Play BoA or A1-4 first?
| Author | Topic: Play BoA or A1-4 first? |
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Warrior
Member # 6682
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written Friday, January 13 2006 06:45
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Hello everyone! Let me introduce myself.. My name is Ramses and I am a new member to these boards. Just a few weeks ago I discovered just how good Jeff's RPGs are (Geneforge is just excellent!). After having been disgruntled with the current state of PC RPGS it is assuring to know that there are people out there who still work on REAL RPGs with substance.. People who realize that even the most high-tech graphics and sound are no substitute for a great storyline and engaging gameplay. My question is the following though. I am planning on playing the original Avernum and then move on to the BoA scenarios because that BoA editor has really caught my eye. After playing BoA, I plan on finishing the rest of the Avernum series (2-4). Is there anything in BoA that can spoil my experience for A2-4? Should I play A1-4 first before BoA? Or is it ok what I have planned here? Thanks! -------------------- Lancer Posts: 73 | Registered: Friday, January 13 2006 08:00 |
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The Establishment
Member # 6
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written Friday, January 13 2006 06:52
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Well, the story of A1-3 is given in the manual of BoA (as well as A4). If you do not mind learning the broad outline of those plots and maybe even a few details, Blades of Avernum should be all right. Of course, it should be said that there are many BoA scenarios NOT set in the Avernum universe. Those that are, most are tangentially related. So my answer is, the scenarios themselves will probably not be too much of spoils, but you may still want to exercise caution. -------------------- Your flower power is no match for my glower power! Posts: 3726 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 6111
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written Friday, January 13 2006 08:33
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i would say play A 1 - 3 for while before you go for BoA cus in my opinion new players may find it hard if they havent played avernum before. also A 1 2 and 3 are alot more intresting than BoA,cus BoA has no "long main story",in short A 1 - 3 are big adventures and BoA is many small adventures. Posts: 45 | Registered: Saturday, July 16 2005 07:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Friday, January 13 2006 11:10
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If you know that you're going to play them all anyway, I recommend playing at least A2 before you get to BoA. A3 (to a lesser extent) and A4 (to a greater extent) are sort of optional — there's not a lot in them that's really important for BoA right now. But A2 is really top-notch, and it will give you more familiarity with the caves, which is useful. Bear in mind also that A1 and A2 are about as similar (in terms of interface and such) as any two Avernum games. A3 has a different combat system, among other things, and BoA introduces scripts for the first time (which makes monster behavior much more complicated). A4 has a completely different graphical system, and a lot of other things also get changed. [ Friday, January 13, 2006 12:04: Message edited by: Kelandon ] -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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Agent
Member # 1993
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written Friday, January 13 2006 12:03
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Hi Lancer / Ramses, welcome at Spiderweb boards! :) Great to see new members with good taste in gaming. Personally I also would play A 1 - 3 first. You get the whole Avernum background and get familiar to strategies in battles and skill raising. There are BoA-scenarios where you might need some advanced Avernum experience. And don't make the mistake I made and buy one after the other: There is a discount if you buy the whole trilogy together. But at last it does not matter whether you switch between BoA and the series because they are unconnected. Except you might miss a few technical improvements in the older games (e.g. picking items by clicking on them). Have a good time in Avernum! It is to hope you have loads of time ^_^ -------------------- Slartucker: * facepalm facepalm facepalm * Dikiyoba: Are you unconscious yet? Posts: 1420 | Registered: Wednesday, October 2 2002 07:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 6111
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written Friday, January 13 2006 12:11
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i wish there would be more RPG games like avernum,i dont care how much graphics suck,all i want is good story line,i havent found this in many games,only in couple of older final fantasys,avernum and morrowind which is one of the best RPGs ever made,main story and ALOT of side guests,theres like no way to do all of them,and there are 2 expansions for it,gonna take long time to finnish playing it. Posts: 45 | Registered: Saturday, July 16 2005 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 1320
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written Friday, January 13 2006 14:53
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I actually never played Avernum 1. I downloaded the A2 demo, got so frustraded of the abrupt ending in the Vahnatai caves that let you hanging(Which was really the point), that I bought the game. When A3 came out, I bought that too. BoA was a must after all my experimenting with the BoE scen editor. I actually made a super-short scenario in the demo, renamed it Valley of wossname, and actualy managaded to play it. Of course, I had to go into fight mode in order to move around, and that kind of ruined it... Back to the point, A2 & 3 is a must, I think, in order to properly understand all BoA scenarios. A3 to a lesser extent, of course, but still. Considering that A4 came out after BoA, and that no epiA4 scens have beem made so far, its not really necessary to play it before BoA. -------------------- -Step aside, worthy adversary! -T'is but a scratch! -A scratch! Your arms off! (pause) -I've had worse! -You liar! -C'mon, you pansy! (Fighting continues.) -Allright. We'll call it a draw then. -Oh I see. Running away are we? You yellow bastard! Come back here and take whats coming for you! I'll bite your legs off! "You know that you've played Halo 2 to much when you sit down for dinner, pick your fork up, look at the knife, and in the corner of your vision, you see *Press X to pick up Press Y to dual wield*" Posts: 182 | Registered: Monday, June 17 2002 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 5274
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written Friday, January 13 2006 15:57
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quote:Playing through Avernum 1 and 2 will give you a taste of Jeff Vogel at his peak, in terms of plot the whole thing crashes and burns by Av 3 and 4. After a few months once you've finished with them and moved onto BOA there should be a lot more player created scenarios out there for you to try. Also if you have a thing for RPG's that put plot first, definately check out Cythera, www.ambrosiasw.com/games/cythera. It's from roughly around the same time as Avernum but has certain features I still haven't seen in most modern games. -------------------- I assume my reputation for arrogant presumption precedes me Posts: 107 | Registered: Thursday, December 9 2004 08:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 1320
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written Saturday, January 14 2006 03:07
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I agree about morrowind. I was completely dumbfounded by the sheer size of the game world, and the amount of sidequest. Luckily, I had the xbox gameoftheyear version, which is mostly renowed from not crashing as often as all the other versions, pc and xbox. Speaking of AmbrosiaSW, you might want to play Escape Velocity: Nova, or its two predecessors. Its a bit different from your regular rpg, and you don't get to make as many ingame choices that affect your character. Still, I really enjoyed it, and the demo is huge! I had to put back the date on my mac because I wanted to lpay through the whole demo... An EXTREMELY good rpg is Odyssey: The legend of Nemesis. Its mac-only though, but you can download the fullversion free nowadays at paranoidproductions.com. Its worth playing, and its got some really cool choice moments. The only reason this game didn't become famous, was that Exile happened to be released at roughly the same time ;) . -------------------- -Step aside, worthy adversary! -T'is but a scratch! -A scratch! Your arms off! (pause) -I've had worse! -You liar! -C'mon, you pansy! (Fighting continues.) -Allright. We'll call it a draw then. -Oh I see. Running away are we? You yellow bastard! Come back here and take whats coming for you! I'll bite your legs off! "You know that you've played Halo 2 to much when you sit down for dinner, pick your fork up, look at the knife, and in the corner of your vision, you see *Press X to pick up Press Y to dual wield*" Posts: 182 | Registered: Monday, June 17 2002 07:00 |
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Master
Member # 5977
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written Saturday, January 14 2006 03:56
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I downloaded Odysse and tried it, but had no clue of how it worked. I tried to enter a town, which didn't work, and was quite quickly beaten to pulp by a monster and died. -------------------- Play and rate my scenarios: Where the rivers meet View my upcoming scenario: The Nephil Search: Escape. Give us your drek! Posts: 3029 | Registered: Saturday, June 18 2005 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 1320
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written Saturday, January 14 2006 04:06
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You should have checked the controls in the preferenses then. To enter a town, you stand over it and press 'E'. Did you enter the cave at the beach? It contains vital equipment. Odyssey is really quite a good game, if you have the patiense to play it. However, I recommend downloading the walkthrough, since some optional parts if the game, such as the Vex chambers, really need more explaining than is given in the game. -------------------- -Step aside, worthy adversary! -T'is but a scratch! -A scratch! Your arms off! (pause) -I've had worse! -You liar! -C'mon, you pansy! (Fighting continues.) -Allright. We'll call it a draw then. -Oh I see. Running away are we? You yellow bastard! Come back here and take whats coming for you! I'll bite your legs off! "You know that you've played Halo 2 to much when you sit down for dinner, pick your fork up, look at the knife, and in the corner of your vision, you see *Press X to pick up Press Y to dual wield*" Posts: 182 | Registered: Monday, June 17 2002 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 6682
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written Saturday, January 14 2006 07:06
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Wow.. This place is quite bustling. Great! :) Thanks everyone for your input! I think I will follow your advice and go through *at least* A2 (if not through A3 as well) before getting into BoA. -------------------- Lancer Posts: 73 | Registered: Friday, January 13 2006 08:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 6489
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written Saturday, January 14 2006 19:31
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quote:I know a lot of people bash it as being not as good as Baldur's Gate, but Neverwinter Nights is an awesome RPG. Also, if you like the older Final Fantasies, you might want to check out WildArms and WildArms 2 for the original Playstation, WildArms 3 for PS2 is good too, but nothing beats 1 & 2. [ Saturday, January 14, 2006 19:32: Message edited by: Tyranicus ] -------------------- "You're drinking liquor because you're thirsty? How nasty is your freaking water?" —Lazarus Spiderweb Chat Room Avernum RP • Summaries • OoC • Roster Shadow Vale - My site, home of the Spiderweb Chat Database, BoA Scenario Database, & the A1 Quest List, among other things. Posts: 1556 | Registered: Sunday, November 20 2005 08:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 6682
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written Saturday, January 14 2006 21:49
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@ Raiden: I would also recommend the Fallouts and Planescape:Torment if you like Avernum and Geneforge. Planescape: Torment in particular has the best storyline I have ever seen in any RPG on any platform. And since you seem to also play console RPGs, I would take a look at Xenogears if you haven't already. That game has one incredible storyline and is far superior to the botched Xenosaga series that is being made right now. [ Saturday, January 14, 2006 21:51: Message edited by: Lancer ] -------------------- Lancer Posts: 73 | Registered: Friday, January 13 2006 08:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 6111
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written Sunday, January 15 2006 00:17
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i look for those,as for neverwinter night i dont remember it well cus its long time i played it,but if i remember correct i didnt like it beacuse of million races,sub races,classes and sub classes.same problem i had with icewind dale,first choose race,lets say human,well theres 4 or 5 diffrent humans,then class,lets say mage,maybe 10 diffrent types of mages,its too confusing for me,and sadly in most of RPGs magic is overpowered,i have played many RPGs as warrior,cus only magic i trus is healing magic (non party RPGs) my friend in other uses only mages and is far more powerfull than my warrior. Posts: 45 | Registered: Saturday, July 16 2005 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Monday, January 16 2006 20:33
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It is not necessary to play anything before BoA; however, if you want to accustom yourself to the gameplay and some of the Avernum plot, then A3 will work. Has anyone been so annoyed at the carpal-tunnel inducing controls of A1 that they will never touch it again? If it were not for that, then I would recommend playing it for the earliest bits of story. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 3171
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written Monday, January 16 2006 21:57
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Yea, I agree with the whole Morrowind kicking ass thing and it is rather large. I havent gotten the expasion packs but a while ago I got bored so I beat the main quest and all of the theives guild missions and most of the Mages Guild missions. Also, Neverwinter nights is pretty good, I bought it the other day. Those games are really cheap nowdays as well, I bought morrowind new for $10 (thats about 6-7 dollars american) and Neverwinter Nights for $15 (Roughly $10 american). Posts: 776 | Registered: Friday, July 4 2003 07:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 6525
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written Tuesday, January 17 2006 01:54
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somehow i played 2,1 boa and then 3 the story really didn't make sense after that :confused: Posts: 11 | Registered: Tuesday, December 6 2005 08:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 3171
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written Tuesday, January 17 2006 13:12
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bigbri2k5 - Don't worry, your not missing out on much. Posts: 776 | Registered: Friday, July 4 2003 07:00 |