Profile for Slarty

Error message

Deprecated function: implode(): Passing glue string after array is deprecated. Swap the parameters in drupal_get_feeds() (line 394 of /var/www/pied-piper.ermarian.net/includes/common.inc).

Field	Value
Displayed name	Slarty
Member number	261
Title	Raven v. Writing Desk
Postcount	3560
Homepage	http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/slartyvsdesk/
Registered	Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00

Recent posts

Pages

Author	Recent posts
All good things must come to an end... in General
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Friday, December 1 2006 15:03 Profile Homepage #6 What Kelandon said. Take care, +74! -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Chapters and Creations in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Friday, December 1 2006 14:06 Profile Homepage #2 I don't think rotghroths were ever "banned," though there were probably comments in G2 that all the new Barzite creations were illegal. Certainly Drakons and Gazers are banned. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
An RP in the World of Avernum Reloaded in General
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Friday, December 1 2006 13:47 Profile Homepage #336 necromantic facepalm -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
G4 Website / insane reputation analysis in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Friday, December 1 2006 09:46 Profile Homepage #0 http://minmax.ermarian.net/g4/ It's bare bones at the moment. But for those of you wondering about the picayune deatils of reputation -- or about how you can get both the Ring of Eye's Purity and the Stasis Shield without giving up disgusting munchkin min-maxing -- you might be interested in my Task & Reputation Guide. It's not quite polished yet, but all the data is there. (...yes, for the three weeks that I am in the middle of the woods with no car, I have too much time on my hands, it's true.) -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Best Game Ever? in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Friday, December 1 2006 09:36 Profile Homepage #7 I'm a little surprised that you would even consider rating A4 over G4. I don't hate A4, but really -- what's the comparison? -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
The Fall of the Cryoan Empire in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Friday, December 1 2006 07:51 Profile Homepage #33 Unfortunately, Shock Troopers and Warriors are just worse, albeit minutely. Given that a shaping style character shouldn't be meleeing, the Shock Trooper is basically a Lifecrafter with worse magic, but slightly better HP and Parry. However, unless you regularly pump shaper Endurance much above 8, the HP difference is worth about 1 point of Endurance, whereas the magic difference is worth about 4 points (taking Spellcraft into account). Lifecrafter wins. If we use the paradigm that pumping shaping skills is not worthwhile, the Warrior has no advantages whatsoever over the Servile, but he gets the same -4 in magic and loses 1/3 of his spell energy. Bzzt! Servile wins. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Best Game Ever? in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Thursday, November 30 2006 21:59 Profile Homepage #3 It's a very good game, and a lot of thought and energy went into its design and execution. That's also true of a number of other Spidweb games, though, certainly including at least Exile 2, Nethergate, and Geneforge 1. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
The Fall of the Cryoan Empire in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Thursday, November 30 2006 21:23 Profile Homepage #28 quote: Originally written by Servile Synergy: the stronger magic of the Infiltrator felt more effective and satisfying to me overlall than the slightly stronger battle ability of the Servile AUGGHH so misleading! The Infiltrator's magic bonus boils down to about +4 levels of damage/duration/etc per spell compared to a Servile. This is not that big. The Servile's melee bonus over an Infiltrator is quite huge though, including +5 or so in Quick Action and Parry and the HP bonus. Actually, what makes an Infiltrator tempting to ME is the better essence -- 7/8, halfway between 6/8 servile and 8/8 lifecrafter. But I think the other two classes are still better. quote: Originally written by Servile Synergy: I think it is also because fairly low numbers in several Battle categories are effective. This is actually a much-ignored point that is worth paying attention to. Melee weapons get high base bonuses from the weapons themselves late in the game. +20 for the Puresteel Broadsword. Spells never get ANY base bonuses outside of your knowledge of the spell. So Aura of Flames gets Up to Spellcraft + Battle Magic + 3, while melee attacks get up to Str + Melee Weapons + 20. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
The Fall of the Cryoan Empire in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Thursday, November 30 2006 21:16 Profile Homepage #27 quote: —Alorael, who thinks perhaps the problem is different lifecrafter builds. Since you really don't need so much shaping, especially at high levels, why are the lifecrafters turning into glass cannons (or maybe glass leash holders)? The skills that really help you not die (as opposed to kill things with a sword) are no harder for lifecrafters than serviles. Quoted for emphasis! This is what I should have said in fewer words. Listen to Alorael. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
The Fall of the Cryoan Empire in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Thursday, November 30 2006 21:14 Profile Homepage #25 quote: Originally written by Randomizer: While they all have the same initial endurance the fighting classes should get more health per level than the shaping. I checked and a sevile starts with 50% health at base and has a better multiplier so it adds up quickly. See Classes. The base stats are misleading, because each class gets HP (and Energy, and Essence) bonuses that are independent of level and class multiplier and Int/End. All classes get a flat 10 Essence to start with, but for HP they are different. Serviles get 30, and Lifecrafters get 20. The relative difference for points from levels and Endurance is about 10 for Serviles vs 7 for Lifecrafters. It might seem like 50% because you put more points there for your Servile. However, that's because you put more points there. quote: It adds up since you need skill points for intelligence and shaping that a servile will use to get a 400+ health by chapter 4 with augmentation and essence armor. As SoT commented, what matters is how you use it and whether it's needed. If a Lifecrafter can get along without 400 health, it's not a disadvantage. But again, if your Servile has 400 health your Lifecrafter can certainly have 250. Given the lack of need to pump shaping I don't see why a Lifecrafter would have fewer skill points to blow on HP than a Servile would. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
The Fall of the Cryoan Empire in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Thursday, November 30 2006 21:01 Profile Homepage #21 Something I often reflect on, in the midst of my inane analyses, is how incredibly similar the classes are. Really, the differences between the classes, even Servile vs Lifecrafter, are extremely minute as classes go in most games. They can all do everything, and the difference in effectiveness at any given task isn't even that big. They can all do everything well, some can just do some things a little better. This is of course the result of Jeff's preference for freeform, unrestricted character skill systems. I happen to prefer a few sharply distinct options, which is probably why I go to such lengths to analyze the nearly identical classes we do have. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
The Fall of the Cryoan Empire in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Thursday, November 30 2006 20:07 Profile Homepage #14 1) There are some gross exaggerations and misstatements floating around here. The Servile does not have "absurdly" more health than the Lifecrafter. It has about 1/2 more health. They even start with the same Endurance. It has a much easier time getting a high Parry, but Parry doesn't reduce damage as much as it did in A4 even. So it's ridiculous to say the Servile is really that much more survivable. You might not pay as much attention to a Lifecrafter's health, but if so, that's because you don't need to, not because you can't. 2) Jeff, pumping the shaping skills does make for considerably more powerful 1st- and 2nd-tier creations. Artila and Cryoa get a lot out of them. However, because the 4th- and 5th-tier creations (plus Drayks) start at such high levels and have such high HP and Energy bonuses and attack skills, the effects on those creations are greatly mitigated. Across the board, HP is only fractionally better, Energy is meaningless for many of those creations anyway, and attack strength goes up by a tiny percentage even when you pump skills to 10. Ramping up damage multipliers for their attack types in G4 helped them A LOT -- it made them useful, rather than worse than Vlish. But when they have a base level around 30, a high base attack skill and sometimes even a Strength bonus, they are going to start out with 30 or 40 levels of attack strength. That only goes up by 1 level per 2 experience levels of the creation... not a very large increase. 3) DV, you keep repeating the benefits of using a Servile but you have not done anything to discredit the benefits of using a Lifecrafter that SoT, Khoth, and others have mentioned. The Servile and Lifecrafter are similar in power, each with different sorts of flexibility that allow an answer to most any situation. I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that. They are balanced, much more balanced than Agents and Shapers ever were! [ Thursday, November 30, 2006 20:09: Message edited by: SlartSoYa ] -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
The Fall of the Cryoan Empire in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Thursday, November 30 2006 09:18 Profile Homepage #3 I don't entirely agree. Compared to Serviles, Lifecrafters get: 1/3 less Health Hugely lower melee ability Worse Quick Action Worse Parry and 1/3 more Essence +2 Intelligence Mildly better creations I think the melee ability is balanced out by being able to have more creations at any point in the game -- though the Servile is certainly more versatile. So it's really a question of whether that also balances out the lower Parry and HP. Let's take a look at how much Essence a Servile and a Lifecrafter, with the same investment in Intelligence and the same equipment, will have at several fabricated points. (You can get a lot of bonuses to Int from items so these are fairly reasonable numbers): This is a significant difference. A Lifecrafter can afford more creations in the first 2 chapters, and better creations in the last 3. Essentially, a lifecrafter potentially has more offensive firepower at any point. And a servile has better defense and, therefore, more options in terms of how to do things at any point. In the end I think they are both good options. (The other three classes are worse, of course.) -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Erika, fungus and a record to set straight. in The Avernum Trilogy
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Thursday, November 30 2006 08:46 Profile Homepage #29 queues up Beethoven's Fifth <g> Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
The Fall of the Cryoan Empire in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Wednesday, November 29 2006 22:22 Profile Homepage #0 The more I look at it, the more I am concluding that it's not worthwhile to pump a shaping skill early -- or at all. First of all, Cryoa don't really end up any better than Roamers, except for having slightly more ammo. Second of all, once you hit Drayks, the benefits from having high shaping skill are pretty low, as far as individual creations go. Levelled Roamers and Cryoa are cheaper than Drayks but otherwise not any better, and you can more than make up the essence cost by putting some of those 36 skill points into Intelligence. Third of all, mixing shaping types is at least mildly useful, as there are good reasons to make one Vlish over a Roamer and a Wingbolt over a Kyshakk. Plus you can just make an army of cheap Artila in chapter 1 and steamroll the chapter. Fourth of all -- and this is the kicker -- because of the 10-cap on shaping skill benefits and the fact that you eventually have +6 to shaping available from items, if you charge to 10 shaping skill right away, you will effectively be paying double for bonus levels -- up to 12 skill points for a single level. That's not so hot. So, my new theory is: don't neglect Leadership and Mechanics. Don't pump shaping skills. Make some Artila and kill things. Pump Int. Pump spell skills. Make a Vlish or two. Pump Int more, make Drayks and Kyshakks or Wingbolts, and live happily ever after. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Erika, fungus and a record to set straight. in The Avernum Trilogy
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Wednesday, November 29 2006 22:04 Profile Homepage #26 Well, we know Athron didn't self-fertilize because she talks about having a mate who is also responsible for the brood. Also, it's worth pointing out that, while Athron is female in parts of Exile 2 and all of Exile 3 and Avernum 1-3, in the Exile conversations that talk about the brood -- i.e., Athron's own words -- Athron refers to himself exclusively as male. Athron's gender wasn't changed until after he began brooding... Also, there are what, 2 or 3 serviles that changed genders, out of numerous repeat appearances. 80% of the dragons changed genders. (Unless you count Pythras, or argue that Pyrog's being neutered doesn't count as a gender change, but you're still at at least 50%) -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Slartanalysis: Leadership in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Wednesday, November 29 2006 19:43 Profile Homepage #15 You can buy more living tools, though. Lots of merchants sell one or a few, and most players don't buy them because they're moderately expensive. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Zero Intelligence Creations in Geneforge Series
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Wednesday, November 29 2006 07:03 Profile Homepage #1 Agreed, the AI isn't all bad. When I broke G3 using Vlish (see this topic), I initially made them with no extra Int to make seven as soon as I could. I actually held off putting Int in for a long time because it was easier to not control them, anyway. I think I finally had to give them Int when I started running into Submission Turrets, which they had to use melee attacks against to do well. Late in the game Int is probably always necessary, but early on when essence is scarce, it can be a waste. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Storyline and Endings in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Wednesday, November 29 2006 05:20 Profile Homepage #12 I think that last bit occured in G2 and G3 as well. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Slartanalysis: Leadership in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Wednesday, November 29 2006 05:18 Profile Homepage #13 quote: Originally written by Randomizer: You don't need more than 2 or 3 decent creations through the first 2 chapters and being able to make the higher ones with some equipment bonuses makes up for starting them later. No, what makes up for starting them later is the fact that tier 4+ creations (and Drayks) are already good without being levelled up a lot. The equipment bonuses certainly make less difference than levelling up does. I think it's reasonable to use the following plan if you go Cryoa. No matter what you do, you can't get to 10 FS until level 6 and you can't get two properly made Cryoa until level 7, so you actually have 5 skill points of wiggle room naturally. (This is done out for a Lifecrafter). You can then spend a few levels pumping Leadership or Mechanics as needed. You can also go for Int first if you want to make a few Roamers right away -- there are a few areas full of rogues so you can get XP in battle without worrying about low lead/mech. As noted previously, there is little shortage of money late in the game so I don't mind using living tools when I really need to open a door or chest. Most of them don't have great stuff behind them in chapter 1, though. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Creations Analysis, Part II in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Wednesday, November 29 2006 04:58 Profile Homepage #4 quote: Originally written by Randomizer: For the endgame you might want to look at damage versus drakon since that was a consideration for me to choose fire shaping. Magic shaping is marginal versus them because they resist magic attacks and a war trall isn't any better. I wish I had tried rotgroth since that might work better. Drakons actually don't resist magic at ALL. Ur-Drakons do, though. Otherwise they have the same resists: moderate physical resistance and high fire resistance (and high mental). Essentially, unless you really like Eyebeasts or Unstable Wingbolts, you can treat Ur-Drakons the same way you treat Wingbolts. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Erika, fungus and a record to set straight. in The Avernum Trilogy
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Tuesday, November 28 2006 18:29 Profile Homepage #14 So the implication is that Solberg killed himself to get rid of Cheeseball, then came back to life? ?_? -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
HELP about experience!! in Avernum 4
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Tuesday, November 28 2006 18:27 Profile Homepage #1 You got it right -- it's based on the highest level character. How did you accrue such a gap? Do the other 3 have lots of advantages and he has disadvantages? -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Creations Analysis, Part II in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Tuesday, November 28 2006 18:23 Profile Homepage #0 This time, I needed real tables: http://minmax.ermarian.net/g4/g4cre.html [ Thursday, December 07, 2006 06:34: Message edited by: Slartel Runeaxe ] -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Experience in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Slarty Raven v. Writing Desk Member # 261	written Tuesday, November 28 2006 11:43 Profile Homepage #0 I've been doing some testing with experience, and -- surprise, surprise -- things have changed since G3. It's easy to notice that the penalty for being high level is not ramped up so high so fast. The real change is in how creation levels are handled. Your own XP is still reduced by the number of creations (or other party members) you have, and so are your creations' XP. The reduction is definitely the same for the PC, and it seems to be the same for creations: HOWEVER, creation XP is now adjusted on an individual basis. It isn't based on the creation's level, however. It is based on the difference between your level and the creation's level. There is a certain range of level variance where there is no adjustment made. If it goes above or below that, creations can earn less or more experience. This effect is not huge -- but when you make level 20 creations at level 6, it is definitely noticeable. If you make a high level creation and keep it with you the whole game, it will no longer lose its level advantage at a constant rate, it will lose it more quickly at first, and eventually slow to the old constant rate if given long enough. All in all, I guess this doesn't change things that much, but it does steal a number of levels of creations you keep through the whole game, which is yet another roadblock in the Cryoa or Artila strategy. -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central Posts: 3560 \| Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00

Pages