Spears Clash! Of Uncombined Items?

[Nioca]

I'm playing Spears now, and I'm wondering: is it normal for pretty much every potion and scroll you pick up not to combine with other potions and scrolls of the same type?

 

Also, does anybody know where one can find a Dispel Barrier spell in this thing? I'm running out of Piercing Crystals and Scrolls, and the barriers keep popping back up.

[Prince of Kitties]

I'm not sure, but I think there may be an issue with items that have a special item number not stacking. A lot of the potions and gems are given such numbers in Spears so that they can be used for making other items, opening portals, etc.

 

Speaking of opening portals... In the ancient tower in the Nephil lands, there's a portal that can be made usable by dropping rubies (ordinary ones, not Nath's red gems) on the runes around it. It goes to a library, where the undead patrons will give you access to study rooms in return for handing over four rare books that can be procurred elsewhere. Each book you give them allows access to one study room, and each study room contains a useful spell in one of the bookcases; if you've found one of the books (easiest to find is probably The Last Alnerian), try going to the library, giving the librarian-spirit the book, and saving the game. Then enter one study room, look at the bookcases for spells, reload, go to the second, etc. until you find the one with the dispel barrier spell.

 

(If it's there, that is. The bookcases outside the study also contain useful and interesting stuff, such as special spells and historical information; however, the library is huge, disorganized, and full of lesser undead, so it's a pain in the neck - and the hands - to browse.)

[Redstart]

I have the same problem with item stacking. It's been like this for me in three different scenarios, and stacking only seems to work with lockpicks and arrows/bolts, and not e.g. with mild healing potions.

[Nioca]

Yeah, I just noticed that Weapon Poison doesn't work on arrows anymore either. It's nice to know it isn't just me.

 

That said, does anyone know when the character editor will get ported? Because I found the rare books and, thinking they were just valuable books, sold them, as I also sold most of the rubies. Actually, I think I'll have to start over, because I've sold a lot of things that I'm now finding out I needed. Like Naga Blood and Vampire Fangs.

 

Thanks, Miramor and Redstart!

[Prince of Kitties]

Hmm. Weapon poison? As far as I know, it never worked on arrows in BoE. Might have worked in E1, when projectile weapons had to be swapped in, but I don't know because I never managed to hit anything with an arrow in E1.

[Nioca]

If I remember right, it worked with the demo version of BoE. But it says right in the description that poisoned arrows are powerful weapons...

 

Maybe I'll take a crack at the source code sometime, and see if I can re-implement that feature.

[Prince of Kitties]

You'd have to be wielding only a bow and arrows for it to work, since weapon poison is automatically applied to the primary weapon (no way of selecting).

[Nioca]

Oh, now it makes sense. Mrrol wields a broadsword as well as a bow. I'll try it without the sword.

 

AMEND: There goes the idea of trying the source code. I'm sure I could stretch my computer's 128 MB of RAM far enough, but there's no way in heck I'm going to be able to get a 299 MHz P2 processor to run a program who's minimum requirement is 600 MHz. I already have a game that requires 350 MHz, and that runs fairly crappy as it is. 600 MHz? Not a chance.

[Prince of Kitties]

What OS? If it's Windows, you can use Notepad to edit the source (and I think there's also a Windows version of EMACS, no sure), and TurboC++ should compile it. Keep in mind that some stuff doesn't work though.

 

(Also, you should probably find some more RAM... it does wonders on slow machines. 256 MB of PC-100 or whatever you use shouldn't be hard to find on EBay, though it may be a little more expensive than DDR.)

[Nioca]

Thanks, I just found out that Programmers Notepad can work with the files (though I now kinda wish I hadn't adjusted the C/C++ format to fit with Avernumscript). Speaking of Avernumscript, this doesn't actually look that bad. They have a lot of similarities...

 

And thanks for the tip about the weapon poison. Once the broadsword was taken out of the picture, the arrows became poisoned. It really makes archery worth the expense.

 

As for RAM, I'm in no hurry to sink more money into this computer. It's old, unstable, and I'm building another one that far outstrips this machine.

[La paix]

You're building your own computer!? Sounds very ambitious.

[Prince of Kitties]

It isn't. I haven't built one from stock components, but from personal experience I can say that they're not very hard to assemble, given a screwdriver* and some time.

 

*Tool, not drink. Stamped metal cases and alcohol are probably a bad combination.

[Nioca]

Another Spears question: How do you cross the Lily Pads found across the scenario? I sure it's supposed to be possible, and I'm guessing a special spell is involved, but I have no idea where to look for such a spell, or even hazard a guess at what it's called.

[Lilith]

I believe the spell is called Featherfoot, but I forget where it is. Maybe the Vahnatai crypt? I'm not sure; it's been too long since I played it.

[Prince of Kitties]

Featherfoot can be found in the ruined Troglo fortress, as can The Last Alnerian.