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Incline Age of Decadence - Tips, Tricks and Spoilers

Black Angel

Arcane
Joined
Jun 23, 2016
Messages
2,910
Location
Wonderland
Is there even any use of astrolabe? I've read it can be used to find the coordinates to Al-Akia, but after so many playthroughs I just can't see it...
 

Black Angel

Arcane
Joined
Jun 23, 2016
Messages
2,910
Location
Wonderland
Where can I find schematics for the "improved" crossbows in the game (double, repeater, scoped etc)? Or as a crafting crossbowman I'm restricted to crafting regular crossbows only?
:necro:necroing this post.

Seems like nobody bothered to answer this, and googling it doesn't give solid answer, so.... is there even any "exotic" crossbow schematic?
 

Parabalus

Arcane
Joined
Mar 23, 2015
Messages
17,508
:necro:necroing this post.

Seems like nobody bothered to answer this, and googling it doesn't give solid answer, so.... is there even any "exotic" crossbow schematic?

No there isn't.

I'd hope the recent patches with the DR crossovers added them since DR has them, but I doubt it.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,044
astrolabe used to be used to find Al-Akia on your own if you had the set of coordinates, now it's pure junk (Vince calls it a "flavor only item" the asshole)
The astrolabe was always meant to be a flavor item, which is why you can get it so easily, unlike any other artifact. It was supposed to unlock navigating by coordinates once you arrive to Maadoran, a way to find obscure places like Al-Akia, Zamedi, the Hangar, etc. In the end simply adding them to your map was easier. You were never meant to travel to Al-Akia on your own as you can't understand and decipher the set of coordinates without Meru.
 

Parabalus

Arcane
Joined
Mar 23, 2015
Messages
17,508
The new axe passive definitely needs a tuning pass.

Its combat effect is fine, but how it influences logistics needs to be looked at. Basically every time it triggers it's 150 gold at the healer. It goes through (partial) block and it depends only upon the attackers skill. Since it lowers strength, it destroys you carry weight, which is a problem if it happens in an area to which you can't return to. You can use alchemy, but it shouldn't feel mandatory and tbh alchemy is already (too) strong enough even without being needed for stat debuffs.

AI can't use the new nets, Nicander and Esbenus would net me as their last action (with no allies) and I'd just break free at the start of my round.

Kadmos and Nicander's AI seems to be broken, they would both enter melee/interrupt range and just die. They kited flawlessly previously.

The stat healing ointments could use the DR effect of removing bleed, especially with with the buffs to it.

Al Saher used his chakrams for the first time and they are incredibly lethal :bounce:. He used nets well, wait with double turn, but that could just be him having higher dex than me, and a byproduct of the DR turn order. That's a bad thing to port imo, since it gives everyone faster than you a natural double turn.

Most of the changes are really good but porting all of the DR balance adjustments was not needed imo, especially if you want to port the full SP rebalance, seems like a nightmare to tune for no real benefit.

Game is also even more opaque than previously for new players, the new mechanics (wait) should be explained somewhere.

Would be nice to have the new DR weapons added to the schematic bunch from the blacksmith.

Overall really good work, just a few kinks need ironing out :incline:.
 
Last edited:

Black Angel

Arcane
Joined
Jun 23, 2016
Messages
2,910
Location
Wonderland
Alright, I've been holding this for myself for quite a while, but I guess I should let it out before I go insane. And as to adding to Parabalus's point about axes's new passive, I just can't accept how OP is axes's new passive when enemies like scorpions keep proc-ing it in succession, and even proc-ing despite of the armor fully absorbing the blow. It's completely possible to have 1 (and maybe even less) STR when 2-4-6 consecutive attacks by 3 scorpions all managed to reduce my STR, and at this point it's getting absolutely obnoxious to ever attempt Dead River.

Just what's the chance of scorpions proc-ing savage blows, anyway? It's like they literally have 10 in Axe....
 

Stormcrowfleet

Aeon & Star Interactive
Developer
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
1,062
Lore question of AoD.

On the wiki page of AoD, it says :

House Aurelian's main forces maintained order in the colonies, far away from the fiercest and bloodiest battlefields during the War. With the world decimated and society in chaos, General Gaelius moved swiftly to take firm control of the most strategic forts and towns.

Does that mean that Gaelius was alive when the Great War with the Gods happened ? I thought this was centuries ago. I am confused.
 

Latelistener

Arcane
Joined
May 25, 2016
Messages
2,624
Speaking of lore. What exactly happened

between the time when Quantari helped the Empire to bring the aliens to their world, and the first days of the war?
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,044
Explained in two diaries in Al-Akia.

"My name is Quintus Valerius Corvus. I am honored to report that it is my destiny to bring glory to the Empire. I know this for the Senate memorandum assigning me to this project used these very words. The smell of my crucified predecessors lingers in my memory, reminding me that failure isn’t an option. Common sense tells me that success is equally not an option.

"The insane goal of my masters will not - cannot - be achieved, and when the powers that be finally realize this, they will ascribe their own failure to incompetence on my part. Though I may not preserve my life, I will keep these notes both to reinforce my sanity and protect my good name."

"I was told that the construction at Al-Akia was completed only two years ago, but the pyramid is plainly much older than the other buildings. The Qantari are everywhere, like an infestation of desert worm. I do not like them and I do not trust them. I have made my opinions known to the High Magus, but he is buried in his research and oblivious to everything else.

"Apparently, he cannot generate sufficient Power to enact his mad scheme, which lends me the slight hope that whoever anointed this insufferable ass High Magus will one day find himself removed from his head by a very sharp blade. In any case the High Magus now spends his days scribbling “theoretical” (or “nonsensical”, to the layman) geometries and consulting with the Qantari. Imagine an Imperial High Magus sitting down with half-naked savages who paint themselves with blood! Disgrace upon disgrace."

"The High Magus and his imbeciles built have managed to assemble some contraption on top of the pyramid. And without a single one falling to his death, mores the pity. When I asked him what it was, he said the answer would be too much for my fragile mind. I considered that any mind would seem fragile under the blow of a war hammer, but I will save my wit for the report to the Senate.
...

"Predictably, the first two attempts were utter failures, generating not so much as a colored spark. The High Magus walks more quietly now, and speaks softly. He even appears to be avoiding me. I have begun a first draft of my findings for the Senate, but I must be careful not to show how gratified I am by this catastrophe. One more week I will give him, one week to tighten the noose yet further."

"It worked! The blasted, thrice-accursed, misbegotten whore of a machine worked. And it would have been my greatest triumph if not for the meddling of those knuckle-dragging primitives! The High Magus told me – me, a Legatus! – to oversee the installation of a “fail-safe” device as if I were some lowly mechanus.

"I delegated the task to the Qantari chief. Our translator, the only man other than the High Magus fluent in their abrasive tongue, had expired from the sting of a desert insect the week before, so that some few details may have been miscommunicated. In any event, the barbarian grinned at me with his filed teeth and assured me that my will would be done."

"Obviously, the device malfunctioned – truth be told I suspect they all knew it would not work. This drivel about a fail-safe was like as not a ploy to shift the blame to me – and the Power surge turned the three “champions” to charcoal. I thank whatever Gods the Magus is praying to that he wasn’t there to see it.

"I had a few of my personal slaves clean everything up and replaced the erstwhile champions with three soldiers under my command. Take note, dear reader, of the difference between a leader and a talker. I made this project work and when we ran into a problem, I found a solution. And unlike the great and mighty Magi it didn't take me years to do so."

The desk is covered with scrolls: notes, diagrams, endless calculations and obscure formulae. One fragment catches your eye:

"We have modified the engines again. The readings show the output to be stable within the parameters we specified– as safe as one can reasonably expect, given the circumstances. The last obstacle has finally been removed. There’s no reason to delay any longer.

"Iulianus will go first. He shows no fear of what's to come. Like his brethren, he thinks he will be filled with divine essence, become a great warrior. His ambitions, subject to the same limit as his feeble imagination, go no further. We have chosen well."

Another fragment:

"We attempted to power up the wards today. I feared the worst after the initial failure, but they are holding. Tissue swelling and bone loss were expected factors. Not a single ward has collapsed. Yet.

"The bindings give us absolute control over the subjects. Their marvelous abilities, which to the commoner will make them seem as gods, are completely in our control, and their physical forms subject to our will. If the worst comes to pass we may destroy them entirely. Without this tightest of reins I would never have agreed to bring these beings to our plane, no matter the alternative."

The scroll falls apart in your hands, making it difficult to continue:

"Now that the ritual is complete, I must confess that the deepest part of me had not believed it possible until this moment. Only a few years ago we were as blind as mole rats, ignorant of the different planes, of the higher life forms, of so many possibilities. Today, we bound the very gods to our plane and our will, acting not as their servants but as their masters. Without a doubt, this is the hour of our greatest triumph!"

Another fragment:

"The knowledge is overwhelming, the power unspeakable. Every day I – First of the Magi, wisest amongst my brothers – learn more from our gods than what I had gleaned from decades of study. I am forced to reconsider my opinion of the Qantari. So far, every word they’ve told us has been the truth. The barbarians have been foolish in their generosity. They have shared their knowledge without restraint, showed us the key to communicating with their gods. They needed our cooperation to bring them here, but to gain it they bartered away everything."

"I noticed the first change, subtle yet alarming, today. The one we call Xenorath – a fitting name, resembling the coughing sound it made to name itself – has developed a fondness for swimming. The ocean reminds him of the endless void of his native plane.

"Today he spent hours underwater in the darkness. He described a hideous creature he discovered on the sea bottom, though if he had gone that deep the pressure should have crushed its human form like a bug. The bastard did something to his fleshly vessel, altered it somehow, without anyone noticing. If he is able to make changes to his own form, what else he can do? What else can *they* do? Have we been too arrogant in our belief that we can control them? We shall find out tomorrow."

Much of the scroll is damaged so you can only make out the ending:

"I am not ashamed to say that I have wept this last hour, wept with despair. How could I have been so blind? The Qantari lied. Their scraping and servile manner, the painted faces, filed teeth and savage rituals were all a ruse, and the worst humiliation of all is that we still don't understand everything that happened. No matter... There are three gods yet on our side. The humanity has bled from them day by day like water through a sieve, until soon I think we will not recognize them as men at all. No matter. I will not quibble over their looks now that everything we have is at stake. The die is cast. If this humble manuscript survives the holocaust that is to come, and any on two legs chances to read it, I can only assume that we have won."
 

Latelistener

Arcane
Joined
May 25, 2016
Messages
2,624
Thanks. Yeah, I think I read those, but

that doesn't really explain what exactly happened in Al-Akia. Was this the Quantari's original plan, or they didn't really want to start a war over it? How did they manage to get 4 of them on their side? Or it is the other way around, and 4 aliens actually got Quantari on their side, and the other 3 got the Empire? Frankly, there is seems to be absolutely no information regarding the nature of aliens (aside from "evil" Balzaar, and "smart" Thor-Agoth), and reasons why they turned against each other.
 

HeatEXTEND

Prophet
Patron
Joined
Feb 12, 2017
Messages
4,130
Location
Nedderlent
A lot of that is covered by Meru's basement chamber and the arch. Need mindshield for the chamber and the "diver helmet" for the arch.

Start another playthrough :incline:
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,044
Thanks. Yeah, I think I read those, but

that doesn't really explain what exactly happened in Al-Akia. Was this the Quantari's original plan, or they didn't really want to start a war over it? How did they manage to get 4 of them on their side? Or it is the other way around, and 4 aliens actually got Quantari on their side, and the other 3 got the Empire? Frankly, there is seems to be absolutely no information regarding the nature of aliens (aside from "evil" Balzaar, and "smart" Thor-Agoth), and reasons why they turned against each other.
There are different bits and pieces of info here and there. Basically:

The Qantari had been in contact with the alien entities for a very long time and worshiped them as god. They wanted to bring them over but lacked the ability to do so, which is why they approached the Empire without having any intentions of letting the Magi to imprison the 'gods' in the human vessels. So both sides were planning to fuck each other from day one but the Qantari managed to do it first thanks to the idiot administrator. Balzaar has always favored the Qantari as they were his obedient slaves. Agathoth rebelled against Balzaar, the Empire was simply a tool to use in the war against him and those who remained loyal to him. Neither Balzaar nor Agathoth are evil or good (a man who wipes out an ant nest to build himself a nice patio can hardly be considered evil, he just doesn't regard ants that highly and every general store carries various brands of ant poison).
As for the gods' nature, you get your answers at the arch:

“Balzaar.” The word is produced as a croak as your lips obey their new master, struggling to give voice to the raw thoughts pouring into your brain. “Are you one of his?” You feel what the entity feels – annoyance, displeasure, and something you hadn’t anticipated: fear. It doesn’t want to cross Balzaar.
Tell me about Balzaar.
Its response is confusion. Balzaar is. Balzaar has existed always, will continue to exist, always. Balzaar desires to rule this world and if he desires it, it shall be. The two are one and the same.
Show me.
At first there is the endless expanse of night sky, stars and nothingness, until *it* moves. A humongous shapeless something shifts in the void, a shadow cast by a being on another plane. It drifts in the galactic void like a jellyfish, tentacles trailing behind, searching, probing, reaching in all directions. And there is your world – impossibly small, minuscule, dwarfed by the tenebrous unseen presence. The thing is at rest, but cannot be said to wait, for Time to it is meaningless. The passage of a hundred years is nothing, as is ten thousand.

One day the door will be opened.
Balzaar wants me to kill Agathoth.
The name Agathoth triggers a shift in the alien emotions occupying your mind, a wave of resentment and anger. Agathoth, he who thought himself Balzaar’s equal. Defier and betrayer who gave the knowledge of the stars to these worms, to use them in his fight. The worms double-crossed him, of course. What else can one expect from material lifeforms? Pluck them like summer flowers and drain their essence. Like nectar, it is thin, sweet and unnourishing.

You feel its rising hunger; the grip around you is tightening. The suit flexes slightly under the pressure but holds.
Is that what we are to you?
Again confusion. “You are beasts, creatures who feed on other beasts, ride them, harvest them for clothing, hunt them for sport. Soon we will feed, we will ride, and we will hunt.” The words can’t exactly explain the feelings behind them, but in the grand scheme of things it is better to do be the new master’s hunting dog than his cattle, sheep or slave.
How do I kill Agathoth?
Confusion, anger at the degradation of communicating with worms, and eventually realization. “You speak of the vessel. If it regains its strength, an army of worms will not slay it. Balzaar’s vessel is new. It will take months to evolve. Agathoth needs but a few hours.”
Tell me about your compact with the Magi.
You find yourself floating in the void between the stars. An aeon ago the void was pure and empty – an endless ocean, its only inhabitants your own species. You were the first matter to become self-aware, the first life, in a form unlike any that would come after.

The void would change, your first introduction to Time. It gave birth to bright stars and the whirling motes of planets, and on those specks of rock and dust the germ of a new kind of being: the crawling filth, flashing into motion and dying almost in the next moment. These new things were driven by lust, to spread their disease, to destroy every other life, to consume and infect. After many cycles, they began also to pursue knowledge. One might suppose that knowledge could perhaps be a noble goal, finally, something at least not shameful and low. But no, even knowledge was sought for only one purpose: power, to rule over every other life.

Though these creatures were weak, puny and contemptible, they were a diversion of sorts, something new in the slow ebb of eternity. You watched them, played with them, nudged them in different directions. You built up their hives, then watched them collapse. They worshiped you, naturally, worshiped a manifestation they could not understand. They called you the Elder Gods and made up different names, for their feeble minds must categorize every thing in order to hold it. Then they reached out to you.

In their stumbling, ignorant way they had somehow grasped great power, power amplified by recklessness and contempt for order and life, even their own. Enough power to reach into the void and treat with the gods as equals.

Enough power to open a door.

This was their offer, to give up their world for your knowledge, to give us something truly new, incarnation in flesh and rule over their existence.

It was a trick. They wanted to enslave you –their wards were easy to break– and when they failed they reversed the ritual. When you were no longer of use, they discarded you. Imagine it, to be deceived by a scheming insect. They *will* pay for this greatest of insults.
What about the War?​

They corrupted the one they called Agathoth, enticed him with promises, whispered lies in his ear. He became immersed in their ways, and like them succumbed to the temptations of greed and betrayal. Why must you bow to Balzaar? they said. Why must you share the power? Seize it for yourself. Take it all.

Agathoth rose against Balzaar and me, and two others followed him. They paid a steep price for their crimes, in your world and in the void. But Agathoth was much more clever, something he learned, perhaps, from the maggots that pulled his strings.
 

Latelistener

Arcane
Joined
May 25, 2016
Messages
2,624
Thanks. I wish there was more information regarding the others.

I assume the one has "died" in the tank, after being seriously injured, and the other one is sleeping in the Abyss, although I never explored it. Forgot their names.

Start another playthrough :incline:
pitka.gif


I was in the arch. It's just not that easy to get to the bottom of everything, considering the "information noise" in the game. Everyone has to say something, but not everyone know what they are talking about. They also can lie to you.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,044
Thanks. I wish there was more information regarding the others.
There is, here and there. Talk to the Ordu's keeper of tales (they killed one during the War), the Ship's crew managed to down one too (read the second log).
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,044
Thanks.

PS. There's a story about Balzaar, the first part of the story is told by Cassius, the second part by a storyteller in Maadoran. Overall, all gods are mentioned and their 'vessels' are accounted for one way or another.
 

Whisper

Arcane
Vatnik
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
4,357
Thanks.

PS. There's a story about Balzaar, the first part of the story is told by Cassius, the second part by a storyteller in Maadoran. Overall, all gods are mentioned and their 'vessels' are accounted for one way or another.

Wish it was as clear as with Dungeon rats.

Where Emperor asks about magus and you barely have clue what he talks about.
 

Vault Dweller

Commissar, Red Star Studio
Developer
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Messages
28,044
Thanks.

PS. There's a story about Balzaar, the first part of the story is told by Cassius, the second part by a storyteller in Maadoran. Overall, all gods are mentioned and their 'vessels' are accounted for one way or another.

Wish it was as clear as with Dungeon rats.

Where Emperor asks about magus and you barely have clue what he talks about.
Why should you?
 

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