DavidW

Q: What is IWD-in-BG2 ? A: It's a conversion of Icewind Dale (IWD) to the Baldur's Gate II (BG2) engine. Q: Catchy name. A: It has the advantage of being descriptive. (We played with Ice-TUTU, and that might also catch on, but it's less obvious what it means). Q: What's the point of this conversion? A: In the short run, it allows you to play with the various features BG2 has but IWD doesn't: notably kits, dual-wielding, sorcerers, monks, barbarians, and various extra spells. In the longer term, it should be a much better platform for modding IWD - in particular, it should allow fully-fleshed-out joinable NPCs. Q: What's the status of the project? A: We have a complete, installable conversion. It's been tested all the way through, and we've fixed most of the bugs we're aware of. It should now be basically playable. Q: Can I play-test it? A: Please do: play-testing is very welcome indeed. I don't promise that it won't be full of annoying bugs, though. Q: Who did this? A: CamDawg, DavidW, Ladejarl and Nythrun. Cam and David did pretty much all the core coding (Cam in spring 2008; David in two goes, in spring 2009 and then summer 2010; Cam and David jointly in winter and spring 2011, and then David again in winter 2011). Nythrun did lots of research on spell and item effects, and coded bits of the converter for them too. Ladejarl converted the GUI. We also borrowed code from all over the place, and in particular we're very indebted to Infinity Animations, BG1TUTU, EasyTUTU, BGT, and ToBEx (which we package with the mod). Q: Is this compatible with Icewind Dale without Heart of Winter? A: No. It might be at some later date, depending on demand, but probably not. At the moment it requires Heart of Winter as well as Trials of the Luremaster. Q: Is this compatible with BG2 without Throne of Bhaal? A: No, and almost certainly it never will be. Q: Is this compatible with OSX systems, or is it Windows-only? A: Windows-only at the moment, though we might be able to change this once we've got it a bit stabler. Q: Is the conversion perfect? A: No, but it's pretty comprehensive. See the list on the forum for the things we haven't been able to do. Q: What do I do for a party? A: See the forum topic on this. Q: How does this work on a technical basis? A: It uses a batch file to make a copy of your BG2 installation (minus things we don't need, like the area graphics), and another batch file to copy over needed resources from your IWD installation. En route, it installs the BG2 and IWD fixpacks. Then it uses BGT-based software to convert the areas. That's the easy bit; once all that's done, it runs the most convoluted WEIDU script you've ever seen, to (a) convert all the resources in an automated way as far as that's possible; (b) do a million and one small fixes (out of the two million and one that are actually needed, no doubt). The actual process is much messier than TUTU, because the BG1 engine is basically just a restricted version of the BG2 engine, whereas the IWD engine was developed in new directions and differs from BG2 in surprisingly many small ways. Q: Why does the FAQ shift inconstantly from first person singular to first person plural? A: Because several people worked on the mod, and deserve credit, but I (David) was solely responsible for it through 2009 until late 2010, and I don't want to blame others for my mistakes! Q: What is the correct interpretation of quantum mechanics? A: The Everett (Many-Worlds) interpretation. My book explaining why would have been finished a good deal sooner were it not for this damn mod.

Unless you have an active passion to add lots of AI scripting tasks to your workload (in which case, fine) you might want to consider using either BG1 or BG2's core combat scripts. That saves you a lot of work (it also means SCS can latch onto them and be compatible out of the box, so I've got a vested interest).

WRITE_SHORT, not WRITE_BYTE, I should think (BYTEs go from 0 to 255)

It's -l, not -1. And it separates the script files from the library files (l is for library). The prospects are very remote...

Lesson Eight: Variables If you include the line VARIABLE(cat=dog) in your SSL file, the string "cat" will be replaced everywhere (in that SSL file and in any SSL file it includes) by the string "dog". If, for instance, some later block included the line SetGlobal("cat","LOCALS",1) it would be replaced by SetGlobal("dog","LOCALS",1) (You need to be careful with this: if your code included "cataclysmic_attack" somewhere, it would become "dogaclysmic_attack"! So use variable names unlikely to occur as substrings. (Variable substitution is case-sensitive). You can also set variables from outside the SSL script itself, in the command line; see above for the syntax. You can use variables for lots of things, but the most useful (probably) is in conjunction with the IgnoreBlock and RequireBlock commands. These have syntax RequireBlock(sometext) and IgnoreBlock(sometext) and can be placed in the trigger part of an IF TRIGGER block or a plain IF block. (This is one of the exceptions to the rule that IF blocks function just like ordinary BCS blocks.) The functionality of RequireBlock and IgnoreBlock is pretty simple. Any block (IF or IF TRIGGER) containing RequireBlock(True) is compiled normally; any block containing RequireBlock([anything except True]) is ignored by the SSL compiler. And conversely, any block containing IgnoreBlock([anything except True]) is compiled; any block containing IgnoreBlock(True) is ignored. What's the point of this? The answer, of course, is that a variable can be placed into the RequireBlock or IgnoreBlock command. If that variable is set to True, the block will be compiled/ignored; otherwise, it will be ignored/compiled. To give an example: SCS 1 has only one priest SSL script for all the various different types of cleric and druid. A recent block in the latest (unreleased) version of this script reads IF TRIGGER IgnoreBlock(IsCleric) RequireBlock(HasL3) TargetBlock(PCsPreferringWeak) TriggerBlock(Disabled|MR|ResistElectric|MinorGlobe|Enemy|SIAlteration) AreaType(OUTDOOR) IgnoreBlock(Demivrgvs) THEN DO Action(Spell,CLERIC_CALL_LIGHTNING|70|30) END This block should only be included in scripts for casters who can cast third-level spells; it should not be included in scripts for clerics (who don't get Call Lightning); it should not be included if Demivrgvs's Spell Revisions mod is installed. All of this can be achieved just by setting the variables IsCleric and Demivrgvs to True, and the variable HasL3 to False (or anything else other than True, actually). This saves a lot of time; perhaps more importantly, it allows scripts to be changed and customised very easily. If you change your mind on how the targetting of Call Lightning should work, you need to modify only one block, instead of lots.

Lesson Seven: INCLUDE FILE This one is pretty simple. You might want to break your code up into blocks (either for ease of reading, or because you want to use the same subset of code in multiple places). So there needs to be some way to include one SSL file in another one. There is: just put INCLUDE FILE([full path]) into an SSL file, and the included file will be slotted into the first file at that point.

Just to say: As far as I know no-one else is considering writing in SSL, so I've not continued this, but there is a lot more to say if anyone does get interested at a future point. Let me know.

Nonsense... scotch is for kids too. Why do you think they're all so bloody mad in Scotland? Ye gods of scripting... I'm surprised DavidW has time to maintain this on top of his other projects and RL, but best of luck to both of you. Well, let's not get carried away with how much time I'll have, but I can probably manage to keep an eye on it.

Bonus Lesson Automated trigger blocks This isn't really part of SSL proper, more an illustration of what can be done with it. The game is full of magic items which grant immunity to certain effects (Helms of Charm Protection, for instance). There usually isn't any systematic way of detecting these items, so if you want to avoid targetting protected enemies you need to add a line like "!HasItem("helm06",[target])" to the code for every such item. In the vanilla game, for instance, if you want to cast Charm Person on the nearest PC to you who's not protected, you have to do IF TRIGGER TargetBlock(PCsInOrderShort) !HasItemEquiped("CHALCY3",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("HELM06",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("MISCBC",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("NPCHAN",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("SHLD25",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("SPER07",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("STAF11",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("SW1H35",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("SW1H54",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("SW2H14",scstarget) THEN DO Action(Spell,WIZARD_CHARM_PERSON) END This is cumbersome; but that problem can be solved by TriggerBlocks: you could define, for instance, TRIGGER=Charm !HasItemEquiped("CHALCY3",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("HELM06",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("MISCBC",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("NPCHAN",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("SHLD25",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("SPER07",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("STAF11",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("SW1H35",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("SW1H54",scstarget) !HasItemEquiped("SW2H14",scstarget) and then just do IF TRIGGER TargetBlock(PCsInOrderShort) TriggerBlock(Charm) THEN DO Action(Spell,WIZARD_CHARM_PERSON) END More importantly, it will be caught out if the player installs any mod that adds new items (of which there are more than a few). However, nothing stops you generating your library files dynamically. In SCSII, a WEIDU macro goes through every item in the game and (for about 20 different immunities) automatically generates the appropriate library file. Provided SCSII is installed after any item-introducing mod, that mod's items will be included. (In fact, I use two library files: a "manual" one, library.slb, and an automatically generated one. Library files are cumulative: you can put two Charm entries into two different library files (or indeed, into the same library file) and they'll be merged.)

Lesson Six: Target blocks and Trigger blocks This is where savings really start to come in. Frequently you want to use the same list of Target()s for multiple attacks; frequently you want to use the same checks on a creature's immunities for multiple attacks. These can all be defined in a separate library file: here's a simple example. TRIGGER=Paralyse !Kit(scstarget,UNDEADHUNTER) !Kit(scstarget,INQUISITOR) !CheckStatGT(scstarget,0,CLERIC_FREE_ACTION) TRIGGER=MR !CheckStatGT(scstarget,50,RESISTMAGIC) TARGET=PCsInOrderShort [PC] SecondNearest([PC]) ThirdNearest([PC]) TARGET=PCSpellcasters [PC.0.0.MAGE_ALL] [PC.0.0.CLERIC_ALL] [PC.0.0.DRUID_ALL] [PC.0.0.BARD] TARGET=PlayersInRandomOrder Player4 Player5 Player6 Player3 Player2 Player1 This file needs a name like library.slb, and needs to be called when you call SSL (see lesson two for the syntax). Once you've got a library file included, you can use two new commands: TargetBlock and TriggerBlock. For instance, this SSL code IF TRIGGER TargetBlock(PCsInOrderShort) TriggerBlock(Paralyse) THEN DO Action(Spell,WIZARD_HOLD_PERSON) END generates this BAF code: IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_HOLD_PERSON) See([PC]) !Kit([PC],UNDEADHUNTER) !Kit([PC],INQUISITOR) !CheckStatGT([PC],0,CLERIC_FREE_ACTION) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell([PC],WIZARD_HOLD_PERSON) END IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_HOLD_PERSON) See(SecondNearest([PC])) !Kit(SecondNearest([PC]),UNDEADHUNTER) !Kit([SecondNearest([PC]),INQUISITOR) !CheckStatGT(SecondNearest([PC]),0,CLERIC_FREE_ACTION) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(SecondNearest([PC]),WIZARD_HOLD_PERSON) END IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_HOLD_PERSON) See(ThirdNearest([PC])) !Kit(ThirdNearest([PC]),UNDEADHUNTER) !Kit([ThirdNearest([PC]),INQUISITOR) !CheckStatGT(ThirdNearest([PC]),0,CLERIC_FREE_ACTION) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(ThirdNearest([PC]),WIZARD_HOLD_PERSON) END Multiple trigger and target blocks can be combined inside a single TargetBlock, like this: IF TRIGGER TargetBlock(PCMages|PCsInOrderShort) TriggerBlock(Paralyse|MR) THEN DO Action(Spell,WIZARD_HOLD_PERSON) END Since this generates 91 lines of BAF code, I shan't write it out - hopefully the idea's clear, though. This is perhaps the right time to mention SSL's only built-in action: Literal. If defined normally (which you don't need to do), Literal would be defined as BEGIN ACTION DEFINITION Name(Literal) TRIGGER ACTION RESPONSE #scsprob END ... which looks pointless, but does allow things like this, which might be useful for catching up with off-screen enemies: IF TRIGGER !See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) TargetBlock(PlayersInRandomOrder) !StateCheck(scstarget,STATE_INVISIBLE) THEN DO Action(Literal) MoveToObject(scstarget) END

Lesson Five: Customising IF TRIGGER blocks In some ways, IF TRIGGER blocks behave very much like plain IF blocks. In particular, ordinary BCS code can be added to the trigger and action blocks. For instance, IF TRIGGER Target(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) !GlobalTimerNotExpired("Dispel","LOCALS") THEN DO Action(Spell,WIZARD_DISPEL_MAGIC) SetGlobalTimer("Dispel","LOCALS",18) END generates IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_DISPEL_MAGIC) See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) !GlobalTimerNotExpired("Dispel","LOCALS") THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(NearestEnemyOf(Myself),WIZARD_DISPEL_MAGIC) SetGlobalTimer("Dispel","LOCALS",18) END You can also use the same "scstarget" locution as in block definitions, as in IF TRIGGER Target(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) !CheckStatGT(scstarget,50,RESISTFIRE) THEN DO Action(Spell,WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) END which generates IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) !CheckStatGT(NearestEnemyOf(Myself),50,WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(NearestEnemyOf(Myself),WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) END

Lesson Four: IF and IF TRIGGER SSL files consist (to first approximation) of three sorts of blocks. The first are ACTION DEFINITIONS of the sort I talked about above. These are processed when they occur in the file and are kept in memory for the rest of the run (so if you call two SSL files in one compilation run, any ACTION DEFINITIONs in the first are available in the second). The second are plain BCS blocks, of the sort you'd find in any BAF file. It's convenient to call them IF blocks, since they always start with an IF. Any BCS block is valid in SSL (though SSL sometimes requires entries to be on separate lines, so it's best to avoid multiline scripting on principle); as we'll see later, SSL also admits a few commands for IF blocks that BAF doesn't. The most important blocks are SSL blocks, also called IF TRIGGER blocks. A simple example would be IF TRIGGER Target(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN DO Action(Spell,WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) END If the Spell action hasn't been defined already, SSL will fail on this block. But if Spell is defined as above, the block will be compiled as IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(NearestEnemyOf(Myself),WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) END So far, not much of a saving. But multiple targets can be defined. IF TRIGGER Target([PC.0.0.MAGE]) Target(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN DO Action(Spell,WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) END compiles as IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) See([PC.0.0.MAGE]) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell([PC.0.0.MAGE],WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) END IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(NearestEnemyOf(Myself),WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) END And multiple actions can be applied. IF TRIGGER Target(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN DO Action(Spell,WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) Action(Spell,WIZARD_MAGIC_MISSILE) END compiles to IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(NearestEnemyOf(Myself),WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) END IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_MAGIC_MISSILE) See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(NearestEnemyOf(Myself),WIZARD_MAGIC_MISSILE) END And this can be combined: hopefully it's obvious what IF TRIGGER Target([PC.0.0.MAGE]) Target(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN DO Action(Spell,WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) Action(Spell,WIZARD_MAGIC_MISSILE) END does, though it's perhaps worth noting that each Target has the first Action applied to it before moving on to the next Action. So this block first tries to cast Flame Arrow at a mage, then at anyone; then it tries to cast Magic Missile at a mage, then at anyone.

Lesson three: Defining ACTIONs Now we start getting into how SSL scripts actually work. A lot of BG2 scripting consists of repeating very similar blocks again and again. Spellcasting, for instance, requires you to check for whether the caster actually has the spell; in tactical scripting it usually also requires you to check whether a timer has expired (so that you don't try to cast until you're able to) and then to reset that timer again. So even a rather simple-minded mage script might look like IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(NearestEnemyOf(Myself),WIZARD_FLAME_ARROW) END IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_MELF_ACID_ARROW) See([PC.0.0.MAGE]) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell([PC.0.0.MAGE],WIZARD_MELF_ACID_ARROW) END IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(WIZARD_MAGIC_MISSILE) See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(NearestEnemyOf(Myself),WIZARD_MAGIC_MISSILE) END The core of SSL is the ability to automate production of repetitive blocks like this. This action, which we might call Spell, would be coded in SSL as follows: BEGIN ACTION DEFINITION Name(Spell) TRIGGER !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") HaveSpell(scsargument1) ACTION RESPONSE #scsprob SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) Spell(scstarget,WIZARD_MAGIC_MISSILE) END This looks a bit like a standard BCS block, but it has some things missing and some odd features - notably the expressions "scstarget","scsargument1" and "scsprob1". These are all choosable when the block is called. "scstarget" and "scsprob1" are common to all ACTION blocks: the first is the actual target of the action (such as NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) and the second is the probability of the action being carried out (which by default is set to 100). "scsargment1" is specific to a particular action: different actions require different arguments. The "Spell" action, for instance, requires only one argument (other than a target): the name of the spell to be cast. More complex actions require more arguments. For instance, illithids in SCS2 use their powers on a timer, so that they can case (e.g.) Maze every three rounds. A typical BCS block for an illithid would be IF !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") !GlobalTimerNotExpired("maze","LOCALS") See(NearestEnemyOf(Myself)) THEN RESPONSE #100 SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) SetGlobalTimer("maze","LOCALS",18) ForceSpell(NearestEnemyOf(Myself),PSIONIC_MAZE) END and the corresponding ACTION would look like BEGIN ACTION DEFINITION Name(Psionic) TRIGGER !GlobalTimerNotExpired("cast","LOCALS") !GlobalTimerNotExpired(scsargument2,"LOCALS") ACTION RESPONSE #scsprob SetGlobalTimer("cast","LOCALS",6) SetGlobalTimer(scsargument2,"LOCALS",scsargument3) ForceSpell(scstarget,scsargument1) END The "Psionic" action has three arguments: scsargument1 is the name of the power to use, scsargument2 is the name of the timer to be set, and scsargument3 is the length of time the timer is to be set for.

Lesson two: running SSL SSL itself is a perl script (ssl.pl) which has been compiled into a Windows executable (ssl.exe). Its formal syntax is ssl.exe "<list of ssl files> -l <list of slb files> <variable string> The ssl files are the actual code; they conventionally have the suffix .ssl and this will be added if un-suffixed files are called. The slb files are "library files" containing common data (this will all be explained later); they conventionally have the suffix ".slb" and again this will be added to unsuffixed files. The variable string will be explained much later; it's basically a way of modifying at the command line exactly what's done with a string. An (imaginary) example might be scsii/ssl/ssl.exe "scsii/mage/mage_definitions scsii/mage/dw#mage -l scsii/ssl/library scsii/ssl/autolib IsLich=True&CreType=Undead" Here the ssl program itself, and the library files library.slb and autolib.slb are located in the directory scsii/ssl, and the ssl files mage_definitions.ssl and dw#mage are located in scsii/mage. There are two variables: IsLich is set to True and CreType is set to Undead. The result of this process is to generate a number of .baf files: usually one per ssl file called, though some ssl files are just used to define things and don't generate output. Any file that does generate output is dumped in the directory ssl_out relative to its current location - in this case, for instance, dw#mage.ssl would generate the output file scsii/mage/ssl_out/dw#mage.baf. This file would then have to be compiled normally from WEIDU. If the directory ssl_out doesn't exist, SSL will complain: you need to create it in advance. You can use SSL in your mods in two ways. The simplest is to write your scripts in SSL, compile them locally, and distribute the resultant BAF. For more complex mods you probably want to do the compilation inside the TP2 file, using AT_NOW. This is easiest if you just define a macro to do it for you: there's an example in SCSII.

Lesson one: what is SSL? SSL is the "Stratagems scripting language". Formally speaking, it's what you might call a "metascripting language": just as a BAF script, written in a text editor, is compiled into a BCS file, so an SSL file is compiled (by a rather messy bit of Perl scripting) into a BAF file. In practice, though, SSL is an alternative (or perhaps a supplement) to BAF as a way of writing scripts for IE games. It can't ultimately do anything that BAF can't do (ultimately, an SSL file is just another way of producing a BCS file) but it is much more compact and easy to do powerful programming in... well, once you get the hang of it. Partly this shows itself in up-front writing costs: a 5,000 line BAF file might only be a couple of hundred lines of SSL. At least as important, though, SSL makes the logical structure of the script much clearer and easier to understand, debug, and modify. If you want to (say) make a mild change in how all wizards use their spells in a tactical mod, SSL allows you to do it by changing just one line; the BAF method might require thousands of lines to be changed. (In a sense, SSL aims to do for scripting something like (but more modestly than) what the WEIDU .d file format did for dialog writing. Under the hood, functions like CHAIN and INTERJECT_COPY_TRANS generate hideous spaghettified code, but it doesn't matter because the user only sees the clean logical structure.)

The BCS scripts in Sword Coast Stratagems II are largely written in an automated scripting language called "ssl" (Stratagems Scripting Language). (SSL is emphatically not a rival to WEIDU: it's a program - a Perl script, in fact - callable from inside WEIDU). I've been promising, and putting off, releasing that language for ages - not because it's buggy (I think it's pretty stable) but because I can't really work out how to document it. So here's a partial attempt: not a formal rigorous documentation, but an unfinished set of lessons. I've done the first six lessons so far, and they cover enough to make SSL usable, but there's quite a lot more to say and I'll add other bits if there's demand. SSL isn't downloadable on its own at the moment: it's contained in the "ssl" subdirectory of SCSII. At some point I might make a freestanding version available; at the moment, though, I think there's something to be said for looking at how it works in the only mod that currently uses SSL. I don't actually know if SSL will be useful to anyone or not. It's certainly not a beginner's tool: these lessons assume the reader is fluent in IE scripting. Its main use is for long complex scripts and for situations where you want to use lots of closely-related but non-identical scripts. Comments avidly sought. (Also, someone move this if it's in the wrong place...)

Sounds like an SCSII issue, yes - one of the outstanding problems with the current version is the occasional shout problem like this one.

Now that SCS II is in open beta testing, I don't think there's much point having a separate closed discussion forum. So I've moved the two vaguely-live threads in this forum into the main SCS II forum. If no-one who posted here objects, I'll ask Cam to lock it and then make it globally visible after that.

So it does, and unnecessarily so. Fixed locally.

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~mert0130/scs/scsII.zip Sorry!

The latest beta is now out, at the usual download address. A few bugfixes, and a couple of new components (improved shade lord; nerfed inquisitor dispel). I'm planning to move to open beta release within a few days if possible, so I'd very much appreciate knowing if it installs on someone's system.

thank goodness...

FIX to this version: as Kimmel caught, there's a fatal error in its code (which, irritatingly, doesn't show up on my computer). If you've already installed, the easiest fix is to go to the file "scsII\ssl\ssl.tph", open it in Notepad, and change "scsII\ssl\ssl.pl" to "scsII\ssl\ssl.exe". Otherwise, download again, I'll fix it in the next two minutes. (And if you have perl installed on your machine and linked to the .pl extension, you don't need to do anything.)

Sorry, beta version 5 didn't last long, did it? Version 6 only fixes two bugs, but one of them is impossible to fix by hotfix. If you're using Cloudkill much, definitely upgrade straight away; if not, do it at your convenience. [edit: this is the fixed version 6] setup_scsII.zip

Beta 5 is out - all bugs so far found are fixed (I hope...) Install at your convenience. Change of procedure, btw - this time I've just attached the file direct to this post. setup_scsII.zip