Game News Spiderweb Software ditches Queen's Wish, Avernum 4: Greed and Glory remake now on Kickstarter

[Infinitron]

Tags: Avernum 4: Greed and Glory; Jeff Vogel; Spiderweb Software

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spiderwebsoftware/avernum-4-greed-and-glory

The Avernum series is our biggest success in this business. We wrote our first game in this world in 1994, a full thirty years ago. (Yes, we've been in this business that long.)

The Avernum Saga is two trilogies. The first half (Avernum: Escape From the Pit, Avernum 2: Crystal Souls, and Avernum 3: Ruined World) has already been remastered. They tell the tale of Avernum's survival and battle for freedom. The second trilogy deals with the challenges to come, as powerful forces battle for Avernum's wealth and your land faces its final fate.

This huge project begins with Avernum 4: Greed and Glory. It will be a remaster of Avernum 4, which came out way back in 2005. The original is a massive RPG, full of skilled warriors and wizards using a multitude of weapons, spells, and artifacts to conquer an enormous world. It is also a very old game, and it doesn't run so good on new machines anymore. We want to fix all of this.

The Remaster

We are eager to remaster Avernum 4, and Spiderweb Software doesn't half-ass its remasters. We will go through every location, line of text, sound and graphic asset, and encounter, revising and expanding it all to make a really good game.

Avernum 4 was a big hit in its day, but it also had a number of flaws (like an underdeveloped story). We're going to put in a lot of time to fix those. The story is being heavily reworked to be exciting, engaging, and full of interesting choices.

We've done a bunch of remasters, and we're learned to respect what our fans loved about the series. The world, characters, and game system will be mostly the same. We will make a much more interesting story. We'll add new adventures, storylines, abilities, and ways to achieve your own destiny in the underworld.

We hope to complete Avernum 4: Greed and Glory in late 2025, and we have a long, long history of making our deadlines. Along the way, we'll give plenty of updates and give fans a chance to give their opinions about what is interesting and what should be developed more.​

 

[Kev Inkline]

Does Vogel speak of himself in the royal we, or are there also other people employed at Spiderweb?

 

[Drowed]

"Spiderweb Software ditches Queen's Wish"

It would have been better if it had never existed in the first place, but better late than never.

 

[Moaning_Clock]

Does Vogel speak of himself in the royal we, or are there also other people employed at Spiderweb?

His wife does some things.

 

[Tyranicon]

Almost there already.

 

[OSK]

Avernum 4 needs a remaster. Not because it has trouble running on modern systems (it ran on mine), but because it's way worse than the original trilogy.

 

[mondblut]

Speaking of which, the original Avernums 1-3 were a massive decline over Exile, that much is obvious, but what about their remasters? Did they decline even further? Remained basically the same save for compatibility update and minor graphics upgrade? Or somehow got better in some little way? Is there any reason to touch these if you already played the original Exile Avernums?

 

[Infinitron]

Speaking of which, the original Avernums 1-3 were a massive decline over Exile, that much is obvious, but what about their remasters? Did they decline even further? Remained basically the same save for compatibility update and minor graphics upgrade? Or somehow got better in some little way? Is there any reason to touch these if you already played the original Exile Avernums?

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...s-kickstarter-live.151318/page-2#post-9145070

 

[mondblut]

Speaking of which, the original Avernums 1-3 were a massive decline over Exile, that much is obvious, but what about their remasters? Did they decline even further? Remained basically the same save for compatibility update and minor graphics upgrade? Or somehow got better in some little way? Is there any reason to touch these if you already played the original Exile Avernums?

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...s-kickstarter-live.151318/page-2#post-9145070

LMAO, are you seriously expecting me to care what Vogel himself says about whichever of his games is superior?

I am asking for an opinion of people who can actually can tell a better RPG from a worse one, and whose livelihood does not depend on their ability to sell the same game thrice.

 

[JarlFrank]

I just can't get myself motivated to play remakes of remakes when the end result still looks like someone vomited onto the screen, while the original Exile games look a lot better (and play better - bigger party size, for example, six in Exile and four in Avernum, both the original and the remake).

 

[Modron]

while the original Exile games look a lot better

The graphics got updated a year or two after the second Exile was released, the OG release of 1 and 2 had didn't look as nice: https://web.archive.org/web/20190706124110/https://kppp.webs.com/oldexile/

Edit: Apparently you can just drop the old graphics ontop of the 2.0 version of the games and they run fine or at least the second one whose 1.0 graphics can be dl/ed here: https://web.archive.org/web/20180907220232/http://www.harehunter.info/downloads/V1_Graphics.zip

 

[rojay]

I had no idea Jeff Vogel was so fucking hot.

 

[Contagium]

Jeff Vogel drinking game:

Every time Jeff makes a reference to something being old, take a shot.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Jeff Vogel drinking game:

Every time Jeff makes a reference to something being old, take a shot.

I took a lot of shots the last time I played this. Next time I think I will use a .22 caliber gun.

 

[Eirinjas]

 

[The_Sloth_Sleeps]

Remaster? I don't see any difference between the "remaster" and the original.

 

[Fargus]

I don't see much difference between his games to be honest.

But jokes aside, Geneforge is still one of the better rpgs i've played and very underrated. Can't say i like Avernum though, tried to finish first game years ago but got bored after some time.

 

[OndrejSc]

Does Vogel speak of himself in the royal we, or are there also other people employed at Spiderweb?

His wife does some things.

Kinky.

 

[OndrejSc]

He needs to license the Ultima VIII engine from EA.

 

[Lagole Gon]

So, where do I start with Spiderweb games?

 

[Modron]

At the start, Exile: Escape from the Pit: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/launch-windows-3-1-with-a-double-click-games.143518/

 

[talan]

So, where do I start with Spiderweb games?

I'd recommend his last game -- the Geneforge 2 remake.

 

[Bastardchops]

Woah slow down buddy, you haven't even remade Avadon yet, or remade Avernum a second time.

 

[Vulpes]

I don't know about Geneforge, but the rest of Jeff's games are overrated shovelware. I once heard him descirbed as a jew who does the bare minimum to make sure his games sell and after trying out Avadon: Black Fortress and Avernum: Escape from the Pit I'd have to agree. His settings are for the most part only unique on paper, like just look at Avernum. It's supposed to be set deep underground and yet the enemy roster consists of creatures you'd fight on the surface of any generic RPG, from wolves to dragons.

 

[Tweed]

Avernum is decent, but Geneforge is his greatest work and he needs to get the rest of those remade before the reaper gets him, especially the last one since it's an unbalanced mess.