Pemptus

I think the problem is that higher resolutions make the world so tiny that clickable items just wouldn't work with the engine, as sometimes it's hard to see stuff. So the "g" seems a necessary evil in the context of a 2D engine whose graphical assets are not easily scaleable to higher resolutions. Without "g," finding interactable items would be a tedious pixel hunt (although you can also press "tab" to see all the interactable areas on the map as well). So until Vogel decides he wants to completely rewrite the engine, it seems like it's here to stay.

You misunderstand. I like "g", it's neat. Clicking on the tiny items to pick them up would be busywork. It's just that pickable items blend with the floors, and it's very hard to see what can be picked up and what can't. All I'm asking is a simple highlighting feature (like the "look" key in the old Avernums, or - let's say - Baldur's Gate). There is "tab" for highlighting characters, and "u" for containers and doors. Why not something for the items?

Just played around with the Avernum 2: CS demo (Windows version). Much to my dismay, the interface remains pretty much totally unchanged since Escape From the Pit.

These problems have been voiced multiple times on various forums, many times, over the period of many years:

- Mouse wheel does nothing, and the sliders have to be operated by fervently clicking on the tiny, tiny arrows.

- The inventory button only opens it, not closes it. Good grief, still?

- No way to highlight items on the ground. With so much miscellaneous set dressing lying around and the fairly murky and low-contrast graphics, pressing "g" or "i" (and then escape, due to the aforementioned issue) every few steps can't be avoided if you want to be thorough.

- The right mouse button does nothing. I know, I know, the Macs. It didn't stop it from being put to good use in Avernum 3.

- The "tactical" combat not being very tactical due to lack of feedback. What is the range of the spell/projectile weapon? Will I be able to move into attack position before losing all my AP? Do I have to manually count the squares every single time?

Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of these.

The first Avernum 2 is one of my favorite games, and I would've even have paid full price for a proper remake. However, paying a developer that simply refuses to fix the most basic problems feels like rewarding mediocrity and complacency.

(Not saying I'll pirate it, I'll probably wait for it to be included in a bundle or something.)

Immersion!

The main problem I'm having with this incarnation of Avernum (among others, but less significant) is the general lack of contrast in the graphics. The objects sort of blend together and I have to squint. Most of the time the only way I can tell whether or not there's something on the ground is to hammer "g" every few steps, which gets old pretty fast.

Furthermore, the only way to find interactable objects (chests, dressers, fireplaces) is to mouse over them, with no "look" key of any kind. They don't stand out from the the decorations much, which leads to more eye strain.

Edit: this turned out to actually be a lie, the "u" key does this. However, the resulting letters are really, really tiny and eye strain remains, sadly.

Compare it to the graphics of Avernum 1-3, which were clear, crisp, colorful, and everything was recognisable on the spot.

Am I alone in this? Does it get better in time? Am I missing something? Is there a secret "unmuddy the graphics" option somewhere?

As it stands, prolonged sessions make my head hurt from all the squinting - something that doesn't happen with other games.

Oooh, an excellent question.

Money's supposedly tight in this incarnation of Avernum (which I love, I always had tons of cash in A 1-3), but is it so tight that stockpiling stuff and saving it until you get a certain trait gets worthwhile?

Sorry, car analogies don't work. This isn't a car, it's a game. Also, the defrost function is for defrosting. Bows aren't for hitting better with swords. Bad mechanics ahoy!

Well, unless the bow was magic or something, but it's not.

I love Avernum (1-3 anyway), I really do, but the lack of differentiating between melee and ranged accuracy in this version is pretty major, don't you think? It also speaks of a lack of care in design, which isn't encouraging.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'll probably still buy the game, I'm well aware of the price-funhours ratio. I whine because I care so damn much. <3

Needs more comparison screenshots.

But in general, yes yes and very much yes. Choice of ambiance and mood is good.

*Dusts off forum section* Hello? Anyone still here? Ahem.

My problem with a Celtic party - I just got uncursed and went to Vanarium to recruit an NPC. First disappointment - I can't move them from the 5th slot and back of the party? What? Second disappointment - Both of the NPCs have identical stats geared towards fighter types with minor differences (girl has faery lore, Roman guy has tool use). Whaaat?

Ok, no problem, I say, I'll just use the editor to turn 'em into a druid like I wanted. Oh... I can't modify the fifth character. Ugh. The whole recruitable NPC business was clearly an afterthought. But I intend to take advantage of it nonetheless.

Found this thread here http://www.spiderwebforums.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=25917#Post25917 that has an editor that works on the 5th character, but, of course, the link is broken.

I ask you then - is there a way to edit the fifth character?

The leveling of inactive characters is certainly convenient. I guess I'll create a shadowwalker then, due to the mentioned lockpicking woes. Plus he sounds kind of ninja, man, so that's always good.

So you can pretty much mix&match party members on the fly? Do they gain xp while in the "waiting room"? Or is it very disadvantageous to not stick to a particular party?

I'm not above cheating when it comes to getting past some arbitrary mechanics I don't agree with, but this sounds a mite excessive. For another playthrough, maybe. If that ever happens...

I'm in the "waiting for the Windows version" club atm, trying to prepare myself for party creation, and reading various minor technical spoilers as to not screw myself in some way. You know how it goes.

So, from what I've been reading here, party members in Avadon have concrete personalities this time around. I'll almost certainly will be willing to create a nice, tidy, balanced party, one from each class (well, minus one, so either a sorceress or a shaman, I suppose). The choice of the main character apparently matters dialogue-wise, am I right? Also, it reflects which NPCs I bring along, and I'm pretty sure some are much more interesting than others.

It's the Dragon Age (or most other dialogue-based rpg games too, I suppose) dilemma all over again - I want an effective and balanced party with a full array of skills, AND some interesting conversations.

I've read something about an adorably power-hungry teen mage somewhere, and I take it I'd be missing quite a bit if I don't bring her along, correct? It's things like that I'm concerned about.

Or should I just focus on creating a party that hits things pretty well, because dialogues don't play that big a part here? I'm undecided. What would you recommend to a guy who wants to see the most interesting things on his first playthrough?

Hi, my name is Pemptus and I hate missing stuff in games. I also like to explore a lot.

There's been some disturbing talk about not being able to complete quests from the job board if you get to an area / kill things before getting the quests for them. Is this true? Is there a list of such quests? Should I worry about it much or explore to my heart content without desperately searching for a new job board every 100 tiles or so and running from fights in fear of botching a later quest? Does it apply to any other quests, apart from the job boards?

I'm sure you know what I mean and where this silly fear of mine comes from. Things like this keep me from enjoying an otherwise fantastic game. Kind of like the time passage in Avernum 3, hated that mechanic.

Halp?