Black&White2 is a real Gem! [BB Diving Updated]

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: MmmSkyscraper

Originally posted by: KillyKillall
If you want to have a good time with B&W2, you'll need to do this first before playing it:

1) Open the box
2) Look inside for the CD/DVD
3) Take it out
4) Put the CD/DVD into your CD/DVD shredder
5) Replace the CD/DVD with dog feces
6) Close the box
7) Sell it to some kid for $25.00

Trust me..that will be more fun than playing it.

QFMOFOT

B&W2 is so buggy, it's not even a game. Just an exercise in futility.

did you even "play" it for more than a few minutes or just copy & paste someone elses stupid post?

looks like :

1) Your idea of a GREAT game is Doom3


or

2) you have zero clue about ANYTHING other than 'click to Shoot'

:thumbsdown:

B&W2 is NOT the slightest bit buggy . . . at least with the patch.

. . . and it is also not for persons with severe cases of A.D.D. .... it takes a LOT of 'attention' in a lot of areas simultaneously . . . but IF you are PATIENT it is a SUPERB game
:thumbsup:

 

[pontifex]

i played through it twice and didn't see any bugs. the 1st time i played halfway through it before the patch was released.

as i said before, i enjoyed the game, moreso than the 1st one. i'd sit down to play and then look at the clock only to realize that 3-4 hours went by. i just had fun building up my cities and stuff.

 

[0roo0roo]

bought b&w 1 when it first came out, so dissapointing, b&w is dead to me now.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: pontifex
i played through it twice and didn't see any bugs. the 1st time i played halfway through it before the patch was released.

as i said before, i enjoyed the game, moreso than the 1st one. i'd sit down to play and then look at the clock only to realize that 3-4 hours went by. i just had fun building up my cities and stuff.

i don't think the guy that posted the FUD about it even has the game or played it for more than a couple of minutes.

i never played the first one {as i was 'FPS only' player then} . . . but "burning neck muscles" after a few hours signal it's time for bed. It is very engrossing and rewarding![not the neckache]


personally, building the cities and influence was just part of the mechanism of Warfare. . . . basically, my strategy is to take all the cities by Influence and then send a huge force led by the master Soldier Creature into Battle . . . that Creature actually 'learns' [the AI is surprisingly good] and if you give him the 'tools' he is unstoppable . . . what took him a long time he now does very quickly.

what irritated me is that the OTHER creature respawns quickly . . . and yours doesn't . . . so keeping my Wolfie alive is a Primary task.

Another thing i found is not to bother leaving ANY soldiers to defend any city your captured . . . when your Green influence line shows up, just FIREbomb the Enemy when they try to REtake it. . . . . saves a lot of resources.

 

[Maximilian]

I enjoyed the first one, it was fun and the first time i picked up a boulder and dropped it on a house, i just expected it to roll off with the house undamaged, lame like. But it smashed right through with a loud *crash* made a hole, and the people inside came running our screaming, that was so funny!!

Hows the micromanagement in B&W2? Is it really that bad? Im used to c&c type management... where basically everything runs itsself unless you intervene. But in saying that i found simcity 4 to be ok, except for transport systems and the buggyness of the game. Would B&W2 be fun?

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Soviet
I enjoyed the first one, it was fun and the first time i picked up a boulder and dropped it on a house, i just expected it to roll off with the house undamaged, lame like. But it smashed right through with a loud *crash* made a hole, and the people inside came running our screaming, that was so funny!!

Hows the micromanagement in B&W2? Is it really that bad? Im used to c&c type management... where basically everything runs itsself unless you intervene. But in saying that i found simcity 4 to be ok, except for transport systems and the buggyness of the game. Would B&W2 be fun?

B&W2 can pretty much run itself as far as resource gathering. you have to dedicate certain people to a certain task, like lumber gathering or grain gathering, but after that, they pretty much continue to do that. you do have to watch what buildings your people want built to make and keep them happy.

its a little more management than C&C but not much imo.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Soviet
I enjoyed the first one, it was fun and the first time i picked up a boulder and dropped it on a house, i just expected it to roll off with the house undamaged, lame like. But it smashed right through with a loud *crash* made a hole, and the people inside came running our screaming, that was so funny!!

Hows the micromanagement in B&W2? Is it really that bad? Im used to c&c type management... where basically everything runs itsself unless you intervene. But in saying that i found simcity 4 to be ok, except for transport systems and the buggyness of the game. Would B&W2 be fun?

Yep i did the same thing in B&W2 . . . then healed the survivors :Q
[evil . . . evil . . . evil . .. evil . . good . . good . . . ]

B&W2 is my FIRST rts . . . so i can't compare. But micromanagement is NOT at all bad . . . just time consuming . . . the IMPORTANT thing is the REWARDS outweigh the 'drudge work'

Fun beyond my imagining . . . you are needed ONLY to provide food . . . BUT if you want 'efficiency', you really have to PLAN things out {most essential buildings and breeders/farmers/builders etc FIRST, then layout, walls homes . .. etc . .. .then take over whatever way you can . . . peaceful is much slower than warefare

[i LIKE war]


:thumbsup:

give it a try as it is bagain bin.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: apoppin
did you even "play" it for more than a few minutes or just copy & paste someone elses stupid post?

I "played" it through to the end, although I don't know why. Maybe I'm a masochist or I wanted to see how bad it would get. It wasn't much fun having no challenge when it couldn't handle you going off the scripts or refused to do anything with the enemy creature.

1) Your idea of a GREAT game is Doom3

I already said Q4 was dull in your other thread. D3 wasn't much better.

or

2) you have zero clue about ANYTHING other than 'click to Shoot'

:thumbsdown:

I had a bad experience with a game you like which isn't an FPS, so I obviously don't have a clue. That makes sense.

B&W2 is NOT the slightest bit buggy . . . at least with the patch.

...which didn't exist when I played it and I'm not going back for seconds.

--

Edit: I'm not sure why you reacted with such hostility but you are very active in Video so maybe it's that. Anyway, I'm just fvcking sick of half-finished games being released, viz B&W2 and BF2. I believe the common denominator there is EA... but that's another topic.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: apoppin
[i LIKE war]

LOL, I think that's a given

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: MmmSkyscraper

Originally posted by: apoppin
did you even "play" it for more than a few minutes or just copy & paste someone elses stupid post?

I "played" it through to the end, although I don't know why. Maybe I'm a masochist or I wanted to see how bad it would get. It wasn't much fun having no challenge when it couldn't handle you going off the scripts or refused to do anything with the enemy creature.

1) Your idea of a GREAT game is Doom3

I already said Q4 was dull in your other thread. D3 wasn't much better.

or

2) you have zero clue about ANYTHING other than 'click to Shoot'

:thumbsdown:

I had a bad experience with a game you like which isn't an FPS, so I obviously don't have a clue. That makes sense.

B&W2 is NOT the slightest bit buggy . . . at least with the patch.

...which didn't exist when I played it and I'm not going back for seconds.

--

Edit: I'm not sure why you reacted with such hostility but you are very active in Video so maybe it's that. Anyway, I'm just fvcking sick of half-finished games being released, viz B&W2 and BF2. I believe the common denominator there is EA... but that's another topic.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

First-of-all, you DID just C&P someone ELSE's stupid post with a single comment -

B&W2 is so buggy, it's not even a game. Just an exercise in futility.

the PATCHED B&W2 is NOT buggy . . . fact . . . that was my comment and - almost done with Land 7 - i haven't found any problems "going off the scripts or with the Enemy Creature"

If someone just Craps on a thread without giving a reason, i tend to be a little aggressive . . . but it isn't "hostile" . . .
. . . thanks for eXplaining.

and i am sick of Half-finished games . . . also . . . i read the B&W2 reviews which "suggested" a patch might resolve some 'issues'.

the PURPOSE of this thread is to say that B&W2 is Bargain Bin and is a real good game [now]. . . . ok?

now . . .

Anyone play the Expansion pack? More of the same? . . . i am considering it next.

and do i even "want" to build a Siren? i have the tribute . . . but i might 'save up' for a volcano or earthquake instead . . . looks like Siren is best for Good players to 'attract' people

?

they are pretty stingy with giving 'tribute;

 

[flexy]

if you like B/W 2 (which is a strategy/RPG)...you might wanna look at SpellForce2:Shadow Wars !!!

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=33&threadid=1920922&enterthread=y

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: flexy
if you like B/W 2 (which is a strategy/RPG)...you might wanna look at SpellForce2:Shadow Wars !!!

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=33&threadid=1920922&enterthread=y

Actually B&W2 would be classified as RTS/Godgame.

Wouldn't SF2 be 'closer' to [RPG-action/adventure] Oblivion or it it more RTS?

i looked at your thread before and then the reviews. The faults were: no 'real variety' in the hundreds of choices in weapons and items, the maps are too big and you have to 'wait' for your NPCs.

i am really new to ANYthing but FPSes.

 

[flexy]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: flexy
if you like B/W 2 (which is a strategy/RPG)...you might wanna look at SpellForce2:Shadow Wars !!!

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=33&threadid=1920922&enterthread=y

Actually B&W2 would be classified as RTS/Godgame.

Wouldn't SF2 be 'closer' to [RPG-action/adventure] Oblivion or it it more RTS?

i looked at your thread before and then the reviews. The faults were: no 'real variety' in the hundreds of choices in weapons and items, the maps are too big and you have to 'wait' for your NPCs.

i am really new to ANYthing but FPSes.

well the reviews in general give it a 8-9 (out of 10)...and any game has one or two points of criticism.

SF2 is a good blend of RPG/RTS so you might like it. I didnt look at BW/BW2 yet...the reviews say its outstanding but for some reason i didn't like the screenshots/graphics

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: flexy

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: flexy
if you like B/W 2 (which is a strategy/RPG)...you might wanna look at SpellForce2:Shadow Wars !!!

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=33&threadid=1920922&enterthread=y

Actually B&W2 would be classified as RTS/Godgame.

Wouldn't SF2 be 'closer' to [RPG-action/adventure] Oblivion or it it more RTS?

i looked at your thread before and then the reviews. The faults were: no 'real variety' in the hundreds of choices in weapons and items, the maps are too big and you have to 'wait' for your NPCs.

i am really new to ANYthing but FPSes.

well the reviews in general give it a 8-9 (out of 10)...and any game has one or two points of criticism.

SF2 is a good blend of RPG/RTS so you might like it. I didnt look at BW/BW2 yet...the reviews say its outstanding but for some reason i didn't like the screenshots/graphics

thanks for the tip . . . it isn't bargain bin yet . . . so it might be awhile.

B&W2 has superb gfx . . . the ability to 'zoom in' from the clouds and mountaintops down to the ants in an instant is impressive.
:thumbsup:

 

[apoppin]

Land 8 was a piece of cake . . . a couple of hours in the Aztec outpost at most.

and some damn funny humour . . . one of my 'quests' - "Isle of nymphs" - was to bring *something* for 4 nymphs for their 'ritual'. . . they don't tell you but you can guess by their seductive nature [think nympho]. . . .


**Spoiler**



----------------------------

well, it turns out they want a 21 year old man [if you bring them one that is too old or young they tell you . . . i let a boy 'grow up' on their island]

and they are having a devil of a time with their 'ritual' off camera . . . we hear them saying "push, push" and another says "i don't think it is supposed to go in that way" . . . so the other one says "push much harder" . . .
:Q

well, we finally see our poor lad - head first in a brew with his legs sticking out of the pot.




end spoiler
------------------------------

it gets much LESS micromanagement as you go on . . . all that tribute [or perhaps, 'experience'] allows you to 'automate' it somewhat [slap down a house and copy, copy, copy, build nursery . . . etc. ]. . . i think constructing my last city took about an hour . . . and then went off to war [although all but 2 fell to 'impressiveness'].

the Siren is OK, btw. it allows you to stop a couple of enemy platoons dead in their tracks . . . they ALL defect and some join your city right away.

And which is better as an offensive weapon? . . . . Earthquake or Volcano? [bearing in mind the time it takes to charge and fire it] Hurricane never did much damage to my cities so i won't bother with it.

Anyway, i'm off to the Aztec Homeland for the final Showdown. Looks like a REAL challenge.

AGAIN . . . Has anyone played the B&W2 eX-pack? comments?

 

[apoppin]

Done!

Finished at 1 AM . . . one of the most 'exciting' and longest climaxes in a game for me - ever

Land 9 is HARD . . . well more-or-less.

Spoilers Ahead so BEWARE:

You get to the Final Showdown with the Aztecs in a City that is Already prepared for Us by the Japanese - now our allies.

And it is designed to CRUSH you . . . before you even have time for almost ANY preparations - you get attacked in the Biggest battle yet - on TWO fronts . . . on TOP of that, you get an Enemy Volcano that sprouts INSIDE your influence zone and takes out your walls and Wonder. . . . ADD the Fact that the Aztec Monkey is stronger than Your Creature [from the 2nd Fight on] and the Enemy has TWICE your Army and it can be pretty hopeless looking.

So i looked at the Mess they made and Rethought it a bit. First of all, you NEED to build a Wonder to expand your Influence or you will lose everything . . . but losing that Wonder and all the Worshippers is probably a Crippling Blow. . . . So i ReStarted the Land . . . and Quickly built TWO wonders . . . the 1st, My Volcano, near the gates to expand My influence . . . and a 2nd - a 'decoy' Siren - designed to be destroyed on the exact spot the Volcano erupts. Best of All, the 2nd Wonder expands your influence infront of your gate so you now have plenty of time to destroy Enemies with Your Meteor Miracle . . . loved the Meteors . . . takes their creature out in a single Blast while not wasting your NPCs.

So the Siren gets destroyed but now you have time to "save" your Volcano with the Water miracle . . . makes ALL the difference in this world. . . .
. . . i now had time to help my new Norse and Japanese Allies take the two minor Aztec Cities and completely STRIP the resources and people from them to completely ReBuild My City and create 110 disciple Worshippers. . . and then send THREE Volcano attacks against the Aztecs' Main City. . . . still a tough battle in capturing their big city but very doable.

Piece of cake . . . and nothing like the Strategy detailed in ANY walkthru [i read them after completing each land to see what i 'missed' - not much . . . and there are MANY ways to complete your missions]
:Q

Great game! and i am looking forward to the Expansion: Battle of the Gods

. . . sure a few 'grumbles' . . . the Creature AI is a bit buggy. Sometimes he attacks the wrong target . . . or just stands there taking damage. QuickSave was my friend - especiallly during the Last Land. And QS/QL is SLOW . . . figure 15 or 20 seconds for my mid-range rig although there were no FPS slowdowns . . . Sometimes the "saves" are a little 'different' - you sometimes get harder Enemy AI or easier . . . i reloaded the same save several times to my advantage.

Besides its minor faults [too much micromanagement in the beginning, occasionally buggy saves and AI], i LOVED it and am looking forward to buying the [bargain bin] Expansion:

Black & White 2: Battle of the Gods
http://pc.ign.com/articles/703/703230p1.html

recommended

 

[apoppin]

i got Battle of the Gods, the B&W2 Expansion Pack at CC for $9.95 yesterday and started playing last night . . . till 1 AM.

Pretty much like the Final Land of the regular game, eXcept you get a [really] Evil Dead Aztec God and His Undead Monkey to face with [really] limited resources. Your miracles are very much expanded but the 'cheat' of killing Enemies with a burning tree is gone.
:Q

i couldn't - or really didn't even need to - build and army and captured the first land thru influence


... so i am a bit disappointed as the 'army' part of B&W2 seems pretty UNnecesary [just expand your Influence as Quickly as possible by building multiple Siren Wonders and then defend the Land Yourself with the eXpanded miracles . . .

still fun . . .

 

[pontifex]

so the expansion is just one new land?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: pontifex
so the expansion is just one new land?

no . . . it appears to be 4 lands. . . . i just completed the first one - Land of the Japanese - in about 3 hours. . . . on to the Norseland tonight.
[i guess it would be 2 hours if i didn't realize that Offence sucks and i restarted the land]

i am just disappointed that Offensive Warefare - my favourite part of B&W2 - is no longer necessary. . . . it would take a LONG time to build up an army and the game is weighted against it.

. . . all you [seem to need is] just a good 'defence' and Your Godlike Miracles
[and this time you get plenty of 'tribute' to start if you choose 'neutral']

so much of what they introduced in the Expansion - [hospitals/butchers/blacksmiths - is Just Unnecessary . . . sadly. . . . but the Evil God is pretty cool.

 

[Dethfrumbelo]

Spellforce 2 would also be a good choice... it tends to be more of an action RPG than RTS.

If you're looking for a little more in-depth strategy, try the Total War series - Medieval 2 is coming out in 2 months. Rome should definitely be bargain bin by now.

 

[skace]

Thing that pissed me off about Black and White 2 was the influence ring. It expands at a very small ratio. Build a building, ring bumps out just enough to fit another building and possibly a road in. Forces you to basically turtle and I hated it.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: skace
Thing that pissed me off about Black and White 2 was the influence ring. It expands at a very small ratio. Build a building, ring bumps out just enough to fit another building and possibly a road in. Forces you to basically turtle and I hated it.

build things that give greater influence, like temples or things like the Siren. they make your infuence ring jump a good bit.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: skace
Thing that pissed me off about Black and White 2 was the influence ring. It expands at a very small ratio. Build a building, ring bumps out just enough to fit another building and possibly a road in. Forces you to basically turtle and I hated it.

build things that give greater influence, like temples or things like the Siren. they make your infuence ring jump a good bit.

exactly . . . you can do things the way you want to in the Game . . . i was kinda Evil with a More Evil Creature and we captured almost every town by Force.

in the Expansion, you are 'crippled' [just like the last Land in the B&W2 game] and forced to Defend. . . . i built about 8 Sirens to take the 2nd land - the Norseland - just by 'influence' alone. IF i wanted to do Offensive Warfare, i'd have to wait till i had enough men - and by then - everything falls to simply 'influence' . . . stupid planning on the Devs part. . . . the ONLY thing i can think of - and will do for the 3rd [last] Greek Homeland [now that i have 1.5 million in Tribute] is IMPORT troops from my 'last' land and disband them instantly, to give me an 'extra' 100 men . . . THEN we are going to War, damnit.

I finished the 2nd of THREE lands - not 4 [they count an 'intro' as a 'Land'] - last night . . . same crap as the first one . . . defend, defend, defend . .. defend . .. build .. .. build .... Win by Influence.

Unfortunately - compared to the game - the expansion SUCKS . . . they implemented all these GREAT ideas . . .then FORCE you to IGNORE them in favor of the only practical way to take the land.
:thumbsdown:

B&W 2 would get an 8+/10 {'very good'} in my 'book' . . . the expansion gets a 4.5/10 ['poor', so far] . . . and it even tends to crash ocasionally although the game is rock solid.

Should be done tonight. B&W2 is worth a RePlay . . . the Expansion is not.

edit: I see wizboy11 is playing B&W2 again
:Q

 

[apoppin]

Finished "Battle of the Gods"

thankfully the last Land - Number 3, Greek HomeLand - is the very best of the x-pack. i imported 100 soldiers, disbanded them immediaetly and set them as Disciple Worshippers [ you need Mana more than anything else and you MUST Shield them from flaming attacks from the Evil One. Finally got some Offensive 'action' going even though the enemy seems to have UNlimited resources. When you finally build your Influence enough, you can start directly attacking his City at the edges.

UNfortunately, *things* don't always 'work'.


you may click the Shield miracle - and nothing happens.
:Q

Try ReLoading and your game crashes - repeatedly. i probably spent FOUR+ hours playing a THREE hour Episode.
Workaround includes "exiting" current game and then loading it from Main Menu - reloading a quicksaved game more than once crashes your computer.

Creature AI is sometimes really STUPID. He may take 5 minutes to get around to destroying a Catapult while it wreaks damage on your town . . . or run off to attack 4 platoons at once although ordered in the opposite direction [suicide] . . . or not be able to simply "find" his way to a spot you chosen [although he can easily do it other times]

IF the UNpatched B&W2 was THIS bad, i feel sorry for the people who bought it originially. . ..

i felt your frustration with the X-pack.

again, B&W2 is a REAL gem . . . the X-pack is a real turd
:thumbsup: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :thumbsdown:

 

[apoppin]

For the 'Weekend' Shift' . . .

i was curious about REplaying the Expansion since there were hints of additional abilities for your creature
[btw, the Ending is FINAL [the Aztecs are 'finished'] . . . kinda 'cute']

and you DO start with TONS of tribute so you finally can do OFFENSIVE warfare . . . what i originally wanted . . .

UNFORTUNATELY, they never bothered to 'fix' the Expansion with a patch . . . it is just too buggy for me.

if there is a B&W3 . . .count me 'in'

OK, i will try Darwinia again . . . time to get the full value for my $30 [B&W2+Expansion+Darwina]

WARNING: Darwinia reports may be forthcoming!
:Q