Arcanum:WIP 6.0 now available

Could you, hypothetically, get rid of Doc Robert's custom portrait and make it for general usage in the normal character creation?

He could just use a generic portrait while we'd have a great new one to use.

 

Oracle: Looking at Pete in WorldEd - unpacked 4.4 and stock game reveals him to have: Dodge 20 Untrained, Melee 20 Master, and Heal 12 Untrained. This translates to 5 for Dodge, 5 for Melee , and 3 for Heal in the game. (Yes, I checked this in game.)

Sorry guy.... Looks like the problem's on your end.

FourHorsemen: Love the concept! However....
Most of your ideas might be possible if new protos were created, but the are two which are not is the arrow and bullet traps. They use a separate source for the projectiles than the trap itself. Seen in WorldEd, it looks like a stone marker.

The schematics needed to make these new traps are simple enough. Not a problem there. And since it's now possible to get schematics to use new protos, that's two thirds of the battle.

I'm printing your post for possible use.

frosted ambassador: Hypothetically, yes. Realistically, no. I'd probably get run out of town if I tried.

Fear not however, as I've come across a plug-in for Photoshop that was originally made for KISS dolls (computer paper dolls) that does a better job of converting photos into paintings than the stock Photoshop portrait option does.

Not too long ago I found a really cool picture of actor Sam Elliot in Western gear and handlebar mustache that should do nicely. Of course, I do need to practice some more with the plug-in to make decent Arcanum-style portraits for people.

So, hang tight.

BTW: This was my first attempt: Yes, it's Merrow.

 

Sam Eliott...wow...mjust be from Tombstone, which also starred Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell and Bill Paxton. Great flick!

BTW...I'm playing 4.4 now with a pretty "useless" gunsmith who lives by supplying Faithe and Priscilla with firearms...sort of like my own Charlie's Angel group....all I need is a third girl...maybe Jayna....

 

Believe me when I tell you: Do NOT give Jayna a gun!

The only thing that seems to cause more critical failures for her than a firearm is the Pyrotechnic Axe.

Edit: I'm not sure what movie it's from but here's the one I mentioned:

http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a109/Timithea/th_elliot_sam.jpg

And here's one I'm going to try:

http://www.katiewestart.com/images/Sam_Elliot_thumb.jpg

 

Damn, I was afraid of that. Not idea what is causing it though. I only made some minor changes in the rules and effect file. Guess I will have to reinstall arcanum.

Also I was wondering if the kiss of the werebeast mod would work with WIP4.4. I would like that one in as well.

 

At the moment, the best I can say is 50/50.
For some reason, I can't seem to get my copy to install so I can compare file numbers.
I'm positive the dialog would work, but I don't know which scr numbers TONGS used.

Try it and find out. You might get lucky.

 

RRoyo ah its not from Tombstone from what I can recalll but its still pretty goof!

Yeah...no sense in giving her a gun at all...two "shooters" should be enough...maybe I can cornhole me Vollinger or Sebastian later on Make them gay or something

 

Oracle - I got the Werebeast mod to install - don't try to use it with A:WIP.

It uses the same scr numbers I did for the Uncharted Cave.

 

I've just found the Uncharted Cave and the FireKing, and I've some questions :

Is it normal that the fire elemental did not attack me ?
That made it to easy to have the fire stuff (which is very strong), all you need is a lot of heal (magic, potions, bandage,..).
Maybe you could add a ghost of Burns as a guardian ?

When you found the exit (do you have a way to make it one way only ?) you see a stone that speaks of a curse and a note with more details. But I've see no curse and found no note near the graves.


rroyo can you add/change/remove items and schematics ?

 

ahh, dang was just about to try it. Any chance to see this implented into your mod?

 

gandalf51:

1) The fire elemental not attacking - No it not. A quick check in my unpacked version shows the Kill On Sight flags are still in place. I'll double-check with the packed one here in a bit. (That takes a while)

2) Adding the ghost of Burns - Could I? Yes. Would I? Probably not.
The scene needs a few tweaks and polish, but I like the over-all feel of it as-is.

3) The old entry - Very easily, but that's not very realistic. Even though players will probably cheat and enter through that door rather than fight their way to the chamber, the door will remain two-way.

4) About the mentioned curse - See the scene as the visiting dwarves would have - The master and students are murdered, most likely by the armour-clad fellow sitting on the throne who's dead for reasons unknown to them. It's not unreasonable to assume the master got off a deadly curse before he was killed. Thus, the warning for any future visitors.

The dwarves were good enough to properly bury the slain master and students, but left the accursed murderer to rot where he died - most likely giving his corpse a wide berth in the process.

And the note would have either disintegrated after being in the ground for 2,000 years, or someone would have dug up the body long ago. Either way, only the rocks on the surface would remain after so long of a time in moist forest soil.

5) Add/change/remove items and schematics - Sure! Been doing it for a couple years now.

Oracle: It's possible. The idea does intrigue me.

 

That make having the fire stuff too easy, you should had to fight the fire elementals to have it. Why not remove the door or put something than can only be opened from the inside (could have been made by the master as an emergency exit and only for exiting) ?
And I don't see why a door that can only by opened one way is not realistic !

So that means you could remove the shotgun and add a new shotgun with better stats ?
I think that balancing all weapons and schematics should be a priority.

Will KruppRangedMod_Beta12 works with AWIP 4.2 ?

 

I kind of misunderstood what you were wanting, but the answer is still yes - to a point. A better shotgun would involve hex-editing the proto for it and that's something I have no experience at.

Schematic substitution is very easy to do. In A:WIP the Pyro Axe uses kerosine rather than fuel for creation.

Balancing schematics and weapons is on the list - but only after I'm skilled enough to do a proper job of it. I'm sure you'll agree, there's too many half-assed things in my hack as it is.

I really don't know, and to be honest, I'm doubtful. Given just how twitchy A:WIP is to anything new, it would probably cause a conflict with something completely unrelated to weapons - Like the Hand not dying in battle.

 

To be sure I understand you, could you make a new item :
Laser Saber dmg : 200-300, speed : 20 and a schematic that would use a crystal and steel to do it ?

I'm beginning to think that Arcanum was programmed by monkeys .....

In case of conflict all I would have to do to correct everything would be to put back the original proto files, right ?

 

Wait, you're not serious, right?

 

Hey Rroyo...I dunno if you're still looking for comedy fillers for your mod, but here are a few more ideas (as if I haven't pestered you enough already )

- An NPC in a very crappy looking factory in Tarant (Human/Dwarf/Gnome) named Tinus Lorvalds, who claims to have a steam engine that is better than Bates or Appleby and is willing to let you have it "for free".

- An small swamp location that has an Ogre and a Lady in a green dress. A sign outside their hut reads: OGRE! KEEP OUT! (sigh, if only there was a donkey in the game )


Now some serious stuff:

I was galncing through the Da Vinci Code last night again and I got to thinking about the Templar Knights and how that could make for an interesting story arc for an arcanum side quest.

Imagine a remote temple located near the mountains that houses a group of very dedicated and zealot-like paladins, dedicated to preserving the purity of humanity by shunning all other races. (Which makes getting the quest only possible if you're a human of have reasonable charisma. intelligence or persuasion). Anyway, the captain of the guard lets you in to see the templar priest and leader, who charges you with a quest to retrieve his "daughter" who he believes has been kidnapped by bandits.

Clues would be relatively obscure but eventually you find the girl and discover that she is in fact half-elven and not the priests daughter. She reveals that he had her ears surgically alterened to look human and thathe took her as his "concubine", using her to lure other young women for the templars knights "needs". She accuses them all of being corrupt, yet growing in numbers by the day, and offers you an alternative quest of ridding the land of the priest and his knights.

If you bring her back, you get some money or something...and ifyour human (and the coding ain't too complex) maybe get offered a chance to join the Knights(which results in a reputation log where any race other than human has a -20 reaction to you).

If you choose to side with her, she waits for your return somewhere whil you go on the the dispatch.

Now this battle should be pretty tough and the knights and priest should all be donning "white apparel" (Arcane armor and swrods for the knights, White magical robes for the priest). THere should be about 10-20 knights alttogether, depending on how large or sectored you want to make the temple. The fight should be at least as challenging as the Stringy Pete quest...maybe more.

Anyway, once you whack the priest and the knights and return to the girl, she uses her magic and turns into her true form, an elf. She tells you that the temple was originally a sanctuary for all those who sought peace and tranquility. She was the high priestess and took in many stray traveller. The man who would become the priest was originally her acolyte until he became corrupt and evil and sought to grow in power. He used the magic he learn't to lock her powers and bind them to his life-force. Now she is free to return to the temple and resume her mission of peace, but not before giving you a handy blessing or magical item. Alternatively, she could give you a a key to special door that holds almost a king's ransom in gold jewels that the templars had amassed over the years.

 

Is that not too "extreme" for Arcanum? I don't think we should add too much melodrama yet without a few normal quests. I'd prefer it if we simply found a rundown cabin in the mountains, with a mine shaft that leads to a dungeon crawl or something. Not some holy epic journey that constitutes every melodramatic rpg's worst qualities (world of warcraft, anyone?)

 

Alright. I did a fresh install, rushed to pete and yes the error was on my part... Rroyo could you tell me where to locate the edited effect.mes and spelllist.mes of AWIP4.4. The files I'm useing of from the vanilla version. You and drog probably edited these files as well. When I use the old effect.mes and spelllist.mes files it will render some fixes useless. I want to use your edited mes files and edit those to decrease unwanted changes.

Also I found that one of Pete's party is a greater skeletion rather then the supposed pirate skeletion. This skeletion has betters sklls; 5 bow masterd, 5 dodge, 5 melee masterd and 5 heal. He also has like 50 more life points. I got the idea that maybe that these stats where ment for pete himself seeing that he isn't any stronger then his followers (while being 5 levels above the others). I wonder what Drog would think of this?

 

gandalf51 :

So I've heard! One of these days I'll have to learn how.

Heh....
The main part of the twitchiness in A:WIP come from all the hacks and cheats I have in it. Once I merge my hack with the Arcanum patch, most of that instability should vanish (fingers crossed) as the hacks can be replaced with proper corrections.

It sounds like you're going to unpack the Arcanum5.dat, so yes, restoring the original protos, then cleaning out the Sierra/Arcanum/modules/Arcanum/maps folder before playing again should do the trick.

FourHorsemen: I'll have to agree with frosted ambassador on this suggestion. It is much like a generic "save the princess" quest and I've already crossed off a couple, three variations of it from my original to-do list.

I am printing it out though, as an element or two just might get used along the way.

Oracle: I'll have to answer your question when I get home. In case someone doesn't post after me, check here for an update on where the files are.

I'll also take a look at this one skeleton. I have a feeling you may be right.

 

You're right...it was a little cliché now that I think about it...my bad I should have had my Earl Gray Tea this morning

But if you wante dto take Arcanum down the "freaky deaky highway" you could always try a sidequest mixed in ideas from SAW.

"Hello...player...I'd like to play a game....the door ahead of you is locked, but if you can figure out how to open it, it could mean escape for you. But be wary, sometimes opening one door will inevitably close another." (sees crude lockpicks and a rusty knife in the corner).

A house of traps...smaller than that crazy undead house from Car Arcanum..but definately less enemies.

Add a very freaky ending and you're set

-----

Okay but after that brain fart a serious suggestion:

- Remember how Car Arcanum had some more Thieves Underground quests in the outlyingtowns...do you think you could bring that back...even if it means only a handful of quests in a few of the smaller towns....Black Root and Ashbury would be good places at least, maybe for 3-5 mini quests to steal a few items.

- I loved how you used a lot of the weapon, sheidl and gun racks as containers for respective weapons and such. Do you think you could add those to some of the other locations? (Ex. Liana Del Par's house). It wouldn't have to be too powerful weapons everywhere, but just something to round things out.

- One of the great things your halfling towns brought to the table is a series of shops that areguaranteed to sell items that will fit the "little ones". Now I know that your Mr. Bond's house in Tarant has some "ogre-gear", but do you think there is a way to maybe incorporate a shopkeeper (even if in an obscure location) that specializes in "large scale" armors? This is handy when you play a "smart half-ogre" and have Chukka and Sogg on your team