Workaround for the spell effect stacking bug (mod)

[henk brouwer]

I've made a small mod that should prevent abuse of the "spell effect stacking bug" (the bug that causes the effects of a spell to stack when it's cast multiple times, for example: casting barkskin lvl I, which should give 15% resistance, six times in a row gives 90% resistance etc..)

The mod has the added effect that the affected spells will no longer run out, so you won't have to recast them every minute.

I intend to put this mod in my upcoming module, since it makes it far easier to fix things like game balance etc. I haven't checked wether all the spells work correctly, but have tested a few which seemed to work fine. Let me know if you find any bugs.

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instructions:

Put the spell.txt file in the data folder of the module that should use it (DON'T FORGET TO BACKUP THE OLD FILE!!)

changes:

*Spellsystem changed to prevent abuse of the infamous "spell effect stacking bug"
-spells/skills like barkskin and berserk, that increase stats of the caster are automatically activated, and can no longer be cast (to prevent multicasting and bonus stacking) affected spells:
Barkskin, Berserk, Cleansing Armor, Cloack of Darkness, Cold Enchant, Deadly Precision, Fire Armor, Fire Enchant, Giant Strength, Ice Armor, Lightning Armor, Lightning Enchant, Magic Armor, Magic Shield, Nature's bounty, Rage, and Vigor.

-The 'light' spell will still stack, but it's casting cost has been increased, while casting light at a higher level has been made more effective.

1065790768.zip

[ October 10, 2003, 13:45: Message edited by: henk brouwer ]

[Akachaki]

Well done! I like the idea that the spells are always on unstead of being stackable without limit. I will surely put it in my mod, when i'll finish it ... *sight*

[David E. Gervais]

Question: If the spells are 'always on' does that mean they have a constant drain? Or is it more like a permanent effect? If I cast a level 1 spell, does that mean that I can not cast a level 5 of the same spell when I increase the skill? Does this mean the spells need to be 'dispelled' before you can cast a new higher level spell?

I know, that's more than one question, but you inspired my inquisative side.

Cheers!

[henk brouwer]

Originally posted by David E. Gervais:
Question: If the spells are 'always on' does that mean they have a constant drain? Or is it more like a permanent effect?

It's a permanent effect, and uses the same function as for example the weapon proficiency skills, so there's no mana drain, but that should not make much of a difference since the original casting cost of all these spells was only 5 mana. I also didn't want to add a mana drain for spells that can't be turned off.

If I cast a level 1 spell, does that mean that I can not cast a level 5 of the same spell when I increase the skill? Does this mean the spells need to be 'dispelled' before you can cast a new higher level spell?

The spells will automatically upgrade, like the weapon proficiencies. You can't even cast them, it's all automatic

It's a nice patch for the lazy wizards out there

[ October 11, 2003, 09:58: Message edited by: henk brouwer ]

[David E. Gervais]

.. So, if I understand it, you have basically made the spells act like 'Skills',.. hmmm interesting, but don't you think this will completely unbalance the game? (for Wizards)

Personally I wouldn't include this 'Spells' mod as part of a bigger mod. It might be best to have this available as a stand-alone option for players to add if they like it.

I must say it is an interesting mod, keep up the good work.

Cheers!

[henk brouwer]

Originally posted by David E. Gervais:
.. So, if I understand it, you have basically made the spells act like 'Skills',.. hmmm interesting, but don't you think this will completely unbalance the game? (for Wizards)

I think the "spell effect stacking bug" itself is far more game unbalancing. This is far from a perfect solution though, and it might need some tweaking. The best solution would be that Malfador made a patch that fixes the bug .

The effect of this mod on gamebalance shouldn't be to big as it is now. Remember that nearly all the affected skills/spells only cost 5 mana under the old system for a reasonable amount of time. A character could have most of these spells active at all times under the old system with almost no mana drain(if they didn't abuse the stacking bug). It would just be tedious to have to reactivate the spell every half minute. I might tone down the effectiveness of some of the spells though.

It certainly doesn't only affect wizards, most of their spells are of different types that are not influenced by this patch. Fighter "spells" like rage or berserk might be the most unbalanced.

Personally I wouldn't include this 'Spells' mod as part of a bigger mod. It might be best to have this available as a stand-alone option for players to add if they like it.

I must say it is an interesting mod, keep up the good work.

Cheers!

I am going to include it in the mod, since it makes it much easier to make a mod with balanced gameplay, I don't have to worry anymore about players that make themself invincible using the bug.

It will be easy to change the upcoming mod to use the old system, if you prefer that. Just copy the standard spells.txt file over the one in the mod, and everything should be back to normal. (there are no other changes to the spells.txt file at this point)

Thanks for the feedback!

[ October 12, 2003, 11:49: Message edited by: henk brouwer ]

[henk brouwer]

A small warning, I found a bug: scrolls that use the spells that are changed by this mod don't seem to work.

I'll fix it in a next Version, I'll have to make duplicate entries for those spells, give them the old values, and make the scrolls refer to the duplicates.

The problem is that I would have to change the main_itemclasses.txt file (or the classes.txt file depending on approach, but it's just as messy) Both of those files have their own Versions for each module, so the spell/skill mod would lose compatibility with those modules

[ October 22, 2003, 12:16: Message edited by: henk brouwer ]