zenblack

So in SCS there are two components that are not skipped if SR is installed. They seem redundant but I usually install them anyway since I want to make sure the AI behaves properly. I just want to confirm that you should install them, or if they conflict with anything SR is doing and they can be skipped..

1. ) Breach affecting Liches and Rakashas

2. ) True Sight providing protection from Blind.

So, just to be clear whatever needed to be reuploaded has and you should not use the Spell Shield portion of the beta? Is the Spell Deflection working?

Just edit them with EEKeeper if you have to use the Enhanced Editions.

Kreso: in RR couldn't you just replace the stat check of Improved Haste with Haste and then have it work as intended without getting caught up on the haste blocks? Looking through the other scripts it seems the sorceress script is the only one that checks for improved haste status, the rest are just haste and applying improved haste through reallyforcespell.

If you downloaded the version on Dropbox now it is probably incomplete since it says it was uploaded 5 days ago but this thread hasn't been updated.

Beta Bugs: Original BG2

Hold Animal or Person (Lv3 Druid) counts as a mage spell, can be detected by Cowled Wizards.

Raise Dead Scroll: Raises the dead but as a yellow circle that cannot be interacted with. Interesting thing is Rod of Ressurection has the same effect. However, spells like Raise Dead, Harper's Call, and Ressurection work fine, as well as Raising from a Temple. This might need to be posted in IR.

I don't agree with the Obscuring Mist change. -6 for ranged attacks seems fine, but the melee component only being -2 seems overboard. This is especially true since the spell only lasts 6 rounds.

I'm resisting giving into frustration here, but is this going to be like last year? It has started the same way.

It's because you think he said 2015 when he meant 2016.

Since it already took another day you should have Mad Mate check the tp2 file for anything before you do the release candidate just so you don't get into a v3 hotfix scenario until absolutely necessary.

So does this mean a release is nearing? Its been 2 months since the last beta.

@ Demi

NPC Items - I think you should consider when such an upgrade will come and whether it will feel like a real upgrade or simply putting an otherwise unusued piece of equipment on a character because it's technically better. I find this the case with Valygar's armor (no real options for him and he gets a good effect and good ac, which he needs in vanilla) and Keldorn's armor (this is more of an effect of swimming in basically similar heavy armors with no real choice until a unique).

Arrow of Dispelling - It needs a decent save penalty. -2 to -4 should fit.

Potions - I disagree with people clamoring for dispelling on potions. Most of them have a significantly short duration that they shouldn't be dispelled or can be balanced by lowering duration (I'm thinking Freedom, Clarity, Absorption, Magic Resistance all need to have duration's looked at). For me it has to do with potions getting dispelled on PC's but rather the other way around. The AI needs it's potion effects.

The potion of Mirrored Eyes is an outlier as it is used only very circumstantially and could be reverted to having being dispelled simply because it protects against a very rarely used effect and is only a problem in one area of BG1. I mean if there was a Medusa lair or something that would be different, but as it is, those potions when you rarely get them are usually straight to the sell bag. It's not even worth using them against vampires (the only other thing you really encounter with gaze attacks). Another possibility beside that would have them protect from only one gaze attacks (if possible) thus keeping the protection, but again you would have a problem with the Mutamin encounter since he will still attempt to dispel regardless of what is actually on the PC's.

1.) Not sure if this is IR or SR but Shield no longer protects from magic missiles from Wand of Magic Missiles though the spell Magic Missile is still blocked correctly. This is both on BGT and BG:EE.

2.) Burning Hands doesn't work very well on BG:EE, the aoe backfires on red circle opponents so you can't actually hit them, even if you target the ground. When you target green circles the fire effect goes in the right direction and damage is dealt.

Is there noone who understands Tomahawks?

Before the next version is out I just want to say that Throwing Axes Speed factor is ATROCIOUS, atrocious I say. It takes *forever* to chuck an axe and with the short throw range it frustrates you out of using them.

v7 Feedback

Druids still get Lv3 Gust of Wind spell along with their new icon Lv2 Gust of Wind spell.

Call Woodland Beings description has wrong spells listed (Resist Fire and Cold). Furthermore IMO is too strong for a druid just hitting lvl 7. The dryad summoned has a lot of good spells, call lightning and the two barkskins in particular. On top of having a great spell selection it's blindness ability is OP, combined it makes the spell too much bang for the buck. I think you should consider scaling the spell a bit (ala aTweaks).

Suggestion: use the IWD spell effect Eight Eyes for Moment of Prescience, it looks awesome plus it's Divination-y.

Demi, I don't want to be a pain, but is this newest version of IR going to include some new ideas for items, or is it bugfixes?

Improved Mantle -> Moment of Prescience

@spanyam yeah it's a bit drastic but I love it. Improved Mantle was just a damn overpriced Mantle while Divination school was in dire need of new spells and this one is going to be an extremely good one.

 

What we need to test here is how AI will react to this, tweak it if needed (I do have a plan b for AI sake), and eventually balance the spell a bit based on play-testing (e.g. considering how it work in PnP duration might be lowered a bit if it's too good, and depending on SCS I'd love to make it not affected by Breach)

 

I do need feedback on this spell, as well as the revised Prismatic Mantle (e.g. I'm thinking to lower the weapon immunity to +2 ones as per vanilla Mantle, as the prismatic shield effect are supposed to be the new real deterrent to keep AI mages safe from).

Moment of Prescience (bit of a mouthful, how about 3ed "Precognition") - The AI seems to breach this just fine, I did a test run of a sorc in ToB to see exactly how these worked and I have to say I like both of them. While MoP is good and seems to work fine for avoiding most damage (-20 to -23 AC is hard to hit) but it performs just like Imp Mantle did in essence. Prismatic Mantle seems superior because it passively kicks the shit out of anyone attacking. It was my goto spell for protection because you are virtually guaranteed to kill/disable almost anything attacking your mage because of the enormous damage they take or getting mazed. I'm not sure if it is too good because of that but I always ran out of Prismatic Mantle before MoP even not using other spells on those levels.

This is the kind of packing you buy a case of beer and have your friends come over to help out.

One final tip + question from me to the others here:

In my install, I skipped LVL 1 NPCs component "NPCs more closely match player experience", and I sort of wish I didn't. I find myself wasting valuable time/exp on characters that I don't plan to keep around too long. Right now, I picked up Viconia, an NPC I plan to keep, and she's almost 4000xp behind my main . I'm wondering if it is okay to install just that component of Lvl 1 NPCs now after the playthrough has already started and pick up Viconia freshly. If not, I suppose I can live with it.

 

Well 4000 xp is a drop in the bucket, but if it pulls on your OCD chain you can just use the console to even her up to your PC with CLUAConsole:SetCurrentXP("total you want here") and doesn't require a time wasting reinstall. But again, 4000xp isn't much, even in BG1.