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Aran Linvail dialogue


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#1 Truman

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Posted 08 February 2019 - 05:21 PM

Hello, again

I seem to have more than my fair share of problems these days and here i go again.

After returning from the Asylum and the Underdark, i attempted to enter the thieves guild at the level where Aran is at. The area loaded alright, but, after about 2 or 3 seconds the screen froze up and that was as far as i got. I've had this before several years ago, but, i honestly can't remember what, if anything i did.

I tried to CLUAconsole Aran onto the docks area and i got the original first talk with Aran. He asks me to go to Mook and check the shipment, after the talk ended, about 2 or 3 seconds later, the game foze up.

I assume that the area is alright, it's Aran's dialogue that is messed up. I ran his dialogue through a change-log and came up with this;

 

There isn't enough there for me to understand. I really don't know how to make use of it.

 

My second idea, was to open NI and look at Aran's dialogue file and see what the triggers are. I got this;

 

I checked with Shadowkeeper and the chapter is 6 and ShadowFightBohdi is 0. I don't know what to do with the first line or the fourth. I also looked at AranJob to see what it said. It said 1, which is the job with Mook. I changed it to 2, with Jaylos & Caehan and restarted the game. It didn't do any good, i still had the same dialogue in the docks. so i tried 3, the graveyard. Nope, same thing.

 

I believe that the triggers for Aran's dialogue are the problem, but, i could be wrong. I can't find any other triggers to view or verify. There is something missing in all this. But i can't see it.

 

I have also included my weidu log. Oh, this is the standard BGII with TOB.



#2 jastey

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Posted 08 February 2019 - 11:18 PM

General: I don't think it's a good idea to install any mod before the Fixpack (in this case Ascension). Did you do this by hand or is this the recommended install order?

 

Freezing area: If the area freezes up after some seconds, it might be a missing ambient sound or maybe animation. What does a changelog on AR0307.are (Aran Linvail's Hideout) give you? Also, the content of AR0307.bcs would be interesting.

 

To cheating Aran to another area: His first dialogue is triggered with a local variable "NumTimesTalkedTo(0)", which will always be true for a newly spawned cre. The only thing you could try it to put the cursor over the newly spawned Aran and type in the cheat:

CLUAConsole:SetGlobal("NumTimesTalkedTo","LOCALS",1)

before talking to him. But I would suggest you use a save before you tried to change the quest variables.



#3 Truman

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Posted 09 February 2019 - 02:27 AM

The answer to your first question is i use the BW English v18 install order. There may be 1 or 2 deviations, but, over 90% is the recommended order. I don't believe it to be the area because i can walk around in AR0307 without a problem before i went to Spellhold, it is only after returning from Spellhold that there is a problem.  I can walk around AR0300 without it freezing up, but it changes only after i CLUAconsole in Aran. And it freezes only after i get the first dialogue.

I am currently at work, but, when i get home i will try changing the NumTimesTalkedTo. I could not find a GLOBAL for times talked to other then the first one and i went through every line of his dialogue in NI looking for and at every trigger listed. We'll give it a shot.



#4 jastey

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Posted 09 February 2019 - 03:24 AM

General: I don't think it's a good idea to install any mod before the Fixpack (in this case Ascension). Did you do this by hand or is this the recommended install order?

Except ToBEx, it must be installed as first one.

Yes, sorry, I was silently excluding TobEX when I said "any mod".

 

Truman: if your game also crashes /freezes when you clua in Aran Linvail, please describe the time when it happens as detailed as possible. Can you talk to Aran? What is the last thing he says? Does it freeze with the dialogue box still open or after the dialogue is finished?



#5 Truman

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Posted 09 February 2019 - 05:29 AM

To reiterate, I use the BWP English v18.1 guide lines to install the mods that I use. Ascension is listed on page 22 of that pdf and it is the mod listed after TobEX.

As for Aran. After I CLUA him in, I can do pretty much what ever I want as long as it is away from Aran. When I get close, he starts talking. It is the first line when meeting him. The last thing he says is, (State4/152, in NI) 'Good hunting. Report to me if anything happens. Oh, and the bonus we talked of... Take these items. You will find them useful, I am sure'. It is about 2 perhaps 3 seconds after he finishes talking that the cursor becomes the Microsoft arrow and everything stops. The game doesn't do a regular crash, it just stops. No the dialogue box disappears, like it should.

I followed your advice and use the CLUAconsole to change the LOCALS to 1. Interesting. The dialogue was still the first lines when you first meet, but, the game didn't stop. I could move around and talk to a local if I wanted. When I would talk with with Aran again, the dialogue progresses through all of the AranJob's. Including being transported to the bridge district and talk with Saeman and then to Brynnlaw. Thats better, but, I've already done that.



#6 jastey

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Posted 09 February 2019 - 07:07 AM

To reiterate, I use the BWP English v18.1 guide lines to install the mods that I use. Ascension is listed on page 22 of that pdf and it is the mod listed after TobEX.

Very good, I just wanted to make sure.

 

OK; I still have no clue why the game freezes but it seems you can get around it if you can trigger the right Aran dialogue. OK. In addition to the one above, try also setting Global("AranJob","GLOBAL",3) and Global("spokeTrip","LOCALS",1). Note: the latter is a local variable, again, so it's the same as for the NumTimesTalkedTo: the cursor has to be over Aran when you press "enter" to confirm the cheat.


Edited by jastey, 09 February 2019 - 07:08 AM.


#7 Truman

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Posted 10 February 2019 - 06:34 AM

Read your message, tried it, came up empty.  I tried changing every trigger listed and then tried using them in different orders. I believe that I have exhausted every permutation I could come up with and nothing worked.

Reread your original post and did a change-log on AR0307.are, AR0307.bif and also on the AR0307.bcs, the results were not particularly constructive. In fact, I didn't see much of anything. Basically I have run out of ideas.

This is what I do know. The game doesn't crash, which is unfortunate because I don't get an entry in the error-log. That makes it incredibly frustrating. Since it doesn't crash, I assume that what ever it is, is not immediately apparent, but is in the background somehow.

I'm done. I thank you for your efforts.


Edited by Truman, 10 February 2019 - 06:38 AM.


#8 Truman

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Posted 12 February 2022 - 06:26 PM

Here i go again. After 3 years i'm going to try this one more time. My problem is AR0307, in chapter 6 it freezes when i try to enter and then after so many odd seconds, the game disappears. There is nothing in the error log, nor was there an error indicated when the screen froze. I could access the area at will any time before chapter 6, but, again not in chapter 6. This has bugged me for quite some time and it is only recently that i have picked the game up again and it's still there.

Is there anyone out there who has ever experienced this problem? ANYONE? At one point in time this worked, but, what happened? I have considered  several different things without any luck or success. If you read the whole thread, i was given considerable help from Jastey, who really gave me some ideas and possibilities. This is not a reflection on her, but, i still came up empty.

At one point in time i was convinced that the Aran Linvail dialogue file was the culprit, so i ran i change-log on it and i have included it along with my current WeiDU.log. I say current because i have uninstalled, reinstalled and otherwise changed my installation over time and whatever i had 3 years ago, is no longer what it is today, except the problem remains the same. In the change-log, numbers 00008 and 00011 i find curious. Number 00008 really has me stumped, i don't know what that is, Number 00011 seems to ring a bell, wasn't that component the one that wasn't recommended at one point in time? I can't remember any more.

Either way, i still have the old same problem and i could use some help. I thank you in advance

 

Attached File  WeiDU.log   51.91K   81 downloads

Attached File  change-log.txt   1.2K   79 downloads



#9 Shuv-Oohl

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Posted 16 February 2022 - 07:27 PM

Have You ever tried to put one of the file's versions before the corrupted install of UB into the override folder? I propose taking the ARAN.DLG from the backup folder of that mod "The Beaurin Legacy" Component 1000
and copy it to you override before starting the game. Clearly the 3 following mods (Ajantis, RR and Dingo's) are not incorporated in that DLG but perhaps it helps to narrow the search a bit.

Ah, and does he really give you some items when the dialogue ends?

#10 jastey

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Posted 17 February 2022 - 09:01 AM

If the game freezes 2-3 seconds after the dialogue box closes, it most probably isn't related to the dialogue per se, but to something that's supposed to happen afterwards. Some creature spawning etc. Could you decompile the aran.dlg into a d-file with Near Infinity and post it here? Maybe there is a variable in there we then can follow further.

#11 Truman

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Posted 18 February 2022 - 11:45 PM


If the game freezes 2-3 seconds after the dialogue box closes, it most probably isn't related to the dialogue per se, but to something that's supposed to happen afterwards. Some creature spawning etc. Could you decompile the aran.dlg into a d-file with Near Infinity and post it here? Maybe there is a variable in there we then can follow further.

 

I followed the suggestion of Shuv-Oohl and there was no difference. You are probably right about the dialogue file not being the culprit, i'm not sure how i arrived at that. However, i did a change-log on ar0307 and i got a different set of possibilities. Other then BG2FIXPACK, the mods were installed after Beaurin Legacy.

That's the question, what changes to the area, or dialogue, in chapter 6 that causes the game to freeze.

 

I can add one small piece of information, one that i had forgot, after i leave the Underdark and return to Athkatla, i no longer get the message about going to the Government Building and talking with Chief Inspector Brega. I don't get the quest to eliminate Linvail, DON"T KNOW IF THAT IS IMPORTANT OR NOT.

 

I have to tell you that i don't know how to use NI to decompile a dialogue file or anything else

 

 

Attached File  change-log.txt   424bytes   73 downloads



#12 jastey

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Posted 18 February 2022 - 11:55 PM

I don't think it's the area file. I would assume it's a script action either via the area script or Aran's script that tries to do something invalid (spawn a creature with invalid animation or color for example.)



#13 Truman

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Posted 19 February 2022 - 09:51 PM

Alright, lets see if this does any good. I downloaded the AR0307.bcs file (see below). There are a couple of creatures that have overlapping positions, however, prior to chapter 6 they were never a problem. From what i read in the file "IF" "D0AranHostile" - THEN, more creatures are  spawned, with more creatures with overlapping positions. But, i have always been on good terms with Aran and he has never been hostile with me. Again, there was never a problem in the first 5 chapters, it is only in chapter 6 that things stop working.

 

Here's a question, before i left for Spellhold, i picked Aran's pocket and got whatever i got (can't remember). Is it possible that Aran is supposed to give me something, but, he no longer has it to give. Could that screw it up? Just a thought, which will tell you how far i am reaching.

 

Attached File  AR0307.BAF   7.17K   74 downloads

 

I went to NI and pulled up ARAN.CRE and opened his Class Script, D0ARAN.BCS (see below). The first block shows a MagCle, in chapter 6, is spawned somewhere Offset. I called up the creature, D0MagCle.cre, and ran a check on it. What a mess. I used DLTCEP to correct numerous inconsistences and then saved the file. Didn't matter, same problem. 

 

Attached File  d0aran.BAF   12.67K   74 downloads


Edited by Truman, 19 February 2022 - 11:29 PM.


#14 Shuv-Oohl

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Posted 20 February 2022 - 02:44 PM

Well, that's why I asked in my first post if he really gives you something or not.
On the other hand it's not very likely that some GiveItem() or GiveItemCreate() causes the crash if the dialogue terminates without problems. But who knows...

If the spawning of a cre-file raises your suspicion then you may substantiate it by CreateCreature this cre in the area without doing the dialogue just via CLUA.
If a crash happens then we have a good candidate. The ultimate proof then would consist in deleting (... well, putting it in comment quotes...) the spawn block in Aran's script and doing the dialogue.

Just a word or two in general: You are reverting every change to somes files in our search for the culprit after it proves fruitless, don't you? So you are deleting the files you put into the override folder afterwards and you do restore the version of a file (say cre file) if the changes do not help, right?

A last note: A bcs or a dlg file in the override has priority if it's there BEFORE STARTING the game,(actually before loading should be sufficient, but I always prefer restarting.)
A cre file in the override of an already spawned creature does not have priority. So if a cre is already in the saved area then only changes on that cre in that area in that save game have effect.

#15 jastey

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Posted 20 February 2022 - 10:59 PM

I used DLTCEP to correct numerous inconsistences and then saved the file. Didn't matter, same problem.


Did you change the cre before it was spawned? Once a cre was spawned, it's in the savegame and changes to the cre file will not be considered.

If the original cre was the culprit you can check by spawning it in via cheats and see whether the game crashes.

A missing item to be transferred via dialogue will not cause a crash.

The scripts seem to contain a lot of mod added script blocks, I see a lot of modder prefixes. If any of the creatures that will spawn might cause the problem could be checkd by spawning them in by hand.



#16 Truman

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Posted 23 February 2022 - 07:52 PM

In the area bcs, there are 2 other creatures created if Aran is hostile. One is d0arbkup, which is one of the creatures that is already present in the area. The other is arnfgt04. I use the area 0305 as my starting point to enter ar0307, so, i CLUAed in arnfgt04 and nothing happened. He had a blue circle, you could pick his pocket or even talk with him. NOTHING.

I CLUAed in d0arbkup and his circle was immediately red, which it shouldn't be. That particular creature, again, is present in chapters 1 through 5 and there is no problem. I am not in a fight with Aran and i am definately not hostile towards him and to the best of my knowledge Aran is not hostile to me, EXCEPT, why is d0arbkup suddenly hostile?

 

I used DLTCEP and called up the creature d0arbkup and i see that the Reaction panel says 0xff enemy. Not sure what that means, it does make me curious though.

 

The trigger below is what creates the additional creatures in the area for chapter 6, but, as you can see, only if Aran is hostile. I called up Shadow Keeper and looked through the global variables, but i couldn't find the one listed below. If i can't find it there, is there another place i can look?

Global("D0AranHostile","GLOBAL",1)

 

And here we are again, i haven't got a clue.

 

Addenda: Checked the variables with NI and still didn't find the Global listed above.


Edited by Truman, 23 February 2022 - 07:58 PM.


#17 Shuv-Oohl

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Posted 23 February 2022 - 10:09 PM

1. Go to AR0305 and check via the console if the Variable is set to 1


CLUAConsole:GetGlobal("D0AranHostile","GLOBAL")

2. If that's the case set it to 0


CLUAConsole:SetGlobal("D0AranHostile","GLOBAL",0)

3. Verify that the variable is not immediately reset to 1 by repeating step 1.

4. Enter AR0307 and see what happens.

#18 Truman

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Posted 23 February 2022 - 11:09 PM

In AR0305 i checked the global, the response was odd, it said "no such variable", so i changed it to 0 anyway. At this point in the game nothing is going to hurt the game. The results were the same, i enter ar0307, the game freezes and then after a few seconds the game disappears and i am looking at the desktop.

 

I would like to ask again, has anyone anywhere ever had this problem?



#19 jastey

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Posted 24 February 2022 - 12:47 AM

I'm confused. Is the gae freeze-crash upon entering the area or after the dialogue with Aran? If the area is already corrupted in the savegame, you could have a look at the present cres in the .are file in the savegame and see whether anything seems invalid.

Edited by jastey, 24 February 2022 - 12:47 AM.


#20 Shuv-Oohl

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Posted 24 February 2022 - 09:49 AM

I share jastey's confusion because the thread title would be very misleading if the crash happens on just entering the area. But let's assume that.

Then just spawn every cre that's meant to be spawned in the crash area individually in your current area and wait some seconds each time.

But again my question: You do reset the game after a fruitless intent of finding the culprit to it's prior state, don't you?