If you provide a link (in a PM), I will download and check it.

However, even if the mod you mentioned adds its own items to random creatures, it's something much different from what IA does. IA doesn't add merely new items to random locations; it removes the vanilla game's items from their original places and then re-distributes them randomly each time you start a new game.

Random suggestion: some sort of incentive(aside from meta-gaming) to lock your character in chapter 2 for a duration to level.
Playing a good protagonist, morally, your party should be heading off to spellhold ASAP.
But i'd imagine an IA spellhold/underdark would smash a level 9 party! Yet, it's too weird rescuing imoen with a level 30 party a few months later lol.

Solution idea: In addition to 20,000gp, Gaelen Bayle/Thieves guild needs a few weeks(perhaps 3-5) to iron out the details to get the protagonist to spellhold(e.g. Aran Linvail can explain that they needed to gather intelligence, resources, secure a ship, and determine the protagonist was really on their side, not working with bodhi). I believe Aran already states something similar in vanilla, it only need be expanded upon.

Bodhi's path can have similar restrictions, but perhaps only requires 2 weeks for securing the means of transportation(bribing saemon) and the sake of her not appearing to lead the protagonist into an obvious trap(read: legitimacy).

This can also spice up the RPG elements of the game. Go with the lesser of two evils, or gamble with the even greater evil!

The spellhold's difficulty varies with party's power and level; hence, as far as the game's balance in concerned, we have little to worry about.

Going to spellhold with a 9th level party is a bit too soon, but even from a role playing point of view, you know that Imoen is not probably in immediate danger while some other people (in other quests in chapter 2) are in urgent and immediate need of your help. This can justify postponing the spellhold for a few weeks.

On the other hand, going to chapter 4 with a higher than 14th level party is also not recommended, though as I said, we don't need to worry about balance issues very much. As mentioned in the progress report pinnes thread, if you delay to go to spellhold, you will find out that Irenicus' control over spellhold has strengthen.

I downloaded and checked it, Shaitan! (thanks for the link)

As I had guessed what it does is much different than what IA does. Its randomizing feature is limited to stuff such as "If a creature already has a potion, then there is x% chance to give him another potion" and similar things like that. What IA does, on the other hand, is that it removes a good number of vanilla game's items from their original locations and then redistributes them randomly each time you start a new game. IA is the first and only mod which does this.

At the risk of repetition: Weimer's IWD2 ease-of-use does that. Unless you're focussing on the "every time you start a new game", I guess - Weimer's mod rerandomizes only when you reinstall. (And, as I've said before, IA probably does it more elegantly)

Shuffling different items (axes, daggers, etc) with each other is not exactly what I would call randomizing selected items' locations in the sense IA does. I think I was clear enough about what IA exactly does and I think it's much different than what Weimer's mod for IWD does. And yes, "Each time you start a new game" is also an important factor.

I don't see how a mod for a different game which does something much different than IA does can be relevant here. If someone wants to use Weimer's method, he won't need my permission. My point was about the randomizing method of IA.

Well, ultimately the effect is pretty similar: a given object (e.g., Longsword +3) is moved from where it is in the vanilla game to another place, at random. Beyond that, though, it's essentially a matter of semantics whether that's "much different" or not. It would matter if this was an environment where copyright applied (and so permission mattered), but it isn't.

If they are ultimately the same, then I invite every other modder who wants to add a randmoizer to his mod to use that other method (and not the method used in IA).

And yes, "legally speaking", copyright doesn't apply to this environment; though, "morally speaking", courtesy does apply for those who care.

OK, so maybe this is a communications breakdown - I thought you were talking about the concept of randomizing the locations of lots of game items, in which case my point was that IWD2 ease-of-use also has that concept (and so if anyone needed to give permission it would presumably be Wes - not that I think he cares about such things). If you mean the specific coding, then of course that's different. I've no idea how the code works for IA's randomizer, other than "differently from IWD2 ease-of-use", but of course if some modder wanted to borrow your code, basic courtesy requires asking permission.

Yes, I was talking about the concept as well.

The IWD2 Ease-of-Use uses an entirely different concept.



The codes are different exactly because the two mods follow two completely different concepts:

The concept used in IWD2 E-of-U is that it shuffles different item codes at installation stage. This may lead to all sorts of silly results; for example, a warrior specilized in long swords may end up wileding a dagger when you meet him. Moreover, to re0distribute the items again, you will need re-install the mod again.

The concept used in IA is different in both respects. It doesn't require the player to re-install the mod; starting a new game will suffice. Moreover, it doesn't blindly shuffles item codes with each other. Items are added to sensible random locations.



Thank you, but as I said, I was not merely talking about the "code", I was talking about the "concept" as well.

Moreover, you will have no other choice but to use my code if you want to make an item randomizer with all of the features of IA's item randomizer (example: starting a new game redistributes the items without requiring to re-install the mod).

This thread is unfortunately contaminated with offtopic and irrelevant posts. I will unpin and close it, but will create a new thread: Progress report for IA v6 in its due time and will move the relevant posts of this thread to that new one.