Our installation situation is a disaster - the saga of Co8 4.0.0

Re: Our installation situation is a disaster

Exactly, that's what I'm thinking about it too! (I'm talking about the Mass ID, not the Analyze Dweomer - that one is per the rules) :doublethu
They can go into the Co8 4.0.0 package but as an *option*, so if someone really wants it he can check the appropriate checkbox in the installer and install it. Those who don't want it should be free to choose NOT to install it.

- Agetian

 

Re: Our installation situation is a disaster

I think that ed.py should be left out since Co8 4.0.0 is going to be a player's package. Using certain commands from 'ed' can stimulate cheating on the player's part (not that I'm saying that cheating is impossible without ed, I'm just hinting at the fact that ed makes it easier ). Editor's helper script is for developer packages (useful for modders). I will leave the final decision to you, Cerulean. You have the permission to include it (if you give an appropriate credit, as usual), but I don't think it'll really do players a lot of good if you included it... (?)

- Agetian

 

Re: Our installation situation is a disaster

Yeah him and every other modder. Hence we have a variety of mods that add, erm, spice to the game, but the higher maths stuff like working out clipping, funnily enough, has no takers. Not me! I'd rather add sheep

I reckon Mass ID is harmless enough, if we say make it a 5th level spell, charge a 1000gp to use it (so its not really a cheat to get around paying 100gp a time) and only give it to Bards to compensate for their lore-related stuff they lose. But it IS a non-rules spell so if people object to that, I understand and personally don't mind. I would like to see Analyse Dweomer do more than just a mass id along the lines I mentioned in other threads but then I am not going to be the one to implement it (I have tried new spells and got nowhere - wtf are all those 'print' things for???)) so I will bow to the whims of whoever wants to. I don't think we should hold up C08 4 for it though, it can go in later. Or go in now just as a mass id if you like since that is already done. Where is Darmagon when we need him?

Hey C-Blue, sounds like some nice work on the swamp road!!!

 

Re: Our installation situation is a disaster

'Print' commands are used to print out certain debug information to the console, e.g. when the spell is initiated, when it's finished, etc. By default printing out the debug information is disabled, but you can enable it by marking the appropriate option in the DLL editor of ToEEWB. Beware, though, that when the debug 'print'ing is enabled, certain things in the console may not work correctly, so you may want to enable it only for a certain time and then revert it back (by resetting that flag in ToEEWB's DLL editor).

On a side note, you should go online in MSN more often so I can answer your questions in interactive mode

- Agetian

 

Re: Our installation situation is a disaster

Yes I should, but despite all this spamming I am trying to keep my online presence at a minimum and work on KotB.

I understand that about the printing but what does printing to console have to do with making the spell work? Or could u skip all that?

 

Re: Our installation situation is a disaster

The trick is - you don't really need all that stuff to make the spell work (as far as I know at least - haven't fiddled much with the spell scripts myself). Unless those commands are used internally by the game for something else (other than the debug printing), you can get rid of 'em real easy without any side effect. I think it only takes one minute to test (get rid of all of 'em in some easy spell like a magic missile and see if it still works )

On another side note, we could have easily talked about it right now in the MSN without actually spamming this thread.

- Agetian

 

Re: Our installation situation is a disaster

We COULD, but where's the fun in that????

More to the point, I hope this is vaguely useful to other people. Though perhaps it isn't the correct thread to discuss the inner workings of spells.

One last question: what about all those spells where "onBegin" etc, the ONLY script is this print thing? I mean it is most of the scripting. Can we assume the game automatically does everything else (like playing the 'spell begin' sound effect in snd_spells.mes or the appropriate animations to look like casting)?

Example: from Dimensional Anchor (picked at random):

Is there a spell effect playing here? If so, how?

 

Re: Our installation situation is a disaster

It can mean one of two things:
1) There is no code for "OnBegin" for your example, so the only thing that's really done is the debug printing so that the developer can trace the spell calls.
2) The code for OnBegin is actually in temple.dll and is handled by a C++ routine, so the Python counterpart for it is empty, containing only the debug printing command to trace an external spell call if the developer needs it.

- Agetian