Randomizer

Quote: Originally written by Locmaar: I do recall, though, that I was really annoyed when Gladwell didn't drop a chain of smoking keys when he hit the floor. I asked Jeff about why Gladwell's key didn't open the difficulty 90 reward doors and it was, "no bulk looting of rewards." You can't get those rewards without having to do the quests.

Quote: Originally written by Azuma: Uhm..the Windows one will be released early next year..right? Jeff waits a few weeks to hear complaints and bug reports before he really gets into converting the game over to Windows. Figure about 3 to 4 months at least before release. It will go quicker since the graphics are already in bitmap format.

Did anyone ever wait until after finishing Gladwell's 5th geas quest and see if there was anything more that the normal rewards? I'll admit I couldn't get past 4 before I really had to kill him. My real complaint about A5 that keeps it below A2 in the pantheon was the choke points where you had to do the quest to leave the area. The one for the demo and Lysstak for leaving chapter 3 are the only true ones. If you really work at it you can push through chapter 4 into chapter 5 without doing Solberg's quest, but you have to reload several times to figure out how to do it without making the entire area hostile so you can come back later. There isn't the freedom to really just explore the new world. Jeff continually forces you back into the linear path.

You need the preference files from the CD-ROM for the games. If you can't get the original CD to load so the preferences are on the hard drive, then you need to email Jeff to explain the problem and get registration codes.

Depending upon where you are in the game, there are a lot of calls for scripts on the hard drive. That would generate plenty of heat.

I can't remember off hand, but it's a quest late in the game where a merchant wants mundane items. I think it's north of Dharmon.

Divine retribution is still better when the targets are spread out. By the end of the game a divine touched spellcaster can do decent damage with any attack spell. Jeff really improved the mage spells so arcane blow is better. The mage summons are better than the priest summons except that you can't use mind effect spells against shades. Jeff nerfed shades after much player abuse.

I hate to comment on this since every time I told Jeff about them they got changed. The first time was 5 days into beta testing while waiting for chapter 2. Critiquing the first 7 disciplines while still in the demo really got to him. It didn't help when half way through chapter 5 I was commenting on the last. Well Aimed Blow is great for starting since you get 50% more damage. Neat for everyone. On area attack spells it only increases damage for one target. Shieldbreaker weakens your foe so you can pile on more damage for several rounds. It acts like a weaken spell. Leg Sweep is better in normal games where you make a difference with the monster's ability to hit since it acts as a curse. Beserker Fury is okay when you don't have time for blessing and shielding. Focus Spirit is useless since you probably will be fatigued when you need it. Mighty Blow is great for 100% more damage. Adrenaline Rush helps spellcasters more than fighters since the extra AP are only for a single round and it has a high fatigue cost. Bladeshield is weaker than the much abused original, but still helps in melee battles to shield fighters. Stunning Blow works well for nonboss fights where the script doesn't give an automatic attack every round. It's nasty against you since you lose a round. Battle Rage is the best for hasting and extra damage for several rounds. My fighters go for it as quickly as possible. Really great if you lose your sanity and run Anama.

Make Thuryl become a mod again, That'll teach him what happens when you make the first post .

I went with using human spellcasters in my first game while beta testing, before finding out how powerful battle disciplines could be in increasing spell damage. Humans are almost useless for parties. Non-humans (nephils and sliths) gain at least 5 combat levels in their respective fighting skills over the course of the game. With 20 combat levels needed to get all the battle disciplines, this is a huge bonus to gaining battle disciplines for any character. I went with all characters having divine touch, fighters having elite warrior, and mage with natural mage, and the priest having pure spirit. The experience penalty means that I'll be around 30th level at the end. I found having all nephils as a party works great. A slith pole weapon fighter is okay because of the higher health, but he finishes up 2 levels lower than the rest. I placed the tool use with a priest and the mage had some priest spells so with items he could reach 8th level to do mass heal. You really need 2 characters with unshackle mind (level 6) for the times one spellcaster is dazed/terrorized/charmed.

For those of you who failed to read the instructions, here are a few changes in Avernum 5 from the earlier games: Tool use and the mage spell unlock don't have to be in the same character. Unlock now only removes the magical spell protecting the door (tinker's crystal will do the spell's effect). You need tool use to still unlock doors and remove traps. The highest level of TU needed in normal play is 18 and anything higher is for a reward or special key door. There are a few 20 difficulty doors in the Anama areas, but the items aren't worth raising TU that high. You can only have 2 summoned creatures in your party at any one time. Jeff was a trifle upset at the mobs of creations attacking his poor boss monsters. There will be no more instant armies. Also shades are less powerful. Parry has been decreased from 5% per level to 3% to prevent tanks that shrug of attacks. Augmentation now gives less health. Enduring shield provide 3% armor and essence armor provide 6% as well as reducing the chance of being hit. Essence armor no longer increases health. 200+ health spellcasters in the middle of the game were upsetting the balance of the game. Running glass cannons is now a bad idea, at least in torment. Endurance still isn't a great increase to health until reaching level 10 or more, but it is become necessary. Sliths get more health to make up for them not using a shield. More items can't be sold so don't carry them around. Costs have been decreased to compensate. Also you don't have weight for items in quick use slots and/or your backpack.

Quote: Originally written by Rowen: One thing that struck me as odd is that I am playing for the Empire, but I can have lizards or kitties in my party. I thought the Empire was famous for it's hatred of all non-humans. Has that hatred changed over the last few years and now the surffice dwellers mingle every day with these other races, even to the point that they allow them to serve in thier army? The benevolent reign of Empress Prazac has allowed for the lesser races to be brought into service. Wait a few chapters and you'll see how the non-humans are viewed by Avernites and the Darkside Loyalists when they are encountered. Jeff has additional dialog for when no-humans are in your party. Especially at the end when you confront Dorikas.

I played through on torment and from the few times I played on normal I could see how overpowered lower settings can be. The plot was way better and should have been used for Avernum 4. Lots of nice information about old friends from the earlier games from Gypsy to Solberg and X. Really enjoyed the ecology of the eyebeast. I have to say that battle disciplines were the best improvement for the game even if it makes running humans the worst decision a player can make. I'm guessing an all human party would be a challenge game.

For those that haven't gotten the news, go here for the download links.

Vampiric touch works with non damaging magic spells so it will probably work with missle weapons. I've never used it long enough to test it. You have to keep track of current health before each attack and watch for the message at the bottom.

The games AI tends to go after the last character that wounds it. That's why Delicious Vlish's tactics of approaching melee attack monsters from two widely spaced points worked well in getting them to run uselessly back and forth between attackers by alternating attack from the furthest one.

Jeff is hoping that Apple comes out with an update to fix the problems. In the mean time he's working on getting Avernum 5 out this month so it works with Leopard. He may have to port all the graphics files to a different format and then have testers go through to see if all the graphics work. I think he's hoping to avoid this.

Keep encumberance low by storing items near a shop or pylon. Using high XP penalty character traits pays off in gaining hard to get skills. Magery, blademaster, sharpshooter, and free spell levels add up fairly quickly. Running non human characters also helps even though the graphics all look the same. Free weapon skills for fighters helps at the start. I mostly used wands and potions and sold most of the rest.

Judging from the problems with converting in game saves from Mac OS 9 to OS X for Blades of Exile, there are differences in the way information is saved in the number of bits used in each operating system for a few pieces of information. These hidden zeroes cause values to change even though the information is stored in the same order.

For Mac the files are stored in the application (Avernum 4) as a folder for Avernum 4 saved games. Copy the saved games that you want to keep (first save game is Sav0, second saved game is Sav1, ..., quick save is Sav18, and autosave is Sav19) to a different area. Then uninstall and reinstall the game (or install under a different folder name). Copy back the files you saved and it's done. For Windows the files are in My Document. Same idea.

The name you save under in game doesn't show up in the file name of the save game. All saved games are named sav0 to sav19 with sav19 being autosave and sav18 being quick save. The first in game save slot correspond to sav0 and so forth. So look at the save file that corresponds to the position that you saved under. If you have only one saved game then the others will be the installation created temp files.

You first need to try talking to him. You also need the quest from Lord Ruhal. After that you need to move near him to examine him and try talking to him again. Be prepared for a fight.

Windows version should have them in My Documents. It should be fairly obvious as a named folder with Avernum 4 and the 20 save folders inside it. The only other spot is with the application.

I posted this under spoilers because it was a common question.

I agree more with the Trakovites than the others. I think Jeff will take that ending for the start of GF5 since only with a stalemate can either side still win. The other endings leave one side in power with frightening results.