Avernum 5 - 9.01 (10.0/6.0)
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| Author | Topic: Avernum 5 - 9.01 (10.0/6.0) |
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Shaper
Member # 32
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written Tuesday, March 11 2008 17:07
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They wouldn't be very good spies if you knew where they were. On the otherhand, it was blatantly obvious who the actual spy was... -------------------- Lt. Sullust Quaere verum Posts: 2462 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00 |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, March 11 2008 22:57
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For better or for worse, Drakemoore's first 8 points are deliberate design choices by Jeff, which happen to conflict with some people's tastes. Current Spiderweb games differ from its first offerings in many ways, and they aren't going to go back. That doesn't mean everyone has to like it, but the only real option now is to try to develop a taste for the new style of game. A lot of people have found they can do this. Point 9 is more debatable. The Darkside Loyalists certainly aren't lurking under every bed. But should they be? Dorikas is suspected of having infiltrated the Empire military, but he only got to the Northern Frontier a few days ahead of the PC. He hasn't had time to build a thorough web of agents there. And he's had his hands full just moving ahead through extremely hostile terrain. Avernum 5 is not a matter of venturing into the home ground of a subversive secret society. It's about pursuing powerful renegades as they flee deep into the world's final and most dangerous frontier, far underground. To have a lot more contact or dialog with them than you do in A5 would make a mockery of Dorikas's role as a rebel ringleader, your role as a low-ranking Empire soldier, and Avernum's role as a deadly environment. Sure, a game with a more intimate adversary, with more interaction and characterization, would also be cool. A5 is just not that game, because to be what it is, it can't be that game. And to me that's okay. There are lots of ways to make a good game, and not every game has to be good in the same ways. -------------------- Listen carefully because some of your options may have changed. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
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written Tuesday, March 11 2008 23:33
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quote:Certainly true. The best part is that since Jeff already made that game with points 1-8, you have it already, and this is a new and different game, which can't be that other one. And the web of agents certainly does exist. From the Empire spy to the outlaw king, and all the minor functionaries and religious zealots, there is a considerable web. Almost too much, and that was a bit of a downer to me. I wanted to be able to convince the turn-coats to turn them back around. Once a traitor, always a traitor, but I suppose I just wasn't as persuasive as Dorikas. :( -------------------- Synergy, et al - "I don't get it." Argon - "I'm at a loss for words..." Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00 |
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Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
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written Wednesday, March 12 2008 03:35
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quote:On the other hand, he's apparently had time to build a full-blown castle perched on a chasm. Also, in the Northern Waters (and again in Highground) you learn that Dorikas passed by two months before you, not just a few days. [ Wednesday, March 12, 2008 03:35: Message edited by: Disappearer ] -------------------- Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central "Slartucker is going to have a cow when he hears about this," Synergy said. Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Wednesday, March 12 2008 04:15
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As regards point 5, perhaps in his next game Jeff could consider giving the party access to a source of endlessly respawning experience-giving monsters as a "reward" for completing the final expert area? That'd provide a little extra treat for those who enjoy maxing out their party's levels, but without breaking game balance (since if you can get there, you can beat anything else in the game already). By the way, as far as point 8 goes, you really must be looking at the Exile games through rose-coloured glasses. There was lots of unsellable junk in those: plates, cups and so on. -------------------- 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 Wednesday, March 12 2008 05:49
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[SPOILER, I guess, though in a rating thread that ought to go without saying] Building his nice castle is the other thing, besides getting to its site, that Dorikas was doing with his lead time, instead of laying wall-to-wall traps for the PC. His dying speech implies that reaching that chasm and constructing that fortress were a major reason he decided to flee underground in the first place. (It's not clear whether he actually knew where he was going all along, or just figured that a good fortress site would have to turn up somewhere down there, Avernum being as it is.) Presumably Avernum was also just a good place to hide after striking at the Empress, but Dorikas claims that providing this strong Empire base deep in Avernum was a major goal of his, whether he survived or not. And in fact it makes sense that Avernum is not just incidental for Dorikas. He spent a lot of time down there in A4, after all. We don't actually know so much about his motivations, but it's not a crazy guess that he was actually interested in usurpation specifically in order to get the Empire underground. He might not just be hiding out temporarily in Avernum, while seeking the throne for the sake of getting first dibs on the canapés at imperial soirées. -------------------- Listen carefully because some of your options may have changed. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
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