Bt Builder

[dulsi]

Methuselas, I put in the sounds you got. I do have one request. I'd like to get equivalent sounds to each of the sounds available in BTCS. I know no one sees BTCS compatibility as important but I would still like to have it.

About the sound and picture numbers, I frankly don't worry about them. Eventually I'd like names/keywords associated with each image/sound. So instead of looking through the images for a skeleton. You could just type skeleton and see all the matching images. You could still scroll through all the images/sounds but keyword search is quicker.

[Methuselas]

I honestly don't even know what sounds were used in the original BTCS. Is there a list somewhere? Oh, I'll have a female "Ouch" sound this evening, thanks to the lady. She's always wanted to do voice over work, so I recorded her for this and for a new pilot for Mechcommander Omnitech.


As for the Map Editor, I got your binary and after looking at it, plus how you implemented numbering, it's probably best to remove the editor screen all together. There's really no way to edit it to work with how it's set up now. In fact, just as a test, I made a map that was 100x100, 'cos I had a feeling. The numbering on the bottom of the editor screen will clip at 3 digits. Just a head's up.

[dulsi]

I honestly don't even know what sounds were used in the original BTCS. Is there a list somewhere? Oh, I'll have a female "Ouch" sound this evening, thanks to the lady. She's always wanted to do voice over work, so I recorded her for this and for a new pilot for Mechcommander Omnitech.

I haven't found a list. I remember thinking they were worthless but I'm not that fond of sound anyway. I'll fire it up and find out when I get a chance.

In fact, just as a test, I made a map that was 100x100, 'cos I had a feeling. The numbering on the bottom of the editor screen will clip at 3 digits. Just a head's up.

I know. I generally think anything that large is unusable in the current editor. I've debated giving the editor a larger screen or simply not scale the map. So at 320x200 it would be 22x22. At 640x400, it would be 44x44. But doing that would be complicated since you would still want to scale the other stuff.

I'm currently thinking that I'm going to work on teleport spell and more attacks for monsters. With those two items I feel you can make something that feel more like the original games. Need to check how the BT2, teleport between towns works. I'm not sure if that will be a separate spell effect or not. I might punt it and just do the original APAR first.

[Methuselas]

I haven't found a list. I remember thinking they were worthless but I'm not that fond of sound anyway. I'll fire it up and find out when I get a chance.

Ambient sounds are good. They add flavor to a map and game. That's why I added the ones, I did. I still have more to do, but I thought those would be a great starting point for new builders.

I know. I generally think anything that large is unusable in the current editor. I've debated giving the editor a larger screen or simply not scale the map. So at 320x200 it would be 22x22. At 640x400, it would be 44x44. But doing that would be complicated since you would still want to scale the other stuff.

Yeah, I know. I actually set my wilderness maps to 128x128. I haven't tried to go higher, 'cos I thought that was the limit you programmed. I don't really want to lose large map functionality. Perhaps you can have the numbers scroll with the map as well? I never wanted to make a new screen, 'cos the only way to do it was to make a foreign screen size. That's why I said it best to remove the Map Screen all together.

I'm currently thinking that I'm going to work on teleport spell and more attacks for monsters. With those two items I feel you can make something that feel more like the original games. Need to check how the BT2, teleport between towns works. I'm not sure if that will be a separate spell effect or not. I might punt it and just do the original APAR first.

I think if you just cloned the following special as a spell effect things would be fine:

Teleport to X:<#>, Y:<#> in <DUNGEON FILE NAME>

That spell would allow me to make my gates, in my module and it would allow you to pretty much cast any teleport spell in the 3 original games. Now, you're obviously going to have to have TWO spells. 1 teleports within the confines of the same map (teleport relative, if you will.) 2 teleports you to x,y on the map listed.

[sombunall]

I know. I generally think anything that large is unusable in the current editor. I've debated giving the editor a larger screen or simply not scale the map. So at 320x200 it would be 22x22. At 640x400, it would be 44x44. But doing that would be complicated since you would still want to scale the other stuff.

I have an idea. Why not have a special mode where the user can spawn a separate window for the editor and support big resolutions like 1920x1200? Also it would be nice if there was headroom for ridiculously large maps like 4096x4096 or 32768x32768 in the engine... you know... for external map generators someone might program. Then use 'CTRL+right arrow' for page right, etc.

[sombunall]

Just for lulz I told the editor to make a 4095x4095 map. It worked at 8K/s, was CPU locked on 1 core, took 13 minutes and the file weighs in at 19.9Megs! DOH hehe.

edit: loading the file is pretty much instant.

[Methuselas]

Just for lulz I told the editor to make a 4095x4095 map. It worked at 8K/s, was CPU locked on 1 core, took 13 minutes and the file weighs in at 19.9Megs! DOH hehe.

edit: loading the file is pretty much instant.

Good, God. I thought I was pushing the overkill with a 128x128 wilderness tileset. I wanted the ability to get "lost", if you will, so you can find a bunch of easter eggs I have either hidden about or plan to put, throughout the main forest area surrounding the first city.


Dulsi,


Just curious, but are you at all any familiar with 68k coding? I am starting a bounty to port to BTBuilder to the AmigaOS flavors. Since 2 are PPC based, one is 68k based and the other x64/x86 based, I thought about seeing if someone will port it to either AROS (x86 version) or 68k, since all the flavors can run 68k code either natively or in a sandbox emulation. I had a friend attempt a quick and dirty port of it back on version 0.3, I think. He basically said that the BOOST package needed to be ported, before it would work. Is there any other rd party kits I need to add to the bounty duties so it will work properly?

[dulsi]

Just curious, but are you at all any familiar with 68k coding? I am starting a bounty to port to BTBuilder to the AmigaOS flavors. Since 2 are PPC based, one is 68k based and the other x64/x86 based, I thought about seeing if someone will port it to either AROS (x86 version) or 68k, since all the flavors can run 68k code either natively or in a sandbox emulation. I had a friend attempt a quick and dirty port of it back on version 0.3, I think. He basically said that the BOOST package needed to be ported, before it would work. Is there any other rd party kits I need to add to the bounty duties so it will work properly?

btbuilder needs boost, expat, libpng, physfs, SDL, SDL_image, and SDL_mixer. It can also use SDL_ttf but isn't needed. I don't know which are available for the amiga. Expat, libpng, and physfs probably are plain C and easy to port.

I haven't programmed much on the amiga. My grandparents had one but only basic for programming languages. I can't say I have much interest in giving it a try.

[Methuselas]

Just curious, but are you at all any familiar with 68k coding? I am starting a bounty to port to BTBuilder to the AmigaOS flavors. Since 2 are PPC based, one is 68k based and the other x64/x86 based, I thought about seeing if someone will port it to either AROS (x86 version) or 68k, since all the flavors can run 68k code either natively or in a sandbox emulation. I had a friend attempt a quick and dirty port of it back on version 0.3, I think. He basically said that the BOOST package needed to be ported, before it would work. Is there any other rd party kits I need to add to the bounty duties so it will work properly?

btbuilder needs boost, expat, libpng, physfs, SDL, SDL_image, and SDL_mixer. It can also use SDL_ttf but isn't needed. I don't know which are available for the amiga. Expat, libpng, and physfs probably are plain C and easy to port.

I haven't programmed much on the amiga. My grandparents had one but only basic for programming languages. I can't say I have much interest in giving it a try.

Nope. This was exactly what I needed. The guy coding the 68k version of AROS is looking into porting what's needed. Evidently some of it is already on AROS.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwpB_j ... sp=sharing

Here's a new status.xml. It's one I use for my personal projects. It moves Spell Levels to it's own page and adds another page for Skills. The only thing is, the numbering for items is turned off (I allow 16 items), 'cos it caused issues and skills apparently can go over 100%. Dulsi, was this intentional? As it stands, there's no chance of failure over 99%.

One request. Dulsi, for the Job.xml can we get a <changeRuleLevel> that has <Class> and <Equal> elements, but is still bound by the <changeRuleAtLeast minimum=""> command? I want to be able to change to advance classes, using a certain number of Class levels, rather than spell levels.

Oh any eta on when we can create our own shops?

[Methuselas]

Dulsi, on the subject of bows and arrows:


Do the bonuses of bows stack with arrows? So, if you have a bow that does 4d12 Damage, that damage will stack with the arrow damage? I would like this feature, if it's not too much trouble. I'm trying to create a Ranger/Longbowman Class. Unfortunately, the best way to do this is make powerful bows, usable only by the Ranger Class. I wanted Rangers to be able to shoot arrows equal to a number of attacks (like Warriors, Monks and Paladins.), but I don't think that's possible within the scopes of the engine.

[sombunall]

I want to check out your status.xml but I can't remember the darn command line switch to make it re-read the data directory and it isn't written anywhere! I don't want to recompile.

[sombunall]

Oh yeah there is no option. I keep forgetting it goes in /use/share/btbuilder/data on debian.

[sombunall]

Hey Methus nice mod! How did you figure that out?

[Methuselas]

Hey Methus nice mod! How did you figure that out?

It's just simple xml editing. The xmil file, itself, contains all the pages, I just added a few. On my Module, there are actually 14 different Spell Colleges, so the Spell Page is taken up by 2 columns of 7 each. I really wish there was a way to only show skills based on your class only. :/

Okay, so I've been hacking away at the xml files, trying to set everything up the way I wanted the engine to work, before I started trying to put together the Dungeon Levels I made. I've noticed a few things I need, noted below.

Skill.xml

In the skill xml file, is there any way we can move the default difficulties from the Skill xml to the Job xml, placed under a specific job's skill or add one to the Skill in the Job xml to over-ride the on in the Skill xml? In my current Build, I have Rogues and Tinkers. Tinkers are a dwarf class that will eventually be able to forge and craft items. Tinkers can also disarm traps, but at a higher difficulty that Rogues. So, I want to increase the default difficulty by 20, but the only way to do that is to create a new skill that does the exact, same thing as one already done.

In the skill xml, can we have a Spell skill. All this does is fires off the spell, as a skill, without an SP cost. Now, combat would have to be edited, so you can "cast" these skills in combat, but I wanted to use these sort of like Feats from WoTC's D&D. It would use points, based on Level, like Bard song, but I want to be able to change the point increase, based on level. So, you would start with 1 Action Point but gain 1 point per 3 levels.

<skill>
</name> - Name of Skill
</use> - Use of Skill
</effect> - 4 Letter Spell Code/Number of Spell in List
</roll> - Percent Chance
</defaultDifficulty> - Default Difficulty
</limited> - If the Skill has charges based on Level
</cost> - Cost in charges
</Level> - Minimum Level to use Skill
</skill>

Jobs.xml

I've noticed again that the Jobs are hard-coded. I had to remember how to fix that, when Caars figured it out. Since we can't change those, without the risk of breaking the Engine, is it best to just leave the default Jobs alone and put new jobs after the last, default one removing racial requirements, as needed? I would much rather have the Monster and Illusion at the TOP of the list, so all the "Player" Jobs could be added/removed after and not interfere with the Engine.

Jobs need a changeRuleLevel Element. That way I can require a specific class attain a certain level, before being able to change to another class. I originally cheated, using Class Spells to do this for Fighting Classes, but it was messy and left me with Skills that showed up in the Engine, under Spells, that weren't being used.

Spells.xml

Found the TAG element for spells. Monsters and Spells can have multiple tags, no?

I really need a (x)Round/Level + (n) Duration. Combat is longer and more deadly in my campaign, but I want spells that can be cast in combat, yet not last the entire combat.

Did BTCS not come with Locate Traps and Detect Specials? I thought it did, but apparently it just came with Trap Zap and Scry Site.

Items.xml

I need the ability for an item to GRANT a skill. I have 14 Schools of Magic and I want to have Books you can find that will grant you a level in that specific School, instead of having to purchase it from the Guild. So, if you find a Book of Div 1 and use the Book, the book will disappear but give the Character Level 1 in Divination. The effects are permanent.

Shops.xml

The Shops xml is ready for multiple shops, but the Shop.xml is not. Can this be fixed? From what I've looked at, xml-wise, the Shop.xml just needs a <Shop> Element and you could copy Garth's, edit the Shop to your heart's content, change the Shop Element and bam, you have a new shop, ready to go. The only thing that would need to be modified is Exit to Garth's. Change it to Exit to Shop and the Special just has a Shop Element to point to the correct Shop, the default being Garths.

I have armor done (gloves, boots (fgnr), pants (instruments) and armor), but I want different shops to go to, to find different things. I also want to be able to limit shops to race and class, which can be accomplished already through Specials. I just need multiple shops.

If we could also get a cost modifier for different shops, via the Exit to Shop Special, it would be even better.

I honestly hope we can get as much as possible in Config xmls and as little as possible, hard-coded. I will HAPPILY edit xml files to get the desired results I need.

Map Editor

Dulsi, can you add a function in the Map Editor that allows each Dungeon to have a treasure list or to save out a treasure list based on Dungeon Level. When you use it, it loads up the items list and you pick items to drop. It either saves it to the Dungeon Map.xml or it saves out a Treasure List that saves the each list per Dungeon Level. Number of drops would work GREAT if setup just like how Wandering Monsters are. 5% for 1, 4% for 2, 3% for 3, etc.

[Methuselas]

Dulsi, I've run into a problem using spells. I have 15 Schools of Magic and not all spell classes use all the schools. Adepts, which are the beginning Mage class start with 3 Schools at level 1. I've set the Job to be able to purchase additional Schools from the Review Board, but there I run into problems.

1. The Review Board.xml points towards a Job, rather than a Skill. So, what I end up seeing is "Adept Spell Level 2" instead of "Evocation Spell Level 2." Is there a way to have the xml go through the skills, instead of based of the Job?

2. The RB will only let you buy skills you already have at least 1 in. It won't let you purchase other School levels, even if available at level 1.



[EDIT] - Okay, yeah, if you don't have at least Level 1 in a Spell Skill, you are unable to purchase the skills from the Review Board. If you set the some of the Spell Skill's value to 1 and some 0, BTBuilder will crash. I need to be able to set Spell Skills to have a value of 0, so you can purchase Spell School Levels later. I want to make it so, just 'cos you have access to a Spell School, you can't use it until you acquire Spell Levels, via the Review Board, Spell Books (items) or wandering Spell Masters (currently beyond the scope of the BT Engine, but doable crudely if we had items (or even a spell) that could grant Spell Skill Levels.)