BigBob

Quote: Originally written by Fear or Favor?: Exile has undead turning in the same way as Avernum: spells. Avernum has a single area spell: Cloud of Blades. It's not a fireball. I agree that the endless spells of dubious utility were fun, and area spells actually made combat require a little bit of thought. Since the XP cap vanished in A3/BoA, I doubt we'll see it again. But you never know. —Alorael, who isn't sure about free graphics engines. If the graphics aren't free, they're still a cost. If they're large, it hurts Jeff's mission of making his games downloadable to everyone. If they're free, then he risks having his game look like it's made with free graphics, which is "less professional" or something. And if the engine is 3D, Jeff has to program around that. 3D isn't Exile/Avernum, either. A3 had the skill cap... I remember because I stopped playing around when I reached the golems for the first time. I had hit the cap. Can you imagine playing an RPG for another 20 hours without a single level gain? Yikes...

Quote: Originally written by Ornk of Death: I would like to see the magic system get a complete overhaul. New spells, new types of spells, hell, maybe even a new class of magic besides priest and mage. Not only did Exile have a greater range of spells, it also had a greater range of types of spells. I miss buffing spells like envenom, special effect spells like sleep cloud, mass paralyze, and wall of ice, and spells of mass destruction like firestorm. There were so many spells. It didn't matter that half were useless, it was great trying to learn them all and trying them all out. Everyone knew that icewall wasn't going to win over any battles, your turn and mana were always better spent with directly offensive spells, but it was plain fun putting an ice wall over a group of low level monsters. There wasn't even an area affecting spell in all of avernum. Bring back the fireball already

Quote: Originally written by Le Martyre de la Terreur: Finally! Then we won't have dialogue that consists of "press 1 for Shapers, 2 for Rogues, 3 for Medium"? That's what started to bother me the most... All the dialogs had the 'i like shapers' or the 'i like rebels'.

I've been playing the series since Exile 2 was new. A great series. Avernum, to me, was a dumbed down version. The graphics got marginally better and the content was slashed and burned. Dozens of spells reduced to pratically three types of spells, hurt, heal, hurt a few people. Less party members. Horrible experience caps. Altogether so much less... I still to this day occasionally run an old Exile game. 6 party members, REAL stats/skills and deep down it was a very sturdy RPG. I forgive the interface, graphics, and complete absence of music based on the fact that the RPG elements are so strong and enjoyable. Please, please PLEASE change something about the game. Avernum is bland, it has no music, graphics, or content. Not every game can be amazing looking, or sound terrific, or have great gameplay. But a game should have at least ONE of those things. I'm a huge fan of the classic RPGs (obviously since I love Exile) but you can retain the classic story and content AND have things that make the game pleasing to look at. There is absolutely no reason to not have better graphics in your games. So I guess in summary, here are the MAJOR things that I'd love to see in the next game you make: - Music. Oh sweet merciful Jesus, please just add some basic midis or something. Just a bit of effort will turn your deathly silent games into something more enjoyable. - Content. Stop cutting everything that was great from Exile I want a larger party, I want more items/equipment, I NEVER want to see an experience cap again. I couldn't finish any of the Avernum games because I hit the level caps before I was 75% done the games. Talk about fun suicide for RPGs when you tell the user "hey, if you want to see the ending you have to do it without gaining levels or earning any gratification for spending your time playing this game". Also, money caps? Ack... - Graphics. This isn't even remotely important, not as much as content is. A game with lots of content doesn't need graphics. Avernum hasn't had either though. I'm a programmer too. In fact Jeff, many years ago I began making my own Exile style games after playing yours when I was only 12. Obviously Exile was a game so well done that it inspired me personally to make these games myself. Please just bring back what was good about Exile. There are graphic engines available online (free) that already have better capabilities than your avernum engine.