Mea Tulpa

The biggest problem with starting over is that, due to the nature of Shaping, it would be difficult to completely eliminate Shaping power. I mean, look at what happened in G1. How do you purge not just an island, but the entire world of canisters, textbooks, geneforge components, and so on...

No, it doesn't. Presumably you joined the Anama, so you have a stockpile of 128 Piercing Crystals. Right?

Whoops, I was thinking about spellbooks and canisters counting towards trainer limits in G1 and G2. I'm pretty sure trainer limits are based off the same hidden variable as skill cost, though. I may be remembering the result wrong, but I know I tested putting points into Luck to see if it affected the cost at all.

I know scripted events and canisters counted towards cost in G1 and (I think) G2, but I thought that was no longer the case. Actually, canisters I'm not sure about since there are so few stat-boosting ones in G4, but I seem to recall the Dillame Luck boost not moving the skill cost at all. Trainers, though -- the people you can buy up to skill 2 in a skill from with money -- do increase the cost.

The problem you experienced with the cave slimes was not a revival problem, it was a monster problem. Those cave slimes SUCKED. They were boring, but also numerous and somewhat difficult. At least there weren't map twenty sections of them like with the chitrachs, but they were definitely not one of the highlights of A4. Every time I hit one and it spawned multiple new slimes, I sighed. And here, here about that stupid portal. I don't think I would have minded clicking twice by itself, but it was click, load, click, load -- forcing me to alternate paying attention and waiting in a very irritating pattern.

Some of the Sholai already look disturbingly like they are wearing TNG-era uniforms.

Actually, Firebolt did 1-6 in G1, 1-4 in G2, and 1-3 in G3. Most of the damage numbers for G1-3 are available at Rebalancing between games . It's also worth pointing out the obvious fact the Firebolt does fire damage while thorn batons and javelins do physical damage. In G1, resistances in general were uncommon so it didn't matter much. In G2+, many enemies have mild resistance to physical damage. Fire resistance isn't rare, but it's definitely less common.

Next request: Wingbolt attired in a hot dog bun.

*facepalm* so who's your alter ego, upon mars?

That settles it. The next time I play a shaper all my creations are going to be named after Hebrew letters and sephiroth. Malkoth the Fyora. Tiferet the Vlish. Ayin Eye!

I think it took about two or three minutes. There are two simple, non-interacting operations per iteration, and there are sets of 5 and 8 possibilities which factor neatly into 40. Clearly this doesn't add anything to the emaciated list of practical applications of studying phonology. But I can permutate characters like a madman.

By Jove... this must mean that there are really forty members of the Fyora family: Fyora Cryoa Zyoar Wyroa Rtyoa Oyora Lryoa Iyoar Fyroa Rcyoa Zyora Wryoa Tyoar Oyroa Rlyoa Iyora Fryoa Cyoar Zyroa Rwyoa Tyora Oryoa Lyoar Iyroa Rfyoa Cyora Zryoa Wyoar Tyroa Royoa Lyora Iryoa Fyoar Cyroa Rzyoa Wyora Tryoa Oyoar Lyroa Riyoa

In G1, what you do with the Geneforge (and Trajkov and Goettsch) is actually the major determiner of the ending you get; what sect you joined, if any, can cause significant changes but you stay within the same branch. G2 and G3 are both very straightforward. G2 has 4 or 5 endings, depending on whether or not you count Aodare's ending the same as Zakary's. You probably should. G3 has 2 endings. G4 is a bit like G1. Although there are 3 possible endings as far as the fate of the world goes, each one has pretty big variations in what the PC's fate is, based on things other than the Unbound.

This is another situation where premises were designed for G1 and made perfect sense, but were not updated accordingly with the new settings. The rapid experience gain made sense in G1. It was accounted for by the fact that you were using canisters (a pretty fair assumption in G1). Other people couldn't do it as well because they weren't Shapers, but the ones who used canisters *were* significantly more powerful.

That only works if you go ahead of the person in combat. Otherwise, there will be a very annoying three seconds of forced inaction while you watch *them* move first.

http://encyclopedia.ermarian.net/wiki/Drakes#Basilisks

That *is* a problem. I can think of a few other places it was especially bad. There were several annoying wanderers in Rivergate Keep -- Mouawad and Duncan both managed to start moving almost every time I was about to click on them, especially Mouawad. However, that wouldn't be a problem if there was some kind of keyboard movement. Directional keys would be easy enough to respond to them with and move to intercept them. With the need to move the mouse and then click, it's often impossible, as by the time you have the mouse positioned correctly, they will be past you and you *can't* catch up with them. The other thing that impedes this is the need to be within a certain range to talk, but the apparent inability to get their attention. So if I click on them directly, I end up following them past multiple rooms.

He did? *scratches head* Well, maybe I'm confusing it with G4 or G3, both of which I've experimented with more recently; it's been nearly a year since I've touched A4. I suppose I shouldn't answer these questions anymore. I could have sworn I remember having discussions about this and everyone concluding it was based on the highest level character, though.

NO. We learned a valuable lesson in Avernum 4. Re-using graphics across different game series is disastrous. It's one thing to do it with something like goblins, that are more or less generic anyway, but old PC graphics do not go into that category. If I look at King Arthur and I see a Guardian, I will scream. I got over Professor X turning into a booming, Shakespearean Captain Picard. I will not get over King Arthur looking like a Shaper.

You're right that the penalty is based on individual penalties. However, experience is also scaled based on the highest level out of all your teammates. This is relevant because individual penalties obviously influence how fast you gain levels. Because the level-based scaling is so incredibly steep, this means that a party of four 65% penalty characters will reach a higher level than a party of three 65% penalty characters and one character with no penalty.

Khyryk is the only Trakovite NPC who's been fleshed out at all, so I have to imagine he'll be around -- unless the Trakovites are gone. What the next game *really* needs to do, IMHO, is shed this whole choose the Shapers / choose the Rebels thing that's been going on for four games. Enough already. G4 did it well enough that it was bearable (even after G3), but I really don't want to deal with it again.

The combat/character engine has undergone relatively minor changes after Nethergate, and that includes all the Avernum and Geneforge games. Although changes to the AP system and even the skill point system (in G1) are interesting it is still the same basic system with a lot of commonality. I'd love to see something new, but we're going on ten years with this PC engine. Shaping was certainly new, I guess.

Quote: Originally written by Delicious Vlish: We either listen with our minds or pick up vibrations with our central tentacle. ... Seriously Andraste, these are great. Somebody go poke Jeff to look at these.

Yes, Khyryk was definitely killable in G3, and the canon is that he wasn't killed.

The only place I can think of that what you do with Monarch could really have an effect -- based on the fact that the scripts never reference it outside of a few dialogue changes -- is the ending. And even that I doubt.