norup said:
Not sure if this is a bug or feature:
Item bonuses do not seem to add up if more than one with identical bonus is equipped. E.g.
Necromancers blindness and shadowlords projection each +1 spotting gives +1 spotting total
Bloodpreservers countenance and acolytes vessel each +1 trade gives +1 trade total
This of course discourages odd armour combinations, so may not be such a bad thing.
Stheno is surprisingly weak when encountered in the arena or training field, and she does not keep all of her armor on.
Should'nt Sthenos armour be an integral part of her body that others cannot wear, except by killing her?
Maybe it should be made non-lootable.
Actually that is not a bug, and it is meant to ENCOURAGE scavenging for skill bonus equipment. Since only one point per skill can be given at a time it allows certain inventory-related strategies - for instance, if you equip Tongueflayer or Medusa's Shield you can free up inventory space by storing away your Skin Poppet. This is a trade-off for certain items like the Evil Eye, which has another effect as well as the skill bonus - if you are wearing the Shadowlord's Presence you must choose whether to keep the Evil Eye in your inventory ONLY for the fog banishing ability, or else clear inventory space.
And after all, if I could add lots of different stat bonuses, the mod would turn into kind of a hack of diablo, which is one of the reasons why I abolished "set item bonuses". As it stands now you can go for a nice stylish set of equipment and get a few bonuses out of it - or mix and match for something hideous and yet way more skill-bonus functional. I like the diabolical choices I have set up - it keeps the game in balance.
As far as the Stheno thing goes, I have been looking into adding races. It doesn't seem like it would be difficult, just tedious to add. Lets see I would need.... 16 new races, off the top of my head. I think there may be some limit to the number I can add - I need to research it more, because if there isn't at least that many it wont work anyway. Also there is the problem with the game considering ALL extra races female.... I know, it's a wierd limitation.
Otherwise I could always look into making Stheno's equipment screen unreachable.... that would be one simple command. And then to get Medusa's bow and arrows, you would have to ask her for them or something. It could be do-able. Or I could write her out of tournaments... not sure if that is possible.
On the other hand, someone may want to play AS Stheno, strip her items and armor from her, and have a good time as a Gorgon (not that several of you haven't already done this). I like to leave the mod as sandbox as possible - much of the atmosphere depends on the "costume effect" of the equipment being worn by game characters. Without it, zombies would be just ordinary guys - also, the head, body, hands and feet acquired by dismembering corpses would be obsolete if I added races.
Basically, this mod is a twisted house of cards....
Much of Solid and Shade depends on other parts of it, and imbalance will threaten to destroy the whole project. I must be very careful. However, I have considered MANY things in this area of the mod (obviously). Thanks for the input, it is duly noted!
177cheese said:
Been playing this mod for about 2 days, just thought I'd throw in some feedback.
Overall, it is extremely fun. Hunting for legendary weapons, conquering the world, there is nothing better.
The one crippling disappointment for me was the Artificier set. For the hefty price of 6 Philosopher stones, it was less effective than the Shadow set and its gun was far less useful than the Hunter's crossbow. I really love the steampunk feel of that set, so some kind of a buff for it would be appreciated.
I know recruiting lords has been mentioned before, but I think it is a good idea to have so the player doesn't have a thousand castles and towns to micromanage and garrison troops in. It makes sense that no one would really ally themselves with a necromancer, but perhaps there could be a ritual to summon a sentient being that has enough intelligence to hold some land. It'd make being an undead scourge a lot less of a hassle.
Every model in this game looks fantastic, excellent work on that. I'm digging those new shock troops.
The thing about the Artificer's set is the gun itself, as one of only two guns in the mod (three after the next release), and the ENORMOUS shield, and the Engineer bonus of Torque. There MAY be another item that will give engineer bonuses eventually (a throwing weapon, actually), but that all depends on what I get done with quests. I will boost the damage on the gun, however.... it should have been 80 damage, not 70, in the first place. The bullets in the set add +10 damage, which is probably why I had it set at 70, but the gun should do at least 80 on its own. Thanks for roundabout helping me discover this!
Besides, the Artificer's set is supposed to be the "I'm-a-brittle-old-mad-scientist-necromancer-defend-me-while-I-blast-away-with-my-cannon" set.
Once the new golem upgrades arrive, such strategies will all become clear, and the Artificer set will make a lot more sense.
As far as lord recruiting goes, I think there is some confusion about the mod - you CAN, of course, join a faction, and thereby use your influence to use their army (I recommend getting friendly with the Nords). And you can always hire faction troops from the volunteer level, of course.
Otherwise a Necromancer is, by nature and necessity, a rogue force - a neutral army in M&B speak. The game will warn you if you take a castle while neutral, that any of the other armies may declare war on you. This is very realistic and I like it. Your best bet is to join a faction and eliminate all other factions.
Once again, I want to stress that I don't want to get too far away from native in this mod. In this frankenstien monster, native M&B is like the torso.... I can add heads and limbs until it's bristling with appendages, but the heart must remain the same. Evil has fallen upon Calradia. Let there be no hope for the weak....
Until next time, mod minions.