29 replies to this topic

[Nilfalasiel]

I thought of mentioning this one out earlier, but I figured that there was no point, since the mod wasn't supported anymore. But since there's been a new version recently, maybe it's worth a heads up.

Kivan's bow has "armour class bonus: 1" as one of its properties. Now, from what I understand, this should lower his base AC by 1. However, what it does in my game is permanently add 1 point of AC every time I unequip it. Let's say he starts out with an AC of -12. I put the bow on him without seeing a change, but then, when I remove it to replace it, the AC becomes -11. If I go through the process again, it'll change to -10, etc. etc. So basically, if I ever equip the bow, I can't use another one without suffering a penalty.

I'm not sure whether it's a bug others have encountered, or whether it's just my game that somehow got fubared, but I might as well point it out.

Edited by Nilfalasiel, 18 December 2011 - 03:18 AM.

[berelinde]

It's easy enough to check. I'll just fire up DLTCEP and check the timing mode on that bow.


Aaaaand, I've checked every version of that bow, and all of them show timing mode 2-While equiped. That's exactly what it should be, so it must be unique to your game. Filing this one with "not a bug/no action."

[Nilfalasiel]

Oh ok, fair enough.

In that case, any idea what might cause such an issue? I'm unfamiliar with what "timing mode" stands for. Could it be something from BG2 Fixpack or BG2 Tweaks? The only other mod I have that affects character stats is Lvl1 NPC, but I hadn't touched Kivan's stats on that particular playthrough. I also have Unfinished Business, Widescreen, Coran and Xan installed, but I doubt they'd be responsible for the problem.

[berelinde]

Oddly enough, L1NPC might be to blame. That mod alters personal items so that they can be used by that NPC no matter what class/kit combination is assigned.

I can walk you through fixing the items locally, but that project may be more technically-oriented than you want to undertake. Let me know if you want to attempt it, though. You would need to download and install DLTCEP, but after that, the process is not too complicated.

[Nilfalasiel]

Sure, I can give it a try, thanks for the offer. I already have DLTCEP, although I'm not sure I can use it properly.

[Miloch]

berelinde, on 18 December 2011 - 11:42 AM, said:

Oddly enough, L1NPC might be to blame. That mod alters personal items so that they can be used by that NPC no matter what class/kit combination is assigned.

It does, but it doesn't mess with item effects which are wholly separate from usability flags in the .itm structure. So not the culprit (also Nilfalasiel says she did not install the Kivan component, so it wouldn't mess with the items at all unless the global usability were installed, which is akin to b#tweaks no?). AC -12 is pretty good to begin with but I don't suppose that's the issue (i.e. it can't be improved - what does it go to -20 or something?). Sounds more like a item cross-interference or something. I would try dropping everything (including equipped items on Kivan) and then equip and unequip it. If the unarmoured AC is 8 (or whatever) does that put it up to 9, 10, etc. with no other items?

Edited by Miloch, 21 December 2011 - 07:47 PM.

[berelinde]

No, the OP didn't specify mods that included usability components, and regardless, they don't mess with effects, either.

Which reminds me that I meant to post DLTCEP instructions and forgot. I'll try to do so tonight... 12 hours from now.

[Nilfalasiel]

Actually, I just took a look again, and I have apparently tweaked Kivan's DEX (didn't seem right to me that an archer didn't even have an 18). Now, this is odd, because I'm almost positive that I did this *after* the playthrough I'm having issues with, and changes shouldn't be applied retroactively, should they?

Anyways, the problem is not that I'm trying to improve his AC (the -12 is from my final ToB save, so this is as good as it's likely to get), it's that, while there are better bows, there is a stretch of the game for which Kivan's bow is usable, but I'd like not to lose (or gain, rather) that one point of AC when I replace it with a different bow.

Kivan's base AC is 6, and it's true that, without any other gear, the bow doesn't keep raising his AC when unequipped, so Miloch could be right on that one. I seem to have narrowed the problem down to Montolio's Cloak (Cespenar-crafted item). When I remove it, the bow does what it should be doing (lowers AC by one point when equipped, raises it back by one point when unequipped, and the raises don't cumulate). When I put it back on, the problem reappears. I loaded an early ToB save, where I didn't have Montolio's Cloak yet, and sure enough, the bow behaves normally.

Stats for Montolio's Cloak:

+1 bonus to AC
+1 bonus to all saving throws
+2 THAC0 with off hand

There's also an added oddity: description says that it's only usable (or rather "usuable", seems to be a typo there) by Rangers, but Coran is also able to equip it, despite being a Fighter/Thief. Further testing reveals that Jan and Haer'Dalis are, inexplicably, also able to equip it. No one else, though. Well, except for Minsc and Valygar, but that's normal. I'm unable to test Korgan, Anomen or Edwin, however (due to never having had them in the party).

*scratches head*

Edited by Nilfalasiel, 22 December 2011 - 04:44 AM.

[Miloch]

Might want to look at those .itm files with DLTCEP or attach them here. DLTCEP is pretty easy to set up - you just need to point it to your game and tweak the options to your liking. Then you can search for the items by name, look at their effects, or extract them so you upload them or whatever.

I don't see an issue with that cloak in my game, but maybe some mod messed with it. Might want to run a change-log on it to see which - there are some instructions on that here.

[Nilfalasiel]

I just tried to run a change-log on Montolio's Cloak, but it's returning a parse error for Lv1 NPCs.

[WeiDU.exe] WeiDU version 22700
[WeiDU.exe] Using scripting style "BG2"
In state 32, I expected one of these tokens:
[2] ~~
Parse error (state 32) at BEGIN
[LEVEL1NPCS/LEVEL1NPCS.TP2] PARSE ERROR at line 11371 column 1-27
Near Text: BEGIN
GLR parse error
[LEVEL1NPCS/LEVEL1NPCS.TP2] ERROR at line 11371 column 1-27
Near Text: BEGIN
Parsing.Parse_error
ERROR: parsing [LEVEL1NPCS/LEVEL1NPCS.TP2]: Parsing.Parse_error
FATAL ERROR: Parsing.Parse_error

Does this mean there's something wrong with my WeiDU version? That's what I seem to have gathered from that "how-to" post on SHS.

As for locating the item with DLTCEP, the only options I have are:

Match item type
Match opcode
Match projectile
Match resource
Match Strref

Match item (which, I'm guessing, is the option to search for it by name) is greyed out...

Sorry for being such a pain!

Edited by Nilfalasiel, 28 December 2011 - 05:56 AM.

[Miloch]

Nilfalasiel, on 28 December 2011 - 05:38 AM, said:

FATAL ERROR: Parsing.Parse_error

Does this mean there's something wrong with my WeiDU version?

Probably - the latest version is v231 but I don't know why v227 would cause issues unless your Level 1 NPCs setup file got corrupted somehow. Might want to report it in the WeiDU forum. As for DLTCEP, it should have the Search buttons active, you may just need to go to Setup to point it to your game and set some options.

[Nilfalasiel]

The thing is, I have updated to v231. I haven't installed any mods with it, but my WeiDU.exe file is definitely v231. Do I need to, in order for it to register, or something?

As for DLTCEP, I've indicated that my installation is BG2+ToB, the chitin key and effects locations are both correct, the "ToB specific" box is ticked, and all the "check options" boxes are ticked. And yet, when I click Search > Items, the only options that aren't greyed out are the ones that I've listed...

[Miloch]

For WeiDU updating, you need to copy WeiDU.exe (latest version) to some mod's exe, like setup-level1npcs.exe. Then if you (try to) install or uninstall any mod, WeiDU will update all copies of itself (i.e. all setup-modname.exe files). If there's still an issue with it, try reporting it on the WeiDU forum.

For DLTCEP, the search options will be greyed out until you enable one. But actually to really search, you want to go to Edit > Item then click on Load Item. Then you get the long list of all items. You can input part of the name and click Search next from that list. Like if I enter "monto" there and Seach next, I get clck32.itm for Montolio's Cloak. Once you hit the right item, you can click OK to view it (different tabs for different info) and for example Save Item As... to export it somewhere (at which point you could attach it here or somewhere).

[Nilfalasiel]

Thanks a lot for the instructions, I was able to extract the .itm file for Montolio's Cloak. But I now feel very silly, as I don't see any means of attaching it...There doesn't seem to be an option to do so while writing a reply. I've looked on my profile, but all I see is the option to manage files, not upload them. I've taken a peek at the cloak's info in DLTCEP though, and here's what I get under "Usability":

(top 32 boxes)
All alignments
Cleric/Ranger
Ranger
All races

(bottom 32 boxes: they're all ticked)
Every specialist job
Every specialist mage

Also, under "General properties", the proficiency requirement for the cloak appears to be Large Swords...

As for WeiDU, after checking on SHS some more, I've renamed the WeiDU.exe into "setup-231.exe". I then ran it, and it updated the other exes, but finished with an error message saying it couldn't find "setup-231.TP2". Since it wasn't a regular mod setup file to begin with, it probably makes sense, but I just wanted to check.

Edit: After further fiddling, the change-log now works properly. It's also not detecting any mods that affect the cloak.

Edited by Nilfalasiel, 02 January 2012 - 07:02 AM.

[Miloch]

Take a look at the effects tab and Edit (or whatever, just going by memory) to see the effect details. They should all be set to "while equipped" for a cloak that's worn. Dunno if I can think of anything else except what I said, a conflict with some other item worn.