genz44

*Comes out from lurking in the corner* Boo! I've put up a new version which merges the features of the three mods into a single one. People can now choose what they want during character creation instead of being stuck with something like attribute increases that aren't really wanted. Check out the updated first post for details.

CremePudding! Looks like I did get eaten. Btw, I really like your avatar. Nyaa, be a good kitty and don't digest! Good work on the investigation, retired_deer. Good luck to you and Legate on the bug hunt.

Unfortunately, marriage planning and some sort of intense cold have been keeping me away for a while now. I'll happily share any of my design info to help anyone here get use of my mod. Let me get up to speed so we can narrow down these issues for a good solution. During DLC 5 I made the decision to include bug fixes for any issues that could be fixed from within the tools. These were meant to be temporary until official fixes were released with the next DLC. That way, I'd hoped, people could play the game without worrying much and BCS would receive fewer repeat bug complaints. When DLC 6 was released I removed all of my bug fixes since the official content now took care of them all anyway. The plan then was to have two separate entities of my mod. One would contain all cheat info and the other would contain new bug fixes for the new DLC. With the merge function's lengthy time requirement and my shrinking free time I decided to scrap that plan. Currently, my mod's cheat functions are all effects which were created from scratch. None were made by changing any existing content. Only one group of entries found in original content were edited by me. The disabled spells and wands sections in the creation process couldn't be brought back using the tools, so I edited the types of the disabled backgrounds. Now the previously hidden spell and wand backgrounds appear in functional background sections. With that info in mind I can't think of any parts of my mod which might conflict with official content unless the disabled backgrounds are restored. I've experienced this problem as well. With a clean install and current patch/DLC I can load one or the other but not both. My example is somewhat different from retired_deer, however. This example assumes one version of my mod and the DLC are in the mod list and both are checked. If my mod is on the top of the list nothing of it shows up in the game. If the current DLC is on the top only my mod with whatever DLC it was created in shows up. It seems like the mod loader only wants to include content from the last mod loaded. Is it possible there's a bug in the loading process which prevents multiple mods from combining and implementing within the game?

It may be a Vista issue, but I can't confirm by myself since I've got Win 7. Maybe some other Vista folks here can let us know? Anyway, Legate helped to find the x5 issue! It seems Default doesn't allow inheritance from Choice effects. Fixes will be out tomorrow and the next day. Normal mode is unaffected.

Thanks for the report, penelope! I think I have that particular problem narrowed down. I was using defaults in this version, so I've sent a PM to Legate to see what's going on with my default selections. I'm not sure about the Update folder. I don't have one on my end, so I'm not sure why it's being overwritten or even its purpose. What's inside the Update folder? Edit: I don't see any problem with your English. You post was very easy to read.

Maybe the file was corrupted. Check the rar against this md5: ec9b29795ecb0f3b88b61225883268e4

Can you be more specific? Which backgrounds aren't working, and how are they not working? Cheats not showing up or points not being given correctly at creation? Did you load the mod as noted in the install notes? With the DLC above my cheats in the list? I've just run another test on my game and it looks like everything works for me. Err, maybe you mean the little surprise backgrounds not listed in the notes?

@Fishbat - I'm thinking about using items, but I'll need to weigh list clutter against finding proper cheats in the inventory. Is it faster to find what you need scrolling through the list or browsing tooltips in the inventory. I'll keep looking for ways to tidy the list in general. @Nyaa - Hehe, you already did! You'll find a way to remove actions and abilities in this new version. They're limited to one at a time right now, but I'll probably add a x5 version in the future. For Remove, magnitude is like a binary value. Zero doesn't do anything but anything higher has the opposite effect. I thought I could "cheat" a little too and use magnitude to provide more options within one effect, but I didn't have any luck with those tests. What you'd want here is Duration from the first tab. I might be able to set a duration for just inside the next year, but will durations be carried over like that? A good question and a good solution for temproary cheat removals. Hopefully Legate will be able to clarify that issue. Anyway, the new version is up! Well...Easy isn't done yet, but it should be ready sometime tomorrow. You've got Very Easy and Normal to play with right now. Check the first post for specific details.

@Fhoenix - I was toying with which actions to add multiples to. It shouldn't be a problem creating that option. If you want to open my mod in your mod tools, you can't with the file you download. I'd have to upload my base file which would be ~150MB. My connection is way too slow for that kind of upload.

No bother at all. I've just been catching up on actually playing the game. I'm like you in that I don't use the actual cheats myself, but I like the extra points for character depth. I'm adding another extra points option in Omen with the next version, but that'll be the last -1 background. I can try to make one of them a -2, but I'd prefer not to have any of my additions block any of the actual background choices. We'll see what happens in testing.

A very good idea. I was leaning toward that method as I thought the situation over, and there is an added bonus to this idea. I don't have to code choice limitations like those existing for familiars. Why? Because the game limits your choices on options that cost <1. In each section you are only able to choose one costing 0, one costing -1, etc. There is no effect on regular choices costing 1, so you can choose as many of those in each section as normal. I first found this when I had my mod originally split into Aptitude: Cheating and Aptitude: Familiar. They both were set to cost 0, but I was only able to select one at a time. Later testing explained why, and we ended up with the single Aptitude choice. This is also how I came up with where to place my "extra point fluff" background choices. I made sure to spread everything out so none of the game's original options were blocked by any of my additions. Quick testing report time. The Prevent effect prevents you from doing whatever was specified, so an action to prevent others in specified ways may be included later. The Duel effect can't be placed in my normal action type, and I think it may need to have a time, location, etc set anyway. The Inform ideas work correctly, and so does the familiar replacement. Next up are the disabled backgrounds and ability/action removal.

@retired_deer - That sounds like a good idea, but I'll have to balance points since you'll have more options to spend on. @Legate & Schwarzbart - Yes and no there. My original plan was to push out some quick fixes and redo (cleanup) my mod file with the release of DLC 6. This is looking less attractive as I add features to the mod, so I started looking for alternatives. One thing I tried was to make two separate mods, one for cheats and the other for fixes, and merge them for release. The only problem with that is the merging function seems too long to be a benefit over just regular publishing. Another idea was to release the two mods and just have folks activate them in the mod list like you'd expect. What led to doubts about this process was a result I got during my mod order test. If I put my mod above the DLC in the list, nothing of my mod would load into the game. Does that mean one of my mods would cancel out the other? I've not tested that yet, but I will as soon as I set up a test mod. As a side note, I managed to find the cause of the crash bug. My new duelling spell or the pheme I created for it seems to be the problem. They'll be removed until I learn more about spell and pheme creation.

There may be an issue, but I still need to do a little testing to know for certain.

Thanks, Legate! That clears up some confusion. New version up! Check the notes for important info and have fun. I'll have another release out after I fix the crash bug. Non-cheaters can use the Normal version for game bug fixes and two backgrounds to add points for character creation and random location reveals. Great for choosing more backstory for roleplay!

I know of a few things we can't do. The monsters have no AI right now, so they don't do anything when you fight them. The rimbal minigame isn't finished yet. Lastly, the Initiate effect is bugged right now. It's what they use to start the venalicium adventure chain. I've tried fixing it in the tools, but it looks like a code bug. I might be able to fix that chain after I fix up the mod. You've got some interesting ideas there. I don't know if some would get buggy like switching familiars or duelling yourself, but I'm willing to test out the effects. I can't guarantee including everything, like AI changes, but we'll see what fits into the scope of the mod. On a side, how fast is your net connection? If you're able to upload a base file you've modified, I'd be happy to try and publish it for you. I think you've got some great ideas to share with the community, and I'd like to help you get your own mod out there to folks. The AI seems very versatile and I'm interested to see where you'd take it. Anyways, this upcoming release will be the last official one until I can fix my crash bug. If I don't fix that I'll have to completely redo the mod when DLC 6 comes out.