Profile for Eric-Ihrno
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Eric-Ihrno |
| Member number | 4531 |
| Title | Apprentice |
| Postcount | 32 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
Recent posts
Pages
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| Speculating about Avernum 4's plot in General | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Monday, January 31 2005 21:06
Profile
Haven't been around here for a while, but I can't resist adding my 2 cents: - What about a remake ot the Empire war in A2, but from the Empire perspective? Of course we think of Avernum as the good guys, but there are two sides to every story. Point out the atrocities committed by both sides, the real sense of fear among the Empire, the way this whole conflict really boils down to an old grudge between Erika and Garhazad. Even include the A2 heroes as arch-villains this time. - I don't know Jeff's politics, but the aforementioned suggestion lends itself very well to a commentary on current events. After all, who's Garhazad but Dick Cheney with superpowers? - I'd really like to see a human versus human conflict rather than human vs. slith/vahnatai/undead/demon. Just think, why is ASR considered to be such a good BoA scenario? Because the bad guys aren't scary monsters but much scarier humans instead. - I have a theory that Geneforge takes place in the Avernum universe thousands of years later, after Rentar-Ihrno has destroyed all life on the surface and the Shapers are slowly rebuilding surface life using stolen Vahnatai magic. Perhaps proto-shapers will make an appearance in A4 (or R-I will turn out to be the Big Bad Taker Ally in G3). - Erika returns from the dead. She's too central to the story to just kill her off and have things go on without her. Plus I'd like to see her character developed beyond the egotistical, bitter hermit we've seen so far. And if Prazec does get killed in A4, a resurrected Erika would be the only one truly worthy of succeeding her. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Indestructible zombie help in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Sunday, October 10 2004 10:44
Profile
Thank you. There should be less than 15 creatures, so I'll go ahead and take your advice. The dungeon they're in will be a cave with a pretty simple floor, so the corpses shouldn't be a problem. I'll just have to make sure they can't knock down walls by dying on them. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Indestructible zombie help in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Sunday, October 10 2004 10:44
Profile
Thank you. There should be less than 15 creatures, so I'll go ahead and take your advice. The dungeon they're in will be a cave with a pretty simple floor, so the corpses shouldn't be a problem. I'll just have to make sure they can't knock down walls by dying on them. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Indestructible zombie help in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Saturday, October 9 2004 15:13
Profile
Thanks to everyone who weighed in about my special irem script. Now I need help with a creature/terain script. I want to make a creature that can get back up again after dying (after a few turns delay). The initial idea was to make the creature script place a custom terrain (corpse) when the creature dies. The custom terrain would then run a script that waits for a few turns before erasing itself and using place_monster to bring back the creature. The problem is, my corpse script runs fine, but only on corpses I place in the editor. It won't work for ones created by a creature script. Is there any way to place a new terrain script while the game is running? I guess I could make the town or scenario script handle this, but it would be rather clumsy as I'd need a separate call in START_STATE for each resurrecting creature. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Indestructible zombie help in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Saturday, October 9 2004 15:13
Profile
Thanks to everyone who weighed in about my special irem script. Now I need help with a creature/terain script. I want to make a creature that can get back up again after dying (after a few turns delay). The initial idea was to make the creature script place a custom terrain (corpse) when the creature dies. The custom terrain would then run a script that waits for a few turns before erasing itself and using place_monster to bring back the creature. The problem is, my corpse script runs fine, but only on corpses I place in the editor. It won't work for ones created by a creature script. Is there any way to place a new terrain script while the game is running? I guess I could make the town or scenario script handle this, but it would be rather clumsy as I'd need a separate call in START_STATE for each resurrecting creature. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Item Script help in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Wednesday, October 6 2004 16:44
Profile
Ok, I tried Init_State, and the problem is that the creature doesn't actually appear until init_state finishes, so the creature isn't visible in the cutscene. However, I managed to solve the problem by having init_state but my_number into an SDF, which the item script then uses. The cutscene now works as it should. Thanks for the help. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Item Script help in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Wednesday, October 6 2004 16:44
Profile
Ok, I tried Init_State, and the problem is that the creature doesn't actually appear until init_state finishes, so the creature isn't visible in the cutscene. However, I managed to solve the problem by having init_state but my_number into an SDF, which the item script then uses. The cutscene now works as it should. Thanks for the help. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Item Script help in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Monday, October 4 2004 03:28
Profile
Well, the creature is mostly just a humorous side effect of a wand of terror/dumbfounding. The creature itself (a G.I.F.T.S. that has been harnessed as a weapon of psychological warfare) just appears and talks a bit during a brief cutscene, after which it vanishes. Being hostile shoudn't be a problem since it never actually gets to act. I'll look into putting the text in the creature script, though it waoud have to act as soon as it appeared rather than waiting a turn, so the spider wouldn't start attacking. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Item Script help in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Monday, October 4 2004 03:28
Profile
Well, the creature is mostly just a humorous side effect of a wand of terror/dumbfounding. The creature itself (a G.I.F.T.S. that has been harnessed as a weapon of psychological warfare) just appears and talks a bit during a brief cutscene, after which it vanishes. Being hostile shoudn't be a problem since it never actually gets to act. I'll look into putting the text in the creature script, though it waoud have to act as soon as it appeared rather than waiting a turn, so the spider wouldn't start attacking. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Item Script help in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Sunday, October 3 2004 15:30
Profile
I'm making a special item that causes a creature to appear next to the target, say a few text bubbles, and disappear. My first thought was to use place_monster, but you can't control the creature number with this command (thus no text bubbles). My current solution is to put the creature hidden in each town, and have the town script relay the creature number for that town via SDF. Then I use activate_hidden_group and relocate_character to move it to the proper place when the item is used. However, relocate_character doesn't check if the space is occupied or blocked, so the creature often appears inside a wall or on top of someone else unless I do an extensive check of all the spaces around the target. Is there a more elegant way to do this or am I stuck with what I have? Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Item Script help in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Sunday, October 3 2004 15:30
Profile
I'm making a special item that causes a creature to appear next to the target, say a few text bubbles, and disappear. My first thought was to use place_monster, but you can't control the creature number with this command (thus no text bubbles). My current solution is to put the creature hidden in each town, and have the town script relay the creature number for that town via SDF. Then I use activate_hidden_group and relocate_character to move it to the proper place when the item is used. However, relocate_character doesn't check if the space is occupied or blocked, so the creature often appears inside a wall or on top of someone else unless I do an extensive check of all the spaces around the target. Is there a more elegant way to do this or am I stuck with what I have? Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Philosophical Implementation in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Tuesday, September 21 2004 19:44
Profile
The message I got out of RoR was more or less that the only way to argue productively with a postmodernist is by bashing him into submission with a big sword. That and the fact that BoA is an inherently objectivist medium, because your goals and actions are set up beforehand by creator of the scenario who, even if he's a postmodernist, tends to keep the party on a very tight leash, in this case denying the player even the illusion of freedom and meaningful choice. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Magic and Progress in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Sunday, September 5 2004 20:36
Profile
I guess there are two different models of magic. Exile/Avernum tries to have its cake and eat it too. On one hand, mages seem to all come from a few elite Empire-controlled schools at which they go through an extensive apprenticeship, and are presumably indoctrinated with Empire propaganda. On the other hand, magic items are everywhere, and lots of people know a little magic, and the difference between a fighter and a fighter-mage is a few skill points put into mage spells. My guess is that there are two classes of magic, "mundane" and "elite". Mundane magic is the type that adventurers, shopkeepers, and alchemists use, and includes all the spells that players can learn. Learning mundane magic is pretty easy and not tightly controlled. Elite magic includes things like summoning demon lords, making monster plagues, creating magic barriers and quickfire, making permanent magic items, and other things characters can't do. Elite magic would be extremely hard to learn and be restricted to those very, very loyal to the Empire (or the Tower of the Magi for Avernites). Perhaps the ability to use mundane magic is even granted by a spell cast by an elite mage. This division isn't explicitly stated in any of the games, but it seems to be implied by the double standard mentioned earlier. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Magic and Progress in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Sunday, September 5 2004 15:13
Profile
I don't think that there will ever be magical progress, for the simple reason that magic is not like technology. Technology is a democratizing force because its fruits can be used by anyone. Magic, on the other hand, is an inherently centralizing force, because to use it you have to have spent years training as a mage (that is, you must be rich, well-educated, and priviledged). Any pesant soldier could use a gun if given one, but only a specially-trained mage could shoot fireballs. And you can't become a mage unless you get permission from the governmane and the magical elite. Therefore, I would expect that fantasy worlds involving magic don't change and progress the way the real world does. Rather, the world ends up under the thumb of a powerful elite and their hired mages. This sort of repressive society would stifle most people's creativity and fail to produce any technological progress, magical or otherwise. At least that's my theory on why so many magical fantasy worlds are stuck in the middle ages. This line of reasoning also opens up the possibility that the Anama will in fact advance socially and technologically due to their avoidance of magic, while the rest of the world stands still. As for Prazec, she'll pursue enlightened policies for a generation, then be replaced by a successor who will likely be just as bad as Hawthorne. That's the problem with benevolant dictatorships. She may be well-intnetioned, but I don't see her actually relinquising her power and making the Empire more democratic. If anything, Stalker and the other rebels will force her to become more authoritarian. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Anyone know things about "Rakshasi"? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Thursday, September 2 2004 17:24
Profile
Hmmm, it sort of makes sense. The Empire kills most of the Rakhashi on the surface, forcing them to seek a new homeland. So Garhazad assasinates an archmage and takes his place, relentlessly acquiring political power and banishing anyone who comes close to uncovering his real identity. He continues to rise in the ranks until he is second in command of the empire. Then, he provokes Erika to send a group of assasins to kill the Emperor, so that he can capitalize on the people's shock and outrage to maninpulate the young, inexperienced (at the time) Empress into invading Avernum in revenge. Then he plans to kill all the Avernites and take the caves for himself and his fellow Rakhashi. This explains the militarism and brutality of the Empire in A2, despite the fact that the Empress is a decent, just person. It also explains the presence of evil priests and demonic altars among the Empire forces. They were worshiping Rakhashi gods rather than human ones. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Anyone know things about "Rakshasi"? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Wednesday, September 1 2004 16:50
Profile
I think the third race is eyebeasts, who are also invariably bad guys in all the Avernum games. But like Rakhashi, I think they could work with humans if there was something in it for them (like the one in A2 who was helping the Honeycomb bandits.) Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Anyone know things about "Rakshasi"? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Tuesday, August 31 2004 17:21
Profile
I think we can safely say that Avernum Rakhashi bear as much resemblance to Indian Rakhashi as Avernum Nephilim bear to Jewish Nephilim and Empire Dervishes bear to Muslim Dervishes. Also, if my memory serves me, the Rakhashi in A2 were allies of the Empire, so they most certainly can cooperate with the players. p.s. Has anyone tried using Demonslayer on them to see if they're demonic? Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Za-Khazi (overpowered creatures) in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Wednesday, July 28 2004 12:54
Profile
Yes, ZKR does have quite a few "You've got to be kidding" moments. I didn't go for any of the obviously insanely overpowered bosses (Khoth, Hakkai, etc.) My favorite was the Wormy hollow. Since my party was no match for the Dark Wyrms, the spawning pool, or the cavern of horrible sluggish death, I was forced to charm a dark wyrm and bring it along with me to kill everything in its path. Has anyone out there got through the hollow using another strategy? Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Erika's old quarters.... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Monday, July 26 2004 18:56
Profile
Am I the only one who thinks that the presence of slimes and alien beasts in the school means that the school was still open after A3? Alien beasts were invented specifically by R-I, and pre-A3 wizards wouldn't be trying to modify them. As for Erika's age, I vaguely remember seeing her described as middle-aged in A1, which would probably allow for her to have been in late adolescence or early adulthood when banished. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| CUT SCENES in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Sunday, July 25 2004 09:45
Profile
I'd recommend Kelandon's article on cutscenes as well. It's much more informative than the list of calls in the appendix. You can find his page at: http://my.sanbrunocable.com/tomwatts/public_html/home.html Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| CUT SCENES in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Sunday, July 25 2004 09:45
Profile
I'd recommend Kelandon's article on cutscenes as well. It's much more informative than the list of calls in the appendix. You can find his page at: http://my.sanbrunocable.com/tomwatts/public_html/home.html Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| A small Rebelion Poll in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Thursday, July 22 2004 15:11
Profile
Wow, how come so many people chose the Hill runners. That's the only choice I can't find any justification for. Helping the Empire would restore order so that the system could be reformed (how often does liberty increase in wartime?) Killing both leaders could allow more sensible people to fill their places. And just leaving the island without helping either side is the most morally acceptable option (and counts as a "win" on your record, interestingly enough). But I can't see any reason to go with Stalker. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| Favorite Scenario in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Monday, July 19 2004 17:39
Profile
DwtD, because it has both a good plot and good gameplay. ASR is enjoyable for the plot, but the actual dungeons got tedious at points. With DWTD, I challenge anyone to get to Vahkhos's castle and not be sucked in until they finish the scenario. And on a side note, DwtD addresses the issue of pollution much better than VoDT, even though I doubt that's what Jeff even had in mind. And it manages to work in the same "end justifies the means" moral dilemma as ASR and makes it more complex to boot. Also, I don't get why everyone slams on ZKR. VoDT was much worse. Once you understand that there will be no coherent plot, character development, or moral dilemmas, you can just sit back and enjoy the fun. And a lot of people seem to enjoy killing Koth too. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| dragons?love em hate em? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Sunday, July 11 2004 12:42
Profile
I think it's their magic that makes them arrogant. Just think of Erika, Linda, Garhazad, X, Rone, and probably a couple other human wizards who are equally arrogant, insane, amoral, or some combination of the three. Patrick and Solberg are the only good examples that come to mind. Also, remember that unlike humans, dragons aren't social creatures. Their natural state of existence is solitary, so they probably aren't that good at getting along with other creatures of any species. Mortax is a very rare exception, a dragon with the soul of a human. Come to think of it, you might also think of Erika as a human with the soul of a dragon. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |
| A novice needs help! in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4531
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written Saturday, July 10 2004 17:05
Profile
Also, the message_dialog command requires two strings, even if the second one is blank. For example: message_dialog("Testing, on two three",""); note the second set of quotes which do notheing but are required for the game to show the dialog box properly. Posts: 32 | Registered: Saturday, June 12 2004 07:00 |