|
sitchelin posted:Nonono gently caress the Vahnatai Crypt, gently caress Chitraches, and gently caress Dahris-Bok's tomb. Chapter 2 of Exile/Avernum 2 is a goddamn exercise in torture. I'm following the Exile 2 LP going on right now and I'm really looking forward to this game, so don't ruin it for me you bugger. My anger at the 6-man party becoming 4 aside, I love the look of Escape from the Pit and its impending sequel. I hold those up as proof that you don't have to spend ten billion dollars on 3d-up-the-arse to make a good-looking game.
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2014 16:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 10, 2024 13:19 |
|
|
Exile 1-3 & Blades are free to play now. You could just play them yourself.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2014 19:00
|
|
|
sitchelin posted:Exile 1-3 & Blades are free to play now. You could just play them yourself. If this is addressed to me, I tried a bit. I have Windows 7 Ultimate on several machines, which comes with software for a virtual XP box. Those games run quite well on the virtual box, but I'm just too "spoiled" to play them myself - the archaic interface just gets on my plumbs and I can't get into them. My major problem with the 4-man party is that A) it reduces variety and imagination in party building and B) it frequently forces you to adhere to the stereotypical RPG Big 4: Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Mage. Even a 5-man party would have been less jarring. I've danced this Charleston before, so I won't jump back into that rant. In any event, the second remake of Exile 2 is very pretty and I am very much looking forward to it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 19, 2014 16:13
|
|
|
I'm playing through Avernum: Escape from the Pit right now, and I killed the A dragon before getting a portion of the password for getting to the surface. Am I completely screwed, or can I get the final part elsewhere?
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2014 13:40
|
|
|
Xander77 posted:I'm playing through Avernum: Escape from the Pit right now, and I killed the A dragon before getting a portion of the password for getting to the surface. Am I completely screwed, or can I get the final part elsewhere? Hit shift+d and type "ikilledathron".
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2014 18:16
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:If this is addressed to me, I tried a bit. I have Windows 7 Ultimate on several machines, which comes with software for a virtual XP box. Those games run quite well on the virtual box, but I'm just too "spoiled" to play them myself - the archaic interface just gets on my plumbs and I can't get into them. The oldschool Exile games are a great way to develop carpal tunnel syndrome, I won't argue that, but I'm perfectly happy with the 4 party system. You don't *have* to stick with the Fighter, Rogue, etc. formula. As long as you can unlock doors and have a steady source of heals you can run with pretty much any group composition you want; for example, playing an all-Anama run in Exile/Avernum 3 is extremely fun and all kinds of challenging since you have to completely swear off Mage spells. I'm working through an all-archer run of Avernum: EFtP right now and it's interesting to say the least. Have you tried Nethergate? I starts off as a 4-group but as you progress through the story you can add two additional people to your party. I'm not sure if Nethergate: Resurrection stuck to that formula or not.
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2014 19:32
|
|
|
sitchelin posted:
Thanks for jogging my memory. I played the gently caress out of nethergate. Never beat it though. It's easily one of my favorite spiderweb games, probably just behind exile 2.
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2014 20:19
|
|
|
sitchelin posted:The oldschool Exile games are a great way to develop carpal tunnel syndrome, I won't argue that, but I'm perfectly happy with the 4 party system. You don't *have* to stick with the Fighter, Rogue, etc. formula. As long as you can unlock doors and have a steady source of heals you can run with pretty much any group composition you want; for example, playing an all-Anama run in Exile/Avernum 3 is extremely fun and all kinds of challenging since you have to completely swear off Mage spells. Interestingly, recent SW games (basically everything from Geneforge onward) are pretty much all deliberately designed in such a way that you never absolutely need to be able to pick locks to finish the game. You'll miss out on a shitload of treasure and possibly some sidequests if you can't, though, and maybe have a hard time in certain trap-infested areas.
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2014 21:48
|
|
|
Anything I should know about Avernum 6? Specifically, how is it different / similar to Escape from the Pit?
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2014 23:03
|
|
|
Xander77 posted:Anything I should know about Avernum 6? Specifically, how is it different / similar to Escape from the Pit? The engine is extremely close to Escape from the Pit. It's a fun game and the story can be sad considering it takes place after all 5 games, and old characters come back and things happen to them. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 00:41
|
|
|
sitchelin posted:The oldschool Exile games are a great way to develop carpal tunnel syndrome, I won't argue that, but I'm perfectly happy with the 4 party system. You don't *have* to stick with the Fighter, Rogue, etc. formula. As long as you can unlock doors and have a steady source of heals you can run with pretty much any group composition you want; for example, playing an all-Anama run in Exile/Avernum 3 is extremely fun and all kinds of challenging since you have to completely swear off Mage spells. I'm working through an all-archer run of Avernum: EFtP right now and it's interesting to say the least. I actually have both; I have Resurrection on Steam (it's not on GOG) and a DRM-free version from a Spiderweb bundle from a year or two ago. The original is no longer available, but I have a DRM-free copy of it, totally legit believe it or not, due to a series of odd events from last year. I don't know how closely they resemble each other, but I did hear that you can hire a 5th, permanent party member and other, temporary members will join you as a 6th. I stand by my opinion, though, that 6-man party is better and more fun. It's only that, though - my opinion. Going down to 5 wouldn't have been such a big shift, but 4 is a huge difference. I am wondering if the (apparently) forthcoming 2nd remake of Exile 2 is going to come to GOG, my preferred digital distribution site, since Escape from the Pit did not. So funny to me that Steam has Resurrection and EftP and GOG does not, but GOG has Avernum 1-3 and Blades, which are not on Steam. Silly people.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 01:01
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:I am wondering if the (apparently) forthcoming 2nd remake of Exile 2 is going to come to GOG, my preferred digital distribution site, since Escape from the Pit did not. So funny to me that Steam has Resurrection and EftP and GOG does not, but GOG has Avernum 1-3 and Blades, which are not on Steam. Silly people. Apparently GOG won't distribute EftP or N:R because they have a policy of not selling remakes... yeah, even though the Avernum games are already remakes to begin with and they're happy to publish those. Don't ask me, it's not my policy.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 06:07
|
|
|
Thuryl posted:Apparently GOG won't distribute EftP or N:R because they have a policy of not selling remakes... yeah, even though the Avernum games are already remakes to begin with and they're happy to publish those. Don't ask me, it's not my policy. Well, that's... interesting, by which I mean really stupid, but thanks for telling me. I don't really want to get Exile 2, 3rd cut from Steam because I'm kind of tired of Steam, but with it not coming out on GOG I'm not sure from where to get a DRM-free copy at a reasonable price.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 07:03
|
|
|
GreenNight posted:The engine is extremely close to Escape from the Pit. It's a fun game and the story can be sad considering it takes place after all 5 games, and old characters come back and things happen to them. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 09:41
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:Well, that's... interesting, by which I mean really stupid, but thanks for telling me. I don't really want to get Exile 2, 3rd cut from Steam because I'm kind of tired of Steam, but with it not coming out on GOG I'm not sure from where to get a DRM-free copy at a reasonable price. You can always order them directly from Spidweb's website. Not sure on the price though; that might be more expensive.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 13:45
|
|
|
Xander77 posted:Does dual-wielding still rule all? Is there a reason to roll with a kitty or a lizard? Honestly I don't remember. I always rolled a lizard as my second front fighter who also had high lockpicking.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 16:50
|
|
|
How much does escape from the pit add? I got the bundle from gog and am just getting into Avernum 1 and I wonder if it's worth it to "upgrade". I'm kind of digging the oldschool interface.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 18:46
|
|
|
Morholt posted:How much does escape from the pit add? I got the bundle from gog and am just getting into Avernum 1 and I wonder if it's worth it to "upgrade". I'm kind of digging the oldschool interface. I really enjoyed playing Escape from the Pit once, but I had already played Avernum 3 or 4 times before that, and still return to it when I want to run through the game. Probably mostly nostalgia, but I like pushing against walls and looking for passageways, and I like the skill point system a bit more, even if it's not a smooth. Escape from the Pit adds nicer graphics, an updated skill system,and as I recall, some extra content (but nothing mindblowing). Also, of course, you don't have to change your resolution to be able to see anything since it's newer, and so on. This is a better answer: http://www.avernum.com/avernum/avernumFAQ.html But basically, it's great but hasn't replaced Avernum 1 for me.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 19:25
|
|
|
Xander77 posted:Does dual-wielding still rule all? Is there a reason to roll with a kitty or a lizard? Yeah, dual wielding is still the best way to do damage in melee in A6 (and, generally, in any other SW game in which it exists). And there's very little game-mechanical reason not to play a Nephil or Slith: the experience penalties end up being insignificant since XP awards decrease as your level increases so you can't really get that far ahead or behind of the expected level for the part of the game you're at, and Nephil and Slith both give you free weapon skill ranks, which count toward learning Battle Disciplines. Getting everyone in your party (and I mean everyone, even mages) access to at least Adrenaline Rush ASAP gives you a huge amount of momentum at the start of fights.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2014 21:04
|
|
|
Bit of highly specific curiosity... Has anyone played Geneforge 1 on a retina MBP with on-CPU graphics (Iris Pro, not Nvidia dedicated)? If so, does it spin up the fans noticeably and cause the classic Macbook balls-burning chassis heating? Bonus: same question, but Geneforge 5.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 21:17
|
|
|
Thuryl posted:Yeah, dual wielding is still the best way to do damage in melee in A6 (and, generally, in any other SW game in which it exists). And there's very little game-mechanical reason not to play a Nephil or Slith: the experience penalties end up being insignificant since XP awards decrease as your level increases so you can't really get that far ahead or behind of the expected level for the part of the game you're at, and Nephil and Slith both give you free weapon skill ranks, which count toward learning Battle Disciplines. Getting everyone in your party (and I mean everyone, even mages) access to at least Adrenaline Rush ASAP gives you a huge amount of momentum at the start of fights. I kind of always liked that a lot of the dialogue was written with humans in mind. In Avernum 2 this isn't a big deal since Avernites get along with certain tribes of Slith/Nephils and there are a few isolated incidents where your members species is acknowledged, but the same carries over to Avernum 3 which I found hilarious. Just swagger into Krizsan or Sharamik like you own the place and nobody seems to notice that four hulking lizard-men are wandering the streets trying to find the guy who makes potions.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2014 20:57
|
|
|
In fairness, you're restricted to a small area of the world map until you deal with the slimes, and once that's done word gets around pretty fast that your party are the only people actually making any progress on ending the plagues. I assume people are just hoping that if they're polite and don't give you an excuse to murder them you'll go away and deal with the bigger problems facing them.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2014 11:22
|
|
|
sitchelin posted:I kind of always liked that a lot of the dialogue was written with humans in mind. In Avernum 2 this isn't a big deal since Avernites get along with certain tribes of Slith/Nephils and there are a few isolated incidents where your members species is acknowledged, but the same carries over to Avernum 3 which I found hilarious. Just swagger into Krizsan or Sharamik like you own the place and nobody seems to notice that four hulking lizard-men are wandering the streets trying to find the guy who makes potions. I assume the justification is that (1) you stand out like a sore thumb as Avernites regardless, so word spreads fast and (2) everybody's heard the stories of the war with Avernum and assume pissing off an accredited embassy is probably a really bad idea*. *Seriously, look at what Avernum did in FIVE YEARS of openly opposing the Empire (spoilers for A1 and A2...though since it's mentioned in the intro to A3, it shouldn't surprise anyone): >Assassinated the Emperor in his own palace throne room, surrounded by all the might of his army, and walked out unscathed. >Murdered several major war leaders in critical Empire forts (including the most powerful wizard in the Empire). >Slaughtered almost every major fortification the Empire built in Avernum to the last man. >Destroyed the mass teleporter, prepared and guarded by some of the best mages in the Empire. >Recruited a horde of tall magical aliens on their side. Given all that, would YOU want to make a racist comment about heavily armed Avernites? For all you know, these ambassadors could be violent psychopaths like the rest of the Avernites!
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2014 16:06
|
|
|
Avernum trip report:    What an interesting game.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2014 16:56
|
|
|
Should I just jump into the remakes of Avernum or is there some pressing reason to play the originals?
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2014 17:41
|
|
|
Also where does Blades of Avernum fit in with the rest of the series?
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2014 18:04
|
|
|
Morholt posted:Also where does Blades of Avernum fit in with the rest of the series? It's a scenario-based game with 3 (if I remember correctly) different scenarios. The original Blades of Exile was released after Exile 3 and the first scenario at least lands sometime after Exile 3 on the timeline.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2014 18:30
|
|
|
Clever Spambot posted:Should I just jump into the remakes of Avernum or is there some pressing reason to play the originals? I don't think there's a "pressing" reason to play the first set of Avernum remakes, but since the second re-remake isn't even out yet keep in mind it's going to be years before the whole series is updated. So if you like the newer ones, they're your best bet for a fix unless you don't mind the wait. If you're interested in the original Exile trilogy, the only thing they really have over the remakes or re-remakes are more interesting spell lists (though with tons and tons of useless spells) and a general old-school sensibility, if you're into that kind of thing. Even if that appeals to you, the games only displays a smattering of tiles onscreen at once, like 9x9 or so, with the rest of the screen filled by empty space. This makes them almost unplayable to me, and this is coming from someone who grew up on Exile 2/3 and holds them in higher regard than the remakes.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2014 18:46
|
|
|
If I remember correctly, he is only going to update 1-3. He said 4-6 is current enough. I have a hard time with 4 and 5 because he removes so many of the keyboard shortcuts.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2014 18:47
|
|
|
GreenNight posted:If I remember correctly, he is only going to update 1-3. He said 4-6 is current enough. I believe that you are correct. After Avernum 1-3, he's going to move on to remaking the Geneforge games if memory serves. He made a blurb about it somewhere a year or two ago. I agree that 4-6 don't need a remake, and Nethergate already has one (Resurrection). I would say that both Avadon games are already sufficiently "modernised", so Geneforge is the logical next step to my thinking. Wouldn't mind an actual sequel/successor to Nethergate: Resurrection, though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2014 18:57
|
|
|
Morholt posted:Also where does Blades of Avernum fit in with the rest of the series? Probably the closest it gets to canon is "meanwhile...". I'd call it an absolutely essential part of your collection because some of those scenarios are utter platinum five-star AAA poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2014 23:57
|
|
|
Morholt posted:Also where does Blades of Avernum fit in with the rest of the series? Storywise, it doesn't. If you wanted to actually put it in the timeline, it would be somewhere generally in the interlude between A3 and A4 (a gap of decades). But there's nothing requiring scenarios to be located at any specific point in time - I've heard of some scenarios which focus on the First Expedition or the founding of Avernum, so they predate even A1. Interface-wise, it's basically Avernum 3's interface, with a few slight tweaks. Personally, my biggest problem with Blades is simply that the difficulty curve is screwy. It's not really anybody;s fault, but the limitation of the system is that even with recommended level ranges, you can have wild differences in party effectiveness. A level 10 party that went through a pure dungeon crawl scenario might have much better gear than that same level 10 party who went through a scenario with lots of towns and dialogue/delivery quests. It's still worth checking out, but I'd strongly recommend either downloading a Party Maker-style scenario (basically lets you change your party's levels, spells and equipment to something appropriate) and/or keeping a bunch of clear saves at various levels so you can enter scenarios at semi-appropriate levels. Also, as a random side note, if you want to try Blades of Avernum and the various scenarios, there's no point in waiting, because it's highly unlikely to get remade since it it's the one game he's ever produced that didn't make enough money to be actually worth the time.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2014 17:51
|
|
|
MagusofStars posted:Also, as a random side note, if you want to try Blades of Avernum and the various scenarios, there's no point in waiting, because it's highly unlikely to get remade since it it's the one game he's ever produced that didn't make enough money to be actually worth the time. It drat near put him out of business at the time sadly. BoE/BoA were the superior crpg toolkit choice. If you were a scrub you played Realmz. i played the poo poo out of realmz too
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2014 18:03
|
|
|
Airfoil posted:Bit of highly specific curiosity... I haven't, but I do know that the windows version does something weird graphically that completely skullfucks both VirtualBox and Wine. It's entirely possible that the Mac version is also doing something weird and unpleasant. JustJeff88 posted:I believe that you are correct. After Avernum 1-3, he's going to move on to remaking the Geneforge games if memory serves. He made a blurb about it somewhere a year or two ago. Yessssssss finally. I mean, yes, it's going to be many years before he gets around to Geneforge 3, but maybe my son will be old enough to play them by then. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2014 15:54
|
|
|
Just finished Geneforge 1 with the standard loyal Shaper, Obeyer, destroy Geneforge and everything else ending. Is there any spec. tips for Geneforge 2 or is just more of the same for the most part?
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2014 16:32
|
|
|
If you don't mind playing a non-shaper class guardians are monsters in 2 that can parry everything in the world.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2014 18:03
|
|
|
Katreus posted:Just finished Geneforge 1 with the standard loyal Shaper, Obeyer, destroy Geneforge and everything else ending. Is there any spec. tips for Geneforge 2 or is just more of the same for the most part? Don't hurry into making a decision in Geneforge 2. You technically can join each of the factions more or less right when you meet them (including one, which becomes available like 10% of the way into the game!), but it's a horrible idea because you miss a LOT of the story because everybody else hates your guts. I'd even go so far as to recommend waiting till you've met all four of the sects and then making a backup save so you can check out the end-game for each faction, because they have different requirements and different endings. Also, they added a ton of new spells and creations, most of which are very interesting and worth checking out. You're a bit weaker if you spread your Shaping points around rather than exclusively picking one branch, but most of the options have some redeeming feature and are worth checking out. Oh, and use Daze. It single-handedly makes the early game far, far more bearable than the early part of Geneforge 1.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2014 20:56
|
|
|
MagusofStars posted:Don't hurry into making a decision in Geneforge 2. You technically can join each of the factions more or less right when you meet them (including one, which becomes available like 10% of the way into the game!), but it's a horrible idea because you miss a LOT of the story because everybody else hates your guts. I'd even go so far as to recommend waiting till you've met all four of the sects and then making a backup save so you can check out the end-game for each faction, because they have different requirements and different endings. This is not entirely true; There's an in-game method to make it basically automatic to switch factions once, and you can actually join every faction you want if you know what you're doing. The powergaming route probably involves joining every faction in the order you meet them and doing just enough missions not to piss off the next faction. But if you don't want to spoil yourself, do at least some thinking about which faction you want to join.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2014 21:03
|
|
|
I bought Avadon 2 the other day because I thought it was Avernum 2, having finally come out. Botched my Steam roll. 
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2014 03:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 10, 2024 13:19 |
|
|
Fintilgin posted:I bought Avadon 2 the other day because I thought it was Avernum 2, having finally come out. The Avadon games are pretty fun. Only thing I can complain about in them is there's not really a companion sympathetic to Avadon in any of them.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2014 03:32
|
|
