Be honest - do you cheat, and how?

[Randomizer]

Arguing the RP. Win by converting opponents to your view point or drive them away in tears.

[krisklef]

In the hopes that developers might look this far down in what has become a battle, I'll chime in on the original question:

My first real run-through of Eschalon Bk I (after trying a build that didn't work) I became frustrated with a few locked doors and, as I had not enough money for a dozen lockpicks, the only way to continue was to try a few "re-rolls" so to speak. Other than that, the game is fairly straightforward and didn't call inspire me to cheat, though the game does reflect an older gaming style wherein the challenges were not assumed to automatically be balanced to the character (read: run away a fair amount of the time.) Really, the best "cheat" in the world is using these forums to answer the tough problems. For subsequent builds I did not concentrate on lockpicking and bashed instead. Or bought a ton of lockpicks. It was fun. FWIW, it is a fun, somewhat challenging game with many rewards and limited replayability in my opinion.

It's not a question of balance for me, as a SP computer game is not a real "game" in the competitive sense. I am not playing to "win" or to beat a CPU in some contest of skill. SP games are more like toys, in which the goal is to figure out how to succeed given the design (and a large part of the fun comes from discovering the design.) A game like Eschalon shines because there are many ways to succeed. The success of of overcoming contests like battle creates a feeling of winning, but in the end, I will only end up reloading if I die, I am not required to start from the beginning nor throw the game away and pay for another copy. So my, um, competitive sense is not really awakened the same as if I am on the floor for an important game of basketball, or participating in an online bridge game where my failure affects my partner and my self-esteem. As many have pointed out, cheating is simply a different way to play the game. But the fact you are not having fun does not mean necessarily that the game is poorly designed or too hard. It might mean that you are unsuccessful in your efforts to figure out the system and do not enjoy the search. Either way, gaming the system by exploits or taking advantage of the restart-able nature of SP computer games does not really even touch on the issue of hard or easy.

Based on my experience and the responses on these boards, cheating is in NO way required to enjoy the game.

[Zeno]

Yeah, I suppose I should actually answer the original question posed. Heh...

I admit that I reload saves every once in a while to avoid disease. And when I'm bashing doors, so that my weapon doesn't break. And that time I got thrown in a jail cell. Well, gee, now it looks like I cheat a lot. But I really don't...

[IJBall]

I admit that I reload saves every once in a while to avoid disease. And when I'm bashing doors, so that my weapon doesn't break. And that time I got thrown in a jail cell. Well, gee, now it looks like I cheat a lot. But I really don't...

The Underground Repository holding cell is the one thing in all of Book I that really kind of torques me off! (Well, the other is not being able to mix my own Predator Sight potions, but that one's minor in comparison.)

Anyway, there being no way out of the Repository holding cell strikes me as the one flaw in the whole game, because it's the one thing that forces you to Reload (and under "Hard" Book II rules, you wouldn't even necessarily be able to do that, I think!).

Not having an in-game way out of that cell (OK, yes, you can use a Portal Spell, but I only ever did Portal Spells with my Mage - and they'd likely be no good to, say, a Fighter, anyway!), even a ridiculously hard one (e.g. having to kill both Dimension Eyes), strikes me as pretty much the only unfair element in the whole game.

But that is one small, small blemish on an otherwise almost perfect game experience, IMHO.

[ShadowDragon8685]

Yes. Extensively. Probably the best example for the training players in a non-stressful environment before compelling them to accomplish the same task under pressure would be Portal. All the test chambers where the danger is increased incrementally after the very easy ones in the beginning until the finale. A very enjoyable game yes, extremely even. And a very clever story, but also very easy in my opinion. I was eventually beating the game in under two hours while initially I think it took me about 5 1/2 but I wasn't really counting then. The beauty of that though is after the initial game then one could download user made content for the added challenge.

Another good example would be the gravity gun, a quick explanation in HL2 and then you get sent off into Ravenholm to start cutting zombies in half with projectile sawblades.

And HL2 and and it's episodes certainly did have challenging portions to them, such as wave battles in Nova Prospekt, the Fighting Zombie hoards in almost complete darkness waiting for the slowest dang elevator in the world.

But I don't think these situations with the gravity and portal guns really compare to Eschalon. The closest thing I can think of for Eschalon is having an NPC say "Careful when looting corpses, they've been known to carry diseases." Obviously there's probably a better way to implement that, but... I don't know it seems a little... too Final Fantasy-ish.

I can think of a good way to train someone to do that. A couple, in fact; it's simple.

1) Start with a healer (who approaches you and forces the player into conversation) who warns the player about entering a house; have the healer explain that the house has been stricken with plauge, which the player might contract if he handles the bodies. Have him also explain to the player that the house needs to be purged (in fire!), but he's afraid to go in; he has a potion to grant temporary immunity to disease, but he's afraid to use it on himself because he has a weak constitution. He'll pay the player a sum of gold to do it for him, and let the player go into the house. (Of course, while inside, the player can take the opportunity to loot the bodies, and it will prominantly display that he is [IMMUNE] to disease thanks to the potion.)

2) Have the player find a sick house with a healer in it, who explains that, while he's doing everything he can to tend to his patient's ailments, he'd appreciate it if someone would go in and spend some time talking to them. At the guy who got diseased by looting a corpse, the guy explains what he was doing and how it got him - and tells the player that if he takes the proper precautions, he might get the stuff that the bedridden man missed.

Obviously, you want to make these into questlets that give a reward of at least some XP, since the player character is presumably learning about their world, at the same time the player is learning about playing the game. They also lead into further quests by giving the player a hint about places they can pick up more loot, which is a sure-fire way to lure players into experiancing it in a situation set up to teach the new players about game mechanics that may not be obvious (in this case, 'looting long-dead corpses risks diseases') under circumstances as controlled as they can be, before they wind up diseased in a dungeon with no way to cure it and no way to get back to town before they die.


Really, this kind of thing would help a lot. A big damn lot.

It's a great series and all, but I don't think the style matches properly to Eschalon's for that. Perhaps a more elegant method is similar to how it was done in Deus Ex where during the training mode a friendly Doctor man reminds you that you need to put on a hazmat suit in order for it to work and makes a joke about "you'd be surprised how many people just jump in holding it" but that's more or less because of a quirk in the interface that if you don't know about you can easily make that mistake. But really it's not THAT much more elegant.

I jumped into the pool holding the suit in my hands anyway, even after hearing that... <_> OTOH, since the pool isn't large enough to actually kill J.C. if he hauls ass to the other side, and there's health pickups right there, that's a great way to learn. If the player figures out how to use his hazmat suit before jumping in, gravy. If he doesn't, he gets an object lesson in what he did wrong, in an envrionment that won't punish him with a gameover for doing so.

Now the message "Careful when looting corpses, they've been known to carry diseases." would be great for the hints thing. I have no idea if it's actually there or not.

Hints thing? Another feature the game doesn't teach you about... I found it by accident - just after I'd incinerated Gramuk with the Incinerator Fuel.

You do have a point about the portcullis trap, I thought that was pretty cheap too. But then again it's reasonable for it to be there. It's a pretty good trap to have in a citadel! I think something that would be a good compromise in this kind of situation is to have multiple setups of these kinds of portcullis traps, but the first one you come across is tripped by a forgetful enemy.

It's reasonable to be there, not to be a "instakill with no save and no warning." I had a truely broken Spot Hidden check, and it didn't warn me.

However... I am kind of fond of the tremendously unfair trap particularly when it's rare to unique. Mainly because it's something to talk about with the game. *Also it's justification for those times in the past where I could just swear that a game was cheating me.

I am not. Once isn't a total deal-breaker, but it really torqued me off that it happened.

EDIT: I should mention though that I had been anticipating portal's release for a very long time and had already seen many videos so I did already have a pretty good sense of using momentum to my advantage which might explain why I found it a bit too easy.

Yeah, I figured that out long before GLAdOS took the time to explain it to me.

Not according to you:

I'll preface this by saying that I came into this game with no intention of playing 'fair'. I do this with pretty much every non-multiplayer RPG (or indeed, any game) I play.

And as I am wont to say, when you tell me I'm wrong, then I say it is you who are wrong.

Which honestly, in the end proves neither to be correct. That being said, I don't believe I've outright called you wrong (unless you consider disagreeing as such), but feel free to point out where I have and I shall rephrase it.

1: Just because I intend to do it as a given doesn't mean I relish it. I intend to pay my auto insurance, but that doesn't mean I particularly relish that, either.

Diablo doesn't 'reward' you for completing a harder difficulty, it just runs you through the same stuff over again with proportionally better gear. What you're proposing is not the same.

It's a little more involved than that.

1. Players will level up faster than the previous difficulty.

2. Players will have a better chance of getting magic enhanced items. Monsters will also have a slim chance (5% in Nightmare, 10% in Hell) to drop an Exceptional Piece of Armor or Weapon with an increased chance for special Monsters (10% in Nightmare, 20% in Hell).

This falls into the same vein as checking off some boxes to increase difficulty and get 10% more score and 5% increased loot table quality, a la Book II

No, it really does not. For one thing, Diablo II's Nightmare and Hell difficulties are more like New Game+. In this, it's up-front, "Play on Hard to get good shit," it's not "Wanna go through again with bigger, better, badder everything?"

Perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my explanation. Assuming we're only talking about US gamers, 76 Million US gamers who play PC games (as of 2006... most recent I could find). Let's say 10% of those play CRPG's (I'm assuming thats far lower than reality). That gives us 7.6 Million theroetical RPGers. Let's say 10% of those consider themselves "hardcore." That's 760,000 hardcore RPGers very likely to buy "hardcore" Rpgs. Now, assume only 10% of them found and bought Eschalon: Book I. So 76,000 gamers bought E:B1 over the past two years. The game was released @ $28 originally. Let's say 50% of those gamers who bought the game paid the initial price in that first year. That's $1,064,000 in gross sales. Then the remaining 50% pay only $20, that's $760,000 in gross sales in the second year. Those numbers would look abysmal for a big time game shop, but for a one man army with a couple of employees, that's just dandy. So as long as BW doesn't incur huge expenses and those hardcore gamers spend their money on his products, he can continue the cycle indefinitely. So minority doesn't necessarily mean squat.

Those percentages sound really high. Really damn high, even before the fact that you're forgetting a lot, such as the fact that BW isn't just appealing to those who want a hardcore, rape-your-anus challenge, but also those who want an isometric sprite-based old-school game.

Don't fault the game for Steam's failure to include the manual. It's available here in the forums as well.

Actually, I will, since BW had control of that, and should have included the manual and done up the proper tags for rightclick-linking to the manual from the Steam games list, like, oooh, every other Steam game.

Also, the very first thing I do when I get a game is to find it's forums, read all the spoilers and such and look for the manual...[/sarcasm]

I prefer my challenges in-game, which is why in all eventuality you probably win this contest of circles we're currently engaged in.

It is inevitable. I have forseen it.

In which case you're lying to make up for the slip, or you've proved my point in your self-confidence of assuming my indignation. To which I could easily follow up on:

Thanks for the personal dig. I appreciate that - really, I do.

I guess my attitude is so piss-poor that my poorness is why I've had a pair of lesbians masturbating one another in the back seats of my truck every night for the last week while me and our other friend rocked to music in the front - or why we got invited into the fire hall to play pool and drink up their beer (which I did not partake of, as it happens) whilst loud music played from the on-demand video music channels on the large screen and surroundsound.

Note to self: See if we can play infra-red camera hide-and-seak sometime in the firehouse.

I was merely assuming you were waiting for someone to point this out so you could follow up with some reason for affirming your own self-importance

Actually, I wrote it to point out the arrogance in assuming that I never get out of my house. Also: No infra-red hide&seek tonight. Ahhh well.

Funnily enough, what you consider 'reward' may be what most people consider 'things preventing you from getting to the reward'.

The 'reward' I speak of is the reward of a job well done, which you've already expressed disinterest in many times. I shall attempt to refrain from mentioning it any further, since you have no desire to experience it in a video game setting.

Again: I almost never get any satisfaction from fighting a ridiculously lopsided battle and winning. More often it's frustration that builds and builds, and then it's over, and there's nothing but a bundle of nerves.

I don't happen to like 'streamlined' games, or 'dumbed down' games, I like games properly balanced so that a player will learn rapidly how to play, can progress rapidly with few or zero interruptions, and will smoothly complete what needs to be completed in order to see all (or most) of the stuff in the game, and finally, the game ending.

We can go round and round all day long, but what you keep asking for are games that are Easy. No challenge = Easy. Not Hard = Easy. No thinking = Easy. All you want is Easy Progression With a Story. Eschalon is not Easy. I suspect it never will be. So if you want to play Eschalon, you're going to have to cheat and be happy, cheat and be not happy, or don't play at all. Honestly, it makes me wonder why you even play video games. Books or Movies would better suit someone who's only interested in story. Or television I suppose, but I wouldn't recommend TV to anyone. All those channels and never anything to watch.

Watch The History Channel and BBC America.

As for 'easy', would you call HL2 'easy'? I almost never said "that was too easy, I wish I could try it again with more Combines/zombies[/i] (though I have said "I wish I could try it again with more Combines and zombies", because I love watching them fight each other), but I never wound up smashing my keyboard or beating up my table in frustration, either.

What I'm looking for is to not get frustrated.

The Underground Repository holding cell is the one thing in all of Book I that really kind of torques me off! (Well, the other is not being able to mix my own Predator Sight potions, but that one's minor in comparison.)

Anyway, there being no way out of the Repository holding cell strikes me as the one flaw in the whole game, because it's the one thing that forces you to Reload (and under "Hard" Book II rules, you wouldn't even necessarily be able to do that, I think!).

Not having an in-game way out of that cell (OK, yes, you can use a Portal Spell, but I only ever did Portal Spells with my Mage - and they'd likely be no good to, say, a Fighter, anyway!), even a ridiculously hard one (e.g. having to kill both Dimension Eyes), strikes me as pretty much the only unfair element in the whole game.

But that is one small, small blemish on an otherwise almost perfect game experience, IMHO.

That's a lot more than a 'small' blemish. Frankly, there's no reason I shouldn't have been able to smash the doors down with Compress Atmosphere, walk out, and shout "Hey motherfuckers! You think that was funny? Death walks in the night!"

And of course, recover my damn gear! That was just freaking lame. But not NEARLY as lame as the scripted nonstandard game-over that happened if you talk to the goblins.

It's never kosher to fuck the players by fiat. Any good DM learns this, usually by having the sharp end of the DMG beat into his skull if he does it to his tabletop gamers. If the NPCs are going to try to disable me, they need to roll, and I need to roll to not be disabled. And frankly, it's stupid, an ultra-elite warrior being ganked by four goblins he could easily have taken on in melee - assuming they could even see him.

That event gave me more torque than my truck.

[CrazyBernie]

No, it really does not. For one thing, Diablo II's Nightmare and Hell difficulties are more like New Game+. In this, it's up-front, "Play on Hard to get good shit," it's not "Wanna go through again with bigger, better, badder everything?"

Forgive me, I usually play through a game the first time on the Normal setting before stepping up to the difficult setting, provided I enjoyed the game. So it's the same thing for me.

Those percentages sound really high. Really damn high, even before the fact that you're forgetting a lot, such as the fact that BW isn't just appealing to those who want a hardcore, rape-your-anus challenge, but also those who want an isometric sprite-based old-school game.

It was merely an example. As mentioned before, BW already made budget on Book I w/enough to start Book II

Again, the challenge factor. You say "rape-your-anus," I say... I dunno, "tickle-my-nipple" or the like.

Actually, I will, since BW had control of that, and should have included the manual and done up the proper tags for rightclick-linking to the manual from the Steam games list, like, oooh, every other Steam game.

*shrug* All I know is previous distributors screwed this up.

Also, the very first thing I do when I get a game is to find it's forums, read all the spoilers and such and look for the manual...[/sarcasm]

*shrug* I usually check the forums when I can't find something in a game.

It is inevitable. I have forseen it.

Well then, congrats in advance.

Watch The History Channel and BBC America.

I'd watch the History Channel more often, but it seems like every time I turn it on, I've already seen that same program or one just like it.

BBC America isn't really my thing. The most I usually watch on TV is Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International (because I think it's funny to watch them freak out and say a place is haunted when the lights being seen are reflections from traffic and the sounds heard are the water pipes banging). I occasionally sit down and watch Heroes with my Dad because he (and half of America, it seems) thinks it's the cat's meow when it's really just X-Men for the masses. Although to his credit, he did read comic books when he was a kid.

[ShadowDragon8685]

Forgive me, I usually play through a game the first time on the Normal setting before stepping up to the difficult setting, provided I enjoyed the game. So it's the same thing for me.

If I can be arsed to play a game again, it's because it was such a thrill-ride the first time, and it's been a long time since the first one. I don't really like going through again, only with everything more frustrating.

It was merely an example. As mentioned before, BW already made budget on Book I w/enough to start Book II

Again, the challenge factor. You say "rape-your-anus," I say... I dunno, "tickle-my-nipple" or the like.

Yes, but as I mentioned before, a game's true measure won't be seen until it's sequal hits stores.

Also, let's agree to stop with the metaphors before this place turns into a kinky BDSM session?

Actually, I will, since BW had control of that, and should have included the manual and done up the proper tags for rightclick-linking to the manual from the Steam games list, like, oooh, every other Steam game.

*shrug* All I know is previous distributors screwed this up.

Steam is very good about giving you the manual without making you hunt for it. Given it's absence, I'm inclined to think that the cock-up happened on BW's end, not theirs.

Also, the very first thing I do when I get a game is to find it's forums, read all the spoilers and such and look for the manual...[/sarcasm]

*shrug* I usually check the forums when I can't find something in a game.

I just assuemd there was no manual, since (as it has become common in recent times) the game would teach me how to play, not require that I flip through a book.

It is inevitable. I have forseen it.

Well then, congrats in advance.

Your reliance on that emoticon will be your undoing, young Bernie.

[edit]Damnit, no Strikethrough code? !!!!>_<!!!!

Watch The History Channel and BBC America.

I'd watch the History Channel more often, but it seems like every time I turn it on, I've already seen that same program or one just like it.

BBC America isn't really my thing. The most I usually watch on TV is Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International (because I think it's funny to watch them freak out and say a place is haunted when the lights being seen are reflections from traffic and the sounds heard are the water pipes banging). I occasionally sit down and watch Heroes with my Dad because he (and half of America, it seems) thinks it's the cat's meow when it's really just X-Men for the masses. Although to his credit, he did read comic books when he was a kid.

Dude, you totally have to watch Top Gear on BBC America! You just have to! Go to on-demand if you have it, watch it now! I don't care that it's 2 AM on the east coast, do it!

[Unclever title]

I jumped into the pool holding the suit in my hands anyway, even after hearing that... <_> OTOH, since the pool isn't large enough to actually kill J.C. if he hauls ass to the other side, and there's health pickups right there, that's a great way to learn.

Yeah me too and I had to get my legs reattached afterwards. In fact it wasn't until about the third time going through the training mode (I like to replay it every time I haven't played in a while just for kicks.) that I did it properly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I guess in the end it's all about expectations going into a game. Being raised on Nintendo console platforming games like Super Mario World I expect to die multiple times in unreasonable ways in every game. I don't always, but I guess because I expect it it doesn't bother me so much, games likely shouldn't be designed that way but is what I'm used to.

Now if it's repeatedly in the same situation regardless of what I do, then it becomes a problem for me. Suffice to say that didn't happen to me in book I. So *shrug.*

I disagree still on the disease forewarning thing though partly because it's a real life possibility (typically not in games so unexpected yes, stilll...) and also because I don't quite see getting diseased as so much of a problem. (likely because I did the reload thing too often) Even when I let myself get a disease I usually just ignored it until I could get it cured, sure it sucked and I couldn't carry as much/fight as well but I still didn't end up in a situation where I couldn't make it back to town this could also be due to the reloading so that I just didn't have a situation where the disease tipped the scale to my death or where my recent save had me trapped such that I couldn't escape an area without dying (Pretty much the only permanent Game Over situation for Eschalon) now if that had happened I'd be pretty mad sure. But only if it became a regular occurrence would I start really complaining on the forums.

Note: I don't mean to say that you're whining about nothing, we all have different gaming experiences, obviously you've had more frustrations, I'm just stating what it would take for me to get to where you appear to be in response to Eschalon. Not that I'm saying you hate the game either you've made it clear that you don't.

Anyway unless I have anything new to add or questions to answer, I'm out of this thread, I'm tired of posting in it at the wee hours of the morning. Good night.

Oh and seriously watch Top Gear. Well I don't mean watch Top Gear seriously but seriously, watch Top Gear. Lacking that search Youtube for videos using TopGear as a keyword or go to http://www.topgear.com Even if you couldn't care less about cars you'll still love this show. Otherwise you'll LOVE this show.

[CrazyBernie]

Yes, but as I mentioned before, a game's true measure won't be seen until it's sequal hits stores.

Wouldn't be the first time a sequel was better than the original... Double Dragon II, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Resident Evil 2, Gears of War 2... all matters of opinion I suppose.

Also, let's agree to stop with the metaphors before this place turns into a kinky BDSM session?

Way ahead of you on that one... I'm still trying to figure out when exactly I blacked out and my cat got hold of the keyboard... >.<

I just assuemd there was no manual, since (as it has become common in recent times) the game would teach me how to play, not require that I flip through a book.

Well I guess it's old school in more ways than one... O.o

Your reliance on that emoticon will be your undoing, young Bernie.

[edit]Damnit, no Strikethrough code? !!!!>_<!!!!

You were saying?? Besides... look at the nick in front of the name...

Dude, you totally have to watch Top Gear on BBC America! You just have to! Go to on-demand if you have it, watch it now! I don't care that it's 2 AM on the east coast, do it!

Pshaw! Who's the young one now? Teh intertubes was invented for than just that BSDM we will not speak of...

I particularly enjoyed the new Ford Fiesta review. Every vehicle should have to be tested with a marine corps beach landing.

[ShadowDragon8685]

Wouldn't be the first time a sequel was better than the original... Double Dragon II, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Resident Evil 2, Gears of War 2... all matters of opinion I suppose.

No, but a first entry that was panned and generally thought of as crap will doom even a magnificent sequal. See also: Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner.

I just assuemd there was no manual, since (as it has become common in recent times) the game would teach me how to play, not require that I flip through a book.

Well I guess it's old school in more ways than one... O.o

I don't mind reading a game manual, I just got upset that I couldn't find one, and the game didn't teach me how to play without one.

Your reliance on that emoticon will be your undoing, young Bernie.

[edit]Damnit, no Strikethrough code? !!!!>_<!!!!

You were saying?? Besides... look at the nick in front of the name...

Need strikethrough code...

Dude, you totally have to watch Top Gear on BBC America! You just have to! Go to on-demand if you have it, watch it now! I don't care that it's 2 AM on the east coast, do it!

Pshaw! Who's the young one now? Teh intertubes was invented for than just that BSDM we will not speak of...

I particularly enjoyed the new Ford Fiesta review. Every vehicle should have to be tested with a marine corps beach landing.

Actually, I've just watched about four hours of Top Gear clips on YouTube.

It's great, it's hilarious, don't get me wrong, but it's not the same as sitting down in front of your telly and watching the magnificant arseholes banter on at each other for an hour.

And I disagree. Every vehicle should have to be tested with:

A Marine Corp beach landing
An SAS air drop
A chase through an empty shopping mall with marble floors
A day at the open races against all the rich buggers with Porsches and Ferraris and Lambos
The very worst that Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond can do to it

[pjkeas]

Back to the original topic....

Yes, I do cheat.
Be it:
Reading FAQ's
Reading Walkthroughs
Reading this forum
Spoilers.
Searching forum for spec issue.
Save and reload
Hex edit.. (This game needs a better checksum)

Don’t have time to be killed every 2-3 hrs and re-start from scratch.
(Kids, work, home life all take time)
Some of the Best games out there allow for mods and or come with editors.
That lets me play the way I want, or at least look into some of the alternative playing of the game.

If you want hardcore.. one would need a game that regenerates/randomizes for each new game. One that doesn't allow for saving, just continuing on with the game. And a forum that addresses troubleshooting only.
By the way this is a great game …
My 2 cents…

[xolotl]

What a strangely heated topic! Let's just agree that different folks have different ways of enjoying games, and different things that they enjoy getting out of games.

Regardless, to anyone who does feel like cheating somehow, I thought I'd mention that my savefile character editor would probably be the easiest for you. Or at least it'll save you some trouble if you're hexediting, or loading up the game in a debugger-like environment. I personally enjoy the game much more without cheating, but I did have quite a bit of fun rampaging around with a +20 Rusty Dagger Of Tetanus and Commoner's Pants Of Power (with some insane armor rating, etc).

There's a forum thread about it right here, as well.

[pjkeas]

OK, so somehow I missed this one..
(Thanks to xolotl )
Savegame editor..

[Luzur]

thanks to the savegame editor i was finally able to beef up my bow skill so i could take out those damn acid grubbs from afar instead of having them splash acid on my expensive armor.

i hope you make the editor workable with Book 2 and 3 if the devs decides to add those pesky grubbs again...

[Kreador Freeaxe]

thanks to the savegame editor i was finally able to beef up my bow skill so i could take out those damn acid grubbs from afar instead of having them splash acid on my expensive armor.

i hope you make the editor workable with Book 2 and 3 if the devs decides to add those pesky grubbs again...

You can shoot the acid grubs from afar by running away a bit. They're slower than you are. It's also fun to group them so they splash each other.