kreso

All good points. As I think about it more, I think it was actually Spellstrike I wanted to see buffed, not Spell Trap.

I agree, since it always seemed to me that I really want to hit the mage with Pierce Shield (which removes combat protections as well and is lower level) rather than Spellstrike. Ideas?

100% spell failure for x rounds? (1-2-3)

Deafness? (would apply 50% failure chance; which in turn causes SCS casters to stop casting completely)

Drain spells? (this would be kinda neat I think; altough it would only work with SCS - in vanilla game casters don't really use memorized spells)

All of above, or mix&match? (i.e. 100% spell failure in first round, followed by 2 rounds of Deafness, and drain one spell from memory?)

Why not just add immunity to dispelling to Spell Trap? Spell Trap needs a buff IMHO.

Auf...Spell Trap in latest SR is litteraly a Pro Magic scroll with an added benefit - you can still cast spells through it. To bring it down you need either Spellstrike, Ruby Ray or Pierce Shield. In the absence of those three, mage is virtually untouchable by magic for it's duration. With 2+ Spell Shields memorized to protect the Trap, I don't think there's much one can do to bring this down. I don't feel this needs to be any stronger.

Spell Shield protecting vs dispels might turn out quite ok, for a number of reasons; the main being that when it comes to spell protections, Spell Shield is always destroyed first, and can be removed by any spell protection removal regardless of your other protections (like Spell Trap), even a Spell Thrust will always work.

I reckon this would make Demons slightly less game-ending for mages, since afaik only one SCS breed uses spell removals, but I may be wrong.

This doesn't bug me for gameplay reasons, it bugs me due to conceptual reasons.

I still have to check this out and how it would work with Dispelling Screen.

Yea. I found even more bugs. Here's the list of what I've done:

- Spider's Bane fully fixed to match it's description (web + poison immunity)

- ditto Arbane

- Cernd's cloak and staff now match description

- Potion of Speed now adds +4 to movement speed and + 0.5 apr, stacks with haste-type spells (much less troublesome, especially for non-SR users). It will not remove Slow effects anymore. (it's too easy to counter slow now, you'll need some kind of spell to do it).

- Keldorn's armor matches description

- Valygar's armor now mentions charm immunity in it's effects

- fixed wrong power levels on Inertial Barrier belt and shield of falling stars, previously someone under Globe would not gain penalties/bonuses

- tweaked Cloak of Vengeance not to have a spell power of 0 but 3 (matches Call Lighting spell) to nerf it a bit

- Staff of Woodlands now provides +4 to AC as per description and makes the user immune to Barkskin

- Grandmaster's Armor now has a complete list of slow/haste immunities

- Greenstone Amulet no longer makes wearer immune to all charm/confusion/stun/hold sources, it now use Pro Spell opcode to protect vs Psionics and various *mind-affecting spells* (example, PW:Stun, Hold Monster and similar are blocked, but Symbol:Stun, ghast's attack and Koshi's katana stunning effect aren't) - this is a seperate component which took cca 1 hour to code.

I'm not sure if this should block stuff like Demogorgon's Gaze of Insanity or paralyzing gaze attacks from beholders (it did before, it still does now, but I'm not sure if these are attacks that attack the mind) - toughts? Keep in mind, this item is nerfed now.

- added a seperate component to apply portrait icons where applicable (NPP, strenght, death ward, free action etc.)

- added a seperate component to make potion buffs dispellable

Spell Revisions:

- Hardiness doesn't stack from various sources (wish/innate)

- HLAs like Hardiness, Avoid Death and similar are no longer affected by Breach

- some spurious strings that'd be displayed twice removed from magic attacks

- Wish options of Imp.Haste now use proper SR effects, rather than vanilla effects

- Improved Haste (all versions) no longer stack in their effects, and now correctly prevents any source of slow to match it's description.

- Haste (level 3) now gets AoE, no longer adds THAC0/saves/AC, adds +6 to movement speed and + 0.5 apr, stacks with Oil of speed however, and has a scaling duration (1 turn + 1 round/level). It's still followed by a period of fatigue. It's description is changed to match new effects. It also no longer stacks with itself, or any source of similar spells.

- (Un)Holy Word effects are no longer dispellable by Haste stuff, however Break Enchantment/Freedom will remove the effect. Slowing effect from them will still remove Haste.

- fixed secondary types on more than 50 spells and innate abilities - in effect; Break Enchantment spell now will be able to correctly remove much more disables (like Demon/Devil charms, Vampire fear and similar disables), even non-SR users will be able to benefit from this (believe it or not - some dragons breath attacks and psionic abilities would be stopped by vanilla Spell Shield (!))

- Mellisan's abilities now a bit more potent - her Blade Barrier is no longer affected by Breach spell to match SR version of the spell, and her Divine Mantle now makes her fully immune to all damage, just like SR's Apsolute Immunity.

- few Balthazar's abilities fixed on Ascension installs

- in-game traps fixed - now they use a correct secodary type (you can now remove the charm effect from the trap by Break Enchantment and similar); they get a proper saving throw for SR's spell system (no longer save vs spells for fireball trap; but you'll roll breath).

90% of this stuff is done via code, so it won't mess up anything what you install beforehand and it's easy to change. It will still go before SCS (SCS makes new spells from those in the game already).

To do:

- optional component for IR "revised armor" users - Kit Revision verison of Hardiness (+20 to all resistances) so you don't end up with gazillion damage resistance by installing this component if you don't use KR

- optional component - KR version of fighter HLAs - Deathblow, Power attack (buffed); (Greater) Whirlwind (a la vanilla imp.haste but 2 round duration)

- add a component for Wyrd where Spell Shield stops dispel attempts (the more I think about it, the more I like it, even if conceptually I don't dig it)

- MSIX no longer Basilisk but Greater Werewolf

- for EE users, STAT opcode for offensive spells (fully immunity if your resistance to select attack is 100% or above) - this is kinda done already, but I'll revise it a bit

- check what I've messed up

I don't remember exactly what vanilla SI: Abjuration does, but I am referring to a spell that grants the caster immunity to all dispelling attempts (but not immunity to breach) for its duration, not just against the first attempt like the new dispelling screen. There has always been one spell that did have this effect in Spell Revision, up until beta v12 or so when the new dispelling screen was implemented.

 

Now the new dispelling screen is really too cool to be changed, so I propose to add, as an optional component of course, 'dispel immunity' to spell shield.

Ok. Spell Shield to block any kind of dispelling effect. Personally I don't like it, it overlaps with DS too much, and I don't know how AI would respond to this (I'll mark it as both SI:Abj and Spell Shield). Otoh, I do fear that new DScreen does indeed make mages suffer , coding this won't take longer than one minute, so you'll have it.

Next Friday I'll upload all I manage to do.

On a sidenote, having seen some latest Weidu installs from BWS; it seems that BWS users will have their install busted, since SR goes so very early in the install order. Also, it can still be installed with Spellpack. While Spellpack can indeed be installed with SR, an average user will run into numerous troubles doing so. There are many things which simply overlap, some that are outright incompatible, and quite a few Spellpack spells are simply bugged and don't do what they should (at least they were the last time I checked).

Regarding install order, it's either right before (not reccomended) or after (reccomended) Refinements.

The new dispelling screen is really cool, but not having a spell that grants immunity to dispelling can be quite harsh in end game SoA/ToB.

I'm not sure I understand. Dispelling Screen does exactly that. You want a spell that works as vanilla game SI:Abjuration?

I've begun to work in Revision fixes. I'll release it as a minimod to be installed after IR. Since IR has various install options (revised armor, prices, weapon changes etc.) I'll do this via patching code so this will go after IR.

- amul17 has "protection from icon" - Held. It shouldn't, the icon gets displayed on spells and effects this item doesn't give immunity to. It should probably be reworked into a bunch of 206 effects against spells.

Fixed, kind of. I'm unsure about what spells this should make one immune to. I've tweaked it to match it's description (it protects vs various spells that affect mind) but I'm unsure about innates (example; Beguiling gaze, Insanity attack that Demogorgon uses); PW:Stun & Symbol:Stun. Imo, PW:Stun immunity is ok, but Symbol:Stun isn't a mind effect....toughts?

 

.- brac16 (blinding strike) - spell used is a 3 round WW attack if you use Kit Revisions

- brac26, monk/kensai gauntlets; SET AC to 3. This is ok for a kensai, but it is a horrible effect for a monk. At least in EEs, these can be tweaked so that monks get AC bonus, kensai's AC gets set.?? Would look odd thou.

Untouched. I leave this to Demi to tweak. Brac16 is kinda ok as it is, brac26 needs a rework.

I could edit brac26 to add AC instead of setting it, and add it as optional?

 

- clck06 - cloak of Non.Detection. Why not make this work as SR's Non-Detection spell?

- leat08; Shadow armor. I'd rework this item. It's descritpion hints it's "insubstantial". Thus, physical resistance has no place there. I'd make it work as 3rd level spell Ghost armor; buffing it's AC instead.

- leat24 - has kind of haste effect and slow immunity...this is hard to do properly. Given it's immunity to haste, it will prevent sec type removal from working. Given how immunity to slow works (it won't cover all sources) you may still get slowed and you won't be able to remove slow effect.

Untouched. I'll see what I can do with leat24 at least. (add protection vs all Slow sources I find...)

 

- npchan - Valy's armor, has "hidden" charm immunity. I'd leave it there, numerous mods check against this item for charm castings. I'd also make Non-Detection a la SR version of it.

- npcloak - Cernd's cloak. Descrption states immunites, but it hasn't any. It also adds AC, description says nothing about it.

- npplat - Keldorn's armor - has 50% res to MD, description says 40.

- npstaf - has immunity to insect spells, casting speed bonus isn't there.

All fixed to match description.

- potn14 - Oil of speed.... why not make potions/wands a part of SR? Much less hassle....

Will add as optional component (to match what I use in my games) - + 0.5 apr; +4 Movement speed. Should this be stackable with Haste effects? I kinda feel yes; I don't think it would be OP if Haste added only 0.5 apr (you can't go over 5 apr w/o whirlwind in any case).

AI would benefit from this as well (In SR, AI cannot detect it's hasted anymore).

One more thing, we keep non-SR compatibility kinda intact.

.- ring05 - invisibility lasts for 8 hours. Too long I reckon...

- ring27 casts "fireshield:red" type of spell that makes you immune to various stuff. It shouldn't; since the immunities stay on even if ring is removed and you don't have 100% fire resistance.

- ring28 - on EE it could have immunity to that shaman AoE spell

- ring34 casts Spell Turning. This will cause AI issues for sure. What one could do is tweak it similar to Rod of Absorption - one spell (any level) turned back. But - if you turn back an AoE spell it will look awful, to say the least.

Untouched. I'll see what I can do about these.

 

- sw2h06, Spiders Bane - it needs 206 stuff added vs Web resources (bdspidga, spdr201, spin575, spin683, spwi215, wand14), other stuff (prevent web icon, hold) needs to go.

 

belt10b.spl - thac0 and attack bonus have power of 1 should be 0

dvslothl.spl - same as above

clck25b.spl should have a power level (3) or it kills everything . Keep in mind that most, if not all, SCS mages use some kind of Globe. The way it is now it will fry liches, rakshasa, and any mage foolish enough to cast sequencered magic missiles at a character wielding this item.

 

Fully fixed. Spider's Bane wrongly protected vs much stuff it shouldn't (like ghouls paralysis attack), and failed to fully protect vs Web (you could get slowed). Wrong spell power effects would make people under Globes and similar immune to beneficial aura effects.

Clck25b now may deplete Spell Deflection, but spell power of 3 makes it far less overwhelming (especially with enemies using Globes for protection).

Gonna make a small update next week. I'm gonna release it as a seperate package; when Demi becomes more active he can include it.

For now, what I did/will do:

1) Holy Word/Unholy Word will dispel haste but are no longer counterable by it - you will be able to counter them with Break Enchantement/Freedom etc. To dispel Holy Word effects with Haste or Oil of Speed is silly; and is an unintended consequence of regexp mass patching.

2) further tweaks to Spell Deflection code (hopefully no more hickups this time)

3) traps - most of them I modified to use the correct saving throw (thnx to Subtledoctor for the code; I've made this a long time ago and I think SR could benefit from this for consistency, if only as a seperate component)

4) enemy abilities. This is on my to-do list, and I'll see what I can make of it to make the game more balanced and fun. Some spells enemies use (Divine Mantle and similar) are coded to work as vanilla spells; which creates a discrepancy with SR ruleset. I'll tweak them to adhere to the new rules; by either modifying save type/bonus or overall effect. Example, Mel's Divine Mantle works like a longer-lasting vanilla Apsolute Immunity.

Cute, but given SR's Apsolute Immunity is *apsolute* it's only fair Mel gets the same candy...

5) Haste reverted to AoE

6) I don't know what to do about MSIX. The spell is broken; I'll probably make a component which balances it. Greater Werewolves seem fitting but they don't really fill the role of the basilisk (i.e. basilisk have low hp and are disabling summons, while werewolf is a dps/tank kind of a summon).

6) If anybody has suggestions/ideas/has found things that are disbalanced and similar, post them. I'll make all of these into seperate components so anybody will be able to install whatever he likes and if one wants basilisk galore, he can have it.

+1/2 APR, followed by ~5 rounds of fatigue seems good. And then Imp. Haste give +1 APR, maybe AC bonuses, and no fatigue?

Yes, that's exactly how I handled it. Imp. Haste advantages over Haste are:

1) +0.5 apr (for a total of 1 extra apr)

2) +2 breath saves, AC and THAC0

3) no fatigue

Otoh, 3rd level has a longer (scaling) duration so Imp.Haste doesn't make it's lesser brother totally obsolete.

One more - True Sight/Seeing should probably "cure" Blindness, rather than making one only immune to it.

 

 

I don't understand - why can't you still turn off short-duration pre-buffing with SR? It's still an optional component.

Yeah, but the monster summonings are part of the long-duration prebuffing, it seems. I have the "Mages only cast short-duration spells instantly at start of combat if they are created in sight of the PC" installed, but even mages that are present in the area when my PC arrives have summons precast. I wouldn't mind if they were skeletons, because those last 8 hours, but these last 3 turns.

 

edit: I have attached a screenshot from the Umar Hills dungeon. The lich in question is at the end of the dungeon, far away from the PC.

 

 

I have noticed this as well, also in BG 1 (though it is obviously not MS IX) and would like to change this on my installation. Any one can point me to the right file in SCS revised to change this behaviour? I found several blocks related to pre-buffing, but non-mentioned the summoning spells there.

 

It will be gone in a few days.

I wonder Is it intended that True Seeing(/Sight) grants 'non-dispelable' immunity to blindness.

I don't think so. If no other effects are non-dispelable, this one shouldn't be either.

With revised SCS (probably a bug there instead) and only long-lasting pre-buffs, enemy spellcaster still start short duration summon spells at the start of combat (Summon Monster, mostly slimes)

Fwiw, I've never considered much about these pre-buff options SCS has available (I always use full prebuff and never even tried anything else).

I'll remove these insta summons alltogether. After playing with it for a while, I don't really like it either.

:Haste. It was always party-wide in any D&D game. It is also the counter to slow, which is also an AoE. Really dislike it being single-target.

I already mentioned this to Demi, since I don't like it either.

Here's the score : Haste and it's big brother Imp.Haste are probably the 2 hardest spells to balance in this game. For more than one reason.

One is level 3, other is level 6. Haste opcode is buggy and causes issues, so we removed that. Vanilla game Imp.Haste is basically a 120 second Whirlwind attack for dual-wielders (it's a freakin' HLA!), so you can understand why this spell needed to be toned down.

That leaves you with a hardcoded engine limit of 5 attacks per round. Now, with this taken into consideration, options on balancing these are kinda limited. Numerous things were tested; like Haste being +1 apr; imp.haste being +2 apr etc. ; none of which seemed to balance both spells; when you take their level/effect into account.

Fwiw - I came up with a rather neat tweak for them. It's not included in SR; Demi hasn't responded on it; but it works - I made Haste (level 3) grant + 1/2 apr and gave it an AoE, while removing AC/THAC0 bonuses from it. This way, Imp.Haste is kept really "improved" (no fatigue, bonus AC/Thac0, retains AoE) while Haste is back to its more vanilla flavour (party wide buff, but with only half apr bonus). To make level 3 version a bit more appealing, I've tweaked it's duration to 1 turn+1round/level, so it doesn't get totally obsolete when level 6 version comes online.

Another way to tweak Imp.Haste is to revert it to single-target again, and buff it a bit (I once tweaked it into Executioner's Eyes; so characters would crit on a roll of 15 and above...it's fun since AI uses it and combined with "revised critical hit aversion" from IR it's a blast of a spell).

As it is, this will be quite a nerf to Edwin and Conjurers in general, as they are barred from True Sight and will not be able to dispell spell protections from a protected mage. I know there are items that cast True Sight for you (Gem of Seeing and Book of Infinite Spells with luck), so there are workarounds, but still. Have you considered making True Sight castable on party members?

Yea, Conjurers are definitely nerfed by this; in case of Edwin that might not be so bad however (+2 spells per level amulet? I'm always surprised IR didn't tweak this item...). Note that True Seeing isn't the only spell that counters imp.invisibility.

I'll make the changes about SCS-SR compat next week since I'm finally going on holidays and will have some time on my hands - pre-cast monsters will be gone for good. The thing that really made me change my mind about this is Yaga-Shura battle, that's kinda nuts indeed.

Thnx for feedback, appreciated.

I have installed SCS for BGT using Big World Setup (only basic components), and I have noticed strange behavior of hobgoblins outside Friendly Arm Inn. They seem to unequip their swords and fight with their bare hands. Anyone has encountered this?

Uninstall Lolfixer and try again.

Critical hit immunity prevents 341 effects. Meh...

 

The new beta-y IESDP (I think argent77 is maintaining it?) calls opcode 341 "change critical hit effect." That sounds like it replaces the vanilla effect rather than adding on to it. But when I posted a thread on the Beamdog forums seeking clarification, nobody answered. And I haven't had time to do any kind of testing.

Well, I did test it, no go. 341 should be named "add critical hit effect", 'cause that's what it does. It doesn't replace double damage on non-protected characters.

As a point of note - this opcode works with Critical Strike HLA; so there's definitely a lot of cheese potential here.

Not a bug, but an oversight in Detectable spells - Basilisk creatures can only detect Pro Petrification cast from wizard spell, both the green scroll and Mirror eyes potion are not taken into account for their "smarter" targeting.

But, doesn't the "replace critical effect" EE opcode remove the double damage and use another effect instead? Or does it keep both effects? If the former, then 1) is easy too.

there is this opcode? I tought EE got "critical hit effect" opcode, not "replace critical effect". Critical hit effect doesn't remove double damage afaik.

Isn't there a mod currently active at g3 that replaces double damage with unique effects differing by weapon type?

there is. However, it works so that having a good enough AC is equal to PfMW..with IR, it much easier to obtain godlike AC values than in vanilla game. I remember playing through Ascension with -22 permanent, undispellable AC class. Even Fallen Solars missed on a regular basis with pips in sword&shield style.

The "perfect" solution (for me, at least) would be:

1) remove the double damage from a critical hit, even with no helmet equipped

2) when a critical hit is scored, extra effects are added, be it damage or some debilitating effect

3) IR items which grant protection from critical hits make you immmune to these extra effects

2) and 3) are easy; at least on EE.

1) I don't know if can be made. I wonder if protection from criticals can be applied via .spl file...

Another option would be to apply a permanent -1 to critical chance to everyone; so that; for example:

- a character with a pip in two-handed and/or single weapon style can crit on a roll of 20, but not 19

- dual-wielder or sword + shield guy cannot

This would work on both engines and is trivial to do. Net result - BG1 gnolls are slightly less deadly while Ankhegs/Ghouls/Carrion Crawlers/99% of archer enemies/Gibberlings etc. are harmless, provided you got a full plate on you.

Reports seem to be that Revised Crit Aversion can be a... jarring change. I very much like the idea of making less about "do you have a helmet on?" but have you considered, on the EEs at least, using opcode 340 to just tone down the effects of crits? Say, patch every melee weapon to apply an equipping effect so that crits cause an extra d4 or d6 damage (maybe increasing with level).

 

Downside: this would ruin the fun of crit + backstab craziness. But the point would be better game balance: if crits are way more common, now they will be less earth-shattering and instead just nice occasional bonuses.

Imo, there are three instances in the game where this is really jarring.

One, geting to level 3-4 while in BG1. To have a random gnoll (with SCS, they get pips in 2-handed style so have 10% crit chance) kill you with a single hit is very ugly.

Two, non-stoneskined low HP character (a la Vicionia) having a ranged weapon equiped is likely to be chunked on a critical backstab.

Three, ToB Drow using Critical strike HLA.

Ad.2) and Ad.3) can be worked around with (give some item with critical hit immunity to Viconia and your tanks);

Ad.1) leaves much to be desired - apart from depending on a lot of ranged combat going in melee vs gnolls is a fight you're eventually gonna loose.

What I find very annoying with this is that monsters which can't bypass a certain AC (apart on crit) do freakin double damage *when* they finally hit you, and they can't hit you otherwise.

If one could remove the nonsensical double damage from crit (or say, allow it for certain weapon styles or "keen" weapons) that'd be grand. Or to have a save vs it allowed. Or, to roll to "confirm" the critical hit (as in PnP).

Maybe some stuff could be made on EEs with that STAT opcode about it, I haven't given it much tought however. High DEX = crit immunity? Meh...

Iirc, Demi mentioned a "less hardcore" version of this component - helmets would give immunity, but Ioun stones wouldn't. EEs picked up on his idea apperantly.

My main gripe vs this is that this affects only PCs - there are very, very few enemies (Sendai might be the only one) using Ioun stones. So now you got monks/swashbucklers, otherwise legit frontliners, dying in two-three lucky hits. Not my idea of fun, in any case scenario.

I suppose I would have to do a fresh install of BGT, SR4, atweaks and SCS SR and then do a file check for every file in the overriden folder to make SR4 work in my current build?

Go with what subtledoctor said.

Is there any way to integrate the beta into an already fully modded BGT game with Spell Revisions 3.1?

There is, but I wouldn't recommend it (you'd be spending several days work tweaking stuff with an editor). Depending on your install (I assume SCS and aTweaks) your spells will not protect you from some stuff, they will not dispel some stuff, and AI will often be using different spells than you do.

If you really want v4 on your game I'd reinstall.

Not a bug perhaps but PCs using the SCS AI script will completely avoid attacking disabled targets, even if there are no active enemies left.

 

I'd be very happy for a "Dungeon-B-gone" type mod for SoD that skips through first dungeon, with an optional component that skips through whole BG city and puts you in the first wilderness area in SoD.

 

 

Add SetPrivateProfileString('Script','QAMODE','1') line to baldur.lua, then in-game select Player1 and press B key. Only works in SoD chapters, though.

Fantastic.

Protection from missiles doesn't protect from the duergar archers added by the SCS mod (those that replace goblins) in Jon Bon's dungeon.

Also (though this bug isn't directly SCS-related), the sword spider form (from polymorph self) is not immune to the slow effect of web.

Heh, I never install duergars since I use Dungeon-B-Gone; and I never use polymorph self spell. Will check it out. Fwiw, Pro Missiles is seriously OP in SR anyway, so I don't use that either .

The problem with this would be scripting the reputation drop to work whenever its picked up, or rise when its disposed off, I don't know if its posible.

It's possible, but I don't feel as if Lirarcor is a bloodthirsty sword. Iirc, the reason why it's not changed is that it's one of the most iconic weapons in the game, so Demi assumed people would be against tweaking it. Imo, it's fine as it is; even in BG1 two-handed swords are usually more enchanted than single-handed counterparts.

so I assume Kreso/Demi tried and failed to get in touch.)

Yes.

Is this "Revised SCS" sux SCS, or it is cool SCS?

Imho - if somebody trying to make game like paper-pen rules, it is not a very good for a dynamical PC-video game world. Ok. I will read what a main difference, I hope this SCS have a good 'README".

I don't really understand this question. "revised SCS" is SCS pretty much as it was; I tweaked some stuff which I usually do on my home install and uploaded it. Most of the gameplay changes you'll see come from Spell Revisions v4, not "revised SCS".