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If Jeff went for a new RPG world.... in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Sunday, April 29 2007 17:00 Profile Homepage #37
Why? I like the current mostly classless, skill-based system Jeff has been using (with some variation) since E1. It has the added bonus of allowing inter-level advances by way of Knowledge Brews or other skill sources, and it expands just fine to extremely high levels unlike d20.

—Alorael, who would be very miffed if he had to deal with D&D wizards in Spiderweb games. Spell slots are only a good idea when you don't have a computer to do math for you.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Avernum 5, April Update in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Sunday, April 29 2007 16:56 Profile Homepage #32
quote:
Originally written by Verelor:

No more Recycling! Recycling is good for the environment and the planet, but not in videogames. Avernum 5 shouldn't re-use any of the same graphics from any previous games except for the sprites and a select number of environmental graphics. To a lesser extent, ditto for sound. It's unthinkable that Jeff's newest games still use graphics and sounds from the original Exile!
Getting new graphics and sound is expensive. The old ones are perfectly serviceable. Not going to happen.

Also, what graphics do you mean? Sprites and terrain are almost all the graphics. You really want new graphics for the spell buttons?

I am 99% sure that no sound or graphics are left from E1. I'm pretty sure there aren't even any left from E3 except a handful of items.

quote:
Animate! This is 2007, yet having timed-animating sprites was standard issue for the most low-end games of 1997. You did it with Geneforge, and, as far as I can tell, you can surely pull it off nicely with Avernum 5. Oldbies might complain upon seeing an animating PC/NPC in their Avernum game, but they've got Exile 1-3 and Avernum 1-4 if they love it so much.
Combat could be slightly more animated, maybe, but I think A4 pushes the limits of turn-based animation. Having everyone smoothly step one tile every time you move would look creepy.

—Alorael, who has gotten used to having only four characters. Having five in Nethergate feels crowded, and six seems positively unmanageable.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Infiltrator making a small investment in Creations in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Sunday, April 29 2007 08:33 Profile Homepage #6
The best skill depends on how you play. Shaping has the odd position of giving fairly limited returns on skill point investment and being obtainable through items alone. You can be a perfectly good shaper without spending your hard-earned skill points on it.

—Alorael, who puts points in shaping anyway. Sometimes he has to bite the bullet and play sub-optimally.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
If Jeff went for a new RPG world.... in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Sunday, April 29 2007 08:29 Profile Homepage #23
I wouldn't say no to Jeff stealing ideas from Fallout or Arcanum, but I actually think the Avernum setting already lends itself to a survival RPG. Or it could be done with a new setting, somewhat like Homeland/Settlers except good and RPG-based. You and a small band or colony of others end up isolated and trapped, and it's up to your merry gathering to make sure everyone doesn't starve to death or get eaten by a grue.

—Alorael, who is a party versus passively hostile world junkie. That's one of the better parts of Fallout, and it's why he loves Dark Waters. It's even why he forives Za-Khazi all its flaws.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Favorite game genres? in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Saturday, April 28 2007 11:15 Profile Homepage #8
My taste tends to run to RPGs, then turn-based strategy, then real-time strategy, and then an eclectic mix of individual games in genres I usually avoid.

—Alorael, who avoids FPS for three reasons. Firstly, he's just never really liked them. Secondly, he's consequently fairly bad, which only reaffirms his dislike. Thirdly, he has no sense of direction in real or virtual 3D spaces. FPS games turn into him getting lost, going backwards, and giving up.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Muffins n' Hell in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, April 27 2007 21:21 Profile Homepage #22
Don't make inflammatory comparisons, please. Don't make fun of newer members. Don't complain about older members. Don't post huge images. Don't call someone a baby for a perfectly reasonable request.

—Alorael, who has only a few comments on the story. Its humor rides entirely on the enthusiastically terse script style and the absurdity of muffins. Both tricks wear out quickly. To get a script of Dikiyobian proportions you need something more.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
What have you been reading lately? in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, April 27 2007 21:12 Profile Homepage #380
I'm now reading If on a winter's night a traveler. It's fantastic, but only if you think that reading is great.

—Alorael, who thinks he'd better look into some more Italo Calvino. Anyone who can pull off a convincing second person story can work literary wonders.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
An email from Ed?!? in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, April 27 2007 20:51 Profile Homepage #12
Right here, sir. Please don't come again. Ever.

—Alorael, who thinks discussions of Ed are not fruitful and should definitely not multiply.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Possibly the wrong forum but...... in Richard White Games
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, April 27 2007 12:19 Profile Homepage #5
RW didn't design Homeland, but this forum is as good as any for discussing the red-headed stepchildren of Spiderweb, or rather the red-headed adopted children of Spiderweb.

—Alorael, who thinks SubTerra is more like a godchild. Yes, it's Spiderweb-associated, but its creator still exists and takes responsibility for it. It's also actually fun.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Spiderweb, the business in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, April 27 2007 09:15 Profile Homepage #24
quote:
Originally written by Micawber:

quote:
Originally written by Ladonna:

GC?
I might have said that was a joke, but the sad fact is there are some sad deluded souls who still play Galactic Core.
Like Zorro!

—Alorael, who is pretty sure you don't need to compound a joke with another joke. Besides, Zorro admits that GC was the worst seller. The fact that it's also the best doesn't change that.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Avernum 5, April Update in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, April 27 2007 09:13 Profile Homepage #21
quote:
Originally written by Ladonna:

What are some of the new mechanics you are introducing into this one Jeff? Anything that you think will stand head and shoulder above previous Exiles/Avernums?
quote:
Originally written by Jeff:
i. Elevations are completely in the game. They look nice.

ii. There is now a system of battle disciplines. People with high combat skills will be able to use special abilities. Some of them are cool enough that some mages will be tempted to train in pole weapons.

iii. I have vastly expanded the keyboard shortcuts. You will now be able to target attacks and spells using only the keyboard. (This includes fireballs.)

iv. The plot is very elaborate and cool. I tried for a similar level of intricacy as Geneforge 4: Rebellion.

v. I have also borrowed the much less annoying action point system from Geneforge 4. And a ton of the nice graphical effects too.

vi. The most irritating thing left to be done engine-wise is boats. There will be a lot of water travel.

vii. The Anama are back. Solberg has a decently sized role. Rentar-Ihrno is still dead.
—Alorael, who thinks that entry 2 is the really exciting one here. Hack and slash may be more than simple hack and slash!
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Jeff Vogel's RPG hating rant in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, April 26 2007 11:06 Profile Homepage #30
Maybe it depends on what you're looking for in a game. As Slarty says, games are divided by mechanics, not plot. You can disagree with that categorization, but as it stands RPGs can be characterized by the use of levels, stats, or other progressive inherent improvement to characters, equipment, use of abilities by choice rather than by reflexes. Yes, that's fuzzy definition, and yes, that includes Final Fantasy. It also leaves fuzzy categories like Deus Ex, but that's not surprising. Literature has its genre-straddlers too.

—Alorael, who would like to know what category Djur would use to describe Final Fantasy, terrible Blades scenarios or efforts like the forgettable Yipe! games.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Spiderweb, the business in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, April 26 2007 10:55 Profile Homepage #9
Judging from Jeff's interviews right around the release of Nethergate, I think E1-E3 probably had progressively stronger sales and Nethergate was the first sign that things could go horribly wrong. I'd guess that A1-A3 sales were comparable to their Exile counterparts, again with A3 selling better than the others, and we know that A4 was a blockbuster. G1 must have done well enough to justify the rest of a series that really looks like it takes more work than Avernum.

—Alorael, who is very curious about the sales of BoE. It's friendlier and larger in scenario output than BoA, but did it sell?
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Deathmatch Tournament -- Preliminary Nominations in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, April 26 2007 10:43 Profile Homepage #73
quote:
Originally written by Zeviz:


Alorael - conspiracies (he has been a member of every Spidweb conspiracy)
Shh!

TM and Alec are both noted survivors of bans, although TM finally got nailed with a permanent one, and Schro is no mere mod. He's the stealth admin!

—Alorael, who nominates Alcritas. You'll vote for him if you know what's good for you.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Hi from the freetalk master in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Wednesday, April 25 2007 20:15 Profile Homepage #28
I didn't stay even when my account left, now, did I?

—Alorael, who doesn't really count anyway. He just gave his salient personality traits to Aran and got a handy bot to pick up the slack.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Hi from the freetalk master in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Wednesday, April 25 2007 17:58 Profile Homepage #26
quote:
Originally written by The Almighty Do-er of Stuff:

Not true.

MM actually didn't get the greeting because he joined long before Alorael joined and invented the greeting.
Also not true. He joined five days before I did. He just stuck around more persistently than I did.

—Alorael, who assures you that you haven't seen any gretting yet. When you do, you'll know. Your implants will inform you.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Hi from the freetalk master in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Wednesday, April 25 2007 12:57 Profile Homepage #10
Not for long. I have the distinct but dubious honor to present to you the traditional greeting:

Welcome to Spiderweb! Leave your sanity at the door.

—Alorael, who can feel the scathing disapproval of those whose approval matters slightly less than most, which is still not much.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Avernum sequence in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Tuesday, April 24 2007 14:59 Profile Homepage #7
E3 doesn't have the previous party. They're new to A3, and they're a good addition.

—Alorael, who doesn't think adventuring is a particularly popular sport. Otherwise someone a little more talented than your band of level one cannon fodders would save the world once in a while.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Jeff Vogel's RPG hating rant in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Tuesday, April 24 2007 10:51 Profile Homepage #23
WoW and Final Fantasy are the iconic MMORPG and iconic single-player CRPG (or more specifically Japanese CRPG), respectively. You can complain that they're no good and inflict countless imitators that are equally bad on us, but you can't redefine RPG.

—Alorael, who has argued before and will doubtless argue again that RPGs are not, in fact, based on playing a role. They're defined by system mechanics, and WoW and Final Fantasy both have RPG mechanics. Levels are a good indicator, although not every game with levels is an RPG and not all RPGs use levels.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
On-game image in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Monday, April 23 2007 19:42 Profile Homepage #14
quote:
Originally written by Mysterious Man:

*cough* tech support ? *cough*
Tech Support is for help with Spiderweb game technical problems. General is the right place for this.

—Alorael, who applauds all efforts to improve computer literacy. If only actual literacy preceded it...
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Jeff Vogel's RPG hating rant in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Monday, April 23 2007 12:25 Profile Homepage #8
Jeff has said that one of his favorite RPGs is Planescape: Torment. That's definitely not a game about grinding. I also think his objection is mostly to wastes of time, not many weak enemies. Having to hack through five hundred mooks with a spoon over the course of twenty minutes is boring. Killing five hundred mooks with a bomb in ten seconds is rather cool, actually.

Part of the reason I, and I think others, like Spiderweb games is the way combat doesn't bog down. Everything in the game moves quickly. There are no loading times. There are no long animations. Enemies may do damage, but there's an increasing tendency for either you or your foes to die in only a few rounds of fighting. Even going through a goblin cave isn't so boring because you make steady progress and get to see new and often silly or disgusting things constantly.

Also...

quote:
Originally written by Ladonna:

RPG's (sic)
—Alorael, who doesn't understand the [sic] there. Jeff spelled RPGs without the apostrophe. That's now an acceptable pluralization of acronyms, but even if it weren't you can't put [sic] by your own writing. That's bizarre.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Having a good time, but one annoyance. in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Saturday, April 21 2007 20:14 Profile Homepage #14
I back up my saves in Angband. Yes, it makes victory a little less sweet, but those drolems definitely cheat.

—Alorael, who considers backing up his saves a compromise between the headaches of straight Angband and cheat death mode.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00

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