Arch-Mage Solberg

I also try to keep my spelling and grammar in check. I don't have Chrome or anything else like some of you have. In school I gave some thought about what I wrote and would check it often. Now when I write I don't really care if it isn't perfect. I do want my words to look somewhat intelligent. I do care how I am viewed on these boards. Post #485

Originally Posted By: So Much Killing To answer the question in your original post, there is a lot of food throughout the game. As long as you collect what is available, you will have more than enough to get you through. And you can sell or give away (for experience) all of the bags of meal that you find. Thanks SMK, this is what I wanted to know! Originally Posted By: So Much Killing If you're an obsessive collector (like me), it's easy to finish with more than 100 items of several different types of food. I am a total completist. Every nook and cranny must be searched and every storyline exposed before I can rest! Originally Posted By: Khoth The real reason for the famine is that a group of soldiers are running round Avernum obsessively hoarding every scrap of food that they can find. Dang...was that me? Maybe King Starrus will send some other adventurers after me to get me to stop hoarding! Post #484

I misspelled the title for emphasis. I was just wondering, how good are some of y'all at keeping to good grammar on the forums? Post #483

What I was trying to say is that there is supposed to be a famine of sorts going on, but the playing characters find not only enough food to survive, but much more than enough. My first game where I did everything possible in the demo, I had about 30 bags of meal, 15 units of Dried Meat, 11 units of Fruit, 17 units of Meats, 9 units of big Mushrooms, 15 units of small Mushrooms, 8 units of Bread, 14 units of Rolls and 21 units of Fish. With a famine going on, my party was able to scrounge up enough to seemingly feed an entire army! What I was wanting to know was since the Great Cave is stacked on food (apparently), are the other areas nearly as stacked on food? Post #482 Edit: Also, if only the mushroom plants are inedible, why is there a famine with so much other choices for food?

I'm playing through the demo of A6 again and would like to bring up something. There's supposed to be a famine of sorts going on, yet the characters you play find a lot of food around! Is this just how it is in the begining and food gets scarcer as you leave the Great Cave or is it just this way for the characters? Post #481

I also haven't played either E3 or A3 in years. I also noticed the comparitive easiness of A3 compared to E3. It took me about 2 months of playing to beat E3 (I could only play a few hours a day and not even everyday because of military service.) It only took a little more than 3 weeks to beat A3 (even with the above restrictions). Post #480

Originally Posted By: Parahuman Our soldiers aren't keeping us safe. Fighting Germany in WWII was probably necessary to avoid fighting Germany and/or Japan later and alone, but since then we've been fighting others' battles. To some extent, that's an international duty, but our political leadership hasn't managed its military strength well. —Alorael, who also invites anyone claiming a military is necessary to a good life to look at Germany or Japan. Or Costa Rica, especially in comparison with its neighbors. The caveat, of course, is that you don't need a military if you have the right friends and they have enough guns. I do agree that our leadership isn't managing well our military too well. It may also be said that some countries don't have any military forces but have powerful allies who do. America does not have the luzury of powerful allies to defend us from others. We not only have to defend ourselves, but others as well to keep the threat down and manageable. Originally Posted By: Tirien Originally Posted By: Arch-Mage Solberg For those who scoff and speak ill of the military and say that we would probably be better without them, I say if you think that it's bad here...go somewhere else and see how it is. Odds are that while some things are done better in other places, America truly has more freedom and choices. Doesnt really explain why America spends more on its military than the rest of the world combined spends on their's, does it? Probably because the U.S. has one of the best fighting and equipped forces in the world? A great deal of countries don’t even have militaries. Most that do don’t have a lot. Look at the forces in most African and South American countries. Their militaries are living in near poverty. The only other countries that come close are England, Russia, China, Japan, and France. Originally Posted By: Parahuman —Alorael, who doesn't know that it isn't. He isn't a military expert or a political scientist. He does, however, think that the question is sufficiently open that shooting first and asking the questions later is not a good idea. If nothing else, think of what other security measures could be enacted with money saved by not fighting two wars on foreign soil. There probably does need to be more diplomatic means to solve most of the problams we face. But if someone from out of nowhere and with no apparent reason punches you in the face, are you gonna stand there and talk about why he did it or punch him back? What am I trying to say? That sometimes shooting first and asking questions second is sometimes justifiable. Obviously, this doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes attacks are with reason but too brutal or they are justifiable for some reason. Each and every attack is open to question. It's never an easy thing to say to your Generals 'Go out there and attack this country'. You know that there will be bloodshed on both sides. I'm sorry for the long post. I just wanted to respond to a few things directed to me and also respond to other postings as well. Alorael, I hope that you don't think that i'm picking on you or anything because I quoted you twice! Post #479

I have found records of family living in America decades before the Revolutionary War. Some of my ancestors also fought in that war. I have family members that have fought in every major war since then. The war of 1812, the Texas Revolution, the Mexican-American war, the Civil War, the Spanish-American war, the Boxer Rebellion, World War II, and Vietnam. I served in the Navy from March 2001 to March 2006. My dad served in the army from 1972 to 1977. I have a family rich in military background. Veterans Day means more to me than it probably does to some Americans. There are many veterans who served but never saw combat, like me. This does not mean that my, or any one elses, service isn't valid. Not everyone can or is able to serve in combat. November 11 is a day set aside for military veterans who gave their time, abilities and even to the extreme...their lives! We should honor their sacrifice and celebrate Veterans Day the way it's meant to be celebrated. If it wasn't for our fighting men and women who protect us and keep us safe from thse who wish us harm, we wouldn't be able to enjoy all the liberties that we have. For those who scoff and speak ill of the military and say that we would probably be better without them, I say if you think that it's bad here...go somewhere else and see how it is. Odds are that while some things are done better in other places, America truly has more freedom and choices. Post #478

Originally Posted By: rage, rage against the light I'm pretty sure there are walls and gates back in A1. I can't remember all the way back to E1. —Alorael, who knows there are at least a few walls to make things safer. Also patrolling guards to remind you that walls are there for your protection, citizen. In A1, Mertis did not have walls to protect itself. In A2, Mertis could've been a fort with the the walls and troops inside. In A3, we can't see Mertis. In A4, they talk about building walls for protection (maybe they somehow got destroyed between A2 and A4?). In A5, again we can't see Mertis. In A6, apparently (I only have the demo of the game) as some have said, Mertis has walls. Post #477

Originally Posted By: The Mystic Actually, in A1, once you get Unlock Doors at level 3, the spell will unlock all doors, no matter how strong the lock/magic/whatever. Tool use is pretty much only relevant to traps from that point on. I loved that apparent glitch. Even if the door needed a key to open, if you had lvl 3 Unlock doors, it would open. Too bad it spill over to the other Avernum's! Post #476

I thought that remembered some thread about it some time ago. I looked here and found that apparently I was wrong. I appologize to you Lilith and everyone else at the Spiderweb Software forums for being wrong on that note, but stand beside my vote for the canonical ending. Post #475

I love the encumbrance system. It reminds me of times long gone with Exile: Escape From the Pit. My next favorite is the ability to move the screen with the four arrow keys while moving my characters with the main eight keys. My third favorite is the look of the games. Sure A6's screen is a bit clustered, but I like it just the same (At least it's not as small as E1's)! This is a list of my favorite things. Post #474

Although ther are many endings available, Jeff seemed to make certain ones canonical. The adventurers are meant to be sneaky and avoid fights if they can. Remember in A4 when we fought Rentar-Ihrno? No matter what you ending you got in your game, the one that mattered was that you talked your way out of the fight and Rentar was spared. Now obviously not every boss had an escape clause, but some smaller ones did (Hrikis) I believe that the canonical ending to A6 is that you completed all of Gladwell's and Melanchion's quests and killed neither. They rule over the caves in an uneasy stalemate with a smaller Avernum in the middle. These are just my thoughts on the subject. Post #473

Originally Posted By: Tirien Originally Posted By: Arch-Mage Solberg I also love the old Avernum games. In contrast, I love the newer games better! I am surrounded by heretics! The older a game, the better it is. Just look at Pong and Pacman! I still play the old games. When I say I love the newer games better, that doesn't necessarily mean I hate the older ones. People will be drawn towards bigger and better, it's just human nature. Nostalgia is fine and all, but after a while you realize that there's a difference between really liking to play a game and nostalgia. Take it from me, I used to be a real advocate for the Exile Trilogy. After a while, I realized what I said above. Post #472

I just read Maniac McGee. I read it years ago and did remember a few parts of it, but most I didn't remember at all! Post #471

Originally Posted By: Declined asymptotically Jeff has said that A4 sales basically saved the company after Blades of Avernum flopped. Blades of Avernum flopped? I must have been one of the few who bought it then! I also love the old Avernum games. In contrast, I love the newer games better! Post #470

Originally Posted By: Mestalidd No sir I am not. I havent even gotten that far in Exile 1 before. Although I MAY be confusing this with Avernum-III. I will double-check such facts. Appologies are in order. I thought that you were refering to E1 while in a E3 thread. Post #469

Originally Posted By: Triumph Just one more time-relevant quote, from talking to Commander Melo in Ft. Saffron, confirming A6 is about ten years after A5: Quote: question = "Who are the Darkside Loyalists?"; text1 = "_Oh. They might be from before your time. They are rebels against the Empire. They hate Avernum, and they want the Empire to return to the cruel days of old. They even assassinated Empress Prazac._"; text2 = "_They were mostly wiped out a decade ago, but a few dangerous pockets of them might remain. The Empire will appreciate it if we locate and deal with them._"; Thanks Triumph! I had that on my list but for some stupid reason, I didn't list it. But it does confirm that A5 and A6 are 10 years apart. As for time in the games, all I was saying was that although the games and the world of Ermarian are fictional...there still needs to be something realistic about it. There's no such thing as magic but J.K. Rowling put such descriptive acts in her books that it made magic seem real. That's the same way for the Avernum games. Jeff describes the caves of Avernum and the surface of Ermarian with such detail, that it's hard not to be drawn in. Even if the games don't come right out and tell us how long it took those adventurers to complete all the missions, I believe that's where we come in to put everything together and come up with the years. Post #468

Originally Posted By: CRISIS on INFINITE SLARTIES Looks like you pulled up some good stuff! Thanks Slarty. Originally Posted By: CRISIS on INFINITE SLARTIES Did we ever set an approximate date for A5? I can't remember. We did. The Timeline of Ermarian was last updated sometime after A5 came out. The year was 870 IE, 10 years before the events of A6. Originally Posted By: CRISIS on INFINITE SLARTIES Given that previous games have all been assumed to (or maybe there's evidence to say so - I think for X2 there was) take place during just one year, we should probably continue that if we are using the same timeline. I don't see anything about the in-game part of A6's story that would require more than a year. I know that previous games had a set period of one year from beginning to end. To me this makes no sense. These characters do a lot of running around, and are also supposed to rest a lot more than we allow them on the games. I know that the games are fictional, but if we are gonna try to come up with dates and stuff that make sense, then we need to start thinking about the characters in a more realistic sense. Originally Posted By: CRISIS on INFINITE SLARTIES Obviously, the Blight and the Slith invasion span longer timeframes. According to the starting dialogue of A6, the Blight came first and then the Slith Horde (sensing weakness) attacked. I would put a date of 878 on the Blight and 879 on the Slith Horde's attack. Post #467

Originally Posted By: Mestalidd Conveniently, there is a secret passage that will take you right from the inside of the barrier to her cave to her. Less fortunate for you, you gain this insight a bit too late. Your post is talking about E1. Grazza is talking about E3. Post #466

I know that the last post for this thread was a few days ago. I'm not attempting to SPAM, I have an update I would like to share on this subject. Originally Posted By: CRISIS on INFINITE SLARTIES The way to get a date for 6 would be to exhaustively check all references to time relative to older events, mentioned in A6, however brief or vague, and then figure out what best fits everything. I believe that I have all of the relevant references (there actually aren't that many)! The best evidence I have for a year is from #4 since it is not vague at all! I've copied and pasted from the A6 Scripts. 1. Ghall-Ihrno's Intro- Quote: "You get a closer look at the vahnatai, who has made the Castle his home for over twenty years. 2. Commander Castrone, of Fort Remote, when asked about the caves to the west Quote: -"_Well, twenty or so years ago, we thought everything out there was quiet. But it turns out, Rentar-Ihrno, that mad old vahnatai, was out there plotting against Avernum._"; 3. Commander Melo, of Fort Saffron, talking about the old Darkside Loyalists fort- Quote: "_I was never able to find out much. They were built over twenty years ago. There were brigands or something hiding up there until adventurers cleared them out._" 4. Gless-Thsss, Chieftain of Gnass, when asked how long he was Chieftain- Quote: "_Twenty-five long years._" As I said earlier, #4 is our best evidence for a year for A6. In A4, when you speak to Gless-Thsss, he tells you that he has been the Chieftain for only several months when the Shade appeared in Dharmon. According to the Encyclopedia Ermariana Timeline, this happened in the year 855 IE. Now, we add Gless-Thsss' 25 years and we have our A6 starting year of 880 IE. I've never been a big fan of saying that all of these events took place in one year. So, I'm also gonna say that the events of A6 took about 2 years to complete. Which will end us with 882 IE. If this is true (and I believe that it is), then the following is also true. 1. Rone of The Castle died around 875 IE. Corelea says the Rone died 5 years previously. 2. Pathass of Gnass died around 870 IE. Seleeass of Gnass tells you that Pathass died 10 years previously. 3. Commander Matos joined the Army around 850 IE. Commander Matos tells you that he was made Commander after 30 years. These are the only absolutes that I have right now. Obviously my word can not stand alone. I have only presented these facts (as I believe them to be) to be discussed by our community. You're imput on this (and every other) thread is greatly admired. Post # 465

Originally Posted By: CRISIS on INFINITE SLARTIES That hasn't been updated since Avernum 5. The way to get a date for 6 would be to exhaustively check all references to time relative to older events, mentioned in A6, however brief or vague, and then figure out what best fits everything. Thank you Slarty! Looks like I got some work to do ahead of me. Originally Posted By: Earth Empires http://encyclopedia.ermarian.net/wiki/Timeline_of_Ermarian that could help a bit. Great minds think alike. It is that very thread that I intend to update as I have been updating some other pages as well. Post #464

Also not to mention the vast space between some of those last few posts! Spam is bad. I should know...check out pages 21-23 of my post count! Man was I stupid back then. Post # 463

Does anyone happpen to know the year/s that Avernum 6 takes place? It would be really helpful. Post # 462

Originally Posted By: Kekekinetics Originally Posted By: Jeff Vogel Total Copies Sold of Geneforge 4 as of March 13, 2009: 3979. Total Gross Sales Geneforge 4 as of March 13, 2009: $111412. Hm. We're a minority, but we're not exactly an insignificant minority. We're at least a few percent of Jeff's customer base. —Alorael, who notes that the total Spiderweb membership is now well over the number of sales. And the total number of members who have ever registered, including many bots, is several times larger. Also there are probably quite a few members (I, myself count among their number) who are registered on the forums but have never bought Geneforge 4. The only Geneforge game I have bought was Geneforge 1. By comparison, the only Exile/Avernum game that I haven't bought (yet!) is Avernum 6. I also haven't bought Nethergate: Resurrection. This happens to be the only game from Spiderweb Software that I have absolutely NO intention of buying. No reason besides I never really got into the original to begin with. Post # 461