Geneforge 2 - Infestation News

Avernum 4: Greed and Glory Kickstarter. Help make Spiderweb's next new RPG!

We have launched the Kickstarter for our next game, and we're thrilled to finally return to the world of Avernum! Avernum 4: Greed and Glory will be an epic, indie, turn-based fantasy role-playing adventure for Windows, Mac, and iPad. It continues the saga of Avernum, a nation in caverns far under the world, full of misfits, adventures, treasures to be found, and monsters to hunt (and that hunt you).

It will be a remaster of the indie RPG cult-classic 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 old and doesn't run well anymore. We will completely rework everything to make a great, modern game.

The Kickstarter will run until October 16th and comes with a huge variety of stretch goals and backer rewards. You can get all sort of merch, including stickers, hand-drawn original art, and the original, signed, annotated designs from our first game (back in 1994). We humbly ask for your support as we take this mostly-forgotten game from our past and rebuild it as something really cool.

Geneforge 2 - Infestation Updated to v1.0.2

We have updated Geneforge 2 - Infestation to v1.0.2. This patch fixes a wide variety of issues, big and small, and should result in a more pleasant experience for all. Geneforge 2 has been selling very well and is getting great reviews. We're very grateful and hope to keep bringing you odd indie games for many years to come. Thank you!

Version 1.0.2 Patch Notes - May 8, 2024

* To see one of your creation’s resistances, you can now mouse over its health in the editing window.
* Genevforge 2 now defaults to Whole Screen drawing mode. (If the game is already installed, you can switch Game Screen Area to Whole Screen in the Settings window.)
* Players with very large monitors get a more helpful resolution selection window.
* The gazer in the Radiant College will be less of a problem for Pacifist players.
* More advanced versions of Sharon’s Bracelet are better.
* Problems with the Zhass-Uss Outskirts stairway are fixed.
* A rare bug that caused characters to get stuck in the architecture should be better now.
* Zensital no longer turns on you when you make the nearby faction angry,
* Damaged pylons now take longer to return to functionality.
* Weapon Shaping now works with the Feisty Slap Glove.
* Your magical creations can be augmented in more useful ways.
* The rotghroth Rotting Lunge attack now takes a full turn.
* The Creation Haste upgrade now has a 50% chance to work.
* The Creation More Criticals upgrade now has a 40% chance to work.
* Hannah’s coin is now upgraded correctly.
* Slow and Wrack statuses go down less quickly on bosses.
* Added clarity to the message when trying to equip a weapon you don’t have the stats for.
* The standard array of minor tweaks and typo fixes.

Geneforge 2 - Infestation review: bold and great like Baldur's Gate

Like the good works of Calvin Klein, these genes come pre-distressed. Geneforge 2 - Infestation is fresh from the rack, yet looks and functions like the CRPGs of the late 1990s. Where most isometric throwbacks these days offer a forced perspective over 3D scenes, Geneforge 2 is the real deal - its flat character sprites gliding across tiled backgrounds, with the elegant shuffle of Shōgun-era ladies-in-waiting.

This look is less a nostalgic affectation than it is simply practical. Geneforge 2, like all of Jeff Vogel’s games, was made in the spare bedroom of his Seattle home with the help of his wife, Mariann Krizsan - plus a handful of artists spread more broadly. It’s the latest in a long line of low-budget Spiderweb Software RPGs to achieve sprawling scale and reactivity by leaning on cost-effective and old-fashioned production values. Here there is no voice acting, nor any ambient noise that cannot be sourced from royalty-free soundbanks. In pastoral areas of the map, the impression of grazing livestock is conveyed entirely through a free sound effect called ‘Eating a rusk.wav’.

Fallout. Half-Life. Civilization. As soon as you look at some games, they just scream PC - that '90s or early '00s aesthetic which, to this day, is often imitated but never paralleled. The artwork on graphics card boxes. Early 3D cutscenes. Menus. There's an arresting visual style across all the classics of PC's golden era, something that often feels lost in the world of modern triple-A. 21 years since it first launched, one stalwart RPG - or perhaps CRPG, as has become the pseudonym for anything that's isometric and stats-driven - is finally making a comeback. With a huge new remaster available to play right now, if you want to return to the heyday of what were then called 'computer games', this is essential.

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Geneforge 2 - Infestation Release Livestream and Q&A #2

Geneforge 2 – Infestation is a truly open-ended fantasy adventure in a unique world of alien fantasy. You are one of the Shapers, wizards with the awesome power to create life. Want a tool, a trap, an army? You summon it into existence. You create mighty beasts, and they totally obey you. Usually. Almost 90 zones to explore and 50+ hours of gameplay. Multitudes of skills, abilities, factions, treasures, and servants to create.

Geneforge 2 – Infestation is coming out March 27 for Windows and Macintosh. We're celebrating the game with several developer streams. Come see the game and ask questions!

This livestream is done by the developer, a grumpy indie developer veteran who has been making his odd, low-budget, fun adventures for 30 (!) years. Enjoy learning about Geneforge and the indie games business from a fun old crank.