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IR Revised V1.3.800 (2022 January 11th)


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Yeah.

 

(e): Also, I just remembered: I *did* add a .mrk file a while back - item_revisions_mc.mrk (MC stands for main component, installed when...yep, you guessed it). BUT...if you're doing something that should apply to both IR and IRR (e.g. this Ring of Energy compatibility fix), IR does not have this mark file, so stick with the approach above.

Edited by Bartimaeus
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Ah, so what I really have is a bug report. Despite the post over here, the Sling upgrade in IR v4 beta 10 does not actually require the Ring of Energy, whereas IRR v1.13a actually has this requirement coded and working.

 

Tweaks will proceed with straight IR detection and require the Ring, working under the assumption that IR proper will fix this to work as intended.

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...Yes, it seems you're right. IR will only install the tweak if the item under the header "ERINNES_SLING" is installed, but there is no item with any such header - there is only "ERINNE_SLING_3" and "ERINNE_SLING_4", so yes, it would appear to be a bug. I did not even realize I fixed this problem.

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Version 1.14 has been released.

​IRR 1.14 changelog:
1. Bolt of Lightning's lightning damage can no longer be resisted via magic resistance (thanks, Luke!).
2. Bolt of Polymorphing accidentally had a +2 save bonus instead of a -2 save penalty - oops!
3. Potion of Speed was incorrectly dispellable (also thanks, Luke!).
4. A handful of other potions (including Oil of Fiery Burning) were as well.
5. Items that provide immunity to silence no longer give the Vocalize icon, since they are not the same thing.
6. Cloak of Nature's Vengeance now fires at 25% frequency instead of (an incorrect) 15% frequency. I'm not sure if I ever noted this, either, but these types of "fire on being hit" items were fixed so that they never target other members of your party (or other friendlies - assuming you're the one wearing the item, as you'll still get targeted if enemies are wearing them) and no longer rapidfire or get stuck in a loop of constantly firing back and forth.
7. Eagle Bow no longer grants a strength bonus.
8. The Mustard Jelly form (Cloak of the Sewers) had slightly incorrect stats.
9. Summonable/shapeshiftable creatures now have their special abilities condensed into a single "Special Characteristics" field for sanity's sake.
10. For Store Revisions, The Helm of Charm Protection was moved from the Order of the Radiant Heart Store to the Adventurer's Market. There are a dearth of early game helmets, and the Helm of Charm Protection is not particularly powerful, and it feels really out of place in the OotRH store, and the Adventurer's Market literally does not have a single helmet for sale, which is...strange, to say the least. So it's there now instead.
11. Crimson Dart was only dealing an additional 1D3 fire damage instead of 1D6 (...although perhaps this makes it a bit too strong - I personally disable Watcher's Keep for SoA which prevents it being a super easy grab right at the start of the game, but that's my personal preference - I may opt to tweak the design of this particular item at some point).
12. Jerrod's Mace previously had its wisdom bonus listed as a "combat ability".
1​3. Tansheron's Bow's Phantom Arrow property is now 50% instead of 25%.
14. Ring of Kangaxx's Larloch Minor Drain no longer works on undead or golems (something I also fixed for SR!).
15. Joril's Dagger's Chaos property was all wrong - 3 rounds instead of 2, not subject to magic resistance, 25% instead of 33%.
16. Rod of Lordly Might re-design. I wanted the weapon transformations back (because that's a cool idea), but I also didn't want it to be a completely useless item like it was in vanilla BG2, so now it has a blend of abilities and transformations that you will hopefully find useful in some capacity. Properties may not be final, however - in particular, I'm still eying the mace form.
17. Somewhat of a re-organization of Store Revisions, especially in regards to scrolls and SR - same ones should be available for the most part, but hopefully they'll all now be in the correct order.
18. Added some spellstates to certain protection scrolls and potions for EE games (compatible with non-EEs, of course - a thank you to CrevsDaak for the code that can easily mass remove invalid opcodes).
19. A load of usability text fixes (many were out of order, had superfluous kit entries when the entire class was already barred to begin with, simply missing/incorrect entries, etc.). A long-time coming, although EE players won't notice any difference.
20. Fixed Beast Masters being able to use one of Drizzt's scimitars.
21. Fixed some Shadow Veil usability problems.
22. Psion's Blade's Mindbreaking property erroneously said it had a -4 penalty instead of a -2. I went back and forth on this one, am leaving it at -2 for the time being. While not as strong as a vorpal effect (and more widely immunized against), Feeblemind is still a pretty strong effect.
23. Edwin's Amulet (both forms) receives a +3 bonus to saving throws vs. death (to make up just a little for losing one of the spell slots - while I'm not normally a "must balance everything!" kind of guy, two extra slots to every spell level is just so outrageously powerful).
24. Fixed about a dozen wands that you can find throughout mostly BG1 having an invalid number of charges (a thanks to Luke for reminding me that this was a problem).
25. The Spectral Brand summonables and the Gladiator summonable (Shakti Figurine) were slightly nerfed.
26. Everard's Morning Star receives a +50% magic damage resistance buff (was the weakest "bonus" item).
27. Scarlet Ninja-To now has the vampiric property instead of +1/2 ApR. Avoids the +ApR overlap with Kundane, but stays quite powerful.
28. Skull of Death's Gaze of Death no longer does additional damage a la Finger of Death even if the saving throw succeeds.
29. Crossbow of Affliction now has a -10 maximum hit points penalty instead of a strength penalty (a -1 penalty to strength does pretty much nothing when you instantly unequip it when switching to melee and STR does not give any bonuses for crossbows anyways).
30. The above crossbow is also a light crossbow once more (as it was in vanilla BG2). The item was a little messed up anyhow, as it lacked the +2 bonus damage for being a heavy crossbow anyways, plus it had no strength requirement, the wrong weight, was still usable by thieves (which it shouldn't have been as a heavy crossbow), and had no real price set, too.
31. Heavy Crossbow of Searing had the wrong weight.
32. When using Store Revisions, Arnolinus (dwarven Promenade blacksmith) now sells all the unenchanted helms.
33. Baldur's Gate 1 Sendai was not being patched to use Telbar's Armor (the unique BG1 Studded Leather +2) properly.

​34. Honestly, probably a couple of things that I have forgotten about.

​Hopefully nothing is horribly broken.

Edited by Bartimaeus
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​Yeah, there aren't really a whole lot of encounters where you get blinded, so the Blind Fight property isn't the most useful. The Black Mist ability itself is actually decently powerful (especially with 3 charges at a -2 saving throw), since being blinded is a rather severe penalty, especially for the AI...but on the other hand, you get it towards the end of SoA where you have little opportunity to use it against non-SR enemies, which does suck.

​I don't think it does work with Item Randomizer. I haven't taken a look at how Item Randomizer works, but I would imagine with iRR shifting some items around, there would likely be duplicates of a handful or two.

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IRR V1.14a released:

1. Suryris's Blade's Staggering property was only giving a -2 penalty to casting speed...which I opted to change the description to match, since that makes more sense than -4, which is actually pretty severe.
2. ​Potion of Magic Blocking works again (thanks Luke - self-inflicted bug from the previous update).
3. A few more comprehensive and consistent protection properties (e.g. Mind Shield).

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​I'm not really in the habit of sticking random properties into items with an already set design and lore where they don't fit just for the sake making them a little stronger, though. Sometimes, a +4 weapon is just a +4 weapon without a lot of bells or whistles, and I think that's okay. Most of the good to great +4 weapons in SoA are ones you have to craft - the ones you just happen to find or buy (Mana Bow, Rod of Smiting, Crossbow of Affliction, Blackmist, and Soul Reaver + Staff of the Woodlands to lesser extents) aren't that great...with the exception of Carsomyr, of course, which is a special exception for obvious reasons.

​The shame with Blackmist is that its property is basically impossible to use by the time you get it in SoA (most everything has magic resistance at that point), it does not really fit its location (I'll talk about this in a moment), and it's difficult to move it further back in the game due to its enchantment level. If you wanted to put it somewhere pre-Spellhold, you'd basically have to nerf it to +3. As for its current location, it doesn't even really make sense where it is, because it's a reward given as a result of doing something extremely evil, something so evil that literally only evil-aligned characters are given the option in a non-modded game (only the second of quests that I know that do this in BG2), and it's not even an evil item, unlike fellow halberds Duskblade and the Ravager - in fact, its history mentions that it was a Paladin's weapon, which is pretty much the opposite of what this kind of quest should give! Something like Soul Reaver or maybe even Unholy Reaver (the opposite Carsomyr that's currently non-droppable, I believe) would make much more sense for this location.

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​I'm not really in the habit of sticking random properties into items with an already set design and lore where they don't fit just for the sake making them a little stronger, though. Sometimes, a +4 weapon is just a +4 weapon without a lot of bells or whistles, and I think that's okay. Most of the good to great +4 weapons in SoA are ones you have to craft - the ones you just happen to find or buy (Mana Bow, Rod of Smiting, Crossbow of Affliction, Blackmist, and Soul Reaver + Staff of the Woodlands to lesser extents) aren't that great...with the exception of Carsomyr, of course, which is a special exception for obvious reasons.

​The shame with Blackmist is that its property is basically impossible to use by the time you get it in SoA (most everything has magic resistance at that point), it does not really fit its location (I'll talk about this in a moment), and it's difficult to move it further back in the game due to its enchantment level. If you wanted to put it somewhere pre-Spellhold, you'd basically have to nerf it to +3. As for its current location, it doesn't even really make sense where it is, because it's a reward given as a result of doing something extremely evil, something so evil that literally only evil-aligned characters are given the option in a non-modded game (only the second of quests that I know that do this in BG2), and it's not even an evil item, unlike fellow halberds Duskblade and the Ravager - in fact, its history mentions that it was a Paladin's weapon, which is pretty much the opposite of what this kind of quest should give! Something like Soul Reaver or maybe even Unholy Reaver (the opposite Carsomyr that's currently non-droppable, I believe) would make much more sense for this location.

 

a slain evil creature doesn't have to drop an "evil item" - if it drops a "good item" it might mean that the previous, good, owner was killed by that creature or some other evil force. i also don't think that all items have to be tied to their location thematically, just some. "theme overload" where everything has to fit a predictable pattern is actually not very immersive i think (i'm not "accusing" you of that, just stating generally)

regardless, thematically, blackmist might best belong in the temple ruins / shadow dragon's lair:

"This was the weapon of Dominique Harl, a sightless paladin who frequently traveled Faerûn. When attacked, Dominique would unleash the black mist that is this halberd's namesake, potentially blinding all within 10 feet. This often gave him the advantage, for he lived in darkness all his life, seeing only with the inner light of faith. Dominique eventually fell, his body found in a dark forest, slain by a creature of the night even more at home in the shadows than he."

so maybe Shadow Patrick, (instead of Duskblade) could drop Blackmist, changed to +3 or +2 (maybe +1 AC?)

then Lesser Demon Lord (instead of Blackmist) could drop Dragon's Breath halberd, unchanged (it's very good)

finally, Boz the drow from the Underdark group (instead of Dragon's Breath) could drop Duskblade, improved*

. . .

* Duskblade has a pretty impressive descripton, so on these grounds and since it would be found much later, it could stand some improvement:

"Though once a simple halberd, this weapon spent many hundreds of years in a tomb next to the soul phylactery of a powerful lich. The creature was eventually erased from existence, purportedly by another of its kind, but such close proximity to that concentrated evil has imbued this blade with the very essence of night and the chill of darkness, energy that becomes deadly in combat. It is a foul weapon, and a warrior should use it with caution."

since drow dislike surface metals, maybe it could be noted that it's made of adamantite (i think drow use adamantite equipment instead of their usual adamantine gear when they raid in the surface); so a description revision could be made: "Though once an ordinary weapon of Underdark origin, this adamantite halberd..."

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Yeah, that's true - though the Lesser Demon Lord is not slain for his item, it's given when you give him the silver dragon eggs, which I think is a pretty special occasion all things considered. For the rest of what you said, I think I like the Duskblade and Blackmist ideas, but I'd be very hesitant about putting Dragon's Breath as the reward from the Lesser Demon Lord, because that means only evil characters can get it. That's part of why sometimes doing something thematically (really evil quest that requires you to be evil -> item that only evil characters can use) is practical, as you'd otherwise make good and neutral players want to do something completely reprehensible just for the sake of a reward. Right now, you get Blackmist and the ability to make Human Flesh for sacrificing her eggs, and you get the Ring of Air Control for saving them. Hmm. Like I said, I think I'll have to think about it more.

Edited by Bartimaeus
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i've thought about Dragon's Breath being unavailable to good characters being a problem and determined that it's not because:

 

- they can still fall back on the Flail of Ages, which has the same specific utility value

- Duskblade is also similar with it's bonus elemental damage

- when it comes to non-specific utility value i.e. just being a good halberd: there are many other good halberds: wave +4 is soon obtainable (it also does bonus elemental damage, but unreliably), and there are other decent halberds for a while...and then there is ravager

 

 

...

That's part of why sometimes doing something thematically (really evil quest that requires you to be evil -> item that only evil characters can use) is practical, as you'd otherwise make good and neutral players want to do something completely reprehensible just for the sake of a reward.

...

consequential moral choices like that are actually a roleplaying staple: in order to be truly good, you may need to sacrifice something ... good characters will not give in to temptation, etc. any RPG design should not cater to either "good players" (those who habitually play good characters), or "evil players", but to true roleplayers
;)
Edited by bob_veng
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