Evnissyen

Well, I think the problem is that, by the end of G4, the Shapers and Rebels seem to have realized a common enemy: the Drakons and their Unbound. So it seems that in G5 we should have ended up with approximately three sorts of shapers: the stubbornly conservative ones who refuse to compromise, the moderate shapers who recognize that they have to temporarily join forces with the Rebels in order to defeat the greater evil (after which the Rebel-Shaper war will renew), and the liberal shapers who feel that aligning themselves with the human and servile rebels is the way to a new world order and a new world peace. And the "cult" of the geneforge already exists among the Rebels and the Drakons. I'm not so sure that the geneforge will ever be more than an incidental though powerful influence on the warring factions, since the influence it commands does not really necessitate or even request a cult to uphold it. Then there's the Sholai: I've suggested before that the Sholai might be the only group capable of bringing peace to all of the seemingly irreconcilable sects... perhaps it'll be the Sholai whose assistance the Trakovites enlist? I still wonder whether the Trakovites, though misguided in their philosophy, are not the key to peace. An empire ruled by Trakovites could well be worse than the empire ruled by Shapers... but it might happen that the Trakovites, with the assistance of the Sholai, will turn out to be the only ones capable of bringing everyone together. The Sholai should be interested in helping the Trakovites if they foresee the war spreading to their own part of the world (I don't think they would want to deal with the Drakons and their Unbound). The anti-creation sect is interesting... but not viable, I think, in the current situation.

If you have unlock and high spellcraft and decent mental magic then with the unlock spell you generally don't need any living tools, especially with 13 mechanics. I've done fine carrying around just 4 or 5, just in case I need any extra to soften up the trickier locks. Keep the remainder in your stash. Note: Be careful about selling equipment, since in G1 one tends to run out of buyers at a certain point. I prefer to horde my compilable items (gems, crystals, thorns, pods, living tools...) and the really pricey items that would break shops very quickly, and sell only the small items that would otherwise take up far too much space where I keep my stash. If there is in fact a 200 object limit per zone, as Dikiyoba says, then 350 gemstones are counted as one object. Plus, I'm not sure if the 30,000 coin limit that applies in later games applies in G1.

I don't think I'd be qualified... but I could fake one, if it's necessary.

I meant in the interface itself. In the Places You'll Go: darken away... I don't mind it in Avernum and I wouldn't mind it in Geneforge. But I think I prefer the light-grey dialogue boxes and the light-grey inventory screens to the solid-black ones.

I remember the Shapers having an insane fort up there, with deadly wingbolts and, if I remember right, unlimited reinforcements. It was hell going in there. I do not quite remember fully, but wasn't the idea that the rebels' hold on their lands was quickly deteriorating and that the Shapers were infiltrating wherever they could find holes -- which was everywhere but the mountains? I would guess that the Shaper Monarch problem probably worked to their advantage.

Hmm.... In contrast with the Shaper Monarch episode in G4: I loved the protracted fight in both the Howling Depths and the Darkside Lands. Especially in the Holwing Depths, where there was really a sense of both great urgency and highly concentrated, almost overwhelming, opposition. Plus, by the end I had tons of loot to sell off. EDIT: Plus, by the end I was kind of hoping for a big fight or two.

Yes, I'll give you that: It's definitely better than Pac-Man Fever. And this time the second link worked... I admit: it's curiously odd. He knows a bot.

I don't know... for me that episode was just depressing and tedious. It was a while ago that I played it, so it's difficult to remember things accurately. When I went through there the first (and only) time, I cleared out the fens as much as I could on my own (except the very center areas of each map which were too difficult (I think there was an Impossibility Nucleus in all three?)), and only afterward did I enlist the technicians, which I had to do because I couldn't get into certain areas without them.... But I hope I can take a new perspective on it if I ever pick up the game again, which I'm almost sure I will.

Oh, no! Not the darkness! All that black, I was afraid it would go in this direction... not that I don't love darkness, but I think I've seen one too many dark-graphic games.... Also, why does this character seem to be costumed up like an Oriental assassin? That aside, the graphics are really quite nice, and the interface looks good, too, and what looks like movable windows are a nice touch if they're truly movable windows (and I like the shrinkable/expandable roster)... and it's nice that we're now going to have light-casting ability... among other things, I'm sure. Nice is obviously the operative word, here. Improved animation, too? I hope so. I do like the floaty quality of the protagonist, as well. I just wish it weren't so dark... black is a beautiful color but it's also a powerful color and can suck a person in and drown him or her without much ceremony, if one isn't careful with its application.

Randomizer: Hmm... I suppose then one would need to balance the minimal cost of AL + the slight benefit of better practiced spells against slightly less effective spells followed by a just-before-midgame spellbook tour. I think I'll still do the former, if I play the game again. In response to capped skills: I think if the game is going to cap the effectiveness of a skill at a certain level then it shouldn't allow you to invest points in that skill beyond that level.

Ugh. That invasion party episode was my least favorite in the game. On my second run through, I stopped just before then. I just couldn't go on. It was pathetic.

Hmm... Actually the first song sounds like pidjin Swedish to me... it's sort of half-Scandinavian and half semi-English. I'm not sure what they're up to, linguistically. The second link didn't work. EDIT: Yeah, you're right: Jonas Erik Altberg... pseudonym Basshunter. Turns out he is Swedish. Also, I tried another song and it was in English. I won't be trying any more; don't like that dancey stuff or that vocal distortion device that was popularized by... I don't know whom... Cher, or something? I suppose he's going for retro, over there in Halmstad, or wherever he's living now.

That's so cowardly, though. Admittedly, I felt a little sorry for the Cultists being crazy and all, but their project definitely needed canceling.

No, I wasn't referring specifically to creations that are made to self-destruct, although I had those in mind, too. I was thinking really of situational creation-making in general... whether or not there are a lot of people who play as an essentially solo Shaper who only shapes creations in order to deal with some sort of challenge. The story seems to be set up to encourage that (since our foes like to do it); but I've never tried it. I guess it's always seemed to me a more challenging approach to use creations only situationally and strategically.

Heck, I never liked Shanti, anyhow.

Hmm... Kantre's Realm's to the north, haven't been there yet. I need to go back and clear the Ancient Crypt first.

Is there anybody here who prefers temporary creations over long-term pets?

Hmm... I don't have the information at hand to tell me otherwise, but I could've sworn they were called Rodhzirons, or Rotdzhirons, or something very similar. With three people attesting to my incorrectness, I guess I need to correct myself. I've never liked artilas. Admittedly I kept the one in G4 around for a while, since it didn't steal any essence from me, but it was a pain to defend. I was almost glad when Shaila finally took it from me.

So, aside from the likely fact that we all probably have our own ideas in regard to Dikiyoba's peculiar attachment to fyoras... am I to assume that Dikiyoba's fyora (and perhaps Gandalf's?) functions essentially as a kind of non-human Sancho Panza with teeth and combustible breath?

Hmm... so you want more than just background and history and relevant links like you'd get with the wiki page that remains hopelessly nascent, but also extensive info on common questions such as the mathematics used in the game, and what certain things and character traits and so forth 'mean', and so on? If so: I know that some of the people here have already compiled lists and analyses, and for each game there's also a Matt Pasek Walkthrough that I try not to refer to unless I find something strange or suspicious that I would like an immediate answer for, please right this minute, for each game. Also, on that note, I've noticed that no two beta-testers seem to agree on much of the more mysterious issues, mostly the mathematics, therefore any information on that subject would probably be questionable unless the numbers came from Jeff himself. In that area: these forums are more valuable because then people can discuss and argue and cross-examine. I don't know; I suppose it's an interesting idea, I'm just not certain of the great need for it. Then again... a little more organization in this area might be nice.

Damn, I already had a baton so it wouldn't let me take the one from the West Workshop, oh well. Why is the game so particular about what it calls identical batons and then won't let me take both? Seems a little silly.... As for the crystals: already been done. Turning them off was first priority once I saw them, and then the cold immediately lifted as I'd expected and hoped. The servant mind was quite relieved about this. However... all is still red. Not that I'll really lose any sleep over that... the doors in the Icewalls were what I really wanted, but I suppose I can get along without killing a couple of itchy Sholai. ...unless they're protecting something valuable and useful... then I'll be upset.

Plus the fyora's stats eventually max out so it won't be getting any stronger. It won't be able to compete against higher-level foes later in the game.

I thought demons were just dead humans who live in Hell but then wander back onto Earth once in a while to annoy people and perhaps make a few more dead residents. When they're 'killed' they just rematerialize in Hell. Thus the armies of Hell never shrink but only grow. One would think at some point the government of Heaven would become a little less picky with their immigration policy, what with that huge Hell Army crouched impatiently just below them. ...Either that or the Heaven God should stop making people who end up going to Hell.

So, um... how do I open those stubborn doors in the Icewalls area? They refuse to recognize my presence and nothing will persuade them. Also, the West Workshop won't clear despite all my clearing efforts. Not that that really matters since it's not a through-way, but I like to make red turn to green whenever possible. I thought maybe the game has a killing quota for the area, so I wasted some time wandering around looking for more cryodrayks to kill... fruitlessly... it looks like I've found them all.

Annoyingly, there're a lot of those in A5.