Spidweb

We have just released Avernum 2 v2.0 for Macintosh as a public beta. Like the Avernum v2.0 update, this new version is fully Carbonized and will run natively on OS X. You can download it at: ftp://ftp.spiderwebsoftware.com/mac/Avernum2.demo.v20.bin If you try it out and have any problems, please let us know at spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com. - Jeff Vogel

"Jeff, if you don't mind me asking, what are you going to do when Apple goes to Intel? " I will make sure they work. But if, as I think they've said, Carbonized games work fine on the new platform, I hope to not have to rework everything. Making new releases of every old game in our catalog would devour a huge chunk of time I can't spare. If they don't work on the new platform, I'll have to redo them, I guess. - Jeff Vogel

"Yes, but does 100% resistance actually prevent 100% of damage?" Nope. I tried to, for the first time, actually provide an explanation for how this works. It's in the docs, I think in the combat chapter. Basically, each piece of armor eats a percentage of the remaining damage. I love this system and wish I thought it up years ago. It makes balance MUCH easier. It is the main factor that helps me keep the game a challenge at higher levels. - Jeff Vogel

"Yes, but does 100% resistance actually prevent 100% of damage?" Nope. I tried to, for the first time, actually provide an explanation for how this works. It's in the docs, I think in the combat chapter. Basically, each piece of armor eats a percentage of the remaining damage. I love this system and wish I thought it up years ago. It makes balance MUCH easier. It is the main factor that helps me keep the game a challenge at higher levels. - Jeff Vogel

Being able to respawn the attack is a bug, that should be fixed in the next update. If Aelfin dies, you can't satisfactorily complete the quest, I'll try to remember to change it so the quest gets removed. - Jeff Vogel

"If you want to play it natively in OS X, you'll need to download the Carbonized version and get a new registration key." Almost. We will release a patch, so that you can upgrade your old Avernum to the OSX-native version without needing to reregister. - Jeff Vogel

"I seem to remember having to dispel barriers to win, but now I can't remember where these essential barriers are. Anyone else know?" If you do remember, let me know so I can remove/alter them. But if you do find a barrier you have to lower to win, I will be surprised. The fight to get Dispel Barrier in the Tower Colony is a tough one, but also skippable (or, at least, muich delayable). So it shouldn't be an issue for singletons winning. - Jeff Vogel

"I seem to remember having to dispel barriers to win, but now I can't remember where these essential barriers are. Anyone else know?" If you do remember, let me know so I can remove/alter them. But if you do find a barrier you have to lower to win, I will be surprised. The fight to get Dispel Barrier in the Tower Colony is a tough one, but also skippable (or, at least, muich delayable). So it shouldn't be an issue for singletons winning. - Jeff Vogel

We have just released Avernum v2.0 for Macintosh as a public beta. This new version is fully Carbonized and will run natively on OS X. You can download it at: ftp://ftp.spiderwebsoftware.com/mac/Avernum.demo.v20.bin. If you try it out and have any problems, please let us know at spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com. A Carbonized Avernum 2 should follow in a week or so. - Jeff Vogel

I am reading this thread, because I think it's pretty interesting. One bit of advice ... you do NOT need dispel barrier or high pick locks to win the game. I think the hardest door you have to unlock to win the game has difficulty 5. Passing doors and barriers gives you better gear and options, but there is always another way. (This is, in part, to prevent Avernum neophytes from gimping themselves but not thinking to get one particular thing.) I don't think you can win the game as a singleton without lowering the difficulty. This doesn't bother me. Balance is a tricky thing as it is. In the end, you have to pick a set of legitimate playstyles, balance to make them reasonable, and hope the borderline behavior works out. The thing that makes a singleton hard is NOT how experience scales. It is the basic way the encounters are designed. I tried to set them up so that several characters need to work together to do whatever. In this sense, I find the problems singletons are having to be reassuring. But I really do hope your singleton finds a way to win. - Jeff Vogel

I am reading this thread, because I think it's pretty interesting. One bit of advice ... you do NOT need dispel barrier or high pick locks to win the game. I think the hardest door you have to unlock to win the game has difficulty 5. Passing doors and barriers gives you better gear and options, but there is always another way. (This is, in part, to prevent Avernum neophytes from gimping themselves but not thinking to get one particular thing.) I don't think you can win the game as a singleton without lowering the difficulty. This doesn't bother me. Balance is a tricky thing as it is. In the end, you have to pick a set of legitimate playstyles, balance to make them reasonable, and hope the borderline behavior works out. The thing that makes a singleton hard is NOT how experience scales. It is the basic way the encounters are designed. I tried to set them up so that several characters need to work together to do whatever. In this sense, I find the problems singletons are having to be reassuring. But I really do hope your singleton finds a way to win. - Jeff Vogel

This is a pretty odd error. First, the error message is munged up. Second, although many people are playing through Formello, Darkstrike seems to be the only person having this problem. Third, the error is in a dialogue node that isn't being run. Fourth, I can't find a problem with the script. My advice is to uninstall (save your saved games in a safe place first), download a fresh copy, and reinstall. Perhaps the script file is corrupted, or perhaps the application file is corrupted in the place where the scripts are being interpreted. If this still doesn't help, E-mail me at spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com. This is always the best way to get bugs/feedback to me. - Jeff Vogel

You edited out the thread in the other forums with the solutions before I could see it. Could someone post the exact text of the error message or the location where the error is so I can get this reproduced and fixed? - Jeff Vogel

"A mage with tool use will not help unlock doors the spell." This was probably a misunderstanding of one of my E-mails. Tool use spell DOES help a mage's Unlock Doors spell. - Jeff Vogel

"A mage with tool use will not help unlock doors the spell." This was probably a misunderstanding of one of my E-mails. Tool use spell DOES help a mage's Unlock Doors spell. - Jeff Vogel

We have recently been unhappy to find that the AVG Antivirus problem has a bug which causes it to report that installers of our games contain a Trojan Horse. We have checked our programs, and they are currently completely safe and virus-free. (And, if you run a different antivirus program on them, you will find that they have no problems.) We are working hard to try to get AVG Antivirus to fix this flaw in their software. In the meantime, it will only allow you to install our games if you disable it first. We are sorry for the inconvenience. At this point, the only good workaround we can give for this problem is to switch to antivirus software that is not buggy. Many apologies while we try to get them to fix the problem. In the meantime, if you wish to report this problem to them directly, their support page is at http://www.grisoft.com/doc/51/lng/us/tpl/tpl01 and Grisoft's phone number is 973-218-0688. - Jeff Vogel

Problems with AVG Antivirus by Grisoft We have recently been unhappy to find that the AVG Antivirus problem has a bug which causes it to report that installers of our games contain a Trojan Horse. We have checked our programs, and they are currently completely safe and virus-free. (And, if you run a different antivirus program on them, you will find that they have no problems.) We are working hard to try to get AVG Antivirus to fix this flaw in their software. In the meantime, it will only allow you to install our games if you disable it first. We are sorry for the inconvenience. At this point, the only good workaround we can give for this problem is to switch to antivirus software that is not buggy. Many apologies while we try to get them to fix the problem. In the meantime, if you wish to report this problem to them directly, their support page is at http://www.grisoft.com/doc/51/lng/us/tpl/tpl01 and Grisoft's phone number is 973-218-0688.

We need Macintosh beta testers for Avernum 4. Please apply if you are interested. The URL for where to apply is http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/testing/beta_test.html Thanks. Mariann Krizsan

I just updated the Macintosh version of the editor to v1.1.1. This fix should remove a crash happening with OS X 10.4. If it doesn't help, please drop me a note and I'll try again. For people working on homebrew editors, the change was in the procedure cd_kill_dialog in dlogtool.c.

The Blades of Avernum Scenario Contest ends tonight at midnight (Pacific Standard Time - Seattle Wa's timezone.) Please submit any last minute scenarios by then. Minor updates for contest entries will be accepted after the deadline. We'll list all the official entries later this week. Any questions about the contest can be posted to this thread or emailed to blades@spiderwebsoftware.com. -Mariann Krizsan

The official release is later this afternoon, we're still testing some pages and downloads (like the order form). That link is the Mac demo release, and I believe has been tested. Enjoy. -Mariann

Yes, an email address in the text file is a good idea. I would not include any specific street address. Mariann

Dear scenario designers, currently only 5 of the 8 scenarios are listed on Spiderweb's BoA site: Emerald Mountain The Cave of No Return Babysitting Roses of Reckoning A Perfect Forest I need your help to list the others. Can the authors of the missing scenarios submit their scenarios to blades@spiderwebsoftware.com? The missing ones are: Xerch'de Canopy: Manufactured Womb Death at Chapmans Also, I'm starting a utilities scenario page, the only entry I have for it so far is the High Level Party Maker. Any other useful utilities can be emailed to me at blades@spiderwebsoftware.com. Mariann Krizsan

Spiderweb Software Tenth Anniversary Sale Ten years ago, we at Spiderweb Software began our great work. We had nothing but a new computer, a cockroach-infested apartment, lots of coffee, and a dream: to bring the great fantasy rpgs of the eighties back to life. With pretty much the same quality graphics. Eleven games and tens of thousands of satisfied customers later, we're still in business. The coffee is better, there are no more cockroaches, and we're still putting out fun, cheap games for fantasy gamers. So come join us in our celebration! For the month of November, all of our products are ten percent off! Explore the alien, completely open-ended epic story of Geneforge, or sample the many free adventures made by the Blades of Avernum community. On the cheap! And countless thanks to all of the people who have supported us over the years, with your kind words and your hard-earned money. Thanks to you, we hope to keep going strong for ten more years. Or until we totally burn out. Nice, big demos for all of our games can be found at http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com

Polls can now be conducted in all forums again. Enjoy. Mariann