I am building a set of skill mods, but I am having some difficulty finding some of the more complex XMLs in the base game files. This is my first experience creating mod, as well as my first experience with coding at all so a lot of digging and altering of existing skill levels and spells. Okay, back to the problem at hand. I am trying to put the ability to dual wield weapons into a skill at level 3 (starting from 0) as well as give weapon specific bonuses and procs. I am also trying to give the characters items, or recipes on a certain level up. Attached are my mod ideas so far. Any help will be vastly appreciated.
Can anyone help this fellow? I would but don't have enough mod knowledge. Has the ability to do weapon-specific things or dualwield-specific things been added since launch?
~sigh~ Unless anyone else rises to the challenge, give me one day. It'll be the last day of a crazy work set-up that I have here before quite a lot of time off so I'll be able to "waste" some of it then. And no, it is not possible to make skill-based requirements for items, at least not without a massive rewrite of the whole item database (the one about "ability to dual wield weapons"); specific bonuses for weapons based on skills are the same in that this would require a rewrite, albeit in this case it's possible to make a set of weapons designed to work with the skills which would decrease the amount of work required.
Thank you Kazeto for helping me out with this! I admit that I bit off more than I could chew for my first mod, so it a great honor that such an amazing and talented modder as yourself is helping me with this.
Well, I said I will try and there aren't any results yet so there's no reason to thank me (either "yet" or "at all"). Not to mention that I wouldn't exactly call myself "amazing" or "talented" (ah, the wonders of faux humility, or something). Still, thank you for the kind words. On that note, I just took a look at the files you have and well... Balance issues aside (it is your first mod, after all, and it appears to be something more for flavour and theme rather than balance; not to mention that you are free to balance it however you want regardless of other people's opinions), some of the things you envisioned aren't exactly possible without either going to coding hell or altering the design. So I will make a list of it from the start to the end, and then you'll say what is it that you want done with it. None of these will be strictly about balance and only about whether it is possible or not, and if not, some possible alternatives listed. In the same vein, I'm only commenting on the code and not on the art (icons and such) required for it as my style isn't something you'd ever want to use in DoD. Depending on your answer, we'll get... something. Gandalf skill tree: Tier 0 skill (Lover of Lórien) - A simple passive bonus with no requirements. Easily doable. Tier 1 skill (Istari Staff) - A randomly triggered spell which only activates when wielding a particular sort of weaponry. Making the spell itself is easy, but because this skill tree is not a weapon proficiency skill tree for staves (it can't be because it is regulated by the skill IDs, and every skill tree needs a different ID) it can't be triggered with a dependency on the equipped items. It can, however, be made to only effect an effect when the stances for staves are activated, which isn't the same but probably could be declared "close enough". It would take a bit more time to make the text which usually shows when something procs show properly, but that can also be done and it's merely a visual bonus rather than something the whole thing relies on. Tier 2 skill (You're a Wizard!) - A simple passive bonus with an item being given when taking the level. Easily doable. Tier 3 skill (Ambidextrous?) - A skill/spell I know nothing about and a passive bonus with weapon dependency. The skill might be possible (I still don't know what exactly it is supposed to be doing so I can't just reject it), a passive bonus dependent on the type of wielded weapon is not. It is possible to instead make a buff which will only exist when a stance for sword weapons is active - not the most elegant of solutions (you'd get a buff taking place on the screen much of the time), but it can be done that way and it would be "close enough". Tier 4 skill (Troll Sword) - A passive bonus dependent on the type of weapon equipped. The same as above, not possible via normal means but it's possible to make a work-around by making it only do anything if the buff from the 3rd tier skill is there (which would be "close enough"). Tier 5 skill (Warg Repellent) - A normal spell with no requirements. Easily doable, and while the description is a bit ambiguous in the "changes" I think I know what it is supposed to be doing. Tier 6 skill (White Cloak) - Some passive bonuses and a spell. The passive bonuses are easily doable, and the skill appears to be the same but I'm not quite sure what it was supposed to be doing since you wrote "permanent buff" and I don't know if that is supposed to refer to the passive bonuses or those from the spell, and there is the word "alter" in the description of the spell itself which is also a bit confusing. So if you could comment on that it would be great. Tier 7 skill (Gift of the Valar) - A normal spell with no additional requirements. Easily doable. Gimli skill tree: Tier 0 skill (Dwarven Heritage) - A passive bonus which I reckon would always work, with a randomly triggered spell dependent on the type of weapon equipped. The passive bonus is easy, the proc not doable normally. Instead it can be done the same way as the above proposals of mine for staves-based and swords-based skills with it having effect only if any of the axe stances is in effect (which would be "close enough"). Tier 1 skill (Wrong book!) - A simple activated spell with a passive bonus. Easily doable. Tier 2 skill (You're a Dwarf!) - A passive bonus with a recipe being given when taking the skill. Easily done. Tier 3 skill (Son of Glóin) - A simple activated spell and a passive bonus. Easily done. Tier 4 skill (Fellowship) - A passive bonus and a simple activated spell. Easily done. Tier 5 skill (Diggy Diggy Hole!) - A passive bonus and a simple activated spell. The same, easily done. Legolas skill set: Tier 0 skill (Elvish Scavenging) - A damage bonus on crossbow attacks. Easily done. Tier 1 skill (Related to Keebler) - A passive bonus with a simple activated spell. Easily done. Tier 2 skill (You're an Elf!) - A passive bonus with a recipe being given when taking the skill. Easily done. Tier 3 skill (Tight Tights!) - A passive bonus with an item being given when taking the skill. Easily done. Tier 4 skill (Woodland Gathering) - A chance to randomly trigger a spell with a simple effect, with the proc chance varying depending on the attacked creature. Rather easily done. Tier 5 skill (Magical Poisoning) - Two randomly triggered spells coming from one skill tier. Easily done, and I assume the damage listed is for the second spell (the one which imitates Thaumite Nest). Tier 6 skill (Unlikely Friends) - A simple activated spell. Easily done. Now, outside of the answers of whether the proposed alternatives are acceptable and the clarifying of what is Gandalf's 6th tier skill supposed to be doing exactly, there is only one other question. Do you want the code for that, or do you want to be taught how to write that?
I would like to learn how to write the code. I have begun some of the coding process with anything I can pull from Dredmod, these forums and the mods I currently have. Posted is what I have so far (it is not much yet). The idea behind skill 6 (White Cloak) was to imitate Warlockery's "Magical Maille" in only using mana when taking hits, only with a set of stats instead of resistbuffs. For some reason the attached skillDB does not open as an .xml. Any thoughts on balance will be accepted graciously and contemplated deeply. I have decided to make the stats apart of the basic skill instead of attaching them to weapons, however if we can attach procs to stances that should be just fine (if possible the scaling damage should be %100 proc, if the only way to make it work is through the spellDB). At the moment I have no idea what to do with Gandalf's level 3 (Ambidextrous?), thoughts?
Before you read it, please keep in mind that I am not the best person when it comes to balance. Whatever I do usually ends up being underpowered, so I try to compensate and sometimes get to the other side of the problem thus making it slightly overpowered. With all that, due to the fact that I can only check for balance by comparing it to my idea of it (which is a bit skewered, as I just said), I can and sometimes am wrong when it comes to balance. Therefore, do not treat my words regarding balance as "absolute truth", ever. But now, I'll comment what I think about it from the beginning: _________________________________________ Gandalf skill set: Tier 0 - 2 mana regeneration and 2 sight for a starting skill is, without a doubt, excessive. Even if you halved the bonuses (to 1 MR an 1 sight) it would still be a solid starter as sight bonuses from skills are rare and mana regeneration from starting tiers is a really good bonus for wizards (it doesn't appear to be when you just begin, but it really is). Tier 1 - Assuming one reaches magic power of about 100 near the end of the game, it means this is a tier 1 skill which grants a 10% chance to get additional 47 aethereal damage when wielding staves, which means a bonus of 4,7 point of it on average, as well as a passive bonus of 3 magic power. On one hand the damage bonus is only active when using a particular sort of weaponry and requires fighting as a wizard, but on the other hand a bonus of 4,7 damage points and 3 magic power is in itself really good, especially with the type of damage it gives (aethereal is one of the best damage types to get, monster resistance-wise). The added debuff (which, with 10% chance of getting it would already make it into a decent tier 1 skill even without the other bonuses) doesn't really help. So what I propose is decreasing the magic power bonus to 1 or 2 and decreasing the damage from 2 + 0,45 scaling to 4 + 0,25 scaling, with the higher starting damage being there to offset the decrease in scaling on the beginning. With a 10% chance to proc that would make it into an average of 3 points of damage per attack in the late game, good for a tier 1 skill but not something you'd call game-breaking. Tier 2 - Even if we ignore the item which is being given for taking this level (since it can be obsoleted), 2 points of sagacity with 7 more points of magic power for a tier 2 skill is quite a lot. In fact, halving these (to either +1/+4 or +1/+3 instead of +2/+7) would still leave the skill worth taking. Tier 3 - Here I will await your decision regarding the skill, so no comment. Tier 4 - The same as the tier 1 skill, this one adds quite a lot of damage, of an even more valuable type at that (righteous is pretty much the best damage type in the game) and with a higher proc chance (15% versus 10% of the tier 1 skill), with the additional debuff being centred on damage rather than being a pure debuff. And in comparison with the tier 1 skill it has no passive bonuses, but instead the proc rate is 50% higher (not 50 percent points, mind you) which results in the average end-game damage bonus being 48 per strike (assuming magic power of 100) at a 15% rate and thus the average damage added being 7,2 points. That is quite a lot, even ignoring the additional damage from the debuff (because it's hard to compare damage over time to regular damage without in-game testing), and the one saving grace is that one has to choose between the tier 1 skill or this one). Which means that, if anything, the damage has to be higher than that of the tier 1 skill, but on the other hand it can't be too high lest it becomes overpowered. So what I propose is adding 1 point of righteous damage to all attacks (so that the skill would not be useless for those without the sword proficiency skill tree), and decreasing the damage from 3 + 0,45 scaling to 2 + 0,20 scaling - the higher proc rate means the average end-game damage bonus would be 1 from the passive bonus and 3,6 point from the proc, for a total of 4,6 point - still great, but at least a bit more toned down. Tier 5 - Well, the original had its minimal mana cost higher than yours (9 versus 7) and the overall damage also lower (2 + 0,2 scaling impact with 4 + 0,45 scaling AoE, versus 2 + 0,25 scaling impact with 4 + 0,55 AoE), but on the other hand it is a tier 5 spell instead of tier 3 which means that it's balanced, or at least close to being balanced. Tier 6 - This one is rather problematic. I do understand it is supposed to be a major power boost, but for it to be balanced the stat bonuses would have to be decreased to about a half of their current values, or even something between a half and a third. Tier 7 - Here we have what would be a copy of Astonomy's ultimate skill, with the one difference being damage. Whereas "The Stars Aligned" deals 28 + 0,71 scaling points of aethereal damage, with the end-game damage being 99 points (assuming 100 magic power), this spell is supposed to deal 20 + 0,75 scaling points of righteous damage with 10 + 0,75 points of aethereal damage added to it, resulting in the total of 95 + 85 = 180 damage. Yes, it would have two damage types instead of one now which means more of it could be lost to resistances, but resistances to both righteous and aethereal damage are really rare, and even if it would be a tier 7 skill instead of a tier 5 one, it's still an 80% increase in damage. So what I propose is taking the scaling for both righteous and aethereal damage down to 0,50 and 0,45 respectively. That way the end-game damage would be 70 righteous and 55 aethereal, for a total of 125 - still worth it, but not as obviously over the top. _________________________________________ Gimli skill set: Tier 0 - A bonus of 1 point to smithing, coupled with a 20% chance to deal additional damage and put a debuff in melee when using axes. Quite a lot of additional damage in fact, as melee power can go up almost as high as magic power and this is a tier 0 skill, and a 20% chance of putting the debuff itself without any additional damage would be a good starter. But I will leave the decision to you, though personally I'd decrease the scaling to low or even nigh-inexistent making it mostly about the debuff. Tier 1 - As far as I can tell, it seems fine in terms of balance. Tier 2 - Simple bonuses and a recipe being given out. Personally I'd decrease the melee power bonus from 2 to 1, but it can stay the way it is without being a problem. Tier 3 - Outside of the effect of invisibility, there is a passive bonus. And I will be frank - 3 armour absorption from any non-capstone skill tier is just too much. Even "Master of Arms" which is the capstone for the game's armour-wearing skill, only gives you 2 points of that at once; sure, it does give you other bonuses too but it's a tier 4 capstone of a skill tree centred on defence whereas this is a tier 3 skill of a mixed skill tree. So I would decrease the armour absorption bonus to 1, maybe increasing the burliness bonus from 1 to 2 points if that makes the skill too weak. Tier 4 - I'll just leave it be. It's potent, but not game-breaking. Tier 5 - The same as above. _________________________________________ Legolas skill set: Tier 0 - Considering you hadn't listed the chances, I assume the damage bonus is supposed to trigger every time. And with that, it is far too strong. With the 20% bonus to recovery rate at tier 0, even a simple 1 point of piercing damage without any scaling at all as a constant bonus would be good. Tier 1 - As far as I can tell, it's fine, though a bit on the strong side as danishes are worth more than fruits. Tier 2 - Honestly, with the bonuses it has now it is a bit is on the strong side. But that's it, so while personally I would decrease the bonus to trap sight from 2 to 1, it might as well stay the way it is. Tier 3 - It depends on how exactly is the associated spell supposed to work, but it would probably be prudent to decrease the passive bonuses a bit (to +1/+6 instead of +2/+8, for example). Tier 4 - Considering the planned chances of getting the crafting material it appears balanced overall. Of course there's the potential of grinding vegetables but it's dependant on the RNG so it would have to be tested in the game for that. Tier 5 - The tier 3 skill from Archery gives 5% recovery chance, 1 point of piercing damage, and 22% chance of triggering Fleshbore. This tier 5 skill trades that 1 point of damage for additional 5% points recovery chance and additional 28% points (to a total of 50% chance) of triggering Fleshbore with a 5% chance to trigger a somewhat weakened thaumite swarm. And Fleshbore is a useful debuff, not to mention the thaumites. Honestly, I think that lowering the chance for Fleshbore to proc from 50% to 30% would be the appropriate course of action here. Tier 6 - In terms of balance it's fine.
Mhm, good answer. So it is as a I though, then. The spell is merely activated and not perpetual. In which case it's rather easy to code it in. Well, it was silly for me to assume it might have been the other possibility - people aren't that insane normally. It is simple - it had been created as a ".txt" file and unless you know how to do it (in which case it's rather easy), changing extensions of already existing files is a bit of a hassle. Not too difficult though, as all it takes is changing the extension. On that note, I think you ought to get a "better" text editor than the default one your system has. Most of the "more advanced" ones do have the option to easily rename files which are being edited, and that includes changing the extensions of any files opened with them. Personally I use "Notepad++" for that, but others can recommend other programs, most of them on similar level of usefulness to the one I mentioned. It's not a problem, what you want to do is to give the skill normal bonuses and a proc to a spell which will then get it all going. Now, let's say that the effect you want is "Spell A" and the spell which is being triggered is "Spell B". "Spell B" will trigger two spells, "Spell C" and "Spell D", and that is all "Spell B" will be doing. Then, "Spell C" will check if one of the two stances we are looking for is here and trigger "Spell A" if it is (via 'requirebuffontrigger="1"'), and "Spell D" will do the same for the other stance we are looking for, also triggering "Spell A" if it is there. I can give you the code for that small trigger web if you have troubles understanding what I wrote here (or if you have trouble getting it to work), but I reckon you'll manage to figure out how to do it. That one isn't really hard to do - as you mentioned, making a proc which always triggers and giving it non-scaling damage works. Additionally, you can make its name not appear by appending a lot of spaces to the beginning of its name (the name will still be displayed when it procs, but the letters will be out of the screen and thus not visible). Well, you could either try to make it into something which would match the name, or simply come up with an alternate skill. In the first case, I'd have to think about it for a while since I have no ideas currently. And in the latter case, you would have to look at the character in question and decide which of his achievements or skills presented in the books (and/or movies) you would want to use. Myself, I am actually wondering why a "Gandalf" skill set has no reference to the "you shall not pass" scene, and I think it might be a good substitute. PS. The forum hates my messages now. Something about there being too many words. Forum, why?
So, I have taken your advice on balance. It was all very reasonable. I increased the mana loss per hit on White Cloak from 2 to 3 and reduced the base stats to something a little more reasonable; Reduced Sagacity to 3 (from 5) Magic Power from 10 to 8 and Melee gets to stay. I posted it as a .txt so that you would be able to read it, because I cannot open it as an .xml without opening the editor. I will check out Notepad++, it is an excellent suggestion. I LOVE your idea for "You shall not pass!" idea, the original idea was simply to encourage the user of the skill to equip a Sword and a Staff, which are Gandalf's signature weapons, while not giving an advantage to wielding two of either. Your idea got me thinking about the use of "Unliving Wall" from Golomancy, Gandalf simply needs some major reworking in some of his flavor text and skill ideas. Kazeto, your tips on balance alone have made me a far better modder and player. I cannot thank you enough for your patience and willingness to help. P.S. Thank you Essence for building such a unique skill (Warlockery), it was the inspiration behind making a Gandalf skill, and has brought much joy to my games of Dredmor.
A bit late for a reply since it's been four days (yay for being a busy person), but since the last post of yours didn't contain anything that would require an immediate response as your post was mostly reports of changes and some praise (though honestly, I don't think I've put enough effort into it to deserve it, but thank you nonetheless), I feel at least partially justified in waiting as I though you'll post again if you had any further problems or question. So, is there anything you need/want any help with now or are you simply trying to make everything you know is possible work on your own?
The only problem I have been having is with my images. The game cannot find the images I have made, is there a way to fix this?
I can think of two possible reasons for that. The first one would be the files' names being different from those which are stated in the data files - they are case-sensitive so something like this might have happened. And the other one would be a problem with the files themselves causing DoD not to recognise them - I don't know the exact specifics since I tried to make sure that the files I use are working properly and thus I didn't learn what would cause the game not to recognise the files as opposed to not being able to read them and thus crashing, but I wager a guess it might be caused by the files not being colour-indexed (the files you create from nothing are in RGB mode usually, and you need to change their colour mode into indexed). If using the images which came with the game but renamed to match the name your files would have causes the game to find them then it is the latter, otherwise it's the former. I could give you something more accurate if I actually saw these files, but I hope you'll manage with what I posted.
