Way to North - content and item balancing with some Q/A

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

Duplicates are normal, in fact duplicates are good as you can tell at a glance if you've set up you mod folders correctly (no duplicate folder, then you'll be overwriting the core files). And it doesn't matter which you choose it always loads the modified files.

 

[TwoEyedYum]

Yes, it's only a visual confuse =) At this point all works finely. I don't plan to add new armors, and new ammo/weapons can be added via BOSEE. I'm happy i'm reached next step of work, and this step covered im many tutorials over here

Btw, question of individual tastes - is it fine to remove FN Fal and CAWS from "Trader" mission, as it IS NOT random encounter? Every player can easily get these weapons and rock'n'roll through first half of game...

 

[jarekfall]

Thanks gods i installed another copy of FT speciall for this =) When i finished with shortcuts (i made them for improvers, that logical, isn't it?) i started normal game and all seems to be fine... Next i started FT tools and it gave me a slap with something like "your copy of Fallout not installed correctly, bla-bla-bla, return your disk to Interplay"... AND, after this even normal executables didn't work. Looks like it crashes registry settings somehow...

I will try help you, but first must explain some things:

1. FT Improver doesn't modify windows registry.
2. FT Improver doesn't modify any files on your hard disk.
3. FT Improver modifies only memory.

Sorry, Jarek Seems like our east neighbour's version of FT doesn't like Poland (i'm from Belarus). But after single try of Improved Tools i need to reinstall game, and i don't like it. If i had no choice, i would try more times...

I'm sorry you have had to reinstall your game, but please note that:
1. Both files BOS.exe and FT Tools.exe contain text only in English language. There is almost no difference between Polish and Russian version of BOS.exe and FT Tools.exe. Every text line which is displayed in your own language is located in game text files. Of course there are many different compilations of BOS.exe in version 1.27 or FT Tools.exe in version 1.26. I have two diffrerent compilations of Polish FT, both have the same size, but differ in one location in several bytes.
2. Fallout Tactics installer writes to windows registry only several lines of data, it can work without any entry in windows registry. Of course if a windows registry contains incorrect values, this may cause game to crash.

If you will reinstall your windows system and have game installed on a different partition than C, you don't have to install the game after system reinstallation. But if you would like to have information in windows registry you can modify and add these entries:

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\14 Degrees East]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\14 Degrees East\Fallout Tactics]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\14 Degrees East\Fallout Tactics\1.00.000]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\14 Degrees East\Fallout Tactics\1.27]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectPlay\Applications\FTM]
"CurrentDirectory"="D:\\Fallout Tactics"
"Path"="D:\\Fallout Tactics"
"File"="BOS.exe"
"Guid"="{BC3A2ACD-FB46-4c6b-8B5C-CD193C9805CF}"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\BOS.exe]
"Path"="D:\\Fallout Tactics"
@="D:\\Fallout Tactics\\BOS.exe"

This is almost all what game installer writes to windows registry. I haven't placed here any information for game uninstaller, because it is unimportant and every game edition have different uninstallers.

Added: well, if you didn't expirienced such problems with russian versions before, i can do some more tests. If you need it.

Yes, please and please send me an archive with your (unmodified and working) files: BOS.exe and FT Tools.exe.

 

[TwoEyedYum]

Two reasons for this post (i like to find some reasons for doing anything ):

1) I'm very-very sorry, Jarek, but your Improver is really nice =) Problem was in my HDD, that fights my files, like a ninja: it creates random bad sectors and most HDD-viewers don't find anything serious. It just came in the same time, that my fallout files were fu'ed up with another bunch of bad sectors right after Improver was installed. On new HDD it's works ok.
P.S. Still have no use fot it, until i want to make some armors =) Think i will find use for it later.

2) Found "random speech" tag in recruits settings. Didn't found good info on using it in a way i like: i want each recruits to say random phrases from time to time, as Cassidy and others did in Fo1/2.
Well, all those raiders and muties say plenty of nice things randomly, and my team remain silent But enemies are pre-placed entities, and their random speechs made through speech editor in every mission. But i want to find a way to make a "global" random" speech

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

To use speech a recruit must have a tag name, unfortunately tag names get stripped every time you spawn on a new map. To get around this you'd have to give each recruit a tag name in the entity editor and then add a recruit master to each map. Then the player would have to return the squad to the recruit pool before going to the world map or using the go to mission command, you can enforce this by not turning on the exit grid/trigger until the player only has the main dude left.

This can be also used to give the main character a tag name (without limiting the player to a prefab character) by adding the main character's tag name, for example 'player' to every single player spawn on each map including random encounters. Unfortunately this method is incompatible with the move unit and kill unit actions as often or not the game will move the spawn point (or items to the spawn point) rather than the main character.

 

[TwoEyedYum]

So, only tricks and no real "global" way to make them "alive" =) Ahh, that makes me sad...
I would like to see Stitch saying something like "Oh, i just wounded you? Let's fix it now!" when he fills someone with 12 gauge grains

Anyway, there enough serious things to fix, and "speeches" are only esthetical problem, not like diversity of various small guns, their actuality and other stuff.

Still need some details on critical/knockdown multipliers and spread arc types in FT Tools. Would be very thankful

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

Still need some details on critical/knockdown multipliers and spread arc types in FT Tools. Would be very thankful

Straight is a narrow straight line, radial is a 360 arc (used for grenades etc) burst IIRC is the smaller and spray the larger arc. Cone is 3d so entities above and below the target can also get hit not just those on either side.

 

[TwoEyedYum]

Hm, but radial doesn't intended to hurt grenade itself? Have some idea for EMP wave-emitter

Also, "straight" burst seems to hit random targets in a line, tested it yesterday. Would be really interesting to hit those "hidden" muties behind Jefferson lab with such "burst". Magic bullet, you say?

Great thanks for info.

 

[TwoEyedYum]

Ok, weapon tweaks made (some of them according my ideas in http://www.nma-fallout.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=745554#745554), and some more on the way.

Now is time for planning custom locations. No problem with building them (i'm quite like making these houses and train stations piece-by-piece), but something worries me about locations itself. Some of them should be NOT a bunkers (we can't save here in TG), NOR missions - villages and cities, that have their own life, not messed with BoS or their primary enemies.

Which triggers i may set up for these neutral locations, without adding them to "mission" list, without need to begin and end missions. I still want to display usual short brief in window (not orders, but PC's "impressions" on what he sees here, inspired by "Shadow" series of SP maps). Who alwady had expirience of making "neutral" locations with minor quests and such?

P.S.:
Usual Burst mode also damages targets on several levels. Stein with M249 killed 3 muties with one standart critical burst. Height difference between targets was quite obvious, through shoot range was close to maximum (35-40). Maybe, vertical spread angle is much lesser that horizontal one, but it still here

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

Add the neutral missions to the end of the core definitions, in the campaign.txt as you did for your starting mission but put the status as either visited (location known) or uncovered (location unknown). If you want to see an example in action check out the Awaken campaign.

Maybe cone was the spread pattern gets wider the further out while the others stay uniform? I can't remember to be honest, I haven't looked at this for years, unless you encountered the spread burst bug.

 

[TwoEyedYum]

Awaken is so big... I pay for traffic, so it will take time to get it through my friend, who uses unlim... Any less weighty examples?



Made example map with different levels and dummies. Hm... I'm not the one, who writes up all statistics, but seems, that burst and cone CAN hit targets in pseudo-3D area.
But their mechanics differ, IMHO. I've seen many hits by rifles, M249, Browning (it really hits many targets in several angles...), and SHOTGUNS. I've compared them with spread-types. Now i think:

• Burst - each bullet hits ONE random target in Xdegrees wide cone.
  
  Cone, used by shotguns - each bullet can hit SEVERAL targets (as in real life, isn't that 12 gauge?).

Just IMHO Thx for guiding, because of your words i made this test. Will test further and gather some statistics...

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

Well Brahmin Wood is an example you already have, when you go the world map from your new starting map you should see it without needing to trigger it.

Burst and spray can definately hit more than one target and with more than one bullet. I wish I could remember where someone (OTB IIRC) posted about the arcs, but it's more likely that the width of spray and burst are consistant along their range. While the arc for cone starts narrow like the 'straight' arc near the character firing and widens the further the bullets travel.

 

[TwoEyedYum]

Brahmin wood, as any other mission map, leaves entry in my mission-list, you know. Bunker don't leave such entry, but they are bunkers.

Also working on weaponry:
- remade quite rare M14 into P14 Enfield rifle - an average sniping alternative to common hunting rifle, auto-fire removed, still uses 0.303;
- SMGs are faster then rifles, aren't they? Default AP cost for most SMGs reduced by 1. Steyr and some other weapons seem to need be adjusted in damage and range, not in AP cost;
- AP cost and damage increased for M29 and Casull, as they ARE slower and "bangier" then pistols;

Questions raised: "burst" mode used by pistols seems to be usual single animation, repeated X times, where X - number of bullets used. And now i want to modify FN FAL (rifle-type) to be more "universal" - should i use single or some other animation for "three-shots-burst" mode. How X apllies to firing speed (visual) and overall action length?

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

Sorry I haven't got the game installed here, by mission list do you mean showing up in the pipboy? I thought you were talking about adding the missions by triggers without adding them to the campaign list. Just set them to 'true' in the campaign.txt for 'is bunker', don't worry this isn't what controls saving in tough guy mode, that is set by a tick box in the level editor.

 

[TwoEyedYum]

Yeah, that was my main worries Thx for let me knowing this little difference

 

[jarekfall]

Questions raised: "burst" mode used by pistols seems to be usual single animation, repeated X times, where X - number of bullets used. And now i want to modify FN FAL (rifle-type) to be more "universal" - should i use single or some other animation for "three-shots-burst" mode.

There is no matter which animation you will use and how many bullets you will fire, all animations are performed only once per shot. Pistols use "Single" animation for their burst mode because there is no "Burst" animation for a pistol in the character sprite files.

How X apllies to firing speed (visual) and overall action length?

The X have no meaning in firing speed. Action speed depends on animation length. This means it depends on number of animation frames that have to be displayed. In a sprite file if a sequence player will come across a "Fire" special action a character will fire from his weapon and a projectile (optional) will be presented and animated.

 

[TwoEyedYum]

The X have no meaning in firing speed. Action speed depends on animation length. This means it depends on number of animation frames that have to be displayed. In a sprite file if a sequence player will come across a "Fire" special action a character will fire from his weapon and a projectile (optional) will be presented and animated.

Means, that "pseudo-burst" on pistols is mirage How they made this? Maybe animation plays once, but firing sound is tripled?

And i found meaning of one-four animations. Ehh, i hoped that they are for 1-bullet, 2-bullet and such shots

 

[requiem_for_a_starfury]

Means, that "pseudo-burst" on pistols is mirage How they made this? Maybe animation plays once, but firing sound is tripled?

Nope same animation, same sound, that's the power of suggestion for you. You are told that it's firing three bullets so you are imagining the rest.

 

[TwoEyedYum]

Well, implemented "three" mode on AR15 (former M16 which shouldn't come to Fallout for several reasons), and it works almost fine

Now about unique (found at Sent-Louis "secret" box) weapon i want.
It is, or based on Barret M82, heavy anti-material sniper rifle.
Damage 25-45.
Mode 0: Range 40, 1x damage, no aimed, 4 AP cost
Mode 1: Range 60, 0.8x damage, can aim, 6 AP cost
It supposed to be heavy gun, so HW specialist can fire it without damaging allies and dealing decent damage at good rate. On other hand, HW guy with PE8+ can snipe muties from good distance, at cost of low speed.
If someone can suggest another idea - welcome

 

[TwoEyedYum]

About burst, spray and such.... Looked through FT tools

BURST arc used by heavy guns, miniguns, auto-rifles, SMG-s and even three-firing pistols. Again, all of them use BURST arc.
And CONE used only by shotguns - the only weapon that damages several targets with same bullet.
Flamer uses NONE arc And no damage radius, so it's hardcoded, i suppose...

Grenades use NONE arc (some of them STRAIGHT through ), but they have damage radius. Need to experiment with this...

width of spray and burst are consistant along their range. While the arc for cone starts narrow like the 'straight' arc near the character firing and widens the further the bullets travel.

I will search for version at which these tests were made. In my 1.25 version HW guy stays in middle of party and targets several enemies far ago with M2. Another two guys stay so close to his "45 degree firing angle" that they must take damage from his M2 along with those enemies. But they seem to be fine. If BURST width would be really consistant, my guys would be dead many times...

Next time i'll try to make screenshots with guys' positioning, so you can see what i meant.