Light

[Actaeon]

Is the honestly any benefit to using a lantern or other light source? They assist slightly in lighting, but nothing that would actually help, typically. Do they function as additional radiance, to ward off undead, or is light really just useless?

[Randomizer]

I think there are a few areas where it's really dark like the Wrecked Lab where it helps in giving you a greater attack distance, but I stopped using light early on and never really cared. It doesn't have a noticeable effect and it frees up one more slot in your backpack.

[Student of Trinity]

Yeah, Jeff seems to have had the idea to put in lighting limitations, but then just given up on actually doing anything significant with it.

I can't particularly complain, since nothing really springs to mind that he could have done that wouldn't just have been tedious instead of cool. Maybe in G5.

[Lilith]

Quote:

Originally written by Student of Trinity:
Yeah, Jeff seems to have had the idea to put in lighting limitations, but then just given up on actually doing anything significant with it.

I'm assuming the usefulness of lanterns (minor though it may be) is a small bone thrown to everyone who complained about the lighting in A4.

[VCH]

And it's nice that the lanterns actually work. Realism!

[Spidweb]

It's just there to look nice. As one poster said, it's pretty hard to do anything with the game system to do with lighting that isn't just tedious. Applying to-hit penalties doesn't increase fun.

 

- Jeff Vogel

[Alorael at Large]

I'm reminded of a Grumpy Gamer column from years ago in which Jeff pointed out that games that demand a great deal of realistic but boring management (get a torch blunder around in the dark!) are no fun. He then made lighting an integral part of Exile/Avernum.

 

—Alorael, who is just grateful the Light and Long Light. He also enjoyed lugging around many, many lamps in GF4 until they became worthless after the first few rounds of beta. Then he got rid of them all and sadly got no money for them.

[Student of Trinity]

Now, if only there could be one special lamp, lying around somewhere inconspicuous, which summons up a semi-phenomenal, nearly cosmic Eyebeast for you when you polish it up.

[Just Another Muffin Junky]

I think making light change how far you can see (and thus, how far you can shoot stuff) would totally make close combat stink! If you think about it, you would have to have enough action points to find them, THEN still have enough to run up to them and wack 'em. Plus, he could run back a couple squares out of your sight and you would have to find him AGAIN! ('specially nasty if your fightin a terror vlish, where you can't see where the missle came from). And I don't even wanna think what would happen with multiple enemies... Whereas with long range, you find 'em,fry 'em. lather, rinse, and repeat.

 

Could be fun, though.

[Nioca]

You could make the lighting system similar to the fog-of-war/LOS system in RTS games. In some strategy games I've played, even if an attacker is outside you LOS, he gets lit up momentarily. It could be the same way in Geneforge. If a Terror Vlish attacks you, it momentarily gets lit up in it's animated stage. Not enough to give you an exact position, but enough so that you can get a general idea, rather than getting pulverized without anyway to retaliate.

 

Also, you could make certain spell effects, like a blast of fire, illuminate the area surrounding it as it flies. This would reveal any enemies it passes near, and would also look cool. But this one is a far less likely possibility.

 

You could also make glowing creations (or even yourself, after sufficient canister/geneforge usage) that have a small luminescent effect.

[Actaeon]

I agree about the magical Eyebeast, or something like it. There should be a magic version of every item hidden somewhere in the games. The crescent rock from G1, the cake... Just to keep you on your toes, collecting trash, bones, and scales.

[Dikiyoba]

Originally by Alorael:

 

Quote:

I'm reminded of a Grumpy Gamer column from years ago in which Jeff pointed out that games that demand a great deal of realistic but boring management (get a torch blunder around in the dark!) are no fun.

I remember coming across an Internet flash game once (I can't remember the name) that solved that problem by making the torch the weapon as well as the lighting. Letting the torch burn out meant blundering around in the dark away from all enemies. (Of course, it ruined some of the effect by having upgrades available. First, why are there shops in the middle of the wilderness selling torches? Second, what is a red torch and why is it better than a wooden one?)

 

Originally by Cirion Actaeon:

 

Quote:

There should be a magic version of every item hidden somewhere in the games. The crescent rock from G1, the cake...

Don't forget the living tool with no charges in G1. Dikiyoba thinks it's fair to use it to get to the canister of Create Ornk.

[VCH]

The lanterns where fun. I only used them once or twice in the begining. But my character seemed to be glowing any way, so light wasn't a huge issue.

[Randomizer]

In old Avernum games you had the areas where lighting established how far you could attack. The Mertis Spiral had the section where your torch always went out if you took a step so you were always being attacked at close range.

 

It would be a change, but something could be done where you could only attack within a certain radius.