Garrulous Glaahk Geneforgeisformeyukkyu Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Originally Posted By: monolith94 The importance of scarabs is that if you time it right, you can blow up a whole bunch of probes/drones/scvs. Duh. This is why you spread them, and micro shuttle/dragoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curious Artila ripfengor Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Originally Posted By: Geneforgeisformeyukkyu Originally Posted By: monolith94 The importance of scarabs is that if you time it right, you can blow up a whole bunch of probes/drones/scvs. Duh. This is why you spread them, and micro shuttle/dragoon. Oh I remember way back when reavers and dragoons existed, and shuttles for that matter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgeoning Battle Gamma Masquerade Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Mabey they're like augument, each one gives you a specific ability or unlocks something, and you can use more than one at a time as you become more powerful. Or perhaps they are of symbolic signifigance! The pact must have been inspired by their dung rolling habit and came to affiliate them with the passing of the sun across the sky. They are seen as great symbols of wisdom and fertility and serve to protect the organs of your characters when they are killed by baddies and enter the underworld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Txgangsta Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 I would assume they are charms/augmenters too. Then again, Jeff could be sitting back and laughing at all our petty guesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Goldengirl Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Well, Geneforge had canisters. Avernum had skribbane. And now, Avadon has scarabs. Makes sense to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Synergy Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 I ain't eatin' no beetles. -S- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dantius Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Originally Posted By: Synergy I ain't eatin' no beetles. -S- It could be worse. They could be dung beetles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall The Ratt Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 I thought that's what a scarab was. (Yes, I know all dung beetles are scarabs, but not all scarabs are dung beetles. Interestingly most of the scarabs found in egyptian culture, which is probably what scarabs are most know for, are dung beetles.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dantius Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Originally Posted By: The Ratt (Yes, I know all dung beetles are scarabs, but not all scarabs are dung beetles. Interestingly most of the scarabs found in egyptian culture, which is probably what scarabs are most know for, are dung beetles.) In Egyptian mythology, I thought that the rolling of dung symbolized the sun, and the sun got pushed through the sky by a giant dung beetle. And you though some of our legends were weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Goldengirl Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Come on, guys! We don't want to ruin the tale of Bluebeard's birth yet! It's a key part of Avadon's mythology! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Roamer ThirdParty Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 Here's a random new idea. Scarabs could be stat boosters like other equipment, but unlike other equipment they're permanent: once equipped, they can't be unequipped. So the player would have to decide whether to equip weak scarabs early in the game or save space for stronger scarabs that will only be available later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Alorael at Large Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 That encourages stupid spoiler-based min-maxing and powergaming even more than Jeff's games already do. —Alorael, who can see the reasons for it. He just doesn't like the idea very much. He also knows he'd end the game with entirely vacant scarab slots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dantius Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 Originally Posted By: Biurgy is worse That encourages stupid spoiler-based min-maxing and powergaming even more than Jeff's games already do. —Alorael, who can see the reasons for it. He just doesn't like the idea very much. He also knows he'd end the game with entirely vacant scarab slots. It doesn't even encourage intelligent min maxing. Just only equip the most powerful scarabs at the endgame, done. That was easy. Now if you designed the game ala A5, where there were challenge areas alongside the main areas, the perhaps equipping the light scarabs so you could clear out the lich's crypt and get the +5 Staff of Nuking at level 10, then you could get some intelligent min maxing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall The Ratt Posted August 22, 2010 Author Share Posted August 22, 2010 I could see slots being restricted to certain level scarabs, so the level 1 slot can only be filled by level 1 scarabs, etc. and then each scarab was permanent, but the scarab use would depend greatly on class, and since this is Jeff's first time really having classes I don't think he'd do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Roamer ThirdParty Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 Quote: —Alorael, who can see the reasons for it. He just doesn't like the idea very much. He also knows he'd end the game with entirely vacant scarab slots. Well, yes, so would I. Sort of like how I ended A6 with every potion in the game--even the weak ones that are practically useless late game--in my inventory, not having used any of them but having saved all of them for a rainy day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Txgangsta Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 I love the min-maxing of Jeff's games. I love being able to beat the endgame with 4-5 turns because I made my guys so awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotghroth Rhapsody waterplant Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 Originally Posted By: ThirdParty Quote: —Alorael, who can see the reasons for it. He just doesn't like the idea very much. He also knows he'd end the game with entirely vacant scarab slots. Well, yes, so would I. Sort of like how I ended A6 with every potion in the game--even the weak ones that are practically useless late game--in my inventory, not having used any of them but having saved all of them for a rainy day. Funny that it never rains in Avernum... Did you save all the Knowledge Brews? Everyday turns into a sunny day (or a kind of glowy mossy day) with the snappy tang of a Knowledge Brew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Student of Trinity Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 Scarabs could be permanent, except that there could be this one guy who can remove them for you, for a small fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Lilith Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 Originally Posted By: waterplant Funny that it never rains in Avernum... actually according to E/A1, it rains in the great cave due to steam from where a cave river flows into magma condensing on the ceiling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasoned Roamer ThirdParty Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 Originally Posted By: waterplant Did you save all the Knowledge Brews? Well, admittedly, I used some of the knowledge brews. Permanent stat boosts are more enticing than temporary battle advantages. But I did end up with a fair number of them. At one point I decided to do something that was going to anger the alchemist who made knowledge brews, so I went ahead and converted much of my ingredient stash. But that led to such an embarrassment of riches that I didn't know what to do with all the brews, so I just saved them. I think I ended the game with thirty-something knowledge brews. I also saved ten each of wisdom crystals and knowledge elixirs. I was afraid there might be a fetch quest at some point. You know, "I can make you a Sword of Awesomeness, but I need ten Wisdom Crystals to do it." or "I can teach you the Spell of Doom, but I need ten Knowledge Elixirs to bolster my memory." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Txgangsta Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 I usually play games where I won't make any knowledge brews/wisdom crystals, but use the ones that show up. Other than that, I basically do what TP does: No temporary battle advantages through potions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast VCH Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 Originally Posted By: Lilith Originally Posted By: waterplant Funny that it never rains in Avernum... actually according to E/A1, it rains in the great cave due to steam from where a cave river flows into magma condensing on the ceiling lol, awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt Tirien Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 Originally Posted By: VCH Originally Posted By: Lilith Originally Posted By: waterplant Funny that it never rains in Avernum... actually according to E/A1, it rains in the great cave due to steam from where a cave river flows into magma condensing on the ceiling lol, awesome I think it also mentioned that in A2, but its been a few years since I last played it, so I might be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenderfoot Thahd Pathos Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 I'm leaning towards "Boosts things that other equipment does not / does so rarely". Probably boosts to skills (in the skill tree) or something like that. I've seen scarabs before in the Mardek RPG games (pretty good flash games based off Final Fantasy etc). There, they're "ultimate" trinket-slot (which includes rings, necklaces, etc) items that give boosts / permanent buffs or just stat increases to a ridiculous degree. I, personally, have a sneaking suspicion that scarabs are just things for a single class and that other classes have the same / similar items but with different looks / descriptions. It'd make sense since each class is based off a single civilisation in game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall The Ratt Posted November 12, 2010 Author Share Posted November 12, 2010 So... Can any beta tester tell us what scarabs do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unflappable Drayk Ceiling Durkheim Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 The 'class-only accessory' idea is an interesting one. Guess we'll have to wait and see. I doubt they work in the way they do in the Mardek games, but shout outs (shouts out?) accrue for mentioning said series. Now if only it wasn't going to be another 2-3 years before chapter 4 came out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Student of Trinity Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 No, beta testers can't tell you stuff, I'm afraid. We sign a non-disclosure agreement. A certain amount of extremely vague (and even deliberately misleading) information does occasionally leak out here, but although I'm not a lawyer, I think spilling details on a new game mechanic would be a pretty blatant violation. They're not a huge feature of the game, though. I think they're good, but if you want to get impatient, there are other things to get impatient for first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dantius Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Wikileaks FTW. They have networks that can foil military grade hacking to protect the anonymity of their info sources. Well, I think one guy got caught. Not that I'm suggesting anything. I am merely pointing something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Dintiradan Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Of course, when someone leaks information, they always reveal at least one vital bit of information about themselves -- the fact that they had access to the information. There are never any guarantees of anonymity, especially when the pool of people with access to the unleaked information is small. I wouldn't be surprised if larger game companies used canary traps for their beta releases. It wouldn't work for story or gameplay, but it could work for screenshot or binary leaks. For each beta tester, make some part of the user interface a slightly different shade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk Student of Trinity Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 In this case, though, why? Jeff has asked people to keep quiet about his new game. He's still tweaking stuff, and he doesn't want rumors flying among his potential customers, before anything is final, that may ultimately hurt his sales. If somebody says, Scarabs do X, because they did that in an early beta, but then this feature gets changed in the final version, then Jeff has two problems. Some people who might have tried Avadon and liked it, but hate the idea of a game with items that do X, will hear the rumor and not try the game. And some people who are crazy for X will get all excited, download the demo, and then freak when they find no X after all, and never buy the full game, even though they might have bought it if they hadn't been feeling cheated over the X business. Or maybe it's something else entirely. It's Jeff's game, and he probably knows what he's doing on the business end. He wants stuff secret for now, so I figure we should go along with that, even if it would probably be possible to get away with blabbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chittering Clawbug Halt Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 Maybe they alter some stats until switched or destroyed, like charms or from the A1,A2, and A3 games there are blue crystals that teach you things that could be possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chittering Clawbug jecowa Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 The scarabs serve as your battling pets; they are sort of like Pokémon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Skwish-E Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Here's a random thought: The NPC components of your party will sometimes go off on their own business. What if you had a scarab for each of them that you have used, and then if you need them, you use a scarab that is keyed to that NPC to summon them? I can just see it now... "Now where did I leave that sorceress? Blatville? or Purga? Oh well, at least I imprinted this scarab with her aura." Player throwns scarab down..."Winnifred! I choose you!" OK, maybe not... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan Txgangsta Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I want them to be pokeballs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chittering Clawbug Halt Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 The guy in the image has a scarab equipped, The best guess is it probably has some sort of special effect that helps the character out but at some of cost, maybe Life Points or Energy or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt Milla Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 So games out. Did you guys figure out the answer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Scarabs are ... *skittering noise of lots of little feet* No .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotghroth Rhapsody Tracer Bullet Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Lots of feet? Insects have six. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast keira Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Originally Posted By: Fflewddur Fflam son of Godo Lots of feet? Insects have six. Lots of scarabs. In related news, I'm contemplating finding the ol' Powerbook G4 and seeing if it still works...April seems so far away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Khoth Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Watch the movie Cronos. That's what scarabs are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall A less presumptuous name. Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Originally Posted By: null the ol' Powerbook G4 Old? OLD?? It's the only computer that I own. Besides the family desktop, which is maybe 1 year newer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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