OMG ! HELP ME ! I am starving ! hel….p…….

PLEASE HELP ME !

After my beloved Fallout 2 and the great BG2 and also IWD 2 (and much older gems of pure play FUN), i TRIED THEM all.
The last games i like to love but cant, with the greatest showstopper explained:
NWN2: this game has no flow, its HARD WORK to play it. *compare it to BG2*
Titan Quest: (yes, i know, dont hit me, i buyed it)… fall asleep after 3 hours
Gothic 3: wow, what a buggy crap. 12 months to early released.
Oblivion: my god, level scaling. FORGET IT.
Vanguard: grind,grind,grind. At last no FUN for me.
WOW2: see vanguard
EQ2: see vanguard.
and much more.

I play again BG2 with Throne of Baal, again Fallout 2, again JA2. This games are more FUN to play then the overhyped new ones. I prefer a good story and, thats important, a great character system and a real good interface over graphics and sounds. What could i say, blame me, flame me, but…… i am right.
NOW, HELP ME and point out GREAT GAMES i missed.
(no, i played all the Wizardry, all the M&M, all the Avernums and Geneforge, Arx Fatalis, Kotors etc. I played them, i loved them. No i played also Devil Whiskey, again Nethack and so on.)
NOW HELP A STARVING OLDTIMER, 44 years with NO FUN since 1 Years with the new RPG Games. Help me, missed i any great game ?
OR IS THIS THE END for my beloved turn-based RPGs ?
IS THIS THE END and only a Fallout (oblivion) 3 is coming, again a joke like Oblivion ?

IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE WHO FEEL THE PAIN LIKE I FEEL IT ?
My only hope is ESCHALON, this look really good.

My god, i feel like a dumbass now, but i need this to say. sigh.

Some extraordinary games to play in the Sommerferien:

Lazarus - Ultima 5 Remake - you need Dungeon Siege 1

Jagged Alliance UB Vietnam SOG'69 -> play with english patch 1.01 even if you have the german version of JA UB

Gods - Lands of Infinity

One of the best free modules for Neverwinter Nights 1:
Darkness over Daggerford

… and because you are in my age group you might like the Elite clone: Darkstar One

You didn't mention it as one of those you've already played, so how about Temple of Elemental Evil? You'll need the latest community patch from Circle of Eight, of course.

I thought the topic would be a wry commentary on Gauntlet

OR IS THIS THE END for my beloved turn-based RPGs ?

Very much, unless you join half the internet populace and start calling realtime with pause turn-based.

In any case, I don't think I can give you much good advice judging by the games you've played. I can recommend a "return to basics", so to speak. If you haven't played the original Baldur's Gate, the original Fallout or the original Icewind Dale, you should. You should also definitely play Planescape: Torment, and Gothic 2.

Since you're into Jagged Alliance 2, you should also give X-Com: Terror from the Deep and Silent Storm a try, along with Space Rangers 2.

And you should definitely try Arcanum and Vampire: Bloodlines, along with Deus Ex (more shooter than RPG but it's quite good in its category), System Shock 2 (ditto), and this oldie called Wasteland.

If none of that satisfies you, you can also temporarily invest in other genres for some diversity, such as action or adventure titles.

well i can recommend you some less complex rpg-s… for instance fable and jade empire, but i'm not sure do you like that type of game… and combat in these games is real-time, so…

btw i think you might like dragon age, once it comes out, so not everything is so black…

Originally Posted by Role-Player
I thought the topic would be a wry commentary on Gauntlet



Very much, unless you join half the internet populace and start calling realtime with pause turn-based.

In any case, I don't think I can give you much good advice judging by the games you've played. I can recommend a "return to basics", so to speak. If you haven't played the original Baldur's Gate, the original Fallout or the original Icewind Dale, you should. You should also definitely play Planescape: Torment, and Gothic 2.

Since you're into Jagged Alliance 2, you should also give X-Com: Terror from the Deep and Silent Storm a try, along with Space Rangers 2.

And you should definitely try Arcanum and Vampire: Bloodlines, along with Deus Ex (more shooter than RPG but it's quite good in its category), System Shock 2 (ditto), and this oldie called Wasteland.

If none of that satisfies you, you can also temporarily invest in other genres for some diversity, such as action or adventure titles.

Role-Player, you and the others, thank you very much. I played all the games you mentioned, and i was not to happy with Silent Storm and Vampire. But nevertheless, sure i prefer turn-based combat over the pause turn-based, but where to find i the new games ?
I make a sidestep and bought a gamecube, played Baiten Kaitos, Grandia.. i bought a PS2 and played Disagea, etc.

Yes, i am a whiner but everytime i play Fallout 2 i FEEL the world. Its a near flawless play, i feel that my timeinvest is rewarded with great moments. And i dont get this from [modern] games. Sure, this oldtimer target player group doesnt have the financial potential for full budget games. Therefore i would be more than satisfied with a *new* game, a new environment with a good interface, a good character building system, a good storyline. I didnt need great graphics or sound. But i would like to play something new, not a remake of a game i played 12 years ago.
HOPELESS ?

maybe these threads help:

RPGs with turn-based combat

Interesting links for gamers (Indie games, Abandonware, Mods)

Over at the Codex:
Indie CRPGs - post 'em if you find 'em

Turn-based ? Hm … You DID play the Nordlandtrilogie, didn't you ?
It's graphically hopelessly outdated, but still …

I also recommend TOEE with the latest patch, and if you still want the German language in it, then go and use the mod called GULP from www.co8.org.
If language doesn't matter to you, then you should try the latest CO8 mod.
It fixes nearly everything that wasn't fixed by the latest patch, as far as I know.

Not many TB RPGs left …
As recommended above try the Ultima 5 remake for Dungeon Siege.

Return to Krondor may help you over a long weekend, although it´s not more than nice fast food for a hardcore RPGer. Betrayal at Korndor was superb but it´s no longer playable due to 2nd gen 3D graphics. Betrayal in Antara was slaughtered because it was "only" something we would call a stand-alone add-on today.

What was this hard Russian game called? Evil Islands? Look this one up, it could be eactly what the doctor ordered.

Realms of Arkania (Nordlandtrilogy) is an obvious choice for a German. Should be dirt cheap on eBay.

New games with decent production values and TB combat on PC? Forget about it. Every few years there´s a ToEE or Wizardry 8 and that´s it, if you ignore all the low-budget crap from Eastern Europe.

There's always Grimoire!!

If you haven't tried it, you should give Outcast a whirl. It's a little dated now, but still a good game. Get the walkthrough to help with the side-quests.

You're just not looking deep enough, that's all. Pick up NWN1. The original campaign is crap, and the expansions are hit-and-miss, but that's not the point. If you like or can at least tolerate D20 (if you've played KoToR, you should have an idea of what it's like), you can get literally hundreds of modules of NWNVault. The quality, unfortunately, is a bit hit-and-miss, but it makes up in spades with quantity.

Or, if you're really feeling daring, check eBay for old DOS and Pre-NT Windows games. The gaming community has such a short memory, it might shock you how many forgotten gems you can pick up for $15 or less. A few caveats, though: ALWAYS read the entire auction to see if there's any fine print. And ALWAYS cross-reference the games you find with a reference site you trust, like MobyGames. In addition to the possibility of buying suck or getting a hack-n-slash when you wanted a plot-heavy game, lots of games are labelled RPG when they're really adventure, strategy, or Zelda-style puzzle/action. And don't get caught up in a bidding war- make your first offer the most you're willing to pay. If you lose, plenty of other stuff will show up next week.

And try not to bid against me too often, because I gave you the idea.

Oh yeah, you can also try GameTap, but right now their pickings are pretty slim- Infinity Engine games, which are good, some old Gensis jRPGs, Deus Ex, Ultima 1-5 and Might and Magic 1-5, but that's all. You probably own most of them already. Their format seems more conducive to adventure and coin-op, honestly. But there's potential there for the future.

Kotor 1 & 2 (modded).

Thank you all for your advice, this community is fantastic.

I play NWN1 with the expansions, but i did not LOVE it. (i love the D&D rules) I think nothing could compare to the fantastic playability of an isometric turn based / pause turn based CRPG. I own a collection of the old gems like Temple of Apshai, or Wasteland and the different system to run this games.

Where all this glorious moments from my past games experience ?
I remember a.e. my first encounter in Dungeon Master on the Ataris ST with a mummy. This was the first monster which moves in real-time. Really scary. Or the NPC Thorr (hopefully i remember this right ?) in FA2, this guy with the bones in his nose ? The dialogue was so fantastic !. Or the real bad moment in Betrayal at Krondor i realized that i am not the boss of my party characters ? (move away, etc.) How about the character developement system in Wizardry 8 ? The pure fun to see how the MY characters evolve ?

Sure i am getting older, maybe i need more and more of my drug RPG ?
Nope, i dont think so. Scrap the glitter and the bells, gimme a turn based, isometric RPG with a deep character system, a great story and at minimum 4 characters.


So as conclusion, thank you for your help, but i think i have to wait for Eschalon scbook one, and try to play BG2 again.

I think I'll make the Beta of Grimoire available by special request. If nothing else, it might speed Cleve up!!!! My walkthru will also be made available for the first section (roughly 10% of the game, the 'Demo' part!!)

Just had a thought … Do you know Incubation by Blue Byte, Salzherz ? It's not really an RPG, but has RPG-elements in it and is turn-based …

Or try Age of Wonders (the first game, especially), where the heroes also have RPG-like attributes …

Originally Posted by Gorath
Betrayal at Korndor was superb but it´s no longer playable due to 2nd gen 3D graphics.

Thought i should chime in with a rare comment on this one. Betrayal at Krondor (and a host of other classic RPGs) is in fact still playable on today's hardware, but it does take a bit of tweaking. For more on the subject i suggest visiting Abandonia and checking out their RPG section. The site hosts a large number of older RPGs that are no longer marketed by their respective publishers. Here is a direct link to the Betrayal at Krondor entry.

Disclaimer: so-called abandonware falls into a grey area legally. IANAL, so allow me to quote from the Abandoia FAQ and you can make up your own minds.

"Q: What is Abandonware? Is it legal?
A: Wikipedia: "Abandonware is computer software which is no longer being sold or supported by its copyright holder. Alternately, the term is also used for software which is still available, but on which further support and development has been deliberately discontinued." Since the software is no longer sold or supported, the copyright holders are not directly harmed in any way. This is why abandonware sites are, for the most part, ignored by the law. The distribution of copyrighted software however is, and will allways be, illegal!"

Like chamr suggested, give Temple of Elemental Evil a try if you haven't yet.

Have you ever played Arx Fatalis? That's another good one that I don't see on your list.

yeah, he played arx fatalis. it's seems toee is your only choice, or maybe morrowind (even though i hate it, you may like it).

Heroes of Might and Magic V is pretty good. But then it's more of a turn-based tactical strategy game with strong RPG elements.