I have Questions!

[Guest DeepO]

So I just sung normally and sort of let it "slip" in places, not sure how it turned out...

 

Well, I got a suspicion it may be intentional You did a good job then, it's pretty hard to do such "slips" and not go too far.

 

As for the romance theme, on Youtube I've found this if it helps:

"i think its the one where this boy becomes a theif to help get money for his sick mother

and Fuu tell the mother that he was killed

im not sure though

i think its one of the first ten."

 

To be fair, I'm not into japanese culture more than into any other. I just enjoy googling and to some extend youtubing a lot It's almost like a hobby for me to start somewhere and let the references lead me to entirely different areas.

Though, I am rather big fan of Studio Ghibli films. Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro and especially Grave of the Fireflies are great pieces of art.

 

Anyway, great mod!!!

[Guest -Anonymous-]

(Moderate level spoiler review ahoy, ye have been warned!)

 

Well this review is going to be VERY incomplete. My computer is dying, can't play BG or much else for any significant amount of time before a crash. I can surf the web but that's about it. A new computer is in the offing, or will be when I've saved up the money.

 

So what I've got is two games, neither of which will make it to TOB. A male Kensai named Inigo (looks around to see if anyone gets the reference) and a female Priest of Talos named Lita. Inigo had just finished with Sawara, leaving only the Haer'Dalis Planar Prison to do before going to Suldanessalar, as Bhodi was already staked. Lita was taking on the Shadow Thieves.

 

I can't comment much on the romance, for those reasons, any further than I saw it get. So this will be as much of a review as I can do, until such time as I get a new computer, reinstall SOA/TOB and Angelo, and start again.

 

PROS

 

Angelo's character and voicing. He may be a Figher/Mage dual class, and I'm not complaining; but his character is a Rogue. What Haer'Dalis would hope to be on his best day, without the pretentious poetry. (Or Coran, for the BG1 vets) His wry, laid back, matter-of-fact sarcasm and wit won real points with me.

 

The Bounty Hunters quest. The first fight was hard only because my party is so relatively weak when it happens. (Next time through, I think I'll pick up Anomen or Korgan from the Coronet before getting Angelo). After that, each fight was smooth and appropriate to the level of the party.

 

Interjections with other party members. This is the real reason I download any new NPC mod, to see the interaction. With only two incomplete run throughs, I didn't get to see everyone, but high marks for his interactions with Yoshimo, and most especially Edwin. Especially Edwina! I also like what he thinks of each party member.

 

I was surprised by Imoen's reaction to him, but I shouldn't have been. and the mellowing out was well handled.

 

Romance. What I saw of it was just fine. (Though my little tart Talossian is still fuming that she couldn't just seduce him into being her lover without having to worry about being "in love", that's a roleplaying consideration and not in any way a knock on Angelo's character).

 

Usefulness as a party member. No complaints on this score either. A handy fighter early, a useful mage-that-can-hit later. First game I had him dual wield Celestial Fury (sorry SV, but I don't consider it "Cheese" if it keeps my characters alive) and one of the katanas you can get from the planar merchant in Adeventuerer's mart. Second game I CLUAd in the best TOB halberd, Ravager, and had him use that. Why? I dunno; he strikes me as an axe/halberd type for some reason, but again that's personal and roleplaying preference. Keep him away from the front line after the early rounds, and he more than pulls his weight.

 

Replayability. I can see myself replaying this mod long long after my other current mod, Amber.

 

CONS

 

His armor. I understand why we can't remove it, but surely it could be upgraded to something more effective later? Maybe the enhancement is dropped by the mages outside F's lair?

 

Sawara's Quest. The story itself is sound. But Sawara isn't, as the readme suggests, the Kara-Turan Aran Linvail. He's the Kara-Turan Irenicus, if, that is, you set the game two levels higher than you're used to playing it for this fight. Took me four tries to do it, and even then I only managed by using CLUA to kill him and just take on his Kensai boyfriend and the wolves. Even then, I lost a party member and nearly Angelo as well. I also think that Suu should fight for me rather than staying out of it. The readme says there's some dialogue option in addition to bribing Suu that will weaken him, but if so I didn't see it.

 

Immersiveness/Continuity with BG1. Sorry, that is not Angelo from BG1. Nope. Not even if he got off lotus and realized it was all a mistake. Not even close. Between the (excellent) voice acting, the total change in personality from psychotic lackey to laid back sardonic rogue, and the totally unsubstantiated Kara Turan background based on the sound of his last name? Nope. Not the same guy. Only way I can rationalize it is to presume that the real Angelo did survive, and put a major geas/whammy on some half Kara-turan schmoe who survived the Throne purges or just happned to be in the wrong bar where Angelo could find him. A geas and illusion spell so powerful that not only "Angelo" beleives it, but also every person who he comes across as well; meaning the PC, Imoen, any other BG1 vets, the Bounty Hunters, Sawara, Tazok, and one eventually assumes, Sarevok. That is not a criticism of the wonderful NPC you've created here, mind. He's great. He's just not Angelo. Not in any way, shape, or form.

 

OVERALL

 

I think I'll be playing this mod for a long time. Or at least, I will be once I get a working computer again. Four and a half stars out of five.

[Kelenthial]

Immersiveness/Continuity with BG1. Sorry, that is not Angelo from BG1. Nope. Not even if he got off lotus and realized it was all a mistake. Not even close. Between the (excellent) voice acting, the total change in personality from psychotic lackey to laid back sardonic rogue, and the totally unsubstantiated Kara Turan background based on the sound of his last name? Nope. Not the same guy. Only way I can rationalize it is to presume that the real Angelo did survive, and put a major geas/whammy on some half Kara-turan schmoe who survived the Throne purges or just happned to be in the wrong bar where Angelo could find him. A geas and illusion spell so powerful that not only "Angelo" beleives it, but also every person who he comes across as well; meaning the PC, Imoen, any other BG1 vets, the Bounty Hunters, Sawara, Tazok, and one eventually assumes, Sarevok. That is not a criticism of the wonderful NPC you've created here, mind. He's great. He's just not Angelo. Not in any way, shape, or form.

 

I must second that. That is not even a very personalized npc version, it is simply a different npc with the same name.

 

It may have some continuity with 'Fury', but not with BG. Sorry, SV. And, while we are at it, I would prefer to see fur-ierized (^^') version of Shar-Teel in BG2, rather than Angelo. Your Xan was also great (but that is out of question, of course),btw.

 

Other than that, your great writing and Kulyok's master coding constitute a great mod.

[berelinde]

Did you ever hear the voice for BG1 Angelo? He sounds like a ganster.

[Sister Vigilante]

First, thanks for the tips on the music I switched my latop DVD player's regional setting so I can watch my new, authentic Japanese anime; so I can't actually watch Champloo again to make sure, but--thanks!

 

[incidentally, I wouldn't want to give any newcomer the impression that Angelo is just a string of clumsily-welded anime references--there's references to plenty of other things too! A review of one of my old, old fanfics stated that it contained references to "everything on God's green earth" (and it did, from Elvis to the Third Reich to They Might Be Giants)--I'm a magpie, a Tarantinian at heart.]

 

As for the continuity from BG1, I can only bow to this. My memories of the original A. (such as he was) are hazy at best--although I think I did manage to play through that far when I was writing Fury, to get a taste. Although of course even then, I didn't much take after it...

 

minor spoilers commence as per original post

 

As for Sawara--I'm glad some people found the fight tough --although if anything, I'm concerned it might be tough in sort of a stupid way. With all of the fights, I was looking for ways to make them challenging without "cheating"--such as not being able to leave Sawara's house, for hopefully semi-good reasons; and getting jumped by Ginpachi out of nowhere. With Sawara, though--now this is no slight to K.'s rock-solid coding, but various constraints forced us to slap him with a "ready made" combat model. Originally I had hoped--since he's a sorcerer wielding a unique form of magic--to have him do something unique; and require a different strategy. As it is, he behaves basically like the other liches and supermages in the game. In future versions, the staging of the fight just might change, so keep an eye out

 

/spoilers

 

while we are at it, I would prefer to see fur-ierized (^^') version of Shar-Teel in BG2,

 

Honestly, I've personally found Shar-Teel a difficult character to write. If you've read Fury, I don't think she ever came alive in the sense (if I can brag a little) that others did. Originally--don't tell anyone--she made an appearance in Angelo NPC; but it was actually Kulyok's idea that it would be more effective if she never appeared; and I agree.

 

But if such a project came about, it would have my full support...

 

Finally though

 

I think I'll be playing this mod for a long time. Or at least, I will be once I get a working computer again. Four and a half stars out of five.

 

Thanks! I'm heartily glad you enjoyed what you enjoyed, and this goes for everyone.

 

Cheers!

SV

[Sister Vigilante]

Did you ever hear the voice for BG1 Angelo? He sounds like a ganster.

 

I would love it if someone could link to a clip or something, I haven't heard it in ages...It was sort of low-pitched, right?

[Sister Vigilante]

By the way,

 

Regarding references and such, the mod (like everything I write) is riddled with them, both to real and fictional things...That said--it's sort of a joke to say it would be easier to list the original stuff than the references, but there are a few original things in there that I as a writer find sort of interesting...such as

 

-The idea, in Sakaki, of a supposed "dead-speaker" who is in fact a low-grade telepath, reading the thoughts of the living and putting them in the mouths of the dead. I came up with this while planning a sequel for Fury that never got off the ground, and it's an idea I'll definitely revisit someday; since Sakaki is only the most minor of characters here.

 

-The story behind the Last Regrets armor is, as far as I know, not a reference to anything (surprisingly perhaps, since the name of the armor is)

 

-The image of Angelo waiting in graveyard I've enjoyed since I thought it up--granted having thought it up, only after there were problems putting him in the Gates and in the Umar Hills

 

-Angelo's interaction with the other NPCs is, I think, the most free of any element from outside the game, and for the most part rooted in the BG world--especially that with Imoen and Sarevok, although I couldn't resist a few inside jokes towards the end of the Imoen track

 

-Most of Angelo's jokes and one-liners I think grew organically out of the situations he was placed in--really, once you have a character with a certain attitude, these kind of lines write themselves

 

-The serious core of the romance, with the exception of the Othello bit, isn't modeled on anything in particular--although the basic idea of a crusty old playboy discovering true love is arguably old-hat

 

-Time will tell whether this is true, but I do think, in accordance with my genuine and long-standing interest in Japan, it draws on sources that go below the first layer of stereotype--to a slightly deeper layer of stereotype

[Guest Angelo Corlenone]

Did you ever hear the voice for BG1 Angelo? He sounds like a ganster.

Bite your tongue, sweetheart! Tainted Ironworkers Local #463 was a legitimate business! You can't prove anything!

[Guest Guest]

BG1 Angelo's voice was kind of high pitched, for a man anyway. Whereas BG2 SV's "Angelo" 's voice is much lower and much more masculine. Sawara sounds more like BG1 Angelo than BG2 Angelo does, though of course it's not a match. (Also when he starts his Villain Rant, Sawara stars to wander down towards the BG2 Angelo voice range, particularly on the word "Worm!").

 

Put another way; as I've said before, BG2 Angelo is a Charming Rogue. BG1 Angelo by contrast is a Smug Jack@$$.

 

(Also, where would I have met Ginpachi in SOA?)

[Amaurea]

Spoilers included...

 

 

 

 

I'd have to have someone check the coding to be sure, but I'd guess the answer is in Athkatla. I specifically remember meeting up with him in the Graveyard on my first playthrough, but I don't think he showed up there for the others. Another factor that plays into the answer to your question is what you do with the sword.

 

 

 

Speaking as someone who has no clue about anime, I can attest to the fact that any such references flew right over my head and didn't come across as some joke I wasn't getting. The only references I got were Michael Jackson and Chuck Bukowski. Oh, and the Sopranos theme song.

[Sister Vigilante]

spoilers again

 

(Also, where would I have met Ginpachi in SOA?)

 

Hmm, this could be bad...Ideally I'd think you shouldn't meet Ginpachi in ToB unless you met him in SoA. He ought to show up an hour (game time) or so after you get the sword, asking that you return it. I'd hate to think people were missing this, since otherwise his ToB appearance really comes out of nowhere--I'll note this over on the bugs/typo side, thanks!

 

Speaking as someone who has no clue about anime, I can attest to the fact that any such references flew right over my head and didn't come across as some joke I wasn't getting. The only references I got were Michael Jackson and Chuck Bukowski. Oh, and the Sopranos theme song.

 

Cool.

[Sister Vigilante]

Bite your tongue, sweetheart! Tainted Ironworkers Local #463 was a legitimate business! You can't prove anything!

 

Have you looked in Angelo's "portrait" directory here at G3?

[berelinde]

Actually, that was a brilliant example of Angelo's BG1 "voice."

 

I don't have either BG1 or the WAVC converter on this machine, or I'd post some audio samples.

 

I'd tell you to look up Slythe, the guy in the sewers that you kill to get the invitations, but Slythe is even more of an obscure character than Angelo.

[AkashaCatBat]

Actually, that was a brilliant example of Angelo's BG1 "voice."

 

I don't have either BG1 or the WAVC converter on this machine, or I'd post some audio samples.

 

I'd tell you to look up Slythe, the guy in the sewers that you kill to get the invitations, but Slythe is even more of an obscure character than Angelo.

 

If someone tells me the name of the files I am looking for, I can extract them.

[berelinde]

In the WAV directory, anything that looks like it's got an ANGEL in it. I really like the one with "youse guys" in it, but anything would give him the idea, really.