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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Don't hold your breath for Avernum 2. I might do it someday, but it took me, what, a year and a half to do the first one? And that's several hours of work per update, too. Good writing exercise maybe, but a serious time commitment. looks at the amount of work gone into the Exile Trilogy ... looks at the five other LP's he's completed in the same time frame... Yeah, it's an investment. (edit) And a new page too! Excellent.
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Jun 10, 2017 07:38
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General Protection Fault is a super bullshit boss, I don't know why Vogel thought including it was a good idea.  Sorry you're dealing with that, berryjon!
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Jun 10, 2017 23:40
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Pieuvre posted:General Protection Fault is a super bullshit boss, I don't know why Vogel thought including it was a good idea. Still hopefully easier to beat than Major Corruption. That guy can break your game in half if you deal with him wrong! 
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Jun 11, 2017 00:05
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Still better the Seg Fault. That can ruin your entire computer.
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Jun 11, 2017 01:05
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Zebrin posted:Still better the Seg Fault. That can ruin your entire computer. As a software developer, if this were true I'd be on like my 50th computer by now. Thankfully we are well past the days when bad memory accesses could easily destroy everything. I'm not saying it's not possible to cause serious damage from an invalid memory access (which is what segmentation faults generally indicate), but generally it only happens because you're a malware author intentionally hopping through some complex hoops in order to exploit a security vulnerability. 
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Jun 11, 2017 01:29
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:As a software developer, if this were true I'd be on like my 50th computer by now. Thankfully we are well past the days when bad memory accesses could easily destroy everything. I'm not saying it's not possible to cause serious damage from an invalid memory access (which is what segmentation faults generally indicate), but generally it only happens because you're a malware author intentionally hopping through some complex hoops in order to exploit a security vulnerability. Someone hasn't made errors in a real-time embedded system and put them before the logic to allow it to be reprogrammed.. 
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Jun 11, 2017 04:25
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Update 70 – Training and the Tower of the Magi (Final) The contents of this update happen. Except, as you will see at the end, they didn't. At least the training occurs. You see, I'm waiting for an event to happen, except it doesn't happen until Day 180. As you can see, I'm still on Day 140. And that's after dithering around for the past couple updates. There has been some discussion in the thread about just how little you can do to complete the game. And for the record, my opinion is to do the Slimes first, rush through the Giants side of that particular quest (as you can skip the Troglodytes), skip over the Golems, talk to Prazac, then rush through the final dungeons in Footracer to the end. Except my initial plan – at 12:30 in the morning – was to get more money, spend it all on Skill Potions, Train, wash, rinse and repeat. And that meant two sources of cash. The first was actually going out and doing Jobs for the dispatchers. Anything that isn't a 'kill monster' quest' is well within my ability to do. The other is to rob everyone blind. I've skipped over much of the Dispatchers in this game, despite their increasing importance in later games. But now it's time to go  Once you know where things are though, the priority dispatches are the best jobs to take. A short time frame and high reward are good incentives to those with a map and a plan. On the other hand, harvest missions, where you go out a kill something, are not the best of choices as you need to find said monster – you can't kill a summoned version either – and hope it isn't part of a random encounter or only found in a dungeon that you've already wiped out. I go with the mission to General Baziron. I've got eight days to get there, and that will be nice and easy. Along the way, I get get a couple more dispatch missions, and pick those that are going my way. But here's the other thing you can do. ROB THE CITIES. The major cities all have little treasures that are associated with their leadership, and now we're going to rob them in this update. Except Krizsan. Because they're cool people, and not because I totally forgot. Hey! Two priority messages to the same person in the same city that we're already heading to! I take both. Sharimik's city treasury is accessed through the Mayor's room, here. And of the ones we'll be robbing, it's the easiest to deal with. First, three layers of Barriers. Then, after we get through those ...  Each treasury has a fixed encounter that you have no chance to disarm or avoid. In this particular case, it's just a couple fireballs worth of damage. Nothing serious. Now, let's see what we have here... Opening the treasury in any city makes them hostile to you, requiring that you fight your way out. Please note that this also includes the NPCs and not just the guards. I skip that part by saving before making the theft, then reloading afterward. Not a bad haul. Who is next?” Lorelei apparently, as here is the Job Board there. Another message to Baziron? Taken! Huh. I don't rob Lorelei at this point. Must be because that's a nice city too. I don't want to do anything bad to them. My next screenshots are in Gale.  And here is me getting paid twice for delivering the two messages! Now, Gale's treasury is a little harder to get into. I mean, who leaves such things unguarded? It's nice to have the warning, but I've already saved.  And the whole town is hostile. Oh well. Let's see what I have here! The whole town is hostile! What is the point in telling me that this 2000 gold isn't mine in the first place? Mithril Plate Mail, the only fixed one in the game I believe, and some Skribbane Herb. One of the members of the thread mentioned this existed – and suggested that the Mayor of Gale was skimming part of the profits from the smuggling. The last chest only had 3000 gold. Let's go deliver to Baziron then, and legitimately earn money!  * * *  So, I'm filling in the map, looking for empty spots to check out, and I find this one here, west of Tevrono. I tried seeing if there was a passage through the trees, but no luck, so I flew around. Not worth looting. So I decide to finally do what many people in the thread have asked of me, and go rob the Anama.  Now, the Anama treasury, if you may recall, is actually on the second floor of their town here.  I, uh, also forgot to check if I have the Real Anama Rings, or the Fake Anama Rings on right now. I think it's the fake ones, but that doesn't matter in the end. That mini-temple on the right is actually a minor version of the main prayer room on the main floor. You can't get in. Not that I tried for a few minutes or anything like that.  Just a reminder that these books contain the first five spells for Priest 4 through Priest 7. You just need sufficient Mage Lore to read them.  Already saved. Let's rob the place! I SAID: “LET'S ROB THE PLACE!” Nope, traps triggered. I think being legit Anama at this point means you're safe until you actually steal something, but where's the fun in that? Oh hey, invisible enemies that cast spells! Dead invisible enemies that cast spells and summon allies. Let's see what is interesting in the loot department... There is a serious lack of footwear on my PCs. Which no one uses. The other items are a piece of Mithral Chainmail, and a Platinum bar, worth 500g when I sell it. .... eh, I'm not going to count this for the Random Basilisk Count. I'm pretty obviously where I shouldn't be, and an Ur-Basilisk is a good choice for defending here. ...  Loot-o-meter says....  Second Ring of Will in the game, and why do they have gloves named for King Micah? Or was he named for the guy who made these gloves in the first place?  And that's that for Anama treasures. Let's get out of here, shall we? OH COME ON! And because I forgot to show this hidey-hole here. Also, there is 2 food on the table, meaning one meal for each of two people. Snacks? Oh gee, a major religion that may or may not have shady actions taking place. Are you sure these people aren't there simply to provide background music?* * * So, at this point, I got bored. There was no way I could spend all my time training and grinding money to buy more skill potions to train more. So I decided to train with what I have, and cheat the days forward for the next major event. Training montage!  Still Level 50.  Still Level 50.   Sass maxes out his weapons skill, then bumps up his Dex and 2 more SP. This is where he'll stay.  No 'Before' picture for her. I think I gave her more SP, and more HP, but that's about it.   Better Physical stats for the Fury Crossbow, then a couple more SP.* * *  So, I cheat myself to Day 179 – this event was moved up to Day 150 in the first remake, so I checked that out first, but here in Exile 3, it's on Day 180. So to prepare, I move myself here, and rest my way to the next day. “What the hell was that?” “I don't know. But it was dangerous!” “Evil!” “Demonic.” “How about we spend more time investigating and less time wordsmithing?” “Well, there's nothing up in Valorim, so let's see what Anaximander has to say about this.”  “Yes, that's nice. So, uh, about that dread feeling felt by everyone?”  “LINDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” “That is going to be one very short conversation.” “Yeah, I would be scared of Art too if I were in front of her and not behind her.” Anaximander's dialogue has changed to reflect the loss of the Tower. It's not much though. Here is his 'Look' dialogue: And his response you you asking his name at this point in the game is pretty hilarious: Other than that, you don't actually need to talk to him at this point to advance the plot. I suspect some of his dialogue was missed or something, but you actually need to go back to the Portal Fortress now.  “Oh, that isn't good.  “What is good is that you're here.” Seles the mage still stands in front of the Portal. However, the portal flickers ominously and has occasional tinges of an angry red shade. She no longer looks unconcerned about its proximity. “I'll cut straight to the point. We need someone to get down there, and fast, to take the Tower back from those evil creatures and stabilize the portal. Otherwise, the portal will be destroyed, along, probably, with most of Exile.” “How are you holding onto the Portal?” “Terribly. It's taking all my energy to keep what's going on in the Tower now from destroying the portal. Someone can teleport down there now, but they won't be able to for long. Gods help us if nobody can do anything.” “Alright. This I can do.”  “This portal is massively unstable. We should contact Ernst back on the surface for help.” “Anaximander already has.” “Too bad Peregrine the Fourth is in the Tower, his theories would have been useful.” “In general, he would be useful.” “Well, this is only one more majorly bad idea on top of everything else.” “We'll be fine!” “What she said!”      And welcome to the final non-optional optional dungeon in the game. The Tower of Magi. Let's see what's up. “This is bad. Very bad.” “You THINK?” “Alright, everyone, make for the room across the hall, quickly and quietly.” “Oh dear, this is even worse than I thought.”  “Who is here?”  “Art! Thank the Gods it's you!” “Solberg?” You meet Solberg, wearing torn and scorched robes that mark him as a member of the Triad of the Tower of Magi. He is dirty and has been burned. Now he is cowering back here, out of the way. “Thank the heavens!” “What happened?” He waves at the cracked and burnt walls. “It was Linda! She tried again to summon and control the dark powers, and now we may all be doomed!” “What. Did. LINDA. Do?” He seems barely able to contain his anger. “drat her to the pit forever! You cannot imagine the horror that has been wrought here. If you cannot help up us contain the Dark Power, we may all be doomed!” He calms down a little. “Still, if you could talk to her, she might be able to tell you what she did. She survived the demon's attack.” “Where is she? I have a discussion I want to have with her.” “I saw her running to the southeast. I hope she survives this ordeal, if only so I can punish her myself!” “Yeah... that's right. Other people might want to get their own punches in. So, how doomed are we?” “We received no warning. She did something in her lab, and the creatures poured forth. Hardly anyone survived. The Triad is sundered. I hide myself here magically, my work in my private tower useful again. That is the only reason I am still alive.” “What happened to the Triad?” “I felt Mahdavi's death.” He glaces at Art, “It looks like Peregrine might be getting his promotion sooner, rather than later, if he survived this. 'X' teleported away. Where, I do not know. I am stuck here. Together, we might have been able to do something, but the demons came without warning.” “So, how do we help?” “First, there is the garden in the center of the Tower. You need to avoid that, for it is guarded by the bulk of Grah-Hoth's forces. Lest even you be overwhelmed.” “what” “I'm sorry, did you say Grah-Hoth?” “Yes. Linda was not content with something small, she went for the one you defeated all those years ago. It was only at great luck and cost that he was banished at your hand. This time though, he is prepared. We must find some other way to keep him away. Speak to Linda. They will have not killed her. Not yet.” “Well, someone managed to get past Linda on my 'punch to death' list.” “If anyone can do it, it would be you, Art. Please, save us all!” “Might as well. I feel like I've been sitting on my rear end for a month.”  “Living flesh!” “Oh right, this place is overrun with Demons. How could we have forgotten?”  Demons, Imps and Hordelings actually. But yeah, the major corridors are filled with them when you start this dungeon. And they're the easy part. “Where's Demonslayer when you need it?” “I forget to get it from Karmas!” Fun thing – Demonslayer is not available naturally in the game. You have to cheat it in. “Where is Linda?” “I don't think we need to go in there.” “X's Library is still intact, which is a good sign.” “It's also farthest from the Demons, from what Solberg told us.” “YOU!!” You meet the shredded wreckage of a human being. She has grievous wounds on her arms and chest, but one look in her eyes tell you her worst damage is at a much deeper level. “Sass, Bronwyn, keep Art back. I'll talk to her.” “No need. She's not all there. No sense in exacting revenge on only part of Linda.” “Um, isn't that the passive past tense? I was taught that wasn't the proper way to speak.” “hush! Let Delilah talk.” “What are you doing, Linda?” She digs her torn nails into her legs, and speaks. “I failed. I brought destruction on us all.” “What is this destruction? How did you fail?” She inhales painfully, and speaks. “I brought demons here. I thought I could bend Grah-hoth to my will by using my own spirit as the gate.” “!!!” “!!!” “!!!” “What are you so worried over?” “Even I know how stupid that is!” Her face twists in horror. “I wanted to bend Exile's great foe to our will, to use against the Empire. I would channel him here, through me. It is complicated, but I would hold them back with my own spirit.” “pft” “Your spirit. What has happened to it?” She screams, a long wrenching keen. Her chest heaves, which, considering the extent of the burns on her chest, must be agonizing. “They used me as a gate! They ripped my soul away! I am their gate!” She quiets down. “My spirit has been taken from me, and made into a gate through which demons will pour into Exile.” “How do we destroy the gate?” She starts to loose consciousness, but Delilah manages to pull her back from oblivion. “It must be torn. It must be destroyed. It is the only way to save us all. It can be severed, if you have the blessed Athame. There is little other help I can give.” “A Blessed Athame? Where is it?” “I managed to put it in the temple. It will be safe there, but not for long. Then go to the portal. It is in the north-west corner. Don't hesitate to destroy it, or we are all doomed.” “I can do that. Won't be the first time.” “What help can you provide?” She starts barking out what she knows. “Do not go into the Garden at the center! Grah-Hoth's forces are there! If you can find my laboratory, there are things that will help! And some spirits can give information!” “What spirits?” The effort of speaking is clearly agonizing for her, but she continues. “I have seen some of the spirits of those the demons slew. They're nearby. I don't know why they stayed, but they must have a reason! Speak to them, if you can.” Then, her eyes regain focus, and she turns to Art. “You!” she hissed through her broken body. “He knows you are here now. He waited! He wants you!” “Let him come.” The feral grin she displays does not reach her eyes. “I've done this before, and I'll do it again.” More demons in the halls. “I get the feeling these are taunts directed to slow us down.” “Regardless, we must get the Athame, and figure out how to get to the portal.” “Someone didn't close this door properly.” “This spirit.” The spirit of a young man floats here, over the charred body of an apprentice mage. It stares at you. “Who are you?” “I was Bernard.” “Hello Bernard, I am Bronwyn. What happened?” “Oh! You must help me. Help me if you can! I need to save Carrie!” “Who is Carrie?” “I saw them get her! They seized her and dragged her off.” He moans. “I ran! They were too horrifying! They trapped me here. She must have lived! I will still save her!” “How will you save her?” “I can! I will! Help me?” “please?” “We will help, to the best of our abilities.” “Surely, you can bring her back! I was under the silence oath all the time, and could never tell her how I felt. Bring her to me?” “What did the oath prevent?” “They made me take an oath to be silent before I could be an apprentice! Never could I say a word to her. I had to tell her I loved her in other ways. Oh, please help me say the words to her.” “I want to tell her I love her.” “I think we can do that.” Spoilers: I don't find Carrie. There is no happy ending here. “Nothing would make me happier.” “Nothing down here. Most of these rooms are empty.” “But not all.” You find a very insubstantial ghost, huddled in a corner. “I am dead,” it says before you have a chance to speak. “Before I move on, I have a purpose.” “What is your purpose?” The ghost's voice is flat and emotionless. “There is something I am being held here to teach you. A spell.” “Who is holding you?” It does not reply. “What spell?” The ghost quickly recites the instructions to cast the spell Move Mountains. “There, my work is done. I expect I can move on soon.”  “Nope. Not that stupid.” “We should be able to get to the Temple from here.” “Well of course they put lava in front of the doors. Let me take care of that.”  “The doors are unlocked.” “Only because we aren't Demons.”  “It's beautiful.” “It's, like, the third one I've had? Or has it been the same one over and over again?” “Reminisce later!” “We take this, the protections go away.” “Take it.”  “Yeah, you guys stopped being menacing months ago.” “Not as many explosions as I was expecting.” “There is still power in the altar.”  “Thank you.” “Now, how to get to where we need to go.” “Perhaps the damage to the structure has opened new paths?” “Yeah, that's a good thing to check.” “Hello. Are you Carrie?” You encounter the insubstantial form of a middle-aged man, still wearing translucent robes and a sash of office. He motions you forward. “I am not,” he says. “I was Conrus. There is not much time.” “Hurry! I was useless in life! Don't let me be useless in death too!” “How were you useless?” He points at the spectral sash of office. “This was a sign of my uselessness! I could be nothing as a bureaucrat. When the demons came, I saw my chance!” “What about the Demons?” “They have a gate, and they're trying to bring more demons through. I tried to close it.” “Brave of you. What happened?” “The main way to it was well guarded, but I found a back entrance!” “Where is this entrance? We can finish what you started.” “There is a well-hidden secret door to the northwest. I snuck through it and then through a storeroom, squeezed through a cracked wall, and was near the portal!” “What happened then?” “Then a demon surprised me. It sucked away my energy, picked me up and gutted me. Oh, how it hurt!” He winces at the memory. “I failed to reach the gate. Now, you must try! Otherwise, you are all doomed.” “What is this doom?” “You can't feel it. You're not spirits. But I can! An evil force of incredible power is coming! I wouldn't want to be you if you don't shut that portal soon.” “Understood. You did well, and you were not useless.” “That means so much to me. Honesty, even though it could still go wrong. Thank you.” “Demons in the shops! And dead shopkeepers.” “Very, very dead.”  “Ugh.” “So, Ni'aurrl, question time.” “Really? Now?” “Well, you are the expert here. How is this holy knife going to seal a demonic portal?” “First, by disrupting the demonic energies holding it open, then by allowing the universe to naturally close the portal, healing in the process. Normal portals are gentle things. Demonic ones, not so much.” “And Linda using her soul?” “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” “I got that part, I was just hoping for more details on how much so.” “That's a lot of ruins.”   “I don't think they'll let us leave either.” “No, they will not.” “Lots of dead bodies there.” “And Quickfire too.” “At least we know where the Portal is.” “I think that's Mahdavi's body there.”  “So, uh, has anyone thought about how we're going to get out?” “No.” “But that can be solved later, after we deal with the demonic portal. It's proximity it disrupting this one.”   “Let's not get too close, and circle around back to Linda's lab.” “We are definitely racing against time here.” “This is her laboratory. We must be careful.”  “Such evil in this place...” “It's just the demon in the room.”  Potions of Energy and Healing. “HAHA! You can't get in!” “Now, to find that door.” “North-west corner.”  “I won't be able to sneak through those cracks in the wall.” “Well, it was very nice for that ghost to teach us how to blast doors down!” “Just a moment. We should restore ourselves, and get ready before we make the run for the portal.” For the occasion, I use the Ring of Endless Magery to top people's SP off. “Ready?” “Yep. Let's do this.” “Because of course they have demons covering the back entrance!” “GO! Go! GO!” “Thanks for the firewalking!” “Oh, this isn't good.” “Keep moving!” “Antimagic fields!” “It won't help! We must destroy the portal!”  Imagine being all the guys in Doom that aren't the Doom Marine. That's what would happen if we stepped in. Instead, we attack.   “Oh thank goodness.” And then things went wrong.  So, let me first explain what is supposed to happen in game. The Tower is locked off, permanently. The portal is broken, essentially isolating Upper Exile from Exile proper. This would have no gameplay effects, but a slower player would get the sense that they are now acting without backup and without oversight. They are on their own when dealing with the Empire and the Plagues. But, in the interest of not not locking the player out of anything, vital NPCs relocate to Upper Exile. Solberg and X in particular get out, and are still available to reward the players for their hard work in destroying plagues. So, that's it. Linda fucks up one last time, and you get to kill her deader than dead to fix the problem. I've honestly been looking forward to this point for some time, and only now, when I get to it, do I recognize that I built it up in my head to be something larger than it turned out to be. Oh, and what about Peregrine, you may be wondering? You'll find out later. For now though, I'm going to see about salvaging my game, even if I have to revert to an old save or not and dash forward from there to get back to where I ended off last time. But I'm not going to let a little thing like a crashing game get in the way of me finishing this game and this Trilogy!
berryjon fucked around with this message at 02:33 on Jun 12, 2017 |
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Jun 11, 2017 04:53
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You didn't go to the Gardens? Booooooo.  (It's just a big fight with a bunch of Haakai and other demons)
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Jun 11, 2017 05:18
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:You didn't go to the Gardens? Booooooo. At that point, it was just boring filler. Art can be surgical when she wants to be, and not take the path of most resistance! She must be getting sloppy in her old age.
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Jun 11, 2017 05:27
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I don't know if you've already tried, but do you think Jeff might be of any help in finding out what's wrong or giving you some other version of the game to test for the same error?
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Jun 11, 2017 06:52
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berryjon posted:
The history is something like this: The Athame was presumably brought down by the First Expedition way back when, though it may have been smuggled down by Erika/Patrick/etc or even created in Exile, though that's the last is unlikely (if you could create them, why only make one?). After being found, it was kept in the Tower of Magi where Art snagged it in Exile 1. Afterwards, it was moved to the Halls of Chaos for 'safe-keeping' in Exile 2 for some unexplained reason. After the Halls of Chaos were perverted and it was recovered, Exile realized that it was pretty stupid to keep such a useful item in some random-rear end tower in the middle of nowhere, so it was moved back to the Tower. Once Demons invaded the Tower, someone (Clarisse?) put it on top of the altar to keep it safe from Grah-Hoth.
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Jun 11, 2017 11:24
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I'm kinda surprised that before the war the Empire never demanded the return of certain artifacts on pain of e.g. stopping food aid.
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Jun 11, 2017 11:32
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The Lone Badger posted:I'm kinda surprised that before the war the Empire never demanded the return of certain artifacts on pain of e.g. stopping food aid. That would be admitting there were ways out of
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Jun 11, 2017 12:06
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Didn't the Empire stop food aid to Exile years ago, though? Or am I misremembering the intro to Exile 1? If they already stopped food aid, that takes that threat off the table. "Do what we want, or we'll... stop what we aren't doing."
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Jun 11, 2017 12:08
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I don't think they were even sending food back in Exile 1. All they did at the start of the war was stop sending prisoners.
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Jun 11, 2017 12:45
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Whybird posted:I don't think they were even sending food back in Exile 1. All they did at the start of the war was stop sending prisoners. It was mentioned at some point that they were sending cows and other basics down. Remember, the Empire still considered Exile to be, technically, a province in the Empire, though strictly a penal colony. It would not surprise me that some bureaucrat in the Empire arranged for the shipments under the noses of Hawethrone and Garzahd simply due to the rules and regulations in the Empire. They just didn't expect the Exiles to, you know, actually do anything. Like become self-sufficient and expand on their own. After
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Jun 11, 2017 14:20
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Though it may be worth noting that as of the reremakes, there is explicitly some level of support and exchange going on -- the cave cows were shipped down by the Empire, there's some vanishingly small amounts of luxury goods like sugar, and the Empire has known spies and a diplomat -- though only Avernum's highest-ranking government officials know about her. Even in Exile 1, the Empire had outposts and a military in Exile. Presumably they had ways to extract those soldiers when their tours were done, it was just horribly difficult/inefficient without access to the bulk teleporter they built in Exile 2.
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Jun 11, 2017 15:20
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Who didn't go on a campaign to strip Exile/Avernum of sugar?
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Jun 11, 2017 15:30
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berryjon posted:It was mentioned at some point that they were sending cows and other basics down. Remember, the Empire still considered Exile to be, technically, a province in the Empire, though strictly a penal colony. It would not surprise me that some bureaucrat in the Empire arranged for the shipments under the noses of Hawethrone and Garzahd simply due to the rules and regulations in the Empire. With you. I'd been parsing Exile as more of a trash pit than a penal colony: that the Empire were sending people down there because they were too squeamish to murder everybody who opposed them, and they had no intention of ever utilising anything that came out of Exile. It sounds like what you're saying is that were Empire are sending prisoners to Exile as a very brutal means of colonisation: if the Exiles successfully settle the area and build farms and infrastructure and things, then the Empire can move in with soldiers and take the land for itself, and if the Exiles all get eaten by monsters then the Empire just sends another batch in to try again. I guess that interpretation does explain the presence of cows and things shipped down from above. Unless they were particularly seditious cows, I suppose.
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Jun 11, 2017 15:53
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Too bad about the Carrie bit. Tried looking online for that, since you might be repeating it anyway, but yeah, no luck. Mentions of the quest giver, but no one finding Carrie.Whybird posted:Unless they were particularly seditious cows, I suppose. Those cows have seen things. Things that can never get out. berryjon posted:despite their increasing important in later games
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Jun 11, 2017 23:36
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Zagglezig posted:Too bad about the Carrie bit. Tried looking online for that, since you might be repeating it anyway, but yeah, no luck. Mentions of the quest giver, but no one finding Carrie. I'm inclined to suspect that she doesn't exist. C'mon, the dude saw her getting dragged away by demons. Best-case scenario is she's dead and maybe a ghost.
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Jun 11, 2017 23:50
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Whybird posted:It sounds like what you're saying is that were Empire are sending prisoners to Exile as a very brutal means of colonisation: if the Exiles successfully settle the area and build farms and infrastructure and things, then the Empire can move in with soldiers and take the land for itself, and if the Exiles all get eaten by monsters then the Empire just sends another batch in to try again. I guess that interpretation does explain the presence of cows and things shipped down from above. TooMuchAbstraction posted:Even in Exile 1, the Empire had outposts and a military in Exile. Presumably they had ways to extract those soldiers when their tours were done, it was just horribly difficult/inefficient without access to the bulk teleporter they built in Exile 2. Hell, it's entirely possible that the E1 soldiers *themselves* were de facto Exiled. "Soldier, your little gently caress-up last week made us all look bad. So I'm giving you a choice. You can join this Expeditionary Expedition to Exile as a loyal and well-provisioned Empire soldier and have the chance to redeem your honor. Or you can refuse my order, be branded as a rebel, shame your family and be forcefully thrown into to live a dangerous life of near-starvation with criminals, murderers, and the worst riffraff of the Empire."
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Jun 12, 2017 00:54
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There is also a ghost in the upper left corner of the tower, I'm pretty sure.
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Jun 12, 2017 03:29
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Problems fixed. Asses being kicked.
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Jun 12, 2017 07:20
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berryjon posted:Problems fixed. Yay! How was the problem fixed, in case others run into the same?
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Jun 12, 2017 14:56
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Success! I've been having some technical issues on my end too. It's a shame that this software hasn't aged well. At least mine are mostly sound card driver conflicts and problems grabbing screenshots though rather than the game fatally crashing!
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Jun 12, 2017 15:39
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Epsilon Moonshade posted:Yay! I cheated my way into the problem - I cheated my way out.
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Jun 12, 2017 21:23
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Update 71 – The New Factory, the Great Walls and Beyond So, after the crash at the end of the last update, I took the last save (in order to save the training and XP gains), and cracked open the Cheat Editor that comes with the game again. I reset the date, killed the Tower Event, and teleported me back to Fort Emergence. From there, I manually backtracked to the entrance of the next dungeon, going overland in the process. In all, it took me about 10-15 minutes. Sorry if there was any confusion. “This place, it is dangerous.” “They all have been so far.”  “Still, a sign is usually a good sign.” “Safe from what?”  “ow!” And this is the gimmick to the New Factory. Every so often, everyone looses 5-10 HP. Much like how the Tower of Zkal drains your SP. Which means if you spend too long here, you die. Which means that I'm going to show you all the short cut through the dungeon, rather than take the long, windy, maze-like path. “Might as well look for a way around.”  “I wonder when...” “I'm more concerned about this 'Great Wall' the shade is talking about.” “There's a small crack over here we can use to get around this machinery.” “Hey, there's something here!” “No, just a way to gain access to the inner workings of this place.” So, you may find pieces of ore on the conveyor belts. Stepping on them causes them to explode, so please don't do that. “This place is sapping our strength. Thankfully, we have sufficient resources to keep us whole, hale and healthy.” “More machines. What are they doing here?” “Exploding, apparently.” Yeah, random explosions as well, just to drive your HP down faster. “Can't go this way.” “But we can go here, between the machine and the wall.” I have no idea how anyone is supposed to be able to find this secret passage. Except either by being completely exhaustive in searching for such things, or by reading a walkthrough.  “You found it, you get to press it.” “YAY!”   “That was... ugly.” “But at least we're at the end.” “Let's get out of here. I doubt that place is worth exploring.” And thus, I make a mockery of the New Factory. “This valley is cold!” “It's isolated. We're actually lower than the previous valley, but the surrounding mountains keep the air trapped.”  “There's no way forward, except through them.”  “That's a lot.” “More for everyone!” * * *  * * *   * * *  * * *  “Down, down we go.” * * *  “And a cave at the end of the valley.”  “Fortifications!” “These must be the walls that we were warned about.” There are no gimmicks here. No tricks. No deceptions. We start at the west, and the exit is to the east. We get to kill anyone fool enough to get in our way. “{WHO STANDS IN MY WAY?}” “Is that good?”  “{You have chosen your path, Iktah. We have chosen ours.}” “Well, this is going to be long.” “Or not.” Without the amulet, we would have had to fight our way through the first wall. I do it anyway. “Though I think most of these guards are under-prepared for us.”  “And they weren't expecting us.” “Let's make sure we didn't leave someone behind.” “Not here.” “Not here.” “Just lunch.”  “There will be many here by the time I am done.”  “{FACE ME AND DIE! OR STAND ASIDE AND LIVE!}” “{No. You shall not pass!}”  “{Yes. I shall.}”  There's nothing of interest to the north here. Just a secret way from the third wall to the second via the water. Right here. “And the last wall.” Oh frak me. Vahnatai who use a Soul Crystal summon a high-level monster – that doesn't go away like normal summons! “One last hasty fortification to breach, then we're through.” “This could be painful.” “Hey! A Challenge!” “Or he should have been.”   “There is something of use back there.” “What is it?” “A triggering glyph.” “But for what?” “I step on it!” “The exit!” “Ah, boats to sneak around with.” “And with this, we can leave.”  “I should have expected this.” “We all should have.” “At least there's a road.” “It says to check in with the Commander of the Walls before going to the Surface.” The only random encounters in this region are Shamblers, Vahnatai and Undead Vahnatai.  “This way, Iktah.” “This way?” “RUN!”    “I think we lost them.”  “Hello? Who's there?” “I knew it. It had to be you, old friend.”  “Bon-Ihrno? It is I, Art-Iktah.” “Enter, old friend.”  “Here you are.” Bon-Ihrno, hero and figure of legend, sits slumped in his chair before you. He looks very tired. “Here I am,” he rasps. She approaches, and kneels before the venerable Vahnatai. “What are you doing here? Don't you know what is down here?” He sighs. “I fight insanity, Art-Ikt... No. Art-Ihrno. And joyously, my battle is almost over.” “Rentar-Ihrno, her actions are not insane, for she has not taken leave of her senses.” “How I wish that were the case,” he slumps further in his sleep. “I wish to assist you in your assault on Rentar and her minions. I wish it was not necessary to turn against my people, but I must. This revenge, this madness has consumed them.” “Your assistance has been helpful. Thank you.” “I have been trying to protect you and myself for months, to give you advice and aid when I could. Here, there are supplies and rest for you. I also have most vital information to give you.” “What is this information?” “Rentar-Ihrno's fortress is to the southeast. It is where she performs her mighty alchemy to make the monsters. Her rituals are both powerful and delicate.” “She makes monsters here? But we have destroyed many other facilities to get to here.” “She molds the monsters – the slimes and roaches and golems and troglodytes and giants and beasts. She makes them, using a powerful alchemical spell.” “What is the nature of her alchemy?” “She has four vats of magical, powerful liquid stored in vats under her tower. It is poured along trenches into one massive central vat. There, it mixes and she casts the final spell. Life emerges. It is magic of power beyond my comprehension, Art-Ihrno. However, it has a weakness.” “When one, two, or three fluids mix, it can be shaped. Four, however, are too much. If all four liquids reach the center, and the magical machines which energize the liquid and make life are activated, the explosion will destroy her fortress! Alas, there is a problem.” “We were told that the most powerful of her creations, the Alien Beasts, were created by scrying the scry.” “That is true, but the things created through that were quite ephemeral. The beasts you have slain to get here are ones she has created using them as a template and design. But no, there is something else.” “What is the nature of this problem?” “Once the liquids are in the vat, the controls to activate the magic are by Rentar-Ihrno's throne. To reach it, you will have to elude her.” “Do you have any advice on how to elude her?” He looks concerned. “I'm afraid that will be your problem. I cannot help with that. I wish you the best of luck with your assault. And if you wish, there are rest and supplies here for you.” “Are there others who can help? Stop Rentar from among the Olgai?” “No.” He looks incredibly sad. “My people wish nothing to do with one who will not join in their revenge. I hide here, and oppose them. It is just a part of the misery that has become my life. Go, prepare yourselves. I can do no more.”  Not much in the way of supplies here, but at least Bon-Ihrno tries.  “Might as well. It's probably the last safe rest we'll have until this is all done.” “What was that?”  “Kill them all.” “Right.”  “And that's the last of them. Art?” “I'm sorry.” “Give her a moment.” “I'm sorry. I led them here. I didn't think they could follow. You were safe and protected, and they followed me here.” “One more name to the list. One more failure. Another consequence.”  “{I AM ART-IHRNO! DESTROYER OF ALL WHO WOULD DESCEND INTO MADNESS! AND I AM HERE FOR YOU!}”  “This water is full of life... We should check it out.” “Really?” “Yes.”  “Ah, a source of health.” Not that this is needed, so close after Bon-Ihrno's hut, but the thought is appreciated. I did mention Undead Vahnatai too, didn't I? “This is where they are coming from.” “This should be quick.” “I can't make any light!”  “There's something in here...” “Quickfire.” “You know, we could block off the Quickfire in advance by creating Barriers of our own.” “Do it.” And then the barriers fail to show when I cast them on the screenshots. “Someone has been working hard to keep these contained.”  “Spread out, take out the active undead. We'll see what's in that hidden chamber once this one is secure.”  “DONE!” “Great! Now, let's see if there was anything useful back here.”  “And that would be the Quickfire.” “We're safe in here. Let's see what we got.”   “Junk, junk, junk.” “Hah! We're smarter than Quickfire!” “I suppose there's little to be done in waiting. Let's go to the Keep of Rentar-Ihrno.”
berryjon fucked around with this message at 13:13 on Jun 14, 2017 |
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Jun 13, 2017 01:47
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Okay, so. a) You skipped the New Factory. Laaaaame. This is what the Revive All spell is for! But for those wondering what you missed, it's just another conveyor belt maze, with no fighting. You have to find buttons to reverse key sections of the belts to make progress. You can sneak into the Safe Haven by breaking down a wall with Move Mountains; IIRC there's some potions and other minor loot there.b) I did not know about that miniature crypt. Curious what the rewards are; loot kind of loses its meaning at this point in the game. c) Fuuuuuuck Vahnatai Soul Crystals. They can pull either basilisks or Eyebeasts, they can pull an arbitrary number of them, and as mentioned the summoned monsters never despawn. That section of the Great Wall took a few attempts for my solo character. d) Either Bon-Ihrno interceded a lot more than we realized, or Rentar-Ihrno got astoundingly unlucky. Let's count the many things that had to go right for Art to succeed. The Slimes: Jordan the mage stumbled across their home completely by accident and then set up his own, less well-hidden home, providing a vital and accessible clue to the Slime Pit's location. The Roaches: a cadre of roaches just happened to achieve sentience and were willing to share the location of the Factory. The GIFTS just happened to settle on Bigail and are willing to share the location of the roaches. A powerful mage just happened to be willing and able to give Phoenix Eggs to any likely-looking adventurers. A cave quake damaged part of the Filth Factory, creating passage to the deeper areas that would otherwise have been completely inaccessible. The Troglodytes and Giants: whoops, they hate each other. Gee, that sure was stupid of Rentar. You'd think she'd've done her research better. The troglodytes manage to map out an alternate route to the Barrier Crystal before they get walled off. The Golems: a mage stumbled across the location of their tower and is willing to share. A starving drake doesn't eat the mage. The best general in the entire continent was available to set up shop keeping the golems contained. A band of completely insane bandits steal the Orb of Thralni, thereby convincing Anaximander that Art's crew is more qualified to keep hold of it than anyone else is. The Alien Beasts: two random prospectors back in Upper Exile stumble across a Vahnatai hideout and have to be killed. For some reason (Bon-Ihrno's influence seems especially likely, here) a key to the Vahnatai stronghold in Footracer Province is left with the bodies. Miscellaneous: the Empire got a sane ruler to replace Hawthorne and Garzahd. She instituted broadly reasonable countermeasures and is willing to work with Exile. I'm confident that both Hawthorne and Garzahd would rather have antagonized the Exiles and assumed they had the power to deal with things themselves, rather than admit they needed help.
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Jun 13, 2017 03:20
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Okay, so. quote:d) Either Bon-Ihrno interceded a lot more than we realized, or Rentar-Ihrno got astoundingly unlucky. Let's count the many things that had to go right for Art to succeed. Going into the last dungeon (I'm 3/4 the way through it now), and yes, I will hit up the Developers Room.
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Jun 13, 2017 03:27
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Okay, so. Every story is full of coincidences, as is life. You are nit-picking. Edit: Plus, it is a story after all. It needs to flow, and that is more important than every 'i' dotted and 't' crossed.
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Jun 13, 2017 04:02
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Peachfart posted:Every story is full of coincidences, as is life. You are nit-picking. I wasn't making a criticism, I was merely pointing out how so many things had to go right just to create the possibility for our heroes to succeed. Honestly to me it helps show just how competent the villains of the story are: even bona-fide legendary heroes would not have been able to stop them with skill alone. This isn't a villain setting up dungeons full of challenging-but-not-too-challenging tasks* out of some misguided attempt to "play fair". They made an honest effort to make opposition impossible and were only foiled by luck and, in one case, their own lack of foreknowledge. * Add to the pile: Fort Emergence happened to connect to Krizsan Province, by far the safest part of the continent, allowing the Exiles to achieve a foothold. Imagine if Art & Co. had emerged in Monoro Province. Or worse, Footracer.
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Jun 13, 2017 04:26
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The game is done. All primary footage taken. First Epilogue Complete screenshots taken. Second Epilogue is complete as well. That's it. Once I write it all up, I'm done. Three, maybe, updates. Depending on if I roll the two epilogues into one or not. It's been a ride.
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Jun 13, 2017 04:50
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Woooot woooot~ Last stop for the Exiles! Again: Last stop for the Exiles: PAIN TRAIN COMIN' THROUGH!
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Jun 13, 2017 05:59
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I got a bit lost between the cut where the game decided to crash horribly on you, and where we picked up. Is that something that will be obvious in the archive? If not, do you mind putting in some quick explanation of how the team knows where to go, either IC or OOC? Very much looking forward to the conclusion!
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Jun 14, 2017 02:21
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We're almost done... just a few more updates. I'm really surprised that it took until day 180 for the Tower of Magi event to trigger for you. I didn't get it until my 2nd playthrough, but one of the things I read is that the event will trigger faster if you've completed enough of the plagues. I'm pretty sure mine triggered around day 70.
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Jun 14, 2017 02:27
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Vahnatai Shapers. A magical fluid that creates life. I... can't help but wonder about a certain other Spiderweb game, you know?
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Jun 14, 2017 04:03
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Glazius posted:Vahnatai Shapers. A magical fluid that creates life. I could believe that the Shapers depicted in Geneforge are using techniques originally reverse engineered from Vahnatai crystal magic, but the Shapers are so arrogant they'd never admit it. Am I correct in understanding that Art just got promoted to the Vahnatai equivalent of Honored Elder Leader?
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Jun 14, 2017 04:52
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Kacie posted:I got a bit lost between the cut where the game decided to crash horribly on you, and where we picked up. I put this in at the start of the update: So, after the crash at the end of the last update, I took the last save (in order to save the training and XP gains), and cracked open the Cheat Editor that comes with the game again. I reset the date, killed the Tower Event, and teleported me back to Fort Emergence. From there, I manually backtracked to the entrance of the next dungeon, going overland in the process. In all, it took me about 10-15 minutes. Sorry if there was any confusion.RickVoid posted:Am I correct in understanding that Art just got promoted to the Vahnatai equivalent of Honored Elder Leader? Bon-Ihrno changed the honorific that he applied to Art in recognition for what she has done. Whatever the other Vahnatai think of that - or even if they know, we don't know yet.
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Jun 14, 2017 05:20
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So, I'm a bit confused. Is it just a small faction of Vahnatai that are doing this?
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Jun 14, 2017 06:40
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