How do you address the matter which makes NPCs (like Spugnoir) have their height listed as 0'0 and their attributes listed as blank/dashes (-) ? Are there any mods to fix this blatant bug/omission? Thanks.
There isn't, sorry. I'm not sure if we even could make it show the stats without a .dll hack, which we are currently unable to do.
And just in case you don't know. That's not a bug... it's just the way Troika did it. Your control over NPCs in the original ToEE was limited to control in combat. They levelled up themselves. Troika guys hid their stats/alignments, etc. because the player could easily reveal their secrets and agendas.
Are there other recruitable NPCs or other mods which allow you to hire NPCs whose height isn't listed as 0'0 / attributes listed as blank ?
So they playtested the game, and saw height listed as "0'0" and all the attributes listed as "-" and thought... "perfect" ? Shouldn't the PC get an impression or estimation as to the approximate strength/height/weight/intelligence of NPCs (such as Spugnoir) ? And how does listing the strength or height of an NPC reveal their secrets and agendas ? I was at websites (such as sorcerers.net) which actually list the attributes of those NPCs, and specifically, Spugnoir as, 10/14/14/16/10/6. So why is it when I move the cursor to the attributes on the character sheet, it says 'click for more information" and I click and get nothing. It seems to me (and thousands of others) that TOEE could've been one of the greatest RPGs of all time (it's isometric graphics and Troika engine is supreme imo), but so many corners were cut, things omitted, concerns unaddressed, elements unrefined, that it ends up being an amateurish bugfest, a shoddy game with numerous kinks and quirks... (which brave and bright modders have fixed for the most part).
Exactly. The player was NOT meant to know the NPCs exact details, any more than an NPC controlled by the DM who joins your party in a pnp game announces his exact stats, or even how tall he is under the cloak. Thats exactly what they get - an ability to estimate. They can estimate his strength because they know how much he carries before becoming encumbered. They can estimate his intelligence by how many spells he prepares. They can estimate his height by looking at his model. There is no 'weight' in ToEE that I have noticed. And as Maggit said, originally the NPCs were meant to be basically autonomous - they looted, sold, levelled etc independantly. You didn't get to know what they were doing behind the scenes - that was their business. I dare say it wasn't implemented as well as it could be, and maybe changes by later modders have left the height thing standing alone as the great unknowable about NPCs. But since height plays no role in the game, so what?