Reply With QuotePazaak is fucking ridiculous. Dave swore that the designer says the AI doesn't cheat, but I've FREQUENTLY had the other guy get four hands of 20 in a row. That's insane.Originally Posted by TomChick
Okay, so the first thing I want to know is whether the computer cheats at Pazaak. Fess up, DaveC. You mentioned in another thread that you'd talked to the guy who did the Pazaak AI. What do you know and when did you know it?
The second thing I want to know is what kind of sideboards you guys are using. It seems to me the best thing to do is use ten +/- cards in the 2-4 range. Is this you guys' experience?
-Tom
Pazaak is fucking ridiculous. Dave swore that the designer says the AI doesn't cheat, but I've FREQUENTLY had the other guy get four hands of 20 in a row. That's insane.
You took the exact phrase right outta my mouth. Doesn't cheat - my ass.
Is there a luck skill that I don't know about? I've never seen anyone get 4 20s in a row without the use of their hand. I've played with a few people and it's always been fair enough with me.
There is a Luck Feat called Scoundrel's Luck. I don't think it alters Pazaak outcomes, though.
I'm convinced some Pazaak players do cheat. I'm able to beat some of them a reasonable amount of the time; others seem to win all the time, often without even playing any Side Hand cards. That's why I mostly stick to Swoop Racing... ;)
I've had a good run of luck with pazaak, but I still agree that the computer cheats. I balance this out by saving my game before each and every game of pazaak. Well, the ones with money on them anyway. If the AI is gonna cheat, I can too!
When I first started playing pazaak, I took all my years of experience at losing at blackjack and say down and thought about the game. Like blackjack, the person who gets cards first (in KOTOR always the player) is at a disadvantage. Often the AI opponent doesn't have to do anything to win because the player will bust. Based on this, my ideal side deck features a lot of +/- 6 cards. 99% of the time I use them as - 6 cards, to keep playing when I should have busted. I'm not shooting for a perfect 20, I'm trying to prolong the game so my opponent will bust.
I've also discovered that standing on an 18 is pointless. Having done this 10 ~ 15 times I've never won doing it. Statistically, standing on 18 is not a bad position and the odds favor your opponent busting trying to get a 19 or 20. Against the cheaty-AI in KOTOR, it's just another way to lose. I have occassionally won by standing on a 19, but I don't like to do it. The computer is eerily good at hitting 20 on the nose.
I'm not sure whether the computer cheats, but...
...the computer always has a tremendous advantage by being the second to draw. I think it's a design flaw in the game, actually, given that:
1. The computer either cheats or enjoys a nearly unbeatable advantage because he draws second, and
2. I really need to make money in the game and will "do what it takes" to do so, then
3. I will save and reload and play pazaak and save and reload endlessly. Reload, reload, reload.
I'd be willing to forego that frustration with the mini game if they'd designed it so that the draw alternated with each set. First set, I go first, next, computer goes first. It would make an interesting little game better, as "holding serve" would become important. I dunno. Maybe I'm the only dork who does the "save/load" thing with Pazaak...
I'm telling you, swoop racing is much more profitable. Win the Tier 3 race on Tatooine and you are pretty much set. I've not had to worry much about money ever since. In fact, now that I don't have to buy medpacks any more (Force Heal), I have more money than I really need.
Yeah, but Swoop racing is limited. You can keep earning with Pazaak. And yeah, if they don't cheat, they sure seem to have just what they need when they need it an AWFUL lot.
My Pazaak sidehand is:
two +/- 1 cards
four +/- 2 cards
two +/- 3 cards
two +/- 4 cards
I play pretty well, but it's quite frustrating to get consistant 19s and 20s and have your opponent pull a tie out of his ass. I win about 2/3rds of the time, not enough to make it financially worthwhile this late in the game.
Swoop racing is only limited on a per-planet basis, though, and the payouts are so much higher that you'd have to spend a lot of time playing Pazaak to equal them. You get 7200 credits for winning all three tiers on Tatooine, for instance. You'd have to play an awful lot of Pazaak to equal that. Plus, nobody asks for your autograph when you do well in Pazaak.
That said, I do enjoy the occaisional hand of Pazaak. It's an interesting variation on Blackjack.
Speaking of swoop racing I wasted a lot of time trying to find upgrades for the bikes. The game and manual lead you to believe that they are available but I guess this feature didn't make the cut. I hope they either implement the upgrades or remove the mentions from the game and manual for the PC version.
Also, the swoop racing *badly* needs an instant retry option. Waiting for the main gameworld to load, click through the dialogue to initiate the race, and waiting at a loading screen once again is the main reason that the swoop racing sidequests will be the only light side quests I won't complete.
Besides you have so much damned money towards the end you don't know what to do with it. Or at least I didn't I had everything I needed. What was really funny was finding like 5000 credits in the last portion where there is definitely nowhere to spend it. :)
Pazzak is a nice little diversion I might play a bit more the second time through. I just wish I could use my force persuade to tell that guy on 19 "You want another hit." :)
-- Xaroc
I dont know what the AI uses for side decks.
According to a post on the Bioware forums, going first is a slight disadvantage and the main deck is a single deck of 40 cards, 4 each of 1-10. It doesnt get reshuffled until all 40 have been played.
olaf
Maybe Gelrood (I think that's him) cheats, after all her did get banned for cheating. However, I wasn't talking about him. I have to admit Pazaak cheese me off too. I didn't even bother with it this time around.Pazaak is fucking ridiculous. Dave swore that the designer says the AI doesn't cheat, but I've FREQUENTLY had the other guy get four hands of 20 in a row. That's insane.
I agree with that. I keep barely missing the score of the top tiered race at Tatooine and have no chance in Manaan. The feat is too unforgiving for me.
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