Spidweb

This is a pretty odd error. First, the error message is munged up. Second, although many people are playing through Formello, Darkstrike seems to be the only person having this problem. Third, the error is in a dialogue node that isn't being run. Fourth, I can't find a problem with the script. My advice is to uninstall (save your saved games in a safe place first), download a fresh copy, and reinstall. Perhaps the script file is corrupted, or perhaps the application file is corrupted in the place where the scripts are being interpreted. If this still doesn't help, E-mail me at spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com. This is always the best way to get bugs/feedback to me. - Jeff Vogel

You edited out the thread in the other forums with the solutions before I could see it. Could someone post the exact text of the error message or the location where the error is so I can get this reproduced and fixed? - Jeff Vogel

"A mage with tool use will not help unlock doors the spell." This was probably a misunderstanding of one of my E-mails. Tool use spell DOES help a mage's Unlock Doors spell. - Jeff Vogel

"A mage with tool use will not help unlock doors the spell." This was probably a misunderstanding of one of my E-mails. Tool use spell DOES help a mage's Unlock Doors spell. - Jeff Vogel

We have recently been unhappy to find that the AVG Antivirus problem has a bug which causes it to report that installers of our games contain a Trojan Horse. We have checked our programs, and they are currently completely safe and virus-free. (And, if you run a different antivirus program on them, you will find that they have no problems.) We are working hard to try to get AVG Antivirus to fix this flaw in their software. In the meantime, it will only allow you to install our games if you disable it first. We are sorry for the inconvenience. At this point, the only good workaround we can give for this problem is to switch to antivirus software that is not buggy. Many apologies while we try to get them to fix the problem. In the meantime, if you wish to report this problem to them directly, their support page is at http://www.grisoft.com/doc/51/lng/us/tpl/tpl01 and Grisoft's phone number is 973-218-0688. - Jeff Vogel

Problems with AVG Antivirus by Grisoft We have recently been unhappy to find that the AVG Antivirus problem has a bug which causes it to report that installers of our games contain a Trojan Horse. We have checked our programs, and they are currently completely safe and virus-free. (And, if you run a different antivirus program on them, you will find that they have no problems.) We are working hard to try to get AVG Antivirus to fix this flaw in their software. In the meantime, it will only allow you to install our games if you disable it first. We are sorry for the inconvenience. At this point, the only good workaround we can give for this problem is to switch to antivirus software that is not buggy. Many apologies while we try to get them to fix the problem. In the meantime, if you wish to report this problem to them directly, their support page is at http://www.grisoft.com/doc/51/lng/us/tpl/tpl01 and Grisoft's phone number is 973-218-0688.

We need Macintosh beta testers for Avernum 4. Please apply if you are interested. The URL for where to apply is http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/testing/beta_test.html Thanks. Mariann Krizsan

I just updated the Macintosh version of the editor to v1.1.1. This fix should remove a crash happening with OS X 10.4. If it doesn't help, please drop me a note and I'll try again. For people working on homebrew editors, the change was in the procedure cd_kill_dialog in dlogtool.c.

The Blades of Avernum Scenario Contest ends tonight at midnight (Pacific Standard Time - Seattle Wa's timezone.) Please submit any last minute scenarios by then. Minor updates for contest entries will be accepted after the deadline. We'll list all the official entries later this week. Any questions about the contest can be posted to this thread or emailed to blades@spiderwebsoftware.com. -Mariann Krizsan

The official release is later this afternoon, we're still testing some pages and downloads (like the order form). That link is the Mac demo release, and I believe has been tested. Enjoy. -Mariann

Yes, an email address in the text file is a good idea. I would not include any specific street address. Mariann

Dear scenario designers, currently only 5 of the 8 scenarios are listed on Spiderweb's BoA site: Emerald Mountain The Cave of No Return Babysitting Roses of Reckoning A Perfect Forest I need your help to list the others. Can the authors of the missing scenarios submit their scenarios to blades@spiderwebsoftware.com? The missing ones are: Xerch'de Canopy: Manufactured Womb Death at Chapmans Also, I'm starting a utilities scenario page, the only entry I have for it so far is the High Level Party Maker. Any other useful utilities can be emailed to me at blades@spiderwebsoftware.com. Mariann Krizsan

Spiderweb Software Tenth Anniversary Sale Ten years ago, we at Spiderweb Software began our great work. We had nothing but a new computer, a cockroach-infested apartment, lots of coffee, and a dream: to bring the great fantasy rpgs of the eighties back to life. With pretty much the same quality graphics. Eleven games and tens of thousands of satisfied customers later, we're still in business. The coffee is better, there are no more cockroaches, and we're still putting out fun, cheap games for fantasy gamers. So come join us in our celebration! For the month of November, all of our products are ten percent off! Explore the alien, completely open-ended epic story of Geneforge, or sample the many free adventures made by the Blades of Avernum community. On the cheap! And countless thanks to all of the people who have supported us over the years, with your kind words and your hard-earned money. Thanks to you, we hope to keep going strong for ten more years. Or until we totally burn out. Nice, big demos for all of our games can be found at http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com

Polls can now be conducted in all forums again. Enjoy. Mariann

Just uploaded patches for the new versions of both Mac and Windows Blades of Avernum. They fix a lot of the problems described in the big document I was sent. Feedback is welcome at spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com. Also, I corrected the download link for the Windows editor. That stupid mistake reminded me why I shouldn't do anything just before a vacation. - Jeff Vogel Spiderweb Software http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com

I've finally gotten through the whole community suggestions list. There's a lot of good stuff in there, and a lot of things I needed to know. Thank you for all of the work that went into it. I'm about to leave on a vacation. (Don't ask how long it's been since the last one.) When I get back, I will go through the bugs section again and come up with new versions of Windows and Mac BoA. Some of those bugs are new to me and some have been fixed (like the forcecage in town mode problem) but haven't been made public yet. As for a new scenario format, right now my plate is very full. I need to finish the Geneforge 3 and Avernum 4 engines and get them to my two employees, who are in urgent need of stuff to do. I need to keep working with my editor on the book I have coming out this spring. And, of course, vacation. But I will look at the new features, work out who long it would take to code and test them, and see what I can do about them. Thanks again for all of the work. I'll start translating it into reality soon. - Jeff Vogel Spiderweb Software http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com

I just put out a v1.0.3 version of the Windows editor. It fixes the problem of the terrain getting messed up when editing a sign (with the instability that follows). The version number on the web site hasn't been updated (should be today), but the new version is there. For editor hackers, the main change was in the procedure cd_create_dialog in dlogtool.c. Also, I've been reading the suggestions and bugs file, and I'll post about that shortly. - Jeff Vogel Spiderweb Software http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com

Came up with a much more elegant solution. As it is, deduct_ap is not meant to be used except in creature scripts. In new releases, when called in non-creature scripts, it will deduct ap from the active/selected character (who is always the one using abilities). Adding a new call means creating a new scenario format, which means forcing everyone who wants to try custom scenarios to upgrade, which is a pain in the ass and eats up a pile of bandwidth. Not saying it won't happen, but it's a high hurdle to overcome. - Jeff Vogel

One unfortunate oversight in the engine is the inability to directly affect the party's action points. The call deduct_ap only affects the creature whose script is being called. Since PCs don't have scripts, it won't work. (Actually, in the scenario script, it works on PC 0, an undocumented, accidental feature.) This is mainly an issue for custom abilities. To "fix" it, I was going to make custom abilities like spells and deduct 5 APs automatically. Would this more or less work?

Good idea. I just sent instructions along these lines. - Jeff Vogel

I'm going to write Avernum 4, and Renar-Ihrno's blast at the end of Avernum 3 will have split Erika into fifty little Erikas. All of the NPCs will be Erika. And all of the PCs. And they will all be six inches tall. My art budget can be cut to a fraction. Delicious. Fit THAT into your continuity! Bwa hah hah! - Jeff Vogel

Looks very cool. Tinting is not done using system calls, but by bit by bit editing of the graphic data. It's a pain. - Jeff Vogel

I appreciate your effort, but I'd prefer that it was removed. I'd like this forum to stay nice and fast-loading. - Jeff Vogel

I've updated the designers' main application on the scenario workshop page. It's on revision d now. It should work much better with Windows style text file line endings. Let me know if there are any more problems. As always, E-mail me examples (spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com). - Jeff Vogel

No, this all really was my bad. There was a genuine bug in there. Fix coming soon. It just took a little time to sort the bug from other issues, that's all. And I wanted to get this sorted out before I recommended text editors. - Jeff Vogel