WanderingScholar

@Bartimaeus I've found a bug in my current game I'm hoping you can shed some light on. After 4 separate installs and hours of testing it would seem that SCSv31 RC3 + kreso's Spell Revisions compatibility runs SRR the smoothest out of any version of SCS I've tested thus far, at least with the original BGT. SCSv32 seems to be the cutoff point where I start observing anomalous behavior with the AI, which I suspect might be due to how sequencers, contingencies, triggers, and targeting were reworked. But it could also be some outstanding compatibility issues. In any event, I've had some major breakthroughs this week after I found @DavidW's free WeiDU course. If anyone on this site learned how to mod with WeiDU strictly through reverse engineering while having no coding background, hats off to them. Now with my current list I set "chaos=1" in spell_rev\settings.ini so that chaos is not replaced with waves of fatigue. The problem is that none of the casters in my game received chaos in their spell selection despite the .2da's in stratagems\mage\spellchoices\demivrgvs having CHAOS(5th) in their lists. Curiously, all casters have sphere of chaos(7th) memorized in place of chaos, even if they shouldn't be able to cast 7th level spells. spell_rev\components\main_component.tpa has I think this might be the culprit. It happens regardless of chaos=1. Why does this spell use REPLACE_TEXTUALLY as opposed to APPEND in spell.ids? Now when I crack open spellchoices\demivrgvs in SCSv34 it has WAVES_OF_FATIGUE in it's .2da's so I'm thinking I should either copy that change to my end for the next install or move these lines between BEGIN and END.

I'll test this out later on my BGT install. Just to make sure I understand the behavior correctly. SRR non-detection states: "the wizard makes the recipient undetectable by spells such as Detect Invisibility, Invisibility Purge, and True Seeing" and "specific creatures affected with Detect Invisibility or True Seeing will still be able to target the recipient with spellcasting through their improved invisibility for as long as those spells are active, assuming the recipient has already revealed themselves" Also, after a quick check, Lavok, unlike other liches, doesn't seem to have "Invisibility detection (193)". This might be different on your install. On mine it's not on either of his .cre's nor on any item he carries. BTW I've also noticed spellcasters trying to melee. Assuming we're just facing a regular spellcaster without this opcode the expected behavior should be: Any wizard with detect invis/true seeing would not be able to detect you until you commit a hostile action. At that point they would be able to target you with anti-magic spells only as per SCS rules. Creatures with op (193) would presumably not need detect invis/true seeing, but the latter targeting rule (only anti-magic) should still apply? Or maybe (193) allows targeting with any spell, I can't remember. Bart, this probably doesn't need to be said, but I noticed in your misc. files SR settings.ini you had "anti_magic_spells_pierce = 0". I assume SCS corrects this behavior, but maybe not since it states in the readme v34 under Non-Spell Revisions changes: "Antimagic attacks penetrate improved invisibility" and "These changes are made only if you are not playing with Spell Revisions." I set this to 1 in my own game just to be safe.

Like you mentioned, I too prefer it protecting from all weapons. High level scs mages use PFMW as a primary combat protection over renewing mirror images or stoneskins. It also removes the temptation of the player to keep non-magical weapons around as a way to bypass the protection.

It certainly could be intentional. In that case, all that's needed is an updated description.

Just a heads up, The PFMW bug granting immunity to normal weapons still exists in your spwi611.spl I suppose now is a good time to ask if it hasn't been addressed already. Have you ported over the fixes from 4.19rc1 into your files? I've been installing SRR over top.

Am I correct in assuming I can edit the .2da files in the "spellchoices" directory to influence the picks on install? Does SCS build the combat scripts based on these choices assuming they're legal and valid for the given classes?

I'd like to prevent some of the new spells from being installed. For instance, I prefer the vanilla lightning bolt to SRR's. If I comment out the relevant lines in "main_component.tpa" is this sufficient? For lightning bolt it's: What files handle the updated descriptions? I assume I'll need to edit those as well.

Just thought I'd chime in... I'm also noticing some disparities in the latest release of SCS and previous versions. On a number of tests I've run the AI is behaving rather strange, especially for certain casters (max settings). The Shade Lich, for instance, was almost completely idle during some of his timestops, cast spells at his own fallen planetar, and tried to melee with 90% of his spellbook still intact. I'm going to revert to v33.4 for my next install to run some more tests, and see if I can confirm some of my suspicions. I'm playing on classic BGT with SR+SRR installed, so maybe this has something to do with it and SCS isn't at fault here.

Thanks for keeping this game alive and fresh all these years DavidW. Much appreciated! I have a quick question about if or how SCS interfaces with the "altered progression tables" component that is now part of Tweak Anthology. Does altering these tables affect the number of spells SCS assigns to npc's? I'm assuming it uses these altered tables. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether or not I should use the altered tables? Thanks

I didn't want to start a new thread for this but does anyone know how SR interfaces with the Refinements Mod? On my next install, I'm thinking of trying SR+Refinements+SCS (with the "treat HLA's as innates" option). I'm no modder but something tells me I'm going to see problems...though maybe not.

It actually never bothered me that liches teleport (or even other high level mages for that matter). The infinity engine games have always struggled to combat "out of sight" tactics used by the player. In vanilla BG2 the most common way to approach liches was to send in wave after wave of summons while party members camped off screen. Although it's not as bad as going in and out of areas to avoid spells it still exploits engine limitations. I think it could be justified that high level mages use divination to locate you, but that's just my 2 cents. I'm surprised to learn that the teleporting is actually a bug in SCS. Maybe the mechanic can be improved somehow? The control undead ability of evil clerics definitely could use some tweaking. Another frustration beside the one you mentioned is that often even while controlled the undead will still run away in fear as if they've been turned. This means you have to constantly corral them even though you technically have control.

Wow, I had no idea they implemented this in the latest patch. I guess the EET mod uses the BG2EE 2.5.16.6 engine, so I wouldn't notice this. So this will be fixed in the next patch for BG2EE? It's hard to keep track of everything over several forums.

Impending the possible release of SCSv32 I thought I'd mention some features that I think would be good inclusions in the next version. It seems that several components of TobEx that I consider essential to an install never made it into the Enhanced Editions. Specifically these three: -Apply Concentration Check On Damage [WIP] Instead of always being interrupted when hit, spellcasters have a chance of their spells being interrupted. This is governed by a concentration check. A spellcaster passes the concentration check if (1D20 + luck) > (spell level + damage taken). The details of this component are subject to change. -Awaken On Damage Creatures will awaken from sleep when hit. -No Spell Interruption On Zero Damage Spellcasting is not interrupted if a creature takes zero damage (i.e. immune). In my latest install of EET, I did some testing and while I can confirm that you still get interrupted on a 0 damage tick, the concentration check seems inconsistent. Priests seem to be able to take a certain amount of damage without being interrupted while mages do not. If you're doing any sort of "hardcore run" like soloing then being interrupted as a caster (especially if you're "immune") is very annoying. It would be nice to have standardized concentration checks for priest and mage spells as listed above. Any thoughts or confirmations?