Zeviz

Or, in an even more bizzare twist, the player character from Gf3 could be the final boss of Gf4. Another boss could be a Geneforge-using player character from Gf1, who went off to make his own kingdom somewhere, but could get involved in larger politics again.

Quote: Originally written by Archmagus Micael: Quote: Originally written by Zeviz: No emperor in history willingly gave up his throne to a guy with a piece of paper. Um - abdication? - Archmagus Micael Can anybody think of an example of an emperor who had willingly abdicated with no outside preassure just because somebody presented a better claim to the throne? Most abdications I can think of were prompted by a choice of "either you take off that crown, or we'll take it off together with your head".

If you haven't tried the demo, try it. That's what it's for. If you have tried the demo and are still unsure, chances are you will not like the rest of the game either. If you already made up your mind, what was the point of the poll? (Aside from letting several people increase our postcounts.)

Quote: Originally written by Aussieavernum: ...It was not an Empire official, he was a rebel mage pretending to be the heir to the throne. ... No emperor in history willingly gave up his throne to a guy with a piece of paper. The only way such a person could get a throne would be by leading a successful revolution against the emperor. PS The rest of your scenario sounds too similar to Avernum 3. Unless what you are saying about monster plagues are just a background history for a smaller scenario in which you defeat the evil emperor. Either way, if you haven't made any scenarios before, I'd suggest starting with something much smaller. Once you make a couple of good small scenarios you can start thinking of an epic of this magnitude.

Quote: Originally written by Alostrael: In Phariton's Hall, the hallway in the middle has a row of doors. Can you get inside those rooms? How do you do it? (I already stole all of Phariton's goodies without killing him--I'm aligned with the Awakened--by hasting and unlocking the doorway closest to the exit, leaving the map, and coming back through that now unlocked door. He's a tough sucker to kill!!) ... According to Schrodinger's faq ( http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/game/918441.html ) the mines in the central passage release creations that attack you. So I am guessing those creations come out of the rooms you are talking about. I do remember something like this and worrying about whether I'd miss any loot in the rooms with creations if I disarm the mines. (I think the answer was "no", but I don't remember exactly.)

Quote: Originally written by MrAndersonMan: Alright. Since I'm more familiar with the past games, it took me around 3 tries to get a team I liked. But I always ended up making some sort of error that made me restart. Can someone post an *ideal* or close-to-ideal team to make? It's possible to win the game with the default party. So don't worry so much about making "the perfect party" and just start playing. As long as you have at least 1 mage, at least 1 priest and at least 1 character good at killing stuff you'll do fine.

Quote: Originally written by MrAndersonMan: Alright. Since I'm more familiar with the past games, it took me around 3 tries to get a team I liked. But I always ended up making some sort of error that made me restart. Can someone post an *ideal* or close-to-ideal team to make? It's possible to win the game with the default party. So don't worry so much about making "the perfect party" and just start playing. As long as you have at least 1 mage, at least 1 priest and at least 1 character good at killing stuff you'll do fine.

Very nice game report. It's fun to read these in-character reports. PS SoT, to make a game like this fun, you'd have to completely role-play your character: making decisions she would make, regardless of what you, the player, know about consequences, picking dialogue options she would pick, never reloading (unless you die, but only if you do everything possible to aviod death), etc.

About Leadership, I see it more as a "diplomacy" skill in some games: the ability to convince people, rather than some sort of hypnotic power. As for Serviles' genetic need to obey, on one hand if they are reprogramming themselves they can get rid of that need too. On the other hand, if they change themselves so much, are they still "Serviles"? Just like Dryaks changed themselves into Drakons, Serviles who change themselves in such fundamental ways should probably be considered a new species. Quote: Originally written by Student of Trinity: Spray and Swarm Crystals, and Madness Gems, are in effect options to attack many enemies more weakly. ... Ok. My suggestion of multiple attack modes wasn't very serious anyway. Making a well-balanced game is one of Jeff's strongest points, so I am not too worried about that.

Here is some generic advice for all damaging areas: 1. Stay in Combat mode all the time. Also stay Hasted to get through the area even faster. 2. Put on all equipment you have that protects from the appropriate damage type. (Energy in the case of Power Cores, if I remember correctly.) 3. Cast Augmentation to increase your max hitpoints. 4. Don't spend more time in particularly damaging areas than absolutely necessary. Most of such areas have a few rooms that kill you in 1 or 2 turns, so never spend more than 1 turn in a room like that. Being Hasted helps a lot. 5. If you are still getting killed, get a couple more levels of Endurance, or wait until later in the game, when your hitpoints and resistances are higher. Good luck.

Quote: Originally written by Randomizer: It's never too much until carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists makes using the mouse impossible. Although taking a break might be helpful. When you see the game in your sleep you are nearing the end. Don't be discouraged by such a minor obstacle as carpal tunnel syndrome! Simply switch from mouse to trackball and continue until you can't move your fingers either.

Quote: Originally written by Archmagus Micael: Okay. You can get this new file you wanted uploaded Here . A quesiton - is this meant to work on a WIN computer, or only on MAC? Because the file I just uploaded crashed on winXP. - Archmagus Micael Do you have the .Net framework installed? And is it the latest version? If not, I assume that might be the reason it doesn't work for you.

Quote: Originally written by Archmagus Micael: Okay. You can get this new file you wanted uploaded Here . A quesiton - is this meant to work on a WIN computer, or only on MAC? Because the file I just uploaded crashed on winXP. - Archmagus Micael Do you have the .Net framework installed? And is it the latest version? If not, I assume that might be the reason it doesn't work for you.

Quote: Originally written by Ephesos: Quote: Originally written by Bomber: What spycam??? He's kidding. I think I missed the context, but he's kidding. I think Salmon was replying to this: Quote: Originally written by Spidweb: ... And sometimes the customer is a paranoid schizophrenic who thinks that my game is spying on him. (Yes. It happened.) ...

Quote: Originally written by Delicious Vlish: ... Allow the Guardian (type) class to hit multiple enemies in a single attack. Perhaps cranking melee skill would increase the chance of getting a hit on those standing in the immediate area around you. At higher levels of training, a good swipe with a sword would hit 5 or 6 foes around you, and then allow for quick action to allow for second hits or double damage or something, Also, allow the missile skill to allow for a chance to pierce with batons or thrown weapons. Also, batons are a lock and load type weapon. Heck, allow them to have 2 or 3 shots a round and give the Guardian even footing with the Agent in terms of damage output. A well made missile Guardian with piercing missiles could hold his own in terms of damage. And allow quick action to allow you to squeeze off an extra shot once and while. ... This sounds like multiple attack modes from some other games and I agree that it would be good to see these in Gf5. (I suspect Gf4 is too far along in development to accomodate such changes.) What I mean by multiple attack modes is that your characters and creations would have an option to use a weaker attack that damages all nearby enemies. Ranged attacks would also have a weaker multi-target mode. Or a faster, but weaker attack. There are many possibilities here. PS As for Serviles shaping themselves, I am not surprized that that's the direction in which the series is going. Considering the current state of Geneforge world, Geneforge-using ending of Gf1 no longer looks that bad. (Or at least it looks no worse than current state of the world.)

Quote: Originally written by Delicious Vlish: ... Nerfing Daze would hurt other classes far more than it would hurt the Agent. With out Daze, fragile Shapers run the risk of something beelining past their wall of creations and taking them out. I guess this is just a question of playing style. Just like you argue that a correctly played agent would never get hit, I'd argue that a correctly played Shaper would never get close enough to battlefield for anything to get in range to attack him. I did fine as both Guardian and Shaper in Gf2 with no mental and battle magic at all. I also got through half of Gf3 with a similar shaper (lost interest in the game after finishing Dhonal Island). You might be right that an Agent is generally overpowered, but I am wondering whether less experienced Agent players feel the same way.

Quote: Originally written by Student of Trinity: Since I'm here right now I'll answer Major: The thing with a properly built Agent is that all the examples are the same, because it's always her turn. She's on permanent Speed and she has huge Quick Action. So she steps just into range of an unsuspecting enemy of almost any size, and hits it for enormous damage with, say, Searer. It's still her turn because she had at least 12 AP, so she has at least 5 left now. If she's feeling brave or confident she could attack again and go for a quick kill, but if she's cautious she retreats a few steps to get out of sight of her enemy, then her player taps "f" twice very quickly. Before her victim has had time to move, she's got a fresh 12 AP. ... The bolded part here is an exploit of combat system, so if that's the main reason you are arguing for agent to be nerfed, just don't abuse this exploit. Fight-end button wasn't intended to give you infinite APs. It was intended to ... leave combat when fight is over. Since this isn't a competitive game, Jeff doesn't have to change the whole game to get rid of an exploit. Just don't use it if it makes the game too easy. Since I haven't played Agent in Gf3, I can't comment on how she compares to other classes, but it sounds like most of your invinsible-agent strategies could be defeated by nerfing Daze (my Shapers and Guardians did fine in previous Geneforges with no mental magic at all), and stopping yourself from abusing fight-end trick. (Or Jeff not letting the player end fight while an enemy is chasing him.) PS In general, I'd prefer it if Jeff added even higher difficulty level beyond Torment, instead of changing the game balance to make normal level challenging for the best players.

Quote: Originally written by Ephesos: Quote: Originally written by Thuryl: Man. Talking about the scenario like this almost makes me want to actually make the damn thing. Do it! You know you want to! I also would like to play this scenario. (Or pretty much any scenario you'll make, considering your past record.)

There are some BoE scenarios (I think later works by Alcritas are among them) where breaking into people's houses decreases your reputation, and bad reputataion not only makes things harder for you, but effects the ending as well.

Sounds like it will be one of the best Spidweb games. Especially this part: Quote: ... The game will be smaller in size than Geneforge 3, but with a much higher plot density. I've tried to make the game have a more intricate plot and more involved quest chains, battles, and characters. ... The game still tracks your allegiance to one side or the other, but the system is now based far more on actions and less on conversation. A lot of encounters have a pro-rebel and a pro-shaper resolution.

Quote: Originally written by Spidweb: ... Sometimes people don't understand how personally I take their critiques. No matter how many people like Avernum 4, the number of people who didn't like the new direction makes me genuinely unhappy. But what can you do? Looking back, there are some small things I would have changed, but, in Avernum 4, I feel I wrote the game I had to. ... The drawback of having made great games in the past is the customers hold you to a higher standard. And the drawback of having loyal fans is that they have strong opinions on the game. Quote: Originally written by VCH: I wouldn't weigh the opinion of the board members that heavily. As with most games the people who actively participate in the community is small compared to the total number of people who play or have played a game. However, the people who participate in the community are the ones most likely to generate word-of-mouth publicity for the game. I've bought two most recent games because of good things I've heard about them first on other forums and then on their own forums. So alianating loyal customers isn't a very good policy. Quote: Originally written by Student of Trinity: ... As far as I can tell, the complaints from a couple of old timers amount to fanatical orneriness on their parts, and can't really be given any weight. ... Calling people "fanatical old-timers" isn't a good idea unless you want to be called a "drooling fanboy". And considering that, according to Ash's poll, G3 and A4 had the least number of people who registered and liked them, more than just "a couple of old-timers" have issues with these games and ignoring their complaints might not be good for Spidweb's bottom line. PS As for my opinion of A4, I'll post that in one of the half-dozen related threads, instead of side-tracking this one.

Managing the experience in Exile games is just another element of strategy, especially trying to make sure the priest doesn't fall too far behind. However, I am glad that I don't have to worry about this in Avernum. The only drawback of Avernum system is that there is no way to compensate for difference in XP penalties between characters. (In Exile, I could just let my Slith get more killing blows than my human.) Quote: Avernum seems to be too specialized. ------------------------------------------------- It caters to min/maxers like me. Before entering Thalni's beta, I spent about an hour in Kel's HLPM, creating a party min/maxed towards the hidden skills. What's "min/maxing" in this context?

I am guessing you want 7 creations of different types, not counting G3 NPCs. My party would probably include: the 1st Fyora I've made (kept for centimental value) a leveled-up Cryoa that's been with me from early game a leveled-up Thahd that's been with me from early game an invinsible Thahd Shade (Thahd Shade with a lot of extra dexterity.) and 3 of the best creatures I could make, eventually ending up with an Ur-Drakon, a Rotzion, and an Eye-Beast. This wouldn't be the best possible party, but it's the best I could do with the restrictions of keeping at most 1 creature of each type and having all 7 slots filled.

Quote: Originally written by Dikiyoba: Vahnatai have had Shapers since before Geneforge even existed. ... Vahnatai creationism? (There is a theory that all life in the world of Avernum was created by the Vahnatai.) To answer original question of the thread, there is no reasonable way to make a connection between the worlds of Avernum and Geneforge, because Avernum has its own long history with no mention of Shaper-type magic or of any creatures from Geneforge world. Neither does Geneforge have any mention of Avernum-type creatures. Trying to put Geneforge and Avernum into same world is like trying to put Star Wars and Star Trek into the same universe. There are just as many differencies in history, races, magic, etc. It could be done, but the results wouldn't be appealing to fans of either series.

There is a place where you can purchase Magery extra skill that improves effectiveness of all mage and priest spells. (You can also raise that skill in a couple additional places.) However, I don't think you can purchase Mage skill itself. EDIT: According to Schrodinger's faq, there are 2 places to purchase Magery skill, one more expensive than another.