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GF2--Stuck, Need Help


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I finished GF1 and am well into GF2, playing as a Shaper. I'm up to level 24 and teamed up with Xander. I've cleared the eastern portion of the map. However, I can't find a way to get any further along.

To the southwest is Experimental Valley; I've cleared all but the southwestern corner, and I understand that's not worth the bother.

To the northwest is Dead Pass and Infected Something-or-Other. Some of the shades in Dead Pass are--well, deadly; I've died there too many times. And in the Infected area, I've cleared everything but can't get past the Gazer; instant death there too.

Just beating my head against a brick wall at this point, thinking of abandoning the game. Any suggestions?

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Hello... I'm in the midsts of GF2 myself. All the places you mention are in the Takers area. So... you've cleared up most of the game. I can't pass dead pass either, I haven't cleared the Infected Pass or crossroads (I doubt I went more than a couple of steps), or actually the Shade patrol and I still work towards my endgame with the Awakened without any problems so far. I got a token from the Icy Breeding pit that lets me cross 1-2 more areas.

 

All in all, I think you have seen what you can see without joining the Takers or getting powerful enough to crush through them. I would say work towards the endgame but I am no expert.

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Experimental Valley is definitely not in Taker lands; it sounds like the OP has half the game left to explore.  Check out this map:

 

http://murrp.myartsonline.com/geneforge/2gene_map.html

 

You'll note there are a few different ways west.  Did you try the route south of Experimental Valley?

 

Keep in mind that the in-game map only displays zone exits that you have actually found in-game.

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Dead pass and infected crossroads are in the Takers side though. Experimental valley our friend says he has mostly cleared, or that's what I got.

And good grief, from that map it seems I have like 25+ areas that I haven't cleared and at least 10 that I haven't seen.  At least I saw where the Barrier of Winds is... that's where I am heading now.

 

Regardless, p55caroll, have you been to the Bazrite lands? Which areas are you trying to access and find it hard?

Edited by alhoon
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True, true...

but I assumed our friend was in similar shoes with me. I have been very frustrated in the Taker lands so I decided to go for the Awakened ending without breaking my face on each of those places.

I haven't considered that the other player could have missed the Barzite parts but still found his or her way to the Takers.

Edited by alhoon
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Thanks, everyone (even for the potentially misleading info; every little bit helps). To clarify my position (as best I can, though I've been on a long break from the game), my choices are 34. Pit of the Bound (which I believe is a difficult dead end, so I'm ignoring that), 68. Dead Pass (where I keep getting killed by powerful shades), 71. Infected Crossroad (where I cleared everything but can't defeat the Gazer who's blocking the way), and 40. Experimental Valley (where I cleared everything except the southwest corner, which I now realize has an exit to other areas).

 

I guess I'm maybe a third of the way through the game. The one area in the east I've never been able to deal with is 12. Crystal Caverns. I got killed there too many times and finally gave up.

 

IIRC I have a Taker token. I used it to get as far into the northwest region as I have.

 

I suppose I should try completing 40. Experimental Valley. All the mines in that area were a pain, so I stopped short of completing the area. Maybe I'll go back and find a way to do that, since I can't seem to do anything else. (Of course, there my Taker token may work against me.)

 

Thanks again.

Edited by p55carroll
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Oh, that area is probably the poorest designed area I have seen in the Geneforge games I've played.

Still, I would 100% suggest you continue with the games. Among the best stories in games (aside of some frustrating story-light zones) I've seen. Very original.

 

If I may ask, which other Geneforge games have you played? I've played GF4-5 to completion, part of GF3 and part of GF2.

 

Have you seen the Barzites? I consider them the worst (from a moral standpoint) faction I've seen.

 

 

PS. I heartily suggest you avoid reading spoilers; it's the story that counts. When you have trouble, I believe it would be better for you to ask here, like you did, than use a walkthrough or cheat.

Edited by alhoon
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The Gazer in Infected Crossroads is not blocking the way, you can get through just fine with him alive, the area just won't turn green.

 

Exp Valley is simply combat mode + speed + mech. If you can't do that go the clawbug valley route, that's the combat way to the barzites.

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Quote

If I may ask, which other Geneforge games have you played? I've played GF4-5 to completion, part of GF3 and part of GF2.

I've only played Geneforge 1 before this. Played it all the way through and experimented with various endings. I enjoyed it so much that for a long while I was playing three simultaneous games--as Agent, Guardian, and Shaper. I only finished as the Shaper, though.

 

Quote

Have you seen the Barzites?

Umm ... I don't think so. I've been away from the game for a few months, as it was too frustrating to continue. Is that the faction to the southwest of Medab (or wherever the Awakened leader is posted)? I must have heard warnings to avoid the Barzites.

 

1 hour ago, Nim said:

The Gazer in Infected Crossroads is not blocking the way, you can get through just fine with him alive, the area just won't turn green.

Really?! Seems like every time I cross the narrow path to where that big eye is, he starts zapping us to death. I don't even think I looked to see if there was an exit beyond him. How embarrassing that would be--to have been stumped by a creature I could just walk by.

 

1 hour ago, Nim said:

Exp Valley is simply combat mode + speed + mech. If you can't do that go the clawbug valley route, that's the combat way to the barzites.

Yeah, I cleared out most everything in that heavily mined area, with some difficulty. Had to use some mech-enhancing items, IIRC, and do a lot of fancy dodging. But until today I thought that area was a dead end, so I didn't persist when I got near where the exit is. I'll try again. As to Clawbug Canyon--hmmm ... I'll have to take a closer look at that; I can't remember whether I even ventured there.

 

1 hour ago, alhoon said:

I heartily suggest you avoid reading spoilers; it's the story that counts. When you have trouble, I believe it would be better for you to ask here, like you did, than use a walkthrough or cheat.

Actually, I did refer to a walkthrough while playing--but it didn't help me get past the obstacles I'm facing. I've never resorted to cheats, but normally I don't mind using walkthroughs to guide me through RPGs. I played Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment with the help of walkthroughs, and I don't think I'd have wanted to go through either entirely on my own. I'd have been frustrated to tears by some of the puzzles. The story's still there even if I peek ahead for a clue now and then.

Edited by p55carroll
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8 hours ago, Nim said:

There is no need to go even close to the gazer area, you want the door in the SW. There is a lever in there that opens the door a bit north.

 

Clawbug valley is to the SW from Freegate.

Aha! I'm back in action now, making progress. Thanks!

 

Turns out I need 11 living tools to pull that lever, and I only have 3. Maybe later. I thought I was looking for an iron key or something where the gazer is, but I may not be remembering right.

 

Anyhow, I went to Freegate to remind myself what's there, and it turned out it was an easy walk over to the entrance to Clawbug Canyon. For some reason I had just never gone there. It was a piece of cake getting past that and over to Kss-Urg's Valley, and I cleared that out too. So now I have access to Thahd Dump Ground.

 

Just for the  heck of it, I tried clearing the last mined area of Experimental Valley--the part blocking the gate to Kss-Urg's Valley. But the mines kept exploding and poisoning me, so eventually I gave up. Nevertheless, I notice that area is now green, and I can pass freely through it.

 

It's good to be moving ahead again. Now I just wish there were some living tools among the huge piles of stuff I've dumped in Medab. I've just about filled two rooms with items I couldn't carry.

 

And btw, my shaper is up to level 25 now. :)

 

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If you are unaligned/loyalist the mage in Drypeak Warrens has a bunch of tools to sell. Apart from that there are way more of them overall in game than you should ever need assuming you have decent mech. I had 90 tools at the end of my last run with only 9 skillpoints put into mech.

 

And just a warning, don't get too extreme with the item dumping, afaik that can lead to problems.

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There is a limit to the number of items the game will save in each zone -- I think 255, but I don't remember precisely.  This includes items that start out there as well as whatever you drop, enemies you kill drop on the floor, etc.  So if you go past that, stuff may just disappear.  You CAN safely drop a lot of stuff in the ground in one area for storage, just not everything.

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7 hours ago, d'occasion said:

There is a limit to the number of items the game will save in each zone -- I think 255, but I don't remember precisely.  This includes items that start out there as well as whatever you drop, enemies you kill drop on the floor, etc.  So if you go past that, stuff may just disappear.  You CAN safely drop a lot of stuff in the ground in one area for storage, just not everything.

I just kept dropping things in a room until I couldn't anymore, and then I moved to another room and started dropping things there.

 

I wouldn't mind if it all disappeared, as long as it didn't later turn out I desperately needed one of those items. Trouble is, I can't be sure. So, when I've got more stuff than I can sell, and much more than I can carry, what else can I do but drop it? Anyhow, inventory management is one of my least favorite aspects of any RPG.

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18 minutes ago, Nim said:

There is also the dreaded empty container bug whose source is still unknown I think ? That's another reason not to pile of loot too much just in case there is a connection.

 

Oh, no... should I stop everything I'm doing and rush back to empty my adopted containers?

What is that very ominously sounding bug? You open a container and it's empty? Your loot is lost for good?

 



I just kept dropping things in a room until I couldn't anymore, and then I moved to another room and started dropping things there.

 

I wouldn't mind if it all disappeared, as long as it didn't later turn out I desperately needed one of those items. Trouble is, I can't be sure. So, when I've got more stuff than I can sell, and much more than I can carry, what else can I do but drop it? Anyhow, inventory management is one of my least favorite aspects of any RPG.

GF2's inventory system is the reason I didn't play it so far and the reason I'm rushing through the game like a forest fire. And the reason I don't pick up stuff to sell and I am poor. For example "More stuff than I can sell" sounds weird for me since I have emptied perhaps 2 merchants in the whole game.

 

 

GF3 is more "professional" than GF2 in that aspect (and I would say some others). GF4-5 are a clear step above.

 

Going backwards is a real pain in that regard.

Edited by alhoon
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Empty container bug means that at some point all containers (boxes/chests etc.) become empty. Afaik nobody knows why it happens, it can happen even in newer games (AEftP) and usually your autosave will become useless.

While it is rare it is devastating if it happens and with no clear cause going the safe route and keeping only the needed stuff in your pile of loot seems reasonable.

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The empty container bug is a file corruption bug that only happens in new unexplored zones and hasn't been seen in Geneforge games.

 

There is the too many items in a zone that causes some items to disappear as Slarty said so having more than 200 is risky. So putting some in another zone will help.

 

It's possible in Geneforge 1 and 2 to drain merchants of all coins to buy your items. Also depending upon the faction and if you joined it, the prices will change.

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38 minutes ago, alhoon said:

Mac or PC?

That's serious, I-rage-quit-for-a-month serious stuff.

 

People have reported it in both across various games; I personally experienced it in the Mac version of Avadon 1. There's normally an error message when the bug first happens, but it can be easy to miss. Make sure to keep backup savefiles.

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By "error message" Lilith means an error in the text console, by the way, not a dialogue box or anything.

 

The cause is unknown.  It definitely happened more in certain games (Avernum 4 especially) and Jeff said at one point he fixed it -- which seems to have made it much less likely to occur, though it still does, so presumably he fixed one possible origin.

 

One thing we know can cause it (doesn't usually, but can) is use of certain shift-D codes that were intended for testing purposes only and may not load/save zones the same way regular code does.  In particular, "backtostart" can cause this in certain games (like A4).

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4 hours ago, d'occasion said:

You're fine.  You would know if this bug had struck you because every new container object you opened (in new zones) would have nothing in it.

 

Also, at least in some games, the bug causes certain other interactive objects such as levers to act as containers instead of functioning normally.

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