Slowdive's Little Daily Blog

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:10 am

Time to kick off a new blog on the new forums.

A follow up from the legacy forums:

youngneil1 wrote:Do you experience the bad performance on regular laptos/notebooks/desktops, too (or only on phones/tablets)? Edit: And in case it happens on regular laptops/notebooks/desktops (Windows systems in this case), does normal IB show the same slow performance on these systems, too?

I see about 30-40 fps on my windows 10 laptop (Lenovo Legion Y520) when running IBx for UWP. I see about 4-7 fps on my android tablet, iPads, chromebook, and iPhone X. This is on the first main map screen for Blackwinter, other screens are different. I see 50-70 fps on my windows 10 laptop when running IB.

Post by **youngneil1** » Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:13 am

Thank you for cheking this out, Jer. On one hand this is good news as IB performance is good on your laptop, too. On the other hand this underlines that we will need to disable a few cosmetic features for IBx to run well. I will try more ways to turn off scrolling on main map after next IB release. First test for turning off scrolling I did were not very successful - I fear there will be no easy hack, but we will get there

.

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:50 am

Let me do some more testing on my side before you try to add graphic toggles. I’m trying to track down the main culprits first by turning one feature off (and then back on after testing) at a time. I saw your notes in the code about the two resource heavy functions in the main map screen and it looks like the main layout ui draw routine is the bigger issue. I’ll dig into that and see what I find. Turning off the call to draw the ui took me from 4 fps to 15 fps on my iPad.15 is quite playable on the iPad so it looks promising. The main map drawing routine is the other that I’ll inspect next. I bypassed the update function on the main map, but it didn’t impact fps so it is okay. Also, I bypassed the scrolling system, but it didn’t impact fps so it is okay as well.

Post by **youngneil1** » Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:32 pm

Biggest fps gains for me during optimization were related to the drawing of fonts. I dont recall the details right now but I think I reduced the numbers of calls for new writeFactories (or some such) to one 1/9. It was related to the way we draw the bigger letters (slightly shifted, multiple draw calls for each letter) and their black outlines. Before I optimzied I think each word had to be drawn nine times with 9 different creations and destructions of write factory objects. I shifted all of this into a single writeFactory, I think (doing its job nine times before being discarded). Well, maybe it was a bit differnt but it was definetly related

... I also drew them a bit less bold (less iterations, I think from 16 to 9), iirc...

Also, I think there was an important optimziation when it comes to drawing "blank" layers. Iirc the old code drew (loaded) each tiem a blank transparent graphic for this - just not drawing these blank layers gained a few fps, too. Again, I might rember this incorrectly

.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:09 pm

When switching to skiaSharp drawText I had to reintroduce the 25 calls to draw black outline of text. I removed that and am now drawing just a single black text shifted 2 right and 2 down, then draw actual text color on top of that. So only two text draws now and I went from 4fps to 18 fps on my iPhoneX

Now IBx plays very well on my phone and iPad

From my iPhone X:

: 3C1205B5-C32E-4ED6-8065-AD5B0E89BE0D.jpeg (292.93 KiB) Viewed 450316 times

Post by **Dorateen** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:46 pm

slowdive, you would know better what works with the mobile platforms. Regarding the buttons on the bottom of the screen, would it make sense to reduce the words to the single initial for each command?

So M for move, A for attack, C for cast, and so on.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 6:41 pm

That could be an option. I probably need to use smaller text on the buttons at least. Another option would be to use icons like I use in IBbasic...

: 8E2BCE5B-398F-4A8F-B64B-984D5132B900.png (1.34 MiB) Viewed 450312 times

Post by **youngneil1** » Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:54 am

Amazing news about the performance gains, well done

!

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Jan 25, 2020 4:16 am

Today I did some more play testing and clean up work. I also added panning buttons to the combat screen to take place of the arrow keys on keyboard. Eventually, I would like to use a swiping gesture to pan the map. touch and hold down while sliding finger to pan. I also fixed a few bugs. One thing that I haven't fixed just yet is that when tapping an arrow key to move up on the main map, The players move two squares almost every time. Only one square for other directions. I think it has to do with the scrolling or move while holding down feature, but I'm not sure how to fix it just yet.

I'll probably release another version of IBx to Google Play for people to test this weekend some time.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Jan 26, 2020 4:07 am

Today I fixed a bug that has been "bugging" me for awhile. Moving up was jumping two spaces each time. It was a timer issue, but I fixed it so I'm back to one space at a time. I also removed the panning buttons and instead replaced it with a tap and drag feature to do the panning on the combat screen. It works very well, is super easy to pan around, and hopefully intuitive.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Jan 26, 2020 7:46 pm

Posted IBx (1.182.009) to the internal testing group on Google Play. If you would like to be added to the group, send me a PM and I'll add your gmail email address to the list.

https://play.google.com/apps/internalte ... 9560214193

Give it a try and let me know if you see improvements to FPS on your device. Maybe try recording your current FPS before updating.

Next, I am going to look at creating an iOS release through Apple's TestFlight system. Not sure on the timeline just yet, stay tuned.

Post by **youngneil1** » Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:24 pm

Reading amazing progress there in short time! I will try out fps increase, scrolling move and camera pan tomorrow... fine times for IB indeed

.

Post by **youngneil1** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 1:14 pm

I did a first round of test driving, great work

:

- feels much more responsive on my note9 (around 15 fps, ranging from 10 to 20)
- combat panning is awesome - wish I could get it in for IB normal (or just free scrolling via key down in combat screen)
- double move on up is gone

Some observations on top of that:
- scrolling movement on mainmap not working, likely intentionally for fps reasons
- a tap to move would be nice on mainmap (as it works in combat already)
- party tail movement behaviour is still somewhat off (it is supposed to move tot the square that the party was on beforehand, from its scurrent position)
- combat movement speed is tied to frame frate, this is likely a bug in normal IB; it should use some normalized elpase based value instead
- Blackwinter is not using the mainmap traits, so these should be turned of on main map screen (this would also speed up draw times a bit); the trait values currently do not react to leader chnage

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Jan 27, 2020 3:15 pm

The planning code is very simple and small. You can look at my last commit to see it... well two commits ago

Great catches and feedback. I’ll look into these once I have implemented all the new commits to v183.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 2:57 pm

Last night I added another IB commit to IBx. Only two more commits to go to get IBx up to v183

Post by **youngneil1** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 4:16 pm

Awesome, almost there

!

I will look into the panning code, it would be really great to get this in. Oh, I fear the last (or maybe even both) commit for IB is quite large as it changes so many log entries in so many places. It's a very tedious work unfortunately (had to do it in chunks to not overly frustrate myself). A shortcut might be to to intercept everthing later in the text draw function hierarchy (for combat log) and turn all colors to white. Then turn all entries that match a pc name to green and all entries that match a cr_name to red. This would catch quite a lot of the changes (not all though unfortunately, it would miss healing to green and damage to red as well as more substantial changes concerning the info provided for new and existing, but modified entries to log).

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 4:53 pm

I typically just copy and paste entire methods over the existing one in IBx. As long as there are no sharpDX or file management stuff it works flawlessly. If it doesn’t work and I get lots of red underlines, then I undo the paste and copy over one or a few lines at a time and rewrite the parts that are IBx unique. It usually goes fairly quick since the code base is practically identical (probably 98% is the same).

Post by **youngneil1** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 5:20 pm

Ah, that's a very efficient approach

, should work smoothly this way...

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 4:42 am

Three down and one more commit to go. Script functions is a doozy, but I think I can copy whole methods at a time. Should have IBx ready tomorrow night to be caught up to v183.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Jan 30, 2020 3:33 am

Finished updating IBx to v183 and tested the UWP build on my PC. Now I need to start testing on my phone... so far it seems to be working fine. I need to figure out a way to do right and left clicking functions on a touch screen.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Jan 30, 2020 2:27 pm

Screen shot of v183 on my iPhone X... looks great, but I need to do some ui adjustments and missing color fixes for skiaSharp.

: DC20E37F-D2D8-4E9E-956A-C9312F201119.png (2.17 MiB) Viewed 344305 times

Post by **youngneil1** » Fri Jan 31, 2020 12:19 pm

Big gratz for synching up to v183

! The next commits will be smaller again, for sure. The screenshot looks great - it seems like the pc/creature (later: trigger, prop, effect) info works very well on the smaller screens, too.

Post by **Dorateen** » Fri Jan 31, 2020 3:56 pm

Looks good. Always fun clearing out bugbears.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Feb 01, 2020 5:38 am

I uploaded an iOS version of IBx (v1.183.003) to Apple's TestFlight program. I invited Karl and Zach to the IBx internal testing team. Others will be able to sign-up once the build finishes going through an Apple approval process. I'll then have a link for others to use.

I'll post IBx v1.183.003 to Google Play internal beta testing program tomorrow.

Post by **youngneil1** » Sat Feb 01, 2020 2:18 pm

Very nice progress there

. I will try to get it up and running on my old ipad...

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Feb 01, 2020 4:14 pm

youngneil1 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 01, 2020 2:18 pm Very nice progress there . I will try to get it up and running on my old ipad...

It requires iOS 13 as a minimum so if your old iPad is on 12 or earlier, it won't work. I just uploaded v183 to Google Play in the Beta program this time (instead of internal testing track). It should show up in the store today after their short check.

EDIT: On my next build of IBx for iOS, I'll try and target iOS 12 and above.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Feb 01, 2020 8:37 pm

Here is the link to IBx on Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ne.ibb.ibx

Post by **youngneil1** » Sun Feb 02, 2020 8:48 am

Ah good to now concerning the ios version - I really should get a new ipad here. The old one is just indestructible it seems though

.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Feb 02, 2020 2:02 pm

youngneil1 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 02, 2020 8:48 am Ah good to now concerning the ios version - I really should get a new ipad here. The old one is just indestructible it seems though .

What iOS version is your iPad running? I should be able to target iOS 12, but I don't want to go back to iOS 10 (I think it lacks some of the file handling benefits).

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 3:52 pm

Testing GIFs to see if they work on these new forums with new and fancy phpBB version.

: 797A6D31-3F51-4778-A1E7-6CC9E0826F07.gif (1.92 MiB) Viewed 344279 times

Post by **youngneil1** » Mon Feb 03, 2020 9:56 pm

Hey there cutie

! Works nicely

My iPad runs on iOs 10.3.3 (ie Stoneage

).

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Feb 04, 2020 4:19 am

Today I worked on fixing some of the main map and combat UI layout issues for different sized screens and aspect ratios. I also increased the font size as much as possible without creating other issues. Next up, I will try and finish implementing the script file loading part of IBx.

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 4:25 am

Today I finished implementing sound in IBx. It is great to hear all the wonderful music in Hearkenwold on my iPad and iPhone X. Plus I get those fun attack sounds too

I also worked on fixing the script loading issues and I think I have that fixed now. It will need further testing by those who use scripts in their modules.

I should have a v1.183.009 ready for this weekend for testing. I'll post it to TestFlight (Apple iOS) and Google Play (Android).

Post by **Dorateen** » Fri Feb 07, 2020 2:48 pm

Great progress there. I cannot give enough credit to Islet Sounds for the music tracks he provided to me for use in Hearkenwold.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Feb 12, 2020 6:09 pm

So this weekend didn’t go as planned as I have been out sick. I started trying to address some graphic engine issues I introduced in IBx that are different from the way IB does them for the smooth move feature. I’m trying to fix IBx to work the way IB does and this may take a bit time to implement.

Post by **youngneil1** » Sat Feb 15, 2020 10:51 am

Get well soon, Jer. The scrolling as well as the party tail code are especially messy, I fear, so this is likely quite cumbersome to port over to IBx. This stuff gets extra tricky in a streaming, seamlessly connected scneario (neighbouring areas set up) and even more so in darkness/night when the lighting system has to kick in.

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Feb 17, 2020 7:02 pm

youngneil1 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2020 10:51 am Get well soon, Jer. The scrolling as well as the party tail code are especially messy, I fear, so this is likely quite cumbersome to port over to IBx. This stuff gets extra tricky in a streaming, seamlessly connected scneario (neighbouring areas set up) and even more so in darkness/night when the lighting system has to kick in.

I wasn't changing any of the code in the screenMainMap or the screenCombat classes. I only needed to make my DrawBitmap overloads (all contained it the GameView class) match up to the ones in IB. So all the party tail and scrolling code was actually just imported to IBx "as is". It was the IBx draw routines that were messing things up. Really IBx is almost identical to IB code except for some things in the GameView class and everywhere that a specific item for SharpDx is used like Color and Size. If we used a generic method for getting the size of a bitmap and assigning Colors, that would make all the classes identical except for GameView.

Post by **youngneil1** » Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:10 pm

That seems very straightforward indeed - still utterly amazing to me how the almost very same code base does its josb on different operating systems and device types, from windows desktop pc to iPhones.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 12:43 am

Side note: I was having troubles logging in to the forums before I realized I was using an old password. It got me thinking that (just in case) I should give someone else admin rights so that we never get locked out of the forums if my account gets messed up in some way. So I changed Karl to "red"

I fixed the issue with combat smooth move by just completely copying all the IB code over the top of the IBx code in screenCombat (except for the file handling and draw methods). That did the trick. So now IBx is up to v183. I'll add all the v184 code this week and should have builds ready for iOS and Android this weekend.

Post by **youngneil1** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:58 am

Oh, i am red now, feels like me v2.0

.

Great to hear you could resolve the issue with the combat screen. I am still a bit more stressed by RL here than usual, the real estate market in big cities in Germany has simply stopped functioning imho. I already see myself knocking every door in our city quarter, bible left hand, picture of our cat Azrael in the cold rain right hand and begging for a place to live

. Ah, it's not that bad but it's awfully time consuming.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Feb 19, 2020 11:16 am

Yuck, that’s horrible! I saw an article the other day that popped up in my Google news about the housing market in Germany and how crazy it has become in the past few years. The article was mostly focused on Berlin, but I am assuming it is being felt everywhere. Berlin was proposing to cap rent at no more than $1 per square foot. If you need to take an extended vacation to the States until it cools down, let me know

... keeping fingers crossed from over here that you guys find something, anything, soon.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Feb 20, 2020 4:30 am

I finished updating IBx to v184. I still have some UI issues to work out and other old bugs noted by Zach and Karl that I am working on. I should have iOS/Android builds ready this weekend for testing.

Post by **youngneil1** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 3:27 pm

Thank you, Jer, with such support I am 100% sure that all turns out fine in the end

.

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Feb 21, 2020 11:50 pm

I posted IBx v184 to Google Play and Apple TestFlight. It may take a few hours to show up though.

Google Play (Android):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ne.ibb.ibx

Apple TestFlight (iOS):
you should get an invitation email or try from TestFlight app... look for version 5 or v1.184.3
(if you are not part of the TestFlight group and would like to be, send me a PM.)

This build does not have all the bugs reported from v183 fixed yet, I'm still hunting those down.

Post by **youngneil1** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 8:03 pm

Great news there - I will give the Android version a test drive tomorrow

!

Post by **youngneil1** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 10:44 am

First impression is that the fps have improved again by quite a bit (from average 15 to average 20 on my note9), well done

The movement on the main map feels much more fluent now, proper scroling now working. It might be great to add a "keep walking forward on arrow button held down" functionality. I move this way on pc, too (holding arrow/wasd key down) and it feels very convenient, especially as on pc you can additionally hold shift key down for a very fast movment which makes it a joy to cover greater distances.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Mar 12, 2020 2:55 am

RL has been too busy at the moment with work audit going on the past weeks and preparing for it. I hope that well change this weekend since the audit ends this week. Maybe I can catch up to v187 and post to Google Play and Test Flight. We shall see

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Mar 22, 2020 10:35 pm

Started playing more Hearkenwold since I have the weekend at home (teleworking during the week). My 6 year old boy took over at one point. He doesn’t read very well yet so I’m reading the conversations to him. He really likes the combat part. We came across a group of goblin wizards and my boy started letting them have it with all our web spells! He really loved that and I didn’t have the heart to tell him that they weren’t planning on moving anyway

He mopped them up with the thief since the fighter was held. Made some good progress this weekend in Hearkenwold. Most everyone is level 5 now. Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Post by **Dorateen** » Mon Mar 23, 2020 12:53 pm

slowdive wrote: ↑Sun Mar 22, 2020 10:35 pm Started playing more Hearkenwold since I have the weekend at home (teleworking during the week). My 6 year old boy took over at one point. He doesn’t read very well yet so I’m reading the conversations to him. He really likes the combat part. We came across a group of goblin wizards and my boy started letting them have it with all our web spells!

Sounds like good progress there, slowdive. Web spell is useful later on when there are more melee enemies you want to hold in place. So I guess it is good to practice on goblin wizards!

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Mar 23, 2020 4:50 pm

Dorateen wrote: ↑Mon Mar 23, 2020 12:53 pm
slowdive wrote: ↑Sun Mar 22, 2020 10:35 pm Started playing more Hearkenwold since I have the weekend at home (teleworking during the week). My 6 year old boy took over at one point. He doesn’t read very well yet so I’m reading the conversations to him. He really likes the combat part. We came across a group of goblin wizards and my boy started letting them have it with all our web spells!
Sounds like good progress there, slowdive. Web spell is useful later on when there are more melee enemies you want to hold in place. So I guess it is good to practice on goblin wizards!

He is getting LOTS of practice with web

. We just picked up fireball so I see a new favorite spell of his in the near future

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Mar 31, 2020 12:25 am

I hope everyone is doing as well as possible. I have been fortunate to be able to work from home with my job (transmission planner). Schools are closed for the remainder of the year. My daughter and I have started playing through the original campaign of NWN2 (her first time) in parallel. I don't think you can do MP any more so we are just playing on two separate computers next to each other. We are also trying to stay near each other in the story. I am trying a male wood elf ranger/sorcerer build and my daughter is a female halfling monk. I also am using mods for the first time. I am trying the Tchos HD UI, some portrait additions, and the face lift pack. We are almost to high cliff.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Dec 31, 2020 7:44 pm

for IBbasic, I am looking to add some additional tactical combat mechanics. I want to add attack and/or defense bonuses based on the number of enemies and companions that are adjacent to the attacker/target. I used to play a game called "Lord's of Conquest" on my c64 that used similar mechanics and it was fun. It makes some of your moves/position on the battlefield more like a chess game. Karl had some square bonuses in combat that I would also like to use for things like ground elevation, coverage, etc. Also, some creatures that have regeneration features will be able to "respawn" on the battlefield unless a PC is stand on their square (like in the goldbox engine for trolls). This also could work for PCs not being able to pop back up (healed after being below 0 hp) if a creature is standing on top of them. I will also look to have some traits that will allow for moving without the "attack of opportunity" triggering (maybe for thief). Position of attacking a creature could provide bonuses such as front +0, side +1, and back +2 (or something like that).

Post by **youngneil1** » Sun Jan 03, 2021 11:33 pm

These sound like great tactical options. I always enjoy pondering over the best placement on the battlefield. I think the first games of the Battle Isle series had such ruleset, too (support for neighbours for both sides), or my memory tricks me

.

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Jan 15, 2021 11:42 pm

So I am changing directs a little bit as I am now working on IBbasic Jr. for Kids

(short diversion from IBbasic, but should help with ideas for IBbasic as well).

Both of my kiddos have been showing some interest in making IBbasic modules, but the learning curve is still steep so I am making a much simpler version for them. I am looking to have fewer options and focus on a more intuitive toolset. So there won't be as much flexibility, but it should be easier for kids to make something. I have the PC version mostly done and I am now working on adding the more complex combat AI and mechanics mentioned before. This will make those encounters more fun for the kiddos

.

Post by **youngneil1** » Sat Jan 16, 2021 2:23 pm

That is a great idea

! It brings you best of both worlds - fun with your kids and quality programming time. Also, I dont think there are many kid friendly rpgs, let alone toolsets.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Jan 16, 2021 11:59 pm

I am starting to add a feature to use a weapon in the off-hand. I have equipping the item working so far. I'll need to add the impact to combat (such as one additional attack per round) and traits (like two weapon fighting L1 and L2 to reduce the penalty for using two weapons). I'll also add a lower penalty if the off-hand weapon is "light". I'll need to add the new information text to the party screen to show the different attack info for both hands.

EDIT: I have the combat part working now for two weapon fighting and the party screen info showing MainHand and OffHand info. Just need the traits and "light" weapon parts for the penalty reductions.

: OffHand01.PNG (146.9 KiB) Viewed 335872 times

Post by **Dorateen** » Sun Jan 17, 2021 3:42 pm

slowdive wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 11:59 pm I am starting to add a feature to use a weapon in the off-hand.

This is great, slowdive. Duel-wielding with a thief or ranger is something I missed in IceBlink.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Jan 17, 2021 4:55 pm

Thanks Dorateen!

Here is the code for checking what the two-weapon fighting penalty/modifier should be depending on having a trait and/or having a light weapon in the off-hand:

Code: Select all

public int CalcPcMeleeTwoWeaponModifier(Player pc, bool isMainHand)
        {
            if (gv.sf.hasTrait(pc, "twoweaponfighting2"))
            {
                if (isMainHand)
                {
                    if (gv.cc.getItemByResRefForInfo(pc.OffHandRefs.resref).isLightWeapon)
                    {
                        return 0;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        return -2;
                    }
                }
                else
                {
                    if (gv.cc.getItemByResRefForInfo(pc.OffHandRefs.resref).isLightWeapon)
                    {
                        return 0;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        return -2;
                    }
                }
            }
            else if (gv.sf.hasTrait(pc, "twoweaponfighting1"))
            {
                if (isMainHand)
                {
                    if (gv.cc.getItemByResRefForInfo(pc.OffHandRefs.resref).isLightWeapon)
                    {
                        return -2;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        return -4;
                    }
                }
                else
                {
                    if (gv.cc.getItemByResRefForInfo(pc.OffHandRefs.resref).isLightWeapon)
                    {
                        return -2;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        return -4;
                    }
                }
            }
            else
            {
                if (isMainHand)
                {
                    if (gv.cc.getItemByResRefForInfo(pc.OffHandRefs.resref).isLightWeapon)
                    {
                        return -4;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        return -6;
                    }
                }
                else
                {
                    if (gv.cc.getItemByResRefForInfo(pc.OffHandRefs.resref).isLightWeapon)
                    {
                        return -8;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        return -10;
                    }
                }
            }
        }

Post by **youngneil1** » Sun Jan 17, 2021 8:29 pm

Good work there

. Dual-wielding was always missing and it's a classic staple of many D&D settings.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Jan 19, 2021 4:24 am

For IBbasic Jr, I needed to create an editor for working on the default PlayerClasses, Races, Effects, Spells, Traits, creatures, and Items. So that is what I have been working on the past few days. I am pretty much done and now I am ready to start creating the needed two-weapon fighting traits and flag any light weapons. I'll also need to go through all the default creatures, items, spells, and traits to create all the default ones for builders to use. Lots of cleaning and organizing ahead

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 4:03 am

I created the two traits and finished implementing the system. I just need to go through each weapon and flag the ones that are "light" weapons.

In the images below you can see that the ranger has the trait, but since the off-hand item hasn't been changed to be a light weapon yet, it still shows -4/-4 instead of -2/-2... I'll fix that next.

: OffHand02.PNG (148.58 KiB) Viewed 331454 times

: OffHand03.PNG (126.63 KiB) Viewed 331454 times

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 4:26 am

Finished adding the "light" weapon flag to all light weapons. In the item description, it now shows "Light Weapon: yes/no" as seen in the image below. Also, the correct attack modifier is calculated due to the light weapon.

: OffHand04.PNG (148.59 KiB) Viewed 331453 times

Post by **Dorateen** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 2:50 pm

That is wonderful. Another mechanic I think has been missing from IceBlink is critical hits. It doesn't have to be an elaborate system, could be just double damage on a roll of a natural 20. But something like that can dramatically change the feel of combat.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 4:12 am

I added the mechanics for critical hits as suggested by Dorateen. It basically works like d20, or is close. A 20 always hits, but does not automatically result in a critical hit. If the threat range is exceeded, then another roll is made with the same bonuses to see if you make the critical hit (another 20 or threat range is not needed for this roll). The critical hit damage uses the item's or creature's CriticalMultiplier value which could be x2 or x3.

Here is the important code for PCs (for Creatures is similar):

Code: Select all

            int attackRoll = gv.sf.RandInt(20);
            int attackMod = CalcPcAttackModifier(pc, crt, isMainHand);
            int attack = attackRoll + attackMod;
            int defense = CalcCreatureDefense(pc, crt);
            int damage = CalcPcDamageToCreature(pc, crt, isMainHand);
            bool criticalHit = false;
            int critAttackRoll = gv.sf.RandInt(20);
            int threatRange = 20;
            
            Item itChk = gv.cc.getItemByResRefForInfo(pc.MainHandRefs.resref);
            if (!isMainHand)
            {
                itChk = gv.cc.getItemByResRefForInfo(pc.OffHandRefs.resref);
            }
            if (itChk != null)
            {
                threatRange = itChk.threatRange;                
            }
            
            if (attackRoll >= threatRange)
            {
                //determine if a critical hit is applied
                if (critAttackRoll + attackMod >= defense)
                {
                    criticalHit = true;
                    damage *= itChk.criticalMultiplier;
                }
            }

            bool automaticallyHits = false;            
            if (itChk != null)
            {
                automaticallyHits = itChk.automaticallyHitsTarget;
            }
            //natural 20 always hits
            if ((attack >= defense) || (attackRoll == 20) || (automaticallyHits == true)) //HIT
            {
                crt.hp = crt.hp - damage;
                gv.cc.addLogText("<bu>" + pc.name + "</bu><br>");
                gv.cc.addLogText("<wh>attacks </wh><br>");
                gv.cc.addLogText("<gy>" + crt.cr_name + "</gy><br>");
                if (criticalHit)
                {
                    gv.cc.addLogText("<gn>CRITICAL HIT (-" + damage + "hp)</gn><br>");
                    gv.cc.addLogText("<wh>ATT: " + attackRoll + "+" + attackMod + ">=" + defense + "</wh><BR>");
                    gv.cc.addLogText("<wh>CRIT: " + critAttackRoll + "+" + attackMod + ">=" + defense + "</wh><BR>");
                }
                else
                {
                    gv.cc.addLogText("<gn>HITS (-" + damage + "hp)</gn><br>");
                    gv.cc.addLogText("<wh>" + attackRoll + "+" + attackMod + ">=" + defense + "</wh><BR>");
                }

Post by **Dorateen** » Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:50 pm

Wow, I did not expect the full system of threat range and varying crit multipliers. Amazing!

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Jan 22, 2021 4:50 am

Dorateen wrote: ↑Thu Jan 21, 2021 2:50 pm Wow, I did not expect the full system of threat range and varying crit multipliers. Amazing!

Thanks Dorateen! Today I fixed a couple of bugs with the two new systems after testing. I also added more feedback in the combat log about attack rolls and critical rolls. I updated all weapons in the new IBbasic Jr. data editor to add threat ranges and critical multipliers (used the values from the d20 SRD). Next up I will create a trait for "improved critical" that will double the threat range. I will also add a trait for "two-weapon defense" that will add a +1 AC bonus when using a weapon in the off-hand and maybe a L2 as well that uses a +2 AC bonus.

So who should have access to these traits and at what level do you suggest?
two-weapon fighting L1
two-weapon fighting L2
improved critical
two-weapon defense L1
two-weapon defense L2

Post by **Dorateen** » Fri Jan 22, 2021 3:00 pm

slowdive wrote: ↑Fri Jan 22, 2021 4:50 am

So who should have access to these traits and at what level do you suggest?
two-weapon fighting L1
two-weapon fighting L2
improved critical
two-weapon defense L1
two-weapon defense L2

Presently in IceBlink we have the Two Attack trait available for Fighters at 4th level. I think that would be a good place for the Two Weapon Fighting trait, so players have a choice to build a character who attacks twice with one weapon, or attacks with two weapons. Then maybe add the L2 version at Level 6.

Since two weapon fighting is often associated with rogue or ranger builds, perhaps make the traits available for those classes at Level 2 and 4, respectively.

Improved Critical could be pretty powerful, how about an odd level like 5. Would make available for Fighters, Rangers, Paladin and Thief classes.

I would probably put the Two weapon defense traits on odd levels, maybe 3 and 5. I don't see these traits being abaillable for wizards or clerics.

But this is all dependent on a module builder and the scope of their project. The traits available and at what level can always be adjusted in the toolset. The above is just some thoughts as a starting point.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Jan 23, 2021 4:24 am

Thanks Dorateen, I'll use those as the default values and of course builders can modify them as needed.

Today I implemented the two-weapon defense traits and the improved critical trait. I also add more text info on the character screen, party inventory screen, and item selector screen to show the threat range and critical multiplier of a weapon.

: OffHand06.PNG (149.72 KiB) Viewed 331420 times

: OffHand05.PNG (94.41 KiB) Viewed 331420 times

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:41 pm

I added a new trait called "Bandage". It is available to all Player Classes at level 1 and is automatically learned. It is an active trait and it uses up your turn. You need to be adjacent to a PC in order to use it. If a PC falls below 0 HP and starts bleeding, you will want to use this trait to bring them back to 0 HP so they don't die. I think it will work out okay, but I'll have to wait and see if it is too powerful of a feature/trait. Maybe it should be available to only some classes or it has to be learned so that players have to make a choice on selecting this trait or others. I haven't implemented it for outside combat use just yet.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 4:36 am

The past few days I have been working on the Xamarin version of IBbasic Jr. Xamarin has evolved a bit since I worked on IBbasic last so some changes had to be made. It looks like the future is in .net standard so it automatically put me in that direction when creating a new project. The project is structured differently than it was when I was doing a "shared" project. So far I have the UWP and android versions working. I still need to add all the changes that I have implemented with the PC version as posted above. I will need to renew my Apple dev account and pay the annual fee before I can get the iOS version running. I briefly looked at maybe moving IBbasic to Unity, but I think I will stick with Xamarin for now.

Post by **Dorateen** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:06 pm

Sounds good. I really like the idea of a bandage trait that you mentioned in the previous post. That can be critical if the party runs out of healing options with characters reduced to negative hitpoints and bleeding every step as they try to reach a place to recover. I think making it available to all classes at level 1 is fine.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Jan 31, 2021 6:21 pm

So I have the Xamarin version and the PC version all synched up for the new IBbasic (dropping the IBbasicJr name) (including the iOS and android versions both working). I am now looking at adding portraits back into IBbasic. I removed them previously because I wanted to focus on art assets that would be easy to make in the built-in art editor. I miss having the portraits for PCs and conversations so I will be adding them back in and adjusting the art editor to allow for creating and editing them. Also, I am moving back to the original focus of 2D areas, 4 attributes, 4 item slots, and no ammo (similar to the original version of Iceblink). IBbasic will go back to being truly a basic version of IB (basic compared to the current version of IB) with a focus on easy building (faster, easier, intuitive), story and party based fun modules, and interesting and varied encounters (better AI, tactics, more combat mechanics, traits/spells).

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 4:45 am

Here is the layout I am thinking will work. I need to fix the centering a bit. I am not sure if I should move all the items to one side, the traits/spells/effects/info to the other side and have the token under the portrait.

: OffHand07.PNG (175.4 KiB) Viewed 332185 times

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:12 am

Here is what the revised main map screen looks like with a full party and portraits:

: IBbasic01.PNG (236.43 KiB) Viewed 332177 times

Post by **Dorateen** » Tue Feb 02, 2021 2:50 pm

Those screenshots look great. For the character sheet above, it would indeed be nice to have the token positioned under the larger portrait. But looks like that will require moving the other elements around and possibly scaling them down in size.

Post by **Pongo** » Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:06 pm

Yeah those screenshots are looking great! Loving all the new stuff that's been added recently, like two weapon fighting.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Feb 03, 2021 2:59 am

Thanks Pongo and Dorateen! Pongo, I am looking to have Blackwinter be the default module that comes with IBbasic. I see that there are a number of maps and other parts that were not finished and I know this was just a demo module at the time it was released. It still plays well and has a full story with a start and a finish so I think it would be fine. I could also use The Raventhal as before. I will of course have The Raventhal and The Elderin Stone as part of the in-app download modules as before. Thoughts?

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Feb 03, 2021 3:56 am

I adjusted the layout of the party screen and also added The Elderin Stone default player portraits back in:

: IBbasic02.PNG (178.85 KiB) Viewed 332162 times

: IBbasic03.PNG (159.4 KiB) Viewed 332162 times

You can see that Murray hasn't learned the two-weapon fighting trait (L1) just yet, but he really wants to dual wield those long swords

Do you like this layout better? Or should I have the 4 item slots in the first two rows and the spell/trait/effect/info in the last two rows? They are very easy to move around in code.

This is what the other layout looks like:

: IBbasic04.PNG (159.02 KiB) Viewed 332160 times

Post by **Pongo** » Wed Feb 03, 2021 8:38 am

Yeah that's great, thanks Slowdive! I haven't played Blackwinter in years, I'll have to have another look at it at some point. I had all kinds of plans for it that never actually happened (which wasn't unusual, sigh!). I think there's a couple of outstanding bugs in the Elderin Stone that I need to check out as well at some point.

Personally, I prefer the second of the screenshots - something about having the dual wielding weapons on the left and right of the portrait appeals to my OCD. But I'm happy with either.

Post by **Dorateen** » Wed Feb 03, 2021 3:01 pm

I absolutely agree, the dual weilding looks better on the left and right of the portrait.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Feb 03, 2021 11:34 pm

I guess the votes are in and the split items (last image) is the winner

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Feb 05, 2021 4:19 am

Yesterday and today has mostly been code clean up work and some UI clean up as well. Nothing exciting to show

I also did some work on Blackwinter to have it in sync with IBbasic and prepare it to be the default module that comes with IBbasic (other modules are easily downloaded in the app from the IB server).

I started a features list (or maybe a task list) for IBbasic and included it in the IBbasic area of the forums.

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 2:11 am

The past few days I have been working on the in-app comments, module review, and module endorse systems. I converted them to use a mySQL database so that all functions are automated. Everything seems to be working as intended. It took me sometime to figure it all out as it is all new to me. I retired the old web based comment system page as it was overrun with bots anyway (even with the recaptcha). The only way to access the new system is through the IBbasic app (PC, iOS, Android). Next, I want to try and see if I can come up with a system for submitting a module to the server and having it be available to other users to download and play. Right now, I have been uploading modules myself through ftp, but I would rather have a system that the builders can post them from within the app to the server directly.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:24 am

I was able to successfully upload and download a module package (info and file) to and from the server. So now builders can upload/update their modules directly to the server for players to download (and all from within the IBbasic app). This was the last part that was not being handled with in the app. This will make it much easier and more intuitive for builders to share their modules with others. I still need to work on the logic for checking if the module already exists on the server and just needs certain fields updated or if it is a new module. I also will check and verify that a builder has the right to update a certain module (verify it is their module)... you can only update your modules. I'll need to also have an option to remove a module from the server (from within the app).

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 5:01 am

I added in all the logic and notifications for checking if a module being submitted is owned by the submitter and if the module version on the server has a lower module version than the one being submitted. Everything seems to be working as designed. I'll still need to add a remove module from server option. Maybe I'll add a button for requesting to view a list of modules on the server and some of the basic module info (module name, author name, version, description, etc.). That way a builder can check to make sure their module was indeed uploaded successfully.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:23 pm

So the above system seems to work on PC and iOS, bt not on Android. After some more research, I now realize that the way I am doing it really isn't the best way when allowing other users to interact with the database. So I am researching how to setup a Web API. So the app will just query this Web API which then talk to the database. This way only the Web API talks directly to the database and this is supposed to be more secure.

Another feature I have wanted to add will be to allow players to upload one save game to the server that only they will have access to. I'll probably switch out the "autosave" button to something like "server save". This way a player should be able to save to the server and load that save from a different device as long as they have setup the same unique userID on all their devices (PC, phone, tablet, etc.)

Thoughts?

Post by **Pongo** » Mon Feb 15, 2021 6:38 pm

A server save sounds useful - good idea!

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Feb 17, 2021 4:41 am

I finally was able to get the file uploading functionality working with the php web api. So I have the uploading of a server save game file and the ability to upload modules directly from the IBbasic app. Now I need to have a corresponding module info post to the mysql database with the path to the module file and all the other metadata. After that, I will implement the download functionality to download your server save game files (one for each module you are playing) and any modules that are on the server that are new to you or updated versions of modules you already have on your device.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Feb 20, 2021 6:21 pm

I was able to get the server save game working. You will now be able to save a game to the server (one save per player per module) and continue that save from any other device where you use your same unique userID. Next I will focus on the getting the module upload and download fully working. After that, all the server features will be fully implemented and I will go back to actual game play features.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:03 am

The past couple of days I have been cleaning up a lot of the file handling systems and using a common file handling system instead of platform specific. It is one of the newer xamarin.forms features that I am trying to incorporate that should make managing the code easier going forward. The fewer platform specific code the better.

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Feb 26, 2021 4:41 am

Finished the common file handling and the server features. Back to actual game engine stuff now

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Mar 01, 2021 4:44 am

I did some play testing and fixing bugs this weekend. I play tested The Raventhal twice and enjoyed playing it... it had been awhile since I played it. I played once with the default Havfel and on the second playthrough I was a ranger with two-weapon fighting

.

Also, my two kiddos started working on modules and so I was able to see when I need to add more intuitiveness to the in-app toolset. It is really nice to have all the server features. The kids are having fun instantly sharing their module updates with each other and leaving comments on eachothers modules.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:02 am

My kiddos are finding lots of bugs while working on their modules. The one feature they keep asking for is a "return to main menu" button on the launch, title, and party builder screens... so I added that for them

very tough and demanding group they are

My son's (7) module is more like a character build creator and battle arena build tester type module. He likes to give you lots of XP and all the best items and then throw you right into huge battles

My daughter (11) is working on an adventure where you must solve the mystery and save the jungle. She has lots of fun conversations and interesting NPCs to meet. Plus, she has unique animal companions that may join you. She is doing a lot of artwork in her own unique style.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 3:14 am

After the "return to main menu" button request, my kids next most requested feature was to make setting up transitions easier. My daughter suggested having a map pop up and tap on where you want to transition to. So I added a button "setup transition" that when pressed, you are presented with a list of all the areas in the module. After selecting an area, a map is shown and you tap on the map where you want the transition to take you. The location marker is a red arrow. After tapping "accept transition", the trigger infor for area filename and x,y locations are automatically completed for you. Super easy and no need to memorize coordinates while you switch back and forth between area maps

: TransitionWizard.PNG (246.16 KiB) Viewed 329236 times

Post by **Dorateen** » Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:06 pm

The transition wizard seems like it can be pretty handy.I know when you have a lot of transitions, placing them can get tedious. Good suggestion.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:45 am

I've been working on the data editor a bit and adjusting the engine to look for either a "data.json" file or a "data_append.json" file in the module's module folder. If you have a "data.json" file, it will be used instead of the default data file allowing you to have something completely different than the default Classes, Races, Effects, Spells, and Traits. If you use a "data_append.json" file instead in your module (you can't use both), then you can add your module specific Classes, Races, Effects, Spells, and Traits on top of the existing default ones. If you don't have either of these files, your module will just use only the default stuff. The IBbasic Data Editor allows you to create both of the data type files.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Mar 09, 2021 4:00 am

I added the ability to create and edit portraits in the in-app toolset art editor. I also added a function to copy the idle frame to the attack frame for tokens in the art editor. This way you can create a token in the idle frame and once you are happy you can copy it to the attack frame and adjust as necessary. For the toolset creature and item editors, I changed the select image for item and creature token to use the image selection screen instead of a drop down list of filenames. I updated the "todo list" in the IBbasic forum section: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=24

Post by **Pongo** » Tue Mar 09, 2021 6:32 pm

Good work! I hadn't seen that list, it looks great - mirror image and stonrskin would be great additions for Spellcasters, I was just thinking about them the other day.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Mar 11, 2021 3:55 am

Thanks Pongo and I added your suggestions to the task list. Yesterday and today I worked on animations triggering for attacks of opportunity. My kids would keep forgetting that if they moved away or around a creature it would get a free attack. Now they get a visual reminder with a creature attack animation, a miss or hit symbol, and floaty damage text as well

I also fixed a bug that was causing the attack animation for creatures not showing for normal melee attacks.

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Mar 12, 2021 4:20 am

Made a few more additions and organization to the "IBbasic Features List". Plus, I added a flag to each feature/bug fix to indicate if it is needed for the initial release or if it can wait for subsequent versions.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:13 am

I added a "delete" module button (trash can icon). This will allow you to remove a module folder from your device if you no longer want that module.

The kids and I have been playing a bit of BG3 (I have them skipping all the cutscenes) and the kiddos really like the turn-based combat. I think they mostly like creating characters, but that is kind of their MO in all RPGs. We have played through the starting area a number of times and then they go back to creating a different character to try different things. We have player in multiplayer with the three of us, but it crashes every once in awhile. Lately, we have just been playing concurrent single player runs and trying to wait for each other to get to the same places before moving forward.

Post by **Pongo** » Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:49 am

Sounds like a nice way to spend some time with your kids! Mine are just stuck on marble runs at the minute (which is actually more entertaining than I expected!), but I'm thinking of investing in one of those new Hero Quest box sets for the future. I think it would be a nice introduction to tabletop when they're a bit older.

Delete will be helpful, thanks! On a kind-of-related-note, when you click module "save as" there isn't an option to cancel so you have to create a new, differently titled version of the module. Even after eight years I can't help but click that option from time to time by mistake. You'd think I'd have learned by now.

A cancel option would be nice.

Post by **Dorateen** » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:46 pm

slowdive wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:13 am We have player in multiplayer with the three of us, but it crashes every once in awhile.

Hey slowdive, I haven't been following BG3 closely. When you talk about the multiplayer mode, is there a way to use that to create your own party like in the original Baldur's Gates? Like you set up a multiplayer session on one computer, and you add multiple player characters to the party.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Mar 14, 2021 2:39 pm

You can do it on one computer (there is a trick), but we have three computers that can run BG3 and we have played with three PCs in multiplayer mode. When you save the game, you can then load that game in single player mode and control all three (party size is four max in BG3 for now, not sure if that will change some day). The trick with one computer is to run multiple instances of BG3 from one computer to create the four PCs in multiplayer mode, save it once the story starts, and then load that save in single player mode. You need a pretty good PC to run multiple instances I suppose. After the first instance is up and running, use "windows key" to leave full screen and then navigate to the BG3 "bin" folder in the "Baldur's Gate 3" install folder. Run the "BG3.exe" or "BG3_dx11.exe" to open more instances.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Mar 16, 2021 2:59 am

Pongo wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:49 am Sounds like a nice way to spend some time with your kids! Mine are just stuck on marble runs at the minute (which is actually more entertaining than I expected!), but I'm thinking of investing in one of those new Hero Quest box sets for the future. I think it would be a nice introduction to tabletop when they're a bit older.

Delete will be helpful, thanks! On a kind-of-related-note, when you click module "save as" there isn't an option to cancel so you have to create a new, differently titled version of the module. Even after eight years I can't help but click that option from time to time by mistake. You'd think I'd have learned by now. A cancel option would be nice.

We mostly have been giving Grounded a go again with the latest updates. We all four play on three computers and on a xbox one s. Grounded is a fun game for a family game. My wife and kids love it. I haven't heard of the Hero Quest box sets or marble runs, I'll need to check them out.

The delete button is for IBbasic only. It is easy enough in IB to just delete any module folder since on a PC you have easy access to the full file system. We'll need to remember to address the "save as" cancel option once Karl is back on the coding tasks.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:02 am

Today I fixed the issue with some of the floaty text not triggering at the right time. Yesterday I worked on some of the issues with larger creatures not correctly accounting for their covered squares when moving. I also fixed some issues with placing and moving larger creatures in the IBbasic in-app toolset.

Post by **Pongo** » Tue Mar 16, 2021 7:36 am

This is Hero Quest:
https://heroquest.avalonhill.com/en-us
It's a simple dungeon crawl board game, a lot of fun. It's been out of production for decades and the eBay prices were horrendous so nice to see it making a comeback. They made a computer game of it as well, which was fun back in the day... https://www.myabandonware.com/game/heroquest-169

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:56 pm

Looks interesting! We have the Dungeon! (1980 version https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon! ) board game and play that as well as Rummikub, Monopoly Jr, and a simplified version of Axis and Allies.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Mar 21, 2021 3:42 am

I'm starting to dig into the combat mechanic features from the feature board list. I'm starting with the attack from behind modifiers and having a trait effect (most likely for thief at higher level) that expands the behind width from one square to three squares.

Here are the tasks from the list that I'm working on next:
+combat mechanics: modifiers for number of adjacent friends... maybe +1 AC for every one or two adjacents (some visual indicator of the bonuses as well). So your AC goes up if you stick together, but you become more susceptible to AoE attacks.
+bonuses for rear attacks and have a trait for expanding the area and/or bonus (some visual indicator of the bonuses as well)
+create an effect that increases move distance and one that doubles number of attacks (can be used for "haste" with both effects or a special trait like "dash" and "improved dash" that increases just move distance)

Post by **cartons** » Mon Mar 22, 2021 1:30 pm

These are lots of little changes I would love to be able to make use of in the game I'm working on. If I continue plugging away on the desktop version, will it then be much hassle to convert it to IBBasic to take advantage of these features, or is it like building the game again from the ground up?

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Mar 23, 2021 11:02 pm

cartons wrote: ↑Mon Mar 22, 2021 1:30 pm These are lots of little changes I would love to be able to make use of in the game I'm working on. If I continue plugging away on the desktop version, will it then be much hassle to convert it to IBBasic to take advantage of these features, or is it like building the game again from the ground up?

Most likely, any of the features that I am adding to IBbasic, that make sense for IB, will be added to IB at some point when Karl has the time.

As far as converting from IB to IBbasic, I have made tools in the past that converted IB modules to IBmini and early versions of IBbasic for example. I will be doing the same again and it should work very well if you adhere to a few rules:
1) IBbasic does not use height maps, weather system, lighting system, animations outside combat, etc.
2) IBbasic does not use single area images, only tiles. Area and combat maps using tiles and only using layers 1-3 will convert well.
3) Area triggers only use events 1-3. No combat triggers.
4) IBbasic uses 48x48 images for normal tokens (96x96 for large/wide/tall tokens), props, items, etc.
5) Conversations will convert very well. The conversation system is pretty much the same for IB and IBbasic.
6) Containers, Journals, Stores should all convert directly.
7) Creatures and Items should transfer well.
8) Props are not used in IBbasic. Instead, triggers have an image option so they act like props.
9) Player Classes, Races, Effects, Spells, and Traits should come over with a few tweaks possibly needed here or there. IBbasic has a data editor available on PC to customize these.

I mostly used the tools in the past to import all the modules that are currently available for IBbasic. They were all originally created for IB and I converted them to IBbasic and then made any additional edits as needed. Most of the work in the conversion is done by the tool which I'll probably have as part of the IBbasic Data Editor app for PC.

Post by **cartons** » Wed Mar 24, 2021 2:10 pm

Thanks for the detailed response.

I've been using single area images, but could make the switch to tiles if I needed to. Props would be the greater loss perhaps. I'm just starting to see their potential.

Something to consider...

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 2:38 am

cartons wrote: ↑Wed Mar 24, 2021 2:10 pm Thanks for the detailed response.

I've been using single area images, but could make the switch to tiles if I needed to. Props would be the greater loss perhaps. I'm just starting to see their potential.

Something to consider...

The IB -> IBbasic tool converts Props into Triggers with the image. The main loss is that Triggers do not move easily and Props can move around on each round. Props are really cool and, when used with Karl's project living world system, can even have varying schedules. It was just too much overhead and complex systems for what IBbasic is all about. IBbasic is supposed to be basic and IB is the more flexible and complex app (aka larger learning curve).

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Mar 29, 2021 3:13 am

Finished first playthrough of BG3. It doesn't take too long as it is just the first chapter that is available, I just have a slow play style. I didn't find any of the companions too interesting so I had two of my own made PCs. I ended up using Gale and Wyll. My two PCs were a female human BattleMaster and a female wood elf Thief. I don't think I found everything though. I'll probably do another playthrough with a completely custom party (not use any of the companions) and do a little more exploring.

For IBbasic, I'll be focusing on the combat mechanics and new effect types next.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Apr 03, 2021 3:43 am

I added an AC bonus for the number of adjacent friends next to a PC or Creature. You get a +1 for each friend. In the below screenshot, you can see that the cultist (it is the cultist one square below the text since the text floats about one square above the highlighted creature) has a +3 bonus to their AC because they have three adjacent friends. This creates an additional layer of strategy for keeping your party together for the extra AC bonus, but exposing the party to AoE attacks. You also might want to have the worst AC PC in the middle to maximize the number of adjacents.

: IBbasic05.PNG (163.88 KiB) Viewed 328523 times

Post by **Pongo** » Sat Apr 03, 2021 8:21 am

Nice addition!

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Apr 04, 2021 4:07 am

Pongo wrote: ↑Sat Apr 03, 2021 8:21 amNice addition!

Thanks Pongo, I think it will make tactical positioning a little more interesting in combat. Once I add in square modifiers for attack/damage (think higher ground advantage), defense (think cover), and movement (think mud or sand or snow), that should also add some additional tactics to combat.

I started working on the attack from behind system. It now should work properly for large and normal size targets. I also added a new effect that can be from a passive trait, item, or spell that increases the width of the attack from behind. So instead of triggering an attack from behind from just one square, it can be triggered from three squares (of course different on large creatures). I figure this could be used in a trait like improved attack from behind (probably a thief trait and useful for their backstab) or a ring of improved attack from behind. I have the code in place, now I need to create a trait to test the code out.

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Apr 05, 2021 3:07 am

Today I added the code for a mirror image type effect and for a stone skin type effect. So far they are accounted for in creature and PC attacks, but I still need to add the code for when spells or other attacks hit them. I also still need to create the actual spells that use the effects.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:21 am

I created a "Proving Grounds" module for testing all the new combat features. First I created a new trait for the improved attack from behind range. I athen created two new spells: stone skin and mirror image. I started testing them and the attack from behind range worked first try, but the mirror image and stone skin still need some work. Plus, I need to add a fx image for mirror image that shows multiple smaller images of the PC surrounding the token.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Apr 07, 2021 2:54 am

I have stone skin and mirror image working properly now. Below is showing six mirror images (just for show to see the positions of mini images, he really only has one left at this point) and the "hold" effect is a placeholder for the stone skin effect fx image. It will only show the actual number of mini images based on how many images you still have left (6 max). The spells will be mirror image (3 images) and improved mirror image (6 images).

: IBbasic06.PNG (95.22 KiB) Viewed 328466 times

Here is a screen shot of the fx screen which shows how many images are truly left and how many absorption points are left for the stone skin.

: IBbasic07.PNG (88.55 KiB) Viewed 328466 times

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:12 am

I added the basic parts for prohibiting spell casting if currently silenced. I think at this point I will start flushing out all the larger parts and add the details as I go. I'll start with creating all the standard races first. Then I'll move on to finishing up the standard player classes, then spells and traits.

Post by **Dorateen** » Thu Apr 08, 2021 10:17 pm

All this looks and sounds good, slowdive. Getting closer and closer to fill out the collection of similar spells that were available in the Gold Box games. The introduction of new spell effects (mirror image, stone skin and silence) is exciting.

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Apr 09, 2021 5:17 am

Dorateen wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 10:17 pm All this looks and sounds good, slowdive. Getting closer and closer to fill out the collection of similar spells that were available in the Gold Box games. The introduction of new spell effects (mirror image, stone skin and silence) is exciting.

Thanks Dorateen! I think with the addition of touch/attack based spells (require a successful hit) as well will add some new tactics. Spells like shocking grasp or cantrips that use little or no SP, do minor damage, and require a successful attack role.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Apr 10, 2021 3:19 am

So for now, the default races will be human, dwarf, elf, halfling, and gnome. The default classes will be fighter, paladin, ranger, cleric, druid, thief, and wizard. I started working on a list of spells for each of the classes. So far I have 24 for wizard, 31 for cleric, and 29 for druid. Paladin and ranger have a fewer amount from cleric and druid spells. So far I just have things listed in Excel, but I will start creating them in the IBbasic data editor once I have them all worked out.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Apr 11, 2021 5:40 pm

Yesterday I worked on fully implementing racial traits. I saw that I had them in the toolset, but they were not being used in the engine. I have everything working now so Elves are immune to sleep, Halflings have a +1 to AC and +1 to all saving throws, and Gnomes have +1 to AC. I also fixed a few bugs with calculating saving throw values from racial traits, items, buff effects, etc. I also added the saving throw values to the character sheet again.

Below is a halfling with the +1 AC shown and the +1 to each saving throw (the default was 0,2,0)

: IBbasic08.PNG (171.28 KiB) Viewed 328198 times

Next, I want to go back to using Constitution and Wisdom in IBbasic so I'll add that back in and adjust the Player Classes and Race modifiers as needed.

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Apr 12, 2021 4:48 am

Today I continued working on the spell lists. I also started adding the code for transfer type effects. These type of effects will transfer HP or SP from the target to the sender (caster or trait user or item user). This effect could be used for a minor drain spell, vampiric spell, magic drain spell, vampiric dagger, or a wand of energy drain. I also finished adding Constitution and Wisdom back in and adjusted the SP attribute for all player classes. I added a Half-Orc race as well.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:08 am

I have the transfer hp or sp effect working now. I also have the require successful attack working for spells as well. So now you can have spells that require a successful to hit roll before they will apply their effect. I created a Mage Blast spell (level 0 cantrip type thing) that uses 0 sp and does a small amount of damage (1d3/level) and requires a successful hit roll. I also created a Minor Drain spell that requires a successful to hit roll and drains a target of 1d4+1 hp and transfers it to the caster (see below):

: IBbasic09.PNG (102.14 KiB) Viewed 328180 times

I'm still working on creating all the spells in the editor, but I do have a complete list of what I want in an Excel spreadsheet now.

Code: Select all

Class	Level	Name	attack	SP cost	damage	heal	buff/debuff
Wizard	0	Mage Blast	yes	0	1d2/lvl		
	1	Flame Fingers		7			
	1	Mage Bolt		5			
	1	Mage Armor		7			
	1	Minor Drain	yes		1d4	1d4	
	1	Sleep		10			
					
	3	Mirror Image					
	3	Stinking Cloud					
	3	Energy Drain	Yes		drain SP		
	3	Web					
	3	Silence					
	3	Vocalize					
				
	5	Vampiric Touch	Yes				
	5	Fireball					
	5	Haste					
	5	Hold					
	5	Lightning Bolt					
	5	Slow					
					
	7	Dispel Magic					
	7	Minor Globe of Invulnerability			blocks 1-3 level spells, not dispel magic		
	7	Stoneskin					
	7	Greater Mirror Image					
	7	Dimension Door					
	7	Cloud Kill					
						
							
Cleric	1	Bless					
	1	Magic Stone					
	1	Cure Light Wounds					
	1	Protection (from evil)					
	1	Elemental Resistance					
	1	Spiritual Hammer	yes				
					
	3	Blast of Light					
	3	Cure Moderate Wounds					
	3	Hold					
	3	Silence					
	3	Vocalize					
	3	Neutralize Poison					
					
	5	Greater Elemental Resistance					
	5	Mass Elemental Resistance					
	5	Mass Minor Heal					
	5	Cure Serious Wounds					
	5	Prayer					
	5	Free Action					
					
	7	Cure Disease					
	7	mass protection					
	7	Cause Disease	yes				
	7	Dispel Magic					
	7	Defensive Stance					
	7	Cure Critical Wounds					
							
Druid	1	Cure Light Wounds					
	1	Endure Elements					
	1	Entangle					
	1	Longstrider					
	1	magic stone					
	1	Barkskin					
				
	3	Insect Swarm					
	3	bull's strength					
	3	cat's grace					
	3	Ice Storm					
	3	Hold					
	3	Gust of wind (knockdown)					
	
	5	call lightning					
	5	cure moderate wounds					
	5	neutralize poison					
	5	Remove disease					
	5	spike growth					
	5	Free Action					
			
	7	sleet storm					
	7	Dispel Magic					
	7	Cure Serious Wounds					
	7	Flame Strike					
	7	Spike Stones

Post by **Pongo** » Wed Apr 14, 2021 3:03 pm

Nice additions!

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:26 am

Pongo wrote: ↑Wed Apr 14, 2021 3:03 pmNice additions!

Thanks Pongo, the new additions should be fun to use. Especially once I increase the creature AI

Today I finished more of the spells. I have most all of the wizard spells created and tested. I'll start on the cleric and druid spells tomorrow. Paladin and Ranger spells will come after that (they are really just selecting from the cleric and druid list so will be very quick).

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Apr 16, 2021 4:27 am

I'm a little more than half way through the cleric spells now. I'm flushing out the spreadsheet at the same time as it helps me when creating the spells/effects in the data editor. It also helps me see all the data at a glance so I can create more balance when choosing the amount of SP for each, the amount of damage, the range and AoE.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Apr 18, 2021 3:18 am

I finished creating all the spells for Wizards, Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Rangers. Now I need to work on the artwork for the spell images in teh spell selection screen and any new spell FX images. I'll still need to do some thorough testing of all the new spells and systems. I'll also need to merge them into the iOS/Android version (Xamarin) as well. I always work everything out in the PC version first due to its much better code editing while running in debug mode (in the Xamarin version, you have to rerun every time you want to make changes to the code).

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:12 pm

I finished the icons for the Wizard spells, next up is Cleric and Druid.
The first row are Level 1 spells and are available for learning at level 1. The second row are Level 2 spells and are available for learning starting at level 3. The third row are level 3 and the fourth row are level 4 spells.

This testing grounds wizard has all spells

: IBbasic10.PNG (135.07 KiB) Viewed 335297 times

This wizard has only learned one spell

: IBbasic11.PNG (133.41 KiB) Viewed 335296 times

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:13 am

I finished the icons for the Cleric and Druid spells:

: IBbasic12.PNG (132.87 KiB) Viewed 335288 times

: IBbasic13.PNG (134.64 KiB) Viewed 335288 times

Post by **Pongo** » Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:40 pm

That looks great! I love the icons - crisp and colourful.

Post by **cartons** » Tue Apr 20, 2021 4:18 pm

Man, it's a little silly how excited I get seeing those little icons all lined up like that. Can't wait for this to get out there and for folks to start building. If IBB sees a steady rate of new modules from devs, it might be the last mobile gaming app I ever get!

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Apr 21, 2021 7:20 pm

Thank you cartons and Pongo for the feedback! I think things are starting to come along nicely and look more uniform. I still have a ways to go on the “features list” (see in IBbasic section of forums), but I still hope to have a working beta ready for testing at the end of the month or mid May at the latest.

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:49 am

So the server was updated to PHP 7.4 and this created compatibility issues with the forums phpBB 3.2.5. So I made a leap of faith and tried to update the forums to the latest 3.3 version and it worked

So we are now on the most recent version of phpBB, yeah!

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Apr 24, 2021 7:52 pm

I mostly finished updating the trait icons to fit the style of the other UI elements. I still need to work on the code and the data file to make sure that all spells and traits are working as intended.

I also will be adding a property to weapons called "finesse". If a weapon is a finesse weapon, it uses the dexterity modifier for the to hit roll instead of strength. I'll still have a trait for "critical strike" that will allow you to use your dexterity modifier for damage, but I will remove the "finesse attack" trait as this will now be determined by the weapon instead. All ranged attacks will use dexterity so the finesse property is not used for them.

Some traits with new icons:

: IBbasic14.PNG (132.12 KiB) Viewed 335250 times

Entangle spell applied to an area, the actual effect on creatures is still being fixed, buggy at the moment.

: IBbasic15.PNG (78.5 KiB) Viewed 335250 times

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:15 am

I think I have most of the spells, traits, and effects working properly now. I added checks for immunity and saving throw checks on each step when in an effect area on the map. In the below image, the top line said that the Kobold is immune to Mage Bolt (I gave kobolds immunity to mage bolts just for testing purposes). It also shows that I set the brown bear immune to entangle, but not to web (he made his saving throw).

: IBbasic16.PNG (95.08 KiB) Viewed 335248 times

I'm sure there will be a few bugs to work out once I fully test everything, but so far it seems to be working for the most part.

Post by **cartons** » Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:49 pm

The Entangle tiles look great, and I'm glad for the inclusion of finesse weapons.

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Apr 26, 2021 11:00 pm

cartons wrote: ↑Mon Apr 26, 2021 12:49 pm The Entangle tiles look great, and I'm glad for the inclusion of finesse weapons.

Thanks cartons! I'm pushing back the initial release date a couple of weeks. I want to make sure and get all the "+" features in before the first release (see the feature list for details).

Next up I plan on working on the #/day type Traits. I'll add three new properties to Traits such as "NumberOfUsesPerDay" which will be an int array so you can assign the number at any given level. Another property would be "NumberOfUsesLeftForToday". The final property would be a simple bool property of "UseNumberOfUsesPerDaySystem". I see such uses for these type of Traits like Lay on Hands (once per day), Rage, etc. I figure it would be easiest to reset at 06:00 each day and after a long rest when using the "forceRest" script.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Apr 29, 2021 2:35 am

I basically have the Trait "number of uses per day" system working now. You set the number of uses per day at each level in the Trait Editor. It is an integer array so you could have something like [1,1,1,2,2,2,3,4,5,6]. This would mean that you get one use per day at levels 1-3, two uses per day at levels 4-6, three uses per day at level 7, four uses per day at level 8, etc. If you set the "useNumberOfUsesPerDaySystem" flag to false, you will not use the "uses per day" system for this trait and instead use the old system of just SP. Also, you have to set this trait to be isPassive = false, so that it is an active trait that you have to activate from the "use trait" screen. Here is an example of the "Lay on Hands" trait for Paladins:

: IBbasic17.PNG (124.46 KiB) Viewed 334493 times

I have it set so that at midnight, all your traits are reset and you can once again use them if they were deplenished. I also have it set so that if you call one of the itForceRest scripts it will reset your traits to fill their number of uses for the day.

Post by **cartons** » Thu Apr 29, 2021 11:50 am

Always fun to have more resources to account for when planning your next dungeon deep dive!

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:58 pm

I figured out how to make a branch on GitHub and how to make a pull request to merge the branched code. So for now, I will work on new features of IB using branches and then have Karl or myself merge the branch. My first branch is called "TwoWeaponFighting" and will include the two weapon fighting code and the light weapon code. I will also need to add code to the toolset so I'll do a branch there as well.

Post by **Pongo** » Sat May 01, 2021 1:41 pm

Traits with "uses per day" are great, really opens up opportunities for class builds etc. Good work!

Post by **slowdive** » Sat May 01, 2021 5:38 pm

I started adding the code for two weapon fighting to IB. I still need to create an Effect property for "TwoWeaponFightingMainHandModifier" and "TwoWeaponFightingOffHandModifier" so that it can be used by a trait, item, or spell I suppose.

In the below image, the PC does not have a trait so full negative modifiers for off-hand are in place:

: IB02.PNG (1.38 MiB) Viewed 334458 times

: IB03.PNG (1.4 MiB) Viewed 334458 times

Post by **slowdive** » Sat May 01, 2021 11:52 pm

I think I have a trait working now for two weapon fighting (a L1 and L2). The PC below has both Two Weapon Fighting L1 and L2, but only L2 is used since it is not stackable.

: IB04.PNG (566.56 KiB) Viewed 334442 times

: IB05.PNG (778.35 KiB) Viewed 334442 times

The Effects:

Code: Select all

{
    "traitWorksOnlyWhen": [],
    "traitWorksNeverWhen": [],
    "name": "Two Weapon Fighting L1",
    "thisEffectUsesFullSizeIcon": false,
    "squareIndicatorFilename": "fx_webbed",
    "durationOnSquareInUnits": 0,
    "modifyShopBuyBackPrice": 0,
    "modifyShopSellPrice": 0,
    "allowCastingWithoutTriggeringAoO": false,
    "allowCastingWithoutRiskOfInterruption": false,
    "affectNeverList": [],
    "affectOnlyList": [],
    "tag": "twoweaponfightingL1",
    "tagOfSender": "senderTag",
    "classLevelOfSender": 0,
    "description": "",
    "spriteFilename": "held",
    "durationInUnits": 0,
    "currentDurationInUnits": 0,
    "startingTimeInUnits": 0,
    "babModifier": 0,
    "babModifierForRangedAttack": 0,
    "babModifierForMeleeAttack": 0,
    "twoWeaponFightingMainHandModifier": 2,
    "twoWeaponFightingOffHandModifier": 6,
    "damageModifierForMeleeAttack": 0,
    "damageModifierForRangedAttack": 0,
    "acModifier": 0,
    "isStackableEffect": false,
    "isStackableDuration": false,
    "usedForUpdateStats": false,
    "repeatTerminalSaveEachRound": false,
    "isPermanent": false,
    "endEffectWhenCarrierTakesDamage": false,
    "saveOnlyHalvesDamage": false,
    "effectScript": "efGeneric",
    "saveCheckType": "none",
    "saveCheckDC": 10,
    "doDamage": false,
    "damType": "Normal",
    "damNumOfDice": 0,
    "damDie": 0,
    "damAdder": 0,
    "damAttacksEveryNLevels": 0,
    "damAttacksAfterLevelN": 0,
    "damAttacksUpToNLevelsTotal": 0,
    "damNumberOfAttacks": 0,
    "damNumberOfAttacksForEveryNLevels": 0,
    "damNumberOfAttacksAfterLevelN": 0,
    "damNumberOfAttacksUpToNAttacksTotal": 0,
    "doHeal": false,
    "healHP": true,
    "healType": "Organic",
    "healNumOfDice": 0,
    "healDie": 0,
    "healAdder": 0,
    "healActionsEveryNLevels": 0,
    "healActionsAfterLevelN": 0,
    "healActionsUpToNLevelsTotal": 0,
    "doBuff": false,
    "doDeBuff": false,
    "statusType": "none",
    "modifyFortitude": 0,
    "modifyWill": 0,
    "modifyReflex": 0,
    "modifyStr": 0,
    "modifyDex": 0,
    "modifyInt": 0,
    "modifyCha": 0,
    "modifyCon": 0,
    "modifyWis": 0,
    "modifyLuk": 0,
    "modifyMoveDistance": 0,
    "modifyHpMax": 0,
    "modifySpMax": 0,
    "modifySp": 0,
    "modifyHpInCombat": 0,
    "modifySpInCombat": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceAcid": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceCold": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceNormal": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceElectricity": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceFire": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceMagic": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistancePoison": 0,
    "modifyNumberOfMeleeAttacks": 0,
    "modifyNumberOfRangedAttacks": 0,
    "modifyNumberOfEnemiesAttackedOnCleave": 0,
    "modifyNumberOfEnemiesAttackedOnSweepAttack": 0,
    "useDexterityForMeleeAttackModifierIfGreaterThanStrength": false,
    "useDexterityForMeleeDamageModifierIfGreaterThanStrength": false,
    "negateAttackPenaltyForAdjacentEnemyWithRangedAttack": false,
    "useEvasion": false
  },
  {
    "traitWorksOnlyWhen": [],
    "traitWorksNeverWhen": [],
    "name": "Two Weapon Fighting L2",
    "thisEffectUsesFullSizeIcon": false,
    "squareIndicatorFilename": "fx_webbed",
    "durationOnSquareInUnits": 0,
    "modifyShopBuyBackPrice": 0,
    "modifyShopSellPrice": 0,
    "allowCastingWithoutTriggeringAoO": false,
    "allowCastingWithoutRiskOfInterruption": false,
    "affectNeverList": [],
    "affectOnlyList": [],
    "tag": "twoweaponfightingL2",
    "tagOfSender": "senderTag",
    "classLevelOfSender": 0,
    "description": "",
    "spriteFilename": "held",
    "durationInUnits": 0,
    "currentDurationInUnits": 0,
    "startingTimeInUnits": 0,
    "babModifier": 0,
    "babModifierForRangedAttack": 0,
    "babModifierForMeleeAttack": 0,
    "twoWeaponFightingMainHandModifier": 4,
    "twoWeaponFightingOffHandModifier": 8,
    "damageModifierForMeleeAttack": 0,
    "damageModifierForRangedAttack": 0,
    "acModifier": 0,
    "isStackableEffect": false,
    "isStackableDuration": false,
    "usedForUpdateStats": false,
    "repeatTerminalSaveEachRound": false,
    "isPermanent": false,
    "endEffectWhenCarrierTakesDamage": false,
    "saveOnlyHalvesDamage": false,
    "effectScript": "efGeneric",
    "saveCheckType": "none",
    "saveCheckDC": 10,
    "doDamage": false,
    "damType": "Normal",
    "damNumOfDice": 0,
    "damDie": 0,
    "damAdder": 0,
    "damAttacksEveryNLevels": 0,
    "damAttacksAfterLevelN": 0,
    "damAttacksUpToNLevelsTotal": 0,
    "damNumberOfAttacks": 0,
    "damNumberOfAttacksForEveryNLevels": 0,
    "damNumberOfAttacksAfterLevelN": 0,
    "damNumberOfAttacksUpToNAttacksTotal": 0,
    "doHeal": false,
    "healHP": true,
    "healType": "Organic",
    "healNumOfDice": 0,
    "healDie": 0,
    "healAdder": 0,
    "healActionsEveryNLevels": 0,
    "healActionsAfterLevelN": 0,
    "healActionsUpToNLevelsTotal": 0,
    "doBuff": false,
    "doDeBuff": false,
    "statusType": "none",
    "modifyFortitude": 0,
    "modifyWill": 0,
    "modifyReflex": 0,
    "modifyStr": 0,
    "modifyDex": 0,
    "modifyInt": 0,
    "modifyCha": 0,
    "modifyCon": 0,
    "modifyWis": 0,
    "modifyLuk": 0,
    "modifyMoveDistance": 0,
    "modifyHpMax": 0,
    "modifySpMax": 0,
    "modifySp": 0,
    "modifyHpInCombat": 0,
    "modifySpInCombat": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceAcid": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceCold": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceNormal": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceElectricity": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceFire": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistanceMagic": 0,
    "modifyDamageTypeResistancePoison": 0,
    "modifyNumberOfMeleeAttacks": 0,
    "modifyNumberOfRangedAttacks": 0,
    "modifyNumberOfEnemiesAttackedOnCleave": 0,
    "modifyNumberOfEnemiesAttackedOnSweepAttack": 0,
    "useDexterityForMeleeAttackModifierIfGreaterThanStrength": false,
    "useDexterityForMeleeDamageModifierIfGreaterThanStrength": false,
    "negateAttackPenaltyForAdjacentEnemyWithRangedAttack": false,
    "useEvasion": false
  }

The Traits:

Code: Select all

{
    "methodOfChecking": "leader",
    "nameOfTraitGroup": "none",
    "showOnMainMap": false,
    "name": "Two Weapon Fighting L1",
    "traitEffectTagList": [
      {
        "tag": "twoweaponfightingL1"
      }
    ],
    "traitWorksOnlyWhen": [],
    "traitWorksNeverWhen": [],
    "tag": "twoweaponfightingL1",
    "associatedSpellTag": "none",
    "traitImage": "tr_twoattacks",
    "description": "Allows the player to improve their two weapon fighting skills.",
    "prerequisiteTrait": "none",
    "skillModifier": 0,
    "requiredStrength": 0,
    "requiredDexterity": 0,
    "requiredConstitution": 0,
    "requiredIntelligence": 0,
    "requiredWisdom": 0,
    "requiredCharisma": 0,
    "skillModifierAttribute": "str",
    "traitToReplaceByTag": "none",
    "useableInSituation": "Always"
  },
  {
    "methodOfChecking": "leader",
    "nameOfTraitGroup": "none",
    "showOnMainMap": false,
    "name": "Two Weapon Fighting L2",
    "traitEffectTagList": [
      {
        "tag": "twoweaponfightingL2"
      }
    ],
    "traitWorksOnlyWhen": [],
    "traitWorksNeverWhen": [],
    "tag": "twoweaponfightingL2",
    "associatedSpellTag": "none",
    "traitImage": "tr_twoattacks",
    "description": "Allows the player to improve their two weapon fighting skills.",
    "prerequisiteTrait": "none",
    "skillModifier": 0,
    "requiredStrength": 0,
    "requiredDexterity": 0,
    "requiredConstitution": 0,
    "requiredIntelligence": 0,
    "requiredWisdom": 0,
    "requiredCharisma": 0,
    "skillModifierAttribute": "str",
    "traitToReplaceByTag": "none",
    "useableInSituation": "Always"
  }

Post by **slowdive** » Sun May 02, 2021 5:17 am

So before I go too crazy and break everything Karl has done with IB on GitHub, I wanted to do a simple test of adding one feature and going through the whole process on GitHub. So I picked two weapon fighting which was probably not the best feature to use as a test run due to its complexity, but I think it worked out okay. I was able to create a branch, work off that branch, make a pull request, and merge that pull request into the master branch on GitHub. I'll do this from now on for each feature.

Below is the link to v198 that includes the two weapon fighting feature:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yeibhtywqyvv4 ... 8.zip?dl=0

I also added a new Configuration Screen that opens first. It allows you to select the window size you want to use or go full screen. This is very useful for me when debugging the engine, but may just be a nuisance to others, what do you think?

Post by **youngneil1** » Sun May 02, 2021 10:12 am

Wow! Lots of activity, very cool

!

So, I am a little bit overhwelmed right now and my old brain must get into IB again

.

For starters I cloned a fresh IB repo to my desktop (new computer),using Jers's latetst great changes. Unfortunately I get lots of namespace related errors. A heapload of them is related to sharpdx. I updated everything to newest versions via managing nuget packages. This did not help though. I also integrated a reference to sharpdx.mathematics, but still many errors remain. For example the gameview class fails to recognize a lot of its functions (like eg KeyDown or MouseWheel).

I likely botched in the cloning process (or miss some prerequisite install on my computer; right now I am using just Microsoft VS 2019). Any heads up intel welcome

.

I have a lot of forum reading ahead

...

Post by **slowdive** » Sun May 02, 2021 11:57 am

Newer versions of SharpDX do not work. Just copy the ones from the v198 (or any previous IB version) and copy them into your debug folder after cloning.

Post by **Dorateen** » Sun May 02, 2021 2:35 pm

slowdive wrote: ↑Sun May 02, 2021 5:17 am
Below is the link to v198 that includes the two weapon fighting feature:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yeibhtywqyvv4 ... 8.zip?dl=0

This is outstanding, and good timing! I will download this week and begin building with it.

As for the windowed mode, sounds like a good idea and will be helpful for working in the toolset. Would it be an option that could be changed at anytime, or is it just from the configuration screen when you start up the application?

Post by **slowdive** » Sun May 02, 2021 2:58 pm

I could change it to use a config file (maybe call "config.ini") with settings in the file instead. I just thought a "launcher" type screen was easier for users to use and seems to be something people are doing nowadays like BG3. I guess I could have an option for users to create a file from the launcher and then the game will always use that "config.ini" if it exists. If they want to go back to the launcher, they can just delete the "config.ini" file.

Post by **Pongo** » Mon May 03, 2021 6:35 am

Good work with v198. It'll be nice to have the two weapon fighting option!

Post by **slowdive** » Mon May 03, 2021 6:37 pm

I have most everything done code wise for the initial release of IBbasic. I still need to do a lot of testing as I have already found some crashing bugs. The first few releases will be considered beta or early access type builds. I’ll start with v0.0.x and eventually move to v1.0.x when everything runs without crashing

Post by **slowdive** » Tue May 04, 2021 3:29 am

Fixed a bunch of crashing bugs mostly due to module data that was outdated with new code. I was able to make a complete play through of The Raventhal, yeah!

: IBbasic18.PNG (74.82 KiB) Viewed 335332 times

Progress. Next up is testing Blackwinter and then The Birthday.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed May 05, 2021 4:55 am

So I finished testing Blackwinter and The Birthday. I found a number of bugs due to new player classes and data.json vs append_data.json stuff. I'll need to make a few more play throughs, but everything seems to be getting more robust. I'm doing my best to try and break things and test all the new spells, traits, and other features. I think I should be ready to put the first beta out there in a couple of weeks. I still need to add more default creatures, items, tiles, tokens, and portraits so that may add another week.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat May 08, 2021 4:17 am

Testing is going well so far. First, I think I'll post the PC version to the Vault (maybe this weekend or next) so people can get an early look at where IBbasic is at (I'll post the engine/toolset and the data editor). After that, it'll take a week or so to create the beta testing sites on Google Play and Apple App Store (they take awhile to setup and get approved).

Post by **slowdive** » Sat May 08, 2021 6:03 pm

I posted IBbasic version 1.0.06 to the NW Vault for those interested in testing the beta out. If you do find some time to test, please let me know what bugs you find.

https://neverwintervault.org/project/ic ... inetoolset

Post by **slowdive** » Mon May 10, 2021 4:43 am

I posted IBbasic v1.0.06 to Google Play in a Beta channel for android users to test. It may not show up for a day or so, it is in review.

I started working on the "Tutorial Module" which will be the base module that comes embedded in the app. It will have most of the basic parts used in modules such as areas, encounters, containers, journal entries, quests, conversations with conditionals and actions, a shop, etc.

Post by **youngneil1** » Tue May 11, 2021 7:34 am

Awesome progress, Jer! It warms my heart to see all the action going on, you are on a fine run, for sure

.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu May 13, 2021 4:12 am

youngneil1 wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 7:34 am Awesome progress, Jer! It warms my heart to see all the action going on, you are on a fine run, for sure .

Thanks Karl!

Today I worked on adding finesse weapon, critical multipliers, threat range, and transfer hp/sp effects. Below is the effect editor with a vampiric touch effect and spell:

: IB07.PNG (77.35 KiB) Viewed 330593 times

: IB08.PNG (37.94 KiB) Viewed 330593 times

Add here is the finesse weapon, light weapon, threat range, and crit multiplier (and I changed the "Allowed For" to show full name, but I'll need to add a better word wrap on this one):

: IB09.PNG (116.75 KiB) Viewed 330591 times

Post by **slowdive** » Sun May 16, 2021 1:48 pm

Some screenshots from v199 testing:

: IB10.PNG (309.37 KiB) Viewed 330572 times

: IB11.PNG (319.53 KiB) Viewed 330572 times

Post by **cartons** » Sun May 16, 2021 4:03 pm

Eager to play with all these new toys!

I notice in the log target 'Kobold' is not red when targeted and killed by the Minor Drain attack, but you'll probably get around to that!

Are you thinking ahead to some applications for your own games once you're satisfied with the state of the engine?

Post by **slowdive** » Sun May 16, 2021 5:50 pm

cartons wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 4:03 pm Eager to play with all these new toys!

I notice in the log target 'Kobold' is not red when targeted and killed by the Minor Drain attack, but you'll probably get around to that!

Are you thinking ahead to some applications for your own games once you're satisfied with the state of the engine?

v199 is already posted here on the forums:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=46

I will need to clean up the log colors and I'm open to any suggestions of course. I don't have any plans specifically for my modules on the use of the new systems, but I will be using them.

I'm currently working on adding some default creatures to IBbasic (will be in 1.0.07):
(still need to add the SP and XP numbers)

: IB15.PNG (71.75 KiB) Viewed 330563 times

Post by **youngneil1** » Mon May 17, 2021 2:58 pm

Yeah, crits ranges and multipliers are back! Great work there - they allow for more item diversication and some interesting new traits in the long run. Balancing encounters is a bit harder with them because luck plays an even more important role. Then again, it's very satifying to land a devastating crit at the right moment

.

Vampiric drain is elegantly integrated - very easy to use for authors this way.

Coloring eveything correctly is a painful exercise. I spent lots of time trying to unify stuff (and still it's quirky here and there).

Always warms my heart to see monster tables - that's an impressive lot already

.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue May 18, 2021 4:14 am

Thanks Karl! I am doing me best to import into IB all the new features I added to IBbasic.

I finished all the default creatures and items for IBbasic today. I have a few more tasks to do before I am ready to release version 1.0.07 (see the feature list viewtopic.php?p=439#p439 ). I still need to post a version to the Apple App Store, but it is such a painful and convoluted process compared to Google Play... I'll probably wait for 1.0.07 to be ready first and post that version to the App Store.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed May 19, 2021 4:56 am

Today, for IBbasic, I added a "release notes" property for modules so that builders can describe any changes to their module in the current version. Players will be able to click on a button to see the "release notes" from the launcher screen (I'll probably add this to the module's title screen as well). I also added all the code for the server parts related to "release notes" and for "isPublic". The "isPublic" flag on your module allows you to post your module to the server, but leave as private until you are ready to make it public. The benefit to having a private version on the server is that only the module author can download their private module. This way they can work on the module on multiple devices and at different times. So when on the go, you can make some edits on your phone and then push the updates to the server (leave the "isPublic" setting to off). Then when you get home, you can download the module from the server onto your PC and do some more work and then push to the server again for when you are on the go. When working in private mode ("isPublic" checkbox unchecked), you do not have to increase the version number in order to push updates to the server.

Post by **slowdive** » Thu May 20, 2021 4:50 am

I finished the "isPublic" code on the server side and in the app. So I just need to finish adding more tokens and other default artwork then update the Tutorial module. I'll also need to verify that I didn't break anything in the existing posted modules (Blackwinter, Raventhal, Birthday) when I did work on the default creatures and items. After that, I'll be ready to post version 1.0.07.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat May 22, 2021 6:13 pm

I added a toggle in the conversation editor to set all conditionals on the current node to either "And" or "Or" logic. There are also a few notes to show if the selected conditional is (AND) or (OR) and the toggle button changes from on to off depending on which node is selected.

: IBbasic19.png (142.76 KiB) Viewed 330512 times

I have just about completed the "Tutorial Module" for IBbasic so I should be able to post v1.0.07 soon.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun May 23, 2021 4:09 am

I posted v1.0.07 to the NW Vault and to Google Play. I still haven't set up the app for the Apple App Store, but hopefully I can work on that a bit tomorrow.

EDIT: I have IBbasic v1.0.07 (the iOS version) available via Apple's Test Flight program. For anyone who wants to give it a try, let me know.

Post by **slowdive** » Mon May 24, 2021 4:01 am

I started working on IB v200. I have Mirror Image and Stone Skin effects mostly working (they need lots of bug testing first before I get too excited

).
Notice the 3 mini wizard images showing how many mirror images remain.

: IB16.png (349.08 KiB) Viewed 331902 times

Post by **slowdive** » Tue May 25, 2021 4:05 am

I started adding the "number of uses per day" trait system. It may take a bit longer than I expected because I now realize that IB and IBbasic are using very different systems for handling Traits that can used like a spell (not passive). IB actually uses a spell that is referenced by the Trait and IBbasic has Traits that are basically spells themselves. So I'll need to put some additional thought into bring the new system into IB... not as straightforward as some of the other imported IBbasic features.

Post by **youngneil1** » Tue May 25, 2021 2:04 pm

Again, great progress in short time

.

The "isPublic" for Ibbasic is cool, especially once I will have to spent more time commuting again (less days in homeoffice). Having the "or" logic easily available for dialogue conditions, too, grants a lot more desgin freedom.

Uii, looks at those tiny wizards - very cute and good usage of the tiny tokens for mirror images. This is giving relevant gameplay information and enhances the looks at the same time.

IB traits are quite tricky the way they are set up, especially as in the end they root back to the very flexible effects system. "Daily usage" is a fine new mechanism for restricting the usage besides limting it via SP (which could be refilled midday). Also, depending on how campaigns interpret SP, it might be more lore friendly to have traits rely on daily usage and not on spell points/stamina points.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed May 26, 2021 4:24 am

Thanks Karl! I think I have the use of traits figured out now. So here is some proof that I have uses per day system working in IB:

: IB21.png (52.26 KiB) Viewed 331867 times

: IB18.png (67.37 KiB) Viewed 331867 times

: IB19.png (155.88 KiB) Viewed 331867 times

: IB20.png (407.41 KiB) Viewed 331867 times

I have the Lay on Hands "trait" set to be (0,1,1,2,2,3,3,4,4) so you get more uses per day at higher levels. I just did this for testing purposes of course. You can set any number of uses per day at any specific level. The number of uses per day resets at midnight or when using any of the "forceRest..." scripts.

Notice the multiple uses of lay on hands that did not show any HP gain? That was because there was a bug that took me a few times testing to figure out, but I found the bug and fixed the code and then it started healing me

I need to do some more testing first, but I should be ready to push out v200 this week. The next update (v201) will just be a lot of bug fixing and no new features.

Post by **youngneil1** » Wed May 26, 2021 8:54 am

Nice one - flexible number of usages (depending on level) allows to replicate D&D classes even better

.

I hope you will not encounter too many bugs, but playtesting of all theses new systems has been limited, so I fear the one or other glitch will still loom there

. It's a good idea to stabilize it all first a bit

.

Post by **slowdive** » Fri May 28, 2021 7:26 pm

Thanks Karl! Hopefully the new systems will be fun to use. I finished v200 and it is now available here on the forums (see the IB Build Release thread). This release only has feature additions and various bug fixes associated with those addtions. I also added version text to the launcher screen so you can easily see what version is being run (it says IB v1.0.200 now). The next update (v1.0.201) will just be bug fixes. After finishing all the bug fixes and releasing v1.0.201, I'll give people a chance to submit anymore bugs found in v1.0.201. After that, I think we can release a "stable" build (v1.1.202) to the NW Vault. After that, I'll start adding features again in preparation for v1.2.xyz.

Post by **slowdive** » Mon May 31, 2021 4:03 am

I made a few code additions to IBbasic. I added the smart dropdowns to scripts on triggers like we have on conversations. Today I mostly worked on converting The Elderin Stone to the new IBbasic. I think I have most everything converted, but I'll need to do some play testing first. It should be fun to play through The Elderin Stone with some of the new classes, races, traits, spells, finesse weapons, light weapons, two-weapon fighting, crits, and threat range. I'll need to see if it makes sense to adjust some of the spells that creatures have. I haven't started on the creature AI upgrades, but that should make things more challenging as well.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Jun 01, 2021 3:32 am

A few bug fixes today in IBbasic. I mostly worked on updating "Lanterna - The Exile" to IBbasic and testing "The Elderin Stone" as well.

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Jun 02, 2021 4:45 am

Today I did some more play testing and bug fixing with "Lanterna - The Exile". I haven't made a complete playthrough yet as I keep finding bugs to fix in the engine and the module. For the most part, everything is working well, but I am trying to find and fix every little thing so that the engine is well polished.

Something that crosses my mind is the idea of having a pop-up box when needing to make a roll (attack, DC checks, etc.) that displays all the relevant modifiers and a final rolled up "needed" number displayed and then you click a "roll" button and an animated d20 rolls to display the actual roll value with a "success" or "failed" and the rolled amount displayed on the die. Thoughts?

Post by **Pongo** » Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:50 am

Sounds good to me. When I'm gaming I find it helpful to see the modifiers etc clearly applying to a roll, otherwise I'm always a bit suspicious that the game isn't properly taking into account my traits etc. Show me the numbers!

And the animated dice might be a nice presentational touch. Worth trying I think.

Post by **cartons** » Wed Jun 02, 2021 12:40 pm

That was a touch I really appreciated in Disco Elysium, and I think BG3 has sort of the same feature. It would certainly be a nice quality of life addition!

Post by **slowdive** » Wed Jun 02, 2021 1:10 pm

Thanks cartons and Pongo! It will have a toggle button of course. So players can turn it off and on if they want to use the original style or d20 style. Me personally, I don’t mind slowing the turn based combat down and giving it that additional pen and paper feel that we are going for. Other players may want faster combat and they can turn it off.

Post by **cartons** » Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:35 pm

It's a point that had been on the tip of my tongue for some time, that I feel like the combat moves a little fast and that it can be difficult to follow what's happening when several enemies take their turn in succession. A toggleable option to slow it down and present the rolls could be a good way for slow-brained individuals like myself to keep up.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Jun 05, 2021 3:14 am

So I have the d20 roll screen system working for regular attacks (melee and ranged). I only have it for PC attacks, not for creatures (I don't think I'll use it for creatures). At first is shows you want you need to roll to hit. After clicking the "ROLL" button, the d20 animates for a second and then stops to reveal your roll. The screen will then show you the result (including crit roll if threat range met) and wait for you to click "RETURN" to go back to the regular combat screen. Yo will then see the normal attack animation, hit or miss animation, projectiles, death animation, etc. The whole process of the d20 roll screen doesn't take too much time and I think it is a fun addition (a toggle to turn it off will be there).

Clicking on the green d20 will cycle through various different colors for the d20 so you can use the color you really like

Before roll (using american spelling of Defense, should I use Defence instead?):

: IBbasic20.png (109.45 KiB) Viewed 329811 times

After roll:

: IBbasic21.png (111.46 KiB) Viewed 329811 times

This one landed a CRITICAL HIT

: IBbasic22.png (108.22 KiB) Viewed 329811 times

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Jun 05, 2021 5:47 pm

Here is a GIF version of the roll

I used giphy.com:

: IBbasicD20Roll.gif (723.14 KiB) Viewed 329806 times

You may notice that the attack didn't end the turn

I am working on making it so that you can move - attack - move. So to end your turn you need to have no more attacks left and no moves left or just click on skip turn. Each attack will be made separate so if you have two attack and one off hand attack you will get three separate attacks to make (and they can be on different targets) and even moves in between those attacks. Some actions should automatically end your turn, but I am not sure which ones should do that (spells do for now and running out of moves and attacks does as well).

Post by **cartons** » Sat Jun 05, 2021 8:08 pm

Aw dude, this is so crunchy! I like the idea of attacks not automatically ending a turn; it can make certain finesse based PCs and enemies who can move away from enemies without triggering an opportunity attack that much more slippery.

Maybe this is asking a bit much, but now that you have a visible diceroll component set up, is there any chance we could see it applied to situations outside of encounters too? Click to roll the dice to see if you make that leap across the ravine, or make a successful bluff?

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Jun 06, 2021 12:36 am

cartons wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 8:08 pm Maybe this is asking a bit much, but now that you have a visible diceroll component set up, is there any chance we could see it applied to situations outside of encounters too? Click to roll the dice to see if you make that leap across the ravine, or make a successful bluff?

That's the hope. I would like to have a screen for passing DC checks. So this could pop up during a "gc_" check in a conversation or from a trigger script call. I should probably add an option to hide the d20 roll screen under some situations if you don't want the player to know you are running a check (say they pass a hidden door and if they make a DC check they detect it and if they fail they don't know any the better).

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Jun 06, 2021 1:46 am

Also I added the switching die color option. Just click on the 20 sided die and it will switch colors to one of the other default colors or to one of the images you placed in the "user" folder. The game loads all the images at launch and will cycle through the list on each click. The selected color will stay the same until the game restarts.

: IBbasic23.png (99.46 KiB) Viewed 329796 times

below is a file that is in my "user" folder for a custom color die:

: d20nat.png (4.28 KiB) Viewed 329796 times

You could even make a realistic looking die from photos and bouncing around in the frames if you want. The file just needs to start with "d20" and be 48 pixels tall and 576 pixels wide (12 frames of 48x48).

Post by **Pongo** » Sun Jun 06, 2021 1:02 pm

Blimey Slowdive, that was quick! Looks fantastic, look forward to giving it a go.

Post by **slowdive** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 1:02 pm

Thanks Pongo! I’m pretty much finished with v1.0.08. I just need to do more play testing and I’ll probably release it on Thursday or Friday.

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Jun 11, 2021 4:21 am

I posted IBbasic v1.0.08 to Google Play and NW Vault. Give it a try and let me know if you find any bugs. I'm still working on testing The Elderin Stone and Lanterna - The Exile.

Post by **Pongo** » Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:14 am

Hey Slowdive - I downloaded it on my phone and had a go on the tutorial module. All worked fine! Haven't looked at the editor yet.

Post by **slowdive** » Sun Jun 13, 2021 12:26 am

Pongo wrote: ↑Fri Jun 11, 2021 7:14 am Hey Slowdive - I downloaded it on my phone and had a go on the tutorial module. All worked fine! Haven't looked at the editor yet.

Thanks Pongo for testing it out!

Post by **youngneil1** » Mon Jun 14, 2021 6:36 am

The d20 looks ace

! It is the perfect fit for the ambience of a pen and paper campaign. Loving it!

Allowing - even split - attacks without ending turn adds more tactical options which is always welcome. Like the rolling screen it slows combat down a bit (in case of multiple attacks), but I think IB combat is quite swift and streamlined so it should strike a good balance.

Again, very impressive how quickly you progress from concept to implementation

!

Post by **Dorateen** » Mon Jun 14, 2021 3:39 pm

slowdive, I started porting over some of the spells and graphics from the Proving Grounds module. I have Bull Strength working, for example, but it shows a BLANK image on top of the character when it is applied. What fx graphic am I missing?

edit: Got it, in the Effect for Bulls Strength, the sprite filename had to be changed to fx_regen

Also, it appears the +4 strength bonus might not stack with magic items. Both fighters I tried it on, looks like they only received an increase of 2. I will have to test the spell on a character with 0 modifiers, and see if they get the full +4

Post by **slowdive** » Fri Jul 09, 2021 11:27 pm

Started working on increasing the number of PC tokens to choose from. Here is what will be available in IBbasic in v1.0.9:

: IBbasic24.png (362.27 KiB) Viewed 332135 times

: IBbasic25.png (328.46 KiB) Viewed 332135 times

: IBbasic26.png (311.96 KiB) Viewed 332135 times

Post by **slowdive** » Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:57 am

The past few days I have been going through databases of portraits. I now have selected 330 portraits for use in IBbasic for your PCs. So now we have a good selection of tokens and portraits. The portraits are a higher resolution than what I was using before (110x170 vs 55x85). The pixel sizes don't really match up with all of the other artwork in IBbasic, but I think it is okay and looks fine to me to have all the portraits one level of pixel density and everything else a different density.

Post by **slowdive** » Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:31 am

I've been making some progress on the following IB bugs:
+[for v203] issue with the inventory showing only the first 20 items. You can use the filter to show more.
+[for v203] swift action, free action resets movement sometimes
+[Done v203] verify that all scripts are still there and working (from v195 to v200, something changed)
+[for v203] fix line-of-sight bug (probably deep in lighting engine)

I still haven't been able to figure out the inventory issue (haven't been able to replicate issue yet). I think I may have found the issue with the swift/free action bug, but it will need some testing to make sure that moving the "move counter" reset in the endPcTurn() method didn't create a new issue. I found all the old scripts from Karl's v197 folder and will copy them into the v203 script folder. Next up is the very trick one of LoS bug.

Post by **Pongo** » Sat Jul 17, 2021 6:42 am

Nice work! Having a load of new tokens and portraits will be great. And good luck with the LoS bug - I'm looking forward to that one getting fixed, sounds like it will be tricky though. "Deep in the lighting engine" sounds ominous.

Post by **slowdive** » Tue Jul 20, 2021 4:12 am

Yesterday I added back in the head and ring2 slots to IBbasic so now there are six total item slots to equip. Today I started working on getting the area and combat music working for IBbasic. I am using the SimpleAudioPlayer API and if it works out well and is reliable, I will use it for IB as well.