Been a while. Glad to see the mod is still being worked on and updated. I haven't played in some time myself, but I've probably reported most of the recent bugs. Not sure if this has been addressed yet (haven't seen it be commented on), but as I've mentioned -
there is a problem where you can get artifact/relic class items from turning in stalt-laced ore. I'm not sure what flag exactly decides this (despite this ore producing items of treasure class 6), but it shouldn't be a legitimate way of obtaining artifacts and relics.
Lovin' the new Catalyst mechanic, it definitely makes catalysts more useful and reagent hunting more engaging - most of the time no one would pick up gray reagents any weaker than Philosopher's Stones, and now with patience it's possible to make really powerful potions, suitable for bolstered lategame & characters over level 200. I think that's a net bonus to the game's alchemy system.
Speaking of - as the author of the ideas that went into the implementation of the new potions, there are still 2 things that bother me, it'd be nice to at least hear back from Rodril on whether they can be somehow addressed:
- The recipe scrolls for the added white and black potions
still don't seem to appear in alchemy shops, even though they're otherwise fully implemented and findable in loot. Is there a way to somehow integrate them into the "special" tab of these shops, or are only the original recipes hardcoded to be there? I only see the MM8-format recipe scrolls in shops - can't remember if the other formats were removed from the game or not, but they don't ever seem to appear in shops, and if they weren't, that would mean there is some sort of hardcoded flag for MM8's original recipe scrolls to appear in the shop. Anyway, I hope there is a way to also introduce the extra scrolls into alchemy shops.
- The fact that a potion gives Protection from Magic to the whole party still doesn't sit well with me. I know we've discussed this, but it just messes with my immersion seeing that one guy drinks a potion and the whole party benefits. I know Protection from Magic is only coded to work for the whole party and other spells that also are have separate potion effects (such as Haste or Shield). I'm not saying we should code up an individualized potion effect for Prot Magic (although if that's possible to do, it'd be great for sure). But still, the potion as it is now sticks out like a sore thumb (and I'm saying that as the guy who came up with the damn thing
). Instead of keeping the potion as is, it'd be best removed, or turned into another spell that does grant an individual effect. I used to think Pain Reflection (that'd be an awesome potion effect to have), but I think someone told me it's either not feasible individually or would require coding up the effect regardless, the other options I thought of were Hammerhands or Regeneration.
Also, a little suggestion that has been in the back of my mind recently: what if we reduced the clutter in the game by instead of every scroll and spellbook from MM6, 7, 8 being able to carry every spell? I was thinking, based on their appearance:
- the MM6 books/scrolls could be for the Self schools
- the MM7 ones could be for the Elemental schools
- the MM8 ones could be for Light and Dark
That'd kinda fit - the diversity of items in the game wouldn't decrease, but now the player could also tell more easily what magic type the scroll/book is likely to carry.
I had the same idea for wands some time ago - that we could split the spells that each level comes with into different ones, instead of every version being able to carry every spell. That would help give the player a visual idea of the spells a wand is likely to carry just by looking at the wand. I know this can't be achieved by just removing items from the item table like with the scrolls, but I still wonder whether it'd be achievable?
I'll just continue to highlight other loc issues.
Here is the corrected file: