Torment: Tides of Numeneneneenenena - It's like Planescape: Torment only moreso.

[Ineedahero]

What, how is there not a thread about Torment? It's the best game of the year and I have been playing it nonstop. In it you play a guy (or girl) who wakes up falling from the sky, and fighting a writhing mass of tentacles inside your head called the sorrow. Aside from that you know practically nothing, and so you wander through an inscrutable world full of magic and beings from other universes and mostly try to bullshit your way out of fighting because the combat sucks.

Yes, that is also a pretty excellent description of Planescape: Torment, the best Dnd crpg, which is no coincidence, as Torment Tides of Numenera is a spiritual sequel to PST, and seriously, the devs nailed it. I played PST again in January in preparation, and TTON is like playing it again, but with a new story and better resolution. About the same amount of bugs.

Anyway, let's talk about it. Who do you have in your party? Have you found anything cool, or noticed anything weird? Like weaponised memes?

 

[Larry Thorne]

Numanuma is a third rate game not delivering half of its promised features with flaws so numerous the codex has 161 pages dissecting it. http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/torment-tides-of-numenera-release-thread.113925

 

[Honeybunny]

I'm pretty sure you're the only person I've heard who said Torment didn't fail miserably at copying what made Planescape so good

 

[GeorgeDaMoose]

Torment isn't anywhere near Planescape's level, but it is fun. Also the art looks fucking terrible compared to PST imo.
And man the question the game is based around is retarded.
"What does one life matter?"
Really piss poor philosophical question to center your game around. Doesn't get your noggin joggin' like "What can change the nature of a man?".

 

[ShittyRecolor]

Torment isn't anywhere near Planescape's level, but it is fun. Also the art looks fucking terrible compared to PST imo.
And man the question the game is based around is exceptional.
"What does one life matter?"
Really piss poor philosophical question to center your game around. Doesn't get your noggin joggin' like "What can change the nature of a man?".

My first concern about Numenera was of the generic character design as well, too bad that it goes deeper than just looks. I still intend to pick it up eventually, but I'm also not as hype about it as I was years ago. How's the moral system, though? Last time I've seen it was when the game was still being kickstarted, is it interesting enough to warrant ditching the traditional D&D alignment system?

 

[GeorgeDaMoose]

My first concern about Numenera was of the generic character design as well, too bad that it goes deeper than just looks. I still intend to pick it up eventually, but I'm also not as hype about it as I was years ago. How's the moral system, though? Last time I've seen it was when the game was still being kickstarted, is it interesting enough to warrant ditching the traditional D&D alignment system?

The moral system is kind of interesting in concept, but it looks like it really has no actual effect on gameplay or the story...so far. Not too far in.

 

[Larry Thorne]

There's no point to it.

 

[GeorgeDaMoose]

WHEW was pretty much totally right about the moral system. It does nothing aside from provide some flavor dialogue and add something to the epilogue. The ending was awkward as fuck. The main theme of the game was complete garbage.
It totally felt like they were like "Yeah Planescape: Torment had that really interesting main question of 'What can change the nature of a man?' and we wanna do the same thing, but we don't want to take the time to think of any interesting philosophical question to center the game around so instead we'll have a literally who character ask you 'What does one life matter?' and base our game around TORMENT TORMENT TORMENT because we can't use a thesaurus or anything and torment is the only word we know."
Kind of hilarious but disappointing. Also feel that Numenera itself is a really dumb setting. Wacky for the sake of being wacky. Lacks a lot of creative spark sometimes so they just throw in some kind of WACKY SUPER RANDOM shit to flavor it up. Like those random Philethis NPCs who are supposed to be super smart and mysterious, but speak in nonsensical riddles because LOL WACKY AND MYSTERIOUS.

 

[Lazuli]

WHEW was pretty much totally right about the moral system. It does nothing aside from provide some flavor dialogue and add something to the epilogue. The ending was awkward as fuck. The main theme of the game was complete garbage.
It totally felt like they were like "Yeah Planescape: Torment had that really interesting main question of 'What can change the nature of a man?' and we wanna do the same thing, but we don't want to take the time to think of any interesting philosophical question to center the game around so instead we'll have a literally who character ask you 'What does one life matter?' and base our game around TORMENT TORMENT TORMENT because we can't use a thesaurus or anything and torment is the only word we know."
Kind of hilarious but disappointing. Also feel that Numenera itself is a really dumb setting. Wacky for the sake of being wacky. Lacks a lot of creative spark sometimes so they just throw in some kind of WACKY SUPER RANDOM shit to flavor it up. Like those random Philethis NPCs who are supposed to be super smart and mysterious, but speak in nonsensical riddles because LOL WACKY AND MYSTERIOUS.

Yeah I've had no hopes for these "spiritual sequels" since Pillars of Eternity. Feels way more like a rush job to cash in on nostalgia to keep themselves running. I'd go looking for something original that isn't trying to pander hard to the "remember this game you loved?" crowd.

 

[GeorgeDaMoose]

Yeah I've had no hopes for these "spiritual sequels" since Pillars of Eternity. Feels way more like a rush job to cash in on nostalgia to keep themselves running. I'd go looking for something original that isn't trying to pander hard to the "remember this game you loved?" crowd.

To be absolutely fair it feels like a lot of these Kickstarted CRPGS try to pander like that.
I mean all of the inexile games have pretty much been "Remember this game you loved, we're making a sequel/spiritual sequel!".

 

[God of Nothing]

I hope a developer at least tries to be original and take a different approach the next time they have the half-assed idea to make a spiritual sequel to a classic game.