Art Request ~ Uatu and Dinonykos

[manikus]

I think that would be cool, too. I just think it should be part of an editor (one could make their own, just like with FRUA) and not something handled in game by the GPDL engine. It will be much easier to use if we do it in a GUI and not by scripting.

[SilentThief]

the same mechanic would allow specialty priests with spell spheres determining which are available.

ST

[manikus]

It could also be used for spellsong, for psionics, etc.

Actually for specialty priests, you can kind of do it already with the way DC is set up, it would just need to pull from the editor menu, which it already does, which would just mean that we would need some way to add to that menu.

If CocoaSpud had initially set up Magic User magic to work like Cleric magic, we could easily do Illsionists, in exactly the same way that we do Druids.

[manikus]

Actually, now that I think about it a bit, maybe adding Illusionists would be relatively easy. If we use cleric magic as a model, maybe it would be on the easy side to add other classes (through the menu in the editor) for magic user magic. If so, it is quite within my meager powers to add another class, sans all the bells and whistles. But, as this new class would largely be identical to magic users, it should be quite easy. We could still use the current spell database structure as well.

For assassins we would need to add another option to their combat menu, something like "assassinate". This new action could only be used on NPCs who had the "contract" flag set. If so, we would need some way to check after combat to see if the assassin survived and if they successfully 'assassinated' the target. If so, current give XP and give treasure events would suffice, though there may be a way to auto-chain them to combats with legal targets.

Thief-acrobat, cavalier and monk seem like they should work with the current structure, but that we would need to create the necessary special abilities for their use. To give the special abilities, there would be an event after every training event. Someone could script this so that it can be compiled under GPDL - just like 'Talk.txt' and then we ask Paul or Ben (the person who ported GPDL to GNU/LInux) to tweak GPDL to allow scripts other than "Talk.txt" It could be called "Train.txt"

As for half-orcs, they are the easiest thing to add-in.

Gosh, when I write it all out, it doesn't seem that big of a deal, especially compared to converting away from MFCs.

The caveat would be that much of this would be hardwired in the way that things are currently hardwired.

[Uatu]

I don't remember so well - but it seems that there were conflicting ideas about assassination (and what it entailed). Sometimes it was the killing of NPCs during downtime (but then it was often said to role-play this skill rather than roll the percentage dice), but sometimes it was just a sort of backstab that killed instead of damaging! (Note that specialty priests of Bhaal (if I remember correctly) in the Realms had a similar ability; Bhaal was also the patron of assassins, and like many other specialty priests, their specialty priests gained some of the abilities of other classes.)

That kind of thing would be a bit easier to add to DC, I think, and a bit more fun!

[manikus]

The assassins can't have a move like backstab that kills unless it only works on special creatures, i.e. NPCs. BTW, NPCs can be monsters and such, we just have to use NPCs b/c they are handled in a different way and are unique (you can still add multiple copies of the same NPC to the battle).

[Uatu]

Makes sense to me! Assassinate should only work on creatures that backstab works on (which reminds me - we need to get backstab to work ).

I guess any humanoid creature should be fair game.

[manikus]

In a perfect world...I would take a break from art and from school and just learn how to code and then code.

I just wish we were at version 1.0. There are so many little things we don't have yet, like breath weapons, a computer AI weapons immunity. I wish we were just trying to iron out bugs.

[Uatu]

Oh, we all know how to code, right? (Just not so well...)

[manikus]

It's the "not so well" part that keeps getting me. I've been hesitant to get into it while I'm in school b/c it will eat my brain (but in a good way).

I guess I'll work on it when I'm done with school. I should probably finish up my design and art first, b/c I'll have a hard time multi-tasking (that whole eating the brain thing).

I doubt that it will be that helpful for this project as I doubt I can learn using MFCs...though I guess I could put the program on my test box in Server 2003. Hmm, something for me to think about.