Arx Fatalis…

Well I havent given up yet. I do really do love the game when I don't hate it. That may sound strange but that's Arx in a nutshell!

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Well I havent given up yet. I do really do love the game when I don't hate it. That may sound strange but that's Arx in a nutshell!

So very, very true … I just think of my 'jump issue' … and I started playing again a few months ago but just don't have time.

Yeah I thought of your jumping issue last night when I jumped some lava to activate the 8th level portal - I'm assuming that's not the jump you are referring to?

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Yeah I thought of your jumping issue last night when I jumped some lava to activate the 8th level portal - I'm assuming that's not the jump you are referring to?

Well, from my point of view, that's not it either because 1) I'm really not good at jumping and 2) I managed to reach that teleporter. I almost died in the process, the lava sucking the life out of me, but I did manage…

After that, I didn't have a clue about where ta go next…

------- … and one of these guys finished it 9 TIMES!!!!!!!!!

I have to finish it once just for my ego…

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Yeah I thought of your jumping issue last night when I jumped some lava to activate the 8th level portal - I'm assuming that's not the jump you are referring to?

Even if you had just said 'I jumped some lava to … ' in that casual way I'd already know the answer is 'no'

Oh great more "fun" to look forward to.

BTW I noticed the 2nd level temple is populated again with some baddies. I'll have to revisit for some XP harvesting.

Strangely, while I normally loathe and detest jumping puzzles (they ruined Ultima 8 for me) I didn't find the ones in Arx a problem. Maybe for once I just got lucky!!

Arx luckily kept the jumping to a minimum as I think they forgot to give any skills to help you jump. I hope the PDF is one of the files Gorath can move to here, that was such a big help with the game.

So last night I really lost it. All the locked chests and doors, impossible snake puzzles and other various and sundry frustrations in Arx brought me to this. I save a pretty young girl and and the ungrateful twit has the gall to demand a magic shield in exchange for the world saving artifact??? Oh really?!?!?? I cleaved her head and massacred the whole camp. You know I HOPE that broke the game.

Another underrated game. I loved Arx Fatalis. Yes, you do need to consult a walkthrough for a few things, but it's a great game. I remember there being a couple of XP exploits that allowed you to reach level 10.

I don't mind hitting the PDF walkthrough as long as I've really tried to solve a puzzle with a decent hunk of time. Usually I can figure it out but there are a few in Arx that really are a bit overboard.

But my real annoyance last night was triggering the rebel camp encounter. How on earth was I supposed to know the girl was hanging out at the lake? Its not a "puzzle" and there is no real reason not to sort of direct the player there to advance the story line. I was teleporting all over creation trying to figure out how to advance the story

Arx is without a doubt almost impossible to play without the walkthrough. It can currently be found in the games database at rpgdot under support files. The devs admitted they didn't put near the clues and info into the game to make knowing where to go and how to get stuff done. The walkthrough is great and is what you should have gotten ingame. It increases in amount of hints it gives you, but you still have a lot of ways to do what your basic goal is. Arx seems to be a love of hate game. For me it was love, dispite the many flaws it had.

I played it without the walkthrough.

Originally Posted by Prime Junta
I played it without the walkthrough.

dang…you are a good player then…or very patient.

If you played it without a walkthrough you are either a genius or retired. Theoretically I could have solved some of the thing I ended up looking up - given another 50 hours of gameplay. For Example:

1. Saving Shanny requires you to follow the cultists. If you bypass them the script kills the girl. Why? Bad design.
2. Finding the rebel leader requires you to stumble upon her at a specific spot in order to advance the story. No hints, nothing.
3. Operating the forge mechanism is a total joke. Makes no sense at all! On top of that, the required mold can't be placed accurately on the mysterious "left" side (right side doesnt work for whatever reason).
4. Having forged the uber weapon, what do you do now? This is where I am. I know the answer because I looked it up! Go to level 2 eh? Nice to know!

At this point I don't think using a walkthrough for Arx is a personal failing, rather a game design failing. On the other hand, some of the puzzles themselves, such as the snake levers were very clever and I couldnt solve it and eventually looked them up, those were my failings. The others are the games failings.

I loved the game on one hand, yet hated it on the other.

That being because I had to play with one eye on a walkthru, which I only like to use as a last resort. I felt like I cheated thru the whole game!

Made me feel like a wee little tiger cub!

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
At this point I don't think using a walkthrough for Arx is a personal failing, rather a game design failing.

I agree - PJ is one of very few I've heard do it without a walkthrough … at first I felt worthless and weak …

PJ is the only one I have heard of that didn't use some aspect of the PDF file. Though I never bothered going to any other of the boards.
I found using the maps and the keys for them in it, let me sort out most stuff without reading the story part of the walk-through. I felt vindicated by working an area on my own first and then consulting the maps to see if I missed anything. It is one of those games you can not have enough save slots and saves. lol

Yep, definitely a poor design decision, but at least they admitted that later. It's the devs who make poor decisions and then who don't admit to it that I try to avoid!! AF was perhaps just too ambitious!!

Originally Posted by lostnumber

On a different note, does anyone here know what Arkane's next move will be? I'm really pulling for an Arx 2. Those Goblins have a special place in my heart.

Well it is quite obvious to me that what eventually became Dark Messiah of Might and Magic was originally intended to be Arx Fatalis 2. In the cheat codes for the game many of the weapon models have the string "arx" in them. There are also a few Arx "staples" like the cooked ribs and the active use of game objects to create things such as making swords.

It is very clear to me that Arkane was working in earnest on Arx2 and then UbiSoft gave them an offer they couldn't refuse with Dark Messiah. Hopefully they have some resources and leverage now to actually complete Arx 2 like they were planning.