Arcanum:WIP 6.0 now available

Is there any possibility of WIP eventually being installable on top of the the UAP, rather than being something standalone that incorporates UAP fixes? I'd feel a lot better about it as a modular thing on top of the patch rather than something that tries to incorporate the patch.

(Yes, I recognize that'd likely be a ton of work; that's why I'm asking rather than assuming it'll be done someday )

 

No - for various reasons.

1) Both the UAP and A:WIP unpack to the same location.
This can be changed with a simple renaming of my DATs, but....

2) I rename the maps I modify so that any changes I make show up properly.
Case in point: Brandybuck. I cleared away a large chunk of forest to make room for the shire.
Now the game engine operates kind of like a tranparency projector. If the modified main map still went by the name of Arcanum1-024-fixed, then all those trees and such would still try to show through from the original Troika map.
This is the primary reason why the two will remain incompatable as complete units.

3) All of Drog's map fixes are for originally-named maps, not my modified ones.
This is why I have to manually add those mob and sec fixes to my renamed maps. If I happened to use an old map - let's say the Crash Site Cave - then the engine would see the original area, then read Drog's fix of such-and-such spot, then with my map it's told to ignore the fix.
I hope this make sense.

4) Keep the installation simple.
With A:WIP you install the game, use the official patch, then add my hack.
Believe it or not, there's people who have trouble with those three steps. Adding more steps would exponentially increase the number of folks who would have to be talked through the install. (shudder)

5) The more layers there are, the greater the chance for errors to occur.
Again - "Keep it simple!" Every little change has to be noted and adjusted for by the game engine.
If you start out with a command that says "turn left", then the next layer says "turn right", the third says "go straight", etc, etc, etc; the engine has to adjust for each of these and that's where the possibility for error comes in.

6) Custom content.
- fictional example - If I'm using effect line 301 for the Uber-Sword of Death, but the UAP uses that same line for the restored Ring of Eternal Life.......

Do these answer your question?

 

well i cant wait for the latest patch has any of the new locations been updated? im looking into designing master tools as seperate schematics probably be the way to go.

oh and the ogre theif which lays dead in the caldon sewers causes the game to crash any one else find this?

keep up the good work

 

Give me a week or two to finish debugging the merge. I think I've found all the conflicts, but I'd rather be sure.

This upcoming release may be a bit disappointing to some people as there are no major alterations to any of the areas, none of the thieves' quests will be in place, or any of the new followers. I did convert a building in Tarant, but that's about it.
I'm hoping to get more eyes watching for possible conflicts and more testing done under a wider range of playing styles for the new items that were added.

Master tools? I'm not sure I follow you here. Like a lockpick set that can open any lock on the first try?

Finally, the dead thief. I'll check this out when I get home, but this is the first I've heard of it.

 

OK - Found the dead thief and got the same problem you did.
Used WorldEd to examine the scene and discovered the half-ogre had been "cloned" into three!
Ultimately replaced the map and problem solved.

Thanks for letting me know.

 

Mother Tilly is a reasonable request. Yeah. I can do that.

 

MotherTilly...yay!

One more woman to take control of my the Permanancy Trick and do things with!

 

A while back there was a mention of a use for coal. Well - not too long ago kerosene was commonly called coal-oil.
So why not a schematic for kerosene that uses coal as the first ingredient?

What I'm currently floundering on is a reasonable, little-used, stock-game second ingredient.

Suggestions?

 

Well I suppose there's:

- Liquid Soap (which is derived from fatty oils)

 

Since I can't seem to come up with anything better; liquid soap it is.
I'll add the schematic to Blackroot.

Update: Mother Tilley is finally in place.

 

The front doors at the Bentley - The Boil seem to be unlocked, but I can't pass trou it.

 

At Simon Plough’s Warehouse there are some graphical glitches and I can "see" the rat's movement in the first room trough the wall.

 

Welcome to the forum, nemezis_j!

About the doors - I fired up the packed version, used an invisibility cheat, and had no trouble entering or exiting.
Two possibilities come to mind for your problem: Either the orc is standing directly behind the door, and thus you can't enter; or you have a glitched install.
I've encountered the first one enough times to suspect it may be the source. If you can, try the scene again.

The warehouse - This happens occasionally even in the stock game. An odd quirk but it doesn't happen all the time and I have no idea why.

 

Hi, just discovered this forum a couple days ago. How great it is to find people still modding Arcanum. Arcanum and Morrowind are the only two games I have that I have played over and over.

Is the link at the beginning of this thread still the correct update or is another one available?

 

Welcome to the forum, Wolfhawk!

It is pretty wild that people are still modding, tweaking, or generally trying to improve on this old game - but hey - this game has a good enough story-line and enough freedom of play to keep bringing folks back. Even you it seems.

Oh - And the link in the OP is still good as I'm at least a week away from uploading the next version.

You're welcome to wait if you want or you can go ahead and install the 4.4 to enjoy the new adventures.
The upcoming release just adds a few more fixes and toys to play with.

Speaking of which, would anyone be interested in playing with this?:

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o314/rroyo/Arcanum/Arbalest.jpg

 

Oh! Oh! Me Me Me!

P.S. at -9175 stones, does your PC float??

 

No floating. Can't even walk on water. The antigravity gems negate 10,000 stone of inventory weight.
(In this case I'm still using an apple.)