Rent-an-Ihrno

I'm so excited! The FAQ and screenshots so far look absolutely perfect, keeping the the best of the old games and adding the best of the new. I really have the feeling this is going to work out very well. It all seems to fit together. And release before the end of 2011? w00t!

I wonder, though, about the retail price. 20$ doesnt't seem very high. It's very, very reasonable in my opinion. But 10$ for owners of previous Avernum games? I'm not sure what to think of that.

Demons - Imps

I think it's an awesome idea. If nothing else, it's an hommage to a game of rare charme and enticement. Keep it up!

I agree. Maybe I wouldn't say it's the simple graphics though, but rather the simple controls and gaming system that support the images the texts put in your head.

They do, somewhere in Northern Valorim, I think. It's slightly hidden in some mountains. If you go there, they will offer you the chance to join them - for a reasonable fee.

Isn't the priest in the Tower of Magi able to cure the Dread Curse? I'm pretty sure he is.

EDIT: Typo.

I'm looking forward to a new spell system the most. I hope we gete some tactical diversity this time, maybe a little like it was in Exile.

Other than that, I know the story will be great and I really hope it's gonna be full of humor.

I mix up these things occasionally, but I'm pretty sure it's that way in Avernum 1-3 as well. The necessary waiting time varies from town to town and from crime to crime, if I remember correctly. The wait is always long, though.

Hostile towns go back to normal if you wait long enough.

I really do think you miss out on something. A1 has a unique feeling to it, none of the other games are as adventurous. The caves in the days before the Empire War were still very mysterious, and you can wander around in it quite much in any fashion you like. No linear plot here.

Plus, for me it was very fun and interesting to see how places I've visited change from game to game. In A1, you explore a fuming cavern filled with fire lizards, in A2 you visit a hot spring relaxation thingy at the exact same spot.

You don't need a FAQ. Just be very thorough when you talk to people and visit important NPCs regularly.

Windows users don't get a break? Spidweb is one of the few havens left to us Maccheronis, give US a break!

I'd like to know what percentage of Jeff's customers are Mac, resp Windows users. Does anybody know approximately?

It will be refreshing to investigate not knowing the source. A3 was pretty damn obvious. The fact that I was told about Rentar before I got the game may contribute to my conception, though.

I side with Mystic on this one. In earlier games, esp in the Exile series, your actions actually altered the course of your party. When you really have to think about whether or not to accept a mission, step on a rune, say something to a NPC or, in Mystic's case, enter an area, you take the game more seriously. That always gave me a stronger feeling of playing a powerful party in a dangerous universe.

I guess Jeff tried to bring that feeling back a little bit in A5 (take the geas, for example). I hope he finds some other way to do it in A6. And I hope he considers obsessive savers like myself.

I'm not sure how I feel about these news yet. The food thing is not what I worry about most though, that could actually prove to be a very nice aspect of the game - say a guard only lets you in if you bring him his favorite meal, which only one cook in Avernum can cook; you try to free him from some food baron, but he is killed before your eyes so you have to reconstruct the recipe yourself (maybe using an interface like the one you use to blow up Rentar's fortress in A3).

I wish you alot of fun.

That implies a set of attributes given by the means of an immortal soul or specific strings of DNS. Both are unthinkable to me.

Sliths, just like any other species living in organised communities, seek for new perspectives in the time of crisis. Any kind of party trying to unite (part of) the population against an internal or external concept of enemy (expr?) is in a really good position to have success in such times.

I think it's totally convincing to argue that the Sliths, being in a very difficult position after Avernum 1, will furtherly divide in groups believing in different solutions for their problems; given their history, the environment in the caves and the predominance of humans, the agressive expansionists will naturally be the leading movement.

I don't think we'll be fighting Darkside Loyalists. They wouldn't sponsor a slith invasion of Avernum, as they have economic interests down there. Do you think the sliths would agree upon a financial treaty with the Empire?

If the sliths really are backed by someone, it must be the Vahnatai.

I never use the same characters, because I always make up a story behind my parties, and they have to actually make sense regarding the other games.

For example, when the slithzerikai became playable PCs, I started giving them names like "Hossass-Thss" or something else with the same ending, figuring that the outcast grandson of Hss-Thss would want to join my adventurers.

(Just waiting for the possibility of having a Banter-Ihrno.)

It was.

Actually, it's on my To-Do-List for BoA. It can only be a matter of years now.

Well, the lack of a Quest Log can be confusing in a game as big and unlinear(?) as A1, and combat definately changed with the introduction of health bars.

Anyway, I didn't say A1 was worse for it, I just wanted him to know that changes were made with each new game.

Keep in mind that A1 lacks some of the most basic features all other Avernums have, then. Have fun!

I too think you should play at least one demo first. I suggest you start with A2.

The story behind SpidWeb games is always thrilling, and is mainly composed of adventure novel, fantasy and mythological figures, feels very natural and modern though (meaning, f.ex., that your characters are not born heroes, you and everybody you meet have realistic personalities). Moreover, it's always very fun. You will actually laugh, alot.

But yeah, Avernum has a very western style.

I meant that characters would specialise in a type of armor etc, for more party build options.