read the threads around here to find out which ones, if any, sound right for you. D'Art can probably tell you which ones have co-op or multiplayer.
I think he should better go for the established classics first: Fallout 1+2, Planescape: Torment, Baldur's Gate series, Arcanum, Gothic series, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, etc.

@ Fluent
In any case, before you embark on any of these games, do not hesitate to ask for some advice first on this forum so that we can guide you regardig the necessary community patches (if applicable) and character builds.
 
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Yeah, I'd like to play the classics first. I'm sure there are a ton of great games on the PC including all types of free games, indie games, etc, but I'd like to start with the big ones first.

Asdraguuhl, I did plan on asking some questions when I start some of those games. A game like Baldur's Gate looks very complex at first glance. I can handle it, but input would be welcome (not now, but when I get there).

My only fear with these older RPGs is running into impossible difficulty spikes that halt progression. I don't mind a challenge, but I don't like when a game says, "Oops! Sorry, you don't have the necessary skill to advance, you die". Basically ending the game for me because I created my build the "wrong" way.

I like to go by what "feels" right in RPGs, and my builds are usually not run-of-the-mill. I try to switch things up and what not. So I'm hoping that doesn't become a serious issue in some of these games.

For example, Divine Divinity. I am playing as a Warrior, but most of my skills so far have been from the Survivor skill trees. I'm hoping that doesn't hurt me in the long run. Also, my stat points have gone to the usual warrior stuff like strength and constitution, but I'm also working on agility to get my defense up a little. So hopefully I don't run into some super-boss that requires maximum strength to defeat.

One more thing about the Divine Divinity skills, they are beautifully implemented. I feel like the skills in this game are exactly how RPGs should be done. Tons of passive abilities and all of them are useful in some way. Leveling up is a blast.
 
For example, Divine Divinity. I am playing as a Warrior, but most of my skills so far have been from the Survivor skill trees.

That shouldn't be a problem.

It is a good idea to also boost agility for warriors.

No bosses require maxed strength to defeat, or anything like that. There are actually a variety of techniques which work well on the toughest bosses in the game; one is warrior specific, several involve survivor skills (possibly in combination), etc. Mage spells can also be effective (though the survivor's Curse skill is much better than the mage's Withering Curse, since it can not be resisted).

It is possible to make a poor build (don't think you can hit a dead end and not be able to adjust, though), but what you are doing sounds fine.
 
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Frost weapons make the game quite unbalanced, although I liked them. :D ;)
 
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I didn't play it, but it's generally considered a fun but flawed game. Not a waste of time, but certainly not one of the all time greats either.
Suffered from tremendous balance issues (tech characters had a seriously rough go, melee toons levelled WAY too quickly). Entertaining game, overall, though.
 
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Gothic. Great game and writing with unforgettable characters. Feeling so puny after walking down that hill and getting punked by the first group of hunters. Should be your next choice with G2 to follow.

You will forget all about the controls by the time you are done with your first playthru.
 
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Gothic is probably my next game I'm going to play after Divine Divinity. I'm also very interested in Baldur's Gate. But I enjoyed Risen so I think I will go with Gothic next.

What's so bad about Gothic's controls anyway? I've just read they are "awkward", but what does that mean in the game itself?
 
You need to press CTRL to perform any action other than walking. So it's something like CTRL + UP Arrow to open chest. CTRL + LEFT to swing sword to the left.

Your mouse basically serves no other purpose than to look around.
I think the level of control you get on your character in the game is almost unparalleled, but it does take some time to get used to it.
 
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Suffered from tremendous balance issues (tech characters had a seriously rough go, melee toons levelled WAY too quickly). Entertaining game, overall, though.

I agree, Arcanum has a flavor all of it's own with the whole Steampunk vibe and Tech vs Magik thing going on, but it's one of my all time favorites that should be played.
In fact I just got my console playing nephew a copy from GOG, as he is like you getting into PC RPG's for the first time, and after a little adjustment is loving it, and tough to beat the price at $5.99 and even cheaper if you wait for a sale.

In fact I'm replaying it now as a Magik user this time around and it plays completely different from my Tech character.

Just make sure if you do play the game that you fully mod it up as it makes a huge difference, everything from lost content put back in to widescreen resolutions, HQ music, extra animations, all help bring it up to today's standards.
 
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What's so bad about Gothic's controls anyway? I've just read they are "awkward", but what does that mean in the game itself?

It means that most reviewers are idiots. ;)

Gothic uses a reversed shooter setup. Instead of running with ASDW and shooting with the LMB you're pressing the "Action key", which is either CTRL or the LMB, and then choose one of 4 combat options with ASDW. As your stats increase you can stack combos. This gives you 4 options instead of only 2 (LMB and RMB) and very direct combat handling.
Almost every trivial action is done with [CTRL or LMB] + forward, so that's always the first thing to try. If it doesn't bring the desired effect, look the specific controls up.
Inventory and shopping is a bit strange but pretty easy once you know the keys for moving 1 / 10 / 100 units at once.

That's pretty much it. Simple and very efficient … but not intuitive.

Be warned that Gothic is harder than Risen. A 50% survival rate against one (!) simple creature is normal in the beginning. An armour, a decent sword and a few levels later things will look differently.

The story is basically Escape from New York.
 
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Thanks for the breakdown Gorath. Doesn't sound too bad at all. I'm not worried, I'm sure I will get used to things after awhile.

Any mods for Gothic that I should be aware of? Again, I'm on a laptop that's a few years old, so not sure if I can run any real resource-demanding mods, but things that slightly improve the way the game looks or sounds or whatever I would consider.

Also, anyone know about a mod for Baldur's Gate that updates the graphics to Baldur's Gate 2 standards? A friend was telling me something like that. You can basically play the first game on the second game's engine, and it enhances the game. Is this a mod I should get before playing BG1?
 
Any mods for Gothic that I should be aware of? Again, I'm on a laptop that's a few years old, so not sure if I can run any real resource-demanding mods, but things that slightly improve the way the game looks or sounds or whatever I would consider.

There's a texture mod out there somewhere that improves the visuals a little. Not sure where to find it now though. Other than that, Gothic isn't really the type of game you want to mod.


Also, anyone know about a mod for Baldur's Gate that updates the graphics to Baldur's Gate 2 standards? A friend was telling me something like that. You can basically play the first game on the second game's engine, and it enhances the game. Is this a mod I should get before playing BG1?

Assuming you've already purchased the original version of BG, you can use the TuTu mod to update it to the BG2 engine.
 
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Actually now that I think about it, I probably wouldn't want to even use mods. At least, not yet. I want to experience these games the way they were originally meant to be experienced. I might consider using the TuTu mod, but that's probably about as far as I'll go. I really want to play these like they were played back in the day...

Quick question, has anyone ever had any of these games cause their computer to crash or turn off suddenly? My laptop has shut off 3 times now with Divine Divinity running in the background (I alt-tab'd to do something else, a few moments later the computer shut off). Just wondering. I know I probably shouldn't be alt-tab'ing, so I'll try to avoid that.
 
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