...I've got a new idea...

[Darkhymn]

Hate to double post, but I wanted to share this:

This part, at least, is working and (apparently) working perfectly. FireBat, I'm essentially using your exact code for these, so there are no price variances or anything yet. Right now, I'm focusing on just getting all of the books in-game, then I'll just hand it off to you and let you decide if you want them to be in chests, what you want them to cost, etc.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Could this learning from books be implemented over a period of game time...not just buy the book & skill up instantly.Maybe a couple of game weeks to learn then pass the book onto an appropriate crew member.....that's more realistic.

Just to make things more simple!

Im not sure if that would work with COAS. I have yet to come across an item that increases the players stats that does not leave once the item is sold or no longer in the player's inventory.
below is the code for the jaguar image that increases the players heavy weapons skill by 10

    	// itmname_indian12	{Èäîë Ìîðõàõòóëàêà} (+1 ôåõòîâàíèå).
skillN = skillN + SetCharacterSkillByItem(_refCharacter, skillName, SKILL_F_HEAVY, "indian12", 1)

Of course, once the jag is sold, the bonus is lost.

You've got that console.c now, right? Why don't you try sticking this in, execute the console, and see what happens with your fencing skill:

void ExecuteConsole()
{
ref pchar = GetMainCharacter();
pchar.skill.Fencing = pchar.skill.Fencing + 10;
}

I checked the CoAS code and I think this should indeed work to increase your regular fencing skill by 10.
You'll probably need to add some check to prevent your skill going over 100.
Otherwise you can execute that line several times and end up with a fencing skill of 200.

skillN = skillN + SetCharacterSkillByItem(_refCharacter, skillName, SKILL_F_HEAVY, "indian12", 1)

I think this code does basically the same thing as the code I posted, except that instead of just "+10", I think SetCharacterSkillByItem returns "+1" only if you've got an "indian12" item.

This of course would be ideal. I am just concerned that the code doesnt translate that easily from one game to the next. I will give it a shot once i get to coding.

I think you'd be surprised. There's only two functions I used: CheckAttribute and TakeItemFromCharacter and CoAS uses those functions too. Seriously, the PotC code and CoAS code really ARE very close to each other.

(This brings up an interesting point...that 1=10 2=20 3=30. Therefor, the books would increase skill levels by 10 20 or 30. If the player had all the books for a skill, that would mean that the player would have a total of 70 points in that skill. That seems a bit high...I wonder if i could use non whole numbers...something to test later once i get to the coding portion)

PotC uses a 1-10 skill scale, so naturally I wrote "+1". Since CoAS has a 1-100 scale, you don't need to do "+10" where I wrote "+1"; you can also just do "+2" or "+5" or whatever you think is enough but not too much.

This too is an excellent point. I think this would definetly require editing the source code. This may be a bit too much realism for the rest of the players.

Source code? I don't think so. Could be done with a quest timer or some sort of periodically executed function. I think you'd be surprised also for how much you DON'T need the source code.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

	itm.picIndex = 3;
itm.picTexture = "ITEMS_4";

These two lines define the interface picture for items.
"ITEMS_4" refers to a texture file defined in RESOURCE\INI\interfaces\pictures.ini:

[ITEMS_4]
sTextureName	= items4.tga
wTextureWidth	= 512
wTextureHeight	= 512

picture = itm1,0,0,128,128
picture = itm2,128,0,256,128
picture = itm3,256,0,384,128
picture = itm4,384,0,512,128
picture = itm5,0,128,128,256
picture = itm6,128,128,256,256
picture = itm7,256,128,384,256
picture = itm8,384,128,512,256
picture = itm9,0,256,128,384
picture = itm10,128,256,256,384
picture = itm11,256,256,384,384
picture = itm12,384,256,512,384
picture = itm13,0,384,128,512
picture = itm14,128,384,256,512
picture = itm15,256,384,384,512
picture = itm16,384,384,512,512

The actual file is RESOURCE\Textures\INTERFACES\items4.tga.tx . It is quite possible to add fully new interface picture .tga.tx files, but you need to add them to pictures.ini for them to work.

Believe it or not, but I wrote the above from looking at the CoAS code and I can assure you it is EXACTLY the same in PotC.

On a very related note, can I just copy my CoAS directory and expect it to run from the second location, or does a second install require... well, a second installation?

I've got about 20(!) seperate PotC installations on an external HD. They all work. I think CoAS will too.

 

[Darkhymn]

As of right now, I have 9 working books in-game (on my drag-copied CoAS install ), with working pictures. I'm just about to convert the remaining thumbnails from .jpeg to .tga, then to .tx. Once that's done, I'll have all of the books working on a basic level very soon. From there it will be a matter of removing the "voodoo" items (or, more likely, leaving them in without their voodoo powers) and looking into making them readable.

Also, in CoAS, +1 in the code = +10 ingame. I keep forgetting to check and find out if we can use non-whole numbers.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

+1 = +10? Well, that's a bit silly. Oh well; in that case, you probably CAN use non-whole numbers. Otherwise it wouldn't be possible to store a fencing skill of 15 somewhere. Try through the console:

pchar.skill.Fencing = pchar.skill.Fencing + 0.1;

Then check if it makes your Fencing skill increase by 1.

 

[Thagarr]

*Image removed because those stick figures were lame as sh!t*

I am no graphic artist, nor have I ever claimed to be. I couldn't think of anything else to write for the second page, so I threw those in as a joke. I can take criticism, but I see no reason to be insulting about it! I have other projects I can choose to spend my time on if my help is not wanted with this one.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Just for reference, I thought they were funny!

 

[Darkhymn]

I apologize. This is my poor sense of humor biting me in the arse. Whenever I remove an image I try to give a funny reason why (I actually always do it to limit the size of my posts). I actually found your image to be both a perfect representation of what I was envisioning when I first chimed in on this topic and quite humorous. No offense intended.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

My recommendation: Don't leave the post you're quoting in your own post at all.
It decreases the need for scrolling and the duplication of text.
I only leave quotes in when I cut up another person's post and reply to various parts seperately.
As an example see this post of mine: http://forum.piratesahoy.net//ive-got-a-new-idea-t15993.html/page__view__findpost__p__368665

 

[Thagarr]

Apology accepted mate, thank you. Actually, if you had just called them sh!t, I would have been cool with that, it was the term lame I found insulting, us Old school geeks are weird like that! :

 

[Darkhymn]

Apology accepted mate, thank you. Actually, if you had just called them sh!t, I would have been cool with that, it was the term lame I found insulting, us Old school geeks are weird like that! :

I'll keep that in mind in the future. "When insulting Thagarr, remember to use the term sh!t. He likes it."

 

[Thagarr]

 

[FireBat]

As of right now, I have 9 working books in-game (on my drag-copied CoAS install ), with working pictures. I'm just about to convert the remaining thumbnails from .jpeg to .tga, then to .tx. Once that's done, I'll have all of the books working on a basic level very soon. From there it will be a matter of removing the "voodoo" items (or, more likely, leaving them in without their voodoo powers) and looking into making them readable.

Also, in CoAS, +1 in the code = +10 ingame. I keep forgetting to check and find out if we can use non-whole numbers.

I suggest not using those pictures that I uploaded, the ones just for the display...the quality is quite low...if you want to finish it up.. you are more than welcome to...I will post the high res pictures below. I really appreciate you doing the hard part.

I will be creating a few more books mind you. These books will increase the P.I.R.A.T.E.S. attribute points. As well, I would like to see the books from PotC ported over as well (one less thing to do later. However, i am sure after seeing your work, I will be able to figure out where I went wrong. Its quite strange that the pictures wouldnt show up for me as I did up the pictures.ini file as Pieter Stated...I'm sure I missed something blatently obvious...

@ Pieter: didnt you know that anything that i can't do requires use of the source code...:

Thanks again DarkHymn!

 

[Darkhymn]

Ha! I am (occasionally) funny! Take that, clown school!

But on a serious note... FireBat, I know I've sort of nabbed your mod and taken off running with it. Just let me know when you want it back and I'll put together what I've done and send it your way.

Edit: If you prefer that I finish what we have so far, that is acceptable as well. I'm putting it together using the previous pictures, just to have pictures in place. When I get better quality pictures, I will use them, but until everything else is sorted, the low res ones will do just fine. At this point, getting the books into the game is just a lot of copying and pasting. The hard part will be deciding on prices, whether or not we want them on the loot list permanently, or if they should have to be purchased, rarity... and of course, I still want to make them readable.

Edit Numero Dos: I am also roughly basing the Titles and descriptions on yours. I am polishing them up a little, but by and large, this is all your content and your mod. I'll also check momentarily and find out if we can use decimals (like Pieter, I suspect that we can). If so, I'm thinking we cut the bonuses in half, making for a maximum bonus per skill of 30 rather than 60 (with the first 12 books).

 

[FireBat]

Oh, by all means...run with it...RUN WITH IT! When you feel like you can't take it anymore, I'll take it back and finish it up. Theres only another 21 attribute books to make, and since i haven't even started with the pictures for those....well...lots to do

Nevermind the fact that i want to make some books that have absolutly no purpose too....

the linky to the 'high quality' books
http://pyratesahoy.com/coas/FireBat/bookicons.zip

(FB EDIT: The prices and such i had thought of...these suckers will expensive, especially the higher ranked ones. I think that tho they can be purchased, they should still be quite rare...but those are numbers I'll have to fart around with. I def dont want them as common as the idols and such)

 

[Darkhymn]

Oh, by all means...run with it...RUN WITH IT! When you feel like you can't take it anymore, I'll take it back and finish it up. Theres only another 21 attribute books to make, and since i haven't even started with the pictures for those....well...lots to do

Nevermind the fact that i want to make some books that have absolutly no purpose too....

the linky to the 'high quality' books
http://pyratesahoy.com/coas/FireBat/bookicons.zip

(FB EDIT: The prices and such i had thought of...these suckers will expensive, especially the higher ranked ones. I think that tho they can be purchased, they should still be quite rare...but those are numbers I'll have to fart around with. I def dont want them as common as the idols and such)

I am in agreement. Downloading the textures now. Can I upload to the FTP? If so, I'd be happy to upload my progress thus far so you can take a look, if you'd like. That way you can keep track of your mod, stop me ruining it before it happens.
:nk

Oooh, and they're even already in .tga!

 

[modernknight1]

Firebat, I think this is a great project! I thought I'd contribute/help if I can in my own meager way. You see the actual study of Historical Western Martial Combat has been a hobby of mine for over 20 years. If you look at my interests block you will see ARMA, HACA, and Schola St George listed. All groups I am affiliated with hence my picture and handle "modernknight1". You can find a lot of information on Fiore de Leberi and Talhoffers manuals if you will search for them.

The most comprehensive list of complete historical European fight manuals online (that are downloadable) with all illustrations are here:

http://www.thearma.org/manuals.htm

I thought perhaps these might be of some inspiration/use to you as well as a good source of illustrations. I also own copies of every one as well as some not listed here, so if there are any specific illustrations that you think might be neat as covers or as background illustrations for this effort I can provide them.

MK

Thagarr, there is even a historical Viking fight manual in there that you might find interesting.

 

[Darkhymn]

Firebat, I think this is a great project! I thought I'd contribute/help if I can in my own meager way. You see the actual study of Historical Western Martial Combat has been a hobby of mine for over 20 years. If you look at my interests block you will see ARMA, HACA, and Schola St George listed. All groups I am affiliated with hence my picture and handle "modernknight1". You can find a lot of information on Fiore de Leberi and Talhoffers manuals if you will search for them.

The most comprehensive list of complete historical European fight manuals online (that are downloadable) with all illustrations are here:

http://www.thearma.org/manuals.htm

I thought perhaps these might be of some inspiration/use to you as well as a good source of illustrations. I also own copies of every one as well as some not listed here, so if there are any specific illustrations that you think might be neat as covers or as background illustrations for this effort I can provide them.

MK

That's actually quite a good concept, as I've kept all 3 of the rank 3 arms manuals named after Talhoffer. I'll have a look into it.

I've managed to break this file. I'm working on finding and fixing the offending code, but it is hiding rather well from me. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as whatever I have done has the engine terminating itself before the main menu...

Edit: I've removed the link as I have found and fixed the issue. Turns out naming items after the skill they modify is actually a pretty terrible idea (pistols). Now on to coding the third batch of books!

 

[FireBat]

Firebat, I think this is a great project! I thought I'd contribute/help if I can in my own meager way. You see the actual study of Historical Western Martial Combat has been a hobby of mine for over 20 years. If you look at my interests block you will see ARMA, HACA, and Schola St George listed. All groups I am affiliated with hence my picture and handle "modernknight1". You can find a lot of information on Fiore de Leberi and Talhoffers manuals if you will search for them.

The most comprehensive list of complete historical European fight manuals online (that are downloadable) with all illustrations are here:

http://www.thearma.org/manuals.htm

I thought perhaps these might be of some inspiration/use to you as well as a good source of illustrations. I also own copies of every one as well as some not listed here, so if there are any specific illustrations that you think might be neat as covers or as background illustrations for this effort I can provide them.

MK

Thagarr, there is even a historical Viking fight manual in there that you might find interesting.

OH MY.... My jaw just damn near dropped out of my head. I cant believe all this stuff exsists. On top of being great reading material for myself, it will be great for adjusting the titles and descriptions. When we get to the point where the books will be readable, i think you know where I am going with this......

I am in agreement. Downloading the textures now. Can I upload to the FTP? If so, I'd be happy to upload my progress thus far so you can take a look, if you'd like. That way you can keep track of your mod, stop me ruining it before it happens.
:nk
Oooh, and they're even already in .tga!

I am not sure if you can upload to the ftp. I'm sure OfficerPuppy can let you know when he gets around to reading the post. In my early days I used a site called http://www.mediafire.com/ that served quite well.

I have full confidence that you are doing a fine job, and you can upload your progress whenever you want. You are saving me quite a bit of headache by taking this on. I really appreciate it.

In the meantime I am going to get to work on the pictures of the other books

 

[Thagarr]

Thanks for the link MK!
It's been a while since I really did any viking research or read a saga! Aside from occasionally reading through the Havamal when I needed a good viking quote.

How dare they suggest the sagas may have been embellished! That's outrageous!

: