shell

The hintbook will tell you everything you could possibly want to know. It's up to you whether that is worthwile or not. For example, I would have never gotten into the ancient temple in GF1 except for the hintbook, but I don't think there are any such areas in GF3 that require that level of coordination (i.e. going to each dry waste in counterclockwise order, touching the pylons, yada, yaad, yada...).

Well, I do get attached to some of my creations and will go to extreme lengths to keep them alive .... but actually feeling guilty about the destruction of a few bytes of HD space....not exactly.

Jeff worked hard on GF3 to create a scenario whereby nothing that the player did would have a huge impact on the next game, but I would like the results of this game to be carried over to the next, either way it was played. Perhaps somewhere near the beginning of the next installment, the player can choose how they wanted GF3 to turn out, perhaps just in the course of conversation. This will add a more significnt backstory, rather tahn just "well, some foggy stuff happened and here we are." I hope that makes sense!

Quote: I'm curious to know what Jeff was thinking when he scripted this one That is just the moral ambiguity that Jeff has done a good job putting into his games. The fact that neither side is 100% "right" makes it possibe to go either way. Otherwise you would be forced to play either a "good guy" or a "bad guy" with nothing in between.

Quote: In the case of shaping/augmenting, "destroying the evil power" doesn't really mean destroying the geneforge (or whatever) so much as putting safeguards in place, and improving capacity for judgment in society... because the power can always be recreated from scratch. A good point. One of the prime motifs of the game is the corrupting influence of power. The Shapers have discovered a god-like power; to make and control life itself. The Drakons have also discovered that power but on a greater scale, as they have knowledge of genetics. So if the Shapers are corrupt, the Drakons are doubly so! Only those with little power, such as the Awakened in GF1, can hold to altruistic ideals.

There is more at stake than just the treatment of Serviles that Shapers must contend with. If they are to grant emancipation to the Serviles, how will they maintain their position in the eyes of other humans. We know that other magical sects exist, and when they see the Shapers own creations getting whatever they want, they too will demand freedom from Shaper authority - freedom to pursue whatever foolhardy magical experiments they desire.

Quote: But the non-aligned path was Loyalist, just bypassing Zakary. Only in GF2, in GF1 you had the option of making yourself a god and saying "to heck" with the rest of the world, an option that was missing from the two sequels.

Quote: One final note: playing as a human (instead of a Shaper) isn't very plausible unless you start, play, and end as a rebel because the Shapers have constistently guarded their power with extreme jealousy. If they found out that you, a measly human, were using their powers, they'd probably put a price on your head and/or send a small army to kill you. Hold on a minute; we are now entering a time of war, and a very serious one at that. In an emergency people don't tend to be too particular about where help comes from. So if you are a non-shaper who saves the day, they will probably take you in, maybe declaring you a shaper ex-post-facto.

I ended as a loyalist agent with no fourth tier creations, just two cryos, a roamer, and a drayk. I never got Alwan, because I didn't realize I could pick him up in the beginning and then when I learned that he was the other perty member, I was already too leveled up for him to be of any use to me. The final battle was not too difficult, I augmented and essence armoured everyone beforehand, making the battle a breeze. I am stll searching for the left access bracelet, then I'll check out the bonus round.

I agree, the PC must be human. Being a creation offers too little choices, as creations will not be accepted into any Shaper establishment (except possibly a servile who sneaks in through the back door, but that wouldn't be very exciting.) Gazers and Drakons are out as they are too powerful for the lower levels. Imagine if you were an eyebeast, how challenging would defeating a few artilles be? That being said, the prospect of being someone other than a Shaper is pretty exciting. Maybe you could be a Sholai spy sent to steal the Shaper's secrets and report back to your homeland. Or perhaps you'll be a mage who is able to rise up to the Shaper ranks through the odd providences of war. Or perhaps you can be a squirelly merchant just trying to run his shop make a buck. (OK, maybe that last idea doesn't hold too much promise) Whatever the case, there are a few things I would like to see in the next installment. 1.) We should be able to to train up to level 6 in any creation, making a new version available. There are plenty of creatures out there for us to make. It was frustrating that I could only train up to level 5 in Fyora creation, it would have been neat to be able to make a "charged fyora" or some such thing. Also I'd love to be able to get my hands on an inferno worm, which could easily be one of the best creations in the game. 2.) I'd like a way to arrange the journal better. putting everything in one linear order is not the best. I would have liked to file similar entries together. For example, it would have been helpful to put all of the recipes together. So when I was wondering "was that a Demon's or a Rothgroth's claw that I needed?" that info would have been readily available. 3.) Story wise, I would like to see some divisions arise within Shaper ranks. Up to this point the Shaper system has been a monolith; "either you join us and do as we tell you, or else." But perhaps we started to see some chinks in the proverbial armour in GF3, it's time the Shapers thought long and hard about the way they have been doing things. There should be a growing awareness among the community that the threats they are facing are the result of their own fascist policies and reckless experiments. What is to be done about this, will of course be decided by you. Oh, and 4.) I want to use the Geneforge!

I don't rmember exactly, but I was somewhere around 250 days, I wonder how that compares with other people's?

I have a feeling we haven't seen the end of the Awakened, it would not make much sense to bring them into the plot of GF3. As the Awakened would have no reason to be anywhere near the Ashen Isles. Nevertheless, I feel confidant that they still have a role to play in the future world of the shapers. It was too bad that neither side this time was around was all that appealing. All things considered, I think the Loyalists path is the best of the two; justifications aside, I just couldn't forgive Latalia for what she had done!

On the Isle of Spears, Orois will train you in making Gazers, for a hefty fee. But he won't care if you're a loyalist or a rebel.

No Kossos doesn't drop his skin, but one of his spawn will if you kill it.

On Harmony Isle (the second island) you can learn how to shape roamers and vlish if you are loyal, but I don't think canisters are a deciding factor. People only care about what you say, not what you do.

Yes, the pylons do help. Although I did have to augment and essence shield every one of my creations beforehand. Then with everyone energized and shielded (including the pylons) it still took a few tries to get the bugger. Also, the "Mental Barrier" spell is invaluable.

So I'm stuck in Maker's End trying to get past the gazer. I'm an agent specializing in mental magic, which works remarkably well. At the first sign of trouble I Daze everyone in sight and then let my Cryoas pick enemies off one by one. Anyway, none of my mental tricks will work on the eye, is there a way to get past him without defeating him?