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

[Darkhymn]

i think you know where I am going with this......

I do, and I went some of the same places. :will

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

I can upload to the FTP. I have already done so. I has my own folder

I'll be uploading the entirety of what I've finished in a few minutes. All 42 books are in game and working. I'm pretty sure all of the thumbnails are correct, and I'll quickly remove the voodoo from all of the hocus pocus items I can find. Once we put proper prices and rarities to the books, we'll have a playable beta.

 

[FireBat]

I can upload to the FTP. I have already done so. I has my own folder

I'll be uploading the entirety of what I've finished in a few minutes. All 42 books are in game and working. I'm pretty sure all of the thumbnails are correct, and I'll quickly remove the voodoo from all of the hocus pocus items I can find. Once we put proper prices and rarities to the books, we'll have a playable beta.

Most excellent! I am anxious to see all your hard work in action!

 

[Darkhymn]

I can upload to the FTP. I have already done so. I has my own folder

I'll be uploading the entirety of what I've finished in a few minutes. All 42 books are in game and working. I'm pretty sure all of the thumbnails are correct, and I'll quickly remove the voodoo from all of the hocus pocus items I can find. Once we put proper prices and rarities to the books, we'll have a playable beta.

Most excellent! I am anxious to see all your hard work in action!

I'm poking at one small problem at the moment. The repair books aren't working for some reason. I can't seem to see a problem, so I'm just going to compress it and upload it. Maybe fresh eyes will see what I'm missing.

Get it here. Voodoo items are still voodoo because I don't feel like hunting down all of their describe entries. I'll get to that sometime later.

Zip download, if you happen to not be able to open rar.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Did anybody try that code I posted?

 

[FireBat]

well done sir! I've at the mod game side, and it looks great. I will try to figure out why the repair skill isnt working.

I'll try to figure out why the Title for the Rags isnt working too...

 

[Darkhymn]

Did anybody try that code I posted?

I didn't, unless FireBat did in the original files he gave me. I basically just worked from what he already had. Which code, specifically? Right now the focus is just getting the books in-game and doing something, so I haven't really looked at any of the code in this thread yet. That, and we haven't really settled on how we want to implement the the gains in the end for sure. I personally would prefer to just keep them functioning like idols/ The books being consumed would be annoying, in my opinion, and leaving permanent bonuses one time per character is just begging for an army of super officers.

 

[Darkhymn]

well done sir! I've at the mod game side, and it looks great. I will try to figure out why the repair skill isnt working.

I'll try to figure out why the Title for the Rags isnt working too...

I've already fixed that, actually. Retarded spelling error on my part. New files coming soon.

Edit: Rar --- Zip

 

[FireBat]

i did find this in utils.c

irand = rand(19);
if (irand == 2) {TakeNItems(ch,"itmname_bookrepairs_2", 1);}
irand = rand(19);
if (irand == 2) {TakeNItems(ch,"itmname_bookmoney_2", 1);}

irand = rand(19);
if (irand == 2) {TakeNItems(ch,"itmname_bookrepairs_2", 1);}
irand = rand(19);
if (irand == 2) {TakeNItems(ch,"itmname_bookmoney_2", 1);}

i think it should be

irand = rand(19);
if (irand == 2) {TakeNItems(ch,"itmname_bookrepairs_2", 1);}
irand = rand(19);
if (irand == 2) {TakeNItems(ch,"itmname_bookmoney_2", 1);}

irand = rand(19);
if (irand == 2) {TakeNItems(ch,"itmname_bookrepairs_3", 1);}
irand = rand(19);
if (irand == 2) {TakeNItems(ch,"itmname_bookmoney_3", 1);}

However that didnt fix the problem...

 

[Darkhymn]

i did find this in utils.c

*Code removed for no apparent reason*

However that didnt fix the problem...

You're right, of course, but the problem was a spelling error in an earlier version... a couple of lines weren't replaced by find-replace. Anyway I'll fix those lines as well and reupload. I also fixed the rags. They were a spelling error from a previous modder, methinks.

Rar ---- Zip

Dunno why I keep posting those links, they all lead to the same files.

 

[FireBat]

man, yer on the ball! Are u sure yer not a professional?

 

[Darkhymn]

man, yer on the ball! Are u sure yer not a professional?

I learned C++ in high school and nearly went to college to be a software designer/engineer. I'm rusty as all hell these days, but I still have some idea what I'm doing. Plus, stare at these files for hours at a time and you're bound to pick up on what might be causing a specific error.

 

[FireBat]

Good stuff. Althought your may 'rusty' Yer kickin this mod in the arse!

 

[Thagarr]

I uploaded the blank book template I used to the FTP, feel free to use it if you wish. I may go back and polish it up a bit if I get time, if I do, I will upload that one as well. This one is coming together a lot quicker than I thought it would. Fantastic work with the code mates!

 

[Darkhymn]

Good stuff. Althought your may 'rusty' Yer kickin this mod in the arse!

Haha thanks. You really did all of the coding though. I just spent the hours copypasting what was already there. Plus, where would I be without pretty pictures?

Anyway, we should decide on an implementation for the long term, starting thinking about prices and rarities, whether we want them on the loot lists... we should also find out from Luke if he's interested in incorporating this into patch 2.

 

[FireBat]

I uploaded the blank book template I used to the FTP, feel free to use it if you wish. I may go back and polish it up a bit if I get time, if I do, I will upload that one as well. This one is coming together a lot quicker than I thought it would. Fantastic work with the code mates!

Thanks man. While we still have to figure out how it can be done. I'm sure there must be a way. Since we all seem to agree that we want the books to be readable, and with ModernKnight providing that excellent resource, I guess it wouldnt hurt to get the seperate book open book images ready in advance. It may be some time until we figure it out, but once it is figured, it should only be a matter of copying the pictures, and then telling the code to show book1 or somethin...

Haha thanks. You really did all of the coding though. I just spent the hours copypasting what was already there. Plus, where would I be without pretty pictures?
Anyway, we should decide on an implementation for the long term, starting thinking about prices and rarities, whether we want them on the loot lists... we should also find out from Luke if he's interested in incorporating this into patch 2.

Prices...yowza, ya I have been thinking about that...I don't have exact numbers yet. I think that they should very very rarely show up in a loot list (maybe 1% of the time) I am having a debate with myself (and losing) whether they should be about as common as the maps at the stores, but excessively expensive, or about as common as say the duel barrel pistol, and only moderatly expensive.

As for incorporating this into patch, I dont know. The limited discussions i have had with him on the matter surrounded concentrating on bug fixes instead of adding more material. However, if we have nailed down all the bugs and got the books dialed in just as we want them, I dont see why they can't be added to patch 2

 

[Darkhymn]

Prices...yowza, ya I have been thinking about that...I don't have exact numbers yet. I think that they should very very rarely show up in a loot list (maybe 1% of the time) I am having a debate with myself (and losing) whether they should be about as common as the maps at the stores, but excessively expensive, or about as common as say the duel barrel pistol, and only moderatly expensive.

As for incorporating this into patch, I dont know. The limited discussions i have had with him on the matter surrounded concentrating on bug fixes instead of adding more material. However, if we have nailed down all the bugs and got the books dialed in just as we want them, I dont see why they can't be added to patch 2

I was thinking that maybe the lowest quality books could be fairly cheap and common, since we will be removing all of the little trinkets that a lot of people are used to having. Then the second tier could be as common as maybe the idols (Quetzalcoatl and such, that you can only find in the shops), but more expensive. Maybe we should put a pre-release thread in the general modding forum so that more people will see it and we can have some discussion on it?

Also, are there any items that I should not be removing the voodoo powers from? Things that may inadvertently break the game, or anything?

 

[FireBat]

That is a very good idea. Seeing as the idols are quite common, people are probably used to having them. I havent picked them up since I started the game, since I figured they were just foolish.

I'll post a pre-release within the next hour, and post the questions that need to be posed, as well as some screen shots. If I understand clearly, the main discussion for the post should be in regards to loot, rarity, and price.


I think the only way to find out if removing the 'powers' from the items is by extensive testing...The other option is just to make the voodoo items so rare that you never see them, unless required by a quest.

 

[Darkhymn]

That is a very good idea. Seeing as the idols are quite common, people are probably used to having them. I havent picked them up since I started the game, since I figured they were just foolish.

I'll post a pre-release within the next hour, and post the questions that need to be posed, as well as some screen shots. If I understand clearly, the main discussion for the post should be in regards to loot, rarity, and price.


I think the only way to find out if removing the 'powers' from the items is by extensive testing...The other option is just to make the voodoo items so rare that you never see them, unless required by a quest.

I have just edited all of their descriptions to reflect no bonuses, and have removed their entries in RPGUtilite. The only items giving bonuses now are our books and the outfits. Once we've set prices and rarities, we'll have a playable beta.

Rar ---- Zip

I want to start working on making them viewable next, personally. I know you also have more books to add. We'll see what happens. I'm off for at least a few hours though. I only slept about 3 hours last night and I'm starting to feel it. If you make any changes to the mod, do me a favor and write up a short change log and just leave me a link. I'll start doing the same, so we both know where we're at.

 

[FireBat]

Excellent! Well Done

Now go off and get some well deserved rest! If I make any changes I will be sure to let you know.

 

[Thagarr]

First draft of Navigation Book 1!

Navigation at sea is not an easy task, but the basics are simple to master if you have the correct tools! We have therefore thoughtfully provided you with a compass, the most basic tool of navigation for hundreds of years! It is cleverly concealed in the front cover of this book so you can't loose it easily! Unfortunately, we were unable to figure out a way to attach the needle and still make it move and point north as the book turned in time for this book to go to the printers. Therefore, we have left out the needle. To compensate, simply close the book and point the big arrow with the big "N" on the front cover to true North while holding the book flat, you will then be able to subsequently find all the other directions at your leisure, and navigate any course on the open ocean you choose to chart!

Which brings us to the second most important tool of navigation, the chart! You do have a chart don't you? Well, nevermind, we are sure you will run across one eventually! Once you have your chart, you will need to take your bearings by using the compass provided and finding celestial bodies in the sky. The big yellow thing in the sky is the Sun, if you can see it now, wait a bit and see if it moves. Hint : Use your compass to find out what direction it is moving in!

If the sun appears to be rising from the horizon and moving upwards, it must be time for breakfast. If it doesn't appear to be moving and is directly overhead, then it must be lunch time. If it is moving in a downward motion toward the horizon, then it is time for supper! Of course, this is much more easily worked out with a proper time keeping device, such as an hour glass, a candle, or even a clock!

And that brings us to the third basic tool of navigation, the clock! Clocks are heavy and very cumbersome to haul up on deck every time you wish to take a reading, so it is suggested to waylay the first rich Spanish merchant you can find and pilfer his pocket watch! This will not only make it much easier to tell when it is supper time, it will also help a bit navigation!

Navigating by the stars is the oldest form of navigation. It is usually always best done at night, as there are a few more stars visible than in the daytime. However, this can be dangerous, as it is tough to read your compass at night! If this must be done, use a slow burning candle as a light source to read your compass, that way you will have plenty of time to extinguish the book if it should accidentally catch fire!

I'm thinking I'll go ahead and do all the Book ones in a similar fashion, trying to include actual information in a humorous(hopefully) or stupid way. If they meet with everyone's approval of course. We can save the actual information form the real books for the 2's and 3's.