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Doc,Nov 7 2005, 10:20 PM Wrote:Avernum IV
[right][snapback]94361[/snapback][/right] If I wanted to see the best they have, would I be better off downloading the demo for Geneforge III or Avernum 3?
Lochnar[ITB]
Freshman Diablo
![[Image: jsoho8.png]](http://i61.tinypic.com/jsoho8.png) ![[Image: 10gmtrs.png]](http://i60.tinypic.com/10gmtrs.png)
"I reject your reality and substitute my own."
"You don't know how strong you can be until strong is the only option."
"Think deeply, speak gently, love much, laugh loudly, give freely, be kind."
"Talk, Laugh, Love."
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LochnarITB,Nov 9 2005, 03:01 AM Wrote:If I wanted to see the best they have, would I be better off downloading the demo for Geneforge III or Avernum 3?
[right][snapback]94449[/snapback][/right]
Avernum III.
Er, both really.
As shareware, you get to play 1/3 of the game for free. Which is a lot.
AVIII is a lot more involved than GIII. Both use a different engine and have different graphics. AVIII is more open ended. Sort of go anywhere, do anything. You can get a job. Buy a house. Make a fortune doing deliveries. GIII sort of moves you along from quest to quest, from island to island. In GI and GII, you are forced to make complex moral decisions and live with your actions. Your... Ethics and philosophy are tested. GIII, well, it's complicated to explain with out giving away the plot or hashing out the the first two, but in GIII you are forced to pick sides between two dominant factions. Both are quite unpleasant. A lot of people didn't like it. I mean, the game was good... People liked the game play. And there is a lot to do and stuff to explore. It's just, well, you are not given much of a choice to roleplay in GIII. You are either the bad guy or the bad guy. Of the two factions left, both are pretty damn bad. No matter which side you choose, it's the wrong side. It's really quite a pickle. It's more about finding out which flavour of evil you like better. And you are forced to pick sides. There are no other choices, no middle neutral ground, there is no reason left in the world. What you do and what sort of evil you are profoundly changes and impacts the ending. And for quite a few people jumping in to the series the first time that played GIII for the first time with out playing the first two, well, they tend to feel cheated. Confused. It usually boils down to on the Spiderweb boards, "How do I get the good ending, what did I do wrong?" Then there is a conversation very much like this one, and people are told to try the other two first and then play GIII again.
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."
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Joined: Oct 2003
Doc,Nov 9 2005, 05:30 AM Wrote:You are either the bad guy or the bad guy.
[right][snapback]94458[/snapback][/right] Yeah it looks like I should try AVIII then. I've never been able to play an evil character in any game ever. I would get disgusted with GIII very quickly. Thanks Doc.
Lochnar[ITB]
Freshman Diablo
"I reject your reality and substitute my own."
"You don't know how strong you can be until strong is the only option."
"Think deeply, speak gently, love much, laugh loudly, give freely, be kind."
"Talk, Laugh, Love."
Posts: 1,991
Threads: 103
Joined: May 2003
LochnarITB,Nov 10 2005, 12:38 AM Wrote:Yeah it looks like I should try AVIII then. I've never been able to play an evil character in any game ever. I would get disgusted with GIII very quickly. Thanks Doc.
[right][snapback]94495[/snapback][/right]
Spoiler alert!
It's not so much that you are evil. It's that you are being used. By GIII you realise just how evil and corrupt the Shaper Council is. And if you follow that path, you work to keep the world enslaved. And your self as well. You are just another cog in a vast machine. And depending on how you play the game, you finish out as a nobody or a God, but a God completely brainwashed and under total control of Shaper ideals.
But it's to late. Pandora's Box has been opened. All your efforts are for naught. Victory is hollow and meaningless.
If you assist the rebels, you help unleash horror on the world. They want to destroy the Shaper Council, but they are no better. Reckless experimentation, power at any cost, and they are willing to sacrifice the lives of millions through genetically modified diseases, monsters, and plagues of all kinds to achieve their goals. They talk of freedom, but hold to the ideals of enslavement. They are the worst kind of hypocrites. You become canister crazy. You become one of many Gods. And the world burns.
Either way, no matter which side you chose, you wreck the world. It can be very uncomfortable. It's a kind of Kobayashi Maru... There is no cheating, no winning. At some point, you are forced to pick sides. There is no middle ground like there was in GI and GII. And there is clearly no right side. There is only death and dispair.
The Geneforge games take your own morals and ideals, and put them on trial in a very clever sort of way. If you play true to your own ideals, and do things in a certain way, the ending changes, varies, depending on how you played the game. If you play true to your own ideals, ethics, and morals, you are painted a picture of a future that you create. It isn't always pretty. It's not perfect. The hidden ugly selfish things that you do in the game that you don't think will have much of a consequence can really come back and bite you in the ass later. Things done in the name of peace can lead to incredible acts of war. Violent actions and reprisals, and fanatical devotion may lead to a fragile peace that lasts a while, but the genie is out of the bottle and any hope for the future is meaningless. Selfishness and lust for power corrupts absolutely, and in the case of GI, you are rewarded for your selfishness because you get to shape the future as a canister crazy newborn God. Being a traitor and saving your own skin may allow you to live a very long life, but at the cost of being a traitor to your own race and costing the lives of millions of others. If you allow it, it can really get in to your head and cause you to see your self in a different light. I love the games. But they will eventually take you to a place that you may not like to go. And you will be forced to examine your self at some point. Very few games do this to the player.
Avernum III is a great game. I beta tested it. It has my seal of approval. It is a game that you can, if you so desire, spend months playing. The longer you take, the harder it gets though, because the world is being ravaged. And there is a very, very large world for you to explore and see.
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."
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Doc,Nov 10 2005, 07:13 PM Wrote:Being a traitor and saving your own skin may allow you to live a very long life, but at the cost of being a traitor to your own race and costing the lives of millions of others.
[right][snapback]94498[/snapback][/right]
Sounds like my kind of path, all benefits and no downside (... where did the smilie with horns go? :P )
Posts: 1,991
Threads: 103
Joined: May 2003
Ripped from the Spiderweb Newsletter.
Quote:Avernum 4 is Almost Ready
Yes, the long-awaited brand new game in the Avernum series is close to
completion. We hope to have the Macintosh version ready in the first
half of December, and the Windows version will be out 2-3 months after
that.
Even by Spiderweb Software standards, Avernum 4 is enormous. The whole
world of Avernum has been recreated in a new game engine. Hundreds of
quests, multiple overall goals, and many beloved characters are back!
When Jeff says something is enormous, you should be afraid! :shuriken:
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."
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