Profile for Solymr
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Solymr |
| Member number | 4533 |
| Title | Apprentice |
| Postcount | 37 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
Recent posts
Pages
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| Avernum V in Avernum 4 | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Monday, March 27 2006 16:14
Profile
I think the engine used in A4 didn't give nearly the same kind of atmosphere for the one used in the previous Avernum's. That being said, hopefully Jeff will use some kind of "hybrid" engine, bring the best of both engines to bear. As for Avernum 5's setting, bringing back old foes never really made anything new. Maybe do it in the same game, where the foe either makes an escape or you never see them "die" only to reappear later and die horribly at your hands. Also, consider that the lands of Avernum that we all know and love have had at least three groups of adventurers (A1, 2 and 4) running around and beating the #$!* out of any slightly evil looking creature. Goblins pop up, sure. But eventually races are going to start going extinct and certain areas are going to become rather barren in terms of things to kill and adventure against. There were those few places to the far northwest in A2 with the Empire checkpoints you couldn't get past. It'd be interesting to find out what lies beyond them, by now most (if not all) of the Empire fortifications would have crumbled, making some nice ruins for adventurers to come and pillage for anything that might have been left behind. As for style of play, A2 has to be my favorite. You actually felt that your groups actions affected the world, for instance killing the perma-hasted Empire general Limoncelli (sp?). A3 added a nice idea as well, having towns "fall" to the plagues after a certain amount of time. It'd be interesting to see the war being fought in a Wing Commander style, i.e if you fail a mission, the enemy would gain an advantage over your "side" and possibly could take a town/fort or inflict massive losses on their enemy's army. Also in A2, you had to earn your rank and work your way up to see the King, proving your worth to Avernum and in the process gaining use of resources such as the portal in the Tower of Magi. The only question is this; who'd wage war against Avernum? They're at peace with the Empire, the Vahnatai are rather overused, IMHO, as an opposing "side", the empire of Sliths beyond Bahssikava is 1. pretty far off and 2. as Kelandon said, in an unknown condition. Also these Sliths are supposedly a more civilised and peaceful people then the Sliths in the caves of Avernum. The Nephilim haven't had any significant forces in as long as I know, even those in the forts of A1 weren't exactly trained crack troops. Demons, WAY overused plot device there. Goblins, they'd probably make decent cannon fodder in an army but I can't really see Goblins making up their own "empire". In fact, I can't see any of the other humaniods of Avernum (giants, ogres, whatnot) forming an empire, of themselves or each other. One thing that I know I’d like to see more of is the politics of the Empire, and its differing parties. We saw a brief sign of it in A3; those trying to stop you from seeing the Empress in Blackcrag Fortress. If it is as delicate as it was made out to be, it’d be a nice change of pace from the caves of Avernum and blindly smashing the first slime to crawl out from between the rocks. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Coolest thing about Avernum 4? in Avernum 4 | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Sunday, March 5 2006 20:10
Profile
Probably the best thing about this game is the ability to quit, IMHO. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Rate Avernum 4. in Avernum 4 | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Sunday, March 5 2006 20:03
Profile
Rating: 3 After really hyping myself up for a new Avernum game, I was sorely let down by Avernum 4. Expecting something similar to the previous titles, I was in for a surprise. While I do like the graphics engine a bit, I really do despair for elevation and boats, like many others. Combat proved to be entertaining, but if I wanted something hack 'n slash style I've already got Dungeon Siege 2. Was nice to see an end to Rentar Ihrno finally, but the Vahnatai involvement could be seen coming a mile away. Can't say I really took to the controls at all, being used to a more turnbased RPG in the Avernum series it did take some getting used to and I still don't think it is nearly as good as the previous titles. Pros: Good graphical engine, hope to see similar in A5, good combat situations, the quit button. Cons: The plot, no real atmoshpere to the game, mouse movement causes you to move really fast and not keep track of NPC movement/actions, poor PC graphic choice. Summary: If you're a fan of the previous titles, you'll probably be very disappointed in Avernum 4. As an "offical" sequel, it falls very short of the mark compared to it's predecessors. If there is an Avernum 5, hopefully it will build from the strong points of both Avernum 1/2/3 and Avernum 4. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| "The End of Blades" Discussion in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Friday, March 3 2006 10:24
Profile
quote:Doesn't even begin to sum it up. You could slap the name Geneforge on it and it wouldn't seem out of place. I can see why Jeff Vogel would want to move on from the engine Avernum uses, but why oh why have it in the same style as Geneforge? I'm sure it suits Geneforge quite well, but it just doesn't mesh with the previous Avernum games. As Kelandon said, I think the biggest thing holding back BoA is the lack of an editor with intergrated scripting/dialog. Makes me wish I knew more then mere crumbs of coding knowledge in my possession now. Edit: Heh, oops, my bad. You evil people and changing your names :P [ Friday, March 03, 2006 10:28: Message edited by: Solymr ] Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| "The End of Blades" Discussion in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Friday, March 3 2006 08:42
Profile
When I first made the move from Exile to Avernum, I didn't really like Avernum much at all. The skill system kind of threw me a bit, but in time I grew very fond of it all. Like Imban, A4's sent me back to BoA. I was hoping for better in A4, but it looks like BoA is the only way I'll get my Avernum fix now. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Avernum 4 is out! in Avernum 4 | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Friday, March 3 2006 07:58
Profile
Yes, Exile's PC's sure did look like they were up to the task. I still remember thinkign how cool Exile 1.0's PCs looked. They'd have no trouble dispatching their A4 counterparts I'd wager. Seriously, anyone who holds a weapon like they do has NO idea what they're doing. I can just imagine everyone snickering behind their backs now. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Avernum 4 is out! in Avernum 4 | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Friday, March 3 2006 01:29
Profile
quote:Sorry, poor widdle ol' me only just got to play and needed to vent my disappointment. quote:That being said, I pretty much felt that if A4 didn't live up to what Avernum fans were used to that BoA would get renewed interest. I think some BoA players were going to use A4 to get their Avernum "fix" and seeing how things have turned out, I'm sure BoA will probably have more, if any, scenarions in the works now. I am sorry I've dredged this back up though, now I feel the pain many of the Mac users had for the first release. I did like the new graphics however, except possible the PC graphic where they just sort of hold the sword in the same manner I'd hold a burning torch. I really did like the more "action ready" look of A1/2/3/BoA's PCs, but that's just me. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Avernum 4 is out! in Avernum 4 | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Thursday, March 2 2006 21:22
Profile
After eagerly awaiting this game, and hoping against hope that Mac Avernum fans were wrong about it, I downloaded the demo. I think my biggest problem with A4 is going into it expecting it to play like the previous Avernum games. Big mistake. This feels TOTALLY different to Avernum in so many ways that I think if the game wasn't called Avernum 4 and the names of places were different, I'd believe it was not part of the series. I really do get the idea that this game was aimed more for those that enjoy the Geneforge series, as it has more of that feel about it. And while I'd agree it's a nice idea to get more people into Avernum, I just don't think most Avernum fans will really get into A4 when compared with the previous titles in the saga. Maybe a case of sequel syndrome here, a lot of the things I liked about A1/2/3 seem to be missing and a lot of new elements I'm not fond of have replaced them. Anyone agree/disagree? Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| "The End of Blades" Discussion in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Thursday, March 2 2006 17:01
Profile
I think comparing BoA to BoE is probably not the best idea, even more so in terms of scenario quantity. BoE had a much simpler editor, no real need for scripting at all and you could lash together a small scenario in a week or so. BoA requires people to understand the simple scripting langauge, and while it is simple, it does put a lot of people off. I do think, however, there will be more people who will get back into BoA, esp after how Avernum 4 was not much of an Avernum style game compared to it's previous titles. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Avernum 4 is out! in Avernum 4 | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Thursday, March 2 2006 16:48
Profile
quote:What they mean is that they expected an Avernum style game and got something that's basically Geneforge. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| boa 1.0.2 bugs in Tech Support | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Tuesday, November 2 2004 08:46
Profile
I've been complaining about this problem for a while, to no avail. I seriously doubt its ever going to be changed/fixed, I still don't see the reason for it even being in there in the first place. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Beta-Call for Canopy in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Sunday, October 24 2004 01:01
Profile
I have plenty of spare time at the mo, if you need someone extra to test. Your Name: Solymr/Jason Kerley Email: Solymr@ihug.com.au Platform (Mac, PC, Linux): Win XP Pro SP2, Win 2000 Pro and 98SE Programming Ability: Some Playing Ability: I'd like to believe I'm pretty darn good Previous Beta-testing experience: HLPM V1.1, A Perfect Forest. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Silly Request (to Jeff Vogel) in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Monday, October 4 2004 07:02
Profile
You're right Kelandon, whenever a "useful skill" such as rune reading, item lore or any of the resistances or willpower goes over 100 the game thinks the value is corrupted and resets it to 0, basically nerfing your character in that aspect in the process. Its very very irritating. I'll see if I can get the exact text from the game, but since its 2am and I've got work tommorow I won't have any time till tommorow night. Its easy to get however, just raise all your skills in the character editor, load the game up and go to your characters info. The game should reset all resistances down to 0% instantly and whenever your character would try to ID an item, your item lore is also nerfed. It seems to only happen when the game "checks" each value for use, but I'm not entirely sure of this. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Silly Request (to Jeff Vogel) in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Monday, October 4 2004 04:13
Profile
Thats my biggest problem with it, its a problem that can be easily attained by a player through many means. Its doable with the bundled character editor and I have no doubt its doable in scripts either (Actually it can, the HLPM comes to mind.) Even if you consider these things "cheating" and that is the reason behind the certain skills resetting to 0, you have to bear in mind that they force you stop "cheating" in a rather crude manner. RebelK418, I agree that getting to 20 in most skills makes it easier, but that isn't a reason why people shouldn't progress in their skills further, if the game allows them to train them higher. If having 100+ in any resistance/lores forces the game to reset those resistances/lores to 0, why allow someone to train to 100 in the skills that contribute to making them over 100+ in the first place? Back on topic, I really do miss Knowledge Brew. Some may say it isn't needed, some may say it might disrupt the ballance of things, but it helped me out greatly in the past and I can think of a great deal of times that it could have helped make some situations not so damned difficult. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Silly Request (to Jeff Vogel) in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Monday, October 4 2004 03:57
Profile
What is pointless, Knowledge brew or a problem in the game that may not be experienced unless you wait until the moon is in the Somerandom sigh of the zodiac, the river runs backwards and you must do an intricate shamanic ritual? To me, both aren't pointless. Knowledge Brew was a great part of A3 to me and I firmly say that the problem with high skills in BoA is a problem, even if most people won't experience it. Most bug fixes for games that I read (yes I rather enjoy reading bug fix logs) are bugs that can take an hour+ to setup, but they still fixed them just in case someone might do that. Pointlessness is in the eye of the beholder, what is pointless to you is of the highest importance to me. Now, if you'll excuse me the moon is almost in the right position (gets shaman costume ready)..... Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Silly Request (to Jeff Vogel) in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Monday, October 4 2004 03:43
Profile
quote:So just because something isn't attainable in theory, it isn't a problem? Jee, wish I subscribed to that chain of thought. This wasn't a problem in the other 3 Avernum games (to my knowledge) and due to BoA's very nature it isn't too hard to get a character to the point where skills are resetting to 0 whenever the game checks them because of some weird problem/bug where it can't handle a value of over a 100. Why not just reset the value to 100 instead of 0? Why even allow skills to be trainable to push skills affected by them over 100 in the first place? I'm sorry, it just seems very poorly done to me and even more so condsidering the problem never came up in the previous Avernum games (where it is harder/impossible unless you use the character editor). In theory, you COULD get all skills maxed out with Knowledge Brew, or just even in a scenario where such items exist (i.e the infinite balm thingy in the Artifact Hall), so why not allow the program to let people have such stats and not just reset them down to 0? Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Silly Request (to Jeff Vogel) in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Sunday, October 3 2004 20:21
Profile
I think the problem with knowledge brew being a brewable potion would be the problem the game has when dealing with certain stats that go over 100 (I think its 100). Maybe if this problem was removed having knowledge brew back wouldn't put someone in this position. I still feel, however, it should have been in the game. Why only have it brewable in a few scenarios that if we want more, we'd have to finish/quit the scenario in then go back to the other scenario, make the potions, finish and quit again and go back to the original scenario we were playing. What a pain in the neck that seems already and I haven't even had to try it. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| A Perfect Forest Beta Call in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Tuesday, August 24 2004 08:05
Profile
What those other blokes said above. ^ Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| A Perfect Forest Beta Call in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Monday, August 23 2004 00:58
Profile
1) Solymr 2) solymr@ihug.com.au 3) Windows XP Pro, SP2/Mac OS 9.2 4) Played all Avernum and Exile games, tested a few scenarios for BoE and the HLPM 1.1 5) Have no life, I game, eat, work and sleep. In that order. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Beta Call for HLPM v1.1 in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Thursday, July 15 2004 23:40
Profile
I'd be interested in testing too, if it isn't too late. My email is solymr@ihug.com.au. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Beta Call for HLPM v1.1 in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Thursday, July 15 2004 23:40
Profile
I'd be interested in testing too, if it isn't too late. My email is solymr@ihug.com.au. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Betatesters for 3D Blades of Avernum Editor! in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Thursday, July 15 2004 10:48
Profile
I have to say Isaac, this is very damn impressive. The BoA community will be singing songs in your name till the ends of time. I guess instead of my girlfriend kicking me off my PC, I'll be kicking her off her Mac so I can try out this amazing utility. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| Betatesters for 3D Blades of Avernum Editor! in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Thursday, July 15 2004 10:48
Profile
I have to say Isaac, this is very damn impressive. The BoA community will be singing songs in your name till the ends of time. I guess instead of my girlfriend kicking me off my PC, I'll be kicking her off her Mac so I can try out this amazing utility. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| BoA Win - Doesn't like max stats for some reason in Tech Support | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Thursday, July 1 2004 19:24
Profile
It still feels rather sloppy, when not just limit the usefull skills affected by this to 200, yet allow the skills/stats that affect them to be trained to 100 or so still? And I doubt you can intend for people to play a game a certain way. If you don't intend people to have max skills/stats, why include the ability to raise them to such a level? Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |
| BoA vs. NWN in Blades of Avernum | |
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Apprentice
Member # 4533
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written Thursday, June 24 2004 12:46
Profile
Wow, someone actually LIKES the spell system of D&D. Personally, I find it to be somewhat of a joke. I feel BoA (and many other CPRGs)has a good system thats been tried and tested and has been found to be a good one. I still can't find a decent reason as to why a mage has it sit down every day and work out what spell and how many of that spell he wants to cast the next day. "Hmm, I'd like to cast 5 fireblast, 3 unlock doors and 2 light tommorow." Next day: "Oh great, a dungeon of demons, aren't I buggered?" I've always found the system of having mana per person and casting a certain spell which takes a certain amount of mana each time to be the best and most adaptable system out there. And if I wanted multiplayer RPGs, I'd just go on some MUD or MMORPG, too many cheaters in multiplayer CRPGs. Posts: 37 | Registered: Sunday, June 13 2004 07:00 |