anyone else think that TOEE's engine could have been the next IE?

Hey, new poster here.

After playing Troika's Temple of Elemental Evil many years, while i was somewhat disappointed by the game, I loved the engine and perhaps foolishly hoped that the engine could be built upon and used for a series of DND-based CRPGs, like the Infinity Engine.

Unfortunately Troika bit the bullet and the game was forgotten.

Was anyone else similarly impressed by TOEE in that regard?

loved toee's combat engine. Game was lacking but played it just for the combat. Would have loved to see more games built on that engine. Probably the most faithful translation of the d&d rule set to crpg's and who didn't love the giant frogs?

Originally Posted by sakichop
Probably the most faithful translation of the d&d rule set to crpg's and who didn't love the giant frogs?

Forget about the frogs… it had a Gelatinous Cube!

That was awesome I almost forgot. Time to give it another whirl!

Yeah..fun game, even though it's basically just one encounter after another. I haven't played it since shortly after it was released, so there are lot of things I don't even remember about it.

I wish it had multiple towns/villages though, rather than just the one town and one huge dungeon. I do remember feeling a bit let down by the ending as well, but endings don't mean that much to me as long as I enjoyed the bulk of the game. (see Risen)

The one thing that was truly missing from TOEE was a great Troika story, as seen in their other two games. Ironically, you could also say that what was missing from Troika's other two games was TOEE's awesome combat system. If only there was a way to merge TOEE's combat into Arcanum..

Imagine a fully-fledged BG style game with that engine…

Originally Posted by Nerevarine
The one thing that was truly missing from TOEE was a great Troika story, as seen in their other two games.

Yeah, the Icewind Dale games and ToEE lack the story and choice elements I want in an RPG, but as combat games they are the cream of the crop really.

There's no doubt the intent was to use the engine as a base for multiple games but the sales killed that off. I think Tim Cain made a mistake selecting ToEE as the basis and they didn't understand the success of the BioWare games, such as companion dialogue. Definitely a shame.

Originally Posted by DoctorNarrative
Yeah, the Icewind Dale games and ToEE lack the story and choice elements I want in an RPG, but as combat games they are the cream of the crop really.

I Agree, I think that IWD and TOEE truly are the pinnacle of Dn'D CRPG combat. However, combat isn't the most important aspect of an RPG, so while I consider them both to be great games, I wouldn't consider them to be great RPGs. I still absolutely love both games though.

I think the choice element is actually fairly overlooked in ToEE. There *are* a number of interesting choices you can make in that game. I just think that people tend to look past that since the writing and story (which partially has to do with the module itself) feels uninspired.

But yes, I would've loved to see more games made in that engine.

I never got far in it. While I liked the look of it, the engine just didn't seem to flow well. I understand for some people it was exactly what they were looking for, but it just seemed exceedingly strange to me for the game to basically be real time until combat started then switch to complete turn based. I couldn't get used to it.

It was truest representation of 3rd edition Rules in any game.

And it was great game , just like Bloodlines was.

I guess we didnt deserve greatness of Trioka

It was a great game engine in search of an actual game. The scenario presented was totally bland and forgettable. Can anyone even name *one* NPC from it?

I remember the owners of the tower, and that cleric, but not by names.

I played it quite through, although not until the end. And since my PC was a bit older, then, it had quite some graphics problems in *huge* battles …

But the most memorable thing for me was its help system. I've never seen such a detailed help system in any game. Only Drakensang came close, imho. (Although I must admit that I didn't play too many RPGs during the last years).

And I think the folks there at CO8 were preparing additional modules ?

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
I remember the owners of the tower, and that cleric, but not by names.

I played it quite through, although not until the end. And since my PC was a bit older, then, it had quite some graphics problems in *huge* battles …

But the most memorable thing for me was its help system. I've never seen such a detailed help system in any game. Only Drakensang came close, imho. (Although I must admit that I didn't play too many RPGs during the last years).

And I think the folks there at CO8 were preparing additional modules ?

Help system? Sorry, it's been a long time since I last played it. Could you elaborate what you mean?

I still think TOEE engine is the most advanced 2d isometric RPG engine out there. It has lots of potential, actually I was hoping there would have been a sequel of Arcanum using TOEE engine. But of course all my hopes crumbled to dust with the demise of Troika. If only Atari, Interplay (or who else has the license) distribute infinity or toee engines and their tools freely. I think talented indie developers can create wonders with such tools in their hand.

Originally Posted by Captain Smollett
Help system? Sorry, it's been a long time since I last played it. Could you elaborate what you mean?

Uh, it's long ago … It basically works like a very traditional Windows help system, only within the game.

But since it is so long ago, I can't wquite remember this anymore … I have it installed, but I'm too lazy to get the discs out again …

Originally Posted by Gokyabgu
I still think TOEE engine is the most advanced 2d isometric RPG engine out there. It has lots of potential, actually I was hoping there would have been a sequel of Arcanum using TOEE engine. But of course all my hopes crumbled to dust with the demise of Troika. If only Atari, Interplay (or who else has the license) distribute infinity or toee engines and their tools freely. I think talented indie developers can create wonders with such tools in their hand.

In September 2006, one of Arcanum's lead programmers and co-founder of Troika, Leonard Boyarsky, divulged that the studio had originally commenced work on a sequel, going by the working title of Journey to the Centre of Arcanum, which would use Valve's Source Engine. Development was curtailed by disputes between Sierra and Valve, resulting ultimately in the project being shelved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcanum…Obscura#Sequel

Looks like it would have been a 3-D engine, so you were SOL either way.

Originally Posted by blatantninja
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcanum…Obscura#Sequel

Looks like it would have been a 3-D engine, so you were SOL either way.

Then it's good that they couldn't make it. VtM: Bloodlines is one of my all time favourite RPGs and it was made by the source engine too, but Arcanum presents different taste (quite a large world to explore, turn-based combat system) to the player than Bloodlines (much more focus to the story, much more linear, real time combat system).

Now I consider Age of Decadence as the next Arcanum-style game.