06-05-2003, 07:59 PM
OMG, I'm so psyched to try it out. :D I haven't even touched Mournhold, and I'm excited about Solstheim? YIKES! I'm in for a LONG haul.
BTW - I know I am an idiot for asking this, and you can make fun of me to your heart's content, but... How do I get to Mournhold? :blink: :unsure: :D I simply don't know how to get there, and I don't remember the "manual" (HA!) saying anything. At least they give you clues in Bloodmoon. :P
Speaking of Bloodmoon (again), are you going to try and contract Lycanthropy? I'm definitely thinking of starting a character solely for the purpose of being a Werewolf. It sounds really cool. I just wonder how I'm gonna get a level 1 newbie there. :P They say you can travel by boat to Solstheim from Kuul, but I don't even know where THAT is. :P Like I said, I haven't even seen a quarter of the land, let alone of the entire game itself (and that's BEFORE expansions; my GOD!).
As to Kandrathe:
The game is AWESOME. The virtually classless system ala Arcanum style (choosing your skills to create your own custom "class"; of course, you can choose from one of the pre-made classes; I'm partial to the Assassin, myself) makes for loads of replay value just through character creation. The simply ENORMOUS gaming world will keep you entrenched for DAYS (get this: each expansion, of which there are two, are supposed to add 20 to 40 HOURS of gameplay, depending on how much you do; that's 80 hours worth of additions, all for around the cost of a Morrowind Collector's Edition, ON TOP of the original game; starting to catch on? ;)), if not WEEKS. The multitude of quests, from the main storyline, to the Faction quests, to all the hundreds of little side quests you can find along the way, drives you through the game and keeps you absolutely HOOKED. Partaking of even the most basic quests can open the doors (or, on occasion, even close the door) for dozens of other quests along the way. Incredibly varying landscapes (now with the new Winter tileset for Bloodmoon! Yay! Kind like LoD for D2 ;)), cities, and dungeons sprawl the HUGE game world. You'll cruise through tiny little backwater villages consisting of nothing more than a few ramshackle huts to conglomerate cities with spiring towers and massive castles (Vivec, anyone? Hell, even Ebonheart). Then there's the litering of dungeons, ancient ruins, and mines that you'll no doubt find yourself exploring, be it hunting monsters, riches, or people. The game is just HUGE.
It's a really fun game, and you really don't notice the lack of Multiplayer (it's just too immersive to notice the lack of it; besides, I don't see any readily viable way for them to have implemented it, anyway). It does have its problems, of course (Alchemy, for example), but you can avoid most of them. The game is so open-ended, so massive, that you can spend days doing virtually nothing in terms of the storyline. I'm barely 3 or 4 quests into the main storyline, and I've been playing it for close to a week, at least. Having a blast the whole time, too, even if I sometimes feel like ringing some of the quest-giver's necks. :P But, actually, that's a GOOD thing. EVERYONE in the game has personality. Every single NPC. It really makes you feel like you're in the game. And once you get your own Stronghold, that feeling just gets that much better. :)
I highly recommend this game to any serious RPGer. It addresses 99% of all problems with RPGs, and is just an incredible game in its own right. The lack of MP is rather disheartening, if only because you become so addicted to the game that you just want to share it with others, but truly, the game does NOT need it. And the powerful Construction Set that comes included with the game, that EASILY rivals NWN's, gives you infinite possibilities for expansion. The real suffering of this game is that it's not widely known about, at least in my opinion. The community is very small, and not very organized. NWN's, despite its lack of organization, is at least BIG enough to sustain the game. Not so with Morrowind, so player-made content is scarce, unfortunately. But, it has the potential for great player-made content, at least. It's not as open-ended in terms of payer-made content, as compared to NWN. I.e. I don't think you can completely remove the main game, and put something else in its place. But, it might be possible. In any case, the game is FAR greater than ANY player-made module for NWN could ever be, so it's not a big issue. :) Besides, if you made a big enough world on your own, you could just give passage from Vvardenfall to your new land, and not even bother with the actual game. :) So it still works out in the end.
Grab a copy (it's only $30) and dive in. I promise you you WON'T be disappointed, if you're a hardcore RPG fan. It's got plenty enough hack 'n' slash to satisfy even the most casual gamer, but so much RPG elements that it's enough to make the hardcore crowd cream their pants, twice. :D
BTW - I know I am an idiot for asking this, and you can make fun of me to your heart's content, but... How do I get to Mournhold? :blink: :unsure: :D I simply don't know how to get there, and I don't remember the "manual" (HA!) saying anything. At least they give you clues in Bloodmoon. :P
Speaking of Bloodmoon (again), are you going to try and contract Lycanthropy? I'm definitely thinking of starting a character solely for the purpose of being a Werewolf. It sounds really cool. I just wonder how I'm gonna get a level 1 newbie there. :P They say you can travel by boat to Solstheim from Kuul, but I don't even know where THAT is. :P Like I said, I haven't even seen a quarter of the land, let alone of the entire game itself (and that's BEFORE expansions; my GOD!).
As to Kandrathe:
The game is AWESOME. The virtually classless system ala Arcanum style (choosing your skills to create your own custom "class"; of course, you can choose from one of the pre-made classes; I'm partial to the Assassin, myself) makes for loads of replay value just through character creation. The simply ENORMOUS gaming world will keep you entrenched for DAYS (get this: each expansion, of which there are two, are supposed to add 20 to 40 HOURS of gameplay, depending on how much you do; that's 80 hours worth of additions, all for around the cost of a Morrowind Collector's Edition, ON TOP of the original game; starting to catch on? ;)), if not WEEKS. The multitude of quests, from the main storyline, to the Faction quests, to all the hundreds of little side quests you can find along the way, drives you through the game and keeps you absolutely HOOKED. Partaking of even the most basic quests can open the doors (or, on occasion, even close the door) for dozens of other quests along the way. Incredibly varying landscapes (now with the new Winter tileset for Bloodmoon! Yay! Kind like LoD for D2 ;)), cities, and dungeons sprawl the HUGE game world. You'll cruise through tiny little backwater villages consisting of nothing more than a few ramshackle huts to conglomerate cities with spiring towers and massive castles (Vivec, anyone? Hell, even Ebonheart). Then there's the litering of dungeons, ancient ruins, and mines that you'll no doubt find yourself exploring, be it hunting monsters, riches, or people. The game is just HUGE.
It's a really fun game, and you really don't notice the lack of Multiplayer (it's just too immersive to notice the lack of it; besides, I don't see any readily viable way for them to have implemented it, anyway). It does have its problems, of course (Alchemy, for example), but you can avoid most of them. The game is so open-ended, so massive, that you can spend days doing virtually nothing in terms of the storyline. I'm barely 3 or 4 quests into the main storyline, and I've been playing it for close to a week, at least. Having a blast the whole time, too, even if I sometimes feel like ringing some of the quest-giver's necks. :P But, actually, that's a GOOD thing. EVERYONE in the game has personality. Every single NPC. It really makes you feel like you're in the game. And once you get your own Stronghold, that feeling just gets that much better. :)
I highly recommend this game to any serious RPGer. It addresses 99% of all problems with RPGs, and is just an incredible game in its own right. The lack of MP is rather disheartening, if only because you become so addicted to the game that you just want to share it with others, but truly, the game does NOT need it. And the powerful Construction Set that comes included with the game, that EASILY rivals NWN's, gives you infinite possibilities for expansion. The real suffering of this game is that it's not widely known about, at least in my opinion. The community is very small, and not very organized. NWN's, despite its lack of organization, is at least BIG enough to sustain the game. Not so with Morrowind, so player-made content is scarce, unfortunately. But, it has the potential for great player-made content, at least. It's not as open-ended in terms of payer-made content, as compared to NWN. I.e. I don't think you can completely remove the main game, and put something else in its place. But, it might be possible. In any case, the game is FAR greater than ANY player-made module for NWN could ever be, so it's not a big issue. :) Besides, if you made a big enough world on your own, you could just give passage from Vvardenfall to your new land, and not even bother with the actual game. :) So it still works out in the end.
Grab a copy (it's only $30) and dive in. I promise you you WON'T be disappointed, if you're a hardcore RPG fan. It's got plenty enough hack 'n' slash to satisfy even the most casual gamer, but so much RPG elements that it's enough to make the hardcore crowd cream their pants, twice. :D
Roland *The Gunslinger*