Eldritch_Cadillac

Just started ZKR from Blades, in anticipation of a new Avernum game (I'm rather obsseional about mapping every square of every location, so whilst I played for many hours I only got around to completing the 1st 2 included scenarios - maybe the time-limit in this mission will cure me of my affliction).

Anyway, I've been reminded of one thing that really bugs me in these games. The fact that time goes much faster in town mode than combat mode. I can't see any logical reason for this. Clearly outdoors the time-scale's different and correctly so.

It's highly annoying. A major head-ache in exploring large dungeons is conserving spell points. If you move in normal mode (only fighting when you meet adversies), any enchantments wear off in a few moves; explore the entire dungeon in combat mode and you can get by with just the occasional top-up. However in fight mode you can't search, or save; it's a hassle to pick-up and distribute items - generally it's just a pain.

Is this still the case in A4?

There is nothing to suggest that the 1st group were a bunch of incompentant amateurs. They may well have been an elite group of highly trained killing machines. However they are not the prodigously gifted folk of legend that our parties quickly prove themselves to be, then who is?

We wipe out hideous, plagues that have over-whelmed the combined efforts of entire continents; destroy beasts of darkness they have reigned with terror for decades and uncover long lost mythical treasures than many have spent thier entire lives searching for, in futile.

Don't be so hard on the 1st party (God rest thier souls), we're just different class.

Im sure this is far from an 'impossible quest'. I still think it can be done with a couple of loops, if necessary placing the actual copy stuff code in the scenario module to get around line limits. The scenario won't remember the items posistions apparently, however you can pass the relevent data using SDFs.

Otherwise, is there a way to execute code everytime a character drops an item? In which case you could store the location and type using SDFs, then refit the party by checking these when switching to the clone town.

A simple nested loop

x : 1 to town_width

y : 1 to town_height

copy items

next y

next x

will work fine, i think.

The time taken should be neglible. Underestimating the capabilities of even prehistoric computers appears to be a common misconception.

There are other ways if this really doesn't work, but i'd try this first.

Wouldn't EXILE III be the best Avernum import? Complete with 2d graphics!

In this you'd be able to cast area of effect spells, choose who kicked in the doors, go mad with the time-twist, groundhog day that your life had become. Learn great new abilities, design your own, play 100's of other quests, & explore forests!

Oi! Don't get mad at me for bringing E vs A around again. I expect most of you have already posted on a similar topic at least once.

This is my rather unbalanced view, I'm an Exile not an Averneum; Exile 3 is the best Spiderweb game, but this Avernum editor is exceptional. Now come on you co-conspirators, go write me E3, BoA style!

Ugh! Didn't want to believe it, atleast no-one else will be able to bring out my innovations before me.

A real kick-in the teeth, but fairly sure it was wrong. Spent 2 days learning AvernumScript, 1 and a half of them re-typing this line to ensure against syntax errors!

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(By tommorrow I'll probally know better) - signature / epitaph

Ooops!

EXport, i see....

It would still be all wierd & diagonal (probally even wierder as perspective would be messed up), but atleast u could explore forests! You can already choose your door bashers with my scripts, soon exile will return!

Not trying to drag up that old topic, but I'm an Exile, not an Avernum.

How about a 2d graphic set for Avernum Blades? Set all walls as blocked terrain, would this make importing easier?

Things never get stolen do they? I thought that providing the town item limit isn't breached items will stay where you leave them. Therefore it shouldn't matter that much where the items are put, unless the player collects themselves (in which case they have them anyway) they will remain in the same spot.

Quick errata to my previous post : I wasn't suggesting that you kill then ressurrect the player immediately. Kill them off when you reduce the party; ressurrect when you want them reunited.

And again this isn't a perfect solution, but I'm not sure that any real alternative exists if it's what you really want to do with the scenario.

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(By tommorrow i may well know better) - signature / epitaph

Duplicate. Sorry.

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Grrr those splitters, or whatever the proper term is, they bug me

Newbie too, but waypoint sounds promising. I haven't looked at it yet, but that was my plan for implementing this when the time came.

You could use take_item_char_item(), followed by move_item_on_spot() to move and then return all of the character's items.

Although I still can't get char_take_item() to work and it's put my adventure based scenario on ice.

Hmmm, yes that be much easier.

mirrorX = (Current X - Previous X) * -1

mirrorY = (Current Y - Previous Y) * -1

Only got this at the weekend. Yesterday I didn't know about SDF's and was considering making identical looking terrains with differing ID's to change and reference and pass parameters!

Also spent all night with a script that would not provide an error, just didn't run. I'd included a then with my if statement. grrrr!

Anyone playing may freak out if it wasn't carefully explained, and it's far from a perfect solution, but you could always kill 1 player off, then resurrect them later.

Yes, it's possible.

Only pseudo-code here I’m afraid, as it’s been a while since I programmed with anything as finickity & C like as AvernumScript and it’s taking me hours to get nowhere (although secretly I’m impressed, it maybe akin to conducting an auto-splenectomy with a rusted coat-hanger, but still more powerful that any other scenario editor I’ve come across).

Anyway here goes. As you can’t define any arrays of your own I’d suggest using 19 SDF’s. The 1st -for simplicities sake I’ll say sdf(0,0) - holds the direction that your party has travelled this turn; as follows:

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

i.e. if the party travels north set sdf(0,0) to 2 for this turn, south 8 etc.

The remaining 18 hold x & y offsets for the mirror move. Not sure what corner(0,0) is, assuming top left here, e.g.

0,0

|

|

|

------------ x,x

So travelling up or left is a negative value, whilst down and right are positive. However, you want the other party to travel in the opposite direction, so the values should be:

X

1 0 -1

1 0 -1

1 0 -1

Y

1 1 1

0 0 0

-1 -1 -1

If you take sdf(1,0) through (9,0) for x and sdf(1,1) through (9,1) for y.

sdf(1,0)=1

sdf(1,1) = 1

sdf(2,0)=0

sdf(2,1)=1

:

:

sdf(9,0) = -1

sdf(9,1)=-1

Then when u update the other parties location change it’s x by sdf(sdf(0,0), 0) and change the y by sdf(sdf(0,0), 1).

Maybe...

Is it just me, or does the call

void char_take_item(short which_char_or_group, short which_item)

not work?

I always get Peculiar Error. Undefined Function call.

Wherever I use it, whenever I use it.

For instance after the tutorial my first character has 3 amber (item 203).

take_item(203) // works

char_take_item(0, 203) // doesn't

For my script to behave correctly I need to specify the character & whilst I can think of a workaround it's ugly, inefficient and just plain wrong.

Would be interested to know if anyone else has experienced this problem, or used this call successfully.

P.S. This is with windows v1.01

Thanks,

Eldritch Cadillac.