That's right, I got a new submission for the fan fiction section. It's the first part of The Perfect Ritual by Lizzie Harader, a story about a mage who attempts to make Ravel's arcane ritual perfect...

Gamespot has a video interview with Dave Maldonado, lead designer on the upcoming game from Team Torment, TORN. I suppose I should start working on a fansite for that game soon.

The new Team Torment game has been officially announced, just when my net access is down for a few days. :/
It's called Torn. Check out the official site here.

I strongly suggest you all click this link...

So don't expect a reply to your e-mail before then =)

Scott made a final update to his Developer Notes on his own site. The site will no longer be updated after this, because there should be an official site for the project in the near future.

I missed Torment's first anniversary! On December 8th, 1999, Planescape: Torment started shipping to stores. I blame my fried mainboard for me missing this.

Daniel Herfield sent me a new version of his huge walkthrough/hints document (which isn't complete yet, by the way), bringing this baby up to version 1.21. You can find it in our walkthrough section.

Well, calis@iplaygames.com seems to be working erratically at best. Better use email_deleted@duetospam.wrong if you need to get in touch with me.

Peter "Sermon" Verdi, one of the translators on the German version of Torment and one of the dynamic duo behind the very first Torment fansite, had the chance to interview Chris Avellone, lead designer on Torment, for RPGHeaven.de. An english version of the interview can be found here.

Daniel Herfield sent in a very comprehensive Torment walkthrough/hints document, containing a wealth of info, in MS Word format. You can find it in our walkthroughs section. Right now, it is far from complete, but Daniel will keep adding to it, and we'll be sure to post updated versions in the future.

A new version of Infinity Explorer, the program that allows you to take a look at the ugly inside of Infinity Engine games like Baldur's Gate and Planescape:Torment, has been released. The new version supports Baldur's Gate 2.

A few new details on Black Isle's upcoming game of which very little is known, from the October issue of Computer Gaming World:

• it will use an expanded version of the SPECIAL system (the RPG system used in the Fallout games)
• it will feature an all-new high-fantasy setting

Yep, another masterpiece by Mridalmn. Check it out over at his site.

Dig it.

Yep, my buddy Hedek informs me that his site is now hosted on BGChronicles! It contains a fair bit of info.

Yep, a new version of this program that allows you to take a look at the dirty inside of Infinity Engine games like Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment. The changes:
* Savegame support;
* CHUI viewing support;
* Area map export;
* Significantly improved creature, item and spell viewers (with many more fields shown than before).

Scott Warner, the designer we all know and love, has updated his designer notes with a lengthy article on what a great guy Adam Heine is, and how he will be missed at Black Isle. As if we didn't know...

RPGDot had a few words with Interplay Sound Dude Charles Deenen, and they found out that soundtrack CD's will become available in the Interplay store very soon! Here's the quote:

We're making the CD inlays now, and we're sending the CD's off to be mastered very soon. There will actually be a whole series that we're doing, but I can't tell you yet which games will all be included (not because I don't want to, but I can't, we don't know yet either :). All in all, about 8-10 audio CD's that will be available in our online store ... The IWD, BG1 and Torment soundtrack will happen for sure

I've actually known about this for quite a while, but Charles asked me not to tell anyone yet :-)
RPGDot also has word of a contest that allows you to win a Black Isle game of your choice!

Adam Heine, Game Designer / superhero, whom we interviewed a while back, has announced today that he's no longer working for Black Isle. The reason is that he's getting married and has moved to San Diego... You can wish him the best of luck at the semi-official Team Torment boards here.

Mridalm informs me that he has a new Torment desktop theme on his site. You'll want to check this one out.

A new version of Infinity Explorer, the program that allows you to mess around with the innards of the Infinity Engine, has been released.

Click this link dammit!!!

Wizards of the Coast posted a free, dowloadable Planescape comic named The Unity of Rings on their site. Looking at the credits, one notices the name of Colin McComb, also one of Torment's writers/designers.

Gorm, an extremely cool fella who has contributed a lot of art to The Galleries, has opened his own site with a huge load o' pics.

Scott updated the designer notes on his page. Here's a snippet about The New Project:

So, at this point you’re probably saying to yourself “YET ANOTHER UPDATE AND NO NEW INFO ABOUT THIS DAMN PROJECT!!” As always, your patience is respected, and we appreciate the interest you have in what we’re up to when, at this point, we can reveal so little. One thing that hasn’t been detailed yet is that this time, unlike previous Black Isle releases in the past, we’re planning on having a demo for you prior to the release of the game. I can’t say at this point what form it will take, what sections of game play it will allow you to explore, or if it will actually come together in the end, but we ARE planning on it.

So I can post news like I used to :-) The news I posted by hand was deleted in the process, but here's a summary:

• blatant plug, I am now a writer for GA-RPG and you can check out my first article, a first look at Fallout: BOS here.
• Feargus, the Big Man at BIS, updated his .plan. Pay some attention to the last paragraph:

Well it has been way too long since I updated this.

I'm playing with Windows Media Player 7 today - although I'm annoyed that I can't seem to figure out how to have it rip CD's as MP3's instead of as .WMA's. It's pretty cool from the standpoint that it will play pretty much any kind of file, has the visualization things like Sonique, and also rips stuff. Plus its Free - the second best word in the English language as one of my college roomates used to say repeatedly when he was drunk.

Other than that, being here on a Memorial Day means its quiet and cool. The AC is actually working correctly, which is something new. I always say that it is interesting that we put a man on the moon more than 30 years ago, but they can't figure out how to get a modern office building the right temperature in the year 2000. Oh well, it gives me something else to complain about. :)

I suppose I should actually talk about the games industry at least once in all of this. I've been playing Vagrant Story and MM8 lately. "Slightly" different incarnations of RPG's - but I like them both. I actually think that I like MM8 better than MM7. It is a little more compact and flows better. As for Vagrant Story, I think it looks great for a PSX title. While I've only played it for a couple hours so far - the combat and integration of cut scenes is very well done.

The last thing I'm going to mention here is that Black Isle is looking to hire a Lead Programmer and a Lead Artist for the next Fallout games. If anyone is interested, please e-mail a resume and samples (for artists) to jobs@blackisle.com.

Just pimping HK's Planescape Torment fansite a little. It has item locations and lots of other info.

After a bit of downtime, the SQL server is back up, meaning that I can post news again! What did you miss while the SQL was gone?

Well, new developer notes on Scott's page, of course! It's a list of people who'll be working on the new game. Note that neither Chris Avellone nor Colin McComb (Chris was lead designer on Torment, Colin was another designer, who also did quite a bit of work on Pen&Paper Planescape for TSR) are on the list.

Lucian Wischik made a nice, printable PDF version of Rhys' unofficial Torment novel! There's also an A5-sized Word doc on the same site.

Gamasutra always has interesting articles about game design, and their article about Torment is no exception.

That's the third off-topic post in a row :-) Anyway, a buncha new screenshots have been posted on the Fallout: BOS site.

Dig 'em... (thanks to Brendan for telling me about the screenshots)

Okey, so this still isn't Torment-related, but I've found some more info on this:
A preview on The Reviewboard Magazine. It has screenshots! Thanks to BaBaBoey on the Fallout 2 board for this one.

I also found a webiste for it on the Interplay site. It has no screenshots and no more information than the preview, but it promises weekly updates, so may be worth to check out. I like the design on it, btw.
Here it is.

Okey, okey so the new FO-game won't be a RPG, it'll be a strategy game called Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, but that's good enough for me. It won't be made by BIS and what information there is is scarce. What I know can be found on the following link: http://www.avault.com/news/displaynews.asp?story=5102000-161846 (it's on AdrenalineVault) They claim they'll update it as soon as they know more and maybe more information will become available during E3. I know this has little to nothing to do with Torment, but I don't care, I just love everything that has anything to do with Fallout...

A message board now graces the site about the upcoming, top-secret BIS project. (which contains no info whatsoever) Check it out...

Just got an e-mail from my buddies at DBTavern telling me that one of their sites, Ice Winds of Dale, has an interview up with David Ray, Programming Dude on Icewind Dale.

Scott talks about E3 and the New Project over at dirty.org/BIS... check it out...

http://www.dirty.org/BIS has gotten a new design, it seems...

What we can tell you about our new project:

• The majority of the team that created Planescape:Torment is onboard.
• We are using LithTech 2.0 for our game engine.
• The game will be a Black Isle-style role playing game.
• This project is not Fallout 3 or Torment 2.
• It is real time.
• We will have single and multiplayer modes.

If you want to see what the PCGameworld boys thought about Torment, click here.

Since it's another slow news day (as usual), I figured I might as well post some more links to cool Torment sites on the Web... The following sites aren't really updated anymore, but they're still cool:

• Planescape: How Tormenting! (also known as Becker's Site)
• Flabby's House of Pa(i)ncakes
• Tormented Shrubbery
• NeRoS
• Waters of the Styx

In the interest of promoting the Torment web community a bit, here's a few links to other Torment sites on the net:

• Torment @ Cool123
• Sorcerer's Page
• The Nameless Page
• Planescapers

For those of you who don't know: Tormented Party is a project where you can take the current savegame, play a bit, and return it, together with a novel-like description of the Nameless One's adventures. It's cool. Check it out.

Scott Warner, designer on Icewind Dale and a new, unannounced project, has once again updated the designer notes section of his site.

Anotha' interview with Scottyboy right here...

Phagga was nice enough to convert Rhys' work to a nice, printable Word file. Check it out at Rhys' Unofficial Torment Novel.

Check it out. And be sure to READ THE README. (included with the file)

Interplay Gamer, a soon-to-be opened site, needs YOU! So if you want to work at a spiffy site, check out their site. They still need someone to do their Torment section...

Read it here... it'll force you to register first though.

Is it possible for a computer game to have the intellectual heft and emotional impact of a good book while remaining as captivating as a well-paced film? If so, the first candidate may well be Planescape: Torment.

Jeff K, l33test dude this site of the Web, did an interview with Scott Warner, designer on Torment and Icewind Dale, and of course the mysterious unnamed project...

JEFF K: OKEY, LET ME INTARVIEW YUO, I WILL PUTS IT ON MY WEBsITE AND MAKE WINDYDALE site and sell it to IGN and maek WINDYDALEVAULT

Scott: Goferit

Leo informed me that the results of the first round are now up at his site. Check 'em out and participate! That's an order!

Brian "Z" Frappier just informed me that he created a lil' save game editor for the Game We All Love. BE SURE TO READ THE README though, 'cuz Z reports that there are some nasty bugs still in this build. Anyway, here's the link, use at your own risk...

Click that vote button dammit! :-)

Or vote for the Other Site, but my feelings will really be hurt :-)

DBTavern have a new design, moving to become a general fantasy CRPG site. While The Pit is not a part of DBTavern, we occasionally work closely together, so we're listed as the resource for Planescape: Torment on their main page.

Update: Their Baldur's Gate II site is now open for business!

As we all know, Torment has a large quantity of excellent text. As we also know, the official Torment novel differs significantly from the game. These two facts made Rhys Hess undertake a huge project. He compiled an unofficial Torment novel, using the text in the game! It's a big mutha. Anyway, you can find his work here.

Please bear in mind that this document incorporates material copyrighted by Interplay.

Due to the overwhelming success of Power Action Leprechaun Annah, there is now an Egghead Morte available on the official Torment site, with new graphics and sounds! Cool huh?

Update: Oh yea, happy easter all!

Yes, now you, too, can have your very own custom Easter Egg Morte in Torment! Not only does he have a New Look and Feel, but he has New Sounds as well! He has some new Voice Over samples that weren't in the final version of Torment. Just download this .ZIP file, and follow the instructions in the Readme file (included in this .ZIP):

Check 'em out over at Scott's site!

Check this one at Bigkid if you're bored.

UPDATE: I just read the review, and I was wrong. This one's an interesting read. Check it out.

Scott Warner, Designer Dude at Black Isle Studios, has posted some more designer notes over at his site. Dig 'em.

A little quote to get your attention:

Ambiguous, Uninformative Project Update!

Oh, you know, the usual. There’s not much we can say yet other than the team is pounding away on various tasks relating to a prototype for the new project. Some of the team, including myself, are helping out with Icewind Dale, working to make that something you’ll all have a fantastic time romping through. It’s safe to say that we’re very excited about we’ve come up with so far, and it appears that most of the great ideas that we have been throwing about for the last eight months or so are going to see the light of day.

Now that I actually have an excuse to link to Sorcerer, I'm gonna link to Sorcerer, whether you like me linking to Sorcerer or not. Anyway, he chatted a bit with Scott Warner, Torment scripting dude, Icewind Dale designer, and designer on the upcoming, unnamed BIS project, and he has the logs to prove it. You can check 'em out at his site.

That is, according to Gamespot...

Elfan told me about this, so go visit Ice Winds of Dale.

Respect mah author-i-tah! CHECK OUT his awesome site.

What is it with all the new Torment reviews popping up all over the net?

Anyway, if you're bored, check out this one at GamesXtreme.

A new review at Neoseeker. If you're bored, check it out.

source: RPGVault

Mridalmn (Dude, what's with the name?) informed me that he has a spiffy Torment desktop theme up on his site. So make his hit counter go crazy and click here!

... is a new column by J.E. Sawyer over at GA-RPG. Although J.E. wasn't involved in the development of Torment, he did discuss a lot of things with us on the old Torment boards, and is generally a really cool person, so check it out at GA-RPG!

Kevin over at the legit section of the Mushroom informed me that he has posted a review of Torment. He also told me that he'll have more coolness soon.

I found myself totally absorbed and spending hours and hours completing the dozens of sub quests and talking to the people of Sigil, completely immersed.

Get downloading, you maggots! CLICK THIS LINK DAMMIT!

And don't give me any "it's not Torment so I'm not downloading it" crap. This is It. The Big One. Go Get It. If I'm not making any sense it's because 1) I just saw the trailer and b) I had one beer too many.

What is this? Nothing for WEEKS, and now two? I'm telling ya, it's a conspiracy... anyway, another positive review at Electric Gaming.

Adam Heine wrote a new installment for the designer notes at Scott Warner's page. He talks about immersion in games. Well, emergent narrative, really.

If you want to read the true story behind Adam, click here.

We also did an interview with Adam a while back.

it's been a while... if you're bored, check it out.

Becker, studliest stud on this side of the Web, finally gave in to our begging and decided to let us have his site. So, if you haven't seen it yet, CHECK OUT HIS SITE!!! Seriously, this is funny stuff.

Check 'em out:

• Designer
• Male Lead Character
• Male Supporting Character
• Female Supporting Character
• Art Direction
• Character Design
• Adapted Storyline

Surprisingly, Torment didn't fare too well with the Eurogamer staff. They seemed to prefer Outcast. Which was a pretty good game, but not as good as Torment :-)

Anyway, check out the gaming globes!

Scott Warner, Designer at Black Isle (currently involved with Icewind Dale and the early designs of a brand-new project of which little is known), has updated the Designer Notes section of his site. He talks about Richard "Lord British" Garriot leaving Origin.

Check 'em out at Gefahrliche Dimensionen, the first Torment fansite ever (it's in German)

... and, since there's no real news (and I'm not original enough to do anything April fool related), I figured I might as well throw up a link to Sermon's Bard's Tale site. Check it out...

Links Do Not Necessarily Suggest Endorsement.
Names, trademarks, and copyrights are the property of the originating companies.
Site Content © the Pit crew. All rights reserved.