Convince Me To Play KOTOR

[Keevan_Colton]

Because the engine couldn't handle cover. Basically. With nothing to prevent you being hit other than the dice roll, the game would be unsurvivable. They're supposed to do 3D6 damage (3D8 for rifles, IIRC), which would mean that no character would ever survive more than about two shots at low levels.

Are you saying the game could not do hit detection for blaster bolts ? That does not sound right at all. I am sure I saw bolts stopped by walls. Sometimes it's actually possible to use them as cover if you dodge out of the way.

I think he means in terms of being 75% behind something...like using packing crates of indestructability works in Star Trek. The engine could tell if there was a line of sight, but couldnt handle the additional work of deciding what was in the way and how much of an obstruction it represented and what added difficulty it should make the shot.

[lance]

They used a variation of the D20 Star Wars system. But they made blasters significantly weaker than they are in the P&P version of the game. Probably to make the game easier. I dunno why, but it's fucking retarded.

Because the engine couldn't handle cover. Basically. With nothing to prevent you being hit other than the dice roll, the game would be unsurvivable. They're supposed to do 3D6 damage (3D8 for rifles, IIRC), which would mean that no character would ever survive more than about two shots at low levels.

But in doing that, they rendered blasters as a goddamn useless weapon. I filled up my entire party with Jedi, because god help me if I was gonna have any of those useless, blasterwielding pussies tag along with me in my party.

Half the time, vibroblades were a better weapon than blasters. Vibroblades. I'm not even going to reiterate how retarded that is.

There were some good blasters in the game, a couple of the modifiable ones, and one that was at Yavin.

[SilverWingedSeraph]

There were some good blasters in the game, a couple of the modifiable ones, and one that was at Yavin.

There were a few good blasters in the game, yes. But no matter how goo the blaster, it was never as good, damage-wise, as a fully tricked out lightsaber with all the trimmings.

[Utsanomiko]

My serious, honest attempt at convincing you to play Kotor:

Play Mass Effect instead. Superior in every single way compared to Kotor, right down to storming spaceships with a shotgun a-blazing (and knocking them into the wall with the butt of the stock) with an actual sense of mortality and skill, not having to listen to every single goddamn alien speak Huttesse in a 10-second loop (including Jawas), and using your galactic special agent skills to solve more than housing disputes.

I found the epic, Star Wars-style, role-playing adventure I was looking for in Knights of The Old Republic in the game Mass Effect. I'd be surprised to know it's by the same company if it wasn't for the telltale Bioware signs.

[Vympel]

I doubt Wayne is going to shell out for an X360 to play Mass Effect. I know I wouldn't/ didn't. Fuck console-exclusives.

Superior in every single way compared to Kotor, right down to storming spaceships with a shotgun a-blazing (and knocking them into the wall with the butt of the stock) with an actual sense of mortality and skill, not having to listen to every single goddamn alien speak Huttesse in a 10-second loop (including Jawas), and using your galactic special agent skills to solve more than housing disputes.

That's obviously a distortion - and hey, you can skip that annoying Huttese loop in KOTOR - in Mass Effect, if you do that, aren't you insulting the speaker or something?

[SpacedTeddyBear]

It would've been great had KOTOR1 had blasters from KOTOR2. A pair upgraded Mandalorian Disintegraters just about dropped anyone dead before they got into lightsabre range.

Mass Effect is probably gonna get ported to the PC eventually. If it took this long for him to pick up KOTOR1 again, then he'll have to get KOTOR2 as well. Yes I know the latter's story line is a 'bit' less satisfying, and the added technical features though makes you wonder why they didn't have them in KOTOR1. IE. Switching weapons on the fly, blasters that can mow your face off, better equipment upgrade paths,.. etc

[The Grim Squeaker]

I doubt Wayne is going to shell out for an X360 to play Mass Effect. I know I wouldn't/ didn't. Fuck console-exclusives.

Preach it bruddah!
At any rate, if "we" waited for KOTOR2 then I/we can wait for Mass effect to come out on the PC. (Especially since Mass Effect was apparently actually fucking finished when released)

[Civil War Man]

Yes I know the latter's story line is a 'bit' less satisfying

On the bright side, though, the restoration project, while still in "we'll release it when we're done" mode, only have a couple issues to fix (and internal beta testing to conduct) before they are completely finished.

[consequences]

not having to listen to every single goddamn alien speak Huttesse in a 10-second loop (including Jawas),

Janawananeeneebobo?

[Vendetta]

I doubt Wayne is going to shell out for an X360 to play Mass Effect. I know I wouldn't/ didn't. Fuck console-exclusives.

S'out on PC in about May.

Also, you can skip all the dialogue in Mass Effect without penalty other than missing out on some of the better voice acting to have yet featured in a computer game.

[Vendetta]

Are you saying the game could not do hit detection for blaster bolts ? That does not sound right at all. I am sure I saw bolts stopped by walls. Sometimes it's actually possible to use them as cover if you dodge out of the way.

It's not that it "could not" do hit detection, but that it didn't do hit detection. What it does is make a D20 to hit roll, D20 + attack bonus compared to the target's armour class. Beat the AC to hit. It makes the To Hit roll at the time the shot is fired, as well, so even if you move out of LOS whilst the animation is playing, you can still be hit if the roll was a hit.

It does a good job of faking actual combat, by throwing in dummy attacks, but the actual attacks are rigidly defined by the D20 system. And as Keevan said, there are no rules for cover bonuses to AC in KOTOR, line of sight is a simple yes or no. (Also, a high lethality slow cover based system wouldn't really be suited to the swashbuckling in space that we really expect from Star Wars).