Evnissyen

My advice: If you're interested in learning the history and politics of the series from the beginning: start with G1 and then proceed numerically. If you're interested in enjoyment: Download all three demos (if you haven't already) and see which game you enjoy best. In my opinion: G3 has a friendlier interface and is therefore easier to play, and has other options such as the ability to create magical items. That, in comparison to the loss of the factional elements of G2, affects its replay value. Dikiyoba: The 'hidden' zones in G3 give a sense of physical depth to the game. In comparison, the original is flat, two dimensional. Everything is laid out for us on the map. The 'hidden' areas give the game three dimensions. I'll also second everything SoT says about those areas. And the boats are only a minor inconvenience. What it does do is give you a sense of not only the differing physical climates but also the differing social and situational climates. If I'd played the game after G2 I'd probably have the same reaction to it as I did with the divisions in A5. But you can get used to it.

Ah, yes... now I remember... the extended area attribute. As for priestly power... I think it would make for a boring character if the priest couldn't cast high-damage attack spells... although, if the priest were given some interesting new spells that were more like tricks and manipulation spells rather than blind destruction, while still causing great damage: that might make for a more interesting game. But I don't want a character who can only 'bless' and can't cause lots of damage. I also don't think I'd want a six-person party system. Three is enough for me. Fighter, Mage, Priest. The problem I see with having very specialized characters, such as building one for thievery, another for blessing, another for bows (which really are too weak, I think), and then two or three damage makers... is that you end up with characters who often cannot really do anything substantive in a fight, so that you end up either having them employing weak attacks that cause very little or no damage, or else you have to keep hitting the space bar to every round to pass by them. And then they always drain the party of XP. That's why I prefer to streamline my parties into two or three powerful and versatile characters.

Gandalf: Yes, definitely go into genetics. From the extension of life to embedding immunities to improving our physiological and psychological makeup, to organ duplication, all the way to growing meat in the lab so no animals need to get hurt, a new horizon, a wondrous age, lived not in peace but dynamically . . . genetic engineering is our bright, happy future. It's also great if you want to be a mad scientist. And there really aren't enough mad scientists in the world. As for Nalyd's signature, I failed to perceive said pic... am I missing something?

Perhaps the Geneforge factions should be extended to the forums? We can all take sides. I'll align myself with the Trakovite camp, since my soul's already rotten.

Of course it's normal. We do it all the time.

Yes, but a little more subtlety than that would be nice, I think. After all: Why include battles that require clever strategy if you're only going to tell the player the answer? That said: I myself only got through the fight after I read what the key was. Maybe if there was that flitting glint like I think there was in another fight (Moref I think? ...I'd actually missed the flitting glints there so I didn't get the strategy, therefore the fight ended up being a very, very long one)... except that the light should be a little more noticeable? Maybe then -- the flitting light being interpreted as the probable signifier of possession rather than charm -- a clever player could quickly figure out, after finding that repeated unshackles didn't gain him/her any headway, that beating the character, ogre-style, would be the better strategy? ...Which makes me wonder... how do singletons get through that battle? Does the soultaker even bother possessing singletons if it has nobody to fight by possessing you? Yeah, and the Moref battle (if that's what it was)... I suppose the flitting light should've been more noticeable, there.

I myself was a little disappointed that the higher priest spells seemed to be compounding on the fire theme, and Divine Fire and Divine Retribution seemed to amount to very nearly the same thing except for spellpoint cost (I seem to remember ME not helping much there, actually) and a certain difference in damage, so that Divine Retribution ended up being too costly for its effectiveness, if I remember correctly... . Maybe there was just one too many of the massive-damage area fire spells. A top-level energy spell for my priest character would've been nice for fire-resistant creatures. Maybe a mid-level energy spell as well, to match with the mage's Lightning Spray.

I was disappointed, actually, that the Trakovite philosophy wasn't exploited in G4 to the degree that considering yourself a Trakovite would become maybe a little bit more meaningful than a psychological itch encouraged by two or three dialogues in the game... notwithstanding a psychological itch that is dangerously out of line with either the Shapers or Rebels... . Still... on the other hand I did like its presentation as a very nascent and almost covert philosophy which suggested that the Trakovites were likely to grow much stronger roots by the time G5 comes around, many many moons from now.

Yeah, I was thinking of SoT's point as well, though not so much in the manner of having difficulty pronouncing the name as, rather, the name either being misinterpreted or misremembered or else eroding over time. If the J were pronounced as it's generally pronounced in Spanish & Portuguese, then the sound would effectively be silent... hence: [TRAH-kov], hence Trakovite (which until now I'd always pronounced [TRAY-ko-vite]). But it clearly looks Slavic, which suggests that the J should be pronounced like the more Western vowel Y. That, too, could lead to the elision of the J, hence Trakovite (by either pronunciation [TRAY-ko-vite] or [TRAH-ko-vite] instead of Trajkovite. More likely, I think, it would evolve into TRAY-ko-vite, especially I suppose if you assume that the linguistic tendencies are closer to English or even Welsh or Irish, I guess. But then... there doesn't seem to be any consistency in the names in Geneforge with any particular language I think I'm familiar with, and I'd guess Jeff hasn't really considered it a matter worth putting any elaborate thought into, so... who knows? But I think I prefer the idea of TRY-kov degrading over time into TRAY-ko-vite. As for Russian: since the Russians employ a different alphabet than the rest of Europe -- all but Greece apparently using the same alphabet -- that's led to all sorts of variations in translated spellings of Russian names... which drives me crazy when I'm trying to search for a Russian author or filmmaker... hence the filmmaker Sergei Parajanov's name, for example, is also spelled Paradzhanov and Paradjanov. I would think that the most logical means of translating Russian names is to use the customs of the other Slavic languages, and stick to that... but I guess Europe isn't exactly the place to go looking for consistency, much less a place like the U.S. (noted specifically since it's such a large media market).

Hurrah! I like raised stats.

When magic becomes reality it becomes science. When gene alteration gives us the power to evoke fireballs and searing orbs from cold air: there'll be a very good scientific explanation for all of it.

I have to agree with Janitorial: it is a good quote. In fact, why would anybody want to pee/poop on a geneforge? Safey? The answer, please? In fact, I also like Janitorial's name. Lots of things here I like. Yep.

Hell, Onyxblade... use the spoiler box before you do that, next time? I never finished my second run through as a Trakovite... I don't know if I'd have returned to it, eventually, but now my whole life is ruined! It's all your fault.

And another, more pressing question: How is "Trajkov" meant to be pronounced, anyhow? [TRY-cough] or [TRAHDGE-kawv]? In my head I've been pronouncing it [TRY-kawv], but I'm so uncertain... . Somewhat of a tangent, I know, but it gnaws at me.

Actually, when I tried this area again from the beginning, I went to the village first... but I couldn't draw any extra dialogue out of the guard(s). I even went into the camp and spoke to the Merchant... I'd forgotten he doesn't speak Shaper-ese. Nothing more from him but "Trade!" Randomizer: Well, the problem with the merchant is that he only has about 2 gold. So... considering he's not getting any money any time soon unless I buy something from him: the town ends up being pretty useless unless I want to buy a few extra rather basic items, which is unlikely looking at his list, and my needs. Rivets: That's one of the things that nags at me with G1... By now I've dried up all of Vakkiri and Ellrah's Keep (did that long ago), and, I think, three of the traders in and around Kazg, as well as Kurit: I guess that would make four . . . and the Pentil traders won't deal with me any longer (on a second run at the game, of course, I'd plan accordingly). I still have a couple more Kazg traders and I also have Proof, in the Junkyard... hopefully I'll find more people to trade with before they run out of money, too. Oh, I forgot about the guy in the rebel cave... "Trade!"... I should start trading with him in case I decide to turn on them some point soon. I suppose there're probably enough traders on the island to break down all my loot, or maybe most of it... at any rate, at the moment I have well over 11,000 coins and nothing to spend it on, at least so far. Should I buy reaper thorns? They're so expensive and rare they seem like a waste. Better the sword, I suppose; it's really essentially a coup de grace weapon for a magic-heavy character, and who uses a reaper baton as a coup de grace weapon?

Hmm... Maybe that was it: I went south first and killed the spawners, then went north and found the town. Perhaps I should've tried it the other way around.

I was wondering myself why there was no trace of a Vahnatai presence in the Azure Gallery, if in fact they did consider that cavern part of their 'lands'. I had a difficult time sympathizing with their despair over the humans' colonization and exploitation of a cavern that the Vahnatai themselves had either abandoned or just never bothered to stake any sort of noticeable presence in, allowing all sorts of destructive creatures to roam free, and especially since surely they must've foreseen the Avernites spreading into the lower caves? Why should they have been surprised? Also, in regard to elevation -- especially because there was so much emphasis on it -- I felt that there should've been more work done on the cliff graphics. Honestly, it looked very much like Nethergate did. As for exploration vs. linear: The problem, I think, is that it's difficult to impose a story upon a wandering model. That's what Nethergate was, and for me that did not work so well, because really, apart from the progressive suggestions that constitute the storyline, I was allowed to go anywhere I pleased and therefore, later in the game I would get to certain areas only to find out that I was supposed to have cleared them out much earlier, and I didn't gain any experience from them. G1 is a little bit like this -- at least in comparison with G3 & G4 -- and now I have to go into areas, at level 15, that I was apparently 'supposed' to have cleared out by level 11 or so, and it feels like a chore since I'm not gaining any XP from it. A4 & A5 are better organized than Nethergate, and so we know when it's okay to just wander around and when it's time to move on, and so, except for a few more difficult fights that you have have to return to later on, the XP is based on the wandering system in appropriate steps. The only problem I had with the A5 version of a linear system is that every time I traveled into a new area, because I had to keep traveling down rapids, I wasn't able to return to a previous area except by pylon and therefore the game gave me a sense of being trapped, and a sense that the game was dividing me up into a bunch of separate cages that could only be escaped by pylon... . A4 was more pleasurable in a way in that it gave me the sense that I was in a single, unified land. Nioca does have a good point in that the linear system is better suited for Geneforge, but I think that there has to be that sort of easy marraige between storyline and wandering, the way that A4 is set up, and A5 also except for those very definite divisions.

In case you're interested: I just checked, and it is actually listed in the Instructions. Hit F1 to bring up the Instructions window, then click on "More About Items", listed just under "The Inventory Window". It tells you there how to split up items.

And let's all be thankful there isn't. (I hate rotating cameras. One view is enough for me.)

Ugh, I'm glad the days of barrel-pushing have passed. That was tiresome. Barrels are meant to stay put! Although... Alorael does have a point, as far as stealing stuff goes.

Shouldn't there be some purpose to the servile town in the Tribal Woods (G1), other than the merchant who wants to sell me stuff I don't want? You know, that black spot in the upper right corner looks awfully suspicious, too... not that this is the first time I've seen a suspiciously inaccessible area in a Geneforge game that turned out to be just a tease... but considering that I don't seem to be able to do anything here (other than kill the rogues outside of town, of course), well, I find myself eyeing that little black corner of you-can't-get-here a little more than usual. Were there a servile here with an actual name, then I would think there might be some sort of future quest coming along at some point, from there to here, but other than the "Tribal Merchant", everybody here is named either "Tribal Guard" or "Tribal Servile". Of course, I suppose I could always kill them all for a little bit of extra X, but that would feel mean.

Thanks, Slarty, and... Yeah, the problem is that some of the items matched with either armor or weapon - I guess most specifically with the ivory skull and the orb of mist -- don't change any of the numbers on the stat screen and therefore it's difficult to tell how much of a difference it makes in the sort of area it's meant to make a difference in.

Yeah, Reputation would be cool. And I've always wondered why people don't eventually figure these things out... when they go to look for their stuff, don't they wonder why it's suddenly gone? Shouldn't any of them suspect me? I'd also like to be able to anger random people enough that they would send out bounty hunters for me. In A4 I was hoping that, after talking to that rich girl with the crazy family near Mertis, one of the brothers would come after me. It never happened, of course. I was disappointed. Dikiyoba: I always find an abandoned room, and/or preferably a chest or box, to keep my stash in, because I have this neurotic idea that, despite the game not being programmed this way, my stuff's going to disappear. It should, if it's not secured this way.

Too fast for my edit! Curses! (Read above.) Yes, I've heard of the dead-mage cheat. That's what I'd have to do if I [temporarily] joined the Anama. Can't live without my mage spells.

Yes, I hadn't considered that: If I didn't degeas myself after killing Gladwell, I probably would still be urged to do what his geas wanted me to do, and I wouldn't be able to get any XP if I went through with them. In one way the geas was quite helpful, for the XP gains and the improved stats, but... I really wanted to kill him. If I play again I wanted to avoid Gladwell but then join the Anama only until I found Shafrir and got him to de-geas me . . . but if any advantages are then taken away, and some of their restrictions remain: I suppose it's not a good idea to join the Anama at all? (EDIT for Randomizer: The power-gaming aspect of course I was aware of throughout the game, but as I said in another post: first time through I tend to prefer to immerse myself in the story, and therefore I play with a conscience. Second time through I'd prefer to avoid Gladwell's geas so as to have a different experience and be able to accomplish things I wasn't able to with the geas making me do things. There were other non-compulsory but morally questionable things that a power-gamer would've done that I decided not to do because, immersed in the story, my conscience wouldn't let me.)