Level cap 50 sucks big time!

I just become level 50 and their the building ends. I haven't mastered any of the skills, not even smelled the tech stuff and learnt maybe 12 or so spells. Why did they bother including 80 spells then?

Anyone else thinks that tech side is borring and not-efective at all?

 

What the hell did you do with your 65(?) character points? I don't think Toikra wanted you to ever get all the spells. They wanted you to develop a char who is strong but has weak points. With more character could you could easily develop an amazing charter who could distroy everything. Hell, with the lvl 50 cap you can still make a tank, but a strong uber-char would kill the game, I think.

On a tech note, what do you find so ineffective and boring about it?

 

integrale

I would survive with even less points/levels, but the thing is, that player wants to experience as much game as possible. Should I replay the game four times in order to see all the spells/tech stuff?

I find the tech side of the game much forced into the game with no practical value whatsoever. If one choses this side, he will be searching for parts/herbs/liquids half of the game.

 

Yes, less character points = more replayblity. If you had your first char have everything why would you go and replay it?


Some ppl like all the ing hunting. Every item is like a quest in itself to them...

 

Playability is in the eye of the beholder

Different games play different ways - I don't feel you should slam games just because they don't play the way you think they should, but that is up to you.

Arcanum has always been designed to promote individual character design. To have a final level cap where everyone ends up with all the spells or all the techs and Master level in all the skills doesn't really fit in with that aim.

I've been feverishly playing the demo 'clean' - ie I haven't been using any exploits like the River End Run or other bugs to advance beyond level 5. Even at these early levels I've been impressed by the different gameplay styles opened up by the different magick/tech and skill choices.

You see limitations, I see possibilities - we just look at it differently that's all.

When I reach level 50 in the full game I'll probably still want more too - but isn't that a GOOD thing? A game that leaves you wanting more? (Like a sequel? Hint, hint!)

I also think you underestimate the lure of replaying the main game because of the reactivity that will make each playthrough different - and then there is the wonderful world of mods where you CAN try out all sorts of different characters.

 

I would disaggre with you (mainly because I almost finished the game and you played only the demo).

In the whole game there are only couple of minor quests that are played diferently with magic user or technician. I believe there is only one minor quest for a specific race. There are plenty of quests that are solvable in two ways but in almost all cases you see/try both (two different entrances to the house, good guy vs. bad guy...). I really do not see any great replayability value. I can only try once again as technician and spend half of game chasing for springs and gears for a same result. I am not saying that tech stuff is bad idea, I am just saying that you get very same or even poorer result with less much effort, although in some original ways.

 

Have you ever heard of a diplomat?

 

not being sacrilegious....

all of stuff in arcanum is quite similar to another religion...i.e. fallout. and like in fallout, taking certain perks means that cant take other perks or for the fact of the matter is u cant take all the perks likewise it is fun specializing in arcanum and in only certain disciplines like smithy and gun smithy to get cool guns and great armor as a tech or in the necro arts as a mage. but i guess like lambda said the quests might be all the same no matter how many times its played unlike well...diablo.

 

Hmmmm

I'll try and restrain myself from pouring my scorn and contempt upon lambda as a user of the pirated version of the game.

As far as I can tell, you have played the game through once, right? As a magick oriented character? How can you tell how the quests alter or react to other characters??

Even in my early dabblings in the demo I've had very different games depending on my choices of race, skills and tech/magick aptitude.

You say it is only worth playing through once, say as a magick-user, then maybe do it all over again as a technologist, but what about a 'pure' character who uses neither, or a 'balanced' character who uses both? There are four basic options at least! We haven't even factored in the old standby adventurer types: fighter, thief, diplomat etc.

I really feel you are underestimating the variety of gaming experiences Arcanum has to offer.

As to being a mere demo player, I am proud to support Troika by waiting for the official release of their amazing game.

 

I agree

Delurking
I agree that the level 50 cap is a problem. This is because I want to have all the spells or all the tech. I don’t think I want to replay the game as a new mage to test other spells. Maybe as another type of mage a diplomat/thief instead of battlemage, but not only to test the other spells. I also think that many of the spells and items is just nice to have
But I agree with Enzo101 that the uberstrong character kills the game. I remember Daggerfall the problem where was that your character always ended up much stronger then the strongest monster, you had to be stupid to get yourself killed.

But I don’t worry I know that it would come cheats and editors to take you behind 50 levels. I has given myself 60 free character points by hex editing because I didn’t want to use what much time on the demo, but wanted all the spells

 

Level Cap thoughts

Well, I certainly don't mind the level cap that much - especially as it all ties in with the overall feeling of the game that I have come to admire very much - the feeling of 'realism' that Troika have brought to the fantasy genre.

As the Baldur's Gate series has shown, NOT having a level cap has it's own drawbacks. By the time you near the end of the game your character is not so much a hero as a demi-god. (Sure in BG you ARE a demigod, but what of your NPC friends and companions? Supposedly they are 'normal' but they are levelling up right alongside you.)

In Arcanum I hope I finish the game with a character that is recognisable as the one I started with, just a bit smarter, faster, stronger or more skilled, or some combination thereof.

After bringing Arcanum's fantasy world into the 'realistic' world of technology, the team have continued this theme by adding all sorts of realistic touches. Things like the NPC reaction system that takes into account all aspects of your character and not just some half-random 'charisma' statistic. Or the way items and weapons can fail and need repair. Or the really exciting lighting and sound system that revolved around the thieving skills and combat.

After a nasty accident with acid in the demo I've seen this realism in action. Throwing some acid on a wolf it splashed everywhere hurting me, the wolf and Virgil. I also found myself standing in front of a ticked-off wolf in my underwear! The acid had destroyed my armour, my lantern, and my sword was just hanging together! Great stuff! It is combat situations like that that leave 'hack and slash' style RPGs dead in the water.

In another situation I did something rather naughty, but in a rare show of mercy I let the only witness survive. Why was I surprised when the next day I went to talk to his boss and got the VERY cold shoulder?? (Incidentally botching a very nice quest too!)

Because that level of reactivity is rare in games and to be honest I didn't expect it in the DEMO!

So much CAN happen in the world of Arcanum!!!!! Why are we so focussed on the few (and in most cases worthwhile and/or unavoidable) limitations???

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Skorpios on 2001-07-29 10:26 ]</font>

 

Sniff :cry: Sniff :cry:

That was beautiful Skorpios!

Awwwwww, I need a hug now. Come here Skorp!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Scorpion: I agree Arcanum has the pontential regarding possibilities and realistic deatils. The problem is the game doesn't use this potential. Example: I recently finished the game. During the adventure you can find tons of armor and weapons. The problem is you don't need them at all. I barehanded killed everyone!

 

bareknuckle bruiser

Obviously you focussed on melee skills then. What about us poor diplomats or thieves who can't kill people in one blow? The armour and weaponry is there for our benefit!

Actually your 'ninja-killer' sounds pretty cool!

 

If you want to exceed the level 50 cap or want to use all the technological and magick stuff, go find yourself a cheat. I like building my own character, first a charismatic person, then a mage, then a thief, etc.

 

Cheats?

The game isn't even out yet, there are no cheats. I've played the demo for over a month, and there haven't been any cheats for it either. I can't wait for this game to finally go gold, if there's been a pirate version of this game for so long, why is the game not out yet? Just curious.

 

Siera wants a worldwide release. They want this so they can recive maxiumum profits from the game, but someone threw a bump in this road and somehow pirates recived a copy of Arcanum.

Saint_P wrote a wonderful artical on the topic, which can be found below.

http://www.terra-arcanum.com/council/ar ... seme.shtml

 

What is RPG......

When you translate it it means ROLE playing game, so far after I have played lotsa games I haven't realy experienced the "role" part, its always the UPG Uber playing game not Role playing game. Anyways, what some people suggest here is to turn this to another UPG? but people, read some books for gods sake, look at npcs !! What are most characters? are they Sword/archer/firearms/spellcaster/crafter all in one !?!? Thats like... WOW.... that would be a Superhuman of some kind... most roles in Books and NPCs are only 1 tree of skill, for example swordsman or archer, or crafter... etc. So by puting this lvl 50 cap it is enough to get REALY good in your role... for example:
Mage
Human
No background
8 stats point each
by time u r lvl 50 you have 55 points
24 points to max 2 stats (not sure which r needed for spell casting)
1 point to charisma so that u can hire MeatMugg as your shield
30 points left for spells, thats 6 college masteries !!!!
How's that not enough !?!? Thats more then any NPC in the whole Arcanum !!! Thats like a realy powerfull and All-mighty mage !!!

You can get this for any role... of coarse if u want it all.. then u r still weak... your magical/tech aptitude is 0.... u r weak against either.... so in this case roles are even awarding !!!

And if you don't have the patience to do the game again just because you prefer uber-chars.. then you should play Diablo2, its fast, u can have chars that kill everything and you can get to statcap lvl 99 in half a week if u r good at it..

 

Half a week? What the hell? Even if you play
BNet 8 player games it takes a couple of
weeks to get to lvl 60-70.

 

Jubei_TRZ

i'm sure it depends on the player