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Concentrated Linearity Debate (New Voices Welcome to Participate and Vote) in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Sunday, March 6 2005 18:43 Profile Homepage #26
quote:
A book in which the characters aren't influential and some plot device comes from out of nowhere to make things happen is considered to very poor writing.
So pretty much every Ancient Greek playwright in history was a very poor writer? After all, that's where we got the term "deus ex machina" from in the first place.

Please learn that not everybody enjoys the same things you do.

EDIT:

quote:
Like the following outrageous statement:

quote:
"It is IMPOSSIBLE to develop ANY solid atmosphere in a strictly nonlinear work"
No, maybe you aren't capable of it or don't want to be bothered, but that's a long, long ways from being impossible. It clearly is not impossible because other designers on other games do it all the time. If the person who posted this passes as a well-respected designer on these boards, it's no wonder the community is in such a sorry shape. You've got the blind leading the blind.
1) Alec is far from being a "well-respected designer", and the fact that you think he is gives me an idea of just how much credence I should give your observations and opinions about our community.

2) It's blindingly obvious from the context of Alec's post that he's talking about what can be done with BoA -- the fact that something can be done by "other designers on other games" doesn't imply that it's possible within the framework of BoA.

Mind you, I don't entirely agree with Alec's statement, but DreamGuy's response still shows that he missed the point, whether recklessly or intentionally. As far as I'm concerned, he's a troll until he convinces me otherwise -- preferably by making a scenario of his own that's the kind of scenario he'd like to play.

[ Sunday, March 06, 2005 20:04: Message edited by: Thuryl ]

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Canopy Help in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Sunday, March 6 2005 18:33 Profile Homepage #8
What happens when you try to use a wand? Do you get the chance to select a target or does it fail before then? (Are there even any valid targets within range when you try to use it?) Do any error messages appear in the message window?

[ Sunday, March 06, 2005 18:34: Message edited by: Thuryl ]

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Monster/Puzzle/Item Thread in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Sunday, March 6 2005 18:32 Profile Homepage #8
I'm not sure -5 Endurance would do much -- item-based alterations to Endurance don't affect maximum HP, do they?

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Your Favorite Small Details In A Scenario in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Sunday, March 6 2005 02:22 Profile Homepage #1
I'm afraid I have to take credit for #4. :P

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Backwater Calls submitted. in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Saturday, March 5 2005 22:39 Profile Homepage #34
Screenshots would probably be helpful.

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Blocked in Bahssikava in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Saturday, March 5 2005 21:34 Profile Homepage #1
To turn that beam off, you need to use a control panel in a room in the far southwestern area of Western Bahssikava (the one with the flaming haakai). You'll need to know a reasonable amount of Bahssikavan to use the controls.

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Just a random question in General
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Saturday, March 5 2005 19:28 Profile Homepage #11
http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=faq

Your answer is in the FAQ. Go now and read it. Shoo.

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Heya! in General
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Saturday, March 5 2005 19:26 Profile Homepage #11
I believe it was in the forum header for Misc, but that was before your time.

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
what am I doing wrong? in Blades of Avernum Editor
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Saturday, March 5 2005 15:37 Profile Homepage #8
Hmm. I notice that your dialogue script as posted uses smart quotes instead of straight quotes. Is it the same way in the original script file? BoA won't parse smart quotes properly.

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
what am I doing wrong? in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Saturday, March 5 2005 15:37 Profile Homepage #8
Hmm. I notice that your dialogue script as posted uses smart quotes instead of straight quotes. Is it the same way in the original script file? BoA won't parse smart quotes properly.

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Concentrated Linearity Debate (New Voices Welcome to Participate and Vote) in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Saturday, March 5 2005 15:15 Profile Homepage #3
I think this debate has outlived its usefulness. Expressing personal preferences is one thing, but everyone's already had ample opportunity to do that. As for its potential role in guiding designers, people who want designers to change the way they design, despite having released no scenarios of their own, have little credibility in my eyes.

The best thing any individual can do for the scenario design community is contribute by designing. Criticism has its place, but I'd rather see one decent scenario than a dozen articles.

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Linear Scenarios v. Non-Linear Scenarios: The doctrine of time = money in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Saturday, March 5 2005 14:58 Profile Homepage #25
quote:
1)Who here has made suggestions to you about how you should write your scenarios??
Even if that isn't your intention, you come across as if that's what you're trying to do. After all, if you weren't trying to change the behaviour of designers, why reply to an article on scenario design?

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Linear Scenarios v. Non-Linear Scenarios: The doctrine of time = money in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 23:52 Profile Homepage #1
Well, the above may be a rant, but someone had to say it.

I've done a fair bit of betatesting, and I try to help people make their scenario as good a scenario of its type as it can possibly be, but I don't want anyone to feel as if I'm telling them what kind of scenario to make. I'm very reluctant to give anyone advice on how to structure a plot, for example: in the end, if you're not making the scenario you want to make, you'll never finish it.

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
And he enters in General
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 23:30 Profile Homepage #38
Machizmo, a notorious sagot and generalised blight upon these forums, eventually decided to leave and insisted that Drakey delete his account. I believe Drakey eventually complied.

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Display partie's location in Blades of Avernum Editor
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 23:21 Profile Homepage #5
Canopy and Bahssikava also have Set Cutscene Speed abilities.

And Phaedra Identify is an interface improvement too, in a sense -- it's a workaround for the fact that you can't initiate dialogue with your NPCs.

The only custom special ability that really does something scenario-specific is the Unicorn Call in ZKR.

[ Friday, March 04, 2005 23:24: Message edited by: Thuryl ]

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Display partie's location in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 23:21 Profile Homepage #5
Canopy and Bahssikava also have Set Cutscene Speed abilities.

And Phaedra Identify is an interface improvement too, in a sense -- it's a workaround for the fact that you can't initiate dialogue with your NPCs.

The only custom special ability that really does something scenario-specific is the Unicorn Call in ZKR.

[ Friday, March 04, 2005 23:24: Message edited by: Thuryl ]

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Article -- Non-Linearity: The Doctrine of Causality in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 23:06 Profile Homepage #8
Judging by the example set by BoE, BoA can do a lot -- probably far more than Jeff anticipates. Eventually there are going to be some very large and impressive scenarios released.

Having said that, it is a lot of work. I've made one proper BoE scenario; it's quite small, and it took me 3 months. At the Gallows, one of the largest BoE scenarios, apparently took Stareye 10 months to complete. A good BoA scenario of the same length could easily take much longer.

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Need help with canopy (spoilers) in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 23:00 Profile Homepage #15
Oh, you haven't got the symbol in the NW yet? Okay, you need to find some explosives around the southern part of the caves, head upstairs to the stone pillar and blow it up (prepare for a fight when you do this). You'll cause an earth tremor that breaks the wall in the NW of the caves, so you can access that area and get the symbol (prepare for another fight when you do this).

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
The Dingoes Ate My Baby! in General
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 20:37 Profile Homepage #143
For me it's not a long O (as one would get when saying the letter O), and it's not an "aw". It's a short O. I'd give examples, but I'm starting to fear that just about anything I pronounce with a short O, you pronounce with an "aw".

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
The Dingoes Ate My Baby! in General
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 19:50 Profile Homepage #141
I pronounce it:

AL (as in Alec or Albert) - crit (as in "critter") - az (as in "Baz Luhrmann".)

But I'm bad with Ancient Greek names so that may well be wrong.

[ Friday, March 04, 2005 19:51: Message edited by: Thuryl ]

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
And he enters in General
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 19:45 Profile Homepage #36
Seems #178 was deleted by a board bug.

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
favorite RPG in General
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 19:21 Profile Homepage #8
You just flamed someone who hasn't posted, and therefore likely hasn't read these forums, in over 4 months. Congratulations on finding such an effective use of your time.

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My BoE Page
Bandwagons are fun!
Roots
Hunted!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Article -- Non-Linearity: The Doctrine of Causality in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 19:11 Profile Homepage #4
Well, making the entire scenario change in complex ways (i.e. more than just destroying cities or adding/removing a few missions) would require enormous amounts of effort. I can only think of a handful of games and scenarios that even make an attempt to do more than gesture in the general direction of the passage of time.

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Need help with canopy (spoilers) in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 18:19 Profile Homepage #12
How exactly do they not work? What happens when you try talking to the shopkeepers? Do you get an error message in the message window? Are you using the newest version of BoA?

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00
Need help with canopy (spoilers) in Blades of Avernum
Thuryl
...b10010b...
Member # 869
 written Friday, March 4 2005 17:27 Profile Homepage #10
Moerder is one of the generals you can find in Schwertschrein. Specifically, she's in the northwest area.

As for the 9th symbol, since you can find them in any order, it'd help if we knew where you found the other 8.

(Note to self: if ever making a collect-the-items quest, make each of the items different.)

[ Friday, March 04, 2005 17:29: Message edited by: Thuryl ]

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The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure!
Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00

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