Tim Cain thinks about an Arcanum remake:

Thoughts On An Arcanum Remake

Tim Cain compiled Arcanum as a native Windows 10 application:

Arcanum As A Windows 10 App

Thanks Couchpotato!

Mortismal Gaming is discussing the possibility of an Arcanum sequel:

An Arcanum Sequel Is Now Possible

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:04 Arcanum
03:17 Original Devs
04:04 IP Rights
05:50 What Happens Now
07:03 Initial Sequel Plans
07:45 Microsoft Open To IP Revivals
09:33 Gauging Interest
11:20 Wrapping Up

Thanks Couchpotato!

Tim Cain looks back at a press event for Arcanum in the year 2000:

Arcanum Press Event

Thanks Couchpotato!

Tim Cain explains The Void and criticals in Arcanum:

Arcanum Criticals

Arcanum: Explaining The Void

Thanks Couchpotato!

Tim Cain talks about the sequel of Arcanum that was never released:

Arcanum 2: Journey to the Center of Arcanum

MandaloreGaming looks back at the Steampunk RPG Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura:

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura Review

Ye Old Entertainment reviews Arcanum.

Arcanum review: How does it compare to heavy hitters like Baldur's Gate 2 and Planescape: Torment?

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Mortismal Gaming reviews the patched version of Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.

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МУЛЬТ Ex Machina has implemented all Arcanum cinematics to 4K through the use of neural networks. A post on RPGCodex explains how you can add these cinematics to your version of Arcanum. If you wish to support the creator of this work you can visit his patreon here.

Hello, People!

I have prepared something for you

So, recently I've worked with Arcanum Multiverse Team to implement Supa-Dupa High Quality Videos into the game...
... and it works!
Also it should work for any other Arcanum compilation with resolution mod.

At first you should look at that video on my channel:

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If you are satisfied with the quality, then go to my google-drive and dowload the folder with your preferred resolution.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zCgfQx3viY7OAx44jGBHkNOouW_WlR8Y?usp=sharing

1) Copy all folders from the downloaded folder into the root folder of the game, replacing old files.

2) Copy all folders from "ENG" folder, replacing four (4) videos to make it English (by default they are in Russian)

3) IMPORTANT Cimematics resolution MUST be equal or less, than your Arcanum resolution, otherwise you will get a crash!!!

4) Enjoy the game videos up to 3840x2160

If you want to return to 800x600 cinetmatics - repeat the steps above with "800x600" folder. Cinematics in it are compatible with oroginal game, but still have the improved quality and framerate.

I have used neural networks and other software to "polish" these videos. Also you can check my channel - there are mostly upscaled and "polished" movies in Ukrainian (i'm ukrainian) and Russian, but also some others including game cinematics.

Also if there is a demand for other resolutions - I can encode and upload them to google-drive.

P.S.: I have 2K display, so I could't test it in 4K, but everything should be fine.
P.P.S.: If you like my work, you can visit patreon or order something personally (my prices are good)

A new version of the unofficial patch for Arcanum was released back in June bringing it to version 2.0.2.

Version 200611 (2.0.2)

[Virgil's Debug Menu] It's now safe to have the GB ring equipped at all times, it won't interfer with anything or cause any glitches.
[Virgil's Debug Menu] Added a spawn object function, it can spawn both items and enemies, you simply input their prototype ID.
[Master Educator] Added an option in the installer to make party members receive training level equal to the player's (if they have suffient skill points), this is a global change and the Educator background is not needed.
[No XP Per Hit] Added an option in the installer to disable the XP per hit system, full XP value will be granted on kill, party wide.
Fixed Shadow Shield, it now gives an AC bonus equal to Evil Alignment / 2.
[Race Mod] Fixed Strong Poison, it was applying a previously unused effect that was intefering with Race Mod.
[Race Mod] Fixed an issue with Edward Teach's dialog after killing Gilbert Bates, now shows responses for the extra races.

The latest fan patch (1.5.1) for Arcanum has been released.

For a long time Arcanum was seen as one of the buggiest cRPGs. Although there were some fix packs floating on the internet, most of them were poorly done and not compatible with each other. A complete and tested community patch was needed. A pure patch that just polishes the game without adding any questionable content or changing the gameplay in any significant way.

I decided to make such project a reality. I've been replaying the game many times, fixing a lot of bugs, omissions, inconsistencies. The problem was that one man simply can't find all the bugs on his own. But with the great help of so many fans from all across the globe this patch was made a reality.

And if you're wondering who I am, I'm just a long time fan of the game. When I decided to start this project, I spent time researching the game, learning how it works. It's been a long way, but now I've accumulated a great deal of information on the game and its internal workings, including basics of the engine and most file formats.

---

COMPONENTS

The patch consists of several modules:

• UAP Base
  All the bug fixes plus Extra Animations, Extended Ambient Tracks, HQ Townmaps and HQ Music.
• High Resolution Patch
  Allows the game to be played at any resolution. Defaults to 720p. Improves Windows 10 compatibility.
• Official DLC
  Adds 7 additional mini-campaigns. You can choose them in Options -> Game -> Module.
• Beta Content
  Various things restored from pre-release versions of Arcanum.
• Misc Mods
  Various miscellaneous mods and additions.

---

NOTES

• The patch is compatible with only English language versions of the game and will not install on localized versions.
• Old saves are generally incompatible and will cause crashes and lockups in many locations, please make sure to start a new game.
• If used with the Steam version, it's likely the game won't launch through Steam anymore, please use the provided desktop shortcut to run the game.

Indigo Gaming looks back at Arcanum and its historical importance, calling it a broken masterpiece. This is part 1 of a 3 part segment.

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In the first of a 3-part Troika Games retrospective, I will take a look at Leonard Boyarsky, Jason Anderson and Tim Cain's RPG classic: Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magic Obscura. This series will cover all three games they developed, how they innovated, what didn't succeed and and attempt at the age-old question: "What happened to Troika Games?"

Episode one is an Arcanum review, where I cover the historical importance of the game, how it borrowed and innovated from its Fallout and Baldur's Gate roots, the planned but shelved sequel, and the many inspirational (and disappointing) elements of this beloved fantasy steampunk role-playing game.

Version 1.5 of the High Resolution Patch for Arcanum has been released:

Version 1.5

• The patch is now configured and applied via a config file, no more command line prompts.
• Many more settings and features are now available in the config file, to be further configured by the user to their liking.
• The vertical position of the middle screen menus (e.g. inventory or load save) can now be set to top, bottom or center (default).
• Most UI graphics have been cleaned up, the top shading has been removed and full size borders have been added.
• Added fullscreen backgrounds to the main menu, 3 variants are available: just black, fade to black, fullscreen wooden background (also applies to options and credits).
• Compiled a completely new crisp sharp size 18 dialog font which is true to the original.
• Increased preload distance, so that you won't see stuck objects at very high resolutions. This feature is also user configurable.
• Increased broacast distance, so that the followers can heed your commands at greater distances. This feature is also user configurable.
• Splash screens are now centered.
• Fixed all lingering UI bugs, such as the map menu navigation button not working properly.
• Resolved the issue with the Half Ogre Island captain not spawning.
• Added options to force the game to use windowed mode, software rendererer and double buffer.
• Scrolling distance is no longer patched to be smaller, and both scrolling distance and scrolling FPS can now be configured in the config file.
• Streamlined and cleaned up a lot of code. All patch scripts are fully commented.
• Fixed a 'run as administrator' prompt on newer versions of Windows.
• The DDrawCompat wrapper is included in the patch and can be optionally installed, recommended for Windows 8/10 users.

Luj1 spotted that the Arcanum Multiverse Edition 1.3.0.9 is available on Steam now:

Features

▪ Multilanguage.
Preparing RePack we proceeded from the fact that all our fixes are compatible with both the Russian and English versions of the game. Selecting a language does not affect the performance of edits.
▪ Partially modified gameplay.
Some additions and additions touched dialogue and scripted scenes, namely the relation of words and NPC actions.
▪ Maps from Mapper's Mod integrated.
The project has done a great job over the ennoblement of design of all game locations: a lot of artifacts like sinking into walls objects were eliminated. Vegetation in those sectors where it is most conspicuous was cleaned. Also original arts were handled and added new ones, that formed the basis of graphical improvements of the mod. Detailed information can be found in the subject of the project. Also included is an expanded version of the mod, developed specially for the Sir's Expectations Modpack project (for details see "Other projects Multiverse Team").
▪ Original cut-out animation was integrated.
The beta versions of Arcanum presented additional animation, which was later cut. As an example of this animation new animated NPC movement in combat.
▪ Portraits of the beta-version of the game were added.
Introduced seven new portraits for different races and sexes which were absent in the original version of the game.
▪ Some background soundtracks were replaced.
Original cut-out ambient of the release version has been replaced by a more complete from the beta-version.
▪ Original lossless music was integrated.
Tracks in lossless quality we personally handed us by the composer Ben Houge, so that the quality of these tracks can be no doubt. Perhaps the owners of the integrated sound card and standard speakers will not appreciate our efforts, but I hope that everyone else will like it.
▪ High-quality maps of cities were integrated.
In the corresponding locations viewing the picture mode will be smoother.
▪ Contributed many fixes for items.
For example, the visual discrepancy between the schematics and the items were excluded, as well as revised their characteristics.
▪ New items have been created and objects based on used or previously missing artifacts.
Thus, we found an unused applications and content made by developers and we could eliminate some of the errors in the layout locations.
▪ Added the ability to run the game in windowed mode.
Previously, this required to register a key in the shortcut properties, but now this feature is available in the configurator.
▪ Arcanum High Resolution Patch was updated and integrated.
Especially for the patch made for high-resolution the interface version has been created and added to the scope of two variants of a background of the main menu. It is hiding visual artifacts after the patch installation.
▪ Selection of the best ideas and patches from UAP, GF 1.3, 1.0.7.5 and alpha patch.
Also a lot of small fixes of unknown bugs, improvements and additions were performed by our team.
▪ Configurator and launcher were created for easy compatibility settings with Windows 8, 8.1 and 10.
Configurator allows to connect Wine libraries and choose options that previously needed to register keys in the shortcut properties.
▪ Designed bonus section.
In the installation folder you can find a lot of official content.

Detailed report on the above items is set out in the log of changes and fixes included in the documentation for the game (files are in 'Arcanum\Arcanum\documents').

The classic Steampunk RPG Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura from Troika is available at Steam now:

An Industrial Revolution in a World of Magick

Imagine a place of wonder, where magick and technology coexist in an uneasy balance, and an adventurer might just as easily wield a flintlock pistol as a flaming sword. A place where great industrial cities house castle keeps and factories, home to Dwarves, Humans, Orcs and Elves alike. A place of Ancient runes and steamworks, of magick and machines, of sorcery and science. Welcome to the land of Arcanum.

Character Design allows you to customize your character any way you choose

• Whether you choose magick or technology, the Arcanum world adapts and responds to your character's development
• Classless, point-based attribute system allows for limitless creativity in guiding your character's development
• 8 basic stats, such as Strength and Charisma
• More than a dozen derived stats, from Poison Resistance to Character Speed
• 16 Primary skills, including Gambling and Healing
• 80 Spells with 16 Colleges of Magick
• 56 technological degrees within 8 disciplines

Extraordinary Adventure Features

• Explore a world as vast as it is mysterious-it would take over 30 real-time hours to traverse the land of Arcanum
• Meet more than 300 unique characters and monster types across this huge land
• Many means exist to solve the myriad quests, from dueling to discourse to thievery
• Take on a band of ogres in real-time, or plan your strategy through turn-based combat - you decide
• Accurate day and night cycles affect the gameplay, from combat to thieving skills
• Automatic character management lets action-oriented players delve into the quest at hand
• Create your own worlds or play the included multiplayer scenario online cooperatively or com

A sort of retrospective / review of Arcanum popped up at Hardcore Gaming 101.

[Arcanum] lies on the extreme end of the spectrum which runs between "boring but polished" and "ambitious yet buggy". Arcanum is very ambitious and very buggy. It's a logical evolution of 1990s computer RPGs, amplifying both their strong and weak points. At its best it's a narrative-heavy game (..). At its worst it's a tedious struggle against the enemies, the interface and the AI. It's a game that was clearly designed with a hardcore audience in mind. It has everything CRPG fans love (complexity, non-linearity, dice rolls, mod support).

Despite it's many issues, Arcanum is still a game worth playing. When it comes to narrative freedom and atmosphere it's one of the best and it deserves its place among the likes of Fallout, Baldur's Gate II andPlanescape: Torment. But when it comes to dungeons, combat mechanics and general polish, it's very lacking. Still, the good far outweighs the bad and almost anyone who has played the game remembers the story and the world even quite some time after playing the game.

Matt Barton takes a look at Arcanum in his latest video.

I came across a mod for Arcanum from a modder called Leonidus that rebalances every spell, item, and monster in the game. You can find the mod here with more information.

What my mod changed:

-Stats on over 500 weapons/armors/items (almost every single one)
-Stats on almost every spell
-15 spells replaced with new ones
-170 extra portraits
-Stats on almost every monster
-Important schematic changes so that good items require a special rare component, typically only found at certain parts in the game
-Follower level schemes so that they are more useful and effective
-Much, much more of course!

What my mod does:

-Makes combat actually challenging to your character at times. Some enemies are now powerful boss monsters.
-Balances combat by making as many styles viable and equal as possible (particularly magic, guns, fighter, bows, thrower, tech)
-Balances follower favoritism by making even useless followers decent. I've won games with Jayna, Weldo, Jormund, etc.
-Removes overpowered abilities or features, such as most stun/paralyze effects
-Adds purpose to previously useless things. Fancy clothes give a charisma bonus, for example.

-Overall it makes people's character build decisions actually matter. In regular Arcanum, it's all easy as hell no matter what you do. With this mod, how you develop your character determines what is harder and what is easier as you complete the game.

Chris Avellone has started his Let's Play Arcanum over at the Obsidian forums.

Currently I’m playing it without any fan patches, I want to play the release version. Part of me wants to contrast and compare if I do a second modded version (probably doing a tech-focused run). If that ends up being problematic, I’ll add the mods and then do a rush playthrough to get back to the point I was at so you guys don’t have to sit through the second playthrough. Well, unless you want.

Feel free to post suggestions for how you’d like me to play it on our forums or in YouTube's comments for the video – for right now, I’m just playing it as I would normally, which makes it a lot more relaxed. Hopefully, my in-game reactions and critiques should be enough if you’re interested on my RPG takes on any elements in the title.

If you have any questions about how I felt about certain elements (aside from Virgil’s sass), feel free to drop me a tweet at @ChrisAvellone and I’ll do what I can!

RPG Codex has done one of their retrospective interviews - this time with Leonard Boyarsky, the man who worked on Arcanum, Fallout, Fallout 2 and currently working at Blizzard Entertainment on Diablo 3. It's rather interesting....

A quote about how Boyarsky got into the business

How did you find your way into role-playing video game design? Did you come from pen & paper RPGs?

I did not have a lot of experience with pen and paper RPGs, unfortunately. I was fascinated with DnD and other RPGs when I was younger, but I never found a good group of people to play with. My first PnP experiences were at Interplay with Tim Cain running a Conan campaign. He also ran a pretty cool GURPS Space campaign, if I recall correctly.

The fact that I ended up a game designer was purely by accident..... However, once we finished the art for the game and had the time to start playing it in earnest, we found that a lot of our original area design and philosophy somehow hadn’t made it into the game. I remember specifically that there was nothing in the Brotherhood of Steel apart from the NPCs with talking heads – and we were supposed to be shipping soon. So Jason and I, with the unbounded arrogance of youth, decided we were going to start writing and editing dialogues and adding quests for the game. And so I became a game designer.

And a qoute about a business decision:

In the book Gamers At Work, Tim Cain mentions that Troika might have kept itself afloat by taking on various non-RPG projects, but that he was unwilling to sign on to games he "had no interest in playing." How do you feel about this kind of decision today? Is there – was there ever – a place for this kind of idealism in the industry, or should pragmatism have ruled the day?

I don’t think it was idealism. If we had no interest in playing a certain style of game, we would have no passion for making it. Making games is not easy – you definitely need to have passion for what you’re doing to be successful. Without the passion, you’re sunk.

A quote about on what he sees as defining the rpg genre:

In your view, what makes a good role-playing game and what are the defining elements of the genre?

I don’t think there is one set of criteria for what makes a good role playing game—it depends on what type of RPG you’re making. There would be a whole different list of criteria for a Mass Effect style game than there would be for Diablo III, for instance. It just depends on what the goals of the game are. However, one thing all RPGs do need to have is the ability to choose how to play your character in terms of skills and abilities.

Lastly, Boyarsky's views on Kickstarter:

Given the recent Kickstarter success stories of Tim Schafer and Brian Fargo, what do you think of crowdfunding as an alternative way of video game publishing? Do you believe it can significantly change the landscape of the industry, and would you consider turning to crowdfunding yourself in the future? (For a Troika reunion maybe?)

I think it’s great. It’s wonderful that old school games are being funded this way. I don’t know that it will have much of an effect on the publishing industry, though, unless one of the games is a huge hit.

And I’m happy working at Blizzard, so I don’t see crowdfunding in my future—especially since I have no desire to run my own company again.

Thanks Crooked Bee!

News from GOG that their Arcanum release is now Windows 7 compatible:

Time for the next surprise in the GOG.com's Holiday Celebrations. We're still working on adding Windows 7 compatibility to some of the games which have some issues with the newest operating system from big M. We're happy to let you know that Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura and Myst: Masterpiece Edition are now fully compatible with both 32 and 64-bit Windows 7. To get the latest, Windows 7 compatible versions of the games, you have to re-download and install them again.

If you don't already own Arcanum, $2.99 at GOG is an absolute steal for a classic game.

It's nice to see a review of Arcanum to along side the recent GOG release.  GameShard awards a score of 8/10:

Outside the few minor nuisances and outside the combat in general, the game is actually superb, the story is intriguing, the world is very interesting to explore and there are plenty of quirky characters to meet. The graphics are acceptable for the games age; they evoke the world well enough. And that is probably Arcanum’s biggest draw, the atmosphere is simply stunning, the style, the dialogue, the music, everything fits together perfectly to create this world before you. From the portraits of typical fantasy creatures dressed up like Victorian gentlemen. Well acted, and well written dialogue that feels reminiscent of a great Jules Verne style adventure novel. And simply incredible music. You can believe in the world Arcanum presents, and really, that is at the heart of what make a great RPG.

Troika's classic steampunk crpg, Arcanum,  now joins the catalogue of older games revamped for modern computers at Good Old Games. The price is $5.99 U.S.

Here's the announcement:

If you already know this game, you should require no introduction. If, for some reason, you haven't played it yet, you've somehow sidestepped a legend and should atone by experiencing it at your earliest convenience.

Arcanum is a computer role-playing game and at the same time the name of a unique world - a classic fantasy setting at its core, but intertwined with steampunk, with the world currently in the middle of an industrial revolution. Its creators took advantage of this by implementing a beautifully complex character creation system and having the world and storyline adapt to whatever character you have created. To top it off, you can travel the open-ended world as you see fit and complete quests in a variety of ways - from combat, through diplomacy, to plain thievery. It's simply one of the greatest RPG titles of all time. What more recommendation could you possibly need?

Follow this link to get all the information; and should you decide to purchase, help out the Watch through our sponsorship program.

Drog has released a new version 091225 of his unofficial patch as a Christmas gift  for the Arcanum fans. The patch is a compilation of his work during the last year or so and fixes many things, including a rather critical bug. Drog himself has moved on:

I lost interest in both patching and the actual game as well. I guess, everyone eventually moves on, and so did I. Anyway, this is still a substantial release.

The patch may be unfinished in a sense that I still have a few pages of unsolved bug reports, but this version has many bug fixes, including a number of engine fixes/tweaks. It even fixes a few very annoying critical bugs (e.g. Virgil not dying at the Sobbing Onion).

The full changelogs are included with the patch. Understandably, in the end this is still an unsupported work that is no longer maintained. I take zero responsibility for what this patch does. Use it at your own risk.

Another 'Aged Well' article at Bitmob. This article on Arcanum is, of course, very positive.

I had gotten hooked at the meticulous webwork of Arcanum's Victorian-esque society; I was reeled in by the clashing ideals of ancient magick and progressive technology, befitting of the steampunk genre; I was awestruck at the sheer multitudes of items and monsters that populated the game world, without being too overbearing; I was dumbfounded as to how Troika managed to pull it off.

Tying in to Cosmo's earlier writeup on the often fickle process of choice within video games, Arcanum continued the happy tradition set by Fallout that placed you in a game world in which you can practically do whatever the hell you want. That was another alluring element of the game -- if I wanted to strip off all of my armor and streak through the town while drunk, nothing could stop me! Well, except maybe the local constabulary, of course. Still, the freedom to actually pull off a stunt like that was a refreshing take on stuffy video game parameters that typically shunted you from linearity to linearity.

I've been looking forward to this...Drog Black Tooth (of Unofficial Patch fame) has completed a high resolution mod for Arcanum that allows for any resolution.  Here's the feature list:

Features:

• Full support for any resolution.
• All elements of the interface perfectly centered.
• All elements of the interface remain their original size with no custom graphics in any resolution.
• Full compatibility with any mods that are based off the 1.0.7.4 version.
• Full compatibility with older save games.
• Improved Compact UI. Can now be accessed anytime by pressing F10.
• Optional larger dialog and logbook fonts.

Thanks Licaon_Kter, who originally spotted at RPG Codex.

Blues' News spots an interestig patching project for Troika's classic rpg.

The Codex Forums now offer a new unofficial patch for Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura, updating this RPG to version 081229. This is a homebrew patch, since developer Troika Games is no longer in business, and it looks like an ongoing project, as word is: "However, keep in mind, that this project doesn't tolerate any custom content at all. No balance changes as well. We just need to polish the game." A change log outlines what's new and different, and also outlines planned future changes. Downloads of the patch are mirrored on The Patches Scrolls.

As collateral from the Activision/Vivendi merger 21 Sierra games are having their servers closed, which will include the final breath of Arcanum's Sierra game server. Other games to lose their multiplayer support are the Ground Control series, Empire Earth, Homeworld, Star Trek: Armada, Caesar IV and No one Lives Forever 2. For a full list go here. The closure will happen 1st of November 2008.

Our last entry for Drog Black Tooth's Unofficial Arcanum Patch is marked "final" but it seems development continues with a new version released a couple of days ago.  A miscellany of things are fixed, so head over to the main thread at RPG Codex.

Drog Black Tooth's quest to fix Arcanum has apparently finished, with v080708 Final released.  The latest version seems to concentrate on typos but there are still too many to list here - check out the original thread on RPG Codex for full details and links.

Drog Black Tooth's Unofficial Arcanum Patch was updated last week, moving the latest version to 080626.  The list of fixes is way too long to post here, so head over to the original RPG Codex thread for the latest.

Drog Black Tooth's Unofficial Arcanum Patch has been updated with another list of fixes too long to post here - the collective changes are quite amazing.  Head to this thread at RPG Codex for links and the full patch notes. 

Gamebanshee  posts the latest links for the unofficial Arcanum patch along with some notes:

Here we go. I've put a lot of work into this one, spend a lot of hours tracking and fixing bugs, finding and restoring lost content. The main feature of this release is that sprite mirroring is disabled. I was very interested in this matter from the very beginning, I even contacted Leonard Boyarsky this week (and he was kind enough to forward my question to Tim Cain, those guys are really amazing), and in the end, encouraged by Tim Cain's words I hacked the engine myself. Basically, the number of animations is now almost doubled, near 200 mb of disabled animations are back. Without any kidding, this is the most important and revolutionary update to Arcanum since its release back in 2001.

Note that the patch is designed to work with a vanilla English version of the game, patched to 1.0.7.4. It's recommended that a new game be started, and that no mods be installed as the patch is not compatible with them.

The cd check has been removed and the full changelog can be obtained here  at Computergames.ro as well as the download which is also available at  GamersHell and Rapidshare.

Gamebanshee has posted some info on an unofficial Arcanum patch in the works by Drog Black Tooth cited in a post at RPGCodex. This download link is given in the post.

The fix list is impressive:

The patch is designed to work with a vanilla English version of the game, patched to 1.0.7.4. NO MODS SHOULD BE INSTALLED. The patch most likely won't be compatible with them.

The CD check has been removed as well, no point in it after all these years.

Although it's not obligatory, it's advised that you start the new game. Some fixes (i.e. Kraka-Tur journal) won't work with old saves.

v080415 CHANGELOG:

-Added race icons for Dark Elves, Ogres and Orcs. Now you can distinguish them from their brotherly races. Note: icons were in the game, but due to laziness were unused. No idea why, they're actually quite beatiful.
-Fixed art for Elixir of Hypnotic Suggestion.
-Fixed typos in dialogue for Raven, Zan Alurin, Alice and Willow.
-Fixed Alexander's dialogue and dying script. This allows for properly getting his ending.
-Added a missing line to Nasrudin's dialogue.
-Fixed issues with Kraka-tur's journal and Kraka-tur's dialogue. Now you have an option to shame him if you read the journal, and he also properly recognizes both his journal and eye.
-Fixed mixed up responses for dummies in Pollock's dialogue.
-Fixed Surly Virgil's dialogue. Now he properly leaves the party and has a proper response when jilted.
-Fixed Virgil's dialogue so he now recognizes the crash site and tells PC about it when asked.
-Fixed wrong line number in generic npc class responses.(gd_cls_m2m.mes)
-Restored HEF2 (Half Elf Female 2) and NPCJay (Jayna Stiles) portraits from the beta version as the ones in the final are clearly inferior to them.
-Fixed palettes for Large Wool Jacket and Heavy Rags.
-Fixed Darm Helm. Its effects are no longer permanent. (Original script contained a typo, wrong line number)
-Fixed Black Stone Blade. Its effects are no longer permanent. (Original object had a wrong WIELD_OFF script attached)
-Fixed the exit of Stone Cutter Clan script. Now it teleports you to the proper location.
-Dark Elves, Ogres and Orcs stats are tweaked a bit to match their brotherly races.
-Ogres and Orcs are no longer considered monster (except for summoned ones).
-Kerghan's Dragon Form now has a monster flag, so he can do proper damage, 5-20 of normal, poison, fire and electrical, as it was meant by developers. Note: Critters in Arcanum can do custom unarmed damage only if they have one of the monster flags (monster, undead, animal, mechanical).
-Naked Halfling was missing an undead flag. Now he can do his proper damage, 15-40 of normal.
-Added large basic and bronze platemails, large and small dragon skin leathers, small dread armor, normal and small dark, bronze and red barbarian armor to shops. No way to get most of these types of armor otherwise.
-Fixed issues with Dweomer Shield and Reflection Shield spells. They no longer work on mind controlled creatures (this includes summoned ones), thus they won't allow for making anybody a permanent follower glitch anymore.
-Removed level scaling with random encounters (except Molochean Hand and orc bandits). Level scaling was unrealistic in the first place, you could meet certain creatures only on certain levels and no creatures except molochean hand and bandits on level 50, thus making the world feel more empty and making it more trivial to level up your followers.
-Drog Black Tooth now has a proper race.
-Ivory and Whysper in Qintarra now have proper races.
-Silver Lady is now leveled up, has no pickpocket, no disintegrate and no flee flags, and most of all has a missing floating animation restored.
-Race fixes for almost all guards in T'sen-Ang. (They were elves instead of dark elves and it's easy to see now with races icons fix)
-Void party: Gorgoth and Krakatur now have proper monster flags and proper custom damage. Bane of Kree is leveled up, Arronax now has a proper race (no longer human).
-Race fixes for 3 dwarves in Wheel Clan.
-Race fixes for Orc Bandit in the Boil, 2 Dark Elf Guards outside T'sen-Ang, Bunny at Madam Lil's, Halfling Villager in Shrouded Hills, Elf Thief, Half Ogre Bandit and Halfling Bandit on the Isle of Despair, Willoughsby (first appearance, with Smythe), Ogre Bandit at the Crash Site. They all had wrong races.
-Evil Joachim at docks is leveled up to match the one at the city entrance when you walk to Caladon on your own. (Yes, there are two of them, you get a one based on how you got to Caladon)
-Fixed basic proto issues for 10 Orc Berserkers in the Boil, proper gender and soundbanks now.
-Fixed Stringy Pete and his crew basic proto issues: they no longer do 0 damage if disarmed and have proper soundbanks.
-NPCs will no longer pick up boulders on their own.
-Both hushed revolver and hushed pistol are now silent. That is, they can only be heard within 2 tiles.
-Fixed descriptions for Chapeau of Magnetic Inversion and Potion of Intellect.
-Added a missing line to Simeon Tor's dialogue.
-A medical arachnid made by player is now functioning.
-Machined Plate now gives a proper strength bonus. (Script counters weren't set)
-Fixed Nasrudin's dialogue for dummies.
-Fixed typo in Magnus' dialogue and added global flag which affects Thorvald's dialogue.
-Swyft now properly disbands in Tarant in all cases.
-Now you can properly accept Swyft's quest with high haggle skill.
-All methods to become a friend of Molochean Hand now work correctly.
-Creep Armour now gives a bonus to backstab, just as the description says.
-Fixed wrong haggle conditions and missing global flags in the dialogue for the Molochean Hand Agent at Shrouded Hills.
-Fixed the Master Mage of Water's dialogue for dummies, now the former student appears in front of the gates in this case as well.
-Fixed Weldo Rubin's dialogue, now he waits, disbands and rejoins properly.
-Fixed Weldo Rubin's stats, now he has an auto-leveling scheme, so he can level up properly.
-Revolver Parts now have proper art.
-Small Robe of the Chameleon now has proper art.
-Tarant Sewers now use a correct music track.
-Geoffrey and Perriman dialogues and scripts are fixed, now you can have them both in your group if you're a master of persuasion and have charisma of 20.
-Fixed Simeon Tor's dialogue, now he properly recognizes Perriman and Geoffrey.
-Maxim will now recognize parts for a Mechanized Gun and build one for you.
-Fixed description on a Wise Woman in Caladon (no longer says "Halfling Villager").
-Fixed Nicholas the Bartender at Madam Lil's. He was using a generic bartender dialogue, while he had a proper one. His dialogue is rather funny, he gives you free drinks when you pay for a girl, and when you get drunk enough you get an option to sexually harass him, his comments are priceless (and random!).
-Magick Beans are now fixed.
-You will no longer be able to pick up hostile automatons and make them your followers.
-You can no longer sell the real Stillwater Giant's pelt to H.T. Parnell more than once.

GamersInfo has a look back at Troika's Arcanum - here's the intro:

 It has been a long time for me. I try and have faith good things will happen, really, I do. I want to think that the next newest and shiniest game coming out will really be a good game. It so rarely is. I can rant about MMO's being so focused on artwork and technical performance and then shoving all their customers in a empty, heartless world with little to do but grind grind grind. So here I am, reverting back to some old games; games with a heart. Back to a time when game developer's really designed their game, their world, and most importantly, they defined what RPG really means. With hope, I picked up some Arcanum CDs, remembering that it has been a long time, nearly six years now. If you have never played this classic RPG, and maybe feeling a little like me, give it a listen.