Senestoj: You should play the game with co8 new content version. I'm not a fan of mods, and often stick to small utility mods. But despite co8 new content is fan made contents, and they even had the gut to add new vocals, as a non native English, I felt the writing and even vocals was feeling quite pro, beside a few exceptions for both. Some design choices are a bit weird, but despite those aspects, co8 new content version seems improve largely the game, that's why I think it's more pertinent to comment the game with the co8 nc perspective, it's really a special case.
EchoOfMidgar: I am not a fan of fan-made mods neither but yeah as TOEE is such an unpolished and incomplete game, I may give it a try. The Co8 mod restores the cut content and brings entirely new locations, quests etc, but those are not based on any cut content.
I'm not a mod fan too, and it's not bad in that context to have played the original. Myself I did but it was a long time ago.
But the question remain for players not used to use any mod, and with a first play to do, with co8 or not? I switched back to co8 modback from co8 modback new content, to attempt get back something closer to original mood and skip fans made content. Alas now co8 without new content has still some new content. It seems co8 evolved to add more and more changes even without new content.
Some examples quoted in co8 not new content version:
- Few NPC or dialog only half pro, I admit the original game have some that can be considered with same lower quality, but it's not respecting original to add more.
- Some pre created characters changed, added or removed. I suppose there's good reasons, but it's weird to have remove or change some. I know it's meaningless for most players, not for me, and again I can't imagine why this was mandatory.
- One henchman removed, perhaps he is elsewhere, but I find that annoying when I would want play original only with as many fixes than possible.
- Some town quests are clarified but it makes them more straight forward.
- Some town quests are changed, and even I can see what was wrong before, still effects on dialog flow with town NPC is negative.
- At start of game many shops with many items allow buy start equipment instead of having them auto provided, it breaks the adventure mood fun at beginning and along a play to find new items in town, or even later in a play. One of those shop allows choose the automatic selection, but any player will have the curiosity to check other shops, and then be spoiled of a lot too many items.
- The option to skip RNG HP at level up is only Max HP at level up, but this means double HP for which the game isn't made. At least it's optional.
- Could not be a normal bug for this co8 modpack but for save files no snapshot, just a black rectangle, that's not the best for the mood and it's not practical.
- Henchman are humble and there's no choice, but it's weird, it makes dialog with them related to fee a non sense, and you can steal their items and don't get any gold penalty from hiring them. That's a big change to original and it adds multiple incoherencies.
- Some relative half nudity elements have been added, I'm not prude, but it's not original mood of the game.
- A teleport is added in town, it teleport or fast travel to many part of town even not found yet. The game has already a fast travel, and many NPC providing directions. This is mood breaking and should have been optional.
On another way, for a first play there's many reasons to play with co8, at least the non NC version, for example:
- The path finding range is quite increased, it generates sometimes more weirdness, but it's still a huge improvement overall.
- Originals quest that could break from bug or design bug have now much more chance to be achieved more properly.
- There's a huge list of fixes, from avoiding quests break in many cases to plenty rules fix, and many more fixes.
- The original henchmen design for loot is a total absurdity for items, that a big point to get rid of it.
- There's a lot of standard items that's been added, they won't unbalance the game and should support better some very special builds.
- When new vocals are added it seems fit (for a non native speaker) the overall quality of the game on that, and it's a good plus.
- The first town is a lot more filled with NPC and it gives a much proper mood less amateurish, the counter point is many NPC with nothing to say, but identify them isn't a big hassle, just a click open a popup short dialog that will close itself and hinting it's not a NPC with dialog.
- Various containers was added to first town, nothing complex, but it helps make feel the game less weirdly empty on some aspects. And the loot will hardly unbalance anything and should be good to take for most party.
And even you can wonder for a first play if it's not better to choose the co8 new content version. The point is if you like the game at end of this first play, you would have a lot of extra content to play with your party past original end and past level 10.
In my opinion, even for a player not used to play with mods, it's a rude choice for a first play. But I won't suggest a best choice for a first play. And even for windows players, it's more complex, as there's another mod, TemplePlus to use or not, with co8 or not. I'm not concerned because this other team (unlike co8) has no care of wine and non windows os, hence few chance you make it work properly with wine, even less with co8.
At some points I thought it was a non choice, and pick a co8 version was the only coherent choice even for a first play. But now I don't know, despite the huge amount of bugs in original and fixed by co8. At reverse for a replay, co8 is an obvious choice for me.
