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New Player Game Progression; Avernum 1-4


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Greetings,

 

A few weeks ago I purchased Avernum 4 from Big Fish games. I've been enjoying it immensely, and just bought the Avernum 1-3 Collection.

 

The question I have is this, with only playing Avernum 4, but now having the registered versions of 1-3; How linked are the games in the series? Should I go ahead and finish out A4, or should I put that on hold and restart my adventures within Avernum with the first game in order to have better fluidity within the history and storyline of Avernum?

 

I enjoy RPG's for the storyline and lore mostly. For me, instead of just reading a fantasy novel, RPG's is like living and experiencing the adventure firsthand. So with that in mind, should I start over with 1, or are the seperate games so self-contained that it really doesn't matter what order to play them in?

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All the games are self-contained with some places giving summaries of past events. Starting with the first game will give you an idea of what motivates later games, revenge.

 

The biggest difference is the game engine changed between the first trilogy and Avernum 4. Some people can stand one game engine over the other and there are differences in what spells do so read the instructions.

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If you've gotten very far in A4, you've gotten some spoilers for the previous games. If that won't ruin the games for you, and it really shouldn't, you can enjoy all of them. Because the engine was fairly new in A1 and was upgraded for A2 and A3, for not missing features it's easiest to play in order.

 

—Alorael, who recommends A1 for having the most Avernum lore and background, A2 for being great and having the most about vahnatai, and, well, A3 is just a fairly generic adventure game. It's also something of a whodunnit, and A4 spoils the surprise quite effectively.

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I think it's pretty obvious at the beginning, if you played the first two games. The game quickly makes it clear that there are three possibilities, two of which make little sense given those characters' personalities in the previous games, and one of which makes perfect sense given (1) the ominous threats Rentar-Ihrno makes in X2, and (2) the blatantly suspicious dialogue in Ghikra, particularly with Rentar-Ihrno and Glantris-Bok (Ouroboros!).

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Thanks for the replies. I wasn't very far into A4 when I made the purchase of Avernum 1-3, so I put that on hold in order to start from the very beginning with A1. Mainly because of my original post. I play RPG's as an interactive fantasy novel. And to me, odd though it may sound, continuing to play A4 would be like starting a book in the middle, and then going back and reading the first three chapters. It just didn't make sense to play it that way.

 

Although aye, the learning curve by going from A4 to A1 is pretty harsh. I don't want to flame the fires of the debate of which engine is better, but for someone only with A4 experience, the game engine of A1 is very clunky and a whole lot less user friendly than with A4. I guess now I know why A4 was put out on Big Fish rather than A1...always wondered about that. I guess if you want to distribute a chapter in a game series on indie game distribution sites it would be the most user-friendly one.

 

Still, no real complaints from me. I got my interest in computer fantasy games with the gold box editions of D&D & Dragonlance games (Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, ect.), the Bard's Tale series, Wizardry, ect. Which is why I enjoyed A4 so much.

 

Most current "old school" turn-based RPG's that I've been playing are more reminescent of Nintendo and Sega console Japanese anime style looks (Aveyond, 3 Stars of Destiny, Laxius Force, ect). So I was instantly drawn in by the icons and artwork of A4 which is VERY reminescent of the looks and gameplay of the old true PC RPG games (Gold box D&D, Bards Tale, ect), and knew I had to get at least the chapters of the games that precede A4. I'll probably end up getting Avernum 5 & 6 as well.

 

Just sad that it took so long to discover Avernum. If Jeff didn't at least consent to putting Avernum 4 on the indie game distribution sites I doubt I would have ever discovered this gem of a series.

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I think the main thing to watch out for when going from avernum 4-6 to 1-3 are the different mechanics. There is also blades of avernum which I think is inspired by realmz where you have a party and play different scenarios with them.

 

As for the interface of 1-3 I think jeff plans to modify and polish it(after avadon I think).

 

If you like a good story there is Nethergate, which I think is the best game jeff has made, especially story wise, but it doesn't get as much attention as his other games as it is a single with no sequels.

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Originally Posted By: Many worlds, hypothetically
—Alorael, who likes to believe that Bon-Ihrno had sympathizers in Rentar's work crews.
It wouldn't surprise me either, since they're both political leaders in addition to being Ihrnos. Bon-Ihrno could've had some of his people join Rentar-Ihrno so he could keep tabs on her. He could also have them leave behind evidence that would point to Rentar as the mastermind behind the monster plagues, just like her people left behind evidence to incriminate others.
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