Dintiradan

The problem's probably on my end. I've been putting off doing a full reboot until I get a new computer (read: never). -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: My dungeon cell decor will not feature exposed pipes. While they add to the gloomy atmosphere, they are good conductors of vibrations and a lot of prisoners know Morse code.

Twice last night, I got this when trying to start BoA after a long time staring at a white screen (Win 98): Unhandled exception: c00000fd At address: bff742a3 The computer froze soon after clicking on the dialog box and returning to the desktop. I got the white screen again, and by CTRL-D and closing the application, was able to save myself from rebooting. Not a big problem, but it'd be nice to know what caused it. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: I will carry a flash drive with me at all times containing the Evil Overlord list, so that when I post from a different computer I will not be faced with trying to find out what my last quote was and being forced to make something up.

Oh my! The following is an e-mail I received from jockmo42. I place it here in case my ideas are wrong (which is possible), my ideas aren't the most optimal (which is likely), or my ideas aren't clearly expressed (which is highly likely). Quote: I'm sure there are already many reputation scripts out there, do you think you could tell me where to find one that is easily adaptable to multiple factions? Also, do you think I can get a randomizer script? It would be a script that, when triggered, picks randomly from a set of pre-defined scripts and runs one. Lastly, have you seen the 3D editor? I find that it would be much easier to use than the original and I can avoid the Line of Sight Problem. - I don't think it's possible for there to be a 'reputation' script. What I'd recommend you do is have an SDF (Stuff Done Flag, or just 'Flag') for each faction, containing the party's reputation with that faction. Whenever the party does something that will increase its reputation, increase the SDF (for instance, if the party does a minor quest for a faction, insert the following code to increase the reputation by one) : Code: inc_flag(X, Y, 1); Whenever the party does something that will decrease its reputation, decrease the SDF (for instance, if the party kills a faction member, insert the following code to decrease the reputation by 5) : Code: inc_flag(X, Y, -5); Finally, it's impossible for an SDF to have a value less than zero, and all SDFs start at zero. If you want to have the possibility for a party's reputation to decrease, you'll need to set them at a positive number at the beginning of the scenario (to start the party's reputation at 10, insert the following code in INIT_STATE in the scenario script) : Code: set_flag(X, Y, 10); There's also a recent thread regarding complicated reputation counters. You can find it here . - I don't think it's possible for an item to have a list of scripts to choose from. What you CAN do is the following. Say you have a Wand of Unusual Effects. In the state that is run when the item is used (say State 10), you'll have the following code (I think, though I could be wrong, that states for effects done by items are put in the scenario script) : Code: beginstate 10;set_state_continue( get_ran(1, A, );// A is the minimum random number returned. In this case, it's the lowest state number.// B is the maximum random number returned. In this case, it's the highest state number. Also note that in some cases you may want to use set_state instead of set_state_continue. Another thing I noticed is the run_scenario_script and the run_town_script calls. Bottom line: read the documentation. - The 3D Editor is da bomb. Get it. If you don't like the view, there's a button you can press which reverts the view to 2D. That's about all the advice I can give you. I can probably give more if you give more specific specifications. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: If I have children and subsequently grandchildren, I will keep my three-year-old granddaughter near me at all times. When the hero enters to kill me, I will ask him to first explain to her why it is necessary to kill her beloved grandpa. When the hero launches into an explanation of morality way over her head, that will be her cue to pull the lever and send him into the pit of crocodiles. After all, small children like crocodiles almost as much as Evil Overlords and it's important to spend quality time with the grandkids.

With the small scenario I'm working on right now, I was able to plan nearly all of it beforehand. After I had decided on the plot, I began fleshing out details by working on a 'projected' SDF list. I highly doubt this will work for a large scenario. My next one will be highly linear, so I'll probably try off-the-cuff designing. One thing that wasn't mentioned was the importance of releasing the documentation with the scenario. This isn't just for yourself, but for others. For instance, it would have been nigh impossible for me to weed out some of the bugs in Thralni's scenario in the initial beta if he didn't include a SDF list and numbered his town scripts. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: As an alternative to not having children, I will have lots of children. My sons will be too busy jockeying for position to ever be a real threat, and the daughters will all sabotage each other's attempts to win the hero.

JV said something to the effect of: No more Rentar. No more Erika. No more Garzahd. Granted, he didn't say anything about Grah-Hoth, but I think it's time for this plot arc to die, and for new one (like the Darkside Loyalists?) to begin. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: I will instruct my guards when checking a cell that appears empty to look for the chamber pot. If the chamber pot is still there, then the prisoner has escaped and they may enter and search for clues. If the chamber pot is not there, then either the prisoner is perched above the lintel waiting to strike them with it or else he decided to take it as a souvenir (in which case he is obviously deeply disturbed and poses no threat). Either way, there's no point in entering.

By Thuryl: Quote: No, there's no way around checking for every number individually. The party's response to a text response call is stored as a string, and the engine isn't smart enough to tell whether a string contains a number. -------------------- Deep down inside, JV knows he should have programmed in Perl.

Semi-related question: is there (or can there) be a way to look at and manipulate .SAV files (this would help tremendously with a scenario idea floating around in my head right now). I'd be able to write an application to modify the .SAVs, if I only know for sure what was what. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: The passageways to and within my domain will be well-lit with fluorescent lighting. Regrettably, the spooky atmosphere will be lost, but my security patrols will be more effective.

Apples and oranges. A1 is an open-ended CRPG big on atmosphere. The interweaving three quest threads are nice, but don't provide enough driving force to the game (personally, I found the Grah-Hoth quest gave the most drive to the game, even though it seemed underdeveloped). A2, on the other hand, is highly linear. It even works under the chapter system, though it shifts to open-ended in the last chapter, with the same theme of three quest threads. The focus of this game is more on scripted encounters than on the ability to go anywhere at anytime, so the plot is stronger at the expense of choice. A3 breaks the mold set by the previous two games. It features five mostly sequential quests, with one driving purpose behind the game, all taking place in an all-new open-ended world. Thus, a compromise of sorts. Of course, there is the plague ennui... maybe if there was more moral ambiguity as with the Troglodytes, and more 'side options' like the Anama... BoA: All breadth, no depth. So, yeah, a bit difficult to rank. By the way, is that Solberg the BoE designer? -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: If I am escaping in a large truck and the hero is pursuing me in a small Italian sports car, I will not wait for the hero to pull up along side of me and try to force him off the road as he attempts to climb aboard. Instead I will slam on the brakes when he's directly behind me. (A rudimentary knowledge of physics can prove quite useful.)

I don't know about Exile, but enemies did run away from you in some of the Avernums; BoA and A4, at the least. Most of the time they ran away when severly wounded, or because they were scripted to. In BoA (and presumably in A4), there's the ability to manipulate a creature's 'courage' (change of running away). So it's possible to create a creature script which periodically checks the number of friendly and unfriendly creatures nearby, and alters its courage accordingly. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: Before appointing someone as my trusted lieutenant, I will conduct a thorough background investigation and security clearance.

Probably won't ever happen, but I hope A5 addresses the fighter/mage tactical inbalance that plagues most CRPGs. By this I refer to the way mages can choose between a host of spells in combat, while fighters and archers are limited to target choosing. As much as I would like to see the spell base extended to the size that the Exile fans rave about, I think the non-magic users need more work first. Too much of the fighter's stats are invisible in gameplay. What I'd like to see is a continuation of the special skills like Riposte, Quick Attack, and Parry. Examples could be skills such as Mobility, which would decrease the chance of an enemy slowing a PC down; Opportunist, which would let a fighter have the chance of making attacks of opportunity as they did in A1-BoA; or Teamwork, which would allow a fighter to get a synergy bonus to attack if another PC is nearby with a similarly high score in the skill (anyone care to guess what the inspiration is for these ideas? ). Personally, I'd like to make things even more complex and include things like the ability to make called shots (a chance of reducing an enemy's attack, or speed, etc.). However, this would probably make the game to difficult for the casual player. Anyway, here's hoping that JV did good encapsulation in the A4 code so that most of these ideas have a chance at being easily implemented... -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: I will never place the key to a cell just out of a prisoner's reach.

... stupid WikiBooks and ambiguious one-line descriptions. Perhaps calling the creature's number its type interferes with my D&D mindset. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: Despite the delicious irony, I will not force two heroes to fight each other in the arena.

What I was looking for is something that will do the following: if the creature number is 74, 76, or 78, I know it is a 'Townsman'. If it is 75, 77, or 79, I know it is a 'Townswoman' (the number you see in the BoA Scenario Editor; sorry if I was unclear). Does creature_type return this number, or does it return the species of the creature (human, slith, undead, etc.)? -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: I will not employ robots as agents of destruction if there is any possible way that they can be re-programmed or if their battery packs are externally mounted and easily removable.

I've been working on a custom script to cover all the 'non-vital' NPCs in my scenario (loosely based on TM's 'Commoner'). At first, I had the conversation based on the value of a memory cell, like Commoner. Then I though that a call finding the creature's number (not ID number, but the number that separates a townsman from a soldier, for example) would do as well. A quick once-over of the Call Reference didn't turn up any results. However, I know that this reference misses some calls, such as the creature defining calls. Does a call exist that returns the number of a creature, or am I stuck with the choice of inputing memory cells for each NPC or creating a different version of the script for each creature number? -------------------- The BoA Editor forum needs loving too.

Necromancy is bad. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: I will not send out batalions composed wholly of robots or skeletons against heroes who have qualms about killing living beings.

(Sniff, sniff.) Is something burning? By Retlaw May: Quote: As someone mentioned earlier, a weakness of the Avernum series is that the ncp's don't seem to react to much in their conversations. I would like to see ncp's react to what they have heard of your deeds. True, but making responsive NPCs requires a lot of work. The simplest way is to add either one line or another based on the current state of an SDF, and even this takes time if you have to do it for every single NPC. It's similar to the way Kel made the dialog different depending on the size and race of your party in Bahs; it's a nice touch, but probably far too much work for the payoff. To bad dialog doesn't run under the Infinite State Machine model. EDIT: Quote: Insulting the moderator staff is highly frowned upon and is dealt with swiftly. Quote: So if someone insults someone who's not a moderator, nothing happens? Quote: No, it's just slightly frowned upon and the response takes more time. Excellent: as long as I don't insult Kelandon, Delicious Vlish, and Alorael on this forum, I'm relatively safe from fallout. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: Prison guards will have their own cantina featuring a wide variety of tasty treats that will deliver snacks to the guards while on duty. The guards will also be informed that accepting food or drink from any other source will result in execution.

If you want to join the Anama, I'd recommend you do it from the onset (this means heading to Bigail immediately, avoiding the roaches). It's quite a waste if you have a full mage become useless. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: Rather than having only one secret escape pod, which the hero can easily spot and follow, I'll simultaneously launch a few dozen decoys to throw him off track.

Um... yeah. This is why I included the in my post. I use a PC because I have access to Windows OS and Office by virtue of my parent's previous involvement with my high school, ease in modding, and because everyone I know uses a PC. Sometime later this year I might get around to doing a Linux dual-boot. EDIT: Ugh. Graemlin overload. Also, indefinite articles are your friends. -------------------- I Am Root - WORSHIP ME!

Just curious: what exactly do you find hard to understand? Is is getting used to things like variables, conditional statements, and the like (the programming aspect)? Is it understanding the way states are created and used (the finite state machine aspect)? Or is it that you are overwhelmed by the number of calls you can make? Thuryl's right: the best way to pick up any programming language is to learn by example. The Cookbook's good: it doesn't teach you everything about the language, but it gives examples for the most common things you do. A list of nearly all the calls you can make, and an explanation for what they do, can be found in the Script Reference (I'd recommend going here , right clicking the link for it near the bottom of the page (or whatever the Mac equivilent is), and saving it to your computer). Also, links for many other resources, including scripts, can be found here . -------------------- Just Another AvernumScript Hacker.

Please clarify: Does the entire game not work, or is it just to opening screen? Perhaps some of the graphics are missing. Also, make sure that when you are reinstalling, you are using a new download and not the same one. Solution: Buy a PC. They never have problems. -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: If I decide to hold a contest of skill open to the general public, contestants will be required to remove their hooded cloaks and shave their beards before entering.

Lost Nethexermumforgeland Core: You, an adventuring party comprised of Roman legionaries and Celtic warriors, stumble across a planar gateway. On the other side, you discover an entire nation of exiles living in caves. However, a shadowy force is altering the Exiles' genetics, causing their very appearance to change. To stop this conversion (or to aid it; the game has a multitude of different endings), you must journey deep into the core of the Exiles' homeland. There you must retrieve to Stone of Night, and make the choice of freeing or subduing their lost souls. -------------------- for clarity.

By Dikiyoba: Quote: (Notice how brilliant Plan O is. It is not painfully obvious like The Top Secret Plan For Taking Over The World nor is it something ridiculously complex like Plan 684.3251, Section 4, Clause C. Furthermore, it is far enough along in the alphabet that it is not likely to be confused with any of the hero's plans, like Plan A or Plan B or Plan C would.) Don't be so sure. -------------------- Haley: Think of it as 'Plan B'. Belkar: 'B'? Didn't we go through this already? We're on like Plan Q. *** Haley: Shhh! I'm getting an idea. Belkar: And so, Plan R begins to take form. *** Belkar: So. Plan S, then? - OotS

The most underdeveloped race in nearly all RPGs and CRPGs are humans. I'd prefer new cultural groups and such rather than new races. I wonder how a goblin PC would work? For a change of pace, how about an experience bonus and lots of disadvantages? -------------------- IF I EVER BECOME AN EVIL OVERLORD: I will create an Avernum game with the fully mapped out possibility of evil PCs. No more of this namby-pamby 'I'm going to pilfer this from you as I go about altruistically saving the world' stuff.

By Crowley: Quote: All I wanted to know why a creature which by all means appears to be a spirit is not affected by repel spirit. Easy enough. Each creature is nothing more than a mass of statistics. One of them classifies what the creature is. You choose between human, nephilim, slith (or is it lizard?), undead, demon, vahnatai, etc. You can only choose one creature type. Seeing that there is no 'slith undead' slot, I'm guessing JV decided the Avatar fit better under another heading other that 'demon' or 'undead', possibly the slith (or lizard). The one way to check exactly which one is to read the BoA docs to find each groups strengths and weaknesses, then spend a few minutes narrowing it down. So yeah, the Avatars are neither undead nor demons because JV typed in a different number. Pretty anticlimatic, eh? -------------------- Help! A character sheet is attacking me!

Almost nothing in the fantasy genre is original. Think about it: very few creatures in the Avernum series are truely unique. Chitrachs are just big praying mantises, and the Vahnatai fill the role elves usually do (to be fair, JV should be lauded in his choice to go with cat and lizard beings rather than going with the overused elves and dwarves). Try as I might, though, I can't think of any equivilent to the GIFTS. And what D&D monster is truely unique. There are only a handful; beholders and illithids are the only ones I can think of at the moment. A beholder can be described as [CENSORED], with [CENSORED]. The illithids, also known as [CENSORED], are a race of beings known for their [CENSORED]. However, WotC has not released these creatures under the OGL, so I cannot provide further details. -------------------- You mean the Mind Fla- DON'T say it! It's trademarked! - OotS

Superego: No, Dintiradan! Don't make a useless post with the sole purpose of repeating what everyone else has said! Instead, give advice on how to improve the scenario. Id: Do it. Do it. You know you want to. Besides, that line is begging to be used. Ego: (Click.) -------------------- Giants, troglodytes, gazers, demons and undead. Oh my! Seriously, choose something other than that for your first scenario. It appears to be far too large for a first try, and besides, plagues have been done before. Over and over and over again (See A3, A4, Undead Valley... and that's ignoring BoE). Besides, Trogs and Giants hate each other. Play A3.