Hell, Selfish Test, Different Exploit

[Kulyok]

These were fixed:

 

The player could avoid the Selfish test immobilization of their party member due to a brief delay between the end of the dialogue and the hold spell cast on the party member.

 

Various penalties could be resisted by spell protections (notably Spell Immunity) in the Selfish trial.

 

However, there are a few other ways around this problem, namely these two:

- A Time Stop right away, then opening all three doors on the right and the last door on the left - get the good reward, keep HP and Dex;

- Using Polymorph Self or the Cloak of Sewers in a crowded corner to get to the last door on the left - get the good reward, keep HP and Dex.

http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/ultimatebb.ph...pic/2/8180.html

 

Are these fixable?

[Smoketest]

Probably the easiest way is to disable the use of magic, specifically the casting of spells whether from memory or from items. There is no combat in this area so no reason for the party to be casting spells. That should take care of everything non-console.

[CamDawg]

That's an awfully heavy-handed technique to fix a few exploits. I saw the slime thread--that's likely unfixable--but the time stop one can certainly be closed.

[Gorilym]

Probably the easiest way is to disable the use of magic, specifically the casting of spells whether from memory or from items. There is no combat in this area so no reason for the party to be casting spells. That should take care of everything non-console.

 

Given that the Revised Hell Trials (part of D0QuestPack these days) - AFAIAC a "required" mod - allows you to fight the selfishness demon as a 'neutral' path, disabling magic is to me a very undesirable fix.

[Smoketest]

I don't play neutral characters so that mod is not a "required" part of my game experience. Thus my suggestion took no note of one mod-writer's way of implementing a "neutral" path. (If I ever do play a neutral character, I'll write my own mod to support it rather than be subject to someone else's methods.)

 

That said, I offer yet another suggestion in line with a certain Watcher's Keep experience...

 

Have the player choose which path they will take in dialog with the demon, than enter cutscene mode and walk the player's character through the chosen path. The folks who are forced to use RHT, for lack of other options, could then choose to fight the demon, at which point the dialog would end and combat would begin.

[Gorilym]

I don't play neutral characters so that mod is not a "required" part of my game experience. Thus my suggestion took no note of one mod-writer's way of implementing a "neutral" path. (If I ever do play a neutral character, I'll write my own mod to support it rather than be subject to someone else's methods.)

 

The introduction of neutral paths is not the only benefit of Revised Hell Trials - for one thing alignment shifting is much more finetuned and IMHO much more sane. But I'm heading off-topic with that, so nevermind.

 

Have the player choose which path they will take in dialog with the demon, than enter cutscene mode and walk the player's character through the chosen path. The folks who are forced to use RHT, for lack of other options, could then choose to fight the demon, at which point the dialog would end and combat would begin.

 

Sounds like a good compromise to me.

[CamDawg]

Scratch that, there's an easier way here. Rather than checking that you haven't opened the last 'evil path' door, the demon's dialogue now checks that you've opened the last 'good path' door. The door penalties are also forced to be applied sequentially, so you can only get that variable set if you've opened all doors (and taken all penalties/bonuses) along the chosen path. If you cheat, the demon will have nothing to say to you.

 

soa-dlg.d:

REPLACE_TRIGGER_TEXT ~hellself~ ~Global("OpenedDoor6","AR2904",0)~ ~Global("OpenedDoor5","AR2904",1)~

 

tp2:

COPY_EXISTING ~ar2904.bcs~ ~override~
 DECOMPILE_BCS_TO_BAF
REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~\(OpenState("DOOR03",TRUE)\)~ ~\1 Global("OpenedDoor1","AR2904",1)~
REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~\(OpenState("DOOR04",TRUE)\)~ ~\1 Global("OpenedDoor2","AR2904",1)~
REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~\(OpenState("DOOR05",TRUE)\)~ ~\1 Global("OpenedDoor3","AR2904",1)~
REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~\(OpenState("DOOR06",TRUE)\)~ ~\1 Global("OpenedDoor4","AR2904",1)~
 COMPILE_BAF_TO_BCS
 BUT_ONLY_IF_IT_CHANGES

 

Added for beta 4.