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Let's Play Geneforge 5


Blxz

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Sadly a video uploaded to youtube is basically a video out of my hands. It is hard to describe exactly how a channel operator interacts with youtube but it essentially boils down to sending them my video and they put it up. Because of that the video is not tied to any file left on my computer.

 

If I still had the original copy (which I might somewhere if it hasn't been deleted to save space) I could attempt to go back and beef up the sound and then delete the old youtube one and re-upload overnight. That is not an easy thing to do though and is really a 5 or 6 step process that would take many hours. I do listen to each video before uploading and check that sound is good and everything but sometimes youtube ruins it.

 

The issue here is that youtube's compression format does a number of things to videos beyond my control and I suspect the issue would repeat itself without lots of work to counter that. Quality drops, videos tend to get darker and sound is never as crisp or balanced as the original video. I continually try to upgrade my videos based on what I know youtube will do to them but at this point I think that fixing the audio for one video (and then having to fix it for every single video from then on) would involve about 2 weeks worth of processing and uploading (as in 14 days by 24 hours = ~300 odd hours).

 

TL;DR - I will attempt to correct this for future videos I upload but I don't think currently I can justify that much work for what is ultimately only about 10 people who watch these videos.

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  • 1 month later...

After a MONTH of doing other stuff, I found the energy to return to this nice video series.

 

Episode 75: You are right that this is the only time one sleeps during the game! Haven't thought of that.

Since you didn't have the honor to meet Salassar in the incident described by Khressia the Scot drakon, you should return to GF4 in my humble opinion. I don't know at which point you dropped it, but it was a very nice game. Can't decide if I like GF5 more than GF4.

Although I guess that if you go pro-Shaper in GF4, you are locked out of a lot of content.

 

Having played GF4, and with everyone warning me about treachery and the "Do you want to rest? It could be dangerous!" thing I pretty much expected a fight. The fight with Salassar in GF4 was more difficult. I was disappointed that Khresia was so weak. I don't think I've met any drakon or shaper as weak.

 

In any case, I just noticed one thing watching the episode. In about minute 13 you go to a room after the fight with Khresia, in the guest quarters. There's magic scorches on the floor. Probably someone else have found the niceties of Drakon hospitality.

 

You figured pretty quickly how to find him. It took me a lot of time to figure it out, I thought at a point it must be a glitch or bug in the game until I thought to try that passage. However, 5 living tools for Purifying rain (battle magic 9) seemed a bit of waste.

As a note, I ratted out the Rebels to Alwan about the Unbound mk2.

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I'm in the process of doing a rebel agent playthrough of the entire series. Quite interesting to see everything from the takers points of view in G1. The game is vastly different in feeling even if not quite in practice. I will eventually get to G4. I think I could like the game much more a second time around. Mostly the reason I stopped G4 was that I decided to give youtube a go and didn't want to start again with the same game. G5 seemed the logical choice to keep things fresh.

 

Glad you are still enjoying the series and the horrific accents I used for some of those characters. No idea where the scottish came from though....deep in the depths I suspect.

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Episode 76:

I think I spotted some crudeness in Ghaldring's way of thought that shouldn't have been there. You told him when he said he would test you further that you would remember this insult.

And he was happy with your reply.

Frankly, I was pro-rebel and did remember this insult. You apparently didn't forget this insult either, despite Ghaldring not testing you further. I would bet that the vast majority of people would remember this insult and not forgive it just because Ghaldring decided to not push it further.

 

As of the "some of the rebels here have been good to me" comment... they belong to a different rebel faction. :) I won't spoil in case you align with Astoria and the sane rebels. But there are surprises. If you recall, Greta is none too pleased with Ghaldring and he admits to you that the rebel factions have tense relations.

 

And another thing: You can't say that you're a cannister junky and a Shaper. Shapers avoid cannisters like the plague.

 

At the point where you ask: "What made Khresia such a pest" at 8'29" and the reply you add to Ghaldring's answer. OMG. I had to stop the video because I couldn't follow cause I was laughing hard and loudly.

 

And here it is! At around minute 11 you first relay your thoughts that would doom every creation in Terrestia, down to living tools and doors...

I heard some of your thoughts about how wiping out creations would correct things, but I still don't understand what led you down to choosing such drastic measure.

I would change the series name from "Let's Play GF5" to "GF5: Descent into madness" ;) (no offense I hope, it's a game. You say yourself that "you had your share of madmen in this game so far" when Alwan calls him madman Taygen).

 

Another thing: You said the Drakons wanted to buy 5 years of peace to finish their superweapons. I disagree. I believe they never planned to buy the peace, they wanted to confuse the Shapers and sap their spirit, create tensions and create the illusion that there is a way out. While Shapers were arguing among themselves telling loyalists to stop, and leaving Alwan alone to dry... the Drakons would swoop in and take more land.

They wanted the SUGGESTION of peace out, not peace itself.

 

I am very honored that you chose Alhoon to be your first gazer! Much appreciated. And OMG... 45 level gazer?! Even without the good artifacts Alhoon 4 could probably take an Unbound by himself.

 

Quality: About middle of the video there are issues with the colors.

 

Episode 77:

A wasted opportunity here... you could have called it "A beautiful mind" easily. ;)

 

Ahhh... control core B. Another example that the Shapers are not the proper care-takers of Shaping nor as responsible with it as they pretend to be. Bunch of powerhoarding mages really.

 

Hmm... the quest seems quite different than I remember it. I haven't figured even half of what you did I think. It occurs to me that... I may have killed the wrong mind! Not sure if it's possible, but I decided that the first mind I met was the rogue and killed it, or... I killed everything. I don't recall. Alwan seemed fine by the decision.

 

As a note, I couldn't help but notice that there is no food for the Control minds. If you recall in other games or perhaps even in GF5, there was food you could give to the control minds when they started becoming weak from famine.

That is again, inexplicable negligence that makes creations suffer.

 

Howdy... the Synthesis mind is right here. Born to servitude, forced to suffer and smart enough to realize it. It's fate is worse than a serville that spends long hours mining in dangerous caves.

I didn't recall having much trouble with the Alwan quest-chain, but I would be hard-pressed to attack this creature. Probably made a deal with it, and destroyed the others. Not sure.

 

Oh... I remember now! I made full party of creations, kept 3-4 with me I think and sent the rest to protect the brains. Not even sure if I managed to save them all.

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And here it is! At around minute 11 you first relay your thoughts that would doom every creation in Terrestia, down to living tools and doors...

I heard some of your thoughts about how wiping out creations would correct things, but I still don't understand what led you down to choosing such drastic measure.

I would change the series name from "Let's Play GF5" to "GF5: Descent into madness" ;) (no offense I hope, it's a game. You say yourself that "you had your share of madmen in this game so far" when Alwan calls him madman Taygen).

 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I think I might very well rename the entire series. That 'Descent into Madness' suggestion is excellent!

 

Geneforge games are funny little things. Some combination of the basic style and the good writing means that I seriously empathise with my character in every game. Watching it a second time now, my thinking is very different to what was happening then. I almost feel that I was slightly canister addled in real life. The power and the swift and complete executions I was carrying out may have driven me a bit mad. I may have got a little carried away and committed some terrible terrible crimes against the creations. It just felt so natural at the time! Each step logically followed on from the one beforehand.

 

Glad the series is still being enjoyed.

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The cannisters are tricky things. Alberich manages to finish the games without them, so I guess they're not needed.

No, it's not needed to have some AWESOME creations or ultra-powerful spells above and beyond what normal people would do.

 

I admire Alberich's purity, but I really don't think I can go canister-free.

 

At the point where you ask: "What made Khresia such a pest" at 8'29" and the reply you add to Ghaldring's answer. OMG. I had to stop the video because I couldn't follow cause I was laughing hard and loudly.

 

Don't forget to watch that in your re-watching. Don't skip it. After watching the discussion with Khresia, the three words you added to Ghaldring's response were probably the funnier of the series.

One has to watch the segments with Khresia to appreciate the joke though.

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Even I didn't go canister free in GF1 -- though I have talked to another player on this board who did so. (There is no challenge so outlandish that some Spiderweb regular hasn't done it.) I'm also glad that someone else is enjoying the Blxz playthrough as I did, including one of his best voices. It's a great tribute to Jeff's games that

we can not only enjoy them this much and on replays, but even watching someone else take a different path through them.

 

 

 

Here’s a very old thread in which I rewrote a Temperance Ballad for canisters – https://pied-piper.ermarian.net/topic/19/1260#15

 

 

Give them up and save yourself! It’s not so hard if you try…

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Episode 78:

You put a remarkable fight to save the loyal brains. You even mention that in the episode.

If I may ask, why? You've from day one went in the game with the declaration: "My character thinks that Creations are expendable" and have played that ever since, losing creations that could be saved etc.

I know that's a futile question 4 months after the episode was uploaded, but I can't help to wonder what made you think these particular three creations, brains that are beyond Shaper-Law and should be destroyed according to it, required such efforts to save.

I was playing a life-crafter, sympathetic to Creations plight etc... and I went directly for the Synthesis mind IIRC leaving a couple of creations to delay the waves. I don't remember whether any of the brains were lost or not.

 

On another note: Alwan is one of the Shapers most usually breaking Shaper law. The very existance of Control Core B, after Control Core A failed spectacularly for the same reasons that CC B failed, and his insistence to ally with geneforged individuals (as he did in GF4) shows a remarkable stubborness and refusal to see the flaws in his plans.

All in all, he makes a good high-rank officer because of his tenacity but bad top-rank officer.

He made the Line. We broke it. I would bet 2 cannisters and a wand of inferno he would try to re-establish it again, finding and neutralizing the Secret Access hidden path.

 

Oh, and he trusts the wrong people! Shaper Mazdan, the guy that designed the Flawed Core A, designed the second. He trusted a guardian to make the brains and lo-and-behold, the guardian had a cannister in the lab. Shaper Alexie "studies" drayks and teaches people how to make them if they ask nicely.

Not to mention: He trusted me and I put poison in his wine. I didn't even fight him decently. I felt dirty after killing him so cowardly, but it was the fast route.

 

PS. When fighting Shaping foes, it's customary to go after the Shaper sooner than later. ;) I don't recall whether Synthesis mind sends endless forces, but a pool of essence could well mean that.

 

PS2. A pity that the boss "fight" wasn't saved. :( I had to fight it properly, not have the others cook it nicely to become a nice roast. I didn't even know it was possible. A pity. :(

 

In any case, inspired by this, I think I'll put the "Shaper-friendly" mini-lab here in my mod once I go back to implementing the changes Alberich suggested.

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Efficiency is probably why I protected the minds. Hard to remember my thoughts that far back but minds are an intensive process to create. They have significant value and their loss would mean the total loss of the facility. It is a little like how serviles CAN be made but generally are allowed to procreate naturally for the simple effort saved. At a time of war it is vital to conserve and reuse high value resources where possible (while going Soviet style eastern front with my regular creations).

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  • 4 weeks later...

Episode 79:

Starting the episode, hearing you saying you would love to make another gazer. Next 10 seconds your gazer dies (alhoon at that, but I didn't like that alhoon too much so... )

I am sure there was artifact materials there. Did you find it and I forgot perhaps? Or you missed it? Oh well, doesn't matter anyway now.

 

About Control Mind Alpha's prediction that the Shapers would create a third mind that can shape and control creations, after the first two went rogue. Let's hope its wrong.

 

Taygen rant: See? Even the random unfriendly sergeant on the border, an outsider loyalist calls Taygen mad.

When you were considering whether to tell Gusta (The Rawal controlled soldier) to F-off and said "he may attack me..." I laughed. You have two gazers, a wartrall and you've wiped out a nest of Unbound 10 levels ago.

I think you would have little trouble with a guard.

 

About the attack on the bridge: This battle was absolutelly horrible. I wish I could have speeded it up. They could have just waves spawning and waves of guards spawning. Having like 50 NPCs taking actions? OMG.

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