Posted November 15, 2012
You don't need a credit card to buy games on GOG, if you've got a bank account, you can use PayPal. If you don't have a bank account but you have real life friends with a GOG account, you could give them the cash and they could then buy you the games you want and "gift" them to your acount.
As for your problem with older CRPG, like others have said before, if you don't like the combat in these games per se, sadly it's an important part in all of them, and often more dominant than the stories, which aren't all that special in the majority of cases (excluding Planescape Torment which you already played through). If it's just the constant missing that bothers you - while it's always a possibility in these games, if it happens as often as you describe, it sounds as if you're building inadequate characters. And I think that's very likely if you don't have zero knowledge about D&D. A certain familiarity with D&D rules can really make a difference here, even for the games who don't use it, as many work similarly. The problem is that there are several different sets of D&D rules used by games, from D&D 1.0 to AD&D 2nd edition, D&D 3 and 3.5 and so on ...
Btw, what are the other four classic RPGs you tried? I believe you only mentioned Fallout and Divine Divinity? Have you already tried Neverwinter Nights? It suffers from the same hit and miss issue if you've got a bad character build, but the good thing is that it's a lot easier and more beginner friendly than the older D&D games, and if you've got the chance to play it online, you can easily find other players who'd be willing to teach you the D&D rules while playing with you. You might also be able to join an actual D&D session with other players and a live Dungeon Master; not sure if some also offer these things for beginners, to introduce them to the game. Another advantage are the myriads of user-created adventures freely available for it, some with fantastic stories and less hack-and-slash than the official campaign or other classic CRPGs.
Lastly, there are several classic RPGs with a bit less complex stat systems and more player controlled combat action. You already played Bloodlines, what about Arx Fatalis and Gothic (the latter one is not that easy in the beginning though). Have you tried Morrowind (personally I don't like it, but it's a classic and more action-oriented) or Oblivion? Dark Messiah of Might and Magic? Did you try Nox? Or classic tile-based dungeon crawlers like the Eye of the Beholder series, Lands of Lore, Stonekeep (these are based on similar hit-and-miss systems as other D&D games, but they have less stats and skills to keep an eye on and are easier to understand)?
As for your problem with older CRPG, like others have said before, if you don't like the combat in these games per se, sadly it's an important part in all of them, and often more dominant than the stories, which aren't all that special in the majority of cases (excluding Planescape Torment which you already played through). If it's just the constant missing that bothers you - while it's always a possibility in these games, if it happens as often as you describe, it sounds as if you're building inadequate characters. And I think that's very likely if you don't have zero knowledge about D&D. A certain familiarity with D&D rules can really make a difference here, even for the games who don't use it, as many work similarly. The problem is that there are several different sets of D&D rules used by games, from D&D 1.0 to AD&D 2nd edition, D&D 3 and 3.5 and so on ...
Btw, what are the other four classic RPGs you tried? I believe you only mentioned Fallout and Divine Divinity? Have you already tried Neverwinter Nights? It suffers from the same hit and miss issue if you've got a bad character build, but the good thing is that it's a lot easier and more beginner friendly than the older D&D games, and if you've got the chance to play it online, you can easily find other players who'd be willing to teach you the D&D rules while playing with you. You might also be able to join an actual D&D session with other players and a live Dungeon Master; not sure if some also offer these things for beginners, to introduce them to the game. Another advantage are the myriads of user-created adventures freely available for it, some with fantastic stories and less hack-and-slash than the official campaign or other classic CRPGs.
Lastly, there are several classic RPGs with a bit less complex stat systems and more player controlled combat action. You already played Bloodlines, what about Arx Fatalis and Gothic (the latter one is not that easy in the beginning though). Have you tried Morrowind (personally I don't like it, but it's a classic and more action-oriented) or Oblivion? Dark Messiah of Might and Magic? Did you try Nox? Or classic tile-based dungeon crawlers like the Eye of the Beholder series, Lands of Lore, Stonekeep (these are based on similar hit-and-miss systems as other D&D games, but they have less stats and skills to keep an eye on and are easier to understand)?
Post edited November 15, 2012 by Leroux
