Dwarven Thrower

[CamDawg]

Dwarven thrower has a number of issues--it needs tighter class/kit restrictions to really be dwarf-only, should have a different icon for ranged attacks, and has incorrect damage for melee usage. BD gets all of these except that it misses restricting wizard slayers from the item.

 

// restricts dwarven thrower to dwarves and dwarf-allowed classes/kits, changes
// thown icon, and fixes melee damage
COPY_EXISTING ~hamm06.itm~ ~override~
 READ_BYTE  0x1e "use1"
 WRITE_BYTE 0x1e ("%use1%" BOR   0b01000000) // adds bard flag
 READ_BYTE  0x1f "use2"
 WRITE_BYTE 0x1f ("%use2%" BOR   0b11100101) // adds f/m/c, f/m, c/r, c/t, c/m flags
 READ_BYTE  0x20 "use3"
 WRITE_BYTE 0x20 ("%use3%" BOR   0b00110001) // adds pal, rang, f/m/t flags
 READ_BYTE  0x21 "use4"
 WRITE_BYTE 0x21 ("%use4%" BOR   0b10000000) // adds half-orc flag
 READ_BYTE  0x2f "use5"
 WRITE_BYTE 0x2f ("%use5%" BOR   0b10000010) // adds wizardslayer flag
 READ_LONG  0x64 "abil_off"
 READ_SHORT 0x68 "abil_num"
 WHILE ("%abil_num%" > 0) BEGIN // looks for magical ability header
   SET "abil_num" = ("%abil_num%" - 1)
   READ_BYTE   ("%abil_off%" + ("%abil_num%" * 0x38)) "type"
   PATCH_IF ("%type%" = 1) BEGIN // melee
     WRITE_SHORT  ("%abil_off%" + 0x1a + ("%abil_num%" * 0x38)) 3 // plus damage
   END
   PATCH_IF ("%type%" = 2) BEGIN // ranged
     WRITE_ASCII  ("%abil_off%" + 0x04 + ("%abil_num%" * 0x38)) ~ihamm05~ #8 // thrown icon
   END
 END
 BUT_ONLY_IF_IT_CHANGES

 

@devSin: it looks like your fixpack tones down the EFF file for this and doesn't make some of the other BD changes--are the BD changes incorrect?

[icelus]

Wow. That thing got a Hemi?

[SimDing0]

Is this the one that randomly does piercing damage?

[Kish]

The Dwarven Thrower does do piercing damage, yes, but Kevin Dorner confirmed with a developer that that's intended. Apparently the PC is not supposed to be able to do blunt damage at range.

[SimDing0]

That's weird. I wonder what's so bad about ranged blunt damage. Anyway... "Not a fix but cool anyway" component plz.

[CamDawg]

One more item--was it confirmed that Dwarven Thrower was supposed to do piercing damage, or just non-blunt damage? Every throwing axe uses slashing damage in their melee ability and missile damage in their ranged attack--I'd be more inclined to change Dwarven Thrower to use missile damage at range as well.

 

edit: Arrows, bullets, and bolts also do missile damage, so I'm more convinced setting DT to use missile damage at range is correct.

[Kish]

One more item--was it confirmed that Dwarven Thrower was supposed to do piercing damage, or just non-blunt damage? Every throwing axe uses slashing damage in their melee ability and missile damage in their ranged attack--I'd be more inclined to change Dwarven Thrower to use missile damage at range as well.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He didn't actually say. He just had a version which made them do blunt damage which was in the fixpack at one point, and then he took it out after he disconfirmed the fix with a Bioware developer at the same time he confirmed several other fixes. But I don't know whether the developer in question said "no, it shouldn't do blunt" or "no, it should do piercing."

[devSin]

Aegis-Fang uses missile, so I'd say change it to that. Of course, it's just a quick-hack throwing axe, so I don't know that too much thought went into it.

 

Oh, and Bruenor's axe isn't marked as magical. I never payed attention to whether he was actually damaging the vampires or not (I don't know if the magical flag would break this, or if it's just based off enchantment level).

[SimDing0]

I'd say it's pretty simple, actually.  Blunt damage is the most powerful physical damage type.  As long as every type of ranged effect is piercing (are the throwing axes slashing or piercing?  Slashing is less powerful than blunt anyway) you have to settle for (say) half damage when attacking skeletons and skeleton warriors at range.

I still find that a kinda odd way of looking at it. But if it doesn't make it into Not A Fix But Cool Anyway, then I'll certainly slurp changes to Dwarven Thrower, Aegis Fang, and anything else similar, into D0Tweak.

 

And yes, Dwarven Thrower should probably be using missile like Aegis Fang, I'd say.

[CamDawg]

Usabilities handled elsewhere; ranged damage is missile; included in alpha 3.

 

// dwarven thrower: changes thrown icon, and fixes melee damage
COPY_EXISTING ~hamm06.itm~ ~override~
 READ_LONG  0x64 "abil_off"
 READ_SHORT 0x68 "abil_num"
 WHILE ("%abil_num%" > 0) BEGIN // looks for magical ability header
   SET "abil_num" = ("%abil_num%" - 1)
   READ_BYTE   ("%abil_off%" + ("%abil_num%" * 0x38)) "type"
   PATCH_IF ("%type%" = 1) BEGIN // melee
     WRITE_SHORT  ("%abil_off%" + 0x1a + ("%abil_num%" * 0x38)) 3 // plus damage
   END ELSE
   PATCH_IF ("%type%" = 2) BEGIN // ranged
     WRITE_ASCII  ("%abil_off%" + 0x04 + ("%abil_num%" * 0x38)) ~ihamm05~ #8 // thrown icon
   END
 END
 BUT_ONLY_IF_IT_CHANGES