Planescape: Torment - Feature Article at Diehard GameFan

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On the 12th 2009 of December Plane scape: Torment had its 10th birthday. Since the game has been re-released to work on modern day systems, questions naturally arise whether Planescape Torment should be revived in some way - or not.

In a feature article, Planescape: Torment - Sequel, Spin Off, Start Over or Stay Dead? Editors at the site Diehard GameFan are discussing just this. They decided to let the sleeping dogs lie - and let The Nameless One rest in peace:
As happy as I am that the game was re-released to run on modern systems, there's no way in hell I want to see this game being remade as Black Isle Studios is sadly long dead. I also don't want to see a sequel, simply because without Black Isle, there is no way it could measure up. Now, a sequel is possible as The Nameless One would now be fighting in the Blood War, but again, without the original team, a sequel would only sully the good name of the original. A spin-off also isn't that possible because Planescape itself is a spin-off of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, which no longer exists.
Do you agree with the statements made by the editors?
More information.
 
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A sequel would be nearly impossible given the ending of PST. Another game in the same setting might work but it's hard to imagine anyone fronting the money for it given that fans of the original would crucify them. There's no need to redo it as the original works pretty well. So I say let it stay dead.
 
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So what about the fans of the original? Would the opinion of several thousand freaks matter, really?

That's a bit of an exaggeration, of course, but just like with Fallout, the audience for a game like that compared to the massive market today is next to nothing. That said, I'm not sure what good the name would do for a modern production, but apparently it worked out for Bethesda (although their own big name probably did them a lot of favours).

I've never finished Planescape: Torment for various reasons, but I wouldn't mind a modern sequel nonetheless.
 
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A remake would be fine. Close to the inital release, some polishing and expansion of some areas, with full voice-acting and 3D.
 
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A sequel would be hard to make, I believe, since Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro? pretty much has abandoned the Planes as a setting for D&D. Even if a sequel will be happening, it'll probably only sell to maybe 500,000 people. That's just my guess, though.
 
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A remake is unnecessary considering the game is still very playable and enjoyable in its current state.

I don't think a remake would add anything and considering how modern gamers (read: "The Kidz") like their games these days, they'd fall asleep from all the dialogue (only it would be fully voiced).

I'd love to see is Obsidian create a new game set in the same universe though (or a full scale MoTB-esque game using a new engine!). I mean, we've been Forgotten Realmed to death already.

And if any game deserves and would benefit more from a total remake it's Arcanum.
 
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What Relayer said basically. There is absolutely no reason to remake the game as it stands, the game works just fine as is.

A direct sequel would take away the mystery and would never be able to live up to the original anyways. But I'm not a fan of remakes and/or sequels to old games anyways. They are beautifully crafted things, original and wonderful. Why spend that effort of trying to live up to that legacy instead of creating something new and original for today?

Another game in the Planescape universe though? Hell yeah.
 
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I doubt we'll see another Planescape game... 4th ed D&D is not... well I just can't see it happening.

However, DA:O's The Fade has a bit in common with Planescape. In particular the way that 'reality' in The Fade is shaped by the beliefs and wills of its inhabitants. Perhaps... Bioware could liscence Obsidian to do an expandalone spiritual successor to PS:T, in much the same way Beth have with Fallout: New Vegas. The game could be published by EA.

Maybe? Just maybe there is some hope of this... I mean, if you'd said a couple of years ago that ex Black Isle people would be making a Fallout game, it would have seemed unlikely to the point of an impossible dream.
 
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I'd like to see at least an enhanced edition, someone posted an interview with Chris Avellone ages ago where he talked about quite a lot of content that had to be cut from the final version due to time & budget constraints (but which had basically been written). If they added that back in, tidied it all up and bundled it with an improved version of that mod that put it in a higher resolution it'd be absolutely fine IMO.

What's happening with Purgatorio anyway?
 
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... someone posted an interview with Chris Avellone ages ago where he talked about quite a lot of content that had to be cut from the final version due to time & budget constraints (but which had basically been written). If they added that back in,...

Fans of the game have already done that. Sorry, my computer is down, so I don't have a link.

There are a LOT of old games I'd like to see remade (tops for me would be X-Com: UFO Defense, I guess), but I've been playing Planescape: Torment recently, and it's still great just as it is (especially with the bug fixes, the recovered content, and the widescreen mods).
 
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Fans of the game have already done that. Sorry, my computer is down, so I don't have a link.

There are a LOT of old games I'd like to see remade (tops for me would be X-Com: UFO Defense, I guess), but I've been playing Planescape: Torment recently, and it's still great just as it is (especially with the bug fixes, the recovered content, and the widescreen mods).

Cool, does the recent release include any of those community mods or is it just the vanilla release?
 
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(especially with the bug fixes, the recovered content, and the widescreen mods).
Sounds good, but personally I would still use 4:3 even on a widescreen monitor, in 800x600. The original resolution was 640x480, going a lot higher serves no purpose. Even if you wanted to use your monitor's native resolution, the Infinity Engine games just weren't designed for it. If the widescreen mod is anything like the one for the Baldur's Gate saga, the text stretches over the entire width of the monitor, which makes reading very cumbersome. That may well be a limitation of the game engine itself, but there's a reason why most web sites have a maximum width for text bodies, this forum included. ;)

That said, I love all those mod communities which improve upon old, neglected games while keeping the spirit of the originals!
 
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I think the Planescape setting is defunct (i.e. not marketed or sold by WotC).

WotC is canny about that. They do some pittance thing just often enough to maintain their control of the IP. It's amazing they are smart enough to do that yet screw everything else up.
 
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