Arcanum:WIP 6.0 now available

Apologies for hijacking this thread. If this forum allowed Private messages..or I knew how to use them if it does, I'd ask this privately.

Wolfsbane you seem to be a tech player. You find the game balanced as is with no mods? I'm too inexperienced with the game to get a feel for it yet. I know that starting early levels mages certainly feel much more powerful. Pick up Harm and go nuts killing things. Tech I'm sure matures as you get more schematics and can make more impressive items and weapons.

Maybe I'm just approaching the schools I study wrong. I could try favoring firearms and throwing more, favoring bombs and bullets.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Rroyo, I again apologize for asking all this here, I'll make sure any follow up posts fit with A-WIP.

 

Not a problem, Gato.
I might learn a thing or two as well.

 

The best thing with technologists is that you can use so much magic, even if technologically inclined. If you're a mage, however, you'll keep on failing and failing due to your conflicting auras, should you try wearing tech-items. A CP well-spent for a low-level technologist is the molotov cocktail. This simple but effective bomb lets you concentrate on other things than combat in the first phases of the game. Spending some CPs to get the Disarm and Stun spells is also a wise choice.

From there, you can go anywhere you please. I mostly go into the mechanical, smithy and electrical disciplines. mainly to get good armor, charged rings and Automatons. But other disciplines are also good and worthy of exploration. There's really a fuckload for tech-characters to do.

 

I'm wondering if you're going to play tech with a bit of magic, can you bypass the pickpocket skill and just use the unlocking cantrip. Sounds more effective to spend two CP to learn that skill with disarm, then several to learn lockpicking.

I'm not really playing a thief, no pickpocket ability yet, but there's interesting technology hidden behind locked doors I want to play with.




[EDIT]
Side note, I mentioned earlier I no longer get bonuses from quests, I get level ups. I created a fresh game, patched, then installed A-wip 4.4. Ran the first quest for the priest, and I leveled up instead of getting his reaction modifier blessing. Did I do something wrong?

 

I'm guessing you meant the pick locks skill.

The answer is: No. You can't.

The effectiveness of the Unlock Cantrip spell is paralell with your magick alignment. Tech alignment = 0% effectiveness.

You could just bash things open, you know. Or have your mindless robotic minions do it for you.

 

If you are still adding one of Krupp's hacks, then this seems to be the conflict you're getting. The extra experience points and/or a level-up.

If not, you've got a really odd glitch going.

Most peculiar either way. Other than say, stop trying to add hacks to A:WIP, I don't know what to tell you.

At Wolfsbane:

Here's the first try of a suitable S.P.A.M. device. Opinion?

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

 

I'm not. I uninstalled Arcanum, reinstalled, patched, installed A-WIP 4.4, and I level up instead of get a proper blessing. I'm going to try another clean install when I get home tonight.

Wolfsbane:
Yes I meant picklock, sorry. I guess I could just let old Sogg smash in the doors for me. That would free up some points to go towards schematics, melee skills, or firearms. Going to start a new character tonight.
Human, with apprentice knife thrower. Since the only explosive skill I really care about is the first tech., Molotov Cocktail the few points I get to throwing from knife thrower will hopefully help me hit things at apprentice level. I'll skip picklock this time, see if bashing is fast enough to let me break into a few places without trouble. Grab healing salv to compensate for Virgil's inability to heal me, when he's out of bandages. Not sure if it's better to climb smithy or gunsmith early. Smithy allows me to arm my followers with balanced sword, gunsmith just helps me until I get a firearms follower. Maybe I'll try favoring mechanical this time. I don't really have any experience with it, stationary traps never appealed much, might work better than I think. Even if they don't the later skills seem pretty useful.

 

Gato: Screw the traps and wait for the Mechanical spider and the Automaton. Also, if you're not keeping Virgil for his storyline, I'd suggest you dump him and find some other followers instead. He really can't do much for you if you're a technologist.

Rryro: Looking good. Looking really good.

 

I've never gotten to far in the game. If I dump him for say for a tech healer I found in Durnholm, will I miss much?

I'll try for a push up the mechanical tree tonight. Looking forward to seeing what that autoskeleton key can do, might keep that point of picklock.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm kinda new to this game. I keep starting over as I learn things, trying to build a decent character.

Think I'll throw a few points into firearms this time early on. See if I can actually hit the broadside of a barn with my revolver.

 

My experience has been that the need for Pick Locks is gonna depend a lot on what kind of game you wanna play.

I'd hazard a guess and say that for a FIRST TIME player...the need for Pick Locks is small, unless you initially want a thief type character.

But for an experienced player looking to just have another run, its hard to resist not getting Pick Locks in order to fully explore those little things you might have missed out on...plus its easy to equipe your character heavily at teh start of the game you invest in pick locks and learn to make the auto-skeleton key.

Now as far as Pick Pocket goes...its usless for money as you can only take 100 coins at a time, regardless of how much your target has.

On the flip side, it's great for getting keys and some odd items like Suit of Resistance, Sword of Baltar, Sharp Shooter's Pistol, etc.

IN terms of combat its usless unless the combat is something you initiate by attacking or by dialogue. THis would allow you to pick everyone's weapons before the fight (groovy)....or if you're feeling really mean...plant CURSED items on them (real groovy).

 

Wolfsbane - Glad to hear it!
Now to create a decent story......

 

What is that supposed to be?

Some kind of Radio?

 

That is the Sub-etheral Projection Automatic Message device, or S.P.A.M. device.*

Capable of storing a dozen or more messages, then wirelessly linking to any available telegraph line, and unloading those messages in a constant stream, this cutting-edge example of 19th Century technology could cripple communications across the entire continent with the closing of a switch.

Wolfsbane is the next HoL regular to have a part in A:WIP, as an inventor and target of a thieves' quest.

* Name subject to change without notice.

 

Wow.....what can I say....AWESOME!

Well done lads

 

Reinstalling Arcanum once more. See if I can't figure out what's going on with quests giving inappropriate level up rewards.
Installing the game, I'll runs the 1.074 patch, and try the game, see if it works right. If it does, I'll start a new game with A-WIP installed.

 

OK..newbie-ism bit me in the rear. I just wasn't paying enough attention. I was leveling because I was close enough to doing so for the quest completion XP to knock me over. I'm getting the proper bonuses I think, I just didn't notice.

I've got a fun game going so far. Amazing how fast pickpocketing can turn everything around. I had to resist the urge to rob the blacksmith in Shrouded hills, it was just too easy. I did knock off..dang I'm blanking on names today..the fancy pawnshop owner who knows about the rings maker. Nice way to get some parts I can use later. Money really isn't a problem when stealing is so easy to do. One point, no training, and I'm doing pretty well for a low level character. Still pretty weak in technology, but growing slowly.

 

Glad to hear it!
Enjoy the adventures, Gato.

 

Goodday rroyo,

I am new to the community of modding of Arcanum, though I have done a few things for Baldur's Gate 2.
With that game mods tend to be installed on top of the game, but I can not find it here. Either I am overlooking this or there is only info on other modules and the like/
Thus for my clarity the following questions. After downloading AWIP 4.4:

1) Are the old save games of the lives standing for Kergan still accesible?

2) How about mid-game save games (this can vary of 1) as one may be in an area with changed maps or the like?

3) I have seen you may not install any other modules and patches. Unfortunately I noticed yours after Drog's Unofficial Patch. This Patch has no uninstall seemingly. Thus what are the ramifications if installing over this and... otherwise is it required to install the game anew?


One more random question:

4) I have a Gnome that has gone all inventor in the old game, but since he can hardly fight and I roleplay him (as I do with all, thus thief underground quests for instance I will not do, or Half Ogre Island) he is level 38 has done all I could for going to Vendigroth. Does this mod help non-combatitve or skill heavy characters earn more xp? He simply makes stuff... (yes I have 10 arachnids... and I can not get automaton yet due to leveling stuff... and he may never will (after all level 50 and all points and you still get not all disciplines full (as he does have some firearms and haggle).


Requests:

1) Has it been considered to recode the reward for Pick pocket mastery? Not the quest in perse even if it is streaking, but euhm.... not caught on planting items is no reward almost. YOu have one quest in vanilla that works with this.


Offering of Help:

1) From the Baldur's Gate stuff I am known for making my voice twist in many ways... ever considered having voice actors to give voices to the unvoiced NPC's. If so, I can record stuff for you for a character or 3/4 without sounding to alike.

 

Welcome to the forum, The_Deathsangel!

Glad to hear you're wanting to try my work.

OK - Your first paragraph isn't too clear, but I got the impression that you are looking for more expansions of the main game. So far, there's only two English ones that I know of - Car-Arcanum and A:WIP. Everyone else has done stand-alone mods.

Now the questions:
1 & 2) Sorry, there's been hundreds of changes made to the stock game - starting at the crash site. The only thing you'll be able to do is begin a new game.

3) To get rid of Drog's Arcanum patch, delete the Arcanum 5 and 6.dat and the modules/Arcanum.patch1 folder. Now you can install A:WIP by allowing it to overwrite as needed. You shouldn't (fingers crossed) have to reinstall the game.

4) Not really. I'm still somewhat new to modding and my new adventures are more action-based than problem-solving. In other words, show up, kill a ton of monsters, collect your reward, and go to the next site.
On the plus side, there are some new schematics to play with, hard-to-find items are plentiful, and there's more free areas for you to rest in.

Can't say I've ever considered it. *makes note*
I'll re-examine this idea when I'm a bit more skilled.

I appreciate the offer, but this hack is already a huge download and it's going to get even bigger before I'm done. Sound clips can quickly add a lot of weight, so I'll be adding new ones only when I absolutely have to. For this reason alone, the new followers will have to remain text-speech only.

Again, thanks for the offer - and enjoy the adventures.

 

Hm, this doesn't enterly answer my question. I can understand you require to start the new games for the new content. But can I load, than now in specific, the Kerghan Castle Area. As there I have three lives that stand right before the portal. And I simply want to access them to look back up on them... Call me weird

Thanks you I still need to consider if I want to install the mod... mainly due to 1 and 4

Free areas to rest in is no problem. My inventor has more than 120.000 gold, even after having bought the boat (I didn't know of Stingy Pete than, as I play all lives a bit at the time)

Haha, okay.
And a similar request... add invisible enemies, because perception 20 is also useless at this moment...

You be amazed at what I can do for the amount of space it takes. I can create .ogg files with an automated .bat that puts them back to .wav files. .ogg files range in the few hundered bites (yes you read this correctly!) for a few seconds.