The GWJ CRPG Club - Part 1 - Old Thread

3 months sounds good to me at the moment. Just about to star another busy semester in a couple of weeks!

Please don't mistake my nonresponse up until now for a lack of interest. It is more that I think I could work around most guidelines. I have preferences, of course, but I'm looking to become more flexible, whilst also adhering to a routine. So I'm just waiting to see where the chips fall, mostly.

My two cents?

It's difficult to time certain games, maybe even most games, with the varying play styles for each gamer. I would add 4 to 5 hours for every 10 to 12 hours of the average player to find a more accurate prediction on my time. I look at everything. I poke around everywhere. I dwell on decisions. I am trying to stay more focused now, though. Trying.

RnRClown wrote:

Please don't mistake my nonresponse up until now for a lack of interest. It is more that I think I could work around most guidelines. I have preferences, of course, but I'm looking to become more flexible, whilst also adhering to a routine. So I'm just waiting to see where the chips fall, mostly.

Yep, no worries on this at all. I figure most people are fine with the details and would add a reply if they didn't think something would work.

pyxistyx wrote:

3 months sounds good to me at the moment. Just about to star another busy semester in a couple of weeks!

RnRClown wrote:

It's difficult to time certain games, maybe even most games, with the varying play styles for each gamer. I would add 4 to 5 hours for every 10 to 12 hours of the average player to find a more accurate prediction on my time. I look at everything. I poke around everywhere. I dwell on decisions. I am trying to stay more focused now, though. Trying.

Yeah, faster than 3 months is probably "too much" given life, other games, playstyles, etc. If we pick a short game and finish early then we'll just have a break. And most RPGs are probably in the 30-hour+ category anyway.

3 months it is!

Sounds interesting (tagging)

pyxistyx wrote:

I actually see a lot of potential with this - it'll be cool to see how different people tackle different CRPG situations, and what their characters are like!

Agreed. In that sense it might be better if we all agreed on a fairly linear game as opposed to a giant sandbox Oblivion type thing.
I've got a few 1990's rpg's in mind, but I don't want to turn off folks who don't like ancient stuff.

Well, lots of RPGs will have a difference between what it takes to beat the “main story” and to do side content. You could always base what’s suitable on completing the main story and then if people have the time and desire to do more than that, so be it.

I definitely think this will work better with something a bit more focused than Skyrim or Witcher 3.

Also I am a-ok with tackling some of the 90's rpg's i've missed or never finished!

I think I'd have to pass if it was something too big, even over 3 months. Something more focused / shorter would be cool.

Am up for some nostalgia, I'm not sure how long I'd stick with something from the early 90s but would definitely be intrigued to pick something up cheap and give it a go, possibly something already played way back when.

Or maybe something more modern that offers the illusion of the past.

Am interested to see what people nominate...

Yeah, if you want to play something from the 90s, nominate it and seconding and voting will shake out what others want to play.

I'm definitely up for anything.

The only thing I wonder about some of the earlier RPGs is that while the idea of playing something from back then can sound fun, the reality might be different.

A few years ago I got in my head the idea that it would be super fun to play the entire Might & Magic series, and so I got M&M I working on my computer. Man, that game is merciless! Between the lack of an auto-mapping feature and the brutal initial difficulty, it was a lot less fun than I imagined. I stuck it out for a few hours but eventually abandoned the plan.

M&M I was 1986 though, and things got a lot better over the next decade. I also probably should have made use of the maps available online rather than try to slog through it making my own.

FWIW, I like the idea of a Skyrim or other games with a main quest and tons of side content being included. When normally playing such games, I tend to be quickly distracted from the main quest and never make it far. Despite my hundred of hours in Skyrim, I've never gotten much farther than talking to the greybeards. Having a time table with some social aspects around it could help me find some focus.

I'm hopeful that we'll be able to get at a variety of games and styles, with the realization that not every game will appeal to everyone.

If we end up in the late 90s for a linear party-based RPG one time, then move back to 2014 for a first-person open world RPG, then shift to 2006 for an isometric traditional RPG, it's all good with me.

absurddoctor wrote:

Having a time table with some social aspects around it could help me find some focus.

I agree, doctor! When I think back on my gaming, I've really enjoyed it when I finish RPGs, but for every one I've started there are probably a dozen that I've drifted away from at some stage in the game.

steinkrug wrote:

Yeah, if you want to play something from the 90s, nominate it and seconding and voting will shake out what others want to play. :)

Speaking of nominations, it's January 12 in Tokyo, which means...

Let's open up nominations get this show on the road!

Nominations Guidelines
• Each member can nominate one game.
• Each member can "second" any number of games.
• For a game to be included in the voting, it must both be nominated and seconded.
• Games nominated should be non-Japanese RPGs at least a year old.
• If possible, please include a link to Steam or GOG for your game so others can check it out easily.

When nominating games, consider expense (shouldn't be expensive), accessibility (easy to find, set up and run), and quality (good).

To avoid potential misunderstandings, let's set a hard deadline for this up front. Let's close nominating and seconding at noontime GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) on Friday, January 19. For local time conversion, pasting "noontime GMT local" in Google works great.

Well, I'll give this a try. I nominate Baldur's Gate. It's been sitting on my pile for a while, I never played it, and the Enhanced Edition (which I would be playing) makes it easy to start up on PC and mobile platforms.

Here are Enhanced Edition links.
GOG.com
Steam

I'd like to nominate Wasteland 2.

I'll second Baldurs Gate EE. I wouldn't mind having (another) run at that.

[removed long winded nomination for wasteland 2!]
*oh, Clockhausered

Ok, then I'll also second Wasteland 2 then

and nominate... Icewind Dale 2

I nominate The Quest (Steam, not available on GOG).

I'll second Icewind Dale 2.

I'd like to nominate an underrated gem called Blackguards.

I will gladly second Blackguards.

Blackguards would be nifty. The last time I tried to play it, I could not get it to run on either OSX or Winders 10.

absurddoctor wrote:

Blackguards would be nifty. The last time I tried to play it, I could not get it to run on either OSX or Winders 10.

The version on GOG runs beautifully in Windows 10. No idea about the Steam version.

It seems pretty stable nowadays! And its a great game to boot.

I'll third Wasteland 2. I kickstarted it, got my fancy tin lunchbox and doodads, and haven't even seen the title screen yet.

For my nomination I'll pick one I've started several times, but have never gotten more than 2 hours in:
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

GoG.com link
Steam link

Cool. Baldur's Gate was a possible for me too, makes my choice easier, I'll go with...

Shadowrun: Dragonfall Director's Cut

Steam . GOG . iOS . Android

Been wanting to give this a try on tablet, if it doesn't play well then back to the mac.

i'll happily play (or replay) any game mentioned so far, so that's good

Nomination Update

Nominated and Seconded
Baldurs Gate EE
Blackguards
Icewind Dale 2
Wasteland 2

Nominated
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
The Quest
Shadowrun: Dragonfall Director's Cut

pyxistyx wrote:

i'll happily play (or replay) any game mentioned so far, so that's good

Yep, me too! I kind of want to play them all.

Bubblefuzz wrote:

Cool. Baldur's Gate was a possible for me too, makes my choice easier, I'll go with...

Shadowrun: Dragonfall Director's Cut

Steam . GOG . iOS . Android

Been wanting to give this a try on tablet, if it doesn't play well then back to the mac.

Second.

I'll second Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 EE, as well as Icewind Dale 2. I'll also throw in a nomination for Planescape: Torment.

Watching the nominations with interest. Lots of good games so far!

I'll second Planescape: Torment, that's also waiting on my backlog.