Well, I got off to a slow start on v158 but it's alive:
1. I think I have a better dual stab without the T-pose problems
The mod loads faster with changes at module.ini;
the v158 save game file is smaller so saves are quicker, which in turn reduces a window of vulnerability for corrupt saves.
2. I think the issue of companions promoting to lords after 2 days is closed. This needed a few tries to get right but it looks closed now.
The fixes for middle game corruption on finishing some enemy kingdom attempted for b9 and b10 patches are working correctly now; you could consider the base for v158 to be v156 B11 PLUS Warsword Conquest sea layer.
3. Along those lines, sea travel is working so far, but I have yet to make some sea pirates and import the working sea battles from Warsword Conquest. Actually, you haven't seen the sea battles in a working state -- the 2016 ones were broken. There are older scenes from Wulf's sea battles, where ships start already tied together for boarding, so the fight becomes a modified land battle. This works well, especially when drowning is adjusted or removed. I have loot dropping and prisoners after battle at both WC "Chaos Dwarf & magic update" and v158 source (since they're the same base layer).
4. So how is it one mod and another mod have the same base? Does that mean magic at WC_CD is like here? No, those are completely different layers. ALl mods are split into layers and instead of closing my eyes and substituting 100% or nothing, each mod became a hybrid. Magic is totally different there. But diplomacy looks similar -- and its not cut and pasted from Diplomacy 4.1, rather its interpolated line by line with changes allowing for example prejudice, virtual skins for races and factions that hate each other, and different stability for politics, hiring, etc. Some things were uniquely made by me, first for one mod, then for another, and then co-mingled at more than 1 mod. It's on me to keep the layers that I DIDN'T furnish out of other mods -- and done right, helps get others to share with me by containing the core that belongs to other people, while mixing the OSP and my own private layers for each mod.
5. Some things I did ask to use here -- like improved female elves. They have pointy ears. But they keep evolving, so I have to go back and use an older version of them, as WC already evolved past the point where I can make a quick substitution here. There is a lot of stuff that isn't available to take to here -- I didnt make it, and so I don't have rights to just pilfer it. But what little I did do - ahh well, there's some fairly cool code. I had a scheme for example to save the player boat when it glitched - and it often used to glitch. Eventually that made the map move slower, although not all of the slowdowns at Warsword Conquest were from me. I think this time around nearly all of the sources of slow downs are fixed or at least contained, and I think the proof is to show those concepts with a working sea travel in v158 here. Except we have, (Phantasy 201
, 1100 vs 1700 total party count. The total number of parties on map make a huge different for perceived lag. We also have a different reinforcements here for large battle support.
6. Everyone demands something. I usually impolitely decline. Here's the thing -- I have less free time than everyone assumes. I put in somewhere between 1000 and 2000 hours on various pieces of the project(s) you see, out of perhaps 3000-3500 total man hours October 2014 through now. Most of that was done by sacrificing daylight earnings and productivity for more time for modding. But that's something I can't afford now, so there will be even less after 8 days. I'll get one update out the door before then, as a v158 A1 starter and a v156 b11 patch. After that updates will be just as infrequent as all other mods that are not babysat by someone unemployed or still in high school. But hey, what could you ask for, for free? I mean, what little works cost you nothing but a little time to master its quirks. It could be worse. Warband itself costs somewhere between $20 and $10 depending on the sale and time of year. It could be worse.
Hopefully next week will see some big progress. I think more got done than it seems, but there is always something someone wants done.
My work is NOT OSP. But someday I'll have time to extract a subset and make THAT OSP. Some day...
