Dear Potato

What I REALLY wish for in a remake is a way to retire your creations instead of absorbing them.

 

Consider this: The whole series is about rights of creations, about them having right to live, to be free - or about stopping them from achieving that. And yet, when our faithful fyora, clawbug, vlish, thad or dryak become obsolete, we euthanize them regardless of our political outlook.

 

It doesn't have to be anything flashy. It can be just a few lines of text. Just an option to set them free or give into someone's care.

 

This, so much this.

 

Playing Geneforge 5, as a Trakovite, I had to stick with a creation I tend to name as the "Epic Thadh". This little fella leveled up so much that he was able to tear up Battle Alphas and mop the floor with their skin. I was wishing that some enemy killed my Epic Thadh in some accident... but he was tough as nails. When he finally fell to the ground, beaten by some boss or another, I felt really, really bad.

 

An option to "dismiss" creations would be very welcome.

I'm only going to say that I'm currently playing G5 for the first time, and I was clearly disappointed when I visited that "witch" or fortuneteller at Dera reaches, only to hear her rambling shady, vague stuff about my Sorceress' background.

 

Not that I do not understand what Triumph is trying to say -I see the value for trying this-, but I must admit that I was expecting some little hint, something that pointed to a clear but vague direction about his/her identity.

 

Personally, I like to think that my sorceress is the amnesiac version of my G3 agent

Since you've beaten the first two already, I guess this doesn't spoil anything, but the funniest thing I always find about the first 2 games is that if you aim to kill each and every single living character in the game and do nothing else, you are not only praised by the Shaper Council for your loyalty but you get pretty damn close to the canon ending for both games.

 

I know destroying or not destroying the Geneforge in #2 affects the ending fairly significantly, but in G1 you actually don't need to destroy the Geneforge for the loyalist ending, so long as no one capable of using it is alive by the end of the game. I've actually tried it--it's pretty much the exact same loyalist ending except the Geneforge's destruction isn't mentioned.

 

Interesting... the canon endings never bothered me until Geneforge 4; since I did a loyalist playthrough I felt all my effort was in vain ^_^u

 

The canon endings for G1 and G2... If I've understood the dialogues during those months of gameplay, those basically are loyalist outcomes. I'm not sure if I'll be playing the Geneforge saga again after beating the last chapter, but I would definitely play them differently if that's the event Not sure if I would experiment killing everyone, though... there are tons of residents in both G1 and G2! I still have goosebumps with the true-loyalist playthough I did! I had to kill lots and lots of NPCs!

The last video gives me some problems; I'm not able to see more than 1 minute 43 seconds.

 

I was curious about the theory... let me guess, it's about spawners? Is the only creature I could see in that lapse

Yeah... Greta and Alwan are by far the best adittion to Geneforge 3. It was a pleasant surprise for me. I hope the next Avadon goes for that route with companions as the forst one, too.

 

Right now I'm with G5 for the first time and I was expecting for Mehken to stay a little longer...

Good luck with this one!

 

I've never played as a Guardian, I always tend to play with magic oriented classes. In Geneforge, I rather play around with agents-infiltrators. Not sure if you will have problems with a pure melee warrior, though. Are you planning to play it without creations at all? You can team with Greta and Alwan, so I guess in this chapter that idea is more feasible. Also, I saw you discarded javelins, so, that means missile weapons would be discarded too? Or do you plan to stick with batons?

Woah, what a ride!

 

I've played Geneforge 4 till the end in two weeks or so... I really liked it! So far, with Geneforge 2, the best entries in this universe. For me, at least!

 

I liked the changes in the battle system and the new creation types. Also, I really appreciatte the chance to gain the most powerful spells without relying on canisters. Good to have Aura of Flames without shaping oneself. I think I have only one complaint: after the surprise of having Greta and Alwan as companions for all the campaign in Geneforge 3, I expected something similar (maybe I missed something, but I was only able to recruti an Artila at the beginning and a female soldier at the Shaper camp on Burwood province;both abandoned me after a while, though).

 

Anyway, just one more game to complete the saga

 

I'll post my final stats and equipment, along with some comments, in case some novice player could find it useful. I played as an Infiltrator that betrays the rebels and becomes a double agent for the Shapers; though, with the war events, she ends being close to Trakovite thoughts:

 

 

 

I focused the first levels on Spellcraft, Battle Magic, Intelligence and Endurance. At the beginning, I also put points into Leadership until I reached 10; when I arrived at Fens of Aziraph or so, I spent one more point and start to rely on Leadership equip buffs for nasty dialogues.

 

After that, when I reached Burwood, I spent points on Strenght and Mechanics, since it was something I never did in past games and always regretted later.

 

The final points where distributed among Bless and Mental magic, since I found the final spells of those schools very, very useful for tight battles.

 

I believe the character was well rounded for almost every encounter and quest, except for the heavy-mechanic ones. Specially at the beginning. On the other hand, this is the first Geneforge game that makes me sweat hard for victories. Some battles were very difficult,and not only the secondary/optional ones (those were little hells; The Titan and Litalia made me sweat blood)

 

 

 

 

Well, now I'm eager to play Geneforge 5

Geneforge 3 is usually considered the weakest of the series, although I think that's in large part due to the strength of G1, G4, and G5. The boats and islands system gets a lot of hate for being annoying, frustrating, and time-consuming. The plot is considered either a rehash of G2 or a weak prelude to G4.

 

Fortunately, G4 is better, and don't worry, Greta and Alwan remain important players in the story of the rebellion. You haven't seen the last of them!

 

—Alorael, who first got into Geneforge by playing G4. It has a special place in his heart next to the vlish horde.

 

I guessed G3 was not the best example of the series... I'm not a long-term Spiderweb fan and I was curious about the general consensus. I guess some people won't agree, but thanks for your answer; I find your definition quite accurate

 

I've started G4 right away -in fact, I've been playing for days now; I want to squeeze the last days of my hollydays-. I'm... impressed. Now I understand what you were talking about. It was refreshing to see a change in the resolution, along with the graphics and presentation. Also, the new classes are very intriguing; I spent half an hour trying to decide what character I would be using...at the end, I sticked with the infiltrator (I was very tempted by the Servile, for obvious reasons; never expected that Geneforge games would offer this possibility!). Seeing Greta and Alwan was a surprise, too. For now, the plot is very interesting.

 

Oh, and the "new" AP system that allows to attack with 1 point is also fresh air. And I thank the gods for the inventory limitless weight! At last my mechanic-dumb agent can carry tons of these little freaking tools

 

For the record, or if anyone ever needs help.... I'm playing an Infiltrator at level 20; I'll list her numbers, but only the ones I spent points to:

 

Strenght-3

Intelligence-9

Endurance-6

Battle magic-9

Mental magic-3

Blessing magic-3

Spellcraft-5

Leadership-10

Mechanics-4

 

Right now, I'm about to complete Illya province without too much trouble.

Hello again!

 

Since this month I had some free time, I started to play Geneforge 3. After some weeks, I've finally completed it, and I must say it was somewhat of a mixed experience. In general, I liked it, specially some of the new ideas and concepts -Greta and Alwan were completely unexpected and very well received; it adds flavour to the plot Other things, though, left me wondering if this chapter is well considered among the long-term Spiderweb fans. The idea of the islands is great, but at the end it made feel encapsulated, even frustrated (the necessity of travelling through docks to change islands... understandable, but tiring). Also, the magic anvil and the recipes were welcome, but due to my character build, I was unable to access some of the greater equipment (well, my idiocy also played a role ).

 

The plot was, as always, a great piece of work I was fearing another iteration of Genforge 1 and 2, and the rebel-loyalist set took my by surprise. It makes more sense, and I believe it presents some major and better developed moral dilemmas than previous entries. At the point of reaching Gull island, though, everything seemed a bit disjointed. Not sure if it was because I played a loyalist, but the final showdown was a bit disappointing. Also, I was expecting Greta joining the rebels and showing for a climatic confrontation. But, anyway, I really liked the plot and how it ends; it is the first Geneforge game that impels me to play the sequel without an interval. I'm really intrigued about how the idea of the rebellion unfolds!

 

I played as an Agent, specialized in battle magic. I found the game challenging but very playable -certainly, less challeging than G1 and G2-. I reached level 34, with Battle magic 14, Spellcraft 11, Mental magic 6 and Blessing magic 5. Also, I pumped points to Intelligence (11), Endurance (8), Leadership (12); at the end, frustrated for not being able to open very intriguing doors , I spent some points in Mechanics (7). Oh, and all this numbers are without equipment buffs.

 

I must say I felt that this entry let me use Leadership not as often or with the same satisfaction than the other two games. Probably it's just a perception, but I remember fondly how I was able to avoid or misguide some terrible foes in the previous games; in Geneforge 3, being Leadership a must in every experience level for me, I never felt it was as decisive as before. I know that mechanics is always important, but I like to stick to magic when the chance is given. Not that I blame the game, though It was a bit clumsy by my part not to foresee that I wouldn't be able to open many things just with the combo Mental+Spellcraft+item buffs.

 

Well, and that's it. I think I can't consider myself a novice Geneforge player anymore Not sure if I will be moving to Geneforge 4 right away, but I certainly have the urge to see how the plot continues. Also, I've seen classes change names, and that even two new are added, and this makes me feel even more eager! As always, though, the absence of music retains me. When playing Geneforge 3, I was unable to stop thinking that music should be at least a must in important confrontations. Or maybe keep the ambience sounds and throw some little, nice tracks here and there in certain moments or battles (more or less like the Tomb Raider series).

 

Anyway... I'm looking forward to complete the next two games. I'm starting to feel a lot of respect for Vogel and his work.

If you'd finished the game without destroying the Geneforge, the ending would have been very different, and not for the better.

 

Yes, I should have guessed so After the disastrous experience with Geneforge I ending, I tried to be much more cautious with canisters, goo pools, and apparently good natured serviles!

 

The ending is normal, and the Shapers appreciate your efforts. If you don't think so, try not killing the triad and see what happens.

 

The door is a sequel hook.

 

Thanks! So then, I probably took one of the best endings when it comes to loyalism. When i think of it, It's... pretty impressive the amount of variations in the endings.

Finally! I've killed the Taker triad and destroyed the Geneforge. I returned to the council and got a pretty good ending -I really liked the ending, I felt my effort took account into the epilogue, mentioning difficult decisions

 

But... there are two things that annoyed me: after the time and effort put to the destruction of the taker triad -probably the harder part in my playthorugh- and the geneforge, not a single mention is done in the epilogue; is that normal? Or maybe I did something wrong?

 

Also, I guess that thing with the sealed door in the taker complex, mentioned in the ending, has something to do with next sequels, doesn't it? I mean... did I left something interesting behind by not being able to cross that door? (if you don't mind, avoid spoilers, please )

 

Thanks! I really liked Geneforge 2, probably as much as Avadon.

You should find him soon enough. As one of the blacklisted, he should be in a crucial place, like maybe... near the Taker's magnum opus.

 

Thanks! I'm scouting all taker territory, but no look to this point. I found a "brain" creation (those creatures that are able to speak and run shaper buildings by themselves) who told me Eass created him, and stated that he didn't know where Eass is, but at the same time, the text displaying that info told me that he was clearly lying (with 13 points of leadership, I wonder if with even more I could ask him directly...)

 

At any rate, I'll keep looking. I'm a patient player

If you really want to be loyal to the Shapers, you'll punish Zakary. He broke the rules and helped create the entire mess. Just FYI (speaking in terms of getting the best non-aligned ending).

 

Yes, thank you I somewhat guessed this by speakig with the loyalist camp leader, and his "Be observant of shaper's laws" preach I killed Zakary. Right now, I'm having some trouble looking for Eass, the last Drayk from Taker alliance -he or she is the last Drayk in my black list; by killing it I suppose I would reach the end...

 

At any rate, I liked this installment as much as the first one. Better gameplay balance, better spells, but less interesting plot (despite being truly interesting, specially the beggining; is just that G1 had the surprise effect for me!)

I think I'm gonna avoid your conversation until I reach geneforge 2 end!

 

I've finally decided to go against everyone and stay loyal to shapers -although, I won't touch awakened people-. I would have made this decision much earlier If I hadn't been confused about the loyalist camp location. I thought it was through the mountains, and not near the base of it. In any case... I'm looking for the other drayks in taker territory. I suppose I'm near the end.

 

By the way, i wonder if I would be able to beat that imprisoned demon that escaped to Ellrath's tomb. Last time I tried to fight with him, it basically mopped the floor with my agent. Even without guards!

Good God, you guys are a terrible influence for me

 

My beloved agent Selena has decided to infiltrate and betray every sect in this treachorous colony. Takers and Barzites have fallen to my lies already [evil laugh here].

 

Seriously now: I have lied and betrayed both sects because I really see them as the worst of the lot here. But I really don't know what to do with Awakened and Servants. Both have their points, things that I really understand and support; on the other hand, they have obvious "moral" flaws. I must admit it's fun to play as an outraged agent, very upset about losing her mentor, and bringing vengeance to these people, though

I've really thought about not joining any sect at all... but I don't want to renounce to the higher magic spells for this.

 

Not sure if it's possible, but I thought that maybe I can join a sect and then betray it. And then... well, avenge Shanti's death sending all this weird colony to oblivion

All right, thanks, both of you!

 

I guess I'll have to decide then. Not sure what I'm going to do, though! Every sect looks a bit fishy to me.

Hello again, I have a doubt, and, as always, I feel reticent to look the matter into a walkthrough.

 

I've adavanced up to level 29 in Geneforge 2, and visited all major enclaves to see what every sect has to offer. It was a difficult trip, but the moment it was clear that I had the chance to choose, I didn't want to rush, like I did in Geneforge 1. Since I'm playing without using canisters, I've gone through almost every part of the game without more spells than Firebolt, Burning Spray, Searer and Ice Spray. Major spells affecting more than one enemy were not present in any of the training options I found -until I reached Rising school, which was my last stop.

 

My doubt is: is there any way to learn the major spells -Kill and Aura of Flames- without relying on canisters? And I ask this not to know where exactly are the means to learn them, but to know if I'm just doing a maningless search and If it would better if I just go on with the main quests.

 

Thanks!

Penalties and bonuses apply to magic spells, but you won't notice them except for a few high level spells used early in the game.

 

Ok, thanks. Also, I have done some epxeriments that corroborate it.

 

When fighting a though ghost in a haunted marsh, that was giving me some trouble, I tried to fight it with/without the armor. All the misile spells I tried (Firebolt, Acid and Ice) had an accuracy penalty when wearing the armor, and so was noticed by game's action roster, showing different percentages if the spell missed.

I don't mind the lack of music myself, there is ambient sound in most of the games (I can't remember if the first Geneforge has it), but if i would definitely say go for music without vocals. I recommend the Fairy Tail OST (vol. 1), especially the tracks "Tower of Heaven" and "Main Theme".

 

Have fun with the series!

 

Thanks! I will try your recomendation (and yes, Geneforge have those ambient sounds)

 

When playing as an Agent, I find that getting INT up to about 10 before item bonuses is usually enough, about 6 in endurance.

 

-3 to attack skills means about 15% less chance to hit and 3 die less.

Say you have a dagger doing 2-12 damage. That's 2d6. You have 4 strength, and 3 melee weapons. That's another 7d6, for a total of 9d6. Now subtract 3 for the armor penalty, and 15% chance to hit.

 

It is entirely viable to play any of the games canister free. Some may be a little tougher, but if you're playing on normal it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

I would advise getting your mech and leadership to about 8 before bonuses in each game. You rarely need more than 13, and you can use infiltrator gear to get there. I am thinking about doing a geneforge playthrough sometime soon, and I have a ton of notes for character building and min-maxing. Maybe I'll compile them together and post them. I usually spend about an hour going through all my notes and strategy central before even starting a playthrough, mapping out how much of what I will need.

 

 

Also, I never listen to music while playing Spiderweb games. I prefer the ambient noise, especially in the Geneforge series, to immerse me.

 

My doubts when wearing those armors with the -15% penalty were more aimed to the accuracy with magic; I asumed that the penalty was for melee only, but, after a second thought, I wondered: would the penalty apply to magic misiles accuracy too? I ended using those armors, though, since I didn't notice any difference, but the doubt remained.

 

Thanks for your advice! I feared that upgrading abilties would be diifficult if not impossible without canisters, but now I see that's not the case.

 

 

EDIT:::: Oh, and also, on a side note: I hate Onks Those bastards keep charging towards enemies like if there is no tomorrow in that secondary quest from the awakened town!

 

EDIT2:::: Ok, I'm sorry -I dind't even know there was an autocensor.

You will never be able to control the recruitable follower creatures in G2, no matter how much you use them.

 

Thanks! I suspected that could happen.

 

Right now, I have just crossed the "Freegates" to non-shaper lands. Something bad happened to Shanti... my coool agent mate -I fear the worst I've found my first canister, used it and... well, after reading the somewhat menacing text describing the effect, I just reloaded and ignored it. Maybe this is a bad decision, but if I can avoid it, I'm planning on not using canisters. I suppose I could read a walkthrough and see if this is advisable, but I rather play it and discover it by myself. Wish me luck

Here I am again

 

I've decided to start Geneforge 2 (in fact, I've been playing it for some days, now). Again, I've picked the Agent class, and I must say I really appreaciate the new spell set! Maybe it is because G2 is easier at the beginning than G1, or that I'm now pretty experienced, but I'm not having any trouble at all killing enemies. At any rate, I'm enjoying it -a little detail, maybe unimportant, but that I really appreciated is the inclusion of Shanti as mentor; I like her dialogues and how she reacts sometimes (from being perfectly cold to surprised when I do something useful).

 

Also, I welcomed the idea of potential companions, people/rogues that join you within certain circumstances. I tend to dismiss them sooner or later, but I like the feature If I'm not mistaken... would those companions grow stronger to the point of being able to act as I command? (I mean, enough Intelligence to allow disabling auto AI). I'm not sure if I'm going to keep any of them, though.

 

Ah, and a second request: do you guys play some music while playing Geneforge? As I have stated, the absence of music is my major concern with Jeff games, so I put my MP3 collections on shuffle to palliate it. But, is there any particular set of MP3 or OST you use for Geneforge? Any recommendation would be welcomed

 

Thanks!

I'm glad you enjoyed the game. If you want to try a new ending I'd reccomend the one where you help Trajkov. It has a bit more of a twist to it, and is actually one of the stronger endings.

 

Also, if you decide to move on to Geneforge 2, you will like it a lot better than Geneforge 1, believe me . There are over 20 more spells to play with, better artifacts, and even a crafting system (yes, Geneforge has that ) And more surprises .

 

Well whatever you do, I hope you have fun with it.

 

Cmiller

 

So far, I tried two endings: using the geneforge with and without destroying it later -fool of me, never thought of the consequences of leaving the geneforge as it is!

 

I'm curious to see how things develop if you destroy the geneforge without using it... but yes, I'll try the alliance with Tejkov sooner or later!

 

About moving forward to Geneforge 2... yes, I will play it, eventually, but not right now. I don't want to saturate myself! I love Jeff games, but every one of them is a intense experience; I'll play something else for a bit before going to it. Also -and I know I'm the exception here with this - I have a serious problem with the lack of music. I try to play with my own MP3 selections, but I always end opressed with the reigning silence. So yes, I need some time. But hell, I'm eager to see the new spell list I'm predictable, yes, I always get excited looking thorugh the spell list at the beginning

All right! Finally, I've completed Geneforge 1

 

The first thing I want to say is that I liked it almost as much as Avadon, and definitely much more than Avernum. The setting is superb, very well developed, despite the multiple options avaliable. I must admit, though, that I thought being an Awakened would have a deeper impact in the ending. I liked, by the way, that unsettling feeling of having been deceived by Ellrath -since it was him who convinced me to use the Geneforge at the end-. I'll see how other endings develop without using the Geneforge!

 

Anyway, even without the Geneforge, Agent class was very powerful since level 14 or so. I don't know how the other classes play, but definitely I see Agent as a perfectly viable class if you have some experience with RPGs. What I don't know is what I'm going to do in the next game... probably sticking to a spell caster class, if there is any!

 

Oh, by the way, the final confrontation with Trejkov was amazing I loved how the plan I had in mind (playing with his trust, convince him of releasing his bodyguards, and finally deceive him with the false gloves) worked perfectly and the option to simply fool him was perfectly present, without a battle involved.

Well, so far I've only played Geneforge 1 (not even finished, yet, but I think I'm pretty close to the ending).

 

It's true that humour is scarce, but there are some funny parts. I smiled with the servile merchant desperately trying to mate batons. You can see pens with batons lying around Also, if you ask him about his success in such harsh task, he just says a laconic "I think I'm having some success awakening the natural desires of thorn batons".

 

Ah! And I laughed with the wild-rogue ornks that even had that altar with the divine gloves, transforming in the ornk boss :D