Bard's Whiskey - Revisited
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:41 pm
For those who have been here a while, I am sure you realize by now that I am pretty ambitious, but not always the best at finishing things, but I decided to have another crack at more modding for DW.
When I released my Bard's Tale mod a few years ago, it was made as a stand along game, mostly because we didn't have any finalized items or monster lists, so any additions I made would have broken some in game quests. Since we have since gotten these files (I actually just got the monsters file just recently) I have decided to start modding again. I have been at it for a few weeks now, so I am hoping to see this through.
So, what I am doing now is adding the content from all three Bard's Tale games into a playable game of Devil Whiskey, so all four games can be played by the same party. Of course, there are some limitations, based on the Devil Whiskey engine, but there is nothing that can be done about that, as all of the devs have left us. I will release everything in a few parts, to hopefully keep things from getting too spaced out.
So, what have I done so far? Here is a list
1. Combined the monsters list from the first Bard's Tale game with the DW monster list. As there were some name conflicts, I had to rename some of the BT monsters, but that was a minor inconvienence. There are about a half dozen monsters which do not have any skills/spells other than the default attack, since I do not remember what they did in the Bard's Tale game, so this would need to be cleaned up, but it should be mostly complete. I have the monster listings for BT2 and BT3 already included as well, so I can resolve those name conflicts, although none of these monsters have stats yet.
2. I combined the BT1 and DW items list, resolving some conflicts. I also created a few new items that will be distributed throughout the BT dungeons, although nothing very powerful. I am currently working on two parts of the items list, the first is adding all of the items from BT2 and BT3, so I can release them at the same time. The reason for this is I would like all items grouped by category, and sorted from most expensive on the top to least expensive. Since I am renumbering all items each time I compile, I need to have the list completed before the first version is done, or else the items in your inventory will change based on the type ID. The second thing I am working on with the items list is to balance the prices and damage of everything, to make it consistent throughout your gaming experience.
3. I almost triples the playable space in the wilderness, adding all of the cities and locations from BT2 and BT3. There are a few things remaining to add, such as random houses, some springs and such, and a few other landmarks, but the majority of the wilderness is functional. If you leave Rennibister, you can visit any of the BT cities, such as Skara Brae, Colosse, Corinth, Tangramayne, etc. I also added some unique content, such ad the Temple of the Elements (almost finished) and the Gnome village that is mentioned in the TOTE quest. Once completed, I will disperse some trees and bushed to the wilderness, to make it a little more occupied. I will also add the DW expansion mod I created, which is really just a few minutes worth of gametime.
4. I rewrote most of the BT1 scripts and map files. There are still a few that need to be tweaked, but nothing major. All of the cities from BT2 are created as well, although there will probably not be much adventure in them until the release of the BT2 quests. I have the first few BT2 dungeons already mapped.
5. I fixed the Leaf Note script from DW, and am working on attaching a quest to it. I am also going to release a few other random quests that are not associated with any of these games, to give a little more life.
6. Expand the alchemy capabilities in DW, so you can create some of the BT items as well, and also create a few new things. I will create more crafting ingredients, and whenever you kill most monsters, there is a chance you can collect something from their bodies to create. I will add all created recipes into the arcanium, in case someone wants an easier way to find recipes.
7. In case you get stuck, the BT cluebooks will be added to the arcanium as well.
8. I will include a pdf map of the new wilderness (Not an exact map, of course, but enough to give you an idea of the size) as soon as I finish creating it. I will probably work on this tonight, as I left my flash drive at work, which had most of my other information on it.
9. I will create specific class-related quests. These will be designed as a one person adventure, specific to the class. If completed, you will get a specific item or items that are designed for that specific class.
I will try to place an update at least once a week, and do not have any timeframes yet (I don't stick to them anyway), but as of today, I am comitted to making this work.
Hope that's enough info for now.
When I released my Bard's Tale mod a few years ago, it was made as a stand along game, mostly because we didn't have any finalized items or monster lists, so any additions I made would have broken some in game quests. Since we have since gotten these files (I actually just got the monsters file just recently) I have decided to start modding again. I have been at it for a few weeks now, so I am hoping to see this through.
So, what I am doing now is adding the content from all three Bard's Tale games into a playable game of Devil Whiskey, so all four games can be played by the same party. Of course, there are some limitations, based on the Devil Whiskey engine, but there is nothing that can be done about that, as all of the devs have left us. I will release everything in a few parts, to hopefully keep things from getting too spaced out.
So, what have I done so far? Here is a list
1. Combined the monsters list from the first Bard's Tale game with the DW monster list. As there were some name conflicts, I had to rename some of the BT monsters, but that was a minor inconvienence. There are about a half dozen monsters which do not have any skills/spells other than the default attack, since I do not remember what they did in the Bard's Tale game, so this would need to be cleaned up, but it should be mostly complete. I have the monster listings for BT2 and BT3 already included as well, so I can resolve those name conflicts, although none of these monsters have stats yet.
2. I combined the BT1 and DW items list, resolving some conflicts. I also created a few new items that will be distributed throughout the BT dungeons, although nothing very powerful. I am currently working on two parts of the items list, the first is adding all of the items from BT2 and BT3, so I can release them at the same time. The reason for this is I would like all items grouped by category, and sorted from most expensive on the top to least expensive. Since I am renumbering all items each time I compile, I need to have the list completed before the first version is done, or else the items in your inventory will change based on the type ID. The second thing I am working on with the items list is to balance the prices and damage of everything, to make it consistent throughout your gaming experience.
3. I almost triples the playable space in the wilderness, adding all of the cities and locations from BT2 and BT3. There are a few things remaining to add, such as random houses, some springs and such, and a few other landmarks, but the majority of the wilderness is functional. If you leave Rennibister, you can visit any of the BT cities, such as Skara Brae, Colosse, Corinth, Tangramayne, etc. I also added some unique content, such ad the Temple of the Elements (almost finished) and the Gnome village that is mentioned in the TOTE quest. Once completed, I will disperse some trees and bushed to the wilderness, to make it a little more occupied. I will also add the DW expansion mod I created, which is really just a few minutes worth of gametime.
4. I rewrote most of the BT1 scripts and map files. There are still a few that need to be tweaked, but nothing major. All of the cities from BT2 are created as well, although there will probably not be much adventure in them until the release of the BT2 quests. I have the first few BT2 dungeons already mapped.
5. I fixed the Leaf Note script from DW, and am working on attaching a quest to it. I am also going to release a few other random quests that are not associated with any of these games, to give a little more life.
6. Expand the alchemy capabilities in DW, so you can create some of the BT items as well, and also create a few new things. I will create more crafting ingredients, and whenever you kill most monsters, there is a chance you can collect something from their bodies to create. I will add all created recipes into the arcanium, in case someone wants an easier way to find recipes.
7. In case you get stuck, the BT cluebooks will be added to the arcanium as well.
8. I will include a pdf map of the new wilderness (Not an exact map, of course, but enough to give you an idea of the size) as soon as I finish creating it. I will probably work on this tonight, as I left my flash drive at work, which had most of my other information on it.
9. I will create specific class-related quests. These will be designed as a one person adventure, specific to the class. If completed, you will get a specific item or items that are designed for that specific class.
I will try to place an update at least once a week, and do not have any timeframes yet (I don't stick to them anyway), but as of today, I am comitted to making this work.
Hope that's enough info for now.