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Arcanum - Review @ Hardcore Gaming 101
- Thread starter Arhu
- Start date
I've always been very intrigued by Arcanum, but I'm ashamed to admit that VtM: Bloodlines is the only one of Troika's three games I've really played so far. Did Arcanum ever receive the kind of fan love in the form of unofficial patches that Bloodlines did?
The Temple of Elemental Evil is still on my want-to-play list, too.
The Temple of Elemental Evil is still on my want-to-play list, too.
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I've played through Bloodlines and ToEE but not Arcanum. It's one of those games that's been in my backlog forever, but I've just never got around to finishing it.
I started it several times back in the day, but the terrible balance always turned me off after awhile.
Yes, there's an unofficial patch that fixes bugs and restores some content. I don't think it addresses any of the balance issues though. There's also a patch that removes the level cap.
I started it several times back in the day, but the terrible balance always turned me off after awhile.
Yes, there's an unofficial patch that fixes bugs and restores some content. I don't think it addresses any of the balance issues though. There's also a patch that removes the level cap.
Thanks. I looked it up and found some threads covering recommended Arcanum mods:
- Arcanum Essential Mods/Patches (Widescreen and more) @ GOG
- Which mods are best? @ GameFAQs
There's also a rebalancing mod, v. 1.12. There is talk about a v. 2.0, but it's still WIP without a release date estimation (the author said he'd need 3 months of uninterrupted time after work).
Anyway, sounds good to me.
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Arcanum was dope. although i played in a time where fantasy wasn't so overflooding like it is today. it really is the equivalent of fallout, a bit lighter, not as depressing.
ToEE couldnt play. cant stand that game ) not sure what, either the GUI or mechanics they shut my brain down
ToEE couldnt play. cant stand that game ) not sure what, either the GUI or mechanics they shut my brain down
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Deleted member 18181
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Thanx, installed those now and it looks very nice and clear in hires and with big fonts, easy to read 
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Arcanum is the game Peter Jackson took to watch art and cutscenes than stole dwarves and elves looks from. I'm 100% sure on that but we'll never really know.
It's also a rare game that contains chakram as a throwable weapon (it sucks actually but at least was something fresh and new).
If you haven't already, play the damned game.
It's also a rare game that contains chakram as a throwable weapon (it sucks actually but at least was something fresh and new).
If you haven't already, play the damned game.
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DArtagnan
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Considering FotR came out 3 months after Arcanum, I think it's safe to say it's as 100% sure as most of your bullshit claims are
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Deleted User
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I haven't played nearly enough of Arcanum, but it shows exactly what I love about old-school PC RPGs. It's huge, sprawling, with tons of customization and toys to experiment with. Is it horribly unbalanced? Possibly. Do I care? Not really.
I mean, there is just *so* much gooey stuff to sink your teeth into in a game like Arcanum. It's a mess, but in a good way.
I mean, there is just *so* much gooey stuff to sink your teeth into in a game like Arcanum. It's a mess, but in a good way.
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DArtagnan
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It's by Troika, so it's the good kind of mess - but yes, it's horribly unbalanced and - to my mind - far from finished.
Haven't really tried any of the mods, though.
Haven't really tried any of the mods, though.
I started this game several times, but I always stop for some reason. There is something in there which just doesn't click with me even though it has so many elements I would like on paper.
Maybe it's the balance, or lack thereof, or something else. I don't know.
Maybe it's the balance, or lack thereof, or something else. I don't know.
Lol, I just started playing Arcanum Friday. I always play a mage, but the game doesn't give you enough fatigue to actually cast any spells, so I added some with an editor. If someone wants the editor, it has Virgil's name as part of the file name. There is a debug topic added to his list of questions and you can add skill points. I just added 10 and put it into fatigue. That gives me enough to fight a few battles between rests. Later on you'll get gear and magic affinity enough to keep fatigue regenerating, but the beginning areas are just too much of a grind.
So, I'm an elf mage, with a cheater background I'm very much a glass cannon though as I enforce the low armor penalty on myself even though the game doesn't. Clothing and spells are my armor. I've got a little melee skill, but with the fatigue boost, I hardly ever use it. I've got Virgil and Sogg and I'll get the dog when I'm powerful enough to survive the random encounters to "Ashbury?".
The editor can totally break the game if you want that too. One of the options is to give yourself enough XP to hit the level cap and oodles of gold. I just wanted a bump to fatigue, but it is much more cheater-ish if you want it.
So, I'm an elf mage, with a cheater background
I'm very much a glass cannon though as I enforce the low armor penalty on myself even though the game doesn't. Clothing and spells are my armor. I've got a little melee skill, but with the fatigue boost, I hardly ever use it. I've got Virgil and Sogg and I'll get the dog when I'm powerful enough to survive the random encounters to "Ashbury?".The editor can totally break the game if you want that too. One of the options is to give yourself enough XP to hit the level cap and oodles of gold. I just wanted a bump to fatigue, but it is much more cheater-ish if you want it.
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I played through Arcanum twice. The first time I was miss charisma summoner elf. I finished the game with a party of 6! and a ton of summoned monsters. And in combat I threw a chakram and had a 12% hit chance against most monsters. In the second playthrough I played as a charismaless tech oriented dwarf brawler. Its really a great game. Its got a super character system, great npcs, and a wonderfully thought out world. Yeah the combat is at best ok, but the world really feels alive.
@crpg nut. Its really easy to make a shitty character. I think I spent an hour in the first area on my first game trying out various stuff and trying to make my character work. At the beginning I'd focus almost completely on being able to do what you want in combat. Only once you're good enough to handle the start area without too much difficulty should you start giving points to noncombat stuff.
@crpg nut. Its really easy to make a shitty character. I think I spent an hour in the first area on my first game trying out various stuff and trying to make my character work. At the beginning I'd focus almost completely on being able to do what you want in combat. Only once you're good enough to handle the start area without too much difficulty should you start giving points to noncombat stuff.
Yep, I basically skipped the special backgrounds that would have boosted my mage, and instead created my own background with an editor. My background would read something like:
Paragon of Magic - Cursed by the God of Combat, you cannot wear metal armor of any kind and your combat skills are non-existent. In her mercy, the Goddess of Magic has blessed you with boundless energy (+20 to Fatigue) to compensate. You cannot spend any of the beginning 5 points on anything but spells.
This is a fair compromise, in my opinion. I have no qualms about cheating in a single-player game; especially if it makes the beginning less of a drag. Magic-using characters already have several strikes against them. Most companions are tech-based and all of the close cities are either tech or neutral. My companion choices are Virgil, Sogg and later the Dog.
Paragon of Magic - Cursed by the God of Combat, you cannot wear metal armor of any kind and your combat skills are non-existent. In her mercy, the Goddess of Magic has blessed you with boundless energy (+20 to Fatigue) to compensate. You cannot spend any of the beginning 5 points on anything but spells.
This is a fair compromise, in my opinion. I have no qualms about cheating in a single-player game; especially if it makes the beginning less of a drag. Magic-using characters already have several strikes against them. Most companions are tech-based and all of the close cities are either tech or neutral. My companion choices are Virgil, Sogg and later the Dog.
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DArtagnan
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They essentially balanced the game with cheating in mind, it seems.
Either you create a character so powerful you might as well be cheating, or you cheat yourself by not doing it
Either you create a character so powerful you might as well be cheating, or you cheat yourself by not doing it
Carnifex
SasqWatch
There is no need to cheat in Arcanum, once you've played for an hour or two you'll have items that pretty much let you wreck any opposition. I played this one maybe two years ago and I enjoyed every moment of it, I'm certain the inhabitants of that world still remember my ogre wreaking havoc everywhere he went, lol. What a blast!!!
I haven't played Arcanum, but I know their are unofficial/fan patches available in addition to the official patch. Has anybody tried those to see if they smooth out the experience?
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Sacred_Path
Guest
it's definitely more than the sum of its parts - as is true for all great games.
I've got the unofficial patches going but I haven't played Arcanum in years. I don't remember what worked and what didn't. The resolution patch works fine. I'm playing in 1650X1080. I need to look for a UI mod. Arcanum's UI is monstrous.
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