Profile for Icshi
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Icshi |
| Member number | 1528 |
| Title | Mongolian Barbeque |
| Postcount | 907 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
Recent posts
Pages
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| Poll without a poll: survivors in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
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written Wednesday, March 23 2005 12:30
Profile
I hope we encounter Trajkov's ghost, scouring the moors howling like a banshee with a belly-ache. It would be neat if more of the Sholai show up. I put no preference on their life state: dead, undead, it'll still be fun! EDIT: Oops. None of these people were in Geneforge 2. Ah well, I won't hold that against them and would still let 'em into 3. [ Wednesday, March 23, 2005 12:32: Message edited by: Icshi ] Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| [anticipating] How will I get past the weird Artilas? in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
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written Wednesday, March 23 2005 12:22
Profile
It's all very well to discuss recycled tactical situations, but what about story situations? A drayk in a valley will offer to trade with you at outrageous prices: GF1: Ol' what's-his-name; GF2: That other drayk/drakon Mysterious loner out in the middle of nowhere who gives you cryptic advice, pretends to be sitting on the fence while actually encouraging you (in a roundabout way) to join a certain faction and/or is willing to help you change your political affiliations once and only once by whispering in the right ears, offers to make you a special item if you can scrounge up the right materials, and refuses to let you to ransack their locked bedroom: GF1: That servile hermit, GF2: Sharon Meet a desperate, isolated band of warriors out in the middle of nowhere who are surrounded by enemies who have been launching random attacks on them at random during the past few months, and who will rely on your incredible fighting abilities to destroy a swarm of their enemies single-handedly before you've even had your breakfast: GF1: The Obeyers out in the woods; GF2: That fort out in the swamp A raving, glowing, powerhungry, borderline lunatic will offer you supreme power like that which he himself possess if you will do some trifling errand for him which he apparently can't be bothered to complete and whose reluctance to do it himself does not at all reflect his cowardice despite his extremely competent abilities. It's really just to prove you're trustworthy, yeah that's it!: GF1: Trajkov; GF2: Barzahl And so on. Still, I can't wait to see how the names have changed yet again for Geneforge 3! :P But honestly, I do love these games. History does repeat, you know, especially when power is involved. [ Wednesday, March 23, 2005 12:25: Message edited by: Icshi ] Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Geneforge 3 Forum!! in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Tuesday, March 22 2005 15:33
Profile
Holy crepe suzette in a handbag, Batman! We've finally got a Geneforge 3 forum! Yipee skipee! The game must be approaching at last! <Icshi then resumes his thin facade of aloof dignity.> Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Geneforge 3 Futhorc Runes in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
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written Tuesday, March 22 2005 11:16
Profile
quote:My apologies for getting us off topic. The runes just led me from one flow of thought to the next, and I never intended it all to get out of hand like this. Still, that's no excuse. Sorry! Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Geneforge 3 Futhorc Runes in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Monday, March 21 2005 11:20
Profile
I'm familiar with the existence of the Dragonlance series, but having read (correction: tried to read) a couple of SF books by Weis & Hickman I wasn't sure if I was willing to risk it. Besides, I haven't a clue where to start. There are so many Dragonlance books out there now, I'm not sure where it actually began (and, of course, I don't think they're all written by Weis & Hickman). Then again, like with Salvatore's books about Drizzt, it's better to read the Dark Elf trilogy (which he wrote second) before the Icewind Dale one (which he wrote first). Any recommendations as to which Dragonlance book / series to read first? [ Monday, March 21, 2005 11:25: Message edited by: Icshi ] Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Geneforge 3 Futhorc Runes in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Sunday, March 20 2005 11:19
Profile
Valuable advice there, thanks for sharing the warning. A lot of series that become too popular tend to go rapidly downhill and becomes naught but fodder for the desperate and uncritical reading masses. What distresses me is that such series continue to sell well enough to warrant future vacuous volumes. I saw a part of an interview with Jordan several years ago, and one of the questions was "If you had to write the last scene in the series now, could you do it?" And he said "Absolutely. I know exactly where this series is headed, and I have the grand conclusion all worked out." (Or words to that effect.) It would seem that during the intervening years the money-grubbing hack beast in him has risen to the surface to spew forth reams of paper waste upon the Face of the Earth. I don't know if I'm willing to get all excited by the first six books only to have my hopes crushed. A series without a conclusion is like a mouth with no teeth or tongue, or a refrigerator with no shelves. Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson have gone on a similar spewfest with their series of Dune books. Their first prequel trilogy was interesting but seriously lacked the thoughtfulness and depth of Frank's books. (Although, come to think of it, Frank's last two books in the series were unbelievably bad, so I guess his own lycanthropic tendencies rose to the fore as well in later years.) Then Brian & Kevin wrote the Jihad trilogy... and now they're going to write a two-book conclusion to the whole series... then they're going to write yet another prequel trilogy about Paul's childhood. And to fill in the cracks they're publishing chapbooks and fat short-story collections with tokenistic amounts of Frank's deleted chapters and grocery lists to lend their endeavours a veneer of legitimacy. Asimov and Heinlein became similarly copious and self-indulgent. Interestingly, van Vogt somehow escaped doing this himself. I guess he never achieved the enormous level of popularity that the others did, which in a way I guess was a good thing. Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Geneforge 3 Futhorc Runes in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Saturday, March 19 2005 13:54
Profile
I've read Salvatore's Dark Elf trilogy, and am just about done with the Icewind Dale trilogy. After that, I'm going to start in on his Cleric Quintet which sounds very interesting indeed. After that, I'll probably read some of the non-Salvatore books in the Forgotten Realms setting. Funnily enough, I first became aware of Drizzt and his world through the Museum Replicas, Ltd. catalogue which I pour over every time it comes in the mail. I'm mostly interested in the historical pieces, but glance at the fantasy stuff from time to time. In one catalogue there was a Todd Lockwood painting (from the cover of Salvatore's The Lone Drow) and some exquisite sabres named Twinkle and Icingdeath. The description of these items really caught my imagination, coupled with Lockwood's wonderful artwork. So I did some reserach on the internet about Forgotten Realms, Salvatore, and Drizzt Do'Urden in particular. Homeland seemed to be the best place to start, so I bought a copy of it as a sampler to see if I liked it. Even halfway through I realized I just had to read the entire trilogy, and now I'm seriously hooked! I had a roommate in college who started reading Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and would stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning reading it in bed with his night-light on. Since he and I shared a lot of tastes in literature, I think the first book would certainly be worth at least trying. But for a while I'll be fully occupied with Drizzt and Cadderly... And by the way, nobody needs to apologize for getting off topic other than myself! I started it! [ Saturday, March 19, 2005 13:56: Message edited by: Icshi ] Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| research notes in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
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written Saturday, March 19 2005 13:43
Profile
I think in most of the laboratories around the valley there are people who will buy these research notes from you for a tidy sum. I can't remember any specifics, so if you see a room with gadgetry about talk to the people there and see if they're interested. Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| research notes in Geneforge 2 | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Saturday, March 19 2005 13:43
Profile
I think in most of the laboratories around the valley there are people who will buy these research notes from you for a tidy sum. I can't remember any specifics, so if you see a room with gadgetry about talk to the people there and see if they're interested. -------------------- The A.E. van Vogt Information Site My Tribute to the Greatest Writer of the Science Fiction Golden Age Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Geneforge 3 Futhorc Runes in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Friday, March 18 2005 16:59
Profile
Good show! I saw those same runes in the screenshots, but figured they were purely decorative so never even considered deciphering them. I'm glad somebody is out there with the good sense and skills to do this sort of public service. On a similar note, I never would've known that the runes on the Forgotten Realms logo spelt "Here Lie the Lost Lands" if I had not read a FAQ about the book series that I came upon on the internet. I just recently started reading some of these and they're quite good. Incidentally, I have Jeff Vogel to thank for introducing me to the world of fantasy fiction by hooking me four years ago with Nethergate. I had read Tolkien years and years ago but he seemed rather turgid and too detailed to make for easy, enjoyable reading. (I really like the movies, though.) So, due to the historical content and intriguing storyline of Nethergate, here I am four years later devouring R.A. Salvatore novels and spending an appreciable amount of the daylight hours skulking around software bulletin boards chomping at the bit to play the third game in an SF/Fantasy RPG series... Life's sure a rummy thing, ain't it? You never know what's going to send you off in a new direction of exploration. [ Friday, March 18, 2005 17:00: Message edited by: Icshi ] Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| A Geneforge 3 Forum? in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Friday, March 18 2005 11:37
Profile
Or, hopefully, the ability to create Korvonians that you can pull around on leashes and have them build monstrous planet-eating machinery for you. <Ahem>... On second thought, since I'm the only Galactic Core "fan" out there, perhaps this particular idea will not go over so well. Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| A Geneforge 3 Forum? in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
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written Thursday, March 17 2005 17:40
Profile
quote:Well, that's a relief! Though people should use the different faces for their post, and sprinkle it with little graemlins, to make "just jesting" clear for those of us who are perhaps a tad too touchy with Geneforge 3 issues... Maybe once the game comes out we'll calm down a bit. Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| A Geneforge 3 Forum? in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
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written Thursday, March 17 2005 11:25
Profile
Unless it's actually Richard White, and not Jeff Vogel, who's creating Geneforge 3 (a possibility which I know to be false) there will be a separate forum for it. It would be ridiculous and misleading to stick it in with Lost Souls and Chromite's other games. With the exception of Blades of Avernum, in the past each game's forum appeared one to two days before the game's release. So I've been keeping my eyes peeled for the appearance of the Geneforge 3 forum to presage its arrival. Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Another Pathetic & Premature Geneforge 3 Topic in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
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written Sunday, March 13 2005 11:49
Profile
quote:That's what I've started doing with Ambrosia's newer games like EV Nova. The compressed file is so big I would never try to download it, and it's also nice to get demos of all their other games without bothering with individual downloads. Their demo CDs are more like $10 altogether with the shipping, but that's an acceptable amount of money, all things considered. Of course, it would be even nicer if Dr. McKay's new compression algorithm (which was demonstrated so well with the Atlantis team's recent message-bundle back home to Earth sent via Stargate from the Pegasus galaxy) became commercially available. Download a compressed file containing the whole internet, at a mere 4.2 MB... Just watch out when you try to decompress it! :eek: Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Another Pathetic & Premature Geneforge 3 Topic in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Sunday, March 13 2005 11:49
Profile
quote:That's what I've started doing with Ambrosia's newer games like EV Nova. The compressed file is so big I would never try to download it, and it's also nice to get demos of all their other games without bothering with individual downloads. Their demo CDs are more like $10 altogether with the shipping, but that's an acceptable amount of money, all things considered. Of course, it would be even nicer if Dr. McKay's new compression algorithm (which was demonstrated so well with the Atlantis team's recent message-bundle back home to Earth sent via Stargate from the Pegasus galaxy) became commercially available. Download a compressed file containing the whole internet, at a mere 4.2 MB... Just watch out when you try to decompress it! :eek: Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Another Pathetic & Premature Geneforge 3 Topic in Geneforge 2 | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Sunday, March 13 2005 11:49
Profile
quote:That's what I've started doing with Ambrosia's newer games like EV Nova. The compressed file is so big I would never try to download it, and it's also nice to get demos of all their other games without bothering with individual downloads. Their demo CDs are more like $10 altogether with the shipping, but that's an acceptable amount of money, all things considered. Of course, it would be even nicer if Dr. McKay's new compression algorithm (which was demonstrated so well with the Atlantis team's recent message-bundle back home to Earth sent via Stargate from the Pegasus galaxy) became commercially available. Download a compressed file containing the whole internet, at a mere 4.2 MB... Just watch out when you try to decompress it! :eek: -------------------- The A.E. van Vogt Information Site My Tribute to the Greatest Writer of the Science Fiction Golden Age Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Blades of Geneforge in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
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written Saturday, March 12 2005 11:08
Profile
Oh. Phooey. Yes, it's with things like wanting to move a whole building to the left a few spaces that I'm wanting to do, along with the floors and terrains beneath the structure. As it is, I had to redraw the entire buidling one bit at a time to move it at all. Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Blades of Geneforge in Geneforge 2 | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
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written Saturday, March 12 2005 11:08
Profile
Oh. Phooey. Yes, it's with things like wanting to move a whole building to the left a few spaces that I'm wanting to do, along with the floors and terrains beneath the structure. As it is, I had to redraw the entire buidling one bit at a time to move it at all. -------------------- The A.E. van Vogt Information Site My Tribute to the Greatest Writer of the Science Fiction Golden Age Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Blades of Geneforge in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Friday, March 11 2005 17:36
Profile
Really? With the original Spiderweb editor? So you can like select a section of the map, copy it to the clipboard, and then paste it down somewhere else? Well, paint me gray and slap me sideways! I'll have to tinker with the editor some more. I don't know how I could have missed that. Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Blades of Geneforge in Geneforge 2 | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Friday, March 11 2005 17:36
Profile
Really? With the original Spiderweb editor? So you can like select a section of the map, copy it to the clipboard, and then paste it down somewhere else? Well, paint me gray and slap me sideways! I'll have to tinker with the editor some more. I don't know how I could have missed that. -------------------- The A.E. van Vogt Information Site My Tribute to the Greatest Writer of the Science Fiction Golden Age Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Another Pathetic & Premature Geneforge 3 Topic in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Friday, March 11 2005 11:13
Profile
As part of my pathetic impatience for Geneforge 3, I've done some silly calculations based on the first two games to predict some features of 3: The first Geneforge game had a total of 77 areas, while the second one had 84. If we're lucky, based on this information, there should be about 91 in the third game. The BIN installer file for the first Geneforge was 12.2 MB, while the second one was 15.3 MB. I therefore tentatively project at least a 18.4 MB BIN file, or maybe even larger since 3 will have an even wider variety of graphics (just look at the screenshots up and you'll get an idea of just how much more there will be). If Jeff keeps this kind of increase up, his site will be hosting 20 MB files before you know it. I've never downloaded a file bigger than 20.9 MB since I use a dinky 56k modem. One of Jeff's largest concerns seems to be to keep his games small enough for poor schmucks like me to download in a timely manner, and I for one hope that this continues to be possible in the future. These calculations were very clumsily arrrived at, and will undoubtedly be picked apart by more mathematically skilled but equally pathetic persons. Fortunately, this will become a moot point in a few days or weeks so I will escape largely unscathed. Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Another Pathetic & Premature Geneforge 3 Topic in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Friday, March 11 2005 11:13
Profile
As part of my pathetic impatience for Geneforge 3, I've done some silly calculations based on the first two games to predict some features of 3: The first Geneforge game had a total of 77 areas, while the second one had 84. If we're lucky, based on this information, there should be about 91 in the third game. The BIN installer file for the first Geneforge was 12.2 MB, while the second one was 15.3 MB. I therefore tentatively project at least a 18.4 MB BIN file, or maybe even larger since 3 will have an even wider variety of graphics (just look at the screenshots up and you'll get an idea of just how much more there will be). If Jeff keeps this kind of increase up, his site will be hosting 20 MB files before you know it. I've never downloaded a file bigger than 20.9 MB since I use a dinky 56k modem. One of Jeff's largest concerns seems to be to keep his games small enough for poor schmucks like me to download in a timely manner, and I for one hope that this continues to be possible in the future. These calculations were very clumsily arrrived at, and will undoubtedly be picked apart by more mathematically skilled but equally pathetic persons. Fortunately, this will become a moot point in a few days or weeks so I will escape largely unscathed. Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| Another Pathetic & Premature Geneforge 3 Topic in Geneforge 2 | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Friday, March 11 2005 11:13
Profile
As part of my pathetic impatience for Geneforge 3, I've done some silly calculations based on the first two games to predict some features of 3: The first Geneforge game had a total of 77 areas, while the second one had 84. If we're lucky, based on this information, there should be about 91 in the third game. The BIN installer file for the first Geneforge was 12.2 MB, while the second one was 15.3 MB. I therefore tentatively project at least a 18.4 MB BIN file, or maybe even larger since 3 will have an even wider variety of graphics (just look at the screenshots up and you'll get an idea of just how much more there will be). If Jeff keeps this kind of increase up, his site will be hosting 20 MB files before you know it. I've never downloaded a file bigger than 20.9 MB since I use a dinky 56k modem. One of Jeff's largest concerns seems to be to keep his games small enough for poor schmucks like me to download in a timely manner, and I for one hope that this continues to be possible in the future. These calculations were very clumsily arrrived at, and will undoubtedly be picked apart by more mathematically skilled but equally pathetic persons. Fortunately, this will become a moot point in a few days or weeks so I will escape largely unscathed. -------------------- The A.E. van Vogt Information Site My Tribute to the Greatest Writer of the Science Fiction Golden Age Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| An Organized Geneforge 3 Wishlist (Please Read Jeff!) in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Thursday, March 10 2005 17:21
Profile
I'm glad Jeff is continuing the Avernum saga, but I'm really wondering what else can be done with that world. Apart from having the BoE/BoA communities staking out territories and defending them to the bitter death, the Avernum story was as far as I could see pretty much finished. There's lots of room for "filling in the cracks" so to speak, but it's a strain to see what other Big Things could happen. But Jeff hasn't disappointed in this regard so far, so I'm hopeful. The Geneforge world, on the other hand, seems capable of being expanded almost indefinitely if he broadens the horizons a bit. Let's hope Geneforge 3 gets a bit broader... And I for one hope there is never a Blades of Geneforge so that Jeff can continue his own story expansion unhindered and uncontested. (As a side note: I keep reading these wonderful siglines and "from" bits — quotes from The Prisoner, now from Farscape. And lo and behold, it's the same guy but under different names! I've finally taken a hint and written down your member number for future reference so I'll recognize you next time, especially after our SF interchange in the "Travel Between Islands" topic. Your names always seem to have the intials B.S.C. so that's also helpful. It makes me a bit dizzy when people are constantly switching their names around, but it never ceases to amaze me what a variety people come up with.) Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |
| An Organized Geneforge 3 Wishlist (Please Read Jeff!) in Geneforge Series | |
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Mongolian Barbeque
Member # 1528
|
written Thursday, March 10 2005 17:21
Profile
I'm glad Jeff is continuing the Avernum saga, but I'm really wondering what else can be done with that world. Apart from having the BoE/BoA communities staking out territories and defending them to the bitter death, the Avernum story was as far as I could see pretty much finished. There's lots of room for "filling in the cracks" so to speak, but it's a strain to see what other Big Things could happen. But Jeff hasn't disappointed in this regard so far, so I'm hopeful. The Geneforge world, on the other hand, seems capable of being expanded almost indefinitely if he broadens the horizons a bit. Let's hope Geneforge 3 gets a bit broader... And I for one hope there is never a Blades of Geneforge so that Jeff can continue his own story expansion unhindered and uncontested. (As a side note: I keep reading these wonderful siglines and "from" bits — quotes from The Prisoner, now from Farscape. And lo and behold, it's the same guy but under different names! I've finally taken a hint and written down your member number for future reference so I'll recognize you next time, especially after our SF interchange in the "Travel Between Islands" topic. Your names always seem to have the intials B.S.C. so that's also helpful. It makes me a bit dizzy when people are constantly switching their names around, but it never ceases to amaze me what a variety people come up with.) Posts: 907 | Registered: Monday, July 15 2002 07:00 |