alright I did some more tests using a fresh install and a fresh game to be sure
using imoen to cast Secret Word (level 4) on my PC protected by Spell Shield + Minor Globe of Invuln (only blocks <= lvl3)
unmodded game : - first Secret Word removes the spell shield (icon and gfx) and "Spell Ineffective" is written in the diablog box. - (BUG) second Secret Word is absorbed BUT "Spell Protections Dispelled" is written in the dialog box, and the gfx of secret word is played. Minor Globe Of invuln ISN'T dispelled - third Secret Word correctly dispels Minor Globe of invuln
with just Refinements installed (only the HLA for all classes installed) Same bgus as the unmodded game, despite having new a version of spell shield being copied in override
with just spell rev - works as expected (first secret word absorbed, second dispels globe)
with spell rev + refinements - secret words are absorbed indefinitely, spell shield is never removed
until you make a new release on github, I just deleted spwi519.spl (there is spwi606.spl in there as well) located in refinements/hlab/_shared/copy before letting BWS do the install i'm not sure what the correct fix is
A couple of questions if I may regarding the SwashImoen component:
1. Does a dual classed character gain HP when levelling up their second "active" class?
2. Once Imoen reaches level 11 and her swashbuckler class is reactivated, I noticed that her swashbuckler class is giving her bonuses based on a combined level of 21 (-6 to AC, and +4 to THAC0 and Damage) is this normal (expected)?
I haven't changed the SwashImoen component from the old 3.31 version of Refinements. So this sounds simply like legacy code that doesn't work on the new engine.
Frankly the premise of that component is extremely limited... I understand that it was probably new and cool in 2003, but since then there have been many, many newer ways to modify more than just one NPC, and to modify them in more flexible and comprehensive ways. NPCKits, LevelOneNPCs, BGEENPC Tweaks, NPC_EE, etc.
So honestly, I don't have time to investigate it fix this component - if anyone does, they are more than welcome to do so! But I can only suggest that you not use it, and I might just disable it. If you want to give Imoen a kit for her thief class, I think NPC_EE allows that.
1. Thank you 2. Not a problem, I will use one of your suggestions instead. I was simply curious as it seemed like an odd result.
Do you know how Dorn HLA are handled by the mod? Most of the paladin's don't quite fit the character well
You mention the swashimoen component being broken. Any idea about the state of the shapeshifting one? I know you probably don't have time to test everything but I was looking at fixes for the kit and the Refinement one seemed rather well implemented.
I updated the French translation of Refinements rc 0.8. You'll find two tra files in the attached archive. The other tra files are unchanged. There is also a small typo in the name of a French translator in the tp2 file. The name of the first translator should read "Sir Crapouilleau" (the first "u" was missing).
Since installation on BG2EE can't work properly (crash in game when a non-ASCII character is displayed) without encoding the texts to UTF-8, I also updated the tp2 file in order to convert the tra files on the fly with HANDLE_CHARSETS.
This requires adding iconv for Windows in the mod archive (it's native on Linux and MacOS). You can copy it from another mod such as cd-tweaks. I included a modified tp2 file in the archive. You'll find more detailled explanations on the change in the "Notes to author.txt" file also included.
Feel free to ask me for clarification.
Thank you in advance for including the revised translation when you find some time for an update.
1. Lots of mods that are supported for both EE and non-EE distribute the iconv package today. WeiDU's "HANDLE_CHARSETS" function makes it easy to do on-the-fly conversion of non-UTF-8 tra files to UTF-8 when doing an install on EE. You have to include the iconv.exe utility in the package and provide its path to HANDLE_CHARSETS for Windows users only.
2. UTF-8 encoded text will cause crashes on non-EE if displaying text for any language other than English. UTF-8 and ANSI (the encoding used for non-EE English text) are the same for English letters, so UTF-8 is OK on non-EE only in that special case. For other languages, non-UTF-8 crashes EE, while UTF-8 crashes non-EE.
3. Linux and OSX have the iconv utility as part of the standard utilities shipped with the OS, yes.
4. Please don't drop non-EE support just because of this, since there's a simple and well-tested solution used by lots of other mods. Having different "latest" versions floating around is a headache for people like me who are still supporting both worlds.
@subtledoctor I don't have much to add to what @agb1 answered, except that I never experienced a crash in BG II because of UTF-8: I just get random bad characters instead (in French). HANDLE_CHARSETS is indeed a nice way to handle both old and new games with a single encoding of translation files.
I'm a bit used to github so I can fork the mod on my side and make the pull request. As I mentioned in my notes, I tested the changes on BG2EE, on Windows only. I'll check again on BG II before pushing the update.
I'm about to complete my BG1 run and move on into BG2, so just wondering if this mod was working. I only really care about the HLAs.
I managed to get the HLAs from Refinements into BG2EE before through some ugly hacks but after re-installing BG2EE I've kind of forgot what I even did to get it to work. I also did some new HLAs for the Blackguard; basically de-buff versions of the Paladin's buffs.
Is there any updated info on what happens with this mod when you have a multiclass character with an illegal kit (say, through NPC_EE) - like a barbarian/cleric, or fighter/assassin, etc.?
I recall the Refinements thread saying the original game would crash when this happens, but some forum users said the EE games don't crash. That was like a year ago. I see you've done some work since then. Any new info on what happens now?
There are a few bugs in HLAs. Monk's regenration ability is supposed to be pickable 5 times, it's available only once. Some sorcerer HLAs (the one that vocalizes you, probably some others as well) have wrong timing modes so they get removed if the sorcerer dies.
Comments
using imoen to cast Secret Word (level 4) on my PC protected by Spell Shield + Minor Globe of Invuln (only blocks <= lvl3)
unmodded game :
- first Secret Word removes the spell shield (icon and gfx) and "Spell Ineffective" is written in the diablog box.
- (BUG) second Secret Word is absorbed BUT "Spell Protections Dispelled" is written in the dialog box, and the gfx of secret word is played. Minor Globe Of invuln ISN'T dispelled
- third Secret Word correctly dispels Minor Globe of invuln
with just Refinements installed (only the HLA for all classes installed)
Same bgus as the unmodded game, despite having new a version of spell shield being copied in override
with just spell rev
- works as expected (first secret word absorbed, second dispels globe)
with spell rev + refinements
- secret words are absorbed indefinitely, spell shield is never removed
until you make a new release on github, I just deleted spwi519.spl (there is spwi606.spl in there as well) located in refinements/hlab/_shared/copy before letting BWS do the install
i'm not sure what the correct fix is
A couple of questions if I may regarding the SwashImoen component:
1. Does a dual classed character gain HP when levelling up their second "active" class?
2. Once Imoen reaches level 11 and her swashbuckler class is reactivated, I noticed that her swashbuckler class is giving her bonuses based on a combined level of 21 (-6 to AC, and +4 to THAC0 and Damage) is this normal (expected)?
2. Not a problem, I will use one of your suggestions instead. I was simply curious as it seemed like an odd result.
Do you know how Dorn HLA are handled by the mod? Most of the paladin's don't quite fit the character well
You mention the swashimoen component being broken. Any idea about the state of the shapeshifting one? I know you probably don't have time to test everything but I was looking at fixes for the kit and the Refinement one seemed rather well implemented.
Thanks for your work!
I updated the French translation of Refinements rc 0.8. You'll find two tra files in the attached archive. The other tra files are unchanged.
There is also a small typo in the name of a French translator in the tp2 file. The name of the first translator should read "Sir Crapouilleau" (the first "u" was missing).
Since installation on BG2EE can't work properly (crash in game when a non-ASCII character is displayed) without encoding the texts to UTF-8, I also updated the tp2 file in order to convert the tra files on the fly with HANDLE_CHARSETS.
This requires adding iconv for Windows in the mod archive (it's native on Linux and MacOS). You can copy it from another mod such as cd-tweaks.
I included a modified tp2 file in the archive. You'll find more detailled explanations on the change in the "Notes to author.txt" file also included.
Feel free to ask me for clarification.
Thank you in advance for including the revised translation when you find some time for an update.
2. UTF-8 encoded text will cause crashes on non-EE if displaying text for any language other than English. UTF-8 and ANSI (the encoding used for non-EE English text) are the same for English letters, so UTF-8 is OK on non-EE only in that special case. For other languages, non-UTF-8 crashes EE, while UTF-8 crashes non-EE.
3. Linux and OSX have the iconv utility as part of the standard utilities shipped with the OS, yes.
4. Please don't drop non-EE support just because of this, since there's a simple and well-tested solution used by lots of other mods. Having different "latest" versions floating around is a headache for people like me who are still supporting both worlds.
I'm a bit used to github so I can fork the mod on my side and make the pull request. As I mentioned in my notes, I tested the changes on BG2EE, on Windows only. I'll check again on BG II before pushing the update.
I managed to get the HLAs from Refinements into BG2EE before through some ugly hacks but after re-installing BG2EE I've kind of forgot what I even did to get it to work. I also did some new HLAs for the Blackguard; basically de-buff versions of the Paladin's buffs.
I don't think I still have my custom Blackguard HLAs but if I don't find them somewhere I could try remaking them from memory and send them your way.
Great news, thanks!
I recall the Refinements thread saying the original game would crash when this happens, but some forum users said the EE games don't crash. That was like a year ago. I see you've done some work since then. Any new info on what happens now?