So since this game is on sale, I've been learning about it and I'm tempted to buy it. The only thing that worries me is how the game is compared to FO, and it's even created by some of the same guys. For whatever reason I just can't get into FO. It feels slow and confusing to me, and I know it's a post apocalyptic world, but everything looks so ugly. And I'm not talking graphics. Arcanum, however, looks like a lot of fun and hearing all the crazy combinations of characters you can make sounds awesome. Would I be wasting my time, though with this game? Are there any fans of this game out there who didn't like the original Fallout?

I'm not the best with words, or putting my thoughts into words, so I might not be much help. But I will say this.

I have played Fallout twice. I've never completed it, but I've played. I enjoy it somewhat, but for the most part, I find it a tad boring. Something about it makes it hard for me to get into. However, I love Arcanum. A lot. It is much prettier than Fallout, and it has a lot more color.

I can't really explain it better than that, but just know that I am not a really big fan of Fallout but I absolutely love Arcanum.

I hope I helped a little.

This did help. Thanks.

A lot of people have been telling me to stay away if I don't like FO. But I don't hate FO. There are just things about it that bother me. I've made multiple characters, and tried multiple times. I just can't get into it. The main character doesn't interest me at all. And the characters you can make in Arcanum sound really interesting.

Also, I think you nailed it about my problem with the way FO looks. There's no color. Like I said, I understand why, but it still sucks to look at it. I want some forests, or a castle, or some waterfalls or something, anything.

How is combat in Arcanum? Does it feel slow like FO? I don't mind turn based at all. I like a lot of turn based rpgs, but FO just feels so slow. Also, waiting for my turn and missing like 5 times in a row and then dying doesn't help to make me want to keep playing FO.

Combat can be slow sometimes. Especially early on you will miss a lot (though possibly not as much as Fallout - I can't really compare well, I've played Arcanum much more than I've played Fallout 1 and 2).

In terms of color Arcanum is much brighter and warmer than Fallout. There is one section of Arcanum where the environment is similar to Fallout, but that is for good reason and it isn't a huge section of the game.

There are some gameplay samples on youtube if you want to get a feel for what the game looks like.

There are different settings for combat in Arcanum. You can use full turn-based combat, which is slowest, but is my preferred method because I like time to think and plan my strategies. Then there's fast turn-based, where enemies' actions are sped up so they happen really fast and you get back to your turn quicker (you can do a similar thing in the Fallout games by adjusting the "combat speed" slider in the options). Finally, there's real-time combat. I found this moved much too fast and was really hard to control, but some other players prefer it.

Even on full turn-based I didn't think that combat was too slow, but that might just be personal preference. I liked being able to see clearly what each of the enemies was doing on their turns so I knew how to react once my turn came back up. But you can experiment with the different settings to get one you like, and of course you can switch between them at any time.

As for the comparisons to Fallout, Arcanum is definitely it's own game. In many ways it is reminiscent of Fallout, mainly in how there are always several ways to get around every obstacle, there are moral choices to make, and there are a vast array of different character builds and ways to roleplay through the game, meaning you'll want to replay with lots of different characters. But it's also different to Fallout in many ways; Arcanum has a much stronger plot and in some senses could be seen to be more linear than Fallout, there's generally more combat in Arcanum and it's better streamlined than the system in Fallout, and the world of Arcanum has a very different feel than Fallout. Some have argued that Arcanum is not as well balanced as Fallout, in that certain character builds will have a much easier time than others, but this didn't really bother me... even if a certain build is harder, it's still fun. As I played Arcanum, I could tell that it was by some of the Fallout developers but it still felt unique and different.

I would recommend checking it out even if you weren't a huge Fallout fan. If you do decide to try Arcanum, be sure to grab the Unofficial Patch (check the sticky thread) for lots of bugfixes. Also consider the high-res patch for allowing custom resolutions (including widescreen, which the original game did not support), and you might also want the High-Quality Townmaps for some nicer-looking environments.

As always, Waltorious (awesome name, btw) is a wealth of information. Still, I'd just like to reiterate something that's already been alluded to regarding Fallout. I've played through the first one 3 times & the 2nd one twice. I love that its cold, dark, barren, and desolate...it really sets an atmosphere for immersion. But its also a very specific setting, and post-apocalypse isn't for everyone.

Arcanum is a much more generic fantasy-style world, so I'd say its not as specific of a setting. The storyline, however, really makes the game...very strong, with a nice array of surprises & twists. And the customization of your character as he/she advances is just phenomenal. Essentially, you'll want to look over the various disciplines tech & magic and decide what it is you want to work towards. On my first play-through, I focused on Summoning monsters & worked my Charisma up to a point where I had a mini-army of followers to do my work for me. This time I'm playing a tech-based thieving halfling. There are just SO many ways you can play this game, its amazing.

Thanks for all the information guys. I did end up getting it and started a game yesterday.

I chose to play as an ugly dwarf thief named Hector who was raised by trolls and likes to make molotov cocktails in his free time. :D

Which have actually helped a lot, especially with the bandits at the bridge.

Good choice of character! I hope it stays interesting and you enjoy the game. :)

If your going to be ugly buy a smoking jacket from the tailor in tarant and wear it in towns so everyone doesnt hate you.

Good question. I am an enormous fan of the first two Fallouts. I have played through each not less than a dozen times. I recently purchased Arcanum from GOG precisely because of how many people claimed it was similar to Fallout. So far Arcanum has been great.

If you're asking whether or not it's possible to dislike Fallout but like this game I'm sure it is. If you're asking whether or not YOU will like it, my guess is you probably won't. The graphics are obviously different. Whether or not they're "better" is totally subjective. The games differ from each other in many other ways (plot, setting, character building) but fundamentally they are similar. To put it another way, Arcanum is just as slow (if not slower) and just as confusing in the sense that it's not always clear where you need to go, what you need to do, or how you should be doing it, so if that was something you didn't like about Fallout you won't be able to get into Arcanum either.

Hope this helps.

Did you have problems with the bridge bandits too? I hate those guys they beat the crap out of me and Virgil so many times, and then it all changed when I found an explosive grenade and crafted myself some spike traps and kicked their ass, I love how you can throw a grenade right in front of your character and all the enemies around you get the hell knocked out of them and slung to the ground, after the traps and grenade only one of the ogres was left and it took about one shot to finish him off.

I just got the game a few days ago and I love it, could anyone tell me how long it takes to complete most of it, I hope that it takes a hefty amount of time. As for Fallout I think its a good game, when I truly first played it I had a blast, I still need to complete it though and my old save is gone(it was messed up anyways I was trapped in Boneyard by deathclaws) and I had a computer virus problem come up. Overall Arcanum is awesome I love everything about it aside from not being able to see the helmet I purchused recently and some other minor things it really is a great game, I hope that the big map I look at in the game will have a lot more dots on it when I get further into it and that it will last me some time more than most games as the map makes it look like like it has at least a hundred or so locations.