Dungeon Seige

[ravagon]

Its just been released here (for a cool $100 ) and I was interested in knowing exactly how big the thing is - in comparison to say D2 or BG2 for example? Anyone finished it yet?
Also are there (present or scheduled for the future) any editor-type thingummies for player maps/characters/beasties/items, etc?
cheers

[Grumbold]

It *seems* pretty big and the reviews have noted as much, so I would expect it to be on a par with D2. Its not worth comparing to Baldurs Gate because the playing emphasis is totally different. The character interaction is minimal, your party never speak, never rest, just swig down a potion and keep on smiting. "Quests" are simply provided as reasons to keep going in the only direction provided. The only times you stop fighting are to sell your loot (to get cash to hire more members or buy maybe one or two things you haven't found already) or to run away because you pulled too many monsters at once.

Its a good-looking dungeon bashing experience, but once your team gets big you can't afford to zoom in and do the graphics justice. My only other complaint so far is that the party will get fragmented if you try to run back to town at any speed. You can't go more than 20 paces forward without meeting another horde of monsters, so its only a problem when running home to sell loot....but its very annoying to discover when your leader gets to the shop that the mule and a couple of slow walkers are stranded halfway over the mountain pass because they stopped following. If you thought Diablo was great then this is probably even better. If you prefer some role play in your RPG then you will be disappointed. There's the occasional lever or exploding chest (doesn't seem to do damage) but otherwise its entirely puzzle free, conversation free slashing.

No editor tools are available or coming to the best of my knowledge.

[Dis]

just an update:

my brother said they are supposed to release an editor. So there might be some interesting mods that come about.

[ravagon]

Originally posted by Dissident
my brother said they are supposed to release an editor. So there might be some interesting mods that come about.

(Dissident's brother's word being sacrosanct of course )

And thank you Grumbold. In most cases I tend to prefer character interactions/storylines (the lack of which was one thing I disliked about TA) but every so often a D2-like hack'n'slash is quite appealing.

[Jethro83]

Originally posted by Dissident
my brother said they are supposed to release an editor. So there might be some interesting mods that come about.

There are some excellent Ultima remakes being made as mods for Dungeon Siege. I'd get Dungeon Siege just to be able to play them, being a huge Ultima fan.

OT: Whoohoo! WARLORD! Only 400 posts before I get my custom avatar!!!

[Asher]

I love Dungeon Siege. Looks great and is one of those GREAT games to play with a bunch of friends into the wee hours of the morning. Hack-n-slash ala D2.

I can't wait till lots of games coming out for the Siege Editor, which is supposed to be amazing.

[Asher]

Oh, and I don't think this was mentioned.
DS is a very different game in SP and MP.

There's an entirely different world available for MP games. You can play through the original SP world in both SP and MP, but the MP world is just as large, completely different (new story line too). Not to mention all of the new maps and mods that'll come out when the Siege Editor gets released.

[Dis]

I just don't like the spell system, or the melee skill system for that matter. The graphics are unbelievable though.

[FrustratedPoet]

Yeah, the graphics are pretty nice.

The thing that really bugs me about the spell system is that there are only two slots for spells to go in the quick-bar.
How hard would it have been to make the four quick-bar slots customisable? That way I wouldn't have my pure-nature mage being forced to reserve two slots for a ranged and melee weapon he'll never use...

[Dis]

yeah that 2 slot thing looks annoying.

Hot Keys dammit!!!

who knows, maybe they will fix that.

[ravagon]

Originally posted by FrustratedPoet
The thing that really bugs me about the spell system is that there are only two slots for spells to go in the quick-bar.
How hard would it have been to make the four quick-bar slots customisable?

Still though, with the pause you can swap your spells at will. A bit of a nuisance sure but not game-breaking.

I haven't been able to get any sounds working as yet and in spite of this I'm rather enjoying it anyway.

[FrustratedPoet]

yeah ... that's true, but i always forget to pause it ...
that's what happens if you play 1000 hours of Diablo II and only 2 hours of Baldur's Gate i suppose. i just can't get rid of my hack'n'slash mentality.

[dunk]

Originally posted by LordAzreal
There are some excellent Ultima remakes being made as mods for Dungeon Siege. I'd get Dungeon Siege just to be able to play them, being a huge Ultima fan.

I ordered DS the other day because of these. WOO HOO!! I know of a U5 remake and a U6 remake with Dungeon Siege, a U1 remake that's a total custom project and looks spectacular, and of course Exult for U7 and SI. Are there others out there?

Originally posted by LordAzreal
OT: Whoohoo! WARLORD! Only 400 posts before I get my custom avatar!!!

I just got bumped up with 300 total posts to Prince. Now I get a custom avatar. Yay. Now, I have to find one to use.

[dunk]

Oh, you need 500 posts.