78 replies to this topic

[aVENGER]

Progress report on the PfMW problem:

I've managed to sync-link Bodak, Grok and Zaeron using Global variables. They will now act together as a 'riot squad' if a PfMW is cast <_< The procedure should look like this:


1. A N(PC) Mage casts PfMW
2. Each one of the Chosen of Cyric who has seen this will "report it" to the others
3. Zaeron prepares to Breach the Mage if he has a charge left in his Wand of Spell Striking
4. Meanwhile, Bodak and Grok switch to non-magical weapons and continue to attack the mage
5. Zaeron uses the Wand of Spell Strike on the mage thus dispelling PfMW
6. Grok and Bodak switch back to their magical weapons and continue to attack the mage


That's how it should work in theory at least. Possible bugs: Zaeron could use the wand on a wrong target if multiple mages cast PfMW at the same time although it seamed to work well enough during my playtesting attempts but I'll have to refine the routine a bit before I release it into public.

Just a quick note about Bodak, I gave him some Poisoned Throwing Daggers (DAGG16.ITM). These weapons are not considered as magical but they do poison damage on hit if the target fails a save vs. death. That seamed perfect for stoneskined mages who cast PfMW.

On a side note, I think I have found something that could aid me greatly in my scripting efforts. Cirerrek's 'Detectable Spells' and 'Scriptable Spells' look REALLY good and they will definitively be included in revision 3.00 If I can spare the time I might even do it sooner but don't count on that too much. Until then I'm stuck with these silly workarounds...

[aVENGER]

From lower level divinations perhaps, but most certainly not from True Sight. The manual is wrong. Did you actually try it in the game ?

[aVENGER]

Here's an easy way to test it. Memorize Invisibility and Non Detection with a mage and enter Ribald's Adventure Mart which is located in Waukeen's Promenade (AR0702). Cast Non Detection on your mage and then cast Invisibility. Immediately after you turn invisible Ribald should begin casting True Sight. After he finishes his casting you will be revealed regardless of Non Detection.

The only two possible exceptions to this rule are already noted on my earlier post in this thread. BTW, if you still don't believe me on the issue feel free to get additional confirmation from Kevin Dorner. I think it was he who first discovered the Non Detection bug.

[T.G.Maestro]

Yep, the hard-coded "Non-detection" effect has a bug: it won't protect from True Sight. There is a simple solution: put a 'protection from opcode - 220" in the spell, and it will work just as it was meant to be - I use this 'new' version for a while.

[Longinus]

The cloak of non-detection has protected me from True Sight before. I remember well. Hehehe. I love assassins.

[Longinus]

By the way Avenger I've been a bit busy, so I haven't had the chance to play your mod! I'm going to try it now though just for those extra items.

Hopefully when you get more time you'll add more enemy Shadow Thieves and muggings to the game.

[aVENGER]

T.G.Maestro wrote:

Yep, the hard-coded "Non-detection" effect has a bug: it won't protect from True Sight. There is a simple solution: put a 'protection from opcode - 220" in the spell, and it will work just as it was meant to be - I use this 'new' version for a while.

Since this is a general BG2 bug and not directly related to my mod, you should submit it to Kevin at the Baldurdash forum.

Longinus wrote:

By the way Avenger I've been a bit busy, so I haven't had the chance to play your mod! I'm going to try it now though just for those extra items.

Excellent, be sure to use the latest mod revision.

Hopefully when you get more time you'll add more enemy Shadow Thieves and muggings to the game.

Unfortunately, I'm pretty busy these days myself. My priority will be finishing the dialogue for the Chosen of Cyric encounter, and I don't even know when I'll be able to do that...

KaPe wrote:

About this "adding non-magical weapon" - what about making a weapon that has to-hit&to-dam bonuses, as well as something extra(elemental damage?), but is considered non-magical?

No, I'll just use a regular Longsword for Grok and the aforementioned Poisoned Throwing Daggers for Bodak.

...my mage got Power Word Kill in his face(first 2 times he was poisoned). How did they know he lost those 10 HP's?

Selina is scripted to employ priority targeting. She will only use Power Word Stun/Kill if she sees an opponent with less than 90/60 hit points respectively.

Too bad they have so low magic resistance - even with a very low level party I managed to disable 2-3 of them with Emotions(or whatever is that spell called) Isn't there a clerical spell that gives up to 40% MR? Well, Eclipse they ain't for sure, but they deserve something  High level contingency/sequencer could effectively remove half of Chosens from combat(and I'm not saying about triple ADHW)

Yes, that's exactly what I've been talking about the whole time, the Chosen party is just like any regular PC party and so they have no special resistances/bonuses/abilities except for Venduris' enhanced Detect Illusion. They do get a small prep sequence before the battle starts, but even then they only use standard spells, items and potions.

[aVENGER]

KaPe wrote:

As for "Chosens being like a regular party" - ok, but "regular party" has various items that give bonuses to saving throws, rendering most disabling spells useless. Chosens don't. Oh well, it's your mod after all  , I hope you add some (undropable) Uber-Spell-Reflecting-PfMW-Dispelling-Sword-Of-Doom to > core diff. level^^ Too bad you said it will takes quite a while, but I'm patient guy.

I will eventually create a harder version of the encounter for higher difficulty settings but I have to finish the regular scripts and the dialogue component before I can even begin to work on that

[T.G.Maestro]

After more than 40-50 test-plays I would say they are just fine on core. I do not prefer changing the difficulty settings (I simply find it irrealistic by giving monsters extra damage.) but do it if there is a need.

[aVENGER]

The mod has been updated to v2.34 and here is a list of changes:

Rogue ReBalancing mod

• My custom bucklers have been toned down a bit and their cost was increased to prevent acquiring them too early
  
• The Guardian buckler will now summon different Shamblers depending on the level of the Druid
  
• The Spirit Warrior will no longer repeatedly seek out its summoner if he isn't in the active area

Chosen of Cyric Component

• Venduris will now set five traps before the start of the battle
  
• Grok and Bodak will now try to use mundane weapons against opponents protected from magical weapons
  
• The Rogue's Cowl was erroneously marked as usable by Monks, Barbarians and Sorcerers. This was fixed, and it now casts Blindness instead of Power Word Blind as well.
  
• The Silent Death now properly deals 6 points of poison damage on hit as it was intended, and it will now cast the 5% chance 'Finger of Death' as a spell rather than an ability
  
• The Dark Mystery now has another small...'sideeffect'
  
• Bodak's Strength score has been raised to 14 (was 13)

The most notable change in this revision are the modified Shamblers which can be summoned by the Guardian buckler. The Guardian can now summon three different types of Shamblers depending on the level of the Druid wielding it. Some of the PnP abilities of the Shambling Mounds have been restored and the price of this item has been increased while its health bonus has been reduced to balance things out. The summoning ability lasts for 3 turns (180 seconds) and the statistics of the new Shamblers can be found in this thread. Note: although the Shamblers can not be controlled directly by the player they are considered as allies, and the party will get experience for every kill which they make. This is similar to my implementation of the Spirit Warrior or the way that Bodhi and Balthazar were handled in the Ascension mod. A word of warning, attempting to summon Shamblers with non-druidic characters (i.e. Thieves or Bards with UAI) will have negative consequences.

About Venduris' traps - they are secretly set during the cutscene so you won't notice any visual changes. As for their nature, no worries, they are the same traps which can be set by any lvl 23 Assassin when using the standard thief 'Set Snare' ability. The traps are located in the northern part of the map, near the gates where the Chosen will occasionally retreat, so be vary when venturing there.

On a side note, the detection of Protection from Magical Weapons should now be slightly better and the characters will try to use mundane weapons against protected foes. This is still a bit unreliable especially when multiple mages cast PfMW at the same time, but I actually don't intend to improve this method any longer as Cirerrek's Detectable Spells should completely resolve this problem once I start implementing them.

[aVENGER]

Small Update:

-Shambler & Spirit Warrior 'save game disabling AI bug' fixed.

This odd bug was caused by the inability of BG2 to store the LastSummonerOf() script object value in its savegames (along with some others I might add) and this in term caused the summons' own AI scripts to error. For example, if you summoned a Shambler or a Spirit Warrior, then saved your game and then re-loaded the save then the Shambler would always become hostile and attack while the Spirit Warrior would become directly controllable by the party! Sigh...I found only one way to resolve this - I had to make the Shambler and the Spirit Warrior unsummon whenever a savegame is loaded, or the summoner of the creature leaves the active area (this happens only if these creatures actually exist). Sorry about the inconvenience, I have now uploaded the fixed scripts into the v2.34 archive.

[aVENGER]

Mod Updated to v2.35

• Fixed Shambler / Spirit Warrior AI savegame bug
  
• You can no longer summon more than one Spirit Warrior / Shambler
  
• Reduced the AC bonus of Rogue's Cowl to +1
  
• Zaeron's armor changed to Dark Elven Chain (CLOLTH.ITM)
  
• Fixed the Enhanced Jester Song affecting EVERYTHING on the screen
  
• The improved Short Sword of Backstabbing is now acquired in Chapter 6
  
• Added the Shadow Thief Improvements component

Whew, that was a busy weekend BTW, more details on the last two issues ca be found in this thread

[aVENGER]

Mod compilation updated to 2.40:

Rogue ReBalancing mod

• Renal now correctly awards you with a generic Short Sword +3 after you complete his quest
  
• Added an option for evil players to acquire the improved Short Sword of Backstabbing earlier
  
• Stealing items from Marina's regular shop is now more difficult

Shadow Thief Improvements

• Added the Improved Shadow Thief Guild and Aran Linvail battles (when siding with Bodhi in CH2)

[T.G.Maestro]

All of these (new) improvements sound fine and interesting, I will definetly test them as soon as I finish the game with my current party.

You are doing a nice job on this great game aVENGER! Keep it up!

[aVENGER]

Mod updated to v2.41 some scripting issues with the ST Improvements mod have been resloved:

Shadow Thief Improvements

• The first door to Aran's chamber will now properly open after the Shadowmaster is defeated
  
• Guild Mages will no longer alert the other guards without provocation
  
• The basement exit doors are now properly locked instead of being merely disabled

Unfortunately, these fixes are not retroactive due to the nature of the IE. You will have to load a savegame created before entering the guild basement area (AR0329) for the update to take effect. If you have not yet reached this area the fixes will take effect without problems.