-=microphage=-

Quote: Originally written by Tcheedchee: Hi, I don't dare to open a new topic to ask you this possibly stupid and redundant question. I admittedly have only speeded through the postings above as it's a very long topic already. From what I understand, it almost seems as if there is a meta-game going on here… Or What's the sence of cheats? except for deleting bugs? Many developers leave them on purpose. An example would be on a new release, someone has a problem and "Tech Support" types of forum members could tell them: "type shift-d at same time and enter suc and so". It seems as if there must be a real delight in meddling with the game on the cheat-level, but I just don't seem to get the fun/sence of it, yet. I mean, it sounds really funny, feeding sandwiches and cakes to creatures in the games,and it makes sence to repair 'bugs' like charakters who get stuck being killed or whatever. Still… - I have the impression that some players in the forum plan on playing with cheats from the beginning and Jeff also seems to have provided more fun for them… ??? Tcheedchee ??? Well, where do I start? 1. I usually play any game through from the beginning on easy levels before I "cheat" And is "cheating" necessary bad? Jeff doesn't mind and the majority of members here aren't concerned at all. Many are almost fanatical about slamming users who use cheats who also claim unimaginable success on "Torment" level. I say "have fun if that's what you like" to me Torment is Torment and frustrating and I don't enjoy the game. Which is the point. Have fun! 2. I've seen too many posts on the forums where people mentioned being almost afraid to post but stuck thier neck out to warn a new person to be aware of getting blasted. That is very unfortunate and is totally contrary to the "spirit" of what the forums are for. 3. A "cheat console" is more accurately called "The Developers Console". It's used in allowing shortcuts to the programmers to test and refine the game as it's being created. Imagine having to start all over to debug a section of code and test it! The vast majority of Software Developers remove some of the more "dangerous" short cuts but leave the console in the game. I think shift-D is possibly used for "D"eveloper. Most of these types of features use keystrokes that would not be hit accidently. 4. I've stated before that for me to enjoy more replayability I speed up some of the early replodding to get on to more fun stuff, quests I've missed, etc. The actual process of trying to help people who get stuck and don't want to lose their progress is also very rewarding. I know how it feels to mess up and it's to far into the game for "quicksave or autosave" to help. 5. Quote: "Still… - I have the impression that some players in the forum plan on playing with cheats from the beginning and Jeff also seems to have provided more fun for them…" You've stated the concern you have about cheating to have more fun and the way to do it is deliberately written in and left in. In this case "cheating" is not wrong as long as you don't violate your End User License Agreement. Also, it's not like cheating on a test or on your spouse which is certainly wrong. If you want to use cheats the cheat console is there. If it improves your overall experience playing the game, you're not sinning. Whatever floats your boat. 6. I pay for my games. I wonder if some small percentage of those who harrass and make other forums members hesitant to post have? (Just a thought.) Cheating by not paying is wrong, disrespectful, hurtful and illegal. Please realize in that case it's not cheating, it's stealing. Thank you for your courage and boldness to speak out your concerns. If you need some help with something that this topic is here for, just ask. Someone will most likely help if I don't get to it right away. (I'm replaying A4. Wow, does Jeff's A5 built in Editor come in handy, and is much missed in A4.) Or, you could PM instead of post. Also, I don't feel you got off topic as this was a very pertinent question regarding the subject of topic. There are plenty of spots to save games. Save your progress before using the incredible Character Editor built into the game. See if it helps improve your enjoyment of the game. If not, just reload where you were and maybe try it again on later replays. microphage Note: The opinions stated here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Spiderweb Software or any other members of this forum, or any sentient being any where/when in the Multiverse.

Quote: Originally written by cormac: I've read this thread and gone through some scripts, but can't figure it out on my own. Granted I haven't spent two hours going through scripts, but anyway....I opted to vent some bloodthirsty rage and annihilate the citizens of Muck. This was before I had any idea Lark offered quests. Now I'm wanting to complete them, but Pasquale is no more than a greasy smidge of lizard fodder. I found his scripts in z28Tmuckdlg.txt, found some "sf" numbers, but can't figure out what to do with them. How do I get his hint about the whirling thrasher? This should do it. You may not see the "hint" but it should replace the lost flag sequence to continue hunting it. It probably doesn't spawn or exist till certain flags are set. The "hint" alone would have been worthless. I believe there may be another character for a hint, not sure. In this case it was fairly simple to create an "SDF" and pull the dialog text from "begintalknode 127". Thanks for including the zone 28 info and name of Pasquale. When trying to find scripts and fix "uh ohs" a helpful bit of info is z28(zone 28)T(Town)muck(name)dlg(dialog) = z28Tmuckdlg. This is great for some stuff. There are some scattered all over that may have N,E,S, or W for directions of parts of certain towns in the script name. And have fun finding stuff with "driver" (Dark River) cause there's about a dozen scattered all over, not to mention "d river" sure looks a lot like "driver" but though it's distracting, I can't recall any Windows Drivers files with a .txt extension! Muck Thrasher Hint Oop's fix from untimely death of Pasquale: Hit shift-D to open "cheat" console then type: SDF 116 2 1 Then hit enter. Here is the "hint" you missed. "It has been seen in the fens not far to the east. A creature that size must have a lair. Look for a place with a lot of bones." "It is a cunning beast, though. It has a knack for avoiding those who would hunt it. You might have to stomp around a lot to irritate it into fighting you." "Alternately, you could choose not to fight it. Remain in the world of the living a bit longer."

Quote: Originally written by Clavicle: Microphage: Yeah, there was a cake quest in G3; one of the serviles said she missed cake; but since I never found any cake for her, and I didn't use the GIVEASNACK cheat, I wasn't able to make her happy. I don't remember if I've seen cakes outside of the cheat -- I think I have -- in any of the other games... I just vividly remember cake, and haven't seen any mention yet of cake in A5. I do remember the deli sandwich in Nethergate, which is why I want it back. Sylak's Talking Skull wouldn't eat it though, even though he kept asking me for it. >>> YES! I remember now. I got G3 through Real Arcade and it was my 1st experience with SW games. I'm going to have to get G3 again someday. (Burnt out on RA long ago.) I'm replaying A4 right now. According to the forums back then there were 2 pieces of cake in the game and none very close by the quest giver. I ate the cake before I found the quest so I cheated after finding out I ate both pieces because I actually did find them. That's about the time I started reading the forums, after A4 came out I registered for the forums. Quote: Originally written by Dikiyoba: Originally by Microphage: Quote: Cows? Cave Cows? I thought they were ornks. Must be GF4 brain bleed. I started Avernum at A4 so I just assumed the lizards were the primary meat source. Maybe I ought to dl a3demo so I can see a Cave Cow. You'll want A1 or A2, actually. A3 mostly takes place on the surface, and you want to see cave cows, not surface cows. A1 has cave cows right outside the starting town, even. But A2 lets you have a very mooving conversation with some cave cows near the beginning of the game, and it has the better plot, so Dikiyoba recommends you download that one. >>> As usual, good info! I'll d/l A2. Thanks, yet again...

Quote: Originally written by Clavicle: Jeff: What about the deli sandwich? Does the deli sandwich return, too? I hope so. And I also miss cake. I also hope the GIFTC returns, and brings some friends with him/her. Cake is available in both the Geneforge and Avernum Series. Mainly by typing shift-D and typing giveasnack which gives your lead player cake. I do recall a quest for cake somewhere and recall only 2 pieces of cake available in entire game. Cows? Cave Cows? I thought they were ornks. Must be GF4 brain bleed. I started Avernum at A4 so I just assumed the lizards were the primary meat source. Maybe I ought to dl a3demo so I can see a Cave Cow.

I usually buy first aid when it's cheap and spread it over whole party. It is cumulative so it's effectiveness is a total of whole party count. It kicks in at the end of combat. The more you have the more healing and restoration takes place. This can be more convenient for your party to "apply firstaid" as you may not need to use potions and spells. microphage

Quote: Originally written by readnbead: At the risk of sounding like I don't know how to do script editing...how do you do script editing? Is it just simple text editing the file "z25Tharstondlg.txt" listed in the post? Thanks! (Always ready to learn something new!) A general good idea. Check the job boards everytime you go in a town. For clarity: There is 1 Rat Lord quest/job and a Rat Bounty quest/job. And 1 or 2 rat/Rat Lord quest related ones. Did you talk to Goodman Wulf, Mother Alice and the Mayor? I think there are just these 3 quest givers. 3 quests/jobs. On some Job Board Jobs/Quests you can be unintentionally penalized by running loose and doing things (like killing someone, or a job/quest item early). This is not happening so much with newer games. If combo of the SDF code and editing doesn't fix it, ouch. Try this if all else fails. You can learn by editing your 1st script. Go here: http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=0004 77;p=2 Note: This is a script edit that's convenient. It's not necessary to edit the script file involved in many cases. Try this, finish your quest, then go back to remove what you added to Thorgalds. Keep this sign in mind for future fixes. Hopefully helpful! microphage

1: Fix to remove quest from list for Rat Lord/Rat Bounty Quests/job. (re: z25Tharstondlg.txt z06blakchasdlg.txt) 2: SDF Fix for Muck going Hostile. 3: SDF Fix to Harkins Landing Hostile. 4: SDF Fix to Join Anama. _______________________________________________________________________________ 1: Fix Rat Lord Quest and Rat Bounty. May need both. Also be sure you've talked to Goodman Wulf, Mother Alice and the mayor before using these measures! Open cheat console shift-D and type SDF 60 2 23 hit enter. Quote: Originally written by readnbead: At the risk of sounding like I don't know how to do script editing...how do you do script editing? Is it just simple text editing the file "z25Tharstondlg.txt" listed in the post? Thanks! (Always ready to learn something new!) Open scripts folder, then z06blakchasdlg.txt and find near top of file begintalknode 6; begintalknode 6; state = -1; nextstate = -1; condition = 1; question = "special"; text1 = "The sign says:"; text2 = " Storgald's Herbs"; Copy and paste code = set_flag(73,20,2); toggle_quest(34,3); award_party_xp(400,8); erase_char(7782); reward_give(175); break; It will look like this: begintalknode 6; state = -1; nextstate = -1; condition = 1; question = "special"; text1 = "The sign says:"; text2 = " Storgald's Herbs"; code = set_flag(73,20,2); toggle_quest(34,3); award_party_xp(400,8); erase_char(7782); reward_give(175); break; Save and run game. Open cheat console and type backtostart. Go north then due west until you come to sign in front of Storgald's Herbs. Click on sign to read it, Just close and you'll have your fix. Quest finished. Note: To open cheat console hit shift D at same time and type in cheat. You can also teleport near there. Go to Black Chasm Outpost. Exit North till you can go West. Walk to building with Storgalds Herbs sign. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2: Make Muck like you again. Leave area by running away if you can or shift-d then backtostart if you can't. type shift-D and type: SDF 114 1 0 hit ENTER and travel back to Muck. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3: Make Harkins Landing like you again. Leave area by running away if you can or shift-d then backtostart if you can't. type shift-D and type: SDF 35 1 0 hit ENTER and travel back to Harkins Landing. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4: SDF code to Join Anama. If you want to join the Anama and Alcander won't let you for whatever reason... type shift-D and type: SDF 69 6 2 hit ENTER and talk to him again.

Quote: Originally written by readnbead: This is the mayor's quest the "rat bounty", which unfortunately I grabbed off the job board AFTER I had already killed the rat lord and received the reward from Mother Alice. Like the orginal poster, the problem is that I have already completly cleaned out his lair of all rats--so I can't get the bounty and I'd like to get rid of that quest in my quest list. The code that worked for the orignal poster doesn't work for me; instead I get the error message I posted. --thanks Here's what you need to clean this up by script editing: code = set_flag(73,20,2); toggle_quest(34,3); award_party_xp(400,8); erase_char(7782); reward_give(175); break; z25Tharstondlg.txt

On the subject of keys, I think Gladwell is in this general area. The 1st time I dealt with him and got his key I was able to open all doors that apparently used "shadow keys?". The last time I was only able to open 1 door. Are these related? (Gladwell and Soultaker.) microphage P.S. Never accepted the geas.

Quote: Originally written by readnbead: I've had the same problem, having done the quest before actually taking the job. I've typed in the code, but get this error when I do so: "Error: attempted to change out of range Stuff Done Flag". Any clue as to what I'm doing wrong? Thanks! There are several ways to get 1 or more quests for this. Goodman Wulf, Mother Alice, maybe mayor or mayor via jobboard. Who gave you the quest you can't finish?

Quote: Originally written by Interesting Animals: Quote: Originally written by Micro Phage: I assume that SDF means Set Data Flag. I think some people have refered to SDF as Stuff Done Flag but I think that's a joke. Nope. They're actually Stuff Done Flags, first revealed in all their glory in BoE. The name may be a joke, but it's Jeff's joke. —Alorael, who has nothing more constructive to contribute. Sorry! I suspected an inside joke. It seems as though he actually coded the engines for his games. From scratch. Not useing some box of pre-made cookie mix (like so many out there do) and pasting his games around things like RenderWare, Unreal Engine, NetImmerse engine, SpeedTree and so on. Thanks for the insight about this "world" we hang out in. "—Alorael, who has nothing more constructive to contribute. Sorry!" Wow. The inside scoop on SDF meaning was much appreciated. I haven't seen it used in any other software. What is even more appreciated is a post on this thread from #335 "—Alorael". He of the Many Names and Humongous Post Count. You just made my day sir. Feel free to drop by anytime. I've got a fridge full of Gremlin Wine and Ale. Some Knowledge Brews as well.

Quote: Originally written by lizzard: the second one opened the gate that the priestess should have opened. not sure what the first one did. thanks a ton . i spent about 2 hours looking through the scripts for this one and never did find it. my last save was from first entering the dark river area, about 14 hours of game play ago. also, if anyone wants to be able to get back into the dark river and not be forced to go back to the azure gallery, they can use this code: sdf 133 16 1 this will open the front gate (once you know which sdf code to look for it is pretty easy to find these things.) Way to go! You and Snuffy are not only asking questions, you're giving answers. And finding and sharing you own fixes and work arounds. This is the purpose of this thread. Very cool. Hope more get involved at that level. Questions and comments are very welcome. All of it builds the topic and it'll make a good reference for a lot of other members. I found where you got your SDF from. I haven't played my current game that far... Can you use the 2 SDF's I gave you and this one and still finish Donicio's quest? I can't remember if just opening the gate to the AG does enough to satisfy Donicio's quest or not. I'll be watching for this as I play over the next few days. It would be nice to have the choice of getting back in your boat and not literally have to travel to Azure Gallery if it doesn't zap a quest finish. I'm not sure what the 1st SDF does, but it's necessary to fix the "oops" of killing the priestess too early. I killed her last time through because I remember a quest that had a bounty on members of this cult in Azure Gallery I think. Maybe as far back as the Drake Pillars. Even though the quest for the other cultists was finished it just seemed the thing to do as these people are dangerously nuts! I assume that SDF means Set Data Flag. I think some people have refered to SDF as Stuff Done Flag but I think that's a joke. Either way you can actually create an SDF if you have enough information. SDF's can be found in the script files but you have discovered something I did about a month ago. If you know where to look and what to look for you can make your own SDF commands. Think I should post about how to do it? microphage

Quote: Originally written by Geezer: I completed all 4 challenges from his job board, come back to his keep and not only does he ignore the quests but, for whatever reason, I'm not allowed to bring it up in the conversation. It's as if I never completed them? And by complete them I mean they all agreed to pay tribute, I didn't kill them! He should be happier than the well know pig.... Any thoughts on what might have gone wrong? Second question, where do I find Goro's Ogres and his Giant? I've been up both sets of stairs and nobody but the Doomguard..... You have to report the tribute quests to Goro. Mel doesn't stoop to such mundane affairs. The completion and reward may only show in the text on screen. You'll have to start more than 1 dialog if you hit him with all 4 completions at once. Also Goro's quests are up the nearest stairway by Goro. Goro is SW of Mel in The Beastmaster Hall. The stairs are in the north end of his hall. microphage

Quote: Originally written by madrigan: Quote: Originally written by Harpster: "I don't use the codes that remove consequences" Why not? Maybe we are thinking of 2 different things. For example, if I free the drake in Harkin's Landing, I don't then use the cheat code to make the town friendly again. I have my superheroes move through the actual plot. So, does the town get friendly by itself with time or do you just kill everyone or avoid the area and miss all the plot related quests?

Quote: Originally written by lizzard: how would i go about opening the gate in the circle of life cult if i killed the priestess before she rang the gong: see: http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=0 00220#000000 is there a sdf code i could use to open this gate? This is a good one. Having trouble finding the script for it. Found it. Try this: SDF 133 19 1 SDF 133 4 2 Let me know what happens. P.S. If you can go into areas previously blocked, do it. There's a reason for it.

Glad to see a topic like this! Yay! I also play on "easy" and usually cheat just enough to get by. Then on subsequent replays I cheat like crazy with anything I can find or invent. It adds another level of fun for me. microphage Can't say enough good stuff about the built in Editor!!! You can access anytime you want by typing shift D and editor and there it is. Way to go Jeff!!!

I've tried to find an SDF for Anama Hostile Fix. It almost seems like forgiveme does the job. Even for the scrolls heist. Just re-did the scrolls heist. shift-D forgiveme or pleaselikeme is all you need. As a cult they are a forgiving bunch.

Quote: Originally written by pringdew: ok...i have the geas, i killed the drake after having been given the key from the mayor of hartwells landing. once i go topside the town is a little on the grumpy side. is the an editor use the make the town un-grumpy again? This one's easy: Open cheat console by hitting shift D and type forgiveme you may need to travel away do forgiveme and come back. If you are in combat you may need to use backtostart first. Also, boat around to the south end of town and you'll be able to land, activate the pillar and while at the Portal type shift-D forgiveme ENTER key then teleport back and it should be friendly again. I discovered about my 3rd play-through that that worked when simple forgiveme and going away on foot didn't! There's a list of built-in cheats around here somewhere... These are what I can remember: imdrained restores energy iampoor Gives 500 gold ouchouchouch restores health giveasnack gets you a piece of cake backtostart takes you back to Blackchasm Outpost leetbuffz buffs all your party with all kinds of shields, blessings, etc. iwanttobestronger gives you experience points and the coolest of all: editor lets you edit your partys stats forgiveme and/or pleaselikeme will cause hostile towns to get friendly again. If you walked into a battle you can shift D and type backtostart then forgiveme microphage

Quote: Originally written by TobyLinn: Actually, I was looking for something I could do without leaving the dungeon....think I could beat the Sentinel Workshop with just my priest and mage? I've been training them in the sword... Ah, I guess I'll just have to go back to Solberg's tower that sucks. Well, you asked for it, you got it: Open av5itemschars.txt and make following changes indicated by arrows, save. Play. begindefineitem 284; import = 250; it_name = "Cake"; it_graphic_template = 51; it_graphic_sheet = 1; it_which_icon_ground = 7; it_which_icon_inven = 7; it_ability = 187; <===========<< it_value = 30000; <===========<< begindefineitem 285; it_name = "Kabob"; it_which_icon_ground = 10; it_which_icon_inven = 10; it_value = 1; <===========<< it_ability = 204; <===========<< Just type giveasnack from the cheat console. Your 30000 coin value Cake now will raise the dead if you eat/use it. You still have to find a break in combat as you can't restore life in combat. How's that? Best I could do. microphage

Quote: Originally written by TobyLinn: I remember it was hard to get the quest from the Mayor of Harkin's Landing in the first place. I had to go to him, and tell him I was done and wanted to move on....and then he would say you can't move on without a bracelet, and then he would give me the quest to kill Lysstak the Beast. If she killed Lysstak without getting the quest first, that could be the problem. She killed the mayor of New Harston. At least someone did. Quote: Originally written by TobyLinn: From the Avernum 5 Support Page: Killing Lysstak Not Being Recorded Properly If, in Avernum 5 v1.0 for Windows, you kill the last two copies of Lysstak the Beast at exactly the same time, his death will not be recorded properly and you will not be able to complete the quest. Should this happen to you, do this to fix it: 1. Load the saved game. 2. Type Shift-D. 3. Enter the following: sdf 8 1 1 4. Press return. You will then be able to speak with the mayor of Harkin's Landing and complete the quest. I don't know whether that will help you or not... This is for the Mayor of Exodus (Vikas). Assuming Mayor of Harkin's Landing is dead. If you already have bracelet. I think you need to type 170 8 1 as well as SDF 8 1 1. Type: SDF 170 8 1 If SDF 170 8 1 doesn't fix I give up. Reload. microphage

Quote: Originally written by TobyLinn: I'm confused why wouldn't Catzen kill Lystak the Beast? Isn't that part of the game? why would someone use a cheat to get the bracelet without doing the actual quest first? Quote: Originally written by catzen: I have already killed Lystakk, that is why I keep harping on this. Very frustrating. I didn't try the cheat until I had already killed. I have the bracelet, but they won't let me in to Tranquility. As I said, bracelet challenged. This question is in about 3 recent topics so it can be confusing if you haven't read them all... Maybe download/fresh install is the cure. Try it and hang on to your save games, if that doesn't fix it, redownload/install start new game. You're not that far along. Replaying goes fast. microphage

I think you're going to have to kill Lysstak. You may do that and not have to restart game. Since you have bracelet, there must be some flags missed that killing Lysstak will give you. microphage

Quote: Originally written by TobyLinn: I don't understand all this script editing stuff, I'm not a programmer. What I would be interested in is a cheat code for bringing a character back from the dead...it really sucks to get halfway through a dungeon (doing the Sentinel Workshop quest) and have a character collapse into unconsciousness. I really would hate to go all the way back to town and then come back. That's what I miss from the old character editor There is no cheat code. Find in scripts folder z06blakchasdlg.txt and copy it somewhere safe. Open and find near top of file begintalknode 6; begintalknode 6; state = -1; nextstate = -1; condition = 1; question = "special"; text1 = "The sign says:"; text2 = " Storgald's Herbs"; Copy and paste code = reward_give(485); reward_give(485); reward_give(485); reward_give(485); break; It will look like this: begintalknode 6; state = -1; nextstate = -1; condition = 1; question = "special"; text1 = "The sign says:"; text2 = " Storgald's Herbs"; code = reward_give(485); reward_give(485); reward_give(485); reward_give(485); Save and run game. follow the below instructions.. Quote: Originally written by Snuffy: Open cheat console and type backtostart. Go north then due west until you come to sign in front of Storgald's Herbs. Click on sign to read it, Just close and you'll have your item. Note: To open cheat console hit shift D at same time and type in cheat. Your main character will have 4 Scrolls-Raise Dead. Follow Snuffys intructions above to find Storgalds place. Split them between party and your good to go. You can also teleport near there. Go to Black Chasm Outpost, north out the gate, then west. microphage Edit: You can't raise dead during combat. So maybe backtostart method would be best in some cases. For the sentinal? Hmmm. You may not be able to get back in. Try to get party out of sight and keep hitting "f" or "peace sign". Many times that will give you enough of a break to open inventory and use scroll. This also is helpful trying to exit any combat zone and board boats.

Thanks Azuma! Found it. It was as far to the SOUTH east as you can go from New Harston. Entrance is in small shack, when you get down there you'll see the giant Marrowsucker(?) on a different level to the NE, the satchel is in the SW in a room in a clay jar. Man. Thanks a ton! And thanks for the info on job board quests guys. You wouldn't believe the time spent trying to finish that quest by searching all over; over and over, and as last resort scripting, but couldn't find anything. And thanks Dikiyoba. That's a first for me. I've tried to reply and hit quote a time or two and caught it, this time I missed it.

I was replying in the New Harston Quests - Rat Bounty/Courier Satchel thread. Did not mean to start a new topic. Darn UBB Where EXACTLY is that Courier Satchel at? I found it first time through but not this time. Also, what does Pilhofer look for when he rewards you and clears this job board quest? I can find nothing in z25Tharstondlg.txt about it in any dialog with Pilhofer. Or in any other zone around. Thanks, microphage Edit: Unintended new topic apology.