Version 9

[Salk]

Hello, DavidW!

 

First of all, congratulations!

 

This version 9 represents a real improvement for an user like me and I thought about leaving some feedback about the new components, in case you are interested in my opinion.

 

Detectable Items:

 

here comes an extremely welcome customization! Something I have been longing to and never actually hoped to see. I certainly will take advantage of the offer and will not install this component. I know you said you haven't tested it and can't guarantee about it but I will definitely take the risk (and I might give you feedback in the future).

 

Just one question: won't Detectable Spell from SCS II restore the missing Detectable Items routines? And if not SCS II, perhaps would other Mods using the same DS (like Rouge Rebalancing) do it instead?

 

Standardise spells between BG and BG2

 

Another excellent idea! As BGT player will not miss installing alternative 2. It will make my single campaign experience feel even more seamless! Thank you!

 

Improved Shapeshifting

 

I guess this component might collide with the Spells Revision one which also tweaks the Shapeshifting ability?

 

Potion for NPCs

 

Very nice with the option of choosing how many of the potions can be recovered. It would have been even better to let people in general benefit of the extra piece of code you so kindly provided to me (sensible and random reduction of potions use - just recently I read a post of a guy thinking enemies had way too many invisible potions).

 

Smarter Mages

 

Another very welcome change! Giving specialist spellbooks is an excellent idea (something that Enhanced Creatures did already, and I am happy to find again the same here on SCS now). The next step might be kits for other classes... (and if you were interested I might be of help there with big part of the job already done - including arcane casters which you can compare with your own choices, if you like - I have been pretty thorough with it).

 

Good job!

 

Now few questions:

 

(General): Now that SCS includes many components found before only on SCS II, what should we BGT players do? It's okay to install them once only?

 

(Me): Is still okay to copy the following code you kindly provided me just after the REQUIRE_PREDICATE in each of the six different DESIGNATED?

 

COPY_EXISTING_REGEXP GLOB ~.+\.cre$~ ~override~
	   READ_BYTE 0x234 ~level~
	   PATCH_IF ~level~<5 THEN BEGIN
		  SET ~choice~=RANDOM(1 4)
		  PATCH_IF !(~choice~=1) THEN BEGIN
				ADD_CRE_ITEM ~dw#noptn~ #0 #0 #0 ~NONE~ ~INV1~
		  END
	   END
BUT_ONLY_IF_IT_CHANGES

 

Thanks a lot!

[DavidW]

Hello, DavidW!

 

First of all, congratulations!

 

This version 9 represents a real improvement for an user like me and I thought about leaving some feedback about the new components, in case you are interested in my opinion.

Please.

 

Detectable Items:

 

here comes an extremely welcome customization! Something I have been longing to and never actually hoped to see. I certainly will take advantage of the offer and will not install this component. I know you said you haven't tested it and can't guarantee about it but I will definitely take the risk (and I might give you feedback in the future).

 

Just one question: won't Detectable Spell from SCS II restore the missing Detectable Items routines? And if not SCS II, perhaps would other Mods using the same DS (like Rouge Rebalancing) do it instead?

 

Detectable items and detectable spells work differently. The latter is standardised across RR, SCS, and some other mods, and can be used by any ordinary script. The former requires SSL scripting (more accurately: it requires SSL scripting if it is to be done automatically) and is mod-specific. So even if you install SCSII as well, SCS I scripts won't detect items.

 

Improved Shapeshifting

 

I guess this component might collide with the Spells Revision one which also tweaks the Shapeshifting ability?

Very probably. The usual install-one-only advice probably applies. Come to think of it, though, I don't recall if SR is customisable that precisely. If not, and you want SCS shapeshifts but the rest of SR, installing the SCS component last should overwrite the SR one.

 

Potion for NPCs

 

Very nice with the option of choosing how many of the potions can be recovered. It would have been even better to let people in general benefit of the extra piece of code you so kindly provided to me (sensible and random reduction of potions use - just recently I read a post of a guy thinking enemies had way too many invisible potions).

 

As I've said before, I'll need to hear an argument as to why the numbers aren't correct before I actually write and support a component that does this. (Giving you an untested chunk of code is much less work than installing, testing, and supporting a proper component.)

 

 

(General): Now that SCS includes many components found before only on SCS II, what should we BGT players do? It's okay to install them once only?

Yes: in fact, it's enforced, at least at the SCS I end (if you've already got an SCS II version installed, you won't be allowed to install the SCS I component).

 

(Me): Is still okay to copy the following code you kindly provided me just after the REQUIRE_PREDICATE in each of the six different DESIGNATED?

 

COPY_EXISTING_REGEXP GLOB ~.+\.cre$~ ~override~
	   READ_BYTE 0x234 ~level~
	   PATCH_IF ~level~<5 THEN BEGIN
		  SET ~choice~=RANDOM(1 4)
		  PATCH_IF !(~choice~=1) THEN BEGIN
				ADD_CRE_ITEM ~dw#noptn~ #0 #0 #0 ~NONE~ ~INV1~
		  END
	   END
BUT_ONLY_IF_IT_CHANGES

 

Probably. (Again, not tested.)

[Salk]

Thank you very much for your replies.

 

One last question (forgive me if it sounds very stupid): if I install SCS II v8 after SCS v9 (no Detectable Items), will the enemy AI not detect items all through the BGT campaign (like I am hoping)?

 

And yes, about the fact that some of us think that enemies make too much use of potions: we don't have a convincing argument but I guess we might say that it's a matter of taste.

 

The substitution of some +1 weapons with masterwork ones seems to me to have also the same rationale though. We can argue that +1 weapons are rather cheap and not so rare, so that they should be rather commonly found in stores and in the enemies' hands. There are too many of them, yes... Just like potions..

[DavidW]

Thank you very much for your replies.

 

One last question (forgive me if it sounds very stupid): if I install SCS II v8 after SCS v9 (no Detectable Items), will the enemy AI not detect items all through the BGT campaign (like I am hoping)?

 

You're out of luck. The SCS and SCSII item-detection algorithms run completely independently. (Basically, in each case, a list of items is assembled and then sliced into the scripts when they're compiled.)

[DavidW]

The substitution of some +1 weapons with masterwork ones seems to me to have also the same rationale though. We can argue that +1 weapons are rather cheap and not so rare, so that they should be rather commonly found in stores and in the enemies' hands.

 

Ah, but if you install that component, they become much rarer - most of the ones in stores also vanish. I'd have more sympathy for a component which gave out a few potions, quintupled the prices, and reduced the number in stores (though I've no interest in writing that component.)

[Salk]

Thank you very much for your replies.

 

One last question (forgive me if it sounds very stupid): if I install SCS II v8 after SCS v9 (no Detectable Items), will the enemy AI not detect items all through the BGT campaign (like I am hoping)?

 

You're out of luck. The SCS and SCSII item-detection algorithms run completely independently. (Basically, in each case, a list of items is assembled and then sliced into the scripts when they're compiled.)

 

DavidW,

 

might I hope that the next version of SCS II will also have a separated Detectable Items component?

[Guest guesty guest]

What would be recommended balanced setting for npcs' potion drop rate?

[coaster]

Can't speak for the SCS component, but in SCSII I went with half. I ended up with extra potions, but was fighting much tougher enemies so it sort of balanced.

 

I guess it depends on various factors - how many healers you have in your party for example. If you are light on healers you might want a higher potion drop rate.

[DavidW]

Thank you very much for your replies.

 

One last question (forgive me if it sounds very stupid): if I install SCS II v8 after SCS v9 (no Detectable Items), will the enemy AI not detect items all through the BGT campaign (like I am hoping)?

 

You're out of luck. The SCS and SCSII item-detection algorithms run completely independently. (Basically, in each case, a list of items is assembled and then sliced into the scripts when they're compiled.)

 

DavidW,

 

might I hope that the next version of SCS II will also have a separated Detectable Items component?

 

Probably.