This makes me very, very happy. I'm willing to handle the technical aspects (i.e. coding), though I'm more than willing to pass it off if someone else wants to do it.
Not being an AI scripter or a BP(-[Aa-Zz0-9]+)* player, though, I would definitely need assistance determining which spell/item/eff gets what stats, particularly for the BP(-[Aa-Zz0-9]+)*-added stuff.
I'd suggest we start a new thread (here or
G3, doesn't matter) with the new DS specs that
horred et al discussed; I believe we may even have an alpha laying around somewhere. This won't be successful unless we can actually get everything updated to the new specs. I don't think it will be too difficult, just keep in mind that outreach is going to be a big part of the project, even to the point of re-coding for some folks if they're absent/can't be bothered.
From a technical standpoint, I'd suggest the new package have the following properties:
Coded as a library. This allows anyone who wants to use DS to add it to their mod with a simple INCLUDE statement. It also has maintenance benefits down the road in that an abandoned mod can be updated to the newest DS package with a simple file replace.
Can be installed multiple times from multiple sources. Originally, I had hoped that something like Fixpack could include DS, negating the need for other mods to include it. However, there will always be mods that overwrite ids files/items/spells, etc., and expecting every mod that creates new items and spells to include the proper DS effects is wishful thinking. As such, it's better to make the package modular (see above), able to be installed multiple times without making 18 effects in one spell to set the same stat, and account for mod items and spells. Every mod that has DS can then account for any mod that has come before it, mitigating (if not eliminating) install order issues.
Accounts for mod spells and items. As above, I don't think it's realistic to place the burden of making new mod spells and items detectable on mod authors--at worst, they have no idea what DS is, or, at best, it's someone like me who knows of DS but doesn't know which stats to assign to new spells and items. Along with the lookup table (below) it should be pretty easy to add new mod items and spells.
Ease of maintenance. I thought King Diamond's lookup table was a great way to accomplish this; I don't see any reason why we shouldn't keep the idea.
Edited by CamDawg, 01 November 2006 - 05:04 AM.
