Avadon - Released on Mac

Ovenall said:
I'm wary of these indies after purchasing Eschalon Book 2. I know some here really like it, but I find it really boring and repetitive in game play.
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Some clarification for non-Spiderwebbed gamers:
Jeff makes indie RPGs for more than a decade, so he really knows his craft. Of course, he has his own peculiar style, that some may dislike (i.e. old-skool minimalism fetish, cynically humorous dark fantasy themes, etc)
Basilisk is a fairly new face, which is both good and bad: they are more likely in vibe with current trends (i.e. flashier presentation), but the RPG approach of theirs is somewhat half-baked due to inexperience (good system with serious balancing issues, empty world full of filler material, etc).

So, IMHO the verdict in a nutshell:
Spiderweb is more interesting to play, but the presentation is lacking.
Basilisk looks better, but the gameplay is somewhat tiresome.

... and now, it's your turn. :)
 
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No mention of the iPad port - I wonder if it's been scraped.
 
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duerer said:
So, IMHO the verdict in a nutshell:
Spiderweb is more interesting to play, but the presentation is lacking.
Basilisk looks better, but the gameplay is somewhat tiresome.

… and now, it's your turn. :)
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I agree with most of this.
I only started trying these indie type rpg's this year with the various demos and have been mostly impressed with their stories and gameplay enough to actually purchase Avernum 6.

When I first tried the A6 demo I was initially underwhelmed with the graphics compared to Eschalon but as I started playing both demos A6 kept me way more interested in the story and I liked the pace of the game better, even the fighting was more fun with the options my group had.

Plus graphically the one important thing(for me very important) A6 has over Eschalon book one or two is that Avenum scales very nicely to my wide-screen monitor and in the end looks pretty good because of it.
I would also like to know if there are walking animations in Avadon as that's the one thing I liked better in the Geneforge 5 and Eschalon demos.

So really looking forward to the reviews here to see how you folks size it up compared to A6. At the pace I'm playing A6 I should be finished in time for the Windows version of Avadon.
 
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Sorry if I came off as sounding harsh. Avadon does have a big, free demo that even lets you make save games.

A few notes after looking at it again. There is a crude walking animation, but you move so quickly, it's not really very noticeable. The characters do face in different directions. But what kind of sucks is that my beginning, naked warrior character is depicted in the inventory screen AND in the game as wearing a full set of plate armor and a red cape. I put on a green cape I found and you stay the same.

So yes, there are graphical tweaks, but overall it's pretty superficial. First 20-30 mins of the game there are giant rats and spiders. Again, I haven't played all that much, but it doesn't seem really very different than what I've seen in other Spiderweb games.
 
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Off topic guys sorry. Still waiting for Inquisitor any news ???
 
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I've not played any of Vogel's game before. Primarily due to lack of time, but also because, despite being an old school gamer myself, the graphics in them just didn't induce me to want to give them a whirl. I also heard (and this could be completely wrong) that many, if not all, of them didn't have any sound. Is that right? That would definitely be a turn off for me.

This one looks very nice though and when a PC version is available, I'm going to have to give it a try.
 
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As for the price 25 bucks is not a lot to give to an Indie dev making games that we enjoy for the love . Plus usually patches and updates , with free DLC . I dont mind paying so they will make more.
 
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Anyone play Avernum 6 ??? How is it, im thinking about purchasing it.
 
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Ovenall said:
I'm wary of these indies after purchasing Eschalon Book 2. I know some here really like it, but I find it really boring and repetitive in game play.
Click to expand...

Just because they are both indies doesn't make them the same, you know. ;) Let his be a lesson in resources: Jeff makes big, complex*, party-based CRPGs. The amount of content and choices is orders of magnitude greater than Eschalon in return for a more basic (but varied) tileset. Dragon Age and the Drakensangs are the only competitors to Jeff's work for years and in some ways, Avernum 6 is better than both of them.

*Complex primarily in terms of script and content. The underlying mechanics are adequate but straight forward.

rich ruffo said:
Off topic guys sorry. Still waiting for Inquisitor any news ???
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If we had news, we'd post it. It's kind of what we do. ;)

blatantninja said:
I've not played any of Vogel's game before. Primarily due to lack of time, but also because, despite being an old school gamer myself, the graphics in them just didn't induce me to want to give them a whirl. I also heard (and this could be completely wrong) that many, if not all, of them didn't have any sound. Is that right? That would definitely be a turn off for me.

This one looks very nice though and when a PC version is available, I'm going to have to give it a try.
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They all have sound and I find the environmental sounds pretty good. They don't have music, which Jeff doesn't believe in. He suggests you play your own soundtrack in the background.

Graphically, as far as I can tell, Avadon doesn'tlook that much different to Avernum 6. Why wait?

rich ruffo said:
Anyone play Avernum 6 ??? How is it, im thinking about purchasing it.
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Absolutely a fantastic CRPG and one of Jeff's best. I found it a little slow to start but it really took off after the demo area. Read Brother None's review at GameBanshee, which is a good overview:

http://gamebanshee.com/reviews/97586-avernum-6.html
 
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Thanks for the feed back on Avernum 6. As for Inquisitor, i know your up on the news guess it was wishful thinking. Thanks
 
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Dhruin said:
Just because they are both indies doesn't make them the same, you know. ;) Let his be a lesson in resources: Jeff makes big, complex*, party-based CRPGs. The amount of content and choices is orders of magnitude greater than Eschalon in return for a more basic (but varied) tileset. Dragon Age and the Drakensangs are the only competitors to Jeff's work for years and in some ways, Avernum 6 is better than both of them.

*Complex primarily in terms of script and content. The underlying mechanics are adequate but straight forward.



If we had news, we'd post it. It's kind of what we do. ;)



They all have sound and I find the environmental sounds pretty good. They don't have music, which Jeff doesn't believe in. He suggests you play your own soundtrack in the background.

Graphically, as far as I can tell, Avadon doesn'tlook that much different to Avernum 6. Why wait?



Absolutely a fantastic CRPG and one of Jeff's best. I found it a little slow to start but it really took off after the demo area. Read Brother None's review at GameBanshee, which is a good overview:

http://gamebanshee.com/reviews/97586-avernum-6.html
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Jeff likes to reuse content all the way up to the current version. I was looking forward to the new one to see if he branched out a bit, seems it isn't that much different then Avernums. Interested in what is different(and no I don't just mean renaming all the classes.).

As for Basilisk kgames, got a soft spot in my heart for that company, good guy and works hard. One of the only companies to actually use darkness well ina dungeon. He has already stated for book 3 he is planning to focus more on content then on the engine so it should be a lot deeper.
 
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zzajin said:
No mention of the iPad port - I wonder if it's been scraped.
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Jeff was clear - Mac first then PC next then ... ;)

While I obviously cannot comment more specifically, it should be common sense that he would want to get the game out and stable before moving to a new OS platform.

Lost my planned writing time wading in the reality distortion field at lunch today (iPad 2), but as a point of reference this is my first Spiderweb review where I didn't need time away before replaying for review. I guess that says something ... :)
 
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txa1265 said:
Lost my planned writing time wading in the reality distortion field at lunch today (iPad 2), but as a point of reference this is my first Spiderweb review where I didn't need time away before replaying for review. I guess that says something … :)
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i dont want words, i want action ;-)
Cannot wait for a good review.
 
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ovenall said:
I'm wary of these indies after purchasing Eschalon Book 2. I know some here really like it, but I find it really boring and repetitive in game play.
Click to expand...

Well, I loved book 1… and I was looking forward to book 2…. I just don't know what happend, perhaps it was just too much of the same, or perhaps something was better with book 1…. I just feel book 2 is not as good as book 1 at all.

Perhaps I need to give book 2 more time... but well it just didn't grab me the way 1 did... even if most things appear to be better :S
 
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GothicGothicness said:
Well, I loved book 1… and I was looking forward to book 2…. I just don't know what happend, perhaps it was just too much of the same, or perhaps something was better with book 1…. I just feel book 2 is not as good as book 1 at all.

Perhaps I need to give book 2 more time… but well it just didn't grab me the way 1 did… even if most things appear to be better :S
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It aint you, i had the exact same feeling. For me, bookII was a big let down quest and NPC fill wise.
 
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Dhruin said:
They all have sound and I find the environmental sounds pretty good. They don't have music, which Jeff doesn't believe in. He suggests you play your own soundtrack in the background.
Click to expand...

Ahh, thanks for clearing that up. Any idea why he doesn't believe in it?


Graphically, as far as I can tell, Avadon doesn'tlook that much different to Avernum 6. Why wait?
Click to expand...

Well, I still have Arcanum, Ps:T, MotB, MoW, SoZ and a few others to finish up (I've started all, but not gotten to far in any yet)!
 
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I figured that might be it!
 
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Music is the one area of the game I'm developing that I know for sure I won't be able to do myself.

I have a family member who is quite talented in that way, but I might prefer to simply not have music in the game at all.

Not a vital aspect, and if I can't make it right - there's really no reason to have it.
 
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