Attribute changes to bosses.

[Anthlacker]

Salutations modding brethren, once again i come to your aid.

 

I entered the Rim, modules, characters in Kotor Tool as to change the stats of Bandon, some dark jedi, Malak, and then Sion, Nihilus etc...

 

I decided to start my testing with bandon, so i looked for the manaan, tatooine, korriban and Kasshyk modules for him. When i found him i tried to change his base and current life to 280 instead of 180 and his max health to 310 instead of 210 (still do not understand why is the max health and base different sometimes). Anyways i changed it, saved it and then copied it to the Override folder.

 

But then, at the beginning of the game when trask makes the "death run" towards malak the game freezes. If i take out the files, then it continues as normal. Any idea of why is this happening? Am i doing something wrong? Any help will be appreciated

[reivzje]

Have you tried to change the template from the Blueprint, Character menu in Kotor Tool ?

[Anthlacker]

would it work? i was told it wouldn´t do anything (and it makes sense i guess, as the character templates inside the modules have different, higher stats). And i´m clueless on why the adding of it to the override folder crashes my game...

 

Thanks a lot for the response.

[vanir]

It's been a few years since I played with these but the modules templates are tailored for specific encounter events so I'm guessing might be orientated with scripting for the scenes. For example, I'd be apprehensive about messing with the Visas template stats for the initial encounter/combat with her on the Ebon Hawk because it might trip up the scene scripting and cutscenes. I'd expect a crash making even an innocuous change and saving it to Override. But I still tailored her.

 

What you want to do is adjust the autobalance.2da to play around with the combat stats of bosses and henchmen. These are the main governance of combat difficulty which gets applied over and above any stats modification you make to the encounter (module) templates. You might as well consider base stats on npc/boss templates to be completely irrelevant because the autobalance runs the combat and is orientated to the PC stats.

 

The only mod that's useful on the module templates for bosses is some fine tuning of force powers. For example, Nihilus say, is meant to be a prestige class Sith Assassin but his templates are generic base jedi classes like all boss templates. This means he misses out on some force powers and class abilities he could be using in combat (best to have stoffe's AI mod installed fyi, really improves AI in combat for use of abilities/powers).

 

So what you do is take the module template for Nihilus on the Ravager bridge battle, and go to his force powers and class abilities tabs and add those for a Sith Assassin prestige class (the judgement I used was being about 30th level by the Ravager battle, I decided Nihilus and Sion became Sith-prestiges at about 20th level being converted Jedi, so gave them about 10 levels worth of prestige class abilities and tailored force powers).

 

Then save that to Override without changing the basic character stats.

Use the autobalance.2da to make encounters more difficult in basic combat ways.

 

This way you get no crashes, and should get the effects you're after.

 

 

 

 

 

edit. there's also the plot to consider. Nihilus and Sion for example are undead, using the Force-religion's inferrence that the spirit lives beyond the body, they have continued to exist as malevolent beings long after their bodies have expired, their physical forms held together by sheer willpower, through the Dark Side of the Force.

For all intents and purposes they are supernatural creatures with powers well beyond the scope of playable characters. Nihilus can suck the lifeforce off entire planets at will. Sion is literally immortal and cannot be killed or stopped.

Defeating them isn't a matter of combat stats but is necessarily a role playing event. The combat between the PC and these figures is all theatre, they are necessarily scripted to either automatically win or automatically lose because they are so very powerful it is outside the ability to influence using dice rolls.

 

All you can do is try to make them more interesting by giving them more canonical force powers and abilities to fit their mantles. But you can't change the way things go with them, that's all scripted. If unhappy with overall boss difficulty you use the autobalance.2da anyway.

 

Just further reinforcing what I found doing my own rebalance/gameplay mods.

[Anthlacker]

I see, would i be able by altering the autobalance to make these characters powerful but not the rest? See, i´d like for example to give sion 2 hours worth of health, make Bandon way stronger than his thugs he attacks you with, make Nihilus´s health regenerate. That´s why i´ve been looking to alter the templates but i don´t know if i´d be able to change them with the autobalance.

 

=) thanks a lot for your help, you are great.

[vanir]

For those examples you've given, what you might be finding is crashes being caused by cutscenes scripted to their health. When their health drops enough in combat it triggers cutscenes, this is what you're messing with.

 

If you want the combat to last longer so they're tougher you're best off doing it through the autobalance.2da, other than that all you can really do is tailor their powers/abilities but stay conscious of giving them anything which might mess with the game scripts for them.

 

The section in autobalance for major bosses is only going to mess with a handful of key characters like the Sith Triumverate in combat. You can restrict changes to just that line, leave minor bosses and henchmen unchanged for example. This would make Sion far more powerful than his bodyguard assassins on Korriban for example, theoretically.

 

I preferred more conservative, broad changes for gameplay mods because these keep smooth play without hiccups, so I put up minor bosses a little, major bosses a little more, kept basic difficulties only slightly improved. Then I changed force progression tables, requirements and so on.

 

 

 

edit. the trick about gameplay mods I think is balancing your changes. If you do a complete gameplay mod, addressing a number of key areas more subtlely than dramatic changes just to one or two areas, you get a much better overall product without having issues. Plus it's more realistic gameplay, more immersion for the player, I love my own gameplay mod, it's been a standard inclusion to my Override for years now and didn't even need any changes for the restoration project I've installed.

My game is more realistic than vanilla, by that I mean it is much more like tabletop and dice RPG than the semi-arcade game that was released. It's actually kinda hard to make it through your way to become a fully fledged Jedi Knight by taking up a prestige class now, you're a real farmboy Luke Skywalker for the first part and it's very, very different depending on which Jedi class you choose. Consulars aren't so good in combat and have a real tendency to turn evil, Guardians are super-tough in combat but really lack skills for workbench creation and task accomplishment, Sentinels are ultra-versatile but really midway in combat, with Soldier-class To-Hit ratios but weaker physical strength to work with. Any prestige class is seriously tough though, any fully qualified Jedi Knight is a force to be reckoned with so the gameplay really changes after you take a prestige in my mod.

 

One of the main factors changing overall gameplay difficulties for player immersion I found was the classes.2da, what I changed was the vanilla game standard measure of Soldier To-Hit ratios for every class, back to canonical "standard human, tech/scholar classes and professional soldier classes" so that the average human has a To-Hit progression of 2/3, including things like Minions or Scouts. Only exceptional professional warriors get the Soldier class progression of 1/1 and Techs get 1/2. Jedi are a bit special so that a Jedi scholar (Consular) still gets at least the average human To-Hit of 2/3 because of extra combat training with lightsabres as part of the class. Meanwhile both Sentinels and Guardians are combat Jedi so they both get 1/1. Droids are an exception too, because of advanced processors even a basic service droid can hit stuff as good as the average galactic citizen, so I gave them 2/3 progression as well. Tech Specialists are really the only class that runs at 1/2 but that fits, engineers, medical technicians and computer slicers might be able to take a few hits, but shouldn't be as good in combat as someone like a Scout or a Rogue who, whilst not professional soldiers still rely on blaster skill often enough to be at least considered average with weapons.

 

These are the sorts of gameplay changes I think, which enhance the experience, but it all comes down to personal opinion.

[Anthlacker]

So the saving and the copying to the override folder is all fine? i´ll try that then (even though i´d love having a 2 hour health Sion hehe) where can i find the autobalance.2da?

 

Edit: Your mod sounds great, do you have a link to it? And, if you where trying to add it to your mod. What would you do to make Sion´s life immense? i was thinking maybe adding some health bonuses to the lightsaber he uses in the last fight but couldn´t tell which one is his.

 

thanks again for the help.

 

Also, i have stumbled upon a certain mod (Shem´s Malak improved) which changes many of Malak´s stats by actually modifying his saber. Is there a way for me to know which are bandon´s, sion´s and nihilus sabers and if so what do i have to do in them for them to be modified and buff the characters wielding them?

[Seikan]

About Bandon, I remember that one of the darth bandons from manaan, tatooine, Kashyk, or Korriban, have exactly the same template, so modifying this file would affect the bandon on the endar spir.

 

About boosting only the bosses, you could add stats to the equipements, add damage, constitution, resistance etc... (My Nihilus had an armor with something like 40% resistance to any kind of damage, so he was harder to kill.

[Anthlacker]

I see! thanks a lot. Any way to know which are the equipment for these characters i need?

[Seikan]

Well, with kotor tool, in the uti file you should have a button in the bottom left, that says inventory ^^

[Anthlacker]

Wow thanks!!! So i just look up the name and then go to the Bifs , template, template item area and modify it?

[Seikan]

Yes ^^ Well for the boss it's often on the RIMs at their respective modules =)

[vanir]

I've been meaning to finish a self installer version of the updated mod because it modifies the tlk.dlg file among others. It includes a rebalance as well as workbench improvements and gameplay alteration based on the WEG d6/WotC d20 gaming systems (easy because NWN's aurora shell basically uses WotC d20 core rules and they took over the Star Wars RPG from West End Games...so some elements transferred and I could bring these into the aurora, the original WEG SW RPG was a very simple but very complete system with a lot of character to it).

 

Here is part of the (long) readme about the force power progression system adapted from WEG and WotC RPG systems, which is in part cut content from Kotor and TSL (control, sense and alter are in 2da files already so no scripting was used to add them).

 

Force training (restored and modified)

 

The Force-feats Control, Sense and Alter have been restored. These are required to learn other Force powers and appear in the Force power tab at the level up screen. They are awarded automatically upon attaining Jedi levels and work to restrict the type of Force powers each Jedi class has available at various levels. These reflect the various mental disciplines involved in Force training, between the different Jedi classes.

 

Control powers are those which the Jedi uses to manifest the Force within himself. Powers like Burst of Speed and Force Aura are a Control feat. Jedi Guardians learn Control when they start taking Force powers (Jedi begin learning Force powers from 2nd level). Jedi Sentinels learn Control at 6th level. Jedi Consulars learn Control at 12th level.

 

Sense powers are any which involve telepathic contact or projection through the Force. Precognition and Force Sight are examples of Sense powers although these are Quest powers in the game. The character function of the Sense feat will become clear if you read on. Jedi Consulars learn Sense when they begin taking powers, Jedi Guardians learn Sense at 6th level and Jedi Sentinels learn Sense at 12th level.

 

Alter powers are the telekinetic use of the Force to manipulate matter. Force Push is an Alter power. Jedi Sentinels learn Alter when they start taking Force powers, Jedi Consulars learn Alter at 6th level and Jedi Guardians learn Alter at 12th level.

 

Combinations of the Force feats are required for most of the Jedi powers, since they are complicated and almost arcane in nature. It is like requiring math, physics and chemistry to engineer a fuel system, just one of these skills won't do.

 

Both Control and Sense are required to learn powers like Cure, Force Valor or Drain Life because they affect others near the Jedi but bolster or siphon with the Force rather than altering things as such.

 

Control and Alter are required to learn powers like Stun Droid or Force Barrier because they require the Jedi to affect either a droid's circuitry or form a telekinetic bubble around himself.

 

Sense and Alter are required to learn powers like Mind Trick or Force Lightning, because the Jedi must either give someone a false perception or draw upon the Living Force and manifest it electrically.

 

By 12th level all Jedi classes have the three Force feats and all powers are available to them. Some require Control, Sense and Alter to select and these are powers like Affect Mind, Stun/Stasis and Revitalise because these represent the highest tier of Force use, stopping an enemy cold and immobilising him in his tracks, or influencing the decisions of strangers with overwhelming finality, or bringing a patient back from coma or critical injury, even a mortal wound.

 

As you can quickly decipher, the different Jedi classes thus have entirely different Force power selections available until they get to 12th level, which forms the character of each class in the way they learn to use the Force.

 

Force power selection (restored content)

 

All Force powers which are not Quest powers or Forms are available to Jedi of any alignment during Force power selection, the only restrictions are Jedi level requirements for the power, and Force feat requirements for the power. This is an important feature.

 

Canonically Jedi knew how to use the Dark Side of the Force (but not necessarily specific powers requiring specialised training), any Jedi who can use telekinetic powers to move an object can also learn to use it to crush an opponent's windpipe. It is simply a choice Lightsiders make never to use the Force in this way, no matter how tempting it might be. Darksiders forego this self-discipline.

 

Both Lightsiders and Darksiders invariably know how to use several powers of opposing alignment. It simply costs many more Force Points to use powers which are extremely opposed to your current alignment. The Force Point cost for using opposite alignment powers has been increased.

 

Due to the way TSL was released it was possible to for Lightsider characters to only select Light Side powers during level up and vice versa. This is changed.

 

Because of the Force feat requirement all Jedi classes will run out of Force powers to select at the lower levels. Once you run out of powers suited to your alignment, you will be forced to begin selecting powers of opposing alignment or else you will not be able to continue from the level up screen. The challenge is not to give into temptation at the lower levels, when your selection of Force powers is greatly limited and a Dark Side power you were forced to select might be the most useful in combat. The PC is forced to know these things, but will he/she actually use them?

 

It is now much easier even for Lightsider Players to fall to the temptations of the Dark Side using the restored content system of Force training.

 

There is also the simple truth that sometimes Jedi level up at low-mid level without learning any new Force powers. Once you have run out of powers which are available due to your Force feats, particularly at low levels you will simply level up with no new powers until you gain new Force feats with which to make new powers available to you. This is not a bug, but reflects the dedicated and sometimes difficult training of the Jedi, who at higher character levels become simply the most powerful figures in the galaxy but often need the help of companions and allies at lower levels. Jedi are powerful later, but are not Gods from the getgo and many fall along the way.

[Anthlacker]

In what module should i be able to find the Sion´s and Nihilus fights? There is one where there is traya, the 3 lightsabers and Sion, but his stats are horrible there and he has no weapons so i don´t know...

[Seikan]

There, is where you fight traya, sion is only there because of some cutscenes, you may find him on the first module of the trayus academy, on korriban, and nihilus... well on the leviathan bridge.

[Anthlacker]

Amazing, thank you. I shall build a monolith in your honor =)

 

uhmmm and the malak and revan "illusions" are also on the korriban module? the low stat ones?

[Seikan]

Yes, they are, and if i'm not mistaken, in the options of kotor tools you can select an option to see the names of the modules, ( for exemple the tomb with malak and revan: 711KOR_s.rim - Secret Tomb (Korriban))

[Anthlacker]

The more you know , the Trayus academy module has 2 darthsions, both with some awful stats and itemless is that normal? Also, the secret tomb malak also lacks items. Thanks again for your help

[Seikan]

The second Sion is the good one, if you look at the first one he have as name something like "Sion {cutscene}", and the second one have a lightsaber and a dark master robe, you can add new stuff, custom stuff, etc etc.

 

And Malak also have a lighsaber. If you pay attention there are the same "slots" for the equipments that there are in game, if they are green at the edge, then there is an item on it, put your mouse over the slot, and you will see which one it is.

[Anthlacker]

=) remember that monolith thing? I´m seriously making one on your honor.

 

Thanks for all your help.

[Seikan]

Well make it wonderful xD

 

And you're welcome =)