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DeltanAmbassador

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  1. Alcritas

     

    Demons, Demons, and Demons — Oh my! To put it simply, that’s the plot of Demon Island by Ross Yancey (yancey at bmi dot net) — some island somewhere has been enslaved by Demons — go save it.

     

    Quite honestly, I’m shocked that this scenario was created. On one hand, the author displays an excellent command of the scenario editor — the opening is fast and dramatic and there are many well executed special nodes — including one very impressive cinematic sequence, something I thought impossible within the BOE editor prior to witnessing it here. But on the other hand, the scenario suffers from a VERY fatal flaw.

     

    Demons, Demons, and more Demons. There’s plenty of combat, problem is 95%+ of it involves nothing other than Demons (and the creatures they summon). Now, 95% of the combat being within a family of monsters might be survivable for one of three reasons — the first being a great diversity within the monster class. To cite a common example I’d point to Tatterdemalion — midway through the scenario you’ll fight many, many battles with the Avians, but it doesn’t become a problem because of the wide variety of Avians. To his credit, Yancey quickly introduces other varieties than the standard Hordling/Imp/Demon/Mung/Haakai assortment, but that’s only a little redemption. Without any custom graphics, fighting “Nightmare Imps” doesn’t come across as anything original. Big bad boss monsters — that look like Haakais, and function like tough Haakais isn’t much better. It just doesn’t do anything to relieve the monotony of the combat. The scenario might also hope to survive this flaw by making most of the combat unique and interesting, and it does do that in a few situations. The Dragons’ cave and the original encounter with the Nightmare Imps are both well thought out, and executed sequences. But there’s just not enough of these spread out through the scenario to solve the problem. Perhaps if there weren’t constant wandering groups of Demons, both in virtually every town as well as outdoors, or perhaps if there were far fewer set Demonic encounters, the few special encounters that do exist would be sufficient, but here they’re not. The final way the scenario could possible escape this flaw would be to greatly limit the overall amount of combat — 95% of only a few fights might be tolerable.

     

    As alluded to earlier, however, the scenario doesn’t come anywhere close to this. To put it bluntly, less Americans died at Antietam than Demons perished by my party. But what makes this all SO much worse is that your foes aren’t pushovers. Repetitive combat is annoying to begin with, combat where you’re CONSTANTLY threatened with being wiped out grates on you that much faster. Your spellcasters better have a TON of spell points, as you’ll be casting Ravage Spirit an average of three or four times a minute while playing. Ten minutes into the scenario I was wishing for a hot key that would cast the spell without pulling up the priest menu, or anything similar. That desire never subsisted — until I quit the scenario.

     

    Demon Island is designed for Very High level parties, and is rated PG.

     

    My score: SUBSTANDARD 3.5

     

    As to the ton of spell points thing, ya, or you could go get some iron weapons in FS. ;)

     

    I love Demon Island. I'm stuck trying to figure out how to get into the northern and southwestern caves, but being stuck is a good thing. If there's no challenge figuring stuff out there isn't much fun.

     

    Knocking a scenario called Demon Island because it invovles fighting lots of demons is kinda silly. If you don't like fighting demons, or resent they sometimes threaten to eat your party is also kinda silly (being as polite as I can.) ;) But it's not like there's nothing to be done. Get iron weapons in FS, equip everyone with 1 or 2 of them (tank or casters) and go stomp on em. But for the 3 chest fight with Lord Hakaai, iron weapons will see you through everything. Lord has a perm Martyr's Shield so whacking on him isn't the best tactic. Bring your Priests up and Ravage it down.

     

    Unfortunately I can't give a full review as I haven't figured out how to get past the statue blocking the SW cave, or through that red magical door in the cave to the North. Hunt hint please :)

     

    As to designed for very high parties, as with FS it's doable in your 20s. More a high resists thing than level or hp matters. Get rings of fire resist n ruby charms, cloaks of magi and rings of resistance or onyx charms and you're good to go.

  2. For items with the Giant Strength and Skill abilities, the bonus is probably the same as or similar to what's shown in the Defence field (or if it's a weapon, the Damage field). This is actually a bug that I've fixed, though.

     

    Regarding stacking, you're right that the various abilities don't stack with those of the same type in original BoE. It just takes the first equipped item it finds with that ability. This is something that I changed at some point.

     

    I agree that showing the bonuses is a good idea. I'll add that on the todo list.

     

    Well no, some stacking works. Rings of Fire Res with a Ruby Charm gives you the 75% reduction. And the Cloaks of the Magi and Ring of Resistance stacks for the Fire, Magic and presumedly the other two (haven't seen cold enough to say if it does with certainty, but since the other two do work I'm assuming.) It's only (so far) the Vulcan Gloves which wont then stack with a 2nd item of either the rings or charms. Is there a "stacks with others of its kind" switch he chose not to set or something?

     

    Also, if making a BoE 2 sorta thing, making ranged physical attacks as with bows, xbows, slings, and throwers a viable weapon choice would be nice. As it is, the lack of damage makes them little more than a once in a very great while solution. But if we're to have Nephil racial bonuses for archery, how about we give them a significant boost in damage with such things so they actually make kills on par with their melee brethren? Admittedly, a ranged attack has the advantage of striking from range so the damage shouldn't be exactly equal to a sword like, but it should be enough to actually kill things before they can close in to melee the archer.

     

    Dunno if it's possible, but some sort of 'repeat last command' would be nice. Especially in the case of archery attacks. Having to mouse down to the arrow button and pick your target makes archery attacks quite tedious when melee you just 'move into' the target. And for things like alchemy, a hotkey to make last potion would be cool. Pretty fast as it is, but the inconvenience of 4 or so keys isn't preventing me from maxxing gold when needed so may as well make a hotkey for it. :)

  3. Noticed some protection from items in the Rubacus scenario either don't work, or something else. The Vulcan Gloves with Fire Protection for example I've noticed don't stack with another Fire Prot item for -75% damage. It's either the gloves or whatever other Fire Prot item you have, but equipping both wont do anything for ya (discover walking through lavas in Demon Island.)

     

    BoE doesn't show the bonuses for various things like Giant Str or items with extra stats like Str so it's hard to know what things are doing, which is better, etc. Skill Rings ya kinda can guess Golds are +15%, Silver +10% etc, but the large number of Giant Str, and +Str items have ya scratching your head. Exile 3 would show the bonus equipping things like this. Issue being, is FS' 'Gauntlets of Power' better bonus-wise than another scenarios' standard 'Gloves of Giant Strength' or whatever? Is the 12 def GoP a higher bonus than the 8 def 0 Encumb versions?

     

    The Boots of Speed in the New Market scenario are +2 movement points, the version in Demon Island is only +1. And Boots and a Ring of Speed don't add together like they did in E3.

     

    I assume the variability of item bonuses are set by the designer of the scenario and not a pre-decided thing so uniform across all scenarios, but it's really annoying. :)

  4. Ok, I'm ready for some help. Looking at the hints file proved fruitless beyond revealing a ton of content besides the wilds, and the 3 caves, only one of which is do'able, one to the sw has that statue blocking the way, other to the north a 'red magical door.' I figured there might be a key to the north dungeon as a reward for turning in orbs, but I can only find 1 from the 1 doable cave (in middle chest where left check has Lightning Sword.)

     

    The clue file doesn't offer anything for getting beyond the statue or red door and skimming it quickly so as not to get too many spoilers it's like it's not even written for this scenario. Have filled in every space in the wild, been all through the underground section of the town throughly exploring all those little empty rooms, I'm stuck. :)

     

    - How do I get into the 'statue blocking the way' cave (used Magic Map and saw there's a lot more to the thing, had wondered if it was just that entry fight minus melee or something.)

     

    - How do I get through the 'red magic doorway' to the north?

  5. Playing through FS more of late I've noticed the Crystal Sword is the only non-perm special item. So far. Everything else is persistant including custom special weapon like Mithril Sword, Runesword, and the other Auction House sword with the Fear proc (good offhand with Runesword since little survives the Runesword anyway, having it run off isn't as much of a problem since ya get the 'running away' whack when it does.)

     

    So if everything else could be made persistant, having one thing not suggest bad day of coding more than 'the custom graphic's so boss and bodacious' :)

  6. Playing through Falling Stars, Demon Island, and started Demon Island II, I've found in Falling Stars the Death Arrows, Shockwave, Mindduel, and whatever the 4th spell was. Wont say where, try and minimize the spoilers here. :)

     

    Get hit by Divine Thud and see Avatar getting cast the demons in Demon Island though. Kinda hoping it's available in there, but I"m kinda stuck scratching my head right now in the scenario. Can't figure how to get through the locked red magical door to the north, or the SW dungeon past that statue. :) No hints please. :)

     

    Currently have a great party going (after the ast 'great party' got wiped unexpectedly, need to quit playing when tired and not thinking optimally hehe,) maxxed out Runesword from FS, Lightning Sword from Demon Island, and party stomping around and even making the Seraphins in FS quake with fear. That said, I cast Scry Monster rather a lot too, especially on New Things which is a good habit when you get to Demon Island II and see how hard those 'just a normal ogre' can hit for. :)

  7. Playing a new party atm after my best-ever got wiped in the opening fight of Demon Island. Ironically had done the 'Captain rescue' fight a few time prior so knew it was coming. But walking onto his pile of bones, as opposed to clicking to look at it seems to have given up intiative and the demons who pop attacked first. And HARD! :) Mid 40s party, lost 4 with their opening attack, remaining two two were tanks and popped their Invulnerabilities but bereft of Bless, Haste, or anything else died in short order when Inv's wore off. Fun scenario though. Answered my bloodlust for epic battles :) Ironically, as I knew, but didn't think I had to, you can pre-buff before tough fights. Bless, Haste, Resist Magic don't last long outside of combat mode, but if a big fight is one step or click away, doing all that first can be worthwhile.

     

    As did Falling Stars playing it through with this same party. Unbeknowst to me when I wrote it before, the Runesword ya get from the rescue mission early on is not only perm, but the best weapon I've yet seen. Wont spoil it for others, but sufficed to say hunting Rokkas is worthwhile. ;) Think I had it maxxed as I can't imagine it getting more powerful...:) Seraphins btw count as Rokkas... Had fun in both the Ambush fights. The Seraphins are high hitpoints by mortal, wail on them long enough they die like everything else. Stock up on invulnerability potions (DI has a merchant with strong pots for this.)

     

    Valley of Dying Things right now with new party. Knowing what's ahead of me helps plan their creation and roles. Last party had been maxxing Luck, but given how it only helps once then you're dead anyway, think with how hard Seraphins melee, raising Defense is a more worthwhile expenditure. Also, in FS for hunting Rokkas, the raod outside that Fort/City where one of the Seraphin fights is is great to stand around on, passing time until the next wandering Rokka skirmish comes along. Progresses the days of course which is finite, but maxxing the sword then restarting the scenario works. ;) Minor exploit I suppose but what are ya gonna do. :)

  8. Hi,

    I received your E-mail re this morning and decided that this was a better way to respond for all concerned; it just seems that any resolution would be best for all the BoE Community.

    Shortly after joining BoE I ran into a problem with a Scenario and came to the Board for help. None was really forthcoming, but I was told that most of the original authors had left for "greener pastures". So, I put the Scenario aside and worked on easier ones until I became more proficient with them.

    I'm not the traditional "Gamer"; I do not like the Imperialistic butchering of other peoples, places and things for personal gain. What I do like is to keep my mind and hands active. I've always been the "fix-it" type and enjoy the research, typing, etc. that it takes to make Walk-Throughs for these games, so I started a hobby in my retirement years doing just that.

    I intended giving them all to 'Traci's True Site for Blades', but then felt that I would be betraying the Authors by doing so, even now that the upgraded "Classic Blades" exists. Some Scenarios contain "Secrets" that, at least, originally, would betray the Authors if they were freely open to everyone.

    IIRC I became "stuck" in the same area that you are when I was doing ATG. I had just finished a complete Walk-Through, (with all the add-ons and corrections), of "Spy's Quest" which Brian, 'Stareye', advertises as the most difficult Scenario ever published in its intro.

    Despite the fact that my responses can be a bit elaborate, I found Spy's Quest to be really tedious and, if I hadn't put so much into it, I would have "canned" it.

    After doing a couple of other Walk-Throughs, I decided to give Brian another chance and began ATG. When I hit the point we're describing, I put the Scenario aside and decided to stay away from Brian's Scenarios.

    I presume that the list of "older" players is getting quite small, so you may be in for a long wait for any assistance with this Scenario.

    In the meantime, I can give you two means of assistance.

    One is addresses, (quite old); they are: http://stareye08.tripod.com and bckiedrowski@students.wisc.edu andbckiedrowski@wisc.edu and bkiedrowski@coredcs.com and bkiedrowski@gmail.com. The first is the address of his website and the last one is the latest, (to my knowledge.

    The other is that I will have another mug of coffee and go back to ATG and see if I can figure out what the problem is.

    If/when I figure something out, I'll let you know

    me.

     

    Had to comment on your "I"m not the traditional gamer..." thing. Let me guess, you're the sort who playing Diablo 2 says "Ugh, can't we talk about this? Do we have to fight every time?" :) Why are you playing a hack n slash game if you don't like hack n slash? I'd imagine there's pleanty of your kind of games in the world where you're not gearing up, seeking better gear n spells all designed to keep you alive, and do the opposite for you "political opposition." :)

     

    If you don't like the sugar, fat, salt, and other bad-for-stuff, don't eat the junk food. :)

  9. Hello everyone! So I came here to ask a few questions, being new to creating scenarios in Exile (though I've used many different editors in the past like the Elder Scrolls Construction Kit, Unreal Editor and many more to create custom content).

     

    1. I have both Blades of Exile and Blades of Avernum up and running on the computer. Which one is recommended, especially for beginners? Or is it more of a personal preference than a suggestion? (For the record, I plan to make a few small scenarios at first to test the water before jumping into larger ones).

     

    2. Is there a place I can go for a full fledged tutorial?

     

    3. Any tips for a beginner?

     

    4. If I should finish a scenario that I feel is worth uploading, is there a universal place I can do so or is it more of a "you're on your own, link to it here" thing?

     

    Thanks, I hope I'm not being too noobish here.

     

    Don't try to reinvent the wheel. This game's very simplistic and straight-foward. It's a hack and slash character development roleplaying game. It's not Myst in 2D with lots of walking around and admiring the scenery with lots of puzzle-solving in-between. It's about fighting. So don't add reams of text and that novella you've been wanting to write. :) Keep it simple. Some Big Bad Thing threatening your way of life you need to fight your way through lots of little bad things to reach, big fight at the end, reward and all is right with the world. :) Also, don't do all that but forget to populate your wilderness areas with random encounters to level up on or simply have fun. Nothing worse than a big new world to explore completely devoid of all life. To say nothing of how some of the 'Very High' difficulty sceanrios have perplexingly low-level fights (at least early on before I quit in frustration.) If you're making a 'Very High' level scenario I expect to be fighting for my life with 20-something level parties when I get out of bed from then on. Not to be fighting Goblins and Goblin Fighters...;)

  10. The issue was simply that the game won't know where to find the item's graphic once you've left the scenario. The fix needs to be done in the game's code itself; you can't fix it in the scenario (unless you want to lose the custom icon). The plan is to copy these graphics into a place that's stored with the saved game, so that the item can be preserved with the same icon even after you leave the scenario.

     

    Rather have a Crystal Sword with Dsgger stock graphic than no Crystal Sword at all. :) Lose the custom stuff if that doesn't persist out of the scenario, that's a no-brainer. Or should be.

  11. In my opinion i wish the company wouldve continued the story as Exile IV but now its avernum 4 (avernum trilogy) as i liked the 2D graphics, was easy and simple, now its 3D, and does anyone still play the Exile Series

     

    Playing Blades atm. Have Exile 3 installed and ready to lay, but Blades has some things I prefer. Ironically, 3 has some things I prefer too. :) The all-inclusive, all-in-one world vs lots of little ones mostly. But a big part fo the allure of these games is exploration and discovery. Now that I've played through 3 so many times it's like ya need an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind service to zap those memories from ya so you can re-discover it all. :) Why Blades is more alluring. User-made content's great, new, if frustrating. Only knock about it might be how much of what's in the game isn't in the stock 3 missions. Highest level spells for example, and some of the glitches about inpermanance of items in some of the best scenarios (FS this means you.) :)

  12. Looking at the code, this appears to be fixed now in the OBoE version.

     

    Good Constitution does give disease resistance, judging from the code, though perhaps it's not quite in the way you expected. It doesn't reduce the level of disease you receive, but disease wears off faster if you have Good Constitution.

     

    Uh, have you completely missed this thread?

     

    ...What, the Alpha version of your re-work? I saw it. When you get something working you'd attach you name to let us all know. :)

  13.  

     

    In the early years of BoE, this particular limitation of the engine wasn't widely known, as this was early in the history of the internet and scenario designers didn't have a lot of ways to communicate with each other and share information. In the later years of BoE, players didn't necessarily take a single party through multiple scenarios as was the original design intent when BoE was first made. Instead, it was common for players to use a high-level party maker to create a party of appropriate level for that particular scenario and then discard it once the scenario was done. As a result, what would happen to the party's items after finishing a scenario wasn't a major consideration for most designers. There are also cases of plot-important or unbalancingly powerful items being deliberately given custom graphics so that they'd be removed on leaving the scenario, but I'd say those are a minority of cases.

     

    Using an artifical 'twinked' party for higher level scenario is an alien concept to me. Of course you use one party across many different scenarios...What else would you do? :) The 'world' is so obviously unnaturally small that that's what you're supposed to be doing. At least comparing it to E3.

     

    Playing daily my usual pattern's Dying Things to about 8th level, then the 'medium' scenario to about 10th (mostly just fighting Areneas for loot n coin,) then Shadow of the Stranger for the Alchemy trainer going in with about 8 or 9k and the rest from the freebie gear, taking enough to do some Strong Curing for maxxing gold, picking up Revive All, and Ravage Spirit and other spells, then with re-maxxed gold zipping in to FS for Fine Weps, then to the main city for shopping going back n forth from the two variable item merchants to about day 31 (dunno what max is but usually a month is enough to get some decent armor and items,) then on to Rubacus for grinding to around 22 or 23rd on each of 6 party members. From here I usually try FS and actually doing it but as of now have gotten just the Crystal Sword, and the 'Rescue' mission with Mage Slayer sword. But then that roadway 'Amubush' wipes us out. :) Rinse, lather, repat. Hate reloading and other 'cheats.' If my party wipes I make a new party. :)

  14.  

     

    I don't know off the top of my head how exactly the level calculation for monsters fleeing from the party works, but I know it's possible for a scenario designer to configure an encounter to never flee. This can be useful for plot-related encounters, or for monsters that drop important items when killed.

     

    Thanks for at least a non-answer answer. :) Should say I'm stoked people are still into such an old game.

  15.  

     

    It's not that easy to attribute poison damage to a particular character. For example, it's possible for levels of poison to be applied to a single enemy by multiple different characters. In any case, the game engine doesn't currently keep track of who applied or who summoned a particular creature, so it'd require fairly significant changes in the way creatures and status effects are defined in order to make that possible at all.

     

    Also, for what it's worth, the documentation at least claims that enemies that die of poison damage yield XP that's distributed evenly across the whole party, although I haven't actively tested this and it's been quite a while since I played BoE.

     

    Play daily atm and have confirmed the zero xp watching and testing it. It's weird how into this game I am. I mean it's old. :) Reminds me though of the Ultima series the whole top-down view and games I grew up playing like the Wizardry series and Bard's Tale (still have those on cd somewhere...) Always been into the whole D&D type genre so despite 5 years of Everquest addiction, sometimes older is better. And with something like Blades where users are maing content ala NWN, and p&p D&D, the allure is even more pronounced.

  16. Just noticed something playing around with a twink solo char. At level 39 I was in Dying THings scenario when a bunch of Brigands attacked me. Obviously 5th or whatever level Brigands represented no threat to the char so I was wondering what their thinking was. :) Was it I'm just one guy and they're 10 or something, or is it a levels vs levels calclation? Like 10 6th levels equals 60 levels vs 39th level so they'll attack?

  17. Dunno if by design and serving some needed or logical purpose or what, but notice monsters who die from poison, or summoned monsters don't yield xp. So I never use poison or summoned monsters unless bored or dealing with neglible xp type things anyway. But shouldn't an archer using poisoned arrows get xp for their kills just like a finger waggler who summons something to deal with his foe?

  18. It's a technical limitation I intend to lift, eventually.

     

    Seems an easy enough thing to fix given "The Magnificent Six" Katana being a custom item that does persist out of the scenario. Notice the Crystal Sword, in inventory has one of those guess custom icons, so why not just not use that icon if that one little thing is gonna make it poof when you leave the scenario? Someone ring up Al' and tell him to patch his scenario making that one little tweak. :)

     

    I can't code to save my life, but I've looked through other games' ini type files often and gather that a lot of the time it's simple stuff like "DOTHIS=True" type stuff that's been set to create the glitch so my understanding of fixing these things is going from the assumption it's not terribly difficult or involved.

     

    "Shwdow of the Stranger" seems to have both versions, custom icons making items evaporate, but some don't. The shields at the merchant with 9 def Mithril armor for example. The armor is "persistant." The shields aren't. Thie shields display uniquely so guess that's why they poof upon leaving. But if this the case, and everyone making scenarios knows that (as one might assume,) why use the custom icons at all? Custom monsters ya aren't bringing out of the scenario anyway = good idea. Custom gear that doesn't leave with you leaving the scenario = bad idea.

  19. I'm again doing a bit of dissection of the code for Jeff's open source release of BoE, mainly for use in playing BoE as well as the Exile Trilogy -- most, though not all of it, we can safely assume applies to the preceding games, with obvious exceptions for the stuff that was added in E3 or E2.

     

    This installment deals with races and traits, and experience level. The amazing thing here, given what we've gotten used to from SW over the last decade, is that pretty much every race and trait does exactly what the in-game description says, and nothing more.

     

    Race determines:

    - First two items in starting inventory

    - Sliths get +2 Str, +1 Int on creation

    - Nephils get +2 Dex on creation

    - Sliths get +10% to hit with polearms

    - Nephils get +10% to hit with missiles

     

    Recuperation:

    - 1 in 11 chance of healing 2 HP each turn.

     

    Chronic Disease:

    - 1 in 111 chance of getting 4 levels of disease each turn.

     

    Cave Lore and Woodsman:

    - 1 in 13 chance of getting 2-12 food each turn when in appropriate terrain.

    - Activates the appropriate checks.

     

    Nimble Fingers:

    - +6% chance to disarm traps

    - +6% chance to apply poison well

    - +8% to pick locks

     

    Ambidextrous:

    - Negates -25% penalties for dual-wielding

     

    Good Constitution:

    - 5/9 chance of additional reduction to poison level each time you take poison damage

    - Appears to do nothing vs disease due to a bug

     

    Exceptional Strength:

    - Carry 30 extra pounds

    - +1 to skill bonus for Strength (damage, bashing down doors)

     

    Bad Back:

    - Carry 50 pounds less

     

    Frail:

    - Will usually get 1 extra level of poison or disease, when so afflicted

     

    Alertness:

    - Will get 1 less level of sleep, when slept; NOT cumulative with Hyperactivity status

     

    Magically Apt:

    - +1 to skill bonus for Intelligence (most spell effects)

     

    Toughness:

    - Reduces most damage by 1

     

    Sluggish:

    - Reduces base AP by 1

     

    Magically Inept:

    - Can't use magic items

     

     

    Basically, as we have known for ages, several of the advantages are REALLY good:

    - Toughness

    - Magically Apt

    - Exceptional Strength

     

    The rest are okay, but not so critical. Races and Ambidextrous are useful at the start, but not necessary in the later game.

     

    The only reason not to take other advantages, would be to get a higher level sooner. Well, what does level do, aside from giving skill points and HP? It does:

     

    - Affects treasure drops in some way (this part isn't spaghetti code, it's couscous code -- I can't even tell if it's a positive or negative impact)

    - Allows you to assassinate monsters of your level or lower (your Assassination skill also needs to be higher than half their level, so this is unlikely to be relevant until late game; also note that this is just a check and not a roll, so there's no advantage from being extra high level)

    - Increases the power of many spells (often every other level; more for Kill, Death Arrows, Charm, Bless, Stealth, Unlock Doors, Dispel Barrier; less for a lot of others)

    - Increases resistance to petrification, dumbfounding, disease, sleep

    - Reduces XP gained. This is not done relative to monster level, it is a FLAT reduction of all incoming XP. You actually earn 150% at levels 1-2 and just 15% (with an increasing chance of an additional -1 XP) above level 40. In actuality, this is a VERY gentle curve compared with most games, including the Avernums.

     

    Conclusion: level is not tremendously important, unless I am underestimating its impact on spell damage. So advantages can be piled on with a clear conscience... as we have known forever smileold.gif

     

    Great info, thanks. As to 'Exceptional Strength,' does its' damage mod apply to ranged attacks like Bows, Xbows, Slings, Thrown?

     

    - Cave Lore and Woodsman: Have never seen Food go up having these. Did notice their usefulness in E3 when crossing swampy terrain and not being poisoned (knowing where not to step I figure hehe.) But this advantage is absent in Blades. Is the additional Food in that it gets used up slower as opposed to actually adding any? And is the usefulness only applied once from 1 character, or multiple times with howver many have it?

     

    - Nimble Fingers, Magic Apt., and Stats maxxed at 20 AND items giving attributes like "Thieving," "Intelligence," or "Strength." Can you get the Nimble or Magical Apt bonus a second time from the gear with those attributes? Can Str, Dex, and Int go above 20 if wearing gear with those things? Wont show as above 20, but is it being calculated as such unseen?

  20. About the code overall, have read about some seemingly major bugs in the game. Like Archery skill not being checked for 'to hit' calculations. Seems an easy fix so I'm surprised this is the first company not to have a patches section (just looked.) Granted, it's an old game and all but still. Seems an overabundance of code monkies here I'm surprised no one's thought to do one unofficially or not. And other things like the 'Good Constitution' advantage not having the promised Disease resistance. Admtitedly we've all played through such hardships and done well as-is so a patch's overall value is mainly aesthetic, but still. One of those times ignorance was bliss not knowing about these things, but now that I've read through the forums a little bit they're like flashing neon signs along a roadway. ...At night! :) Is there an unofficial patch somewhere?

  21. Awesome info. I love this kinda 'how it works' stuff. :) One addition though, the Chronic Disease disadvantages' description is inaccurate where it says a "minor disease." I built I hopeless char with no advantages, and all the disadvantages just to see what would happen like, and the Chronic Disease becomes poison which will kill it, so while you may not die from the "chronic disease" you do die from its' effects. So it's not really a minor disease at all. If you don't have a priest who enjoys curing it every time it crops up, you'll die because of it.

  22. Dunno if this is even possible with the code, but level should affect damage. A 1st level char and a 50th level with identical gear n stats (via cheats) will do identical damage. That shouldn't be the case. Should be some advantage to being higher level beyond stat points. As it is, most melee classes will start off with 19 Str (Sliths ya do 17 to get the +2 bonusm 18 and 19 wont apply the bonus so isn't efficient, and 20's a waste.) Same with Nephs and 17 Dex. Casters don't have to worry about it because after taking their 7 in which ever spell tree they'll be in single digits for Int (btw, breakponint/sweetspots if wondering for stats are every 3 starting at 6. Like for Dex, to hit % bonus is flat/baseline at 4 Dex, then +5% at 6, then 9, 12, 15, 18, and the last 2 points don't do anything overt.) I assume it's the same with Int and certainly notice there improvement with Bless at those same breakpoints.

     

    As tot he higher level chars should do more damage, because the damage is so low or high (huge variation as with 1-18 halberds which is too random imo) level should add like 1 bonus point of damage so the 50th level char (ignoring everything else) does 1-18+50 for a very high minimum damage reflecting its' vast experience or however you like to think of it.

  23. I love this map, one of the ones I keep permanently (if only for the low-level grinding and 1-14+5 Katana.) I couldn't disagree more with people who knock it for "too much combat." The game is all about combat. If it had ANYTHING to do with conversation and storytelling there'd be a Charisma or similar stat. It's Str, Dex, and Int, all affecting combat. There's no conversation, persuassion, or anything else about interacting with NPCs beyond assorted ways of lopping their heads off, vaporizing them, or summoning something to do it for you. :) Most scenarios suffer from alack of "too much combat." Big impressive terrains, but annoyingly empty. No wandering monsters, just trudge trudge trudge from point A to B to C, etc. That's not what the game's about.

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