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Full Plate and Packing Steel - a total conversion of the armour system, updated for BG:EE and BG2:EE

darleydarley Member Posts: 11
edited July 2015 in BG:EE Mods
Some of you might remember Full Plate and Packing Steel for bg2/tutu/iwd by erik;

http://www.gibberlings3.net/fullplate/

It's a cracking mod and has been in my must install list for years. If you're not familiar with it, it completely redefines how armour works in the game. It flips the AC gradient on its head, making leather armour grant the lowest ACs and heavy plates the highest. It then gives all armour resistances to slashing, crushing, piercing and missile attacks, with the highest resistances going to plates, and leathers getting the lowest. tl;dr it makes both branches viable and no longer leaves thieves and other light armour wearers at a disadvantage, while also giving front line fighters a very different feel.

For example; a fighter in full plate would soak up roughly half the damage coming into him (armours do have holes to certain types of damage however, crushing for heavy plates). This is offset by the AC of only 6, meaning more attacks will be landing. The opposite is true of leather armour, you can dodge more but the resistances are much lower, and chains and scales sit somewhere between the two.

It gives combat a lot more realism which was something I always thought the d&d system lacked. Huge, slow moving front line fighters not getting hit while lightly armoured skirmishers would get creamed, and all getting hit for the same amount of damage to boot. Erik's mod addressed the issue perfectly and that's why it's been one my favourites for so long.


Full Plate and EE

It was semi compatible but certain aspects didn't translate, the new armours added by ee (magma plate and neera's rugged leathers) weren't picked up, only the mage spell Armor got patched, none of the others (this might have been an issue in bg2/tutu/iwd too due to a typo in a FOR loop), and (ironically) full plate armour didn't work. These should now have all been addressed.


Full Plate and Packing Steel v2.2

http://www.mediafire.com/download/726ji7jzgomi1vq/fullplate-v2.2.zip

!!! NOW UPDATED FOR SCS AND BG2:EE !!!

Just extract it to your main BG:EE directory, in my case 'C:\GOG Games\Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition' and run the weidu installer (which has also been updated to the latest version). If updating from 2.1 uninstall previous version first.


Stuff To Do

I finally got off my arse and learned how to work with weidu because I really couldn't be bothered to manually update the files using DLTCEP again, what with the likely raft of mod updates needed after SoD launches. This decision was all of 3 days ago so I'm still pretty rough around the edges but I don't think there'll be any issues with bg:ee and this updated 2.1 version. Very little extra code was needed, just a few small tweaks here and there.

Things I still want to look at though;

- Bug fixing - this is a first draft so report anything not behaving and I'll roll my head across the keyboard in an attempt to fix them as they crop up.
- SCS compatability - in the main it works fine, however some spells introduced to aid in SCS's pre-buffing magic users I'm pretty sure need to get their AC bonuses adjusted and resistances added. It's only a few though if I remember right and I'll look at this first.
- BG2:EE - it should work fine but again will need to be told about any new armours ee adds. It's pretty simple so won't take long (he says shifting nervously).
- IWD:EE - no idea as I don't actually own an ee copy of it. In theory it should be ok, it worked on the original fine (I think) but I'm not sure what's been changed when it was ported. In fact the more I think about it the more I'd bet it'll need many a working day spent on it. Report back anything if you like but this won't be a priority.
- SoD - I'd personally like to get the mod working with the upcoming expansion as soon as I can. I've no idea how that'll pan out so I'll deal with it when it comes up. No negative waves man.
- The minor components - I need to look to look at the two additional things the original mod provided, namely allowing multiple protection items to be worn at once, and a backstabbing for everyone module. The former is already picked up in other mods, Bg2 tweak pack is probably the most popular, and so I'll probably depreciate this at some point. The backstabbing I'm unsure about, I never used it and it doesn't really synergise with the armour conversion meat and potatoes. Unless there's lots of support for it, it'll likely eventually get shelved too.


Compatibility

The original was very compatible with other mods of its time and is probably fine with newer ones too as it patches files rather than overwrites them. Anything new that changes armour values or affect spells that create magic armours (armor, ghost armor, spirit armor, and barkskin) will be cause for concern though. Combine at your own risk. Read the original readme for further compatibility info too. Finally I'll reiterate what that readme says, install as close to last as you can manage.

I've not kept up with all the newer mods of the ee era, mainly just opting for updates of the oldies. I am Jack's raging pessimism. If my jaded outlook on life is unwarranted and there are some popular, good quality new offerings out there, and probably more importantly, you care enough about this update to want it to work with them, then let me know.



Finally I'd like to thank erik for making the thing in the first place. He last logged into g3 about a year ago but if he does ever read this, xoxo. Feel free to message me if you want to take the project back. I've really not done much at all so he's the man to be thanking.


Change Log

2.2 - Updated to support bg2:ee, and now fully compatible with SCS (pre-casting versions of certain protection spells needed updating).
2.1 - Updated to support bg:ee.
Post edited by darley on
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Comments

  • HudzyHudzy Member Posts: 300
    Nice work. Never got around to trying this on Tutu so it's nice to have a chance now.
  • darleydarley Member Posts: 11
    Now updated to support bg2:ee and is also fully compatible with SCS.
    elminster
  • ThalamondThalamond Member Posts: 108
    edited July 2015
    Amazing I always liked this mod! Dont like the extreme movement reductions though. I think 10% should be max for any armor or maybe no movement restrictions at all.
    Post edited by Thalamond on
  • darleydarley Member Posts: 11
    The speed reductions I think are justified, it's all about trade offs after all. If however you're really having trouble with it you might want to go ankheg hunting, I hear certain blacksmiths can work wonders with their light weight plates. Also certain boots could neutralise the downsides...
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
    Dexter
  • darleydarley Member Posts: 11
    Hmm, I just finished an SCS BG:EE playthrough with a robe wearing f/m/t and khalid in the +2 ankheg plate as my front line and I didn't notice anything odd in regards to aggro. My mages would occasionally be targeted even with a full line out front but it was almost always backstabbing thieves and I assumed this was SCS working as intended, keeping you on you toes.

    Regardless, if anyone notices anything suspect let me know and I'll look into it further.
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • darleydarley Member Posts: 11
    I guess it's an option, a little time consuming though. After the expansion comes out I'll be doing another playthrough and will specifically look out for any issues. Could possibly do another release that comes parcelled with scs friendly values or something.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited July 2015
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • darleydarley Member Posts: 11
    Yeah, that'd be a nice addition. I've been sidetracked recently and so haven't had much time to test the 2.3 build. It's pretty much done, just wanted to make sure there aren't any niggles. When it's done I'll pm you and we'll sort something out.
  • zelurkerzelurker Member Posts: 168
    Too bad this mod was abandoned, the idea was good ad&d2 didn't make a difference between dodging and blocking an attack which seemed quite a paradox (although it works quite well at low levels, mostly).
    As it is now, it needs at least some new test for eet, and after testing quickly just in the intro of an eet game (adding the eet test and setting the gameiam variable to tob in this case), the armor descriptions don't seem updated, at least for french, and using the heavy armors available in candlekeep I am hit by a dagger from the 1st assassin (seeing 2 in damage, 1 blocked, blocking only 1 in damage from a dagger ? There seems to be a problem !).
    Anyway too bad !!!!
  • StummvonBordwehrStummvonBordwehr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,342
    There is a mod, that does something like the mod you miss. YARAS by Subtledoctor implements some of the changes that was FPPS
  • zelurkerzelurker Member Posts: 168
    There is a mod, that does something like the mod you miss. YARAS by Subtledoctor implements some of the changes that was FPPS

    YARAS ? I found SoB (Scales of Balance) there : https://github.com/UnearthedArcana/Scales_of_Balance but I don't know about this yaras thing...
  • StummvonBordwehrStummvonBordwehr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,342
    @zelurker
    its the first component (100)) in the link you posted.
    It is called Yet Another Revised Armor System (Yaras). It is also part of another of his mods
  • zelurkerzelurker Member Posts: 168
    Yeah but if you read the top of the page scales of balance seems to be deprecated now and so you are to install 3 mods from SD instead :
    SUBTLEDOCTOR'S ITEM TWEAKS,
    COMBAT SKILLS & PROFICIENCIES,
    and SUBTLEDOCTOR'S STATS OVERHAUL
    Item tweaks containing the same Yaras apparently. Damage reduction of unenchanted armors seems a little low but it's worth testing. But with 3 mods recommended to be installed it's quite intimidating... ! oh well, thanks for the info anyway !
  • morpheus562morpheus562 Member Posts: 249
    Item Revisions has an armor overhaul component (separate from the main component) that acts similarly to the one in this thread and yaras. I used it in my last playthrough and recommend it. I also release my own version of it within Forgotten Armament that I'll be using going forward. Lots of options for players to choose from.
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