Do they still make old-school RPGs anymore?

[Max Stats]

Let me start out by saying that I used to love playing the SSI RPGs way back in the old days. So I was wondering if anyone still makes RPGs like those anymore? In particular, I am interested in something that is turn-based, where you create a party that you can balance however you want--all fighters, magic-heavy, etc. Preferably it should conform to an AD&D ruleset--I'm not really pick about what version. High-quality graphics are nice but certainly not a requirement. I don't care if the game is several years old, even, as long as it will still run.

The last game that I played that almost exactly met my specifications was Wizardry Gold. Neverwinter Nights came very close; it is not strictly turn-based, but you can pause and direct the action at your own pace. My only objection is that while it is party based, you only get to create one character and the rest you build from PCs you meet along the way (thus limiting you to what the designers put in).

Others that I have already played:

Baldur's Gate
Dungeon Lords
Elder Scrolls: Morrowwind and Oblivion
Fallout I, II, & III

I have started Dragon Age: Origins but only played a little bit so far; I have also purchased The Witcher but have not started playing it yet. So, is there anything better out there for me?

[pampl]

It's going to sound a little kooky, but try the Flash game Monsters' Den (one place it's hosted is here). Not a D&D ruleset, but you have to make a party of adventurers and explore a dungeon filled with turn-based fights between your group and a group of bad guys. No story or dialogue to speak of, though.

[konijn_]

Let me start out by saying that I used to love playing the SSI RPGs way back in the old days. So I was wondering if anyone still makes RPGs like those anymore? In particular, I am interested in something that is turn-based, where you create a party that you can balance however you want--all fighters, magic-heavy, etc. Preferably it should conform to an AD&D ruleset--I'm not really pick about what version. High-quality graphics are nice but certainly not a requirement. I don't care if the game is several years old, even, as long as it will still run.

The last game that I played that almost exactly met my specifications was Wizardry Gold. Neverwinter Nights came very close; it is not strictly turn-based, but you can pause and direct the action at your own pace. My only objection is that while it is party based, you only get to create one character and the rest you build from PCs you meet along the way (thus limiting you to what the designers put in).

Others that I have already played:

Baldur's Gate
Dungeon Lords
Elder Scrolls: Morrowwind and Oblivion
Fallout I, II, & III

I have started Dragon Age: Origins but only played a little bit so far; I have also purchased The Witcher but have not started playing it yet. So, is there anything better out there for me?

For Iphone/Ipad try Undercroft, good old times !

T.

[Derakon]

There's the games made by Spiderweb Software (particularly Avernum). They don't use D&D rules but they're make-your-own-party turn-based RPGs.

I kinda preferred the Exile series, of which the Avernum series is remakes (until they made Avernum 4 anyway), but oh well. Avernum's still quality stuff.

[Cazliostro]

I would suggest you visit Good Old Games - also known as GOG (just google either phrase). They are a company that specializes in aquiring old games from the 90's & early 00's, patching them up, modding them to run on modern systems and selling them as convenient all-in-one packages that are easily downloaded and DRM free. They have many old titles which you may not have heard of but are of excellent quality such as Icewind Dale, Temple of Elemental Evil, Planescape: Torment & many other titles.

[bulian]

PS:T and BG2 are by far and away my favorite games. A strong recommendation for both of them. While BG2 is more likely to fit your criterion of making a party and balancing it how you want (to do so, start a game in multiplayer mode), the story and gameplay in PS:T is incredible. Both games have very good, fun NPCs that can join your party. Lastly, BG2 has a lot of replay value, in part because of a rather large modding community. A good place to start looking for mods is gibberlings3 or spellhold studios.

Gah, now I'm going to have to go play PS:T.

[dos350]

u like oblivion etc, maybe u will like game: vampire the masquerade.. if u play, please get latest patch and even the community patch...

also i can highly reccomend most squaresoft(NOT ENIX, EEE) games, and also diablo2 expansion hardcore uswest ladder, eee!

[ekolis]

Heh, I thought Square and Enix merged years ago... what about games released since then? I can't even remember which one made which series anymore... Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, etc... they're all "Square Enix" to me :P

*summons a Drushocka to gobble up all the EEE*

[Ycombinator]

(Scraping the thread for RPG titles.)
I've picked up NWN2 at the recent Steam sale. That's pretty much my first CRPG besides Angband. I was thinking about getting BG2 or PS:T from GOG to start with, but decided to stick with a more modern D&D CRPG incarnation. They're still in my roadmap, though. Maybe playing these games within a time frame of a few months*, rather than a decade, will help to determine if the grass was truly greener and trees higher in the old days :-)

(*) Well, given that after 25 hours of playing I'm roughly at the first third of the original campaign, and with two expansions awaiting, “a few months” can be a bit optimistic estimation.

[Cazliostro]

It can be painful... painful to retrain one's thinking back to AD&D 2e if one is used to D&D 3.5e. I had to re-read the armor descriptions several times (4 is better than 5!). Trying to remember the attribute bonus system is all but impossible for me now (does a ranger need a minimum Wisdom of 14? Is that just a +1 in 2e? A Constitution bonus beyond 16 only applies to fighters... and also Paladins?) ...it's dreadfully clunky compared to 3.5e. The difference between those editions is just stunning. It's the difference between tables that need to be consulted and universal mechanics that can be applied to multiple situations on the fly.

I grew up with AD&D 1e & sometimes still peruse the books for nostalgia's sake, but as time goes by I don't think I can really enjoy CRPG's based on older editions. They seem more like an exercise in limitations than anything else. But on the other hand these are well made games with beautiful maps, deep, rewarding stories, massive mod communities, challenging tactical puzzles, etc. ... it's an esoteric obsession, I guess.

I would put them in this order:

1. Planescape Torment (AD&D 2e modified so main character has 4 classes)
2. Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 (AD&D 2e)
3. Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2 (2e & 3.5e respectively I believe)
4. Temple of Elemental Evil (D&D 3.5 - best CRPG implementation of 3.5e IMO)
5. Icewind Dale 1 & 2 (AD&D 2e)

[Magnate]

It can be painful... painful to retrain one's thinking back to AD&D 2e if one is used to D&D 3.5e. I had to re-read the armor descriptions several times (4 is better than 5!). Trying to remember the attribute bonus system is all but impossible for me now (does a ranger need a minimum Wisdom of 14? Is that just a +1 in 2e? A Constitution bonus beyond 16 only applies to fighters... and also Paladins?) ...it's dreadfully clunky compared to 3.5e. The difference between those editions is just stunning. It's the difference between tables that need to be consulted and universal mechanics that can be applied to multiple situations on the fly.

I grew up with AD&D 1e & sometimes still peruse the books for nostalgia's sake, but as time goes by I don't think I can really enjoy CRPG's based on older editions. They seem more like an exercise in limitations than anything else. But on the other hand these are well made games with beautiful maps, deep, rewarding stories, massive mod communities, challenging tactical puzzles, etc. ... it's an esoteric obsession, I guess.

I would put them in this order:

1. Planescape Torment (AD&D 2e modified so main character has 4 classes)
2. Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 (AD&D 2e)
3. Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2 (2e & 3.5e respectively I believe)
4. Temple of Elemental Evil (D&D 3.5 - best CRPG implementation of 3.5e IMO)
5. Icewind Dale 1 & 2 (AD&D 2e)

IWD2 uses a bastard implementation of 3e, and IIRC NWN1 was full 3e. BG2 has several enhancements/customisations over straight 2e.

IMO there is a *colossal* difference between NWN1 and 2. NWN1 is right at the bottom of the list for me, while NWN2 is near the top (between PST/BG2 and BG1).

I have never played ToEE.

[Max Stats]

Just wanted to drop a quick note to say thanks to everyone for the suggestions so far; I haven't had time to look into them yet but rest assured, I will! And if anyone else has any suggestions, keep them coming! Hopefully others here can find them useful as well.

[rdermyer]

For Iphone/Ipad try Undercroft, good old times !

T.

I really like 100 Rogues. It is not free (maybe $2.99? It goes on sale every once in a while for in between free and that, I think) and "slightly" buggy, but the developers are active in the forums and development isn't static.

[Mondkalb]

The Might-and-Magic-Series might be worth a try.
They use their own rules other than D&D but you get a party of 4 and you may choose between real time and turn based combat.
I'd suggest MM VI or VII for a start.

[snoop]

Frua

If it's the Gold Box experience you're after, you couldn't do better than Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures (FRUA). This is a builder you can use to design your own Gold Box style adventures. There is a small but still active community of FRUAites at http://ua.reonis.com, and over the years since FRUA came out (about 1991) they've done a lot of stuff with it, including hacks to go beyond what the original was cabable of, and quite a few high quality adventures have been produced which were just as much fun and just as epic as the SSI games were.