G2 - Infestation: Feeding creations?

[BloomingLilac]

Hi! I'm playing the demo. In the original games, I recall being able to feed creations, but selecting it from the quick slot results in my character eating it instead. Is there another way to do it? Thanks in advance.

[BenS]

I don't believe so.

[BloomingLilac]

Thank you! That was always helpful to me, especially starting out with little money for spores.

 

Edit: My character can't use food for healing because he's "still full". I was playing on hard. It's been a long time since I played the original, so I can't say for sure, but I think I was able to heal anytime with food. 🙂

Edited April 19 by BloomingLilac
Added more changes regarding food

[Randomizer]

The remakes limited the use of food as cheap, quick healing. It makes it worthless to keep collecting food and only bandages and wine (ingredient later on in the game) are sellable versions of food.

[BloomingLilac]

I did notice wine was added for healing. Toward the end of the demo, I was trying to kill the withered roamer and lost all but one of my creations, then it spawned 3-4 artilas. (I'll have to load the original game to check, but I don't remember AoE spells damaging my party on hard difficulty.) With one healing pod and no spores, I may have to lower the difficulty or keep reloading. My fyoras were doing 2-7 damage. Thahds were having to walk so far that they couldn't attack. I had one point in stealth, but combat initiates from very long distances. Sometimes enemies weren't visible without moving the screen.

[alhoon]

1 hour ago, BloomingLilac said:

I did notice wine was added for healing. Toward the end of the demo, I was trying to kill the withered roamer and lost all but one of my creations, then it spawned 3-4 artilas. (I'll have to load the original game to check, but I don't remember AoE spells damaging my party on hard difficulty.) With one healing pod and no spores, I may have to lower the difficulty or keep reloading. My fyoras were doing 2-7 damage. Thahds were having to walk so far that they couldn't attack. I had one point in stealth, but combat initiates from very long distances. Sometimes enemies weren't visible without moving the screen.

I think you shouldn't be having such a hard time. Do you mind telling the optimizing-specialists here what you have, what are your strengths and all, so they could find the path forward for you?

[BloomingLilac]

1 hour ago, alhoon said:

I think you shouldn't be having such a hard time. Do you mind telling the optimizing-specialists here what you have, what are your strengths and all, so they could find the path forward for you?

 

Thank you!

 

I think my main problem was investing all of my essence in creations, leaving maybe 4 points for spells. I had 2 thahds and 2 fyoras. My highest level fyora was killed, but I didn't reload. Then, I absorbed my 2 thahds and created 3 fyoras. I didn't have enough essence for special abilities for all of them. One had the AoE fire ability, but I wasn't using it often because of the massive damage to my party. Positioning is tricky sometimes.

 

I don't understand why combat is initiated so far away in this remaster. Some of the enemies weren't visible, and there's no way they should see me if they're out of my line of sight. I was told that an enemy was visible when I tried ending combat so many times that I became frustrated. 

 

If I recall correctly, I put 2 points in leadership, 2 points in mechanics, 1 point in melee, 1 point in battle magic, and 1 point in essence mastery. I believe I was level 3.

 

My fyoras weren't doing enough damage, so I may reload and create at least one thahd. I'm playing as a shaper, using spells and mostly missiles. I just got the cure affliction spell.  This is how I play the originals, but maybe I should've learned to create an artila first. I was only able to get a few coins in shops. (One coin for items worth ten coins is terrible! Merchants paid 2 coins for wooden shields in Avernum 4.) 

 

 

 

 

[alhoon]

25 minutes ago, BloomingLilac said:

 

I believe I was level 3.

 

 

Ah, that seems to be the problem.

At level 4-5 you should have been fine. 

[BloomingLilac]

Maybe I missed some quests? I was playing the demo, so I couldn't go north. 

[alhoon]

Well, I understand that. But the fight is tough for level 3. The Crystal cave will also be absolutely brutal on you. Theoretically, you can make it, but it won't be easy. Also, did you have Zora with you? The battle roar is great. 

Edited April 19 by alhoon

[BenS]

4 hours ago, alhoon said:

Well, I understand that. But the fight is tough for level 3. The Crystal cave will also be absolutely brutal on you. Theoretically, you can make it, but it won't be easy. Also, did you have Zora with you? The battle roar is great. 

I think you need 4 Leadership to get Zora's help, which is well worth it for all the zones she will stick w/ you! Just don't let her die obviously.

[BloomingLilac]

11 hours ago, alhoon said:

Well, I understand that. But the fight is tough for level 3. The Crystal cave will also be absolutely brutal on you. Theoretically, you can make it, but it won't be easy. Also, did you have Zora with you? The battle roar is great. 

 

Thanks for your comments. If you hadn't posted, I don't know if I would've reloaded. It turns out that I didn't have enough leadership to complete the smart servile quest. I remember talking to her a few times, but the option to threaten her didn't show up. It worked today with 3 points. I learned to create an artila and completed the quest to find the source of the rogues. Now, I'm level 4!

 

If I buy the game on Steam, will I need to start over?

 

7 hours ago, BenS said:

I think you need 4 Leadership to get Zora's help, which is well worth it for all the zones she will stick w/ you! Just don't let her die obviously.

 

I'll add a point in leadership. Thank you! I'm hoping I can get the terrified servile now, too. Tsuenami? There was also a fyora in one of the starting locations that wandered off when I clicked on it.

 

Edit: I forgot to mention that one of the thahds died and I finished the rogues quest with 1 thahd, 1 fyora, and 1 artila with the charge upgrade for the thahd and the shielding upgrade for the artila.

 

The combat initiation issue was resolved by changing my resolution. I feel so foolish! How do I change settings again after selecting "Always start in this mode."? I didn't see any configuration files.

Edited April 19 by BloomingLilac
Added a few details

[BenS]

I don't believe you can recruit Tsuenami, but you can get decent xp w/ Leadership to soothe her (?). Nor could you recruit that early Fyora.

As for buying the game on Steam--which I hope you do--I don't actually know whether you have to start over or not.

[BloomingLilac]

Okay, thank you. I got 100xp for soothing her. I'm just waiting for payday, so when I finish the demo, I may play the original. 🙂

[Hyperion703]

5 hours ago, BloomingLilac said:

If I buy the game on Steam, will I need to start over?

No.

[alhoon]

5 hours ago, BloomingLilac said:

 

Thanks for your comments. If you hadn't posted, I don't know if I would've reloaded. It turns out that I didn't have enough leadership to complete the smart servile quest. I remember talking to her a few times, but the option to threaten her didn't show up. It worked today with 3 points. I learned to create an artila and completed the quest to find the source of the rogues. Now, I'm level 4!

 

While, at least early game, investing in more than one Shaping paths is not too expensive, it is suboptimal. What I mean is that it is much better for you to focus on one tree and increase that and get creations and canisters for that. 

[BloomingLilac]

2 hours ago, Hyperion703 said:

No.

 

Great. I was worried since I downloaded the demo from Spiderweb. 

 

2 hours ago, alhoon said:

 

While, at least early game, investing in more than one Shaping paths is not too expensive, it is suboptimal. What I mean is that it is much better for you to focus on one tree and increase that and get creations and canisters for that. 

 

I appreciate your advice. I'll keep it in mind. 

[alhoon]

3 hours ago, BloomingLilac said:

 

Great. I was worried since I downloaded the demo from Spiderweb. 

 

 

I appreciate your advice. I'll keep it in mind. 

 

I had the exact same question when the demo was out. In fact, I was afraid thanks to a mis-install in a different computer that I would lose my saves, but they were all there. 

 

As for the "One Branch only". It really helps. BUT it is not the end-all. This game allows you to be suboptimal. It is not a "puzzle" game where you have to pick the right things. I think even in the highest difficulty, there is leeway to do a few non-perfect things. 

Sure, some fights will be difficult ... but for the most part you can do them later! Very few are the encounters that you need to do before you can go somewhere else. 

[BloomingLilac]

That's good to know.

 

At first, I had some trouble with the two cryoas and the blue artila in the northern mine location, but I lured them into the area with the pylon. That made short work of them, and I had the daze spell by then. It feels good to find a solution to some of the more tricky fights. I could've used the stairs without fighting them, but I was worried about encountering them with low health. I'm always excited when I unlock cryoas and clawbugs!

 

I got a point in stealth when I reached level 4. I'm guessing that works a bit like the traits in the Avernum games so that you get a bonus every few levels?

[BenS]

I personally would not waste any skill points in Stealth unless you're specifically going for a Pacifist run (achievement/medal). Skill points are precious enough as they are. But if you prefer putting Stealth on your PC--and I'm not sure how it works mechanics-wise--from a RP perspective...more power to you.

[Randomizer]

There are only a few places like Road to Phariton where stealth is useful and you probably have some items that you can use.