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"Wiz8 Editor Questions Answered..........(unofficially ;) ...)"

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Deathstalker (9 posts) Click to EMail Deathstalker Click to send private message to Deathstalker Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Mar-26-05, 03:26 PM (Pacific)
"Wiz8 Editor Questions Answered..........(unofficially ;) ...)"
First off, I'm not Madgod the creator of the editor. Nor do I claim full understanding of the editor and its many quirks and mysteries. But I have worked with the editor since version 1 and I havn't touched another game since the darn thing came out (yes, its that addictive ....)

This thread shall (hopefully) be a place for people to post their questions and those of us who use the editor regularly can answer them to the best of our collective knowledge.

First off, its best to get the latest version of Maddgod's editor from his homepage as he updates it when he can and each update adds MAJOR new options (IMO the editor he made and continues to support is the best thing to happen to wiz8 since wiz8 came out! I'd pretty much mention Wiz8, Maddgod and Gary Gygax in the same sentence and feel comfortable doing so ..)

Next, on to our first question

""deathstalker,
i am playing around with the editor and i was wondering how you changed the monster generators. or how you got your new monsters into the game. i haven't been able to figure it out.

-k ""

Answer:

First off, like before, get the latest version of the editor as previous versions did NOT have the option of adding new monsters and/or monster generators.

Second, go into the monster editor mode when you have the latest version and you'll see 3 options near the monsters name. Apply, Discard and New. Click new and it will prompt you to choose a monster to 'template' your new one off of. (choose a monster very similar...ie if you want a dragon then choose a Gazer type monster, want a new thief type then pick one of the Higardi type Bandits. One thing you won't be able to change when picking a new monster is its composition (ie, ooze, magic, metal, etc) so pick something you want.)).

Then play around with the stats (look at similarly powered monsters to base experience off of.....very important is what the monsters 'model script' is...this controls what the creature will act like when givin attack modes, if you give a creature a beserk attack and its script only calls for swings then your out of luck as the creature will attack in combat but you won't see any type of movement/etc when it does....more importantly if it doesn't have a spell cycle in its script it will boot down to windoz and give you an error saying blah blah monster does not have a spell cycle...)

If you want the characters to be able to talk to the critter then give it an NPC script (take note though, if you give it a unique script like the Savants or Antones then you will generate unpleasant results!!!....and the Mook guards will always get grumpy and attack when spoken too....)

To add treasure you must 'Control' and double click with the mouse to add the item/treasure chest.

The two groups of levels are important too, the top one is the level the creature is encountered on (ie, 4 to 24 means once your 4 th level you will start seeing the monster until your 24th level) the second group of levels is the creatures actual level (important for spell damage and other rolls).

I could go on forever (or a really long time) so I'll get to the meat of the Answer to how to get new monsters into the game.

ONE: (and easist) is the POSSIBLE COMPANIONS options, up to two other creatures can accompany a monster (ie, a group of Higardi Highwaymen can be accompanied by a group of Umpani Renegades as the first companion and a group of Cultists as the second companion....the percentage means the chance that they will show up with the 'host' group....so just browse through the monsters already created and you can just ADD your new monsters as companions!!!).

TWO: and a bit more tricky is the monster generator options, only the latest versions of the editor have it so you can either add your new monsters directly to an already created generator (ie, add your new Trynnie Bandits to the Bandit generator) or replace unwanted monsters in the generator OR create an entirely new generator (templating it off of another current generator, name it what you want and then replace all the monster types on it to the newly created ones or a mix of old and new). Then just enter the Location Editor and either replace a current generator (right click to add in the selected window) or add a new generator, just be careful of the coordinates of the new generator as you may end up generating your new monsters in a wall or off a cliff (or the Monestary sink, not fun). Generally pick an item you know where it is on the item placement generator or a monster where you know where it is and place the coordinates near it.


anything else ;)


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kwyncee (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Mar-26-05, 06:30 PM (Pacific)
1. "RE: Wiz8 Editor Questions Answered..........(unofficially ;) ...)"
thank you very much... that answered my question perfectly.

-k

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kwyncee (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Mar-26-05, 09:38 PM (Pacific)
2. "RE: Wiz8 Editor Questions Answered..........(unofficially ;) ...)"
what does it mean if the game crashes to desk top upon starting a new party (but not starting the sample party) with the following error message?

Debug assertion in module C:\Project\Wizardry8\Local Code\PCItem.cpp line 564 failed:

Expression InitNewItem: error.invalid item #918 specified

i added two new items to the lower monastery, but even after i took them out, even after i took all the new items out... meaning they're still in the items folder but not actually placed anywhere in the game... i still have the crash.

-k

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kwyncee (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Mar-28-05, 01:41 PM (Pacific)
4. "big problem"
well, now i fear that there is something seriously wrong because i've reinstalled and put wiz 8 back to its original form and i still get the error message at startup. i'm using version 1.24.

the only thing i can find is that somehow all the files in the database file are now associated with a graphics program. i'm guessing i did that on accident while trying to change some graphics and now i can't figure out how to change it back. reinstalling didn't work.

please help a computer idiot

-k

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Llevram (5413 posts) Click to EMail Llevram Click to send private message to Llevram Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Mar-28-05, 03:39 PM (Pacific)
5. "File association"
... you can usually manage that through Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer). Specific directions probably vary depending on which version of Windows you are running.

Generally you go through Tools--> Folder Options--> File Types

Tools for Wizardry(r) 7

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kwyncee (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Mar-29-05, 08:41 AM (Pacific)
6. "RE: File association"
thanks everyone for assistance... i think i've figured out the answers to all my questions so far.

-k

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mad god (4 posts) Click to EMail mad%20god Click to send private message to mad%20god Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Mar-27-05, 11:01 PM (Pacific)
3. "RE: Wiz8 Editor Questions Answered..........(unofficially ;) ...)"
>>>>>
One thing you won't be able to change when picking a new monster is its composition (ie, ooze, magic, metal, etc) so pick something you want.)).
<<<<<
What does it mean? I thought monster editor allows to edit all major monster properties... If composition means "body parts" then it is editable, the right-bottom control of the dialog. It is not obvious, probably I should replace it with a combobox with friendly terms....

>>>>>>
Then play around with the stats (look at similarly powered monsters to base experience off of.....very important is what the monsters 'model script' is...this controls what the creature will act like when givin attack modes, if you give a creature a beserk attack and its script only calls for swings then your out of luck as the creature will attack in combat but you won't see any type of movement/etc when it does....more importantly if it doesn't have a spell cycle in its script it will boot down to windoz and give you an error saying blah blah monster does not have a spell cycle...)
<<<<<<<
Lates version supports changing of various text scripts. With a bit of intelligence and script comparing you may modify existing scripts to add all movements your monster lack. You also can create new monster scripts (outside the editor) and editor will pick them up.

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IronmanOnly (Guest) (1 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-12-05, 07:10 AM (Pacific)
7. "RE: Wiz8 Editor Questions Answered..........(unofficially ;) ...)"
I have a Wiz8 Editor question... how did MadGod figure all of this stuff out without access to the source code? Or did he have access?
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mad god (4 posts) Click to EMail mad%20god Click to send private message to mad%20god Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-12-05, 09:57 PM (Pacific)
8. "No, I have no access to source code."
Of course one can use disassemble.. and thus can get the source, but I'm not so powerfull in code disassembling to get the source from megabytes of code.

It is called reverse engeneering. You look into the binary file and trying to get any sense out of the mess you are looking at.

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KingKrull (Guest) (3 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-13-05, 11:55 AM (Pacific)
9. "RE: No, I have no access to source code."
Mad God

Is there any way I can download your editor to all three installations of Wiz8 I have on my computer? I have v1.0b for the pickpocketing, Deathstalker's mod (v1.2.4) and Flame's mod (v1.2.4).

When I unzip it to each installation it only seems to recognise one of them. I'm not technically minded so may be doing something daft.

Many thanks.

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Josh.Colton (Guest) (1 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-13-05, 07:13 PM (Pacific)
10. "RE: No, I have no access to source code."
King,

Under the toolbar option 'Setup' and then 'Settings' you can change the Game Installation Path by browsing to the appropriate folder.

I don't know for sure, but I suspect that will allow you to switch which version you are editing.

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mad god (4 posts) Click to EMail mad%20god Click to send private message to mad%20god Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-13-05, 09:37 PM (Pacific)
11. "Yes, indeed. And also (from the readme.txt):"
Cosmic Forge now can be launched with string parameter. This parameter indicates which registry key will be used to read/write editor settings (game folder, language, dialog settings). This feature is useful when editor used to work with two or more versions of Wizardry: thus two or more shortcuts can be created with different string values and launching each shortcut will read/write all settings from each own registry key.
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kwyncee (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-15-05, 10:53 AM (Pacific)
12. "limit on items file??"
is there a limit on how many slf graphic files the game can use? i created a bunch of new graphics, but in the game, even in the npc editor, they are all showing up as the same axe graphic. i guess i shouldn't say all since i haven't seen them all, but both the throwing knives and the suede doublet showed up as the graphic assigned for a battle axe.

as always, any help is appreciated.

-k

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kwyncee (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-17-05, 03:43 PM (Pacific)
13. "more details about graphic problems..."
after some more testing with my new graphics i have discovered that they work great as long as the items are in the party inventory or in a character inventory, but if they are in any of the equipped spaces they change to the graphic that is assigned to a battle axe... armor, cloaks, amulets, weapons everything shows up when equipped as a battle axe.
is there some feature of the editor that i am missing? some way to have the game recognize the new graphics of equippable items when they are equipped? i mean there obviously is since lana made a bunch of new stuff, but does anyone else know how it's done?

-k

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Deathstalker (Guest) (7 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-17-05, 04:33 PM (Pacific)
14. "RE: more details about graphic problems..."
Hopefully this will help:

For item creation,

In the editor there are a few values,, top is the appearance id, this ranges from 0 (dagger) to 144 (rocket launcher), this is how the item appears before you pick it up (the party view) when it is unidentified, this is just the name though, so it can be an unidentified phaser when the graphic on the screen is a bow. The model name is what actually appears in the party view (bow, etc, just click down the list for what you want the item to closest represent, ie a dagger for a bite dagger or a locket for an amulet, etc).

Weapon matter is what the sound effect is of the weapon striking (ie, fist, powerglove, etc) and has no bearing other than the sound effect, great if you want a stun blade to sound like a small ray.

Missile is what you want the graphic of the missile to look like in flight, WARNING, some of the missile graphics have built in special abilities like the mind stab having a chance to drive the target insane. You can now create new missiles and abilities with the latest editor edition.

Useage sound is just that, when used as an item (or gadget, or insturment) it makes the sound selected.

Change image, this is the file where it goes to a huge selection of images for you to pick from for viewing in the character inventory/party inventory. Make sure you have any extra added images etc in an 'ITEM' folder within the wiz8 folder so the program can pick them up for useage. A few images are not suitable for weapon graphics, I tried the skull for a throwing skull and it kept on causing the screen to go 'fuzzy' in places when it was used.

Easiest thing I have found is always use templates when making a new item, you want a misc magic item, use another as a starter then add abilities and save. Want a new battle axe, then use the battle axe and change the picture and add abilities.

Hope any of this helps.

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kwyncee (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-17-05, 08:25 PM (Pacific)
15. "RE: more details about graphic problems..."
thanks for the reply...

i don't know what the problem is... the graphics show up fine in every stage of the editor except in an rpc's equipped slots and then though the cursor says the correct name it shows the battle axe... if i double click on the battle axe graphic it pulls up the item editor for the correct item and the correct graphic is there.

if i place items in the game they show up with the assigned appearence id and they look right in inventory... until they are equipped and then it's battle axes. they work like they're supposed to (for example the throwing knives showed a dagger missile graphic and did the correct damage and in the text the character threw a throwing knife) but they look like battle axes in the equipped slots.

i've demodded, installed other mods and even completely reinstalled the original game twice and still the battle axes haunt me. maybe i will try reinstalling the editor next.

someone save me from the malicious battle axe graphics!!

-k

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mad god (4 posts) Click to EMail mad%20god Click to send private message to mad%20god Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-18-05, 00:50 AM (Pacific)
16. "RE: more details about graphic problems..."
That's simple enough. Load NPC editor, Select "Pvt. Sparkle" and pay attention to equipped arrows and arrows in the inventory. Find 10 distinctions in the two images... See?

Now, if you have any STI viewer/editor, load some item STI file and make sure it has more than 1 frames. 1st frame is simple icon, second frame is equipped icon, third frame is game screen small equipped icon. Some item STI files can lack third or even second icons. That's because they can never be equipped and such.

Hope you have understood the idea.

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kwyncee (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-18-05, 04:32 PM (Pacific)
17. "RE: more details about graphic problems..."
thank you! thank you! thank you!!

you saved my sanity.

-k

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Aragon (Guest) (35 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Apr-26-05, 06:55 AM (Pacific)
18. "RE: Wiz8 Editor Questions Answered..........(unofficially ;) ...)"
I must repeat my question!

Can someone say to me, how I get (x, y, z) the coordinates in the Game indicated? Is there a keyboard combination?

Mauscourser = indication of coordinate

THX

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