IMG Previews A4.
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| Author | Topic: IMG Previews A4. |
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Warrior
Member # 6401
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 00:16
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A polite request. When A4 is released and everyone starts talking about it, please will you make it VERY CLEAR in the topic title or something that you're talking about A4? Some of us don't have our nice macs with us at the moment and won't be able to start playing it for several months... I couldn't STAND coming across lots of spoilers without realising, and I don't want to be tiptoeing around General for ages and ages. Appreciate your understanding. -------------------- I think this is really wonderful. Posts: 147 | Registered: Tuesday, October 18 2005 07:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 00:39
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Once A4 is released, discussion on it will likely move to the Avernum Series forum anyway. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 00:48
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Based on my beta experience, I think A4 is outstanding. My only previous Avernum experience was VoDT in the BoA demo, and a couple of hours of hacking around the beginnings of A1 and A2. So I'm not missing any long-beloved features from the earlier games. I like the Geneforges, so I'm not complaining about any resemblances. And anyway I find that the world feels different enough from Geneforge that I really don't think about similarities. Some if not most of the hard core Exile/Avernum and especially BoX folks on these boards may be bitterly disappointed by A4. I'm afraid my impression is that some of these people would find a way to be bitterly disappointed by any possible A4 that would be able to come forth as profitable shareware. Judged by what I consider fair standards, I think A4 is a great success. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 6292
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 05:36
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I know that if your party reads a spellbook while a PC is unconscious, the unconscious PC does not learn the spell or gain spell skill level, so I'm pretty sure the game treats the unconscious as not existing—so they also get no XP (they aren't experiencing anything after all). -------------------- A4 Items List A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List G4 Insidious Infiltrator NR Items List Posts: 2009 | Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 6401
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 07:18
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quote:It should do, but I sort of suspect it will just continue here as well. For example, why isn't THIS topic in the Avernum series forum? -------------------- I think this is really wonderful. Posts: 147 | Registered: Tuesday, October 18 2005 07:00 |
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Too Sexy for my Title
Member # 5654
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 10:02
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quote:Didn't someone ask this before? (I've been having way too many Déjà Vu lately). Well General is supposed to be "A general discussion forum for our company and games."Though if one check the topics on General .......... Posts: 1035 | Registered: Friday, April 1 2005 08:00 |
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E Equals MC What!!!!
Member # 5491
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 11:03
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quote:Out of curiosity, what other Spidweb games would you describe as having a strong plot? -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
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His Mighty Tentacle
Member # 627
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 11:16
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quote:Well, I'll take a shot at this one. Nethergate. A very deep, very involved plot, done in such a way as to reveal both sides of the issue. -------------------- If I could make just one wish, I would want a tasty vlish. Geneforge IV. Still no tasty vlish. Posts: 1104 | Registered: Tuesday, February 12 2002 08:00 |
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E Equals MC What!!!!
Member # 5491
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 11:27
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Evidently you haven't seen me voice my opinions on Nethergate before. :P -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
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His Mighty Tentacle
Member # 627
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 11:29
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I have not. Make a new thread and share them? :eek: -------------------- If I could make just one wish, I would want a tasty vlish. Geneforge IV. Still no tasty vlish. Posts: 1104 | Registered: Tuesday, February 12 2002 08:00 |
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E Equals MC What!!!!
Member # 5491
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 11:40
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Not worth it. Basically, I don't like it. The story on both sides is mostly just a set of contrived occurances designed to lengthen the game. "Oh crap, the contract just got stolen... go fight through this handy dungeon to get it back. No, I won't help you and I won't write out another one." There's about as much actual story in Nethergate as in pretty much any Spidweb game - next to none. And the gameplay sucks. -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 32
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 11:52
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Any one else notice the similarity between the 6th image and Motrax's cave? [ Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:53: Message edited by: Lt. Sullust ] -------------------- Lt. Sullust Cogito Ergo Sum Polaris Posts: 2462 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 11:54
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I rather liked Nethergate's gameplay. The relatively low stats achievable by the party compared to those in Exile or Avernum did a good job of driving in the point that that the party was a group of ordinary mortals among the supernatural. (Actually, it'd be better if skill points were harder to gain and the HP cap were even lower, but I realise not everyone wants a game so difficult as to cause spontaneous human combustion.) -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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His Mighty Tentacle
Member # 627
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 12:05
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quote:And yet, here you are, after playing through said games, hanging out in these forums. How many of the games have you played? More than one? If the first wasn't up to your standards, why did you keep playing other games? Why are you here? Something must appeal to you for you to stay. And I respectfully disagree. The original Exile Trilogy were the bomb, in both gameplay and story. Compared to other games at the time, like Curse of the Azure Bonds and the endless parade of BAD CRPGs, the Exile games were a breath of fresh air. Story. Game play. EASY TO USE INTERFACE! Simplicity and stripped down approach to gaming. Simple and straight forward character creation. And by goodness, there was an actual game there! You could spend weeks, months even, exploring every nook and cranny, trying out new parties, new themes, and have all kinds of fun. I can remember at that time going to places like Comp USA, buying a game that I had hoped would be at least half way decent, dropping 60 to 80 dollars on it, and then getting it home and facing the end boss a half hour later and uttering a string of profanities so foul and vile that I dare not mention them here. Oh sure, the game looked cool on the box, and had some nifty graphics, but the story, there was no story, and it certainly was not hours of fun as promised. I don't know how old you are or if you remember the long parade of turds being put out at that time, but Jeff did something that very few people at that time could do. Make a game worth playing. Which is why he has so many hardcore dedicated fans now. And he is still doing it. Avernum 4 is a brilliant piece of work. It brings back exploration and story in a big way. You can play for hours, and hours, and hours, and still have a lot to do. Those horrible nights of being awake at 3AM at the computer trying to figure out what to do are back, and in a big way. It's killing me not being able to talk about it. -------------------- If I could make just one wish, I would want a tasty vlish. Geneforge IV. Still no tasty vlish. Posts: 1104 | Registered: Tuesday, February 12 2002 08:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 12:10
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Ash sticks around for BoE, mostly, and to a lesser extent BoA. If you want to know his age, his date of birth is in his profile. [ Tuesday, November 22, 2005 12:39: Message edited by: Thuryl ] -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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E Equals MC What!!!!
Member # 5491
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 12:39
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Thuryl is on the money. I'm not a fan of Jeff, but I am a fan of some members of this community, who have done some really cool and creative things in Blades. I'm 20, and remember the Commodore 64. You seem to have a much higher opinion of Jeff's stories than I do. I would use Exile 3 as an example of a pretty bad story. I'd define a good story as one that can make a game's appeal supercede genre constraints. I quoted Traffic Department 2192 earlier in the thread because it's an excellent example of a game with a small budget but loads of creativity. You don't have to enjoy arcade shooters to love this game. But if you aren't a fan of RPGs, Jeff's stuff isn't going to do much for you. A4 may be a good game and I may enjoy it. But I very much doubt it will be for the story. That's my view, anyhow. [ Tuesday, November 22, 2005 12:45: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 14:24
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I think there's a difference between plot and world. E/A3 is set in a mostly generic fantasy world, and the plot is nothing special. Avernums 1 and 2, on the other hand, don't really have surprising or original plots, but I like the underground world. Chapter 2 of E2/A2 in particular is well done: plotwise, you're on a boat (mostly) going from point A to point B. The atmosphere is well done. Nethergate is the same. The plot is unexciting, but it meshes well with the world, which is fleshed out very well. The point isn't getting various items or preventing others from getting them. The point is the world you wander through on the way. Yes, it's a cliché: it's not the destination, it's the journey! —Alorael, who has found that his personal tolerance for bad plot is much higher than his tolerance for boring world. This holds true in computer games and even more so in reading material. A good writer can make even a fairly insipid book worth reading. A good game designer can make a game that limps along in story worth playing for the setting or, in many cases, solely for the mechanics. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 247
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 14:47
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In comparison to many games, Jeff's at least have a plot and try to tell a story. NeverwinterNights is a good game but doesn't deliver much beyond the outlines of any real story. Perhaps the copious amounts of text in Jeff's games cloud my judgment. But it does seem like his games go at least slightly deeper than most. I do agree that his games are often a cliché. But what story isn't? Everybody steals from everybody else, all the time. -------------------- The Knight Between Posts. Posts: 2395 | Registered: Friday, November 2 2001 08:00 |
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His Mighty Tentacle
Member # 627
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 14:56
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It's not the story, it's how you tell it. It must be working. He has fans for a reason. -------------------- If I could make just one wish, I would want a tasty vlish. Geneforge IV. Still no tasty vlish. Posts: 1104 | Registered: Tuesday, February 12 2002 08:00 |
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Shake Before Using
Member # 75
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 15:22
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VCH> Well, Neverwinter Nights is mostly intended to be a customizable multiplayer game, anyway. Singleplayer story flaws don't really matter as much as with more traditional RPGs since that's not really what the game's about. That said, while the story in Exile is just kinda... there, I feel it does a good job of making you feel like your characters are actually there, even if it doesn't immerse you in a plot. Posts: 3234 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 15:31
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quote:That's a desperate line of defense, really. -- Personally, I liked all of the Exile/Avernum games, and before I bought BoE, I never thought that they could be surpassed by the works of fans. As a note, I am 18, started playing the games at 12-13, and they were the second RPG of their kind that I ever played (the first one remains Albion). I didn't have much to compare to. As a matter of fact, I started playing them long before I read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and actually got to know the genre "Fantasy". I didn't have much to compare to. -- Something that simultaneously irritates and attracts me about the games is the dearth of background about the world. Like Alorael I put a lot of importance on this "world" stuff, and the fact that it is so difficult to find out more about the world through the game gives it an almost Myst-like appeal. Still, the BoE scenarios rock. Exile is a rich world, but it only comes to life once you start playing the fan-made games. It's like suddenly straying off the beaten path in a world and discover a whole new aspect about its history, its geography, and so on. -------------------- Encyclopaedia Ermariana • Forum Archives • Forum Statistics • RSS [Topic / Forum] My Blog • Polaris • I eat novels for breakfast. Polaris is dead, long live Polaris. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 5886
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 16:31
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quote:Yes, I did. I wonder who that giant/ogre guy is. Also the second screenshot looks alot like the northern giant town from E2/A2. Now called Fort Monastery? Hmmmm.....hmmmmm....(oogey zoogey doog)...BOOOM! Alas I fear I will have that s@#^ stuck in my head for all time. :( -------------------- We don't make the white chalky excrement that splats down and ruins your car's paint job. We make it stronger. Posts: 52 | Registered: Friday, June 3 2005 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 247
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written Tuesday, November 22 2005 17:14
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I agree with the importance-of-world concept. Perhaps the aspect which I am most looking forward to in A4 is learning what has transpired since A3. What has changed over the years? Oh, and one thought. Exactly how many years have passed since A3? -------------------- The Knight Between Posts. Posts: 2395 | Registered: Friday, November 2 2001 08:00 |
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