Can I play this without having played KotOR I?

[Stormwoken]

KotOR I keeps crashing on me and having irrepairable graphical glitches, so I had to give up on it, unfortunately =/
I will eventually go back to it some day, but I would like to know if I can still play this one without the knowledge of events in its predecessor =)
Also, will KotOR II introduce massive spoilers if I ever get the opportunity to play the first one?

[bokvarv]

yes you can. no not any real spoilers to worry about.

[Tavionn]

Yes, this story while although only takes place 5 years after KOTOR is not a direct sequel really, new character new story, after you play KOTOR2 and 1 you can kinda see where its connected but otherwise no, and you won't see any spoilers. Oh and be sure to pick up the restored content mod. This game has a lot of cut content and if you play vanilla it can be a little confusing.

[The Rhythm Thief]

DISCLAIMER: Whatever I said below applies to The Sith Lords with TSLRCM, which is the way it's meant to be played (c).

You guys kidding, right? Under no circuimstances should KotOR 2 be played before KotOR 1 because:
1) The story of the sequel has less impact since you ultimately have no idea what happened in the first one and you are not trying to figure out how things went SO WRONG in the span of several years.
2) The whole plot (and I mean all of it) gets very HEAVILY spoiled once you start digging into dialogue trees of your companions.

Besides, one of the best things about The Sith Lords is how Chris Avellone, pressured as though he was a kite in a tornado, managed to turn the seemingly mediocre story of the original game (like really, it got couple great twists and characters, but it's still too star-wars-y) into something with an awfully dark undertone. Seeing the events of the first game from the fresh point of view of new characters makes you realise just how much things were never what they seemed in the first installment. And better yet, he made his game so gritty and mature that in my opition it shines brightest in the whole Star Wars universe, there is just too much to be loved. This is exactly how sequel writing should ALWAYS be done.

The order in which you should get to know the Old Republic is quite straightforward, really: KotOR 1 -> KotOR 2 -> TOR: Revan (the rest is so optional I wouldn't even bother, maybe if you get really interested you can go ahead and read some wikia or whatever to learn what happened in the MMO and afterwards dig into Annihilation, which seems to be ok).

[Stormwoken]

Originally posted by liltroberts:

Yes, this story while although only takes place 5 years after KOTOR is not a direct sequel really, new character new story, after you play KOTOR2 and 1 you can kinda see where its connected but otherwise no, and you won't see any spoilers. Oh and be sure to pick up the restored content mod. This game has a lot of cut content and if you play vanilla it can be a little confusing.

Thanks for the tip, I would not have even known it existed =X

Alex DeLarge, Thanks for the warning. I feel a bit on the fence about playing the series in the first place now, because the first part is so incredibly glitched (graphically and otherwise) that it is all but unplayable. Perhaps I should cross my thumbs for the remake to come out soon?

[TigerShark]

No. If you try to play, your computer turns into a droid and kills you.

[cerberusiv]

Whilst it would be preferable to play Kotor 1 first it is not essential. What could be an issue is that if you can't get 1 to run acceptably you could have similar issues with 2.

What is the system spec of your computer?

[The Rhythm Thief]

Originally posted by Stormwoken:

Alex DeLarge, Thanks for the warning. I feel a bit on the fence about playing the series in the first place now, because the first part is so incredibly glitched (graphically and otherwise) that it is all but unplayable. Perhaps I should cross my thumbs for the remake to come out soon?

If I were you, I would instead devote some time to trying to solve your graphical problems with the game. Last time I replayed it (around a year ago on Windows 7) it ran perfectly, and the second game runs just as good now that I have Windows 10 (finished it like 2 weeks ago). Try tweaking compatibility and work your way around some forums (the game's been out for 13 years after all). If nothing works (which shouldnt really be the case with this game as long as your hardware is properly connected, lol), try solutions like VirtualBox to emulate older systems.

[NuclearN9ja]

Kotor 1 runs fine on windows 10. But, you should look for some mods to help the resolution issues and HUD, as well as maybe improving the graphics.

[Rush Cat]

Buy Kotor 1 on your phone or tablet, it's $9.99 USD on the app store and it's got good controls, Kotor 2 isn't too spoiler filled, but you will be confused at parts where they talk about "certain" characters, Plus there's a charm to seeing or hearing older companions mentioned.

[Stormwoken]

Originally posted by cerberusiv:

Whilst it would be preferable to play Kotor 1 first it is not essential. What could be an issue is that if you can't get 1 to run acceptably you could have similar issues with 2.

What is the system spec of your computer?

True, but recent patches seem to have patched most things people objected to.
My rig is:

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz
GeForce GT 525M
16 GB RAM
Win 7

Originally posted by Alex DeLarge:

Originally posted by Stormwoken:

Alex DeLarge, Thanks for the warning. I feel a bit on the fence about playing the series in the first place now, because the first part is so incredibly glitched (graphically and otherwise) that it is all but unplayable. Perhaps I should cross my thumbs for the remake to come out soon?

If I were you, I would instead devote some time to trying to solve your graphical problems with the game. Last time I replayed it (around a year ago on Windows 7) it ran perfectly, and the second game runs just as good now that I have Windows 10 (finished it like 2 weeks ago). Try tweaking compatibility and work your way around some forums (the game's been out for 13 years after all). If nothing works (which shouldnt really be the case with this game as long as your hardware is properly connected, lol), try solutions like VirtualBox to emulate older systems.

the thing is that, in addition to graphical glitches (strange artifacts covering virtually alls outdoor spaces to the point where not even my character was visible for 80% of the time), there are occasional random CTDs and failures to recognise mouse or bring up the game screen (it remains in tray). I have tried various patches, but not mods, though. I will browse through them and let you guys know how it went.

[cerberusiv]

Your system should run both Kotors.

I am wondering if your computer is reverting to integrated graphics rather than using your GeForce card when you play Kotor 1? It's a problem I have heard of but can't remember the solution, possibly it is something you can set in the Nvidia control centre.

[Power46]

Kotor 1 is unstable in Windows 7 without some changes to settings. Go into graphics and turn on v-sync, unselect frame buffer objects, and make sure any controllers are unplugged if you aren't using one.

[Hassat Hunter]

Originally posted by Stormwoken:

Thanks for the tip, I would not have even known it existed =X

:(