Spiderweb Games - Avadon: The Black Fortress Announced

Originally Posted by Dyspaire
I think they are on par with Eschalon, once you zoom in on the screenshots. They're far better than anything Spiderweb has done to this point.

I agree, Eschalon was the first thing that sprang to mind when i saw it. All looks very promising

Still need to finish off avernum 6 at some point.

The graphics look fine to me. Especially the design/layout is even better than Avernum 6, which was already pretty good.

Originally Posted by WorstUsernameEver
The plot does sound a bit predictable.

Spiderweb has rarely excelled at outstanding main plots. It's the little stories and subtleties where the strength of these games usually lies.

Originally Posted by turian
how big can the party be?

Here: The game will have a three person party (although there are also solo portions). The game is very class-based. There are four classes, each with a very distinct suite of abilities and play style.

Originally Posted by ikbenrichard
How can you tell if the animations are any good, you seen something i havent?

I don't think anyone has seen anything else. I think the +1 means "yes, I agree a good animation is important." That's all.

As to the fear this might be a standard fantasy. The keeping factions at each others throats sounds promising as does the "your word is law" and "unlimited resources". Serving The Black Fortress instead of trying to overthrow a tyrant. But I like elves, so… neener neener.

Given a good story and interesting characters, this could turn out quite well. Looks promising.

The keeping factions at each others throats sounds promising as does the "your word is law" and "unlimited resources".

Sounds like you're a fantasy version of a Spectre, to me. Which isn't a bad idea, if he can pull it off. Most RPGs have you starting in your underpants.

Would be a nice twist if your character really was working for the bad dudes, the facists, and the whole 'protect our fragile alliance from the evil barbarians' turned out to be you defending an unpleasant status quo, ala Equilibrium.

Hey, new character portraits - thats all I'm asking for graphically.
I would have preferred a different setting than the ole medieval fantasy but I like everything else so far.

I'm just glad to see a new IP. I was getting tired of Avernum and Geneforge because every game seemed exactly like the preceding one. I hate the graphics too, but at least these are a very slight upgrade. I'll at least download the demo, which is more than I've bothered to do with the last few Vogel games.

Looks much better than their previous stuff, and it's on a level where I won't be distracted by graphics in the least - so I'll likely buy this one, just to support the indie market.

Originally Posted by Amasius
Hey, new character portraits - thats all I'm asking for graphically.
I would have preferred a different setting than the ole medieval fantasy but I like everything else so far.

Aye, the portraits. The one thing I disliked in the Avernum games.

Looking forward to this.

Originally Posted by Naked Ninja
Would be a nice twist if your character really was working for the bad dudes, the facists, and the whole 'protect our fragile alliance from the evil barbarians' turned out to be you defending an unpleasant status quo, ala Equilibrium.

The noble savage thingy is SO original.

The graphics of the interface have a style and a nice style I can admit it, even if the style is too cold. But the world graphics are for me quite close to those of Avernum 6. That's a disappointment the dedicated graphic artist he is enrolling (probably family/friend) didn't learned put more style into their graphics. Avernum series would have been much more wonderful with talented graphic artists, the subject was perfect to build an eerie game even with a modest approach like in Echalon but with much more graphical talent.

Originally Posted by Butthurt
The noble savage thingy is SO original.

Common it's about conspiracy, you'll perhaps work for your enemy if that isn't original then I'd be curious to have the CRPG list with that setup.

Noble savage? That term usually refers to a native people who embody honour or something positive.

I'm talking about a plot where you find out that the evil forces you're told is waiting to destroy everything you hold dear are actually more sane than your own government. Ie realizing your beloved leaders are fascists, and you've been protecting the interests of Big Brother.

Not amazingly original either, but a step up from 'oh noes, evil forces trying to destroy the forces of good'.

I'll admit, Geneforge kinda had that idea. But I found the impact of it was lessened by the fact that it was the oppression of the created monsters more than anything else.

I can't believe people were happier when they thought it was a single-player game. To each their own but that just boggles my mind.

Originally Posted by Naked Ninja
I'm talking about a plot where you find out that the evil forces you're told is waiting to destroy everything you hold dear are actually more sane than your own government. Ie realizing your beloved leaders are fascists, and you've been protecting the interests of Big Brother.

Yeah, I understand what you mean. Barbarians a.k.a "Evil Forces" = noble savages as in "more sane than your government".

Originally Posted by Unrestigered
I can't believe people were happier when they thought it was a single-player game. To each their own but that just boggles my mind.

I agree. I enjoy single-character games, but I much prefer adventuring parties, especially for a turn-based game.

Better graphics would be fine, but that's not particularly important to me (animations or not). Mostly, I just want a game that plays differently than his other games. I just can't play the same game over and over again.

Frankly, I would have preferred a space-based science fiction game. I'm getting tired of fantasy. And it would be easier to make a game that was completely different from Avernum. But I'm certainly willing to give it a try. I've been buying Spiderweb Software games for a long time, and I'm not going to stop now.

That Fortress thing and the plot from the quotation vaguely reminds me of "Siege Of Avalon".

The game that came in chapters, thus being in that respect far ahead of the time.

Myself I'm disappointed by the graphics, one thing to upgrade isn't only the graphics but the engine itself, all those angles and squares everywhere destroy the look anyway. But after to read two or three time the teasing, my curiosity have grown and I feel quite more finesse behind than it could appear from a quick reading.

a) Is it really necessary to post screenshots with that ugly grid in place? What? Is that visually pleasing in some sick twisted way?

b) Avadon? Tristram? Seriously? (also, poor guy looks mentally challenged)

c) Plot.. bwahaha.. err.

d) Look at "e".

e) Look at "d".

Originally Posted by ortucis
d) Look at "e".

e) Look at "d".

I'd call this "recursive programming of a human mind".