Painted Lady

Jeff hasn't said anything official yet about when what version is coming out. However what is pretty certain is that the iPad version will follow the Mac and Windows versions by a couple of months. The reason for the delay is that he has to port the Mac version to IOS, then put the game through another beta.

I've started worrying a little bit about Jeff lately. The home page says he is hoping for Avernum 2 screenshots before summer. Well, it's mid-July and nothing has happened. I hope he's busy either having some fun time off or is busy working on Avernum 2. Has anyone had any contact with him?

Thanks for the heads up re: mental magic. I need to think about this build a little, but it might be a fun change of pace. Won't be able to start for a couple of weeks, but will post if anything worth talking about happens.

I'm thinking about trying to do a G4 run through as a pacifist. The "helpful hints" say that while it is difficult, it can be done.

It's obvious that I will have to skip a lot of side quests like putting the malformed Drake out of his misery, etc. That means I won't level up as quickly as I would otherwise.

I figure I will have to rely on Mechanics, Leadership and Daze to get through. My basic question is about the degree of difficulty. Should I play on Normal, or are Hard (or even Torment) possibilities?

Has anyone figured out how to take out the turrets in the deep cells? I'm doing the second Chabon quest, and those things are refusing to go gracefully. I handled them with no trouble on my first playthrough (on Hard). But on Torment I can't get close enough to do damage to them without taking hits myself.

I finished the quest by avoiding them, but would love to go back and deal them some misery.

There is a rumor that the iPad beta is about to begin.

Nethergate has hunger if I remember correctly.

The iPad version of Avadon 2 has not started Beta yet. Since he has said he wants it out in early 2014, it would probably be safe to assume he is involved in that project right now.

First, regarding playing on the iPad. While the hidden switches are not easy to find, they are not impossible (with one exception) if you have an iPad with the retina display. If your iPad is not a 3 or higher, those switches are going to be pretty tough to spot. The exception I mentioned earlier is a switch that is probably hard to spot on any computer.

My experience with Avadon I was that I felt it was not so interesting on Normal because it was too easy. Hard was challenging after the first couple of chapters, and Torment got very tough at the end. If you want to go through the first time without leaning on the forums, Hard will probably be okay. Let us know what you think of the final battle!

You are so early in the game that starting over will be far easier than messing around with cheat codes......

It took me about 4 tries to finally get into Nethergate because it just felt so dated. However, once I decided that I simply had to do it, I let the story line take over and thoroughly enjoyed it. After the first hour or so the primitive engine wasn't especially noticeable. It is so different from any other RPG I've ever played, and it is very, very well written.

My first RPG was Eschalon, Book I. I absolutely fell in love with that game and the whole turn-based concept. After a while I joined the Basilisk forum and while there saw many references to Spiderweb. I started with Avernum 6, and have played pretty much all of the games since.

Jeff did an AMA several weeks ago, and the subject of music came up. He said that he was a terrible sound engineer, so adding music would require paying someone to do that job. Don't know that he feels it is worth adding significant cost to the game development.

IPad will come soon.

I am not aware of a call having gone out for iPad testers yet. Jeff may be waiting for Mac and Windows releases before he starts the iPad test.....

Even today the final version doesn't exist.

How close do you think the game is to being complete?

The full game hasn't been released for testing. I have probably tested solo torment characters more than anyone else.

So, do you think you will be able to do a complete playthrough as a solo on torment, or is it too soon to tell?

Dexterity stil doesn't help versus boss monsters and those that attack with cold, poison, and acid. So Endurance is almost as important.

 

Jeff worked very hard to make it almost impossible to go through the whole game on torment difficulty with a solo character.

Were you able to do it?

How would you rate Geneforge 1-5 being as you completed them all.

Well, I have never played a Spiderweb game I didn't like, it's just that some appeal more than others. In Geneforge I pretty much always play as an Agent so I can go solo, which is my preference. I tried G3 on "Tricky" with a Melee styled Guardian, but it was pretty much impossible once I got deep into Harmony Island. Maybe I should give it a go using Ranged weapons.

I guess I feel G5 is the best of the series - it has phenomenal replay value.

I think the order of play can be important to people who are bothered by spoilers (like me).

.... so I changed my mind and I'm heading towards Geneforge. Only 20 minutes in and I love it! The interface isn't that bad, not as good as AVadon, not as bad as Nethergate.

Geneforge 1 - 3 use the same engine. It is upgraded for 4 and 5. I'm currently doing a replay of G3 - it's one of my personal favorites (although others may disagree). I think most of us feel G5 is one of Jeff's finest efforts. So, you have lots and lots of fun awaiting you.

If I remember correctly, Patrick doesn't actually give you the password. You can find it in his quarters. Have you cured his wife yet?

I wasn't aware that Jeff is planning on re-doing Nethergate. I'm actually doing a Geneforge rerun right now. My Mac is three years old, so I will probably have problems with most of the older games when I replace it.

The game runs great on the iPad III. Of course, having the retina display helps.

This is one time when the retina display really helps.

If you play on defeating Redbeard, you probably should, unless you're after the challenge.

Defeating Redbeard is enough of a challenge even with all of your buddies helping.