Ephesos

Yes, it's really a shame. The color-swapped character models were a very bad idea, in my opinion. I get the feeling that all of you would've thrown the beta against a wall (there were even worse choices for characters, and they were well-hidden). But life goes on...

Well, it's too late to undo it, but you can still finish the game. It may just be a little tougher in a few spots. For the next time you go through, go talk to Houghton first. Then you'll get the Almaria rescue quest, and after that you'll be sent after the crystal box. I could've sworn that Jeff had fixed those barriers...

Quote: Originally written by Drakefyre: The new combat effects, like being frozen. I was not a fan of freezing... if my mages can cast all kinds of fire, why does it take Divine Restoration to thaw out an adventurer? But the rest of the combat effects (dazing and stunning were particularly good to see... webs were getting old and weren't universal enough). Quote: Originally written by Prometheus: You mean to say that archery WASN'T incredibly powerful since the first Avernum? *cough* Alderague *cough*

No, the entrance is just outside of the main tower. Look for a blank spot on the map with a rune in front of it. (If the other maps were still there, this post would've been more helpful.)

Quote: Originally written by wz. arsenic...: Is this the place with the really hard-to-find lever you have to pull? So many people have been unable to find that; I can't understand why it wasn't changed in beta. Personally, I had no problem finding the lever during beta. Maybe it was just me.

Major spoilers here, but I think that's a bit of a given. Well, if you disabled the device, I think you're supposed to go back and get the vahnatai. And you only open those locked doors once you've gotten a key from defeating Rentar Ihrno. You did defeat her, right?

Hm... start with a 7 for a fully functional game, add 2 for incredibly well-balanced and occasionally difficult combat. Subtract 1 for the simplicity of everything that isn't combat. Add .75 for getting to go back to Avernum, minus .25 for some strange quirks (where's Fort Ganrick, and why do herbs look different from every other Avernum?). So, where am I then? 8.5? Okay, moving right along... Minus 3 for the engine change, but plus 1.5 for making the transition less painful than it could've been. Minus 1 for the "run back to town to resurrect" concept, and minus 1 for the chitrach/clawbug thing (and for having a plague of chitrachs). So, that's a 5 so far... Add 1 for the shades, add .5 for making King Starrus not horrible, and add 1 for finally laying the whole Rentar-Ihrno thing to rest. Add .5 for the Darkside Loyalists, and add .5 for the triumphant return of the Jade Halberd and Demonslayer. (huh, back to 8.5) Minus 2 for losing elevation and boats in one fell swoop. Minus .5 for cave worms' very existence. Add 1 for the experience of dodging pylons (for once, needing to run around enemies instead of direct confrontation was nice). Add .5 for killing Garzahd (again). Minus 1 for the total lack of replay value, but plus .25 for fixing the chitrachs, even if someone else had to supply the graphics... 6.75

This discussion's been had many, many times now... but we'll do it again. A4 definitely doesn't feel like the previous games, which I'm annoyed about. It was good for one solid run through, but the fact that it's so combat-centered (as opposed to ye olde plot-, atmosphere-, and puzzle-driven Avernums) pretty much kills the replay value. For comparison, I've gladly replayed A2 several times now (haven't managed it for A3 yet... I always lose steam after the slimes). I understand the need for an engine update (well, kind of... the Avernum engine was fine, but I still kinda get it). However, it loses the atmosphere that's been built up over the previous games... wandering through huge caves is so much more fun in outdoors mode. So yeah, it's not quite as horrible of a monstrosity as some (read: TM) will say, but it's not the Avernum we've come to love. Thus, I'm happy to have returned to BoA.

Quote: Originally written by If I were a Misc. mod...: —Alorael, who had very little trouble coming up with most of the mundane item requirements. The smithing tools was the hardest, as pincers are much rarer than tongs and otherwise apparently interchangeable. On the subject of smithing items, here's something I never figured out. When one of the smiths asks for "a length of cavewood" to make a wand, do they mean a stick? And this is slightly inconsequential, but I believe you need Curing Elixirs for one quest. Since there's little other reason to keep them, it's good to know. Also, the smith in Dharmon requires rubies and gold bars (never quite figured out why) to make some equipment. While the equipment is worse than what you'll have by then, it's good to sell.

Quote: Originally written by Dintiradan: Arghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! He's not here. But seriously, why not just wait until the official word comes? Don't you think it's a bit sketchy? EDIT: And "Avernmu" is just kinda funny. Looks like you were really excited when you made that post...

Really, the number doesn't matter. There are just a few specific ones you really ought to look for. Specifically, there's the one

Quote: Originally written by Born Yesterday: —Alorael, who learned the hard way that just because you can beat it up doesn't always mean you should. I've found just as often that it's "Just because you can beat up on it doesn't mean that the next one won't beat up on you." Sometimes, though... it was better to kill things on sight rather than wait for them to attack you. The Spiral Crypt comes to mind... if you don't try to kill stuff ahead of time, you will pay for it.

Hold down Tab. That ought to do it. (That confused me for quite a while as well... it was annoying not knowing which bats were lava bats.)

Quote: Originally written by Inthrall: At the least BoA is still active, with 19348 posts, compared with 10500 in general. Don't forget, the General board gets purged every once and a while... so really, it's had way more activity than BoA ever has and ever will. But that's besides the point.

Quote: Originally written by Kelandon: Funny. You'd think with a new engine he could've just taken out the skill entirely, but no, he decided just to have no way to improve the skill in the game. Well, it's not like Pathfinder could even be used in A4. You can't even step on the swampy ground anymnore... I miss that familiar squish sound. And come to think of it, I don't remember any lava. ANYWHERE. Somebody please tell me I'm wrong in remembering that.

Quote: Originally written by Kelandon: Funny. You'd think with a new engine he could've just taken out the skill entirely, but no, he decided just to have no way to improve the skill in the game. Well, it's not like Pathfinder could even be used in A4. You can't even step on the swampy ground anymnore... I miss that familiar squish sound. And come to think of it, I don't remember any lava. ANYWHERE. Somebody please tell me I'm wrong in remembering that.

Quote: Originally written by arghhhhhhhhh: i hacked i may have disrupted the game by hacking the treastury and breaking into king starrus's place as soon as i got to the castle! Yeah, breaking into the King of Avernum's quarters, not to mention the royal treasury, sounds like a pretty certain way to disrupt your game. You get no sympathy from me... and this doesn't even belong in this thread.

Yeah, I believe the customary way of triggering it is "shift+(whatever letter)", but I suppose caps lock would have the same effect. Try other letters and see what you get.

Quote: Originally written by Randomizer: Jeff ought to restore the reputation from earlier Avernum games but use it for morality. Then you can choose to play the game as good or evil with your actions tied to that choice. The major quests would still be there but given by different people and for different reasons and rewards. The evil side would be eliminating a future competitor. In A4 that would mean eliminating the shades as bad for business, etc. Also there could be some quests that could only be done by good or evil. This would make for a different game for each type. Undoubtedly, this would be awesome. I honestly felt bad completing some of the quests in the game (I believe I only completed one bounty quest), and I get the feeling that there should've been more consequences for them... Given the current trend of Avernum becoming modernized (relatively, anyway), I doubt that reputation will make a strong showing in the future. I personally hope for the best, though.

Quote: Originally written by Randomizer: Jeff ought to restore the reputation from earlier Avernum games but use it for morality. Then you can choose to play the game as good or evil with your actions tied to that choice. The major quests would still be there but given by different people and for different reasons and rewards. The evil side would be eliminating a future competitor. In A4 that would mean eliminating the shades as bad for business, etc. Also there could be some quests that could only be done by good or evil. This would make for a different game for each type. Undoubtedly, this would be awesome. I honestly felt bad completing some of the quests in the game (I believe I only completed one bounty quest), and I get the feeling that there should've been more consequences for them... Given the current trend of Avernum becoming modernized (relatively, anyway), I doubt that reputation will make a strong showing in the future. I personally hope for the best, though.

I do solemnly swear to finish at least one quality scenario by the contest deadline. Two, if DoK2 survives its time on the shelf.

It's completely appropriate to ask for help here... that's what the boards are for. But anyway, the problem. It sounds like you didn't fully explore the southwest part of the lower level of the fort. You have to go through there to open that gate, and there's a bit of a fight between you and the necessary lever.

Quote: Originally written by Thralni, The flying Dutchmen: Since I posted here information about my scenario, I thought I'd post here some more information. I put up some screenshots on my website. Feel free to look and tell me what you think, but don't expect me to change anything. Also, there seems to be a problem with the enlarging. I have no clue of why this happens. While expanded images would be more helpful, those look quite promising. A few of the captions sound a little strange, and some suggest bad things about the plot. I can't wait to see it... And those ads are really annoying, Thralni.

Quote: Originally written by Millicent, Dear Millicent: Aww, how sad. I have a scenario being planned, but since my creativity has been shot lately, I haven't been able to come up with anything in...about five months. If I could, I'd probably get it finished. Somehow. Be at the next chat, and we'll help iron it out (provided we can wrench the conversation away from the downers). Or just PM/AIM one of us, and we'll be happy to help.

Quote: Originally written by Thralni, The flying Dutchmen: I hope my scenario is ready for beta testing next week. Same goes for Supanik's scenario, I heard. Oh, the tension! Oh, the antisipation! Awesome... let me know when the first beta hits. With a bit of luck, I'll have a beta in three weeks, but then I'll be burnt out for a month.