Kelandon

The idea is that "choice = run_dialog(1)" sets the variable "choice" to whatever the value of run_dialog is. It's like saying "choice = 1" or "choice = 2" or whatever. (You work right to left, so BoA turns the run_dialog into a number and then sets choice to that number.) So "choice" starts out as 0 in the beginning of the script — this is unnecessary; you could take it out and just say "short choice;" — and then it gets set to whatever the run_dialog returned (either 1 or 2, depending on what the player chose). That way, when you run your "if" business, the "choice" variable is either 1 or 2. And "end" is used when you want everything to stop right away. I have an example of this in an article — "end" is under One-Shot Specials.

I don't think so. Jeff has used the same graphics for different games at different resolutions.

Er, yes, this is a recognized bug , and Spiderweb, as they noted on their bugs page, made a special testing app in order to fix it. It used to be hosted on the page that they link to. I can't find it, though; they may have taken it down. I've never used debug mode, personally. I just use god parties.

Bad Infernal. Bad.

Three small additions in light of recent posts: additional reserved variable names, the mixed time calls issue, and verification of the cursed item bug.

Hmm, GF. It works the same way as BoA, and you should look up how BoA's flags work. I feel as though the BoA docs have a good description of them in the abstract. If you want to see how they're used (with an explanation), I wrote an article about it. Basically, you use flags to keep track of whether stuff has happened or not. When the party steps on a space, you can set flag (0,4) to 1, and then if you want to know if the party has stepped on that space, you can check the value of flag (0,4). If it's 0, then the party hasn't, and if it's 1, then it has. Flags range in value from 0 to 255. If you want to track the party's progress in a dungeon, you can set flag (0,5) to 1 when they get past the first part, 2 when the get past the second, and 3 when they get past the third.

New bug, causing the need to revive the topic: as far as I can tell, the attitude of the party is 0. One might expect it to be 3 (party-friendly), but I don't think that it is. I don't think that the docs mention this (although I may have missed it), and they should. Also, I've pared down the list very slightly, getting rid of the more ridiculous bugs ("sometimes I see crashes"). EDIT: When a statistic gets very large (typically over 100 for normal stats, 200 for Useful Skills, although I can't say for sure that it's consistent), the game will eventually (when the stat gets checked, perhaps?) give a message saying, "Error: File corruption caused too-high skill. Skill being reset to 0. Can correct it manually with editor." This is a problem for very high-level parties (say, 50 or above), which should naturally have Health above 500. This doesn't seem to have any in-game effect (except a weird 0 on the stat sheet), but it's annoying to get these error messages.

The topic lives, despite flames and spamming on the previous incarnation ! For anyone unfamiliar with the concept, here are the ground rules: 1. Bugs should be real bugs. That means you should be able to give precise instructions about how to reproduce them. They are not features that you wish were included but aren't. They must be things that don't work as described (or really ought to be described differently). 2. They should not already be listed either in this post or on Spidweb\'s bugs page . We want new bugs, if they exist. 3. If you have any further information about a bug (it's been fixed, for example), post and say so. I have notes in parentheses after many bugs. Known undocumented bugs/problems in Mac-BoA v1.1.2 or Win-BoA v1.0.3: Scripting problems * Items don't stack when given via char_give_item (so if you give three potions of the same kind, the character ends up with three different potions). This doesn't happen with reward_give or other item management calls as far as I know. * Sometimes searchable terrain breaks. For certain terrain with the searchable and container attribute, they are only searchable if there is something inside the container. This means that the call te_can_look_at doesn't do a lot. Additionally, sometimes terrain becomes searchable for reasons that are obscure to me (custom hills, for instance). I can provide a scenario demonstrating this if needed. * The call put_stain_on_space sometimes does nothing when attempting to remove a stain. This is a bit unpredictable, but most of the time that I've tried it, it does nothing. It also works fine putting a stain down, just not removing it. * As described here , in a dialog box, choosing the second dialog choice always returns the number 2, even if the dialog choice was added as the third option. * Custom scripts for joined NPCs don't do much. Everything except the DEAD_STATE is ignored. (Is this still true? Do any other states work?) * The call num_killed_in_town always returns 0. (I have not verified this.) * The call create_text_bubble cannot be called from a terrain script, even though the docs say that it can. (I have not verified this.) * Something odd and undocumented is going on with the clear_town call. The description of the problem is here . * The calls set_terrain, set_floor, and set_height only inconsistently work outdoors. They most often do nothing. Corescendata and default graphic errors * In corescendata, Augmented Giant (creature 135) ought to have the line "cr_which_sheet_upper = 1618;" * The default rakshasa image needs realignment -- it has a black line on it. * The slith avatar, in order to match Avernum 1, should not have the graphic of a gorgon, which is what it has now. Two calls need to be added: cr_which_sheet = 1532 and cr_icon_adjust = 2, as Bahssikava does. * In corescendata2.txt Terrains #172 and #173 (fences) have an incorrect name. The line te_name = "Fence"; needs to be added to them. * In corescendata2.txt Terrain #331 and #332 (underground hillside cave entrances) import the incorrect terrain. This causes problems with the automatic hills functionality of the editor. It will also cause the party to be drawn incorrectly when upon these terrains. * In corescendata2.txt Terrain #367 (ruined statue) is missing the upper half. The lines te_second_icon = 1; and te_second_icon_offset_y = -55; need to be added to correct this. * Graphics sheet 680, icon 52, is incorrectly drawn. It needs to be flipped horizontally to be correct. * Graphics sheet 768, icon 8, has 3 off-white pixels. * The efreet (creature 174) has cr_natural_armor defined twice, the first time as 15 and the second time as 50. * The default Eyebeast graphic (1552) has its icons in the wrong order. This means that the creature will appear to be facing south when it's actually facing north in the editor, east when west, west when south, and north when east. * As far as I can tell, aranea (and elder aranea) default to carrying pots. I'm assuming that item 373 was aranea fangs, once upon a time. * Floors 85 and 86 have fl_ed_which_icon reversed. Floor 85 should have icon 7, and floor 86 should have icon 6. * The default Asp graphic (1551) has its icons in the wrong order. North and west are reversed. * Graphic 1654 in Blades of Avernum Art (the swarthy gal with a green shirt and brown armor) has no sword-with-shield-and-armor graphic. The graphic of her armored with sword-and-shield is missing the shield. Documentation problems * The call move_to_new_town can't be called from an INIT_STATE, a START_STATE, a creature script, or a terrain script, even if you distance the call from the state with set_state_continue, run_town_script, or run_scenario_script. (I put this under documentation because apparently this would be hard to change.) * The call it_bonus may be described inaccurately. It does not provide any protection for rings, necklaces, and bracelets, and instead of preventing the given amount of damage, it prevents a random amount of damage up to the given amount. (I have not verified this.) * The call get_unlock_spell_strength is undocumented. * The constants BASE_TRAP_XP (which is 50) and NUM_CHARS (which is 120) are not documented. In fact, it'd be nice to have a list of constants somewhere like the one that Khoth posted . Also, the other reserved variable names (like the Spidweb-bug-page-listed "shop") should be listed somewhere. * As far as I can tell, the attitude of the party is 0, which should be mentioned under the get_attitude description. * Arguably not a documentation problem, using force_start_day(-1) makes what_day_of_year always return 0, but what_day_of_scenario still works fine. This should at least be mentioned somewhere. Also, what_day_of_scenario starts at 0, despite the fact that the games in-game calendar starts at 1, which should at least be mentioned. Miscellaneous engine issues * Outdoors signs don't work sometimes. (Does this still not work? Jeff claims that he fixed it for v1.1.2.) * If cursed items are placed on ground/in a container in the editor, they lose their cursed ability. * Enter-combat-end-combat bug: you can get placed in totally nonsensical locations when ending combat. If you enter and then end combat immediately, you get placed one space forward. This allows you to skip special rectangles extremely easily unless specifically prevented from doing so by a designer. * Beam projectors malfunction wildly in close quarters, next to walls, in varying heights, etc. I have a small utility scenario to demonstrate a number of ways in which this can occur. * When a regular PC is next to a spot and you look at that spot, you search the spot. If only a joined NPC (and not a regular NPC) is next to a spot, however, you don't search the spot. (It just seemed odd to me. Not sure it's a "bug" bug, though.) * Putting a town border right next to the edge of the town causes weird behavior: you can't exit the town, the town doesn't match the edge, etc. * When a creature can't get to a location that it's trying to get to, the game slows to a crawl. For example, when a creature gets lured out of a building through an open door, the door gets closed, and then the creature tries to return_to_start, the game slows. (This has been reported on Windows, and I have not verified it personally.) * Unlike the traditional Orb of Thralni, items with it_ability_1 = 213 can give the party extra rounds of flight while the party is still in the air. * When a statistic gets very large (perhaps over 100 or 200), the game will eventually give a message saying, "Error: File corruption caused too-high skill. Skill being reset to 0. Can correct it manually with editor." This is a problem for very high-level parties, which should naturally have Health at these levels. Unhandled Exceptions Various things cause Unhandled Exception errors on Windows that cause BoA to quit entirely without giving a proper error message. These are extremely hard to debug for Mac designers, since they do not reproduce in the same way on a Mac, except for a few that are noted. Among them: * Using a terrain or floor graphic that doesn't exist. This is a problem with wallsets that are not complete, for example: if you place a wall with a door from a wallset that doesn't include a door (ie, cave wall), this causes an unhandled exception. * Setting a creature facing a direction greater than 7 -- ie, set_character_facing(6,8). * Running the death animation of a creature with cr_small_or_large_template set wrong -- that is, if the creature's graphic is small but cr_small_or_large_template = 1 in the scenario's custom objects script, then BoA crashes without an error message and quits. This happens on Mac, too. * Over-running the string limit. I got an unhandled exception in Vasskolis when I tried to display a message from the text buffer that was longer than 256 characters. I'm not sure if over-running the text buffer itself was the problem or if trying to display it was the problem, but either way, the over-long string didn't give the over-long string error like it does on a Mac. * If you try to use a string variable while nothing's in it (i.e., you forgot the get_buffer_text call), BoA dies. On Mac-BoA v1.1.2, it crashes, gives no error message, and quits. I got this with a message_dialog call, but I imagine a print_str or text bubble would give the same response. Also, using a dialog string with nothing in it causes the same error.

Quote: Originally written by Lady Bathory: Make sure the editor is in the Data folder of Blades of Avernum (and not in a sub-folder). In general, read error messages. This will help you in your BoA career. I know that many of them are not useful, but some of them are.

Dual-boot Windows and run Win-BoE. That's what I'm going to do when I someday get a new Mac.

Style is exactly what it is, I think, although I've had some trouble pinning down exactly what it is about Jeff's style that gives his works their distinctive feel that I've never gotten from BoE scenarios. Don't get me wrong: I've liked certain BoE scenarios a lot, even (briefly) more than most parts of Jeff's works. The first half of Emulations comes to mind as one instance in which I had more fun than just about any time ever in an Avernum or Geneforge game. I just wonder what the specific features of his style are — the structure of the quests, perhaps, or the nature of his dungeons, or whatever — that make it so distinctive. Maybe part of it is that I haven't played any epic BoE scenarios.

As far as I know, no.

Quote: Originally written by The][Editbreaker: The keyword system is not a good approximation of natural language, can cause people to miss essential details (though not in Nethergate), and might lower your sperm count. It does allow people to ask semi-original questions, though. I came to appreciate (and be a little frustrated with) the Exile dialogue system in the BoE scenario The Election, which could not work nearly as well in an Avernum game, because it relies partly on the player guessing what the appropriate response is. You have to come up with arguments (which was the cool part) and figure out the keywords for those arguments (which was the annoying part).

Quote: Originally written by megamad: I don't mean to say they were bad, but it was not the same feeling like playing any of the Exile games (I have played At the Gallows as well). I have had this feeling, too, and I've been trying for the past two years to pin down exactly why. If anyone can articulate it, I'd be grateful. Regardless, if you think that BoE scenarios don't feel like the Exile series enough, what makes you think that anyone in the community can design something that seems closer?

BoE.

Well, you can always use the character ed... wait. There's a cheat code for this, isn't there? EDIT: Try pressing shift+D to bring up the cheat code box and then typing pleaselikeme.

If you bought the game once, you can get another registration code by e-mailing Jeff.

You could, of course, change it to 10-coin increments or something. That way it wouldn't be too hard to make it much more flexible.

Be sure to take notes as you design, too. There's no need to plan out which SDFs you're going to use before you use them, but there is a definite need to mark down which SDFs you've used after you've used them. I've never been one for designing on paper before I go to the editor. I like to have a general overview of the plot in my head (not on paper) before I start on a scenario (and a good idea of the major characters and how the party plays into it all, as well as some sense of what the towns and outdoors are going to be shaped like), and I like to have a general sense in my head of what a town will look like before I start work on it, but I also find it useful to let a town grow as I think. My results with this technique have been mixed, but so have my results with anything else I've tried.

Quote: Originally written by Micro Phage: hit F4 by accident I did this a lot, too. I think that customizable keys in general would make things better.

The definitive answer is no. We'll know when screenshots are posted.

Felix, avoiding a ban just gets you banned again for a longer period of time. Continuing to spam just gets you rebanned, too. Doing both is really stupid.

I was under the impression that they registered together. If the game is registered, so is the editor.

I think Zeviz was referring to the fact that you can play GF without any creations at all. Nevertheless, welcome to Spiderweb! Leave your sanity at the door! I feel like such a tool for saying this!

Quote: Originally written by Arch-Mage Solberg: At the same time, Rentar-Ihrno has teamed up with Avernum's worst enemy, Grah-Hoth. Monster plagues, shades, you name it it's back. Personally, I would not want to play this.