Gameman112358

The effects can indeed be applied to party members. They are permanent once applied; even if you're not in the zone where it's applied, they still work. The only one where it's zone specific is the bless_char one. The rest aren't zone specific.

Those fancy set_new_abil() that are seen on enemies are zone scripted; can't be given to a creation by default. You have to basically use them in a zone. Trying to use them in the gf5itemschars won't work. Spawner creations, you'll have to use the Zone Simulator to make that work. Yeah Geneforge isn't really the most easy to mod game out there, believe me. Although that could be because messing with zones via Zone Simulator is hard; I recalled being able to do so on Mac with some alterations, but I have forgotten how to do it now on Mac. It's been too long; if someone is on Mac and can mess around with hex data & the zones, and has been able to make Zone Simulator work on Mac, please let me know. Either that, or someone's had time to make zone editing and such less headache inducing... I do have a list of what Set_new_abil modifications adds which new perks to creatures. Counter abilities are ones where if an enemy attacks this creature with a melee attack, the enemy will gain a status effect immediately after doing so. Only works for melee attacks, if it lands. Has no effect on ranged attacks. set_new_abil(1000,1); Curse Counter set_new_abil(1000,2); Slow Counter set_new_abil(1000,3); Acid Counter set_new_abil(1000,4); Poison Counter set_new_abil(1000,5); Charm Counter set_new_abil(1000,6); Terror Counter set_new_abil(1000,8); Spike Counter (Simply damages the enemy) Strike abilities are where the creature's melee attacks are augmented to have a status effect inflicted on an enemy if it lands. You can combine these with status effect attacks in the gf5objsmisc script, where you can have melee attacks be able to cause two status effects at once. Only works with melee attacks, no effect on ranged attacks. set_new_abil(1000,10); Poison Strike set_new_abil(1000,11); Acid Strike set_new_abil(1000,12); Fear Strike set_new_abil(1000,13); Charm Strike set_new_abil(1000,15); Slow Strike This one is special because once you assign a creature with this ability, it gains a bunch of extra action points. I don't remember the exact number, but I think it was 4-5 extra APs. Basically creatures with this ability can still move pretty far and still be able to shoot twice. set_new_abil(1000,20); Extra Action Points bless_char basically makes it so that the creature it is applied to has all three of the essence enchantments in the game. Essence Armor, Essence Blade, Essence Infusion, all at the same time. Normally you can only get one enchantment at a time, but bless_char allows creatures to have all three at once. bless_char(1000,2); All Essence Enchantments To use these abilities, simply replace the 1000 with whatever the creature's zone number is, then put it into the script. That creature should have that ability. Do note that this also works with creatures that are capable of joining you. Companions can gain these abilities if you put it into the script. Also, these abilities also work for the player character itself, by simply putting in pc_num() in place of the 1000. Edit: I faintly recall that I did use the Wineskin program to try and get the Zone Simulator to work. Being honest, it's been far too long since I've done modding for Geneforge; I wish it wasn't so annoying to mod, but considering it's an old game, it's understandable.

Oh. Oops. Sorry about that; getting a bit too used to swearing on the Internet... ._.

Shaila backstory wise is a toss up. Same for the other prospectives. Some seem like plain civilians, others seem to already learn some magic or Shaping abilities. All of whom are, yes, brought to the Geneforge to make Lifecrafters. Shaila, alright I can see what you mean. She is definitely stronger than you are, even in gameplay; her HP is pretty decent, she has Ice Spray, can produce creations pretty quickly, etc. Yeah, her backstory is up for interpretation. I was curious how she escaped imprisonment, but's that's another story. Drakons very clearly didn't care for the human side of the rebellion; giving the human rebels a strong Geneforge variant would probably be something the Drakons wouldn't do, lest they make the human side strong enough to make the Drakons less "needed" and more problematic to keep "control" over. And yeah, Rahul probably had heavy training and natural bulk to justify his height and such. Canister use, seriously doubt it.

Doubtful. He's a high ranking Shaper; if he Shaped himself the alterations would be detected *very* quickly, and he'd be in deep trouble. Considering he seems to be of the Guardian sect (IDK, I'm just basing it on his character model), it's probably just natural height and bulk. Would make some sense if you ask me.

The GF4 Geneforge definitely made some insane Lifecrafters at times. Shaila and that Geneforged Servile locked up in Southforge Prison Cell are examples. The Geneforged Servile is more or less left locked up even after the rebels left, more or less to die in the cell. Shaila... welp, she escaped, and became a thorn in the rebels' sides. I do not know though why you say the Geneforge made Shaila to something great but broken; she seems like a novice Lifecrafter from a gameplay perspective. Nothing particularly special. Could you explain? And yeah, Lankan's canister, that thing is weird AF. 1) It hurts you if you tried to use it. Only Lankan can use it. Very unusual for a canister. 2) It grants Lankan a hell of a lot of power, if his in-game character after being Shaped is any indication. Seems a bit strange that Lankan's canister is more powerful than a "full blown" Geneforge. Whoever made that canister must've been quite skilled to be able to pack more power into that thing compared to other canisters, as well as adding safeguards so that *only* Lankan can use the bloody thing.

Don't get me wrong, from a fluff and lore standpoint, it's not hard to explain away why Geneforges in GF4 and GF5 seem so weak, aside from gameplay reasons. For example, both of them are just imitations of the original; they likely do not know the original "formula" that made the Geneforge in the first game capable of giving massive amounts of power to those that use it. They're definitely much weaker, since in the original you needed special gloves to survive, whereas the ones in GF4 and GF5 you just have to touch them with your bare hands and you gain powers. I suppose though I just feel a little bad that the Geneforge, this supposedly extremely powerful device is getting weaker and weaker and less focused on over the course of the series. But that's just my opinion. Changing the Geneforge and the stats it gives you when you use it is not hard, thankfully, but that's for my own personal use. I suppose I just like altering stuff as I please. It does sound like though the Geneforge Rawal has is more potent than the one in GF4, if the female Guardian was really Shaped by it. Again though, modding it so that it gave more stats after using it wouldn't be too hard, thankfully. I wouldn't really call being a Shaper, even if you are "just" an apprentice, "normal", but I get your point. XD

*shrug* Who you choose is up to you. In the case of G3, I'm just thinking of ways to make both paths give you relatively good stuff. Greta is better than Alwan by a long shot in G3. I don't care for the factions. XD Edit 1: Also I must say, I find both the GF4 and GF5 Geneforges to be... what's the proper term? Absolutely lame? Seriously they're weak. I understand them being weaker cuz they're not the real deal, but come on, they don't sound or seem *that* weak. I find myself modding those things to give you more stuff, as well as giving extra stats to certain characters based on what their strengths and play styles are supposed to be. Is it unbalanced? Definitely. Fun and immersive (at least for me)? Also definitely.

Melee damage boost, giving Alwan resistances and armor right off the bat (he's not *that* underequipped...), a thorn/Javelin attack, etc. All would help make Alwan less of a trash character (like the Guardian lol) and more of a viable one. Also gives you a better reason to stay Shaper, if you swing like that.

Haven't been modding for a long while, but my skills haven't gone to waste. One of the primary issues with Alwan is that his weapon upgrades don't scale very well. His first upgrade only upgrades his weapon from: ab_effect_base = 5; ab_effect_per_level = 4; ab_accuracy_adjust = 50; to: ab_effect_base = 7; ab_effect_per_level = 5; ab_accuracy_adjust = 60; His second upgrade only gives his attack the acid effect. No damage boost, no damage multiplier increase, nothing. Yeah. His attack upgrades overall is pathetic. Greta's first upgrade turns her into basically an NPC Agent attack wise (pretty good with the Searer), and her second upgrade makes her more like her GF4 incarnation (Essence Orbs). Now that is worth it. Alwan meanwhile is utterly pathetic. He doesn't get attack OR defense boosts for up close combat. The other problem is that he lacks ranged damage. G3's AP system is unforgiving for melee attackers. Greta has magic attacks that she can use at range, so she'll be able to keep throwing attacks til she needs to recharge. Alwan on the other hand has to charge in, which means he'll waste his first turn, and then he'll get wrecked cuz he lacks the ability to tank, and he won't be able to throw hard hits back cuz he doesn't scale well. Throw in the fact most skills for Guardians are nerfed, yeah. Alwan being weak isn't a surprise since the whole system is designed to rail against him, just like how the G3 system makes Guardians a "suboptimal" character in the grand scheme of things. I could try and mod Alwan in G3, though I will admit G4 and G5 have spoiled me for the most part. Wouldn't be hard per se to make him a little better, though I don't think it's possible to alter weapon upgrades in the sense of like, he starts out with a regular baton, then his first upgrade gives him an Acid Baton, then he gets access to a Submission Baton with the second upgrade, along with all his usual weapon upgrades, with some tweaks. Perfected batons could also be a thing, maybe. Edit 1: Also, giving Alwan access to skills like Parry and Quick Action would help; it does make a lot of sense for Guardians to have access to stuff like that. Greta, I could give her buffs too, though it makes losing her more painful if you're one of those people that follow the Shaper path. Keeping Alwan isn't really worth it vs keeping Greta with you. Edit 2: I think someone long ago was already giving Alwan access to Thorn Batons, cuz they thought the same thing like a number of us; he is weak, he scales horribly, and is overall not worth it. Edit 3: Can't say I'm much of a fan of G3 tho, mainly cuz boat mechanic + I don't care for the rebels cuz they're not really proving to be any better IMO + very lopsided loss in terms of partners(Losing Greta is more painful than losing Alwan) + various other mechanics.

Just to speak my own personal opinion, yeah, Guardians (Warriors and Shock Troopers(YMMV on this one)) aren't exactly the most "optimal" class to play with. Mostly because of the transition from G2 to G3 nerfing a number of things that made Guardians in G2 the utterly OP characters (from what I've heard, since I don't play G2). Parry and melee weapons being not so hot. Basically durability and firepower getting heavily nerfed. Shapers and Agents have other methods to fight, and in the case of the Shaper, didn't affect him that much. In the end, unless you're a pure min-maxer, Guardians are less of a "oh he's terrible don't use him hurr", and more like what you said OP: A game with more challenge. For some, perhaps the challenge is appealing. Or perhaps you just like the idea of being this guy in armor, blade in hand, ready to fight alongside your creations. Everyone has their own tastes. Me? I would probably play Guardian in G3, though I might mod him here and there for my own enjoyment. I am not a pure min-maxer, but I am not a challenge seeker either. Also, I will admit, I am disappointed with how pathetic Alwan is in G3. Scaling wise, he's absolutely horrible IMO compared to Greta, who at least gets noticeably stronger over the course of the game. In all honesty, modding the game to give him a baton and some resistances, which scale over the course of the game, felt less of a mod and more of a QoL fix. But that's just me.

I wouldn't overthink it too much man. XD

I wasn't really trying to ask anyone to make such an idea happen. It was more me just spitballing ideas out. If it's too much work/too hard/impossible/etc., well it's just an idea. XD I am quite aware of the limitations set in place in terms of modding. It was more just a random thought for an idea.

That makes this even harder to pin down... you shouldn't be boosting your enemies at all. The script says nothing about boosting enemy creations, just friendly ones. Definitely a bug if that's happening... ._.

That... doesn't sound right. It shouldn't be affecting enemy creations whatsoever. And 1500 HP? That sounds even less right... I don't see anything in the scripts that says that HP is boosted, or level is increased... I'm assuming you didn't mod anything, right?