I finished the games multiple times already and i was wondering if A:WIP or carcanum can make Arcanum better. Can someone please explain to me what each of them do to the game? Thx!
Depends on what you mean by better. I haven't actually tried A:WIP (I know. I'm a bad person) and I didn't like carcanum.
If you fancy exploiting gameplay mechanics (like stun-backstab and harm spam), you should enjoy carcanum - lots of challenges there, it has an almost arcade feel to it sometimes, when it comes to figuring out how to deal with some situations. A:WIP is more balanced and doesn't feel like such a hack, so if you just want more arcanum, you should go that way. I haven't played A:WIP for long, so I can't say much more. The best idea is to try both and stick with the one that will keep you playing.
Changelog: (http://www.terra-arcanum.com/awip/forgottenplace.htm) First off: A:WIP contains an older version of the Unofficial Arcanum Patch by Drog. He said he included a majority of the UAP fixes, but I don't know which UAP features rroyo included, so I won't really speculate on this point (other than fixed scenery for certain things). But it is in there. Arcanum WIP adds a large number of scenery and art objects, secondly. It also adds in about 30+ new locations for you to explore, including the merging of Vormantown (the multiplayer module for Arcanum). It also adds two new shops to Tarant, one near the bridge and one in the north near Vermillion Station. It includes a few hacks, such as the 'cargo hold' hack as well as the orc bandit hack, Virgil has a 'show all locations' diag menu, etc. A:WIP adds a large number of new backgrounds and portraits. It also includes a no-CD exe. I believe that covers the majority of new features. It leaves the original Arcanum untouched for the most part. I don't believe it altered the combat system, either.
I see, thx for clarifying that. It just seems too much like hacks, ill stick with just the UAP for now.
Hacks? Not quite. Rroyo describes them as such, but they're really not. Not in terms of an .exe hack or something to that effect. They're just modifications to the .dat, really, not code modifications to .exe or .dlls or somesuch.
I don't know what constitutes a "hack" per se, and rroyo's modifications to Arcanum may actually be "hacks" in the most literal sense, but these "hacks" take the form of added content. Just as the UAP is an unofficial patch, I would consider A:WIP an unofficial expansion.
Mmm, if it's just "added" content like you're saying, guess i should give A:WIP a try after all. Thx guys.
