teaser MOD

Rickstavern · Post by **Rickstavern** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 2:08 pm

Still waiting for to action editor, but I figured that I should share after such a very long time.

Here is the first map of my mod and all the fixins. This will overwrite several of the base DW files including the monsters, items and actions files. Because of this, you should only install this on a clean DW install and copy your save games over to the new install.

http://briefcase.yahoo.com/[email protected]

BACKUP YOUR SAVED GAMES BEFORE INSTALLING OR PLAYING THIS MOD.

This is NOT the complete version. This is only meant to show-off a little.

Notes:

It's meant for a seasoned party, so avoid taking your fresh from the academy characters inside.

You cannot enter the castles, but you can fight a couple of the tougher encounters in the hedge maze.

The monsters need to hit more often, but that's why I need the action editor. There is still a bug where the editor wll assign a resistance to skills even though there should not be any.

If you encounter any bugs then please let me know and I will correct them in the full version.

Suggestions are welcome and will be considered, but action remains solely upon my decisions.

Check north of Rennibister, you'll find the entrance eventually.

Growler · Post by **Growler** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 12:11 am

Awesome, Rick!

Just downloaded it & looking forward to trying it out in the next few days as time allows..

--

Would you mind providing a brief 1, 2, 3 (step-by-step) re: how to properly integrate your files into a fresh install of DW?
May also want to indicate which version/s your mod should work with--I'm assuming the full 2.0 ver?

Think I know how to do it (just paste each of the 4 unzipped folders into their DW counterpart folders & say OK to overwrite every time), but might be helpful to some others..

Also, if you have any issues/costs with Yahoo Briefcase, I'll be glad to host your files on my site.

Growler · Post by **Growler** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 3:39 am

Been too busy, so only had a chance to play it for a few minutes, but it's kicking furious orc arse so far!! Looks & gameplay really rock..

Def. don't wanna go in with a green team unless you enjoy getting stomped..

These critters are getting first licks in most of the time--even tho' my crew's average dex is 24. And don't think the Garden Gnomes are sweet'n'friendly just cuz they (sorta) look that way.

The original critters, walls/decorations, sound effects (think I actually got stung by one of those very real-sounding buzzing bees!) & storyline thus far are simply awesome. You other losers should check it out. 8)

Looks like decent exp pts & gold, but no items just yet--is that by design? (but I've only fought 1/2 doz times, so mebe I need more patience; also, the only monsters I've encountered that might reasonably be carting 'stuff' around would be the Furious Orcs)

I'm Really looking forward to playing more soon as I deal with some real-life issues..

Rickstavern · Post by **Rickstavern** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 6:26 am

Yes, I will create a readme that will include some basic setup steps and information.

All that you have to do at this time is to unzip the file over your root devil whiskey folder.

This is built for the 2.0 base version. I would like to update it for the more recent patch, but the source (monsters, items, etc.) must be made available before that can be done.

I decided to redo most of the items that I created. There are probably only a few in this portion of the mod. The animals in the hedge maze will generally not drop any items or money. The more 'intelligent' creatures should drop a few items. However, I think that the item drop percentages in the original game were far too high. I prefer only a few items per fight (like the original Bard's Tale games) and not the dozens of useless items that you often get after DW fights. I'll raise the percentages a bit higher until I start to see items on a regular basis.

Monster difficulty is the hardest part to get right. Let me know if they need to be a little slower. More encounters, fewer encounters, trap frequency and damage, etc. all need to be tweaked for a more general play feel. I've been testing with a very well equipped group of level 25+ characters.

Thanks for your responses so far.

origen · Post by **origen** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:17 am

I am currently working on my BT 2 maps, but I am hoping to take a break and try your mod. The only problem is that I do not have any experienced parties that can play Devil Whiskey. I will have to do another fresh install (that would make 5) of the game so it doesn't accidentally interfere with any of my mod-making.

But looking forward to gibving it a shot.

Growler · Post by **Growler** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:24 pm

Origen, glad to send you my savegame file if you like so you can take them into the Maze & enjoy allowing them all to slowly bleed out. They're upper 30-levs mostly, so exsanguination should take long enough to have some other fun along the way..

The first several monsters encountered do seem exceptionally quick (usually get 1st licks each round, except for my Rogue), but still no major problem for a high-lev party--yet, anyway. And would seem that most players would finish DW 1st before trying out the mods, right? If so, then they'll have well-seasoned crews.

Thanks for putting the mod out!

Rickstavern · Post by **Rickstavern** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:33 am

I will lower the dexterity of many of the critters, but increase the to-hit chance on their attacks. This should allow most characters to get in some attacks before the very end of the combat round but they will take a bit more damage for it.

Bloodravens will remain fast and annoying, while the orcs are a bit slower, but more damaging.

I've stopped working on the MOD again until I can get some response from Shifting Suns. However, feel free to continue to post any comments here.

Growler · Post by **Growler** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:56 am

Sounds cool...but after playing some more (just about finished what appears to be available), find myself thinking it makes sense that many of the Hedge Maze monsters would get first licks considering several are animals that one would expect to be very fast--faster than most player-chars, anyway. So I take back my dex/initiative quibble.

Sho' hope SS will respond to you & other modder's concerns soon! Really like to play out the rest of your mod!

Really diggin' your mod--in every respect. Cool layout & concept...been through a complete night/day cycle & like how you've got sound effects to match. Curious to see if/how a certain bookish item might come in handy later in your complete mod? Mebe some crafty-custom new gear?

Will post a few more thoughts later...still need to finish one last section. Hope some others will try it out!

Rickstavern · Post by **Rickstavern** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:41 pm

Actually, what I've changed is pretty much in line with how you feel now. The animals are still pretty fast (bloodravens, wolves, etc.) I just changed some of the more semi-intelligent types to be a bit slower, but more accurate.

And yes, the book comes into play later on, but I think that those scripts are still broken, hehe. There were a lot of concepts that are just too big to fit in, so I scaled it all back, but broke a lot of things in the process.

However, the end result is more stuff in each map. I never liked empty levels anyway.