Is Pazaak rigged?

[Syionic]

Your initial thought should be, "What do you mean by 'rigged'?". The answer is simple, my opponent usually gets a solid 18-20 just by using the yellow cards. I have had matches where they were either a tie or opponent won while my opponent never even used a hand card (and I used all of mine!). And my opponent usually gets a 20 value two-to-three times more often than me (just by using yellow cards)! As well as 50% of their matches, in which they get CLOSE to 20, they have a hand card to bring them straight to 20.
Or am I just unlucky enough to lose the lottery even if i had a 99.999% chance of winning three times in a row?

[cerberusiv]

No, I don't think it is "rigged", at least not beyond their significant advantage of forcing you to go first (which means the onus is on you to push for 20 and score too many).

I don't bother playing at all on Taris but concentrate on building a really good side deck through Dantooine, Kashyyk and then finally Tatooine. I also don't bother with the low stakes players, preferring to concentrate on the lucrative games. Once I have my side deck complete I can usually take on the toughest opponent (Suvam Tan at Yavin - he has the strongest side deck of all opponents) and win 50% of the time (the real prize against him is the discount on his stuff, more than the credits).

I do save and reload if I have a bad run. I feel this is justifiable because the game is not level, for the reason I have given and the opponents can afford to lose whereas I need to win.

[Ragnarök]

It's rigged in the sense that you are forced to draw first every time, which is bs. As a rough estimate, it's equivalent to the A.I. being ahead 2 rounds from go. Coupling that with Suvam Tan's 3/4 or more side cards that will bring him to exactly 20, it's absolute cancer. You're looking at about an hour's worth of save scumming minimum.

[OldMemes.biz]

Originally posted by cerberusiv:

No, I don't think it is "rigged", at least not beyond their significant advantage of forcing you to go first (which means the onus is on you to push for 20 and score too many).

I don't bother playing at all on Taris but concentrate on building a really good side deck through Dantooine, Kashyyk and then finally Tatooine. I also don't bother with the low stakes players, preferring to concentrate on the lucrative games. Once I have my side deck complete I can usually take on the toughest opponent (Suvam Tan at Yavin - he has the strongest side deck of all opponents) and win 50% of the time (the real prize against him is the discount on his stuff, more than the credits).

I do save and reload if I have a bad run. I feel this is justifiable because the game is not level, for the reason I have given and the opponents can afford to lose whereas I need to win.

You're basically agreeing that it's rigged.

If this were real life, and real people had to pay real money and spend real time to track down real cards to build a real deck, then no, it couldn't be called rigged.

But when a programmed PC game is purpose-built to 1. make you go first all the time and 2. make specific NPCs have specific decks to create a PERCEPTION of difficulty then yes it is very much rigged.

I'm not complaining or anything but just saying that when something is specifically designed a certain way then by definition it is "rigged."

[=CrimsoN=]

I'd say it's definitely rigged and not just in the sense that you are forced to go first. I can't prove it, but something is seriously wrong when the computer (specifically Suvam) is able to naturally reach 20 without using a single side deck card 3 times in a row...

I mean, it's bad enough that they have side decks specifically designed to ♥♥♥♥ with you, but to also naturally reach 20, while you struggle to attain it. On top of being forced to go first? You bet your ass, I didn't mind downloading an easier pazaak mod.

Glad it was finally balanced in the second game.

[OldMemes.biz]

KOTOR always did have massive issues with how it handles anything to do with credits. From rigged Pazaak to 7,000 to 15,000 credit items that lose their attractiveness when you've finally saved enough to buy more than 1 because you're so late in the game you might as well not even bother; basically when item duplication and bug abuse to generate tons of credits in ways not intended has been accepted as normal because of how ridiculous the credit situation and economy is you know something's wrong.

Let's be honest who the hell buys Casus Fett's 15,000credit armor on Dantooine? REALLY who? No one. NO ONE. And by the time we can comfortably part with that much, we're at the Yavin space station store already anyway.

When the answers are to abuse bugs and item dupe glitches than something is wrong.

If it matters to anyone I am not new to the game, I had the hardcopy the year it released, so I'm not just pulling my opinions out of my ass or speaking from newbie ignorance.

[Ragnarök]

Originally posted by Names:

That's a good observation about the amount of credits you're capable of saving, one I made as well a while ago. Store prices in KotOR are ridiculously inflated. Basically, if you're a new player you'll be lucky to afford five or six nice things throughout the entire course of the game. Probably even less for anyone who isn't doing a completionist run. There are so many pitfalls that noobs will get into that will burn through credits like wildfire.

Computer spikes, repair parts, chances are you'll be wasting the few you find and then make the mistake of buying more. Medpacks and so forth. You're definitely not gonna find enough playing blind. God help you if you casually drop 900 credits on that Sith Sniper Rifle on Taris because it sounded cool. That 1 extra damage is really worth the added 750 credits /s. I genuinely feel bad for the developer that designed all those cool items because they're just never gonna be used. There's just not enough room for experimentation in gear.

It's funny because this isn't just a problem with KotOR, it's actually a holdover from many games using the AD&D ruleset/ D20 system. Baldur's Gate had the same problem with merchant prices. So did Icewind Dale and so did Neverwinter Nights. Things were either dirt cheap or outrageously expensive, but at least those games had significantly better loot drops and more of them to boot. Compared with Neverwinter Nights, KotOR is very, very dry for loot. It's a lot of empty rooms and unopenable chests and I suspect that particular flaw can be chalked up to it being designed for consoles rather than PC. Not enough space on that one dvd.

[OldMemes.biz]

Yeah don't get me started on computer spikes. lol. And one thing it's always good for new players to know: SECURITY SPIKES ARE 100% WORTHLESS IN THE PC KOTOR AND YOU SHOULD JUST SELL EVERY ONE YOU COME ACROSS. The code wasn't implemented for them. They literally do nothing; they can not be used on locks and they do NOT boost ANY stat, security related or otherwise, while in your inventory. They have an inventory model and a description, but that's all they have. At least in KOTOR 2 that got fixed and security spikes and tunnelers actually do something.