I've played a number of singleplayer games with multiple PCs (via MP mode) for BG1 over the years and actually enjoyed them a great deal. There really isn't all that much banter or interaction between NPCs in BG1 to begin with. Most of their personality gets expressed through the various combination of elements that the player can also create: class or kit, stats, weapons profs/skills focus, custom portrait, custom soundset. If you want to get more creative you can Shadowkeeper a special ability, which can be kind of fun.
Granted, player-created PCs (serving as NPCs) don't have quests or backstories--which, in my book, is what clearly makes the game's NPCs preferable. I'm just observing that for most of the game's duration, the NPC's personality arguably expresses itself through the basic building blocks mentioned above.
And those who have played Tutu or BGT for years now also know that the BG2 engine gives us many kits to choose from in BG1 (including modded ones).
So it is in this vein that I'm actually looking forward to the Black Pits as a standalone game. It gives me a chance to experiment... to play in the sandbox, as it were... with various builds--and to do so without investing time into a full BG:EE game in order to try them out. There's a lot of kits that I want to try, and have just never gotten around to. And there'll be even more to try once mods are refitted to BG:EE's WeiDu.
The Black Pits will be a kind of lab for me to see what sorts of PCs I can build for the BG:EE and eventually the entire saga. And, for me, that's something that I appreciate... and arguably, I think I may prefer having as a standalone feature...
Thoughts?
Granted, player-created PCs (serving as NPCs) don't have quests or backstories--which, in my book, is what clearly makes the game's NPCs preferable. I'm just observing that for most of the game's duration, the NPC's personality arguably expresses itself through the basic building blocks mentioned above.
And those who have played Tutu or BGT for years now also know that the BG2 engine gives us many kits to choose from in BG1 (including modded ones).
So it is in this vein that I'm actually looking forward to the Black Pits as a standalone game. It gives me a chance to experiment... to play in the sandbox, as it were... with various builds--and to do so without investing time into a full BG:EE game in order to try them out. There's a lot of kits that I want to try, and have just never gotten around to. And there'll be even more to try once mods are refitted to BG:EE's WeiDu.
The Black Pits will be a kind of lab for me to see what sorts of PCs I can build for the BG:EE and eventually the entire saga. And, for me, that's something that I appreciate... and arguably, I think I may prefer having as a standalone feature...
Thoughts?
