Arcanum:WIP 6.0 now available

Update! See first post.

 

Does my save from 4.2 will work with 4.4 ?

Do you plan to add Drog Higher Resolutions patch in AWIP (that would be great) ?


and thanks for your work rroyo

 

Welcome to the forum, gandalf51, and thank you.

I was able to use a 4.2 save when I corrected the merchant in Vormantown and the pawnshop in Tarant, but it became corrupted when I added the death-script for Merrow Vortahm in Plainwicke.

So - there's a good chance for no problems with a save prior to going to Cattan, and a 50/50 chance for anything after that.

If you're replacing the DATs in an existing install, then double-click on the DrogsCleanCache.bat. That'll improve your odds a bit.

And - The high-resolution patch is not going to be added.

 

Great wiork Rroyo...again you never cease to amaze me

About the Iron Clan, I haven't reached it yet in the latest version but is themap any smaller? Cos it took me 20 minutes to navigate the place

The scaling of the town gaurds was amazing...I went on a rampage at level 35 as Melee and Dodge master and still the guards at the Water PLant in Tarant shot my ass to pieces!

Now being a "bad boy" is a real challenge

 

Thank you.

The Iron Clan - Nope! All the tunnels are still intact. I just added a few hundred traps and critters to break the monotony.

When I go to rework it for the IC treasure hunt, then I'll be redoing a few of the tunnels to break up the over all size of the place.

Glad to hear the guards are working properly!
And like you said - "Now being a "bad boy" is a real challenge"

Mission accomplished.

 

You know...that experience with the revamped guards gave me strange vissions of something in the game with a "firing squad!"....

THe only other thing you could do is maybe have the equivalent of the "Barbarians of Kree" location, only instead of barbarians you have some FireArm wielding banditos.

Imagine that...instead of swords and shields, these cats wield Acid Guns, Flamethrowers, Grenade Launchers, Mechanized Guns, Elephant Rifles, even Tranquilizer guns etc...and are "experts" at it.

It would be like the old west all over again

Although you'd have to make this available only very late in the game for the playerto stand a chance...and that would probably have to be with a hefty party of 3 or 4...or do it single handed but being very sneaky and subversive about it.

 

It's coming.

There's a mountain range on Cattan that separates the eastern side from the westen 1/3. It does have a pass that'll be accessable after you've traveled to Monaco - kind of like Gorgoth Pass and Caladon - and it'll have some dangerous characters blocking the free trade of goods.....

In very short form: What I've got in mind is a gauntlet for the first 2/3 of the pass, then a big shoot-out with the rest of the gang at the way-station.

And I'm not going to set it up for someone to take over the gang.... :roll:

 

LOL! Sounds good...a "gun fight atthe OK Corall" of sorts...love it...

Just make sure these firearms guys pack the nasties firearms avaible so that you have to try like 10 times to get past them...that makes it worth while...especially if you have to plan your strategy!

And while you're at it...think about:

- A Trap Disarming Monkey

- A fire chicken!

- A Bear with Inventory named Smokey


But all joking aside...companions and NPC's shouldn't just be limited to animals...I'd love it if there was a way to get that Treat fellow from the boil into the team somehow....especially if he could transform at will!

 

Too bad, I've started using AWIP thinking high resolution would be added soon. Is it because Drog doesn't want it or because it's too much work ?


Now about my experience with AWIP (I've one melee/magic lvl12 and one gunfighter/techno lvl13) :

- offensive magic does not make enough damage/ cost too much fatigue to be useful

- learned schematics for gun smithy and smithy are not well balanced : fine revolver (lvl2) is much better than repeater rifle (lvl3) and hushed revolver (lvl4), some for feather weight axe (lvl3) and balanced sword (lvl2).

- Follower's leveling need to be dealt differently : either give them the same level than main character, make them gain 2 levels when they have a lower level or make then gain xp (but I dont think you can do that)

- And maybe it would be good to change either priscilla or faithe to bow/magic to balance earlier follower's offer or add a new follower in Tarant.

 

Yep! By the time your average player gets to Caladon, he's virtually unstoppable, so I'll need to make Freebooter's Pass especially tough to keep it from becoming boring. Maybe add a bit of time delay on the final bandit attack. They wait until you're out in the open, then unload at you from all angles. Of course, I'll also need to consider the option of being able to backstab a few of them...

Setting this up promises to be fun.

I'm not sure that's possible. Other than the ones who can become elementals, Troika made the other transforming NPCs stand in one spot because the original doll gets turned off, then the new creature is created.

One othe the early ideas for Valoren Island was to get a psycho follower who could tranform, but then I realized this potential stumbling block.

There was a discussion about the effects of the high-res patch on the game and one of the big drawbacks is that it expands the area in which you can be seen by guards.

Example - The Roseborough cemetary. You wait until the guard passes by, then dig up Misk's grave. Time it right and no one's the wiser. With the patch, the guard knows what you're up to from much farther away and comes running.

This is why I'm leaving the high-res patch out.

I suppose it depends upon how you play.
Speaking for myself - and this info is a bit old - Fireball and Harm seems to do a pretty good job without too much of a fatigue drain. Have a couple potions handy if they're needed, and make sure you're fully rested before entering the next area.

I've noticed, but I'm a bit undecided about rearranging the learned schematics. Maybe towards the end of the build.....
One thing that will happen before too much longer is the replacement of the Automaton Gunner with something else. I haven't quite decided on what that's going to be yet, but I'll think of something.

If it's possible, I haven't figured it out yet. I remember from Car-Arcanum, I'd hit Tarant at level 16 - 20, and there's be poor old Magnus at level 8 - and he never does catch up to you....

No - the Six-Shooter Babes are staying as-is, but more followers of different styles and orientations are coming. More Throwing, Summoning, Dark Magick, and electrical-using followers are needed and will be added before too much longer.

I will be leaning more towards the tech followers than magick or melee as Troika has already supplied a fair number of them. I believe it's time to beef up the tech use to match.
For example: TONGSyaBASS' "Captain Dynamo" concept will be available in Tarant after you return from Despair. He's a hero wannabe with electro armour, shocking staff, chapeau, the works - who can't afford all the batteries he needs. So.... If you've got the money....

I should have him and a pair of crazy grenade tossers in place for the 5.0 release. Maybe more.

 

That was a really bad AI programming from Troika. I suppose you cant add a function to check line of sight, but maybe you can make the guard go further or the easy way : launch the game in 800*600 when you need stealth.

I'm looking for a way to "manually" change follower's levels, I've a character editor but I don't know the stats/skills/... for each level.
Does anyone know where I can find that ?



I think that the shotgun need some change.
Something like good damage/fatigue, bonus to hit (as I dont think an AOE is possible) but low speed and range (and maybe 2 bullets).


I've a weird problem with AWIP 4.4 and my 4.2 save.
At first I was fine, but now when I go to Tarant I cant pass the bridge (the game is very very slow and there's the loading watch in the corner of the screen).

 

I believe gamelevel.mes in the Arcanum5/rules folder has what you're looking for.

It looks like you crapped out on being able to use that save. The change I made to Harry Baules is what's causing the drag.

Also - Changing the shotgun is still outside my skill level. Sorry.

And the high-res patch - It may be possible, but I'm still going to leave well enough alone.

 

Hypothetical Question:

In the mine (can't enter it), near that bedokaan village, you use a mud tile against a grass one. They don't go together seamlessly. Is it possible to create a muddy grass tile that could be used to border the mud/grass change?

I haven't played Arcanum for a month so I'm not entirely sure if I make any sense.

 

Having re-examined the area, I'm pretty sure what you seen there was stock-game grass to dirt. With certain terrain combinations you can get a blocky, sudden cut-off type of transition.

And - It is possible to make new transition tiles but I wasn't planning on doing so.

 

Dunno if you're still looking for ideas on background or storyline on these extra followers, but here you go:

Throwing Follower: A former student of Throwing Master Clarissa Shalmo...in fact, he/she claims to have been her "prized pupil" and on his way to earning the rank of master until he picked up some obscure rumours of a man who's mastery of throwing rivaled that of Clarissa and who wielded a "terrible weapon". (obviously, I'm talking about the Old Blind Master and the Aerial Decap). There wouldn't have to be any actual changes to the other two characters, this basically just a background story-filler.

Summoning: A former student of Tulla, expelled for aciddentaly summoning a demon during a ceremony, nearly killing three people and causing much destruction. He lives isolated from others, with his "summoned" creature his only companions.

Electrical: Not sure if you mean Magical or Tech (cos Sebastian is electrical). If magical, could be a similar story to the summoner, also expelled from Tulla. Maybe tie in their storylines so that each blames the other forhaving been expelled. Or you could go with this Force Magician actually being held prisoner in a "factory" as the "magical engine" that powers up the place and who needs to be freed.

Dark Magic: Well there's already Geoffrey I suppose...but if this guys is meant to be Evil it would be ineteresting if his "joining you" depended on you doing something very very very "not nice".

Just out of curiosity...what if you had an "idiot savant" follower (if that was at all possible). The comedy value would be interesting.

 

These are not bad. The throwing background is an angle I hadn't considered so I'm going to use it. Thanks!

The summoning one will need some checking out, but it too, is a good one. I'm just not sure if you can get a 2-fer deal on followers - yet. Might have to go with a straight summoner who calls the animal or elemental as needed.

The electrical will be full tech. "Captain Dynamo"? That should have been your first clue.
The Force Magician is another angle worthy of checking out. Maybe give him a role in the Mad Scientist quest.

As for the evil Dark Magick follower, I hadn't planned anything too fancy. If you're evil enough, fine, you can get a follower.

Now the idiot savant is an idea that's popped up from time to time, but I've never quite decided how to do such a character.
I keep leaning more towards the bumbling fool, but given what the stock game followers routinely do - how would you tell the difference?

 

You're welcome, glad I could Help!

Captain Dynamo has me thinking this cat will have more batteries than a Duracell Factory! Tesla Rod or Tesla Rifle?

You could background him so he's a Damian (The Omen) type guy who is inherantly evil and lives in a secluded place. But you'reright, no point getting too complicated on the guy. But you could have him be found in a place (perhaps a refuge or monestary) littered with blood and dead bodies that came to an "unfortunate demise".

Well dialogue-wsie it would have to be checked if the followers dialogue is affected by their intelligence. Murgo is pretty stupid but what if you raise his inetlligence visa Brain Builder, does that make a difference?

As far as the character actions...I agree...there isn't much that he/she could do to make them stand out, unless of course the characters tendency to pick up an item on the ground can be severly increase ("Ooohhh pretty shiny thing"), thus risking traps and things like that.

Maybe something could be done along the lines of those timeswhen Virgil interferes in a convo you're having with someone else, like the Molchean hand guyat the start, Vollinger, i think Geoffrey too...but I asume those are attacjhed to those character's scripts and only triggered if Virgil is in the party. So perhaps these things would have to be done in specific situations and specific dialogues.

Not sure what the workload involved would be but you'd basically do it for the sake of comedy value and I can see a few scenarios:

- When you talk to Mr. Plough. (Mr. Plough...that's his name)

- Gilbert Bates ("You're Bill Gates...ermmm Gil Bates...)

- Gar ("I Like Tea...U, V, W, X,Y and Z)

- Capt. Teach ("You Teach....I learn!)

- Madam Toussade ("I like shiny ball!")

- Nasrudin ("Santa???)

- Raven ("Pretty Elf Lady wear little clothing")

- Silver Lady ("Why she float?)

etc...

Probably too much hassle anyway

 

I like the joke. And Yep!, he'll be going through batteries left and right.
I'm going to start him with a Shocking Staff.

The Dark Magick follower #2 - That idea's not bad. It sounds better than just having the fellow wait outside Tarant's Dark Magick shop.

Dark Magick #1 will probably be a Dark Elf who needs safe passage back to T'Sen Ang. (Working idea at the moment)
I might even use the elf female at Acerarak's Tomb.

The idiot savant follower would need some careful scripting- I imagine - to make him or her stand out from the crowd. He'll be a good rainy-day project.

And I'm going to see how many of those floats you've listed I can use - just to distract the player! :lol:

 

Hey rroyo

does Stringy Pete also have 5 points in dodge in your game?
When I brought him back from the (un)dead, I saw he only had 5 point in dodge. I believed he normal had 5 in melee and dodge (masterd as well)
He now pretty much sucks as an enemy.

Is this a error on my part or did ya chance him ?

 

Ah RRoyo...I was looking through anotther thread and suddenly it hit me....an idea for your future work...if possible of course.

(And this is where I annoy you with more ideas again )

One of the things that has always bothered me in Arcanum is that the Spike and Bear Traps are pretty much useless in the game.

The only time they ever come in handy, and that's by a long shot, is against the SH Bridge guys very early on in the game, if only to dial them down a bit. The spike rap that is...the Bear Trap is okay in Real Time against a single or pair of tough enemies just to hold them in place but as "holders", they are heavy and pretty much suck compared to spells or some of the other "holding" tech inventions.

The point I'm tryingto make is that the these two traps pretty much suck, thus making a "Trapper" character pretty much impossible.

Now if there was say, a wider variety of traps...things could get interesting. even if the traps do weigh a bit, at least one would be able to concoct some very interesting situations.

My suggestions would be along the lines of some new schematics, sepcifically for making traps. I'm not sure on the actual coding implemntation but I assume that the game engine does something like: when you USE the Spike Trap on the floor, it creats a "mech trap" tile on the ground.

If that holds, then all the trap types in Arcanum could be "created" by the player as a learnt schematic.

Electrical trap: Spike Trap + Large capacitor

Fire trap: Spike Trap + Explosive Grenade

Bullet Trap: Spike Trap + Broken Flintlock Pistol

Arrow Trap: Spike Trap + Short Bow

Poison Trap: Spike Trap + Strong Poison.

An if the "created" Traps weiagh a little less, or even are reduced in size by using a "different sprite" for them, then carrying them and playing the "skilled trapper" becomes more of a challenge?

What do you think?