GF5 mod with EXTRA quest chain! More GF5 content!

[idonotexist42]

word, well I look forward to you getting a more stable version put together hopefully and wish you luck there. The way I judged whether the upgrades were upgrades or not was by reading the third party game guides other people had written where'd they'd looked at the actual differences between the two versions in the script and done like statistical analysis about it and such. Mainly it was the creations where the only difference between the base creation and the upgraded version was that the upgrade started at a higher level and so if you'd kept one of the base creation around long enough it'd be just as strong or stronger for less essence by the time you got the upgrade. The Artilla upgrades I think were victims of this, and the Battle Alpha vs Battle Beta was a major offender (especially since apparently a leveled up thad you'd kept around could be stronger than a Battle Alpha to begin with if I remember correctly from what I've read)

 

In some cases I nerfed the base creation slightly; in G3 and up (G2 was too unstable and I couldn't change it near as much) I created a "poison spit" and "acid spit" ability and gave the Artila the weaker Poison spit and then gave the Searing Artila the actual Searer ability. Then I gave the Roamer the Acid Spit instead of Searer to differentiate them more. I also gave the Searing Artila poison bite for its melee attack (this I could actually do in G1&2) The useless Pyroroamer I replaced with a "Cryoroamer" in keeping with the Fyora and Drayk. The Thahd Shade even though it was already decent I gave the Freezing touch attack that Shades have (and I also turned him blue). Some creations got skills, resistances and armor added, health was tweaked, stuff like that. In some cases I even buffed the Upgrades that were already decent but I didn't feel were different enough flavor wise, like the Glaahk and Ur-Glaahk, the Battle Alpha and Beta. For those two the changes were "under the hood" since they still played the same except they were noticeably tougher and hit harder.

 

Charged creations got significant buffs because I felt that they were mostly useless and as such didn't use them spending all my essence on permanent creations. With Kyshaks I actually gave the original Kyshak the weaker lighting spray type attack instead of the stronger one it initially had and gave the burning Kyshakk the better one. The charged Vlish in G5 I gave one of the Podling AOE attacks.

 

Once I had finished adjusting everything the buffed upgrades didn't feel OP but they did feel significantly stronger and more distinct from the base creations. If you managed to get them early they were OP vs the low level foes you were fighting but lost that advantage as you progressed into higher level areas and were merely even with them and then eventually couldn't keep up. I tried to make it so the Upgraded versions of the creations in one tier were roughly equipotent to the base creations of the next tier, with the exception being the charged creations which I made slightly OP and went with what felt cool as much as what felt balanced since they were temporary.

 

This was all done before the Hard Drive on my Laptop had failed and so I lost everything and I'm starting from scratch but I don't mind.

 

I'd messed with Items a lot too, made the Burning Blade actually do Fire Damage, gave the Guardian Claymore Stunning. I remember that I had tried to give weapons multiple special effects by assigning them some of the stat for the item enhancement (since that was a stat with a number like the skills and resistances and stuff) so it could like slow and curse for example. If I remember right I think it worked but it might have made it impossible to add another enhancement to it on the anvil because it came pre-enchanted.

 

I think I had also given the item enhancement stats to creations and if I remember correctly those did actually work but I'm not sure and I'll have to test it again.

 

With Weapons I focussed on the coolness factor mainly but also tried to make it so that the higher level later game weapons were all useful enough and distinct enough to keep them all around and switch between them situationally. This was because I hated killing a boss or clearing an area and getting a reward and going "oh, this is sorta cool but I already have something stronger so I guess it just gets sold off for cash" I wanted to eliminate being so let down by loot. I created a couple weapons that were like wands that never ran out, or had attacks that creations had but not you, like a hammer (yes I changed the graphic to the hammer and made it blue, and it was a pain in the ass to figure out how to do it) that did the stunning energy attack that Gazers have.

 

When I was screwing with the graphic sheets and whatnot for the items to do the hammer I found out that there's actually unused item icons. There's a cool scimitar with a thick blade, for instance.

 

It was so fun messing with everything that I don't mind having to start all over. I've played all the games in the series multiple times, I've replayed them more than any other game so now this breathes new life into them. These games are old enough that a lot of us here have reached that stage, I think.

[idonotexist42]

oh, btw if I wanted to tweak this so it was open to all classes and not just Shapers/Lifecrafters, how would I do that?

[alhoon]

If you're talking about my mod:

 

- Go to z2Tisenwooddlg.txt

- find: begintalknode 10;

- find and delete:

if ( creature_type(pc_num()) != 0 && creature_type(pc_num()) != 47 ) {

rs(7);

}

- go to z35kratoadlg.txt

- find: begintalknode 124;

- find and delete both instances of: && ( creature_type(pc_num()) == 0 || creature_type(pc_num()) == 47 )

[alhoon]

Due to adding even more content, and incorporating a version of the Artifact Baton \ weapons mod of Gamerman in which you have to find (or buy) the recipes and adding an extra zone (or perhaps two, we will see), the warrior mod will be further delayed... apologies. It's a big mod though. Adds very useful weapons (thanks to Gamerman) in the early part and lots of content in the later part.

[Gameman112358]

Take your time with the warrior mod. No need to rush it; that's how bugs and other errors slip through. I'm glad to hear that my Artifact Weapons and Armor mod, albeit a variation, is making it into your mod.

[alhoon]

It's not just making it into the mod, It's one of the pillars of the mod. The late part is for base command stuff, getting your troops to a good shape and utilizing them in various ways from getting them to come with you so you have a bunch of essence-free powerful support to setting up routes for serviles to escape Dera Reaches.

 

The first part of the mod is about finding some powerful gear with an added twist that to unlock some of the variations you have to look. Frankly even if people don't even go for the base at all, the inclusion of the Batons, Shields and weapons makes a Warrior\Guardian run easier. You have my sincere thanks.

[Gameman112358]

No need to thank me. I mod this game for fun, as a quick hobby for whenever I have time to use. Adding new items doesn't take a lot of time, thankfully. (Though the ability to get said weapons is more time consuming). Can't wait for the Warrior mod to come out.

 

EDIT: Also, getting troops into good shape and getting them to come with you? Setting up routes for serviles to escape the Dera Reaches? The first part I'm eager for (Though I'm wondering if you're going to have any pure melee soldiers; those guys are going to need a lot of stuff to work, since melee isn't really the most spectacular way to fight in GF5. Ranged soldiers are going to be fine; I just imagine them using Submission/Reaper batons, or worse yet, one of my artifact batons... lol). The second part I'm very curious about. Routes for serviles to escape the madman Taygen's land? Not against it, but what do you get out of it? Do you get servile soldiers to go with you or something? I know for sure the rebels would approve, but sneaking Serviles out of the Dera Reaches is serious business, you know.

[alhoon]

First part, soldiers: They are ranged/melee, in fact somewhat better in melee than combat. They get venom batons when their combat worthiness increases. works for new recruits. I.e. if you have a couple of soldiers with you for 3 levels and then you improved your soldiers significantly, you're better of letting the other ones go and getting new ones.

 

What you get out of setting routes for Serviles? It's the first step of a rather large quest line that I think is interesting (hence I put it in ). Once you have a base and have explored a bit the Dera Reaches a dialogue option opens up when you speak to your lieutenant (a servile).

[Gameman112358]

So the soldiers are capable of both long range fighting (Batons, Javelins, etc) and CQC (Swords and other melee attacks). Good to know that distance won't hamper their damage dealing capability.

 

Making melee better than ranged weaponry makes sense; melee in this game is pretty unspectacular, especially given the amount of damage that ranged weapons are capable of. The soldiers having stronger melee is so there's a reason to use their melee instead of staying back and shooting the enemy to death, right? Or is it so they've got an "oh sh*t" option if they get charged at by a bunch of creations?

 

Also, thinking about it, how durable are these soldiers going to be? There's a lot of nasty things that the game can throw at you, especially at the stage the player will be in at that point in time (Around late game, I think, meaning Rotghroths, Cryodrayks, War Tralls, Drakons, Kyshakks, Gazers... the list goes on). They're going to have to be far more resilient than your average NPC soldier, which weren't particularly durable, despite some of them having relatively large health pools. Do these soldiers gain lots of health when their combat worthiness increases? Do they get more resistances to things like acid, poison, energy, stunning and mind effects like Fear and Charm? Do these soldiers get a combination of the two?

 

A large servile related quest line? A servile lieutenant? Oh boy, I can't wait. I'm fairly certain though that this quest is going to tank your reputation with the Shapers real fast, especially considering that you're essentially ferrying serviles out of Taygen's lands, not terribly different from the Shadow Road smuggling serviles out of Shaper lands to the west (but then again, considering where your sympathies lie alhoon, I'm not terribly surprised...).

 

Then again, I wouldn't mind doing more quests to screw Taygen over. I don't like Taygen one bit; even though I'm not much of a rebel sympathizer like you are alhoon, Taygen is simply too out of his mind, even for hardcore Shaper fans (there are some out there, just saying ).

[TheKian]

I'm personally of the opinion that the Shapers would think "Hmm. Is it worse to have serviles escape, or to let them be put in Nazhaper concentration camps? Eh, who cares, let that one wacko kleptomaniac who keeps doing stuff for us despite being a rebel deal with them."

[Gameman112358]

I mean, on one hand, you're essentially creating a Shadow Road Mk II, except instead of ferrying serviles from the Shaper coastal provinces through the Mera-Tev, you're ferrying serviles out of the Dera Reaches. I doubt the Shapers would be particularly pleased about that. But on the other hand, none of the Shapers like Sage Taygen, and you're ferrying serviles out of his lands, where he, like you said, locks them up in what is essentially in-universe concentration camps. So... eh? Maybe it doesn't matter? I dunno, alhoon is the one making the quest line, not me, so he'd be the one deciding what would happen.

[alhoon]

3 hours ago, Gameman112358 said:

So the soldiers are capable of both long range fighting (Batons, Javelins, etc) and CQC (Swords and other melee attacks). Good to know that distance won't hamper their damage dealing capability.

 

Making melee better than ranged weaponry makes sense; melee in this game is pretty unspectacular, especially given the amount of damage that ranged weapons are capable of. The soldiers having stronger melee is so there's a reason to use their melee instead of staying back and shooting the enemy to death, right? Or is it so they've got an "oh sh*t" option if they get charged at by a bunch of creations?

 

Also, thinking about it, how durable are these soldiers going to be? There's a lot of nasty things that the game can throw at you, especially at the stage the player will be in at that point in time (Around late game, I think, meaning Rotghroths, Cryodrayks, War Tralls, Drakons, Kyshakks, Gazers... the list goes on). They're going to have to be far more resilient than your average NPC soldier, which weren't particularly durable, despite some of them having relatively large health pools. Do these soldiers gain lots of health when their combat worthiness increases? Do they get more resistances to things like acid, poison, energy, stunning and mind effects like Fear and Charm? Do these soldiers get a combination of the two?

 

A large servile related quest line? A servile lieutenant? Oh boy, I can't wait. I'm fairly certain though that this quest is going to tank your reputation with the Shapers real fast, especially considering that you're essentially ferrying serviles out of Taygen's lands, not terribly different from the Shadow Road smuggling serviles out of Shaper lands to the west (but then again, considering where your sympathies lie alhoon, I'm not terribly surprised...).

 

Then again, I wouldn't mind doing more quests to screw Taygen over. I don't like Taygen one bit; even though I'm not much of a rebel sympathizer like you are alhoon, Taygen is simply too out of his mind, even for hardcore Shaper fans (there are some out there, just saying ).

 

 

In my opinion... now that we have guns, how many people you see with swords? Same with Batons. Except they are quite expensive. But frankly, give it a century and I don't expect many people to even know how to use a sword anymore.

 

Soldiers: Ehh... I didn't make their melee better. In my own games, I used them as ranged troops. They deal more damage in range than melee. In short, they are half-wartralls in functionality, until some of them get poison.

 

It is exactly like the Shadow road but more aggressive in nature. Except that a greedy Drayk is asking you money to ferry you to certain areas even though you can go freely on foot...  And you have provided the forces and thought of the whole thing. And it even asks you to Shape Clawbugs for extra protection.

 Your reputation with the Shapers gets some hits along the line, but it all happens in secret unless you make some things that are more public in nature.

 

 

If you seek quests that screw Taygen, this mod is for you.

 

Also, let's stop talking about the -WARRIOR- mod in here... I'll open another thread about it.

 

[alhoon]

1 hour ago, Gameman112358 said:

I mean, on one hand, you're essentially creating a Shadow Road Mk II, except instead of ferrying serviles from the Shaper coastal provinces through the Mera-Tev, you're ferrying serviles out of the Dera Reaches. I doubt the Shapers would be particularly pleased about that. But on the other hand, none of the Shapers like Sage Taygen, and you're ferrying serviles out of his lands, where he, like you said, locks them up in what is essentially in-universe concentration camps. So... eh? Maybe it doesn't matter? I dunno, alhoon is the one making the quest line, not me, so he'd be the one deciding what would happen.

 

And troops. You're also ferrying troops that attack the Dera Reaches from the North while Ilya forces attack from the Sea. An NPC even comments on that after a number of Dera Reaches events.

[Gameman112358]

Regarding the guns comment: True, haha. Ranged weapons>Melee weapons, every time. But at the same time, reality shouldn't really dictate gameplay itself, IMO. Then again, I could just buff melee weapons myself when the mod comes out. It wouldn't be particularly hard.

 

Soldiers: So treat them as if they're weaker War Tralls until they start getting some of their more potent upgrades. Understood. Should I expect these soldiers to have the health and resistances of a weaker War Trall as well? No answer to the durability question, or at least I didn't see one. I don't want my soldiers to die en masse to everything the late game throws at me... XD

 

A more aggressive Shadow Road. Much more secretive though compared to the Shadow Road; that got discovered real fast. XD

Greedy Drayk asking for money to get to an area despite me being able to get there myself? LOL, no. XD

Going to guess that this secret servile trafficking route is going to have something where you have to defend it every now and then, since it sounds like you've got forces and optional creations there to defend it. Probably by Taygen's forces, or something like that. 

 

Ahhh... so this route is used to help the rebels attack the Dera Reaches. You're essentially helping the rebellion in secret doing this. I can see now why this needs to be kept secret and how disastrous it'd be for you if the Shapers find out about this. But at the same time, I do not like Taygen, and it seems no one in-universe or out of it does either, so... where do I sign up?! XD

 

I've got more questions for you alhoon about your Warrior mod, but I'll save those for when you make your thread about the Warrior mod.  

[Thynar]

Highly enjoyed this!

 

However, I have some suggestions, and I'd like to have a discussion!

So far, I've found this to be very promising, and a bit inspiring for future additions to the game, and after playing it I have some points I wanted to go over.

 

1. Could you reword the base setup refusal? It makes it sound like refusing -doesn't- allow you to return, so I had went with it even though there were a bunch of rothghroths I would've liked to clear out before setting up turrets and such (because one had died on its own), so instead of "It didn't work so well the last time." something like "Perhaps when I come back later." (it turned out that this IS a reoccuring event, but I didn't know that at the time because of how it was worded, and how all-or-nothing the dialogue earlier in the chain had been.

 

2. The base itself: Currently it seems to only work with a check on your inventory to see if you have any research notes, but I had to look that up xD

Would it be possible to add a creation to the base that you can talk to in order to bring up the prompt? It'd only be a technicality (Maybe you can make it look like a control panel. Shade, servile, thahd, servant mind.. it could even say things like "Everything is in order." when not in dialogue, add a bit of flavor/liveliness)

 

3. This last suggestion is based on the viability of the one before it, but: if you do have a butler/dummy NPC you can talk to to bring up options, it'd be a quality of life addition if it could also give you a dialogue option that lets you leave the zone immediately (it'd faster than Shift+D exitzone, but this again is minor). It'd also be a way to look at all your options and statuses clearly.

 

4. There are a couple typos in v.1.1, in z51rockfalldlg specifically that I noticed, though if I wasn't looking for them I wouldn't really even have noticed (even Jeff still has some :p)

 

5. Would it be too much of a stretch to be able to talk to NPCs after establishing your base/identity about the past more? (More reflection I guess, at the least)

Specifically I was thinking Greta. While It's gone over in the text on the identity chain, but there isn't too much exchange (which might be the total as intended).

 

How exactly is Research Potential calculated?

 

[alhoon]

 

Thank you for the kind words and suggestions.

 

Everything you mention here is easily doable*... at the time of this post. I was not as experienced back then.

 

*Except the spelling mistakes because I gloss over text I've written. TheKyan is so kind as to sweep my new mod to correct those.

 

Alas... I am caught up in another project at the time, but I will seriously consider to return to this to put up a v1.2 before I go too far in the other mod. However, having swapped the majority of the code and started working on them, it is not as easy as it sounds.

 

When I return to it, I'll try to clean up the grammar and use a control panel or something to make it smoother. But I won't edit the actual zones; I prefer this to be a "Script only" change instead of having to alter the core data of the game.

I have some other things to work on (like a "lighter" base for loyalists) and I will also add the "grinding bypass" checks to give XP, money and equipment to people that don't want to go scour challenge areas for XP but dive straight to the story.

 

Do not use auto-exit console commands as I am not sure they work with the "Exit zone" script! You may break some event chains.

 

 

Talking to Greta: You can already talk to her. You can actually "silence her" to make sure your identity doesn't become public since she suspects the truth.

For other NPCs... well, I'll think of it. But I wanted to leave at least some "vagueness" in whether the theory of who you actually are, is true or not. You find enough proof to strongly indicate but you don't find definite proof (because I can't edit the end-text). In fact definite proof would be impossible since your face changed...

 

Research potential: It is a flag that increases and decreases depending on how much you study and learn and how much of this you use. Consider it like a "currency" of sorts.

Edited May 29, 2017 by alhoon

[Thynar]

Awesome! I look forward to more content from you

[alhoon]

Ahh... the warrior mod is being betatested (and swept for spelling mistakes) by TheKian. It should be out soon.

THAT mod... well, I'll visit it in the future, not yet.

 

I am glad for the enthusiasm but I would like to warn you that since you perhaps finished GF5 recently, another GF5 run would perhaps be tedious even with the grinding-cuts.

Edited May 29, 2017 by alhoon

[Samcast]

I am kind of lost after reading the first quest. Go to Krato-kel. Can someone direct me on where im supposed to investigate

[alhoon]

I can, in PM.

 

PS. You have to be lifecrafter or Shaper for this quest.

Edited June 4, 2017 by alhoon

[grod_the_giant]

Very cool mod, but I'm a bit lost.  I've followed the questline to find my identity through to the end (I think?) but I haven't seen any indication of what I'm supposed to do next.  The research lab aspect was the part that interested me the most, but I'm well into the Dera Reaches and still haven't seen anything.

[alhoon]

17 hours ago, grod_the_giant said:

Very cool mod, but I'm a bit lost.  I've followed the questline to find my identity through to the end (I think?) but I haven't seen any indication of what I'm supposed to do next.  The research lab aspect was the part that interested me the most, but I'm well into the Dera Reaches and still haven't seen anything.

 

Can you tell me more of where you are in the mod?  Have you discovered your identity? Also, the reaction your character has to the discovery may affect whether and how you can progress in the mod. 

To get the lab, you need to cause Fort Rockfall to collapse. That's where you set up your lab. 

 

Large parts of the mod FOLLOW the creation of the lab. As an example, there's an option of a decently large quest in order to remove the Command Tool from your chest yourself without relying to others.  And that's one example. Depending on how cannister-mad you are, you may get other ... "interesting" options. 

Edited March 24, 2023 by alhoon

[grod_the_giant]

29 minutes ago, alhoon said:

Can you tell me more of where you are in the mod?  Have you discovered your identity? Also, the reaction your character has to the discovery may affect whether and how you can progress in the mod. 

To get the lab, you need to cause Fort Rockfall to collapse. That's where you set up your lab. 

I discovered I was most likely *that* character from GF4, but I can't remember if I denied it or took the "that doesn't have to define me now" option-- I saved and went through the dialogue options a couple times to see all the choices.  Since then I've allied with Astoria, cleared the secret tunnel past the forts, had a small-to-moderate pro-Rebel lean, and have been pretty stingy with canisters.

[alhoon]

4 minutes ago, grod_the_giant said:

I discovered I was most likely *that* character from GF4, but I can't remember if I denied it or took the "that doesn't have to define me now" option-- I saved and went through the dialogue options a couple times to see all the choices.  Since then I've allied with Astoria, cleared the secret tunnel past the forts, had a small-to-moderate pro-Rebel lean, and have been pretty stingy with canisters.

 

After you accept who you are (i.e. don't deny it), go to Rockfall fort (That should by now have fallen). You will get a message that this is a good place to create your base. 

Being stingy with canisters will lead you resisting some temptations. After you establish the lab, a mostly-sane person would shy from certain research paths. 

 

If you have denied it, simply go back to Fort Defiance, read the passage again (no need to load) and this time accept who you are and don't beat up yourself for past crimes. No need to think they are fine, the focus-to-the-future option should be fine. 

Edited March 24, 2023 by alhoon

[grod_the_giant]

14 minutes ago, alhoon said:

 

After you accept who you are (i.e. don't deny it), go to Rockfall fort (That should by now have fallen). You will get a message that this is a good place to create your base. 

Aha, that did the trick.  Thank you!  Excited to explore the rest of this mod!

Edited March 24, 2023 by grod_the_giant

[alhoon]

Thank you!
As a warning, you may have issues figuring how to actually set up the lab. I am not sure whether it is automatic or you have to move close to the right place for the dialogue to pop. Also, the mod would be kinda easy for you since you're close to the end of the game.