Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise (update 4/11/14)

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Weird Heather
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Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise (update 4/11/14)

Post by Weird Heather »

I have just completed a mod for Book III. It adds an abandoned alchemist's tower to the Moonrise map. The tower features the ground floor (part of the Moonrise map), four upper levels, and a cellar which is larger than the above-ground levels. This mod features a lot of loot (but not all of it useful), unique items, a few puzzles, lots of locks and traps, some nasty fights, and many ways to get poisoned, diseased, or blown up. As would be expected, since this is an alchemist's tower, it is a great place to find reagents, potions, and recipes, and it more than makes up for the scarcity of reagents elsewhere. Needless to say, this mod will significantly change the balance of the game, so I do not recommend that people install it on the first play-through.

Some parts of the new area are relatively easy, but some are extremely difficult. A relatively green character just arrived in Moonrise would probably get slaughtered in no time, but a character (approximately Level 10) who has spent some time in the north of Elderoak Forest and adjacent regions should be able to handle most of it, although there is one room that may require a more advanced character or a lot of potions.

To install this mod, download the zip file [see below], start a new game, save it, copy all of the files into the savegame directory, and load the game. (You can install the mod at any stage of the game, but it will reset the Moonrise map.)

I have tested everything, but although it isn't all that big, it is a complicated mod with a lot of scripting, and there are likely to be bugs I haven't found yet. If you find bugs, need hints, or want to complain about this mod, please post to this thread. Use this mod at your own risk; it will change the balance of the game, and complicated scripting could cause instability or crashes, so save the game regularly.

Hopefully this little mod is just the beginning. The unofficial editing tools are powerful enough to create some decent mods, and when the official tools come out, some excellent mods, or even some brand new games, should be possible. I will certainly be creating more in the future, and I hope other people here will do the same.

I have attached the mod to this post. Hopefully everybody can access it without a problem.

Enjoy. Please let me know what you think. I'm sure it can use some improvements.

Change log (slight spoilers possible):

Version 1.0 - 2/21/2014 - Initial release
Version 1.01 - 2/21/2014 - Fixed entity file in Moonrise and modified wording on gravestones.
Version 1.02 - 3/23/2014 - Fixed multiple bugs, reduced monster difficulty, added quarantine fence, added sub-basement, modified loot, probably introduced new bugs.
Version 1.03 - 4/6/2014 (file fixed 4/11/2014) - Fixed a couple minor bugs, changed values of some of the loot, and added some loot with spot hidden checks in a few locations.
Attachments
alchemist_tower-1.03.zip
(50.84 KiB) Downloaded 1242 times
Last edited by Weird Heather on April 11th, 2014, 12:33 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Sinathor
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by Sinathor »

Sweet!

I'll definitely be checking this out when I get home from work.
Gods take this prayer of my last tragic epilogue
Concealed between the bleeding walls of my suffering
And bless the sword that's gonna slay
The beast that I confined into myself
To transmigrate and live forevermore


My Steam profile.
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Weird Heather
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by Weird Heather »

Somehow, while I was developing the mod, a later version of Moonrise's entity file (which holds the NPCs and monsters) got copied into the mod, so one NPC is missing and the others might not be at their initial state.

(Edit: This bug is now fixed. Anyone who downloaded Version 1.0 and has already started playing it can replace the file 4849.ent and shouldn't need to replace the others. Note that it will reset all NPCs and monsters on the Moonrise map.)

I'm sure there will be other bugs. My main purpose with this mod was to try out the features of the unofficial editor and see how far I could push it. Hopefully in time (and especially after the official editor is released) I can improve this mod.
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by Notorst »

Thx for that.I'll try the mod after i finished the game .


It would be great if we could get a special Mod Page !
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helivoy
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by helivoy »

Heather, thank you for all this work! I'm about to test the mod but can't decipher the clue to opening the gates. The sum of lucky numbers is 148, so one number is missing. Can you supply helpful hint?

ETA: Got past the legs! Now for the torso... (this may end up as a blow-by-blow account... *laughs*)
For I come from an ardent race
That has subsisted on defiance and visions.
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The Other Half of the Sky
raverdave2k
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by raverdave2k »

helivoy wrote:Heather, thank you for all this work! I'm about to test the mod but can't decipher the clue to opening the gates. The sum of lucky numbers is 148, so one number is missing. Can you supply helpful hint?

ETA: Got past the legs! Now for the torso... (this may end up as a blow-by-blow account... *laughs*)
In the same boat, got past the first gate easy enough and now have Alberts leg but what to do next.
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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helivoy
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by helivoy »

raverdave2k wrote: In the same boat, got past the first gate easy enough and now have Alberts leg but what to do next.
I found the small enclosure that accepts his femur at the W end of old Moonrise, but blowing up the headstone in it (as per the instructions) doesn't seem to open anything either there or at the location of the original headstone.
For I come from an ardent race
That has subsisted on defiance and visions.
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Starship Reckless
To Seek Out New Life
The Other Half of the Sky
raverdave2k
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by raverdave2k »

Ah, I didn't realise Old and New Moonrise were both on the same physical map :oops:
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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Weird Heather
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by Weird Heather »

In Old Moonrise, it isn't the headstone that needs to be blown up, but another object in that small crypt.
[+] SPOILER
A mostly hidden fence blocks access to the nook at the far end of the crypt. Dropping a powder keg in front of it will do the trick. If you don't have one, I have placed a powder keg near the headstone behind the magic shop in Old Moonrise. Once the fence is blown up, simply step into the nook I wonder if I should rearrange things so that a keg placed by the headstone blows up the fence.
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by raverdave2k »

Just played through and it's certainly a very nice extra dungeon with an interesting little story and set of puzzles to get you in and with some great unique loot.

Not managed to get through the door with the three chests on the top but one floor yet so will get take another look at that.

Only downside I would say is that
[+] SPOILER
maybe you over did it with all the poisoned / trapped/ diseased containers and doors
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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helivoy
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by helivoy »

You're right, the fence is invisible because of the isometric rendering. Might be a good idea to either make an explosion anywhere in the crypt open the stairs or make the teleporter plainly visible beside/behind the fence. Then people would know what to do. Nice consideration to leave a keg nearby!
Last edited by helivoy on February 21st, 2014, 4:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
For I come from an ardent race
That has subsisted on defiance and visions.
-------------------------------------
Starship Reckless
To Seek Out New Life
The Other Half of the Sky
raverdave2k
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by raverdave2k »

helivoy wrote:Yice consideration to leave a keg nearby!
Doh, was there? I walked back to the inn and bought one :P
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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Weird Heather
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by Weird Heather »

raverdave2k wrote:Only downside I would say is that
[+] SPOILER
maybe you over did it with all the poisoned / trapped/ diseased containers and doors
I have been considering whether to rebalance this a bit.
[+] SPOILER
I wanted this place to be horribly polluted and dangerous, as would be expected of a mad alchemist's tower, so I put a lot of poison and disease around (and made some toxic food). To partially address this difficulty, I placed some cure ailment and detox potions in barrels in the prison area of the cellar. If I don't end up removing some of these hazards, maybe I'll scatter a few more of these potions around, or add a couple more "vending machine" chests to provide a limitless supply (for those who have the gold). Needless to say, a character working on the Immaculate challenge should probably avoid this place entirely, and either excellent rogue skills or the Trap Kill and Lock Melt spells are essential.
raverdave2k wrote:Not managed to get through the door with the three chests on the top but one floor yet so will get take another look at that.
(Edit: I assume you are talking about the treasure room in the upper part of the tower that is on the same level as the throne.) The key to that room is elsewhere in the dungeon. If you fully explore the place and search every container, you should eventually find it.
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by helivoy »

Well, now I know where to go for my potions needs! And I enjoyed the presence of a little herb garden upstairs.

Also, I thought the 7! clue was great. *laughs*
For I come from an ardent race
That has subsisted on defiance and visions.
-------------------------------------
Starship Reckless
To Seek Out New Life
The Other Half of the Sky
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Weird Heather
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Re: Book III Mod: Alchemist's Tower in Moonrise

Post by Weird Heather »

helivoy wrote:Well, now I know where to go for my potions needs! And I enjoyed the presence of a little herb garden upstairs.

Also, I thought the 7! clue was great. *laughs*
I wondered what people would make of the 7! clue. I didn't think it would be too hard to figure out, but it's probably not the first thing that people would expect to find.

Yes, the supply of certain potions is limitless, at least from the chests just outside of the tower, but I purposely set their prices significantly higher than their value, so they are more expensive than they are at shops even with a mercantile skill of 0, so the limitless supply comes with a cost. I am considering adding two more potion chests with Detox Serum and Cure Ailment to help make the pollution in and around the tower a little less hazardous, but they will be costly. Or if I don't do that, I'll scatter a few more of these potions around the tower. I might also rearrange the traps, putting them in places where they make a little more sense. What does everyone think? I want the tower's pollution to be an ever present threat since that is an integral part of its story, but I don't want players to be forced to explore large portions of the tower while dying of poison or crippled by disease. Striking the right balance isn't easy.

Also, I've been thinking of how to better integrate this mod into the game once the official editor is available. I assume that it will then be possible to modify NPC dialogues, create new NPCs with dialogue, add unique books, and create quests. Here is the general story. The alchemist recently died in one of his dangerous experiments, and the parts of his body were (as is already the case) buried in different locations, probably according to his wishes. He has left behind a dangerously polluted and infested tower which is a threat to the town. It has been blocked off (I'll build a security fence around the tower), and the town has declared it to be quarantined (I'll place a sign with an ominous warning). The town has already sent people into the tower to investigate, but they have died there. (I'll probably add journals to two or three of the bodies.) An NPC in town (probably either a new one, the priest, or the Old Moonrise magic shop owner) will give you a quest to go into the tower, clean out some of the hazards, and recover one or more of the alchemist's most dangerous inventions so that they can be properly destroyed. The quest giver will give you some detox and ailment potions to get you started and will reward you with a good treasure - either gold, a unique magical item, or a key to one of the chambers in the repository - when you complete the quest. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I'm glad the mod is working out reasonably well so far, and that nobody has reported any game-breaking bugs yet (although I won't be surprised if such bugs surface).
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