Planescape Torment - Boards Games Let's Play

quarryman

As per this thread, here begins the Let's Play of Planescape Torment!



This game is the finest Infinity Engine RPG IMO.

Here are the details for install:

• Grab the gog.com version here. The best €7 you'll ever spend!
• OR if you have the CD version read here.
  
• Now the most important part, high-res graphics! Grab the EXE here. Check out Maximillian's thread here for some more pics. You'll find your UI is a bit too small, grab this mod to fix that.
• Follow the instructions, make sure and pick your PS:T install dir (in case you have Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale installed). Pick the native resolution of your monitor to get the best out of it.
  
• Load up the game.
  
• Create a new character. Load your stat points into Wisdom and Intelligence. This isn't a combat orientated RPG, it's all in the story.

That's it! You'll wake up on a mortuary slab. It's up to you to unwrap the experience from here. It's not COD folks, it ain't Crysis, dying isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's a deep, involving narrative. Forgive the UI limitations, sit back and enjoy.

WAYPOINTS:

So, I took a look at few walkthroughs, but fúck the waypoints. If you want to play just post something about where you are in the game, prefix it with the name of the quest or area, spoiler it if you feel the need.

Otherwise this Board's Play should be casual and should run and get updated whenever anyone decides to post.

Enjoy!

Walkthrough
Reviews


Some tips:
Save regularly! Although this is a light on combat, it's still tricky and if you lose an NPC they might be gone for good, keep a save handy.
Go to the options and switch on "Always Run"
Don't worry about pimping any stats into combat. Don't fret about trying to find that +1 knife, combat is secondary (and easy). Morte is you meleé friend.
Select you dialog options with the number keys, much quicker that clicking em.
Finally, if you think you recognise any of the voice actors, you've probably watched too much of The Simpsons

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

just wondering about this.. will this not be pretty spoilerific for those of us who have never played the game before?

if I do get really into the game, I'll likely be avoiding this thread except to post my own experiences in case I read something that spoils the story on myself or is the story vast enough that this wouldnt be likely to happen?

quarryman

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

just wondering about this.. will this not be pretty spoilerific for those of us who have never played the game before?

if I do get really into the game, I'll likely be avoiding this thread except to post my own experiences in case I read something that spoils the story on myself or is the story vast enough that this wouldnt be likely to happen?

You're right.

This is a pretty plot-driven game, with more than a few twists along the way.

Rather than hampering discussion it's probably best if people prefix their spoiler posts with what part of the story they are at. It's the type of game that interpretation from different player experience is valuable, let's not limit that.

spoilers people!

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

picked it up from gog a short while ago, installed it and installed the hi res pack
looks decent

my main gripe with baldurs gate when i tried it was having to click randomly around the map to clear the fog of war so I like that planescape shows youi what is in your immediate area. quite liking Morte so far, although I've a sinking feeling he'll never get jiggy with one of his precious femmes.
only opened it up for a few minutes to have a quick look, ill play some more tomorrow.

quarryman

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

my main gripe with baldurs gate when i tried it was having to click randomly around the map to clear the fog of war so I like that planescape shows youi what is in your immediate area.

try to forgive Planescape Torment for it's UI limitations, it really will bug a 2011 gamer, but the rich story is well worth it.

Laisurg

This is an amazing game

Zillah

I highly approve of this thread.

Keep an ear out for John de Lancie later in the game.

Morag

I had forgotten how much I like the music in the game.

tman

First impressions;

Graphics only a mother could love
Waaaaaay too much text (I'm half thinking of starting again with a different build to cut down on the dialogue options and beef up my combat skills)

I'm still warming to it despite that

Sarky

You'll miss out on a fair bit of interesting stuff without those extra dialogue options.

One of the things that impressed me most early on was when talking to people who pickpocketed you, you could deal with it several ways, like grabbing their hand as it goes into your purse, or drawing them in further to learn their little tricks for yourself, or telling them what they're doing wrong and how to be a better thief. High wisdom/intelligence could lead to some wonderfully esoteric debates, too. Not to mention how it inceased your earned XP...

CodeMonkey

quarryman wrote: »

[*]Now the most important part, high-res graphics! Grab the EXE here.

That's the wrong patch. You need to use v3 of this mod found here.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

oh wow, put it to 1920x1080 when I installed it and it looks great.. I love seeing more of the map like that but I cannot read a damn thing

think I'll scooch on down to a more useable res

CodeMonkey

I assume you've installed the UI mod and selected the highest fonts already right? If not, that might help.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

no I haven't, I'll look into that later when i'm going to play it again. thanks

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

after installing the ui/fonts mods i apperently have to restart the game, so I'll just start again tomorrow

might just bump the res down to 1680x1050.. 1920x1080 is nice for the macro view, but I cant help but feel im missing out on some of the detail

tman

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

after installing the ui/fonts mods i apperently have to restart the game, so I'll just start again tomorrow

might just bump the res down to 1680x1050.. 1920x1080 is nice for the macro view, but I cant help but feel im missing out on some of the detail

I didn't have to restart the game after installing the UI/font patch, but the installer for the resolution patch warned that it corrupts saves if you change resolution (not necessarily game breaking corruption, it'll just black out areas that you've already explored)

quarryman

CodeMonkey wrote: »

That's the wrong patch. You need to use v3 of this mod found here.

yep, copy and paste mistake, fixed original post.

tman wrote: »

First impressions;

Graphics only a mother could love
Waaaaaay too much text (I'm half thinking of starting again with a different build to cut down on the dialogue options and beef up my combat skills)

I'm still warming to it despite that

Have you installed the resolution and UI patch? Once that's done I think it looks really well, some great 2D landscapes.

Also, don't bump up your combat skills at the expense of your combat ones, dialogue is the heart of the game...

Retr0gamer

Had to drop the resolution from 1600x1200 to 1024x768 because things were just a little too small. With the higher resolution it really brings out just how well rendered the art assets are they really look gorgeous. Might give this a go during the week but I'll be much slower than the rest of you guys.

VenomIreland

I might restart this game, loved it when I was playing, but I stopped for some reason I can't remember.

CodeMonkey

If someone have the 4cd version, can you post up a link for the file AR0511.bif? It fixes a crash bug that stops me finishing it

quarryman

CodeMonkey wrote: »

If someone have the 4cd version, can you post up a link for the file AR0511.bif? It fixes a crash bug that stops me finishing it

here ya go!

CodeMonkey

Finished. I really like that these old games run on modern laptops. Might replay Baldur's Gate 2 now.

VenomIreland

Just started the other day, loving it. This being my second time playing (my first time I only got to the catacombs) I've noticed how much I missed the first time playing.

Dcully

Always wanted to play some of these old classic rpg games.
The only thing turning me off getting planescape is im hearing its mainly a text based rpg and not much combat, considering i hate the text in mass effect and dragon age im nore sure this is the game for me.
Are fallout and baldurs gate similar in terms of wall of text?

Kiith

I've not gotten too far in Planescape, so i can't comment on that, but Baldur's Gate has a lot of text. Some missions more than others, but it's nicely balanced with combat as well. Most of the text is really well written though, and is definitely not a chore to get through.

Morag

Yes there are sections with text but there is plenty of combat esp if you go looking for it.
and thieflings are cute and awesome

Morag

Yes there are sections with text but there is plenty of combat esp if you go looking for it.
and thieflings are cute and awesome

Sarky

Annah proved what I had long suspected, that you can say anything in a northern accent and sound horribly rude.

If you're playing an RPG for the combat, then I don't think RPGs are what you're looking for.

Retr0gamer

Sarky wrote: »

If you're playing an RPG for the combat, then I don't think RPGs are what you're looking for.

True. It's what I was doing wrong. Was playing WRPGs taking all the nice options and expecting an intricate combat system like in any JRPG. Eventually coped on and found out WRPGs are all about testing how far you can push the conversation system and making the choices you would like to make, being an asshole in my case.

Sarky

To me RPGs are at least as much about how you approach non-combat situations as about the fighting. Some of the best pen and paper sessions I've had were where nobody drew a weapon.

One of the things that impressed me most about Planescape was just how much of an asshole you could be.

There's a fun memory during a philosophical debate where

you manage to prove that your opponent doesn't actually exist, and he vanishes from the multiverse in a puff of logic

Like when

You're asked to sort out someone's bar tab. You can threaten them, sure, but if you're going for jerk points you poison her drink with a jar of embalming gel from the Mortuary.

Or

You find that Were-rat's book of magic, that promises you power in exchange for certain things, like selling one of your companions into slavery!

Or

you find out that Dak'kon is actually sworn to serve you until you die, and is actually your slave by his own words. Then you find a sick Githzerai somewhere in Sigil, and you can decide to put him out of his misery yourself, or by ordering Dak'kon to kill him as painfully as possible.

It kinda pales in comparison to some of your past lives though, like when

One of your paranoid/evil incarnations learned a complex unique language and then wiped out the whole civilisation that created it, so he'd have his very own code only he could understand.

Morag

Retr0gamer wrote: »

True. It's what I was doing wrong. Was playing WRPGs taking all the nice options and expecting an intricate combat system like in any JRPG. Eventually coped on and found out WRPGs are all about testing how far you can push the conversation system and making the choices you would like to make, being an asshole in my case.

The combat systems in JRPG are why I gave up on trying to play them.
They just don't compute, which is a pain cos there was a fair few of them I was really getting into, but after getting killed 13 times and there not being a save point before it, well life's too short.