[Alpha/WIP] Elemental Magicka : III - Morrowind

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:17 pm

...and the texture is just some vanilla rock texture.

Wait, why is that bad? Leaving it with a vanilla texture would allow the mesh to match whatever texture replacement a person has installed. Adding a custom texture may be nice but it would also be horribly mismatched in some cases.

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:52 pm

I'm thinking of starting a new playthrough, and some of the new spells sound fun, I'll try 'em out.
Can creatures cast these sorta spells too? Some special sixth house magic would be real cool.

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:30 pm

I have 249 esms/esps loaded and I think the limit is 250....saving that last one for your mod!!!

Aww =)

Wait, why is that bad? Leaving it with a vanilla texture would allow the mesh to match whatever texture replacement a person has installed. Adding a custom texture may be nice but it would also be horribly mismatched in some cases.

Fair enough, the texture might not look great but could work with replacers (as a few other of my modified meshes do), but the mesh is still really bad and angular. Need to work on that.

I'm thinking of starting a new playthrough, and some of the new spells sound fun, I'll try 'em out.
Can creatures cast these sorta spells too? Some special sixth house magic would be real cool.

Unfiortunately, no, you'll not see NPCs/creatures using these just yet. I have had a system worked out for that for some time, but it runs really slowly, and I know it can be made better. All in due time, though! Hope these add some fun for you!

Back to the tedious part for now, hopefully some new spells when that is done

» Tue Feb 15, 2011 3:59 am

Some ideas:

Earth:
Earth/sand Prison: inprison the enemy on a sphere of sand and crush him
Stone wall: Creates a long duration barrier of stones, a large one, to unable the enemies to reach you
Earth cloning: Makes appear versions of you made from earth that protect you
Open the eart: Makes appear a breech at the ground that takes you to somewhere like it was a portal or something

Air:
Wind: Derribes the enemies with wind. Also could miss the arrows.

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:28 pm

I've tested it, and I've noticed that if you choose one of the books, you can't use the powers of the other books. So, if you choose earth, you can't cast fire or frost spells.

Just wanted to address this post again, having looked at that part of the script in particular while transitioning to the individual page-based system.

The spell learning method in v0.6 is broken for Frost spells, at the least. Can't reproduce the reported problem with any of the other books. Shouldn't be an issue in the next revision since I did away with that system, but for people hoping to try out the current v0.6, see the OP spoiler for the variable name controlling the Frost book, and set it to 300. That should give you all the spells for Frost, to side-step the issue for now.

Some ideas:

Earth:
Earth/sand Prison: inprison the enemy on a sphere of sand and crush him
Stone wall: Creates a long duration barrier of stones, a large one, to unable the enemies to reach you
Earth cloning: Makes appear versions of you made from earth that protect you
Open the eart: Makes appear a breech at the ground that takes you to somewhere like it was a portal or something

Air:
Wind: Derribes the enemies with wind. Also could miss the arrows.

Thanks for the ideas =)

1) Sand is a difficult idea to work with, because there are no meshes (to my knowledge) that I could use for it. Maybe a scaled down ash storm, but I don't yet know how that would look...
2) Stone wall: Definitely something I'd like to do, in the style of Wall of Fire from Scripted Spells. I'll have to see what I can glean from his method.
3) Earth cloning: As far as I'm aware, there is no good system in place to work with player clones (can't replicate the player at runtime). But golems animated by Earth magic would be cool. Anyone have a stone atronach mesh textured, animated, and just laying around

?
4) Open the earth: I've thought of a way that this could be done, actually. But the question is, where does the breach take you? I'll have to develop the idea a bit further...

5) Wind: Wind spells are difficult to deal with in the same way as sand, but with a recolored Blight mesh, I think I did a decent job with Tempest/Wind Shear. If there are any other usable wind meshes out there I would be open to more such spells.

----

About halfway through the boring transition work....

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:02 pm

3) Earth cloning: As far as I'm aware, there is no good system in place to work with player clones (can't replicate the player at runtime). But golems animated by Earth magic would be cool. Anyone have a stone atronach mesh textured, animated, and just laying around

?

I think Midgetalian has one...let me check. Well, http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=6726 has an earth atronach...

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:34 pm

Thanks for the resource link! The tree golem and earth atronach models could prove to be useful for some Summon spells.

Edit:

Finished separating the books out into individual pages, and have tested each spell in-game to make sure that I didn't break anything. I am now working on cost adjustments, and a new approach at the MWSE addon; initially, the addon will only make it so that combat can be started properly with these spells, but I am trying to build it with future features (like NPC casting) in mind.

» Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:59 am

Cleaned up the OP a bit in preparation for the next version. It's coming soon!

Added new compilation video to the OP. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ect2AyrAOxg ! For some reason YouTube is defaulting to 240p but you should really bump it up to 720p if you can, I record at my full resolution so 240p is just horrid. You may notice some sounds added to particular effects (these were in 0.6 but not any videos before now, really), hopefully they aren't too overbearing.

I think that Tempest and Guardian Rock are my favorite spells currently. As much as I like to think that Morrowind scripting has such harsh limits... if we are flexible instead of it, there is still much that can be done even without MWSE.

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:19 pm

That looks fantastic!

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:42 pm

I gave it a shot today, with a higher level character with magic resistance. The magic resistance sometimes causes certain effects to function incorrectly such as Shielding Ice. I also noticed I had some problems with Encasing Ice, the NPCs I tested it on would sometimes run right through the ice. Other than that it worked great. I only had time to test frost though.

Good mod. :celebration:

» Tue Feb 15, 2011 2:38 am

I gave it a shot today, with a higher level character with magic resistance. The magic resistance sometimes causes certain effects to function incorrectly such as Shielding Ice. I also noticed I had some problems with Encasing Ice, the NPCs I tested it on would sometimes run right through the ice. Other than that it worked great. I only had time to test frost though.

Good mod. :celebration:

The problem that you noted with Resist Magicka can be an issue, but at worst you can move around a little. Leaving the shell because you resisted the negative effects isn't a serious concern to me, and while it could be fixed by using a better method than ExplodeSpell, such a thing is more complicated and not worth the effort for me.

Like certain other spells, Encasing Ice can take some practice at aiming, because it isn't the actual collision of the mesh that stops the NPC -- one can always move out from the inside. Rather, the spell effect that detonates must hit them, so you must be at close range for them to get stuck. They all get easier with practice (except Scattershot, maybe! I haven't gotten it working yet but down the line a variable arc set by the mouse cursor will help with that).

The next version, when it arrives, will be a full beta. After a period of self testing (and waiting for any potential error reports), having hopefully fixed everything up, I would like to declare a full release and upload to PES.

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:56 pm

I have updated the original post and put up a download link to the new [Beta] release. For those using an old version, you should probably clean your save of it before upgrading to the new version, due to the transition from the book system to the page system.

You will notice that there is now a MWSE patch -- alas, it is not a full fledged MWSE addon, but then that is why I decided to go with the title "patch" instead. This .esp should be loaded after the main .esp, and will allow you to properly start combat when using my scripted spells. For example, previously, one could stand a few yards away from an NPC and cast Frost Wave -- damaging them -- without receiving any penalty or provoking any reaction. Now, while the MWSE patch is active, these deeds will be recognized and combat will begin. I apologize for any slowdowns caused by this patch, for I tried to find a reasonable balance, but I am hoping to further optimize it in the future.

For the time being, I am freezing development of this mod (Encasing ice? Or maybe Shielding Ice?) to focus time on a new project. I've been looking forward to the time when this would be stable and complete enough to take a break, and I think I've finally reached that point. For the time being I will not be adding any new content, but I welcome any bug reports so that I can polish up this beta into a full release and finally upload to PES. If you wish to test but not have to search all around, instructions are in the original post.

I hope you all have as much fun finding the pages (with one for each spell, and all of Vvardenfell, Mournhold, and Solstheim the playing field, that's quite a task!) as I did creating this. Happy hunting!

http://www.4shared.com/file/i-6ApLOo/Beta_Elemental_Magicka_v08.html

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:04 pm

And now that it's in a stable form, I'm downloading. I look forward to seeing your next project.

» Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:32 am

This looks crazy good.

» Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:49 am

Just giving this thread a little bump for those who might have missed the beta release. For those who might have used this in game -- has anybody experienced any issues that I need to fix? Are the placements for the spell pages too difficult to find? They should be remote, usually, but not actually difficult.

Hope that some enjoyment has been had by those using this ^_^

» Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:42 am

lol My character was just about to set out in quest of these when my save was irreparably corrupted.

Sooner or later I'll have a character who can try it, though!

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 7:59 pm

Just posting to announce a small update to this project.

I have received one report (thanks bhl

!) from the 0.8 release which I have taken into account, and am awaiting any further feedback. If nothing is forthcoming, I will be uploading the next release as version 1.0 on November 1st, 2010. It will be the same as the 0.8 beta release in terms of content but will have a few adjustments and probably some more cost balancing. More feedback in that department, particularly, would be helpful. I feel that my released scripts are entirely stable but I am not going to move forward with the NPC casting feature just yet, the back end of things require more work and some old scripts need adjustment to accommodate NPC casting. A future version will still be planned to feature this.

At the time of the 1.0 release the temporary 4shared links will be discontinued and proper uploads to modding websites will be arranged. I'll also start a release thread, I think, just to be clear.

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:12 pm

I have a problem with the spells not working, they just have effects like fire shield or levitate for 1 sec. I'm guessing it's a mod conflict, since I have to same problem with Cortex's Scripted Spells. I'm using version 0.6, but I don't think that should matter. Anyone has an idea what is causing this?

Spoiler

Masters for quiksave.ess:
001 Morrowind.esm
002 Tribunal.esm
003 Bloodmoon.esm
004 Morrowind Patch v1.6.4.esm
005 Morrowind Advanced.esm
006 Book Rotate.esm
007 Havish.esm
008 TR_Data.esm
009 TR_Map1.esm
010 TR_Map2.esm
011 LadyD_Reduced_Commentary.esp
012 MW_CultOfTheClouds_v10.esp
013 LGNPC_SN.esp (Version 0.31)
014 RealSignposts.esp
015 Sleepers-fix.esp (Version 1.1)
016 AreaEffectArrows.esp
017 bcsounds.esp
018 master_index.esp
019 adamantiumarmor.esp
020 EBQ_Artifact.esp
021 Siege at Firemoth.esp
022 Balance - NPC Spellcasting.esp
023 Of Love and Ignorance.esp
024 Gameplay - Dialogue.esp
025 Balance - Character.esp
026 LGNPC_NoLore_v0_83.esp (Version 0.83)
027 Windmill Caldera.esp
028 Dodge Mod 1.2-WD (Enhanced-LD) (Tribunal).esp
029 House_spear.esp
030 Fire_Hurt_All.esp
031 Daggerfall Collection Ver 1.1.esp
032 PrintingPress_Tribunal.esp
033 Dagoth Ur Voice Addon v1.0.esp
034 BM-Fixes.esp
035 LeveledMagicka.esp
036 Bloated Morrowind.esp
037 Less Annoying Guards - Tribunal and Bloodmoon.esp
038 The Tribe Unmourned.esp
039 Sixth House Advanced 2.1.esp
040 Windmills-Demo.esp
041 Divine Domina Part 1-5.esp
042 Dogmeat's Servant Repository.esp
043 ACE_Subtitles.esp
044 barilzar_voice.esp
045 Ships of the Imperial Navy (Bloodmoon version).esp
046 SirLuthor-Tools.esp
047 Potted Plants - Trib & BM.esp
048 MW_Adv_Required.esp
049 Better Bodies.esp
050 The regulars - Sitting NPC's v2.02.esp
051 More NPCs.esp
052 Grave Goods.esp
053 sit_down_in_Morrowind.esp
054 Guarded GhostGate.esp
055 The Broken Drum 1.01.esp
056 Flora Glow 1.0.esp
057 The Imperial Legion Badge.esp
058 MWE_Combat.esp
059 MWE_Journal.esp
060 moons_soulgems.esp
061 MWE_Base.esp
062 Key Replacer Trib & BM.esp
063 Unboarable Rieklings.esp
064 full_glass_armor.esp
065 Guard Expander.esp
066 Guard Expander - BM Addon.esp
067 abotGuars.esp (Version 1.16)
068 Snow Bear and Wolf Armours Improved.esp
069 The Battlespire v1.1.esp
070 StateBasedHitPointsv1.1.esp
071 Realistic Weather v2.0.esp
072 Sol-Weather Tweak.esp
073 Clear Glass.esp
074 Book Rotate - Tribunal v5.3.esp
075 Book Rotate - Bloodmoon v5.3.esp
076 InterventionPlus.esp
077 PW_Cait_Moose.esp
078 Scroll Icons.esp
079 Waterfall v1.0.esp
080 ARJAN_Rethan_Defended_v1.0.esp
081 Oceanic Weapons.esp
082 Healing.esp
083 Syc_AtHomeAlchemy.esp (Version 1.0)
084 Dragonbone Armor [v.1.2].esp
085 Sword of Rolf The Uber.esp
086 LOCH_Felsaad_Revamped.esp
087 Syc_BetterBoundBows.esp (Version 1.1)
088 Galsiahs Character Development.esp
089 GCD better balanced birthsigns.esp
090 GCD Restore Potions Fix.esp
091 GCD - Cult of the Clouds patch.esp
092 Lantern replacer By Leeloo.esp
093 Better Solsthiem Creatures.esp
094 ARJAN_Rethan_Livingroom_v1.3.esp
095 A_flock_of_seagulls.esp
096 SSlave_Companions.esp
097 ReptileInseparableSiblings.esp
098 Wayfarer's Rest v1.21.esp
099 k_weather (louder sounds).esp
100 Book Jackets - Morrowind - BookRotate.esp
101 Book Jackets - Tribunal - BookRotate.esp
102 Book Jackets - Bloodmoon - BookRotate.esp
103 DM_DB Armor Replacer-Exp.esp
104 Dremora Archer.esp
105 DwemerBowAndHelmet.esp
106 Bloodmoon Relighted.esp
107 IceNioLivRobeReplacerPLUS.esp
108 CB-illusionbolt1.0.esp
109 Map - Deluxe.esp
110 Cali_ RiverHouse.esp
111 Havish - Scimitar Update.esp
112 The Shrine of Mephala by Westly.esp
113 PW_Redesigned Vivec-Vivec_Expansion.esp
114 LGNPC_Indarys_Manor_v1_45.esp (Version 1.45)
115 Less_Generic_Bloodmoon.esp (Version 1.2)
116 Time Display.esp
117 Battlespire Books.esp
118 Agent's Services.esp
119 LGNPC_GnaarMok_v1_10.esp (Version 1.10)
120 LGNPC_MaarGan_v1_11.esp (Version 1.11)
121 LGNPC_AldVelothi_v1_20.esp (Version 1.20)
122 Dianne's Balmora Tavern Time.esp
123 Diannes Suran Tavern Time..esp
124 LGNPC_Secret_Masters_v1_21.esp
125 Vality's Bitter Coast Addon.esp
126 Seyda Neen Armory, Version 1.1.esp.esp (Version 2.1)
127 Vality's Ascadian Isles Addon.esp
128 LGNPC_HlaOad_v1_32.esp (Version 1.32)
129 trollbone_armor_set.esp
130 The Neverhalls.esp
131 alchemistformulas.esp
132 Vality's Balmora Addon.esp
133 dreugh_armor_set.esp
134 95% Marksman Recovery.esp
135 Appropriate Greetings M - T - 1.5.2.esp
136 Master Trainers.esp
137 Chariots.esp
138 Enhanced Summoning.esp
139 LGNPC_Aldruhn_v1_13.esp (Version 1.13)
140 Spect Sorcery pt 1.esp
141 LGNPC_Pelagiad_v1_13.esp (Version 1.13)
142 LGNPC_TelMora_v1_11.esp (Version 1.11)
143 Scrolls and SoulGems 1.1.esp
144 Redaynia Village.esp
145 LGNPC_Khuul_v2_01.esp (Version 2.01)
146 LGNPC_VivecFQ_v2_03.esp (Version 2.03)
147 LGNPC_TelUvirith_v1_10.esp (Version 1.10)
148 LGNPC_VivecRedoran_v1_42.esp (Version 1.42)
149 Less_Generic_Nerevarine.esp (Version 1.21)
150 LGNPC_PaxRedoran_v1_12.esp (Version 1.12)
151 LGNPC_SoulSicknessPatch_v1_00.esp (Version 1.00)
152 sm_creatures_02.esp
153 Living Statues of Malacath.esp
154 Zebabi Maren - Gondolier.esp
155 correctUV Ore Replacer 1.0.esp
156 Ald Velothi - Khuul Transport.esp
157 CR Gnisis Expanded 1.0.esp
158 Master Index Upgrade.esp
159 Helms Of Sight 2.0.ESP
160 HospitalityPapers.esp
161 Texture Fix -TR -1.0.esp
162 DN_1st_Person_bodies.esp
163 BT_Whitewolf_2_0.esp
164 DN_1st_Person_Armor.esp
165 Pegasus Equipment.esp
166 New Gnaar Mok.ESP
167 Sm_longspears.esp
168 Goris the Maggot King.esp
169 ExcellentMagicSounds.esp
170 Dwemer Sentinel.esp
171 New Argonian Bodies - Clean.esp
172 New Khajiit Bodies - Clean.esp
173 Entertainers_Expanded.esp
174 Havish Mini Patch.esp
175 Charming Ash Vampires.ESP
176 Less_Generic_Tribunal.esp
177 Mir_Vistas_SN.ESP
178 Psy_UniqueDremora_T.esp
179 LeftGloves_Addon_v2.esp
180 Undeads Skeletons Arise from Death.esp
181 Gondoliers.esp
182 South Wall.ESP
183 Herbalism_Lite_for_Tamriel_Rebuilt.esp
184 Mudcrab Island.esp
185 Fliggerty's Almanac.esp
186 ColovianFurGauntlets.esp
187 UniqueFinery.esp
188 Silt Strider Armor - Ashlander Guards.ESP
189 Opponent_Fatigue_Indicator.esp
190 Druid_Alchemy.esp
191 Clean Collectible cards.esp
192 Clean Welcome to the Arena! ( LoFi ).esp
193 Third_Person_Crosshair_constant.esp
194 Books of Vvardenfell.esp
195 Atmospheric Balmora for VBA.ESP
196 WA_Signy_Signposts(!)_TR.ESP
197 Lore Fix.esp
198 Poe Lighthouse_Lab.esp
199 Poe Lighthouse.esp
200 Animated Morrowind 1.0.esp
201 Better Skulls.ESP
202 DagonFel Mill V-1.5 esp.001.esp
203 MissingBounds.esp
204 Clean Teleportation Spells.esp
205 Archmage's Tower by Antares.esp
206 Hold it replacer.esp
207 Undeads - Skeletons Arise from Death II.esp
208 Morrowind Playable lutes.esp
209 Clean POTD Paintings.esp
210 MDP Compilation.ESP
211 MTC-LGNPC Pelagiad.ESP
212 MTC-LGNPC SN.ESP
213 Ald'ruhn Illuminated1.2.esp
214 Antares' Creatures - Cecaelia.esp
215 BosI Tarhiel's Teleport.esp
216 Capital Guard Addon.ESP
217 Clean Better Balmora river_v2.esp
218 DD Whats on the Menu.esp (Version 1.3)
219 BB_Grimoires.esp
220 TGD01_TheRatInThePot_gMenu.esp
221 Improved Hand to Hand.esp
222 TGD01_TheRatInThePot_iSupport.esp
223 Good Service.esp
224 Lich King.esp
225 Vurt's Solstheim Trees & Bushes Replacer.ESP
226 [Alpha] Elemental Magicka.esp
227 mel_teleportPlugin_1_3_Patches.esp
228 mel_teleportPlugin_1_3.esp
229 TGD02_AldruhnCouncilClub.esp
230 Keening_Reforged_v2.0.ESP
231 Protective Guards.esp
232 MA_snowprincetomb_v3.esp
233 sm_falmerarmor_0.1.esp
234 Mashed Lists.esp
235 TheForgottenShields - Artifacts_VN.esp

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:06 pm

There were some important fixes made between 0.6 and 0.8, and I regard 0.8 as stable, but if you are unable to use Scripted Spells either then I won't assume that 0.6 is the issue.

It has been reported in the past with other mods that the GetSoundPlaying function (which I use to determine casts, just as in Scripted Spells) is unreliable on certain systems. I would recommend cleaning the 0.6 release out of your save, installing version 0.8 in it's place, and retesting. If it still does not work, perhaps try toggling between hardware and software sound under the Options menu ingame. Hopefully someone else will have additional advice, though, because I do not experience the GetSoundPlaying problem and cannot duplicate it.

» Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:12 am

It seems to be a conflict with ExcellentMagicSounds. I had the same problem with version 0.8 and deactivating this sound-mod solved it.

» Tue Feb 15, 2011 2:39 am

Thanks, the combination of updating to version 0.8 and disabling Excellent Magic Sounds solved the problem. Guess I'll have to try Scripted Spells again too.

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:15 pm

Glad to hear that it is working. I assume that ExcellentMagicSounds must change the ID's of the casting sounds (due to breaking both this and Scripted Spells) but I would have to check and make sure. For the 1.0 release I'll make a note of the conflict, so thanks for the information.

» Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:10 pm

Just to keep track, changelog since v0.8:

- Cleaned plugin using tes3cmd to remove one duplicated object and a bunch of AMBI / WHGT entries. Thanks again bhl (for the report), and john.moonsugar (for tes3cmd).
- Based on feedback from bhl, I've adjusted the Surge spell so that it should be easier (read: possible) to hit enemies who keep you in close quarters. The previous settings were a bit impractical I suppose, and this should be a lot better.
- Working on a few edits to the transformation spells. I didn't realize before, but others of my spells going off can cause collision for the transform objects to refresh and the player gets "stuck" inside until the transformation expires. I need to either solve it on the script side somehow or remove collision from those meshes altogether.

I may accelerate my prior plan and, if I fix the above issue, release 1.0 soon after.

» Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:10 am

In case you would still want some spell ideas. I have come up with a few:

1_ Homes- Like "grow your telvanni towers". -Earth: would be a cave with an entrance rising up the ground to burry again upon the player leaving the cell.
-Fire: a Volcano (maybe restricted to hot regions such as red mountain)
-Frost: an ice tower made of frost pikes and stalactites (restricted to cold regions such as solsteim)
-Shock: a poket plane whose gate could be summoned only during storms (your storm calling spell would be interactive
with this).

2_ Machinegun like spells: You cast say "Fire Shots" and a series of 10 fire bolts spur from your hands and each shot can be altered a bit in ti{s direction so to hit evasive strafing enemies.

3_ explotion: this is more an effect that can be aplied to many spells. imagine several colition walls scripted to drain fatigue and make dramage on contact emerging from a point in the ground and casting each an ark movement. but in a star patern. displacing a group of enemies in every direction from the cerner point and knocking them down at the same time.

I Hope you make version 1 final on the 1st on time and at your liking. this is turning up great!