Skip to content

[MOD] - A Hero Rises, A Text Adventure (BETA) for BGEE+SOD (v2.2+)

Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
edited July 2016 in BG:EE Mods
Remember those old text adventure games from years ago...?

"GO NORTH", "USE KEY" that sort of thing... Well, in the spirit of those early roleplaying games, I present the Beta for:



Still in beta while I iron out any bugs and improve the writing, and the way the 'engine' works - looking for feedback (anything from writing tips all the way up to bugs and 'traps' - situations that are unsolvable due to previous selection choices).
The story is a familiar one but slightly different from what you know... ;)

This BETA is for the engine primarily, although I will tidy up and fix this Candlekeep story so it is complete story.

Thanks go to @Pecca for the WEIDU installation and the improved graphics.

Rewards:

3 potential rewards on completion:
Gold - 500GP added to your purse
Cloak Of Protection + 1
Skeleton Key - Casts Knock 3x per day at a cost of 50% of your current HP.

After you complete the game you need to exit the inventory screen and go back in before the rewards appear.


Screenshots:








Installation:

Download the attached zip and extract it to your game folder (the one with siegeofdragonspear.exe in it). Then run the setup...

It's probably best to use a clean install of BGEE+SOD as this installation will overwrite your UI.menu and any UI changes you've previously made will be lost, and don't forget to use modmerge if you need to.

Thereafter, you should be able to install any mods as usual - editing UI.menu for UI mods.


How to play:

After installation, just start a new BGEE game (Baldur's Gate campaign) and visit Winthrop.

He has a new book for sale 'A Hero Rises', and reading that is the start of your text adventure. During your game-in-game you will find familiar people and situations from Candlekeep, as the beta concept is 'An Unauthorised Biography of Charname' ... Only the prologue is available.

As the biography is 'unauthorised' things will seem familiar but they will be slightly different than what actually happened - and that creates the puzzles for you to solve...


Gameplay Tips:

- You start in Candlekeep and you need to complete 6 chores before you speak to Gorion.
- Companions are 1-use per chapter, Spells/Abilities are 1-use per chapter, Inventory items are 1-use only.
- Speak to people more than once
- Try using your companions/spells/abilities/inventory items all over the place... but don't waste them.
- Battles require a quick response
- To open Winthrop's shop click the gold when you are downstairs at the Inn
- You may need to revisit places/people...

Good Luck!


If you are interested in helping in any way - with writing, coding, new story ideas, graphics, suggestions, etc - please play the game first, complete it, and then message me.

Also, let me know how you get on - if you've completed the six chores :) If nobody has done it in about a week, I will post a walkthrough.

Post edited by Mr2150 on

Comments

  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    edited June 2016
    Current Version: v0-8

    - Fixed a couple more bugs, including a major but obscure one when two items were used at once.
    - Added a few more sounds
    - Clarified the 'prizes' for winning - there are three potential prizes to be won: 500GP, a cloak of protection, a skeleton key (a new unique item) on successful completion but based on how well you did, you will win between 1 and 3 of the rewards.
    - Amended the text a little for better signposting


    Previous versions:

    Changes for v0.75
    - Fixed a couple of bugs
    - Added a reward to the end of the process (complete 6 chores and get a bag of holding!)
    - Store if the Reward has been granted in baldur.lua so you can't get two rewards
    - Added a reset button to reset the reward status (eg on subsequent games)
    - Added a 'Pick Pocket' check to ensure the correct people are still available

    NB - You have to press escape after collecting the reward and then come out and go back into your inventory...

    Changes for v0.73
    - Improved the infirmary section based on feedback from @lefreut
    - Made it so Reevor tells you to get a Dagger only
    - Added an extra ability which is useable... 'Pick Pocket 1' which can be used on a couple of the people
    - Added the number of 'clicks' as a permanent counter


    Changes for v0.7
    - Tweaked UI to be a little cleaner and added new elements
    - Implemented gold better + turned Winthrop into a shop (BUY ONLY)
    - Pressing Gold toggles between the ground and the shop when in the Inn
    - Implemented Potions of Healing + enemies do automatic damage
    - Clearer warning when you've been hit, and HP count highlights when near death
    Post edited by Mr2150 on
  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    edited June 2016
    OK this is my best run... (I added a counter to see how many clicks it took...)

    My best finish position (just before talking to Gorion):

    Time - 118 seconds
    Clicks - 108 (+1 after I speak to Gorion)
    HP - 2 / 5
    Gold - 11 ** GP reward given
    Inventory - Skeleton Key + Magic Cloak ** Both rewards given)
    Spells/Abilities - Magic Missile=Unavailable, Pick Pocket = Unavailable


    It's possible to trim a few clicks off, I think, and maybe to finish 3/5 with HP and still get all rewards.


    Post edited by Mr2150 on
  • lefreutlefreut Member Posts: 1,462
    edited November 2019
    ***
    Post edited by lefreut on
  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    edited June 2016
    Thanks for the feedback @lefreut !

    I take your point about the infirmary section and I tried to signal that bit by the text displayed when speaking to the right person.

    I can signpost this better by having him say something like 'and now only weapons can hurt me' ... Also, I added a bit that if you speak to him an extra time he then tells you that 'Fuller is sick in the hospital' and leaves normally.

    I will add an extra section based on how he leaves (threatened or # of times spoken to) and that will dictate his reaction later.
    Post edited by Mr2150 on
  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    edited June 2016
    I also plan to add an item to the players inventory on successful completion of this adventure - so the process would be, buy the book, complete the mini-game, get rewarded.

    I think the prospect is exciting as it allows you to use the UI of the game to create extra mini-games ...
  • CahirCahir Member, Moderator, Translator (NDA) Posts: 2,819
    Mr2150 said:

    I think the prospect is exciting as it allows you to use the UI of the game to create extra mini-games ...

    Like with different protagonists, on different areas of Faerun, in other words completely different adventures without the hassle to create graphics for new areas and coding scripts for NPC's? Yeah, that really looks fantastic!

    One can, you know implement whole NWN/NWN2 plots as a mini game for instance :)
  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    edited June 2016
    Exactly... :)

    And it doesn't have to be text adventures... it could be anything that the UI can handle. I already thought of a 'pick a pair' timed game that uses the ingame portraits as the pictures ...
  • CahirCahir Member, Moderator, Translator (NDA) Posts: 2,819
    Mr2150 said:

    Exactly... :)

    And it doesn't have to be text adventures... it could be anything that the UI can handle. I already thought of a 'pick a pair' timed game that uses the ingame portraits as the pictures ...

    And here I thought, that @Dee and @PhillipDaigle were bragging to much, while advertising new UI modding capabilities. Well, they were not and I stand corrected :)
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    Mr2150 said:

    Exactly... :)

    And it doesn't have to be text adventures... it could be anything that the UI can handle. I already thought of a 'pick a pair' timed game that uses the ingame portraits as the pictures ...

    I never played but that sounds like a magic the gathering type thing, wow in BG
  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    MTG might be pushing it... but something like the card game from The Witcher 3 might easily be possible.
  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    Thanks for the feedback @Dee - glad you like it.

    I actually thought of that and put short explanations throughout the code in both files trying to explain what was being checked/when and how - a few examples:

    -- Check Imoen to see if she's arrived at Area00005 for i=1,#AHRcompanions,1 do if AHRarea == "Area00005" and AHRcompanions[i][1] == "Imoen" then AHRcompanions[i][1] = nil AHRcompanions[i][2] = nil statusHighlight = 1; StatusUpdate = AHRstatusUpdates[35] end end
    RESULT - Imoen runs off = the nil lines remove her from the companions table and the status is updated to give the text: Imoen shrieks, “Eeek! It's Gorion, I gotta scoot. I'll see you later!”

    And

    -- Using a dagger with Phlydia if AHRinventory[selectedInventoryItem] == "Dagger" and AHRareaOptions[AHRarea][1] == "Phlydia" then statusHighlight = 1; StatusUpdate = AHRstatusUpdates[43] selectedInventoryItem = 0 end
    RESULT - Status is updated to give: She may be ungrateful, but stabbing her won't help her find her book!

    And

    -- This is the area description, the first entry appears when you first reach the area, the second is for subsequent visits AHRareaDescription = { Area00001 = {"You are the ward of Gorion. You've been instructed by your father to complete your chores, and then to come find him once they are all done.\n\nYou are currently outside Winthrop's Inn in Candlekeep. To the north, are the reading rooms, and to the South you can see some buildings and some trees.","You find yourself outside Winthrop's Inn. You can head inside the Inn, or travel around to the north of the central keep, or around to south where you can see a few buildings."}, ...

    I could easily put together a short tutorial that builds a 4 or 6 area adventure as a step-by-step guide however.
  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    No problems I can see with installing this onto v2.3
  • AWizardDidItAWizardDidIt Member Posts: 197
    This is really cool.
  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    Glad you like it @AWizardDidIt - let me know how you get on :)
  • lolienlolien Member, Moderator, Translator (NDA) Posts: 3,108
    edited July 2016
    I should visit the mod section more often. This is amazing!

    Maybe we can actually play in a gambling tent one day?
  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    Hey - I'm glad you like it...

    I haven't revisited this mod for a while - but it's on the to-do list...

    Let me know how you get on @lolien !
  • AnduinAnduin Member Posts: 5,745
    Wow! I love choose your own adventure type books... To put them into the game? Wow!

    @jackjack it is like Joe Dever's Lone Wolf and Steve Jacksons Sorcery! all over again!
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    Omg awesome!
    (I hate using "omg" but I'm at a loss for words, you see.)
  • Mr2150Mr2150 Member Posts: 1,170
    Hey, I'm glad you guys like it... If you have any feedback, do let me know :)

Sign In or Register to comment.