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who's da best? in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, June 20 2006 10:08 Profile Homepage #4
If you wanted only people who play on torment to vote, you should have given the option to view results without voting. I voted for guardian in G2, because of overpowered Parry skill, and Shaper for the rest of them, just because I like to play Shapers and DV's Vlish Master build seem pretty good for Torment.

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Are you now or have you ever been ... in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, June 20 2006 09:43 Profile Homepage #4
The first option is so amusing that I was very tempted to choose it, but decided to go with a serious answer. (Although a couple years in a political student group might qualify, depending on your definition.)

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Thoughts of mine in The Exile Trilogy
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, June 20 2006 09:36 Profile Homepage #4
There are some BoE scenarios whose size and quality match those of Exile series games. Stareye's At The Gallows has been commonly called "Exile 4" for many years.

As for limitations and problems of BoE, they are the same as the problems of original Exiles and designers have found plenty of ways to get around them. If you, as a player, weren't disappointed by original Exiles, you will not be disappointed by scenarios by top designers.

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Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Use A Debate Tactic Against Itself in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Monday, June 19 2006 11:58 Profile Homepage #26
My fellow members, I hope all of us are aware of the danger presented by populist appeals used by unscrupulous leaders to enflame the masses. These appeals often lead to restrictions on our rights and liberties as members of these forums and the society at large. I encourage all of you to join me in protecting our freedoms against such dangerous tactics. Let’s all work together to stop these populist appeals and other attacks on our free speech.

[ Monday, June 19, 2006 11:59: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Last Will and Testament of Slartifer M. Tuckersworth in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Sunday, June 18 2006 19:36 Profile Homepage #23
Congratulations with getting a job you like. This place will be less lively without you.

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
New melee/archer options for A5 in Avernum 4
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, June 16 2006 16:28 Profile Homepage #13
Cronocke, the main point of my post was that Spiderweb games are programmed and designed by a single person, so the more time he spends tweaking the engine, the less time he has to make a good story, as we saw with A4. Jeff probably could implement these skills and balance them so that they are useful, but not overpowered. However, the time he spends doing that is the time he doesn't spend improving other aspects of the game, and I think combat system is fine already, unlike some other important aspects.

quote:
Originally written by Nezumi:

quote:
Originally written by Zeviz:


PS These ideas could work better in Geneforge, where the player controls a single character, rather than an entire party, so it's more important to have a good balance among the classes than to have a variety of roles within the party.
Okay... I joined this forum _just_ to say this, although I'll probably stick around. Yes, Geneforge allows you to just let the computer control the rest of the party and only lead your main. This is generally a BAD IDEA. It's possible to fight much more effectively if you lead your entire party. You can more effectively execute strategies and divide or concentrate your force if you direct your creations. (Or recruitable PC companions, in 3)
To clarify, I didn't mean to imply that I always let AI control my creations. What I meant was that in Geneforge, your character is a single person who leads his creations/allies, while in Avernum you control a group of up to 4 individuals, each of whom has all character attributes (as opposed to Geneforge creations/allies who have just 4 base attributes).

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Xylgham udwlnit skretcko!1!! in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, June 16 2006 15:40 Profile Homepage #318
I like the verious ways in which The Thing affects different people's language. Although at this rate, the dialogue in the script will soon become unreadable without significant descrambling efforts. (Is this why new installments are taking so long to write?)

And considering the number of demon-summoning accidents, those mages need several priests standing ready with Repel Spirit whenever they try to summon anything. :)

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
New melee/archer options for A5 in Avernum 4
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, June 16 2006 15:29 Profile Homepage #7
quote:
Originally written by Enraged Slith:

I do not think combat was the point of Avernum 4. This isn't Diablo 2.
...
This is exactly my feeling. There already was too much focus on combat and graphics engine in A4. Continuing down that path would cause even more disappointment for people who enjoy the RP part of CRPGs.

quote:
Originally written by Cronocke:


...
Or such. A small handful of abilities that aren't really any better than the standard attack, but would have their uses in specific situations.
This is exactly the problem: either these abilities would be so weak that they are a waste of time, or they'd be essential to winning, in which case fighters would just become mages with a different name.

PS These ideas could work better in Geneforge, where the player controls a single character, rather than an entire party, so it's more important to have a good balance among the classes than to have a variety of roles within the party.

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Montauk Project in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, June 16 2006 15:08 Profile Homepage #14
You couldn't make a person "invisible" to two observers looking from different directions simultaneously:

Let's say a person in "invisibility suit" is standing in front of a tree. Two people are standing in front of him, with a significant distance between them and are looking at the tree. To make the person invisible to observer on his left, the image of the tree would have to be projected onto the left side of his body. But if the suit does that, observer on the right will see a section of tree trunk moved to a side. (To fool observer of the right, you'd have to project the image onto the right side of the subject's body.) Draw this on paper and you'll see what I mean.

This might work if the observers are so far away that the difference doesn't matter, but to a nearby observer the person in this "invisibility suit" will be just as visible as he'd be while wearing a regular camouflage uniform.

[ Friday, June 16, 2006 15:32: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
I need your help! in Blades of Avernum
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, June 16 2006 14:56 Profile Homepage #26
To everybody who is "trying to prevent a loss of designer who will get frustrated", you are doing more harm than good. If half a page of posts with link to an article by the game designer himself wasn't enough to convince a person, you aren't going to convince him by continuing to harp on the point. Besides, I doubt that anybody who had quit after failing to make an epic would have made a good scenario designer. As Alcritas says in his article, he started with a failed epic himself. What distinguishes good designers is whether they can learn from their (inevitable) mistakes.

Jockmo42, I haven't heard of any Blades scenarios done by teams (aside from "The Creator"'s scenarios). The way things usually work is you look up the graphics in a graphics archive, or ask for specific help here. I guess the same goes with scripting. You can also discuss your scenario ideas and get advice from experienced designers like TM and Ash, in chats (are those still happening?), or just in e-mail or PM conversations. (There were some threads for this, but you can just ask.) Trying to put together a design team in a place where most of cooperation is less formal is unlikely to be met with enthusiasm, especially when done by a new member, but you can get a lot of help, especially if you learn to ignore occasional sharp exchanges. :)

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Alwan and Greta questions in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, June 15 2006 11:30 Profile Homepage #67
quote:
Originally written by chibi kaie:

I killed Aiglos by accident once by convincing him to join me in the artila hunt and not bothering to heal him when he got hit with acid (I say it was his fault, he kept rushing ahead), but I didn't think to see if he stayed dead (i.e. if I could then explore the Refuge with impunity). Is there anything good there (i.e. is it worth doing it on purpose, presuming I'm being ruthless anyway)?
Considering the difficulty of the enemies in the Refuge, as somebody said before, if you can defeat them, you don't need their loot. So the only reason to do it would be as a challenge for your low level party.

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
SRG! in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, June 15 2006 10:40 Profile Homepage #10
Frozen Feet - 4.5 - amusing and fits on 1 line.

wz.As - 3 - I don't get it, but it's sufficiently short not to be annoying.

Aran - 1.5 - several lines of links, and it's not even amusing. (Your sig is probably shorter when browsing in full screen mode, but I don't like sigs that look like "links" pages anyway.)

Goldenking - 3 - It's probably trying to be either funny or profound, but fails. However, it fits on 1 line, so gets 3 points for not being annoying.

Salmon - 4.5 - funny, short, and I particularly like humorous rephrasings of sayings.

Diki - 4.8 - links to a great script and does its job as concisely as possible.

Shard of Fire - 4.5 - amusing and fits on 1 line.

Tyran - 2 - If you had either first or second line alone you'd get 4.5. If you had just the links you'd get 3 or 4. But as it is, your sig is longer than your average post. :)

PS I am aware that my own sig is longer than 1 line, but I try to make sure that it is much shorter than my posts. :) (And I am going to change it anyway, as soon as I can think of something better.)

[ Thursday, June 15, 2006 10:42: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Inventions in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, June 15 2006 10:07 Profile Homepage #1
quote:
Originally written by Scienceking:

...Idea 1: A device that creates energy without dependance on anything but itself and gravity. Name: GravWheel
Unfortunately, plenty of people had this idea before. It's called perpetuum mobile. :P

[ Thursday, June 15, 2006 10:10: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Would you be interested in a sci fi RPG: THE POLL in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, June 14 2006 09:36 Profile Homepage #32
Since Sci-fi is often modelled on medieval times anyway (empires, knights who use laser swords, etc.), the gameplay wouldn't be that different from a fantasy RPG. In fact, it could be more realistic, because "each hit drains your shield's battery, until it runs out, shield fails, and you die" is a lot easier to understand than "each hit wounds you, but you keep fighting just as effectively until you suddenly die". "First Aid" skill would be "shield maintenance" (ability to tune your shield to use energy more effectively), healing potions would be battery packs, etc. And forcefield shields and laser guns are just as [un]realistic as fireball spells and blessed helms.

[ Wednesday, June 14, 2006 09:38: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
The pinnacle of perfection? in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, June 14 2006 09:22 Profile Homepage #7
I think Greta is an example of why you don't see rebellious agents: agents are special forces of the Shaper society, so their training requires them to display even more loyalty than regular shapers. Agents that show any indication that they might rebel are kicked out, as happened with Greta.

quote:
Originally written by Delicious Vlish:

... And they would know that canister usage would lead to them having an accident somewhere some time.
No "accident" befalls canister-using loyalist PC in Gf1 or Gf2. The only negative in those endings is that you are isolated, but it's hard to be friendly with an arrogant, exessively powerful person who glows in the dark. :)

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Anonymity and online identity, yet again. in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Monday, June 12 2006 16:20 Profile Homepage #27
Another fun experiment is searching for "[real name]" OR "[online name]". For me this search returns one result related to my real name, followed by Spidweb and a bunch of other "Zeviz" results, with most of other real name-related results starting on page 3.

Which means that it's probably good that I don't use my real name online, because, while there is nothing wrong with spending a lot of time on forums like this one, things that show up when looking for my real name alone are a lot more impressive.

This obviously wouldn't work for lucky people whose real name is so common that searching for it turns up no relevant results.

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Gf3: Battle shaping worth it??? in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, June 6 2006 16:13 Profile Homepage #15
In that case would Thahd Shade make better defender than any other battle creation? (If nobody can hit it, you don't even have to heal it.) Or does it cost so much essence to max out dexterity that you might as well make 2 Battle Betas instead?

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
ADV Shaping (Battle Gamma & Co.) in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, June 6 2006 16:08 Profile Homepage #49
Puzzle games are fun. Irrelevant puzzles that pop up in the middle of an RPG aren't. Especially if the puzzle is either poorly connected to what my character is supposedly doing (like asking player to arrange genes in a pattern when the character is casting a spell), or so hard that I have to go online for answers (like puzzles in some BoE scenarios).

The "find notes that you show to person A, who gives you instructions that can only be deciphered with help of person B, whom you have to find in a dangerous remote area" kind of puzzles work better in RPGs if done well. However, if done poorly these can also get quite tedious.

As for randomness in a game, any random elements have to be decided at the start of the game, to avoid save/reload problem. So each game would be unique, while each reload within a given game would produce same result.

[ Tuesday, June 06, 2006 16:11: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
The Refuge in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, June 6 2006 15:58 Profile Homepage #39
quote:
Originally written by VCH:

Agents are just far too powerful, as many people claim, to allow more than a few to wander unsupervised.
This just means there are even more hidden super-agents watching the agents. And even more rare and powerful super-super-agents watching the super-agents. And ...

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
What's the best avernum? in The Avernum Trilogy
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, June 6 2006 15:55 Profile Homepage #10
A2 is the best. A4 is the worst. (Unless you prefer Diablo to Baldur's Gate.)

BoA could be great, or just ok, depending on how good the scenarios are. You can find out about BoA scenarios here: http://pub15.ezboard.com/fthelyceumfrm32

[ Tuesday, June 06, 2006 15:55: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Gf3: Battle shaping worth it??? in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Monday, June 5 2006 15:39 Profile Homepage #13
Talking about meat shields, is it true that maxing out Thahd Shade's dexterity makes it almost impossible for anything to hit it?

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
The Refuge in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Monday, June 5 2006 15:13 Profile Homepage #27
quote:
Originally written by Corny Cheese:

I have just started playing Geneforge 3 and was at the Refuge on Greenwood Island and I was just wondering if everybody kills all hte guards and people to get the stuff in their rooms?
When playing as a rebel or a loyalis - no. When playing as a munchikin - yes. ("Munchikin" is a term for players whose goal is to make their characters as powerful as possible.)

quote:
Originally written by Delicious Vlish:

quote:
Originally written by Waylander:

'Innocent' is such a subjective term. Those in those Refuge admit to being hostile to Shaper rule. They border on being rebels. A loyal Shaper has only one choice, and that it to wipe them out.
This is true from a role playing point of view. A loyalist shaper would exterminate them for expressing contrary opinion. The same way that any real loyalist would destroy Lankan at first meeting, for being contaminated by evil and rebelling.

"You dare question a shaper?! You must die now!"
...
That's not true about the Shapers as presented in the game. Lankan's crime was attacking a Shaper, and even in his case death penalty isn't the only option. Plenty of characters in the games (including a lot of opinion-asking characters) openly express their dislike for either some Shaper actions or Shapers in general.

As for people in the refuge, one of the questions you can ask is "are there criminals here", which implies that just living in the Refuge (and expressing opinions bordering on rebellion) isn't a crime.

quote:
Originally written by Dxtrgrtba:

...
Dikiyoba thinks that perhaps there will be a total of six Geneforges. Two have Shapers for intro graphics, two will have Agents, and two will have Guardians. :P
Since Jeff implied more character classes in G4, this method will leave room for about 10 Geneforges. And by then we'll have even more character classes, so even more will have to be made, and Geneforges will be spreading like canisters. :)

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Xylgham udwlnit skretcko!1!! in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, June 2 2006 22:04 Profile Homepage #262
While the script itself might not suffer, some people who post in this thread seem to have been affected by "the thing" even here. :)

quote:
Originally written by Dmknoiygba:

...
Originally by Ephesos:

quote:
Dikiyoba, your site is acting up. I click on a link, and it disappears until I refresh.
Sorry, I don't know what's wrong with it. I just tested it and got the problem too, but only on the site of Episode 2, and then only inconsistently.
...
Sounds like time for a new host. I saw a list of good free hosts on another forum: here

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Reputation system in BoA? in Blades of Avernum Editor
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, June 2 2006 21:51 Profile Homepage #9
The honesty and morality reputations remind me of DnD allignments. Honesty is Lawful - Chaotic dimension and morality is Good - Evil dimension. I don't think I've seen the corresponding behaviors codified into the engine before, but it might work.

As for having 5 or more separate reputation types, unless you are going to make social interaction a major part of your scenario (and make the scenario sufficiently large), it's going to feel like an overkill. In a smaller scenario it might be easier to just keep track of how well-liked you are by each major character/faction.

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Reputation system in BoA? in Blades of Avernum
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Friday, June 2 2006 21:51 Profile Homepage #9
The honesty and morality reputations remind me of DnD allignments. Honesty is Lawful - Chaotic dimension and morality is Good - Evil dimension. I don't think I've seen the corresponding behaviors codified into the engine before, but it might work.

As for having 5 or more separate reputation types, unless you are going to make social interaction a major part of your scenario (and make the scenario sufficiently large), it's going to feel like an overkill. In a smaller scenario it might be easier to just keep track of how well-liked you are by each major character/faction.

--------------------
Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword,
For it too has the power to kill.
However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword,
Can also have the power to heal.
Posts: 2649 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00

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