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[Darkmere]

So this has been sitting on me "I should get around to playing that" list for quite some time. Today I feel the need to fix that.

I just wanted to know if there are any user-made engine updates or fix-it patches I should drop on the GOG version of the game before I get started with it. I vaguely know the gist of the game, but no major spoilers, if possible. Thanks for any input in advance!

[Zireael]

I think there were some bugfix mods, but can't recall any details, sorry.

[TripJack]

there's a nice guide here that has all you need: http://thunderpeel2001.blogspot.com/2009/01/planescape-torment-fully-modded.html

[Darkmere]

That was EXACTLY what I wanted. You, sir, are a gentleman, and a scholar.

[Retropunch]

I recently set up planescape for a friend - I did all of those other than the unfinished business ones just because I think the experience is pretty perfect as it is. I mean, not to say that they're not really cool and good additions, just that the game was balanced and prepared for how it is now rather than with the other quests so I think it's better to keep it vanilla for first time players.

 

[Catastrophic lolcats]

Beaware that even with all those fixes the game will still have some problems. The Art Museum has always been buggy and it's best to try and spend as little time as possible in there. I've also had some problems with slowdowns/framedrops in the later segments of the game.

I got a game breaking bug once that required me to mess around with hex editing, it was ages ago so I can't remember exactly what it was (but I'm going to blame it on the Museum). Still, those bugs are pretty far and few between and since the game is so old there's generally a wealth of fixes online.

[GlyphGryph]

I don't think I'm ever going to finish this game. While much of the game is really good, there are some parts that are really, really bad. And long, too.

[Catastrophic lolcats]

The main downside by far is the combat. It's quite sad really considering that all the other infinity engine games have such great tactical depth and PS:T is just a mess in that department. It doesn't help that the Nameless One basically has to be a mage to get all the good content. Luckily you can talk your way out of pretty much everything (except for those god awful dungeons).

[Darkmere]

The main downside by far is the combat. It's quite sad really considering that all the other infinity engine games have such great tactical depth and PS:T is just a mess in that department. It doesn't help that the Nameless One basically has to be a mage to get all the good content. Luckily you can talk your way out of pretty much everything (except for those god awful dungeons).

Curious about the combat part. Is it clunky? Tedious? I LOVED Icewind Dale 1+2 (it was a tossup between reinstalling one of those, or trying Planescape), so I can do party micro, if that's the issue.

Also, mage, noted. I'll probably save that for a second playthrough.

[Catastrophic lolcats]

Incredibly clunky though more lackluster than tedious. The UI is incredibly clumsy compared to it's brethren, there's no party balance at all (you have to wait until almost the end of the game to get a pure class fighter!), there's a lack of loot and due to the dialogue heavy nature you have to invest all your stat points into non combat attributes like wisdom, charisma and intelligence.

That said, you can avoid 95% of the fights in the game just by talking through it and while there are some annoying dungeon segments they don't last long at all. Planescape is all about the world, dialogue and story, combat seems to be a complete afterthought.

EDIT: Go for a mage the first playthrough. Unlike other AD&D games you aren't stuck with a single class and instead can freely change between a fighter, thief and mage (through dialogue with party members, although you will have to be trained in both thief and mage first). To get the better dialogue you'll have to invest heavily into CHA, INT and WIS (you get a stat up on level up unlike traditional AD&D) so it makes the most sense to focus on magic, there's also great character development with a particular party member if you're invested heavily in mage.

[Retropunch]

Yeah I would second being a mage, even if it's not your favored class. It's not really easier or anything, it's just much more fun that way.

The combat is terrible, and the looting/levelling/normal AD&D stuff is rubbish compared to things like IWD and BG. As Catastrophic said, it's all about the dialogue/world/quests/atmosphere rather than the combat, although the combat is acceptable enough to sort of push you along. I just never liked the fact that there were so few NPCs that could join you/were so unbalanced - you never feel as though you're really picking your party and are instead rather just 'oh thank god I can finally get a mage/fighter/whatever'.

Still a fantastic game, and a true case of 'better than the sum of it's parts'

[Darkmere]

Alright, those do sound weird. Mage it is.

[Teneb]

A tip for the dungeon parts: one option you can take to avoid the unecessary pain and hassle of them is to just tell your party to stay put and run through them with the Nameless One. You only need one character to reach a zone transition to change areas.

[Retropunch]

yeah very good tip Deathsword. Make liberal use of trap searching (I can't remember if it was a skill/spell/item) as well, as some can be nasty.
Also, I found a lot of my friends reloaded a lot thinking that they had done something wrong which would soon end the game/put them in a bad situation/kill them so there was no point carrying on - planescape has a lot of twists and turns in the plot/quests, so don't feel you've always failed something.

[nenjin]

Incredibly clunky though more lackluster than tedious. The UI is incredibly clumsy compared to it's brethren, there's no party balance at all (you have to wait until almost the end of the game to get a pure class fighter!), there's a lack of loot and due to the dialogue heavy nature you have to invest all your stat points into non combat attributes like wisdom, charisma and intelligence.

That said, you can avoid 95% of the fights in the game just by talking through it and while there are some annoying dungeon segments they don't last long at all. Planescape is all about the world, dialogue and story, combat seems to be a complete afterthought.

+1 all this. Combat doesn't feel good, when it did and does for plenty of other games from that era.

It's been a while since I played it, but yeah, I really felt like I was missing large chunks of the game playing as a Thief.