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a4 is the best game yet in Avernum 4
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Profile Homepage #33
"And I’m a LOT less optimistic when you come on these boards and tell us that legions of people love your new action RPG and compare those of us who don’t like it to crazy luddites who hate all change and will never be happy anyway."

I think this may be overstating the case a wee bit.

In my mind, Avernum and Avernum 4 are a pair. To me, these two games feel very similar. In my mind, Avernum is a pretty plotless affair. You may see it differently.

And, in my mind, Avernum 2 and Avernum 5 will be a pair too. Avernum 5 will use the same engine and much of the same graphics as Avernum 4, but it will be a very different game. No question.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
a4 is the best game yet in Avernum 4
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Profile Homepage #26
"The customer is always right."

I profoundly disagree with this statement, which is why I always say, "You can't win an argument with a customer," instead.

Sometimes the customer thinks the game should be free (or a trivial amount). Sometimes, as you said, different customers will have redically different points of view. And sometimes the customer is a paranoid schizophrenic who thinks that my game is spying on him. (Yes. It happened.)

Sometimes people don't understand how personally I take their critiques. No matter how many people like Avernum 4, the number of people who didn't like the new direction makes me genuinely unhappy. But what can you do? Looking back, there are some small things I would have changed, but, in Avernum 4, I feel I wrote the game I had to.

Of course, I'd be a lot more angsty about Avernum 4 if I wasn't selling a lot of it. :-)

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
a4 is the best game yet in Avernum 4
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #20
I do get negative E-mails too, of course. But I have noticed that, whenever I do ANYTHING different, there is a portion of my fan base that are full of rage and will leave and never come back. I still get wrathful E-mails about switching from the Exile engine to the Avernum engine. Still!

You can't win an argument with a customer. If someone hates Avernum 5, they hate it. But, I am sorry to say, a lot of people love the direction I've taken with the series. Their feedback gets kinda sorta taken into account.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
a4 is the best game yet in Avernum 4
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #10
"am i the only one who thinks this"

Not at all. There are a lot of people who love the game. I read their E-mails every night.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Nethergate News in Nethergate
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #37
It will definitely be 800x600.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Macintosh Avernum v2.0 Loading Saved Game Problem in The Avernum Trilogy
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Profile Homepage #0
I have gotten a few reports of Avernum v2.0 for Macintosh being unable to load saved games. I've tried multiple times, but I can't reproduce it.

If you are able to make the problem happen and can answer a few questions, could you drop me a note at spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com?

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
US Conflict Avatars in General
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #92
I will be content with the Civil Rights Movement until such time as I can think of something better.

Edit: Actually, if anyone should get the Oregon Treaty (which annexed OR and WA to the US), it should be me!

54°40' OR FIGHT!

- Jeff Vogel

[ Tuesday, April 18, 2006 11:24: Message edited by: Spidweb ]

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
E3 in may. in General
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #14
"Alorael, will not be going. People will be walking around. Walking."

Quoted for truth. E3 is TIRING.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
E3 in may. in General
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #11
I wish I could go. It's a lot of fun.

But the expense, the lack of justification, and the baby prevent it.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Nethergate News in Nethergate
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #25
The reworked Nethergate would use the same engine, just beefed up. Probably Avernum style dialogue (this would take some time). Some new content. Interface and game system improvements. The interface would likely look a lot like Avernum's in the end.

A lot of the major encounters would be reworked to be more in the current style (multi-phase encounters with adds and other special abilities). And the game would be rebalanced to make it more challenging at the end (something I have long felt is a major flaw in the game).

The update would most likely be $10 for registered users. In addition to the general, overall reworking, there would probably one decently sized dungeon for each side (one for Romans, one for Celts).

All of this, is, of course, at least 9 months in the future and subject to drastic change.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
I learned my lesson in Avernum 4
Board Administrator
Member # 1
Profile Homepage #17
This is a new one on me. This is the only way I know of in the newest versions to make the game unwinnable. Part of me wants to patch the game to fix it. Part of me doesn't.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Avernum V in Avernum 4
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #240
No more Erika. No more Rentar. No more Garzahd.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Avernum 2 Debug mode in Tech Support
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #4
It shouldn't be possible to be in debug mode at all. It should be completely disabled. I suspect a corrupted game file. Follow the standard advice in the tech supprot section (back up saves, uninstall, redownload).

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Running the games on Intel Macs? in Tech Support
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #4
Look on this page, section C. Should solve your problem.

http://www.spidweb.com/misc/download.html

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Running the games on Intel Macs? in Tech Support
Board Administrator
Member # 1
Profile Homepage #3
Look on this page, section C. Should solve your problem.

http://www.spidweb.com/misc/download.html

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
A3: XP/Level Mysteriously Decreased in Tech Support
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #9
Get a new copy from our web site and install it. That shouldn't unregister your copy. If it does, we can give you a replacement key for free. Just E-mail us.

Of course, it might be the saved game that got corrupted, not the game files. That's why it's a very good idea to go to a game from before things went wrong.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
A3: XP/Level Mysteriously Decreased in Tech Support
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #6
I think I removed experience drain in Avernum 3. I CERTAINLY made sure experience drain never takes levels away. Nothing takes levels away.

What this looks like is a file corruption, either in the game or the saved game.

I suggest chucking Avernum 3, downloading a fresh copy, and reinstalling. Then go back to a saved game from before the levels mysteriously disappeared. There is nothing in the game as designed to cause that effect.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Indian Doctor Jailed For Agreeing To Abort Female Fetus in General
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #51
I'm exercising owner's privilege on this one. There are a few topics I'd rather not have mega-arguments on my site about. This be one.

Sorry if I cut off anyone's reasoned response about the abortion debate. I assure you that, had it been posted, you TOTALLY would have changed someone's mind on the topic. :-)

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Changes for Better or Worse? in Avernum 4
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Member # 1
Profile Homepage #33
I did read this whole thread.

I've done complete engine reworks several times now. There will always be people who love the changes and people who hate them. Most of the changes I made in Avernum 4 are, I feel, all to the good. For example, I have absolutely no apologies for:

i. Unlimited arrows.
ii. The new first aid and death systems.
iii. The new seamless world. (Avernum 4 would not exist if it weren't for this. I was completely fatigued with designing in the old system. Also, I'm not sure why people say there is no outdoors. Most of the game is outdoors, and the Avernum 4 outdoors has more detail and characters and stuff than any of the earlier games!)
iv. No secret passages. (Bumping into every wall was just lame.)

Things that are neutral:

i. The movement system. It's sort of a sideways switch. But I really don't think Avernum 4's system is bad. Just different. And you can always move using the keyboard.

Things that I will likely rework in Avernum 5:

i. How locks/lockpicks work.
ii. Having a proper character editor.
iii. The lighting system.
iv. I want elevations to return. I have to think a lot to see if it's feasible. Elevations didn't make the cut because it was already months of work just doing the Avernum 4 engine as it is.

As I have already said in other threads, it was already a huge expense in time and money to have the graphics Avernum 4 already has. There will be more new graphics in Avernum 5. But the economics of the thing means that we have always reused old graphics and always will. You don't like it. I don't like it. Nobody likes it. But it absolutely can't be avoided.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Infant Daughter v2.0 in General
Board Administrator
Member # 1
Profile Homepage #8
"Will the Vogel daughters one day argue over whether the Story About the Baby means Jeff loves Cordelia more or less?"

They might as well. They'll argue about something no matter what. That is why I am finding good hiding spots now.

- Jeff Vogel

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Official Board Admin
spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com
Posts: 960 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00

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