Pools of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor has gone gold (1 Viewer)

[John Thomas]

Link Removed is a link to the story. It's expected to be in stores on 9/25; just in time, as I've finally completed BG2: Throne of Bhaal.
I'm really looking forward to the incorporation of the Third Edition rules into the Forgotten Relams setting. Anyone else?

 

[Joel Mack]

Abso-fuckin-lutely.

I've been anxiously awaiting this game since seeing it at GenCon 2000...
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"The internet is a place where people from all over come together to
bitch about movies and share pornography."

 

[Tim Markley]

I played all of the original gold box games so I'll definitely be getting this one. I'm glad to see that it's finally gonna be released. Just hope that it lives up to the hype!

 

[Kenneth]

Cool. Right after I get back from vacation. Couldn't be better timing than that I might have to read some of the previews since I just got internet access for my SO's PC.
Kenneth

 

[John Thomas]

Hmph. The place where I've ordered it online states that the release day will be moved back to 9/27. This changes the estimated delivery date to 10/1, Monday. It originally was to be delivered on the previous friday (so I could get a good weekend in on it). The question now is: Should I buy it at the local EB or perhaps there's another online store that can get it to me quicker?
Rant about popular e-tailer removed; just not necessary
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The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. -Franklin D. Roosevelt.
My Top 10 of 2000 My Top 10 of 2001
[Edited last by John Thomas on September 19, 2001 at 01:50 AM]

 

[Kenneth]

With the Thursday release date, I would go for a local purchase, if you want to play on the weekend. I have had my collector's edition on order since February at EBWorld.com so I will just have to wait it out for my shipment to arrive. If you get yours on the weekend you will have to post a report on how the game looks. Cheers.
Kenneth

 

[John Thomas]

I suppose what I'm having a problem deciding on is whether or not it'd be worht the extra money to get it a few days sooner. With Throne of Bhaal, I opted to get it at the local EB, paying about $5 more for the expansion. I believe PoR will be $10 more in B&M stores and $20 for the Limited Edition. By the way, what's the difference between the standard and limited versions? More specifically, what difference is worth the price differential?
Thanks again,
J
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The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. -Franklin D. Roosevelt.
My Top 10 of 2000 My Top 10 of 2001

 

[Joel Mack]

According to ebgames.com the Collector's Edition includes:
"Core game (2 cds)
The Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor novel by Carrie Bebris
Custom Pool of Radiance dice bag and role-playing dice.
Attack on Myth Drannor D&D Adventure Module (for table top gaming)
Soundtrack CD from the Game."
IMO, it's not worth the $15 difference, unless you're playing the Pen & Paper D&D game...

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"The internet is a place where people from all over come together to
bitch about movies and share pornography."

 

[Kenneth]

I bought the collector's edition for the soundtrack. After getting the Baldur's Gate II, Diablo II, and Icewind Dale soundtracks I have become very partial to these items. BTW, I am finally back in the US from my vacation. Now I get to wait the week (or so) until I get Pool of Radiance.
Cheers,
Kenneth

 

[John Thomas]

Well, I've decided to keep my order and get it mailed to me. I know I won't be the first to get it but I'd much rather save approximately $25 on it and the Simpsons 1st Season
But for those of you who can't wait and get it, let us know how it is!
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The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. -Franklin D. Roosevelt.
My Top 10 of 2000 My Top 10 of 2001

 

[Kenneth]

Looks like ebworld.com shipped my copy by priority overnight so I may see my copy today (it is already in my city as of 06:30 today) ... Tra La LA. I had been looking at my strategy guide (which came in a week ago) and planning my characters. Hopefully I can do a quick run through of the manual tonight and dive in with my party tomorrow. I will let everyone know how it looks when I get it installed this weekend. I haven't completely decided on my characters yet but I am thinking about a Monk, Barbarian, Ranger, and Paladin as my PC's. Then I can pick up a Sorcerer and Cleric as NPC's. We'll see what I go with
BTW, I just checked the tracking and my game was delivered at 08:30 this morning. Don't you hate having to wait until the end of the work day when you know you have a package waiting

Cheers,
Kenneth
[Edited last by Kenneth on September 28, 2001 at 01:27 PM]

 

[Romier S]

Well, I picked this up today. I have to say its a game good game but its not anywhere near the quality of Baldurs Gate 2.
Lets start with the good. The combat can be a little slow but it is pulled off really well. The 3d character animations are gorgeus! The spell effects are beautiful and dont cause too much slowdown on the screen. Even the bigger spells cause minor havoc to the framerate. The game runs really well (Im running it on a P3 700 with 256 mb of ram and 64mb geforce 3 with the latest XP drivers on WIN 98se). The interface is pretty clean and most of everything is pretty easy to get too..
Now the bad. The story seems pretty dull. I have only been playing for a little while but there just doesnt seem to be much of anything that is truly interesting. I'm hoping things pick up soon. The music in the game is really hokey so far. It's like your in a a D&D funpark. After the stunning game scores of Icewind Dale and BG its a tad dissapointing. Also, while the interface is clean it can get kind of confusing. Your characters are represented by color bars that really dont give that good of an indication as to who is who. You better turn up the turn time as well cause your gonna have to go through several layers of menu's (albiet well done ones) to get to what you need. The 3d rendered backgrounds ar good but dont even come close to touching the quality of the BG2.
So far its pretty good but it just doesnt reach the epic proportions of BG2. Also the omission of being able to play as a wizard, bard and druid are major ones IMHO. The bard and druid are not so bad but a wizard!!!!???
I hope I didn't come off to negative on the game. It is really good so far but just falls short of the highwater mark set by the Bioware, Black Isle games that have been released. I love D&D and the D&D games are some my favorites ever. Hopefully Pools will live up to its potential a little later in the game.
[Edited last by Romier S on September 28, 2001 at 03:13 PM]

 

[Joel Mack]

WARNING!!!!!!
There is a SERIOUS bug in the installer/uninstaller for this game!
Check out
http://www.avault.com/news/displaynews.asp?story=9282001-15539
Outside of that, I like the game...
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"The internet is a place where people from all over come together to
bitch about movies and share pornography."
[Edited last by Joel Mack on September 28, 2001 at 09:00 PM]

 

[Romier S]

Just to update what Joel posted, I have just finished uninstalling the game and have had no system crashes whatsoever. However many are experiencing these problems. The main problem here is that at times the game has been reported to install to the default directory of C: or C:/windows. Of course you can see where the problem lies. Also if your system froze up during the install (which caused you to restart) and then the game only gives you the option to uninstall, chances are you'll be doing a reinstall of windows.
I really feel for the people who have been burned by all of this. Its just another case of a company releasing the product and doing the beta test in the homes of the consumers. I don't see how this could have gotten past QC at UBI!
On a different note. I played the game for several hours and got close to the end of elven dungeon. You know what...I WAS BORED AS HELL! I'm taking the game back tomorrow.
My inital impressions of the game were decent but now that I have played for awhile...I just cant recommend this. The dungeons are so bland and repetetive its not even funny. The story is really dull and just seems so trite. Character customization is a joke (the only thing you can customize is the name!!). The only thing that is worth is are the graphics and spell effects (the music is just plain hokey). As a huge fan of the original Pools of Radiance (and just about all D&D product) I am deeply disappointed by this game. I so wanted to like it but it was not meant to be...
[Edited last by Romier S on September 29, 2001 at 12:24 AM]
[Edited last by Romier S on September 29, 2001 at 12:24 AM]

 

[John Thomas]

Will PoR run in Win2K? I have both 2K and 98 installs but I'd rather run it under 2k if possible.
Kenneth, what I dislike is not being shipped the game until (if I'm lucky) wednesday of next week. Grr...don't get me started but I'm beginning to think that saving that money wasn't all that important.
Romier, you can't start of as a Bard/Druid/Wizard? Sheesh! I was kinda hoping to go with a druid for Wild Shape and such. Phbbt! How about other aspects of 3E incorporation such as feat progression and min/maxing characters?
One more thing Romier, will they (who'd you purchase it from) take back a game? I thought that all computer software was under a blanket 'no-return only exchange' policy.
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The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. -Franklin D. Roosevelt.
My Top 10 of 2000 My Top 10 of 2001

 

[Romier S]

John, You cannot start as a Druid. Druids, Bards, Wizards...any kit classes like inquisitor or any of those type of things are not in the game. You cannot shape shift as far as I can tell. The character creation is a joke, it takes you about 5 minutes to creat a character because you cannot customize anything. You cannot select the feats your character starts with, you cannot select the spells your sorcerer or cleric starts with......it just reeks of laziness and wanting to get things done as quickly as possible.(which might be nice for newbies but for the hardcore D&D fanatic it just wont do).
Also, I bought the game at EB which gives you 10 days to return the product no matter what. I have bought games there quite a bit. I buy all my games there. If there is a lesser known title that I want to take a chance on, I just go ahead and buy it and if I dont like it I cant take the game and the receipt back to the store and get my money back. Babbages has the same type of policy. In my opinion its the best policy to have.

 

[Kenneth]

Well, I only played a little today because I am still fighting off a cough and I was trying to rest. My copy installed without the lockup problem but I did have two files during the installation that had problems. I am not sure if that will come back to haunt me later. I am not fond of the new character generation system, I liked the 2nd edition versions better. Graphically the game is pretty but the mechanics and plot are less than engaging. The dungeon master feature becomes annoying pretty fast as it turns the game into a click fest. Leveling is anti-climactic so far (but I have only leveled once). From what I have seen so far, this is definitely not the game to steal Bioware's crown.
Kenneth

 

[Romier S]

Kenneth, dont let the character generation in Pools dictate your opinion of the 3E rules. The 3E rules allow for an enormous amount of customization and further makes dual classing your character an enjoyable and less frustrating experience than the 2E rules. The 3E rules are a huge improvement in every way!
The problem is the implementation of these fantastic rules in this game. I think we are going to see the real deal with Neverwinter Nights (Bioware). They should implement these rules correctly. From what I have seen in downloading the E3 videos they allow for an enormous amount of customization.
[Edited last by Romier S on September 30, 2001 at 05:55 AM]

 

[Peter Loan]

Thanks for the impressions Romier. What a HUGE disappointment this game is! I've been looking forward to it for months and now it seems that I won't even give it a shot. As for the character customizations, that is a huge deal for me. I have no idea what they were thinking when they designed this game.

 

[John Spencer]

Add my name to the list of those who feel cheated for having bought this game. I've played it about 5 hours now, and am just completely disappointed in every aspect of gameplay. Sure it looks nice, but basically it's Diablo with a smattering of 3E rules. No domains for clerics, so no special abilities there. Paladins are forced to start with a 14 in Wisdom??? Not Charisma?? And I completely despise the point-buy system in this game. It seems determined to give you at least 1 crappy stat, maybe 2, since it gives you so few points, and penalizes further for scores above 14. And what's up with placing a level 2 party in the path of a CR8 monster? Way out there. I don't think any planning went into this game, and give it a big middle finger up.
[Edited last by John Spencer on September 30, 2001 at 10:47 PM]