Ociporus

That brings up the "switches" thing. Didn't really like those in Avadon. They were really difficult to spot in some places.

I think the 'head-banging' can only work if one uses the keyboard to move.

In the old Exile / Avernums, hidden doors were the main things you had to look for after clearing out a dungeon in order to get your hands on the real treats.

Do you want hidden doors (aka head-banging into walls, rocks, etc, to discover them) to return?

 

I kinda liked it at the time. Made it interesting to try and figure out where the hidden entrances/doors could be. It was a bit of a thrill to suddenly burst through into the middle of a rock on the way to the goods; let alone suddenly confronting some nasties.

Glad to have you back in the fold. You have a lot of fun to look forward to!

I concur. I had Sevilin with me (a Shadow Walker) and of course Nathalie. The experience actually made me feel a bit distressed (as it should if you were really looking at a ton of identical 'enemies') so it was a pretty neat battle. Had to use a resurrection scroll once, and Nathalie went unconscious on the last volley with Zhossa, but then she apparently "hit him with fireballs and ice lances" after he was dead. Ha ha. It reminded me of the room with the shifting floor in one of the old exile games.

Quite interesting that it seems the characters receive spontaneous healing shortly after finishing a battle. Seems to simplify the whole system. I think I like it, but it is even a little less realistic than having to 'heal' afterwards. On the other hand, I suppose it would be natural to attend to wounds ASAP...

Sounds like you need to find a cheap 24" monitor and set to lowest resolution. That's a sad story...hope you find an equitable solution.

Well, it seems as though there are no observations coming out of the beta testers. I respect that you have been sworn to silence, so I won't.

I'll continue to anticipate the game being released, then.

You doing that too? I'm sure lots of us are. Even though I read that it will be near the end of February, I check every day.

Like the rest of us, I am eager to get Avadon.

Without giving away anything about the plot or storyline, do you beta testers have some comments about the game experience?

Interface? Appearance? Coolness factors? Skill trees? What you enjoyed about the various classes of characters?

Anything else you'd be inclined (and permitted) to share would be appreciated.

Anticipation is building...

Steam takes a cut, too. But that's apparently a possible outlet for Avadon.

 

Since all the talk about Spiderweb games maybe being on Steam, do you think Jeff would put them on the Apple App Store?

Sounds like a great idea to me.

 

Personally, I intend to keep buying them directly from SpiderWeb so they get all the money. But probably a lot of people don't know about them and there could be some advantage to getting them "out there" on the App Store.

Just where does this "public tester's request" get posted?

Anyone know how a guy gets to be a beta-tester?

Sorry you misunderstood what I said. I was not suggesting that an endless charge of sliths would have been good for protecting the scourge. I merely noted that there IS an endless charge in a supposedly less vital area (around Formello) and with the scourge, there is no one around protecting them.
It is way too easy to waltz in and do the scourge in, after all that buildup in the plot about how tough it would be. The group of Vahnatai that, surprisingly, were in the vicinity were more of a challenge than the scourge itself.

For "action" games I generally prefer sports simulations, but I have always enjoyed Jeff's games, which do not rely on hand/eye coordination. Almost "cerebral" a person could say. Can you say this about SpiderWeb games???

I like that analogy. But did you ever try to check out all of Formello after completing the quest to take out the last of the triad? I went back in, got some good treasures, but absolutely had to forget about exploring the entire city. The western part had an endless supply of irritating Sliths. So they are prepared to flow endlessly on to save that city, but not to help out their scourge leaders. Part of me appreciates the simple, easy nature of finishing that off, part of me feels a bit let down that it was quite so easy.

I'm on torment. The Scourge leaders had next to no support; in fact, none unless you count those creaky sentinels that were trying to reach some gongs to give them a swat. They were so easy to disable that it took no effort to wipe out the leader.
I would have expected a bunch of sliths / monsters to come racing in when you are trying to wipe their leaders out. Considering the experience of trying to deal with the endless numbers of sliths pouring across the bridge south of Formello, the Scourge was easy to eliminate.
I've "won" all the SpiderWeb EXILE and AVERNUM games, so I'm a bit experienced, though not nearly so much as Slarty, Randomizer, and the like.

Of course, my crew is extremely well protected in armor and have the top-grade weapons, so they endure tremendous damage. Divine Restoration also takes the sting out of whatever the enemy can do.

I found that taking on the triad of the scourge for Melanchion was very disappointing. They were very passive and it was so simple. And no one rushed in to rescue them. For being a part of the climax of the whole story, it was way too easy. Maybe my amazingly-outfitted clan could endure lots of pain and suffering, but I didn't even require an invulnerability shot for any of them.

A few of the last quests have been similarly disappointing because of the ease with which they are done.

It's all about the story. Glad to hear you are enjoying it. Paying for the game is worth it. I have no idea how many hours I've spent on it so far (almost done) but it might be 50+.

Tip: when you get to the last quest (from King Starrus) save your game as you finish up each of the last few quests of major characters before you do the last quest. Then you will be able to find out the different endings.

Chances are that the little happy GIFTs will lay a few more eggs later anyway. Respect your morals. I figured that I was trying to "save Avernum", which included saving them, really. The best way to accomplish it was to get what Gladwell was offering, then do him in, which was quite gratifying. Did it in A5 also, which actually was more difficult with all the extra monsters to fight.

I also like to have all my characters at least be able to do healing. The fighters usually don't get very strong at it, but at least they can top everyone's health up after a battle / recovery done. Also good if they can cure poison, which they will with just a touch of priestly skill.

I only have divine fire right now, no restoration spell. I'll have to try combining it with a battle discipline (I never think of using that except for melee; I'll have to keep that in mind) like OTHER said.

Thought I'd start a thread discussing one's favorite priest spells.

In A6, mine has been CONTROL FOES.

I've been in the area north of Cotra, around the swampy forest, and having a blast just getting the monsters there to fight each other. You can get them going without them even seeing you through the forest, and they cannot get to you.

Almost creates a slapstick comedy. The swamp goblins were wondering by the lake, and I'd control one of them and the other guys would attack. Then it was time to hit some of them with the great collection of bows my crew has. Later the Chitrachs had a Laurel-and-Hardy party too, and so did the Hellhounds. Those guys are REAL fun to control.

The barriered prison outside of Cotra was fun too. The Ambler that would have been a real pain was brought down with the help of some of his 'controlled' friends. We just stood back after a bit (in the corridor) and let them take each other down.

 

It's also fun taking control of the enemy's created creatures. Working against a strong mage who's making an army to fight you? Just take control, and they take HIM out. What a blast!

Those are just a couple situations where that spell has been wonderful. Worked great in doing the Slith-Elimination quest for Wyrgryss too. Saves so much effort!

 

So what is your favorite?

Then you get generic dudes. Lots of us have played all the games...
And the saga continues...

Well, I found out that sometime the guy block the way gets out of the way. Just waited for that and there was no needed bloodshed. Sorry for asking a question that I ended up getting the answer for myself!