Zeviz

Since Jeff (the developer) seldom reads these boards, you might get a better response emailing spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com. Don't forget to mention how powerful your machine is, because Spidweb games are supposed to run on older computers, so dual-core machine should be an overkill.

I got a question about A2 from somebody using my website and, considering that I haven't played that game in over five years, I have to forward the question to these boards: Quote: When I enter the test of strenght, or Test of Speed I enter a sealed room with nowhere to go? is that correct, or is there an exit to be found?

The inclusion of separate ratings for puzzles, combat, and so on, would be very useful for players like me, who are just looking for something that matches their current mood. The potential categories (among the ones I look at) include: plot, combat, puzzles, atmosphere, and unusual mechanics. For categories like combat, puzzles, and non-standard mechanics it would also be good to include a "High/Medium/Low" rating of how important they are to a scenario. (If I am not in the mood for puzzles, searching for scenarios with low puzzle score wouldn't work, because low puzzle score might mean that scenario is full of bad puzzles, rather than lacks them completely.) In summary, I'd like to see ratings of quality in the 5 categories (plot, atmosphere, puzzles, combat, and non-standard mechanics), as well as an indication of how important each category is to the scenario (for the times when I want to avoid puzzles/combat/whatever). PS Reviews of reviews are such a good idea that we should take it a step further: reviews of reviews of reviews. Seriously, if you don't agree with a review, write your own. EDIT: The thumbs up/down systems are useful for places like Amazon, where they are a good way to sort a list of dozens, or even hundreds of reviews. However, considering that we'll be lucky to have a dozen reviews per scenario in Blades Forge, it would be more beneficial for people to write their own reviews, rather than give anonymous ratings to existing ones.

Goldenking, that is a nice story, but it contradicts the history given in game. Contra, I had pulled out text for that area onto a webpage at some point. Let's see if it's still around... Here it is. (Warning, this is obviously a spoiler for one of the biggest secrets of Geneforge 1. If you'd rather discover it for yourself, don't click the link.) http://www.geocities.com/zeviz1/Geneforge_secret.html

Quote: Originally written by Student of Trinity: ... Here's my speculation. Shapers could easily stamp out rogue shaping throughout their lands, by spreading swarms of spy-bird creatures that simply sniff out essence. Whenever some odd loner's basement starts to reek of vinegar and magic, an Agent pays the village a visit. Monarch is just beginning to cackle over his first few rabid Fyoras, when suddenly he finds it's searing orbs for breakfast. Mopping up afterwards at this stage will only take a mop. ... I suspect they don't do it for the same reason no modern society keeps its citizens under 24/7 video surveillance: 1. The citizens wouldn't be too happy. 2. The people in charge wouldn't be too happy with being watched either. (Even if only the Watchers are watching each other.) 3. This wouldn't work, because it's not that hard to make a completely sealed underground laboratory. (Or, rather, it's sufficiently easy to do if you can construct a secret underground laboratory in the first place.) In this case, biological weapons are a better comparison than nuclear ones. Quote: Originally written by Contra: ... Problem is, Canisters make you inte an arrogant, ravaging madman who can't accept anything but submission and uttermost "respect" from anyone who isn't as "pure" as they are. In essence; Exactly like the Shapers, except the Shapers can actually controll themselves if they have to. ... This is a very good point. I suspect most of the Shaper arrogance comes from the fact that when you can create or destroy life with a wave of your hand, it's hard to not feel superior to mere mortals, especially the creations whom you could create or destroy at will. Based on the history from ancient temple in Geneforge 1, it seems to me that Shapers started out as a kind of Trajkovites: survivors of the devastating shaping wars that destroyed the old Sulica civilization, who tried to impose strict controls on Shaping to prevent the repeat of such disasters. However, as SoT describes, that control was never as firm as they'd hoped for, and eventually one of the experiments got out of controls, producing canisters at the time when they could do the most damage.

Quote: Originally written by Goldenking: The Rebels are not alone in loosing rogues upon the population. The Shapers were the ones who loosed all of the rogues in the Forsaken Lands, along with areas of Burwood. More imporatantly, the Shapers were the ones who sent the clawbugs into the Dillame fields, driving away the farmers and nearly killing them. Undoubtedly some did not run fast enough. Is this from Geneforge 4? I was referring to Geneforge 3. (I haven't finished #4 yet.) Either way, this makes Rebels no better than shapers. And probably worse, because rebels started this practice first. Quote: Your second point is debatable. We haven't heard much about a Shaper's background before the school, so I'm going to say that this really can't be proven. Although, based on the actions of the Shapers (taxes, mostly), and the general eliteness of the Shapers, I'd say it's more of a plutocratic method of selection, allowing you to rise on your own merits once you're in the ranks. My conclusion was derived from NPC interactions in Geneforge 3. I don't remember the exact text, but there was something about failing student sent back to her human village, and other indications that shaper apprentices are children of regular humans, rather than Shapers. As for taxes and so on, there are plenty of people in USA who complain just as much about evil Federal Government taking too much taxes and ignoring their needs. (People always complain about taxes, no matter where they live.) Quote: Your third and final point is unlikely, to say the least. The Shapers didn't keep many books on Shaping, as it is said in basically every game. It's mostly just coded notes and word of mouth. Which makes it more likely the Trakovites will succeed, although that is still a dauntingly collosal task. In the unlikely event that the Trakovites actually do destroy all of the canisters and Shapers/lifecraters, it is extremely unlikely that books and notes would be spared the torch. Even if Trakovites start burning at the stake anybody suspected of harboring forbidden knowledge, they will be no more successful than Spanish Inquisition was at eradicating "heretics". Knowledge and ideas have proven pretty hard to destroy. And that's even without the added insentive of huge power that comes with shaping.

First, I agree with SoT's last post: Riots, rebellions, revolutions, and resulting civil wars are very nasty even in the real world. (Even the relatively gentle American Civil War included episodes like Sherman's march that destroyed everything in its path.) Once you throw weapons of mass destruction into the mix, you get the total devastation described in the Geneforge series. With that said, Geneforge Rebels seem to be equivalent to the most extreme elements of RL society: indiscriminate attacks against univolved civillians "just to steer things up" wouldn't be accepted by most of the RL revolutionaries. (Here I am referring to Rebel practice of filling areas with uncontrolled rogues that drive farmers away from their fields, killing anybody who doesn't run away fast enough.) Another thing in Shaper's favor that everybody is forgetting is that they are neither a race nor a cast. From what I've seen in the games, Shaper society is a form of meritocracy, with Shaper schools accepting regular human children from any social class, and positions of power being earned rather than inherited. This makes Shaper society almost as liberal as ancient Greek Democracies, where only male citizens could vote and slaves were treated no better than Geneforge serviles. While citizens of shaper lands have no right to vote, they seem to have at least as much opportunity for upward mobility as citizends of modern USA. As for the Trakovites, I have only two words: "Sulica Island". The Shapers themselves tried to suppress "dangerous knowledge" and you can see the mess that resulted. I can see the plot of Geneforge 10 as: "In a society where all shaping is punishable by death, a young student stumbles upon ancient texts that contain forgotten secrets. But he is not alone in his discovery. Unimagined horrors are attacking remote villages, and this discovery might yeild a clue to their nature..." (Some unscrupulous people discover well-hidden books on shaping and proceed to take over the world, because everybody else is too weak to oppose them.)

My recommendation would be to play G1, G2, and G4. G1 - The main reason for its charm is that it introduces a completely new setting and game mechanics. However, the engine is not as polished as the later ones. So if you are going to play it, make sure you play it first. G2 - The best game in the style of G1. There are enough factions for anybody to find one you like, and supporting any of them can lead to a satisfying victory. G3 - It might be a technological improvement over G2, but was so boring that I didn't finish it. However, part of the reason for my disappointment was that the only choise presented to the player was which of the two evils was the lesser, and I was too spoiled by G2's multitude of options. G4 - Is supposedly the best game in the series. It's not as open-ended as G2, but makes up for it by engrossing atmosphere and much better engine.

Quote: Originally written by Student of Trinity: The official Awakened doctrine may be moral, but as I've argued before, the Awakened in practice are clearly and rapidly becoming what they beheld. Learned Pinner is a nice old lady, and their only really major player is the canister-addled demon-summoning Tuldaric. Their great plan is to hold off the Shapers with an army of enslaved Drakons, while modifying themselves into magery, and so giving both the Barzites and the Takers good runs for their money. Why do I keep hearing about "enslaved Drakons"? Even the most experinced Shapers can control only a few Drakons at a time, and Awakened have only two shapers among their ranks. So there is no way they could control hundreds of drakons through compulsion. (It might be possible with some super-mind control device, but I don't remember any mention of device like that in the story, and it would be obviously something important enough to at least mention.) So Drakons of the Awakened are allies, rather than slaves. Quote: Survival in a world of Shapers requires power, but that power doesn't just corrupt. It is corruption. The Awakened refuse to recognize this dilemma. They're not standing on the moral high ground; they just have their heads in the clouds, while their feet are rushing down the same slope as everyone else. This means they have a good chance of producing the worst disasters of all, and so they stand not for moral wisdom but for moral folly. It is understandable to want them to be the good guys. But if you pay attention to what they're actually doing, I think you see that they really aren't. The game itself disagrees with you. The Awakened ending does not involve them getting any more power than you see during the game. According to the Awakened victory text, their sect gains just enough power to hold their mountain valley, then fights defensively until shapers are willing to negotiate a cease-fire. Defending mountain passages with the help of their Drakon allies does not require nearly as much power as exterminating all the Shaper, which is the goal of the other factions. So according to game canon, the Awakened actually are as moral as they aspire to be. (Which is why Jeff removed them before Geneforge 3.)

In Geneforge 2, the Awakened present the obvious moral option. They just want to be left in peace in their secluded mountain refuge, and aren't trying to enslave or exterminate anybody.

Quote: Originally written by rclear666: just starting geneforge 3 after completing 2 as taker and awakened. a little confused by the whole recipe thing. where do i find mandrake ticture and demon bile PLEASE. think i can take it from there. please help Most of these ingredients can be found only much later in the game, so don't worry about it for now. EDIT: According to walkthrough, the first available Mandrake Tinctures are in a storage room in Fort Wilton (on the 3rd island), and in Krya's refuge (the crypt under the zone from which you depart towards 3rd island). Krya's refuge contains very tough fights, so the Fort Wilton one is probably easier to get. Demon Bile is in the Storage Road zone of the 3rd island.

Just to double-check, are you aware that making a creation takes away your essence for as long as the creation exists? (If you make a Fyora, you will not get that essence back by any means until that Fyora is destoryed.)

I voted for X because he was the most amusing one. Garzahd might be a champion in personal combat, Erika does more good deeds, and Rentar is more destructive, but none of them are developing an anvil-dropping spell.

Quote: Originally written by Agent Dove: ... Good game and imaginative, Jeff. I'd love to write a storyline for you to develop a game from... I need to see how hard it would be to learn how to write one myself, and then decide how badly I want to "shape" it into reality... ... If you want to see people playing the stories you write, take a look at Blades of Exile/Avernum. These games let you make your stories into games for others to play. BoE is easier to use, but BoA (the Avernum version) is more powerful and seems to be more popular now.

Quote: Originally written by TJC Shaper: i keep getting killed by roamers on easy. wat do i do p.s. dont close this topic till i beat the game If you are talking about exploding roamers, make sure you kill them with ranged weapons and attacks. A trick that works particularly well is to enter combat as soon as you see one approaching, kill him, and end combat right away, before his friends show up. PS Don't worry about this topic being closed. That happens only if the topic is a repeat of an exactly same question asked in another active thread, or if it gets spammed to death.

I just tried Dikiyoba's method and it seems to work fine. However, you should probably copy back Geneforge4Settings.dat file in the "Geneforge4 Saved Games" after the game regenerates this folder. I would also recommend renaming the old Saved Games folder rather than deleting it, so you'd have an option to go back to an older game.

If I remember correctly, the only solution is to avoid picking up the canister before talking to Lankan about it. I'll double-check the scripts in the evening, if I have time. (You can find all the game scripts in the data folder, so if you don't mind spoilers it's possible to see effects of all dialogue options.)

It seems a lot of your problems come from starting the series in the middle, rather than from the beginning. This gives you a mistaken impression of the game design. Try playing Geneforge 1 instead and you'll see that most of your comparisons with BG don't apply, because there is no party. The main idea of Geneforge is that you are playing a single character, who creates creatures to fight for him. Instead of a BG-style party of humanoids, there is just a group of created creatures that are no more than pets to your character. This answers most of your questions about game design: you can't use pods on creations, because that would be about as effective as trying to forse-feed your dog some medicines, while he is chasing a cat. You can't really interact with your creations, because even when I try talking to my dog the only thing he does is wag his tail. And so on. Geneforge 3 breaks this pattern by introducing human companions that you can interact with. As Thuryl said, Jeff is just 1 man, instead of a huge company that made BG, so there is very little character interaction he can script in. As for level of support, BG sold several hundred times more copies than any of Spidweb games. There are one or two exellent walkthroughs for each Spidweb game. If there are fewer than several hundred exellent walkthroughs for each BG game, BG community has less walkthrough writers as proportion of the population. PS And the search function seems to be broken, so just ask any questions you have and you'll get plenty of replies.

If you are going to use an editor that's a separate application, you can do as you suggest. (Just using a separate save slot.) In fact, you should always use several save slots because sometimes one of them breaks for no reason. However, most editors require you to mess around with files on your computer. If you aren't familiar with moving and copying files and folders/directories/whatever-Apple-calls-them on your computer, you probably shouldn't use these script editors.

The only thing you can do to be safe is backing up all your saved games and any data files the editor replaces. (Before you copy the editors into specified locations, make sure you make a backup folder and copy into it all SaveGame folders and any files that have same names as editor files.)

I joined Awakened, but destroyed Geneforge when I saw it. I don't remember if that caused Obeyer ending or not. I prefer the Awakened from Gf2 anyway.

Quote: Originally written by Infernal Flamming Muffin: Um sawtooth, you do relize that the post before yours is over a month old? You shouldn't post on a dead topic. Um IFM, you do realize that you are not a moderator of this forum, so your post is at best spam and at worst a violation of the forum rules? We have moderators here for a reason. The reason is to prevent every arrogant newbie from trying to enforse his own version of the Code of Conduct. (And your version of rules isn't even close to the official one, considering that we've never had a rule against topic necromancy, but we do have a rule against harassing other members, which is what you are doing here.)

Summary for people not interested in university-level computer design discussion: Nioca is wrong. Under normal conditions, it's better to have a single large swap file than to let a small one grow. Quote: False. Virtual Memory is used well before you run out of RAM. In fact, most programs will use Virtual Memory alongside RAM so the actual RAM doesn't get burned through with a single application. You are right that I was oversimplifying. My point is that I haven't heard of any OS that sends more memory pages to disk just because a larger swap file is there. Quote: A) The computer has to sift through a larger pagefile to locate the data it's trying to find. It seems you have no idea about how Virtual Memory is implemented. When application tries to access a page of data, the computer checks the page table to see where (in main memory, or on disk) the page is currently located. The page table itself is stored in main memory, so the lookup time is negligible. (Accessing main memory is about 1000 times faster than accessing hard drive.) If the requested page is on disk, the corresponding block will be read into main memory. This is the time consuming part and it takes the same amount of time regardless of the size of your page file, because only the required chunk of data is read. Quote: The computer has to rewrite the pagefile when it deposits new data or gets rid of old or unneeded data. This is also completely wrong. Read the above paragraph for an explanation of the page table. When new data needs to be written, only required blocks are overwritten. When the data is no longer needed, no disk writes are performed at all. The space is simply marked as free in the page table (stored in main memory), so new data can be written into it if necessary. Quote: Fortunately, you can usually set the pagefile so that it starts out small, but will expand as needed. Sort of like a sponge. This is a very bad idea, because it will cause fragmentation of swap file. (Fragmentation means that parts of the file are stored on different parts of the disk.) Fragmentation is bad because the time it takes for reading heads to find the right track (seek time) and time it takes for disk to rotate to the right position on the track (rotational delay) is much longer than the time required to retrieve the data itself. If your file is a continuous chunk of disk space, you will waste a lot less time positioning the heads than if you have to go to a different part of disk for every block.

Is your problem with finding Fort Kothtar, or figuring out what to do there? If it's the latter, try Schrodinger's walkthrough: http://www.geocities.com/zeviz1/ch4.html#kothtar

Quote: Originally written by Nioca: Quote: Originally written by Zeviz: ...That doesn't sound right. I'd assume that increasing amount of swap space improved performance, but if it has to be decreased to work better, there might be a bug in the game. (Civ4 originally had a bug in graphics code that caused the game to run worse on machines with more RAM, so this might be something similar.) Actually, this is completely feasible. Virtual Memory is created by using the Hard Disk as RAM. The problem is, Hard Drives are nowhere near as fast as RAM, which means that it takes longer to load something into or out of Virtual Memory. And if you have a larger Page file (or in my case, three page files varying sizes), it further aggravates the problem. ... In case you didn't know, Virtual Memory is used only when computer runs out of physical RAM. So having more virtual memory shouldn't cause any slowdowns, unless there is a bug in the program that causes it to eat up as much memory as it can, using up all physical RAM and filling Virtual Memory to the limits.