use of Find Familiar by a character in MP mode

[Lemernis]

 

Should I now be able to edit the spell icon for SPINSFD to use the .BAM for Find Familiar instead of Summon Ghast without any worries?

Yes, and you should then (after you have done the tweak in the NI)copy paste the .spl file to the mod folder, so in case you reinstall the mod at some point the change won't get lost... or you could just do it with a weidu .tp2 function, but this is a bit harder to show as an example without the .spl in my hands.

 

 

So should I stick the .tp2 and spell file in a folder named "pardasfd"? Sounds like it. I will do that.

 

Edit: Lol, oops, I see that such a folder got auto-generated anyway. But should I now stick the .tp2 in there?

[Lemernis]

between Blur and Mirror Image, ...Any opinions as to which might provide more of an edge to the critter, which will be meleeing?

Fun thing, this depends on the players difficulty setting, the easier it is, the more likely the mirror image will be able to protect the caster from damage. So long as the images exist.

 

 

Okay, I Mirror Image sounds like it might be better then. Although it just occurred to me that I have found that when playing a Fighter/Mage the combination of Blur and Improved Invisibility to be quite powerful. On the other hand, I guess it is the Improved Invisibility that is the strongest part of that spell combo to begin with. Perhaps Mirror Image + Improved Invisibility will be just as strong (or the difference between Mirror Image and Blur plus Improved Invisibility is negligible).

 

What I sort of like about using this ability for Parda is that perhaps with the proper buffs the summoned fairy dragon can tie up some enemies (at least low level ones) long enough to make a difference in a lot of the chapter 1-4 battles. Not unlike Tax's ghast, except not as powerful (e.g. the ghast can paralyze, has various immunities, and I'm sure has more HP). I'm almost tempted to give the fairy dragon a little something extra, though. Just not sure what.

 

Edit: In imagining a fairy dragon familiar that fearlessly melees, I should think that it would be a nimble flyer--and probably rather hard to hit. Thus the Blur spell. Maybe give it both Blur and Mirror Image?

[Lemernis]

Um... hmm. How do I copy SPINSFD to the pardasfd folder? When I right click I see that I can "Add a copy of." If I do that, I can set the destination to the pardasfd mod folder?

[Jarno Mikkola]

Um... hmm. How do I copy SPINSFD to the pardasfd folder? When I right click I see that I can "Add a copy of." If I do that, I can set the destination to the pardasfd mod folder?

You right click on top of the file, you pick the "cut" in the directory it's in, then you go to the other directory and right click "paste" it there.

 

But should I now stick the .tp2 in there?

Eventually when you wish to release the mod yeah. It makes the game folder less filled with all kinds of nonsense tp2 files.

 

Oh also--finally (?), how would I now modify the .tp2 to load all the files for the collection of characters to either the Override folder (or any other specific locations if preferable)? That is, I have portraits and chr, and bio files for all 18 characters for players to try out in a MP game. Since I had to create the weidu.exe for Parda's special ability anyway, I might as well have it unpack all the files where they belong. With a readme of course.

I would put each of the file types to different folders, and then use the weidu's .tp2 command to paste them over during install: Say you wish all the .chr and .bio files to the games "character" folder, you just put them into the pardasfd/char -folder and use this:

COPY ~pardasfd/char~ ~characters~ 

The Custom pictures go to the "portraits" folder, so you can just add your custom ones to pardasfd/pics -folder, and use a similar .tp2 function:

COPY ~pardasfd/pics~ ~portraits~ 

...and so forth.

The copy ~~ -function will copy the entire folder content unless you give a specific file like in the COPY_EXISTING example.

[Lemernis]

 

Um... hmm. How do I copy SPINSFD to the pardasfd folder? When I right click I see that I can "Add a copy of." If I do that, I can set the destination to the pardasfd mod folder?

You right click on top of the file, you pick the "cut" in the directory it's in, then you go to the other directory and right click "paste" it there.

 

Hmm. When I right click just above the file nothing happens. When I right click on the file I get this:

 

[Jarno Mikkola]

Hmm. When I right click just above the file nothing happens. When I right click on the file I get this:

It would have been in the Operation system, not in NI, but you can Export the file in NI.

[Lemernis]

Lol, oy, right--the file in Windows Explorer (duh!).

 

So for the pardsfd folder I now have this

 

 

 

 

I installed Adobe Digital Editions for a book and I think it installed Shockwave Flash Player. I uninstalled Adobe Flash Player and Digital Editions, but "Shockwave Flash Object" seems to be persisting as the description of file type for SPINSFD.SPL. How can I reset that?

 

Anyway, I also now have this for the .tp2:

BACKUP ~pardasfd/backup~
AUTHOR ~Lemernis~

//README ~<filepath>.txt~
VERSION ~beta 1~

BEGIN ~Summon Fairy Dragon spell~  
COPY_EXISTING ~spin115.spl~ ~override/spinsfd.spl~
SAY NAME1 ~Summon Fairy Dragon~
SAY NAME2 ~Summon Fairy Dragon~
COPY ~pardasfd/char~ ~characters~
COPY ~pardasfd/pics~ ~portraits~

Does that all look correct?

 

For a readme, do I just write a Notepad file for it and stick it in the pardasfd folder?

[Jarno Mikkola]

...Adobe Flash Player and Digital Editions, but "Shockwave Flash Object" seems to be persisting as the description of file type for SPINSFD.SPL. How can I reset that?

You open the windows file-program association preference program and remove the association... aka you sure the cheese don't need to.

 

Does that all look correct?

Yeah. Well, if you want to use the .spl in the above picture, you use this:

COPY ~pardasfd/spinsfd.spl~ ~override/spinsfd.spl~

Instead of:

COPY_EXISTING ~spin115.spl~ ~override/spinsfd.spl~

For a readme, do I just write a Notepad file for it and stick it in the pardasfd folder?

Yeah, and you remove the out quotation marker that's the "//" before the line. Also you don't need a readme if you don't want to.

[lynx]

Good job Jarno, incredible restraint and patience!

[Lemernis]

:-)

[Lemernis]

Thanks, Jarno. Re:

COPY_EXISTING ~spin115.spl~ ~override/spinsfd.spl~

versus

COPY ~pardasfd/spinsfd.spl~ ~override/spinsfd.spl~

would one be considered a better practice versus the other?

[Lemernis]

Wow, how annoying that patch 1.3 nuked my override folder! Not that it's that much work to redo what I had done her, but still. Oh well.

 

Mainly, I have to recreate SPINSFD.SPL and PARDAFAM.BS. *grumble*

[Jarno Mikkola]

would one be considered a better practice versus the other?

Well, in this case it doesn't matter much.

Of course providing your own file adds the file size amount, which is very small and it eradicates the changes that the original spell has. That coin as the other side that it can be edited to such decree that it would make the file in the mod unusable because some other mod had already made changes that your mod cannot predict.

 

Of course most of those changes are be made to make the spell to better reflect the users preferences.

This is like the Chicken and Egg question. There's no right answer. Actually the egg was first, see there's other eggs than just chike... never mind.

 

Now, in mods that intent to edit the existent resource(BG2 Fixpack, Tweak packs etc.), the situation is a little different as then the pure COPY erases all the previous changes and that's generally bad. Especially if it's installed in the wrong order.

 

Good job Jarno, incredible restraint and patience!

Well, thanks for the kind words. I have come to appreciate the times that I have come to ask people to help me when I needed it and so I am just returning the demons... :D

[Mike1072]

Thanks, Jarno. Re:

COPY_EXISTING ~spin115.spl~ ~override/spinsfd.spl~

versus

COPY ~pardasfd/spinsfd.spl~ ~override/spinsfd.spl~

would one be considered a better practice versus the other?

 

Well, they do different things.

 

The first line of code creates a file that is an exact copy of spin115.spl at as it currently exists in the game. (So, the spell will summon a ghast.) If you want the spell to do something different, you will have to add patching code to effect those changes.

 

The second line of code copies over a file that you have previously extracted and potentially already modified. The benefits are that you can make the majority of any file changes ahead of time via NI/DLTCEP and that you know precisely what the file will contain.

 

When you are adding a new resource to the game, copying a premade file is often the best route.

[Lemernis]

Good job Jarno, incredible restraint and patience!

Well, thanks for the kind words. I have come to appreciate the times that I have come to ask people to help me when I needed it and so I am just returning the demons... :D

 

 

I'm very, very grateful. Jarno. I too believe in the Golden Rule. :-) So if I ever develop enough skill at any of this to pay it forward as you have done here, so will I!