[WIPz] Alchemy Advanced 0.3 : IV

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:52 pm

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25226
http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1003852

This is the second beta release. Not sure on proper forum etiquette here, so I created a new thread for it. Bug reports, feedback on balance issues and graphical layout, suggestions, and complaints are welcome.

I should explicitly credit the OBSE team (particularly scruggs) for their incredible work on v0017, and Haama, who
originated most of the ideas in this mod.

Requirements: Oblivion Patch 1.2.0.214, Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE) v0017 or later
Recommended: Oblivion Mod Manager

Description
===========
Alchemy Advanced replaces the original alchemy menu and offers a set of new features and mechanics, including brewing in batches, flexible ingredient filtering, an integrated recipe system, masking of select ingredient effects, and customizable calculations of potion weight, cost, strength, and duration.

Features
=======
A brief list:
- a quantity slider for brewing batches of potions
- ingredient filters that can be edited in-game
- a new type of autofilter that looks for replacements for the current ingredient
- a new type of alchemal apparatus (the Refiner) for temporarily removing selected effects from ingredients.
- integrated saving and loading of recipes, and a new type of alchemocal apparatus (the Alchemist's Notebook) for storing saved recipes.
- a duration slider to specify the target duration of potion effects
- the ability to use potions and other recipes as ingredients in the current recipe
- customizable calculation of potion weight and gold value
- customizable calculation potion effect strengths
See the Features document packaged with the mod for a complete list of new features and instructions on their use and customization.

Compatibility
===============
Alchemy Advanced should be compatible with almost every other mod, including those that add additional alchemical ingredients or potions. In particular, it is known to be compatible with:
- Elys's Skill Uncapper; A fantastic mod and highly recommended
- Waldo's Grandmaster of Alchemy; another fantastic mod, also highly recommended
- DarNifiedUI, BTmod, and others that alter .xml files, provided Alchemy Advanced is installed last.
NOTE: A UI mod that reduces font size is recommended to increase the readability of the menu.
There have been some reports of "strange behavior" when used in conjunction with Static Alchemy (a resource used in, among other mods, Summonable Private Quarters). Any reports on exactly what this behavior is and how to reproduce it would be appreciated.
As of this release, there are no mods explicity known to be incompatible with Alchemy Advanced.

Known Issues or Bugs
====================
- Due to limitations in tracking the cursor position, vertical and horizontal scroll bars on the alchemy menu will not respond to click & drag anymore - use the mouse scroll wheel or click the scroll arrows instead.
- Due to limitations in determining what menu tile has keyboard focus, keyboard navigation has been disabled in the alchemy menu: the arrow keys will no longer jump between buttons.
- Due to the increased size of alchemy.xml, the alchemy menu will take noticeably longer to load, particularly just after Oblivion is restarted. This and other performance issues may be addressed in the final release (I can't guarantee a solution).

History
=======
0.2, 2009/06/18 - Initial beta release. more to come.
0.3, 2009/07/01 - Second beta release:
- Default effect strength and potion cost heavily tweaked for balance.
- Changed default status text font to fix problems with the menu being unreadable for players
without a font changing mod.
- Recipes may now only require positive quantities of ingredients (sidesteps a number of issues)
- Rewrote scrollbar xml files; moves scroll bar processing out of scripts and fixes exploit where
clicking on scrollbar re-eneabled the create button.
- The "potions made" stat is now updated properly, allows compatibility with Oblivion XP (among
other things)
- ingredients flagged as quest items no longer appear in the ingredient selection submenu.
- menu layout expanded and re-arranged to provide more space
- fixed bugs with the handling of actor value parameters in the autofilters
- implemented an option to use vanilla Oblivion effect strengths rather than the custom equations
- added a 'duration' attribute to recipes to allow players to select the duration of the recipe effects
- added an option to reset/automate the ingredient filter every time the selection submenu is opened.
allows an exact reproduction of vanilla filtering behavior
- implemented a settings submenu for in-game customization of mod parameters

Credits
=======
- Bethesda Softworks, whose game has svcked up far, far too much of my free time
- scruggsywuggsy the ferret and the rest of the OBSE team for (repeatedly) managing the impossible
- Haama, from whose mods most of the 'original' ideas here were bloodily ripped off
(http://www.oblivionmodwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:Mods_by_haama).
- All those who helped debug the first beta release by reporting the issues they encountered.

» Sat May 28, 2011 1:14 pm

Thanks for the update, but I got an error.

Only when I use tdt command, the debug text shows

c8000ed3
Operator - failed to evaluate to a valid result.
An expression failed to evaluate to a valid result.

Possible an error in RshAlchScptQMonitor script?

=> uninstall ver 0.2 -> start game and load save -> save new and close game -> install ver. 0.3 and enable mod -> start game load new save -> ok

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:33 pm

I just took a quick lock with my current character with his journeyman-level alchemy skill, and it looks pretty awesome. I'll report that it seems to work just fine alongside Syclonix's http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5478 (I use KalrocVN's http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18000). I'll likely be able to tell you about compatibility with Cobl's static equipment right away, as soon as I get a chance to sit down and work on the main mod I'm working on right now, which will hopefully make use of it.

Anyway, mostly just wanted to say "right on." I'm looking forward to making some spiffier poisons for my arrows.

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:43 am

Hi, JRoush. Your mod is simply awesome, but after updating to the 0.3 (I downloaded the manual version) it gives me http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/8836/screenshot36k.jpg error.

I use DarkUI Darnified.

Congrats for the mod. :goodjob:

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:37 am

=> uninstall ver 0.2 -> start game and load save -> save new and close game -> install ver. 0.3 and enable mod -> start game load new save -> ok

Ok, the above solution worked for me as well. FANTASTIC mod.

:twirl:

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:50 pm

When I tried dling it last week, when I tried playing, I could not move anything on the alchemy menu. I mean it was visible and cool looking, but useless. I had to take the game off and start a new install. I would like to try it again, but not until I see proof that it will work.

» Sat May 28, 2011 8:55 pm

When I tried dling it last week, when I tried playing, I could not move anything on the alchemy menu. I mean it was visible and cool looking, but useless. I had to take the game off and start a new install. I would like to try it again, but not until I see proof that it will work.

Are you saying you reinstalled Oblivion because this mod didn't work for you? I sure hope not... But you want "proof that it will work"? Really? I don't think JRoush or anyone else owes you that.

I'm not saying you don't have an issue with the mod, but I have an issue with your attitude. You could ask nicely, or give some constructional criticism, or even experiment and see if you can figure it out, or at the very least express the problem and ask for some help. Instead you make demands for "proof that it will work".

Let me quote you from http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=931793&view=findpost&p=14606764 before you edit it.

I just need some guidance and some one that has lots of patients with newbies

You could try learning yourself, maybe...

That person complimented the mod and politely asked if they could help out and take part in the effort being undertaken. Is that how you treat people IRL? If so, I'm betting that's why you spend your time trolling forums and making unreasonable demands of people that owe you NOTHING. NOTHING at all. Peckerheads like you do NOTHING for this community except exasperate and irritate and frustrate people who genuinely care about creating mods FOR THEMSELVES, but then selflesslessly share with dimwits like you that don't appreciate ANY of the effort or creativity that they provide, TO YOU, FOR FREE.

You could try learning yourself, maybe... or you could just go get bent.

@JRoush: Sorry to derail the thread and all, but thanks so much for the update - as others mentioned, a clean save was necessary with the new version - which was no trouble at all and to be expected when using WIP. I appreciate all the effort you're making and your mod is making wonderful progress and sure to be a staple in everyone's load order. Thanks!

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:42 pm

When I tried dling it last week, when I tried playing, I could not move anything on the alchemy menu. I mean it was visible and cool looking, but useless. I had to take the game off and start a new install. I would like to try it again, but not until I see proof that it will work.

I'm afraid I can't offer any "proof," per se, but if you can provide some details I might be able to figure out what the problem is. For starters - and the documentation wasn't so clear on this point when I first posted it - you have to install AA over any other interface mods, even (especially) if they conflict. And when you restart Oblivion for the first time, you'll need to wait about 5 seconds with all menus closed (i.e. running in circles or something) for the menu scripts to start up. Not doing either of these things will result in a "dead" menu like you've described.

@ kaurn - thanks for your support (and bug reports)

I'm not big on etiquette and all, but my rule of thumb when angry is to avoid: posting on forums, sending email, and speaking to in-laws
Having said that I should note that any feedback can be useful, regardless of tone.

» Sat May 28, 2011 5:17 pm

The first time I installed it happened the same to me. The solution was TO ACTIVATE the ".esp" in Wrye Bash. ^^u

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:36 pm

Wow this looks awesome! And most certainly deserves a bump.
I just wanted to ask, though, what exactly are your future plans for it?

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:43 pm

Hmm i dont understand why this topic is so empty. THis mod looks amazing from seeing it. Ill definitely try it out, if it works then its a definite keeper

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:28 am

Wow this looks awesome! And most certainly deserves a bump.
I just wanted to ask, though, what exactly are your future plans for it?

I'm planning to post the "release" version 1.0 sometime in the next week. It won't have any new functionality except the option to load settings from an "ini" file in the oblivion\data directory.

Additional features, including more sophisticated filters as discussed on the http://thenexusforums.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=130631&view=findpost&p=1147370, will have to wait for another version.
I'm looking at using an OBSE plugin rather than scripts to provide menu handling; this should provide a lot more flexibility in the menu structure.

If you have any suggestions or requests, I'd love to hear them.

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:17 pm

So what's happening with this mod, are you still working on it? I just gave it a try and I really like what I see. Unfortunately, I noticed that I'm not getting any experience for brewing batches of potions. I tried brewing up a whole bunch but my Alchemy skill points didn't change at all. It's really too bad I can't use it as it has alot of features I really like. And alot I don't have a clue how to use. :hehe:

» Sat May 28, 2011 1:43 pm

@Belanos
My alchemy skill increases if i brew potions - you have a problem (settings, mod installations, nGCD, progress) i think.

» Sat May 28, 2011 6:32 pm

I'm going to give this a go.

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:32 pm

@Belanos
My alchemy skill increases if i brew potions - you have a problem (settings, mod installations, nGCD, progress) i think.

Hmmm, maybe I'll have to try it again and see if I can find the conflict. I did have Alchemical Formulas running at the same time, maybe that had something to do with it.

» Sun May 29, 2011 1:40 am

So I tried it again and I do seem to be getting XP for brewing batches. I'm guessing that I just wasn't paying enough attention to the skill slider. It looks like I have a new addition to my game.

» Sat May 28, 2011 6:41 pm

I would find it interesting if the ingredients power was more diverse, and that power affected the finished potion.

right now it feels like all ingredient, cheep or expensive, gives the same short duration of effect during wortcraft - well, boring

An overhaul that makes the ingredients much more diverse in affect would be nice - and this mod could take that affect in consideration when brewing potions; using low quality samples gives you a lesser potion.

Cheers!

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:20 pm

Hmm i dont understand why this topic is so empty.

Possibly because it's a work in progress that doesn't offer elements some players are inclined to try at once because they're viewed as required: new cities, new combat systems, etc. Personally, I find this a very encouraging mod, one that really adds to ease-of-use without being a giveaway to the player. So this gets a cheer, from me. Keep up the good work! :foodndrink:

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:37 pm

Sounds like it'll be awesome. Any thoughts on COBL compatibility?

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:32 am

Thx for this mod! I've been using it for a couple of days and must say it's really good! Even if the thread title says 0.3, it feels like a complete product!

Many thx again!

» Sat May 28, 2011 8:22 pm

So then this does look interesting. as does the new release today: http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1046875

Hmmm - wonder if they work together?

Does this affect what the ingredient effects are? Anyone have a suggestion of which should load first?

Probably will try with this (test it first) then load the other one later with the idea that having it loaded later will have the ingredient effects from it as conflict winner.
testing .. testing - let you know.

[edit] ah wait the other one is a completely mergeable mod, so that is even better.

Oh and thanks Belanos. Cool Cool now I can get my Paladin up on his alchemy so that he can join the SCA Knights (at least in spirit).

» Sat May 28, 2011 5:04 pm

Does this affect what the ingredient effects are?

No it doesn't, so there shouldn't be any conflict.

» Sun May 29, 2011 12:22 am

Interesting. For batch brewing alone, it would be worth trying, and the munchkin-like stuff (8 effects in a potion, etc) can be ignored. Has anybody tried this recently? It's pretty ambitious: does it work completely as advertised?

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:00 am

Interesting. For batch brewing alone, it would be worth trying, and the munchkin-like stuff (8 effects in a potion, etc) can be ignored. Has anybody tried this recently? It's pretty ambitious: does it work completely as advertised?

Yes it does. I've been using it since the first release and am very satisfied with it functionally. I selfishly hope that development continues so that an INI configuration and DarkUI version can be added. Otherwise it's fantastic! Besides the batch brewing that you mention, my favorite feature is the refiner - especially useful once you hit skill 100 alchemy and can use a single ingredient.

Edit: Though I don't use it much, I have to plug the notebook feature as well. Especially with COBL and other ingredient adding mods, it makes it so much easier to brew up multi-effect potions since you don't have to remember the recipes. I forgot to mention it before since I don't use it much. As evident, most likely, from my earlier posts, I have very little patience, and my play-style is the same. I tend to just make what I need when I need it instead of being properly prepared.