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Rough Lobster
May 27, 2009

Don't be such a squid, bro

DACK FAYDEN posted:

Yeah, Nethergate, which got remade and is on Steam!

Nethergate remake is great if only because you get to play as a highly trained band of Romans who really aren't shocked or scared of the weird things you come across.

:cthulhu: Ahahaha, pitiful humans. Pay tribute to me and I may yet let you live.
:hist101: :hist101: :hist101: :hist101: Well that's some weird poo poo alright but sir you do you forget we are ROMAN SOLDIERS?!! Phalanx formation, men!

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Zereth
Jul 9, 2003



Apparently the iPad port of Avernum 2: Crystal Souls has been canceled.

Tequila Bob
Nov 2, 2011

IT'S HAL TIME, CHUMPS
Not surprising. The game works well with a touch screen (I discovered these games through the Android ports), but the game market on those devices tend to favor games with low initial pricetags and "social" features (and in-app purchases). Spiderweb's primary audience will be PC users, at least for the foreseeable future.

DACK FAYDEN
Feb 25, 2013

Bear Witness
Not totally surprised, but very disappointed. I honestly can't think of a single other game I've played that felt more natural to be touchscreen controlled than Avadon 2. Was really looking forward to more mobile RPG action.

...oh well, I guess I'll spend less when it goes on Steam sale instead. Sorry, Jeff.

Jesto
Dec 22, 2004

Balls.
Nevermind

Jesto fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Jun 20, 2021

Zereth
Jul 9, 2003



Jesto posted:

I wonder, was Avernum 'simplified' (fewer spells, fewer party members, simplified everything) in order to run well on mobile devices?

If so, the fact that he no longer has to cater to that market is fantastic.
Given that this happened in Avernum No Subtitle, before mobile stuff was a thing outside of the Gameboy and the like, I'm going to go with "no".

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe

Jesto posted:

I wonder, was Avernum 'simplified' (fewer spells, fewer party members, simplified everything) in order to run well on mobile devices?

If so, the fact that he no longer has to cater to that market is fantastic.

I expect the main concession made to the mobile version is that in combat your characters will automatically path to their targets instead of you having to input each individual step you want to take. Everything else I can easily believe was part of the "vision" of the remakes.

I just wish there was some way to turn that off, or a popup that said "your mage will end their turn before they get into range to cast a spell where you clicked, are you sure you want to do this?"

Zereth
Jul 9, 2003



I wish you could still close doors.

Mr Snips
Jan 9, 2009



Zereth posted:

I wish you could still close doors.

Same. There's so much loot it's impossible to steal now, even if 99% of it is junk

Zereth
Jul 9, 2003



Also pushing crates. (Into an room with no people in it so you can close the door.)

Robo Reagan
Feb 12, 2012

by Fluffdaddy
Is Black Fortress still what I should be starting out with if I'm new to Spiderweb games or is there some new hotness?

Arrhythmia
Jul 22, 2011

Robo Reagan posted:

Is Black Fortress still what I should be starting out with if I'm new to Spiderweb games or is there some new hotness?

Avernum: Escape From the Pit also makes a really good jumping in point.

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe
The Geneforge games are completely different from those, too, though I seem to recall reading that their current plan is to finish the Exile 3 reremake, then do Avadon 3, then start remaking the Geneforge series (presumably while either continuing Avadon or starting up a new series). Anyway, that means that a Geneforge 1 remake is probably not more than 3-5 years out.

Sankis
Mar 8, 2004

But I remember the fella who told me. Big lad. Arms as thick as oak trees, a stunning collection of scars, nice eye patch. A REAL therapist he was. Er wait. Maybe it was rapist?


It's crazy to think that far ahead. In five years this engine will probably look and feel as dated as avenum does now.

Still, Geneforge 1 especially deserves to be given a new life.

JustJeff88
Jan 15, 2008

I AM
CONSISTENTLY
ANNOYING
...
JUST TERRIBLE


THIS BADGE OF SHAME IS WORTH 0.45 DOUBLE DRAGON ADVANCES

:dogout:
of SA-Mart forever

TooMuchAbstraction posted:

The Geneforge games are completely different from those, too, though I seem to recall reading that their current plan is to finish the Exile 3 reremake, then do Avadon 3, then start remaking the Geneforge series (presumably while either continuing Avadon or starting up a new series). Anyway, that means that a Geneforge 1 remake is probably not more than 3-5 years out.

Close, TMA. I am pretty sure that Jeff is on holiday right now with the recent rerelease of Crystal Souls, but I believe that his plans are Avadon 3, then Exile 3 the reremake, then he will start on the Geneforge games. He said something about preferring to mix projects and not oversaturate the limited market with the same IP. I would much rather he do Exile 3: The remake of the remake first, but I find it hard to argue with the chap.

Roadie
Jun 30, 2013

Sankis posted:

It's crazy to think that far ahead. In five years this engine will probably look and feel as dated as avenum does now.

Still, Geneforge 1 especially deserves to be given a new life.

In The Year Of Our Lord 2020, when we are all flying around on jetpacks, all games will be running on Javascript in the browser.

... I'm only half joking, because the original Exile 1 would be perfect for an HTML5/JS web port, and C-to-Javascript translation is getting better every day.

Zereth posted:

Apparently the iPad port of Avernum 2: Crystal Souls has been canceled.

All the time Jeff spends making and remaking and reremaking engines only to run into inevitable compatibility issues makes me think he'd be better off just putting the whole shebang into Unity or something.

Roadie fucked around with this message at 00:41 on May 3, 2015

Zereth
Jul 9, 2003



I'm looking forward to the Geneforge remake because I occasionally want to go replay it, but it's a fullscreen-only fixed-resolution game and would look terrible (on top of not being the best looking game to start with) on my LCD monitor.

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe

Roadie posted:

All the time Jeff spends making and remaking and reremaking engines only to run into inevitable compatibility issues makes me think he'd be better off just putting the whole shebang into Unity or something.

Unity has been a major concern for, like, a quarter as long as as Jeff has been in business. Just putting that out there. But yeah, if he found himself needing a new engine now, it'd definitely be worth considering going with one of the big names to help him with his deployment efforts if nothing else. Problem is, he already has a perfectly serviceable engine and if I know him he's going to wring every cent of value out of it before he moves on.

Roobanguy
May 31, 2011

JustJeff88 posted:

Close, TMA. I am pretty sure that Jeff is on holiday right now with the recent rerelease of Crystal Souls, but I believe that his plans are Avadon 3, then Exile 3 the reremake, then he will start on the Geneforge games. He said something about preferring to mix projects and not oversaturate the limited market with the same IP. I would much rather he do Exile 3: The remake of the remake first, but I find it hard to argue with the chap.

the interview mentioned him wanting to do a new original game after exile 3, before starting the geneforge series.

JustJeff88
Jan 15, 2008

I AM
CONSISTENTLY
ANNOYING
...
JUST TERRIBLE


THIS BADGE OF SHAME IS WORTH 0.45 DOUBLE DRAGON ADVANCES

:dogout:
of SA-Mart forever

Roobanguy posted:

the interview mentioned him wanting to do a new original game after exile 3, before starting the geneforge series.

I did not see that - interesting. I am not that bothered personally by pushing back the remakes of Geneforge as I do not have nearly the affection for those games as I do Avernum/Exile. Nothing against Geneforge - I openly acknowledge its quality - but I prefer party-based games moreso. Generally, the more the merrier... I have been a vocal critic of his reducing the party size in Exile/Avernum games from 6 to 4.

Katreus
May 31, 2011

You and I both know this is silly, but this is the biggest women's sporting event in the world. Let's try to make the most of it, shall we?
So I know people said that Geneforge 3 is a mediocre game... but I have it so I want to play it. I've played Shaper in G1 and Agent in G2. Agent took awhile to get going but the mass daze thing really came into its own after awhile, esp. after I gave up caring to keep my NPC followers alive. Whatever. Those jerks kept choosing different targets than me so it ended up 3 different mobs attacking instead of just 1.

So - Guardian in G3. Is it workable / not too much frustration?

KICK BAMA KICK
Mar 2, 2009

Katreus posted:

So I know people said that Geneforge 3 is a mediocre game... but I have it so I want to play it. I've played Shaper in G1 and Agent in G2. Agent took awhile to get going but the mass daze thing really came into its own after awhile, esp. after I gave up caring to keep my NPC followers alive. Whatever. Those jerks kept choosing different targets than me so it ended up 3 different mobs attacking instead of just 1.

So - Guardian in G3. Is it workable / not too much frustration?
Those are the exact classes I took and G3 with a Guardian was perfectly doable, as far as I recall, and I'm not really a minmaxer. I think most of the challenge areas were manageable by the end. The things that will frustrate you about G3 will be the way it's kind of a linear chokepoint for the overall story of the series and some unnecessarily time-consuming water travel on the overworld map.

Katreus
May 31, 2011

You and I both know this is silly, but this is the biggest women's sporting event in the world. Let's try to make the most of it, shall we?

KICK BAMA KICK posted:

Those are the exact classes I took and G3 with a Guardian was perfectly doable, as far as I recall, and I'm not really a minmaxer. I think most of the challenge areas were manageable by the end. The things that will frustrate you about G3 will be the way it's kind of a linear chokepoint for the overall story of the series and some unnecessarily time-consuming water travel on the overworld map.

Sounds good. Thanks!

And I presume the latter part will make more sense once I start playing. I thought overworld map travel was pretty instantaneous once you cleared the intervening maps.

Zereth
Jul 9, 2003



Katreus posted:

So I know people said that Geneforge 3 is a mediocre game... but I have it so I want to play it. I've played Shaper in G1 and Agent in G2. Agent took awhile to get going but the mass daze thing really came into its own after awhile, esp. after I gave up caring to keep my NPC followers alive. Whatever. Those jerks kept choosing different targets than me so it ended up 3 different mobs attacking instead of just 1.

So - Guardian in G3. Is it workable / not too much frustration?
I believe Mass Daze stops being a 100% chance rear end of 3, in fact. And yeah, rolling without Creations in 2 was the right choice. I think Parry is still king poo poo of gently caress mountain in 3 though so Guardian should work just fine.

KICK BAMA KICK
Mar 2, 2009

Katreus posted:

And I presume the latter part will make more sense once I start playing. I thought overworld map travel was pretty instantaneous once you cleared the intervening maps.
Yeah, it's not on the overworld exactly, it's walking from one end of a map where you disembarked to the other end to embark on another boat that's time-consuming, as I recall.

moot the hopple
Apr 26, 2008

dyslexic Bowie clone
GOG's Summer Sale has Crystal Souls for 10 bucks for anyone that's been waiting

Walh Hara
May 11, 2012

DACK FAYDEN posted:

Yeah, Nethergate, which got remade and is on Steam!

I ended up getting this again and playing it due to nostalgia. Now I'm wondering: what spiderwebsoftware should I get next after this? I mostly like the setting and magic system.

GreenNight
Feb 19, 2006
Turning the light on the darkest places, you and I know we got to face this now. We got to face this now.

Jeff with a blog update:

http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.com/2015/06/age-pleasing-apple-and-trying-to-climb.html

Good stuff, hope he figures things out.

DACK FAYDEN
Feb 25, 2013

Bear Witness

GreenNight posted:

Jeff with a blog update:

http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.com/2015/06/age-pleasing-apple-and-trying-to-climb.html

Good stuff, hope he figures things out.
I'm reading this correctly, right - still got a shot at Crystal Souls on iPad?

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe

DACK FAYDEN posted:

I'm reading this correctly, right - still got a shot at Crystal Souls on iPad?

My reading is "I was having a hard time due to health issues, Apple broke compatibility with my engine right before release, I got disillusioned, I cancelled the Crystal Souls release; now I'm feeling better and I'm going to go back and Do It Properly." So yeah, it's sounding promising.

Xander77
Apr 6, 2009

Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.



Anything I should know about Crystal Souls before I start playing? Still the standard "1 dual-wielding warriors, 3 spell casters" setup?

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe

Xander77 posted:

Anything I should know about Crystal Souls before I start playing? Still the standard "1 dual-wielding warriors, 3 spell casters" setup?

I ran with two dual-wielders and two casters and didn't feel like I was crippling myself (though I didn't bother with higher difficulties either). Combat's nearly identical to Avernum 1, just with a few minor tweaks. You'll still want to get Adrenaline Rush ASAP, but it's harder to get without lots of hard skillpoints unless you know where specific items are.

Heavy neutrino
Sep 16, 2007

You made a fine post for yourself. ...For a casualry, I suppose.
I bought the whole bundle of Spiderweb games during the Steam sale, and I have a question: I'm playing Avernum 6 right now, and given that the dialogue looks written as if you only had one character, is it possible to play through the game solo?

Also, doesn't it seem like some of the traits are way too good to pass up? Oh gee, I have the choice between a couple more skill points from more level ups, or a massive amount of extra resistances and free skills worth much more than the extra skill points from extra levels. I did leave one character without traits to act as a tool use/nature lore/first aid support bot, but otherwise it seems like a raw deal.

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe

Heavy neutrino posted:

I bought the whole bundle of Spiderweb games during the Steam sale, and I have a question: I'm playing Avernum 6 right now, and given that the dialogue looks written as if you only had one character, is it possible to play through the game solo?

Also, doesn't it seem like some of the traits are way too good to pass up? Oh gee, I have the choice between a couple more skill points from more level ups, or a massive amount of extra resistances and free skills worth much more than the extra skill points from extra levels. I did leave one character without traits to act as a tool use/nature lore/first aid support bot, but otherwise it seems like a raw deal.

I haven't played Avernum 6, but generally speaking all of Foglio's games are solo-able, though playing solo on the higher difficulty levels tends to be an exercise in tedium and frustration. And yeah, some traits are fantastic, and the way experience scales, you won't be short on levels anyway because you get way less experience for killing enemies you outlevel. So it just takes the over-traited characters a bit longer to get up to par when you move to a new enemy set.

Zereth
Jul 9, 2003



TooMuchAbstraction posted:

I haven't played Avernum 6, but generally speaking all of Foglio's games
... Did you mean Vogel's games?

TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe

Zereth posted:

... Did you mean Vogel's games?

Goddammit, yes, sorry. For some reason ever since Foglio did some illustrations for Exile/Avernum, I occasionally mix their names up.

moot the hopple
Apr 26, 2008

dyslexic Bowie clone

Heavy neutrino posted:

Also, doesn't it seem like some of the traits are way too good to pass up? Oh gee, I have the choice between a couple more skill points from more level ups, or a massive amount of extra resistances and free skills worth much more than the extra skill points from extra levels. I did leave one character without traits to act as a tool use/nature lore/first aid support bot, but otherwise it seems like a raw deal.

It depends on how thoroughly you play and well you grind. A character without traits and therefore no XP penalty doesn't just get only skill points with every level up but also more health, damage, and stats (which in turn increases certain resistances). At higher levels you eventually stop gaining skill points but you'll keep getting the extra attack and health die. So plain characters can become very powerful compared to traited characters IF you happen to play long enough to get enough levels over them.

However, some traits are still very good and you won't miss out much for their beneficial trade off. I wouldn't get the ones that increase resistances because those can be buffed through equipment, spells, and potions. But I would really consider the special mage, priest, and warrior traits that boosts those respective character types because some of those innate bonuses can't be easily gained in the game.

MagusofStars
Mar 31, 2012



quote:

I haven't played Avernum 6, but generally speaking all of Foglio's games are solo-able, though playing solo on the higher difficulty levels tends to be an exercise in tedium and frustration. And yeah, some traits are fantastic, and the way experience scales, you won't be short on levels anyway because you get way less experience for killing enemies you outlevel. So it just takes the over-traited characters a bit longer to get up to par when you move to a new enemy set.

Also, while it depends on the trait, most of them which give skill points actually end up being a net positive for skill points. Yes, you're two levels lower, but you got four free levels' worth of skill points from your trait. The generally accepted ideal strategy from a min-max perspective is to have every member be Nephil, Divinely Touched, plus the appropriate second trait for their job (Elite Warrior/Natural Mage/Pure Spirit). The first couple dungeons are more difficult than usual (lower level=lower health), but once you get rolling, you end up significantly stronger than a party of vanilla humans because you have so many more free skill points.

That said, Avernum 6 isn't that crazy difficult at Normal or Hard difficulty, so you can be plenty successful regardless of what you pick.

THE MACHO MAN
Nov 15, 2007

...Carey...

draw me like one of your French Canadian girls
I've been plugging away at Avernum 5. I never played much of 6 but played the others to completion or close to it (my comp blew up right towards the end of 4). Am I alone in thinking that 5 is probably the best game that isn't 3? Everyone thinks 3 is the king of the series right?

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TooMuchAbstraction
Oct 14, 2012

I spent four years making
Waves of Steel
Hell yes I'm going to turn my avatar into an ad for it.
Fun Shoe

THE MACHO MAN posted:

I've been plugging away at Avernum 5. I never played much of 6 but played the others to completion or close to it (my comp blew up right towards the end of 4). Am I alone in thinking that 5 is probably the best game that isn't 3? Everyone thinks 3 is the king of the series right?

I found 4 to be rather weak, and I can't remember which of 5 and 6 I played but I remember making it halfway through the demo and realizing that my warriors were totally incompetent compared to my mages, who were vastly more effective at killing things and had tons of SP capacity, which could be easily refilled by walking back to town. Presumably this got less bad as the game went on but it was very clear that early-game fighters were solely there to present a barrier monsters would have to hack through to get to the mages...and whatever plot hooks got set up clearly weren't enough to get me to stick with the game long enough to pass that hump.

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