Profile for Drakefyre
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Drakefyre |
| Member number | 7 |
| Title | Triad Mage |
| Postcount | 9436 |
| Homepage | http://www.sitemouse.com/users/drakefyre/index.html |
| Registered | Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
Recent posts
Pages
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| A Quick Note About Graphics in Blades of Avernum | |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Thursday, April 22 2004 13:38
Profile
Homepage
Just use a PNG, if you can. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| What articles would you like to see? in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Thursday, April 22 2004 01:36
Profile
Homepage
That's another thing I was thinking about - I wanted to do something more BoA-specific, but I didn't know what to write about. Khoth suggested messages, which I might write about next. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| What articles would you like to see? in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Thursday, April 22 2004 01:36
Profile
Homepage
That's another thing I was thinking about - I wanted to do something more BoA-specific, but I didn't know what to write about. Khoth suggested messages, which I might write about next. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| What articles would you like to see? in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Thursday, April 22 2004 00:22
Profile
Homepage
That's why I haven't put one out for a while - I've been busy and, while I could have whipped something up, I didn't want it to be complete crap and an article just for the sake of being an article. But tomorrow, I think it should be finished and well. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| What articles would you like to see? in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Thursday, April 22 2004 00:22
Profile
Homepage
That's why I haven't put one out for a while - I've been busy and, while I could have whipped something up, I didn't want it to be complete crap and an article just for the sake of being an article. But tomorrow, I think it should be finished and well. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| You dont have to read this Because It's just me being an Idiot in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Wednesday, April 21 2004 00:52
Profile
Homepage
Creator, you are a horrible person. That is all. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Turns out.... in General | |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Tuesday, April 20 2004 00:52
Profile
Homepage
With Piers Anthony, I did like that series with Death, Time, etc. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Vahnatai Did Do It desperance.net - We're Everywhere The Arena - God Will Sort The Dead ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Calls that we wish existed in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Monday, April 19 2004 16:23
Profile
Homepage
Just do what I did and use an invisible monster. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Calls that we wish existed in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Monday, April 19 2004 16:23
Profile
Homepage
Just do what I did and use an invisible monster. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| To Jeff in Tech Support | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Monday, April 19 2004 16:15
Profile
Homepage
You can buy BoE now for $30 and get $10 off of BoA. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| More than 2 NPC joining the party? in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Monday, April 19 2004 13:39
Profile
Homepage
You can always have NPCs that follow the party but aren't actually part of it, like we did in BoE. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| More than 2 NPC joining the party? in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Monday, April 19 2004 13:39
Profile
Homepage
You can always have NPCs that follow the party but aren't actually part of it, like we did in BoE. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Really Minor Bugs in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Monday, April 19 2004 01:46
Profile
Homepage
That generally only happens when the monsters are on top of each other (ie on the same space), and you just have to grin and bear it. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| How do you make YOUR Scenarios? in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Monday, April 19 2004 01:43
Profile
Homepage
1) Write out the plot, what happens, plan, etc. 2) Make the custom monsters, terrain, items, etc. that you need. Also write/find appropriate creature scripts, terrain scripts, etc. 3) Outdoors 4) Towns and their dialogue together - Town 0 and Town 0's dialogue, Town 1 and Town 1's dialogue, etc. Remember that you can (and should) always go back to add more dialogue. 5) Dungeons. You can do these interspersed with the towns too. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| How do you make YOUR Scenarios? in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Monday, April 19 2004 01:43
Profile
Homepage
1) Write out the plot, what happens, plan, etc. 2) Make the custom monsters, terrain, items, etc. that you need. Also write/find appropriate creature scripts, terrain scripts, etc. 3) Outdoors 4) Towns and their dialogue together - Town 0 and Town 0's dialogue, Town 1 and Town 1's dialogue, etc. Remember that you can (and should) always go back to add more dialogue. 5) Dungeons. You can do these interspersed with the towns too. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Really Minor Bugs in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Monday, April 19 2004 01:00
Profile
Homepage
There were spidweb boards besides the Lyceum, you know. The Lyceum didn't start to pick up popularity until it went to ezboard. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Scripted Items in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Saturday, April 17 2004 08:47
Profile
Homepage
Yes - it's probably easiest to do it with a call in the START_STATE to see if they have all of them equipped and then do stuff/set a flag if they do. Remember to also reset the flag if they take it off. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Scripted Items in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Saturday, April 17 2004 08:47
Profile
Homepage
Yes - it's probably easiest to do it with a call in the START_STATE to see if they have all of them equipped and then do stuff/set a flag if they do. Remember to also reset the flag if they take it off. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Article - Items: Balance and Cool Stuff in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Saturday, April 17 2004 08:45
Profile
Homepage
You may also want to add it to the readme file for clarity. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Article - Items: Balance and Cool Stuff in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Saturday, April 17 2004 08:45
Profile
Homepage
You may also want to add it to the readme file for clarity. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| You dont have to read this Because It's just me being an Idiot in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Saturday, April 17 2004 08:39
Profile
Homepage
Rovers beat Leicester 1-0, so I'm happy. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Custom Item Template in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Saturday, April 17 2004 04:46
Profile
Homepage
When you're creating a custom item, you can just copy this into the file and change the values you want, instead of typing it all up again. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Custom Item Template in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Saturday, April 17 2004 04:46
Profile
Homepage
When you're creating a custom item, you can just copy this into the file and change the values you want, instead of typing it all up again. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Article - Items: Balance and Cool Stuff in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Saturday, April 17 2004 04:04
Profile
Homepage
Article - A General Item Overview When you first get ahold of the editor, a little jolt goes through your brain. Now it's you with the power, and you can make your own scenario for people to play. And with that scenario, you can include super-powerful weapons to combat the super-powerful monsters, and all in a low-level scenario. But that's not what scenario design is about. What happens when the party leaves that scenario at level eight with weapons that would make a level 50 party drool? This article has two parts - balance/avoiding Monty Haul, and creating cool items. And while the first is not nearly as fun as the second, it's much more important. What is Monty Haul? A Monty Haul scenario is one where the party is given the opportunity to acquire items that would be unbalancing if placed in another scenario of the same level. It's okay to make powerful items to give to the party, but there's a difference between powerful and unbalancing. In a low-level scenario, an iron greatsword is a powerful and awesome weapon, but it's not unbalancing. Editing that same iron greatsword to give it 10 defense, resistance to all elements, and +2 AP, while keeping it at the same base damage, crosses the line from powerful to unbalancing. Even though the two swords will do the same amount of damage, one will wreck all of the combat in another scenario. If the combat in your scenario requires a sword of this sort, then maybe it should be toned down (or the sword should be taken away at the end of the scenario). Of course, it's still possible to create cool items that are balanced for the scenario's level and the combat within it. The first thing to do when creating combat items is to assess the level of the scenario and the difficulty of the combat. Most likely, you'll want the combat to still be difficult and challenging, and the weapons and armor should not give the party an unfair advantage. When creating a weapon, it's important to take several things into account. Should it be one-handed or two-handed? The most powerful items should be two-handed, since it's good to create a dilemma for the player regarding whether or not s/he should take the powerful greatsword or a smaller weapon and a shield. If you create a good shield, it makes the choice even tougher. Another thing to take into consideration with all items is weight. The party has a maximum carrying capacity of 350 stones, and making better items heavy, you're creating another dilemma for the player. They have to make space to fit this new item. Still, weight should be realistic - swords shouldn't be over 60, armor shouldn't be over 100, etc. Something else that Blades of Avernum lets us do is assign any skill to use for weapon strength. The default is melee weapon, but setting it to Mage Spells or Nature Lore could make for some interesting weapons for mages or rogues. Since any skill can be used, weapons can cater to more people than just fighters. A very effective way to make an average weapon into a powerful artifact in your scenario alone, but that is not really special in another scenario, is to give the main boss a weakness that the weapon exploits. You can do this with a custom item state in the scenario script, or you can do the easier (and less interesting) thing and make the evil baddie either undead, demon, reptile, or Vahnatai, and use abilities that do extra damage to those species. Alternatively, you could make an armor that blocks the main attack of monsters in the scenario but has a disadvantage that makes you vulnerable to the big boss but not his henchmen. The possibilities are endless. In general, combining advantages and disadvantages to make an item level-appropriate will be enough to keep the party guessing, unless they come into your scenario with overpowered weapons. In that case, there's a lot that we can do as designers, including completely redesigning the item set to make it weaker (which is a lot more interesting than stronger) after we strip a party of all of its items. Forcing a party to go through a scenario with only the weakest items provides a challenge and may be appropriate, based on the premise of the scenario (ie a shipwreck or something similar). It's in that case that making items weak can still make them appear strong, compared to the item that they got two towns ago that seemed strong then. As a player, I've always liked the added challenge that brought to a scenario. If you don't want to be too mean, you can always return the party's items at the end of a scenario, but it's certainly not necessary. Items offer a lot of possibilities, especially now that they can call states in the scenario script. Explore them. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
| Article - Items: Balance and Cool Stuff in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Triad Mage
Member # 7
|
written Saturday, April 17 2004 04:04
Profile
Homepage
Article - A General Item Overview When you first get ahold of the editor, a little jolt goes through your brain. Now it's you with the power, and you can make your own scenario for people to play. And with that scenario, you can include super-powerful weapons to combat the super-powerful monsters, and all in a low-level scenario. But that's not what scenario design is about. What happens when the party leaves that scenario at level eight with weapons that would make a level 50 party drool? This article has two parts - balance/avoiding Monty Haul, and creating cool items. And while the first is not nearly as fun as the second, it's much more important. What is Monty Haul? A Monty Haul scenario is one where the party is given the opportunity to acquire items that would be unbalancing if placed in another scenario of the same level. It's okay to make powerful items to give to the party, but there's a difference between powerful and unbalancing. In a low-level scenario, an iron greatsword is a powerful and awesome weapon, but it's not unbalancing. Editing that same iron greatsword to give it 10 defense, resistance to all elements, and +2 AP, while keeping it at the same base damage, crosses the line from powerful to unbalancing. Even though the two swords will do the same amount of damage, one will wreck all of the combat in another scenario. If the combat in your scenario requires a sword of this sort, then maybe it should be toned down (or the sword should be taken away at the end of the scenario). Of course, it's still possible to create cool items that are balanced for the scenario's level and the combat within it. The first thing to do when creating combat items is to assess the level of the scenario and the difficulty of the combat. Most likely, you'll want the combat to still be difficult and challenging, and the weapons and armor should not give the party an unfair advantage. When creating a weapon, it's important to take several things into account. Should it be one-handed or two-handed? The most powerful items should be two-handed, since it's good to create a dilemma for the player regarding whether or not s/he should take the powerful greatsword or a smaller weapon and a shield. If you create a good shield, it makes the choice even tougher. Another thing to take into consideration with all items is weight. The party has a maximum carrying capacity of 350 stones, and making better items heavy, you're creating another dilemma for the player. They have to make space to fit this new item. Still, weight should be realistic - swords shouldn't be over 60, armor shouldn't be over 100, etc. Something else that Blades of Avernum lets us do is assign any skill to use for weapon strength. The default is melee weapon, but setting it to Mage Spells or Nature Lore could make for some interesting weapons for mages or rogues. Since any skill can be used, weapons can cater to more people than just fighters. A very effective way to make an average weapon into a powerful artifact in your scenario alone, but that is not really special in another scenario, is to give the main boss a weakness that the weapon exploits. You can do this with a custom item state in the scenario script, or you can do the easier (and less interesting) thing and make the evil baddie either undead, demon, reptile, or Vahnatai, and use abilities that do extra damage to those species. Alternatively, you could make an armor that blocks the main attack of monsters in the scenario but has a disadvantage that makes you vulnerable to the big boss but not his henchmen. The possibilities are endless. In general, combining advantages and disadvantages to make an item level-appropriate will be enough to keep the party guessing, unless they come into your scenario with overpowered weapons. In that case, there's a lot that we can do as designers, including completely redesigning the item set to make it weaker (which is a lot more interesting than stronger) after we strip a party of all of its items. Forcing a party to go through a scenario with only the weakest items provides a challenge and may be appropriate, based on the premise of the scenario (ie a shipwreck or something similar). It's in that case that making items weak can still make them appear strong, compared to the item that they got two towns ago that seemed strong then. As a player, I've always liked the added challenge that brought to a scenario. If you don't want to be too mean, you can always return the party's items at the end of a scenario, but it's certainly not necessary. Items offer a lot of possibilities, especially now that they can call states in the scenario script. Explore them. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |