mikeprichard

I've noticed the major change Jeff's implemented here to make hit rates for melee/ranged/magic all be tied solely to character level, which has a huge impact on gameplay. As I've mentioned in another topic, it makes a melee/magic (yes, magic) solo Guardian much more viable than in the original. Been really fun so far.

I still use the "offline downloads" on GOG for all games. Fussing around with Galaxy, Steam, etc. online stuff is just not remotely worth the hassle to me.

I would think that there would be a way - instead of just changing encounters like he apparently did from what you said in another case - to make the borders of every map impassible to sprites so this would never be an issue in the first place. But I might email him one more time with this as a follow-up.

Do you think I should bother reporting to Jeff, then? I already emailed him yesterday about other stuff...

Thanks, Mechalibur - that probably is the trigger for the Jaffee lesson after all.

Entering the Winding Road from the east, I immediately got into a fight with the patrolling Sholai warriors, who can use that annoying leap/knockback move (hint to Jeff, who I know isn't reading: Geneforge games really need melee abilities for the player like this!). They kept knocking me back east, and eventually off the map (my player was no longer visible). Eventually, I was told I couldn't reach the enemies even with ranged attacks, and had to reload - I didn't test thoroughly, in that maybe I could have kept clicking them in melee and approached them back to the point where I was visible again, but it's obviously a bug either way. Has this already been reported to Jeff over email, and if so, is there anything he can do about it?
 

Exact same experience/conclusions drawn here. Would like to know the exact trigger - I think even after I'd first learned of Trakjov, I still couldn't get training from Jaffee until a somewhat later point. Maybe you need at least 1 language from some other source first? That's just a guess, though.

Only if you murder-hobo-killed Ascended Alonzo too! If you did, well... you probably shouldn't have done that.

You'll have to fully explore the Ascended Labs and get a quest item there to show to the serviles at Barrens Research.

Right, but I was referring to the minor weapon-switching annoyance from the user interface perspective. That's easily the least of the several reasons I'm not a big Missiles fan, though. That said, I could see a use for the spray baton when AOE physical damage (not available through magic) is needed.

Woah, thanks - that's a pretty huge damage advantage. The STR/Quick Action boosts on the Claymore were nice in original G1 as an endgame weapon, but now you have me reconsidering.

Thought this was a funny example of how ree-diculously overpowered acid damage (15% of health deducted per turn!) is. I went up against Oroboros as a level 13 solo Guardian (after killing her two minions separately), fully expecting to get spanked. But I just procced Searer on her twice; the turn after the second hit, she charmed me, then sat there doing nothing for a couple more turns until she dissolved into goo. Done on the first try. Someone that easy to dupe really wasn't going to go too far with that whole "evil empire" gig anyway.

Thanks again for all the info!

I've found that even though the Guardian's magic skills are "weak", adding magic skill points - beyond the 3 needed in each magic "school" to actually use all spells - isn't really necessary to get significant benefits from e.g. Airshock (stunning), Searer, etc. I find the need to a) invest many points into Missile Weapons in addition to already useful Melee and magic skills, b) collect thorns (plentiful though they are, it's just another layer of inconvenience and they can instead be sold for a significant profit in the long run), and c) constantly switch between melee/missile weapons instead of just holding onto the sword and using spells from the quick bar, as well as d) the statuses/elemental advantages of magic, all make a melee/secondary magic "spellsword" Guardian build much more viable and interesting than a Melee/Missile hybrid. But again, I'm not talking about Torment, though I don't see how missile weapons would be relatively better there either.

Thanks - I looked up the couple rings I'd be missing out on and am definitely going to pass as a Guardian. However, does the blade itself get a lot more powerful (base damage/stat boosts) such that I might consider keeping it over e.g. the Guardian Claymore for my melee-focused Guardian, and/or is the quest XP very significant even at higher levels?

Just got this from Yu-La, and it seems to complete her/Thracker-Z's quest, I now need to forgo the benefits of at least a few canisters, which I really am not into since the quest rewards seem to be trash. That said, is this in fact the case, or can you still somehow get the canister boosts while simultaneously charging the blade? Also, how many charges/canisters does it need?

15 minutes ago, Randomizer said:

This goes back to the original game version. The Clear Pentil Gates and Find Source of the Vlish quests must be obtained Pentil  before doing them to get the rewards. 

Only "Clear Pentil Gates". You can do the deed for "Find Source of Vlish" before even talking with Godwin, and still complete the quest/get the rewards from him later.

OK, thanks!

It depends on the area, but in this and most fairly recent Spiderweb games, there will sometimes be a stray hostile critter or two even after you clear a particular area. Not sure beyond that of the exact rules, which areas affected, etc. In any case, it's definitely not a lot.

I found this out the hard way as well: as mentioned in the index of locations/quests etc. at Strategy Central (https://spiderwebforums.ipbhost.com/topic/26276-geneforge-1-index-spoilers/), this is a somewhat unique quest in that you have to talk with the quest giver before completing the quest-related action, otherwise you won't get the quest/reward at all. Not sure if it's strictly a bug, but it is kind of annoying.

As a member of the Obeyers currently, I just wanted to do a quick test to see whether killing Rydell would clear his faction quest ("The Invaders") from my journal without the need to complete it. So I attack him, and... his guards also attack him. Then he dies in the second round, and the guards and everyone else in Pentil stay friendly to me. Is this something unique/intentional with the Obeyers, because whatever the Shapers do - including murdering their leader in cold blood and plain sight - is just dandy? Or could I pull this with Ellhrah and/or Gnorrel as well?

Yes, I'd noticed that in your atlas - I saw entries for crazy high Mechanics values in the 20s and 30s which you apparently tested, but there seems to be a wide spread of skill values just to reduce the number of living tools needed by one (maybe 5 skill points per 1 living tool, at least for harder locks - not sure how it works exactly either). Just hoping Jeff comes back with more details on the Dante's Guile charm at least - he always answers emails within a few days, but he's sometimes cagey about spoiling under-the-hood game mechanics.

I just emailed Jeff to ask for a spoiler on what this is supposed to do (chance there's a bug here) - will post back here if he responds.

Ah, got it. I'm a very thorough completionist, so I would've been bummed if there was some shiny unique item added by the patch to a merchant list that I wouldn't be able to get without replaying the last 40 hours on a fresh save!

Huh, I don't see how one more topic focusing on a specific type of issue among dozens is really a big deal, but noted - I'll let him know!