Evnissyen

Ex: If you're going to pick up Petersburg, pick up David McDuff's translation (greenish cover, Penguin Books). This is also the most recent translation. If you can't find the McDuff translation then do not read the book. I'm serious. Translation is a tough thing... but when you totally eviscerate a genius' work... well.. I'll just say that I don't find evisceration to be an admirable practice. The more popular translation (red cover, I don't remember who the translator is) might be half the read, but by shortening the book, an awful lot of good material was removed, as well as much of the humor. I'd suggest checking out Donald Barthelme, too... you might like his stuff. Look for Sixty Stories, it's a pretty decent collection. Also... oh, hell, this really is getting to be a habit... but Salmon is right again, here. There are ways to influence how the head librarians spend their budgets (and it's often through other librarians). The better librarians are open to ideas... especially from people who frequent the library. As for inter-library-loans (ILL): Check the library website and it should have a link... if your state has an ILL service then exploit it to death. Librarians don't dislike the "extra work" at all... in fact it's helpful to them because if they can show the state higher figures for its usage then that gives them a stronger hand in asking for a budget increase. I'm sure school libraries can be influenced, too, to help you find certain books even when they're not "available". In fact: A lot of libraries have storage facilities. None of the books in these storage facilities are accessible to the public. But they are released from time to time on request. If you know that a book is in storage you can also email a request to the librarian in charge. Alorael: I'm in no way trying to say that everyone should like or dislike whom I like or dislike, I'm just saying that if people are going to decide which writers should be taught and which writers shouldn't (which they've been doing, obviously, for a long time... nobody knows who these people are! but they're out there someplace)... then they should keep up with the times and the new ideas. The canon necessitates its own borders, and great books and great writers are being overlooked, and students are growing up hating literature. Of course, you can certainly argue getting rid of the canon. The Internet might some day free us of any need for a scholastic literary canon.

Alorael: Then why is Franz Kafka in the English canon? Why is Fyodor Dostoevsky in the canon? It's fully proper that the canon should embrace world literature, not just English-language literature. If the canon can only afford a certain number of writers, then it needs to be constantly updated. Which means taking some writers out and replacing them with new ones. I say: Get rid of Thomas Hardy and O'Henry, and replace them with Donald Barthelme and Andrei Bely. Actually, SoT's point, which is a good one, emphasizes why Andrei Bely's masterpiece Petersburg is an "important" book which illuminates a critical moment in Russian history. Honestly... I think that every High School student should read David McDuff's translation of Petersburg. Not only for the socio-historical perspective, but also for the artistic possibilities he opens up within that novel. If gradeschool students are not interested in literature, then it's because they're not being exposed to enough literary styles. Like music, I think that literature possesses enough variation to interest most people. I think that most of America's youth is not being exposed to enough variation.

Interesting... I think it's much more a fantasy game. Especially regarding the moral-play aspect. And also the fact that, apart from the gene alteration, there really isn't anything scientifically 'advanced' to be found in the game... and even the gene alteration stuff seems to have been stumbled upon accidentally through shaping means... rather than, of course, technological means. How the geneforge was stumbled upon, however, I can't answer. Maybe it's answered in G2, which I haven't played... or at the end of G1, which I never reached because I got bored slogging through area after area killing annoying things for no XP because I was 'supposed' to have cleared them 3-7 levels earlier. (Also, G1 is a little lacking as far as ongoing narrative. Area after area, with no story advancement, tends to bore a player like me. Maybe because I was used to the stronger linear narrative of G3 & G4 by the time I got around to playing it. I'm sure my reaction would've been different if I'd just come out of playing A3 and here was this new game Geneforge with a fascinating new plot and story.)

Not much of a Steinbeck fan, myself. Oddly, I seem to be going through a non-fiction phase at the moment. I'm reading The Ghost of Freedom: a history of the Caucasus by Charles King (published this year), and I'm picking my way through several books about Queen Kristina of Sweden. You know... the one who inadvertently killed René Descartes. EDIT: Personally, I think John Steinbeck is just one of those moldy guys who needs to be removed from the Literary Canon, and replaced with... oh... say Ben Marcus, or Gary Lutz, or Donald Barthelme, or Mark Z Danielewski... or Andrei Bely for chrissake. Andrei Bely was probably literally a genius. (Hard to tell in a translation.) How come he gets ignored and schoolkids still have to be stultified with John Steinbeck and Thomas Hardy?

Well, there is some variation in the cheats between different games, even within a series. Nept: You can find the cheat codes for Geneforge 3 here. On the same site you can also find walkthroughs and cheat codes for other Spiderweb games. (And by the way, why are the cheat codes more necessary if you only have the demo?)

What Safey said, and also: Just about all Shaper "technology" seems to be shaped. No more motion-sensing doors, no more control panels... the power conduction contraptions are likely shaped to conduct the magical power of crystals. Even plant life (and animal life) is shaped to exist in areas they'd normally not be able to.... So if you get rid of shaping then the world is going to have to work pretty hard to advance their technological capabilities to achieve what they once had, and lifestyles are going to have to adapt very quickly. Whole societies will be strangled because their shaped plants and shaped wildlife have died off and there's nothing forthcoming to replace them with, and with loss of money and food comes social instability. Before you know it the post-Shaper world would be at war again. And then somebody will build a geneforge....

Most of all, I find a good and elaborate narrative to be more captivating than hack and loot.

The weird thing about A5 was that when you attacked somebody in a town, the rest of the town would help you kill them.

Why, though? The buffs all cost spell points, and the player uses them -- or at least I did -- only to the extent that each spell is found to be useful, in the given situation, since it's tedious to keep casting 5 or 6 buffs on a party for every encounter. So long as your enemies' stats are strengthened in accordance to your level and assumed spell capabilities, I'm not sure I see where this falls into the area of abuse. Perhaps with the Haste spell you might have a point, but hell, Haste is so much fun. I suppose if it doubled your AP only every other turn then that might remove its near-game-killing effect. Then again... a number of fights seem to be near unwinnable if you aren't using Haste... at least on HARD. Well, not exactly near unwinnable, but far more difficult. Thus: an example of your opponents' strength being raised to stand up to your capabilities. Also, isn't there already an all-in-one spell in A5? I don't remember offhand which it is, but I'm sure I remember it. EDIT: Earth: I myself, I think, have mentioned before having tended to find it strange that, in the beginning, the priest, rather than the mage, possesses the most powerful offensive spell. You have a point about the skill level except that I always make sure my priest has enough skill to obtain Smite. At any rate, perhaps its strength should be lowered, at least in the beginning. Also... On the notion of Gladwell: Why do you dislike the dilemmas? They're one of the best parts of A5. Actually... I think my opinionatedness is beginning to inform me that Gladwell might just be my favorite part of the game. He's an interesting character. He also deserved more development. (In retrospect he probably deserved more development in A4 as well, but I suspect in that game Jeff hadn't yet decided on any elaborate plans for Gladwell... then again: How do >I< know?) The dilemmas add a lot of dimension to the game; plus it affects to a great extent the game's replay value. I'm looking forward to playing the game again, one of these days, without Gladwell's geas, and the next time around I'll also be considering the Anama... short-term, of course. CONTINUE EDIT: I've already started my new duo some time ago. Two Nephilim, a male and female, both divinely touched. I figure: Demigod types are more believable in hero stories (after all, that's often how hero myths go -- if the hero isn't divinely blessed then he (always a he) is assisted by somebody who is. Odysseus was assisted by goddess Athena... Jason was assisted by sorceress Medea. Both characters were smart and capable men (Odysseus by wit, Jason by charisma/diplomacy), but were purely mortal. Also... in myths, heroes typically work alone but when they work together it's never more than a twosome. (Gilgamesh comes immediately to mind, as well as the Dierdriu story (Noisiu and his brother).) A male-female couple makes even more sense. My new characters' initiatory battle under Blackchasm Outpost worked out well for them, so I'll be keeping them.

Hmm... Yeah, regarding G3, at least: Click to reveal.. ...The basement of the Monastery of Tears yielded no XP except, I think, for the spawners. Essentially, except for 2 or 3 important items, if I remember right, it was an extraordinarily difficult area yielding no benefit (hence whichever companion you chose (if you chose him or her) suggesting that your energies be better spent elsewhere). Still, even though I remember it taking several days to get through all those nasty things, I remember it being quite a fun area. Personally, I'll say again that a player should never receive 0 XP, but that the XP requirements become larger for each subsequent level gain, while the XP gain remain unchanged for all creatures. EDIT: However, as far as spawner-creations go... I can think of no better solution, off-hand, than Jeff has apparently decided upon long ago. It makes sense that spawned creations give you no XP since they're essentially strategic agents of the spawner. It makes sense that only killing the spawner (or the Shaper if that should be the case) can give you XP. EDIT: Not realistic sense, but gameplay sense.

Nept: Well, the obvious problem with a primary Trakovite narrative thread is that the Geneforge world is a world built almost entirely on shaping. Honestly, their philosophy is as unrealistic as the Anama in A5. Just as the people of Avernum could not survive without magic... the Geneforge world would fall into a kind of stone-age were shaping abolished, and what that means for the player is: no fun. Of course, I do think that the Trakovites in G5 could and probably should be instrumental in negotiating an end to the war between the Shapers and Rebels. Only a 3rd party can stop the war. Of course, this 3rd party could also consist of a coalition of defecting Shapers and defecting Rebels... and actually I suppose that's more likely, considering that in G4, if I remember correctly, both the Shapers and Rebels seemed bent on killing every last Trakovite. Haven't I already had this discussion some time ago with Sleeping Dragon?

Vrek & Rent: As Nalyd already explained, returning to the optional fight-mode system would necessitate returning to the clomp-clomp-clomp system which I've found utterly tedious, not to mention slow. In A3 you need to clomp-clomp-clomp across the entire town map of Fort Emergence, through several doors, down several hallways and through yet another door to meet the merchant or the trainer. Then you have to type T and then A (in the case of the merchant). Much easier if you just point to that spot on the map and watch your characters zoom there, right? And then when you get there just click on the merchant. Also... to expand on what Madrigan said, if A6 returned to the old system then I think the only people who would buy it would be those who feel nostalgic for Nethergate-A3. Not a good marketing strategy, as somebody pointed out not too long ago... I don't remember who. Despite the fact that the gameplay in A4 & A5 is significantly refined (not to mention the graphics and animation improvements), I can understand your affection for the optional fight-mode system... but in Nethergate and the original Avernum trilogy I feel like I'm exploiting the system and only my fighter is seeing action; the other characters are really useless for most of the time. They're only useful for large-scale fights; otherwise they just get in the way. (And it's annoying having to hit that Peace button in order to get out of fight mode.) The way I see it: if I have 3 characters in my party then I've chosen 3 characters for a reason. I reduce from 4 characters because I find that only 3 are necessary, and this allows me to level up more quickly. With all characters meeting with every fight: strategy becomes a team effort rather than just slogging through tunnels with your fighter smashing your enemies as they appear and the mage & priest being used most of the time as nothing more than pack mules. The fact that the auto-combat-mode system helps keep you from being surprised (and gives you the upper hand if you've trained in Dexterity and Quick Strike) I suppose might be seen as good or bad. I suppose it could be programmed into A6 that the user is allowed to switch to the clomp-clomp-clomp and the optional fight mode... although I'm not sure how much extra programming this would necessitate. I don't want to suggest you're wrong to prefer one style over another; we all have our preferences... I just feel that this stuff is stuff of the past. Life goes on. Personally, I hope that A6 has a totally different interface. I'm quite happy already that G5 will look rather different from G4. As I've said before: I don't feel that Jeff has any obligation to stick to a certain interface or graphical style throughout an entire series, any more than a serial writer should be obligated to adhere to one style throughout an entire series should he or she tire of that style and come up with a better one. The only thing I agree with is that both Avernum & Geneforge should have more spells... but I want new spells as well. I do not want the games to move backward.

But... what if we don't precipitate?

I'm hoping he means brand new spells. Randomizer: I know I'm always going on about this, but... has he added more complicated and involved interaction with the NPC's? And do the NPC's get an even greater narrative role than in previous games?

Hey! Those're my nieces you're talking about! I'm gonna find out where you live.

But more and more, each generation's youth are being trained to deal with increasing amounts of information and learn how to sort it all out and to multi-task (and research) more effectively. I don't see it as less thought, I see it as a different style of thought. Older people are not as well trained to deal with the increasing flood of information, so I think a lot of them tend to retreat and keep to what's comfortable to them. I think that in a few years I'm going to start noticing that my 3 nieces have developed and are developing thinking patterns that I cannot compete with. Of course, the trade-off, I suppose, is a reduced ability to focus. I've never been any good at focusing, myself. My father's much better at it.

I found it annoying bumping into walls when I wasn't trying to find secret passages.

You know, I'm normal, too. I swear I am.

You mean that red version of some type of Robin Hood hat that I think I remember from A4?

I just realized that 6+7=13. Not that that means anything.

Cut scenes like what, like the little 'visit' Litalia pays you once you leave the school? I'm not sure that's a cut scene so much as story progression? Especially since you are able to interact through dialogue, just not through action? Cut scenes can be good if done well, sparingly and in the appropriate places.

I was disappointed with that dog in A4 that joins you for just a little while if you feed it, then runs off. No matter how many times you feed it, the dog just doesn't get interested enough in you to join you on your journeys. Plus, it was never much help in a fight. EDIT: I haven't had pizza in a long time. I want some... but my favorite pizzeria in this area is long gone. ...It's at times like this that one misses living in New Haven.... Only at times like this.

I have not studied neuroscience... however, I would tend to think that the brain is grown in full form for the potential of all possible mental activities... and the extent to which one chooses to generate neurological networks for the purpose of exercising this mental potential -- and which areas they choose to develop -- is then up to them. (And you cannot choose to develop all of it: you must choose.) When you exercise your mental resources for whatever end, your brain grows neurons. While artists will have extended networks in one part of their brain, athletes will show developement in another. Cabdrivers have been shown to have extended networks developed in the area that governs our internal map-making ability. So our capacity is ultimately governed not by the brain material itself but by the networks. Now... in terms of actual "untapped potential", this really seems like the same sort of situation where you have a lot of wilderness that has been broadly developed for, say, housing development or oil production or whatever. Sure, you can say that 95% of that area is wilderness, but only if you consider small spatterings of wood to be wilderness.

Iffy: You mean you won't notice them until close to the very end of your first play through.... How can you miss them, after all? Anyhow, the GIFTS really should have a larger role to play in A6. Especially if we're not likely to see them again in future SW releases.

Madrigan: Wouldn't it be nice to discover that the Avernum series has really been about the GIFTS all along?