Avernum series

[Bisged]

So I have just finished Avernum 6, previously completed 2-3 and 4, forgot I hadnt finished 5 when i started 6 but couldnt be bothered to go back, I completed 2 and 3 when they first came out like what 15-20 years ago? and 4 about 5 years ago and 6 just now I was wondering about the remakes are they that different that they would be worth me purchasing bearing in mind i never actually played 1 or the exiles series.

 

on another note, what was you'r guys favourite game in the series, me Personally is Avernum 2, first game I played from a Demo cd on a magazine I bought, my dad even Bought me the hint book which i still have on my "game Trophy shelf" and super thankful that it was sent all the way to the UK. fully loved the storyline of the second one, invaded by the guys who forced you into the caves and fighting back and showing them who's boss

[googoogjoob]

On 10/16/2022 at 4:33 PM, Bisged said:

I was wondering about the remakes are they that different that they would be worth me purchasing bearing in mind i never actually played 1 or the exiles series.

 

Mechanically, the (re-)remakes are very different from the original games. In particular, the RPG mechanics are overhauled, and substantially streamlined. The old Avernums' system, where you spend points to increase stats and skills, is replaced with a system where stats/skills/perks are separate progressions (and, obviously, perks are added relative to the older games); the player receives a fixed number of points for each per level. Skills are arranged into a tree, but not a very "deep" one. This means that characters grow more powerful at a steady, linear rate over the course of the game, unlike the jerkier leaps and bounds that characters tend to advance in the older games. (It's also, frankly, a shallower and less interesting system, with fewer meaningful choices for the player to make- there aren't many decisions to make in levelling; you increase your character's primary statistic, and then whichever skill(s) get you closer to filling out the right branch of the tree for your build.)

 

There are many little quality of life changes in the remakes. There're in-game world maps. There's a robust quest log, and you can see quest locations on the map. The inventory system is reworked such that encumbrance is based on equipped gear, rather than your entire inventory, cutting down on the need to stash items and juggle inventories. There's a "junk bag"- essentially a bottomless secondary inventory, used for accumulating vendor trash without having to take up inventory slots. There's a hotbar, to which frequently-used items or spells might be assigned.

 

There are innumerable little changes to things like how spells work. Player characters have access to combat skills- non-magical special abilities, access to which is based on combat skills, which at least theoretically make non-magic characters more interesting in combat.

 

In terms of content differences- The (re-)remake of Avernum 1 has relatively substantial content additions- a new "town," several new questlines, a decent amount of added or rewritten dialogue. Avernum 2 and 3 have very little in the way of new content, and what changes there are are mainly to accommodate what are presumably budgetary limitations (as in, commissioning new sprites costs money)- eg, the hydras of Avernum 2 are replaced in the remake with hellhounds, and dialogue is changed to accommodate this; you can no longer buy/ride horses in Avernum 3.

 

Technologically, the remakes have the advantage that you can choose to run them in different resolutions, in a window, etc, which is nice to have. If you're on OS X 10.7 or later, you can't run Avernum 1-3 anymore anyway, and have to play the remakes.

 

I think that whether it's worth it to you to play the remakes mostly comes down to how much you care about the quality of life stuff- both the in-game stuff and the technical stuff. I personally prefer the old Avernums' game mechanics, but I find it easier to go back to the remakes because of the QoL changes.

 

Anyway. My favorite Avernum is probably 2 also. It does everything 1 does better, and creatively develops the setting established in 1- it's everything a sequel should be. 1 is very good, of course; 3 isn't bad, but it's too big and empty compared to 1/2, and the story just doesn't work as well. 5 is my favorite of the second trilogy, as it introduces a somewhat different perspective (as the player characters are Imperial adventurers), and new territory, which neither 4 nor 6 do.

Edited October 21, 2022 by googoogjoob

[Edgwyn]

I like Avernum 2 the best as well.  Story wise I like 1 and 2 equally well, but 2 seems so much bigger to me even though it is only slightly bigger.  It also just seems better developed, but that is probably because it was the second game developed (going back to the original version).