[Release] UltimateArcanum Cooperative play in English

This module is a translation of UltimateArcanum (previously multiarcanum), a russian Arcanum co-op mod.
I was disappointed that it had no english translation so over the past three days I made it my first Arcanum mod project.

If you intend to play the module, I suggest giving UA_eng_changelog.txt a read, it contains many tips and outlines the issues with multiplayer in Arcanum.

I've also added a few tweaks to the existing UA along the way:

All ammunition based weaponry has been re-balanced for real-time gameplay, lower ammunition requirements as well as higher damage with much lower rate of fire.
Small balance changes to the Harm and Quench Life spells, a few early melee weapons also saw a reduction in speeds as they were better than many late-game weapons.
Progressing further into the game characters(level 10+) will require slightly more experience to level;
this is to support the replayability of the game and ensure the game maintains a reasonable level of difficulty at the same time.

The module is tested over both network and internet connections without issue, but it's quite possible you will encounter problems.
It's also possible that I have introduced a number of bugs because I've never modded arcanum before.
I'm still not sure everything is 100% compatible, but it seems to work so far so I'm going to release it for anyone that wants to play coop.

Where to get the mod
--------------------------

(Installer version)
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?x9r52hhd85d7u2d
or
(RAR Archive version)
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ci8p2accf7kak02

Installation
-------------

Install the Arcanum 1.0.7.4 patch (if not already done so).
Install Drog Black Tooth's Unofficial Arcanum Patch (UOP).
Optionally Install Highres hack in order to play Arcanum at higher resolutions.
Extract/install the UA_ENG archive to your arcanum folder (where arcanum.exe is located). Overwrite all.

Running the game
---------------------

Run the game as normal - Host 'network' over hamachi or similar (works fine over the internet) or 'internet' via Crypton's MatchMaker.
Don't forget to select UA_ENG as the module when starting as a host..
Joining clients must have installed the mod for co-op to work correctly but do not have to select the module.

Notes
-------

Please remember that balance changes and the XP modification will carry over to any other module, including ordinary singleplayer.
In order to disable these, delete arcanum9.dat and then delete the entire proto folder inside arcanum/data.
These can be restored by re-extracting the mod.
The module will not work correctly in single-player, if you wish to play the module by yourself, start a network game.

History of arcanum co-op
------------------------------

Multiarcanum (initial project, mapmerge, script replacements) - Crypton
UltimateArcanum (teleport stones, fixes) - Saruman
UA_ENG - (retranslation, balance changes) - Magitek

Future improvements
--------------------

It's likely I will not be putting much more into this module, as much as I'd like to. Not being able to save items or game progress, is a serious set-back.
Arcanum multiplayer needs an engine hack to improve this and without it, I can't see how to really improve the campaign co-op much further.
A dedicated server might mitigate issues a bit but is along the same lines as hacking in full save functionality.

It's possible that in the future I may add a central hub as opposed to having players start at the crash site.
The central hub would probably feature easy access to the main cities with basic crafting and ammunition supplies.
I also want to add an easier resurrection system to make things a little less frustrating when the host dies.
I had also thought about removing the majority of the teleport stones in favor of a "world map" that you can travel normally on in isometric view.

I am happy to take suggestions on how to improve the co-op as well as bug reports here.
Just note that many fixes are probably beyond my knowledge of modding arcanum.

All content was used without permission. Thanks to everyone that made this module possible, I hope you enjoy what has been put together.

If there is a major issue with the module, feel free to take down the thread.

 

I shall test it as soon as I get to my home, I'm eager to see this working!

 

Very interesting, I'm definitely going to try it. However, you probably should make the next version as patch to original module only, instead of releasing it as brand new module, since it's only translated right? and Russian and English version should be compatible, so we can play together. Also, I'm not sure if Saruman and ArcanumClub's community are going to be happy about that, so it would be smart to release it as patch only, next time. Just a suggestion...

Anyway, thanks again! :thumbup:

P.S. I posted your topic at ArcanumAlive forums, if you don't mind: http://arcanum.game-alive.com/forums/vi ... f=12&t=132

 

Yeah thanks; oh and note (on your post), there really isn't anything translated by google in the end.
I compared the english files with the russian files while using google translate to make sure everything was correct, and then manually replaced it all with the proper english.
There are one or two signposts I couldn't quite work out as I'm not familiar with the geography, but it should be pretty obvious as to where they go.

My project is pretty much just a placeholder for UltimateArcanums next project I guess, ultimately I just wanted to play coop and figured it couldn't hurt to release the files for anyone else interested.

 

Really? Huh, thanks for explanation! I just fixed that post.

Well, okay, but afaik, they are already working on English translation, the thing is that Saruman is currently busy and has stopped working on UltimateArcanum for a while. Check out the official topic at ArcanumClub for more info. Also he posted some news at ArcanumAlive forums: http://arcanum.game-alive.com/forums/vi ... &t=11#p409

 

Haha- I'm not that patient, though I did try to figure out the direction they were going, but I couldn't find any information about the so-called "turboarcanum" on their forums, I had just figured it was a dead project.

While you're around Crypton, I might as well hit you up with some questions if you don't mind:

1. Randomization, to what level is this possible inside Arcanum? I want to make things a little less dull upon restarts.

2. Random encounters, these are completely non-functional without the world map, aren't they? if you know a good way to tap into these or another idea that might work I'm all ears. If I have to spawn each individually and give it a random chance to activate, so be it.

3. Walking monsters, are these fixable in multiplayer? or perhaps I could atleast boost walk speed of certain creatures? To be honest, many creatures seem to function reasonably in real-time without fixes, but I'd still like insight into it if you have any.

 

Depends. What things you want to randomize? I don't know much about the Arcanum scripts, but I think that you can randomize things through scripts. You better ask someone skilled scripter, I suggest RunAwayScientist.

Well, I already fixed worldmap for MultiArcanum module, it uses teleporting instead of walking, so random encounters are not possible. However, later I found out a bug in my fix, is working only for client side, and I was going to fix also server side, but due lack of interest from public, I canceled that project.

Anyway, I think that it will be possible to create random encounters with scripts.

Not sure if I understand, you want to increase walking speed of some monsters? I think that they are fixed -> saved in Art files. There is a variable to control speed of animations (frameRate), check out file format specification here: http://arcanum.game-alive.com/forums/vi ... p?f=6&t=53

It's possible to hack the executable to control the walking speed, however it won't be easy I think, but you better ask someone else to confirm that.

Can't help you more, not enough time, sorry :thumbup:

 

What I mean is, wolves at the start of the game just walk up to the player in multiplayer, instead of running?
It's not like singleplayer where they speed toward the player; I think it has something to do with the AI settings of the monsters but I really don't know.

 

Would altering every mob in the game be necessary? I'm not dedicated/smart enough to write tools to do it.

All balance changes are contained in arcanum9.dat, as stated users can remove it if they wish to run a "pure" game. The arcanum campaign is not balanced for this in any case, and can be irritating to play due to the limitations; the balance changes are more or less to soften this.

Personally I consider using nearly 200 gold in bullets to kill 3 wolves absurd, throwing/magic/melee can kill without issues and it doesn't cost you quite so much. In multiplayer you don't have the opportunity to gather bullets and arrows and this is not a great deal of fun to deal with constantly(particularly if you are working together), I had even thought about removing ammo altogether; I would have done so if I could have found another good way to balance it, unfortunately most weapons already have speed 0 so I cannot slow down the ammo consumption further.
Its possible I could physically slow down the art files but I haven't looked into it yet.

Increasing the installation options may create problems when players play together due to synchronization, unless I misunderstand the networking in Arcanum. If this was a single-player mod I would be keen to offer more options if players wanted them but here it serves to create more issues in multiplayer.

I prefer to keep my mods in the most compact/easiest form possible so it is less difficult to get a game going.

 

Very Cool Mod, My brother and I have been looking for a way to play the single player game together. Can't wait to try it!

 

Thanks a lot i was searching for this for very long time, actually i recently join this forum and i hope got lot of such useful information in future.

 

So, you still can't save in UltimateArcanum ? I thought it was possible...

As for randomization, it's really possible but ask for a lot of work. I'm doing that in my mod. Different maps, different quests, ...
As for the scripts, just use the random number value and script various consequences depending on the number.