Planescape Torment

[keiji_Maeda]

So i recently got the hankering to playing some good old fashioned CRPG, and after beating Fallout 2 again (thanks for the restored content KILLAPP, hallowed be thyne efforts)i realized i had never beaten Planescape torment. When i last played it my computer died (hard drive literally burnt out (=_=) ) so i thought it was about time to ghet it started.

Anyone have any suggestions for a decent build? Favourite memory from planescape? MOD suggestions?


my favourite (although hazy) memory is the retelling of the "three wishes" i had to google to find the complete quote. but here it is.


An elderly man was sit­ting alone on a dark path, right? He wasn?t cer­tain of which direc­tion to go, and he?d for­got­ten both where he was tra­ve­ling to and whom he was. He?d sat down for a moment to rest his weary legs, and sud­denly loo­ked up to see an elderly woman before him. She grin­ned tooth­lessly and with a cackle, spoke: "Now your third wish. What will it be?"

"Third wish?" The man was baf­fled. "How can it be a third wish if I haven?t had a first and second wish?"

"You?ve had two wishes already," the hag said, "but your second wish was for me to return eve­ry­thing to the way it was before you had made your first wish. That?s why you remem­ber nothing; because eve­ry­thing is the way it was before you made any wishes." She cack­led at the poor berk. "So it is that you have one wish left."

"All right," said the man, "I don?t believe this, but there?s no harm in wishing. I wish to know who I am."

"Funny," said the old woman as she gran­ted his wish and disap­pea­red fore­ver. "That was your first wish."

 

[Zhukov]

Eh, I always found that game to be rather overrated. One of those revered classics that I stopped revering as soon as I actually got around to playing it.

Besides, it was a bit too dumbed down for my taste.

 

[Smertnik]

Anyone have any suggestions for a decent build?
Considering that the game is based around talking and the combat system isn't all that great maxing out charisma, wisdom and intelligence is the only way to go, in my opinion.

 

[Papadam]

Eh, I always found that game to be rather overrated. One of those revered classics that I stopped revering as soon as I actually got around to playing it.

Besides, it was a bit too dumbed down for my taste.

From a gameplay point of view, yea its not that great.
But people don't love Planescape because of the gameplay.

If you care about a deep story and lore then it's probably the best game ever made.

Dumbed down???

Every other RPG is dumbed down compared to Planescape.

 

[Zhukov]

Eh, I always found that game to be rather overrated. One of those revered classics that I stopped revering as soon as I actually got around to playing it.

Besides, it was a bit too dumbed down for my taste.

From a gameplay point of view, yea its not that great.
But people don't love Planescape because of the gameplay.

If you care about a deep story and lore then it's probably the best game ever made.

Dumbed down???

Every other RPG is dumbed down compared to Planescape.

Meh.

Sure, the story wasn't bad. Definitely better then average by the pitiful standard of video games. But to someone who reads a lot of books it was nothing impressive.

I would have preferred it as an adventure game though. That way I wouldn't have to trudge through yet another dungeon to get to the next plot point or explore the world. Hell, it would have been better as a book. All the interesting stuff was presented in text anyway.

As for dumbed down... it has auto-levelling and the combat will literally play itself. Seriously, after you've levelled up a bit you can get into a fight, go make yourself a sandwich and come back to find everything has sorted itself out. That's about as dumbed down as a game can get.

 

[kyoodle]

Sure, the story wasn't bad. Definitely better then average by the pitiful standard of video games. But to someone who reads a lot of books it was nothing impressive.

I would have preferred it as an adventure game though. That way I wouldn't have to trudge through yet another dungeon to get to the next plot point or explore the world. Hell, it would have been better as a book. All the interesting stuff was presented in text anyway.

I agree with you completely, Planescape was incredibly disappointing given that there are a lot of people out there claiming it's one of the best games/piece of fiction ever made.

Funnily enough it has been converted into a book and I'd encourage anyone interested in the game to check it out instead: http://www.wischik.com/lu/senses/pst-book.html

 

[Vegosiux]

Funnily enough it has been converted into a book and I'd encourage anyone interested in the game to check it out instead: http://www.wischik.com/lu/senses/pst-book.html

Just like the Baldur's Gate novelization, that's rather shit and I will never acknowledge it actually exists.

PS: T is a good game, but it's not down everyone's road. Yeah the combat is clunky, but if that's the main thing you focus on, play something else and quit trying to put others off this game just because you personally don't like it.

 

[kyoodle]

Just like the Baldur's Gate novelization, that's rather shit and I will never acknowledge it actually exists.

Wasn't Baldur's Gate more combat/exploration based? I imagine a novelization of that would be crap, but like you say the story of Planescape is the focus so why not just read it?

 

[Tallim]

Get the widescreen mod for resolution niceness an also get Ghostdog's UI Mod for it. Makes it much nicer to play.

 

[Vegosiux]

Just like the Baldur's Gate novelization, that's rather shit and I will never acknowledge it actually exists.

Wasn't Baldur's Gate more combat/exploration based? I imagine a novelization of that would be crap, but like you say the story of Planescape is the focus so why not just read it?

I read it.

And it doesn't nearly capture the depth of the game itself. When you play the game, it's your story. It's your world, it's your journey. It's your decisions and attitude that affects everything and everyone around you. That novelization is just...crap.

And Baldur's Gate was nearly as heavy on the story as PS:T, and your decisions mattered as well. Sure it was more combat focused, but it was not a hacky slashy dungeon crawler.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Meh.

Sure, the story wasn't bad. Definitely better then average by the pitiful standard of video games. But to someone who reads a lot of books it was nothing impressive.

I would have preferred it as an adventure game though. That way I wouldn't have to trudge through yet another dungeon to get to the next plot point or explore the world. Hell, it would have been better as a book. All the interesting stuff was presented in text anyway.

As for dumbed down... it has auto-levelling and the combat will literally play itself. Seriously, after you've levelled up a bit you can get into a fight, go make yourself a sandwich and come back to find everything has sorted itself out. That's about as dumbed down as a game can get.

It's probably my favourite game, but I actually agree. It felt like an adventure game that they just tacked a really shit combat system and boring dungeons onto. There are bits in the game, especially the second half, that are just a chore to get through. Which is a shame, because the second half is when the plot really becomes interesting.

Wasn't Baldur's Gate more combat/exploration based? I imagine a novelization of that would be crap, but like you say the story of Planescape is the focus so why not just read it?

It's not that novelizing PS:T would be a bad idea; apparently it's just not very well written. I haven't read it myself, but that appears to be the consensus.

Still, the choices are part of what makes the game compelling. It feels like a much more personal story. It hit a real sweet spot between having a pre-defined character and having a blak slate, in m opinion.

 

[Papadam]

Eh, I always found that game to be rather overrated. One of those revered classics that I stopped revering as soon as I actually got around to playing it.

Besides, it was a bit too dumbed down for my taste.

From a gameplay point of view, yea its not that great.
But people don't love Planescape because of the gameplay.

If you care about a deep story and lore then it's probably the best game ever made.

Dumbed down???

Every other RPG is dumbed down compared to Planescape.

Meh.

Sure, the story wasn't bad. Definitely better then average by the pitiful standard of video games. But to someone who reads a lot of books it was nothing impressive.

I would have preferred it as an adventure game though. That way I wouldn't have to trudge through yet another dungeon to get to the next plot point or explore the world. Hell, it would have been better as a book. All the interesting stuff was presented in text anyway.

As for dumbed down... it has auto-levelling and the combat will literally play itself. Seriously, after you've levelled up a bit you can get into a fight, go make yourself a sandwich and come back to find everything has sorted itself out. That's about as dumbed down as a game can get.

You realy think that reading a book gives the same experience as playing a game?
Yea, I read alot of books too but very rarely I read a book that can make you really immersed in a world like in Planescape, its not just about the story.

I undersand that the poor gameplay and the focus on reading in Planescape is not for everyone. But the game is pretty much one of a kind and its not possible to get the same from a book.

And I understood what you ment with dumbed down. But its just from gameplay perspective. If the game had been more complex I think it would be too overwhelming, and combat and character building is not the focus like in most RPGs.

 

[Fat Hippo]

Anyone have any suggestions for a decent build?
Considering that the game is based around talking and the combat system isn't all that great maxing out charisma, wisdom and intelligence is the only way to go, in my opinion.

Ditto. These stats tend to give you far more interesting dialogue choices, and interesting dialogue is what it's all about. Which basically means you should play as a mage. You always start as a fighter, but you'll get the chance to switch classes early enough if you keep your eyes open.

 

[The Madman]

To actually answer your questions OP, the best way to play Planescape is with a character that uses high INT, WIS, and CHA, in that order of importance generally. True you'll be useless early in the game before you can learn to become a mage, which is exactly what you want to do, but as pointed out approximately a million times in this topic already combat wasn't exactly good to begin with so who cares. Not like you can die, heh.

And to answer your question about mods; HERE. GOG actually wrote up a pretty good mod guide for Planescape after they released it on their site. Good list, works with any copy of the game as well not just the one from their website.

Enjoy yourself. Planescape: Torment isn't my favourite rpg, but it is a fantastic experience I'm always happen to recommend.

 

[Judgement101]

Here's my RPG line of Greatness:
Planescape Torment and Arcanum are the tops
Fallout 2 in second
Fallout in 3rd
and Ultima 7 in 4th.

Best build: Charisma and the such, go for a socialite character.