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coaster
Hi Sikret

Sorry to be a pain but do you have any idea when v4.3 will be ready for public release (not looking for a specific day, but whether it might be a matter of days or weeks?)

I would quite like another run through BG2 with IA installed, but as there seems to be an increasing list of bugfixes & features for 4.3 compared to 4.2, I am wondering if it is worth waiting for a bit longer.

Thanks

coaster
Sikret
Hi, coaster!

thetruth and leonidas are testing the new version. They are of great help to me. We are fixing more bugs and adding more new content to the mod. We are doing our work with the maximum possible speed, but I can't really predict when it will be ready. (No, I can't promise that it will be released within a few days. It may take more than one week.)

After installing the new version, starting a new game will be strongly recommended for all, but it will be mandatory only for those who have a vagrant or a cavalier protagonist. So, if you want to start a new game before the release of v4.3 and don't intend to start a new game after installing the new version, don't pick a vagrant or a cavalier.

Cheers
coaster
Great, thanks. I'll wait and go play something else in the meantime smile.gif

coaster
Toxeus
QUOTE(Sikret @ Jun 20 2007, 01:19 PM) *

After installing the new version, starting a new game will be strongly recommended for all ...

Quick question about new version: is there any point to start new game right now or must i wait for v4.3?
My PC will definitely be mage/x (f/m or f/m/c, didn't decide yet), not vagrant or paladin of any kind.
Sikret
If your main PC is a vagrant or a cavalier, starting a new game after installing v4.3 will be mandatory. Otherwise, it is not mandatory but it's still strongly recommended. Reasons:
1- Some (not many) items are added to the randomizer program. If you do not start a new game, you will never find those items in the game.
2- Lilarcor is not an easy pray in v4.3. It's now guarded. If you already have Lilarcor, and if you don't start a new game, it may disappear from your ineventory as you have not actually defeated its guardians.
3- New content is added to the 3rd level of WK. If you have already been there, you will not see the new content and you won't be able to proceed to the 4th level. So, if you are in the 3rd level of WK, you will need to rertun to a saved game before that level.
4- The battle with Faldorn in druid grove is revised (slightly improved; don't panic!). If you have already done the trademeet quest, you will not see the new content.
And some other new content (such as Improved "Chaos monster" in the last quest of druid stronghold, etc...) are added.
In short, depending on how far you have progressed in the game, it is probable that you miss some new content, but your game will not break (that's why I said it is not mandatory to start a new game).
Sikret
Ranger's useless HLA, "Tracking", is replaced with a new and more helpful ability. So, if your rangers have already picked tracking as their HLA, you will (at least) need to return to a saved game before picking it.
nataben1314
Ooh another cool and welcome change, Sikret! I always used to get so annoyed by having completely useless HLAs like that. cool.gif

Any hints on what the new HLA is going to be or will it remain a secret until the release date? smile.gif
sturmvogel
How about replacing those useless scroll and potion HLAs for mages? Maybe something like an improved Tensor's Transformation so it doesn't unbalance the game back in their favor? Of course a multi-classed mage shouldn't get them at all to avoid further favoring F/Ms, etc.
Raven
I thought an Improved TT was already going to be used to replace PI in 4.3... maybe I'm just remembering this wrong though.

Personally I like the idea of a mage creating potions/scrolls, it's characterful. If these were changed to produce better potions, scrolls and with ideally a choice of which to make they could become good HLA choices for a mage.
Stu
QUOTE
Personally I like the idea of a mage creating potions/scrolls, it's characterful. If these were changed to produce better potions, scrolls and with ideally a choice of which to make they could become good HLA choices for a mage.

Gee- definitely! I've always found the current HLA kinda useless. The potion one isn't too bad (theres some chance you'll get something you might use one day ie. potion of superior healing or potion of master thievery) but the scroll one is truly shocking (I mean you always end up with a low level scroll that you're never going to cast). Changing the ability so that higher level spells are made would be awesome.
Also giving the player some choice over what spell is made would be good, but I'm not sure what the technical limitation of this would be (something like a contingency menu to select a spell out of you spellbook to be copied would be pretty cool)
Sikret
QUOTE(nataben1314 @ Jun 30 2007, 07:00 PM) *

Any hints on what the new HLA is going to be or will it remain a secret until the release date? smile.gif


It's a regeneration type ability (a tad weaker than Auramaster's 'Contact With Nature' ability) and it can be chosen as HLA only once (hence, you can't have more than one use per day).

Shadan
Any plan on estimated realese time. I think I will start BG2 with IA on next week, I could wait for 1 more week for 4.3, but not more. wink.gif
Sikret
QUOTE(Sikret @ Jul 1 2007, 04:40 PM) *
QUOTE(nataben1314 @ Jun 30 2007, 07:00 PM) *

Any hints on what the new HLA is going to be or will it remain a secret until the release date? smile.gif


It's a regeneration type ability (a tad weaker than Auramaster's 'Contact With Nature' ability) and it can be chosen as HLA only once (hence, you can't have more than one use per day).



What's your opinion about adding these new effects to the new HLA in addition to the regeneration:

"While in contact with nature, the ranger is immune to petrification and imprisonment." (It makes sense that mother nature can protect against these two effects. If you have additional suggestions for what mother nature may or should protect against don't hesitate to send them. Also, I forgot to mention that the regeneration rate is 18 hp/round and the duration of the contact is 10 rounds.)

Arkain
I think protection from petrification and imprisonment are useful. Not terribly needed but still useful smile.gif. What about disintegration? When we're talking about mother nature protecting her servant why not from this effect (as well)? Think rotting corpses - it's even natural biggrin.gif. Death Ward takes care of it anyway though iirc.
Marceror
I'm liking this, though I'm wondering if it's a little too good compared to other HLAs. If you look at some of the theives HLAs related to avoiding death, they get nice bonuses that last only for a few rounds. The immunities coupled with 180 point regen over 10 rounds is pretty amazing (perhaps too). I like the flavor-- calling out to mother nature in a moment of great peril, and mother nature answers!!

I'd recommend perhaps a nice bonus against save vs. death effects (rather than full on immunities) and keep the regeneration. This would still be somewhat overpowered when compared to other HLAs, but hey, some classes just get better benefits than others sometimes. That doesn't bother me so much. But changing the immunities to a bonus, I think, mellows it out a bit.

By the way, any chance you'll consider revamping rogues to give them a nice new HLA (perhaps replacing or modifying one of their existing)? With all of the benefits, love and attention rangers are getting in IA, and the distinct reductions in the usefulness of thieves (for the record: I'm not saying they aren't useful, just less useful than they were in the vanilla game), a bonus or two for thieves might be nice as well. Perhaps you could take a look at the thief's/bard's evasion abilities and give them a bit of a boost. Maybe increase the duration a bit and/or give the bonuses a bit of a boost. Anyhow, I'm getting a bit off topic, but wanted to throw that out there as well.
sturmvogel
I really hope that you're not adding more new content to 4.3 as I'd really like to incorporate it into my current game; I'm looking forward to Keldorn's new armor!
Save this new content for 4.4 or something! Put 4.3 out there for us to play with!
Sikret
@Marceror

The regeneration rate is the same rate of the 7th level clerical spell with the same duration except that the cleric can cast as many regeneration spells he wants but the ranger new HLA can only be used once per day (you can't pick it for a second time as your HLA choice). So, I don't really think that it is overpowered.

@sturmvogel

I assure you that I'm working on the mod with the maximum possible speed, but I have things to do in RL as well (to be honest, I have even re-arranged and changed my appointments and RL program so that I can work on the mod more than I normally could and should; and I have annoyed some people for this change in my daily program). I'm sorry for the delay, but have patience please.
Marceror
Sikret, I don't mean overpowered as in game breaking. If you look at my post, I was comparing this HLA to those other classes receive. I only meant "overpowered with respect to other high level abilities," particularly those of fighters/theives (priest and mages are sort of in a whole different stratosphere).

Just so we don't get tripped up on semantics, I'll choose a new word. Let's say, instead, that this power seems somewhat inequitable compared to what other classes receive, fighters and thieves, particularly. For example, a thief gets a 4 second boost to AC and some saves with evasion, and can invest a SECOND HLA point to improve the AC bonus and saves a bit (but not the 4 second duration).

Comparing that to what you're suggesting, which is 10 rounds of regen that equals what a 7th level cleric spell can do, and immunity to some of the most lethal spells out there (including level 9 mage spell imprisonment), this just seems a bit too good, again, for an HLA. The limit of one use per day helps, but again, my recommendation (as stated in my previous post) is not to change the regen, but modify the immunities to a bonus. Just a recommendation - I recall you asking for feedback. Do as you see fit.

As an aside, apparently I need to be extra careful with my wording on these boards, because apparently the only thing that was noted about my last post was a single word: overpowered. While had thought my additional context explained what I meant with by word (the word choice was not actually incorrect within the context I was using it), the response and specific example given - high level priests can do a similar thing using their highest level spell slot - makes me feel that I was unheard. But next time I'll just make sure my word choice is absolutely pristeen. I'm part of a small minority of english speakers who feels confident in my ability to pull that off. smile.gif
Sikret
QUOTE(Marceror @ Jul 4 2007, 06:08 PM) *
Sikret, I don't mean overpowered as in game breaking. If you look at my post, I was comparing this HLA to those other classes receive. I only meant "overpowered with respect to other high level abilities," particularly those of fighters/theives (priest and mages are sort of in a whole different stratosphere).


Thanks for the clarifications, Marceror! They are always welcome to make what we mean clearer.

QUOTE
Just so we don't get tripped up on semantics, I'll choose a new word. Let's say, instead, that this power seems somewhat inequitable compared to what other classes receive, fighters and thieves, particularly. For example, a thief gets a 4 second boost to AC and some saves with evasion, and can invest a SECOND HLA point to improve the AC bonus and saves a bit (but not the 4 second duration).


I may do something for thieves too. But the first priority was to do something about the most useless HLA of the game which was "Tracking".
QUOTE
Comparing that to what you're suggesting, which is 10 rounds of regen that equals what a 7th level cleric spell can do, and immunity to some of the most lethal spells out there (including level 9 mage spell imprisonment), this just seems a bit too good, again, for an HLA.


A low level berserker can gain immunity to Imprisonment for the same duration of time and he can even refresh it with extra use of his enrage ability. So, having immunity to imprisonment for 10 rounds and only for one use per day "as an HLA" doesn't look too much to me. (Mother nature will not allow her child to be impisoned in a cell deep in the Earth; not at leat while they are in contact.)

QUOTE
The limit of one use per day helps, but again, my recommendation (as stated in my previous post) is not to change the regen, but modify the immunities to a bonus. Just a recommendation - I recall you asking for feedback. Do as you see fit.


Thanks for the feedback. I always read them and use some of them.
QUOTE
As an aside, apparently I need to be extra careful with my wording on these boards, because apparently the only thing that was noted about my last post was a single word: overpowered.


No, no. I read your entire post. My answer was not merely aimed at the term overpowered. Even if you had used a different word, I would have sent the same reply.

Thanks again.

Marceror
I appreciate you taking the time to respond, yet again, Sikret. I guess I still find it a little odd that you chose your example about the cleric spell, when I specifically said I thought you should keep the regen component as is. But looking past that, what you're really saying is that you prefer the immunities, and at the end of the day, you've got to make the choices you feel are best.

It's nice to hear you say that theives are on your radar, since they could definitely use a little TLC in my opinion.

So what does the proposed ability look like at this point? I saw someone mention immunity to disintegration, which seems to fit with the spirit of the ability. Another thought, as long as we're sticking with the immunity concept, is granting immunity to death spells for 10 rounds (thieves will really need some lovin if you do this, however), so basically the ranger is getting the benefits of a death ward spell, among other things. As long as nature is sustaining the ranger in such a miraculous way, protection from death spells seems appropriate. Having the ranger call out, "protect me Great Mother," followed by the Great Mother actually appearing and saying "I have heard your voice my faithful son/daughter), ending with a "finger of death" snuffing the ranger out in no time flat, seems rather anti-climatic. wacko.gif

Lastly, as long as you're including immunity to imprisonment, you should probably include immunity to the Maze spell as well. If nature can protect from the the 800 lb gorilla (imprisonment), she can probably handle his kid brother as well.

So that gives us 10 rounds of regen, death ward, immunity to imprisonment/maze. Yeah, it's very, very powerful, but for the moment I'm just focused on answering the question, what should nature protect from. If a ranger still manages to die with all that protection, well, we'll just call that a heroic death! dagger.gif
nataben1314
Sikret,

I wonder has a new timeline been established for 4.3? I notice that around June 15th it was expected to be about a week. Of course I'm not trying to rush you or complain or anything, I'm just curious for the purposes of deciding whether to start a new unmodded game or wait for 4.3 smile.gif
Toxeus
Sikret, excuse for troubling, but please, tell us something smile.gif
We are waiting so long ... Personally i keep thinking about starting new game in v4.2, but then i look to constantly increasing 'new features' list, afraid to miss something interesting and decide to wait a little more wink.gif
Sikret
I know and I apologize for the delay. But please let us do all of the required tests. Some of the new features require thorough testing. Testers and I are working with our maximum speed. You know that unlike some other modders, I'm not in the habit of "mistaking players with/for testers". I won't release something before testing it, because I respect players' time. Some very good players are helping me and they (and only they) are my testers. Ordinary players should play a "tested" mod. I won't waste players' time with releasing an untested mod. Please have patience, I assure you that it is worth waiting a bit more.
Sikret
IA v4.3 is ready for its final round of testing.

thetruth and leonidas are in vacation and at this moment, Raven is my only available tester. Although, he is amazingly fast and accurate, testing the new features with only one tester may take longer than I had anticipated. If anyone is willing to join the testing team, I'll appreciate if he/she sends me a PM.

Conditions:

1- A tester should not have installed any other mod except those I recommend.

2- A tester needs to abandon his/her current game and start a new game.

3- A tester should not write any spoilers in his public posts.

4- A tester should have plenty of free time to do the tests very quickly and in a short period of time. (I don't want a tester who starts testing, but after three days tells me that he cannot continue with the same speed for some reason.)

5- A tester should send reports to me quite frequently and should answer to my questions without delay.
Shaitan
Any succes with recruting testers?
Sikret
QUOTE(Shaitan @ Aug 9 2007, 10:03 AM) *
Any succes with recruting testers?

Yes, IA has now two new testers. But more testers are always welcome. If more people want to join the testing team, I'll appreciate.
Shaitan
Any predictions for a releasedate? This weekend or the next smile.gif
lroumen
QUOTE(Shaitan @ Aug 10 2007, 05:27 PM) *
Any predictions for a releasedate? This weekend or the next smile.gif
lol, you want it to be my birthday present? (august 15 tongue.gif ) I think we'll just need to let the testers do their job properly and not rush things. Sikret is not the type that wants to finish it before everything is tested 10 times over and rightfully so smile.gif

I wish I could have offered my help in testing but I'm working the entire summer.
Shaitan
Yes - I rarely have more than half an hour a day to play BG these days. smile.gif I know very well, that it's hard to give an exact estimate, but I'm getting a bit impatient wink.gif I started a BG1 game to kill the time, but it's not the same. smile.gif
Raven
Shaitan! Hang in there buddy! The wait will be worth it, I can assure you wink.gif .
Shaitan
smile.gif
Sikret
Contrary to what I had guessed a while ago, starting a new game will be mandatory for all players (regardless of their protagonist's class and kit) after updating the mod to v4.3 (some of the new features require starting a new game).
Shaitan
we want news smile.gif other than the Faldorn stuff, like how are things faring?

regards and thanks to testers and the creator
Sikret
For news, revisit this topic frequently.

Cheers
lroumen
Question about the Faldorn duel. Generic weirdness blast from the past. I noticed you removed all protection spells and such from the Faldorn fight. Perhaps there is something else that you could take a look at (see spoiler tags).

If not suitable please remove it or let me know if I should remove it.

SPOILER!
In the past you could set a warrior party member on a ranged attack and have him guard the PC (or ?Cernd of Jaheira). Then when the duel starts, the guard functionality kicks in and the warrior would attack faldorn with ranged attacks even if s/he has no view of faldorn and the projectiles would actually hit and finish her off quickly. I often have Guard activated when I have, for instance, Mazzy around with her shortbow and I noticed this strange appearance. I wanted to ask whether this has been removed because it could take some fun out of the game or could allow an early head-start if someone accidentily has the guard active or knows about this strangeness (I often use Guard).
Raven
QUOTE(lroumen @ Aug 16 2007, 10:58 AM) *
Question about the Faldorn duel. Generic weirdness blast from the past. I noticed you removed all protection spells and such from the Faldorn fight. Perhaps there is something else that you could take a look at (see spoiler tags).

Thanks, Iroumen.

Recently a change was applied which was intended to fix a similar problem; I believe it will also fix this problem. But to make sure I'll test it (Sikret hopefully you know which fix I'm talking about otherwise PM me).
Shaitan
Hi!

Is it possible at this stage to release a readme for items and or changes and or installation?

Regards
Shaitan
Arrg! Can't breeath - need new version - gimme hooope someone.

smile.gif How fares?
Sikret
It's ready to release Shaitan, but you know that I'm a perfectionist and want to test everything 10 times. Actually this is what makes IA unique (i.e. the only "big mod" with no critical bug)
Shaitan
wink.gif I'm well aware of your perfectionistic ways - it's nice for us players. It's really annoying when (like other mods out there) excists with known bugs for years... I'm looking foreward to the much awaited release. Congratulations is appropriate I think.
Arkain
Actually I think your perfectionism is one of the best features.

So you're done testing and balancing the new level up/HLA system?
Sikret
Thanks, Shaitan and Arkain!

QUOTE(Arkain @ Aug 28 2007, 07:20 PM) *
So you're done testing and balancing the new level up/HLA system?


We are working on it. There are a number of questions (in regard to the new level up charts) which can only be answered by accurate practical tests under different consitions in the game (rather than by theoretical speculation).

As for the new quests:

Clash of Powers is tested twice and no problem is detected. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is tested once and its second turn of test is in progress. I'm sure that it has no problem, but I want it to be tested at least three times.

The three new spells are fully tested and work without any problem.
Shaitan
QUOTE(Shaitan @ Aug 19 2007, 05:13 PM) *
Hi!

Is it possible at this stage to release a readme for items and or changes and or installation?

Regards


Is it possible now? It would be nice to be ready to game smile.gif
Sikret
If you want to prepare your installation, you can have a look at the "Installation" document attached to this post. It's still open to possible changes depending on our testing results. I strongly recommend that you check the readme again after the mod is officially released.
Shaitan
Thanks a lot
Roy
Is there any special reason why the Valen,Solaufein and Planar Sphere mod are not recomended with IA4.3?
They are incompatiable or not balanced or what?
Arkain
At least Solaufein and PSM are compatible with IA.
I think it's due to balancing reasons. If so remember that it's "It's also recommended not to install [...]". So judge by yourself whether or not it would be a good idea to install those. 'tis my interpretation, of course.
trufa
So, if i want only the two scripts from Sola mod, this will not cause bug?
Shaitan
Probably not, but it's not for me to say.
Shaitan
QUOTE(Sikret @ Aug 28 2007, 03:11 PM) *
Thanks, Shaitan and Arkain!

QUOTE(Arkain @ Aug 28 2007, 07:20 PM) *
So you're done testing and balancing the new level up/HLA system?


We are working on it. There are a number of questions (in regard to the new level up charts) which can only be answered by accurate practical tests under different consitions in the game (rather than by theoretical speculation).

As for the new quests:

Clash of Powers is tested twice and no problem is detected. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is tested once and its second turn of test is in progress. I'm sure that it has no problem, but I want it to be tested at least three times.

The three new spells are fully tested and work without any problem.


How is the testing going? I saw #30 in the progress report, but has the new quests been tested fully now? I'm just asking while my pc now is ready for the new IA version wink.gif

Regards
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