I stayed far, far away from this game for 8 solid years because of all the bad things I heard about it (and the so-so reviews it received), but I can honestly say, this has been the most fun I've had with a D&D game in quite some time (probably since BG2 and Planescape).

Many, many props to those games, but ToEE is clearly the best turn-based D&D game out there - has anything come out recently that even touches this as far as a true authentic D&D experience?

I'm old school, a BIG fan of AD&D 2nd Edition, but the 3.5 rules have grown on me considerably since I've been playing Temple.

Many thanks also go out to the makers of the Co8 mod - what great additional content!

I really wish we could see more classic D&D settings using the ToEE engine.

Ravenloft anyone?

Have you tried the Knights of the Chalice demo?

http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/Download.htm

It has the turn based tactical hardcore goodness of ToEE with indie production values.

I haven't.

I'll check that out though, thanks.

Yeah, TOEE is definitely one of a kind as far as D&D stuff goes, as in you would have to go back to the Gold Box stuff to get something similar, but none of that is available legally anymore.

Maybe in some alternate universe the tech behind it became the next Infinity Engine, but of course it had to be made by Troika (i.e. Unfinished at launch, bugs up the ass) and be released in 2003, right when RPGs of that style stopped becoming financially profitable. It's a pity, because I think the engine behind TOEE is more than half of what makes that game so interesting.

Thanks Robo! Based solely on your recommendation I'll be clicking the buy button with nary a demo download. (Okay, I'll at least try the demo to make sure it runs on my rig first.)

Regardless, good suggestion. Keep 'em coming...

Edit: Yikes - No Gog pricing on this baby! When's the holiday sale?

Yeah i know just what you mean about the pricing, quite a few indie games seem to go for the $20-$30+ price point. I played through the demo several times before i decided to finally get it...still it is cheaper than some of the other stuff out there. At least try and check out the demo if you have the time, well worth a playthrough.

I'll give you links to three other favourite indie sites on the chance you may not have heard of them;

http://www.avernum.com/avernum6/index.html

Spiderweb games. Again not cheap but i reckon you might really enjoy the later Avernum games (4-6) and the Geneforge saga. Best part, the demo's are fricken' huge! You actually download the whole game and if you like it can purchase a code that unlocks the rest. Avernum games are turn-based, tactical and story driven.

http://basiliskgames.com/eschalon-book-i

Eschalon Book's 1&2. Lone hero type stuff. Turn based, nice tile based graphics and music, great character development and deep. dark dungeons that require liberal use of torches or magic light!

http://www.crypticcomet.com/

Two awesome 4X type board games. If you like strategy and some very sweet artwork check out the demo's. It had been many years since i had cursed and spluttered at 'unfair' die rolls until i started playing Armageddon Empires.

Ok sales pitch over :)

Let me know what you think if you check any of them out.

Will do. Much appreciated.

In return, I offer you the Matrix Games / Vicious Bytes game Titans of Steel.

[url=http://www.matrixgames.com/products/237/details/Titans.of.Steel:.Warring.Suns]http://www.matrixgames.com/products/237/details/Titans.of.Steel:.Warring.Suns[/url]

Fantastic Battletech boardgame-style game with a stellar price point (free). One of the lead programmers has continued to support it for nothing but love in the Matrix Games forum too. That should warm your indie-loving heart to the core.

Well, if you don't mind Neverwinter Nights, check out Ravenloft: Beyond the Gate. A very fun downloadable module.

http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Modules.Detail&id=3990

Cheers for the link.

I actually found out about it from another GOGer a while back and stuck a good few hours into it. Have you grabbed the extra campaigns from the Titan Map room? Great game, i just wish there was some nice artwork (Armeggedon Empire style) of the mechs your characters use to bolster the ingame graphics....

Never have so many rookie mech pilots fell over in battle than when i started playing that game. Damn i wanna play it again now.