Improvements to the game

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Here are some changes I would like to see to the format and play of BG2. These are root things – I doubt any mod could create these effects:

1: The ability to have the game stop only for selected characters’ end of round.

2: The ability, at all times (like BG1) to summon as many creatures as you feel like.

3: Given that there is always a 1% chance of failure for any thieveing skill, a cap at 100% for each skill. More Thieving HLA for characters who have maxed out their thieving skills.

4: The ability to equip 2 handed weapons with a shield in the slot. The computer would simply discount the shield when someone wields a 2 handed weapon, and re – integrate the shield bonus when the character wields a one handed weapon. It wouldn’t be any less realistic than the current system.

5: More HLA for all classes, including an option to use either the Jester’s song or the Improved Bard song if you have a jester.

6: A way to kill Boo to free up an Item slot for Minsc.

7: Having the Pocket Plane always ask you where you want to go, then showing the map, so you couod in effect teleport quickly from place to place – this wouldn’t screw up any plot items, as it would only show you the places you had access to.

Are any of these game breaking? Anyone have any other ideas for improvements that could be made?

 

Awww, no you're just being a meanie... don't you know that Boo gives Minsc hidden WIS and INT bonuses? The little bugger is very useful.

 

- Number 2 was very good. It'd give a solo mage an all-new meaning, to be able to summon a horde of undead and demonic troopers to aid you in battle.

- Also, a new rule to D&D in whole (or at least an improvement to the 2:nd E BG2 is using) where improvement in the character's THAC0 would increase their armourclass as well, or then act as the parry did in NWN. It's illogical to see my f/m/t (level 20 at least in all of them) taking hits like a casual commoner (you see, I started a new game with this ToB-finished character), with the only difference being how much *he* can hit in the same amount of time, and what equipment he has on to lower/raise (give better) AC. Swordfighting always includes not only attacs but defences as well. Downright stupid to not have any of it in the game, as even in NWN it went with the old-since-middle-ages style of either choosing to attack or to parry that round, as if a master of swordsmanship couldn't do them both according to the situation without giving away from either.

- Some realism to the spells. Some of the sleep/slow/stun/hold/etc type spells would be real useful if 80% of the enemybase didn't have extreme resistances or immunities against them.

- More dialogue. Less bugs.

- Make underdark a true underdark, same with some of the caverns and dungeons. People without infravision or some sort of a torch should not be able to see a thing (yeah yeah i know, how're you supposed to do this with BG2:s engine right? well nobody said the demands had to be completely realistic).

- And all those other little things that I can't think of right now.

 

More dialogue is a big YES!!!

Boo assd flavour to the game, and means that you don't just look at NPC's as just pack mules.

 

A one big YES to the parry ability.
Its really unrealistic to use a sword only as an offensive weapon.
Also different types of weapons should vary in the number of defence it would give you and offensive power. Then you choose your preference: greater defence or offense.
Like a short sword would give you lots of defence and little attack damage.

This would give lots of new choices and differences between characters.


Another great thing would be a change of armor.
I mean armor gives you AC. Thats normal. But IMO armor should give you damage resistance as well.


Imagine a sword slash attack. Game sums up roll and bonuses. Then you hit or not. If you dont hit it means you didnt cut through enemy armor. If you hit you breach the armor and cut him.Lets say the damage inflicted is 20 points.
Now that hit had to breach through a very tough armor and that is normal to stop some of the force of the blow.

In another case you hit a unarmored man. In this case you inflict the same amount of damage (20) yet the attack had no obstacles in his way and has fully landed on the enemy.


In both cases you hit for same damage which is really strange.
Clearly logic says that there should be a reduction of damage in armor-clad opponent.


Another thing are mage spells. I think it should be improved. Obviously a high level mage is more experienced and powerfull in casting spells.
The game understands mage-power only in the number of spells.
Thats stupid if you ask me. A level 1 mage has the same chance of spooking and enemy as a godlike mage each casting the same spell.

There should be some type of increase in damage, duration, potency and penality to resist of the spell.
Most of all the chance of resisting should be reduced according to the level of the mage.


Well, thats my sack of complaints My biggest post yet i would say

 

I would definitely have to say more improvement on character identity. I mean, a few characters are nothing but a bunch of stats compiled together, with a fairly bad backstory. But then again, a few are very well-thought out (see one of Beren's threads), and I truly would appreciate more dialogue.

 

Well, certain types of armor already give you bonuses against certain types of attacks, such as slashing.

I have to weigh in on the concept of being able to parry for a round -- as it stands, only a Blade can do that now, unless you count running away like a chicken as parrying -- as Khalid said in BG1 "the better part of valor!".

I also hate the fact that a character can get stuck behind members of his own bloody party! I've had guys cut to ribbons because they couldn't get past their "allies" behind them!

 

True, certain armor gives you extra AC agains some attacks. But this is still AC and not damage resistance
Though it is better than nothing.


I forgot to mention shield usage in my previous post.

IMO shield is one of the most neglected parts in BG2.
Most of complaints goes to unbalance of it compared to dual-wielding. The advantage of having max. +5 AC doesnt count that much opposed to an extra attack and different damage type, special abilities,...
First of all shields AC should be increased overall.


Then Shield&Sword style should be GREATLY improved. I mean who of you chooses this style even if you intend to use one-handed weapon and a shield?
Not many i belive.

It really is ****y. Whats +2 AC against missile attacks. Most damage comes from melee attackers anyway so its not usefull at least. Only spellcasters have a little reason to get it as it gives them a very-much-wanted AC against missile threath.

It could give you bash attack once in a while. Like 20% to make an extra attack per round with a shield or something like that.

 

Of course character customisation. More options and some thinking applied on them. More checks in dialogues, making stats matter more than now.

 

Ok, remember those vampiric wraiths? In the first level of Watcher´s Keep? Those annoying son-of-a-*****es tend to target all spellcasters first, so it´s kinda annoying when they just walk past my "heroic" fighters/paladins/thiefs/rangers even without invisibility -there should be some kind of an "block area" around each fighter. Level-drain... in my ass.

 

Actually I kinda liked that feature in Ascension. That mod enhanced the AI of some of the enemies so that they'd always view spellcasters as the greatest threat. It's good because it seems more realistic in a way, and gives more meaning to why the fighters are actually there, and where the mage's weakness lies.

Also, one of the primary reasons I quit DaOC and Anarchy Online was because of the stupid no-collition modeling feature. Sure, your mage could be quite powerful (especially in Anarchy online, a Nano-Technician was incredibly powerful) in offensive spells, but what good does that do to you when the first thing the enemy will do is walk *through* all those oh-so useful warriors and kill the mage in a few seconds. In BG I love the ability to use the warriors and Mordekainen's Swords or suchlike summoned monsters in forming a protective wall around the spellcasters.

 

Here's another one -- I find more each time I play -- I wish there were a symbol for invisibility (on your right hand portrait, I mean) when you drink a potion or cast the spell. If you happen to miss the text telling you that you've lost the spell (Illusion dispelled) then you have NO IDEA if you are still invisible -- the graphics on my machine aren't good enough, and anyway, if I'm behind someone with the Cloak of reflection (or wearing it myself), have a fire shield on, or there are any other blocking graphics, I don't think that even the highest end graphics would tell you if you're still out of sight.

 

I hate that new Cloack of Reflection effect but luckly for us, Extremist have made a effect changer thingy that changes the effect to the normal one. Applies with spell too.

 

I agree with that portrait symbol for invisibility. Personally, I would have liked to have seen the big slavers quest (celestial fury, twisted rune, etc etc). I know they didn't get the time to finish it, ra ra ra, but it would have been great to see.

 

1.The ability to create custom characters even in a single player game(I know it's possible, but they should make it easier).

2.The ability to create a party history(like in IWD2".

3.More, and different familiars, available to all classes.

4.Ability to select how many hours you want to sleep(I.E when you want to just a few hours to wait for the morning).

5.More dialogue.

6.More randomness in the game overall.

7.Backup quick-saves(in case you screw it up) like in IWD2.

That's about it

 

Backup quicksave. Thats a good idea


Another thing from my part:
Bigger customization of your character. The way you look at it all members of the five had their special abilities unavailable to normal classes.
What do you get? slayer form. Its nice but its more for show off than anything else.
HLA? Any character gets them when high enough level. Apart from slayer form we get practicaly nothing.

There should be some more self-test like in the pocket plane where you could explore your divinity and use it - consequence: special powers.

 

That's agreed. The protagonist is the "son of a god" in name only. Slayerchange is completely useless as the negative effects it has on your party are far too great. Besides, the power it grants you is so small that anything you can beat as a slayer, you can beat in your normal form as well with but a little more effort.

The powers that you got in the end of ToB Ascension were great. But that was in the ending battle, so how much can you enjoy some finally cool powers there anyway?

The only power I found useful was the "immunity to +1 and less weapons" when I just recently imported my ToB character to SoA and started a new game as "solo" with Jaheira (which I promptly deleted after discovering that the flirtpack isn't working). There you could really see the difference as majority of the enemies in SoA just can't harm you. Also, the magic resistance came pretty useful.

 

Gothmog,
Getting back to your earlier point about armour affecting the damage you receive (OK it's a bit late, but I've been away); it sounds like a more complex system than AD&D would get that effect. In the roleplay system that I play there is one attack roll made (d100) which both affects whether you hit an opponent and how much base damage you deliver (modified by your attacking ability and the opponent's defensive ability). In general you are more likely to hit a character wearing metal armour than one wearing leather armour or no armour, but your chance of doing them a serious wound is lowered. This makes sense, because when wearing metal armour it is harder to get out of the way of a blow, so it will do you a little damage, but the armour will protect you against most serious damage. This system is of course more complex than a simple THAC0/roll for damage system, but would be very easy to implement behind the scenes of a computer game.

 

... but how can anyone implement these changes in the game? (make a mod?)

I would love to see the changes but how?

Maybe we could find someone to make such a mod?

 

Making such a mod would be EXTREMELY difficult, and hardly worth the huge amount of time and effort.