Necris Omega

Tolkien was so English he garnished his meals not with parsley, but with superfluous 'u's...

Perhaps it will be that monastery in the swamps beyond Fort Dranlon that gets amped all the way up to a major hub. Or, maybe that "failed" city north of Fort Remote doesn't fail so hard this time around. Then again, that area of Avernum does have enough going on as it is... Hm. Yeah, I'm thinking the region between Draco and the Giant Lands would be a good candidate for a new city. We'll just have to see.

Yeah. Honestly, I'd also be happy to see a return of items that have summoning capacities, even if summoning spells are still capped at two. Thing is, I keep tripping over the fact that this is a remake of a game that actually had a lot of what we're asking for already, like Rods of Calling, so... I'unno. I guess it would still be a "return" if they did come back, but I think some of us are thinking more along the lines of stuff that got left behind a LONG time ago.

Eh, it takes time to put together an achievement system - I'd rather see that time used for other things myself.

I'll take, "Things Bahamut never intended the Half-dragon template to be applied to" for 500, Mr. Trebek.

Achievements in Avernum... meh. I'm one of those who really, really, really doesn't care at all about achievements. Unless they net you something useful, they're all just meaningless Nerd*points to me.

I forgot about that one... I'm thinking it likely did enough damage to the economy of the game to throw it out in the long run. If Wands in A:EftP are as effective as they were in the last Avernum, it would be unbalanced, I think, to have everyone armed with Rods of the Inferno with max charges at nearly all times.

Originally Posted By: Lilith I was thinking about it, simply because I can't think of any other time where giant rodents have played such an integral role as a threat meant to be taken at least semi-seriously... That said, as much as I do love that movie, I still stick by my "rats shouldn't be high level threats" philosophy. Though I will go ahead and say it was pretty interesting/hilarious when you faced off against the bug*rat who'd gone all hive mind/monotreme in one of the later Avernums. That was clever.

Originally Posted By: Young Me .oO(Well... I COULD methodically fight my way through this unholy pit of horrors, risking life and limb and narrowly escaping unspeakable torment... or I could just set the place on fire, block off the exits, and hit the long wait command a few dozen times...)

... I'unno. I tend to attribute an author as having absolute authority on his own works. If he explicitly says there's no intended allegory in a piece, then anything a reader sees to the contrary is simply their own imaginations. Even if it is easy to see how one could call the Lord of the Rings as an allegory, and that interpretation can be backed up to any extent, if the author himself says plainly, "no, that's not how it is" then I have difficulty disagreeing with him. If the author says "no" then you're just reading into things that aren't there no matter how convincing a case you can make to the contrary.

Agreed. I hope they remain, and that they're expounded on. There was so much more potential with the gateway into the deeper Slithzerkai tunnels than what it got, and that dungeon that only opened at the first of every month always bugged me. I really ought to go back through it, though, to see if it gets a better explanation than what I remember.

True, but if the remakes are more akin to A1-3, the gold/treasure limitation wouldn't really come into play. Then again, the only time in A6 that Food became a problem for me was when somehow, someway, everyone minus my priest died, and it was a far enough walk to the nearest city gates to actually see the "starvation" message come up. I'unno, there are definite potential problems with such a system, pointlessness being a big one.

I still think it adds something, at least to start out. Then again, by the end of A6 I had well over 100 units of food saved up. Maybe if there was some kind of Spoiling mechanic to keep from building up a Nuclear Survival shelter's worth of food, or something else to make it more dynamic. Still, I see your point.

... a rat is a rat is a rat is a rat is a rat. Dragons are never invoked as Salamanders, and Salamanders are their own beast. They're always two separate and distinct reptiles. If you're SO hung up on recycling that damned rat graphic, use it for more than just rats. Graduate to Cave Badgers or Moles or ... something! Don't just go, Rat, Angry Rat, Angrier Rat, Angriest Rat, Angrierest Rat... It's a rat! It's still a rat! It will always be just a stupid RAT. You clear them out of the innkeeper's basement at level one and MOVE ON. Okay, fine, rodents can get pretty huge even in a non-magic setting, but when you say "rat" you're immediately invoking something small and tiny and unimpressive. "Colossal Rat" is at most few pounds. "Colossal Rodent" at least has some potential, but you're still citing something that's generally a job for an exterminator, not a mighty adventurer. Giant spiders, giant scorpions, giant snakes... fine. Giant Rats? ... there needs to be a cut off.

I think the "survival" aspect is something I have to support as well. How awful the food is in Avernum is one of the big "why I want out of this hole" points of the series, yet, for most of it, you can easily ignore that part as part of the plot "dressing". Plus, it gives meaning to all the lizard shanks and shrooms laying around, and I like to see functionally meaningless items kept to a minimum.

Originally Posted By: Celtic Minstrel Originally Posted By: Kyronea The fundamental problem with this suggestion is that it has an underlying assumption that is simply not true: the more realistic, the more fun. This. Every time I see someone suggesting a new feature for a game (mostly Minecraft) because it's "more realistic", I groan inwardly and point out to them that it's only a game and realism is (for the most part) not a desirable aspect. Wisdom too few game designers understand these days. Realism can make a game better, but by no means does it do so by direct virtue of being "realistic" - Realism means bureaucracy, chores, and sinus infections. While it can enhance immersion, it's really a double edged sword in many respects. I'll take my dual wielding bazookas, turbo rocket speed, so heavily armed his fillings are weaponized, everything explodes if you put your mind to it old-timey space marine over the clunky, lumbering, two weapon maximum, chest high wall hugging space marine any day.

I have to admit, food did give Avernum 6 more a sense of realism in some ways, though again, food was also one of the primary plot points. I do really miss the epic battles of Exile, though again, you did have 50% more party to work with. Also, unlimited summons. As for the Spell System... sadly, I think it's likely to have already been solidified if some reports on the Mac beta being mere weeks away are true. Me? I'd rather see the vast encyclopedia of spells Exile offered than the cut and dry system of Avernum, especially if we end up with more colossal pitched battles of the days of old. Even when it wasn't the most practical solution, I -liked- stacking Walls of Fire, Shock, Cold, and Blades and mooning my enemies as they dared to charge through it. I've missed the capacity to Dispel things, or identify things on my own. Scrying spells, more robust summoning spells, the simple elegance of the spell "Kill"... Monster Map tracking, direct application of poison, web spells, anti-magic field spells... While some of the spells of Exile may not be idea, they are fun, and a great many of them are far more than that.

Some people edited the scripts to make the switches sparkle and thus easier to find. Me? I just cheated and painted a big neon red "PUSH THIS BUTTON RIGHT HERE!!!" arrow above the graphic. >>;

Originally Posted By: Kyronea Another area where Exile was better with its spells: Magic Map. Sure it required a sapphire, but it was good stuff. Maybe, but the early installments of Avernum had a Magic Map spell that not only didn't HAVE a requirement (though I do think it would make sense for Sapphires to return, if only because of how little sense it made for Amber to be one of the gems dejure in a CAVE) but could work outdoors if you were awesome enough to have it at that level. Between those two things, I think the spells are about even. I'd like it to make a comeback either way, though.

Ah, Jeff and his dirty rotten stinking epic rats... I wouldn't mind Jeff jumping on the "let's just scale and recycle our monster roster with increasingly threatening adjectives if we feel generous!" bandwagon if he'd just have taken the time to realize that no adjective will ever make throwing RATS at a level "I scrape demons off the soles of my shoes" character/party justified. Yeah, I'd PREFER Goblins to remain where they belong, glorified roaches really, but I can live with "Goblin Pioneers" somehow being a late mid-game threat. But rats? ... Yes, your "rat" graphic is lovely, now put it away. *Grumble grumble*

I like how Triumph puts it, though that's more a question of graphics than of "headbanging" - I never particularly had a problem with either Exile or Avernum's secret passage mechanics, though having a specialized "secret door" graphic would be desirable either way I think.

Originally Posted By: HOUSE of S Well, there's only so many different-sounding names that also have the advantage of coming at the top, or close to the top, in alphabetized lists! Aaaaaaaaaaaaavernum: Escape from the Pit?

Eh... yeah, sure, I'll buy that. I never really touched the BoA Editor, but the difference is pretty clear.

Sadly, nerfing ONE skill is easier and simpler than buffing umteen others.

Diablo 3... oy, every time I check on that game's development, I cringe. I love Diablo more than any other mainstream series, but... In the interests of not derailing this thread, I won't go into it. I do agree it's interesting to draw comparisons between Jeff's work and what the "big boys" are doing. There are a LOT of overt parallels one can draw between Avadon and Dragon Age, for example. Really, I think he should have called the Codex there something else> >>;