yuma_bill

People in positions of power usually strive for more power. The Shapers engage in harsher crackdowns. The Rebels (the Drakons at least) are prepared to unleash doomsday devices. This has all been discussed extensively on this thread. But there's an alternative in GF4 that's not being discussed....and that's disarmament. Which is the position of the Trakovites. People have said it's unrealistic since no one wants to give up the power of shaping. But really, only a handful of people hold the power of shaping...those trained in it, and those touched by the Geneforge. This is where the Trakovites have their foothold: the huge majority of the population gains no real benefit from shaping. And those are the people who might be willing to listen. I like the gist of what Drewry said: "we may be naive, but we want people to believe in the strength of these ideas." Thing is, powerful ideas can change the course of history. People in this thread have said that no one's going to give up their shaping power...but it was also said, in the past, that people who owned slaves wouldn't give up slavery. Well, times change, and they do so because people hear different ideas, think about them, and, sometimes, change their minds. There will always be resistance to change, and there will always be conflict...but when the dust settles, sometimes you have a established a new way of doing things.

Thanks to both of you for the information

I love names. When naming my main character, I put some serious deliberation into it, to choose the freshest and most appropriate name. But it takes too long to do that for creations, so I tend to give them more comical names. I was hoping you all would share some of your favorite creation names with me. A few of mine are: Stabby the clawbug, the twin rotghroths Elder and Jungler, and my eyebeast, Mr. Hideous.

That was a very well thought out response, Student of Trinity. I'd say GF4 is my fave, though they're all great for their own reasons. GF4 is the one that has me playing through a 3rd time in a row! I think it's the diversity of the story (though not as great as G2) along with the vastly improved playability. Long live Mil Bundus, great Servile General!

Does anyone know what if there are leadership requirements for these guys? (Other than in the rebel camp) I'm playing a no-leadership servile and I kind of wanted Khur...but he's not even saying anything to me.

Has anyone tested Energy Preservation in GF4? I searched the forums but didn't see anything. It seems like a great idea in theory...if I understand it correctly it's supposed to reduce the energy costs of your spells by a certain percentage. I tried on the preservation suit I got from killing Nakel but I couldn't see any difference in energy or essence costs.

CUSTOM CREATION COLORS!! I agree with Enraged Slith. I've been wanting this since GF1 and was actually a bit surprised when it wasn't included. Also, I'd love to be able to customize my controls. Specifically, it makes me crazy that in order to click on my enemy and attack it in melee, I'm clicking dangerously close to myself or my creation....thus risking losing my turn. Why does clicking on yourself skip the turn? Isn't the spacebar good enough? I'd really love to be able to turn that feature off. I can't count the number of times I've been in a critical battle, clicked just a 1/2 inch off, and uttered a drawn-out, passionate curse word.

Alberich, I agree with you in that I was frustrated by my character's inability to follow a path that was consistent with his personality. I played a servile who was totally committed to liberating his own kind. When I was dealing with the drakons, I had sign after sign that they weren't really my allies, and weren't friendly to my half of the rebellion. I was totally expecting an option at some point to break with them, to sabotage the Unbound, and to fight the shapers on my own terms. I think the difference in this one from GF1-3 is that there are only 2 options and they're both pretty horrible. Granted, in GF3 there were only 2 options but they were both somewhat palatable, and you could imagine to yourself why your character was making each decision. In this one, you sell your soul either way. I would've settled for a third ending that was like "you wage a massive and ultimately futile fight against the drakons and the shapers." So, while GF4 takes a superb step forward in terms of looks and playability, it takes a step back in terms of storytelling. The appeal of the series has always been the flexible storylines and the moral dilemmas.