Follower backgrounds/level schemes

Discussion in 'Modding and Scripting Support' started by Jearom, Jan 14, 2006.

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  1. Jearom

    Jearom New Member

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    I'm wondering which lines in the effect.mes file are the backgrounds for followers who don't follow the standard backgrounds... I'm pretty sure some don't, since the character editor shows them as having their own backgrounds, and the modified stats aren't standard in any way shape or form...

    Also I'm having trouple with the auto-level schemes for followers, no matter what I do, Virgil will ALWAYS have the same starting skills, even if I edit him to use for example throw or bows, he won't have any starting skill in it, he will instead have 1 point in melee.

    I'm thinking of re-plotting Magnus' whole scheme from scratch to make him a gunslinger, but I hope to have these problems solved first.

    If possible I would also like to try once with an all half-ogre spellcaster team, turning sogg and chukka into spellcasters of different types(using the pre-made levelup schemes for spellcasters probably) if it's possible to edit them to use those... I've got a feeling they use some kind of identical default half-ogre guard scheme both of them.
     
  2. TONGSyaBASS

    TONGSyaBASS Member

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    I'm working from memory here but I'll try my best.

    Effect.mes is used to add an effect to something. e.g. When you want a blessing to grant 2 beauty points, you add the line {20}{be+2} to effect.mes. Then you tell the blessing in gamebless.mes to use effect number 20. This doesn't have much to do with character level schemes but I'm not 100% sure what you are asking.

    If you want to change the autolevel schemes you have to alter them in gamelevel.mes found in the rules folder.

    Once you make an autolevel scheme you have to make sure it is in the right place to be accessed by the game. There are 2 ways to do this.
    1. Re-compress the folders back into a .dat file and replace the original .dat file.
    2. Create a new folder of the same name in the data directory. The game will look in this folder before it checks the main .dat files so anything in the data folder will override the original .dat files.

    If you have done neither of these then the game won't acknowledge your new level scheme and will simply use the original in the .dat files.

    Hope this makes sense.
     
  3. Jearom

    Jearom New Member

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    Yeah I edited the gamelevel.mes file and put it in arcanum\data\rules, he still gets 1 melee 1 dodge 1 necromantic_good and I don't remember the fourth thing, I do believe he pays for his dodge twice though.

    In what file does it point the followers to use specific backgrounds? IE: If I wanted say for example Sogg to have run away from the asylum?

    Also which file points them to what level scheme to use? Necessary for the half-ogre spellcaster team.
     
  4. TONGSyaBASS

    TONGSyaBASS Member

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    You also need to edit the gamelevelname.mes so that it matches your new gamelevel.mes and put it into data\mes.

    As for specific backgrounds, as far as I know these are for the player only. You can simulate it by changing the NPCs starting attributes though.

    Just go into WorldEd and change their level scheme to the correct number (corresponding to gamelevelname.mes).
     
  5. Jearom

    Jearom New Member

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    Thanks, one thing I needed to know.

    Again, which file?

    Okay, I'll try that, thanks.
     
  6. Jearom

    Jearom New Member

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    Hmm my WorldEd lets me choose between two mods to open, but it shows nothing in them. Incidentally I have 1070 patch and thus 1070 WorldEd... should I go 1074 patch? I found a no-cd patch for it somewhere around here, I use no-cd 1070 atm(I HATE switching CDs every time I play another game, but yes I do have the original CD.)

    EDIT: Oh hell, that 1074 no-cd patch was actually a trojan. Off searching I go, cause I have patched it now. And looking at the patch notes, apparently I had to patch to get the level schemes to be changed.
     
  7. TONGSyaBASS

    TONGSyaBASS Member

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    First a friendly warning, use the EDIT function, don't double post. Some of the natives have killed for less.
    No, really, they have.
    I don't have a problem with it but I hate to see newbies chased off by double post / gravedig / spam rage.

    Patch arcanum to 1074 then download this:
    http://www.terra-arcanum.com/phpBB/dloa ... &file_id=3
    It contains instructions on how to get the best out of 1074 while still using WorldEd 1070.

    To change attributes you don't need to change a file. Simply go into WorldEd and add some points to the character. Sometimes autolevel schemes will cancel these changes so you may have to add an effect to the character instead.
    e.g. find the first hearbeat script for Virgil and insert call effect X.

    Also, if you want to mod Arcanum itself you have to decompress the .dat files into the module directory. WorldEd can only edit the files that are in the module directoy.
     
  8. Jearom

    Jearom New Member

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    "¤&¤%/£${/)%""%½ The game wouldn't accept my original CD, so I uninstall, figure I'll reinstall and patch to 1070 and nocd it again... guess what? I find out the reason it won't accept my CD is that there's a scratch that apparently damaged the womantown.dat and arcanum3.dat files!

    So essentially, because I tried to patch to 1074 I am *Explesitive deleted*
     
  9. Jearom

    Jearom New Member

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    Sorry for the double post, but it won't let me edit my last post.

    Anyway I got it working at 1070 again by repacking my modding folder to replace the missing arcanum3.dat, and then patched the game again, took me over 2 hours until I found a working download of the 1064->1070 patch on files.gamenavigator.ru/patches, of course it takes a russian site to keep old patches >_>

    I'm going to go buy a new copy of the game tomorrow if they have the sierra classic or Xplosive release in their inventory. Otherwise I'm just going to have to order it online... I found a shop in my country that sells it online, with free postage. Either way it's about $12, only a longer wait if I order online. Guess it's worth it, my current copy is an old second hand one.
     
  10. TONGSyaBASS

    TONGSyaBASS Member

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    Having learned from your mistake, I finally got round to copying arcanum today. I've been meaning to do it for years.
     
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