Avernum 5 boat screenshot

[travesty]

I notice that the second Avernum 5 screenshot has boats, which I am glad to see return. However, I'm curious as to how they will work. The message window at the bottom has the standard Avernum "You wait" message, so overall the movement seems to be Avernum standard (i.e., you can use the keyboard). However, it also says "You carefully get into the boat. (To row to a different space, click on it. To get off the boat, row next to land and click on the boat.)" Does this mean that the boat movement is Geneforge-ish (i.e., you have to use the mouse)? That was always one of my least-favorite Geneforge innovations.

[Starman1985]

Are you talking th Jeff?

[Randomizer]

Boat movement in and out involves clicking on the boat.

 

Boat movement in water is either keyboard commands for one square movement or mouse clicking to move to a new location like with walking in Geneforge and Avernum 4. There are still a few kinks in the mouse method, but overall it's great for moving long distances through an explored area.

[PGLB]

I suppose that "To row to a different space, click on it" means moving one space, otherwise I don't think it would have "To get off, row next to land and click on the boat", because Geneforge just came up with the map, where you just click on some picture and go there. So I think it's going to be more like previous Avernum games.

EDIT: Darn, Randomizer beat me to it, on the same minute!!

[Delicious Vlish]

You think the boats are cool, wait till you see the cave gliders!

 

Failure to capture a thermal updraft over the lava vents results in a messy end though.

[Alorael at Large]

Randomizer is a tester, but I think this is no terrible reveal. Boat movement really works identically to non-boat movement: you can click to move several spaces at once, or you can use the keyboard to move one space at a time. To get out of a boat requires clicking on it to spit your party back onto adjacent land.

 

—Alorael, who likes the boats. They feel very Avernumish. The zeppelins just seem weird. And the space rockets? Well, it turns out vahnatai creationism got a few things right.

[Swimmin' Salmon]

Quote:

Originally written by Fear, Favor, and a Few More:
The zeppelins just seem weird. And the space rockets? Well, it turns out vahnatai creationism got a few things right.

Ooohhhhh! Thisisafungame!

[Delicious Vlish]

Zeppelins?

 

I thought those were Empire Dirigibles. I mean, there is a difference.

 

I have always loved Jeff's attention to detail, like the buckets in a closet to represent a bathroom in Geneforge... But the new toilet graphic, which can also be found on the airships makes me laugh...

 

Where does the Empire dump all of that crap? Do they just let it go willy nilly or do they have bureaucratically approved 'dumping zones'? Do Empire citizens suffer poo-storms?

 

Is anybody else reminded of 1984 when they see the floating fortresses and the level of control the Empire has?

[Randomizer]

What I found interesting is now that elevations have returned, you have to readjust the dirigible's height to avoid the cave's roof. On the surface, the sky's the limit, but down here you get punctured if you forget to drop down as you approach certain areas. That pop and hissing sounds if you just point and click makes you more careful.

[ex post slarto]

What I like is the return of the old "Fly: Ceiling too low." message. Also being able to shoot melee-based monsters from the air for free. Although having an atlatl with unlimited ammunition is a little strange.

 

I'm also confused about how getting 20 Gymnastics allows you to Fly, but getting 20 Sharpshooter just gives me this lousy "Kag Shot" battle discipline that always misses.

[Ephesos]

You folks just aren't being nice.

[Micawber]

Back on topic, I am really glad that boats are back. I always said that the inability to travel by boat was just what made the Avernum 4 world seem too small compared to prior games. (Well I think I might've said it once.)

 

And I'm pretty enthused about the lift screenshot, too. I always quite enjoyed the moving walls from E3...

[Kyronea]

Wait...Jeff is keeping the "move several spaces at once" type of movement?!

 

Ugh. That was probably the Geneforge "innovation" that I loathed the most. I HATE movement being taken out of my hands like that.

 

I also hated attacks requiring a certain amount of AP to be executed rather than being able to attack at 3, 2, or 1 AP.

 

If at least those two "innovations" are removed, I think I'll be fine with everything else Geneforgish...but please, remove the movement "innovation!"

[Alorael at Large]

Like A4, movement is still one space at a time. Clicking lets the AI take care of the path, but it's still quite Avernum. AP and actions are, I'm happy to say, like G4's. You can attack with one AP.

 

—Alorael, who can't say he's such a huge fan of having to get the zeppelins refilled at every single lava vent. It gets irritating, especially before you have the Xian Pump.

[Kyronea]

So, then, basically...when you use the mouse to move, you move like you used to in the older Avernum games/Nethergate: Resurrection?

[Delicious Vlish]

Quote:

Originally written by Fear, Favor, and a Few More:
Like A4, movement is still one space at a time. Clicking lets the AI take care of the path, but it's still quite Avernum. AP and actions are, I'm happy to say, like G4's. You can attack with one AP.

—Alorael, who can't say he's such a huge fan of having to get the zeppelins refilled at every single lava vent. It gets irritating, especially before you have the Xian Pump.

I have found the Xian Pump to be utterly worthless. There is a good chance that it emits Killing Clouds instead of filling the airbag.

And don't get me started on the air elementals it summoned.

BTW, anybody survived the battle with X yet? The Anvil Golem and the anvils it throws keeps killing me in one shot.

[Alorael at Large]

Quote:

Originally written by DanielJacksonMPC:
So, then, basically...when you use the mouse to move, you move like you used to in the older Avernum games/Nethergate: Resurrection?

No, it works just like A4. You move to wherever you click. To move one space at a time, you have to click one space at a time. It's irritating to do that, but it's convenient to cross entire sections with a single click.

—Alorael, who has given up on the X battle. He'll leave that for when he gets the Anvil Catcher from Rentar-Ihrno.

[Kyronea]

Ugh...that's what I was afraid of. I hate that...I always use the mouse to move around in the other games since I can also use it for many other uses, and I hated--HATED--this.

 

Perhaps Jeff can integrate both? Say, have this be a feature one can turn off and on at will, with the old movement system from the Avernum and Nethergate games being used when the feature is off? That way, those who want it can use it, and those who hate it can use the old system, thus side-stepping the potential mess Jeff might make with potential players for choosing one or the other.

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

Quote:

Originally written by Fear, Favor, and a Few More:
Randomizer is a tester, but I think this is no terrible reveal. Boat movement really works identically to non-boat movement: you can click to move several spaces at once, or you can use the keyboard to move one space at a time. To get out of a boat requires clicking on it to spit your party back onto adjacent land.

You can use both. It combines the old Avernum movement system where you can use the keyboard and/or mouse to move one space at a time with the Geneforge system of moving to a distant space by clicking it.

Of course, you have to be careful not to cross the path of any pickpockets in the process of distance-click-automove movement. It's easier to see them coming and avoid them when you're controlling your characters manually than when they move on their own. After all, you wouldn't want them to steal your Chitrach eggsacs, would you? (You didn't hear this from me, but in Avernum 5, Chitrachs may or may not have been domesticated, making their eggsacs significantly more valuable...)

[Ephesos]

Quote:

Originally written by The Almighty Do-er of Stuff:
You can use both. It combines the old Avernum movement system where you can use the keyboard and/or mouse to move one space at a time with the Geneforge system of moving to a distant space by clicking it.

Yeah, that's how it worked in A4, after all.

Daniel, I hope you didn't play through A4 using just the mouse... that would've been painful.

[Kyronea]

No, but using the keyboard to move around is very clunky when you're used to much easier--and a much different system--of movement with the mouse.

 

That's why I suggest having this insta-movement be a feature that can be toggled, if that's possible.

[Xaiya]

Quote:

Originaly the 20-year-old in the other room.
Ugh. That was probably the Geneforge "innovation" that I loathed the most. I HATE movement being taken out of my hands like that.

I got used to it. But having the old would be nice. Or, as you suggested, being able to switch between both.

[Randomizer]

Quote:

Originally written by Fear, Favor, and a Few More:
—Alorael, who has given up on the X battle. He'll leave that for when he gets the Anvil Catcher from Rentar-Ihrno.

All you need is parry 15 and the dagger of deflection.

Does anyone know how many spools of thread you need to fulfill Cheeseball II's quest for a ball of string? I'm up to 20 and getting tired of his sniff of contempt and is that all you can find.

[Delicious Vlish]

Don't finish the string quest.

 

If you do, you will be forced to clean his litter box.

 

Cheeseball II has parasites let me tell you...

[Ephesos]

Look, folks. Either stop the spam or do it in another forum, okay?

 

The original question was answered: Boat movement will be identical to normal movement, using either the mouse or the keyboard. Getting in and out requires clicking on the boat.

 

There. Now wasn't that simple?