Arcanum Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

So I got this off of GOG a few days ago. I had to fanpatch the shit out of it to make it playable, but I'm enjoying it. I'm playing a mage and I just got out of the first town.

Why is it that I like every isometric RPG except Baldurs Gate?

Well, the first Baldurs Gate was rather unrefined, and suffers from the fact that its an AD&D 2e adaptation. Mind, its a lot more forgiving an adaptation than the system usually got, but there's only so far you can patch over the "this system is basically a luck-based mission at low levels" truth of it. Hence why BG 2 is better: not just the improved writing and story, but having everybody start somewhere in the 7-9 range gives you a *lot* more resiliency.

My first character in Baldurs Gate was a mage with four bitching HP and died during the escape cutscene were you get hit by an arrow.

Long ago I was writing a guide to the technology in Arcanum, because Game FA Qs didn't have one. I believe my character was a gunsmith, which was a pity as most of the guns were useless and the best was pathetically easy to get.

Heh, looking at my guide reminded me that the game has a surprising lack of enemy techies or mages.

edited 20th Jan '13 8:02:51 AM by Rotpar

Yeah, I always thought that was strange. The lack of gunslingers I could have accepted as being part of the setting's shift from magic to technology, but the lack of mages is strange. Perhaps programming and balancing the spell books would have been too much effort — goodness knows the rest of the game wasn't balanced well at all.

Ooohh, a mage. So what are your first few spells?

Is it disintegrate?

If it's not disintegrate, make it so.

I have Harm, the lightning shield (forget the name), the unlocking spell and the disarm spell. I'm not high enough a level for Disintegrate yet.

Harm will do you fine for the moment. Carry on.

Harm is a really solid spell that deals plenty of damage considering the fatigue cost.

You'll be using it even in the final levels of the game.

Man I love Arcanum.

Also, Chris Avellone is doing an LP of it soon. Most likely it'll be a video LP.

OBLIGATORY MINUTE OF SILENCE FOR JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF ARCANUM

YOU MAY ALL GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS NOW AS IF NOTHING EVER HAPPENED.

...*sniff*

edited 20th Jan '13 12:28:11 PM by Nicknacks

Honestly, Harm will take you through the entire game. I don't think I encountered any enemy I couldn't kill with Harm spam. The only thing you need otherwise is survivability boosts ( like summons to hopefully draw fire ).

I saw Lord Vega play this game in a Let's Play years ago. The story and lore was interesting.

The main issue with Harm is that when you're fighting stronger enemies or heavier encounters it doesn't deal enough damage per turn.

Of course that goes out the window once you hit spacebar to enable real time combat...

Yeah, the toggle completely breaks the game. They tried to adjust for it by making most of the enemies really quick to move with real time on, but that just means you've got to be a little more clever with it.

Everything breaks everything in Arcanum. Make some electric rings with your electrical know-how? Now you're fucking SANIC HEGEHOG landing 10 hits in one round. Learn how to make some molotovs? Spend a few minutes scrounging rags and fuel from the streets of Tarant and you'll have a nigh-infinite supply of them. Know a little bit of summoning and lock magic? Summon a pissed off bear in someone's house, lock the doors and windows, and laugh as you get away with murder.

Bal-ance? Ba-lance? What is that?

Try chemistry to fuck the game up. The poison is devastating when used on an opponent that turns hostile if you talk/bypass them. Poison, turn on real time, RUN. Or the paralyzing potion, use it on them, run, watch them pass out, beat them to death before they awaken as most hits drain their bottomed out fatigue anyway. Acid ruins EVERYTHING it touches. Dude has armor and a gun? SPLASH, NO HE DOESN'T. That's almost balanced because you have nothing to loot afterwards, should you care.

Chris Avellone has started his Let's Play of Arcanum.

Sequel design documents found.

It would have been an Ultima Underworld-style first person RPG.

When it came out I liked to throw on some extra backgrounds to use.

ew. I like the old isometric style.

(Wish it weren't considered thoroughly outdated in the days of modern graphics.)

Anyway. For some reason, I like playing stupid runs. They're much more fun and viable in Arcanum than in Fallout (where low Intelligence=low skill) and half-ogres are both trivially easy to use and slightly less broken than half-orcs because their armor sucks. And, of course, because "stupid" means you don't get either good Persuasion or the ability to personally get magic or tech.

But even so, a melee-dodge fighter is inherently broken right there. Arcanum's not a hard game.

I'd say this game getting released on Steam is worth a necro, right? Right. <nods to himself>

Cool good to hear that bit of news. I haven't played this game in over decade.

I am so disappointed this didn't become a huge franchise like Fallout because damn if it didn't deserve it.

I also think it has the worst title in the history of video games.

Journey to the Center of Arcanum was going to be hilarious. Same 3D engine as VTM Bloodlines, but fantasy steampunk technology+magick with even more Jules Verne.

I really want to get into this game— I really like the premise, that opening cutscene, all those character creation options, and I loved the first two Fallouts— but I've installed it multiple times and I always bounce off during the first few hours, the wolves and the first town and the mines. What am I doing wrong here?