Randomizer

I think you have to go and check back with the Olgai elders to get them to find a map showing that the secret passage is to the north of Pyrog's Cave. Avernu,m version has you can't find the entrance on your own.

I think you can only use the points in your home base or a town. It may be even more restrictive in that it can only be done in the training hall where you can also buy skill levels from the trainer.

I don't have my computer with the game out and running to check.

August update

Game is halfway done and nearing beta testing. So at this rate the zones should be completed before the year's end.

We finally get to see what Serviles look like under the hood.

You need to find a place where you can attack and kill a Serpent, then you get a message that you get the parts for delivery.

See this topic for a list of places to usually find the monster needed..

Welcome to Spiderweb Software. Please leave your sanity at the door. That way you know where it went.

7 minutes ago, Warrior Mage said:

Just curious to ask, does anyone still use 16-bit OS like Windows 3.1 in a real/virtual (non emulated) machine to run Exile?

I still have it on two old computers that run Window 3.1. I don't use the computers that often, but I keep them around for access to older games and files that I haven't transferred to my newest computer.  I don't need online access just to play a game.

Fighters start out with a lower baser to hit chance than mages and most early armor has a negative to hit chance that makes it worse so read item descriptions. This is the same problem in the Avernum remakes.

I remember the Exile games having a wait command so a character can delay an action. In some fights that works well because the mages can use their actions to haste party members and slow the enemies at the end of the round in longer fights.

It's suppose to be a path through the level and when you get past all the monsters you can exit. The tiles are a puzzle to figure out what to trigger to get through the room.

He mentioned that it isn't easy because some changes are linked so it that you need to keep track of the relationships.

I still have a notebook filled with my colored maps from the first Might snd Magic. Days of having to draw every dungeon and outdoor area with notes of messages and clues to solve the game.

Having that little extra damage doesn't seem important until that one time you don't kill a monster by that little bit.  

The Nisse are harder, but not that bad on normal difficulty. You may need to retrain some characters because that area has higher mental resistance to abilities. This place has 4 one way dungeons where getting out is harder than getting inside.

Some fights are considered challenge areas because of much higher difficulty compared to what you have faced. So have plenty of different saves so you can change your plans as needed.

It helps in the last part of the game to use support abilities or items that give haste and blessing. Inspiring cry (blessing) can be stacked up to 5 times with each one giving +2/3 damage to all attacks depending on your party level. So getting extra damage speeds the fights up and haste will increase character's speed to give attacks ahead of slower foes.

Humiliate the Ahriel is a scripted fight where more monsters attack as you damage the Ahriel. Theoretically if you kill him fast enough , then the script will skip bringing in monsters. Although Jeff tried to fix it so that is harder to do even on normal difficulty. If you can't kill him with enough damage at the end, then just keep healing and buffing the party while concentrating damage on one plant at a time, Use area effect attacks to hit clumps of monsters next to a plant.

Istara of Silven and High Elhovo are parts of Reclaiming the Ahriel so when you get a signed treaty with an Ahriel faction and report back to the general in the Ahriel Thicket it clears the quests.

Torvic's Advice is a multipart quest for resources. Clear Murkhala, Ashen Foundry, Stranger around Murkhala (soldier in a building), and Nagafen with reporting back after each part in Fort Darkfen to complete it.

Aesfeth Ten Fingers is using his Ahriel crystal to find magic at Castle Andesite (Tutu), Cinnabar Woods (acorn tree), and Pagarren's Stake (snake). Then do each request to clear whatever is needed there to end it. Once you report back from all three areas it ends.

The Calamity Returns is optional endgame to explore another land and get a better ending. It happens after getting all three treaties signed and sending in the generals.

The earliest 3 original Avernums only run on newer Apple Intel computers using Wine versions of the Windows version or an emulator. Avernum 4 came out as Apple was switching to Intel from Power PC chip cpu so there were two versions.

Plus there were so many game engine upgrades like battle disciplines, caches, and junk bag to improve the playing experience.

21 minutes ago, ladyonthemoon said:

That's interesting. What's the problem with the failure chance? Is it a bug or a "feature"?

 

 

This is a feature to prevent recharging all wands to maximum charges before leaving a safe town to go off adventuring.

The major differences between the Exile and Avernum games are:

You can't drop items anywhere and have them there when you return except in a few specific containers like the inn room chest in Silvar at the start. At least NPCs will tell you where the special containers are located.

Exile has more and quite different spells with differences in area effect spells.

When you return to a dungeon, all the monsters respawn and if you kill the boss monster, then a new generic one appears with a different name.

You can learn a spell to recharge wands, but it has a failure chance so save before casting it.

Exile dialogue system lets you enter a word in addition to clicking on dialogue so you can give a specific answer to questions in some places or skip dialogue that you've seen before to speed up the game.

Different puzzles to get through places like Erika's Tower.

There are others, but I don't want to spoil all the fun of finding them.

If you are on a recent Apple computer it is harder since the games were written long before OS 10 in OS 9 and Apple no longer has makes  a compatibility mode for Power PC cpu.

So you need an emulator  like DOSBox or to use a converted version of the Windows version which I can't find the topic with the links at the moment.

Edit - Link to Tyranicus site with Intel Apple computer versions to older games made for the Power PC. These may not work on the most recent OS 10 operating system:

https://avernum.nethergate.net/intel/

Usually once a save file is corrupted, then it stays corrupted. However I haven't heard of your specific problem. so I can't say for sure.

Probably if you start from an earlier save game file and don't repeat the exact same action that caused the problem, you can play the game without any other problems. Just be more careful in moving near the edges of a zone until you are ready to leave to go to another zone. Make more different saves so you don't lose as much time if another problem occurs.

You still have a few more major quests to finish the game that you might enjoy, but you are close and Nightshade is an optional quest.

Redbeard

{spoiler]This is the hardest scripted fight in the game just because of one requirement that can make it take an hour.[/spoiler]

The buttons have to be done in order and each time you do it, then more monsters are released. Obstacles get removed in order to reach the next button.

I remember after doing the first one that you need to do two on the eastern side with one at the top and the other at the bottom corner. But it has been over a couple decades so all I really am sure of was moving along the map edge  after killing things until I found a new button.

The Save Game files should be in a separate area from the game files that you uninstall and reinstall, but you can always copy them over to another area on your hard disk or to a USB flash drive before doing anything else to be safe.

The Auto Save file is made when you leave a zone not in combat mode so it was corrupted when you first left a zone after the problem happened.

I'm afraid that all Save Game folders made after the problem first happened were corrupted so going back to the next earlier file may be your only hope.

Can't answer about whether you can do the install still from where you bought it and they would be better place to ask.

Good Luck.

Welcome to Spiderweb Software. Please leave any remaining sanity at the door. You don't want to lose any more here.

I think the Mace of Augvah is considered a cursed item. I remember regretting wasting the slot carrying it home.

Wound is extremely useful since it goes past resistances that almost all other magical spells don't.  It's probably why it got removed in remakes.

There is an object in the basement room chest, it's the only item in that chest, that you need to take back and give to finish this location.

Welcome to Spiderweb Software. Please leave your sanity at the door. When the Improbability Drive returns to normality, any problems you still have are your own.

I can't answer your question because I've never played through without doing the companion quests. There are a few achievements that are mutually exclusive in that to get one, then you can't get another. Also I haven't played the Steam version which has different ones from the Spiderweb site version.

Now I know if you do the companion quests, but don't do it the way the companion wanted it done:

Looking back at the original game, the northern area like the mines don't have 10 or more NPCs that all need dialogue, so those are more go in, kill stuff, loot, and maybe do a quest there like find an object or kill a monster. They are faster to make than a town with lots of NPCs that all have some dialogue even if they don't have quests to do or lots of lore to explain.

Now the new zones that are probably north of the old game area will be intensive since there is no map or dialogue scripts already available as a starting point.

Jeff takes about 5 months to do beta testing of a game, so that would mean starting in early September. He usually has part of the game that he is still filling in items at this point so he seems to be on track for a release at the end of January 2021. He's already done the dialogue heavy zones except probably the Geneforge and a few other zones so it should take less time for the next 30 ones that are mostly combat.