TS v7.0 - upcoming release Options

[Vlad]

So, the new version is close to completion. There are several things that I should finish and some things I'd like to add. But for now, it's about 85% done. I'd like to ask those who played TS, tested and have something in mind about the mod, to post it here. Trufa, thank you a lot for your reports and notes. I have taken all them into consideration. For now, I have removed both Coran and Dynaheir as being absolutely silent NPCs, and I've remade three areas of the island. Valygar and Sime romances will be more independent on external conditions, which means better compatibility with other mods. Items - are per your requests, trufa, - duplicates have been removed, the present items have been balanced, some new items were added. What is left - more banters for Sime, particularly in ToB, and thorough testing.

[Senka]

I will, Vlad, count me in!
I remember a lot of problem with Valygar romance but you already did it. And items - I think about three mage robes, it is too much (and there is Vecna' robe...). And mage rings too. Ulcaster' Ring especcially

[Graoumf]

Hello Vlad,

If I had only one request, it would be that TS v7.0 would have some .tra files. Even if we're far to have released the french translation, we're still working on it, and particularly since the BP's translation is done. About these .tra files, it would be great if they were the same of those for a mega-install, but if it's not the case, Isaya is developping a program to replace strings between a mod in WeiDU and the same in no-WeiDU (like TDD for example) - maybe he will be able to adapt it between two versions of a mod.
Besides, TS 6.10 is already translated in some languages : Russian, Spanish and German.

[trufa]

I would be also more than happy to test the new TS.

[trufa]

As i wrought, Sime romanceable for Neutral characters. This would be the most important.

And yes, a little much the robes. The Robe of Armory would more than enough.
I found, that the Tactics mod has a component(the Acid Kensai) who has another Dak'kon Blade, besides his another more powerful Katana, so it wouldn't be bad, that you would make something, which make this component incompatible

This post has been edited by trufa: Jan 14 2008, 11:32 AM

[Vlad]

...so it wouldn't be bad, that you would make something, which make this component incompatible

[Senka]

Vlad, we are waiting for new version!

[Clown]

Hello,
Am thinking of giving TS I try for my next game runthrough and was wondering when the new version is likely to be out as I would like to know whether it is worth waiting for or I should just use the current version. I will probably start in a couple of weeks when I finish my current IA run. Also will the new version be compatible with IA? Thanks.

[trufa]

The old one was also at least 85-90% compatible (besides 1-2 items), the main problem was the Sime&Valygar romance startingrequirement (Shade Lord's quest ends)

[Vlad]

I cannot disconnect Valygar from the Shade Lord's quest because of Merella. Moreover, since Valygar is in Umar Hills anyway, I don't see a problem to complete this quest right after joining him. What I did is accelerating romance timers, removing banter switches, replacing "real" timers with "in-game" timers, and separating banters connected to events from the main flow of the romance. I hope there will be no more problems to complete both SoA and ToB part of Valygar Romance in a normal game. The same is true with respect to Sime.

[Sikret]

I cannot disconnect Valygar from the Shade Lord's quest because of Merella. Moreover, since Valygar is in Umar Hills anyway, I don't see a problem to complete this quest right after joining him.

The problem is that the Shade Lord is improved in IA; hence, those players who have both TS and IA won't be able to finish the quest right after having Valygar in the party. If delay in defeating Shade Lord will halt the romance permanently, it's an incompatibility with IA. But if the romance can start and proceed even if the player goes for Shade Lord with delay, then there is no problem.

[Vlad]

Sikret, I cannot and may not change the Romance written by Domi. It is based on love to Merella, and triggered by her death. I think in favour of compatibility between TS and IA, you can make the battle with Shade Lord in IA much easier. There is also another solution: for those who install IA after TS, to make a check in TP2 and if TS is installed, then install the light version of Shade Lord.

[Sikret]

Sikret, I cannot and may not change the Romance written by Domi. It is based on love to Merella, and triggered by her death.

So, will the romance start any time Valygar sees Merella's death? Or is there a time limit as well? What will happen if Valygar is in the party for a couple of weeks before seeing Merella's death?

[Vlad]

So, will the romance start any time Valygar sees Merella's death?

Yes.

What will happen if Valygar is in the party for a couple of weeks before seeing Merella's death?

Nothing. There will be only banters with other NPCs, and three or four banters with PC, but no love talks or flirt options until Merella's death triggers the first love talk. And as I said, this may not be changed.

[Sikret]

Then, we don't seem to have any problems here. The player can go for the Shade Lord with delay, because the romance will eventually begin as soon as Valygar sees Merella's death. There is no need to rush. Is that right?

[Vlad]

There is no need to rush. Is that right?

No, this is wrong. The romance should start as earlier as possible in the game in order to have enough time to complete it. It's like all other romances. If you delay with them, then you won't be able to complete them during your game.

[Sikret]

Thanks, Vlad! This is probably my last question about this case:

Assuming that the Valygar romance is halted permanently or cannot proceed properly due to the player's delay in defeating the Shade Lord, can the player still play the rest of TS and enjoy its other features?

I ask this, because making the Shade Lord battle easier is not a valid and possible option for me. Certain events will trigger and start to happen after killing the Shade Lord in IA and those certain things should not happen soon or at early stages of the game.

From what you wrote, it's quite clear that player who install TS and IA together cannot have the Valygar romance in thier games; so, the only remaining question is whether they can play the rest of TS (without Valygar's romance) or not.

[Senka]

The Valygar romance is very good and is a part of TS. I don't understand why Vlad needs to cut his exelent mod. This is RPG, not 3D-action, and dialogs and romance will be in a first place

[Sikret]

The Valygar romance is very good and is a part of TS. I don't understand why Vlad needs to cut his exelent mod.

I didn't ask Vlad to omit any part of his mod. Players who want to play TS and IA together had a question about their compatibility (see above). So far, it's clear that the Valygar romance section is incompatible with IA. I asked Vlad to clarify whether the rest of TS will (or will not) work without the Valygar romance. This was a question on behalf of the players who wanted to know the degree of compatibility between the two mods.

Vlad asked me if it's possible for me to make the battle with Shade Lord easier and I clarified the reasons for which it's not possible.

Similarly, I asked Vlad whether he can disconnect the romance from the death of the Shade Lord and he said that it was not possible for him to do so, because someone else had written that part of TS. Hence, none of us can do anything to make the Valygar romance compatible with IA. The only remaining question is whether the rest of TS can be played without that particular romance or not.

If you are not going to play IA, this topic doesn't affect your game in any way.

This is RPG, not 3D-action, and dialogs and romance will be in a first place

BG2 is not a 3d-action game. Yes, but I don't see the point of this comment here.

The rest is a matter of taste. For me, a polished non-romantic quest with good dialogues or a well-designed challenging battle is/are far more satisfying than 1 million lines of love-talks. I don't like romances in this game, but that is a matter of personal taste and it's not even my main reason for not toning down the Shade Lord's battle. The reason for which I can't do that is explained in my previous post.

[Vlad]

Assuming that the Valygar romance is halted permanently or cannot proceed properly due to the player's delay in defeating the Shade Lord, can the player still play the rest of TS and enjoy its other features?

Sure. I don't see problem at this moment. Another romancable character is Sime. If you didn't modify Shadow Thieves the same way as you did with Shadow Lord, then Sime is a good option for romance for both male and female protagonists.