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Part of it is playing a male character but I never found Carth that onerous to talk to. It's a couple of seconds of dialogue so I just don't get all the hate for it. The sexist poo poo at the beginning can go gently caress right off though. Additionally the statement about remaining neutral not having any advantages isn't *quite* right. But that's for a chat later I think.
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Jan 4, 2020 03:56
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Regalingualius posted:BioWare didn’t get bought by EA until some time before ME2 (I forget if Dragon Age 1 was their last game pre-buyout). Though I could definitely see them doing a re-modernization of KOTOR as a way of trying to rekindle some goodwill after how badly Andromeda and Anthem flopped. I've never played this, I bought it for like $3 at some point but can't get it to run on my machine without making GBS threads the bed regardless of settings. Looking at the LP that might be for the best. I'm sure a lot of folks have a soft spot for it; all I'm seeing are the reused plotlines and cliches that keep popping up in every BW game - even the ones I really like.
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Jan 4, 2020 04:10
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It was still relatively fresh at the time this one came out, though, since this is one of their earlier works. But thanks to hindsight, yeah, you can see the Bioware in it.
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Jan 4, 2020 04:23
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I don’t mean to sound like I’m making GBS threads on this game, but... Yeah, it admittedly does have a lot of warts with the benefits of hindsight and close to 20 years of improved RPG development practices. And with a screenshot LP, you’re also missing out on the “alien speech” NPCs just playing a loop of the same one or two sentences of gibberish. 
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Jan 4, 2020 05:31
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Regalingualius posted:And with a screenshot LP, you’re also missing out on the “alien speech” NPCs just playing a loop of the same one or two sentences of gibberish. MUCHA SHAKA PAKA
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Jan 4, 2020 05:57
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When we get to maximum MUCHA SHAKA PAKA (those of you who played this probably know which specific quest I mean), I'll include a video in the update because that deserves to be seen and heard in its full glory. And yeah, KotOR is pretty much where all the BioWare cliches started, and it hasn't necessarily held up super well in hindsight. If this is your first experience with KotOR after playing all the games they've produced since then, I completely understand why it might seem somewhat underwhelming.
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Jan 4, 2020 06:11
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E CHOOT A
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Jan 4, 2020 09:39
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TALA MOOLEE RA
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Jan 4, 2020 11:38
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I can hear these loops and I don't like them
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Jan 4, 2020 11:58
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I remember them bragging hard about inventing a new language for Jade Empire and speaking to experts about it and so on. But in the end it was just the same lines repeated over and over regardless of what was being said.
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Jan 4, 2020 11:58
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Rody One Half posted:TALA MOOLEE RA This one I don't remember, so I can only hear it voiced by Daler Mehndi.
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Jan 4, 2020 16:49
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Cooked Auto posted:I remember them bragging hard about inventing a new language for Jade Empire and speaking to experts about it and so on. I’m reminded of the Pandaren from Warcraft. In-universe, their language is pretty clearly based off of Chinese, and there’s even a kind of poignant bit of background lore explaining that it isn’t actually their language, but the language of their ancient enslavers who violently suppressed any of their subjects’ culture. In-game... Any chat in Pandaren appears as “om nom nom nom” to anyone who doesn’t understand it. 
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Jan 4, 2020 17:51
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Although I feel that the Song of Liu Lang is a better example of that than Blizzard actually making a jokey reference. (And a pretty decent one too.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjZeQaGesVw I know I've read somewhere it's not actual chinese that's being sung but I could be wrong there.
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Jan 4, 2020 18:01
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Doc M posted:When we get to maximum MUCHA SHAKA PAKA (those of you who played this probably know which specific quest I mean), I'll include a video in the update because that deserves to be seen and heard in its full glory. After the disasters that were MEA and Anthem people are pissed at BW but when you look at it they've been doing the same thing over and over again forever. It's quite possible they only had those earlier successes because game dev required a lot less back then and now they can't run a project to literally save their lives. If DA4 bombs I wouldn't be surprised if EA took them out behind the barn and unceremoniously killed them. Which is a shame, because they've made some really fun games recycled elements or no. EA isn't helping by wanting everything to be MTX lootbox city. VGA's voted Sekiro GOTY which is a single-player no microtransaction story heavy game - there's a definite market for them but EA's not looking past the next quarter.
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Jan 4, 2020 20:06
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Night10194 posted:Vader didn't need to be exploding Star Destroyers with his mind to seem like the scariest dude in the galaxy. Vader's best depiction (IMO) as scariest dude in the galaxy was, what, a thirty second scene in Rogue One? Sometimes less is more!
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Jan 4, 2020 21:03
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Doc M posted:When we get to maximum MUCHA SHAKA PAKA (those of you who played this probably know which specific quest I mean), I'll include a video in the update because that deserves to be seen and heard in its full glory. The cliches were already in full bloom in NWN as far as I remember. SubponticatePoster posted:It's not the game's fault, it's the nearly 20 years gone by. Like, look how clunky and awful that interface is. Hell, even the 5 years between ME1 and 3 - so many (actually good) changes to inventory, leveling, combat, etc. Eh. It's both really, KOTOR is playing it completely by the numbers to the point I was calling out plot twists when I first played it as a kid 15 years ago. KOTOR2 is built on the same engine, unfinished, and holds up considerably better - to the point that you might even finish it in 2020 without stabbing pencils through your eyes. Plenty of people including myself replayed it in 2016? when the restoration mod was released, while I think I finished KOTOR twice when it came out and then abandoned any replay attempts as soon as Carth opened his gob on Taris. Bioware made its money on selling the same story and characters 10 different times and it worked because the execution was decent to good for its time and everyone knows and loves the tropes. It's the McDonalds of RPG gaming, you pretty much knew exactly what you will get, edible writing in a decent wrap. As long as you don't look to much into it you're fine. I think that if they found a decent setting to rewrite their story for the 20th time they could still make another successful new franchise, the problem is they've pretty much used them all up at this point. Maybe they could do one of the Warhammers, they seem to be giving licenses to anyone these days. TitanG fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Jan 4, 2020 |
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Jan 4, 2020 22:16
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Psion posted:Vader's best depiction (IMO) as scariest dude in the galaxy was, what, a thirty second scene in Rogue One? Sometimes less is more! I personally have a soft spot for the whole “ I find your lack of faith disturbing” scene in Episode 4. This pretty clearly established Vader as someone not to mess with.
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Jan 4, 2020 22:29
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TitanG posted:Maybe they could do one of the Warhammers, they seem to be giving licenses to anyone these days. Protip: Do NOT do the Slaaneshi cultist romance sidequest.
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Jan 4, 2020 22:33
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I think that Neverwinter Nights era Bioware could've done something interesting with Warhammer, and early Mass Effect era could've. But now? No, I think Bioware is just a neglected headless corpse being kept by dipshits who don't know the difference between death spasms and pining for the fjords, so whatever they did with it wouldn't be very good. Although seeing Bioware Morality applied to a setting where your choices are "evil" or "more evil" would be interesting, for certain values of interesting.
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Jan 4, 2020 22:36
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Ya'll missed the best one … SMEELYA! … spoken with a stupid amount of enthusiasm regardless of what the character was actually saying.
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Jan 5, 2020 00:45
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The one that's always stuck in my head is the angry one that goes "KIPUNA! BUNA NA KICHU!" Or something like that.
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Jan 5, 2020 01:00
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I never noticed the alien sound loops as a kid, at least not consciously. I do remember the voice acting being pretty solid overall, which was most definitely not standard in a lot of video games of the era. Otherwise, the music and sound effects sounded just like the movies, and I remember thinking that the melee/lightsaber animations were appropriately flashy and impractical and suitably Star Wars. As I think about those animations, it seems to me that the system was very similar to what Bioware used in NWN and the Infinity Engine games before it, in that the animations are a.) turn-based and b.) require the participants to be a specific distance apart facing specific directions. If the distance or facing was ever-so-slightly off, the engine would "slide" the characters into position like chess pieces. It was especially noticeable in NWN, but they were able to reduce it somewhat for KotOR- am I remembering that right?
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Jan 5, 2020 02:58
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MechaCrash posted:I think that Neverwinter Nights era Bioware could've done something interesting with Warhammer, and early Mass Effect era could've. But now? No, I think Bioware is just a neglected headless corpse being kept by dipshits who don't know the difference between death spasms and pining for the fjords, so whatever they did with it wouldn't be very good. Nah, you're not seeing the obvious routes. I don't know enough about WHF to talk, but in 40k you just make a Dark Heresy game. Intro shows how you got volunteered into being an acolyte, the plot can literally be a reskin of NWN and there you go. Morality is straight out of Mass Effect, barely any adjustment needed.
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Jan 5, 2020 10:33
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I've always wanted a Bioware / Obsidian PRG based around a W40k Inquisition party. But you know... 2013 Bioware/Obsidian.
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Jan 5, 2020 11:58
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TitanG posted:KOTOR2 is built on the same engine, unfinished, and holds up considerably better - to the point that you might even finish it in 2020 without stabbing pencils through your eyes. Plenty of people including myself replayed it in 2016? when the restoration mod was released, while I think I finished KOTOR twice when it came out and then abandoned any replay attempts as soon as Carth opened his gob on Taris. Huh. I see it the opposite. The sequel isn't nearly as good IMO - it has it's strong points but I think the primary beats were much better done in the original KOTOR. I also think that, as it relates to the game being dated and such, it's easy to forget how freaking cool it was to a Star Wars fan to be able to do the light/dark RPG thing back in 2003. There are a few lines later in the game, scenes, etc. that have stuck with me even though I haven't played them in years. There are a great many RPGs that don't have antagonists/party members that are fleshed out nearly as well to my way of thinking. It's not perfect, even for it's time, but there's a reason why a lot of reviews when it was released were glowing and it won Game of the Year type awards. .
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Jan 5, 2020 12:03
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I half agree, I think the original was the better game at the time but it aged way worse. The story of it is pretty shallow, kinda hole-y and once you've seen the setpieces that's basically it. Not to mention we saw most of the story and characters in all of the next Bioware games. And past the set pieces there's not much to hold up the terribly dated everything else. The sequel IMO vastly improved on the combat to the point of it actually being kinda fun (most of the time) and had several new characters that had fairly interesting ideas that weren't really explored in other games (even though half of those got left on the cutting floor, rip G0-T0). To me, that makes it easier to pick up again and have another go. Along that though, I'd say that you're looking at the game with some massive nostalgia goggles, especially the fleshing out part. Could be that I'm forgetting things, but we'd best leave this discussion for later in the LP.
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Jan 5, 2020 15:43
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The thing about taking a massive poo poo on the repeated ad-naseum tropes of the original, is that some people took great offense, as they happily consumed the same regurgitated story over and over.
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Jan 5, 2020 16:15
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Xander77 posted:I've always wanted a Bioware / Obsidian PRG based around a W40k Inquisition party. But you know... 2013 Bioware/Obsidian. They basically made their version of a Hams Fantasy game with Dragon Age Origins already. Could have done with more hats. But if you want to see what a Bioware WHF game would be, it's Origins.
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Jan 5, 2020 16:31
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Xander77 posted:The thing about taking a massive poo poo on the repeated ad-naseum tropes of the original, is that some people took great offense, as they happily consumed the same regurgitated story over and over. I never understood how this was a big thing either way. It's not exactly a sign of a great work, but it's not the sign of a terrible one either. Crichton wrote the same story over a dozen times, but I still enjoyed all its different incarnations.
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Jan 5, 2020 17:08
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KOTOR 2 has better writing overall but also more aimless wandering. It's also just DARK. Like, lighting wise. I had some eyestrain issues replaying it recently.
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Jan 5, 2020 21:09
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Tater Love 
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It also stays stuck on the rails for twice as long as this one. And this one doesn't exactly let you off them early.
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Jan 5, 2020 21:10
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To be honest, I love Peragus’s horror atmosphere. I’m not gonna defend Telos, though.
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Jan 5, 2020 21:28
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Other way around, obv. I won't ever play KotoR 2 again unless someone comes up with a "ship-begone" mod, but the initial planet is.. like a real place, rather than the designated tutorial zone.
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Jan 5, 2020 21:41
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Part 6: Ghouls' Night Out Last time, we finished our business in the Taris Lower City, which means we're now ready to head down to the Undercity and meet the horrible diseased rakghoul monsters we've heard so much about. Without any further dawdling, let's get to the elevator and make our way down.  Or not.  That headgear looks so, so dumb. The next time I record, I'll remove any and all headgear and won't be using it for the rest of the game because these horrible things are seriously cramping our style. Yes, that means we'll miss out on various bonuses, but this game is easy enough anyway and fashion is very important.  Let's just get on with this, Carth.   Listen, sister... just because we're working together does not mean you get to badger me with constant questions! Do we have another problem, now? Blast it if you aren't the most frustrating woman to talk to! Isn't there someone else you can harass for a little while?No, sadly there isn't. If there was, that'd really break up the monotony of having Carth as our only conversational partner for the first few hours.   Carth just doesn't get it. Hey! I see a swoop bike!  I... *sigh* Okay, I give up. You win. Look, I suppose I... could use someone to talk to. I'm just not used to it. And I don't know why you're so interested. But here goes.  I'll get back to you in a second, Carth, but more importantly we've got more swoop bikes! I don't think I've ever actually noticed those in the background before. I suppose it makes sense that they'd be traveling on what passes for a road here, instead of being in the pedestrian areas. But yes, I believe Carth was about to finally tell us more about his past.   Saul was my commanding officer back when the Mandalorian Wars first began. He taught me everything about being a soldier... and I looked up to him. Saul approached me before he left. He talked to me about how the Republic was on the losing side... and about how I should start thinking of my survival. I know now that he was trying to recruit me into the Sith, but I couldn't have conceived of it back then. I argued with him and he got angry and he left. I never saw him again.  I just... I couldn't conceive of it. He... he couldn't be serious. I was wrong, of course... he not only left us for the Sith, he... he gave them the codes to bypass our scanners. I remember waking up as the first of the Sith bombers snuck past our defenses and began destroying half of our docked ships. I knew right away what had happened. I... could have stopped him. I could have stopped it all. I don't know. Maybe. He might have killed me if I'd tried, or I might have killed him. I was stupid, however, and I let him go.   But I don't want to talk about it right now. Let's go.So, Carth was betrayed by his mentor, the man he admired most in his military career. That will go a long way towards explaining his uneasiness around us, but there's still more to the story and we'll learn about that eventually. For now, though, we should get going.  That is a lot of blaster turrets. Keeps the swoop gangs away, I suppose, and ensures we won't be fighting our way into the elevator.   Unless you've got the proper security papers you better just turn around and go back the way you came. I've got my security papers right here. Let me see... hmmm, these look to be in order. Okay, you can go down if you want. Can't say I envy you, though. The Undercity is crawling with mutants. Rakghouls, they call 'em. If you see anything moving down there, shoot first and ask questions later. Noted. Let's go.    We've reached the Undercity, and immediately someone's trying to shake us down. That's not a very promising start to our visit, although at least these guys don't appear to be rakghouls.   I think we might be able to afford that, but I doubt the elevator actually belongs to these fine fellows. Yes, there are two beggars here, they just look exactly the same.    Here in the filth and darkness we claw out a wretched existence, scavenging and begging just to survive long enough to see another wretched day. This is our village. We live here in the undercity. You have to pay us five credits for using our elevator.Sure, okay. I guess we can spare some credits to these poor souls.  Credits, my brother! We have credits! Now we can buy food and medicine! Hush, or the others will hear us! They'll want our credits! We have to hide them!Err, did we accidentally do a bad thing there? (No, that's just how you get more light side points, and these guys will never show up again)   Carth, don't be rude.   Well... I suppose it does look quite nice. It's just a shame about all the people.    Gendar, the leader of our village, tells me I should spend more time trying to improve things down here and less time dreaming about something I can never have. Maybe he's right. You probably think I'm a fool, having dreams of a place I've never even seen. But when l was little, Rukil used to tell me stories of what it was like up there. Rukil? Who's that? Rukil's the oldest man in the village. The kids call him Rukil Wrinkle-Skin, but he's a kind man. He used to tell me the greatest stories when I was a little girl. I still like to listen to his tales about the Promised Land, even though I know they're just legends. But it helps to make the Undercity seem less... less dark, somehow. The Promised Land? What's that? It's... it's just a story to make little children smile. Rukil believes in it, though. Sometimes I can almost believe it myself, but then I look around and I see the ugly truth. *sigh* I guess we have to make the best of what we have though. If you really want to learn more about the promised land you should speak to Rukil. Where can I find Rukil? He's wandering around somewhere on the south side of the village. He doesn't move too far... it's hard on his bones. He's over 100 years old! The children laugh at him and people think he's crazy because of his stories about the Promised Land, but he's really just a kind old man. Where can I find Gendar? He'll be somewhere in the village. I couldn't say where for sure. He's always busy, doing whatever he can to make the lives of the other villagers easier. Have any other up-worlders come through here recently? There were quite a few people from the surface marching through the village, but none of them bothered to talk to me. Gendar might know more about them. Do you know anything about the escape pods that crashed into the Undercity? I don't know anything about that, but maybe Gendar could help you. Sorry... is there anything else you need?Well, not really, but since it doesn't seem like Shaleena gets to talk to visitors very often we might as well ask her about the Outcast village.   Some of the people have given up all hope; they've become bitter and depressed. But most of us are good people... despite what our ancestors may have done. Gendar could probably tell you more. Or maybe Rukil. You could talk to them if you want.So hold on a second. These people have been living down here for generations after some of their ancestors got banished to the Undercity ages ago? Their village is RIGHT NEXT to an elevator leading to the Lower City, and there is only one Sith guard (and even he hasn't been there for that long, considering that the Sith only occupied the planet recently). There are several blaster turrets, yes, but those do not shoot on sight and presumably have to be activated by the Sith guard. Yet, for HUNDREDS OF YEARS nobody here has apparently thought about getting into the elevator and making a break for it. I know for a fact the Outcasts have weapons and armor, we'll meet a merchant in the next five minutes, so that wouldn't be a problem either. Yes, if they all tried to force their way up top, there would likely be casualties but presumably that would be worth it for not having to live amidst a bunch of literal monsters. Do people still get banished down here? If so, who does the banishing? The Sith? Am I missing something? Because if I'm not, nothing about the continuing existence of the Outcasts makes one iota of sense. Am I playing Fallout 3 all of a sudden? What is happening?  I suddenly have a terrible headache.  Unfortunately, that's all Shaleena has to say to us and we can't tell her more about ourselves either.  The Undercity in all its glory. As you might expect, it's dark and depressing, and hopefully you like grey and brown because those are the only two colors we'll be seeing for the next hour or two. Shaleena mentioned Rukil and Gendar, so let's go introduce ourselves and see if either of them knows anything.  Erm...  The what now?   Despite Carth's concerns, Rukil doesn't seem dangerous. A bit crazy, probably, but not dangerous.  Maybe we can get him to explain himself a bit better, because right now we have no idea what he's babbling about.   Perhaps I can make things more clear. Some things, at least. My name is Rukil, the oldest Outcast here in the village. Rukil Wrinkle-Skin, the children call me sometimes.It's a shame the game only had the one old man NPC model, because Rukil does not look like someone who has lived in this pit for 100 years.   The true path? What does that mean? No, no, no. Not yet. I must be wary. Careful. You may be a false savior. Dare I share my secrets with you? No... not until you prove yourself.  Please, up-worlder - will you help an old man? Will you seek out my apprentice in the Undercity? Her name is Malya. I must know of her fate, whatever it may be. I must know what she... found. Sure, we can keep an eye out. It's doubtful we'll find a whole lot, though.  I'll be back if I find anything out. I wish you luck, up-worlder. Come speak to me again once you have discovered the fate of my apprentice. Well, that didn't help us very much, but we'll help him out.  Carth's journal entry has been updated as well.  Maybe Gendar here will actually have some useful info for us.  Carth, please behave yourself. You're not wrong, but please behave.     I am Gendar, the leader of this village: as my father was, and as was his father before him. Many of us have been here for generations, our ancestors cast down long ago. There is no return to the surface for us, or our descendants. But somehow we manage to survive amidst the filth and roaming bands of deadly rakghouls.You live next to the elevator. You have guns and armor. Why is this so difficult?  But life goes on, and we must try to make the best of what we have. And maybe someday we will find a better life... Ha! Listen to me. I'm starting to sound like Rukil.So people are still being cast down? How does that even work? I'm sorry I'm harping on this one thing, but I forgot how silly the whole setup was.  The rakghouls are monsters, hideous mutations who feast on the flesh of our villagers. Their diseased jaws can infect those they attack, transforming the victim into one of those abominations. We know of no cure for the disease, and for the good of the village we must banish any who become infected, lest they transform and turn on us. I want to ask you some questions. Ask your questions, up-worlder. I will answer to the best of my knowledge, though I know little beyond the borders of the Undercity. You said something about other up-worlders who came by here recently? Our village has seen many visitors from the surface recently: armored troops, swoop gang members, mercenaries. They come to search our sunless world. They are even searching the sewers. I'm looking for a Twi'lek named Mission Vao. Yes, I have seen this Twi'lek many times, though I have never spoken to her. She and her Wookiee companion often pass through our village on their way to explore the sewers. How can I get to the sewers? If you dare to travel those dark tunnels you would be wise to go heavily armed, unless you wish to become a meal for the rakghouls and other foul creatures.Great. Sewer level incoming. Most people who have played KotOR tend to hate the Taris section with a passion, to the extent that "Skip Taris" is one of the more popular mods for the PC version, and stuff like this is why.   At least we now have some idea where to head next.  We can talk to the random Outcasts wandering around the village, but they don't have anything of real interest to say.  This guy does, however.  Carth really isn't enjoying his time in the village, but he's not wrong when it comes to this particular Outcast. He sounds very shady.  How do you manage to run a store here in the Undercity? If a villager comes across any useful salvage in the Undercity they bring it to me. Every so often members from the Lower City gangs come down to trade for the salvage. They'll exchange food and medicine for engine parts, old blasters and the like. Sometimes they even give me credits if I have some really good stuff. Let me see your inventory. It ain't the best stuff - mostly salvage and such. But the prices are right. First off, we're gonna need some antidote kits because we WILL get poisoned at some point.  We'll also buy this heavy pistol for a nice damage boost. By the way, don't sell your stuff to Igear unless you're desperate, because as an Outcast he's not very rich and can only pay you half the default selling price.  Looking good. Weapons in this game have different models, although it's often kind of hard to tell and their textures are extremely low-res.  At least they had the sense to build a wall around their village to protect from the rakghouls.  As we approach the gate, this cutscene activates.   This scene was quite a bit longer when the game was still in development, but got cut down to what we see here. There were some more shots of the rakghoul pursuing Hendar, for example.     And if I open the gate they will kill us all!Do we have to do everything down here? (yes, yes we do)  Anyway, there's our first glimpse of a rakghoul. They are these creepy humanoid mutants running around on all fours and trying to bite and slash at everything that moves. In the original version of the cutscene, you got a much better look at it.  I can't open the gate... not while the rakghouls are so near. You would risk your life for a stranger? Heh. You are brave, up-worlder. I will open the gate for you, but you've got be quick. In a few seconds I must close and lock it again. Hendar, you were supposed to run.  Hendar does not run, and instead chooses to fight the rakghoul with his staff.  Okay, that's not good. Thankfully, much like a Resident Evil protagonist, we can't get infected with the disease that transforms people into flesh-eating horrors. However, the rakghouls can poison us on hit and and inflict weakness, which causes your attribute points to go down by 1 every six seconds, for 36 seconds. As you can probably guess, that will gently caress you up.  Case in point. If you get poisoned here, you're basically toast. You may have time to use an antidote kit, especially if you do the inventory screen exploit, but usually you just get wrecked and there's no point wasting healing items. Fortunately, Carth is able to dispose of the rakghouls.   All's well that ends well. Except for us, because we're seriously injured and in dire need of healing after all that.  Thankfully, this Outcast healer can help us put our guts back inside where they belong.  For our own sake, I'd prefer if she healed us.  Aside from the obvious, of course. Please, can this wait? We can talk later.  Yes, we've established as much. Would you kindly heal us before we bleed to death here?   For the sake of the village, we have to keep the infected ones locked away. And when they finally do transform into rakghouls we'll let them destroy each other. There must be something someone can do! Nothing can be done for the infected villagers. Even the serum to counteract the rakghoul disease wouldn't be any use, now. Nobody would be foolish enough to risk going into the pens to give them the cure: the infected ones could transform into rakghouls and attack them at any moment.Great, sounds fun. Could we please receive some medical attention now?  That shouldn't have been as hard as it was. We can go into the cage right now, but since there's no way we can help the infected ones we shouldn't do that.  Now that we got that out of the way, let's finally head out to the Undercity proper and see if we can find anything. That's a Sith patrol up ahead, maybe they have some of that rakghoul serum we heard about.  However, before we can continue on, Mission stops us. She's clearly in considerable distress.     Me... me and Zaalbar were just wandering around here in the Undercity. You know, looking for stuff we could find, just kind of exploring. We do it all the time. I guess with a Wookiee at your side you've got to figure you can handle the odd rakghoul attack. Only this time they were waiting for us. Gamorrean slave hunters. We didn't even have a chance to run. Big Z threw himself at them, and he roared for me to run! I... I took off; I figured Zaalbar would be right behind me. But there were too many of them - he couldn't get away. They're going to sell him to a slaver - I just know it! Do you know where they took him?Please don't say the sewers.  Gah!  It's a deal - as soon as we get Big Z back, I'll show you a way into that Vulkar base! Now, come on - We have to find Zaalbar before they sell him to slavers - or worse! Do you know where he's being kept?   And with that, we finally have more than one party member. Let's see what Mission is all about.  Mission comes equipped with a stealth field generator, which I'm sure would be very useful if we were ever planning to use stealth. She also has her own custom vibroblade, which we'll equip for the time being.   She is also a level behind, so we'll just get her up to speed. Mission is really good at stealth as well as demolitions, the latter of which will come in handy soon. Her security skill is also excellent, but so is ours.  I ended up giving Mission the extra combat suit we had lying around to boost her defense a little.  Now that we're done with that, let's see what the Sith soldier up ahead has to say.     We've already lost one patrol... we figure the rakghouls got them. We've had so many encounters with those things we've actually run out of rakghoul serum. Plus we've had several skirmishes with looters from those Lower City swoop gangs. I'm telling you, we should just stay in the Upper City where we're in control!At least we didn't have to fight the patrol, I guess. Sadly, they're out of rakghoul serum, so we'll need to find that someplace else.  Oh, is that why you're down here? Search and rescue? I didn't think they would send anyone. They were in the southern section of the Undercity when we lost contact. I would have gone to investigate, but my orders are to search for those crashed escape pods... even if it means leaving another patrol to die.  Come on patrol, let's get back to it. The sooner we get this search done the sooner we can get out of this mutant infested hole. Move out! Mutant infested hole is right. This place is absolutely crawling with rakghouls, including some stronger ones such as the Rakghoul Fiend.  This isn't really the time, but why not.  "Mission, could you come a bit closer so I can hear what you're saying? Carth is in the way, too."  I want to know a little more about you, Mission. Really? You want to know about me? Nobody's ever really been interested in me before. What did you want to know?  This was before the gang wars were out of hand, but even then the Vulkars were scum. A few of them were hassling Big Z, trying to pick a fight - but he wasn't looking for trouble.That seems like a bad idea.   Anyway, I don't like Vulkars at the best of times. And when I saw them picking on this poor Wookiee - all alone on a strange planet, overwhelmed by the big city - I just lost it. I screamed out 'Leave him alone, you core-slimes!' and charged right at them. One of them saw me coming and slapped me so hard he just about knocked me cold.That also seems like a bad idea.   Those Vulkars didn't scare me. They're nothing but cowards. I knew how to deal with them. Of course, I never got the chance. I guess Zaalbar didn't like seeing me get smacked around. He let out this howl and yanked that Vulkar a meter up off the ground and held him there by his throat.  The other two screamed and ran off. Can't say I blame them. The first time you see an angry Wookiee up close it isn't a pretty sight. I thought Zaalbar was going to rip that punk's arms off and beat him to death with his own fists. The Vulkar was so scared he fainted. Or maybe Big Z's breath just knocked him out. I keep telling Zaalbar to brush those choppers of his, but he never listens. Just stay upwind when he's speaking and you'll be fine. Anyway, I knew those Vulkars would be back with friends, so I grabbed Zaalbar and we took off. Ever since then we've been a team. We look out for each other, you know? We're pretty far from Kashyyyk.  Doesn't much matter to me, though. I accept him for what he is, not what he was. Me and Zaalbar like to live in the present. How did you survive before you met Zaalbar? What's that supposed to mean? You think I can't take care of myself? I've got street smarts! I know how to get by on my own! In fact, I look out for Zaalbar more than he looks out for me, you know? Big Z's a little bit too gullible to make it alone on the mean streets of the Lower City.   My brother's a touchy subject, you know? It just so happens I don't really feel like talking about him right now. Nothing personal. Let's just get back to the business at hand, okay?Yeah, I'd wager Zaalbar might be more appreciative of us saving him from the Gamorrean slave hunters than talking about him, so let's get a move on.  More rakghouls.  Even more rakghouls. In case you hadn't noticed, there are lots of rakghouls down here.  As we cut a swath through the horde of rakghouls, Mission levels up. Generally speaking, I'll be going with the recommended skill point applications for the party members, so from here on out I'll only show the Skills screen once for each companion so you get a general idea of their skillset.  Mission has the Dueling feat, which means an attack and defense bonus of +2 while using single one-handed weapons. Because I tend to prefer dual-wielding, I actually never noticed until right now that Dueling actually applies to both melee and ranged weapons.  I really wish there was a cosmetic option to keep the party members' default appearance regardless of the equipment they're actually wearing, like RPGs these days tend to have. The brown combat uniforms are just so tedious to look at.  Eventually, we come across a dead Sith soldier who obviously got on the wrong end of a rakghoul attack. He's got a bunch of goodies on him, but the one we're after is the rakghoul serum. We'll take this to Zelka at the clinic once we make it back to the Upper City, but that'll be a while so we'll hold on to it for the time being.  Party members can also have conversations with each other, and they're often a lot of fun.  Yeah, but that's only since the Sith occupation. Before that... well, I guess it wasn't all that different, really. Hmm... maybe Taris ain't as great as I thought, you know? Trust me, Mission. There are a lot of worlds better than Taris. There are worse, too. But Taris is no place for a kid to live on her own - even a kid who's got a Wookiee to look out for her.I'm sure Carth means well, but he should know already that Mission does not take kindly to people calling her a kid.   It's like we're traveling with a bunch of children. Well, Mission actually is one despite her protests, but you know what I mean.  Guys. Guys, please. We're supposed to be rescuing Zaalbar, not bickering amongst ourselves.   Carth just got owned by a teenager.  To the northeast, we see a crashed escape pod. We also see several mines of the Minor Frag variety, so we have Mission recover them to be sold later on.  The only thing of interest near the pod is this Republic soldier, who must be a survivor from the crash. We should have a chat with him and see if he knows anything about Bastila.  Well, that's not going to help.  Fortunately for him, we've got the rakghoul serum and enough doses for several people, so we're able to help him out.  To administer the serum, Zila walks over to the soldier and stares at him.    Bastila? She wasn't in this pod. We were tracking her pod just before we hit the planet's surface. It went down somewhere to the west. We lost the signal when our own pod crashed. Maybe... wait - what was that? Did you hear that? I thought I heard something. I didn't hear anything.That'd be because there was no sound effect or anything to indicate something's going on.   The terrified soldier runs off before we can question him any further...   ...and proceeds to run directly into the claws of a waiting rakghoul, which he really should've seen because he was looking right in its direction. Well, that's one dose of the serum down the drain.  However, we earn some light side points and that's what matters. We kill the rakghoul and its friends and continue on.  Here's one of the entrances to the sewers. We're not going there just yet, because there are still things for us to find here in the Undercity, specifically the western part of the area.  As we head west, we run into Canderous and some of Davik's men.    Hm... by looks of you I'd say you're down here for the same reason we are: to salvage something from those downed Republic space pods. Let me give you some advice: forget about it. Do yourself a favor and just head back the way you came.  This isn't a good place to stand around chatting. The Undercity is crawling with rakghouls. I've already lost half a dozen men to those monsters. More rakghouls? What a surprise.  And here they come. Time for yet another rakghoul fight.   Pictured: Yet another rakghoul fight  Okay, boys... we're getting out of here before I lose anyone else. I can't carry all this salvage back by myself! You'd be smart to get out of here as well. Even if you can handle the rakghouls I doubt there's anything worth finding anymore.  But the Lower City gangs got here first. Anything worthwhile in those Republic pods is probably in their hands now. Davik won't like that. What can you tell me about Davik? What are you, an off-worlder? Everybody knows Davik. He's a member of the Exchange. You know - the interstellar crime syndicate. Smuggling, gambling, extortion - Davik controls it all here on Taris. That's why I'm working for him. But lately the Lower City gangs have been giving my boss some trouble. What do you know about the Lower City gangs? This isn't really the place to have these kind of conversations. But I guess I could spare a couple seconds for you - after all, you did help us out with those rakghouls. The Lower City is overrun with gangs, but the two most important ones are the Hidden Beks and the Black Vulkars. Used to be the Beks were the big dog and kept the others in line. But lately the Black Vulkars are moving in on Bek turf and challenging them for control. The Vulkars are even starting to defy Davik! Take these escape pods, for example. Everyone knew Davik would want first crack at them, but I know for a fact those drat Vulkars have already sent their own salvage party down here.   Looks like he's only got one of the boys left at this point, the other two apparently got killed by the rakghouls that attacked us just now. Davik's gonna have to hire some replacements.   Carth levels up and learns Sniper Shot.  Yet more rakghouls. I'd also like to point out that Mission is fighting three or four rakghouls on her own there, and winning.  ...good work, Mission. Not even a scratch on her.  Past the rakghoul horde, we come across a dead Outcast.  This is Rukil's apprentice Malya who, sadly but not entirely unexpectedly, has lost her life in search of whatever it is Rukil sent her out to search for.  Her journal is intact, though, so maybe that will shed some light on the situation. Promised Land Apprentice Journal posted:This journal details the search for the Promised Land carried out by Rukil's Apprentice. Most of the entries are mundane; however, the last entry is quite interesting:  Interesting. Next time, we'll take the journal to Rukil and see if we can learn more about this "Promised Land", and then we'll head down to the sewers to fight more rakghouls and a small army of pig men! DMorbid fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Jan 6, 2020 |
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Jan 6, 2020 15:11
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And here’s where everything starts really going to hell with Taris. This whole sequence of dungeons within dungeons that lead to other dungeons, combined with the sheer amount of annoying-rear end enemies before you get access to the really good combat options, really marks the nadir of the game to me. If KOTOR were made today, at a minimum I’d figure that this whole Undercity area would be left on the cutting room floor, and you’d be streamlined directly from the Lower City to the sewers where Zaalbar is being imprisoned. And I guess Bastilla’s story would be minorly rewritten to something like “she was badly wounded in her crash landing in the Upper City, used the last of her energy to escape to what she thought would be a safe place to recuperate away from prying eyes, and had the horrendous misfortune to run into the Vulkars while she was half-dead and running on fumes”. Maybe also include a bit about how she still managed to take down half of her attackers before she was finally overwhelmed to establish her credibility as a highly-skilled Jedi that your party wants back on their side ASAP.
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Jan 7, 2020 04:53
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Doc M posted:
Isn't like removing half of the game? Or am I misremembering how long Taris actually is because of how much of a slog it is?
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Jan 7, 2020 05:43
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Taris still takes a good few hours even if you just bum rush it and only do the barest minimum to advance the plot, IIRC, but it’s not even close to half the game. It just drags on for so long that you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that it does.
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Jan 7, 2020 06:15
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Dunno why Taris gets so much hate. It's got a nice variety of quests and even the sewers aren't that bad. At least they come with a map. KOTOR 2 play through update: I'm convinced that everyone who remembers it fondly has forgotten how annoying the influence system was.
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Jan 7, 2020 15:19
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Part 7: Obligatory Sewer Level Last time, we explored the Undercity and fought a couple dozen rakghouls. In our travels, we came across the serum that cures the rakghoul disease, as well as something called a Promised Land Journal. The journal was kept by Malya, an Outcast who was the apprentice of Rukil until her untimely rakghoul-related death, so we'll give it to Rukil.  Your apprentice is dead. I have her journal. It is as I feared, then. She joins the list of those who have given their lives in the service of our cause. But though I am saddened by this news, there is yet hope. By finding my apprentice you have proved yourself worthy, up-worlder. You are to be the beacon on our path to salvation. You will guide us to the Promised Land!We will?   I am old - I have lived a hundred years in the Undercity, cast down into the darkness. I know the legends and history of our people - and now you must learn it, too. Very well - tell me the history of your people. The great city of Taris covers the entire surface of this planet. There is no land to grow food. Kelp harvests and the creatures of the sea are our only food source. A century ago rising levels of toxic pollution poisoned the oceans and famine swept the planet. The rich hoarded food for their own use, and the poor were left to starve and die. Excellent observation, Carth. Please let the man speak.  The rebellion was crushed in the end, thousands were taken prisoner. The jails could not hold them all, and so the practice of banishing all prisoners to the Undercity was born.I'm still waiting for someone to explain why these banished prisoners, who apparently numbered in the thousands, didn't try to fight their way back at any point instead of resigning to their fate and sitting here for a century.  Many brave men and women were banished here to the Undercity for their part in the rebellion. People like my father and grandfather were cast down, along with their families.  I still don't think... oh, whatever. I give up. The Promised Land. Let's do this.   For many years I searched for the Promised Land, just as my grandfather and father did before me. When I became old and gray my apprentice continued the search on my behalf.What? Why in the hell would someone build a self-sustaining "paradise" beneath the Undercity of all places? "This way, one and all! Come visit us at our beautiful self-sufficient colony of wonderment, where the finest Tarisian ale flows freely and droid servants attend to your every need, and we do mean every need! The entrance is to the southwest, behind the 583th pack of rakghouls." Or was it built by some ultra-rich recluse who wanted to get away from other people?  Carth has a point for once, and it's completely understandable how most Outcasts treat Rukil as a weird old lunatic. The Promised Land sounds too good to be possible.  But I know my father and grandfather each had journals where they recorded their own discoveries. Perhaps with their journals I could at last uncover its hidden location.Still, Rukil seems to be convinced the place exists, so we'll humor him.   I'm afraid that only with all three journals - my grandfather's, my father's and my apprentice's - will I be able to discover the location of the Promised Land. I will leave this journal with you for safe keeping for now. Perhaps it will aid you in your search for the others. I wish you luck, up-worlder - for the sake of the entire village.We'll get on that. First off, though, there's something else we need to do in the village.  We did get the rakghoul serum, and the Outcast healer said they had locked some infected villagers in this quarantine pen back here. Maybe we can do something to help them out.   I'm going through those gates to try and help the infected ones! I can't stop you from going through the gates, up-worlder. But if the infected ones have already transformed into rakghouls you'll be walking into your grave. Good, they haven't transformed yet. Maybe we still have time.  Certainly, just let me give you a dose of this serum and...  ...well, poo poo.  So, here we get to observe the actual moment of transformation. As it turns out, the infected person will appear fine until the mutation triggers fully and the infected is engulfed in a flash of bright light.  The one on the left seems quite happy to be there.  This scene is unbelievably goofy for something that's clearly meant to be dramatic and horrifying. I realize they didn't have the tech for gruesome Resident Evil mutations, but even then this looks incredibly silly and probably should've been cut out because it utterly undermines what is supposed to be a serious moment. In any event, we at least give these poor bastards a dignified end.  How about these two, then?   I'm pretty sure these guys will turn if you spend too much time asking stupid questions, so we'll just give them the cure immediately.    Hey, they actually bothered to animate it this time. That's just the medpac/stimulant animation, but it's better than nothing.   Thank you, up-worlder. You have saved us from a fate worse than death. I only wish I had some reward to give you. Maybe you can find something worthwhile in the wreckage of that Republic escape pod. We already checked that and found nothing, but never mind that. At least we managed to help these folks and stop them from turning into ridiculous monsters.  With that, we earn some more light side points and level up.  I decided to work on our Demolitions a bit more because I had to put those points somewhere. Another rank of Computer Use/Repair or even Treat Injury would probably have been more useful because we're too dumb to effectively use Demolitions and can't really disarm anything at the moment, but if we put enough points in the skill we'll eventually be able to do something with it. We won't be lugging Mission around all the time, after all.  More importantly, reaching level 6 nets us Improved Scoundrel's Luck, which increases our Defense bonus by a further two points.  I wish I had some type of reward to give you, but we Outcasts have nothing. All I can offer is the gratitude of the entire village.It's fine. Now that we're done with that, we should head back out and get to the sewers.  As we head towards the gate, Igear stops us.  You know, most people don't believe his stories - they figure he's nothing but an old kook. But I think there might be some truth in what he's saying. That's why I want to stop him! For an Outcast, I've got things pretty good. The village relies on me to bring in food and supplies - I'm an important man. If it wasn't for Gendar I'd be running this place. But if Rukil ever finds his Promised Land, I'm sunk. People won't need to rely on me anymore. I'll just be another nobody like all the rest of the villagers. I won't let that happen!That would truly be the greatest tragedy of our time. I'm pretty sure I wrote this exact comment when this same scenario popped up in the Jade Empire LP.  We'll tell Igear to gently caress off.  The two explorers who went searching for the Promised Land might have found something. They might have found clues or evidence - just like Rukil's apprentice! They would have recorded that information in their journals. I'll pay you if you bring all three journals to me - the two from the explorers and the one from Rukil's apprentice. Then I can destroy the evidence and make sure nobody ever finds the Promised Land! I've saved up enough credits from my business here to make it worth your while if you help me. Apparently, there was some part of "gently caress off" he didn't understand, so we'll tell him again.  Once you have all three journals just bring them to me and I'll give you a decent reward. Now, was there something else you needed?No. gently caress off.  Now that we got that out of the way, let's actually make our way to the sewers.  wait hold on    "Why are we misspelling the word 'embarrassing'?"  I never knew my parents, my brother always looked out for me. He's the one who brought me to Taris. I was just a kid, only five. But I remember the trip - if you could call it that. We were stuffed inside a packing crate in a star freighter's cargo hold with just enough food and water to make the trip. Not exactly first class, you know?   The only way to get off the planet was to smuggle ourselves out. I mean, I don't want to make it sound like we were criminals... well, maybe my brother was. See, this is why I don't like to talk about it. It makes Griff sound worse than he really was. My brother had his problems, but he always looked out for me.  He showed me how to slice into a computer's security system; how to get inside a locked building without the entrance codes, and how to spot a wealthy mark for a quick shell game. Considering her former line of work, it'd be quite hypocritical for Zila to moralize about this stuff.  I really miss him since he left. I keep hoping he'll come back some day. He promised me he would.   I don't want to talk about Griff and Lena - just the thought of that space tramp makes my blood boil! Subject's closed as far as I'm concerned! If I'm going to be any help to you I can't be worrying about my brother running off with some intergalactic skank! So, is there something else you need?I like how they specified "space" tramp and "intergalactic" skank.  Setting aside Mission's family history for a moment, we head down to the sewers. Lovely.  The sewers are crawling with Gamorrean raiders, as expected. The basic ones aren't too nasty, but there are some stronger guys as well and they pack a punch.  Since the Gamorreans use their war axes for combat and there's not a lot of room to maneuver around in the sewers, we should switch to melee weapons. Our two-weapon fighting ability is finally decent enough for two swords to be a viable option, so we equip the prototype vibroblade and a short sword, which has a smaller off-hand penalty than regular swords. That is a decent increase in our damage output, although we'll be likely to miss more often.  There is a button to twirl the swords around on command, but I couldn't find it on the Xbox controller.  The sewers are a maze of ugly, brown tunnels with entirely too many doors, and I always end up going through the wrong ones at first.  This one leads to a dead end with a bunch of rakghouls, but there is something actually important here.  Namely, the second Promised Land journal. Promised Land Journal posted:This journal is a record of the long and difficult search to find the Promised Land. It contains many half completed maps and cryptic notes, all attempting to decipher whether the legend is true or simply a child's fable. By itself this journal does not contain enough information to solve the mystery, however it could be a valuable piece of the puzzle. We can't make heads or tails out of it, but maybe Rukil is able to decipher the notes and maps.  More doors. More Gamorreans. More fun!  This door leads to a force field. That path leads to the upper sewers and the Vulkar base, but we can't do anything with it until we rescue Zaalbar.  Seriously, too many drat doors. To our right is the Gamorrean compound, but I want to find the last Promised Land journal before we do anything else.  Hey, we managed to stun something with Critical Strike! That rakghoul is dead as poo poo, or at least it would be if its buddies weren't blocking the path.  Some of these ladders lead back to the surface. Don't go back to the surface, because the enemies here will respawn.  Guys, would you please stop ganging up on us? I know it's a good strategy to focus your attacks on the target with the lowest amount of health, but it's very rude.  Even more doors. As someone who easily gets decision paralysis when presented with multiple paths in RPG dungeons, I despise this place.  I guess we'll go through the door in front of us, which leads to more rakghouls.  These doors actually lead directly to the Gamorrean compound, as we did a loop and kinda came in the back way. This is not optimal, because had we come in through the front we could've reprogrammed a nearby combat droid to help us with the angry Gamorreans.  This was a really bad idea.  A really, really bad idea. The Gamorrean elites are bad enough, but the chief hits like a freight train full of trucks made of lead. His regular attack damage is bad enough and will easily cleave off half of Zila's health with a single swing.  Then he hits a loving critical on Zila and one-shots her. I think her max HP is 36 at this point!  Many bad things are happening right now. Somehow, we manage to take down the chief before he is able to kill anyone else, which will make the situation much more manageable.  We're also helped massively by the fact this Gamorrean elite is too lazy to join the fray. Not having him swinging his axe around already helped, but since he's not attacking us right now, Zila is also able to get up and heal. That was a bit more intense than I would've preferred, and that's why you should repair the droid and go through the front door.  At least we survived, just about.  The nearby weapons locker contains Zaalbar's bowcaster, so Zaalbar himself is probably nearby.  One of the Gamorreans also dropped a belt that increases our Fortitude saves from 0 to 2.  You can't use conventional security spikes on these old locks, but don't worry. I've come across them before. I've rigged up a little device that should do the trick.A bomb?  I guess not.    Who's that with you? These are my new friends, Big Z. Without them I never could have got you out.  You have saved me from a life of servitude and slavery. There is only one way I can ever repay such an act: I will swear a lifedebt to you. A lifedebt? Are you sure about that, Big Z? Think about it carefully. You better be sure about this. I am sure, Mission. This is an issue of great importance to me. Because of our great physical strength, Wookiees are being used as slave labor on our own homeworld. They see us as brutes and animals to be exploited. Over the years slavers have taken many of my people; we must always be on guard against raids against our villages. When the Gamorreans captured me, I thought I was doomed to a life of servitude. l have been saved from such a fate, and the only way I can repay that is through a lifedebt.I think KotOR was the first time I actually saw Wookiee dialogue translated to English.   That is very much what that means, yes. Note the "subtle" callback to the original Star Wars film, where Leia calls Chewie a walking carpet.  A lifedebt is the most solemn vow a Wookiee can make. It means he'll stay by your side for the rest of your life - wherever you go, whatever you do, Zaalbar will be with you. In the presence of you all I swear my lifedebt. Forever after I will be by your side, Zila Galcyon. May my vow be as strong as the roots of the great Wroshyr trees of Kashyyyk.   The rear end in a top hat responses seem to be extra assholish here for some reason.  Oh, right, the Vulkar base and the prototype swoop accelerator. I almost forgot why we were going into the base in the first place.   I can't remember exactly how to get there, but I know it was somewhere here in the sewers. Over to the northeast, if I remember right. I just hope the rancor monster isn't still there.  Luckily rancors aren't too bright. I was able to sneak past it before, so I'm sure we'll figure something out. That is, unless you want to change your mind.Eh, what's the worst that could happen?  Okay then, off we go. Like I said, somewhere to the southeast. Just look for the force shield and we'll know we're there.You said NORTHeast, Mission.  [You can switch party members using the PARTY SELECTION screen, accessible by pressing A while on the map screen. This button is disabled in areas that are considered dangerous.] Having sworn a lifedebt to us, Zaalbar is now a party member!  The Party Selection button, by the way, is actually enabled while we're in the sewers, so clearly this is not considered a dangerous area. We'll take him along because we've spent more than enough time dealing with Carth for now.  Your first instinct might be to equip Zaalbar with his bowcaster, but he's much more useful out front as a melee fighter due to his obscene strength and constitution. As a Scout, Zaalbar is also able to equip implants, but we don't have any at the moment.  You can do a lot of things with Zaalbar, but I just end up boosting his Treat Injury skill so that he's even harder to kill. If you go for the recommended points allocation, Zaalbar will end up quite handy with computers, which I always though was pretty amusing because I can just about imagine him hunched over a keyboard. I'd love to see artwork of Zaalbar using a computer.   Since Big Z's going to be a melee combatant, we'll give him Improved Flurry. It reduces the defense and attack penalties from the basic Flurry feat by 2.  Holy poo poo, look at that HP and STR and CON. Extremely low charisma, though, because the developers are clearly racist against Wookiees. He's also not going to dodge very many attacks with his 11 Defense, but he's got so much health that it doesn't really matter.  We still need to find the remaining Promised Land journal before we can proceed, so let's wander around some more and kill more Gamorreans.  In fact, now that I think about it, your breath has been pretty rancid ever since we rescued you from those Gammorean slavers. What did they feed you, buddy?Yes, they misspelled Gamorrean in the subtitles.    "Arm of a guards"? Come on now, guys.  Wookiees do not brush their teeth, Mission! It... it just isn't done! What humiliation will you use on me next? A comb? Okay, relax. No toothbrush. Sheesh. Just try to eat something else to cover up that smell, okay? Stay away from anything that's smart enough to lock you in a cage this time. *sigh* I'll take care of it as soon as I can, Mission. For now, let's stay focused on the task at hand.These two are so much better than Carth.   In the room with the combat droid we could've reprogrammed to help with the Gamorreans, we also find the last Promised Land journal. We can't decipher this one either, so let's return to Rukil.    Hmmm... yes. Yes! Of course! Now I understand - it all makes sense! Now I see why the Promised Land has been so hard to find! It is so obvious! You have done a great thing, up-worlder - a selfless act that will bring great joy to all the people of this village! I must take this to Gendar right away!Apparently, there was something useful in those journals after all.   What... no. It can't be! Are these real, Rukil? Is this information accurate? I swear to you everything in these journals is true, Gendar. The Promised Land - I told you I would find it! The entrance is far from here, Rukil. It will take us weeks to get there... perhaps even months. And we will have to cross many rakghoul infested areas. I do not deny the journey will be hard, Gendar. But surely it is better than the miserable life we have here! Wise words, Rukil. Our supplies are high right now - we could leave by nightfall! I will tell the others to prepare for the journey. Thank you once again, up-worlder. I will say a final goodbye, for where we are going I fear you cannot come. The journey to the Promised Land is long and arduous. I'd really like to see this Promised Land, but we have a job to do so we can't exactly drop everything and run off with this bunch. So, we'll just bid Rukil and the Outcasts farewell and wish them luck on their quest.   And thus, the Outcasts set out for their long and arduous journey to the Promised Land. Will they find it? Will it be as amazing as the stories described it? Will the Outcasts have a happy ending to their story after all? (According to The Old Republic, the answers to these questions are "yes", "no", and "gently caress no" respectively, because no one in KotOR or KotOR II is allowed to have nice things in the Old Republic continuity)  We are left in a now very empty Outcast village. There's nothing else for us here, so we'll return to the sewers.  Now then, let's get rid of this force field.  I picked them off the pocket of a Black Vulkar who had a little too much to drink in the cantina one night. Here, let me get that energy field down for you. Mission enters the codes into the console, and the path to the upper sewers is open.  The upper sewers look very much like the lower sewers. The one interesting thing we see in this area is a bunch of rakghouls having a fight with Gamorreans. Who's going to win?  If you guessed the rakghouls, congratulations! Give this guy a high five!  More doors to choose from. This time around, only one path contains anything of note and that is the actual way forward.  Further up, we run into this malfunctioning droid which will shoot us on sight. Mission could probably use stealth to get rid of that mine without alerting the droid, but I use stealth so rarely that I completely forgot to even consider that option.  It doesn't even matter, because the gas mine completely fails to poison anyone anyway.  One of the dead ends has a Gamorrean raid leader, who seems fearsome but is easily disposed of with Critical Strike and Sneak Attack.    You're making this up! I groom every day! My hair is not tangled, and it's not going gray! You know what, let's tease Zaalbar a bit. Don't worry, Big Z. It's nothing I can't fix. A little trim, a splash of coloring and you'll be as good as new. Best looking Wookiee on the planet. Maybe a nice suit...  Close enough. Now I want to see a picture of Zaalbar dressed in a suit, operating a computer.   Okay, okay. Sheesh. Try to offer some constructive criticism and this is the thanks I get? Let's move on. You can just stay naked and scruffy for all I care. I don't even want to know what this is doing here, but it is holding something.  That something is a Hidden Bek datapad, as well as some sort of synthesized odor. Synthesized Odor posted:This appears to be a timed release device for a strange substance. The liquid has a very pungent odor. Maybe the datapad will tell us what this thing is for. Bek Datapad posted:This datapad seems to detail plans the Hidden Bek had to get into the Black Vulkar base. Of note is the following: Interesting, though it clearly didn't help the former owner of this arm very much. Presumably, he tried to flee the rancor and ran for this hallway, but got chomped before the door closed.  Well, so much for hoping the rancor had quietly wandered off.   The corpse pile here contains items that don't seem particularly crucial. Instead of picking them up, you want to switch to the Give Items menu, which up until this point has never been used and first-time players might not even have noticed the option existed (back in the year 2003, 16-year-old me slowly raises his hand and doesn't know why).  So, what you want to do is place the synthesized odor in this pile to lure the rancor out. You can also place some other crap if you want to clean out your inventory, but the synthesized odor and at least one grenade are important.  The rancor notices the odor and is clearly intrigued.  For some reason, I always found it funny they decided to subtitle the rancor's snorts like this. Not even *Snort*, but "Snort, snort" like the rancor is actually saying the words. I'm quite easily amused.  The rancor, on the other hand, is not amused by the surprise we left in its dinner.  Poor guy.   Mission and Zaalbar level up, but there's nothing particularly interesting to show off there.  Now, if you were so inclined, you could attempt to fight the rancor or try to sneak past. Neither of these options is recommended because the rancor will very easily kill you in a single hit, but you can give it a shot.  Past the now deceased rancor is the path to the elevator leading to the Vulkar base. These guys aren't going to pose much of a problem.  Next time, we'll break into the Vulkar base and go racing. DMorbid fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Jan 7, 2020 |
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Jan 7, 2020 15:55
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Taris has a shocking number of ways to die instantly for an intro level Fight Calo Nord at the bar Threaten the undercity elevator guard Fight the rancor Also I don't find the outcast thing that unrealistic. We're talking generations of social conditioning. I'm reminded of the third class passengers on the Titanic waiting for someone to tell them what to do until they drowned.
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Jan 7, 2020 16:14
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