Corthala Family Armor

[icelus]

REPORT: Valygar's armor protects from Charm, but does not display the appropriate icon on the character portrait

 

THREAD: http://forums.spellholdstudios.net/index.php?showtopic=5259

 

BUG: The ADD PORTRAIT ICON effect was not included in the .itm

 

SOLUTION: Uh, I don't know how to do this with WHILE loops and INSERT_BYTEs, so I just remade the .itm file. Sorry. I'm just attaching the file.

npchan.itm

[CamDawg]

Included as an overwrite in alpha 1. Should be addressed patch-wise later.

[CamDawg]

Recoded in patch fashion.

 

// adds protection from charm icon to Valygar's armor
COPY_EXISTING ~npchan.itm~ ~override~
 READ_LONG   0x64 "abil_off"
 READ_SHORT  0x68 "abil_num"
 READ_LONG   0x6a "fx_off"
 READ_SHORT  0x70 "fx_num"
 WRITE_SHORT 0x70 ("%fx_num%" + 1)
 INSERT_BYTES  ("%fx_off%" +        ("%fx_num%" * 0x30)) 0x30
   WRITE_SHORT ("%fx_off%" +        ("%fx_num%" * 0x30)) 142 // display icon
   WRITE_BYTE  ("%fx_off%" + 0x08 + ("%fx_num%" * 0x30)) 52  // mind shield icon
   WRITE_BYTE  ("%fx_off%" + 0x0c + ("%fx_num%" * 0x30)) 2   // instant/while equipped
   WRITE_BYTE  ("%fx_off%" + 0x12 + ("%fx_num%" * 0x30)) 100 // probability 1
 WHILE ("%abil_num%" > 0) BEGIN // if abilities are present, need to adjust their effects index
   SET "abil_num" = ("%abil_num%" - 1)
   READ_SHORT  (0x20 + "%abil_off%" + ("%abil_num%" * 0x38)) "abil_fx_idx"
   WRITE_SHORT (0x20 + "%abil_off%" + ("%abil_num%" * 0x38)) ("%abil_fx_idx%" + 1)
 END
 BUT_ONLY_IF_IT_CHANGES

 

Included in alpha v3.

[CamDawg]

It appears Valygar's armor may need some additional tweaking. It appears the devs originally based it off of/intended it to be chainmail of some sort. The filename is NPCHAN, it has the slashing/crushing AC bonuses of chain, and uses the chain ground icons. It does use the leather icon for the avatar, however, which makes it use the leather armor equipping sound. The description states that it gives a +3 enchantment to AC, and the AC on the item is 2, implying the base AC is 5--chainmail.

 

There is, however, the minor detail that stalkers can not wear chain, including elven chain. IMO, we should change the slashing/crushing bits and ground icons to be studded leather and adjust the base AC to 4 (studded leather +3), though I wanted to see what other folks had to say first.

[Andyr]

It could be Special Corthala Family Chain Which Is A Bit Like Leather...

 

I say keep it as what it says, even though it is of dubious legaility.

[SimDing0]

Either include it, or stick it in Not Fixes But Cool.

[Kish]

I agree with Andyr, we shouldn't make major changes to it.

[SimDing0]

I heard there was no evidence Bioware didn't intend Valygar to be wearing... leather chains? He's obviously that kinda guy, and it makes sense when you stand on your head with your eyes closed.

[Kish]

I heard there was no evidence Bioware didn't intend Valygar to be wearing... leather chains? He's obviously that kinda guy, and it makes sense when you stand on your head with your eyes closed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's interesting that you find "chainmail which a Stalker can wear" so much harder to swallow than "armor which only one person can wear."

 

The naming convention, NPCHAN, indicates deliberate chain mail, as well.

[SimDing0]

I don't really know where you got the idea that I find it harder to swallow from. Armour that only one person can wear sucks dick, but there's no conflicting information there so I can't make fun of it.

 

The icon doesn't look anything like chainmail to me, which is probably pretty deliberate. And then there's the fact that the armour level and inventory sound reflect leather/studded leather. When it can so easily be either, why on earth opt for the one that makes LESS sense?

 

But as I say, I'm sure it's sensible one your head with your eyes closed.

[Kish]

the armour level [...] reflect leather/studded leather.

Given that the proposed "fix" involves changing the armor level from that of chainmail to that of studded leather, this seems like a good time to ask...

"What are you talking about?"

[SimDing0]

Armour level is the engine term to distinguish between the paperdoll/avatar graphics of nothing (level 1), leather (level 2), chain (level 3) and plate (level 4).

 

This seems like a good time to ask...

"In future, don't you think it might be a good idea to assume I know vaguely what I'm talking about, unless you'd care to check stuff yourself?"

[Kish]

I don't really know where you got the idea that I find it harder to swallow from. Armour that only one person can wear sucks dick, but there's no conflicting information there so I can't make fun of it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's interesting. What else would you like to change? Does it make sense to you that waving hands and saying strange words can create balls of fire and blasts of lightning? Speed people up and slow them down? Stop time? Detect their "alignment"? Help me out here, I'm not seeing the distinction between those, making a suit of armor that can only be worn by one person, and making a suit of armor that has the weight and texture of leather but the protective abilities of chain. I guess I'm too busy standing on my head thinking that we shouldn't make big changes in a fixpack without actual evidence that what we're fixing is broken.

"In future, don't you think it might be a good idea to assume I know vaguely what I'm talking about, unless you'd care to check stuff yourself?"

I doubt there's anything I could check that would make me think "armour level" references something other than AC, I'm afraid.

[SimDing0]

That's interesting.  What else would you like to change?  Does it make sense to you that waving hands and saying strange words can create balls of fire and blasts of lightning?  Speed people up and slow them down?  Stop time?  Detect their "alignment"?  Help me out here, I'm not seeing the distinction between those, making a suit of armor that can only be worn by one person, and making a suit of armor that has the weight and texture of leather but the protective abilities of chain.

This, gentlemen, is from the man who brought us "the entire Underdark could be an illusion from Irenicus casting a Wish". The graphics and sound are leather. Deal with it.

 

I guess I'm too busy standing on my head thinking that we shouldn't make big changes in a fixpack without actual evidence that what we're fixing is broken.

Okay, contact Bioware and find out what they think. You know, though, any fixpack left up to you would REALLY suck, because there are so many things that we haven't CONFIRMED are bugs. Do we know for sure that... well let's pick a bug. "Mimcs and spiders are misclassed." How do we know that in a world where magic exists, all the spiders in the game aren't meant to be robotic constructs sent back in time by the Umar Hills Chickens to stop CHARNAME ascending? Incidentally, shall we take the Holy Symbols out of the fixpack while we're at it? Sadly, Bioware pretty obviously intended all good clerics to get Lathander's symbol, so sucks to Anomen. My point? Use some common sense once in a while. You can dream up all the scenarios you want to explain senseless decisions-- or you can fix them and actually, y'know, make the game better. So let's have our animal spiders, let's have our holy symbol fixes, and let's have our armour that actually looks like what it is.

 

I doubt there's anything I could check that would make me think "armour level" references something other than AC, I'm afraid.

It would, however, not be difficult to assume that I knew what the issue was. The fact that you tried to make fun of me in an oh-so-clever way was rather more disturbing than it would have been had you simply asked "Does armour level refer to AC?"

[devSin]

I had changed it to chain mail (3A) locally. Case solved.

 

Anyway, I agree with SimKish0- the armor shouldn't be altered in any substantial manner, but it should at least be consistent. Fighters can't cast spells, but Mazzy does it just fine, so I'm all for simply changing it over to "full" chain mail. Besides, pink links would look particularly dashing, no?

 

In other news: The Kish0s ate my babay!

 

To be serious, I highly suspect that kits were a late addition, and BioWare thought it would be cool to change some of the NPCs from the standard classes. And it led to some funk, like Valygar's magical metal leather. Given the fact that there are no kitted NPCs in the game, it seems obvious that BioWare didn't put too much thought into it.