Tycho Maudd

From what has been said by Jeff, the 64-bit version work up to 8.2, but something in the 8.3 update broke it. His reason for why the old ones still work is because the 32-bit APIs were frozen and not updated. Jeff has also stated that he does not have the time or incentive to redo the engine to make it work.

I'd just like to point out that the early MacOS had some nasty "features" too, but even back then Apple dropped support to fix them (anyone remember "32-bit clean"?)

The version of windows that stops supporting 32-bit, if it comes anytime soon will be the version no corporation will buy. Jeff has it right that windows is so popular with business because of backwards compatibility. Up until last year, nearly every ATM in the U.S. Was still using XP. Where I work we still run some software (used to control equipment) made over 20 years ago that runs just fine under windows 7 still. If we look at Apple and the Mac over that time we've had 68k to PPC (nearly seemless) Classic to OSX (terrible when it first came out) then PPC to Intel (reasonable until 10.7) There is no reasonable way to run old software Apple software in any actually productive way. I personally got sick of all the upheavals with the drop of PPC, figuring that if I have to get x86, to get something that doesn't drop all support of everything developed every so often.

So we finally got a reason for why the old Apps still work and the new ones don't. Things like this make me glad I switched my computers away from Apple (For me it was first the switch to OSX making everything I had obsolete, then once I got everything settled in, PPC was ousted). Almost makes me regret going for iOS on my mobile devices if Apple is going to keep doing this every few years. This is one thing that Microsoft did get right: backwards compatablility. Other than 16-bit programs not working on 64-bit OSes (even then, DOSbox or VMware takes care of that), I've been able to get every old game I've wanted to play to work under Windows7 with a few tweaks.

I think it's better since characters aren't one trick ponies, and there's no single strongest build or party to use, resulting in more experimentation and diversity in parties and character builds. The higher level plus knowledge potions mean that there are variable numbers of skill points so that a fixed build really doesn't mean anything. I'll still go back to A1-3 to try something new every once in awhile. While after only two games of A:EftP, I feel like I've played everything there is to try.

I simply liked having my mage/priests double as backup archers. Sure they didn't do tons of damage, but they could conserve mana for big fights without being useless against weaker ones. Plus the lack of perquisites for skills meant more open builds.

So I throughly enjoyed rimelands, but beat it already. I have to recommend it for anyone to try, but I need something more!

Unless you're specifically looking for one games (which you could google search to find out if it's available), the App Store isn't any good for browsing. All it seems to show is free to play or ad supported casual apps. I've never found anything good worth playing browsing the App Store, I always have either ended up on review sites or asking people about games (hence this thread).

I try to find out all I can to try to build a "perfect" party or character. I find a lot of fun in crunching numbers, testing builds and fiddling with equations to maximize effects. I like the fact that a lot of games said web have a character editor or respeC options to allow me to do so. Plus extra replay options to run through with several different builds. I end up knowing far too much about the games, and sometimes have spent more time designing and testing than actually playing, especially after I've beaten a game once (I've beaten both Baldurs gate games on the first character I made, then have played dozens partly through ending up wanting to try a new different character before Im done) I've gotten hung up on games before where I can't find a way to maximize builds, especially if there is a lack of good story to give me inspiration to carry on. Or if there are too many options. The he other thing I do are side quests before advancing the main quest. I'm interested in seeing everything in a game, because who knows when an easy simple easily overlooked quest is a key to getting some item power or skill that changes the game. Plus it allows you to be challenged by non-story related content, while letting you get more powerful so that when it comes to the main quest you can go through it without getting hung up and interrupted by something over your current difficulty level.

Just bought this, love it so far! Fits what I am looking for, I also tried looking into Banner saga, but I'm a sucker for magic abilities and it doesn't look like there's any in it. As for might and magic type games, I like the overall game play in the heroes of might and magic but I am not a fan of the battle system in them. And as for jrpgs, I got burned out on them awhile back, I had FFt for the Gameboy Advance and didn't like it. The only jrpg I've enjoyed recently were the golden sun games. If if you know of other games like rimelands, I'm all ears since the reviews say it's not a very long game, and I'm sure I'll need something after it. Edit: Wow, making a post on the iPad leads to all kinds of terrible typos.

http://spiderwebforums.ipbhost.com/index.php?/topic/15558-ive-made-lion-compatible-versions-of-the-avernum-trilogy/ That link should have instructions as to how to run avernum 3 on Intel macs. The PC version still works fine on Windows.

Jumping from Avernum 2 to Avernum 4 will spoil some of the story of Avernum 3. If you need to and can, I'd play the original Avernum 3 while you wait, that's what I did with Exile 3 while waiting for Avernum 3. That way you can jump to Avernum 4, 5 and 6 while you wait, then go back and play the remake.

I see the iPad as the perfect platform for these types of games. The touch interface for them is one of the best I've seen for games, it feels very natural and the fact that the interface is nearly unchanged from the PC/Mac version speaks volumes as to the mobile version being the perfect platform for them. The turn based nature also means they can be picked up and put down at will without worrying about losing any progress or interrupting the flow of the game with pausing. Right now I'm just hoping Apple fixes what ever caused Avernum 2 to stop working, although I do find it strange that Avernum still runs perfectly under 8.3. That fact makes it feel like it's more of a bug with Avernum 2 than with 8.3 (or a combination of a bug in both). I have a feeling that the decision to stop development has been a long time coming based on interviews, blog and twitter posts by Jeff, and that this bug is the straw that broke the camel's back. Which is a shame considering that development on Avernum 2 was complete up until the 8.3 update; it would have been nice to have one last treat before the whole platform was abandoned.

I have played both Baldur's Gate games and have been trying to play Icewind Dale but it feels like just a dungeon crawler and I'm looking for a story now, hence my disappointment hearing the news about Avernum 2 (I had just finished replaying Avernum as preparation too). I'll look into Shadowrun, I tried playing XCOM, I found the combat and overall game play fun, but it never really captured me. King of Dragon pass was a game I was looking into, but too wasn't sure on the game play of, but Alorael seems to be giving it a good thumbs up review, so I'll consider that as well. Hyena of Ice is right about mobile games, when I look for a game I want something fairly engrossing that I can enjoy for years to come. When I bust my laptop out I'll still play Diablo 2, Master of Orion 2, the older Spidweb games etc., but I find that with my new twin girls, my laptop just isn't feasible to use anymore. Most of the modern games that come out for iOS seem to be based on a consumption model, where either it's essentially pay-to-play 'freemium' or short casual games without depth that get boring and need to be replaced soon. The best mobile games I've seen outside of Spidweb's are Sid Meier's although those fill a completely different niche. Since I mentioned Master of Orion, has anyone recently played Starbase Orion? I tried the first contact "demo" version a long time ago and found it to be painfully slow, but I've heard that it's been greatly updated since then. Does anyone know how well it plays now? I know it's a completely different genre from what I posted looking for, but every once in awhile I get the itch for a good 4x game.

So now that Avernum 2 and future Spidweb games won't be made for iOS, I need something to play on my iPad. These games were some of the few that I've liked. I was wondering if anyone could give me any leads to new games that are similar to spidweb's? They need to be turn based, and the most recent non-spidweb game I enjoyed was Eschalon, but unfortunately the sequels aren't made for iOS. It seems like almost all games are jrpgs or tactical games and those just aren't my style. Anyone have any advice for a fan going through Avernum withdrawl?

Well this is the worse news I've heard in a long time. I've been waiting for this release as nearly everything I do is on the iPad these days and it's sorely lacking in the games I like to play. Spidweb was really the only developer that I've been looking forward to each release and now there'll be no more? This is a very sad day indeed.

I think that's the most sadistic reason for the "lack" of money in the newer Avernums I've heard.

Maybe, but the whole point of the skill is to save/make gold, so wasting it training it higher than needed kinda defeats the purpose.

For the primary stats, I usually have enough str to max out carry weight, enough dex to always go first, and endurance when I can spare it to increase health, usually later in the game since it has a bigger impact then. As for intelligence there's only one place I remember there being a check against intelligence and I forget what it needs to be to pass it, but other then that one case I never like to put points into it. For the combat skills, polearm is the most damaging until you hit the cap, plus a slith gets innate bonus to it, so that's normally my melee weapon a choice, a secondary fighter will then get a sword. These skills are primarily for hitting things so whenever you find yourself missing too much put more points in. For ranged weapon, javalins are too heavy to really be of use and razordisks are fairly rare until the end game so I skill that. Bows on the other hand have plentiful ammo, and a nephil can do good damage with them as backup weapons when magic starts to run low or you can't get into melee as a fighter. I actually like archery enough I've made a 4 nephil party to snipe people before they get close, it's actually pretty powerful since you can focus fire from range and don't use any mana. I wouldn't recommend it without pairing it with magic or melee though since it lacks a punch up close when you really need to take someone down, or when facing large groups. Hardiness I only get enough of to not have an armor penalty, defense gets a few points when I have spare I want to spend, but I don't really see too much benefit from having a lot of it. Assassination is a must for melee fighters, I try to have enough to assassinate on a majority of hits. That gets easier as you gain more levels so I usually invest into it early on, then leave it be later. Mage/Priest... get these to 18 on a caster. For a fighter I like to have at least 1 in each, up to 3 mage for priest spells, and either up to 6 or 8 (or is it 9?) priest at the most to get mass heal/cure or unshackle mind. Those spells can be very useful to have a second caster for if you only have one priest. Arcane lore is only really needed to learn spells, spread it out around the party with spare points is usually enough. Potion making, it's useful if you use potions or for knowledge potions, get enough to make them if so, or just skip it, I've never had a problem not getting any points in it. Cave lore is the same as arcane lore, get enough to find caches, spread out among party members when it's cheap. Tool use only gets points when I encounter a trap/door I can't disarm/open, only one person gets it. First aid is useless. Luck is an interesting skill, tons of luck will make you hit for closer to max damage, take closer to min damage, and prevent you from dieing. A character with super high luck is nearly invincible. However it needs to be very high to see those effects which prohibits you from getting extra skills. Splurge on it if you get lots of knowledge brews, but don't skip over other needed skills to get it. I also try to have at least 1 point of it with every character early on. As for special skills: Magery/Resistance cannot be trained in, so don't worry too much about it, try to give each primary caster 5 points of magery (bought from Erika I think?) any more you can get is gravy. Anatomy/Blademaster, these are expensive skills but worth it until you hit the damage cap. Try to find trainers to get 5 points in each for fighers, and spend more if you're still not at the damage cap. Anatomy does work with archery but not as effectively as it does for melee. Gymnastics is amazing, get it, put points into it until things can't hit you and you always go first. Pathfinder can get by with just trainers so you can walk everywhere without needing to cast safe travel, more of a convenience than anything else. Points are totaled across the party so there's no need to spend skill points on it. Barter... I forgot what the magic number of points is across the party to get maximum selling/buying values, but get that number of points, I know I saw it somewhere online. I think you can get by with just training a few people in it, no need to spend skill points. Edit: I forgot Vahnatai Lore! Like barter there is a magic number of points that you need, I think it's 10 or just a little more. Purchase only as much as you need. If you can get find herbs, great if not, no big deal. Does exactly what it says, it's nice but not a game changer by any means. I think that covers all the skills (I am working solely from memory here so if I missed one or two let me know and I'll post my opinion on them. As for how you build your party, you can get through with almost any party you make, just adjust the difficulty if you have problems. I don't find too much need for a dedicated tank since you can't really force attacks onto a single character, he should probably be more of a melee damage dealer. I've found it's better to take more damage (which can be healed) and kill enemies than it is to sit there taking blows while you whittle them away. Plus, the more non-magic damage you have, the longer you can go without running out of mana and needing to stop and rest. I would also try for a few points into bow on the dedicated casters so they can do something without spending mana. I would also suggest that after you get 18 points into mage or priest for the respective characters, you start dumping points into the other one so that you have two mage/priests.

Ever since I've first used my thinkpad, I love using the trackpoint. For games, it works like a mini joystick, plus lets you keep both hands on the keyboard for additional controls.

It's my favorite topic of discussion! The last time I went through A3, I played a very magic heavy party: Slith: Polearms, tool use with a 3/1 mage/priest skill for a quick haste/war blessing/cure if needed. 3X Nephil: Mage/Priest maxed out, with a sprinkling of bow skill to deal damage without needing to spend mana. This turned out to be one of my most powerful playthroughs, the only problem ended up being keeping a supply of arrows and bolts for the nephil. Having three of them might be overkill, but I have come to appreciate a nephil priest/mage since the innate bow and dexterity bonus means they are always good archers and are almost always acting first. I've also noticed that when I have more than one melee fighter, the second seems to end up being out of reach or stuck behind in a hallway unable to attack. Since A3 has two very powerful polearms, one accessable right at the start even, and sliths get an innate bonus to them, I pick them over swords in this game. Since sliths get an innate bonus to them, elite warrior isn't needed and fast on feet can be taken instead, allowing for extra AP and once again, not having to worry about going last. Giving the warrior a few points of mage/priest skills means they'll be targeted by gazers and mung demons instead of my actual spell casters, saving them from being dumbfounded and drained of mana. He also gets tools use and potion making, I can afford to give him these since every other character can buff/heal, throw spells out or shoot bows for damage meaning the combat of effectiveness of the warrior isn't as crutial to party success. Since A3 does not have a level cap, every character takes sickness prone to maximize XP gain with minimal penalty since everyone has access to the cure spell.

For Avernum 1 (and only Avernum 1) I like to build my party with at least one front line fighter, specializing in swords, who also handles tool use. I also generally give him 1 priest level early on for buffing himself, and eventually 3 mage levels for casting haste. If I go for a second, I gimp some of his fighting skills to boost up priest skill instead of tool use. Then I make 2-3 mages, starting off with 8 points in mage spells so that they all start off with lightning spray (that spell alone can carry you through all of the starter areas). I also build up their priest spells so that they end up with both at 18 by the end of the game. I've also tried to give them some skill in bows so they aren't useless when they run out of SP, but for A1, it gets too costly to buy arrows, and unless buffed (using up SP that could be used for blasting) they just can't hit anything. For special traits, I just give fighters Elite Warror, and mages Natural Mage. I give both of them sickness prone to cancel out the experience penalty

Originally Posted By: Arch-Mage Solberg Here are the current results! I've been here for 10 1/2 years. Most of that time obviously lurking. Post #662 Beat you by over a month, with more lurking I might add.

I run MSE myself, but I will add that the people saying to use ABP and noscript are right. I would also go into the advanced settings under my computer properties and turn on data execute protection for all programs. It's protected me more than any anti-virus program has when downloading questionable items. It'll normally stop something from running before I get a notice that the item is infected.

Wow, I'm surprised at the age here! Nearly a quarter are 10+ years, makes me feel less special for having been here that long, at least I still remember the old forums. Edit: At least I have the oldest account of the people posting here, I've got something going for me.