Temple of Elemental Evil discussion thread (merged)

[Chain Lightning]

Geez, I totally forgot about too other bugs. Or, at least I think they're bugs.

There's this occurance that happens when I hit and do damage. Mostly with ranged weaponry I noticed. Here's the thing. If you miss, a little word that says 'miss' floats above the guy's head that tried to hit. If you hit, a number of how much damage you did floats above the target's head. Now, I get this thing where I get a hit animation but yet, the number that pops up over the target's head is a zero. That's right a " 0 ". In my head, I'm thinking....its either a miss or hit. Why am I hitting for zero? Shouldn't it be at least a 1?

Second thing is the minimum heals. I believe my Cleric should not be encountering heals that result in '1'. Maybe in the beginning, but at 3rd level still? Nothing more frustrating than casting and getting a '1' heal, then casting again and getting a '2' heal. ARGGGH!

And yes, my wizard is STILL hitting in melee way more than my Barbarian and Paladin. I really don't know what's up with that....heh heh.

 

[Dark Jezter]

I won ToEE the other night with my CN party. The final boss scared me at first, but then I found a way to defeat her that made it almost pitifully easy. All I had to do was (end-game spoilers ahead)

Spoiler

use the golden orb (socketed with all four elemental gems) to summon a Balor and a Glabrezu, and then I was able to beat the fungal goddess with surprisingly little effort. I thought it was kinda neat how the ending to the game shows you what happened afterwards in regards to various subquests you did or didn't compete.

I'm taking a short break from ToEE, I plan on playing again with a Neutral Good party comprised of a paladin, a ranger, a cleric, a rogue, and a sorcerer.

All in all, I'm satisfied with my ToEE purchase. Here is what I liked about the game:

• The absolutely fantastic turn-based combat system. Combat in this game works almost exactly as it does in the P&P game.
• The Item Creation feats made it in. My wizard was about 2000 XP lower than the rest of the group from crafting so many magic items.
• The character models look great, and are very customizable in appearance (even small things like gloves and boots will show up on the models). The animations look cool as well, and I reccommend that everyone try out a monk at least once just to see the awesome animations that come with that class.
• Similarly, the monsters look great as well. Some of the late-game foes are very cool looking.
• Challenging. Most of the time in this game, you are outmatched or outnumbered by your enemies, forcing you to come up with superior strategies to use against your foes.
• Great Hack & Slash! I love a good dungeon, and this dungeon was filled with traps 'n monsters aplenty to keep me happy.
• The opening sequences for each alignment. They add a "personal touch" to the game that I really enjoy.

Now, the things I didn't like about the game, although they are relatively minor compared to what I liked about the game.

• The bugs. Atari was in such a hurry to get this game out the door that the QA team wasn't able to catch some rather annoying bugs, like monsters appearing inside of walls and being impossible to reach. Hopefully this game will get some patches (whether official or unofficial) in the upcoming weeks.
• A few interface problems. It can be hard to select a specific target in crowded combats. The inventory/shop screen is also clunky and inconvienient to use.
• Lackluster storyline. While I know it's unrealistic to expect on a plot on the level of Baldur's Gate II or Planescape: Torment from a game based on a 1st Edition AD&D module (as modules back then were usually very light on story), I wouldn't have minded a better storyline.
• The logbook dosen't provide any details on the quests you've picked up. I would like to see a Neverwinter Nights-style journal that keeps track and describes clearly quests you've recieved and completed.
• In can be near-impossible to find masterwork items in this game for giving magical enchantments to.

So, there are my thoughts on the game. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give this game a 7.5 and recommend it to serious fans of D&D. If the bugs were to be fixed in this game, I'd bump the rating up to an 8.5.

 

[Henry]

That's right a " 0 ". In my head, I'm thinking....its either a miss or hit. Why am I hitting for zero? Shouldn't it be at least a 1?

Could it be damage reduction, for example, firing arrows at skeletons or certain undead?

Second thing is the minimum heals. I believe my Cleric should not be encountering heals that result in '1'. Maybe in the beginning, but at 3rd level still? Nothing more frustrating than casting and getting a '1' heal, then casting again and getting a '2' heal. ARGGGH!

Now THAT one I'm pretty sure is a bug of some sort, though it's not one I've encountered.

 

[KnowTheToe]

I have had sever 2-4's for dmg from mt 20 str greatsword weilding fighter, but it does not really bother me.

 

[Rugger]

<sniffle>

Still no patch or fixes for those of use who crash to desktop nearly every time they "zone"...

Looks like this is getting returned...if they fix it I'll be re-buying it...dang is it fun when it works!!!

-Rugger
"I CrashToDesktop!"

 

[KnowTheToe]

<sniffle>

Still no patch or fixes for those of use who crash to desktop nearly every time they "zone"...

Looks like this is getting returned...if they fix it I'll be re-buying it...dang is it fun when it works!!!

-Rugger
"I CrashToDesktop!"

That does suck. I don't have the issue this time, but I have in the past.

 

[mmu1]

Could it be damage reduction, for example, firing arrows at skeletons or certain undead?

That's implemented correctly, but it's pretty obvious from playing the game that there were at least a few typos when they entered the monster stats - for example, Gnolls have somehow ended up with damage reduction (encountered that one numerous times), and the AC for a Lamia was incorrectly set at 29, making for a fight that's damn near impossible without a wizard loaded to bear with magic missiles and fireballs.

Getting back to the crash issues - I've not had any until level 2 of the temple (9th level characters) then I suddenly had three or four in one session along with some slowdown problems, and I've had to reluctantly shelve the game... It's a pity, would have liked to finish this one...

 

[LightPhoenix]

That's implemented correctly, but it's pretty obvious from playing the game that there were at least a few typos when they entered the monster stats - for example, Gnolls have somehow ended up with damage reduction (encountered that one numerous times)...

So THAT'S why I've been having such a hard time with them! Good to know.

 

[Lazybones]

My wife bought the game for me from a Best Buy out of town over the weekend. Unfortunately the plastic seal had been razored and the game CD stolen. BB won't give me an exchange unless I drive the 85 miles to the store where she got it.

So let me experience be a cautionary one; always check the seals on the box when you buy. Definitely going to start buying all my software online after this...

 

[Olive]

Ok... I'm not sure if I'm being stupid or lazy but will my machine run with with game?

The only drawback I can see is my GForce2 MX... I need a 32 meg card right? Mine is, but dxdiag says it is 31.5 meg...