The Loquacious Lord Grimm

Thanks for asking!

 

Unless you have some experience in older computer-based RPGs, the dialogue system alone should be enough to deter you from laying Exile 1 and Exile 2. While Exile 2 is my personal favorite in the lot, the interface is... difficult... compared to its Avernite counterpart, and even Exile 3.

But Exile is a "purer" old-school experience. If you've played Wizardry or Nethack or Castle of the Winds, you'll get used to the interface and graphics easily enough. And the random items. And the inane spells.

Personally, I'd also recommend hunting down the original graphics sets (hmm... I think I might upload them to the Blades Forge when I'm done here), if you end up playing Exile's first two, just for the full experience.

 

Exile 3 is a beast of its own. While it and Avernum 3 are in terms of plot and most of the geography the same, there are a good deal of subtle, significant differences between them, and I would encourage you, if you have the time and money, to play both. Exile 3 is a freaking excellently-made game. Avernum 3 wasn't quite the jump as its Exile counterpart, but it still plays well, as you know.

 

And once you're done exploring the trilogy (or even before you're done), I would strongly, STRONGLY recommend that you check out the Blades games. I'm partial to BoA, myself, but BoE is free now, and it has an entire library of excellent scenarios.

 

As a word of warning, both of the first episodes are the first of their kind for Jeff, and so the interface and worlds will seem incomplete as compared to your past experience. It's okay, you'll get used to it as long as, and I probably don't need to say it, you play the first game first.

 

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The Silent Assassin's portion of this post has been preemptively censored because of certain trends of action upon users who talk about A4 a certain way.

Suffice to say, Avadon is fun, as well, and you should always support your favorite shareware developers.

Have you ever played E/A3?
Sliths are cold-blooded, and thus quite vulnerable to low temperatures. It's what makes them resistant to fire in the first place.

Making them actually vulnerable to, say, smite, or ice lances, etc, might not be a bad idea.

Or, if you're suggesting that there be more variation among the races, well... It would have to be very carefully implemented.
Generally, say, if you see a slith warrior, you expect that the generic sliths around it would be notably weaker. You make tactical decisions around this expectation: what kind of formation to draw into, which character attacks which enemy, whether or not your spellcasters hang back to heal and buff instead of cast offensively.
If you have an attacker who is randomly stronger than those around it, without any indication (generally, in this medium, some sort of visual cue), or warning (pop-announcement that Big Bad Bossssss has disguised himself as a normal Slith), it completely negates any tactical approach, and makes the game less fun.

EDIT: now that you posted again before I got in:
Variation of subtypes is not a bad idea, the issue here is in cannon, coding, combat balance, and in providing those aforementioned visual clues. While the visual clues are easy (we all know how fond Jeff is of hue shifting), adding new subtypes could potentially cause a lot of grief in terms of the already-developed world, combat in the already-developed areas, etc.
Cannon, while an issue with the fans is flexible. A4 retconned a whole lot of crap into the universe, presumably just so that Jeff could reuse some Geneforge graphics.

THAT SAID, I WANNA SEE CAVE WORMS IN THIS REBOOT! JUSTIFY IT, VOGEL! JUSTIFY THE RETCON!
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The Silent Assassin is in favor of Sliphils, and would like to submit the purring, alien Nephnatai for consideration.

But I was clean-shaven for that!

I've only met one person who was able to sport a neck beard and actually look good: it went with a chinstrap, and he kept them both neatly cropped. The fact that he had similar hair color and complection to, say, Riibu, probably helped.

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The Silent Assassin shaves with a knife.
The shave-ees have yet to complain.

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Turns out, they're high in cholesterol. And they waste away like nothing else.

Legos, snowglobes, and 1st edition hardbacks of books that I have enjoyed, when I can get them.

The Missus collects shot glasses, postcards, and china.

 

Suffice to say, together, we have a rather eclectic curio cabinet.

 

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The Silent Assassin collects moonbeams, screams, and photos of pies.

He also used to collect custom-built paintball guns, until the local authorities got involved.

Absolutely love it. One of the many titles that got left out of honorable mention on my list.

-does quick research-
Alas, can only find it pre-owned, and a little pricier than the entertainment budget allows. And the guy who's trying to sell it for $95 through Barnes and Noble is most definitely crazy.
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The Silent Assassin just sent me a text message, explaining a theory about jelly rolls evolving into cheese danish.
The only part that I don't get is the direct jump from pita to sandwiches.

No, no: sleep is an emergency function that occurs when you reach the "low power" state; but it can be put off indefinitely by constantly recharging with fuel like coffee, soda, or a good cup of tea.

 

"Not online" is actually called "Offline", and that's what happens when you die.

 

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The Silent Assassin is currently "Away", leaving a message saying that he's hiding from Franky the Hot Dog Man somewhere in Siberia.

I am certain that this is a misdirection. He is, in reality, "unavailable": the missus saw him climb into the trunk of a neighbor's car.

Offhand:

 

Independence Day

Inception

The Empire Strikes Back

Disney's Beauty and the Beast

The Bourne Identity

Monsters, Inc.

Disney's Aladdin

 

And some honorable mentions:

Secondhand Lions

Pirates of the Caribbean

Forrest Gump

Spider-Man 2

Bruce Almighty

I, Robot

The 6th Day

 

There are, of course, more, but these are the highlights.

 

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If a survey of his viewing habits is any indication, The Silent Assassin's favorite films are Lon Cheney's Phantom of the Opera, Silence of the Lambs, The Graduate, and Legally Blonde.

... your guess is as good as mine on that last one.

@Aran: Thanks yet again for the archives.

 

Economic Left/Right: -1.62

Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.92

 

Still hovering around the center, though a little less communist than normal.

Ah, the woes of being a free-market socialist

 

 

 

They haven't clarified any of those heavily-nuanced-issue questions, so a good portion of our results still rely on what kind of mood one is in, and how each of us chooses to interpret things at the time. (The enemy of my enemy is not always my friend. Sometimes, they're both equally wrong. And sometimes, you don't trust them enough to make an alliance.)

I guess I'm feeling a little less charitable than normal.

 

Thing is, I tend to disagree with both ends of the given spectra, for different, conditional reasons that vary upon different, conditional circumstances. That, and yes, it needs a Z axis. If general economic tendency and overall breadth of the state's reach were the only two issues to consider in any vote, then there would never be any difficulty in selecting a candidate.

 

The difficulty, of course, is in finding and agreeing upon the criteria for a third set of parameters.

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The Silent Assassin's Economic Left/Right score oscillates between -4.8 and 7.2, depending on the party alignment of holders of public office at the time of testing. Today, it stands at 3.26.

The Social Libertarian/Authoritarian always remains a solid 10.

Firstly:

 

One of the things I enjoyed most about the expanded info in E3 was the depth that it brought to the world. Descriptors on weapons brought substance and differentiation to the rapiers and broadswords that shared the same icon. Likewise, in-world descriptions of common items (books immediately come to mind) emphasized the reality that the world of The Pit is not as similar to our everyday lives as appearances and romanticism would suggest.

Jeff discussed a lot of this lore through pop-ups in A4 and A5, but it was never quite the same as the one-click reveal that "Oh... I suppose I should equip the pants."

 

Secondly:

I think that any such major canonical revelations would bring a sufficient number of members over to do the work.

 

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The Silent Assassin knows where his pants have been.

Or at least, he thinks he knows.

Was my post not extreme enough to convey the sarcasm intended?

While the story by which a character becomes who they are is essential to the character's development, it is not as important as the story of how they develop into who they become (aka, the main storyline).

 

In a situation like this, while it is nice to know how a character gained x points in item lore, it is more important to understand how these points can be used to reflect on the character's personality and motivations. Likewise, while the reason why a certain character was Exiled is an integral part of who this character is, how they respond to Exile and what they choose to do about it is more significant to the story at hand.

 

The best part about backstory is that the details can be made up as you go along.

 

@ IFZ: If one little offhand joke ruined your experience, the foundation must not have been very good to start with

Then again, looking for the Oceanic survivors in Avernum could be quite... entertaining.

 

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The Silent Assassin is motivated to warn you about the incoming Snergle invasion.

If you have to ask what Snergles are, it's too late. They've got you already.

Obviously, one is an assassin sent for crimes not committed, one is a reluctant badass who has been orphaned by the cruel Empire, one is the heretic who got what they deserved, and is repenting, and one just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Others that they meet along the way are the Gallant Soldier of Fortune, the Mysterious Mage who is Actively Avoiding a Rather Mundane Confrontation, the Lawful Stupid, the Noble Slith, the Nephil Theif, the Completely Innocent Companion who turns out to be a Spy, the Guy With a Big Sword who is Obviously NOT Compensating for ANYTHING, Jack Shepherd, John Locke, and of course, That one Underworld Native that for No Reason Whatsoever Got Selected as Part of the Surface Explorers.

 

... I may have to add that Completely Innocent guy to my cast for Adventurer's Journey.

 

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The Silent Assassin points out that while copper makes a pretty blue flame, putting it into solution is much more time consuming than applying a pie to a face.

This, of course, has nothing to do with my asking him about why the fridge was disassembled and strewn throughout the bunker. Again. I don't know why I even bother.

Real Estate Photographer.

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The Silent Assassin is also involved in independant weapons and stealth research.

So if you hear a random set of flip-flops in the night, and notice the strong scent of pineapple... it's probably your imagination. Best not to dwell on it.

I thought that was called "vacation"?

There is a difference between addiction and lack of self-restraint. And while the latter may lead to the former, as long as the company in question is not drugging/subliminally influencing/otherwise enforcing their product through questionably legal means, the company is not at fault. Instead, the fault lies in the inability of the individual and those close to him/her to discern an imbalanced or destructive path through life.
A gambling addict or those close to one, for example, can easily note time spent gambling, the amount of losses or wins, and see that something is not right.
Why does the same not apply to other activities? While some gamers, like myself, may be involved as a hobby, or for entertainment, one would think that it would inevitably be revealed by outside sources that the amount of time devoted is destructive.

I myself have had to learn limits on when I can and cannot start a title game, or an online match, or such, because I know how easily I can get sucked into it: It's pretty obvious when time passes, and you end up late for key events, or forgetting projects, and stuff to that nature.
Doesn't mean that since I've learned these lessons, I haven't spent three-day periods doing nothing but playing a new title release (or replaying an old favorite) in my pajamas with the lights off, subsisting on pop-tarts and orange juice. Sometimes, it's fun to take the days on which you have no immediate responsibilities shutting out the outside world and doing nothing of consequence.
But shirking only works when you've got nothing to truly shirk from.

Did the plaintiff in question not have responsibilities to attend? Or relationships to maintain? Or did he simply not care, did not consider the consequences of his actions (or, more accurately, lack thereof), and is simply trying to push the blame and the consequenses elsewhere?

While it is a good business idea for any piece of entertainment to be both enjoyable and time-consuming enough to prevent the audience from enjoying the competition's product, the way that we spend our time is inevitably up to us, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

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The Silent Assassin likes fuzzy bunnies.
He also likes lAong walks on the tarmac, handing out candy to small children, and sneaking into your room in the middle of the night, on the off-chance that you'll wake up and scream for his video camera.

Today, in the US, is Labor Day.

In recognition of this federal holiday honoring labor organizations, let us take the time to recognize the laborers among our ranks...

Or, in lieu of that, just post your job.

 

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The Silent Assassin is in the business of making your life interesting.

Also, remember to check your closet tonight.

1. What is your name?

The Penultimate Lord Grimm

 

2. How old are you?

As of this posting, three weeks short of 24 years.

 

3. Where do you live?

New Jersey

 

4. What is your favorite color?

Green

 

5. How many phones do you own?

Between my wife and I, 6.

But only two are in use.

 

7. Wait, what happened to question six?

It visited the Richard White forum.

 

8. Someone has just loaned you a time machine that can take you to any location on the planet during any time period. Where/when do you go?

I go off to my office in the future, where I shall steal all of the plans for the great technologies that I shall shortly invent.

 

9. If you were forced to change your PDN to something completely unrelated to its current form and your original username, what would it be?

Visionary

 

10. If you could transform at will into any living animal, what animal would it be?

A housecat.

 

11. It's ninja sliths versus pirate nephilim. Who should win?

The robot Vahnatai, of course.

 

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1. What is your name?

The Silent Assassin.

 

2. How old are you?

Old enough.

 

3. Where do you live?

New Jersey.

 

4. What is your favorite color?

Pink.

 

5. How many phones do you own?

0.

 

7. Wait, what happened to question six?

Don't reveal trade secrets.

 

8. Someone has just loaned you a time machine that can take you to any location on the planet during any time period. Where/when do you go?

To Rome, just to watch it burn.

 

9. If you were forced to change your PDN to something completely unrelated to its current form and your original username, what would it be?

Lettuce.

 

10. If you could transform at will into any living animal, what animal would it be?

Are we allowed to change back at will?

 

11. It's ninja sliths versus pirate nephilim. Who should win?

Ninjas. Always.

In addition to locale, design, and other aspect of the overall portrayal of the exotic underworld, one must also consider the selection of the main characters: an audience could care less about the Lava Dome or gremlins if they cannot empathize with the people doing the exploring. It might as well be a nature documentary, otherwise.

 

That said, the difficulty becomes in selecting a cast of characters that both accurately portrays what one would expect to be the "normal" party selected in these games, and that the target audience can connect to on an emotional level.

 

One possibility is using the four prefab characters as leads, as they would be faithful to the source material, and would also be easier to manage from a writing and production standpoint than a group of six, as seen in the Exile prefabs.

The only problem that I can see with using the prefab party is that each unique player has had and will have their own unique experience(s) with this party, and certain choices in character development will inevitably clash with the personal experiences of the fans of the games.

Alternately, then, the six-person party, as seen in Exile 2 and 3, would give a fair spread of characters to which the audience can relate, as well as emphasize the exotic world by including both a Slith and a Nephil in the party, instead of just the Slith given in the A2/3 prefabs. The difficulty here lies in maintaining a party dynamic while exploring individual sets of relationships. Consider your favorite television program: more often than not, sets of characters will be separated into smaller groups in order to advance character or plot development. This is not possible with the generic party as Avernum presents it (though, obviously, it's probably better to ignore that aspect of the game for a television series).

Also alternatively, it may be more wise to abandon the prefabs altogether, and create a set of characters based on roles, archetypes, and audience expectations, instead of playing as close to the source material as possible. This allows for fans of the game to maintain their unique experiences while enjoying a portrayal of the world and story from a different perspective.

 

Finally, even in character development, we must choose an overarching goal for the writing in the series: is this merely to portray the underworld, or are we looking specifically to tell its story? Are we trying to expand Spiderweb's fan base, or expand the ways that it can share with the world? Is this a full port of Avernum to the screen, or is it an adaptation?

Or is it a combination of any degrees of these?

 

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The Silent Assassin reminds you that character isn't everything: large explosions are essential for the success of any media venture, cult, drama, radio, film, or otherwise.

Blades of Ermarian

TV series.

 

A ragtag team of mercenaries gets hired out by seemingly random forces and stop great atrocities and demon invasions, travel back and forth through time, participate in every single key event of the age, and get lectured at by the full gamut of various archetypal villains. They will travel through areas exotic and mundane, above and below ground, here, and there, and everywhere else.

 

Eventually, a sinister overarching plot emerges, involving the overthrowing of the Empire, a group of all-powerful mages who think that world domination is too boring, and a strange arch-enemy who has vowed to destroy the world with philosophy.

 

The series ends when the world implodes because these mercenaries have reached a level of skill that the universe was never designed for.

Alternatively, the series ends when the group reaches Querbel Valley to help with a small Nephilim problem.

 

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The Silent Assassin notes that while this post was made in jest, a Blades-type serial, given the proper overarching plot (as opposed to a roam-around-doing-good premise), design team, and budget, could go a long way. He also notes that the Sci-fi channel, or SyFy, or whatever they call themselves now, has been trying and failing for many years. Oh well.

There's a spare room in the guest suite in Fort Emergence, two doors down from where you begin the game. Solberg and X can be found there after the Tower Crisis.

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The Silent Assassin reminds you that while roses may be red and violets blue, both fresh air and vacuums are transparent.
Always bring spare oxygen.

The true one-world government took control by conspiring to make us waste our time by coming up with ridiculous conspiracies. They just stepped into the power void after that.

I know: I reverse-hacked my lawn gnome.

 

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The Silent Assassin is the lead figure in a conspiracy to ensure that every person on earth gets pied at least once in their lifetime.

The other members of this conspiracy, that I have observed, are the cat, our mailman, and a shady character from down the street who calls himself JoJo the Clown.

Most of the dungeon levels that I have encountered are easily Large, though it appears from my playthroughs that 64*64 is the limit. The Automap stretches to fit the dungeon's dimensions to the current window.

That said, I'm not really interested in copying maps straight out the the random dungeons, but instead the key elements from them: various room arrangements, types, and sizes, specific rooms scripted to specific levels, the occasional door at a dead end for humor and authenticity, etc. As Niemand has pointed out, things like secret passages and height add a new dimension to the gameplay element.

It's been a slow process, particularly in having to use the debug tool to regenerate each level several times to determine if certain rooms are random, or designed specifically for the level.

While randomly generated levels would be very true to the original, I believe that it conflicts with the nature and motivation of this port: the point is in fleshing out the world of CotW, not simply copying it from one engine to another. If someone wants CotW, then they can go play it: it is, after all, freeware.

 

That said, you're right, a good deal of the original game's allure rests on the fact that it's impossible to play the same game twice. In order to emulate that factor while maintaining carefully-designed and -purposed dungeon design, I'm taking an approach that blends Ishad Nha's suggested choices.

Players will be exposed to "standard dungeons", as he put it; however, I am creating a number of such towns, specifically tailored to the purpose of each dungeon level when applicable (and given an essentially random purpose when not); so the player will be exposed to randomly selected dungeon levels, as opposed to randomly generated dungeon levels.

Right now, I'm working on the premise that three different versions of each of the 38-39 originally randomly generated dungeon levels results in something like 1.35*10^18 unique play-throughs. Obviously, that overly large number does not consider the obscene amount of overlap, but realistically, how many times will someone play a port?

It does create more work for me in that I have to design (and test. and beta test.) over a hundred essentially unique towns, but it maintains the random play element without having to plagiarize BoR.

 

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The Silent Assassin points out that anyone simply wanting a randomly generated hack-and-slash with relatively prettier graphics should give up BoA and go play Vulture's Eye.

He also points out stars, errors and typos in my posts, candles, and occasionally, accidentally, the glass eyes in mounted animal heads.

Mistborn, it looks awesome. May need to check the bottom edges to ensure that it fits in the tile constraints.

I'll see if I can give you an in-game demo of what it looks like in action, but that probably won't happen for a day or three.

 

 

And yes, I'm attempting a port of Castle of the Winds.

Pertinent info can be found at Shadow Vale and The Blades Forge.

I am interested in any suggestions from fans of the original, in order to help the success of porting the core of this classic.

 

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The Silent Assassin likes to favor a male human archae... no wait, wrong rogue-style.