Semi Annual Turn Based RPG Question

cubboyroy1826 · 03-27-2009, 05:18 PM

Okay i have gotten to the point that most of the game i have just are not doing it for me. I am looking for something SciFi/Fantasy RPG game that is turn based. I have PS3/XBOX360 but would prefer something PC based. I do not need fancy graphics but would like a good story. I have played the Fallout, Baldurs Gate, Icewind Dale stuff but was looking to see if there is anything new out there.

Antmeister · 03-27-2009, 05:25 PM

The two that come to mind:
Spiderweb Software: Makers of Geneforge and Avernum and have been around for years
Eschalon: Book 1: Great first effort by an indie game maker.

DaddyTorgo · 03-27-2009, 05:29 PM

wow thanks ant - just looking at those websites - nice!

Peregrine · 03-27-2009, 05:31 PM

Yeah I definitely recommend both the Spiderweb series - the graphics are very old school but the plot and storyline are really deep and a lot of fun. Also they offer a big demo of each game - usually 1/4 or 1/3 of the whole game! I also recommend the Spiderweb game Nethergate: Resurrection, for it's really unique plot idea - it's set in Roman Britain and you can play as a party of either Romans or Celts, and you get to see two sides of the same story basically.

Antmeister · 03-27-2009, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

wow thanks ant - just looking at those websites - nice!

No prob. What's nice is that there is a demo to try as well. Both are pretty long demos.

Peregrine · 03-27-2009, 05:33 PM

dola- Also, if you have not played Planescape:Torment or Arcanum those are both great RPGs that have strong turn based elements.

Antmeister · 03-27-2009, 05:38 PM

Oh yeah...Arcanum was a very good game. Oh and I forgot to mention a very good turned based game, however it is a mixture of fantasy and strategy.

Battle for Wesnoth

Open Source game that has been consistently developed.

Passacaglia · 03-27-2009, 07:56 PM

I'm all for giving people enough time to complete their turns, but semiannual seems way too slow for me.

Calis · 03-27-2009, 09:05 PM

Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 while nothing wonderful story-wise in themselves have some awesome user created modules with great story and production values. Definitely give them a look.

I've been hearing some buzz lately about Drakensang which is an RPG akin to Baldur's Gate that was recently released by a German developer. I haven't bit the bullet yet.

Huge fan of the Geneforge/Avernum games. They really bring back that nostalgia of the classic RPGs. The games in the series stand alone as well, so you could easily jump in with Geneforge 5 or Avernum 4 depending on which you'd prefer.

I really enjoyed The Witcher as well, but that's a little less like what you're looking for but I really liked the characters and story. Very good game.

cubboyroy1826 · 03-27-2009, 11:40 PM

Very nice Passacaglia.

I have played Planescape and Arcanum already. I will check out some of the other suggestions, thanks a lot.

Shkspr · 03-28-2009, 02:53 AM

Pick up Drakensang: the Dark Eye, and set the options to pause after every combat round. It's based on the same set of PnP rules that the old Realms of Arkania trilogy was based on, and it plays very nicely in turn based mode. It's beautiful, the leveling system is deep, it's dice based behind the scenes, and just seems very polished. You can recruit a party of four from almost a dozen NPCs, you get a base from which to train early on, there are crafting disciplines, a fair amount of quests that are solvable by nonviolent means, and there's a nice variety of armor and weaponry that paperdolls nicely on the character models. I've got more or less every RPG out there in PC land, and I've enjoyed this one more than any other in the last six months.

Icy · 03-28-2009, 04:54 AM

Never tried either spiderweb games or Battler for Wesnoth, might download them now to give the a try. I'm also looking for slow paced PC games to take a rest from PS3 sports games.

Peregrine · 03-28-2009, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shkspr

Pick up Drakensang: the Dark Eye, and set the options to pause after every combat round. It's based on the same set of PnP rules that the old Realms of Arkania trilogy was based on, and it plays very nicely in turn based mode. It's beautiful, the leveling system is deep, it's dice based behind the scenes, and just seems very polished. You can recruit a party of four from almost a dozen NPCs, you get a base from which to train early on, there are crafting disciplines, a fair amount of quests that are solvable by nonviolent means, and there's a nice variety of armor and weaponry that paperdolls nicely on the character models. I've got more or less every RPG out there in PC land, and I've enjoyed this one more than any other in the last six months.

Thanks for the info on this game - I looked at it briefly a while back and it looked interesting, but it's good to get a review.

Calis · 03-28-2009, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shkspr

Pick up Drakensang: the Dark Eye, and set the options to pause after every combat round. It's based on the same set of PnP rules that the old Realms of Arkania trilogy was based on, and it plays very nicely in turn based mode. It's beautiful, the leveling system is deep, it's dice based behind the scenes, and just seems very polished. You can recruit a party of four from almost a dozen NPCs, you get a base from which to train early on, there are crafting disciplines, a fair amount of quests that are solvable by nonviolent means, and there's a nice variety of armor and weaponry that paperdolls nicely on the character models. I've got more or less every RPG out there in PC land, and I've enjoyed this one more than any other in the last six months.

I didn't realize it was tied to Realms of Arkania. You sold me on it.

Snowed in today, good day to buy it off Steam and binge.

cubboyroy1826 · 03-28-2009, 03:47 PM

I downloaded the demo for Drankensang and unfortunately it is a little too much for my 2 year old laptop. I will give a couple of the others a try.

Peregrine · 03-28-2009, 08:59 PM

Great catch Shkspr - I am playing Drakensang and it's really neat so far - beautiful game and I really like how different the system is, plus there are a lot of neat characters to choose from.

Definitely take a look at the spiderweb games Cubboyroy, they are old school graphics and run on pretty much anything - also available for Mac.

Calis · 03-29-2009, 07:38 AM

I've put a few hours into Drakensang now as well. It gets a thumbs up from me so far. It definitely brings back an old school party-based vibe that you don't see much anymore. It's got the requisite nearly overwhelming skill system, and I imagine further in the game it'll become pretty brutal with the wound system.

I like it, but there's a few major annoyances. The camera I'm finding to be a bit of a pain. The engine is very similar to the Neverwinter Nights 2 engine, and shares the same type of annoying camera that it seems you're constantly tinkering with. I also hate how long it takes for skinning animals or gathering herbs/plants. There's a lot of long walks back and forth also.

Overall though I'm enjoying it. There's a lot of depth in this one, and so many different things I'd like to try with the character system.

cubboyroy1826 · 03-30-2009, 02:18 PM

Okay i played around with Eschalon Book 1. It was definitely very old school but the thing did not like was it was solo rather than having a party of character you create. Of the Spiderweb games, Avernum, Geneforge and Nethergate what did you guys like or dislike?

Calis · 03-30-2009, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cubboyroy1826

Okay i played around with Eschalon Book 1. It was definitely very old school but the thing did not like was it was solo rather than having a party of character you create. Of the Spiderweb games, Avernum, Geneforge and Nethergate what did you guys like or dislike?

If creating a party is your style, then I'd recommend Avernum out of the ones you mentioned. You create a party at the begin and it's a bit more of a traditional fantasy RPG.

Geneforge is a more interesting setting imo and is a little different. You only create your character and it's not party-based per se, but you do "shape"(summon) creatures that are equivalents of separate party members. You can pick from different classes of summons and use your points in the skills to level them up.

Nethergate is interesting if because it's a historical based RPG so that's neat. It also has a cool split where you choose at the beginning to play as either the Romans or the Celts and it's a completely different story but you see the intersections as you play through. It never caught my interest like the two series though.

I'm not sure I could pick a favorite between Avernum and Geneforge. All the games have a demo and they're quite lengthy so try them both out and see which one interests you.

Peregrine · 03-30-2009, 08:53 PM

Good summary by Calis - Avernum is definitely more of a traditional party based game, but Geneforge is a bit more refined in its graphics and is a lot of fun too. If you try Avernum, you might want to start with Avernum 2 (there are 5 games in each series.) Avernum 1 is obviously the beginning but it lacks some game systems like a quest tracker and requires more record-keeping on your part.

03-27-2009, 05:25 PM	#2
Antmeister Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: At the corner of Beat Street and Electric Avenue	The two that come to mind: Spiderweb Software: Makers of Geneforge and Avernum and have been around for years Eschalon: Book 1: Great first effort by an indie game maker. __________________ "I'm ready to bury the hatchet, but don't fuck with me" - Schmidty "Box me once, shame on Skydog. Box me twice. Shame on me. Box me 3 times, just fucking ban my ass...." - stevew Last edited by Antmeister : 03-27-2009 at 05:27 PM.

03-27-2009, 05:31 PM	#4
Peregrine Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Cary, NC	Yeah I definitely recommend both the Spiderweb series - the graphics are very old school but the plot and storyline are really deep and a lot of fun. Also they offer a big demo of each game - usually 1/4 or 1/3 of the whole game! I also recommend the Spiderweb game Nethergate: Resurrection, for it's really unique plot idea - it's set in Roman Britain and you can play as a party of either Romans or Celts, and you get to see two sides of the same story basically. Last edited by Peregrine : 03-27-2009 at 05:34 PM.

03-27-2009, 05:38 PM	#7
Antmeister Pro Starter Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: At the corner of Beat Street and Electric Avenue	Oh yeah...Arcanum was a very good game. Oh and I forgot to mention a very good turned based game, however it is a mixture of fantasy and strategy. Battle for Wesnoth Open Source game that has been consistently developed. __________________ "I'm ready to bury the hatchet, but don't fuck with me" - Schmidty "Box me once, shame on Skydog. Box me twice. Shame on me. Box me 3 times, just fucking ban my ass...." - stevew

03-28-2009, 02:53 AM	#11
Shkspr College Benchwarmer Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Amarillo, TX	Pick up Drakensang: the Dark Eye, and set the options to pause after every combat round. It's based on the same set of PnP rules that the old Realms of Arkania trilogy was based on, and it plays very nicely in turn based mode. It's beautiful, the leveling system is deep, it's dice based behind the scenes, and just seems very polished. You can recruit a party of four from almost a dozen NPCs, you get a base from which to train early on, there are crafting disciplines, a fair amount of quests that are solvable by nonviolent means, and there's a nice variety of armor and weaponry that paperdolls nicely on the character models. I've got more or less every RPG out there in PC land, and I've enjoyed this one more than any other in the last six months. Last edited by Shkspr : 03-28-2009 at 02:54 AM.

03-28-2009, 04:54 AM	#12
Icy Pro Starter Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Toledo - Spain	Never tried either spiderweb games or Battler for Wesnoth, might download them now to give the a try. I'm also looking for slow paced PC games to take a rest from PS3 sports games. __________________

03-27-2009, 05:29 PM	#3
DaddyTorgo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts	wow thanks ant - just looking at those websites - nice!

03-27-2009, 05:33 PM	#6
Peregrine Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Cary, NC	dola- Also, if you have not played Planescape:Torment or Arcanum those are both great RPGs that have strong turn based elements.

03-27-2009, 07:56 PM	#8
Passacaglia Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Big Ten Country	I'm all for giving people enough time to complete their turns, but semiannual seems way too slow for me.

03-27-2009, 09:05 PM	#9
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 while nothing wonderful story-wise in themselves have some awesome user created modules with great story and production values. Definitely give them a look. I've been hearing some buzz lately about Drakensang which is an RPG akin to Baldur's Gate that was recently released by a German developer. I haven't bit the bullet yet. Huge fan of the Geneforge/Avernum games. They really bring back that nostalgia of the classic RPGs. The games in the series stand alone as well, so you could easily jump in with Geneforge 5 or Avernum 4 depending on which you'd prefer. I really enjoyed The Witcher as well, but that's a little less like what you're looking for but I really liked the characters and story. Very good game.

03-27-2009, 11:40 PM	#10
cubboyroy1826 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jun 2002	Very nice Passacaglia. I have played Planescape and Arcanum already. I will check out some of the other suggestions, thanks a lot.

03-28-2009, 03:47 PM	#15
cubboyroy1826 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jun 2002	I downloaded the demo for Drankensang and unfortunately it is a little too much for my 2 year old laptop. I will give a couple of the others a try.

03-28-2009, 08:59 PM	#16
Peregrine Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Cary, NC	Great catch Shkspr - I am playing Drakensang and it's really neat so far - beautiful game and I really like how different the system is, plus there are a lot of neat characters to choose from. Definitely take a look at the spiderweb games Cubboyroy, they are old school graphics and run on pretty much anything - also available for Mac.

03-29-2009, 07:38 AM	#17
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	I've put a few hours into Drakensang now as well. It gets a thumbs up from me so far. It definitely brings back an old school party-based vibe that you don't see much anymore. It's got the requisite nearly overwhelming skill system, and I imagine further in the game it'll become pretty brutal with the wound system. I like it, but there's a few major annoyances. The camera I'm finding to be a bit of a pain. The engine is very similar to the Neverwinter Nights 2 engine, and shares the same type of annoying camera that it seems you're constantly tinkering with. I also hate how long it takes for skinning animals or gathering herbs/plants. There's a lot of long walks back and forth also. Overall though I'm enjoying it. There's a lot of depth in this one, and so many different things I'd like to try with the character system.

03-30-2009, 02:18 PM	#18
cubboyroy1826 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Jun 2002	Okay i played around with Eschalon Book 1. It was definitely very old school but the thing did not like was it was solo rather than having a party of character you create. Of the Spiderweb games, Avernum, Geneforge and Nethergate what did you guys like or dislike?

03-30-2009, 08:53 PM	#20
Peregrine Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Cary, NC	Good summary by Calis - Avernum is definitely more of a traditional party based game, but Geneforge is a bit more refined in its graphics and is a lot of fun too. If you try Avernum, you might want to start with Avernum 2 (there are 5 games in each series.) Avernum 1 is obviously the beginning but it lacks some game systems like a quest tracker and requires more record-keeping on your part.

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