All About Arcanum

It won't start at all? Happened to me when I tried using a bootleg. I applied the no-cd patch (which is official, by the way), but I got thrown to the desktop in the loading screen.
Point of the story - get the original copy and it should work like a charm.
 
I'm going to replay Arcanum soon, but in the meantime I'm looking for modules. The temporary downloads page at Terra-Arcanum (http://www.terra-arcanum.com/phpBB/dload.php) isn't very verbose but they do list a number of fan modules:

battlearena.zip, Deep15.zip, dungeon_of_quests.zip, EscapeTarant.zip, Grayhills_Alpha.zip, terror.zip, tki_demo_v2_music.zip, virgil_the_pervert.zip, WhiteSands.zip

There are also what they call "Troika Modules" - are these official free add-ons like Trials of the Luremaster for Icewind Dale?

buriedsecrets.zip, deathmatch.zip, dusty_dunes.zip, hellgate.zip, the_dungeon_crawl_v2.zip, time.zip, woodmir_race.zip

Does anyone know these modules well enough to recommend a few? Are the Troika modules all playworthy? Do they add to the main campaign or are they standalones like Vormantown? I don't mind a dungeon crawl as long as it's well done and lets you play around with character builds. Is there another place where I can see what the mods and hacks do without having to download them?
 
I do believe they're all stand alone. But I never could get any to work for some reason.
If you're looking for something to add to the main game, try Polished Carcanum if you haven't already.
 
I've tried to play this game so many times since it came out. I would get really into it, but never managed to keep going past the wheel clan. The combat was pretty awful but like others said, really awesome rpg. Makes me want to play it again.
 
sickfuck_diablo said:
I've tried to play this game so many times since it came out. I would get really into it, but never managed to keep going past the wheel clan.
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Heh, me too :) .
 
sickfuck_diablo said:
I've tried to play this game so many times since it came out. I would get really into it, but never managed to keep going past the wheel clan. The combat was pretty awful but like others said, really awesome rpg. Makes me want to play it again.
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The Wheel clan is pretty far into the game, I'm surprised you stopped there. I couldn't stop after I got out of shrouded hills.
 
Well I only got that far the first time, and the character I made really sucked. So I think I may have just started over with a new one and given up somewhere along the way.. The other times I didn't get that far before losing interest. I think the last time around I tried to play it in RT too, not sure why.
 
RT combat is a lot harder than the TB combat imo.

as for "a character that sucked", well, there are some very easy tricks to make a character that rocks hard. if you want to try again i'm sure we could give you some advice on that. ;)
 
sickfuck_diablo said:
Well I only got that far the first time, and the character I made really sucked. So I think I may have just started over with a new one and given up somewhere along the way.. The other times I didn't get that far before losing interest. I think the last time around I tried to play it in RT too, not sure why.
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I had a similar problem. I got all the way into the region where the final boss would be, but got screwed over. The character I made was basically just a grenade thrower, and I ran out of grenades. Since all my saves were in the same lair, I just gave up. While I've made powerful characters since... I've never played enough to get to the end.
 
SuAside said:
RT combat is a lot harder than the TB combat imo.
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I've always regarded RT combat as horribly broken, if you use guns that is; you can just kite everything to death, even things that'd kill you in one hit in TB mode.
 
Vault 69er said:
I've always regarded RT combat as horribly broken, if you use guns that is; you can just kite everything to death, even things that'd kill you in one hit in TB mode.
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at the same time a melee char with higher DEX can kill most creature before they have the chance to hit them in TB.

at the same time, a powerful mage casting low level spells from afar after engaging combat in TB does extremely high damage before his turn is over an will likely kill whatever he's casting at.

hell, i'm not even speaking of the potion of haste which basically turns the most inept fighter into Rambo... Potion of Haste + high speed weapon + TB = seemingly unending amount of moves or hits before your turn is over. :twisted:

doesnt really help that you can buy a potion of haste as early as the starting town. ;)
 
Sorry for digging this up, but I didn't want to start a new Arcanum thread.

I'm trying to get into this game, but I find the character creation to be fairly confusing.

Any tips / suggestions for a first time player? I don't really have a preference for a character type, but I'm just looking for a character to have a good time going through this game for the first time.

Thanks in advance guys.
 
First you gotta decide: Tech or Magick (or both?)(or neither?)

If you side with tech, you can make cool schematics and build new weapons and items. Tech has a whole category of skills (firearms, lockpick, traps, and another that I forget). Personally, if you go for tech, I recommend a gunslinger character. I have the most fun with them.

If you side with Magick, then you have a whole slew of schools to choose spells from. Definitely pick "harm" no matter what. It is pretty powerful as a level 1 spell. Purely for convenience, go through all of the spells in Conveyance, teleport is very, very nice. If you go with Magick, you probably want to use a weapon also, because sometimes Magick alone is not enough.

Alternatively, you don't have to pick Magick or tech, you can use both or neither. If you use both, your tech skills will not be as good and your spells will not be as good, but you can use both. You can also simply add all of your points into fighting skills only, and not add any points into tech or Magick. (not recommended for first playthrough though).

Skill ratings (very, very personal)
Combat skills:
Bow - have never personally used it. I kinda hate arrows clogging up the inventory (a lot).

Dodge - essential skill for ANY player. Your health lasts so much longer.

Melee - Most weapons are melee, but its more of a personal choice. there are tech and magick melee weapons (but mostly magick)

Throwing - there ARE good throwing weapons in the game, and my throwing-mage combo was a very fun playthrough. There are tech and Magick throwing weapons, but mostly magick again.

Social Skills

Gambling - not very useful

Haggling - purely meh. It is convenient to be able to sell anything to anybody though...

Healing - have never used it, so I have no idea

Persuasion - personally I love this skill because I love being charismatic. You can pick up more followers and generally get people to like you more.

Technology - Magick users will suffer in these skills

Arm/disarm traps - never used it, not too many traps in the game though (hardly any).

Firearms - great fun for techno guys, there are some very interesting guns out there.

Repair - never used it before. You can always just spend money and get stuff repaired yourself.

Thieving

Backstab - never used it. Should probably be used with prowling

Pick pockets - great if you love to steal things. A lot of NPCs have unique weapons and armor on them. Not essential though. For small things like keys, save, try, reload works.

Prowling - never used it, seems kinda useless.

For attributes, put points into dex always. It enables you to build Dodge and gives you more action points. I hardly ever put points into beauty or endurance. Put points into strength to build Melee, put points into perception to build throwing or firearms, etc. Tech characters will need intellegence. Magick characters will need willpower (and some int). Persuasive characters will need charisma, etc.

If you are having trouble finding the right background and are going for a perceptive character, go for the monk background definitely. The added skill point for like 300 gold is so worth it.

If I think of anything else I will add it.
 
While making a character, is it more important to spend the initial points on building up attributes like STR, DEX, etc, or to put points into the skills (ie: melee, dodge, etc).
 
Well, you can normally think of a skill like dodge having 5 levels. Each point spent gives you one level. However, each level has a requisite attribute that must be at a certain level. For example, in order to get Dodge level 2, you need 9 dex. Because of this, it is good to spread out your points pretty evenly between attributes and skills. A good way of doing this is to raise your skill as high as it can go, and then work on raising the requisite attribute, and then raise your skill one more level, etc.

For starting out, I usually try to get two points in a skill and the rest in its requisite attribute. Remember that you can put points in tech and magick schools too.
 
Are you two serious? If you just want to get into the game, look up a character creation in a Walkthrough. I'm sure you're no stranger to gamefaqs.

From there see what you like and tailor it to your own style. You spend points on attributes which let you spend more points improving your skills, so you're never really bound by the choices you made when making the character other then race, sex, and birth sign.
 
Von Drunky said:
Are you two serious? If you just want to get into the game, look up a character creation in a Walkthrough. I'm sure you're no stranger to gamefaqs.

From there see what you like and tailor it to your own style. You spend points on attributes which let you spend more points improving your skills, so you're never really bound by the choices you made when making the character other then race, sex, and birth sign.
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I was just curious about the "in's and out's" of making a character in Arcanum.

Nothing wrong with swapping ideas.
 
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!


Magick = easy

Pure melee = easy

Tech = more difficult, but more fun in combat

Good combo is: Tech + Throwing + Dodge + Firearms (add points to Perception, but don't overdo it, study schematics that allow you to make thingimajigs that raise your perception or go for Disarm Traps skill and get the Trapmaker's Spectacles).

Good stuff to study: Electricity, Smithy (Featherweight Armour rocks) + Molotovs (you don't need more than that, they are excellent when you are being overrun by foes, it scatters them into all directions) + Poison antidote (if you have to rely on Virgil to do it, he might cast spells on you until he falls down from fatigue.

You can make the awesome Tesla Gun if you study Electricty and buy books at Tarant University (Gun Smithy).

Limit your followers. Take Virgil if you're new to the game and maybe Sogg Mead Mug from Shrouded Hills (add onepoint to Charisma to get him to join you). Later in the game you can swap him for Sebastian ffrom Tarant, if you feel like it.

If you go Tech: give Virgil bandages because his healing spells will stop working on you once you become too Tech oriented.

Tech: lockpick might come in handy. I always pick it for the extra quests + XP points.

Also: don't waste points on Intelligence if you're going Tech. Buy Potions of Intellect from gypsies instead, they add something like 10 points to your INT for a brief period of time, but that's enough to learn a schematic and/or make a new gadget. Use the books from Tarant University to make stuff you didn't study (found schematics).

Magick: what the other guy said: Harm is useful troughout the game, and the first spells from certain colleges (the ones that raise certain stats) are very useful. Add Teleport to that. Thieving is nice too for Magick users, since you won't need as much cash as a Techie. Think about a back-up weapon. Melee is great if you don't have many followers, but if you do Bow can be good too (although boring after a while). Magick users + persuasion + backstab + prowling = uber-character. Summoning college is nice. I once defeated the end boss with nothing but Vorpal Bunnies and didn't have to lift a finger myself. Fun times.

Also go for the dog, he's the best follower in the game. You and the dog = perfect combo à la Vault Dweller+Dogmeat. You don't really need more, but if it is your first game, bringVirgil along 'cause his story has some nice twists here and there.

:roll:

Damn... now I feel like playing another game of Arcanum... Damn you! And it's your first time and all. You'll fall in love with it or you'll hate it. There is no middle way. :wink:
 
Yeah, I remember the Flame Axe (Featherweight Axe + Gasoline?) to be one uber weapon. The Dog also kicks ass.

The Tech trees are fun, but I remember spending an inordinate amount of time digging through trashcans for stuff. And with only a few exceptions, the guns suck. OTOH, later in the game you can have some really neat gear (Electro-Armor, Harpoon guns, Fire Axes, etc.)

Magic users have it easy in the game. Pure melee users too.

Good times. I'm replaying the FO games, maybe I should give Arcanum another run.
 
if you got stuck with a bad character in the middle of the game, try some character editors. i did use it on my first playthrough because m character was made out of "heck i dont give a fuck" and "damn am i drunk".
 
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