Cala

Hey Crew, I've picked up all 5 Geneforge games awhile back, and have been having great fun playing them in chronological order. Just started G3 today, and there are a few things that bug me. I'm probably missing something obvious, but after a couple hours it's pretty clear I need someone to point this out for me. 1) How can I see my abilities screen? I'm not thinking of my skill screen, but the one that lists my spells, healing, and shaping abilities. I've looked everywhere, and I just can't find it! 2) There has got to be a better way to pick up objects! Clicking and dragging things into my inventory really sucks! I've been hitting the assigned letter for objects to have it auto placed in my inventory, which isn't terrible, except I keep accidentally picking up jars and bones when I hit the wrong key. With one hand almost always on the mouse, it's way easier to just click them. I've tried shift click and option click, etc, but no luck. Anddd I think that's it? Or, while I'm here, should I be dodging canisters containing skills that I have not yet trained with a trainer? I recall in G2 that using a canister would keep you from being able to train a level. And what's the deal with putting skill points in trainer-able skills?

Great, thank you!

I'm a bit confused about these, would someone please clarify? If these are the 'level 3' book locations, what happens if I read them early game, before I've gained the first 2 levels elsewhere? Or will I be able to buy level 3 if I've found and used the book for level 1 or 2?

Ahh, did not even notice what those were for. Thanks!

Is there a sneaky way to get to the center without needing the ability to dispell barriers?

I am playing on normal, which is actually a big step for me, who prefers very causal gameplay and fun stories. I've died. A lot. Lots and lots. Still, the game play is so open-ended that I have not yet completely failed some boss fight without having somewhere else to go and get stronger at. I feel that it should be mentioned, for the sake of everyone who thinks the game is too difficult, how fantastic the auto-save is. I've never lost more than 5 minutes of gameplay because I failed to manually save before opening the wrong door in some dungeon. And honestly, maybe some of us just need better strategy. I keep forgetting things like melee specials, and potions, and am always trying to lure critters away to thin out the big groups together. Sometimes I get slaughtered in a fight, and then win the same easily about 10 minutes later, just with better strategy. Anyway, having a fantastic time. The to-hit percentage IS definitely what's killing my success sometimes, especially on my tank (who dual-wields - I am probably an idiot), but I take that sort of fail as an indication that I'm in too deep with too low of a level. Wow, didn't mean to get so long winded! Bottom line: for a lazy gamer who still wants a challenge, normal difficulty is perfect, with the option to swap to casual if I get horribly stuck. I think it's harder than Avadon was, but not too hard at all.

I've been doing similar... getting my butt kicked on one mission, so just wandering off to do another... there's just so much do to, I've never played such a non-linear game. I've been in the Nephar fort 3 times now, levelling between each, and still have things to do there. Even just wander around a little - there are all kinds of random things to find that are unrelated to city quests. A little stuck now though, but I haven't been to Mertis so I'll give that a shot. ^^

I find I'm dying fairly frequently while creeping about in enemy areas, like when I open a door and the room is packed and has a 'boss' in it. Though I save a lot, the frequent autosave is an absolute godsend. Brilliant idea!

Originally Posted By: madrigan I suppose this is funny, but I always make a point of closing doors in games. It just seems like what someone would do when they leave a shop or whatever. I will feel rude through this new game. I feel the same way!

Seems pretty cool so far. I had to take a break and register after only an hour or so because I wanted to Click to reveal.. go in the boats! Haha At any rate, having only finished Avadon and started on Geneforge 1, there's a few things that stuck out at me. The first is how NPCs do not seem to move if you do not, even when out of combat mode. Certainly different than what I'm used to, and I found it a bit odd pacing back and forth so Owen Wilson's twin brother, Andrew (Seriously just look at his picture! I did a double-take), could approach to greet me, like the dialogue said. Not sure how I feel about this, as I kind of liked how you could be attacked while sitting around out of combat mode in the other games, if in an uncleared area. Certainly kept me on the edge in Geneforge, and I liked how the patrols in Dhorl's Stead worked in Avadon. Secondly I think there may be an error with the junk bag... pretty sure I tried to put a stack of 2 iron bars or something in it, and only had one after doing so. Haven't had a stack of items since, so looking to see if anyone else has noticed. I think I'll have to play more to form an opinion on the new way of navigating between cities. Well, that's about all I've got right now, hope everyone else is having as much fun exploring as I am!

Well, there goes my productivity for the next week!

Ahh that makes sense! Yes, I did open a nearby door and I did find a box containing recently burnt information(with nevertheless a scrap remaining). I see how that switch could be a back up for those who ran out of lockpicks, but it is quite anticlimatic and nonsensical for those of us who found by lockpicking!

Finally finished the game, was really impressed at how some of the loose ends were tied up at the end. Click to reveal.. Shadow Tarkus for one, probably should have guessed but didn't. Also everything sort of fell into place when I realized Miranda had been setting it up; I'd wondered how many other hands were as messed up as my friends. Loved it! Yet, one thing was driving me just a little bit crazy. When chatting with Gryfyn before escaping his castle, he did a sort of nervous glance to the NW corner of his room upon mentioning Click to reveal.. his Tawon employers. After the conversation, I strut over there and discover a switch, which appears to open up a little alcove in the previous room. Inside that tiny space is a single blue box. Sure this will be full of enlightening information, I open it... and discover only that it is empty. What?? That seemed rather anti-climatic since this was referred to in the dialogue, after all. Did anyone get anything else from that?

There should forsurely be an Easter egg involving a wretch namd Gollum somewheres. Also, the eye stationed up in Vebreaux gave me a scarab as a reward, and her comment on the matter was something along the lines of the side effects of the scarab becoming too much for her as she grew older. Maybe this is/will be sort of like the canisters in Geneforge

Originally Posted By: FnordCola @Cala: just played through that section again on the current playthrough. Was also quite entertained. Perhaps he takes after Robert "His name is Robert Paulsen!" Paulsen from Fight Club? Ahahahaha, that is my favorite movie of all time! Perhaps he does... *shudder* Not counting the 'women' being described as 'he' in the dialogue, I'm also really enjoying the use of strong women in this game, being female myself. I also think the toughest looking character type is female - the one used by Hand Callan and the Monitor from Goldcrag. As long as they're not wearing chain-mail bikinis, I think strong women in fantasty are fantastic.

Other topics seem to suggest that the end-game sneaks up on you, while this one says it's very obvious when you hit the "point of no return". Maybe this is something that is a bit more objective?

Originally Posted By: Tcheedchee There is quite a lot of Gender confusion going on in Avadon. For instance, the group of warriors, that is going to help you take the Giant Keep is male in name and speech, but his looks are obviously female… You're right - in fact, I've noticed that nearly every single commander of a less significant group has a female image, regardless of gender. The funniest one was in Jenell's sidequest, where the leader of the group in the barracks was described as a huge, hulking man, but looked female.

So, basically... Shapers in this world would be best suited to becoming Hollywood special effects artists! They'd look good on a red carpet.

I really enjoyed reading your opinions! It's nice to know there's a few kindred spirits around; I was starting to feel lonely with my silly whims and lack of rpg knowledge! I also play on casual because, while I enjoy the battles, the main interest for me is the story and fun moral choices we get to make. I wondered if anyone else was crazy enough to stick to a character personality to the point where they might end up too weak from not always taking the valuable options. May have taken it a little far though. I thought Jenell seemed useful and interesting, but my stuck-up sorceress decided she would rather travel with her own personal harem (poor Shima and Sev). Not done with the game yet, though, so we'll see! (For the record, I had to look up min-maxer ) Edit: Forgot to say, I also failed at Eschelon for the same reasons as you, hahaha.

I missed the Hitchiker's reference on that, but I still think "don't forget to bring a towel!" and giggle whenever I see one anyway. (south park ref, by the way)

Originally Posted By: jlsgaladriel I'm not sure if this rises to the level of a dialogue "bug," but it's a bit odd: After doing the "Goldcrag Reptiles" quest for Elder Okan, even if one works for free, when the PC asks if Okan needs more help he replies, "We do, but we have not saved up more money." I can see that being a function of ensuring you don't get a difficult quest too early in the game... but you're right, it doesn't really make sense.

I just had a lovely chat and some tea with Watcher Zaren. Pretty sure (s)he's a least a DD, but seems to prefer masucline pronouns. Quite a character, though. (By this I mean, Zaren's portrait is female, but is treated as male by the writing)

Originally Posted By: jlsgaladriel Actually, I think it's pretty good on this. I've killed named beasties like skulltaker and only later bumped into the quest giver, who's been willing to give me the quest and reward me after the fact. Ah, I'm glad to hear that!

I'm glad to be of help and glad to see this topic has brought other issues to light as well. The characters in Avadon are so detailed and interesting that I hate to see interactions thrown off by weird little inconsistencies. I'll continue to keep an eye out! Maybe this topic can be kept alive as a location for reporting this sort of thing.

Sorry if this has been caught already! Also, I couldn't find a 'bug' forum, and tech support didn't seem right, so apologies if I'm posting this in the wrong place! I refused Elder Okan's request for exterminating rats in that cave (his first mission), and Nathalie expressed her disappointment. The problem with this was, my party was Shima and Sev. Not sure how she managed that one!