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BGEE Leveled Spawns Mod - v0.3 [UPDATED 2014-12-27]

AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
edited December 2014 in BG:EE Mods
BGEE Leveled Spawns Mod - Version 0.3 (UPDATED 2014-12-27)

BGEE Leveled Spawns replaces the default spawns with spawns that scale in difficulty with the average level of the party. Each spawn point will spawn groups of 1-6 creatures, depending on party level and creature strength.

The user can select the time interval between spawnings as well as the probability that a triggering of a spawn point will result in that point being populated.

This mod is based on the "Tutu-style leveled spawns" component of the BGT Tweaks mod (http://readme.spellholdstudios.net/BGTTweakReadme.htm). However, the spawn point scripts have been greatly simplified. First, party-size checks have been removed. Level checks above 12th level have also been removed.

Additional inspiration has come from the Tutu spawn system by CamDawg and the EasyTutu Spawn Randomizer by Maccready.


DOWNLOAD: http://github.com/AstroBryGuy/BGEESpawn/releases/tag/v0.3


OPTIONS

Time Between Spawn Point Resets: After a spawn point has triggered, it will not spawn again until a certain time interval has passed. The duration of this time interval is user-selectable with the following options:
[1] 4 HOURS of game time between spawnings
[2] 8 HOURS of game time between spawnings
[3] 16 HOURS of game time between spawnings
[4] 1 day of game time between spawnings
[5] 2 days of game time between spawnings
[6] 4 days of game time between spawnings
[7] 7 days of game time between spawnings
[8] 10 days of game time between spawnings
[9] 14 days of game time between spawnings
[0] 1000 days of game time between spawnings

Notes:
  • A spawn point will not reset if the PCs are within a certain range of the spawn point. This is to prevent spawns from suddenly appearing within the visual range of the PCs.
  • A spawn point will also not reset until it is "clear" (i.e., there are none of the spawned creatures within range of the spawn point). This is to prevent overly large groups of spawns from accumulating, especially those that are not automatically hostile (e.g., bears).
  • Game default behavior is to require at least 16 hours to pass before a spawn point is reset. Option 3 should match that timing most closely.
  • 1000 days effectively ensures that each spawn point will trigger at most once during the game.
Spawning Probability: When a spawn point triggers, this probability controls whether or not the spawn point is populated. The user has the following spawning probability options:
[1] 10% chance of spawning
[2] 20% chance of spawning
[3] 35% chance of spawning
[4] 50% chance of spawning
[5] 65% chance of spawning
[6] 75% chance of spawning
[7] 85% chance of spawning
[8] 90% chance of spawning
[9] 95% chance of spawning
[0] 100% chance of spawning

Notes:
  • If you set a low spawn % and a long time between spawns, you will see very few spawns.
  • If the spawn is not populated, it will not trigger again until the spawn point reset time interval has passed.
  • Game default spawn percentages are 85% in most areas, with 100% in certain areas like Firewine Ruins.
INSTALLATION

Windows
On successful extraction, there should be an bgeespawn folder and a setup-bgeespawn.exe file in your game folder. To install, simply double-click setup-bgeespawn.exe and follow the instructions on screen.
Run setup-bgeespawn.exe in your game folder to reinstall, uninstall or otherwise change components.

Mac OS X
If properly extracted, you should have a bgeespawn folder, setup-bgeespawn, and setup-bgeespawn.command in your game's main directory folder. To install, simply double-click setup-bgeespawn.command and follow the instructions on screen.

Linux
Download the latest version of WeiDU for Linux from WeiDU.org and copy WeiDU and WeInstall to /usr/bin. Following that, open a terminal, cd to your BG installation directory, run 'tolower' and answer Y to both queries.
Run WeInstall setup-bgeespawn in your game folder to install the mod.


COMPATIBILITY

BGEE Leveled Spawns Mod is coded using WeiDU and does not overwrite any files. It should be compatible with most other (WeiDU) mods.

The mod is compatible ONLY with BGEE.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Based on the "Tutu-style leveled spawns" component of the BGT Tweaks mod by Ascension64.

http://readme.spellholdstudios.net/BGTTweakReadme.htm

Additional inspiration drawn from the Tutu spawning system by CamDawg and the EasyTutu Spawn Randomizer by Maccready.

http://www.usoutpost31.com/easytutu/


TOOLS USED

The BGEE Leveled Spawns Mod was created using the resources provided by the IESDP (http://iesdp.gibberlings3.net/) and with the following software:

Near Infinity https://github.com/Argent77/NearInfinity
WeiDU http://www.weidu.org
TextWrangler http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/
sed, awk, bash https://www.gnu.org/software/


LEGAL INFORMATION

This mod is not developed, supported, or endorsed by BioWare, Black Isle Studios, Interplay Entertainment Corp., the Wizards of the Coast, Overhaul Games or Beamdog. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners.


HISTORY
Version 0.3: Added notes on game defaults, updating spawn trigger reset timings and spawn probabilities
Version 0.2: Install bug fixes, update spawn trigger reset timings.
Version 0.1: Initial public release
Post edited by AstroBryGuy on
«13

Comments

  • ErgErg Member Posts: 1,756
    @AstroBryGuy, first of all thanks for this mod. I have always made pretty clear how much I dislike the current spawning system in BG:EE, so really thank you.

    I'm also working on a similar mod, but mine is not ready yet (I'm around 33% completion). Anyway, if I get the necessary permissions, I may as well release my mod too as it uses a different approach from yours. My mod is a straightforward port on BG:EE of the current Tutu system, without any change other than the required ones for compatibility sake, and therefore spawns will only be based on difficulty level, and not party level or party size, and they will be implemented through invisible creatures, instead of triggers like in yours.

    The two approaches have their pros and cons, but, in the end, I think it is a good thing that the users will have more choices in terms of spawn mods for BG:EE and sometimes I will probably use your mod instead of mine just to try something different.

    Anyway, I would also like to report a bug in the current version of your mod that's preventing installation on Windows. I'm assuming that the bug is OS based as, if I remember correctly, you have the OS X version of BG:EE and probably you only tested on that one.

    The relevant part of the DEBUG file is: 
    Arch.glob returned.
    Copying and patching 49 files ...
    ERROR: error loading [ar5500.nfp]
    Stopping installation because of error.
    However, I was able to successfully install the mod by replacing the following lines in the tp2 file 
    COPY GLOB ~bgeespawn/info/*.nfp~ ~bgeespawn/info~
    COPY GLOB ~bgeespawn/scripts/*.baf~ ~bgeespawn/scripts~
    with 
    COPY ~bgeespawn/info~ ~bgeespawn/info~
    COPY ~bgeespawn/scripts~ ~bgeespawn/scripts~
    respectively.
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    edited September 2014
    Hi, nice mod @AstroBryGuy‌! Thank you very much for it :)

    Also, it would be cool if you implement smaller times than 8 hours to choose form (since hardcore players like me would actually prefer that).
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    Erg said:

    @AstroBryGuy, first of all thanks for this mod. I have always made pretty clear how much I dislike the current spawning system in BG:EE, so really thank you.

    I'm also working on a similar mod, but mine is not ready yet (I'm around 33% completion). Anyway, if I get the necessary permissions, I may as well release my mod too as it uses a different approach from yours. My mod is a straightforward port on BG:EE of the current Tutu system, without any change other than the required ones for compatibility sake, and therefore spawns will only be based on difficulty level, and not party level or party size, and they will be implemented through invisible creatures, instead of triggers like in yours.

    The two approaches have their pros and cons, but, in the end, I think it is a good thing that the users will have more choices in terms of spawn mods for BG:EE and sometimes I will probably use your mod instead of mine just to try something different.

    Anyway, I would also like to report a bug in the current version of your mod that's preventing installation on Windows. I'm assuming that the bug is OS based as, if I remember correctly, you have the OS X version of BG:EE and probably you only tested on that one.

    The relevant part of the DEBUG file is:

    Arch.glob returned.
    Copying and patching 49 files ...
    ERROR: error loading [ar5500.nfp]
    Stopping installation because of error.
    However, I was able to successfully install the mod by replacing the following lines in the tp2 file 
    COPY GLOB ~bgeespawn/info/*.nfp~ ~bgeespawn/info~
    COPY GLOB ~bgeespawn/scripts/*.baf~ ~bgeespawn/scripts~
    with 
    COPY ~bgeespawn/info~ ~bgeespawn/info~
    COPY ~bgeespawn/scripts~ ~bgeespawn/scripts~
    respectively.
    Thanks, for the bug report @Erg. Yep, I'm on a Mac. The GLOBs were to avoid processing stray hidden files but if they're causing problems, I'll get remove them from the next version.

    I'd like to see your port of the Tutu spawn system too. I tend to only play on Core, so I was "scratching my itch" when I decided to build on the BGT Tweak system and make it level-based.

  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    CrevsDaak said:

    Hi, nice mod @AstroBryGuy‌! Thank you very much for it :)

    Also, it would be cool if you implement smaller times than 8 hours to choose form (since hardcore players like me would actually prefer that).

    I'll look into that. I think I could lose one of the longer settings (maybe lose 30 days, if you're spawning once per month, why bother?). I'd made the minimum 8 hours with the idea that you can still "clear" an area, but that the spawn points reset if you rest (except those you happen to be camping next to). What time increment would you want to see? 4 hours? 2 hours?
  • DrakeEBDrakeEB Member Posts: 20
    Thank youuuuuuuuu! This is one of my biggest pet peeves with BGEE and one of the reason i was still holding off playing it still even though i've had it since release lol.
  • BelanosBelanos Member Posts: 968
    edited September 2014
    Erg said:



    Anyway, I would also like to report a bug in the current version of your mod that's preventing installation on Windows. I'm assuming that the bug is OS based as, if I remember correctly, you have the OS X version of BG:EE and probably you only tested on that one.

    The relevant part of the DEBUG file is:

    Arch.glob returned.
    Copying and patching 49 files ...
    ERROR: error loading [ar5500.nfp]
    Stopping installation because of error.
    However, I was able to successfully install the mod by replacing the following lines in the tp2 file 
    COPY GLOB ~bgeespawn/info/*.nfp~ ~bgeespawn/info~
    COPY GLOB ~bgeespawn/scripts/*.baf~ ~bgeespawn/scripts~
    with 
    COPY ~bgeespawn/info~ ~bgeespawn/info~
    COPY ~bgeespawn/scripts~ ~bgeespawn/scripts~
    respectively.
    @AstroBryGuy‌

    I'm having the same issue, and I can't install the mod. And unfortunately I don't know how to go about changing those lines that were mentioned. Could you please fix the issue so that us Windows players can use your mod as well?

    PS: Well that wasn't so difficult. I figured I'd try and see if the .tp2 file worked with Notepad, and sure enough. I was able to install the mod after changing those lines as well.

    BTW, what's the game's default probability of a spawn appearing? I set mine to 40%, hoping for something a little bit lower than the standard chance.



  • ScutziScutzi Member Posts: 3
    Oh.. my... gosh. This is utterly glorious.
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    edited September 2014
    Hi all!

    I've updated the mod to v0.2.

    https://github.com/AstroBryGuy/BGEESpawn/releases/tag/v0.2

    This new version incorporates a fix for the COPY GLOB errors seen on Windows. I wanted to incorporate some code a way to prevent stray system or hidden files from being processed by the mod (e.g., OSX's .DS_STORE files). I've replace the COPY GLOB statements, e.g. 
    COPY GLOB ~bgeespawn/info/*.nfp~ ~bgeespawn/info~
    with ACTION_BASH_FOR "wrappers" over a COPY statement, e.g. 
    ACTION_BASH_FOR ~bgeespawn/info~ ~.*.nfp~ BEGIN
      COPY ~%BASH_FOR_FILESPEC%~ ~%BASH_FOR_DIRECTORY%~
    Please let me know if this also doesn't work on Windows.

    I've also added additional short spawn trigger reset timings. The new timing options are:

    [1] 4 HOURS of game time between spawnings
    [2] 8 HOURS of game time between spawnings
    [3] 12 HOURS of game time between spawnings
    [4] 1 day of game time between spawnings
    [5] 2 days of game time between spawnings
    [6] 4 days of game time between spawnings
    [7] 7 days of game time between spawnings
    [8] 10 days of game time between spawnings
    [9] 14 days of game time between spawnings
    [0] 1000 days of game time between spawnings


    Suggestions and feedback welcome for future versions!
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    Belanos said:

    I'm having the same issue, and I can't install the mod. And unfortunately I don't know how to go about changing those lines that were mentioned. Could you please fix the issue so that us Windows players can use your mod as well?

    PS: Well that wasn't so difficult. I figured I'd try and see if the .tp2 file worked with Notepad, and sure enough. I was able to install the mod after changing those lines as well.

    BTW, what's the game's default probability of a spawn appearing? I set mine to 40%, hoping for something a little bit lower than the standard chance.

    I've updated the mod with a fix for Windows install issue. Glad you were able to get it installed using @Erg's notes.

    The default spawn probability is 85%, AFAIK.
  • ErgErg Member Posts: 1,756
    AstroBryGuy said:

    Please let me know if this also doesn't work on Windows.

    @AstroBryGuy, the new version installs fine on Windows.
  • jobbyjobby Member Posts: 181
    Hey Astro, nice mod I will look to include it next time i get round to a full re-install (stupid steam) just a quick question though, is there a way to increase the number of monsters spawned? If not will the number of mobs spawned be more than in Vanilla EE?
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    jobby said:

    Hey Astro, nice mod I will look to include it next time i get round to a full re-install (stupid steam) just a quick question though, is there a way to increase the number of monsters spawned? If not will the number of mobs spawned be more than in Vanilla EE?

    Hi @Jobby,

    This mod increases the number of monsters spawned with party level.

    For example, take the Lion's Way, area - the opening ambush. There's a gibberling spawn point on the north edge of the map. In the vanilla game, whether you're 1st level or 4th level, the number of gibberlings is the same, 1. With BGEE Spawn, with at 1st level, you still get one gibberling, but at 4th level, you get 6.

    image

    If you want to be able to have 6 gibberlings at 1st level, you'd probably be interested in what @Erg was working on - tying the # of spawns to the difficulty setting.
  • QuitchQuitch Member Posts: 17
    It would be helpful if this mod listed what the game defaults are when providing options. I might want larger spawns, but knowing what a good number for respawns will be is going to be the kind of thing you won't know until way too late into the game, or unless it's your second run or something.
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    Quitch said:

    It would be helpful if this mod listed what the game defaults are when providing options. I might want larger spawns, but knowing what a good number for respawns will be is going to be the kind of thing you won't know until way too late into the game, or unless it's your second run or something.

    @Quitch‌ - Thanks for the feedback!

    The info at IESDP is kind of fuzzy, but my reading is that it would be at least 16 hours between spawnings (whatever CompressedTime is). 
    Spawn method
    Bit 0: If Bit 2 is set, don't spawn
    Bit 1: One-time-spawnpoint (checked for after the spawning, and disables the spawn point if set)
    Bit 2: Used internally to disable the spawn point temporarily
       Set after a spawning and cleared in two situations:
       (1) after the CompressTime() method for the spawn point is called with a time amount of at least 16 hours
       (2) if Bit 0 is not set and there are no living spawns in the area
    http://gibberlings3.net/iesdp/file_formats/ie_formats/are_v1.htm#formAREAV1_0_Spawn

    The game default percentage appears to be 85%.

    I'll update the mod README and perhaps change some of the options to match the game defaults - as much as possible, given that this mod replaces the default spawning method completely.
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    BGEE Leveled Spawns v0.3

    http://github.com/AstroBryGuy/BGEESpawn/releases/tag/v0.3

    Changes in this release:

    Added notes regarding game defaults for spawn point reset timing and spawn probabilities.
    Replaced 12 hours spawn reset timing with 16 hours (approximately equal to game default).
    Updating spawning probability values to give more options at high probabilities.
  • toolargtoolarg Member Posts: 179
    I like this mod, my only gripe is that the enemies seem to pop out of thin air within my range of vision, would it be possible to make them appear before I can actually see them?
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    Hmmm... I've got the range at which the scripts trigger set to 60, which should be twice visual range. I'd never noticed this. I'll have to look into it.
  • VreejackVreejack Member Posts: 60
    It takes time for the engine to set them up, so if you are walking towards them that range will drop fast, especially if you have cheetah sneakers on.
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    Vreejack said:

    It takes time for the engine to set them up, so if you are walking towards them that range will drop fast, especially if you have cheetah sneakers on.

    Good point. I'll have to think about the triggering mechanism for the spawn regions (currently, they are essentially un-detectable traps).
  • switswit Member, Translator (NDA) Posts: 495
    @AstroBryGuy since patch 1.3 for BG2:EE INI spawns feature from IWD has been ported over to BG2:EE. I tested it and it seems to be working just fine. If next patch for BG:EE will also have this feature than I think it will be worth for this mod to use it :)
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    @swit - Interesting news! I'll have to take a look at that (and eagerly await BGEE 1.4).
  • switswit Member, Translator (NDA) Posts: 495
    in case you are interested I posted some additional info about ini spawns on IESDP forums (I'm using K4thos nickname there): http://gibberlings3.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=27181
  • who_is_danielwho_is_daniel Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 98
    If I install this mod on my pc, would it work on my Android phone just by copying the Override directory?
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    who_is_daniel said:

    If I install this mod on my pc, would it work on my Android phone just by copying the Override directory?

    I imagine it would. There are no changes to the dialog.tlk file, so it should fine. However, I don't have an Android device, so I've never tried it.
  • who_is_danielwho_is_daniel Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 98
    AstroBryGuy said:

    who_is_daniel said:

    If I install this mod on my pc, would it work on my Android phone just by copying the Override directory?

    I imagine it would. There are no changes to the dialog.tlk file, so it should fine. However, I don't have an Android device, so I've never tried it.
    I will give it a try, thank you!
  • who_is_danielwho_is_daniel Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 98
    By the way, this works on Android and PC; I am able to copy my saved game back and forth between my pc and my android phone with no problems.
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    Glad to hear it!
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    AstroBryGuy said:

    Vreejack said:

    It takes time for the engine to set them up, so if you are walking towards them that range will drop fast, especially if you have cheetah sneakers on.

    Good point. I'll have to think about the triggering mechanism for the spawn regions (currently, they are essentially un-detectable traps).
    I've seen others use invisible creatures using See([GOODCUTOFF]) and later spawning the creatures on [-1,-1], but the disadvantage is that you can't locate them with CTRL+4 like you can do right now.
  • joshuar9476joshuar9476 Member Posts: 55
    So if I am reading this correctly, this can basically do what the BGT Tweaks component does?:

    Install Component [Altered spawns]? [N]o
    1101 1] TuTu-style levelled spawns : Random monsters appear depending on the level of the player.
    1102 2] Deactivate BGT-WeiDU spawns: spawns never appear: This removes random monsters in main areas altogether
    1104 3] Deactivate BGT-WeiDU spawns: spawns appear once: All random monsters in the main areas will only be activated once. The random encounters during the travellings however
    remain thereby.

    I have always preferred the third option. Clear them out and deal with them no more. That's the one setting I'm missing in a BG:EE install. So with your mod I can set it to respawn after 1000 days and normal chance of spawning?
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    To emulate the third option, set the spawn rate at 100% and respawn timer to 1000 days.
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