GrayFace MM8 Patch v2.5.7 [Mar 4, 2022]

[Macros the Black]

Another bug: there seems to be something wrong with the Mace skill when dual-wielding.

With my Troll, I use Breaker in the right hand and Snake in the left. But apparently, when I pump points into Mace, it doesn't increase my total damage. When wielding only the mace, the damage goes up as it should, but adding the sword doesn't seem to add half as much damage as it should. The only remedy is to raise Armsmaster further, rather than Mace.

Example:

Mace skill 20 max damage:
Only Breaker: 82
Breaker + Snake: 85

Mace skill 23 max damage:
Only Breaker: 85
Breaker + Snake: 85

It's like the damage of the mace catches up and nullifies the damage bonus added by wielding another weapon. I don't recall ever having the same problem with just swords or daggers when dual-wielding.

When dual wielding in MM7 and 8, only the skill of your secondary hand weapon adds to your attack and damage values.

In MM6 it's a bit different; your main weapon skill adds to your damage while your secondary weapon skill adds to your attack.

Also, recovery time depends on your slowest weapon. If both weapons are the same speed, the main hand weapon is used - which matters if you have a Swiftness enchanment on one of your weapons. In MM6 if you don't have Grayface patch 1.4 or later, recovery time of both weapons is added together and dual wielding is pointless.

Raising Mace skill does increase the stun and paralyze chances.

[GrayFace]

Version 2.0 is here
[+] Custom LODs (for mods). For example, Data\*.icons.lod archives would be loaded after icons.lod, possibly replacing its content. Same with every other archive.
[+] When switching from mouse look to 'standard mode' the mouse would start at screen center if over 10 seconds have passed since last switch. Otherwise it will return to its last position, as usual.
[+] Now you don't have to specify AlwaysStrafe for mouse look. It will be on while in mouse look mode. If you don't like this, you can specify NormalStrafe=1 to do turns even in mouse look mode.
[+] Now you can set FixInactivePlayersActing=0 option to disable corresponding fix if you prefer using the bug to your advantage.
[+] HDWTRCount and HDWTRDelay options control number of water frames (up to 15) and delay between them in D3D.
[+] Smoother D3D water frames included.
[-] Movement rounding issues fixed properly. Walking and strafes weren't precise because of these issues and jump height was lower than it should be. JumpSpeed option has been removed.
[-] Save game failure on some computers. Actually caused by a bug of some system software, not the game itself.
[-] Games.lod archive required very special sorting.
[-] My bug: Unnecessary debug info was written to ErrorLog.txt
[-] My bug: The checkbox for disabling original mouse look during setup didn't work
[-] My bug: MouseLookUseAltMode wasn't supported.
[-] My bug: "`" or "i" written in MMExtension console were causing character screen to open. Same thing with mouse movement when mouse look is on.

[Bluesocks]

Great patch, thanx alot!

Bug encountered, after returning the egg to the dragonleader, he no longer speaks to you. So I went to slay all the dragon hunters and retrive the sword but cannot return it now.
Also the video didn't show up when egg was returned.

[GrayFace]

Send me the save game

[Baronus]

Another problem in MMVII there is no NPC textes. Eg. eacher women in Emerald Isle is without textes and all next NPCs.

[uhm]

Hey! I've got a small trouble with MM8. I've started playing it on Win7, but all the videos in the interiors are deranging when I am changing between dialogue options. What can I do to fix it?



I've got another question: how to disable automatic drowning, when heroes are close to water? You know, I would like to jump into water first to start drowning, just like it was before

[GrayFace]

I've got another question: how to disable automatic drowning, when heroes are close to water? You know, I would like to jump into water first to start drowning, just like it was before

Can you make a screenshot?

[uhm]

Screenshot will show you nothing. Normally my team was unable to step on a deep water - their movement was just stopped. If I wanted, I could jump into the water to start drowning. I've to be very careful now, because nothing stops my team and when they will go to far, they will be drowning without warning.

[GrayFace]

Switch to Hardware rendering (and turn off Tinting if it's on). It's how MM8 handles it in Software, unlike previous versions. Every "hole" in the transition texture makes the party go into the water and these jumps make it skip the delimiter line.

[Ser Ironfist]

I can't download the MM8 Choose Party mod from your page anymore, GrayFace. May I ask you to reupload it?

[GrayFace]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vz1maphmgkhcx ... y.rar?dl=0
The problem is, it's using an MMExt version with a bug that leads to game crashing whenever a monster breaks an item. So, generate the party, save the game and then rename ExeMods folder to deactivate MMExt.

[Ser Ironfist]

Many thanks!

[galneon]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vz1maphmgkhcx ... y.rar?dl=0
The problem is, it's using an MMExt version with a bug that leads to game crashing whenever a monster breaks an item. So, generate the party, save the game and then rename ExeMods folder to deactivate MMExt.

I'm assuming it's okay to also just replace the version Choose Party installs with MMExt 2.2 after the party is created and a game is saved? Guess I'll find out.

[Skullguise]

EDIT - nevermind

[GrayFace]

Version 2.1
<< MM6 - MM8 >>
[+] High resolution rendering in Hardware 3D in 32 bit color mode. 32 bit color is supported in windowed and borderless modes. Can be turned off by adding "SupportTrueColor=0" to INI. You can specify RenderMaxWidth and RenderMaxHeight options to limit maximum rendering resolution if you experience problems with FPS. Hidden options ScalingParam1 (3 by default) and ScalingParam2 (0.2 by default) control crispness of UI scaling.
[+] BorderlessFullscreen option makes the game run in your standard resolution, stretched to full screen (with black borders when needed). Set it to 0 to disable.
[+] WindowWidth and WindowHeight options control window size in windowed mode. Value of -1 means calculate automatically based on aspect ratio.
[+] Movies are smoothly stretched to any window size. To turn off in old full screen mode, add "SmoothMovieScaling=0" to INI, for windowed mode add "CompatibleMovieRender=0" (not recommended!).
[+] Custom SND and VID archives that work just like custom LOD archives.
[+] TurnBasedSpeed (for monsters' turn) and TurnBasedPartySpeed (for party turn) can help you speed up the combat.
[+] When switching from mouse look to 'standard mode' the mouse would start at screen center if over 10 seconds have passed since last switch. Otherwise it will return to its last position. Number of seconds is controlled by hidden MouseLookRememberTime option.
[+] While right mouse button is pressed the mouse look is now deactivated, letting you easily check active spells, current time or perform an action by pressing left mouse button while still holding the right button. Set MouseLookWhileRightClick=1 to keep mouse look active.
[+] PlayMP3 option now supports WAV files in Music folder. WAVs always loop properly.
[+] Another approach to fixing chests: now chest contents are reordered to make most valuable items be put into the chest first. This can be disabled by setting FixChestsByReorder=0.
[+] Black potion isn't wasted if it has no effect.
[+] Infinite view distance in dungeons (monsters don't disappear when they are too far).
[+] FixInfiniteScrolls hidden option controls corresponding fix.
[-] Fixed problems with timers: timer countdown was reset if you visited the location before the timer period passes; in MM6, upon revisiting the map late into in the game, wells could be used a huge number of times; in MM8 timers not related to refill were working differently than in other games. Add "FixTimers=0" to INI to disable the fix.
[-] My bug: *.evt and *.str weren't loaded correctly from DataFiles.
[-] Monsters are unlikely to jump from a bridge into lava now. Hidden "MonsterJumpDownLimit" controls the height from which they won't jump (500 by default).
[-] Jumping height reduced a bit, because the party started jumping too high after movement rounding fix. Also, "FixMovement=0" hidden option added that returns vanilla movement.
[-] Dragons and some spells couldn't target rats.
[-] Crash with sprites with scale too small (happens with MM6HD).
[-] Town Portal wasting player's turn even if you cancel the dialog.
[-] EVT commands couldn't operate on some skills.
[-] Crash on exit.
[*] Some options made 'hidden' to reduce INI clutter.
<< MM7, MM8 >>
[+] Mipmapping in D3D, controlled by "MipmapsCount" option. Value of 3 is optimal. Bigger values lead to less flickering at distance, but reduce resolution too much. Set to 1 to disable, as it was in original game. Set to -1 to generate a lot of mipmaps.
[-] There's was a small semi-transparent black contour around sprites and sea shore in Hardware 3D mode.
[-] Broken but unidentified items were green instead of red if you go to a shop to repair them.
[-] Casting Telepathy spell or stealing from a monster used to prevent you from finding random items in its corpse.
[-] Light gray blinking in full screen on some computers.
[-] Arcomage crashing, hanging.
[-] Loading game while in movement phase of turn based mode leading to inability to cast spells.
[-] Monsters summoned by other monsters had wrong monster as their ally.
[-] The game was using "asynchronous" mouse handling incompatible with mouse look of the patch if "D3D Device" = 1 in the registry. Hidden "DisableAsyncMouse" patch option controls this.
[-] items.txt: now special items accept standard English "of ..." strings. This should fix them missing their attributes in some localizations.
[-] Shops were unable to fix some artifacts.
[-] Lava was hurting players in air.
[-] Memory leak in mipmaps generation code.
[*] ReputationNumber option now shows positive values for good reputation. It showed negative values before, just like it's represented internally in the game.
<< MM8 >>
[-] Sky bitmap getting reset each time the game is loaded. To turn off the fix, add FixSkyBitmap=0 line to mm8.ini.
[-] Flute was making Heal sound.
[-] Opening spell book and pessing "Quick Spell" key used to set quick spell to -1, causing a crash when you enter character screen.
[-] My semi-bug: roster.txt and pcnames.txt weren't loaded from DataFiles.
[-] Monsters couldn't cast Paralyze spell, but were wasting their turn.
[-] My bug: Since some version of my patch movies were immediately cancelled when shown by a dialog option click, as in original MM8.
[-] My bug: ProgressiveDaggerTrippleDamage fix didn't work in MM8.
[-] Unicorn King was appearing before obelisks are taken and respawning. Add FixObelisks=0 to INI to disable the fix.
<< Fixes in maps >>
[-] Smuggler's Cove, Dragon Hunter's Camp, Dragon Cave, Necromancers' Guild, Temple of the Sun (d07, d16, d17, d19, d22): Making guards mad, saving and then reloading was making them peaceful again, until you exit the map once.
[-] Smuggler's Cove (d07): Wererats were aggressive after you deliver the Blackmail letter and reenter.
[-] Trash Heap required Repair skill instead of Perception to loot safely. Some kinds of "Trash Heap" outputting "Poisoned!" and "Nothing Here" instead of "Diseased!".
[-] Dagger Wound Island, Ravenshore, Alvar, Ironsand Desert, Shadowspire (out01, out02, out03, out04, out06): Some trees/flowers/rocks with secrets required Repair skill instead of Perception to loot successfully.
[-] Ravenshore (out02): Pirates invasion was happening right away if you return from Regna to Ravenshore before sinking the fleet, now it happens if 2 months pass, as it was supposed to. Now you don't have to take all items from the Vault of Time at once as it doesn't disappear anymore.
[-] Plane of Earth, Abandoned Pirate Keep (eleme, d32): Duplicate chest.
[-] Church of Eep (d46): front side of the chest didn't react to mouse.

[Xfing]

[-] Monsters couldn't cast Paralyze spell, but were wasting their turn.

So now they can? You do realize that this is going to make the game MAD difficult? But that's precisely what the developers intended, so I hope this works now and am looking forward to the challenge. This sounds like the most broken and difficult monster possible!

However, this was also the case with Greater Air Elementals and their Implosion and Greater Earth Elementals with their Mass Distortion. Can they cast these spell now too? Or was it simply mis-scripted by NWC and would be much harder to make work?

[NotABroom]

[-] Monsters couldn't cast Paralyze spell, but were wasting their turn.

So now they can? You do realize that this is going to make the game MAD difficult? But that's precisely what the developers intended, so I hope this works now and am looking forward to the challenge. This sounds like the most broken and difficult monster possible!

Well it was MAD easy before. Also you can counter paralyze with anti magic as far as I'm concerned.

[Bandobras Took]

Which monsters were supposed to be paralyzing me all this time that weren't?

And there's also mind resistance and items that give immunity.

[GrayFace]

So now they can? You do realize that this is going to make the game MAD difficult? But that's precisely what the developers intended, so I hope this works now and am looking forward to the challenge. This sounds like the most broken and difficult monster possible!

I just removed that entirely, that was the easiest thing to do. Them casting Paralyze from a distance would've been mad indeed.

However, this was also the case with Greater Air Elementals and their Implosion and Greater Earth Elementals with their Mass Distortion. Can they cast these spell now too? Or was it simply mis-scripted by NWC and would be much harder to make work?

Do they waste their turn? Perhaps so, then I should fix them too.

Which monsters were supposed to be paralyzing me all this time that weren't?

The Behemoths, however they are called.

[Xfing]

So now they can? You do realize that this is going to make the game MAD difficult? But that's precisely what the developers intended, so I hope this works now and am looking forward to the challenge. This sounds like the most broken and difficult monster possible!

I just removed that entirely, that was the easiest thing to do. Them casting Paralyze from a distance would've been mad indeed.

I suppose so. But that's clearly something the devs intended, so maybe it would be nice to have on long-term agenda? I suppose Protection from Magic ineed protects you from that. But it would probably on its own allay all the complaints about MM8 being the easiest game of the bunch, lol

However, this was also the case with Greater Air Elementals and their Implosion and Greater Earth Elementals with their Mass Distortion. Can they cast these spell now too? Or was it simply mis-scripted by NWC and would be much harder to make work?

Do they waste their turn? Perhaps so, then I should fix them too.

Yes, they perform the spellcasting animation, but no spell ever comes out. Some targeting error probably. Still, that would make those elementals mad difficult to fight against too. I kinda dig that

Another bug: there seems to be something wrong with the Mace skill when dual-wielding.

With my Troll, I use Breaker in the right hand and Snake in the left. But apparently, when I pump points into Mace, it doesn't increase my total damage. When wielding only the mace, the damage goes up as it should, but adding the sword doesn't seem to add half as much damage as it should. The only remedy is to raise Armsmaster further, rather than Mace.

Example:

Mace skill 20 max damage:
Only Breaker: 82
Breaker + Snake: 85

Mace skill 23 max damage:
Only Breaker: 85
Breaker + Snake: 85

It's like the damage of the mace catches up and nullifies the damage bonus added by wielding another weapon. I don't recall ever having the same problem with just swords or daggers when dual-wielding.

When dual wielding in MM7 and 8, only the skill of your secondary hand weapon adds to your attack and damage values.

Not really - like I said, even in MM8, when dual-wielding, the bonus you get is the exact equivalent of your off-hand weapon's damage. So in your main hand you get many factors like your Might, potential damage bonuses from Armsmaster and the weapon's own skill, but in your off-hand it normally should be just the weapon's value. A 2d2+6 dagger will therefore add 8-10 to your damage (increasing your minimum damage by 8 and maximum by 10), if I recall correctly. That's why I described that problem with dual-wielding Mace + Sword in MM8 - and who knows, perhaps it affects all instances where you dual-wield weapons of different types. Because with the same type of weapon (swords or daggers, or even swords with daggers), the problem I described never occurs.

What I'm getting at is that if I'm dual-wielding Snake in the Troll's left hand, my damage should increase by Snake's damage (3d4+12), as it does in the instances where this mechanic works properly. Instead, as I raise the Mace skill, the damage benefit from Snake is getting slowly negated. It should stay consistent, regardless of my Mace skill.

Grayface, if you're interested in looking into this problem, here's the thread where I described it in more detail:
https://www.celestialheavens.com/forum/ ... ce#p349637