64 replies to this topic

[T.G.Maestro]

At the moment the following optional components are available:

1- New HLA System (individual component)
2- Sword Angel Kit (individual component)
3- Revised shapeshifting for Druids, especially for Shapeshifters (individual component)
4- SwashImoen (individual component)
5- Revised Elemental Princes (part of the HLA System)
6- Lesser mage robes for monks (individual component)



1: Revised HLA System:

Entirely re-designed and re-built HLA tables for all classes and kits in the game to provide distinctive class specific HLAs and game experience.


2.: Sword Angel Kit

A noble fighter, with a focus on "spiritual" abilities and HLAs.
If you want to play an extremely good character, and try a new challenge...
*Not* for powergamers!!!


3.: Revised shapeshifting for Druids, especially for Shapeshifters

With this fix the player can finally use shapeshifting as originally intended: they gain all the resistances and immunities of the werewolf forms, but they also lose the capability to cast spells and talk. This solves the "dispellable paws" as well.


4.: SwashImoen

Imoen will become a Swashbuckler/Mage instead of the pure Thief/Mage..


5.: Revised Elemental Princes

This aims to bring the Elemental Princes (Zaaman-Rul, Chan, Sunnis and Ben-Hader) closer to their PnP counterparts. Their stats and special abilities will all be changed in order to make them "work" as they should. This will be part of the Revised HLA System component.


6.: Lesser Mage robes for monks

This component alters the lesser mage robes (For example Knave's Robe) to be useable by monks too.

Edited by T.G.Maestro, 21 November 2004 - 06:19 AM.

[Seifer]

I would advise here that you follow what I've done for the K&Z mod and place a disclaimer that other mods offer alternative HLA's. We did this with the Oversight mod.

[Caedwyr]

Is the werewolf fix intended to be included in the initial release? In the beta testing I've done, the ability is by no means overpowered and its nice to not have to worry about the dispel magic messing up the shapechange.

[T.G.Maestro]

Is the werewolf fix intended to be included in the initial release?

It is in of course, check the first post!

[Littiz]

In the beta testing I've done, the ability is by no means overpowered and its nice to not have to worry about the dispel magic messing up the shapechange.

That's the best compliment possible!!

Of course yes, it'll be included, though I've retouched it a little more already.
It's also needed for Feral Spirit which you have not seen yet (will be in version 0.97)

Not only that, it really seems I've found a working solution even for the other forms of shapeshifting, so I'd like to include fixes for all druids' shapeshiftings in the first release B) B)
(hope facts won't contradict me...)

[T.G.Maestro]

(hope facts won't contradict me...)

Oh-ooh... that thing happens quite often..!

[T.G.Maestro]

I would advise here that you follow what I've done for the K&Z mod and place a disclaimer that other mods offer alternative HLA's. We did this with the Oversight mod.

Its in the readme, but I'm planning to post it here as well.

[Littiz]

(hope facts won't contradict me...)

Oh-ooh... that thing happens quite often..!

Indeed, I coded all the things I myself labeled as impossible!

Its in the readme, but I'm planning to post it here as well.

hm, actually I haven't written anything about that, yet...

[T.G.Maestro]

hm, actually I haven't written anything about that, yet...

I've included it in the file, though I forgot to send you the altered version ! And after Caedwyrs proofreading it would be better to simply put that line in the revised Readme (again).

[T.G.Maestro]

As the first post states, I'd like to include the Water Elementals for all summoning spells. I hope to finish this for version 1.

[GreyViper]

So the other stuff that is not mentioned here will be added in later versions, but first you want to see how this version works, right?

[T.G.Maestro]

1- New HLA Tables for all classes
2- Revised Balthazar's abilities
3- Sword Angel Kit
4- Revised shapeshifting for Druids, especially for Shapeshifters
5- Include the missing Water Elementals for summoning spells (maybe for v2)

These are the (decided) components we try to include in version 1. Every other projects mentioned in the TODO list is strictly for v2 or later.
I guess you get the picture?



Edit: I think only the cleric/druid HLA Elemental Summoning and the druidic Elemental Prince Call will feature Water Elementals (and Ben-Hadar, the Elemental Prince of Water of course) for the first release. Editing ALL the elemental summoning spells will require much more work (and time), so that will go to v2.

[T.G.Maestro]

"Revised Elemental Princes" was added to the list of components for the first release.

[jester]

4.: Revised shapeshifting for Druids, especially for Shapeshifters

With this fix the player can finally use shapeshifting as originally intended: they gain all the resistances and immunities of the werewolf forms, but they also lose the capability to cast spells and talk. This solves the "dispellable paws" as well.

I think there is already a changed shapeshifting somewhere- maybe some Weimer-fix pack! Will this be the same or compatible or totally different??

6.: Revised Elemental Princes

This aims to bring the Elemental Princes (Zaaman-Rul, Chan, Sunnis and Ben-Hader) closer to their PnP counterparts. Their stats and special abilities will all be changed in order to make them "work" as they should.

niiice

[Littiz]

TGM, as always, you RUSH things!!
Please, let's try to keep things ordered.
It's becoming a mess over here!

• Water elementals can wait. Not a priority AT ALL. Agreed on the Elemental Princes. We were already improving them after all. But certainly there's no need to do a separate component! They're part of druids' revision.
  
• Shapeshifting: It's a new and different solution. Works fine I posted the details in Baldurdash forum, but I refined it since then, and found a way to fix even regular druids (but this part is still in construction, and will need to be tested. Things take time as TGM doesn't seem to realize... )
  Again, no need for a separate component. I need one of the fixes for the Feral Spirit HLA, so it's better to put them all together. No point in scattering the fixes throughout seven different components of the mod, imho.
  
• A new component should be "Swashimoen", and I add this now only because it's ready and working. I made it a long time ago, but there was a problem, since I wanted to have Imoen joining as a non-yet-fully-reactivated Swashbuckler/Mage.
  Problem is, the game applies the kit twice in this circumstance: when she joins, and when she reactivates the Swash part. Not good.
  But I suddenly realized that the "Shadow Kits" engine I built for Use Scrolls should handle automatically even this situation for me So, a very cheap addition at this point...

[T.G.Maestro]

@Littiz, my friend:

TGM, as always, you RUSH things!!

Heh, as always. Thats part of my nature. Still, as you see, there are no promises here - no release dates, no deadlines, no whatever.. so we have more than enough time.

Water elementals can wait. Not a priority AT ALL. Agreed on the Elemental Princes. We were already improving them after all. But certainly there's no need to do a separate component! They're part of druids' revision.

True. And if you take a look at the component list, you'll notice that they are mentionad as an undecided component. Plus, I would like you to check on this one too:

Editing ALL the elemental summoning spells will require much more work (and time), so that will go to v2.

And about listing the components in separate points: I think it is much easier to comprehend the contents this way (remeber, these are NOT unique, individual components, only different parts of the mod!) than posting a blurb like "we will release this that will contain that which will feature yonder, etc. It is better to list every little pieces one-by-one . I may be wrong, however, time will decide.

@jester:

I think there is already a changed shapeshifting somewhere- maybe some Weimer-fix pack! Will this be the same or compatible or totally different??

It will be different in many aspects. That "balancing" gave shapeshifters and druids spellcasting capabilities even when in animal form (I would be very much interested in seeing a spellcasting Mountain Bear... ), gave the druid class spells that should have stayed under the clerical domains (Righteous Magic for example, absolutely non-druid) plus the new method solves many possible bugs and cheats with that version as well.

[Grim Squeaker]

Are you planning to port the IWD animation for water elementals?

What about the ones that come with ToB?

[T.G.Maestro]

Are you planning to port the IWD animation for water elementals?

No. They'll use the Water Elemental animation of ToB (Abazigal's Lair), though you can see these animations in IWD-HoW as well. Ben-Hadar (Prince of Water) will use the animation of Olhydra.
Right now, Water Elementals will only appear in the 2 elemental summining HLAs (Elemental summoning for priests/druids and Elemental Prince Call for druids) in v1.