Goldengirl

Temporary and permanent are so subjective. That said, I usually make one or two creations and keep them around for the remainder of the chapter, and part of the next chapter, until I can make their replacements. I've also been known to make a few temporary creations to explore a mined area, or help kill a difficult enemy, or something.

Originally Posted By: ~Nalyd~ Some things did go unexplained, though. Like how demons reproduce. What with all the magicians summoning them and blasting them to bits, you'd think they'd run out eventually. Just like eyebeasts and gazers reproduce, Nalyd. Very biologically.

There is an upgraded version of the artilla, but you don't get it until Chapter Two (Three?). Besides, it's a plated artilla, not a searing artilla. Although, that would be a better upgrade, in my opinion.

I agree. Some of the evolved creations were rather bad. Particularily, I like the concept of charged creations, but not not which creations they were applied to. Particularily, the Fyora, Clawbug, Vlish, Drayk, Wingbolt, Drakon, and Gazer evolutions should not be charged. Even though most of the listed weren't. The rest, I don't care about, but I think it's good if Battle creations in particular are charged. Because most people just use them as throw-aways, anyways.

Originally Posted By: Dikiyoba Hey, what's with people agreeing with Dikiyoba? Now Dikiyoba has to change Dikiyoba's answer to flaming shrubs. Turrets beat flaming shrubs any day. And the wiry trees aren't bad, either.

It's obviously the Serviles. Then the Ornks. Think about it. You're starting a colony in the Forsaken Lands, would you rather have an army of death dealing Drakons, or enough Ornks and Serviles to keep your colony running?

Nalyd, your new signature uses "Devourer of..." twice. You might want to fix that. "Devourer of Hope" is good. I suggest, instead of "Devourer of Kings", that you use "Assassin of Kings" or something similar. But, all in all, it's a very nice sig. Except for the picture, but meh, I just don't like pictures in sigs. Although it would help if you center aligned the picture. Seeing as I'm off-topic, I'l say this in closing: As I said before, magic is science with different rules. Geneforge has magic, Terra does not. And thus, trying to compare the sciences and rules of the two universes fails.

This is idiotic. You cannot apply RL science to Geneforge. There are completely different laws. Even if they both look similar. After all, just because a toy truck and a real truck look similar, doesn't mean they operate under the same rules.

It's already a point of pride to be born, not Shaped. When questioning Litalia about what she's been Shaping, she specifically says that the Drakons will only reproduce biologically, and not be Shaped. The PC, of course, doesn't count. Bit of a shame really. If they were allowed to Shape Drakons, I'd imagine that the Rebels would not have such a need for the Unbound. However, I do agree that Drakons in multiple sects would be nice. Perhaps the Salassarites split to join the Barzite sect. Yeah, that would make sense. Kind of. Maybe. I don't know.

It was incredibly easy to steal in the first Trilogy. I stole whatever I wanted, by using the "Use Ability" button after I had put the stuff in my inventory. Worked like a charm. Too bad that Jeff got rid of that from BOA onwards. And I bet he completely erradicates it after he remakes the Avernum Trilogy.

Originally Posted By: Sleeping Dragon Originally Posted By: Thuryl Real powergamers play both sides against each other for as long as possible. You can't be a power-gaming purist? Powergaming is playing the game for as much benefit to your character as possible. Since milking both sides gets you a lot (a lot) more stuff, than it is much more effective to not be a purist. However, if I could only pick one side to powergame on, it would be the Shapers.

The Trakovites are just the Shapers, in their primitive form. They speak of a more utopian world in which there is no Shaping, thus the elitist, tyrannical aristocracy of the Shapers is gone, just like the crazed Rebels who contort the Art. Meanwhile, they hypocritically continue to Shape, as seen by Khyryk's "necessary evil" of making creations to defend himself. As the Trakovites bulge with the support of the commoners, they crush their foes, with a few elite Trakovites being "responsible" enough to use Shaping for the greater good. Then, with the enemy gone, these elite take out the purists, and ascend to the role of Shapers, speaking first of the need to preserve the sanctity of the new land, and then slowly burning away orthodox Trakovism, whilst keeping some elements, like destroying Shaping books, canisters, etc.

Forging is overrated; the only times I forge a single thing are when they're artifacts. Even then, I don't go overboard with it, and my first few runthroughs I didn't forge a single thing.

My thoughts on Ermarian economy

Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire by Niall Fergusson. It actually makes a decent argument for why the American Empire should stay.

1. Tor Gunston - The singlemost important deterrent to crime, a bastion of equality. Through him, all started off equally, and with a fair chance, both coming from and leaving to the Surface. Furthermore, his pioneering in farming during his time near Fort Draco was a benefit to all Avernum. Also, his involvement in Fort Avernum post-Reconciliation was pivotal to the project. 2. King Micah - Founder and uniter of the country, plus what you lot said. 3. Erika Redmark - You lot said it better than me. Though she's not that much behind Micah. 4. Bon-Ihrno - Though technically not eligible, his work has done so much for Avernum. It was because of him that Avernum won the war, it was because of him that the Olgai Tribe schizmed. Everything after that... in A4 basically, was because of his prior actions. 5. Rentar-Ihrno - Though technically not eligible, her work has done so much for Avernum. It was because of her that Avernum won the war, it was because of her that Avernum got land on the Surface, it was because of her that the Olgai Tribe schizmed. Everything after that... not so good.

Anyone remember this ? You know, we had Aran's blessing and everything to make an Encyclopedia Ermarian for the Geneforge universe? It was going to be loads of fun for me, and maybe a few others? Never got off the ground? And so, I'm calling for the resurrection of the Sucia Archives. We've already basically got all of the categories down; all we need are a few standards and forms for articles, and we can start.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. It's, supposedly, his best book, and it details the life of an American antifascist guerilla working for the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. Pretty good, and I would recommend it to any fascists here.

Quote: Originally written by Sporefrog: Hmm, no luck finding that helpful thread (the search function is apparently really bad). So if I need to get that quest from Alwan, how would I do that as a rebel? Do quests for the Shapers. Particularily, betray the Rebel Safehouse, or if you did the Loyalist quests for Shaila and the Caravan back in the Forsaken Lands. If that isn't enough, do quests for the other people around Rivergate Keep. Also, don't do things for the Rebels. If you already refused to tell them the location of the Safehouse and whatnot, you're pretty much doomed to being a Rebel. Or a Trakovite.

Quote: Originally written by Lepus timidus: If I'm trolling, why don't you just ignore me, you dumb chits? That's what I've been telling them to do. Doesn't seem to be in the Spiderwebbers capability to ignore a troll though, even Ed.

So... Jeff, mate. I know you're planning on working on Something New™ after you finish Avernum 6, but you're eventually going to revamp the old Geneforge games, right? Like you did with the old Exile games? Just need a little reassurance, I just went rifling through G2 again and the interface seemed so... bulky after the more refined Geneforge IV.

I think Synergy has the full Trakovite ending for Geneforge IV at the end of the Insidious Infiltrator thread. You can find a link to that in the Useful Links repository, in the forum header. However, there are some you don't need to see pictures for. For example, the Obeyer/Nonaligned ending for G1 gives G2, the Loyalist/Nonaligned ending for G2 gives G3, and the Rebel ending for G3 gives G4.

Quote: Originally written by Nioca: Till the arrival of Lepus Timidus, it was a debate. They happen occasionally, sometimes get heated, but are generally nothing to worry about (unless you're a participant). Heck, you might even learn something. With the arrival of Lepus Timidus, though, this one turned into a troll fest. FYT. Brock Petersdorf-Nelson: Karma is simply a rating system between members. You rate the other person a one through five, and then the average is your karma rating, denotated by the number of stars under your name.

Quote: Nioca: Yeah. When the Unbound are unleashed. Thing is, the Unbound wouldn't exist without the Drakons, and without the Unbound, the Human rebel army would still have been trapped. It was made very clear that the Rebellion in the south was about to end in a particularly bloody way. Thing is, the Rebellion wouldn't exist without the Drakons, the Drakons wouldn't exist without Barzahl, Barzahl wouldn't go crazy without Sucia, Sucia wouldn't be a problem without the Geneforge, and the Geneforge wouldn't have existed if it weren't for Shaping. Now, you were saying? Quote: Nioca:So, in short, the Humans, Serviles, and Drayks continued taking losses while the Drakons sat back, pouted, and let people die for them. Perhaps I wouldn't think so little of them if they actually fought to the bitter end. Instead, they retire to their citadel, throw away the other part of the resistance, and emulate the Shapers. No. In short, with the Shaper Army fighting the Unbound, the Rebel Army would be free to establish a Free Land in Illya, the Forsaken Lands, the Fens of Aziraph, and the Valley of Drypeak. Quote: Nioca:Ha! Even if such a coup was attempted before the Drakons became established, I doubt it'd be any easier than overthrowing the Shapers. Unlike the Shapers, the Drakons have a physical advantage and very little self-control. If anything, it'd be harder to do, simply because the oppressors are that much tougher to kill, and possess even more firepower than their predecessors. Unlike the Shapers, the Drakons aren't more or less equally spread out. They're concentrated in several fortresses. And the Drakons have managed to get several powerful groups angry at them: the Gazers/Eyebeasts, the Drayks, the Lifecrafters, the Rebel Army, and the Shapers. I'm sure the Shapers wouldn't mind helping in the destruction of their greatest foe, after all*. The Gazers/Eyebeasts wouldn't mind a plot of land to call their own, and the Rebels wouldn't mind getting rid of them. Here's how I see it happening: Drakons just made the next batch of Unbound. Northforge is practically abandoned, and the Cryodrayks and Serviles take this time to seize the fortress, and the Geneforge. Khima-Uss falls easily. Poison the food going into Quessa-Uss, and any other major Drakon fortresses. Then, while the major Drakon leaders are out taking the Unbound west, catch them while they're still exhausted. Bloody? Definitely. Successful? Almost certainly. Any remaining pockets of resistance can be handled. I remember the days when the worst Rebel tactic was irresponsible Spawner plantment. Why they stopped using them for all but fortresses, I'll never know. Unless G5 tells us. *This is actually what I think G5'll be like. Western Terrestia, Shaper infiltrators, rebellion against Drakons, Drakons, and whatever the other two factions'll be.

Quote: Originally written by Nioca: Goldenking: While I respect and agree with your ideas on the difference between the Human and Drakon sides of the Rebellion, it's effectively moot; the Human side has been all but wiped out, and the Drakon side is pretty much all that's left of the Rebellion. Without the Drakons, there's no Rebellion. Which is sad, since they decided to leave the rest of the Rebellion out to rot. Nuh-uh! According to the Endgame text, the Rebel army moves to retake Illya when the Unbound are released without a hitch. The Rebel Army is Human, Servile, and a few Drayks, and even the game says the Drakons had withdrawn as they were, "Maddened by their losses..." I see no reason why the Rebel Line of Demarcation wouldn't hold true still. Besides, even if the Drakons did take over completely, they'd be easy to overthrow.