Character Editor

[sandbags]

Is the reason this doesn't work for the Mac AppStore because the app verifies its package contents and refuses to run? I, of course, have the AppStore version.

 

Do the developers support modding? If so, maybe they could load override scripts from the ~/Library/Application Support folder?

 

Matt

[Randomizer]

Jeff Vogel doesn't support modding. It's at the user's risk.

 

Welcome to Spiderweb Software. Please leave your sanity at the door. It will help you understand Apple's policies on controlling everything.

[sandbags]

That's sad. It's not that mods are in any way essential to the game but the feeling of missing out on such possibilities might put me off buying any future games from the AppStore. Avadon (my first Spiderweb game) was an impulse purchase in the store.

 

Anyway thanks for the heads up.

 

Matt

[A less presumptuous name.]

Modding is actually commonplace for Spiderweb games. The trick is, you have to have the non-MAS version. It's one of the pros of buying straight from the company - full access to all scripts.

[Slawbug]

I don't think it would qualify as commonplace compared with other games where there are extensive modding communities. Basically, 1 or 2 people have made editors for each Geneforge game and now for Avernum. That's the extent of the modding.

[dreamqueen]

Hello, am running windows 7 and for some reason cant save the editor into files.

can save all 3 files into avadon files folder but when i go to move them into scripts they are not there.

so i copied and pasted into the files already in scripts but i cant save. keeps saying access denied.

sorry not hugely technical so am not sure what i have done wrong. any help would be much appreciated.

cheers

[Dikiyoba]

Yeah, you're running into one of Window's authorization issues. Save your edited scripts to the desktop where they're real easy to find, move the original scripts to somewhere safe as a backup, and then move the edited scripts from your desktop to the Scripts folder.

 

Dikiyoba.

[Jerakeen]

Originally Posted By: CRISIS on INFINITE SLARTIES

I don't think it would qualify as commonplace compared with other games where there are extensive modding communities. Basically, 1 or 2 people have made editors for each Geneforge game and now for Avernum. That's the extent of the modding.

Not really; minor script edits abounded for the last few Avernums. See this thread, and this one. Also this one, this one, this one, and so on and so forth. Microphage in particular was very active.

[froggiemac]

I followed the download instructions for Windows, clicked on the sign in goldcrag and nothing happened. Trying to figure out what I did wrong. I'm using windows 7 home premium. I installed the game in programs files(x86). Help! I'm stuck fighting the drake...keeps killing all my party members! Very frustrating!!

Thanks.

[dreamqueen]

thanks Dikiyoba. that worked. But still having major issues. loaded both files for the full editor and avadon opens and you can choose a character (saved game doesnt work full stop - obvious reason there i guess) and game stars to load but gets to setting up game and then the pop up avadon is not working comes up. can delete files and reload original ones - works fine just not with editor. any help will be much appreciated.

thanks

[Jerakeen]

I'm afraid I don't know much about Windows 7, but maybe this post will help you?

 

If not, maybe some of the techie types here can offer some advice. Also, can any Windows users please confirm whether the latest version of the deluxe editor, with the two files, works for them? Maybe there's some essential difference in the item script.

 

In other news, I discovered that the Lionheart Scarab (one of the custom items) lets you leap through windows.

 

 

Click to reveal..

 

 

I suspected it might, but at the time I didn't have a convenient save to test it. Here it's not a big deal, but I can imagine getting into some trouble with this in, say, the Jhereth Deeps (presumably you could also leap through gates or any terrain you can see through, as long as there's a hostile creature to aim at).

 

I could have gotten all three characters through by letting the ghasts kill the other two. The possibilities are interesting, but should be explored with caution. In other words, don't attempt this without saving your game first.

[Skwish-E]

Originally Posted By: The Turtle Moves

Not really; minor script edits abounded for the last few Avernums.

Avernum 4 was actually the first game I ever made any mods to, and mine are actually quite small. I just changed the sale prices and weights of a few items. (For example, a rock weighs a tenth of a pound and sells for 2000 coins, which makes it easy to pick up a lot of cash)

The only other one that I did was to get the Gypsy Blessing in A5. (When you tip the old gypsy who is playing music, instead of it costing you 5c, it gives you 30000c.) I forget where I learned that one. Somewhere here on the forums, I'm sure.

I've tried the Character Editors, but it just seems to easy to overpower the characters, and it takes all the challenge out of the game.

[Jerakeen]

@dreamqueen:

 

Are you able to just drag and drop the files from your desktop into the folder, rather than copy/pasting? This seems to work better, based on reports I'm getting.

 

I've streamlined and clarified the instructions a bit. Hopefully that helps.

[dreamqueen]

yep saved files to desktop then draged and dropped. uninstalled game and reinstalled it. still freezes on the loading screen. very frustrating. may just have to (shock horror) play without editor - will be first spid web game ive played without it unless i can get the rotten thing to work. have also saved to programs so i can delete and add files. didnt help

[Jerakeen]

OK, I'm wondering if the items file might be causing the trouble. Try restoring the original files, then download the older version of the editor. There will only be one file. Install the same way and see if it works for you.

[dreamqueen]

thank you so much for all your help the older version worked wonders! (wont tell you just how many times i had to uninstall and reinstall as one forgot to just move unmodified file not delete it)

[Sterno]

After reading that it doesn't stack to have to different characters in the party with the lockpick skill, I thought I'd download this editor so I could retrain one of the guys. I tried using the no-frills one that's upstairs in Avadon by talking to the guard.

 

However, when I ask about retraining, it gives me some information about what that means and asks me if I want to proceed. However, my only options from there are to add lockpicking, boost all skills, and cancel. There's no "Yes, I really do want to retrain" option.

 

I've got the Steam version, if it matters.

[Alorael at Large]

I'm not sure about the editor, but the easiest way to retrain is to select a character, hit Shift + D, and then type "retrain" in the box provided. It'll let you reallocate all your skill and attribute points.

 

—Alorael, who believes the Steam version should still be moddable. Steam is pretty good about that.

[Jerakeen]

*Sigh*

 

This is what I get for getting fancy. I compressed the files to allow for simpler downloading - something may have gone wrong. I'll take a look at it and if necessary restore the old links.

 

Edit: Well, I uploaded the file afresh and it seems to be working properly now, but I'm a little worried that something else in the script may have been corrupted. Is this a common thing, techies?

 

Anyway, now to re-download and retest the deluxe version.

[tmsidrschnapper]

Originally Posted By: The Turtle Moves

You will not be able to use this editor (or any others) if you bought the game at the Mac App Store. Sorry about that.

Just wanted to put something on the table again: I read about the warning and tried nevertheless (yes, I'm a kind of try-and-fail-myself guy). But the editor in fact DOES work with Avadon bought in the MAS.

[Jerakeen]

That is awesome! Can you post exactly how you did that? Or did the MAS version change.

[tmsidrschnapper]

I assume the MAS version changed (it's version 1.0.3), because I didn't do anything special.

 

Well, in fact I had to enter the admin password to replace the original files with the editor files, but that's all.

[Jerakeen]

Great! This would presumably apply to the lockpick and secret door switch cheats as well... has anyone tried them?

 

Meanwhile, I've updated the OP.

[tmsidrschnapper]

The lockpick cheat works, too. I didn't have any time to look for a secret door switch, but I assume it'll work as well.

[tmsidrschnapper]

Ok, it DOES work. Just found a glittering switch in a dungeon.

[Jerakeen]

Thank you for posting this, tmsidrschnapper. Frustrated MAS buyers, take note!

[Yiab]

There is a bug in the deluxe version of the character editor:

When augmenting Jenell (and, I assume, a shaman main character) the "Raise level 2/3/4 skills" option raises call wolf and doesn't raise healing touch. If anybody wishes to change this in their own copy of the editor, open up z3goldcragdlg.txt, find the line that says

Code:

alter_stat(gf(99,1),47,-3);

(it's line number 2528 out of 3137 total in my copy) and change it to

Code:

alter_stat(gf(99,1),46,-3);

 

I don't know if this bug is also present in the no-frills version, but if it is the same change should fix it.

 

Also, excellent editor.

[Jerakeen]

Oops. Good catch.

 

Thanks, I'll fix that.

 

Edit: Unfortunately, FTP doesn't seem to be working with my web host right now. If the problem doesn't get resolved soon, I'll look into temporarily hosting the file somewhere else.

 

 

[MaxHavoc]

Turtle, I'm trying to figure out how you created this editor, in terms of identifying the functions needed to accomplish what the editor is doing. For example, how did you know the alter_stat function existed? Where did you find the proper parameters? That function isn't used in any other script file. Same question with the reward_give function, where are the item codes? Thanks.

[Jerakeen]

'alter_stat' has been around since *BoA (at least). Since it was still in use in the Geneforge series, I took a chance that it would work with the Avadon engine. It did.

 

The parameters are a little different, obviously, because of the different skills and party system. Fortunately, messing around with BoA gave me some familiarity with how these things generally work, and a lot of trial-and-error took care of the rest. The skills themselves are helpfully numbered in a script called 'textskills.txt'.

 

Same deal with 'reward_give', and you'll find the items in a script called 'avitemschars.txt'. Again, helpfully numbered.

 

Is this just curiosity, or is there a feature you'd like to see added to the editor?

[MaxHavoc]

First of all thanks for getting back to me.

 

To answer your question, both. For example you have an ability in the editors that increases the Locksmith skill, my character is a Sorceress so of course she has Unlock Charm. I wanted to edit your editor to replace Locksmith with Unlock Charm but I didn't know the skill number. I realize it makes no mechanical difference, but it would make me happier to see the change in my character view.

 

What I'm really looking for is a way to modify the XP of individual characters rather than the party as a whole. It seriously annoys me that all characters have varying XP amounts. It annoys me even more than the main character has less XP than everyone else. I was hoping there was some kind of function reference where I could find a function that could modify XP but the only thing I've been able to find is award_party_xp. Hell I even tried hex-editing the saved-game file and tried to find the XP values in there, but however they're stored in the file it's not intuitive at all and my attempts have been for naught.

[Jerakeen]

The XP thing is probably hard-coded into the engine. Avadon unfortunately has nothing resembling a wisdom crystal. It occurs to me that the wisdom crystal in AeFtP would be the ideal solution for you, but I doubt that that particular ability was included in Avadon. Might be worth looking when I have the time.

 

Changing the skill edited is easy enough, though. You probably figured this out on your own, but the skill is represented by the second number. The first one selects which character (leave it at 0), and the third one is for how much to alter it. You can set that to whatever you like.

 

As I said earlier, you can find the skill # in textskills.txt.

 

Edit: OK, I looked, and no. But if it makes you feel better, it really doesn't matter how much XP each character has. They should all hit the level cap well before the end.

[Jerakeen]

Ok, so apparently my web host's server has been down for half a day or so. No word yet on when it will be restored.

 

There's nothing much I can do about the maps at the moment, but if anyone really urgently needs to download an editor in the meantime, PM me your email or contact me at atuinmoves(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll send it to you directly.

 

Edit: It's back.

 

Carry on.

[maxsilver]

Note: disregard the following below, I figured out why it didn't work for me on my own.

 

Hello, I am having trouble getting either the no-frills or advanced editor to work. I have both copy and pasted and dragged and dropped the necessary files for each editor into the scripts directory, but neither editor opens up when I go to the necessary areas to trigger each.

 

I am running the steam version of the game, and my game version on the title screen shows 1.0s, as opposed to the 1.04 referenced in the text for the editors. Could this somehow be causing issues?

 

The only other thing I can think of is the fact that I have edited a few scripts to add sparkle to lockpicks and hidden switches in game. Could this be causing the editors not to work for some reason?

[Jerakeen]

It shouldn't matter. Do me a favor and check to see if your lockpicks still glow since you installed the editor. And are you able to talk to NPCs after trying to use an editor, or does it break the dialogue?

 

Edit: oh good.

[maxsilver]

Everything seems to work properly now. Lockpicks still glow just fine now. I have no issues with talking to NPC's either.

 

I was installing the editor files incorrectly, once I remedied that I haven't had any issues. I was only after the no-frills editor so I could teach my main character lockpicking skills to give more flexibility in party creation.

[Jerakeen]

Good to know that the no-frills version is serving its intended purpose.

 

Is there anything I should add to the instructions to clarify installation to the Steam version of the game?

[maxsilver]

I don't think there's any issues with the instructions, I simply wasn't following them properly.

[ntrdx]

I'm having the same problem that maxsilver described. I'm running the Mac Steam version of Avadon, v1.0.4s, with the editor files (both basic and deluxe) in the Resources folder of the Avadon app package, but when I try either trigger (talk to a guard in Redbeard's tower, or clicking on the sign in Goldcrag), I get the "normal" dialog and not the editor.

 

My Resources folder currently has the following files in it:

avitemschars.txt

shortcut.icns

z2redtowerdlg.txt

z3goldcragdlg.txt

 

My Steam installation may be atypical; I was an early adopter of Steam for the Mac, and somehow I have it set so that Steam installs apps to my desktop rather than library/application support/steam (there's no such location on my computer).

 

I'm sure I'm overlooking something obvious, but I'm pretty new to modding so I'm hoping somebody can steer me in the right direction. Any advice would be appreciated!

[Jerakeen]

OK, so clearly the scripts are located somewhere else in your version; the only thing in your resources folder originally was the shortcut file.

 

I'm afraid I have no idea where to look for your scripts, but they have to be there somewhere. Poke around in all the folders and hopefully you'll find them. The original versions of the editor files will be there, along with a lot of others.

 

Please let us know where you find them.

[Alegra]

FYI: The editor does work with the iPad version. Just copy the files to

/var/mobile/Applications/[VERY LONG HEX NUMBER]/Avadon HD.app/

The long number is different for every installation. If your device is jail broken, you can access the file system directly (e.g. scp). Without jail break you need a tool like iPhone Explorer (for Mac) to copy the files.

 

I tried the deluxe version and the glowing lock picks hack. Enjoy!

[Jerakeen]

That's useful. Thanks, Alegra, and welcome to the boards!

 

Let's just pretend I've said something witty about sanity and fluffy turtles, mkay?

[hooly]

hello all. i'm playing the game on an Android tablet, wondered if anyone could comment on whether the editors are useable. hoping so.

[adc.]

hello all. i'm playing the game on an Android tablet, wondered if anyone could comment on whether the editors are useable. hoping so.

The editor may not work at Android tablet, since there aren't any folders which you can replace the original script, or Jeff's code might be different etc.

 

I don't exactly know how it works on Android devices, but I'm pretty sure it won't, sorry.

-----

Welcome to Spiderweb Software. Please leave any remaining sanity at my chamber door. You are welcome to take it back, unless my raven took it.

[Doggie]

Very nice, but I have a problem. Installed easily on OSX 10.6. Won't install on 10.7.5. Is it me, or there is something I don't know?

[Lilith]

Very nice, but I have a problem. Installed easily on OSX 10.6. Won't install on 10.7.5. Is it me, or there is something I don't know?

 

It's probably a permissions issue. What happens when you try?

[Doggie]

Nothing changes. Both simply don't work.

[Doggie]

I shouldn't have said they won't install, they just don't function. I did use the deluxe version in 10.6.

[Lilith]

Are you trying to use the editor with a new game or on a pre-existing savefile? If the latter, try leaving and re-entering Avadon to reload the game's scripts.

[Doggie]

Thanks, Lilith, I started a new game and all is ok.