Locmaar

I didn't mind the linearity much. It felt appropriate and plausible. I do recall, though, that I was really annoyed when Gladwell didn't drop a chain of smoking keys when he hit the floor.

I really liked the Gladwell subplot as well. The first quest already ticked me off badly, which is why I was tremendously happy when I found the back entrance to his stronghold. I can hardly remember actually feeling this personally involved in a computer game at all, wet, trembling hands... Uh, I liked the Drake Pillars' hunt for the Beast, stealing from Solberg and, as Alo pointed out, the 'magic of exploring new lands'. I never thought the fights were too easy but then again I'm not the pimp-my-party kinda guy, meaning that I didn't pay particular attention if a nephil warrior is better than a human. Not that I wouldn't want the best possible party but I am usually too excited when I start a new game to take my time and think it through. I guess there are plenty of players out there who do just that. Balancing the game for them (well, us) is a tough job.

Quote: Originally written by Randomizer: [No, Jeff does it deliberately to have a good laugh at his players. I just found a canister in A5 hidden behind a pillar 3 days ago that you can only find by moving the cursor over the hidden areas (you need the item inside to finish a quest easily). Get used to the idea of scanning the entire map this way whenever there is the slightest possibility of something being hidden by an object or wall. I stumbled across an alternative I had forgotten about. If you hit 'u' for 'use' the secret little things will show up with a letter of the alphabet conveniently placed beside them. That sure helped me a lot.

Mmmmh... You sure went through a lot of trouble just to explain why you were unhappy with Avernum IV. You lost me along the way why you can't stand looking at uncle Gene no more. I sort of understand some of your notions though and would like to comment on them, if you don't mind. I remember going through a different yet similar stage after I finished Nethergate (ye olde). While I found it was innovative, intriguing, amusing, etc. I missed ye olde Exile feel of things. When I bought Avernum I was very disappointed, not because I thought it was a bad game - it isn't. But it felt different than Exile, different rhythm, different way of haunting me at night through closed eyelids after playing way too many hours. When I quit playing Spiderweb games (just before Avernum 2 came out) I noticed how much time I had on my hands I I was very happy about that. (Okay, that changed with Diablo 1 & 2, but still). It wasn't until Avernum IV that I came back, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, the plot wasn't entirely stunning, but I really liked the interface, the way things looked and felt. It was a very rewarding gameplay (after all: I did enjoy the Diablo series and let's be frank: Avernum IV runs circles around them story-wise). I realize that this experience was partially due to my long absence from Jeff's games, but I liked it a lot. Afterwards I played Geneforge 3 and liked that even better. I realize, of course, that this particular Geneforge sequel is considered the Avernum IV of the Geneforge series, but I disagree. It matters a lot whether you've played the other ones before or - like I have done - afterwards. And guess what: I liked Geneforge IV even better. To sum it up: When Uncle Ave starts behaving oddly it might just be that you've seen enough of him for a while. Uncle Gene all of a sudden getting on your nerves, too? Stay away from family parties for a while. Take a break. But go easy on the vows that never ever again will you talk to these annoying people. You might miss them eventually. PS: Before I go I should like to point out that I don't think it fair to accuse Jeff of cheating his customers, even though it happened very subtly and probably wasn't even meant like that. I think he's really keen on pleasing them. Edit: fixed typos

You do realize there is no right one? IIRC they get a turn at being the right one. You have to find out who is the right one at the right time and blast it to smithereens. If you can't kill it with what you've got, you probably don't have enough to throw at it in the first place.

The Battle Alphas are tough this early into the game. There is a way by stealth involving coming from the west and tinkering with the controls on the bridge, though. The shapers in shardfield? I presume you're talking about the shaper camp south of shardfield: forget it. It's not meant to be beatable, especially not before you've reached the end of chapter 4. I'm not sure what bombs you're talking about. There are mines in the northeast of Cairn Gates, but if you can't disarm them you should probably find a way of taking down the forcefields emanating from the pylons. Search for a control panel in the eastern part of Cairn Gates. There is nothing north of the Boiling Caverns (well, apart from the Sea that is) Edit: It seems I'm a wee bit late

Only if you want to provide for an extra challenge, as in: don't let the ornk die or play it til level thirty or whatever comes to mind. It most certainly isn't a useful companion, unless it snows and you need something to grit the path with. But they are sooo cute - and loyal. edit: fixed typo

sure. why else would you use it?

Schrodinger\'s Walkthrough should provide the answer to this question. In future posts, could you possibly refrain from dysvoweling your poor words, even when you're in a terrible hurry? thnks

Well, I'll repost here what I've written in the other thread: I'm thrilled. 40% already? Way to go.

I don't know about you, but after seeing this I was quite thrilled. It looks as though Jeff is having fun tormenting adventurers. Great.

It would be best to email spidweb about it. Don't forget to include a more specific error code message, i.e. what did your OS complain about. I'm sure it will work out one way or another.

Interesting. The same thing happened to me - same battle, same location. I suspect there is nothing we can do about that as I don't think Jeff will want to dig into Exile code again. Oh well...

I don't see any difference between typing 'skillpoints' or 'skill points'. Well, I do see the difference, but the effect is just about the same. I get experience and - surprise - skill points (skillpoints?).

'shieldsup' and 'dbugkill' come to mind. Both do what their names suggest. PS: Curious: 'skillpoints' apparently gives you a truckload of experience whereas 'iamweak' gives you a smaller portion. I didn't know that.

That would be the quicksave slot. Hit F3 to save into that slot and F4 to load the thus saved quicksave savegame... Edit: I forgot to mention that this behaviour has been coded into the game and should not be considered a bug. The docs are also quite clear about the entire quicksave savefile retrieval.

As Synergy has kindly pointed out, the required information can be found here: anvil recipes If it says, for instance, that in order to make the Cloak of the Shadows, you need a Perfected Cloak, Pure Crystal Shard and Purified Essence, that is what you need in order to make the Cloak of the Shadows. Perfect the cloak, leave it on the anvil, add the Shard and Purified Essence and hit the button.

Alberich, my two cents on the herding matter. I find myself in disagreement with how you assess the game's plot. Also, I do not think of it as a problem with the game's engine or mechanics for that matter. If you decide, as you have, to kill all the rebels in the safehouse, there would seem to be some misunderstanding about your role within the plot, i.e. what role you play within the game (role playing game). Now, if I understand you correctly, you want to be free to decide what to do under any particular circumstance, which is fine, as long as you stick to the basic predeterminations set out for your character. Should you disagree with the game's storyline to the point where you find yourself disappointed that you cannot kill everybody when you choose to do so, it seems to me, that you are not particularly interested in the storytelling. To me it feels like being unsatisfied with your dungeon master for not being able to wrestle down four drakons with hands tied behind your back and get a reward from their father. Certain things are sort of out of character, and that surely isn't a problem with the game's engine. edit: fixed typo

It's definitely worth it and should be done as early as you can. My knees are still shaking from the excitement over the lush rewards...

Quote: Originally written by chicho1102: Quote: Originally written by Micawber: Yep, however you will have to be patient; you need the key from the north geneforge first. Exactly for that Locmaar. Well, in that case... ahem: Spoiler Alert! Keep reading at your own peril... It is even worse than Monarchs hidden creations. Here he's locked his experiments away that kind of got out of control and he didn't know what to do with them (apart from locking them away that is). It's a fun area but if you're careful and aware you shouldn't run into too many difficulties. If you're not careful you'll probably die a couple of times - at least I did the first couple of visits, before I decide to be more aware

You can pass through if you are pro-shaper. Otherwise... sorry.

Why don't you go and have a look yourself? When in doubt, try it out

Walk north from where you are (on the screenshot). There's a hidden lever behind a pillar (this is not the only one - there are plenty hidden throughout the game) which opens the door. edit: fixed typo

This sounds like an actual bug. If you are able to reproduce this occurence you should save your game, compress the appropriate save-folder and mail it to Jeff. Don't forget to enclose a report on what you were doing, which version of Windows you're trying to run on what kind of system etc. On the other hand, should you not be able to reproduce it, count yourself among those lucky enough to have had a rather unique experience. Either way, good luck.

A Couple of questions arise. a) Why should it be a bug, you think, if you die after being hit by a super vlish being? I don't recall any vlish in the mudpits, but that might be just my memory? Anyway, if you have reason to believe you have encountered an actual bug, you should be mailing Jeff about it.