Gerry Quinn

Realistically, if you are raiding a bandit fort they will set extra guards and watch out for you and the tactics you use, so it should be harder next time if you attack them and do minor damage. But the dopamine hit is a player-centric thing. Most people do like to be 'paid' for their efforts in a game, and modern game designs only encourage this attitude.

For me it's the annoyance of having to remember where everybody is. I think I would actually like the game to record everyone I met in a town, and give me a menu option of "Visit Joe (Captain of the Guards)", "Visit Sam (Armour Shop)" etc. The game would then auto-zoom me to that person. Not very atmospheric... but darned convenient, I'd say!

It's not an RPG if there are no giant rats.

I tend to play on Hard, making character choices that are reasonable but hardly optimised, but not taking on the real impossible tasks like killing dragons you don't have to. I find SW games usually work well for me in this mode.

It depends where Jeff is going with the story, but here's a possible scenario for Avadon 2: It's five years after the events of Avadon, Redbeard is dead and his assassin (whoever it was) did not last long, no character from Avadon is in the story, the Empire waxes stronger but is not yet capable of attacking the Pact.. but the Pact is disintegrating, and rebels make much of the brutality of rule by Avadon. You're a conservative in a land of progressives, standing for the Pact because you believe the alternatives are worse, and knowing that those who oppose it are ultimately dupes of forces who wish to impose a far more brutal rule...

It's a fair enough demo IMO except I think it might leave an experienced player thinking the game will be too easy. Not that it's hard, but it ramps up and so the demo is pretty much a stroll in the park to a practiced player. Except I think for one place you're obviously too early for.

Just a tip: to see spells you have found rather than bought, look at the skills of a melee character who never buys spells.

I found Shadowalker, usually combined with Sorceress and Shaman, worked just fine. Some people don't like the Shaman because her DPS is not great, but her pet is a useful meatshield that increases your options, and combined with her heals will keep your Shadowalker alive, even if he isn't the perfect tank.

I bailed on the Hivemaster fight - cleared everything up to him. I think another level or two might indeed be a good idea for him. The dazing is a nuisance in Areana fights, but the warriors will get their chance sooner or later, and my mage's Icy Rain wears them down nicely.

I'm level 10 now on normal and I've found the difficulty quite balanced so far. I've cleared the Formello area and am in Areana City, where I got my first wipe (unexpected appearance of demons while fighting Areana). My hardest fight before that was the ogre mage in the cat fortress who reduced my party to one, but I could have beaten him more easily on a second try anyway. I might have to leave here before clearing it, but I reckon that if I do I could take on the Slith island fortress which I bailed from earlier.

I played on PC and I remember those. They were slightly annoying but not a game breaker. Can't imagine what caused thewm, though - there is no good reason for them.

The level cap depends on how you play. I didn't do all quests, and I only hit the level cap shortly after the start of the endgame. Which I thought was nice timing on Jeff's part.

It would probably be a good idea to terminate animations if the player enters a new instruction. Console players may not expect this, but computer players do. Mind you, this is a complaint made about Skyrim too, so Jeff is in good company.

File it under "Your mileage can vary", I guess. Avadon and Geneforge 1 are the only two Spiderweb games I have completed. Largely because they are relatively short, and (to me) the stories were compelling. As for being a minmaxer, I played Avadon on hard and I didn't have to be. I stuck with the same two companions, and took the build options that seemed like the most fun, and it worked out fine. I didn't take on the challenge fights such as Beloch, Redbeard and the blue dragon though. For me the Avadon games were longer than I like, and I lost interest part way through.

Have you a friend with a decent connection who could download it for you? Even if they don't live nearby you could mail them a USB stick, or they could burn a CD or something.