Journal Entry Updates, Fixes and Issues
Cerevant
Member Posts: 2,314
Hello all,
I've seen some comments that the journal entry is still not sorted by date, but this has been is fixed and is working in our tests. Specifcally:
1) The "Important Events" group is always on top
2) Quest groups follow in reverse time order, with the most recently updated group at the top of the list
3) Journal entries in each group are in reverse order, with the most recent entry at the top of the list
Please let us know if you are seeing something different than this.
Also, a tremendous effort has been made to clear up all the problems with journal entries being added and removed. Unfortunately, this was not the result of a single bug. Instead, each quest must properly post and remove quest entries, so each issue requires its own fix.
So if you find any issues / inconsistencies with Journal Entries, feel free to discuss them here.
Thanks!
I've seen some comments that the journal entry is still not sorted by date, but this has been is fixed and is working in our tests. Specifcally:
1) The "Important Events" group is always on top
2) Quest groups follow in reverse time order, with the most recently updated group at the top of the list
3) Journal entries in each group are in reverse order, with the most recent entry at the top of the list
Please let us know if you are seeing something different than this.
Also, a tremendous effort has been made to clear up all the problems with journal entries being added and removed. Unfortunately, this was not the result of a single bug. Instead, each quest must properly post and remove quest entries, so each issue requires its own fix.
So if you find any issues / inconsistencies with Journal Entries, feel free to discuss them here.
Thanks!
Post edited by Cerevant on
4
Comments
My main issues with the journal entries are not with 'quest' and 'done quests' tabs, but with 'journal' and 'user' tabs. The entries that appear in 'journal' and the ones I enter in 'user' tabs display a date at the top of the entry, but they are sorted alphabetically, by the first world of the entry itself, so chronologically they are out of order. I work around this by starting each entry like this, for example:
02.05.17, Friendly Arms Inn which means that the entry was made on the fifth day of second month, at 17:00 p.m., while I stayed at the FAI.
Every time the 'journal' tab is updated by the game, I edit this entry with the same kind of info.
This way, I can go back and read the journal without skipping up and down, trying to find a particular date.
It would be neat if the entries were sorted by dates, and even neater if the journal had 'sort by date' and 'sort by name' function like it had in BG2, but it's not something I'd make a fuss about, since, like I said, there's an easy workaroud for it for those of us who are book-crazy enough to write our own in-game diaries.
What would really be nice is a two page system, where the left side shows a table of contents type thing. Click on a chapter button then see a list of entries. Click on an entry from the list to have that entry appear on the right side.
I realized something like this is probably too complicated at this stage, so just musing aloud.
Even though I had never spoken to Kivan, when I entered the area the journal updated the quest of Kivan and Tazok to "completed quests".
I had been to High Hedge before, just never spoken to Kivan (as I run an evil party).
Copying item to journal should not change the sort order of user entries
1) Start new game, choose Abdel2) Create new user journal entry "Alpha"
3) Exit journal and press Ctrl-T
4) Create new user journal entry "Zed"
5) Exit journal and press Ctrl-T
6) Create new user journal entry "Beta"
7) Notice that user journal entries are in reverse time order (Beta/hr 9, Zed/hr 8, Alpha/hr7)
8) Exit journal and press Ctrl-T
9) C:CreateItem("SCRL2I")
10) Copy scroll to journal
11) Observe that the user journal entries are sorted alphabetically
Journal Entries should always be sorted by Date (Why/hr 10, Beta/hr 9, Zed/hr 8, Alpha/hr 7)
Internal Tracking Number: 6212
Kivan should not post quest done if he's not in the party
1) Start new game with Abdel2) C:SetGlobal("Chapter","GLOBAL",4)
3) C:MoveToArea("AR3200")
4) Observe that a new Done Quests journal entry has been added for Kivan and Tazok
The Quest Done entry should only post if the quest was accepted, and Kivan is in your party.
Internal Tracking Number: 6218
I wish I had the same luck fishing.. :-D
However I noticed a strange behaviour in the journal display that might have mistaken me into believing it was not appearing in the quest done. What happens it the Quest and Quest done displays share the same status about folding/unfolding the main events and also (that's the main point), the state of the scrollbar.
Here is how I'm able to reproduce it:
I get 3 early quests: Phlydia, Firebead and Dreppin. They appear in an order where Phlydia's quest is last. I expand Firebead and Dreppin but not Phlydia and scroll down to the maximum I can. If I go to Quest done, I cannot see the "Main events" text (sorry if it's not the right term, I'm translating from French) anymore because of the scrollbar replicating the state of the Quest display. I switch back to Quest.
Then I leave the journal and talk to Phlydia with the book in my inventory. When I reopen the journal, still in the Quest page, there is a graphical glitch as it adjusts to the fact that Phlydia's quest is not there anymore. I switch to Quest done, and because of the scrollbar state shared with the order, I'm far and I see nothing on display. The scrollbar doesn't work well in this condition: I can't scroll to the top page by page, I can only click on the top arrow to move line by line so it takes time to get back to the top where I can finally see my quest done and also "Main events"!
I believe that, to avoid such circumstances where Quest and Quest done have to display a very different number of things, the two pages should not share the state of the scrollbar neither the folding/unfolding of Main events.
I would have been happy as larry to play the game with ONLY the Journal completely fixed and the obvious first quest fixed. Nevermind the fancy renderer and all GUI and all that stuff.
Fix the Journal! Please. Pretty please.
A few of us put a good amount of effort into that "one" issue, which is why I want to hear if we missed anything
2. Beginning in Chapter 1, the journal entry saying "With Gorion slain..." appears in both the Prologue and Chapt. 1 journal sections. Shouldn't it appear in only one or the other? (preferably Chapt. 1).
3. When I tried to write in a journal entry for the first time (while doing the tutorial IIRC), I got this screen:
When I clicked the "OK" button there, the game went back to normal, and I didn't have trouble adding journal entries after that.
4 of them leave the group after the dialogue in Beregost to fight each other. After the fight is over only Jaheira stays alive. She is standing "blue" not talking to Charname and both entries in journal are not updated.
Incidentally, I just noticed that if I save the tutorial session and reload it, the entire quest (both heading and description) is now gone from the Quest folder.
It doesn't look like this happens every time, so if you can give us any info about the steps to reproduce this, it would be a big help. We'll still have a look.
I think I've figured out what causes this. During the tutorial, both the Prologue and Chapt. 1 sections in the Journal are available. It appears the tutorial session uses the Chapt 1 section. Anytime I try to write something in the Prologue during the tutorial, the game exits and I get that screen. The game doesn't actually crash though - once I click "OK" on that screen I'm able to resume the game. When I use the Chapt. 1 section of the journal to write, there doesn't appear to be a problem.
First, the entry headings are misaligned - notice that the "Important Events" wording is written over the "Prologue" title.
Shortly after taking that screenshot, I tried to move the scroll bar at the right side of the journal, and everything that was shown above just disappeared and wouldn't come back. Not only that, but nothing I did after that (i.e: completing quests) would create new entries, except ones that I wrote in myself. Basically, the Prologue section of the journal just stopped working.
When I moved on to Chapt. 1, new entries began appearing in the Chapt 1. section of the journal, but the Prologue section remained blank.
@SharGuidesMyHand can you e-mail me your baldur.ini (jeff.payne@beamdog.com) so I can take a look at your other issues?
@Anton I haven't forgotten you, that issue just takes a little rooting around to make a good repro case.
I think the "Madness Most Fowl" entry should not be added to the journal if Melcamp's quest line is already completed.
I also have the Tale of Captain Brage entry in my current quest list, saying I should deliver his body to either the garrison or temple. I handed it over to Oublek previously.
I completed this quest via leading the poor soul to the temple for redemption rather than punishment, however, upon speaking to Volo in the tavern after a few drinks I decided to check my journal. It was at that moment I became as horrified as a goblin watching Thibbledorf Pwent thrash about. For I noticed that the very same quest was placed into the uncomplete Quest section of my journal rather than the completed Done section.
The journal does not seem to mention anything regarding my forgiving nature in handing the damnable Captain over to the Temple and only has two entries, the first stating that the guards can't find him and the second mentioning clues as to his berserked sword from Volo.
I know it's not a big issue but alas, I am somewhat anal when it comes to this.
Not a complaint mind you, just sharing my similar experience.
The actual journal entries are still there though.
EDIT: Reloading after completing a quest seemed to fix it. I can't be sure what specifically resolved it, but completing and reloading is what I know I did.
Xvart Raids: no "done quest" entry after killing the xvart village, reactivated by the cow-owner whos cow was attacked by xvarts
Reported previously in this thread: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/13441/the-complete-quest-entry-buglist-and-many-other-things-updated-v0-4599
That bug is very easy to reproduce too. Just have Kagain join your party and immediately go back to the map just north of Beregost. Kagain's dialogue about too many caravans to look through will trigger as soon as you zone in. The quest will removed from active quests, but not added to done quests.
I'm sure this was probably posted before, but I couldn't find it in the bug list (ctrl+f "Shar-Teel"). Anyway, when I challenge Shar-Teel to a duel, she does one swing to my cavalier (missing by the way) and declares victory. Repeated attempts reveal the same outcome. I am playing the newest version (not beta) with no mods or extras installed.