Joseph Kerstein

Originally Posted By: Micawber Check your graphics card drivers: find the manufacturer's website and download the latest driver. That's the most likely cause. Edit: Today I have followed my own advice and would add this: don't just rely on your computer manufacturer to tell you about driver updates, go to the actual component manufacturer, it can be a LOT more up to date. Negative. I have the most up-to-date drivers already installed. Exile III is an old game, and I've had this problem before on this specific computer exclusively with this one particular game - no others, nor on any other computer. Any other suggestions? I really love the game, and I can play it for a while before it blue screens. For now I'll put up with it, but I'd prefer to be blue screen free.

Hello people. Once again, I come to your forums a desperate man. I recently fired up Exile III and have encountered a blue screen of death. I am running Exile III on an Intel Gateway using Windows XP pro. Shortly into the game doing any particular thing I get a BSOD. Here is the stop error message... 0x000000D1 (0x00000004, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0x85cd83dc) Does anyone have any clue how to fix this...? Feel free to ask any questions that seem relevant to solving this issue, because I'd LOVE to get back to this game...

Originally Posted By: The Mystic If you haven't already, try running in compatibility mode for Win95 or 98. You may also want to try some kind of emulation/virtualization software like DosBox or VirtualBox. Surprisingly, I've never had any kind of trouble running the Exile trilogy in WinXP. Neither have I, except on this specific computer. The problems so far have been rather random both in frequency as well as the type of crash whether it be a crash to the desktop or a complete blue screen. So far, however, they've been fairly rare. *shrugs*

Originally Posted By: Celtic Minstrel I suppose an "Undead" trait could be added, but I think it's more likely that "playing as undead" would be limited to joined NPCs (or maybe prefab parties). EDIT: Oh wait; "Undead" is a species already, so if the ability to play as undead were added it would be as a race. (Currently monsters and players have different races available to them, but there are plans to merge them.) Neat. What advantages do the "monster" races get, and what races are there available to the "monster" NPC players? (I think that's what you mean, though I could be wrong.)

Originally Posted By: The Mystic Originally Posted By: Joseph Kerstein Last year or so I had an issue where Exile III often caused my computer to blue screen. ... Anyhow, I believe I'm having that issue again (since I recently had my computer reformatted) so if it's a somewhat common issue, I'd appreciate any help in the matter. What's your operating system? XP pro. It's a pre-built Gateway 506gr I believe. I had this problem once before and was able to fix it, and curiously enough the problem has yet to reoccur since that last time yesterday. The blue screen of death topic is nowhere to be seen, and it was never moved. I don't even remember where it was originally post in, but I can find no traces of it anywhere no matter what my search terms.

Originally Posted By: Thaluikhain Originally Posted By: Joseph Kerstein I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled. I'd be interested in a scenario like that. Wonder how the story would pan out, though? One idea was that you were some kind of wight of a long conquered land, who'd awakened because the foreign invaders had become morally corrupt, or somesuch, and you'd spend the scenario searching out other groups that wanted to overthrow them to ally yourself with. WAsn't really sure how to bring the "being lond dead" bit across, other than forever mentioning that town X used to be smaller and unimportant, forest Y seemed much smaller last time you saw it and that kids today have no respect. Interesting. Yeah, that, or you're an evil undead dude who wants to rule, or perhaps a more "vengeance" oriented story where you and your party are the undead/souls of betrayed adventurers who were left to die by some powerful man. Your bodies (those of you with bodies left) are reanimated as zombies/skeletons, and the others are specters/spirits. Could have undead vs. undead battles and it'd make sense too, since your party is not evil, but out to right a wrong so you can then rest in peace... Just shooting ideas out there.

Originally Posted By: Thaluikhain I tried creating a scenario where you are an undead thing at least once, but I'm not good at sticking to a scenario for more than 30 minutes, so it never got made. One idea I had was to use the timer to keep track of what fraction of the day it was, hopefully to have day and night versions of towns, and every so often you'd gain or lose spell points depending on the time to represent being weaker during the day and more powerful at night. Mid semester holidays are coming up, maybe I might get something going then. I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled. I'd be interested in a scenario like that. Wonder how the story would pan out, though?

Originally Posted By: Thaluikhain Originally Posted By: Joseph Kerstein So while I was trying to rescue all of the Exile soldiers in the Hill Giants' caves, one of the people I found was killed by a giant. Now I don't know if I've found EVERY last thing possible to return to the commander in Lorelei, or every single prisoner, but did I screw up letting the other prisoner die? Will I not be able to continue with that one prisoner dead? You'll be ok, there's just a bunch of things to find, and you get X amount of gold for each, you don't need to do it. How did the person die, BTW, I thought they were placed to avoid that. I'd go into each room to see if there was anything special that would happen, and then leave them be until I found the secret exit. Apparently, one of the randomly spawned giants was able to go to the door now that it was unlocked, searched the room and killed the person with one rock throw. Their placement is actually JUST enough for giants to go downward (since they're two spaces tall, not long) and then interact with the door to open it. Since the rooms are no bigger than two spaces max, they can easily see in and lob a boulder at the poor defenseless prisoners.

Personally, I'd love it if there was an Exile game where you were the undead. Not the mindless, "rawr, I will keelz u an eet yor braans" kind, but have like spectres and vampires, and other things. Naturally, a zombie warrior or whoever would have low intelligence (at least until you gave him/her more) but they would be a strong fighter. I don't know, but I'd find it to be quite fun. Until then, the best I can do is use the editor and swap out the PC graphics with others I find online of undead/spirits and goof around aimlessly. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Is there already one made and out? If so, I'll definitely give it a look. Thanks in advance for any comments or questions.

Thanks, Mystic. Slightly off-topic question. Last year or so I had an issue where Exile III often caused my computer to blue screen. I recall joining this site to try and figure out the problem, and ended up discovering what it was but have since lost that thread including who I was. For all I know my account was deleted due to being inactive. Anyhow, I believe I'm having that issue again (since I recently had my computer reformatted) so if it's a somewhat common issue, I'd appreciate any help in the matter. Thanks again.

So while I was trying to rescue all of the Exile soldiers in the Hill Giants' caves, one of the people I found was killed by a giant. Now I don't know if I've found EVERY last thing possible to return to the commander in Lorelei, or every single prisoner, but did I screw up letting the other prisoner die? Will I not be able to continue with that one prisoner dead?

Well I've long since past that point of the game. I've slain the roaches, completed the little quest that the Troglo King wanted me to tend to, and am currently in the Giants' lair trying to free the Empire soldiers and recover their belongings. My team is super strong. And I've never bothered with alchemy myself, and it only takes 2 or 3 trips tops to get so much gold I don't need to bother with it until much much later. I also prefer not to use the editor unless I make a VERY big error, and losing my horses really isn't that bad compared to other, far more game breaking mistakes. I'd also prefer no spoilers for this game, but thank you for the suggestions at least. My next playthrough will probably be a solo warrior, or a duo perhaps. Something far smaller and more manageable. That "dual wielding" from what I recall was rather useful for "buzzsawing" through enemies.

Nah, I don't mess with lockpicks in the least. I'd sooner just have Guts smash through a door than that, and even then the "unlock" spell is a thousand times more efficient. I just like the greatsword, but it's true the pole weapons do more damage. I'm probably going to do another playthrough with a different team set-up. Perhaps all Sliths, or something. After I complete this round of course. And it's very true that mages, and magic users in general can be solid fighters if built right. They can do as good amount of damage as anyone else, they can bless and/or haste the entire team, and have all sorts of other offensive/defensive spells ready to be cast at the drop of a hat. I definitely am rethinking my plans for my warrior characters, though. I've defeated the slime monster, defeated the roaches, killed Elioch or however you spell his name -- the khazi the King Troglo wants you to kill -- and enacted revenge upon that Vampire spirit that occasionally would curse my entire party with disease and dumbfoundness. For the longest, I was unable to go into his inner lair and finish him off because of the lack of a "dispel barrier" spell. It was annoying occasionally having to blow a LOT of spell points to remove the disease from everyone, and then the dumbfounding that was on my 3 magic users. (I didn't bother removing it from my warriors since to my knowledge it only affects magical knowledge.) Guts is now about level 24-25, and the others aren't too far behind. Ordune and Aizen are both doing pretty good as back-up warriors, ofttimes watching the flank and protecting Serina (whom by the way has shaped up into an excellent mage). We've got all sorts of spells at our disposal, too. Anti-magic clouds (which came in handy against that khazi boss fight, since he was immuned to magic and would often cast his own spells to render my warriors ineffective) all of the "barrier" spells, "bless party" and "major haste". While I don't summon creatures often to kill the enemy, I do like to have some back-up in case I come across a particularly nasty foe I didn't mean to come across, and would find defeating on my own to be highly difficult. Otherwise, I use them to either just goof around or to run interference. I typically line my 3 main warriors up in front of my spell casters, some distance ahead of them, position Serina behind Ordune and Aizen (or in front if we're being flanked) and before her last action point is spent, I cast "major haste" to haste everyone, have Aizen bless the entire party, and then as a follow-up I can have Ordune either cast bless party as well to up it, or if the enemy is close by and in a large enough number, I'll simply do a "curse all" spell to really turn the tide in my favor. Often find that my entire team can slaughter oodles of opponents in moments, especially when a cast a fire storm attack on 'em. *evil chuckle* Oh, I lost my horsies when I set the filth factory ablaze. =( I knew I shoulda left them outside. Oh well. I've got oodles of gold thanks to that fairly cushy job as a courier between Squiggus and Libras, and a bunch of manna spells fix my party up with some food in a jiffy.

Defeated the alien slime! Been slaughtering most of the random monsters I come across now. More or less are just an annoyance more than anything now.

Again... I've played and beaten this section of the game multiple times before, and once beat the roaches' quest, but the last time I tried to play the whole thing some things in life came up and I got burnt out. Recently, I started a new game and made a six member party (using the "don't delete and create new people, instead, edit the current members" trick) and so far I've done fairly well. Last time I played the game I discovered that courier or whatever job where you go back and forth from Libras and Squiggus buying and selling the goods, clothing, and herbs. After a couple of trips I got myself a nice stash of gold, although my run-ins with the undead heading to and from Squiggus were... bothersome. Overall this playthrough is probably by far the best. My characters are named after various comic book/game/role play characters. Guts: My lead tank. He's currently got a greatsword and lots of armor on, also has about 117ish health. He's the highest leveled character at 12. Probably will continue to build him up, then perhaps add some form of ranged attack or something... Don't know just yet. Dias Flac: A solid fighter with assassination, cave lore, woodsman, and some other trait I've forgotten. I'll probably give him some form of spell casting later, but only until I'm sold on his fighting skills. Lightning: She's a good fighter and my sole thief. I might give her the ability to self-bless and/or self-haste, among other spells. Either that, or I'll give her the ability to throw 'missiles' with high accuracy for an added offensive tactic. Not too sure yet. Serina Bolter: My primary mage. I think she's at the max, if not very close to max intelligence. She's not a melee fighter in the least, has the lowest health points and a weak constitution, but is a strong spell caster. I'm going to see about giving her a secondary job, but for now I'm going to let her continue to grow as a mage first. She's the only other character to be at double digits at level 10. She can also cast "simulacrum". Aizen Sousuke: At first a priest, and is now growing into a fighting priest who can self-bless to up his steadily growing swordsmanship. So far a solid character. Ordune Krystal: My mage/priest mix, has the most spell points out of my 3 spellcasters, and is growing into a sword fighter as well who can self-bless AND haste. He's also the one who can cast "capture soul" and "simulacrum". Overall, I want Dias and Lightning to gain some minor/medium spellcasting later on, and to help protect Serina my other two spellcasters can be in front of her and defend not only with their own spells, but with their swords as well. Like I said, I'm just outside the entrance to the slime cave and confident in my team's ability to crush splat the opposition. If anyone's got any suggestions for my party, or comments, please feel free to speak up. =)