The Lurker

Hmm. I've just checked my backup, and sadly it seems my versions are at least as outdated as what's available online right now. I do remember that I sent TM a fan-made patch for Canopy : Manufactured Womb on Shadow Vale many years ago, but I don't think he ever uploaded it... It fixed a number of bugs, especially regarding the final boss fight, which (if I remember correctly) still didn't work as intended in the final version TM released. I'll see if I can find a copy of it, but since I'd have to test it again before uploading it... Yep, it's likely to take some time.

I had v1.3.0 of Shadow of the Stranger on my old Windows XP computer. Unfortunately, it's long dead...😔 ...And fortunately, I have a backup of its hard drive contents, made with the dd utility on Linux. So, after some tweaking and searching, I am proud to upload Shadow of the Stranger v1.3.0 😀

Why not use the Spiderweb Software order form ? You can buy BoA there for $10. There's even a link that allows you to download the BoA hintbook for free.

You can download the ISO file of the Homeland CD here : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ECL5mkblq7kM18I3DKMzRKm6I23x_pWt/view?usp=share_link Mount the ISO file using your favorite ISO mounting program. I use Gizmo Central : http://loganmueller.com/gizmo/download.html Open the virtual CD-ROM drive with the File Explorer, then run SETUP.EXE as Administrator. Choose to install everything, including the movies. Once you're done installing, find the game folder on your hard drive. It will likely be either "C:\Program Files\DragonLore\Homeland" or "C:\Program Files (x86)\DragonLore\Homeland". Next, download 7-zip : https://www.7-zip.org/ Then, download the latest patch for Homeland : https://drive.google.com/file/d/13H7JOyPF7ZBniXHDGWfqqxbd2EUe_hX6/view?usp=share_link Unzip that file with 7-zip. You will be asked to enter a password. The password is HPatch Run the exe file that was unzipped as Administrator. Be sure that the game folder that's displayed is the right one. Tick the "Backup files" box if you wish, then click on Apply. Go back to the game folder in the File Explorer. Copy Homeland.exe, switch back to your desktop, right-click on an empty space on your desktop, and choose to Paste a shortcut (click on something that should be called "Show more options" if that particular option isn't available). Finally, if you're using any Windows above Windows 7, chances are the game won't work too well, so you'll need to do one last thing before playing. Head to narzoul's DDrawCompat page on GitHub and download DDrawCompat-v0.3.2.zip : https://github.com/narzoul/DDrawCompat/releases/tag/v0.3.2 Unzip the file. Copy ddraw.dll and paste it into the game folder. You will likely need Windows Administrator privileges to do this. Close all File Explorer windows and run the game with the shortcut you created on your desktop. Enjoy. If you have any questions about the game or get stuck, I'd be happy to provide more help.

All right, here we go for the basic cheat : "Slightly Overpowered" character : Character at Level 22, with most skills at or near 30. Mostly tested (I completed a good chunk of the game and saw the Trajkov ending without encountering any bugs). Torment Trajkov can still kill you after he uses the Geneforge, and some nasty mines will kill you as well if you aren't careful. https://www.mediafire.com/file/8sbr4oii88x5j4m/z0dockcan.txt/file "Killing Machine" : Character at Level 94, with most skills at or near 90. Tested the canister effect itself and the first few areas, but otherwise mostly untested. Still, I'd bet even Über Trajkov wouldn't last long against this character. https://www.mediafire.com/file/yre7nvtoe2czhd8/z0dockcan.txt/file Instructions : Copy & Paste z0dockcan.txt into the Scripts folder (inside the "Geneforge Mutagen Files" folder that's inside your Geneforge folder). Then start a new game and use the very first canister. Enjoy.

I've been tinkering with the game scripts and I may make one within a few days - it shouldn't be too difficult. In fact, I may post a cheat to make the very first canister (in the very first area of the game) turn your character into an unstoppable killing machine later today.

Hello everyone! I'm currently preparing a long overdue playthrough of Homeland : The Stone of Night, but in the meantime, I figured it's about time I shared the soundtrack with you. The Homeland soundtrack is actually within the game executable in MDS (MidiStream) format. This is an old Microsoft format that was, I believe, made specifically for games. I extracted the files from Homeland.exe using XN Resource Editor, and converted them back to standard MIDI files using a program I wrote. I then converted them to WAV files using OBS Studio and ffmpeg. Be advised, the MIDI files were only ever meant to be played with the Windows APIs or Windows Media Player with the infamous GM.DLS soundfont and using any other method may cause them to sound odd. So, if you're using a Mac and want the best experience, just listen to the WAV files instead. The Homeland soundtrack was mostly composed by Larry Mc Cormick, however there is also one song by Steven J. Morris and one song by Justin S. Ohlander. Also, the soundtrack has several "unidentified" songs that I believe may have been created by either Michael F. Morris or George E. Nowik, or possibly both (a screenshot from a VERY old alpha version of Homeland says that those two wrote songs for Homeland). Download Link : https://www.mediafire.com/file/m2hi05sq38r3knm/HomelandFullSoundtrack.zip/file Enjoy! You can also find a copy of the tracklist inside the archive within the "COMMENTS.txt" file. File name : 204 Editor name : "Wizards of Light" True name : "Wizards of Light" By Steven J. Morris, this is a somewhat sad song. It plays when you are in the Thirsty Throat in Harbordale. Quote from the game : "This Harper sits and unobtrusively plays his music to the bar. The skill with which he plays does not reconcile itself to the dilapidated condition of the bar." - Narrator describing Savryn Mistbridge (from Chapter 2 : The Tests of Magic) File name : 331 Editor name : "Homeland Intro" True name : "Opening Theme" By Justin S. Ohlander, this is the title screen theme. Quote from the game : "You see writing being cast with some kind of magical light onto a square piece of glass at the front of a box. You are surprised that you can read this writing... perhaps because it is magical you can comprehend it. It shows a picture of a Dothraki fighting a red demon-like woman and prints the text, "Homeland", then below, "The Stone of Night". Curious, you quickly poke at the numerous buttons below the magic device. The screen changes to text saying "Lock Error 4" and starts crying out incessantly!" - Narrator describing the Earthling Dragon's computer (from the Chapter 5 : Isle of the Winds easter egg) File name : 356 Editor name : "Steel" True name : Unknown (possibly just "Steel"?) This is the first of the "unidentified" songs. This one is actually used in-game and it's the theme for the forest that's south of WhiteWater. Quote from the game : "It cannot be described in words. You have to feel the leaves around you. Go and find out. It's not dangerous, despite what people claim." - Fyela describing life in the forest (from Chapter 1 : WhiteWater) File name : 357 Editor name : "Temple" True name : Unknown (possibly just "Temple"?) This is the second of the "unidentified" songs. This one is actually used in-game and it's the theme for the Changelings' dungeon (in the Gilgamesh forest). Quote from the game : "This statue seems to show the body of a spider with the torso of a Changeling. It appears to be a painted stone, very brightly worked. Inscribed beneath it are the words "Achtress, defined not by shape, bound not by form."" - Narrator (from Chapter 2 : The Tests of Magic) File name : 358 Editor name : "Town" True name : Unknown This is the third of the "unidentified" songs. This one is actually used in-game and it's the song that plays when you are sailing. It also plays when you are close to (albeit outside) the Changelings' lair. Quote from the game : "Lent you his ship? He would sooner lend you his woman or his sword. Do you have a preference on how you would like to die?" - Ryling "welcoming" Korr's party to Buolkaloch (from Chapter 4 : Buolkaloch) File name : 359 Editor name : "MajHills" True name : Unknown (possibly "Majestic Hills"?) This is the fourth of the "unidentified" songs. It is never used in-game. It's also by far the longest track in the entire soundtrack (it's almost 5 minutes long). File name : 360 Editor name : "Calling" True name : Unknown (possibly just "Calling"?) This is the fifth of the "unidentified" songs. It is never used in-game. File name : 371 Editor name : "Free" True name : Unknown (possibly just "Free"?) This... uh... song? is the sixth of the "unidentified" songs. It is never used in-game. It's the weirdest (and, in my opinion, worst) song in the soundtrack. File name : 896 Editor name : "Town2 - LM" True name : Probably "A Day in Town" By Larry Mc Cormick. This cheerful song is the theme for WhiteWater. Quote from the game : "Why, if it isn't the famous, heroic, fearless shepherd Korr! Oh wait, that was last week, before you got fired for falling asleep, wasn't it? I told you not to count those sheep all the time! I take it you haven't found a new job yet?" - Keegan (from Chapter 1 : WhiteWater) File name : 897 Editor name : "Seige of the Undead - LM" True name : "Siege of the Undead" By Larry Mc Cormick. This sinister song is played when exploring Maglius's tomb, as well as when you are in the Phylund crypt below Harbordale and when you are inside the maze below Lauriston. In my opinion, this is one of the best songs in the game, and it fits Maglius really well. Quote from the game : "I'm afraid I'm one of the few that managed to remain sane. You can understand that waiting for two hundred years is a long time. But it had to be done, and we all knew what we were going into when we started this, ages ago. The ghouls in here used to be my friends. Now, they are mindless zombies, preying upon anything they can catch. Except for Maglius, they've lost so much of their mind that they can no longer speak or understand words. And Maglius, too, is pretty far gone by now." - Child Prophet Dianna (from Chapter 1 : WhiteWater) File name : 898 Editor name : "Library - LM" True name : Possibly "Discovery"? This is the song that plays when you are in the Child Prophets' library. It fits the Child Prophets rather well. Quote from the game : "You wish to prove yourself? Very well. I will test your knowledge. If you're really the One you should have no problem. If you're not, well then, you're a dead man." - Braccus File name : 968 Editor name : "Sewer - LM" True name : Possibly "In the Muck"? This song is the theme for the Sewers of Mandelin. Quote from the game : "The manual override is a provision set up in case of emergency, and we are proud to say that it has never yet been used. The lever itself resides to the north and then the east of the control room. Two people are required in order to operate the override. One must cross the bridge and flip the override, causing the bridge to raise. The other must not cross, and then flip the switch on the shore, which will again lower the bridge and allow the first person to return." - From a book inside the Sewers of Mandelin (from Chapter 1 : WhiteWater) File name : 1104 Editor name : "Water - LM" True name : "Magic Tests" This track plays in the area where you undertake the magic tests in Lauriston. Quote from the game : "This whistle is the key to our fate. It is a magical whistle, and when you blow it, I will hear. Find a path through the Catacombs. When you find another exit, blow the whistle, and I will come. Then, we will finally be free of this pit of despair. We will finally run free in the winds once again." - Cas the Hound (from Chapter 2 : The Tests of Magic) File name : 1205 Editor name : "Lauriston - LM" True name : "Lauriston" This song is the theme for Lauriston and it's one of my favorite songs in the game. Quote from the game : "I freely admit that I sometimes question whether what we do is right... It is hard for me to condone killing children, whether they can use magic or not, but at least we are TRYING to better the world, make it a safe place with laws and justice. Keep in mind that I am Captain of Training, and that my questioning is probably what has kept me from having a field position. My views are not shared by all members of the Legions." - Teirwyn (from Chapter 2 : The Tests of Magic) File name : 1206 Editor name : "Castle - LM" True name : Unknown (possibly just "Castle"?) An unused track by Larry McCormick. Perhaps it was originally meant to be the theme for the King's castle in Lauriston. This is by far my favorite unused song. Quote from the game : "The Seat of the Realm is in Lauriston, as you see before you. In theory, my realm consist of the whole of Octavia... from Land Bridge to the north down to WhiteWater in the south. From the Dragon's Spine mountains on the west to Lauriston and Harbordale in the east. In practice, there's a great big chunk of mess in the middle called Gilgamesh Forest. To this day, it goes relatively unexplored except for the perimeter and a small path to the old Citadel of Light in the middle. It is still inhabited by dark creatures, too deadly to fight." - King Eirdoel Hafenwyd (from Chapter 2 : The Tests of Magic) File name : 1214 Editor name : "Tower - LM" True name : "The Tower" This song is the theme for the abandoned fortress of light. It fits everything that happens while you're there perfectly, in my opinion. Quote from the game: "Here it is! What I warned of... Korik knows of it too... I have tried to convince him he needs to help me, but he is frightened. He has done what he can to help... his notes could prove invaluable in the future, but Korik has determined to leave soon. This grave danger is almost as maddening as the situation with the man in black back home. Why is it that I am inevitably drawn into crisis after crisis. On Caelestia or here, it matters not." - from Melcor's journal (from Chapter 3 : Citadel of Light) File name : 1443 Editor name : "Volcano - LM" True name : "The Volcano" This song is the (epic!) theme for the Isle of the Dead. Quote from the game : "Well, well, well... if it isn't the little lackey of the Soul Devourer. Come to bring him his precious little Stone." - The first Maskim (from Chapter 6 : Isle of the Dead) File name : 1444 Editor name : "Winds - LM" True name : Possibly "Desert Winds"? This song is the theme for the Isle of the Winds (also known as the Isle of Dragons). Quote from the game : "Man and Dragon have, historically, not been the best of friends. In fact, man was considered by Dragon to be the vermin of this planet, and Man considered killing Dragons to be a method of proving his worth. Several generations ago, my ancestors swore an Oath to the Dragons that we would insure their safe return to this planet, if they would venture off through the Void and try living a lifetime as a Man. This was the Dragon's idea, not Man's... Dragons have eternally been much more willing to give Man a chance than visa-versa." - Suess (from Chapter 5 : Isle of the Winds) File name : 1445 Editor name : "Desert - LM" True name : Unknown (possibly just "Desert") This song plays when you are exploring the "less civilized" areas of Octavia. Quote from the game : "There exists a subset of planes in the multiverse from which the inhabitants are typically known as 'Demons'. For the most part, the inhabitants of these planes have hence gotten a very bad name for themselves. Demons are typically categorized based upon two criteria. The first is that they are manufactured through magic. This does not mean that once created, they cannot procreate... some can and some cannot. But typically a Demon is created for some purpose. The second criteria is that they are typically known for evil deeds. Usually, this is their sole purpose upon creation. They are sent to kill someone or many someones, sometimes a whole world. From this they gain their bad reputation. Sometimes the lines are blurry... the IceBrothers and FireSisters are both Demons in the sense that they were created by magic, for purposes unknown any longer. While on this world, I have seen both races perpetrate evil deeds and commit acts of great good. Yet the FireSisters are more commonly considered Demons, and the IceBrothers are not. In truth, either both should be or neither. And then for another example, take me and my sisters. We were created to guard the DemonSlayer, a weapon forged by magic, in truth a Demon itself, created to slay other Demons. While it is true that I slay any who attempt to reach the DemonSlayer, I do not think I am inherently evil. I may, in fact, be helping the multiverse. For if the DemonSlayer fell into the wrong hands... all Hell could break loose." - The Guardiennes File name : 1446 Editor name : "Buolkaloch - LM" True name : "Lands of Frost" This song plays when you are in Buolkaloch. I love it! Quote from the game : "Most Ugs say 'Ug' because it is the only word they know. I, however, say 'Ug' for a number of reasons. One reason is that it serves as a bitter reminder that my superior intelligence sets me apart from my own kind. A second reason is that because I am different, most people treat me poorly. Convincing them that I am a menacing beast that says 'Ug' keeps most people a safe distance away. Those that get past the 'Ug' are usually people worth knowing, like our good Cap'n Sar." - Ug Li (from Chapter 4 : Buolkaloch) File name : 1529 Editor name : None True name : Unknown (though I'm starting to wonder if this could be the mysterious song known as "The Void") Yet another awesome song by Larry Mc Cormick, this is the theme for the Credits sequence.

Originally Posted By: Sum Manus Nigrum Combat isn't all that bugged in BoE. Riiiight. There are very few fatal bugs, other than the blue screen of death that was recently mentioned, but seriously. There are many things that don't work as intended when fighting. -Blessing trick : Blessing enough makes you invulnerable to physical attacks. -Undead and Demons pierce through armor (or most of the armor, anyway). -"Stacking" exploding arrows : The last arrow will just blow up without doing any damage. -Invulnerable monsters : Are not immune to physical and Death Touch attacks. They are immune to most spells, but oddly enough, Ravage Spirit will still do 1 damage to invulnerable Demons. -End Combat Trick : Monsters act much more slowly in town mode, and they are also likely to move *without attacking* for no apparent reason. It is possible to have a monster act more than once per turn in town mode, but it would have to be very, very fast. Ending combat early tends to make monsters much less frightening. -Causes Fear weapons : Are ridiculously powerful. You can make the Nightmare Guardian in Revenge run away after a few hits, and it should be said that the Nightmare Guardian had a very high amount of courage. -Artificial Stupidity : As I mentioned in a Lyceum thread, monsters are *supposed* to go around things that block their way, but in quite a few cases, they don't. Sometimes it'll be possible to shoot at enemies that are behind a bunch or rocks or a table without having to worry about retaliation. There's more, but you get the idea. The blessing trick is especially annoying for designers, because it makes most melee monsters very weak unless you're willing to take out the player's blessing spells (as Thuryl did) or have the monsters use special curse spells (like Skirn and the Seraphim, if I remember correctly).

When did I say that imbalances and bugs were the same things? I did imply that Exile suffers from both, but in my last post I was talking about exploitable bugs. EDIT : A "bug" occurs when you have something that doesn't work as intended. An imbalance can be caused by a bug, or by a mere oversight. I don't think I was being overly illogical.

Thuryl : Nope, actually, I was more or less replying to this : Quote: You're lacking in experimental spirit. A game is a game, not a simulation: it's fun to find the ways that you can mess up the plot. Again, preventing the player from sequence-breaking in this way takes out a lot of replay value. Maybe this sounds like a strange opinion to you, but I think it's better for a game to have a few exploitable bugs in it: it gives people something to find and feel clever about themselves because they did something the game designer never thought of. A designer who's too smart to be outwitted is less fun to play against. Don't get me wrong, I think Roots is fantastic. But it also proves that BoE designers *have* to take the bugs and engine exploits into account if they want to make fun combat (with the possible exception of a few scenarios like Nebulous Times Hence). Sure, when you first find out about the boatload of bugs Exile has, it's fun to abuse blessing spells so you can easily take out high-level melee warriors with a Level 1 party. But in the end, it also makes "regular" playthroughs way too easy.

Originally Posted By: Enraged Slith I find Exile much more enjoyable than Avernum, and, yes, I did start with Exile. I also find [...] Blades of Avernum more fun than Blades of Exile. You like the Exile series more than the Avernum series, but you like BoA more than BoE? Are you sure you didn't make a typo? Anyway... I think both the Exile and Avernum games have their share of very good stuff and pretty bad stuff... What I like in Exile : *Up to six party members *Field spells *Poisoned weapons *Conveyor belts *No-type (or maybe Darkness, whatever) damage spells (Shockwave, Wound) *AoE spells, like Divine Thud *Sleep Cloud *Scry Monster *Death Touch *Summoning items that can summon a monster from the database (yes, I'm mostly thinking of BoE for that one) *Characters that can get all of the positive and negative traits *Being able to choose where your summons appear What I like in Avernum games 1, 2, and 3 : *Laser puzzles. A shame we lost the conveyor belts in the process, really. *Elevation. *As was said before, I really do like the Being Able To Attack In Town Mode feature. Sure, entering combat mode in Exile to whack one monster is no problem, but when you do it a hundred times, it does get somewhat tedious. *The game is much more balanced and much less "clunky" overall. Like Thuryl, I like undertaking crazy challenges in Exile; but unlike him, I don't think the player *should* have to rely on an insane amount of bugs to have fun (blessing fun, undead trick, end combat trick, luck abuse...). I think it's up to the designer to make a game as fun as possible with as few bugs as possible. In Exile and many BoE scenarios, I *have* to fight high-level enemies with a low-level party if I want to have fun. In Avernum, this isn't true anymore. And even if you do want to have something to brag about, simply fight enemies with a moderately higher (as opposed to much higher) level than yours. *The amount of useless spells has been reduced. There are still a few useless spells (Arcane Summon is terrible in A1 and Divine Host is useless until A3 and BoA), but not nearly as many as in Exile. High-level spells are much more useful, too. In Exile, all you really needed was low-level spells. With a few exceptions like Antimagic Cloud, most high-level spells weren't all that useful. *Overall, I do like Jeff's Avernum games better than Jeff's Exile games, but had Exile been less buggy and less ridiculously imbalanced, it would have been another story.

1. More or less. The idea is that you'll almost never have to attack your enemies yourself. Instead, you'll rely heavily on stealth, leadership and mechanics. 2. Yes, you will, at times, have to hire goons who will do most of the work for you. 3. Yes. Your bodyguards will probably not be able to win every battle on their own. 4. Well, yes, because a "no-combat" character will only have to use creations as cannon fodder or explorers. If at all. Not to mention that you cannot directly control the NPCs you hire. 5. Yes... But while your enemies do get stronger with a harder difficulty level, your allies will also get stronger. 6. Hmm. I believe the tutorial areas in most Geneforge games do require you to pick up a weapon, but there's nothing that prevents you from dropping it after completing the tutorial area. EDIT : And a "no-combat" character shouldn't act as a meatshield. Rather, he or she will focus on trying to avoid taking damage as much as possible.

Considering how powerful mental focus charms are, this is very helpful. Congratulations on finding that one, it sure isn't in the hintbook. I wonder if there are any other hidden recipes. Who knows, maybe there's something you can make with the Perfected Cloak...

Seconded, ADoS. Oh, and this part is especially funny : Originally Posted By: Niemand The existence of the spaceship makes *i's universe incompatible with Jeff's, even though they are otherwise the same. Have you ever played Stareye's BoE scenarios? Anyway, ADoS got me pretty much right : my point was that it's useless for a designer to try to keep up with Jeff's "canon" (or lack thereof, considering the huge amount of "retconning" he's done over the years). If you start ignoring things that don't fit well in Jeff's universe, you might as well ignore the story in a lot of Blades scenarios.

Originally Posted By: Niemand since the existence of a spaceship is so grossly out of canon Well, yes and no. A spaceship would seem out of place in an Avernum game, but it is most certainly "canon" in Stareye's universe. I mean, seriously. Many good scenarios do what they want with the Exile/Avernum universe : TM's series, Stareye's series, The Arc, Doom Moon...