Avadon 2: The Corruption

[GamesInquirer]

Have a nice trailer folks. They aim to release this in 3-4 months for all the usual post-Avadon platforms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOKNsPORe3M&feature=player_embedded

I like that they kept the party movement as it was in Avadon, I didn't really like the change for Escape from the Pit.

Pointless copy paste from my blog that you can ignore since you're all familiar with Spiderweb etc:

Spiderweb Software is a small independent studio with a long history in role-playing games, which contrary to many larger companies they continue developing with the intent to offer depth in every aspect, presented in an isometric viewpoint and with traditional yet quite often just as inventive turn and party based combat systems.

The first Avadon was released in 2011 and became one of its biggest success stories so a sequel was inevitable yet welcome, at least by genre fans who can overlook outdated graphics and recycled assets, a practice used to speed up development and significantly lower its costs. I'll now let you enjoy the first trailer of Avadon 2: The Corruption which should be released within the next few months for Windows, Mac and iOS.

Lock/mock if old, I searched and didn't see a thread for this or a reply with that information in the other recent related threads.

 

[Name]

I'm torn by these Spiderweb games. Avadon has a above-AAA-fantasy-games setting and main storyline, but the trash mobs design approach is horrible.
I wish the concept of abridged version exists in video games lol.

 

[Drowed]

What I really want is a new Geneforge game in Avadon's engine.
And I mean it, a new game, not a simplified remake.

 

[Amn Nom]

Spiderweb Software games are always crippled by their scope and minor problems that persist. The guy spends something like a day on each area of the game (was mentioned on his blog at one point iirc), loads the game to the brim with filler combat so he can increase the world size, keeps the terrible pickup system, and the writing is really bad. This is one I'll skip unless he fixes some of the usual problems.

 

[Micmu]

Yaaay, another shitadon.
And not a single fuck was given from here...

 

[Infinitron]

sea review http://gamebanshee.com/reviews/112642-avadon-2-the-corruption-review.html

Although I didn't receive the privilege of reviewing it back when it first released, personally I was not much a fan of Spiderweb Software's Avadon: The Black Fortress. As much as I have appreciated Jeff Vogel's hard work on the Avernum and Gengeforge series, Spiderweb's newest franchise didn't resonate with me. But, there's always room for growth and improvement in sequels. And, as Avadon was Spiderweb's best-selling game to date, clearly there were fans who enjoyed it.

Avadon 2: The Corruption is the brand-new Spiderweb Software title in their parade of what seems like yearly releases and remakes. With the foundation laid in the original Avadon, I was eager to see whether Avadon 2 would improve upon that foundation in ways that would attract fans of other Spiderweb franchises, or keep those same old flaws that turned me off from the first game. After playing Avadon 2 start to finish over the last week, my unfortunate answer has to be "mostly, no", but that doesn't mean there's no fun to be had with Avadon 2 as well - read on and I'll explain how that is.

 

[Loriac]

Whilst Avadon has a simplified character development system compared to previous series, the combat design is much better now that zones of control have been implemented around characters. The one thing I hated about combat in Geneforge was the way mobs could beeline straight past whatever defensive line you tried to set up without any restriction. Conversely, the cooldowns are an abomination so its not all good. I would really like to see Geneforge upgraded to this combat engine (with abilities kept intact), but I doubt its on the radar for quite a while if ever.

I don't know if its fatigue with playing various spiderweb games over the years, or if its the avadon setting in particular, but my experience with it so far is that I enjoyed the game for a few hours trying out the new class (which seems massively overpowered at low levels if you get freezing turret asap) but then the novelty fades and you're left with the same game you've been playing for the last few years.

 

[Nim]

Whilst Avadon has a simplified character development system compared to previous series, the combat design is much better now that zones of control have been implemented around characters.

Zones of Control were already in Avernum, so those are really nothing new. No idea why he chose to not put them into Geneforge.

 

[Crevice tab]

Whilst Avadon has a simplified character development system compared to previous series, the combat design is much better now that zones of control have been implemented around characters.

Zones of Control were already in Avernum, so those are really nothing new. No idea why he chose to not put them into Geneforge.

You could have up to 8 'characters' in your party- 7 of them being disposable creations. If you add zone of control nothing would ever get near your shaper (as long as you aren't a total idiot).

 

[Loriac]

Whilst Avadon has a simplified character development system compared to previous series, the combat design is much better now that zones of control have been implemented around characters.

Zones of Control were already in Avernum, so those are really nothing new. No idea why he chose to not put them into Geneforge.

Where they in the original avernums? For some reason I don't recall them being part of that series until the refreshed A:EftP was released with the new engine.

 

[Loriac]

Whilst Avadon has a simplified character development system compared to previous series, the combat design is much better now that zones of control have been implemented around characters.

Zones of Control were already in Avernum, so those are really nothing new. No idea why he chose to not put them into Geneforge.

You could have up to 8 'characters' in your party- 7 of them being disposable creations. If you add zone of control nothing would ever get near your shaper (as long as you aren't a total idiot).

Works both ways though, in that the AI could protect its own back ranks more effectively. Allowing mobs to totally ignore controlled space reduces tactical depth imo, but ymmv.

 

[Crevice tab]

Works both ways though, in that the AI could protect its own back ranks more effectively. Allowing mobs to totally ignore controlled space reduces tactical depth imo, but ymmv.

The AI in Jeff's games isn't smart enough to use such tactics effectively (without a shitload of scripting) and building a AI good enough to handle actual tactics is pretty dam hard for a one man team. Even big gaming studios fail at this rather badly and they have teams of dozens, longer development times and more cash.

Really people should take into account that Spiderweb is just Jeff Vogel- you can't expect the same guy to have brilliant writing, extra long games, great combat and still release a game per year for 4 different OSs.

 

[Linden]

Excellent review. Touched on everything I wanted to know.

Too bad about the game. Plot and game mechanics aside, I seriously don't understand why Jeff doesn't fix the obvious interface flaws. Like these things mentioned in the review:

The user interface in Avadon 2 is just like past Spiderweb games: sparse, functional and effective, if lacking in bells and whistles. There are liberal hotkeys available, the junk bag feature added in Avadon makes a welcome return, and overall it's well laid out and easy to understand. But, there are a few niggling issues and missing features. For instance: you can't close a menu by pressing the same hotkey used to open it; the combat grid is quite small, and it's too easy to mis-click the wrong spot or accidentally click your controlled character and skip your turn; the character screen is missing many important details, such as which attributes govern what skills; there's no volume controls available; the game requires a restart to change screen resolution or display mode; the mouse wheel can't be used for scrolling lists; and there's no way to rebind keys. While the engine still does its job, these little issues have existed for a long while in Spiderweb's games, and it's high time they were fixed.

How hard can it be?

 

[sea]

Plot and game mechanics aside, I seriously don't understand why Jeff doesn't fix the obvious interface flaws. Like these things mentioned in the review:

How hard can it be?

Basically Jeff has an "if it works, it works" approach to... everything. Making a game yourself is hard and I think if something is functional, it's good enough for him. He spends so much time creating content that going back to solve technical issues is a big time-sink he feels is unnecessary. His business model revolves around reusing as many assets and as much tech as possible, but many of these issues are both notable, as well as likely quick fixes (such as the hotkey stuff), so it's weird why it hasn't been touched in... forever.

 

[Nim]

Whilst Avadon has a simplified character development system compared to previous series, the combat design is much better now that zones of control have been implemented around characters.

Zones of Control were already in Avernum, so those are really nothing new. No idea why he chose to not put them into Geneforge.

Where they in the original avernums? For some reason I don't recall them being part of that series until the refreshed A:EftP was released with the new engine.

They were def in 4-6, not sure about the older ones.

 

[DarKPenguiN]

I am liking it so far. It SEEMS as if there is alot of C&C. Perhaps its just 'fake' but I will not know until another playthrough (assuming I finish this playthrough)

Maps are too big i most cases especially in populated areas like homes (which make a ton of running around) and the 'filler' combat is driving me a bit mad because I am getting used to just clicking attacks with no strategy until I run into a 'boss' and I am so zoned out clicking attacks on trash mobs I do the exact same thing and die =/

But...Yeah. Not a bad game so far.

 

[Johannes]

In Avernum 1-3 if you retreated from an enemy, they got a free attack on you. Not sure how it worked in Exiles.