A:EftP - you guys lost me

[confused]

i bought every one of your games from first avernum, even grabbed all of the "older" ones i could. but this wandering around totally blind and no map is (to be 'family friendly') rubbish. i'm on the second round of a dark in some crypt, walking into portal after portal with no clue where i'm at. is this supposed to be fun? clicking blind for hours?

well i hugely regret now my small investment in this insanely frustrating mess that i will never be able to finish. in fact, i intend to quit and delete it right now. this is absurd. and i won't ever buy or recommend your games again, i hate this "feature" so much!

[Randomizer]

It's been in the game since Exile 1. It helps to drop valueless items like food in the rooms to help differentiate them. After a few minutes you will know which room is which without having to find the hidden switch on the north wall.

 

Pretty much any of the first 3 Avernum games have an area that is hard to navigate through without paying attention to details.

 

Welcome to Spiderweb Software. This is why we recommend leaving your sanity at the door.

 

[Lilith]

If you're truly that dissatisfied and feel that you didn't get your money's worth, Spiderweb Software does offer a one-year no-questions-asked money-back guarantee on all their games. Just email them with the name and address details you used to make your purchase and they'll sort you out. Keeping customer goodwill in the long run is more important to them than making money off you right now.

[adc.]

Originally Posted By: confused

i intend to quit and delete it right now. this is absurd. and i won't ever buy or recommend your games again, i hate this "feature" so much!

LOL!!! So, tell me, you have to quit, dislike and delete a game for a single reason?
-----------
What is the meaning of ChAlLeNgE to you. Obviously, No oNe would be that insane to put a labyrinth of mazes in the starting game.
-----------
EvEr hEaRd Of WaLkTrOugH? Ask help from the forums!!!
-----------
For the first time ever... no one would comment that on the forums. Don't you see the help requests almost all over the forums? Mods here are friendly so as the members too. It may be complicated to ask for a walktrough, but we give the best help we can.
----------
Ragequit? Deleting games? Pfftttt...

[Earth]

if you are stuck on specific quest then use forums advanced search w/o time limit and on correct sub-forum and you find answer.

[Callipygous]

I aimlessly clicked through those portals a couple times until I noticed that the first hidden door I opened didn't always appear opened. Reminded me of the cave system in Zork 1 with its non-linear path(s). I used the same problem solving method that Randomizer suggested: started dropping a different food type each time I clicked a portal until I got the rhyme and reason; great mini-puzzle.

 

After blazing through the hardest of the hard modes in games like ME1/2/3, Dead Space1/2, Skyrim, etc etc etc ad infinitum, its been VERY refreshing to find a game that actually offers a challenge to the gamers that want a challenge. First time in years that I had to dial down a difficulty setting: those boss fights in Spiral Pit and Slith Temple on Torment... good god.

 

From the little I have read it sounds like this level of difficulty is typical of Vogel's games. I'll be looking into more of his library based on this feature alone.

[Earth]

Avernums/Avadon are challening even at normal if puts his/her nose to wrong place too early and later at game same enemies are piece of cakes.

[Avadon]

@confused

 

I guess most of Spiderweb's fans are old timers who remember playing CRPGs back in the old days. I can see how these games can be a bit of a shock if you are coming in fresh from playing Oblivion or Skyrim.

 

If you have not played CRPGs where the dungeon screen goes dark like in Ultima, or faced teleportation traps in Eye of the Beholder, or searched for secret doors, then it can be quite daunting.

 

However, unlike the old days where once you are stuck, you are stuck, nowadays all the solutions are easily found on Google.

 

However, judging from your post, it really does sound like these games might not be your cup of tea. Did you try out the free demos first? I think you would be much happier with Oblivion/Skyrim/Fallout 3 as you cannot really get lost in those games.

 

If you can still persist with Spiderweb's CRPGs, perhaps you could try Avadon, which is more linear than Avernum and so it is less likely that you will become lost or frustrated.

[Andariel]

Actually, I'm displeased that there are indicators on Avernum's map which show you quest markers. It's an odd modern Skyrimy feature to be put into an old school game like this... So, personally, I love getting lost in dungeon crawlers and I liked that darkness feature in Avernum.

 

If you find yourself too confused by Avernum, confused (), you should try Legend of Grimrock for a change (oops, spider-sense tingling?)

 

[Avadon]

I found the quest markers useful, but they could be better as these markers only indicated the locations to go to for doing the quests, but do not update where to return to after doing so. Hence after completing quests, I have to hunt for the quest giver to mark it done.

 

Maybe developer Jeff can add in a toggle to hide or show quest markers and perhaps to update where to return to after completing the quest.

[Jerakeen]

You can get that information by selecting the quest in your log and reading the text. Though it sometimes can be tricky to remember where exactly in a town you met a particular individual.