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Which game to play? in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Sunday, October 22 2006 08:31 Profile Homepage #54
The other big spell change in Avernum is the absence of Fireball-type spells with areas of effect. Being able to aim multiple target spells at whichever foes you'd like without worrying about hitting your own party is convenient, but it tales a little bit of fun out of the battles.

A4 brings back areas of effect but not friendly fire.

—Alorael, whose main source of disorientation in E1 isn't the lack of roads. It's the lack of a decipherable automap and the inability to move with the map open. He was always traveling blind.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Good news! in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Sunday, October 22 2006 08:27 Profile Homepage #58
I think the experience division system is the same as previous Geneforges. Your characters divide experience evenly, but the more of them there are the more experience you get. One character might get 100 exp, two would get 90 each, three would get 80, and so on. I made up the numbers arbitrarily because I haven't paid any attention to the formula, but it goes something like that.

—Alorael, who still gets 8 AP except in special cases and who believes that your turn still ends with less than 5 AP. That said, he doesn't use items much so he's not actually sure if he's imagining this or remembering it.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
A4 contradictions in Avernum 4
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Sunday, October 22 2006 08:15 Profile Homepage #1
I think they're closest approximations with limited graphics. I also don't really see how the second one is so bad.

—Alorael, who thinks the real contradiction is a man in his fifties being one of the original Avernites. Exactly how old was he when he was tossed down?
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Good news! in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Saturday, October 21 2006 12:33 Profile Homepage #41
Shaping hasn't really changed mechanically, just a few of the creations. Jeff's been working on making it more useful and relevant, though, with good results.

—Alorael, who must reiterate that the missing sixth class is the one he thinks he'd actually like the most and quite possibly find the most abusable. Jeff thinks it would be too weak. Now stew in your lack of information!
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Centrino duo? in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Saturday, October 21 2006 09:53 Profile Homepage #13
Parallels doesn't do it completely or perfectly. I think it's because there's more hardware to be shared than the processors, but I could be wrong.

—Alorael, who really, really wants to get an Intel Mac now. Maybe he's mentioned this before.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Don't touch that dial! in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Saturday, October 21 2006 09:51 Profile Homepage #33
Spending all my time fighting people turning on the TV by turning off the TV might be satisfying but it's just as big a drain on my attention as leaving the TV on.

—Alorael, who could also just bring his rifle with him and shoot all televisions. He wouldn't earn many friends but he'd be happy.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Good news! in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Saturday, October 21 2006 09:46 Profile Homepage #37
Characters are just on grid spaces. It's just that one grid space is only 1/2 AP. The system really works fine now.

—Alorael, who assures you that you can play an agent in everything but name. It's just that you'll have to do it with less engine abuse, or at least with novel and exciting engine abuse.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Lock Picking in A1 in The Avernum Trilogy
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Saturday, October 21 2006 09:42 Profile Homepage #3
Doors have different lock strengths. A weak door can be bashed down or picked easily. A stronger door might take several bashings (and deal some damage) or a more skilled lockpicker. The strongest doors can require extreme Tool Use or magic.

—Alorael, who used magic most of the time. It's easier on the skillpoints most of the time and you don't need to keep track of picks as well.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Crossbows in Avernum 4
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Saturday, October 21 2006 09:40 Profile Homepage #12
A toothpick can penetrate chainmail easily because it slips through the holes. A sword, I suppose, can pierce chainmail by having a lot of force behind it. I imagine that mail really worked best at deflecting slashes and stopping glancing blows.

—Alorael, who still thinks that smashing holes in plate armor was a big deal. Archers were the tank killers of pre-firearm warfare. They were pretty cheap, too.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
What do you do when you're on the boards? in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Saturday, October 21 2006 09:36 Profile Homepage #2
Just about anything. I only post with about 1/4 of my brain's processing power.

—Alorael, who believes he may have explained a thing or two about himself. Among other things, he is not a dual core person.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Don't touch that dial! in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 22:45 Profile Homepage #31
quote:
Originally written by Spookee Salmon:

Unless you have your computer in front of a couch, a suitable distance away, with a coffee table in between for popcorn or drinks. But then it is just sad, you know, to have your computer set up in the living room like it is the center of your life. That is what the big, dark television is for.
While I recognize irony when it hits me (hard), I take exception to your implications. I'd rather have a computer in the living room than a television, because there are definitely times when being able to, say, look something up online would be nice. Televisions serve only as obstacles to intelligent and unintelligent conversation.

—Alorael, who believes the lack of TV in his life may have led to a crippling inability to pay attention to anything else when a TV is on. Even if he's not facing it and even if it's mute he still can't focus with a TV in the room. It sounds funny, but it's highly inconvenient.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Spiderweb Music in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 22:40 Profile Homepage #22
Nethergate by far, then A2. After that none of the intros really stand out in my mind.

—Alorael, who doesn't mind electric guitar in a fantasy setting at all. That little bit of music captures the caves' mood, especially that wonderful Chapter 2 where you're on your own and the fate of Avernum, nay, the world rests on your shoulders.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Happy Birthday to Me in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 22:37 Profile Homepage #63
Given the current obesity "epidemic" I think maybe requiring more bulk food per calorie could be a good thing.

—Alorael, who is not a vegetarian. He is, however, very picky about his meat, which means he often avoids eating it. He has been known to accept inconvenience and even fasting instead of meat, but that's entirely dependent on the provenance of the meat in question. McDonalds is really out of the question.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Why can't the net be chaotic evil? in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 22:31 Profile Homepage #2
I think net neutrality will be maintained one way or another, and I approve of neutrality personally, but I can't say I completely see how having a tiered internet is horrible, evil (non-evil?), and disastrous.

—Alorael, who does think it's an interesting case of government not understanding something and then choosing to regulate the wrong parts of it wrongly.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Crossbows in Avernum 4
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 22:25 Profile Homepage #8
Crossbows were originally inferior. They had less range, less power, and less accuracy than a longbow in the hands of a skilled archer, and after the first shot is fired a crossbow has a much longer reload time. The advantage is that crossbows are point and shoot weapons. Any idiot can kill someone with one, which is probably why the Church feared idiots with crossbows.

—Alorael, who isn't really sure when the hand crossbow overtook the longbow in power or even if the distinction was useful. Longbows could punch through armor, and dead is dead no matter how impressive the hole is.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Good news! in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 22:21 Profile Homepage #26
There have been a fair number of creation changes and some of the combat changes make the more abusive and abusable tricks no longer so tricky. The problem all of you seem to have with range hasn't been entirely fixed, but it's no longer a problem as far as I'm concerned.

—Alorael, who considered that one of the better changes after he got past the initial shock of change. Geneforge 4 delivers in the little things as well as the plot.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
(Insert Theme Music Here) in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 22:17 Profile Homepage #4
The original, ironically numbered 4, will always have a special place in my heart.

—Alorael, who must qualify this a little bit: A New Hope is only the best if Han shoots first.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Happy Birthday to Me in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 11:13 Profile Homepage #55
Explain to me how a vegetarian diet is inadequate, please. Vegetarian diets are apparently healthier than omnivorous diets, and nobody has documented mass vegetarian health problems.

[Edit: Grammar?]

—Alorael, who has also read a paper explaining that near-starvation diets increase life expectancy, so maybe stunting growth is good for you.

[ Friday, October 20, 2006 11:14: Message edited by: Bandwidth Sink ]
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
It's where the rubber hits the road. in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 11:08 Profile Homepage #4
Especially given that the judiciary is not supposed to be representative. This is just a pointless roadblock of a policy. Do any of its backers have anti-"activist judge" agendas?

—Alorael, who thinks basing it on where judges were originally from would be even worse. How long do you have to live somewhere before you're from there? What are the age cutoffs? Does it have to be only a certain number of years ago? What if you, say, spent your summers there but the rest of the year somewhere else?
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Centrino duo? in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 11:04 Profile Homepage #9
You don't even need two processors to do it.

—Alorael, who is still waiting for Apple to make Boot Camp simultaneous instead of either/or. And for Macs to shine shoes, because that would be neat.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Invisibility in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 11:00 Profile Homepage #13
Actually, most Avernites must live in those invisible buildings too. As hard as life is underground I don't think the population of the entire country is just a few hundred who live approximately twenty to a house.

—Alorael, who wonders if the Triad perhaps took Gary Larson's advice and invented stackable townspeople for ease of storage.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Happy Birthday to Me in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 10:57 Profile Homepage #52
Plants can be turned into food for us or food for animals that we eat, but a lot of energy is lost between plants and animals. Eating plants is more efficient.

Yes, I am aware that there are areas in which no crops can be grown and animals can be raised, but a lot of land is wasted on luxury food.

—Alorael, who thinks that's a good reason for the average diet to be vegetable-heavy with the occasional dairy or meat product. The best reason for a high-soy diet is the fact that soy is delicious in all its forms, which cannot be said for meat.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Invisibility in General
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 08:53 Profile Homepage #10
There's also an invisible slith fort, although I think it's supposed to be well concealed and not literally invisible.

—Alorael, who actually thinks there may be lots of invisible buildings in Avernum. You just never notice them, never go in, and never realize what you're missing.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Good news! in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 08:38 Profile Homepage #7
I can additionally confirm that combat has become much harder to accidentally screw up in stupid ways.

—Alorael, who very much likes that change and its associated marked downturn in the number of useless party members per encounter.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Cheer up in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, October 20 2006 08:35 Profile Homepage #26
B is the Balrog in Moria, but I'm pretty sure B's are bats in Rogue.

—Alorael, who could see bats of Gorgoroth having stings, but they don't either. And Tullegolar, your urchins are the old kind that has surely grown up into drunks, village idiots, lepers, and the occasional veteran or mercenary that in turn died out and was replaced by the current generation t.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00

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