CRPGs similar to the Infinity or Aurora engines

[true_shinken]

I'm looking for good fantasy CRPGs with interesting plots, preferably with engines similar to Infinity (Baldur's Gate, Torment, Icewind Dale) or Aurora (Neverwinter Nights).
I played Arkanun a few years ago and got bored fast, but I really like these games and I want to try out more of them (well, if there are any).
Help me, playground!

[BladeofOblivion]

The Electron Engine that Neverwinter Nights 2 runs on is very similar to the Aurora, and I consider NWN2 to be an enjoyable game. The Mask of the Betrayer expansion was amazingly good, as well.

Of course, YMMV.

[MrPig]

There's The Temple of Elemental Evil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Temple_of_Elemental_Evil_%28video_game%29). Having never played it past the tutorial areas (mostly due to laziness) I can't comment on the plot.

[Ogremindes]

The Witcher uses a modified Aurora Engine. And is also a fine game.

[Sarco_Phage]

There's The Temple of Elemental Evil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Temple_of_Elemental_Evil_%28video_game%29). Having never played it past the tutorial areas (mostly due to laziness) I can't comment on the plot.

TOEE is the single best conversion of 3.5 rules to the CRPG medium in existence.

Up to you whether that's good or bad.

It's really fun later on, though, especially when your party of tenth level characters has to somehow take on the Elemental Guardian of Fire.

Who is a Balor.

[shadow_archmagi]

My TOEE experience was that it was fun once you got used to the weird way the rules are handled, but so buggy

I ultimately had to stop playing because my game was affected by a bug where Grease lasts forever and so everyone keeps falling over.

[Sarco_Phage]

My TOEE experience was that it was fun once you got used to the weird way the rules are handled, but so buggy

I ultimately had to stop playing because my game was affected by a bug where Grease lasts forever and so everyone keeps falling over.

Spell permanence is a nasty bug, but it's not the worst one. Before the patches there was a hilarious bug where, if you rested in a narrow corridor and an ambush encounter spawned, the ambushing creatures would end up getting stuck in a wall with no way for you to target them. A combat phase that never ended.

[true_shinken]

TOEE is the single best conversion of 3.5 rules to the CRPG medium in existence.

This game is amazing. I love it.

[Miscast_Mage]

If you do play TOEE, I recommend in getting the Circle of Eight fan-patch. (http://www.co8.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3543) Fixes quite a few bugs and corrects a few annoying features. Any of the bugs I encountered were of the good kind, such as getting more cash than you should have selling particular items. A nifty benifit, but not an overpowering one that lets you storm through the rest of the game.

Sadly, I can't think of any other games thats are similar to BG/PS/ID, except Lionheart(and even then is a bit of a stretch) which is pretty bad, and Torn which got cancelled.:smallfrown: Both use the SPECIAL system from fallout, by the way(and the older fallout games might be worth a look, too).

[Sarco_Phage]

Also, the Co8 patch allows you to level past the 10th level hard cap the original game puts on you.

[true_shinken]

Also, the Co8 patch allows you to level past the 10th level hard cap the original game puts on you.
Oh, that's interesting. What's the new cap with the patch?

[Sarco_Phage]

Oh, that's interisting. What's the new cap with the patch?

20th. It also adds in the higher level spells, which makes this game the first time Disintegrate has been seen in a CRPG as a touch attack beam thing instead of a giant green ball like in BG.

[Fri]

yeah, it's TOEE. I also love that game, eventhough it's practically plotless, just like ice wind dale. But that means I can play it again and again without getting bored, since the focus is in the gameplay.

But don't forget to patch it with the circle of eight fanpatch!

[GungHo]

Another vote for the Witcher. If you find an older copy, make sure you download the enhanced edition patches. Granted, it's the version with the boobs, but it also improves the game a bit, which is cool because it wasn't that bad to begin with.

Don't play it around children, though, unless you'd like to get notes from teachers about your kids saying very uncouth things to the other kids at school.

[warty goblin]

Another vote for the Witcher. If you find an older copy, make sure you download the enhanced edition patches. Granted, it's the version with the boobs, but it also improves the game a bit, which is cool because it wasn't that bad to begin with.

Don't play it around children, though, unless you'd like to get notes from teachers about your kids saying very uncouth things to the other kids at school.

The Enhanced Edition patch, at least in the US, doesn't de-censor anything. It improves the dialogs, engine performance,and a whole lot of other stuff, but the boobies don't get unleashed until the later Director's Cut patch. Since that's all the Director's Cut patch does*, you can get all the Enhanced Edition stuff without any additional nakedness if you so choose. Also note that the first Witcher is coming out on GoG.com pretty soon, for about $5.00.

*It may also add blood back into the game, I can't remember if it's that or a different patch. It certainly didn't add anything gameplay related.


And while I'd recommend the Witcher to anybody on the general principle that it's excellent, I'm not sure it's particularly close to the old Infinity Engine games. It's still got pause anytime to issue orders, but there's no party, and combat is much more hands on.

If you're after party based games in particular, I suggest either of the recent Drakensang games. They're based on the Dark Eye ruleset, which I find much more interesting than D&D, and the engine is frankly a hell of a lot better than that used for the Neverwinter Nights games. The plots aren't spectacular, but aren't brain-damagingly stupid either. The second game, the River of Time, is much better than the first, but can only be had through digital download in America.