Playing Older PC RPG's

So having completed Jade Empire and considering it one of the best Bio Ware games I've played, I've again been confronted by the fact I haven't actually played Baldur's Gate II, which according to that lovable old cermudgeon known as "Classic RPG Fans" means I have no right to talk about BW's best efforts.

Thing is, I was raised on consoles. I play PC games with gamepads/controllers. Mouses and keybaords are for doing what I'm doing right now, not video gaming. Also the first PC RPG I ever saw reviewed was The Witcher and the reviewer put big emphasis on how it, along with other PC RP Gs, makes sure to use every key imaginable.

But anyway, what I'm getting at. How hard/tedious would "M&K" be for someone not used to them going into a game like Baldur's Gate 1 or 2?

Or, alternatively, how about Planescape:Torment? I know it's not a Bio Ware game but I've been really wanting to play it and some folks I found via Google assure me it's very easy, has a KOTOR like Auto-Pause system for everything and can basically be played with just a mouse.

I did try playing Neverwinter Nights once with a gamepad and Pinnacle Game Profiler. That was amazingly annoying. Maybe if I had just settled on keyboard and mouse, it would have been easier.

This this topic.

I'm not looking fore recommendations on what games to play. I know what games I want to play, I'm asking how they are played.

But if you think I should just ask my question in there, I guess I could.

edited 15th Jul '16 10:27:50 PM by Nikkolas

Well, it's been a while since I last played Baldur's Gate (the original, in all its five-disc glory), and as far as I can remember I pretty much only used the mouse. The GUI, while slightly confusing in parts, pretty much relies entirely on the mouse, with keyboard mostly for hotkeys.

Now, I can't speak for BG 2, but I think that if young teenage me with English as a second language could muddle through BG 1, I really don't think you'll have any trouble.

I legit misunderstood the point of the topic. I also don't think there's an actual topic for older pc games anyway, so this topic is pretty useful for advice.

My bad, man.

@Nikkolas, I got Planescape:Torment from Go G games and it ran okay on my Windows 7 desktop - the one before the one before this one. I had to fiddle around with files and so on but it ended up playable. I mainly used the mouse, with keyboard only when I had to.

I personally played Planescape: Torment with a high resolution patch with almost no issues... the almost, in this case, being the fact that spells were all messed up, and I'm still not sure why.

I think Planescape would probably be good as an entry point for those older RPGs. You generally can't get a game over from most combat encounters (you just revive) and the combat isn't that complex. Also, there are only a few companions and you'll simply pick from Mage, Thief and Fighter at some point (and no multi-classing) with a character creation screen that just has you assign STR/INT/WIS... etc. Meanwhile Baldur's Gate might overload you a bit at the start, and it has a heavier element of configuring your party.

I'd advise just using the mouse for it, though, not trying to get a gamepad working. The game should run well enough, but you might end up faffing about with different restoration and fix mods.

If it helps alleviate any concerns, GOG has a 30-day return policy, so you can refund it if you can't get it to run.

edited 16th Jul '16 5:20:23 PM by Lavaeolus