Spiderweb Games - Avernum 2: Crystal Souls

Couchpotato

Part-Time News-bot
Joined
October 1, 2010
Messages
36,178
Location
Spudlandia
You can all thank Kordanor for the following information, Apparently the latest Spiderweb Software's newsletter confirms Avernum 2: Crystal Souls is in development.
We have already begun work on our ground-up rewrite of Avernum 2. In the same manner as Avernum: Escape From the Pit, Avernum 2: Crystal Souls will be a fresh, expanded reworking of one of our most beloved titles. Hopefully, it will be out for Windows, Mac, and portables before the end of 2014. When we have an official announcement, you can find out right away on our Facebook page.
I'm sorry I can't find any more information beside this right now. I will be sure to keep you all updated on any news from SpiderWeb, or other sites in the future.

More information.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
36,178
Location
Spudlandia
Nice! I enjoyed remake #1 very much (although not a huge fan of skill trees, but whatever).

Definitely more interested in this than Avadon #2 (Which I guess I'll buy at some point regardless) or a possible #3 for that matter...
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
1,734
I love all his games, and can't wait to play this one also. I just wish he would try to modernize his games by using a different game engine.^^
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
36,178
Location
Spudlandia
I absolutely love the skill trees much more than the old point buy system. I also like the Avadons better than Avernums, but Avernum 5 is still my favorite Spiderweb game. I'm not sure why, but it is the game I was into the most.
 
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Messages
119
For me the appeal of his earlier games is the exploration and open-endedness. The Avadons (well #1 at least) feel too linear and story driven. Definitely not playing to his strengths imho. That said combat might be a bit improved in the latest installments ?
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
1,734
Thanks to Kordanor for the info and to our resident Spud for posting. ;) Definitely a game to look forward to (among a sea of others!)

@JonNik - I realise you don't like being spoiled of too much information, but perhaps check the review thread for more specific information. (I also wrote some thoughts on finishing it last night...)

I would say the Tinkermage class alone makes for greater tactical and party variety in Avadon 2, but if you've played Avernum in the past, the system will still remain very familiar to you.
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
1,974
Location
Australia
Thanks Pessimeister, skimmed over the spoilery parts ;) (I am starting to develop this into fine art).

Sounds interesting and is on the books, no doubt. Definitely too many quality games coming in the near future though as you said. Heh, It might actually be that Avernum #2 will be out by the time I get around to this one.
(and frankly I am more tempted to replay Avernum #1 at this point, no time though, especially for such a huge game)
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
1,734
Couldn't finish the latest Avernum 1 after about 70%, it fell apart.
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2013
Messages
3,453
Yeah I didn't finish Avernum 1 either, I enjoyed the difficulty on hard and the exploration, but I missed having more of a story. The fact that I'd already played through the original Avernum 1, as well as exile 1, didn't help either. But still overall it was enjoyable while I played it.

It's possible that the rerelease of Avernum 2 will be the first spiderweb game I don't buy. Having also played through exile 2 and the original Avernum 2, I don't know that I really want to slog through that story for a 3rd time. But of course I said the same thing about Avernum 1, and I still got that.
 
Joined
Apr 14, 2011
Messages
2,163
avadon destroyed me towards the end boss fights, but i will be back for more.
 
Joined
Jun 30, 2011
Messages
470
Thanks Couch! ;)
Avernum Escape from the Pit was my favorite RPG of the last years due to it's openness, storytelling and also difficulty and balancing.
I also like that you have three different ending "criterias" you can reach.
Finding the exit of the cave isn't everything. You can also decide what happens with the inhabitants and the invasion. You hardly see that in any game.

If there was one single thing I'd improve it wouldn't be the graphics though. It would be the sound. And honestly I don't understand why Jeff is not buying some decent music, sound effects and graphics to bring it to a level equal to the one of Eschalon 3 for example. Of course this would cost some money, but to me it looks like Spiderweb has a very dedicated fanbase which would probably also spend much more than they currently have to. This actually makes kickstarter a solution which couldn't be more apparent to me. This way he could "sell" some merchandise, make some extra money from fans and buy additional sounds and graphics for the money, which would hardly influence is normal work (besides of the month of the campaign of course).

@Mercy: Why did it fall apart for you?

Edit:
Kinda funny that I just linked a page where (in march) someone reported about a newsletter without a source. Couch writes about it, and when I tried to get further information (I am subscribed to the newsletter but last one I received was from 4.11.2013) I saw that Gamersglobal as well as Gamers.de published this news with referencing it with RPG watch. Now I feel kinda bad for not looking up further sources. ^^
That said, I am absolutely positive that the Game was already mentioned to be made in the Spiderweb Forums before Avadon 2 was even released.
Will try to find further details on it. ^^

And edit again, just to back the news with a direct source now ;)

From 15. July 2013, Jeff Vogel on the Reddit AMA
I am focusing on the rewrites there. Avernum: Escape From the Pit is out, and we'll write Avernum 2: Crystal Souls next year.

And of course from their Main page:
What Are We Working On Now? Now that Avadon 2 is finally done, we are starting to poke at our upcoming rewrite of Avernum 2. We hope to have a full release announcement with screenshots and stuff before summer.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jun 2, 2012
Messages
4,691
If there was one single thing I'd improve it wouldn't be the graphics though. It would be the sound. And honestly I don't understand why Jeff is not buying some decent music, sound effects…

Yeah, I'd suggest cost is one reason - another is possibly that it's an aesthetic design choice, not all developers believe in the need for such things.

I've said this in other threads, but I think this issue is relatively easy to overcome by simply creating your own suitable cRPG soundtrack playlist to have going on in the background. It's what I've done with all of the Spiderweb games I've played so far.

Personally, I'd like to see a bigger party and even greater variety in core members, but these things naturally cost time and money to implement.
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
1,974
Location
Australia
When I played Avernum (the newest remake), I had never played another Spiderweb game. In fact, though I own a lot of them, I still haven't played another.

However, despite my general lack of experience with their work, I absolutely fell for the game. I got all three endings and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Steam says I spent 57 hours with the game, and that sounds about right. Good stuff. I'll be looking forward to this.
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2011
Messages
445
The graphics are too outdated for me to pay for a Vogel game until it hits the $5.00 mark. Fortunately, that seems to happen nowadays, so I don't feel too guilty giving this guy a McDonalds value meal price for his barebone games. I played the original Exile 2, so I probably won't get this until all the remakes are done, then I'll buy them all for $10. That way, he can get a happy meal for his kid too. Of course, they'll be grown by then…

If Jeff ever does his remakes with modern graphics, I'll pay full price for those. Original Sin might have a good engine, but I'm not sure if Sven will allow commercial game with their engine.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
8,821
Going to dig this thread out again! ;)
There was just a facebook post by Spiderweb Software:
We are looking for beta testers for the Macintosh version of Avernum 2: Crystal Souls. We'll be picking testers in late August for testing for a release in early December. We need testers with Macintosh desktop and laptop machines running OS X 10.6 or later. Please apply if you are interested here: http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/testing/beta_test.html

We will also be looking for Windows testers in a month or two. Keep an eye on this space.

Did I mention it's going to be a packed 2nd half of the year? ^^
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2012
Messages
4,691
I honestly don't want Spiderweb to "update" their graphics engine. I love the look of the Avernum remake and Avadon 2. Making a game that looks like any typical 3rd-person Dragon Age or Mass Effect game or whatever would lose a lot of the charm that these styles of games have. Then again I definitely have a strong affinity towards isometric and old-school looking graphics in general. I'm glad that newer games are going back to those styles.

Jeff, if you're reading this, just keep doing what you're doing! :) Maybe add a little more sound (some music, perhaps?).
 
The graphics are too outdated for me to pay for a Vogel game until it hits the $5.00 mark. Fortunately, that seems to happen nowadays, so I don't feel too guilty giving this guy a McDonalds value meal price for his barebone games. I played the original Exile 2, so I probably won't get this until all the remakes are done, then I'll buy them all for $10. That way, he can get a happy meal for his kid too. Of course, they'll be grown by then…
Geneforge is on sale on Steam this week, you get all five games for $3.99 total :)
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2007
Messages
3,444
There is the graphical thing, but he also needs to redo his combat model. Combat in a game should be meaningful, quick, or fun. Almost none of the fights fit anywhere there, since Jeff puts an unholy slog worth of trash mobs everywhere. He even wrote about he was guilty of doing it, and then maybe cut back 5%. It takes the wind out of his games, and I don't think I could ever play another.
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
278
One doesn't mess with perfection. Sounds in a game mean nothing to me as that is one of the first things I disable anyways. I love the Spiderweb games, whenever I get a new one I know I'm in for almost a solid month's worth of entertainment. Best of all, when you fire these games up on hard, you're in for an actual challenge most of the time.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
18,788
Location
Holly Hill, FL.
Back
Top Bottom