After more than 3 years of waiting, I am welcoming this new year with a released Version 0.4 (or Beta 4) of SpellPack. The entire structure of the mod has been revamped; the stuff you see here will be identical to that of the full unfinished mod. SpellPack has grown both in components (21) and size (76.6 MB).

Some of the changes and new features include but is not limited to:

- Spells present in previous versions of SpellPack have been fixed.
- A smarter version of Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, which allows the caster to cast the spell onto himself or his allies without worrying about saving throws or magic resistance.
- The AD&D version of chain lightning, which strikes one creature, then arcs to several other creatures, with the bolt getting weaker with each strike.
- The AD&D version of Shadow Door, which not only permits the wizard to disappear, but the door "hangs" there for a period of time. Creatures pursuing the wizard will enter the "door" as well, and disappear into an empty room, searching for the wizard.
- Graphics for Fireball projectile (but not the explosion) now uses the BGI version.
- Several IWD I/II spells, such as Moon Motes and Shroud of Flame are introduced.
- A cutscenized Planescape Torment spell, deathbolt. This is something new in the BG series, and it is still experimental, so it is an optional component.

Download B4 [76.6 MB]
Readme

-Galactygon

I am very happy to see this!!!!

Great job Galactygon! I love this mod.

BTW, just a minor nitpick, but isn't Sunscorch supposed to inflict 1/2 damage on a successful save instead of being completely negated?

A saving throw means the creature has dodged the ray - much like a ray created by a disintegrate spell. AD&D says so, and I agree with that part of the rules.

-Galactygon

Congratulations on the new release!

Are the spells separated into individual install components? I know that makes for intense install time, but there a few spells that I do not want to use.

Due to the sheer number of spells in the mod (I counted 60 not including graphical modifications), I have made grouped them according to spell level.

Some controversial spells, like Chain Lightning or Dimension Door are assigned their own component.

If enough people complain about a single spell, I will make it a seperate component.

-Galactygon

Wouldn't call it a "complaint", but let me submit Invisibility Purge. I found out the hard way that not only is its Area of Effect: 10-foot radius per level, it punches through Spell Immunity: Divination.

Yes, Invisibility Purge has been changed to Abjuration, as per AD&D.

-Galactygon

So, is that a 'Yes' or 'No' on making it a separate component?

I can wait until SPb5, but 3 years is a bit long to hold out. Perhaps an interim, manual workaround?

No, unless enough people complain: I cannot please everyone. So far, it is one vote in favour of.



Delete the following files from the override folder and you should be fine:

"SPPR309.spl"
"SPPR309A.spl"
"SPPR309B.spl"
"SPPR309C.spl"
....
"SPPR309T.spl"

-Galactygon

I'm having trouble installing. I have included the debug file. It says there is a file missing from the override but I checked and it is there. Any help would be appreciated. I'm looking forward to playing with this installed. Thanks.

Although I have not used WeiDU as often, I could guarantee SpellPack does not touch any .d files. If someone else encountered something similar, give me a shout.

Here is what I suggest: conduct a search for this "dw#ajant.d" in your other mod files (so we know which mod it is), as well as the one in your override folder (if there is one - but there isn't), and send them to me or post them.

I will see what I could do and figure it out. I might end up placing an ALLOW_MISSING.

-Galactygon

Congratulations, Galactycon.

It looks like it is Sword Coast Stratagems. I have included the file.

I think this topic might sort it out.

-Galactygon

Thanks for your efforts. I think I will switch the order of the mods and put SCS after spellpack. I am trying to be careful with my install and use a weidu log that someone else has been successful with. Unfortunately he didn't have Spellpack in his. I'll let you know if its successful.

Well, I uninstalled SCS and Spellpack then installed, however 2 components would not. I have included the debug file. This must be something else.

Try unzipping the attatchment into your BGII directory, so it overrides your old files.

If this does not work, I cannot really help you; I have not encountered anything of this sort, and I am absolutely sure other mods would not prevent new files from being copied into your override - SpellPack should theoretically technically work with every other mod. CtB (Check the Bodies) is an exception, but only because some of the spells it introduces have a different filename, so some spells would appear twice. But even CtB shouldn't cause any bugs.

So it might be a faulty installation of the entire game.

-Galactygon

Hi, I first of all wanted to thank you for this grat mod. However, I have encountered some bugs:

1. With the spellpac(V3) installed some NPCs won't fight.
e. g. Bassilus from BG1: He casts some degensive and offensive spells and then doesn't attack. As soon as some of the defensive spells are gone, he starts attacking.
Is this different with the new version?

2. tried to install this new one with scs installed but it doesn't work.
Why does the problem occur? And is it possible to fix it moving out all the dw'ajant.d and so on files from the override folder and later recopy them in?
Or does this cause complications?

Marvin

Edit:

Alright, I cut all the .d and .baf files out of the override folder and then I managed to install the spell Pack Beta 4.
Although I was not able to install 2 components, I can't remember which of them.
It seems to work fine, great new graphics. And Bassilus finally seems to Attack after he casts his spells, BUT I think because I cut the .d and .baf files out there is another bug. When Basilus casts, there is a square that covers his avatar... it looks loke a square full of snowflakes . Is this a feature or a bug? Because when my Char casts the "White-snowflakes-Square-over-the-avatar-bug" doesn't occur!!!

Is there another workaround for the scs problem?

Thanks for your help

Edit: I added an Image where you can see, what I mean with snowflake square!!!

I am not even going to worry about V3, and I am glad to see you moved on...



What error message did you get? Did the same thing happen as with the other person above?



.d and .baf files are not meant to be in the override. But I still do not see why the mod would not install because of them.



If you post your WeiDU.log, then we can figure it out which ones did not install. Was it the components Shroud of Flame and (Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, Incendiary Cloud) by any chance?



That screenshot really helps.

Btw, why is "magicwiderstand" displayed 3 times in the screenshot?

The "snowflakes" are intentional. But that the AI gets stuck with one spell is not. Those snowflakes happen because Bassilus casts chant on himself. And so when the AI casts Chant, the AI gets stuck with casting chant - because how the spell works.

Chant is a spell that is recast over and over again until the caster does something else - chant can theoretically last forever. This is intentional. It is important to read the spell descriptions.

But I thought I could get away with this because I thought the AI never uses chant. Because chant is best used with multiple allies fighting multiple opponents. This means I will have to slightly change chant for the next release, so the AI does not misuse it.

In Lost Crossroads, however, I will modify the AI scripts so they could properly use the chant spell instead (or not use it at all!).

-Galactygon

Thanks for your reply.

1. Yes, these 2 components didn't install

2. Yes I had the same error that the otherone above had before me. But this ís because of scs. If I install spellpack BEFORE scs it works just fine

3. I haven't understood what you ment with magiewiederstand being showed 3 times in the image... ähm I'm German if it is for the language that you are being confused about.
Hmm I don't actually know why it is showen 3 times... but what I realized is that the casters are casting too long untill they start to attack.
Yes, it seems indeed that they just keep casting the same spells over and over again untill they run out of spells

I hope I could help you, and I'm looking forward to fix or a new version, because I do not want to leave this mod out ever again

Marvin

PS: Is there something more that you want to know about? Or have I got some of your answers or questions wrong? So please tell me!!!

First of all Thanks for this great mod!!

For the first error without the Improved Final Battle component from SCS, Spell Pack (core files and Graphics) installed correctly.
For the other error with Shroud of Flame component even with an unmoded BG2 game (only BG2 & EXPANSION & Patch) i got the same error.
so i don't think there is a conflict with another mod.

I tried the attached files but nothing change

Is there any possibility to install ONLY the new graphics, leaving out the AI components of this mod?
Just to have an alternative for the moment.

Marvin

Again, that should not be happening. It might be the .exe that is doing this.



Wait... magiewiederstand means "magic resistance", right? I do know german, but I was confused why the languages were different.

btw, could someone ask one of the guys at Rosenranken to do a translation?



Let me explain in greater detail. When you cast "Chant", you cast the spell once from your memory. Chant recasts itself over and over again, because Chant needs to be sustained by the caster in order for it to work. The duration lasts until the caster stops chanting. Chanting happens when the caster remains stationary. That's when the "snowflakes" appear and you hear a nice sound being played over and over again (I do not find it annoying because it loops gently).



You could uninstall that component and still use the rest. Or if you really like the other spells in that component, but want to get rid of Chant, delete the following files from the override directory:

SPPR203.spl
SPPR203A.spl
SPPR203B.spl
SPPR203C.spl
...
SPPR203F.spl

As for when there will be a fix, I do not know. My load from my university is very heavy, and I would be lucky if I would make another release within the next month.



Anything else you noticed when playing SpellPack. Opinions, observations, details are what I am looking for. I am most interested in what people say about some of the other controversial spells (Chain Lightning, Dimension Door, Deathbolt).



You mean the component Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting and Incendiary Cloud?



I have not looked yet, but I will promise.



After you link to an attatchment, you will have to click "upload" in order for it to work correctly.



SpellPack does not modify the AI, only the spells. A single spell might change AI behaviour, as with the case of the chant spell. So if you have troubles with a single spell, I recommend you uninstall that component.

-Galactygon

no , i was talking for the first component of spellpack (core files and Graphics) where i get the error with dw#ajant.
if i remove the improved final battle component from scs the first component will install without any problems.



Thanks

edit : i forgot to mention that i also got error message with the Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting component, but like Shroud o flame component i don't think there is a conflict with another mod because i tried to installed them in an unmoded bg2.

This is what I was asking about; I will look into this as well.

-Galactygon

The reason you're having trouble with that piece of SCS is this line (line 48 of the SpellPack tp2):

COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/CommonEffects/Scripts~ ~override~

It's modelled on the COPY_EXISTING ~SpellPackB4/Stuff~ ~override~ lines, but COMPILE doesn't work that way (as I'm sure you know - it's just a typo, I imagine). If you give COMPILE two arguments, it just COMPILEs both of them. So in this case, it COMPILEs everything in ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/CommonEffects/Scripts~, and then goes on to COMPILE everything in ~override~ - including any uncompiled files which other mods may have left lying around in the override folder.

If you cut that ~override~ line and just leave it as

COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/CommonEffects/Scripts~

then the problem will go away.

While the problem with the Spell Pack (core files and Graphics) is solved there is another similar with the Entangle,Magical Stone, Sanctuary, Sunscorch component.


i guess there is another ~override~ that must be removed.

edit: i think there is the problem
COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Priest/Level01/Scripts~ ~override~

the same goes for this one (Call Lightning, Invisibility Purge, Miscast Magic, Spike Growth, Random Casualty, Prayer, Moonblade, Stormshell, Elysium's Tears component)

COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Priest/Level03/Scripts~ ~override~

(Entropy Shield, Whirlwind component)

COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Priest/Level06/Scripts~ ~override~

(Implosion component)

COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Priest/Level08/Scripts~ ~override~

(Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Shadow Door, Domination, Chaos, Invulnerability to Normal Weapons, Lower Resistance component)

COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Wizard/Level05/Scripts~ ~override~

(Chain Lightning component)

COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Wizard/Level06/Scripts~ ~override~

(Flame Strike, Undead Ward, Animal Rage, Produce Ice, Spike Stones)

COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Priest/Level05/Scripts~ ~override~

(Flame Arrow, Ice Storm, Improved Invisibility, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Wizard Eye)

COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Wizard/Level04/Scripts~ ~override~

(Deathbolt (replaces Simulacrum!))

COMPILE ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Wizard/Level08/Scripts~ ~override~

Until V5 comes out, I have made an updated .tp2 that fixes the following bugs:

- the COMPILE error
- Raise dead, resurrection now have casting graphics
- AI misusing chant. The spell now lasts 1 turn for both allies and enemies, and it does not hinder the caster in any way.
- Dolorous Decay crashing
- Horror graphics
- Flesh to Stone does not look ugly
- Does not require ToB to be installed [added 12:40 GMT]

Simply download the attatchment, replace "Setup-SpellPackB4.tp2" (located in the "BGII-SoA" directory) with the new one, and reinstall all of the components.

This should fix all the bugs except for (Shroud of Flame) and (Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting-Incendiary Cloud) not installing. I was not able to replicate those bugs, but it might be because of that COMPILE error. I would like to have some feedback about this.

Fixed. See download a few posts below.

-Galactygon

i don't know if this help, i use the European English version of bg2 (4cd + 1cd TOB). Maybe there is incompatibility issues with different versions of bg2.

Here is the solution to the problem

for Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, Incendiary Cloud component you need to change these lines at Setup_SpellPackB4.tp2

COPY ~LostCrossroads/SpellsAndEffects/Wizard/Level08/Spell_AbiDalzimsHorridWilting~ ~override~
COPY ~LostCrossroads/SpellsAndEffects/Wizard/Level08/Spell_IncendiaryCloud~ ~override~

with these

COPY ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Wizard/Level08/Spell_AbiDalzimsHorridWilting~ ~override~
COPY ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Wizard/Level08/Spell_IncendiaryCloud~ ~override~

and for Shroud of Flame (replaces Oracle!) component

COPY ~LostCrossroads/SpellsAndEffects/Wizard/Level05/Spell_ShroudOfFlame~ ~override~

with

COPY ~SpellPackB4/SpellsAndEffects/Wizard/Level05/Spell_ShroudOfFlame~ ~override~

Oh the woes copying code almost directly from the larger mod!

Now that I think about it, all of the bugs in B4 were caused when I transitioned stuff from Lost Crossroads (except for that COMPILE one). Here is a final update of the tp2 file that allows Shroud of Flame and (ADHW-IC) to be installed.

B5 will come out different since I will be working off of an established way of organization rather than starting from scratch as I did in B4.

-Galactygon

Great job! These animations and whatnot look just awesome, and some of the spell effects acting more similarily to old-style AD&D rules rather then the kinda cropped up rules are really nice. I'm pretty amazed and damn happy that folks like yourself continue to make new and improved things that increases the (re)playability of BG2 (it being one of my favorite games that I probably replay about 2-3 times / year. since it came out).

Thanks again! I'm really looking forward to any upcoming additions ya make to this package!

Good to hear something positive for a change; so far all of the feedback came in the form of bug reports. Not that I didn't deserve them.

But I am still interested in hearing what people have to say about the spells themselves. Especially about those spells that are controversial or those which were implemented in a very different manner than anything seen before.

I have tested all of the spells with dummy characters, but I do not know what practical use they have for the actual gamer.

-Galactygon

Well, if you are referring to the spells that overwrite other spells (Produce Flame, Aura of Flame, Dimension Door, etc. etc.) , I'll let ya know when I install those. I haven't yet overwritten the original spells with those, and I figured I would try my hand at figuring out how to install those without overwriting. Once I get 'em installed alongside the originals (I really do like the Simulacrum spell...) I'll drop ya a line. (But, I imagine it's gonna take me a few to figure it all out, I'm not really very knowledgeable about the whole modding thing. Sure, i've messed around with that IEEP thing a few times, but I've never done anything significant.)

Ah, just as a sidenote, while wearing the "Cloak of Mirroring" (clck26) - Cloudkill & Incendiary Cloud don't seem to correctly cast. I assume this is because they center on the spellcaster under your new method/graphic. And, in the "Elemental Wizard" portion of watcher's keep, there's a cloudkill trap in one of the northern rooms at the tip of a pillar-like object, which causes a crash. In TOB, in the "Crypt of the dead" , there is another trap which causes insta-crash (which i assume to be a cloudkill trap as well.) - Checked out the script on this trap, and it is actually an Ice Storm trap.

Because things in real life are coming together (in a positive way), I will not be around as much until July. I will still reply to occasional posts and reports, but I do not see a release coming within the next few months.

I have not looked at either one of these, but I could give some guesses:


The cloak of mirroring reacts to spells that have a sectype set to some value. I must have accidentally patched more spells than necessary.



Most likely have to do with projectiles rather than spells, because traps use different spells than characters. Speaking of which, I forgot to update them as I should have.

Will fix both (even though I haven't looked at either one of them).

-Galactygon

Someone just sent me a note about compatibility with the G3 BGII fixpack.

As SpellPack overrides the Projectl.ids, if you install SpellPack after the BGII fixpack, then their detect evil and cloak of mirroring fixes will not come into play. On the other hand, BGII fixpack patches the Projectl.ids (they are better than me), so those fixes will work if you install the BGII fixpack after SpellPack.

-Galactygon

If you were planning on releasing a new version of the spellpack sometime soon, I'd be willing to give it a look over for coding for greater intermod compatibility (patching versus overwriting). I went through the same process with PnP Celestials a while back and when I coded up my Geomantic Sorcerer kit it was fairly easy to copy and paste sections of code/formating for increased compatibility.


Edit: Oh, and a plug for a release of Storm/writeup of what it does in this mod's version.

I am open to that. That and making the spells detectable (as I should have done in the first place). But I will take care of the latter.



I have planned that spell as restricted to invokers and bards (the latter due to the hardcoded engine), so I do not see that spell appearing in any future release of SpellPack. But you can still get it from the workroom and use it for your own mod.

-Galactygon

I'm seconding that. Is there any chance that "core" and "graphics" packages will be separated? I'm not really up to PnP conversions or changing spells, but I would like to see enhanced graphics in BG2 very much.

From the non-modder's standpoint, the "core" files are the graphics. The name "core files" comes from various external effects and spells that I copy, that only my spells use.

The core files component only overrides the following files: MSCHOOL.2da, MSECTYPE.2da, SECTYPE.ids, PROJECTL.ids, and the Raise Dead and Resurrection spells (cosmetic changes).

-Galactygon

Sorry, Galac, but due to RL onslaught, i have to cancel Spellpack v4 spanish translation indefinitely. I hope my RL situation will change in the future.

Do you mean that I just have to copy "CommonGraphics" folder to override to see new graphics? I tried this, but some spells (bless, entangle) graphics get screwed.

I'm sorry to hear that, I hope it will go better. Glad to hear from you.



You will have to copy the "CommonProjectiles" folder as well. But it includes the MISSILE.ids and PROJECTL.ids, so you might want to watch out for them. But even this would not take care of all the graphics. If you look in the tp2 code, you will see I have done last minute bugfixing/patching.

- Or -

You could try and delete all of the ids and 2da files I listed a few posts ago, and comment out everything between these two lines in the tp2:


and


and then proceed with your install. I have never tried this, and never will, so I don't know the results.

-Galactygon

Hi Galactygon,

It looks like in SpellPackB4 you've replaced the Disintegration spell with a bunch of secondary spells, one of which uses a Knock (Unlock) effect on the target. What effect exactly does this have on creatures? Then there's a lot of jumping around with other spells and effects to the point where I can't quite tell what does the actual Disintegration. Is it lcdist16.spl? This looks like it will kill but not disintegrate the target, then jump (yet again) to remvnitm which removes a bunch of specific items. The reason I'm asking is because I'm recoding a tweak that drops all items on disintegration and I want to make sure it's compatible for those who've installed this. Cheers.

None. This simply permits the spell to be cast on doors to unlock them. Something I like to do is give more than one purpose for one spell. Because there are shortcomings of the IE (the game crashes if you use effect #146 on inanimate objects), I had to split disintegrate (and a bazillion other spells) into several subspells that all start with "SPWI616" and end with some letter of the alphabet.



To make it easier for me, I embed chains and systems of subspells for the effects, that are auto-cast rather than copying and pasting extension headers. It is very compact, and when I want to make some changes to the effects, I don't have to go back and change each and every spell that uses this effect.

These subspells/"effects" are not used by ingame spells, and are installed under the "core fixes and files" component. All of these subspells bypass resistances and immunities; resistances and such are checked when the subspell is cast on the creature from the actual spell.

So you might have to navigate through tricky chains/branches of subspells in order to figure things out. It took me years before figuring them out, and this is what the mod is built on. Not on single spells, but systems of spells.



LCDIST16.spl is the last of several subspells that are cast in succession, that ultimately kills the target (but I really don't remember). Rather than applying the disintegrate effect, I mimicked the effect with several subspells by fiddling with the avatar transparency, removing all nonmagical items (remvnitm.spl), normally killing the target, and setting the target immune to raise dead/harper's call (but not resurrection!). I think there is an invisible summoned creature, but its sole purpose is for the flashy IWD "fade out" effect.

This way, (the wizard spell) disintegrate does not remove the character portrait of a party member, or destroy useful items of an opponent.

I can't explain this any shorter.

-Galactygon

Ah, ok - cheers. In that case, I don't have to worry about it, since the whole point of the tweak is to make sure the items aren't destroyed .

BTW, you might be interested in our thrown hammer animations for your Spiritual Hammer spell. The next version will patch the animation into the spell (regardless of whether SP is installed).

The hammer is used as "striking" weapon (at a distance) rather than "throwing" weapon, so, no, I don't see this one appearing in any of my releases. There are other uses for Miloch's throwing hammer mod, so I am still interested.

What I really need is an animation with a hammer fading in and out to strike a creature (in a similar manner to IWD's Mordenkainen's Sword, but not the PST animation). This could be done, but it won't be me.

-Galactygon

You do not considered the hammer as thrown, rather a "dancing" weapon, similar to Mordenkainen's Sword.

Even so, do you object to the cosmetic tweak of making it appear thrown?