Savefile Character / Map Editor v1.0.1 (April 15, 2014)

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raverdave2k
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by raverdave2k »

xolotl wrote:
Minsk wrote:Sometimes the "Select an Icon" window stays empty (you see nothing) and the only way to fix it is to restart the editor. This happens very often now (never happened with 0.7.5) and is my biggest problem at the moment with 0.8.0.
Ah, that does seem like a problem. I'm actually not able to reproduce this on my systems yet. Could you give me any more specifics about your machine? I don't suppose that when that happens you get any extra debugging info in your DOS window (in the same place that you saw that "hicolor" error, which probably isn't anything to worry about).
I'm getting the same problem on my Windows 7 32bit machine.
I actually had intermintent problems with this window on 0.7.5 although slightly different, I had quite a few occasions (for both Book I and II) where the icon window opened, all the icons displayed and they highlighted when I moused over them but I could not select one and I could not close the window, the only way around it was to kill the app from task manager.

There was nothing displayed in the dos window for either the old or new problems.
xolotl wrote:
While scrolling the map (right click with mouse) there is some distortion on the map, this was not the case with 0.7.5
Does the distortion at least go away once you're through scrolling?
Yes as soon as you stop scrolling the map is displayed just fine.
My modifications for Eschalon Book I: RaverDave's Book I Mod
My modifications for Eschalon Book II: Port Kuudad Tower - Now Open, Treasure Of The Orakur

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xolotl
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by xolotl »

raverdave2k wrote:I'm getting the same problem on my Windows 7 32bit machine.
Okay, well the good news is that in the meantime, I have actually been able to reproduce this over on my VM, so I should be able to get it fixed. I'll see if that's something that I can get together tonight yet, though time will tell.

Edit: Aha, for now I actually do have a workaround - the problem seems to be related to actually closing the icon selection windows, as opposed to actually clicking on one of the available icons. As soon as you close one of the windows without clicking, you'll start encountering problems. So for now, just avoid doing that and I think you'll be okay. If you need to "zero out" an icon selection, just click randomly and then manually set its value to zero. I'm 99% sure that I'll be able to push out 0.8.1 later tonight, though, with a fix for that.
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xolotl
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by xolotl »

Okay, I've just put out a small 0.8.1 release of the Eschalon Utilities, at the usual spot: http://apocalyptech.com/eschalon/

This release just fixes a bug which will occur if you were to close an icon-selection popup, rather than clicking on any of the available icons. It's recommended that you upgrade from 0.8.0 even if you hadn't run into this yet.

That's pretty much it; there are a few other more minor known bugs with 0.8.x still which I hope to hammer out this week, but I believe it should be mostly good to go.
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Minsk
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by Minsk »

xolotl wrote: Does the distortion at least go away once you're through scrolling?
Yes, not much of a problem.
This sort of depends on what you consider a "preference." The only stuff that the editor really saves between runs is what's under File->Preferences, which isn't much. I've occasionally thought that I should have the program remember selected tools and graphics, etc, but then I often think that it might be better to have it reset to a "blank slate" instead...
I mean for example the zoom level you can set inside the preferences, it does not get saved or the directorys you can select (Eschalon folder).
And again here, I don't know. What I know about the scripting stuff comes from just digging around in the game files and savegames and whatnot, and if it didn't make it onto my scripting reference pages, then I didn't find it. :) Doesn't meant that there might not be something there, of course, but I'm not sure what it would be.
Is it possible for me to digg around too ? :D
It would be cool if there would be a way to add XP to the player, maybe we could ask Basilisk Wrangler about this.
Is there a easy way to find out all the quest numbers + the XP they give if you set them straight to state 9 ?

Thanks for the new version xolotl !
I will try to create something as soon...
Most likely something for high level characters (after finishing the main quest) because of the problem with adding XP (balancing).
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by raverdave2k »

Minsk wrote:
xolotl wrote: Is it possible for me to digg around too ? :D
It would be cool if there would be a way to add XP to the player, maybe we could ask Basilisk Wrangler about this.
Is there a easy way to find out all the quest numbers + the XP they give if you set them straight to state 9 ?
At first I thought I had found just what we were after as a little examing of the exe revealed the command 'award_xp' unfortunately I just get a command not found error when I try and use this in a script :(

Failing at that hurdle I tried a little experiment to see what quests relate to what numbers, I did this on a new game and by setting each quest first to state 1 and then to state 9, this is what I have come up with this far.

Code: Select all

Quest 1 = Find Madlock - 300 XP
Quest 2 = Recover your Amulet from the cemetary - 500 XP
Quest 3 = Take Amulet to Lilith = 400 XP
Quest 4 = Recover Mithril bar for Farwick = 300 XP
Quest 5 = Recover Secrets of Transfernce Book - 300 XP
Quest 6 = Release gate in Grimhold - 400 XP
Quest 7 = Kill Bee Queen - 500 XP
Quest 8 = Use your amulet to open your box in the repository - 500 XP

*Quest 9 = 'Locate a prize' that the Goblin Gruzz has told you about. Find the Goblin Obelisk in Crakamir, travel south until you see a tree with yellow leaves, then locate the dead tree nearby. The prize is hidden there. - 400  

Quest 10 = 
Quest 11 = Recover Garrett's sextant - 300 XP
Quest 12 = 
Quest 13 = 
Quest 14 = Kill Salamanders in Leuriks basement.
Quest 15 =
Quest 16 = 
Quest 17 = Register undername Foozgrumph at the Blackwater Inn - 150 XP
Quest 18 = Take potion to sick man in Salted Coast = 300 XP
Quest 19 = Take note to captin at Darkford - 400 XP
Quest 20 = Tell Erubor in Shadowmirk that the goblins are planning to attack - 2000 XP
Quest 21 = Find your brother in Vela - 1000 XP
Quest 22 = Recovering ring for Mary = 300 XP
Quest 23 = Open chest in abandoned house in Tangletree Forest - 200 XP
Quest 24 = Deliver crucible to the smith in Blackwater - 100 XP
Quest 25 = Take flash of pure water to the talking tree - 1000 XP
Quest 26 = 
Quest 27 = 
Quest 28 = 
Quest 29 = Retieve goblin key from the Giant named Omar - 5000 XP
Quest 30 - 43 = 
* Is this one (quest 9) used in the game? I thought the weapon Gruzz tells you about is in a chest inside the citadel?

All those with blank lines simple give a blank quest complete message and award 0 XP, all the others display quest complete as well as the description of the quest which made be of now use for custom quests, how ever if they are at different states first you are seem to be awarded half the quests XP and get no quest complete message, this would make them useable, however each quest can only be set to state 9 once so you would not be able to do the acutal quest related to that number if you used it for a custom quest.
My modifications for Eschalon Book I: RaverDave's Book I Mod
My modifications for Eschalon Book II: Port Kuudad Tower - Now Open, Treasure Of The Orakur

All previous versions avaliable here
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Minsk
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by Minsk »

Thanks for that raverdave2k ! :D

A quick question:
I have done a savegame-map, nothing changed or created in the schalon data folder. Now i want to play on this map with my current char so i just copy the .map and .ent file for the map i created into the old savegame and can now visit it with my char ?
I did this and was able to go inside the dungeon but then the game crashed (after i moved one square forward).
What didi do wrong ?
raverdave2k
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by raverdave2k »

Minsk wrote:Thanks for that raverdave2k ! :D

A quick question:
I have done a savegame-map, nothing changed or created in the schalon data folder. Now i want to play on this map with my current char so i just copy the .map and .ent file for the map i created into the old savegame and can now visit it with my char ?
I did this and was able to go inside the dungeon but then the game crashed (after i moved one square forward).
What didi do wrong ?
I had the same problem the other day, save game maps also require a .opq file (the image for the minimap), see towards the end of this thread for info and a link to a blank one, it seems on Book I the absence of one for a save game map causes the game to crash, on Book II it causes corruption of the mini map.
My modifications for Eschalon Book I: RaverDave's Book I Mod
My modifications for Eschalon Book II: Port Kuudad Tower - Now Open, Treasure Of The Orakur

All previous versions avaliable here
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IJBall
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by IJBall »

raverdave2k wrote:

Code: Select all

*Quest 9 = 'Locate a prize' that the Goblin Gruzz has told you about. Find the Goblin Obelisk in Crakamir, travel south until you see a tree with yellow leaves, then locate the dead tree nearby. The prize is hidden there. - 400  
* Is this one (quest 9) used in the game? I thought the weapon Gruzz tells you about is in a chest inside the citadel?
No, it was taken out.

I can't recall the specifics, but someone already reported stumbling across this "quest" on these forums before (it might have been xolotl himself, actually).

Anyway, it would be a cool quest. Dunno why BW removed it - probably didn't have enough time to finish Book I while including it. (I'm wondering if it would have required an additional Crakamir map or two (which is where you would have found the Obelisk?...), and that's why it was taken out: because BW didn't have the time to add a couple of extra Crakamir maps...)
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Minsk
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by Minsk »

Thanks raverdave2k, but i think at least for Book I you dont need a "fresh" .opq file, i just coped the one from my test save (where i created the map).
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by raverdave2k »

You don't necessarily need a blank one no, but depending on where you are copying the .opq file from (particularly relavent when editing existing maps) it would have the potential to already have the mini map drawn on it.
My modifications for Eschalon Book I: RaverDave's Book I Mod
My modifications for Eschalon Book II: Port Kuudad Tower - Now Open, Treasure Of The Orakur

All previous versions avaliable here
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Minsk
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by Minsk »

Quick question:

Some already had a look "inside" the eschalon exe to find useful informations.
But how can you do that ?
How can you open the .exe and "unpack" it ?
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by xolotl »

Minsk wrote:Some already had a look "inside" the eschalon exe to find useful informations.
But how can you do that ?
How can you open the .exe and "unpack" it ?
It's possible there's some kind of EXE decompiler out there which could provide some useful information, but I suspect that anyone who's looked inside it was, like me, simply just looking for human-readable strings inside the EXE file, via whatever means. I'm primarily on Linux, so I've got access to the command "strings" which will look through any file for human-readable text and output it. Then it's much easier to see, for instance, the names of various scripting commands. There's a lot of junk still, of course, but it's easier than trying to go through the entire file in a hex editor or the like.

Anyway, in summary: I don't think there's a magic app which will take an EXE and spit out useful information.
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Minsk
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by Minsk »

Thanks for the answer xolotl, i think i will dont "open" the .exe then.

I had some thoughts about creating a mod and /savegame/Global map editing.

I would need to edit one or two maps (32.map and 53.map) for my mod.
Now i started to edit the savegame map files but then stoppend.
Because all players of the mod would then get "my" version of 32.map and 53.map !
For example if i killed NPC x and one of the players of my mod dont, this NPC would be dead now for him.
I dont like this...

Now but if he only uses the .map file i have and not the .ent file, wouldnt this be a better solution ?
Will changes to the global map also display if you load a savegame ?
What do you think about that ?

Whats the best way to provide such a mod ?
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by xolotl »

Minsk wrote:I would need to edit one or two maps (32.map and 53.map) for my mod.
Now i started to edit the savegame map files but then stoppend.
Because all players of the mod would then get "my" version of 32.map and 53.map !
Yeah, if you want your mod to have custom items, or otherwise do some stuff which simply isn't possible using the global map files, what you'd probably want to do is start a new game, maybe use the character editor to give yourself a powerful character, and then just go visit the maps you need to edit, and quit the game immediately after entering the map. Then you'd make a copy of both the .map and .ent and edit those however you like, and those would be the ones you'd distribute. That way, you're starting with a completely "fresh" map, without any entities killed, etc.

Depending on the mod, of course, you might be able to get away with just using the global map files. Jedi_Learner's "Thaermore Revisited" was using the global files.
Now but if he only uses the .map file i have and not the .ent file, wouldnt this be a better solution ?
Again - you probably shouldn't actually play the map that you're editing. Just enter it once to get the clean version of the map, then edit it from that point. I don't think the engine would take kindly to having a missing .ent file in a savegame dir, too.
Will changes to the global map also display if you load a savegame ?
What do you think about that ?
The global map files are only referenced when the player first enters a map that the player's not been to before. As soon as the player enters an area, it'll be using the savegame version, and any updates to the global map files will not show up.
Whats the best way to provide such a mod ?
It depends on the mod. If you don't need to make custom items, IMO for Book I it's probably best to use the global files (though one could make a good argument that it's better to leave the Eschalon installation dir alone and just have the mod be contained in a single savegame, which is a valid point, though it requires a bit more fiddling from a user perspective).

If you do need custom items, or you're doing a Book II mod, you're forced to go the savegame route anyway.
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Minsk
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Re: Savefile Character / Map Editor

Post by Minsk »

I would like to create a mod for players who already completed the main quest.
Now i dont want to really add something (like custom items) to the 32.map and 53.map. I just need to place a teleporter.

So lets say player x has already the 32.map and 53.map file in his savegame.
If i send him a edited global map file, would this change anything for him if he loads his savegame the next time ?

Because if i sent a clean savegame map file like you suggested, the maps would be full of enemys again, chests would be full again ect. So player x would get a new version of the map which would change things for him.

Would it be possible to just add a teleport to 32.map and if player x copys the mod files he only gets the teleporter to 32.map and everything else will stay the same for him (killed enemys, destroyed doors ect.) ?
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