Nioca

Quote: Originally written by Kyrek: Spells. Spells can be deadly when you have enough skill. I'm sure many of you have played a game where you didn't create a single creation. You will no matter what have to kill a shaper or something stronger eventually. And its not like all those elite warriors you see are completely inept at fighting. With each shaping book found there is one less in the world soon. It will take a long time, but eventually you will stop it. Except that someone with shaping skills has both power and numbers. Except for god-like characters, anyone will eventually get over-run if they get swarmed with creations. Also, you're assuming that everyone will just hand over every piece of shaping history they find. The likelihood of that happening is the same as Venezuela launching a Vlish to Valorim. It's not going to happen.

Kyrek, I agree that shaping has caused some horrible atrocities, and that creations are treated unfairly. However, trying to undo centuries of work and knowledge would be nearly impossible. Even if it seemed successful at first, there would be some shred of research hidden away somewhere, be it a shaping book or a canister or even a Geneforge, and then a whole new, far worse process would begin. Instead of having a powerful weapon in the hands of a bunch of egotistical self-righteous idiots, you have a powerful weapon in the hands of what could be a raving lunatic. And when that happens, nobody would be able to stand in his or her way, because no one else would have the means to fight back! Think about it. Would the shapers be winning the war if they couldn't shape? Of course not! Shaping is a very dangerous art, even more powerful than standard magic, and should be treated accordingly, but it shouldn't be shunned for just it's negative aspects.

I actually agree with Tullegolar on this one. Banning shaping does not solve the problem. Look at Drayks. They're a banned (barred, to be technical) creation, and now look at the trouble resulting from it. The shapers might have had an even larger advantage if the Drayks had joined them instead, or even were just indifferent. Instead, since the shapers were so arrogant, thinking that barring Drayks would make the problem go away, they now have a new menace to deal with: Drakons. No matter how deeply the knowledge of shaping is buried, it will surface again. Sucia Isle pretty much proves that once you cross that threshold, there's no turning back. The ending of Geneforge 1 summed it up quite nicely: You cannot unring a bell. EDIT: Quote: Originally written by Nikki: And isn't Healing magic a priest-thing? It doesn't NEED essence to do it. Um... Have you played any of the Geneforge games? All healing spells require at least a small amount of essence. In fact, there's only one spell I can think of that uses no essence, and that's Firebolt.

Right now, I'm working on two. Agadia Isle, which I'm sure you're all sick of hearing about ( ), and The Escort. The Escort will likely get finished before Agadia, as it's a lot smaller and simpler.

Quote: Originally written by Alorael: There was a two year gap between the portal's closing and the Empire War and then 12 more years until A3. That's not enough time to settle Valorim! Why not? Avernum was settled in approximately 10 years (767 IE for the first people, 777 IE when Avernum was established), and it's probably only slightly smaller than Valorim. Quote: More by Alorael: The Empire might use magic to build its major forts, but I think even province capitals are likely to be plain old stone. There's no indication that the construction is unusual in the games, and there's no uniform style (Lorelei stands out!) to indicate a common origin. Even Krizsan, presumably the last city to be setled because of its location, is fairly large and bustling. Even with magical help, it would take decades for settlement to reach that far south unless every town started with only one family. How is that so unfeasible? There's a good chance that multiple expeditions were made to Valorim. Otherwise, even if they were settled for 75 years, there's probably a low chance that it would be at it's level of development that is present in A3. Quote: Alorael's Gimmick: —Alorael, who checked the Encyclopedia Ermariana and discovered that Valorim is home to about 10 million humans, most of whom are second and third generation settlers. That indicates somewhere between 50 and 75 years of settlement, and to him personally it reinforces his lack of faith in the EE. Either that, or the Valorim settlers breed like erotomaniac bunnies.

The shaper teacher in GF3 has red robes. Other than that, though, it is weird that most shapers wear blue. The mages wear blue as well, come to think of it. Maybe it's symbolic of their connection to essence? Or perhaps blue is a color of power in the shaper world. Or perhaps Jeff just likes blue.

I sent you a PM regarding the ending. I would've posted it here, but I didn't want to spoil the ending for any who haven't played the game yet.

Quote: Originally written by High on HEX: I find the whole "wild frontier" aspect of Valorim overdone. It's got large cities and plenty of towns. It has roads everywhere. It has ancient ruins! I think people have been there for a century at least, and there's definitely no way everything from Delis to Blackcrag could have been settled in the few years between the Empire War and A3. Alorael, this is the Empire you're talking about here. Besides, the portals were shut down before the Empire War. Also, I'm not sure if you noticed the lack of grand citadels and fortresses. Blackcrag had nothing on The Castle. Finally, how long did it take them to build a gigantic, nearly impenetrable wall around most of Footracer? A month? If they can pull that type of feat off on fairly short notice, I think they had the capability to settle Valorim in a fairly short timespan. Don't forget, there were only a few cities that could be considered major in Valorim. Most of them were small villages or trading posts.

Quote: Originally written by Arch-Mage Solberg: With a space as big as the surface, who's to say that there was only ONE PORTAL! They gathered all the people to be sent down all into one portal? That's nonsense! There must've been at least 2 per continent, AT LEAST. With that in mind, could there be other places people were sent? Places inhabited that we have not seen or heard about? What do y'all think about this in relation to the upcoming Avernum 5? Actually, they would probably only need three, if that was the case. I don't think Valorim would have had a portal yet, since it was only just settled in the time frame of A3, and the teleporting stopped shortly after A1. However, it's a definite possibility.

On the flip side of the coin, when it comes to BoA selling poorly, it also somewhat limited the potential for a flood of bad scenarios. In BoE, there are 95 scenarios rated a 6 or more, and 112 scenarios rated 4 or less (This isn't counting movies or utilities). That's a ratio of 1.17 bad scenarios for every good scenario. In BoA, there are 22 scenarios rated 6 or more, and 4 scenarios rated 4 or less. This equates to a ratio of 5.5 good scenarios for every bad scenario. I'll let you draw your own conclusion.

Quote: Originally written by Emperor Tullegolar: But... but... I didn't kill Rentar, I let her go! Then she must have been crushed during the cave-in. Or another band of adventurers followed right behind you and killed her. Quote: Originally written by Emperor Tullegolar: Stop saying that! It's not official, and I will not believe it until it is. Tullegolar... She's gone. She's gone, Tullegolar, and there's nothing you can do to help her. I'm sorry for your loss. Here's to hoping you find love again someday. This touching message is sponsored by:

Quote: Originally written by Emperor Tullegolar: Say it isn't so! Did he mean no Rentar as a main villain, or no Rentar at all? Is she dead? At this point, Avernum without Rentar would be like Starwars without Darth Vader (meaning it's possible but somehow incomplete). You killed her in A4. Well, not you specifically, but your party. Somehow, I suspect that A4 may have been purposely designed for that, to clear up loose ends an open up the possibilities for new enemies.

Ack! The whole thread is stretched out of proportions. It's nice to get an insight into what the game will be like, though.

Wow. Jeff has really hit his stride this year.

Quote: Originally written by opon mars (Translated by Nioca): Hmm, it probably should be as close to the series as it can be. Or how about the end of the world in A5 caused by demons rising up to destroy the world and enslave humanity! Herr, never mind. I thought that was pretty much covered in A1. Besides, it's too cliche. Oh, and would you kindly explain 'herr'?

Level 3 spells, like in A3 (When haste, at level 3, would haste the entire group instead of a single PC), but expand it to all spells. For example, an L3 Bolt of Fire would explode on contact, causing some AE damage. L3 Icy rain could actually freeze enemies solid, similar to that demon in the Tower Colony. You get the idea. Also, it could be taken a step further by having the L3 variant cost more, and you can choose between the standard spell and the L3 spell.

You can't. You can modify it by editing one of the zone scripts, but it's tricky.

We're nearing that fateful time. After Nethergate 2.0 is out and running, A5 is bound to be in the works. And since it's been proven that Jeff does follow good ideas, it seemed only fitting that we have an ideas thread. What would you want to see in A5?

Actually... That brings up an interesting point .

I thought the minimum resolution requirement for A4 was 1024x768. Either way, you can manually change the resolution by going into Avernum/Geneforge, selecting options, and turning off the auto-adjust. Then set it to the resolution you want (make sure you've got 16 bit selected! The game won't run in any other color setting.) and re-open the game. It should now be in the desired resolution A1, A2, A3, and BoA also allow you to turn off full-screen mode, letting you use other applications while playing.

Quote: Originally written by GoodCanisters: Quote: Originally written by Nioca: I used it, and then attempted that Shaper Crypt. There were no surviving users of the Geneforge on Sucia Isle. Oh I remember the good times... Got rid of Trajkov and made myself godlike with the same action. Nothing could oppose you, you could be a melee shaper if you wanted, a shaping agent, a magic guardian. Still, you were unstoppable. The Shaper Crypts could be made easy. Actually, I meant that, after obliterating Trajkov and Goatcheese (I can never remember his name), I wound up killed in the shaper crypt.

I used it, and then attempted that Shaper Crypt. There were no surviving users of the Geneforge on Sucia Isle.

Congratulations, Jeff! And if A4 managed a spot in the hall of fame, GF4 will most certainly have one. No doubt about it.

You could make the lighting system similar to the fog-of-war/LOS system in RTS games. In some strategy games I've played, even if an attacker is outside you LOS, he gets lit up momentarily. It could be the same way in Geneforge. If a Terror Vlish attacks you, it momentarily gets lit up in it's animated stage. Not enough to give you an exact position, but enough so that you can get a general idea, rather than getting pulverized without anyway to retaliate. Also, you could make certain spell effects, like a blast of fire, illuminate the area surrounding it as it flies. This would reveal any enemies it passes near, and would also look cool. But this one is a far less likely possibility. You could also make glowing creations (or even yourself, after sufficient canister/geneforge usage) that have a small luminescent effect.

No.