Daeros_Trollkiller

Oooooohhhhhkay.... Let's just say we do things differently and get the thread back on topic.

Thank you kindly. Labor of love, and all that

The upgrades in general are going to get a re-think (I think about them quite a bit during the 'boring' parts of the re-write). You are correct in that I ended up with WAY too many OP items, even though that wasn't my goal. Sometimes when creating something new, I get a little too excited about what I can make it 'do', and end up going overboard unintentionally. I hear you on the QoL stuff, though my approach to it may be a little different than what you are thinking. For me, QoL would be things like the keyring, new ammunition types, combining bard instruments to save on quickslots, things of that nature. Using the example you gave, combining rings of protection with rings of regeneration: Yes, it does save slots and swapping items out, *BUT* it can also result in the same overpowered items you mentioned. Can you give me some ideas of what items you had in mind of combining?

Of all the things to complain about..... At least tell me that that mod sucks and I smell like boo-boo or some such, if you're going to complain Just for you, going forward I'll do timestamps as: yyy(because no one here is going to see that forth digit roll over again anyway) hh:mm (because lets be accurate) and ww (because which week of the year is important!)

I've completed the first component of the re-write, which is allowing the import of additional SoD items using the same/similar method that BD used for the original SoD importables. I've tested everything on clean installs of BG2 to verify functionality, at least at a base level. I can already say that importing saved games from a heavily modded version of BGee/SoD results in many of the importable item flags not being properly set (even the original item flags from BD) even though the items are indeed present in the party's inventory in the imported SoD save. This doesn't seem to happen if I import a save from an un-modded (other than modmerge) SoD game save. I can't really see why this is the case, since it's only checking for SoD item filenames that are present in the vanilla game, but I digress, more testing is needed. On that note, I have included a beta of the new build for those who would like to try it out, and provide feedback on their experience. In the TP2, there is a commented-out line that will run a script to force all of the Global flags for SoD importables (new and old) 'ON'. Just delete the '//' in front of the line and save the file if you'd like to test in that manner. When providing feedback, please make sure to mention if you import your saved SoD game from a modded, or unmodded BGEE/SoD install. Lastly - you *must* start a new game in BG2 and import an SoD saved game for this mod component to work properly. It will not work with a save from the BGEE portion of the game, EVEN IF you have the SoD items in your inventory. This is true even for the original importable SoD items from Beamdog. For those who aren't familiar and are wondering why this is: Because there is a script that runs ONLY when you start a new BG2 game which does several things. One is to check for a SoD game (if you import) save, and set a flag for that. Another is to scan the inventory of the party from the imported save to see if it contains items that are importable, then sets flags for each of them before removing everything from the save's inventory. BOTH of those Global variables have to be 'ON' for each and every importable SoD item, old and new, for them to show up in their assigned spots in the game. For those who dont trust this method (I'm one of you), there will be an additional component, just like before, to force the importable item flags to be 'ON' Could I just shit-can this method and place everything manually, instead of relying on scripts? Yep, pretty much did that before, but I got a lot of feedback asking for a more natural experience. Am I going to have this as an option? Yes and No, see above. P.S. - I figured it out. Only items that are in the protagonist's inventory, are not a container (the keyring), and not *inside* a container (bag of holding), will be counted and the proper import flag set. Which, in hindsight, makes sense, as the protagonist is the only character that actually gets "imported" from the save. I would assume that if you were to import a multiplayer SoD save, or a SoD save with more player-generated characters, their inventories may be counted as well, but I haven't tested that. So what does this mean for the mod? It means that at maximum, only 36 items can be imported using a method that scans the PC's inventory when starting a new BG2 game. At least, as far as I can tell. Which, if I am being honest, really isn't a bad thing at all. It actually helps in preventing over-itemization. It is making me rethink a few things regarding the SoD importables. I believe what I will do is have a handful of SoD items be placed into BG2, regardless of whether you had them or not in your SoD save. Currently that list consists of: 1. The Key Ring. Its a quality of life item that's too good to leave out, and doesn't import using the method I implemented since it's a container. 2. The new ammo types in SoD - I already had just placed these on vendors, etc... since they are consumables. 3. The new bard instruments - these are kind of consumable, and only bards are going to be able to have them in their quickslots, so unless your PC is a bard, you probably aren't going to want to waste any "import slots" on these. 4. Flavorful, fun items, like the changeling vest, or clerics vestments. Given those examples, I am open to suggestions from you all on items from SoD you would like to see placed into BG2, that doesn't require you to have them on your person from an imported save. DTK_ISKPack-Beta.zip

I've been able to put a good bit of work into the changes/rework of this mod since the last update, and while I haven't been able to make as much progress as I would like (which pretty much never happens ), I've gotten a good portion of the first component, importing more SoD items in a similar manner as how Beamdog did, completed. I'm at the point where I am placing the items, and it's been a slog. It's much more scripting, and far less of just being able to "copy_existing" and add the item. Annnnnnnd, I keep running into snags during testing that have to be corrected as I go. One lesson I had to re-learn, the hard way, is that when adding items to containers/creatures using scripts, you really have to pay attention to the actual string-name as opposed to just the filename. They don't always match, and you gotta go by the string-name when doing this stuff via in-game scripts. For example: I just spent the last hour trying to figure out why in the hell the cloak of minor arcana was not showing up on Mekrath's corpse. I checked all my syntax and didn't see anything wrong. tried over, and over. At first, I thought it was just me killing mekrath so fast that the script didn't complete in time. This is something that can happen when you are teleporting around using cheats and godbows. If you want proof of this - try doing it with Tazok. If you teleport into Firkraags lair, then pop back out and kill him real quick, the Dragon Blade +3 will not be on him, even if all the correct flags for the import are set. That said, these are extreme examples and should never show up during real gameplay. Back to Mekrath and the Cloak: After getting myself frustrated to no end, I looked over his .cre file in NI, then looked at the name one last time, and thought "wait a minute... does the same shit that applies to container names in scripts apply to creatures?". Sure enough, it does... ugh. Lesson learned....again P.S. - Or at least it *CAN*. Good grief sometimes it just comes down to trial and error.

Just seeing this thread after searching for an update on this mod myself. Been looking forward to 6.0 for EE support. Any new info on it?

On that same page: Somehow I get the feeling the Microsoft doesn't have a problem with it

Thank you kindly, I've installed both and will try it out. Looks very interesting to say the least.

I dont get the reference.

About a year and a half ago, I made the switch from Windows to Linux. I went from never having used Linux before, to running Arch with the KDE desktop. It honestly hasn't been all that tough, and I've found it fun, I like figuring things out. I've been using Kate for editing my mod, which is included with KDE, and it seems to work fine for the most part, but every once in awhile, I will get a syntax error that leaves me scratching my head. Reminds me of when I first started out modding using notepad in windows, before I was kindly turned onto notepad++, and to make sure I was using UTF-8 encoding, so I checked my settings and made sure Kate was set for that. Anyone have recommendations?

Guess I'm showing my age.... man it's weird being on this side of the spectrum. I appreciate the kudos

Thank you for this, I understand what you mean now. And yes, I do my best to take other items from mods into account (the ones I'm familiar with, anyway), when it comes to placement. I wasn't planning on changing placement much for the imported stuff, so if you've already accounted for them in Forgotten Armament, we shouldn't have too many issues. I'll add your mod to my list of mods I use for playtesting.

New items, spells, etc... will have my registered prefix in the filenames, so unless someone else is using it in their mods, that will cover those. For SoD and other pre-existing items, each %filename%.itm is checked to see if it already exists before installing. Outside of that, I dont know each and every mod by heart, so I'll have to depend on my own playtesting and community feedback to sort out incompatibilities. I can't account for every single mod out there, but the most popular ones, like tweaks, shouldn't be a problem. That's why I am planning to post up the .tp2 from time to time, if another modder such as yourself sees something I could do better to make it more compatible, I would be grateful for the feedback on it.

Don't know whether that's meant to be a compliment or insult, but... thanks?

As I've been going through the mod to rework the things I wanted, I quickly realized just how much of a mess the mod is in it's current state ( at least in terms of how I have structured it, the installation, etc..) and how difficult it would be to rework it without going back to the drawing board..... So, after hemming and hawing over it for a day or so, that's exactly what I have done. I'm more or less starting over from scratch. I want to make this thing as clean and modular as I am able so that in the future, I wont have to do this AGAIN. >< #1 - I've decided that I will be changing the name of this mod to better reflect what it has in it. It will simply be named: "Daeros Trollkiller's Item-Spell-Kit Pack. No muss, no fuss. Tentative for now, but after all the complaints I got on the current name not being "accurate as to what the mod does", I figure this will make things quite clear. #2 - Each and every major component of this mod will be optional. Just want some more SoD items imported into BG2 and nothing else? You got it. How about just some new spells without any other fluff? You bet. What about just one of the class kits I plan to add? That too. The only planned exceptions to this rule will be the "item upgrade" type of components that rely on one of the others to be installed first, for instance: SoD item upgrade component will require that you install the additional SoD item component. (otherwise there would be nothing to upgrade, and therefore, pointless to install) #3 - The item upgrades and new spells are going to be overhauled a good bit. Also plan to add some altogether new items of my own creation. Don't expect much of the old upgrades, spells, or their recipes to stay the same. Some certainly will, however. I'm doing this in response to feedback I've received, as well as changes I simply want to make. My overall goal with these remains them same: keep it interesting, useful, and not overpowered. I've brainstormed quite the list already for this part. #4 - The aforementioned class kits: I've already created one of these awhile back for the Ranger that I plan to add, and have some ideas for a few others IF I can make them work the way I want them to. Progress thus far: First component I've been working on is a simple addition of more SoD items to BG2 (and later, perhaps adding some to IWD as well). Made good headway on it so far, some of the items previously imported have been stripped, but not a lot. Another new thing I will be doing here: I plan to bring these into BG2 in the same manner Beamdog did for the SoD items they already import. This way, it can feel more "natural" for folks who want to be able to import their save from SoD into BG2 and only have the SoD items that they actually had on them imported into BG2. For folks like myself, who don't like relying on that mechanic, there will be an optional component to force the import of the new SoD items, along with the old SoD items, in a similar manner as I had before, wherein there will be sub-component options to choose between the mutually exclusive items, such as the Dragonscale Armor or the Dragonscale Shield +3, since you can only get one or the other in a single playthrough of SoD. Phew... that was a lot to say, but this is going to be a lot of work. P.S. - forgot to add: If I can remember, I might post of the .tp2 of the mod from time to time as a means of allowing modders with more skill than I to chime in on ways I could write it, or parts of it, better. I still consider myself to be very much on the novice level compared to others here on G3.

Thank you much! Do you happen to have any burritos that add +1 or greater to hit?

Roger that, and thanks again. I've already tried it out and seems to be working. Just need to playtest it now.

Thank you both for the quick responses. I wasn't aware of this so I guess I wasn't overlooking something after all and get to learn something new here. Assuming that both methods will work, is there a preferred way among the two?

First and foremost - my apologies for the lack of updates and responses here. The last year has been very difficult for me and my family with losses, and I simply haven't had the time or desire to work on the mod or even play the games. I've finally gotten the urge to play again, and am currently doing a playthrough of BGEE+SoD, with this mod installed to see what is and isn't currently working. So far, finding much more broken than I thought I would, TBH. But it's a good thing, since I can't fix what I dont know is borked. Going forward for the next update, I am going to keep things simple so I don't get overwhelmed, and I am rusty as hell, so I'm sure I will have to re-learn, and learn some new modding methods to get things working the way I want. So here's the short list of my plans for 2.0.7: 1. Find and fix bugs -#1 priority. 2. Re-write the new spells as their own, separate component. Will check into using a spell tool as to not use limited slots afterwards. 3. Review of content - Change some things, remove some things, add some things, etc... Nothing is off the table. This part is always my favorite to work on. 4. Renaming of this mod - This mod has grown far beyond the original scope, and needs a rename to better fit. Something more simple, such as "Daeros' Item and Spell pack". Open to suggestions.

I've been doing some work to correct things that aren't working properly with SoD2BG2IU, and have run into a piece of code that just doesn't seem to want to work: ACTION_IF FILE_EXISTS_IN_GAME ~garan.dlg~ BEGIN //Replace Summoned Ankhegs with Remorhaz COPY_EXISTING ~garan.dlg~ ~override~ DECOMPILE_AND_PATCH BEGIN REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~"ankheg",[912.1057],S~ ~"remorha",[912.1057],S~ REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~"ankheg",[822.1029],S~ ~"remorha",[822.1029],S~ REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~"ankheg",[1198.1011],S~ ~"remorha",[1198.1011],S~ REPLACE_TEXTUALLY ~"ankheg",[1220.1172],S~ ~"dtkremor",[1220.1172],S~ END BUT_ONLY_IF_IT_CHANGES END I get no errors for this, and it doesn't show anything in the debug either, it just seems to not actually do anything. garan.dlg doesn't get copied over to override, and no changes are made to it. I've looked over the syntax several times, and even simplified the code to: ACTION_IF FILE_EXISTS_IN_GAME ~garan.dlg~ BEGIN //Replace Summoned Ankhegs with Remorhaz COPY_EXISTING ~garan.dlg~ ~override~ END And it still won't even just do a simple copy. This is on a clean install of BGEE + SoD with only modmerge installed. I am 100% sure it's something stupid I am missing because of how rusty I am but damned if I can see it. SETUP-SOD2BG2_IU.DEBUG

I am very late to trying out this one (very late in general, I haven't had time to work on any of my own mods or even play much for the last few years) BUT!, I am really enjoying this mod much more than I thought I would so far. Still pretty early in the game, (haven't even done the Nashkel mines yet, just exploring) and from what I have seen so far, this is a well thought-out NPC mod! My party this go-round doesn't currently have any summoners, so I was struggling with Sirens while going for the +1 CON book. I got curious and sent Grey in, wondering how he would fare against their charms. I thought surely a loyal, well-trained dog would see through their tricks, and I wasn't disappointed! Will provide more feedback after my playthrough, just wanted to share my enjoyment of it so far, and kudos to Jastey!

Thank you for the feedback, the last bit especially. I put a lot of time and effort into the spells, so I probably won't remove them altogether, BUT... if I were to end up making even more spells, then I think it being it's own separate mod would probably be the better route to go.

My comment was not intended to berate anyone. I'm not a pro modder and never claimed to be. To me, I just don't see the problem, but I am obviously looking at things through a very different lens than you are. The whole reason I came back to update this mod and created this post was to address things that need to be "fixed" or done better to make it more compatible. I can't fix something if I don't know it's broken, and/or don't know how to go about fixing it. If that means leaving things well enough alone, then I'm ok with that as well.

After a long hiatus, I am planning to come back and do some more work on this mod. I don't necessarily plan to add or change a lot about it, but my fellow modders know that once you get elbows-deep into a mod and the creative juices get flowing..... things happen From the *many* comments I have gotten regarding this mod, one item I plan to address is making the new spells component optional. Personally, I still think it's kinda silly, but different strokes for different folks and all that. I may or may not look into making use of Olvyn's spell tool for the spells component. Haven't tried using it at all, so going in blind. Will see how it goes, may try it on one of my kit mods first. I have some ideas for a couple of new kits I plan to work on separately from this, but may offer them as optional components of this mod. I'd kinda like to roll my mods up into one, allowing the player to select what they do and don't want to install, just to keep everything under one roof, so to speak. I will probably get more flak about that, but seriously, the category this mod is under is "Items/Kits/Spells". So... even if it contains all three, it still fits the category, imho. Consider this thread a "Wish List" of sorts that you all would like to see in an update to this mod. I already know one thing @Endarire will probably ask for, and am already considering how I can work it in, as my way of saying thanks for keeping up with me on this mod over the last couple of years. *cough* elven plate *cough*. So, please post your thoughts on what you'd like to see in an update here and let's discuss. Anything goes, and by that I mean the following: Items and/or spells you'd like to see added Items and/or spells you'd like to see removed. Items and/or spells you would like to see buffed or nerfed. Descriptions and/or lore you would like to see changed or added. Artwork/Audiovisual effects you would like to see changed or added. The only "hard rules" I have are that the mod must remain in a fashion that forces the player to make choices about using upgrade components, and item/spell balance kept in-line. No adding extra components to allow a player to get everything in a single playthrough, and no "I win" buttons. So.... if you find yourself thinking: "I really want item A and B, but can only get one of them." That's working as intended and not likely to change. Conversely, if you are thinking: "I really shouldn't be able to get both item X and Y, both of them together are just too powerful" That would be very helpful.