121 replies to this topic

[SirLancelot]

Is it really such a "bug" that the two NTotSC amazons spawn in this area while the other 4 vanilla ones are off hunting the PC (in the wrong place, initially anyway) courtesy of SCS? I just don't like the idea of putting more stuff in baldur.bcs (global script that runs all the time) unless absolutely necessary. On your typical megamod, you have talking weapons and who knows what other sort of garbage in there already . Plus, I'm a bit leary of putting things like this in the BWP Fixpack and the havoc that can wreak if the modder then sorts it out.

Shouldn't you all be talking about this in the NTotSC forum or something? I know these "so-and-so's BWP game" threads are popular, and a lot of improvements can come from them, but if they start to talk about a certain mod, that should go in the mod's forum (or thread) so the modders can address it, or see it at least. Maybe here perhaps, if there are bugs that need fixing .

These are minor additions that just extends the code ScS already adds to baldur.bcs. My suggestion would not require it to be done with BWP Fixpack, for precisely those reasons you mention. If it can be done with ScS and Ntotsc, so that they are not even depending on the other one being installed to work, then I think we would have the final solution to this old problem.

As for your first point what happened in my game was that these two came running towards my party, did nothing because of being assigned a non-existing script and gave me a whole lot of +2 loot, practically for free... So I do believe they are a problem.

As for the Ntotsc forum, I think it was Dabus that said that Erebusant is no longer maintaining the mod. I agree that once this has gotten past the discussion phase it should be moved to this forum, but we are not there yet. As it is shaping up it looks like I will volunteer to do something about Ntotsc. Only problem is that I don't know how to code .tp files....

Instead of add something to the baldur.bcs file which i agree is generally not a good idea, (when baldur.bcs isn't optimized enough there is a chance that some of its script blocks never trigger), you could, for example, boost the two NTotSC amazons by rising their levels, and that should be enough. (assuming they have assigned a smart AI script , of course)

However, if you do so remember to check for DW component existance, otherwise some players would be forced to face 4 regular amazons plus two more flying on steroids.

Edited by SirLancelot, 16 September 2009 - 02:41 PM.

[OneEyedPhoenix]

Instead of add something to the baldur.bcs file which i agree is generally not a good idea, (when baldur.bcs isn't optimized enough there is a chance that some of its script blocks never trigger), you could, for example, boost the two NTotSC amazons by rising their levels, and that should be enough. (assuming they have assigned a smart AI script , of course)

However, if you do so remember to check for DW component existance, otherwise some players would be forced to face 4 regular amazons plus two more flying on steroids.

I'm not going to do anything to baldur.bcs. That will be up to DavidW. If these two can't be part of the Amazon party I don't think they have anything to do in the game. Alone they would just be two more story-less assassins.

[SirLancelot]

Instead of add something to the baldur.bcs file which i agree is generally not a good idea, (when baldur.bcs isn't optimized enough there is a chance that some of its script blocks never trigger), you could, for example, boost the two NTotSC amazons by rising their levels, and that should be enough. (assuming they have assigned a smart AI script , of course)

However, if you do so remember to check for DW component existance, otherwise some players would be forced to face 4 regular amazons plus two more flying on steroids.

.... If these two can't be part of the Amazon party I don't think they have anything to do in the game. Alone they would just be two more story-less assassins.

I agree, but almost any solution is better than add lines to the baldur.bcs if you want to assure keep compatibilty with heavily modded BGT games, it doesn't matter whose changes are.

[OneEyedPhoenix]

I agree, but almost any solution is better than add lines to the baldur.bcs if you want to assure keep compatibilty with heavily modded BGT games, it doesn't matter whose changes are.

Worst case scenario... What is the worst thing that can happen from DavidW extending his script for baldur.bcs with these two lines?

[Miloch]

Worst case scenario... What is the worst thing that can happen from DavidW extending his script for baldur.bcs with these two lines?

Well I don't think it'd be just 2 lines, but for another thing, there's no good way to check if a mod is installed via scripting. So these two lines could be trying to fire repeatedly to spawn CREs that just don't exist if the player doesn't have NTotSC.

But it sounds like erebusant solved this through dialogue in the NTotSC thread linked above. That's a much better option.

[OneEyedPhoenix]

New bug:

For some reason Drakar (the second party of assassins that is moved by ScS) appears, without his party, while I am inside the friendly arms in. He just stands about doing nothing. This is odd for several reasons. Firstly the script says that he should only appear outdoors and secondly he should have his mates with him...

[codebox]
IF
Global("DMWWC3Assassin","GLOBAL",1)
AreaType(OUTDOOR)
!AreaType(CITY)
!AreaCheck("AR4700")
!AreaCheck("AR4701")
!AreaCheck("AR4800")
!AreaCheck("AR4801")
!AreaCheck("AR4900")
!AreaCheck("AR4901")
!AreaCheck("AR5100")
!AreaCheck("AR5101")
!AreaCheck("AR5300")
!AreaCheck("AR5301")
!AreaCheck("AR5400")
OR(3)
GlobalTimerExpired("DMWWC3AssassinSpawn","GLOBAL")
Dead("tranzig")
Global("BanditEnemy","GLOBAL",1)
THEN
RESPONSE #500
ActionOverride(Player1,CreateCreatureOffScreen("DRAKAR",0)) // Drakar
ActionOverride(Player1,CreateCreatureOffScreen("HALACA",0)) // Halacan
ActionOverride(Player1,CreateCreatureOffScreen("MOLKAR",0)) // Molkar
ActionOverride(Player1,CreateCreatureOffScreen("MORVIN",0)) // Morvin
SetGlobal("DMWWC3Assassin","GLOBAL",3)
SetGlobalTimer("DMWWC3AssassinMiniSpawn","GLOBAL",ONE_DAY)
SetGlobalTimer("DMWWC3AssassinSpawn","GLOBAL",FIVE_DAYS)[/codebox]

My DMWWC3Assassin global is set to 3, so apparently the rest of the script has fired.

Change log looks like this:

[codebox]


Mods affecting DRAKAR.CRE:
00000: /* from game biffs */ ~SETUP-BGT.TP2~ 0 0 // Baldur's Gate Trilogy - Core
00001: /* from game biffs */ ~SETUP-DSOTSC.TP2~ 0 0 // DSotSC for BGT-Weidu
00002: /* from game biffs */ ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 5000 // Smarter general AI
00003: ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 5010 // Better calls for help
00004: ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 5024 // Three quarters of the potions dropped by slain enemies break and are lost
00005: ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 5043 // Priests use spells from BG1 and BG2; priests pre-buff
00006: ~SETUP-SCS.TP2~ 0 6020 // Improved deployment for parties of assassins
00007: ~SETUP-BPV177.TP2~ 0 0 // Big Picture AI/Enhancement Mod, version 177 weidu (beta)
00008: ~SETUP-REVISEDBATTLES.TP2~ 0 27 // Modify .CRE Proficiencies, Abilities & Effects. This component MUST be installed.
00009: ~DIVINE_REMIX/SETUP-DIVINE_REMIX.TP2~ 0 0 // Divine Remix Core Components (Required for Everything)
00010: ~SETUP-BGTTWEAK.TP2~ 0 2400 // Enemy items shatter
00011: ~SETUP-XPMOD.TP2~ 0 1 // Reduce to 50%
00012: ~SETUP-BP-BALANCER.TP2~ 0 18 // Also remove SOME (partly random) overpowered custom items from other Mods
00013: ~AGPRICES/SETUP-AGPRICES.TP2~ 0 28 // Reduce to 25%[/codebox]

[Miloch]

Look at the area script I guess (ar6801.bcs?).

[OneEyedPhoenix]

Look at the area script I guess (ar6801.bcs?).

Nope, no assassins there. And it gets weirder... It appears that DMWWC3Assassin global is set to 3 before I see Drakar for the first time (he appears when I move mainchar close to the exit from FAI interior). So my only guess is that they spawned just before I traveled from one area to another and that Drakar is the only one who has managed to keep the pace... No more assassins outside though.

Doing a quick search with near infinity confirms that baldur.bcs is the only script that mentions drakar.

Edited by OneEyedPhoenix, 21 September 2009 - 01:26 PM.

[Miloch]

Could happen, though I don't know why he'd just sit there unless someone else has to initiate dialogue for them to go hostile. So are the rest of them outside the inn?

[OneEyedPhoenix]

Could happen, though I don't know why he'd just sit there unless someone else has to initiate dialogue for them to go hostile. So are the rest of them outside the inn?

Molkar is the one to initiate dialog, so drakkar's inactivity isn't a bug. The rest of the assassins were not outside FAI, or in Beregost for that matter (the only places I have been after killing Tranzig). I got some credence to my theory though, as I got Drakar to follow me outside FAI.

They must have spawned outside FAI, according to the script, but for some weird reason I can't find them. Guess I'll have a more thorough look.

It gets weirder... I ran into Drakar's twin brother Drakar in the temple of wisdom (which I had entered before entering the FAI).

Edit: By trapping the twins in a house outside the FAI and manually setting the DMWWC3Assassin global to 1 I got the encounter to play out properly. Still no idea why it happened though... But it looks like part of the problem is getting all the characters to spawn before the script is interrupted.

Edited by OneEyedPhoenix, 21 September 2009 - 02:41 PM.

[SirLancelot]

Could happen, though I don't know why he'd just sit there unless someone else has to initiate dialogue for them to go hostile. So are the rest of them outside the inn?

Molkar is the one to initiate dialog, so drakkar's inactivity isn't a bug. The rest of the assassins were not outside FAI, or in Beregost for that matter (the only places I have been after killing Tranzig). I got some credence to my theory though, as I got Drakar to follow me outside FAI.

They must have spawned outside FAI, according to the script, but for some weird reason I can't find them. Guess I'll have a more thorough look.

It gets weirder... I ran into Drakar's twin brother Drakar in the temple of wisdom (which I had entered before entering the FAI).

Edit: By trapping the twins in a house outside the FAI and manually setting the DMWWC3Assassin global to 1 I got the encounter to play out properly. Still no idea why it happened though... But it looks like part of the problem is getting all the characters to spawn before the script is interrupted.

How did you trap them?

[OneEyedPhoenix]

How did you trap them?

Made them follow me inside the house, and somehow managed to leave without them following me...
Not a very elegant solution I'll admit, but I wasn't prepared to replay the last hour or two to make sure the script ran properly.

[OneEyedPhoenix]

Finally have I run into a stutter problem as well. In my case the problem started when I entered "Gorion's rest" from "high hedge" in chapter 5.
In my case the bug seems to be confined to this area, as it disappears when I leave the area.
Any ideas? Importing the game into ToB didn't work. I will have a look at the area script and post my findings.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Any ideas? ... I will have a look at the area script and post my findings.

Use the LStest to find out what line of what script is giving you the lag.

[OneEyedPhoenix]

Use the LStest to find out what line of what script is giving you the lag.

Already did. Great work on it btw Jarno! Definitely beats searching blindly (although it takes forever to install).

The problematic blocks were indeed in ar6600.bcs and they look like this:

IF
	GlobalGT("Chapter","GLOBAL",3)
	Exists("Montaron")
	!InParty("Montaron")
THEN
	RESPONSE #100
		ActionOverride(Player1,DisplayString(Myself,261573)) // Running block 4 of AR6600.BCS
		ActionOverride("Montaron",DestroySelf())
END

IF
	GlobalGT("Chapter","GLOBAL",3)	Exists("Xzar")	!InParty("Xzar")THEN	RESPONSE #100		ActionOverride(Player1,DisplayString(Myself,261574)) // Running block 5 of AR6600.BCS		ActionOverride("Xzar",DestroySelf())END

As far as I can see the problem is that neither Xzar nor Montaron is in this area so neither of them can be destroyed, effectively looping the script.
This is vanilla BGT, no?

Edited by OneEyedPhoenix, 29 September 2009 - 10:39 PM.

[Jarno Mikkola]

As far as I can see the problem is that neither Xzar nor Montaron is in this area so neither of them can be destroyed, effectively looping the script.
This is vanilla BGT, no?

Yes, that's the reason... make a --change-log from 'AR6600.BCS' ...

[Miloch]

As far as I can see the problem is that neither Xzar nor Montaron is in this area so neither of them can be destroyed, effectively looping the script. This is vanilla BGT, no?

So where are they? Exists() should only check if they're in the current area, according to the IESDP. The only way those blocks should be firing is if they were killed in the area. Adding !Dead("Xzar") triggers to those blocks should address most instances of that. The weird thing is it wouldn't execute block 5 if it was looping on block 4.

[OneEyedPhoenix]

Not so certain now what happened to those two (if I left them in the area or not). Will check when I get home.

Wait, I think I remember... I believe I brought them with me and that they died at the hands of some bandits in the next area. Will try adding "!Dead("Xzar")" as soon as I get the chance.

[OneEyedPhoenix]

Stupid lag!

Edited by OneEyedPhoenix, 30 September 2009 - 12:15 AM.