Dungeon Siege - How the hell was this ever popular?

[Mr. Magniloquent]

The OP was right. When I played it the first time I remember being shattered by the feeling of the decline.

when is the first time you played it? last week? Because when it originally came out, it was mind blowing. It had no loading screens!

That was about where it ended though. DS1 looked good for the time starts with good atmosphere, but the game quickly turns into a kind of auto-pilot. It has only the slightest bit more depth than Gauntlet Legends, without the arcade pacing. First time I played it was in 2008. I think the engine was undertuilized and suffered from poor game mechanics. It could have been an open world medieval fantasy equivalent of Freedom Force.

I did try DS2 on a recommendation by a friend, and it is much better. Still lightweight, but improved on every level.

 

[thesecret1]

It was pretty meh even back then, lol. But it was pretty and it wasn't like you had an RPG lying under every rock, and the dungeons themselves tended to be fun to explore – I don't recall it being a linear corridor. More like the world at large is one big corridor, but the dungeon is a big maze with one entry and one exit. I'd rate it , maybe a bit on the upper side.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

@anyone The question: Did you like better/worse than Darkstone?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

@anyone The question: Did you like better/worse than Darkstone?

The comparison doesn't even track. As a hack and slash Darkstone has way more interesting mechanics and randomization. All DS got is an army of blokes and prettier grafix

 

[Krivol]

When I bought DS it was like a year after its release. Everyone takes to me - 'it's the best game ever! It got 10/10 in magazine XXX! You must play!'

Then I played/ Oh boy... what a crap of shit.
Big h'n's tunnel without loading screens (still a tunnel, mind you) with excellent graphics and a rotative camera. But... there is no game!

FFS! You don't play it! You just press LMB in a place where your guys should go, and then they go and kill everything there BY THEMSELVES!

All you do is decide what they wear. Really! Calling it THE BEST GAME EVAH! is offensive. Calling it a good game is moronic.

Still, DS 2 was much more fun to play and the Ultima 5 mod is excellent (at least you have a story and characters there). Buy it just for Lazarus.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

But…….

I PITTY DA FOO WHO DON’T PLAY DUNGEON SIEGE!

 

[Sarathiour]

It was pretty meh even back then, lol. But it was pretty and it wasn't like you had an RPG lying under every rock, and the dungeons themselves tended to be fun to explore – I don't recall it being a linear corridor. More like the world at large is one big corridor, but the dungeon is a big maze with one entry and one exit. I'd rate it , maybe a bit on the upper side.

Dungeon level design was pretty solid for the time, a few actually got different entry/exit point, like the one in the swamp.

 

[Bastardchops]

Did anyone play Space Siege? Apparently it was somehow worse.

 

[thesecret1]

Did anyone play Space Siege? Apparently it was somehow worse.

I did. It was underwhelming. I liked that you had the option to either go cyborg or become pure übermensch (it even affected the story, that was cool), but everything about the gameplay was bland and the story was mediocre. Really, all throughout it felt like the setting they picked demanded more mechanics and player freedom than was on offer, making you feel disappointed with what little there was.

There was nothing especially bad about it, but it was utterly forgettable save for the cyborg mechanic.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Don’t forget that Space Siege is almost never mentioned. It…. Well, is different in not such a great way compared to dungeon siege. I went out of my way to track down a copy to install. It feels much more clunky than DS imho.

 

[Modron]

I did. It was underwhelming.

Space Siege or Restricted Area, gun to the head which one would you play?

 

[Bastardchops]

I did. It was underwhelming.

Space Siege or Restricted Area, gun to the head which one would you play?

Restricted Area. Only because I don't know anything about it.

 

[Bastardchops]

I did. It was underwhelming.

Space Siege or Restricted Area, gun to the head which one would you play?

Restricted Area. Only because I don't know anything about it.

Ok I looked it up I'd rather play Space Siege.

 

[Bastardchops]

Were the Dungeon Siege sequels just as bad?

 

[Modron]

I never got far into Dungeon Siege 2, the character system seemed much improved but otherwise it didn't impress me.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I never tried DSIII

Eh…Oh…

 

[thesecret1]

Space Siege or Restricted Area, gun to the head which one would you play?

Space Siege. It was underwhelming, but not... whatever the fuck that other game is

Were the Dungeon Siege sequels just as bad?

Second was more of the same, but better. Third, I barely remember. I vaguelly recall it being very different from the other two, and pretty generic.

 

[Darth Roxor]

dungeon siege 3 is great i highly recommend it

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

I never got far into Dungeon Siege 2, the character system seemed much improved but otherwise it didn't impress me.

DS2 is a decent game, but the character system is its outstanding weak point. Although I guess it is technically much improved from the first part, but that one was an absolute dumpsterfire other than the great engine.

 

[agris]

Getting DS1 working in Windows on modern graphic cards is an excercise in frustration. I tried on both Win XP and 7 and gave up, then tried on Wine in Linux and it worked without any problems. This Microsoft-backed game works better in Linux than Windows in 2023...

here: have a 5,000 word guide on how to do it, hosted on github

https://github.com/GenesisFR/DS1TroubleshootingGuide

 

[kuniqs]

Getting DS1 working in Windows on modern graphic cards is an excercise in frustration. I tried on both Win XP and 7 and gave up, then tried on Wine in Linux and it worked without any problems. This Microsoft-backed game works better in Linux than Windows in 2023...

here: have a 5,000 word guide on how to do it, hosted on github

https://github.com/GenesisFR/DS1TroubleshootingGuide

No GPU listed in DSVideoConfig?
- enable Direct Draw you fucking retard, maybe try turning the PC on while you're at it
or
- follow yet another goddamn guide about replacing arcane hieroglyphs with other arcane hieroglyphs in your graphic card config, which can potentially fuck it up

Thanks bro. This is what Windows is about: ease of use, transparency, convenience.
Why run the game in Linux out-of-the-box for free when you can pay to mess up your 3D accelerator config following random advice from the Internet?

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

Yeah gameplay is - and always was - shallow, story basically non-existant. But I remember how hot it looked back then and how nice music and world design immersed me - for some hours at least. I never finished it. I much more enjoyed the Addon and Dungeon Siege 2 (but also never finished both). So while I agree it's be no means a good game, it has one reason to exist: As the basis to run Ultima: Lazarus.

 

[Jaesun]

The open world with no loading screens was back in the day cool. I don't honestly remember much more than that other than it being a rather bland world/setting/story and just mindless hack and slash. And as said above, it's one and only usefulness is the excellent Ultima: Lazarus mod.

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

The open world with no loading screens was back in the day cool. I don't honestly remember much more than that other than it being a rather bland world/setting/story and just mindless hack and slash. And as said above, it's one and only usefulness is the excellent Ultima: Lazarus mod.

I owe you a salute and a heartfelt thanks a bunch, my good man. It was your tutorial that helped me experience Lazarus the first time all these years ago. Can't find it again though (the tutorial that is)...

 

[SixDead]

dungeon siege 3 is great i highly recommend it

I liked it more than Dragon Age 2. But I was young obsidifag.