Call Familliar

Since technically this isn't my mod, I didn't write one of my famous readme-s for it. All you need is the stuff Allyx linked to in post #24, unless you downloaded and installed it before my last post. If you did, and you want controlable familiars, then you need the patch from my last post, which is going to get deleted sometime soon.

To install, just unzip it to you ToEE root directory, unless you have all those little mods that came out after 4.0.0. If you have those mods, then follow Allyx's instructions in post #24. Like usual, if you use Front End, make sure the module you wish to install this in is loaded. If you don't use Front End, then you can just unzip without a care.

To use, just drag the familiar to the use button in your inventory screen, then select where you want the familiar to appear. You only summon the familiar from the inventory the first time. After that, you summon it from the radial menu.

@maalri: I like your idea. It would require changing the AI for the familiar, but I think there is already one like that in the game. The non-pirate patrons in the bar in Nulb (the one with Lodris and Skole) just run away any time combat starts. The problem with that is how far do they run, and what if they run into more enemies while running, like what happens sometimes with turned skeletons in Emridy Meadows.

 

Is the cost still 100GP for the first time you summon familiar? Or do you have to pay 100GP each time you summon from the radial menu?

What movement type does the familiar use...ie. does a raven fly (if so can if go over non walkable terrain?), does a toad hop (have similiar attack as a giant frog), etc.

Thanks.

 

ST: Sorry about the confusion...what I meant to ask was would it cost 100GP if you activated the summoned familiar each time (since it only lasts 8 hours).....

However, I've tested out the new summon familiar and here's what I've noticed...

1) cost appears to be 0. It's supposed to cost 100GP, but my pc didn't have any reduction in GP when he summoned his familiar.

2) The summoned familiar is controllable so long as you are not in combat. Once combat was engaged, the familiar acted on its own...charging straightaway into the fray....(anyway to make it where the familiar can be controlled as if it were a pc in the party?) This leads me to my next point.

3) Familiar cannot be placed into party formation.

4) Familiar's stats remain hidden, to include HP...unless you activated the mod that allows you to see all NPC hit points....I'd like to see my familiar's but don't want to see the NPCs hps...Anyway that familiar's stats...ie to hit, damage, movement, special abilities/defenses, etc. can be viewable from an inventory screen rather than by using the combat roll log?

5) The picture of the familiar in combat is that of a white arrow....also, is there anyway to make the familiar's picture appear at the bottom, as though it were part of the party...?

6) Picture of the familiar remains in the inventory and cannot be dropped. This takes up a valuable slot, anyway that the icon can be removed or is there a reason to keep it in the inventory?

....all-in-all a good implementation....I tried with a toad, hawk, and snake...they seemed to have different ACs....when I cast mage armor on the toad, it had a 20 AC (according to the combat roll log)...also that was the only way that I could look at his bonus/penalties to hit and damage.

EDIT...Just tried with an owl familiar....the owls doesn't fly he walks/runs...is this fixable so that he will fly similar to hawk?

 

Let me try to answer some of this.

1) Technically, when you call your familiar in the first place, i.e. you choose which type of familiar you want and you get that glowing pentagram thing on your character and the familiar appears in you inventory, that is when it is supposed to cost you. That particular bit of software wizardry is hard coded in the game, and we have no idea how to change the fact that it doesn't. What this mod does is let you get the familiar out of your backpack and into the game. We called it summoning a familiar because it works kind of like a summoning spell (actually, it works very much like a summoning spell), but really what is going on is that you took your familiar out of your backpack. We set it up with an 8 hour duration because you may not want the familiar out of your backpack all the time. Once it goes back in, you can always take it out again.

2) You are either playing with 8 characters in your party (PCs + NPCs) or you are using version 1 of the mod. With version 2, if you have less than 8 characters in your party, the familiar joins the party like an NPC, and you can control it in combat. And you can place it in the formation. Of course, you would know all this already if you had bothered to read everything from post #24 on in this thread.

3)See above.

4) The familiar is just like an NPC. There is no way to get it's stats to show any more than an NPCs stats show. With version 2 and less than 8 characters in the party the familiar shows up like an NPC in the party line up and you can see everything you can see for a NPC in your party.

5) The white arrow means you do not have the portraits. They come with the Portrait & Voice Packs. I will include them at the end of this post as well. As far as the familiars portrait showing up in the party line up at the bottom of the screen, see 2 and 4 above.

6)The reason the familiar icon stays in your inventory is because it is that icon that gives your character the bonus that having a familiar brings. If we removed it, you would lose the bonuses. The first way we tried implementing this was by adding yet another object to your inventory to keep track of which familiar belonged to which character. You should be grateful we figured out a way to do this without it.

So here are the portraits. Just unzip to your ToEE root directory. If you use Front End, make sure the mod you wish to install this in is loaded before you unzip. If you are using the Portrait & Voice Packs, you do not need this mod.

Familiar Portraits.zip

 

Cerulean...

First off kudos to you and the others who created the call familiar mod. I think it's cool, it adds flavor, and is well just cool....

However, I do take offense to this comment...

I must admit that I read the entire thread, and that specific post (post #24) at least two times. This is the part that I confess was confusing...

Evidently I misinterpreted what was being stated by the "UPDATED to include Ceruleans script fix below." For you see, I read that as including the fix listed below. Evidently it didn't because it didn't work or as I stated in the line above, I misinterpreted its meaning.

Okay, didn't know that I needed the portrait and voice packs....I will d/l the familiar portraits listed at the end of the reply.

Okay, seems like a suitable workaround. I was just curious and you answered my question. Thanks. I must say I am surprised by your arrogance vis-a-vis this comment, "You should be grateful....without it." I am grateful, but really, that comment wasn't necessary.

C, thanks again. Peace out. MB

 

C,

Downloaded the portrait pack...all issues resolved. thank you.

Downloaded the mod 2...all issues resolved. thank you.

MB

 

Yeah, I get a little pissy when somebody's first post about a mod I spen 5 straight 18 hour days trying to get work sounds pretty much like nothing but a bunch of complaints. I appologize. Allyx and Darmagon and I got it to work the best we could at the time. And I appologize again because apparently Allyx did not update the link to reflect V2 of the mod.

So, since the link in Allyx's post is broken (since I deleted V1 because I thought he had updated the link), here it is again:

Summonable Familiar V3.zip - Contains the orignal mod, the change to make the familiars more controlable (added to your party like an NPC) and the portraits.

Summonable Familiars V2.zip - Contains everything in V3 except the portraits. If you are using the Portrait & Voice Packs, use this version.

Edit: If you are using Darmagons new spells and/or Sober Elmo you will still want the attached files from post #24 in this thread, and (if you don't already have the Portrait & Voice Packs) the portrait fix from post #35.

 

Where's the Sober Elmo mod?

And Blue, if I am using the new Voice/portrait packs, I just download the V2 link you posted and run with that, right?

 

That is correct.

 

Call Familliar Bug?

Don't know if this has been mentioned before....but after my wizard summoned his familiar, when I right clicked on my pcs I would get a crash to desktop. This happened during the opening scene of the game at the trader's caravan. later when I ended up in verbobonc (NG vignette) I tried right clicking and was allowed to see the radial menu. But when i clicked Inventory, CTD. Same thing when I got to Hommlet. Anyone have any ideas why this is happening?

MB

 

Early on in the developement of the Summonable familiar I had the same bug. I remember I found the problem and fixed it, but now I don't remember what the problem was. All I know is that I haven't had it since. If you PM me with the code from Spell 760-Summon Familiar.py I will take a look at it. It might be something slipped into the download that wasn't supposed to.

By the way, which version did you download? Are you using it with Co8 4.0.0?

 

C,

I downloaded all the d/ls from the file and the summon familiar no longer gives me the CTD. On a different note, when I created new characters and added them to the initial party screen, their portraits are right adjusted and only take up about 80% of the small box. have you seen this before?

edit....just tried again and this time the portraits are regular size.

Thanks for all your help.

 

It could have been that you were using a protos other than the stock 4.0.0 one, and had items that weren't supported by the stock one that came with the mod.

The portrait thing happens sometimes with a custom portrait.mes file. It doesn't happen all the time, and it only seems to effect the party pool, not game play. I still haven't been able to figure out why it happens.

MB, you might be pleased to hear that we are working on an owl familiar that actually flys.