I've been spending a lot of time of late, when not debugging Avernum 4 for Windows, sketching out the plot and world for Geneforge 4 and designing some interface stuff. Here's a little advance info, for general interest.

All of this is subject to change. Of course.

I want the Mac version to be out this year. It will, like Avernum 4, run at 1024 x 768 resolution. The days of our 800 x 600 games are gone forever.

I am focusing heavily on improved animations and spell effects. There will be a greater variety of effects, and they will be prettier.

Since the end of Geneforge 3, the rebellion against the Shapers has begun. You will play rebels, not Shapers, though you will develop shaping abilities early in the game. Without shaping, it's not Geneforge.

At this point, your character can be a human or a servile. There will be three character classes that take the role of Shaper/Agent/Guardian. I really like how that set works.

The skill list will stay the same, most likely, as I think it works very well. There will probably be 3 new creations and 8 new spells.

There will be three overall factions/sets of endings, but one of them is more hidden than the others.

A number of characters from Geneforge 3 will return.

I want the game to have many more scripted events and big battles. It's a war, and I want you to be mixed up in it.

I've never been entirely happy with how mines and traps work, so I'm tinkering with that. I want to find a way for Tool Use heavy zones to be a more fun experience.

I want to rework stealth so it's clearer what's going on and when a creature can see you.

I want to implement weather. It won't affect play so much, but it'll be pretty.