Personal Injury Doily Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 The whole trope that "everything you do must be formulated as a quest, which is explicitly stated by a single person, who you can also report your success to, usually for a reward" wasn't even remotely universal in 1994. Very little of what you can do in the game follows that formula. Luck: one point can be worth adding early. The first point gives you a 40% chance to lower damage sustained by 1, and a 30% chance to not die when you otherwise should. After that the increase is not as steep. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted August 30, 2020 Author Share Posted August 30, 2020 7 minutes ago, "Nothing Left" said: The whole trope that "everything you do must be formulated as a quest, which is explicitly stated by a single person, who you can also report your success to, usually for a reward" wasn't even remotely universal in 1994. Very little of what you can do in the game follows that formula. The very first video game I ever played was Avernum, I'm not used to older games. 8 minutes ago, "Nothing Left" said: Luck: one point can be worth adding early. The first point gives you a 40% chance to lower damage sustained by 1, and a 30% chance to not die when you otherwise should. After that the increase is not as steep. Ah thank you for the info. I begin to see monster fleeing instead of attacking; is that related to the total amount of Luck my party has? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thaluikhain Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 (edited) As I understand it, that's because your level is too high. Not sure if that's intended to represent them being scared of you (which makes sense) or it's more a gameplay thing, because low level monsters would annoy players. Edited August 30, 2020 by Thaluikhain Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted August 30, 2020 Author Share Posted August 30, 2020 8 minutes ago, Thaluikhain said: As I understand it, that's because your level is too high. My current party members levels trank from 8 to 5. It seems a bit low to scare mindless creatures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Almighty Doer of Stuff Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 (edited) There ARE many of those not requested quests. A lot of text and details were added in the remakes, like I said. EDIT: Sorry, didn't see page 2. But also, in Blades of Exile, when your party reaches an average level of 8, all monsters in scenarios rated Low difficulty will see their HP doubled. So monsters fleeing at level 5 to 8 isn't unusual. Edited August 30, 2020 by The Almighty Doer of Stuff ladyonthemoon 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted August 30, 2020 Author Share Posted August 30, 2020 On a side note, I have a real pleasure playing this game but I cannot play too long sessions due to the outrageous number of monsters to fight; this easily annoys me. I would like it much more if more of them fled. Two hours is the largest limit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thaluikhain Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 11 hours ago, ladyonthemoon said: On a side note, I have a real pleasure playing this game but I cannot play too long sessions due to the outrageous number of monsters to fight; this easily annoys me. I would like it much more if more of them fled. Two hours is the largest limit. Second that, lots of monsters that have little or not treasure and exist solely to get in the way gets tiresome. IIRC, E3 had a lot less of that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hondero Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 (edited) I remember making a topic on the monster numbers for Exile II maybe 10 years ago — I had to check that thread and I still think the same! In dungeons in Exile 1, I recall the enemies respawning at a ridiculous rate. It was most noticeable in some of the linear dungeons (“I know I cleared this area out”) and did feel like a tedious slog. Sort of a false difficulty — you’ve already potentially cleared a dungeon, beaten the boss and horde, and yet you still have to deal with leagues of respawning critters. If you give Exile 2 a shot, the dungeon respawning is not nearly as bad, and it only seems to be a characteristic for some dungeons. Many of them don’t seem to have respawning. I remember playing some E1 dungeons and seeing enemies respawn right before my eyes as I walked around! For the wandering monsters just leveling up your party will help a lot. Like you noticed, even level 5-8 may make wandering goblins and such run away. It is annoying to be exploring and get 2-3 groups of monsters attack you sequentially, especially after you just cleared a dungeon. Like Thaluikhain said, Exile 3 had a preference setting for less wander monsters, and it was nice to turn on when you get tired of them. Fortunately, leveling up helps a LOT, and by the time most of your characters are 15-25+, you can walk around most areas of Exile without most wandering monsters attacking. Feels good When I started playing Exile 2 again a couple weeks ago, I was annoyed at the wandering and respawning monsters sometimes getting in the way of the game. Since there is no game setting to change it and because I think it is sometimes a cheap move on the game’s part (like the false difficulty I mentioned), so I started just buying a lot of energy potions and giving myself the gold back via the game editor. You still have to slog through the duplicate enemies at times, but at least you don’t have to get stingy with the spell points and hold off of buffing your characters. Edited August 31, 2020 by Hondero Isaiah and ladyonthemoon 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted August 31, 2020 Author Share Posted August 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Hondero said: It is annoying to be exploring and get 2-3 groups of monsters attack you sequentially, I experienced this yesterday. My party had discovered the Crystal Cave and were resting inside it. Their health and energy points were very low so I had them rest several time in a row; after a while I was getting "monsters nearby" each time I pressed the rest button. I ventured outside and there was 4 bands of enemies queueing outside the cave entrance! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 I've played a bit today; unfortunately I wasted a lot of time killing hordes of monsters... My party discovered Cotra where they took the Nephilim Fort quest; they eventually found it after hours wandering and fighting monsters, as already mentioned. They have begun their exploration of the cave. They levelled up but couldn't get much training since they didn't have much money... They hope that the reward for freeing the prisoners will be handsome, really handsome! Monsters waiting for the team outside the Crystal Cave: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 Hurray! They freed the prisoners and got at nice reward! 700 coins! They become stronger and stronger and more and more monsters flee when they are close now. Phew! They found a soldier who was hiding in the fort; I haven't been able to find the words that triggers him escaping. There is an ominous altar in the fort; they decided not to take chances this time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 My party's current stats; their levels spred from 7 to 9, all the fighters are level 9. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Almighty Doer of Stuff Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 You will be beaten to a pulp if you mess with that altar right now, if that's the altar I'm thinking of. I suggest coming back when you're stronger though. You could also try saving, testing your abilities, and then reloading if you can't handle it. In conversation, when in doubt, try asking about every word you see in conversation one by one. Exile 3 and BoE make this easier, by allowing you to click on words instead of typing them all in, but for this situation, my hunch would be to start by asking about "portcullis", "open", or "escape". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 15 minutes ago, The Almighty Doer of Stuff said: my hunch would be to start by asking about "portcullis", "open", or "escape". I've tried these words, and a lot of others I can't remember, several times with no luck. I even tried words that were not in the conversation, like "flee", "free", "leave". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Almighty Doer of Stuff Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 (edited) What does he say in the message before that? EDIT: Yeah, I just blasted in with an edited party to find out. I opened the portcullis, freed the other captives, and then tried a bunch of keywords with Gordon and still couldn't figure it out... Edited September 6, 2020 by The Almighty Doer of Stuff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 17 minutes ago, The Almighty Doer of Stuff said: EDIT: Yeah, I just blasted in with an edited party to find out. I opened the portcullis, freed the other captives, and then tried a bunch of keywords with Gordon and still couldn't figure it out... Sigh Looks like the poor guy was left behind. Thanks for trying! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thaluikhain Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Yeah, did that dungeon a few days ago, don't play with the altar (really don't, a Haakai is way too tough, in E3 they are about the toughest monster that isn't a special character.) and I think that guy is just to give exposition and doesn't escape, or at least doesn't have an explicit gameplay escape thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted September 7, 2020 Author Share Posted September 7, 2020 4 hours ago, Thaluikhain said: I think that guy is just to give exposition and doesn't escape, or at least doesn't have an explicit gameplay escape thing. He does escape in Avernum... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fireball Fodder Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Yeah, I'm pretty sure that guy can't escape in Exile I. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Almighty Doer of Stuff Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 I'm finding that Exile 3 feels less bogged down than A1:EftP or A2:CS. There's a lot less description and flavor like I said, and Jeff's writing is engaging in the remake remakes, but Exile 3 feels easier to play without thirty screenfuls of text in every town. I'm surprised. I thought I would like it less, but I don't. I forgot to add a point of Luck when I created my party, and got worried when I saw Slarty's post earlier in this thread and remembered. But then I remembered Luck costs 0 gold to train in, just skill points, so it's better to train it after party creation, where everything else that is otherwise not free, is still free. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 (edited) Nothing much to say about this week's round. The party went up North after freeing the prisoners from the Nephilim fort, exploring. They stumbled on a "remote temple" and managed to get out of it alive, but it was close. They carried on exploring and eventually found Formello. They visited the city and found its hidden treasure; they disarmed the traps but left the loot on the spot. Then they paid a visit to the mayor who tasked them with retrieving her magic necklace. On to the Nephilim Fort then! Before that, they need to go back to Fort Duvno; they have many unknown objects and nobody is able to identify them in Formello. Edited September 13, 2020 by ladyonthemoon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thaluikhain Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 Running back and forth to ID stuff is a pain, yeah. Secret treasure in Formello, didn't know about that. Took one look at the Remote Temple and decided not, might give it another go. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Thaluikhain said: Took one look at the Remote Temple and decided not, might give it another go. These guys are tough indeed. My party will go back there later too. By the way, I know how to avoid monsters spawning too often: do not sleep outside... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted September 28, 2020 Author Share Posted September 28, 2020 I'm still playing Exile, it's just that I haven't managed to get enough spare time lately to play significantly. Right now my party is in the Nephilim Fort near Formello, trying to recover the necklace. With them levelling up, fights have become less frustrating. Warrior Mage 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Warrior Mage Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 What happened to your Avernum characters then? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted September 29, 2020 Author Share Posted September 29, 2020 11 hours ago, Warrior Mage said: What happened to your Avernum characters then? Nothing I guess; they are still resting until the Exile party has caught up with them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Warrior Mage Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 I am eager to know how gameplay is going... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 On 1/2/2021 at 2:47 PM, Warrior Mage said: I am eager to know how gameplay is going... Well, I'm afraid the gameplay is suspended right now, for various reasons. I'll get back to it one day or another. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Figgy20000 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Just started reading this thread., Make sure to update us eventually it can't end like this!!!!!!!!!!! Exile 2 is fantanstic you have to at least make it there Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Losrandir Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Say hello to Motrax from me! 😊 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Almighty Doer of Stuff Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 (edited) EDIT: Clicking the Recent Activity items does not take you to new posts. Edited February 8 by The Almighty Doer of Stuff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Randomizer Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 9 minutes ago, The Almighty Doer of Stuff said: EDIT: Clicking the Recent Activity items does not take you to new posts. You have to go to the sub forum and click to the left of the bold faced topic to get recent activity. I know you didn't used to have to do it that way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 I'm sorry guys but I'm using Linux now and I don't like WINE. Anyway, I tried playing Exile with WINE and the result was not good. The only game made by Spiderweb that has a Linux version is Avadon: The Black Fortress. I still have Windows installed but it's rather boring to have to switch from one os the other. If only anyone could make a Linux version of Exile, Avernum and all the other games... sigh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Almighty Doer of Stuff Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) Most of the games run just fine with WINE. What don't you like about it? EDIT: Nevermind, I don't remember whether I had issues with the Exile series specifically. It's been a while. I remember them running fine but I might be mistaken, and I'm not sure I know how to troubleshoot WINE anymore. Edited February 21 by The Almighty Doer of Stuff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 15 hours ago, The Almighty Doer of Stuff said: Most of the games run just fine with WINE. What don't you like about it? Well, WINE is huge for once and I don't need it, I would only use it for my Windows games and most of them would not work fine under it. So... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arampl Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Hi all! This is my first post on Spiderweb forums. Posting into this thread because found discussion about Linux and WINE here. I like Spiderweb games very much (bought games from official site, Steam and GOG). Played "Avernum: Escape From the Pit" (Windows 7), completed "Avadon: The Black Fortress" (Linux). Several days ago got "Geneforge: Mutagen" from GOG. Please, people, can anyone tell: did you really played remastered games using WINE? It installs and runs, of course. But there's is very nasty lag that prevents to have fun with games: when in combat and mouse cursor is hovering monster or your character/summons all is OK. But when mouse is somewhere else on the screen it became laggy as hell (any combat action or text messages about damage is very slow). Tested it with Debian and Xubuntu (WINE and CrossOver with different settings (gdi/opengl, sound, input)). Thank you in advance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Almighty Doer of Stuff Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Yes, I recall having that problem with slow performance. I stopped using Linux when I got a new laptop a couple years ago though, because of the warranty. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ladyonthemoon Posted March 4 Author Share Posted March 4 Is there any way to convince Jeff so that he ports his games to Linux, at least Ubuntu and the versions that are based on it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Almighty Doer of Stuff Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 (edited) Yes. Make it financially worthwhile for him. There's a Linux version of Exile III, at least. Edited March 4 by The Almighty Doer of Stuff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arampl Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 (edited) Linux port would be a wonderful thing. Surely all Linux gamers would be grateful. Spiderweb games already uses several cross-platform libraries, SDL for example. Also "Avadon: The Black Fortress" already has Linux port. Sadly while building native executables is a matter of several hours, testing can take long time and a lot of energy. From financial point of view personally I could only promise to buy all remakes that is not in my collection (Avernum 1, 2, 3, Avadon 2, 3 etc.). Maybe some sort of poll how profitable Linux port would be is available here? Edited March 4 by arampl Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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