Profile for Or else o'erleap.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Or else o'erleap. |
| Member number | 335 |
| Title | Law Bringer |
| Postcount | 14579 |
| Homepage | http://www.polarisboard.net |
| Registered | Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| What kind of designer are you and how serious are you about designing? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, April 5 2003 07:58
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I'm an incompetent designer. I lose interest, lose the paper that has the list of SDF's and give up on trying to untangle them, or get swamped by unsquishable bugs and stop working on the scenario in frustration. My starting intent is usually to have several linear plot lines, somewhat like E1 and E2, only I try to have the plots interact more depending on how far you have or have not gone in each one. Oh, and I can't make decent combat to save my life. —Alorael, who would classify Drakey as a suspense-based designer. There's a lot of buildup, but the resolution never seems to come. Ahem. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| What will scripts actually look like? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, April 3 2003 13:35
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I believe everything will be handled by scripts, but you won't ever have to deal with them if you don't want to. A BoE-style editor interface will allow you to place and customize (to a certain extent) some of the stock scripts that appear a lot, such as messages, traps, doors, and the like. In fact, I'd think that most of what BoE nodes could do, BoA stock scripts will do. —Alorael, who upon further thought doubts that door scripts will be placed. They're more likely to be attached to the door terrain type. So unless you'd like to create your own set of very complex terrain, you won't need to worry much about those scripts either. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| A cool, random, and totally pointless idea (will it work?) in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, April 3 2003 13:29
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Jeff is definitely not going to create extra modes of transportation, especially because of the PC graphic nightmares it would cause. Editing graphics should work in most cases. And if you want it impossible to leave the vehicle in certain locations, use a boat. —Alorael, who doesn't think there's much difference between a snowboard and a magical snowboat. Okay, there's plenty of difference, but it should be good enough for most BoA scenarios. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| What will scripts actually look like? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, April 2 2003 16:58
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Making scripts will almost certainly be harder to use than nodes in BoE unless you're already very familiar with the workings of C/C++. However, it will be possible to make a scenario only be using the default scripts included with BoA, and that should be more or less equal to BoE in complexity. —Alorael, who has found BoE to be the easiest "programming" tool he has encountered anywhere. It requires zero knowledge of true programming languages, it has a very intuitive interface, and the manual really does tell you how everything works. If the bugs were removed and everything worked as advertised, it would be even better... Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Is it possible? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, March 31 2003 13:21
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You know, instead of having the big bad monster only vulnerable to a weapon that can kill it in two hits anyway. Instead, you might just want to have a script that places the Void Elemental when you enter the room. If you don't have the weapon, you get an invulnerable and impossibly hard monster to flee from. If you do have the weapon, you get a monster that is (barely) vulnerable and that has toned-down attacks. The vahnatai have marvelous treasures, magic, and weapons of their own, and they didn't seem to see any need to gain any of the great powers or items of the Empire or slightly less impressive treasures of Avernum when they met. If you're going to develop the Dicidulites, I'd say you should probably drop the vahnatai entirely from the scenario. If you still need a second race, create yet another one. —Alorael, who doesn't see any reason why vahnatai graphics and vahnatai monsters can't be used and renamed Dicidulites. In fact, a long-lost clan of vahnatai could have separated and founded their own world, which would give another reason for an alliance between the regular vahnatai and the Dicidulites. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| the puzzle box in Nethergate | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, March 29 2003 22:20
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Nobody else knows what that thing is good for, either. Someone emailed Jeff and he said he forgot. Unless you feel like walking over every space in Nethergate on the off chance that you can do something, don't worry about it. —Alorael, who has a suspicious feeling that the "puzzle" in the Puzzle Box is that it has no use. Once again, Jeff is getting many laughs at the expense of his poor gamers. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Is it possible? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, March 29 2003 17:51
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You still seem to be coming up with rough details in order to provide a simple background for a monster-slaying scenario. Instead, focus more on the plot. Decide exactly who the Dicidulites were and how they were related to the vahnatai. Somewhere in the scenario you should put information on what happened to these people who were powerful enough to create and populate a world. Why are the vahnatai using it as a prison colony anyway? What are the specific towns, how do the Void creatures interact with the Avernites, and what do you do when you get back out? And so on. If you can't write two or three pages at the very least about your scenario's background, you haven't developed it enough. —Alorael, who doesn't mean to say that you need to write those pages. But keep it in mind. If there's anytime where you could put in a detail or more information, decide on what it is. Even if it doesn't get included in the scenario, the more you have in mind while designing it, the more coherent and interesting it will be. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| seeing Blade's overpowered weapon and armour... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, March 29 2003 14:04
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In A1 I recall an explosion script somewhere hurting friendly monsters but leaving them friendly. It may have been in Fort Emerald when I tried breaking the emerald, but that usually kills everything in the room, including the NPC's. —Alorael, who is fairly sure Jeff worked the kinks out of it. At least it doesn't turn the whole town hostile. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Is it possible? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, March 29 2003 14:00
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That's a good start. Now, who exactly were or are the Dicidulites? Why did they create a world and call it Void, which usually means emptiness? Why do the vahnatai have access to this world, and why are the Void creatures aiding and abetting them? The more you develop your ideas, the better your scenario will work out. —Alorael, who also thinks that the vahnatai are an overused villain. They can still be the bad guys, but you should stay away from Rentar-Ihrno and more mad plots to destroy the Empire. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| seeing Blade's overpowered weapon and armour... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, March 29 2003 09:21
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If the damage is dealt by a script like the explosion node in BoE, it wouldn't turn friendly monsters hostile. However, in a town it would pretty much wreak havoc on the inhabitants, which could make the scenario impossible if some of them are important. And you'd also be frying your own party with every hit, which is always undesirable. —Alorael, who can't think of any good way to deal ten damage to all hostile creatures only. It may be possible, but he can't think of any obvious ways to do it. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| seeing Blade's overpowered weapon and armour... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, March 28 2003 19:20
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I doubt hard and fast percentages for charming are possible. Each monster probably has its own charm resistance, and you can only set those at a given level and put the charm chance on the weapon at a level that results in 85%. And yes, that's far too high, especially since every single monster you seem to have is a void monster. I doubt it's possible to have a weapon only do extra damage if another ability fails. It might be possible with scripts, but I very much doubt it. I don't understand this fascination with dealing damage to everything. The only way I know of to do this would be to have an explosion on a space, which would damage everything and everyone in a certain radius. Aside from problems if you use this sort of thing in an area with weak, friendly monsters, it's very irritating. —Alorael, who also thinks that all these script-calling weapons are likely to be stripped from the party like special graphic items are in BoE. After all, it's difficult to call a script from another scenario. Keep that in mind before designing a better Super Blade of Infinite Slaying. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| seeing Blade's overpowered weapon and armour... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, March 28 2003 08:39
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If it is possible to call a script every time a weapon hits in combat, then it should be possible. Again, I don't know if you could set the damage dealt to the wielder to an exact fraction of the damage done, but it wouldn't be hard to deal some damage to that character and then have an explosion on the space that deals more damage to everything in a wide radius. —Alorael, who would recommend highly against that item. Using it outside would be painful to your party, especially the non-fighters. Using it anywhere with friendly monsters present could make the scenario impossible to complete. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Does anybody use the berzerk skill? in Nethergate | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, March 27 2003 10:41
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The trait is fairly neutral in effect, but it increases the experience you gain. I stick it on all my characters and use some of the extra skill points for a bit more defense and hardiness. The skill is also more or less neutral, but instead of increasing the skill points you get it takes skill points. I steer clear of it for the most part, although a few points at the lowest skill point cost are an effective way to raise your damage at the very beginning of the game. —Alorael, who would boost the skill more if there were a time in Nethergate when his characters were virtually impossible to hit. Unlike his Avernum parties, his Nethergate parties are always threatened by certain tough monsters even at the end of the game. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| SubTerra won't work! AAAAHHH!!!!! in Tech Support | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, March 26 2003 18:31
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I don't know, but I have exactly the same problem when trying to run SubTerra with Windows 95 on a Virtual PC-running Mac. I don't think this is really helpful, unless you are using VPC as well, in which case I can say with some certainty that you might as well give up. —Alorael, who would like to know if there is a solution to this problem. Maybe he gave up too soon himself. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Some ideas Jeff will never look at.... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, March 26 2003 16:21
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Or, to say it less technically, each SDF has a name with two parts, both of which are numbers. Those are parts A and B. Each SDF also has a value, which can range from 0 to 255. A very simple use of an SDF is in keeping track of a chain of events. For example, an SDF with the A part of its name as "3" and the B part of its name as "5" could start at 0 (for convenience, SDF's can be referred to as A,B; that is, this SDF would be SDF 3,5) When the party talks to George and gets a quest to find George's missing shoes, SDF 3,5 can be set to 1. Then, when they talk to Bill and discover that Frank stole George's shoes, SDF 3,5 could be set to 2. A special node in Frank's house could check the value stored in SDF 3,5. If it is lower than 2, the node would do nothing, but if the SDF has a value of at least 2, it could go to another node that gives the shoes to the party. —Alorael, who actually isn't sure if this explanation is much better. All he knows is that Namothil's looks intimidatingly complex. Really, the best way to understand the SDF system is to just play with them yourself and find out how they work through trial and error. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Drakefyre in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, March 26 2003 16:06
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Perhaps we now have an explanation of what Iraq is really being invaded for. I hear they have nice cave systems over there... —Alorael, who doesn't think Ed Lemur would ever stoop to an "I'm back!!!!!" post, sarcastic or otherwise. He would have to find some way of his own to do it, preferably while tweaking the noses of as many people as possible at the same time. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| POLL: how did you like my scenario? in Blades of Exile | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, March 26 2003 14:08
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The Grinch is indisputably the work of Vince Fizz. The discussion is whether or not this Vince is the author. He is something of a celebrity to the Blades community, after all. —Alorael, who is willing to give Vince the benefit of the doubt. After all, he's not particularly obviously someone else, and he's certainly brightening the boards by gracing them with his presence. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| seeing Blade's overpowered weapon and armour... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, March 23 2003 09:20
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I don't know if the spell point draining ability is possible, although if it is all sorts of interesting new weapons could be made. I also doubt that it will be possible to connect to different things (dexterity and level) to the weapons damage. —Alorael, who right now thinks the sword could make a very interesting weapon. It's really not especially good unless you're fighting something with huge amounts of armor, but a scenario could take advantage of that quite nicely. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Drakefyre in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, March 23 2003 09:11
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Or it stands for Bush Enacts Exile Plan. It was half RP, half political satire, and all fun beginning shortly after Spiderweb's forums first appeared two years ago exactly. Basically, the idea was that Bush would start exiling people to caves under Louisiana. Various other individuals from the real world starred as inhabitants of Exile and as lackeys of Bush, and the probentai showed up as well for reasons I can no longer remember. I'm sure it made more sense at one point, but I don't really remember it after two years. —Alorael, who was around for those days even if nobody remembers him. He was an invisible newbie, of course, but he was there. [ Sunday, March 23, 2003 09:14: Message edited by: Alorael ] Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Is it possible? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, March 22 2003 22:19
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Actually, I'm all for a monster that can only be killed by one special weapon. That's no just power, that's at least moderately interesting, hopefully plot-related, and definitely more fun than yet another hackfest. Throwing bigger and better monsters at the party along with new and improved equipment isn't fun at all. The way those monsters work, they'll either bulldoze the party, making the scenario no fun at all, or they'll be easy pickings for a god party, making the scenario barely any fun. —Alorael, who recommends creating medium or ordinarily strong monsters with interesting situations instead. For example, a pair of nephil archers are a good challenge to a low-level party when placed in such a way that they begin by attacking the spellcasters. In fact, low-level scenarios are usually more interesting, just because they rely less on brute force to destroy the party. Instead of huge monsters, make interesting situations that make even weak monsters harder. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| seeing Blade's overpowered weapon and armour... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, March 22 2003 18:23
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I don't think requirements are possible. I also don't know if elemental damage by percent is possible, but some equivalent could probably be found. Armor piercing sounds unlikely, but it may be possible. —Alorael, who thinks all these items are a bit premature. First get BoA, then make a scenario with lots of interesting loot. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Is it possible? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, March 22 2003 18:19
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I don't know if that half-damage shield will work, but let's assume it does. Then, with a mid to high level party, the Void Gate Guardian can be killed in about ten hits. It does unbelievable damage, but only in melee... and it will probably spend its time casting spells. It is impossible to assign a 95% hit rate to a monster. You can make it high, but you can't make it a guaranteed maximum. —Alorael, who does think that monster is challenging. But it's not completely unreasonable, especially when you're outfitted with insane equipment like what's shown above. Generally speaking, powerful monsters are okay, but overpowered items are not. Just tone them down. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Is it possible? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, March 22 2003 13:59
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There will probably be caps on how high you can set the numbers, and the damage and defense for your platemail and halberd may be beyond that. Also, the range you entered isn't quite how the A3 damage system works. I don't think you can make it impossible to sell an item except in a certain store. You might be able to make it impossible to sell and have a scripted event where you can choose to exchange the items for gold, but it wouldn't work in a shop. You can't make a scenario yet, as BoA has not been released. You can get a rough idea of how it works by downloading BoE and playing around with it. I'd also recommend registering it since there are already so many great BoE scenarios. —Alorael, who would recommend against making such horribly overpowered items. Unless your scenario has overly-powerful monsters (two or three times as hard as the A3 at least), equipment like that renders the scenario's combat unbelievably easy and boring. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Some ideas Jeff will never look at.... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, March 20 2003 16:46
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1. Jeff has already said that monsters will be highly customizable and that computer-controlled monsters will be able to follow the party, head of on their own, or do other things. It's a bit vague, but almost certainly more will be possible in BoA than BoE. 5. Just try to keep up Jeff's interest in scenario contests. I believe he gave away games as prizes in some contests, and I know he did it for SubTerra level contests. —Alorael, who doesn't think suggestion six is necessary. Insane developers should feel right at home here at Spiderweb. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Nethergate's Popularity in Nethergate | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, March 19 2003 17:17
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My only real complaints with Nethergate are that there are too few types of equipment and that the game is too short. Yes, you can play both Celts and Romans, but a longer game is always nice. And it would be nice if there was some more variation among weapons, especially since only swords and spears are worth using unless you get very strange loot. —Alorael, who also thinks the circles could use a bit of work. War and healing circles are fine, and craft has all you could want, but beast circle is sadly lacking and spirit circle seems like an odd mixture of good, bad, and odd spells. Most of the all-powerful nether spells aren't worth using either. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |