TriRodent

Guy, singular. Spiderweb is just one guy (Jeff Vogel) who does it all (well, a couple of logistical support staff, but all the programming is him). Back on point. I don't know, I think that GF5 wrapped up the long story arc fairly well. While going across the sea might be a fun trip, there's just only so many ways you can do the 'weak protagonist grows extremely powerful while going on assorted adventures' in any particular universe & we had five chapters worth in this particular story. On the good news front, in assorted interviews about his upcoming game (Queen's Wish), Jeff has mentioned that his/SW's next big project will be remaking Geneforge 1 so you'll be able to revisit it with an updated game engine & probably some new content. Anyway, welcome to the madhouse. Leave your sanity at the door, etc.

You're underground in a BIG cave system... It won't effect gameplay but should be kept in mind as your imagination fills in the details as you're hiking around. Enjoy, it's completely different than Geneforge as Randomizer said, but you'll pick up on things quickly enough. I'm jealous of you as I'd like to explore that universe again, not knowing what's around the next stalagmite.. (but in a few months I'll have the new Queen's Wish universe to go play in so that's not too bad)

Or for a truly random adventure there's always the 'cat walking on keyboard' way of decision making/movement...

Hopefully there will at least be a cod piece. Kind of worrisome having all those sharp swords/daggers swinging around that close to the family jewels...

Windows? They should be in the folder that you mentioned. I'd think that they 'should' be playable if you copied them over to the new laptop (I haven't transferred SW games to a new machine in a long time, let alone loaded a saved game). Have you exited/restarted the game since copying over? If it still doesn't work, you should ask the question up in the "Tech Support" part of the forums. Good luck (very late brain spasm right before hitting submit reply.... Start up a new game on the new computer & save in a couple of slots. NOW transfer your games over to the A6 folder. The game may have had to write a path to the save folder rather than just looking there before it's ever been used (he says while trying to explain a concept he doesn't understand using nontechy words as he doesn't know the real language....shrugs helplessly...))

No, put me in the "huh?" graphics camp too. Watching the trailer, all I could think was that I'd been teleported back in time to the late 80s (remind me to pick up some Apple, Microsoft, & WalMart stock...). I understand the severe limitations that Jeff is working under (compared with most any other release from big game companies) & why the decision to do this was made, but am concerned that someone new to Spiderweb (not realizing that the game is story rather than graphic driven) & think "eww" & move on. I am really looking forward to the new game, but...

It's been a loooong time but wasn't there another surface tunnel attempt in A2 (can't remember if it was included in A2CS), east of Motrax & north of the stuck Empire Patrol (early red pass) in the area north of Formello? **** Obviously physics are different in the Avernum universe but that's one thing that's bugged me over the years, why they couldn't just eventually tunnel out onto the surface. The Honeycomb attempt went up for "miles & miles" ... just how far underground are they? Apparently the Avernum crust is a lot bigger than earth's otherwise they'd be living in magma. Then of course there's the really big question from A5, where does all the water go? Our intrepid heroes are following a river 'deep' down, down, down, into the lower caves (& then pick up another river later on). Ok... so where does all the water go eventually? All that water is going deep underground (& it's a 'lot' of water given the scale of the rivers), it has to go somewhere otherwise the caves should become submerged rather quickly. Sorry, didn't mean to give people brain cramps, but how it all works has had me scratching my head for years...

That suspension of disbelief thing for others who happen upon the thread & are trying to play within the unspoken 'rules' of the game rather than 'ah ha, there's a minor loophole here' No problem, happy to help (especially as I had just gone through there a few days ago).

The spoiler section in my post tells you how to do it if you don't mind a little suspension of disbelief...

(I'm replaying A6 at the moment too...) As Randomizer said there is a crystal near the start of the lower spiral. But that was close to the barrier to let you further into the spiral. I don't know if it's strong enough for some of the later barriers (assuming that you're already past the early one). Not sure where you can buy any more around that point in the game. Have you not done the quest for the slith in the Tower to retrieve his papers from over at the Great Portal? It's fairly simple once you blast your way past the imps/gremlins guarding the old dining/barrack area.

There are also rare items that can only be equipped by a specific character type. May as well give them to the appropriate person. Likewise, in the early game, even if I can't use a certain type of common loot (say ranged weapons, bows, disks, etc), they can be used by someone else at the castle. You may as well equip everyone as best as you can as you go along because you never know when you may need to head out into the wilds with one of them. /I never made it through a full game being a shaman either. Rarely took him along for the assorted jaunts out into the wilderness too. Between the front line guys generally being able to heal themselves at least once during a fight & the 'heal self/group' scarab given to one who can't, having a shaman along wasn't all that useful for my style of play

Nobear, If you haven't cleared it out yet, up in Upper Avernum south of New Formello there is the chitrach lair that the mayor of NF wants cleaned out. The final battle usually has a couple of null bugs. I very vaguely, kinda sorta remember running into them up north of Caloc (didn't explore up there too much before winding the game up). I wouldn't make a special trip up there to check but if you're in the general area anyway...

With humility & respect so that you don't become a burnt marshmallow... (oh yeah, & do as Randomizer suggested & walk around the perimeter until you can go up/down. After talking to Sulfras then you'll have access/missions for the other two)

Reading txmimi's description I was wondering if the guards running away was an outdoor encounter out in the valley leading up to the castle. Not that that should change the scripted encounter once the party actually enters the castle though. If getting the reward is the only problem/issue, you can spend some coin & get the same result...

Well then, you'll have a brand new river* to head down for the first time - enjoy *pretty sure it's a brand new river. Looking at the geography it seems to be in a different watershed than the one that flows beneath Formello .... (I'm probably overthinking this just a tad)

A4 & 5 are the same/very similar engine, 6 is a more advanced one. If you don't mind going back to an older engine then I guess it really doesn't matter. That said, you may want to do one series at a time if only for the ease of keeping names/factions straight. Whatever, do what you want, you should have fun any way you play them. I'm just jealous of you being able to play them for the first time & discovering them. While I love Jeff's games dearly, I've played them enough over the decades to remember 'oh yeah, I'm supposed to do 'this' here...'

Otoh, you could be like me & love the, after the intro sections, open world feel/ability. You can go where you want & do what you want while exploring the world & figuring out what's going on (the different faction paths are playable at most any level & yet the others just aren't a walkthrough if/when you head that direction later in the game). For what it's worth A1-3 (& the remakes) are pretty much open world while A4-6 are fairly linear

G2 & A5 are probably each my favorites of their respective series. That said I'd probably stay in the Geneforge universe through G3 as the programming/playing is pretty similar (G4/5 have an entirely different playing feel). A5 is with a completely different game engine & it may be hard to go back to Gf after playing that.

NOT to denigrate Jeff, really, but do you really want a romance written by a self described nerd/geek, one who has spent the past couple of decades + shut away in solitary confinement while producing the games that delight us so? True he did manage to woo his wife & continue that long enough to produce his daughters so he's not completely incompetent in that area. But a master Don Juan I'd hazard a guess he isn't.... Seriously though, Avadon 2 was mentioned earlier. I just found that whole romance side story really awkward. Stuck together out in the woods for a few weeks in isolation (start of the game description), relatively young healthy people (assumption, but given all the fighting/walking around they must do, not outrageous), chances of hooking up - fairly high. But hardly the basis for eventual risking your life over/being a traitor to all you've known over the years, that's a pretty big jump (& Jeff did it about as well as it could be done). And as mentioned it wasn't really part of the main story line. Could it be done, sure. Should it be done, probably not. Especially in a brand new style of game. Jeff needs to churn out a game that's new (the universe, objectives, interaction, etc), but familiar enough that his well developed niche market doesn't rebel & say "what's this shiat? No more for me going forward...". I'm sure that there are games out there with romance as a part of the main story (Sid Meier's Pirates springs to mind), but games don't & there's a reason for that. (I suppose we could also add the Leisure Suit Larry series to the list as well...)

Thinking about it, I do the same thing with the training crystals... "Oooh, I'll save a couple of Sniper/Resistance/whatever until I get him trained up to L10 in that skill & then be able to bump it to 12...woo hoo" Come late game, & it will really be late in the game before ever reaching L10 in those top level skills - if they ever do, once again I'll have completely forgotten about them/gotten used to seeing them in a particular inventory slot throughout the game & just mentally filter it out when opening that screen. Again, not that they aren't a bad idea to include, but the use of them never seems to happen - Strictly an ID-TEN-T problem I realize but... (maybe let them be used whenever but still be able to train a total of 10 times regardless)

I always carefully save them, distribute them out to various characters with opposite skill sets than the shard (mass healing to a tank for instance, under the assumption that a priest won't need to use a shard for a spell he knows while a fighter may save the day with the ability to heal everyone while the others are busy), filling up many inventory slots that could be used for other things .... and completely forget to use them. Honestly, in any of SW's games where such a thing is available, I always save them but I can't ever remember using one when it would be tactically useful. I really like the idea of them (aren't they supposed to cast the spell at the equivalent of a L30 caster?), but I never remember to use the damn things....sigh

E2 way back in the dark ages of the previous century. No idea what computer I had at the time but that copy & all subsequent SW games have been copied onto the next computer ever since (including of course the backwards purchased E1...). I was even cleaning out some boxes in the basement a few months ago & ran across all the original xerox copied hint books from all the assorted games from way back when.

Kind of late in the game I realize but if you press "u" (for 'use') it will show any hidden switches in the immediate area (along with any other item that you can 'use' - chests, switches, doors, etc). It's good to get in the habit of hitting the key reasonably often as you're strolling around various dungeons/indoor areas.

Also when putting an item in the box it will look like you're just putting it on the ground/do it the same way that you would while putting something on the ground. Closing the lid before throwing the switch doesn't matter. And of course save before playing with it just in case...

I checked with her & she didn't mention payment of cash in addition to the items with any of the other armor she could make. Unfortunately I didn't have the required eyestalk with my guys so I didn't get the crafting option dialogue either to check on that one. Hopefully someone else can check for you reasonably soon.