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Just got this in the Indie Fort Bundle...

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:53 pm
by SenorOcho
Looks interesting so far, but some quick questions:
1. What exactly is in this megamod that makes it necessary? I've already downloaded it, but figure I should at least get some kind of answer before I go applying it.
2. How do Paladins learn spells? Figured out Arcanist/Elementalist spells, and bard songs, figured out leveling up... Didn't see any way of getting Paladin spells while looking around, though-- or do they just not get any until much later?

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 3:18 am
by slackmg
The megamod is a collection of player created add-ons and official/non-official patches. The megamod bundles all of these together making it easier to patch and extend the game. Without the megamod, each add-on overwrites the others and potentially any official/non-official patches. The added quests and game-play plus fixes make the megamod highly recommended.

The Paladin starts learning spells after gaining their first rank, around level 13. It's been awhile, but I think you get them through the temple with your levels once you can start learning them.

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 6:21 pm
by SenorOcho
After applying the megamod, it's seeming like the gameplay is just overall worse...
Every fight starts at 10', lots of enemies can attack my back row, XP is severely reduced while gold dramatically increased... what the heck? Is this all intentional?

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:58 pm
by decklin
Don't take this the wrong way please, but I wouldn't have added any mods until I'd at least been comfortable with the released version. But then I've had little time to actually play :cry:

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 10:37 pm
by Growler
Hi SenorOcho, the issues you have aren't a result of the MegaMod, per se, but rather a result of the most recent (several yrs old now) developer update--which included changes that were never properly balanced.. so your crew immediately gets hit with overly potent ranged attacks (they seem to do serious damage regardless your level or armor, etc), thus making the early game Much harder than it was meant to be.

The devs were Trying to make the early game 'more' challenging--and over-succeeded by most accounts; the game was then sold before the original developers modified their changes to make them more reasonable. And Decklin (as the buyer of DW) hasn't had time or something? to go in and tweak that last patch--or hire someone else to do it.. and since the source code hasn't been released, all the modders can do is work around the edges, but can't adjust numerous aspects that need balancing.

That said, some folks Like how difficult the early game is.. :? 8) :roll:

Once you get past the early stages of game, then the merits of the MegaMod will really start to shine! (which you may not appreciate unless you've played the older 2.0 ver first.. :wink:

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 12:39 am
by SenorOcho
Yeah, I normally don't add mods to a game before playing it, but the forum seemed to be leaning toward the mod being an absolute necessity. I did a reinstall, and now I'm having a blast again! Party is level 10-12, ready for attempt #3 into Maris' basement... thinking of recruiting another caster to have more SP to go around, though! :shock:
Running with 6 members right now-- Warrior/Paladin/Paladin/Bard/Elementalist/Arcanist

Also, thanks for the history lesson, Growler! Always nice to know what led to the current situation.

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:19 am
by chaney
Part of the Megamod, was some pic fixes (Ogres, etc.) that were causing CTD to happen.

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:05 am
by dragonbait
Also, RT's unofficial 201b patch (included in the Megamod) helps correct leveling up issues. All classes will level up quicker if the game is patched.

When I first played the game through to the end, I had used an unpatched 2.0 version, and basically you get to a point in (I think the Guard Tower), where in order to progress I needed to leave the tower and go fight in the arena for a while to be able to get my characters to a level where I could continue on. Fighting stone clerics in the arena was the name of the game for some time. When I was able to continue on in the guard tower and then after completing the mage tower/end of game my arcanist had still never reached the warlock levels.

Not that you really need the warlock level spells to beat the game as mind vortex is so powerful in itself, but the spells are there and you'd expect to have most if not all spell acquisition by the end of the game.

The megamod improves gameplay and adds additional quests, but there are numerous issues with the game even with the patches applied but those issues can really only be fixed by decklin as he has the code.

For what its worth though, the Devil Whiskey still remains one of my favorite rpgs ever.

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 4:08 pm
by SenorOcho
dragonbait wrote:Also, RT's unofficial 201b patch (included in the Megamod) helps correct leveling up issues. All classes will level up quicker if the game is patched.
I hope you mean endgame leveling? In the time it took me to reach level 9 unpatched, I got to level 2 in the megamod-- THAT is certainly not faster! :lol:

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:48 pm
by chaney
You definitely did something wrong with the Megamod. You should level up a lot faster with 2.01B unofficial installed.

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:27 pm
by SenorOcho
Maybe it's something to do with the gamersgate distribution-- I'm not sure how I can really mess up "put this in your game folder and overwrite as prompted". :P But yeah, unpatched I hit level 2 in just a few minutes, but with the megamod the townie fights were giving less than 100xp. Weird.

Back in my unmodded game, I'm running into a lot of difficulty with Maris' basement, mostly because the game seems to have a ~30% CtD chance whenever I switch maps. That's... problematic.
(On a side note, it seems odd that I'm still going after this cloak for a $10k reward when I'm regularly hauling way more than that per trip just from all the encounters down there :lol: )

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:59 am
by chaney
How goes the game. As far as the reward for the cloak quest, the true reward is XP. You will level up several times from the reward.

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:01 am
by SenorOcho
Heh, I actually hadn't played it since my last post, since I got really frustrated at the crashing..
Giving it another go now, just remembering to save before every door...

Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 7:15 pm
by Growler
Any luck re CtD's?

Also, one *could* keep a certain...cloaky piece o'attire.. (tho then lose golden & experiential rewards.. damn that 2-sided blade!). 8)

Posted: Wed May 23, 2012 2:05 am
by SenorOcho
Heh.. to be honest, I only booted it up once since then, and then just wandered around outside for a while (What an empty place!). It didn't crash during that time, though! :P
It's pretty hard to motivate myself to go back to it, since navigating the oldschool interface feels an awful lot like a chore in 2012, especially when dealing with inventory management, etc-- MAPO could certainly be a heck of a lot more convenient to use! :lol:

Before I'm accused of being soft, I have to say that I did play the heck out of the D&D gold box games back in the day... but decades have passed! Some advancements we've made since then shouldn't be ignored, eh? :wink: