Monastery problems

[Thirinel]

1. Is there any way to keep Alain's parents alive so that he stays with party? I have tried completely cleaning out the Dark Path but that does not help. Game seems to want the trip back to be done automatically in which case there are the cave dwellers waiting for a fight. Even if I take them through the path, the parents are dead.

2. Entrance to the Archives. I can't actiivate it. In an earlier pass, I did activate it I think in that there was a grate in the floor near Virmorn. II hadn't done what I wanted to do at the Monastery so I went back to a prior save. Now I can't get it to open again. Virmorn walks forth and then back. THere does not appear to be anything different on the floor whether I have my Wanderer look with a tinker of 32 or a search of 30 or have my scholar look for it. Do I need to go to the hut by the river first? Have been avoiding it this time because there didn't seem to be any way to avoid the river fellow from drowning himself.

What am I missing or is my game munged. It is very unstable with ctd's or freezes. or with messages it needs to close after I have exited and am want to sign off.

Thirinel

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

1. Is there any way to keep Alain's parents alive so that he stays with party? I have tried completely cleaning out the Dark Path but that does not help. Game seems to want the trip back to be done automatically in which case there are the cave dwellers waiting for a fight. Even if I take them through the path, the parents are dead.

I'm not sure I've had this guy in my party, so I'm not sure.

2. Entrance to the Archives. I can't actiivate it. In an earlier pass, I did activate it I think in that there was a grate in the floor near Virmorn. II hadn't done what I wanted to do at the Monastery so I went back to a prior save. Now I can't get it to open again. Virmorn walks forth and then back. THere does not appear to be anything different on the floor whether I have my Wanderer look with a tinker of 32 or a search of 30 or have my scholar look for it. Do I need to go to the hut by the river first? Have been avoiding it this time because there didn't seem to be any way to avoid the river fellow from drowning himself.

I think you do.

What am I missing or is my game munged. It is very unstable with ctd's or freezes. or with messages it needs to close after I have exited and am want to sign off.

Thirinel

What version of the game are you using? What OS?

 

[Azael]

AFAIK, you can't save his parents. Can't remember if you can keep him in the party if you say the right things afterwards, but I think so.

 

[Thirinel]

Thanks to both of you and especially the Saint. :D

I will try going to the guy in the hut and see if that helps.

As for Alain -- I really don't need him. My scholar is more advanced than he is but she does not have all the spells yet. He goes unconscious very quickly. But I thought it would be neat to take him down to the archives. My scholar explained to him that she needed a bit of help before taking him to his home.

As for what I am using:

The game is patched with the latest. 1.4?

The OS is Win XP pro. Actually Dell says it is WXPPSP1.126.English

I think that part pf my operating problems may be that my computer is too fast and overwhelms the game. It is a Dell INSPIRON 5150 Upgraded and very fast with a Mobile Intel Pentium 4 Processor.with an Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 Screen resolution 1400 by 1050 which is the highest setting at which the game will properly display.

Would slowing it down or lowering the screen resolution help Prelude? And if slowing it down would help, how do I do that? Or perhaps I need to adjust my mouse (touchpad actually).

Thanks again for your help. I am non-techie now and retired. Matter of fact I may be the oldest roleplaying gamer grandma here. Most of my contemporaries watch tv but I enjoy games.

Thirinel

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

1.5 is the latest version of the patch, which you can get right here.

Prelude to Darkness is a little crash happy on some systems, but even with the crashing - it's still one of the better CRPGs I've ever played. The combat system alone makes it a rough gem. The character system is pretty damned sweet too.

 

[Thirinel]

Hi again

I do have version 1.5.

Nothing the group does lets the grate open. At least I think it is a grate. M??? just walks forward a few steps and then back. If I place the group in M's path, M wallks around them and if one stands on the return point, M double parks there. I can go back to just after I entered the Monastery area. Before that save they picked the Jerahd root. Can't get rid of that.

I copied the saves and reinstalled the game. Doesn't help.

I agree that the game, unfinished as it is, is worth playing. The character system reminds me of Morrowind which I played for over a year. As for combat. That is not my strong point but I like it that it is turn based.

What intrigues me is the interaction between the group and some of the npc's. The down side to this though is that sometimes the response you give is all wrong and the choice is not evident.

Have had some interesting experiences. At one point the group rested near water and one character could not move. Had a bow though. Another time during the convoy battle a bandit was wedged between two guards and it was impossible to reach him with anything but fire fingers at the guards.

I also wonder about the travelling thaumeturgist you meet. For some reason she does not trust this group. Wonder if it is because my scholar only had charisma of 13.

At any rate do you have any further suggestions?

Thirinel
P.S. I think that given the resources and manpower, this game is a credit to its developers.

 

[drexciya]

Hi again

I do have version 1.5.

Nothing the group does lets the grate open. At least I think it is a grate. M??? just walks forward a few steps and then back. If I place the group in M's path, M wallks around them and if one stands on the return point, M double parks there. I can go back to just after I entered the Monastery area. Before that save they picked the Jerahd root. Can't get rid of that.

I didn't have a problem there, you must talk to one of the Monks, the one in the entrance room opens up the grate for you.