UA Newsletter #12
Notes from John
Here we are.
This newletter
is a bittersweet deal for us all, I
think. It is a landmark, but I'm still not sure if it is the right
type of landmark. Bryan SM (aka PCC Bryan, or Coric) has stepped down
as Editor-in-Chief, and I have replaced him. Bryan had mentioned that
NL had started lagging somewhat, and that (while #11 was still good--
it was, in fact, one of my favorites) the articles were coming in
later, deadlines kept being pushed back, and other problems had been
surfacing.
I wish only the best for the NL, which is why I offered to take the
position. I have offered Bryan a position on the editorial staff,
should he desire it, and have attempted to keep the majority of our
staffers. (At least, those who were still interested.) I'm going to
do my best to keep the NL at its current standards of articles, tips,
and columns, and I hope to keep the NL out on deadlines, as well.
I want everyone to know that I am 100% dedicated to this project.
Anyway, the NL is here, so let's get on with the show!
Topics
This month, all of the reviews are freelanced. We are still looking
at press time for an official reviewer. Feel free to write in asking
for details on becoming a member of the NL team!
Authors: RedZwolf & Emil B.
Full Title: Dark Myst
For: IBM
Imported Art: Yes
Additional Documentation: No
If there's one rule of thumb where UA is concerned, it's "If the game
designer couldn't get the name of the game straight, there's probably
something wrong."
The reason I say this is that, although the title screen and file name
is DarkMyst... the name the designer gave the game is... Black Myst!
Now, I shrugged this off, and rolled up characters to play. I start the
game, and the Ravenloft logo is boldly displayed against the screen.
Now, being a Ravenloft fan, I was... well, skeptical, but excited. It's
not easy to write a Ravenloft game, and for that reason, I'll go
relatively easy on this game.
The storyline is vague. You find your high level party in a town with
the vague notion that you're looking for adventure. It's a pretty
generic town, with houses and two magic shops, and a mayor's house that
you're not allowed to look around, and not a clue in sight as to how
you're supposed to find adventure. As it turns out, the adventure
hinges on a visit with the mayor, but the problem is, there's no way
for you to know that until you stumble into a mage's house, purely by
accident, and are presented with all of one option of what to say: "I
need to see the mayor." During this game, you're sent on two missions
and then you're done. Of course, you're not sure you're done; in fact,
you're never sure you're done.
Now, aside from the vague storyline there are some other problems.
Random combats are unbalanced; too frequent and hard in some areas,
completely nonexistent in others. In some cases, the randoms are harder
than the Big Battles. Your party is given no motivation to do anything
or go anywhere, and the ending is distinctly anti-climactic; you
reunite the king and his daughter, they thank you, you leave the
castle, that's it. No reward, no fanfare, no "end of story". You don't
know if you're even done or not!
Areas are sparse, eventwise, typically containing only randoms and one
big battle. One area is actually nearly empty, other than a transfer
module! That particular area brings you a good chunk of experience and
weaponry, but pretty much nothing else; it has nothing to do with the
story, and doesn't qualify as a mini-adventure since there's nothing
really going on.
But my main complaint is simply with the classification of this mod.
This is not a Ravenloft game; there's nothing remotely Ravenloft-like
about this mod, save for its name. No horror, no descriptions, no
mood. It is basically a hack and slash game, light on plot, heavy on
treasure and fighting. There is a cute little excursion into a
suspicious little town inhabited by three beautiful maidens... but
that ends rather anticlimactically as well.
It's not that this is a bad mod; it's really not. But it could've used
a lot more tweaking before it was released, and a stronger continuity
in the storyline would've helped quite a bit.
Story Execution: B-
Graphics: A
Encounters: C+
Innovativity: C
Overall rating: B-
****Nyx Nightshade****
Module: Daimyo Okada
Author: Unknown
Source: UATOOLS
This module is a must for any one seriously considering using
editors to change the basics of the game. The only major hacks I
noticed were in editing the names of races and weapons and changing
the usable icons to reflect the changes in race, but these hacks have
a major role in making the player believe the setting he or she is
in. You even get to play with a sort of lizard creature called a
Henyokei.
As you may have guessed from the title, this adventure is in an
Oriental Adventures setting. It is basically a "kill the foozle"-type
plot, but manages to bring something fresh to the table by telling the
story in a first person perspective. The module picks one of your
characters to be the main character and it is this character that the
people in the town respond to, not the entire party. This module does
feature original artwork (at least I've never seen it before). Only
about 3 or 4 dungeons are used so it is fairly short, but does include
at least one mini-adventure. I won't give away any of the plot, but
the action leading up to the final battle and the actions following
are quite exciting and give you a sense of urgency.
- Pros
- Hacked characters and weapons, original artwork, no
truly random encounters, and you get to play as a
LIZARD.
- Cons
- WAY TOO SHORT. Where is the sequel? <Editor's Note: It had
to be short; it was included with UATOOLS and was an example
of what could be done with that toolkit.>
Overall grade: A
--DBoyd11074.
Centuria: The Chosen Ones
Author - Chris Torgensen
This module is pretty decent. The text file says it requires
UATOOLS to operate, but I can't remember any hacks used in it. There
are a few new pics and an original overland map.
The story starts with you hiding outside the town of Tullen.
This is your home town and it has just been taken over by Manarians,
from the land of Rel Manar. You have to sneak into town through the
back gate and find your friend, Miton the mage. From there, you will
visit several other towns and meet new people, in your quest to find
the magic items needed to stop the Manarian threat. The story ends
with you finding the first magic item. This module is supposed to
be the first in a line of modules, but apparently the author has
given up the series.
- Pros:
- New art...a new map...decent plot...humorous monsters (I don't
know whether this is a pro or con. I can't be scared of a monster
that looks like Gumby.)
- Cons:
- Reasonably short...The new art is not of very good quality...
Some of the towns you visit, just use the small towns event...
Extremely linear storyline...The towns are not very well developed
(Only a few places in town actually do anything. It doesn't give you
any reason to explore the town.)
Overall grade: B-
Donald Boyd
Author: I have no idea, and neither does anyone else. It is assumed
to have actually come from SSI, as a last-minute drop from
the features. It was experimental, and slightly buggy.
Full Title: Backdrop Editor
For: IBM
Additional Documentation: Only if the source code counts
Well, it's been available for a long time now, and it was a long time
coming, but someone found the Backdrop Editor somewhere, and it got
uploaded to America OnLine. Hopefully, from there, it found its way
to the Internet.....(Or maybe it came from the Internet, who knows?)
Anyway, this is an ability we have all been looking forward to
since the very first days of UA back a couple of years. This was the
best thing since sliced bread, as far as I was concerned. Needless to
say, I downloaded it immediately. (Actually, sooner.)
Then I discovered some stuff. It only handles LBM files. I thought,
"That's okay, I've got this, that and the other conversion program."
I tried every conversion program, and tried to use the LBM files with
the backdrop editor. Wouldn't work. Tearing my hair out in
frustration, I posted to the UA boards on AOL about the problem, and
got the answer. Some folks were having that problem, others weren't.
The safest way to go was to actually use Deluxe Paint to do the
backdrops. Or at least convert from PCX within Deluxe Paint. Well,
that was great.....Nobody knew where to pick up a copy. (To
everybody's credit, however, most people were willing to convert the
files for me....) Shortly after I got over the initial anger at the
backdrop editor, I came across a copy of Deluxe Paint 2. The disks
were bad, but enough of the program was intact, and I was able to use
it. And I did. And I do. And, boy, look at my backdrops now!!!
About backdrops, now, because we need to talk about that. Not
everybody's going to be able to do it right, see, because of the
color problems. You have a maximum of 32 colors, plus UA's normal
palette. (The 32 in the beginning--the 16 default colors plus the
colors for the border.) The 32 colors have their own special slots in
the palette. It's kind of a pain in the butt. (That's the reason it
takes so long to get the backdrops out: Changing the palettes gets
very tedious very quickly.) Anyway, then they have to be imported
with the backdrop editor. This is a universal change; all of your UA
modules will be affected by it. It's like any other hack in that
respect. However, the newer versions of UATOOLS support new
backdrops, and it is relatively easy to write a batch file to make
the changes transparent to the user.
Frankly, I feel that this is a must-download for every UA designer.
Period. If you design adventures with UA, or are planning to, you
really need this product. With the number of backdrops that have been
uploaded to AOL (have they gotten out to the 'Net yet? I hope so!)
this program is a godsend! It is quite literally a must-have!!
Bug Control: B
Innovativity: A+
Overall: A
--Ekstra
I'm writing a program that will enable FRUA users to EXPAND their
designs. The program will be called Designer's Utilities, it's
features will include:
- Ability to COPY, RENAME, and DELETE Monsters and Combat Icons.
(Similiar to my program Mover Mover v1.0 (On AOL), but much better)
- Ability to EDIT monsters like never before. You can have a Green
Dragon actually join your party and fight the 'bad guys' with you.
You'll also be able to give them NEW special abilities! And don't
worry, if you've already used UATOOLS on your design you'll be able to
give them the new ITEMS you created!! (UATOOLS SUPPORT!)
- Ability to COPY, RENAME, and DELETE all graphic types.
- Ability to EXCHANGE the format of a graphic.
(As I showed you <John: In his article in the Technical
Information section>, with the program you can modify all
types!)
Peter J. Kos (PJ)
--Peter Kos@AOL.COM
You know, I made that Halloween module called "Call of Cthulhu: The
Stars Are Right!", and a lot of people have really enjoyed it. In it
was a brief promo for the module I want to talk about now.
Steve Holloway (the P.I. you play in "The Stars Are Right!") is
moving up in life. He cashed in on his defeat of Cthulhu, and gets a
nice, new office, pays his bills, stops drinking, and basically
starts living on easy street!
But, money troubles once again develop. With them come the pile of
bills ("When will someone toss a match on them?" he asks) and with
those bills comes desperation. And that's where Phil Martinson comes
in....
Phil's a photographer, and has been taking professional pictures of
criminal activity for years. He was out snooping in the forest,
trying to get some snaps of hunters hunting out-of-season, but gave
up when he realized they were just getting drunk and talking about
shooting things. As he got in his car, he noticed a small blood
trail. He followed that trail (expecting to find a half-eaten rabbit
or some other small sylvan creature) into the forest. A little bit
off the trail, he found most of a human body. What could he do? He
did what he does best: Took pictures. An entire roll of them. Then,
he took them to a friend of his, who told him the wounds on the body
were in all likelihood made by a wolf.
But there are no wolves in nor around Arkham, Massachusetts.
So Phil goes to see Steve, and a deal is arranged......
.....................................................................
This module is going to be a different feel than almost any other
module ever made. The reason is because of all the little things that
will be going on in the background, that the player won't know about.
Little things, like getting mauled by a werewolf before the fight and
noticing later that five o'clock shadow is starting to come a bit
early. And later still, noticing that you pass out and wake up in the
mental ward of Arkham General (the local hospital) without any memory
of getting there....Little things, like not being able to enter that
one passageway in the cave because of a sudden (terrible) case of
claustrophobia....Yes, this module is going to play differently than
any other!
Here's the list of features, slightly modified from the version which
appears in the promo in "The Stars Are Right!":
- Simulated mental illness. I plan on introducing phobias to the UA
world! If you are claustrophobic, you won't be able to go in tight
places! If you are zoophobic, and you encounter wolves, guess who
gets the initiative? And you won't even know if you have them,
because they will be quest numbers, not items nor keys!
- (To go along with the above) A simulated mental hospital. Your
character will undoubtedly pick up a mental illness, but even if
he doesn't, he will wind up here! (After some of the lycanthropic
episodes, for instance!) You will be able to role-play the stay,
also, using a chain of questions and answers. And, if you suspect
that you have one or more mental illnesses, the longer you stay,
the more of them get cured! (I have already figured out how to do
this neat little trick...)
- Never before seen art, and more than just the title pic! I already
have lined up line art, which will be Xeroxed, colored, and
scanned in especially for this module...There will also be 100%
original hand-drawn artwork by me (!) in this module. A teaser
image of the major villain, James Kischner (where do I get these
names?), in his still-human form, in a misty forest, is included
to whet your appetite! This file is P_JAME01.PCX.
p_jame01.pcx
- Truly simulated lycanthropy (though not in combat)! This will be
done as the "cursed" form of lycanthropy--where you don't even
remember what you did! Just wake up somewhere strange--like in a
psychiatric care ward!
- Visit--for the first time in a UA mod--most of Arkham,
Massachusetts, correct according to the map included with Call of
Cthulhu.
- This will be the very first UA module where you will have the
opportunity to steal a helicopter! (YES!) That is, if you know how
to fly one....Otherwise, trying to steal a chopper can be very bad
for your health....(Anybody got any good bigpics of choppers? One
on a helipad would be nice....As well as one in the air....Guess I
could try to photograph some myself.....)
- The library of Miskatonic University is now open for business! And
you may be able to gain admittance to the Forbidden Stacks!
- Will use a new Frame file and font file (not the same as in "The
Stars Are Right!", either) that I will make especially for this
adventure.....
- Will make use of new walls! With knowledge I have gained thanks to
Sarlegant, I will now be able to edit the colors of the walls! So
you'll actually see something new and incredible in this module!
Even better than the cave walls in "The Stars Are Right!"
- More backdrops! And it will keep the "true movement" introduced in
this module! <John: And detailed in an article in Designer's
Guides, as well.>
- New music! So far, I have one major theme and a minitune set. I
won't divulge what's in them because it's all not uploaded! (So it
will be never-before-heard music in UA!)
- New items, strings, and more....And I will be editing the
character class strings to show Steve as a P.I. and Phil as a
Photographer! There will be many more items at Steve's disposal
this time around, also! (Anybody know how to make all of the items
you make Drow items? Just curious, because I want to be able to
take all of Steve's equipment every now and then. It just wouldn't
do for Steve to be running around a mental hospital carrying a gun
or butterfly knife, now would it?)
- The documentation will contain a great deal of information about
the folklore of werewolves, as well some documented werewolf cases
in our history! There are facts in the docs about werewolf
folklore that will surprise most of you, the way they surprised me
when I read about them!
So look for "The Beast Within" sometime in the next 6 or 7 months!
You'll be glad you did!
--Ekstra
This is the first issue of the NL with me (EKSTRA) as Editor-in-
Chief, and I'm a bit neurotic about it. I'm paranoid that I might be
screwing something up, and I wouldn't want that. So, I bring to you
this survey! I would appreciate you taking the time to fill it out.
As well as settling my nerves, it also asks for your suggestions and
comments. This is important to me and the entire NL staff, as we want
to bring you the very best NL that we can.
Instructions: Press the F10 key. Whoa! Notice that little menu?
Well, move the selection bar to "Edit". Hit <Enter>. Be very careful
not to overtype the questions or this text. Move down to the
questions, and place a capital "X" in every check box ("[ ]") that
applies to you. There are sometimes dotted lines ("----"), these are
where you should type something in, be it comments, your screen name,
whatever. If the question does not apply to you ("Alternate Internet
Address", for example), then leave it blank. If you run out of room
on a line, you can hit the ENTER key and continue on the next line.
After you are done, hit the F10 key again. Move the selection bar
to the word "Save". Hit enter. Type in a name for this, and hit enter
again. Now, send me that text file at the address UANL2@AOL.COM, and
I'll make sure that your opinions are used to help us create the
ultimate newsletter. I may not be able to use every suggestion, but I
will do what I can. The results of this (hopefully one-time) event
will be shown next month. (Percentages and stuff like that, no one
specific will be mentioned. For instance, "85% of people wanted to
see more artwork included with the NL, while 12% wanted to see more
work done on an issuely module, and a mere 3% wanted the NL to
include actual small programs such as the backdrop editor.")
Here we go:
Screen Name (Or Internet Address): ----------------------------------
Alternate Internet Address:------------------------------------------
How do you rate this newsletter? (1-5, 1=terrible, 5=Excellent)
[ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5
How would you compare this newsletter to previous issues?
[ ] Better [ ] The Same [ ] Worse
What would you like to see more of? (Check all that apply, and if
something you want isn't listed, use the "Other" as well.)
[ ] Artwork (Specify):-----------------------------------------------
[ ] Small utilities (Specify):---------------------------------------
[ ] Small modules
[ ] Monsters (with artwork)
[ ] NPCs (with artwork)
[ ] Tip columns (Specify):-------------------------------------------
[ ] Hacking-related columns
[ ] How-to columns
[ ] Reviews
[ ] Previews
[ ] WANTED! ads
[ ] Bug reports, fixes, and workarounds
[ ] Other (Specify):-------------------------------------------------
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What general suggestions would you make to enhance the NL as it is?
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Have you ever wanted to great some great looking overland maps? Do
you believe that you have no artistic talents? Try using Vistapro.
Last issue I told you how to use Vistapro 3.0, to create some
beautiful overlands using the maps that come with the program or
create random ones, but how about custom maps? That's what this
issue is for....let's begin...
First you're going to need a template; you can use the one I provided
here (vistatem.pcx) or create your own by starting the program and
while on the default map, go to the Explmp menu and click the item
DEM->PCX. This will create a pcx file that can be used as a template.
vistatem.pcx
Tip 1: Note that the template created by Vistapro has a multicolored
palette. To make it easier for you I suggest changing the palette to
256 grayscale (using programs like photostyler, photoshop, paintshop
pro, etc.). This will allow you to better gauge the different
heights of the vistas you create. Colored or grayscale vistapro will
import both.
Next draw your map on the template. (Remember the higher the color
number the higher the vista. On a 256 grayscale palette, it would be
the closer you get to white the higher the vista.) I took the liberty
of drawing a sample map on the template provided (vistatem.pcx).
Tip 2: Note that vista uses this formula to establish heights: height
in feet = color number * 16. This will help you get a better feel for
the map, as you draw.
After you've finished your map go back to Vistapro, go to the Explmp
menu and click PCX->DEM. Go to the directory with your map and choose
the file with your map. Voila, you can now use the techniques I
discussed in the last issue to create an overland with it.
Another use for your new map is to get a more accurate background of
your pics. Think about it: you can now position your characters
anywhere on a map that you create! The possibilities are endless...
Well this is it for this issue. If you want to know how the map
looked after making an overland with it, check out the big pic
provided (figure1.pcx). So until next time this is....
-DIKA WOLF
figure1.pcx
Autery has submitted a nice little mage icon, suitable for importing
into a PC icon file. It is C_SHMRN2.PCX. It was originally intended
(and sent) for the UA City, but seeing as how that is now closed
(temporarily, I hope) I decided to include it here. Autery's icons
are (IMHO) some of the best around, so I would like to keep a
tradition of including one each NL.
--Ekstra
c_shmrn2.pcx
Beginning Designer's Tips for UA, From Someone Who Has Just Stopped
Being a Beginner!
Well, I finally got my first UA module out. It's done, it's good
(IMHO), and it works. It also was innovative and had a great story.
And, even though it only takes about 35-50 minutes to beat (at most),
it was a pain in the butt to make.
Let's talk like real people about something that is definitely a pain
in the butt to do, but is immensely rewarding. Admittedly, the reward
is not big trucks dumping mounds of $100 bills on your front lawn,
but it makes you feel good inside. Kind of like you accomplished
something. It feels.......Well, indescribable.
So, where do beginners come in? Hey, let's face it: I'm a beginner
myself. But I did it!! And if I can do it, you can too! Let's see
what we can do to make the process easier on you.
First, if you haven't done so already, run through the tutorials in
the manual. Yeah, they suck, but they get you over the initial bumps.
Then, download a copy of the UAFAQ, UAHELP, and the new HELPME.TXT
files. (The new HELPME.TXT is really geared more toward players, but
if you upload any module to AOL, it is now a prerequisite that you
include it.) Read through all of them, and print them if you can. If
you print them, keep them around you whenever you're trying to do
anything UA-related. It's good to have a reference nearby. (You would
not try to write a report--or even the notes for a report--without
some references with you, right?)
Second, start small. Do a one- or two-dungeon design first. Make it
good, but keep it short and simple. Don't try using complex wandering
monster chains or super-complex dialogue chains, just try to work out
the concepts in a good storyline. Let me use myself as an example
here: I have started over 15 separate designs. With the exception of
the first 2, they all would have been great! But they were all big,
boisterous projects with all kinds of great whatsits and whatnots in
them and all of the bells and whistles. And not one of them ever got
completed. Not even the SpellJammer module ever got completed...
Although, now, it could conceivably get done....Anyway, what I'm
trying to say is by starting small, you can build later. And some of
the best UA mods I've ever played have been short. (OGS: The Black
Wizards and The Quest For Power come to mind....)
Now, in addition to starting small, you want to plot out as much as
you can on paper. I know this sounds tedious, boring, and stupid, but
I didn't plot out a single one of those 15 mods I tried to make,
except for the SpellJammer one. (Actually, I didn't even plot out the
one I finally did finish. But that was made in about 18 fevered hours
over one weekend....I just got started and literally could not stop.
And--ask my beta testers--it suffered. I got reports of bugs--although
not many--and many typos and plot problems, and it had the appearance
of having been rushed. It has since gone through a massive overhaul--
during which time, I plotted it out much more thoroughly on paper!)
You want to do this because you never know when you are going to want
to add to the module. You also want to do this because it makes doing
a lot of the difficult things in UA (like complex dialogue chains,
encounter chains, and other such things) easier to do if you have it
planned ahead. Make all of your maps on paper first. I know that
sounds stupid (why do something now and have to do it again later,
right?), but you will find that it is much easier to plan where
things will happen if you know the layout of your dungeons. If you
are using overlands, plan where the entrances to your dungeons will
be. Keep it all on paper, and have it all with you when you sit down
to design. It will make things much easier on you. Trust me; I've
been there.
Let's chat about story and writing for a few moments. I am not a
professional writer. (At the risk of sounding pretentious, many of my
friends and even English teachers say I could be if I worked at it
more often.) I have my doubts that any UA designer is a professional
writer. (Unless, of course, Stephen King has a copy of UA....If so,
where are your modules? I would love one!) However, there are some
simple tips and rules you should follow. Now, we've all seen the
message boards. We have people who misspell "I'm" and "where" and it
shows in their modules as well. Now, none of us are the best spellers
in the world. I'm not; I keep a dictionary handy! That's my
suggestion to you. There is nothing more annoying than to see great
text marred by a misspelled word. Well, that's not true, there are
some things that I'm getting to that are more annoying, but
misspellings are still annoying. (And, hey, nobody's immune to typos,
so always double-check. In my first mod, I found gabs of typos in the
least likely of places! UA should have included a spell checker!)
Another problem many of us face is grammar. I admit it, I'm no
English teacher. I hated most of mine, too, because they were always
picky about grammar. But, There's a difference between writing a post
on a message board or an e-mail to a friend and writing a story or UA
module. You have to use decent grammar in a UA module or story.
Otherwise, it really detracts from the enjoyability of the module.
Some common mistakes are using "there" instead of "their", "your"
instead of "you're", and some million others. If you know you're not
the best at grammar, have a friend who is check it out for you.
Speaking of having things checked out, let's get on to after the
module is complete. You have a complete module, ready-to-go. You just
finished it! Do not upload it yet!! I know this is a difficult urge
to resist, but do not upload it yet!! First, you want to run through
the module as many times as you can stand to to try out every
possibility. This is to make sure everything works, that all of the
combats are beatable, etc. Then, you should Post a message on one of
the boards asking for people to beta test your module. If nobody
replies after a week or so, beg, plead, whine, moan, and be a pest.
Don't be too much of a pest, but don't worry about dignity, either!!
You need beta testers!! They will find mistakes that you missed!!
They can be spelling mistakes, bugs in the design, story flaws ("Hey,
what happened to that guy we left stranded on the desert island
before the nuclear bomb went off?"), anything can--and will--go
wrong! Trust me, there's bound to be something! Get those beta-
testers. When they all send you messages saying that nothing's wrong,
then upload it!! And if you're on AOL, it will be a while before it's
accepted to the file base. It takes a while to review mods, so be
very patient. Don't expect it the next day or anything.
Well, that's all I have for this time around. Sorry to be so long-
winded, but hey, what are friends for, right? Seriously, I wanted to
let you new folks know it is possible, and you can turn out some
really neat stuff with this product. If I can, you can! Well, until
next time, this is.......
--Ekstra
Yes, I'm interrupting your NL once again. I just want to say that all
of the Character Hack articles, in this NL and #11, were written by
David Knott (Kaviyd@AOL.COM), and we thank him for this information.
Checklist for Character Generation Hacks Using UATOOLS (continued)
Example: Mystara Hack
This hack is based on the "original" D&D game, as described in the
D&D Rules Cyclopedia and various Gazetteers and other supplements.
This hack admits of numerous local variations for different parts of
the Known World, the Savage Coast, and the Hollow World. However,
these variations are generally incompatible with each other, so I will
limit this hack to apply to Karameikos, with only a few notes for
other hacks. The overall level limit is 36. For any information not
given here, refer to the 2nd edition PHB.
- Races:
- The standard races work just fine. Gnomes are relatively rare
outside of Karameikos, so they are a good race to sacrifice if you
wish to add another player character race. If you need to make room
for a second new race, Half-Elves are the next rarest race to
sacrifice.
- Elf:
- Legal classes are Ranger, Fighter/Magic-User, Fighter/Magic-
User/Thief, and Cleric/Fighter/Magic-User (also known as
"Treekeepers"). Hollow World Elves may also be Fighters and Fighter/
Thieves. Savage Coast Elves may also be Avengers. Elves are limited
to level 20 as Clerics and Magic-Users.
- Half-Elf:
- Legal classes are Cleric, Fighter, Avenger, Ranger, Magic-
User, and Thief, and any available combination of two of these
classes. Half-Elves are limited to level 15 as Clerics and Magic-Users
and to level 20 as Fighters and Avengers.
- Dwarf:
- Legal classes are Cleric, Fighter, Avenger, Thief, and any
available combination of two of these classes. Dwarves are limited
to level 12 as Clerics.
- Gnome:
- Legal classes are Cleric, Fighter, Ranger, Magic-User, Thief,
and any available combination of two of these classes. Dwarves are
limited to level 12 Clerics and Mages.
- Halfling:
- Legal classes are Cleric, Fighter, Thief, and any available
combination of two of these classes. Halflings are limited to level 8
as Fighters and cannot be single-classed Clerics.
- Human:
- Legal classes are Cleric, Fighter, Avenger, Ranger, Magic-
User, and Thief.
- Lupin:
- This race is found in Glantri and along the Savage Coast.
Members of this race have the same class options as Humans but are
limited to 15th level as Magic-Users. They gain a bonus of +40 to
their "Hear Noise" skill as Thieves. If you use this race, replace
the "Gnome" combat icons with 1x1 "Gnoll" icons in the player
character icon file. For further information, see the "Red Steel"
boxed set.
- Rakasta:
- This race is found mainly along the Savage Coast. Members
of this race have the same class options as Humans but are limited to
15th level as Clerics. They gain a bonus of +10 to their "Hear
Noise" skill as Thieves. They may also be multi-classed Cleric/
Fighters. If you use this race, insert a few "Rakshasa" or "Humanoid
Feline" icons into the player character icon file. For further
information, see the "Red Steel" boxed set.
- Classes:
- Except as noted, all class data matches standard 2nd edition
rules.
- Avenger:
- This class (also known as "Defender") replaces the standard
Paladin class. Avengers advance as Rangers, save as Fighters, and
gain spells earlier (at 6th level rather than 9th level; see "Red
Steel" boxed set for details) but are otherwise treated as Paladins.
- Ranger:
- This class represents the Fighter/Magic-Users of Mystara,
especially those of Human origin. They advance at half the rate of
Fighters and have the same spell progression as Magic-Users of equal
level, with slight alterations at higher levels to compensate for the
lack of spells above 4th level. They fight as Fighters and save as
Fighters or Magic-Users, whichever gives the better save. They roll
one d8 per hit die to level 10. They gain Druid spells only at very
high levels. Because these characters should have no special
abilities against "giant class" opponents, anyone designing a UA
adventure for Mystara should negate the "Ranger DB" vulnerability for
all monsters used.
Checklist for Character Generation Hacks Using UATOOLS (continued)
Example: Orcs Hack
This hack replaces the traditional humans and demi-humans with orcs
and other goblinoids. It combines information from the "Complete
Book of Humanoids" with the "Orcs of Thar" gazetteer. To keep up the
traditional image of goblinoids as underdogs, they should have an
overall level limit of 15 and should never have better than "Modest"
starting equipment. Refer to the "Complete Book of Humanoids" for any
information not spelled out here.
- Races:
- This time we completely replace the traditional races. The
new races are as follows:
- Orc (replaces "Elf"):
- Members of this race can be Fighters, Shamans,
Wokans, Cleric/Fighters, Cleric/Wokans, Fighter/Thieves, and Fighter/
Magic-User/Thieves. They are limited to level 9 as Clerics and to
level 5 as Magic-Users.
- Goblin (replaces "Half-Elf"):
- Members of this race can be Fighters,
Cleric/Fighters, Cleric/Fighter/Magic-Users, Fighter/Magic-Users,
Fighter/Thieves, and Fighter/Magic-User/Thieves. They are limited to
level 12 as Clerics, level 11 as Fighters, and level 10 as Magic-
Users.
- Bogie (also known as "Bugbear"; replaces "Dwarf"):
- Members of this
race can be Fighters, Shamans, Wokans, Cleric/Fighters, Cleric/
Wokans, and Fighter/Thieves. They are limited to level 10 as
Clerics.
- Gnoll (replaces "Gnome"):
- Members of this race can be Fighters,
Shamans, Wokans, Cleric/Fighters, Cleric/Wokans, Fighter/Thieves, and
Fighter/Magic-User/Thieves. They are limited to level 11 as Clerics
and to level 6 as Magic-Users.
- Kobold (replaces "Halfling"):
- Members of this race can be Fighters,
Shamans, Wokans, and Fighter/Thieves. They are limited to level 9 as
Fighters.
- Hutai (also known as "Hobgoblin"; replaces "Human"):
- Members of this
race can be Fighters, Shamans, Wokans, and Fighter/Thieves.
- Classes:
- Except as noted, all classes follow rules given in 2nd
edition PHB.
- Cleric:
- No goblinoid character can advance past level 11 in this
class, so spells of level 6+ are available only to hostile monsters.
- Shaman:
- Replaces Paladin. Advancement is at half rate of Fighter.
Spells are as for Cleric class, with slight alterations at higher
levels to compensate for the lack of spells above 4th level. They
fight as Fighters and save as Fighters or Clerics, whichever gives
the better save. They roll one d8 per hit die to level 9.
- Wokan:
- Replaces Ranger. Advancement is at half rate of Magic-User.
Spells are as for Magic-User class, with slight alterations at higher
levels to compensate for the lack of spells above 4th level. They
fight as Fighters and save as Fighters or Magic-Users, whichever gives
the better save. They start with 2d6 for hit dice and roll one d6 per
hit die to level 10.
- Magic-User:
- No goblinoid character can advance past level 10 in this
class, so spells of level 6+ are available only to hostile monsters.
- Alignments:
- To preserve the proper flavor, all goblinoid characters
must be neutral or evil; no good alignments are allowed.
- Player Character Icons:
- Anyone using this hack should replace every
icon that can be replaced. The standard goblinoid icons should be
used for a start, and other icons should be added to complete the set.
The default player character icons are good candidates for monster
icons.
- Monsters:
- Note that humans and demi-humans should have the race
"Monster". THAC0, AC, and damage bonuses against goblinoid characters
should be built into the monster combat values, as they can be assumed
to apply to all player characters. However, no monster should have
these vulnerabilities, as they make no sense with the new character
types.
Checklist for Character Generation Hacks Using UATOOLS (continued)
Example: Aquatic Hack
This hack is the most ambitious hack in this package. It makes use
of information in PC 3, the "Sea Peoples". There is no AD&D source
for any of this information other than the standard 2nd edition
rulebooks. The overall level limit is 25.
- Races:
- Once again we completely replace the traditional races. The
new races are as follows:
- Elf (Aquatic):
- Legal classes are Fighter, Wokan, Cleric/Fighter,
Cleric/Wokan, Fighter/Magic-User, and Cleric/Fighter/Magic-User.
Elves are limited to level 20 as Clerics and Magic-Users. Ability
score ranges are as follows:
Str: 9-18/75
Int: 9-19
Wis: 7-17
Dex: 10-19
Con: 6-17
Cha: 8-18
- Half-Elf:
- Legal classes are as for Elf; they can also be Shamans.
These characters are the result of matings between Aquatic Elves and
Havai or Mer-folk. Half-Elves are limited to level 15 as Clerics and
Magic-Users and to level 20 as Fighters and Shamans. Ability score
ranges are as follows:
Str: 9-18/90
Int: 4-18
Wis: 3-18
Dex: 9-19
Con: 7-18
Cha: 6-18
- Tritu (also known as "Triton"; replaces "Dwarf"):
- Legal classes are
Fighter, Cleric/Fighter, Fighter/Magic-User, and Cleric/Fighter/Magic-
User. Tritu have unlimited advancement in all available classes.
Ability score ranges are as follows:
Str: 9-18/50
Int: 9-19
Wis: 9-19
Dex: 3-18
Con: 3-18
Cha: 8-18
- Nixie (replaces "Gnome"):
- Legal classes are Wokan, Fighter/Magic-
User, Cleric/Wokan, and Cleric/Fighter/Magic-User. Nixies are limited
to level 6 as Clerics and to level 8 as Magic-Users. Ability score
ranges are as follows:
Str: 9-15
Int: 9-18
Wis: 3-18
Dex: 13-19
Con: 10-16
Cha: 15-19
- Sahuagin (also known as "Shark-kin"; replaces "Halfling"):
- Legal
classes are Fighter, Shaman, Wokan, Cleric/Fighter, and Cleric/Wokan.
Sahuagin are limited to level 10 as Clerics. Ability score ranges
are as follows:
Str: 17-19
Int: 3-16
Wis: 3-18
Dex: 7-19
Con: 10-18
Cha: 3-16
- Havai (also known as "Mer-Folk"; replaces "Human"):
- Legal classes are
Fighter, Shaman, and Wokan. Ability score rangers are as follows:
Str: 9-18/00
Int: 3-17
Wis: 3-18
Dex: 9-19
Con: 8-18
Cha: 8-18
- Classes:
- Except as noted, all class data matches standard 2nd edition
rules.
- Shaman:
- Replaces Paladin. Advancement is at half rate of Fighter.
Spells are as for Cleric class, with slight alterations at higher
levels to compensate for the lack of spells above 4th level. They
fight as Fighters and save as Fighters or Clerics, whichever gives
the better save. They roll one d8 per hit die to level 9.
- Wokan:
- Replaces Ranger. Advancement is at half rate of Magic-User.
Spells are as for Magic-User class, with slight alterations at higher
levels to compensate for the lack of spells above 4th level. They
fight as Fighters and save as Fighters or Magic-Users, whichever gives
the better save. They start with 2d6 for hit dice and roll one d6 per
hit die to level 10.
- Player Character Icons:
- Anyone using this hack should replace every
icon that can be replaced. Finding suitable replacements is a
challenge, as there are currently very few icons of aquatic humanoids.
- Item Editing:
- Armor is limited to shells, shields are not allowed
(as they are ineffective in water), and only piercing weapons work.
Favored weapons are tridents, spears, daggers, and crossbows; do not
even consider using blunt or chopping weapons.
- Combat:
- Obviously, the preferred mode of combat is "indoors" with the
"Coral" combat art. If it is necessary to fight "outdoors", the
"Swamp" art is the least jarring option. You should ensure that
monsters abide by the same equipment restrictions as the player
characters, but it is not necessary to impose any other restrictions,
as the player characters are assumed to know the aquatic versions of
any spells that are used. However, you should negate the vulnerability
of all monsters to class and racial combat abilities, as they no
longer make sense with the new character types.
Of course, the player characters will have considerable difficulty if
you let them leave the water, but that is left as an exercise for the
adventure designer.
Checklist for Character Generation Hacks Using UATOOLS (continued)
Example: Krynn/Dragonlance
For this hack we must accept some simplifications, some of which will
be maddening to those who have played the "Krynn" gold-box games.
However, anyone who can accept the loss of certain details will find
generation of this hack fairly straightforward. Overall level limit
is 14. Most Krynn characters are single-classed; the primary
exceptions are Fighter/Thieves. References for this hack are the
hardback "Dragonlance Adventures" and the "Tales of the Lance" boxed
set; refer to those works for any information not given here.
- Races:
- All standard races except "Halfling" are found on Krynn. You
can replace that race with "Kender" or "Minotaur", depending on your
personal preferences.
- Elf:
- This race includes Silvanesti and Kagonesti; Kagonesti and Sea
Elves are too different from the other subraces to fit in here
(although monsters or NPCs of these subraces are properly designated
as Elves). Legal classes are Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Magic-
User, Thief, and Fighter/Thief. Elves are limited to level 14 as
Clerics and to level 12 as Paladins.
- Half-Elf:
- Legal classes are as for Elves. Half-Elves may also be
Cleric/Fighters (for Solamnic Knights). Half-Elves are limited to
level 9 as Fighters, level 10 as Paladins and Magic-Users, and level
11 as Rangers.
- Dwarf:
- Legal classes are Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Thief, and
Fighter/Thief. Dwarves are limited to level 10 as Clerics.
- Gnome:
- Legal classes are Cleric, Fighter, Thief, Fighter/Thief, and
Magic-User/Thief. Gnomes are limited to level 9 as Clerics and to
level 11 as Fighters.
- Kender:
- Kender lose their "Taunt" ability and their special "hoopak"
weapon. However, they can become Thieves or Fighter/Thieves. They
are limited to level 9 as Fighters. If you exclude Kender from the
available races, designate NPC Kender as "Gnomes".
- Minotaur:
- This race actually makes a better replacement for
Halflings, as they lose less in the process of conversion to UA.
Legal classes are Fighter, Ranger, Cleric/Fighter, Fighter/Magic-User,
and Fighter/Thief. They are limited to level 10 as Thieves. The major
difficulty with using this race is the lack of 1x1 Minotaur icons.
If you exclude Minotaurs from the available races, designate NPC
Minotaurs as "Monsters".
- Human:
- Legal classes are Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Magic-
User, Thief, Cleric/Fighter (for Solamnic Knights), and Fighter/Thief
(for Barbarians and Mariners).
- Irda:
- Members of this race usually disguise themselves as Humans, so
designate NPCs of that race as Human. If you elect to use them as a
player character race, they should replace Gnomes. Legal classes for
Irda are Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Magic-User, and Thief.
Irda have unlimited advancement in all available classes.
- Classes:
- Except as noted, all class data matches standard 2nd edition
rules.
- Cleric:
- Sorry, there is no way to distinguish Clerics by cult or even
by alignment. All Clerics have the same abilities.
- Ranger:
- This class follows the 2nd edition rules for spell
progression.
- Magic-User:
- This class also suffers a major loss of detail. There is
no way to simulate the effects of alignment or of the three moons on
this class.
Checklist for Character Generation Hacks Using UATOOLS (continued)
Example: Athas/Dark Sun
A hack for Athas (the "Dark Sun" world) definitely requires support
from the "Chargen" (character generator) program that I am currently
working on. Many character types that are common in this setting
cannot be generated within the standard program regardless of how we
hack it.
For this hack we must accept even more simplifications than we did
for the "Krynn/Dragonlance" hack. The overall level limit is 20;
characters of higher level have special abilities that UA cannot
handle properly. Refer to the "Dark Sun" boxed set (1991 edition; the
1995 edition was not yet available when this article was written) for
any information not given here.
- Ability Scores:
- The ability scores of Athasian characters are higher
than those of standard AD&D characters. In some cases, these scores
are higher than UA can properly handle. So, we will adopt the
following simplifications:
- Maximum strength is 19 for Muls, 18 (no percentile roll) for
Halflings, and 18/00 for all other races.
- For other ability scores, an adjusted maximum score of 18-20
becomes 18, while an adjusted maximum score of 21+ becomes 19.
- Races:
- All standard races except "Gnome" are found on Athas. We will
let the "Mul" replace that race. "Half-Giant" and "Thri-kreen"
characters are possible but have a nominal race of "Monster".
- Elf:
- Legal classes are Fighter, Cleric, Gladiator, Preserver, Thief,
and all reasonable combinations of two or three of these classes.
Elves are limited to level 18 as Fighters and to level 14 as
Gladiators.
- Half-Elf:
- Legal classes are Druid, Fighter, Cleric, Gladiator,
Preserver, Thief, and all reasonable combinations of two or three of
these classes. Half-Elves are limited to level 18 as Druids and to
level 16 as Preservers and Thieves.
- Dwarf:
- Legal classes are Fighter, Cleric, Gladiator, Thief, and all
reasonable combinations of two of these classes. Dwarves are limited
to level 16 as Thieves. There is no easy way to simulate the effects
of a Dwarf's focus.
- Mul (replaces "Gnome"):
- Legal classes are Druid, Fighter, Cleric,
Gladiator, and any reasonable combination of two of these classes.
Muls are limited to level 16 as Druids and Thieves.
- Halfling:
- Legal classes are Druid, Fighter, Cleric, Gladiator,
Preserver, Thief, and any reasonable combination of two of these
classes. Halflings are limited to level 16 as Fighters.
- Human:
- Legal classes are Druid, Fighter, Cleric, Gladiator,
Preserver, and Thief.
- Classes:
- Except as noted, all class data matches standard 2nd edition
rules.
- Druid (replaces Cleric):
- Most Cleric spells in UA are in the Sphere
of Cosmos by Dark Sun rules. Since Druids have major access to this
sphere while Clerics have only minor access, Druids become the major
priest class and replace Clerics here. Druids must be of True Neutral
alignment. NPC Templars should also be treated as members of this
class in all respects except for alignment, which should be LE, NE, or
CE.
- Cleric (replaces Paladin):
- Since there are no Paladins on Athas,
this class can be adjusted to represent a Cleric. Spells are as for
Cleric of Wisdom 18, except that no spells above level 4 are ever
granted.
- Gladiator (replaces Ranger):
- Members of this class advance as a
Ranger, have a damage bonus equal to level against most humanoid
opponents, and otherwise function as Fighters. They are always
single-classed.
- Preserver:
- This class functions in all ways as a Magic-User. NPC
Defilers are also treated as members of this class, although they
should have special abilities such as "Carrion Stench" to represent
the destructive effect of their magic on their surroundings.
- Equipment:
- Metal is scarce on Athas, so armor should be scarce.
Also, if we assume the player characters to be "good guys", they will
probably be of low social status or even slaves, so starting equipment
should be "Poor" at best. Common metal items and magic items of any
material should be relatively scarce.
- Player Character Icons:
- Anyone using this hack should replace those
icons that show heavily armored warriors. Most Athasians will be
scantily clad or wearing robes. Dwarves and Muls of either gender are
typically bald.
- Monsters:
- Since the natural enemies of Dwarves have been wiped out,
the THAC0 and AC bonuses of Dwarves and Gnomes should have no effect.
However, nearly all humanoid opponents should be vulnerable to the
"Ranger DB" ability.
Checklist for Character Generation Hacks Using UATOOLS
Example: Birthright hack
This hack is based on the recently released product of the same name.
It can use standard UA character types or be expanded by the upcoming
"Character Generator". Overall level limit is 20.
- Regents and Scions:
- Unless the character generator is used (to give
"blooded" characters their extra hit points and special abilities),
all player characters are assumed to be unblooded standard heroes. A
"low" adventure assumes that all characters are unblooded and greatly
restricts the available spells, while a "high" adventure allows all
magic spells and gives the various races new special abilities as per
the "Birthright" rules.
- Races:
- Elf:
- Elves may be Fighters, Rangers, Thieves, Fighter/Thieves, or
Magic-User/Thieves. Elves are limited to level 16 as Thieves. In a
"low" adventure, Elves are limited to level 12 as Magic-Users and must
be multi-classed Magic-User/Thieves. In a "high" adventure, Elves
have unlimited advancement as Magic-Users and may also be Fighter/
Magic-Users or single-classed Magic-Users.
- Half-Elf:
- Half-Elves may be Clerics, Fighters, Rangers, Thieves,
Cleric/Fighters, Fighter/Thieves, and Magic-User/Thieves. The
character generator may be used to support a Cleric/Thief template.
Half-Elves are limited to level 12 as Clerics and to level 16 as
Thieves. In a "high" adventure, Half-Elves are limited to level 16 as
Magic-Users but can be Fighter/Magic-Users or single-classed Magic-
Users.
- Dwarf:
- Dwarves may be Clerics, Fighters, Thieves, Cleric/Fighters,
and Fighter/Thieves. They are limited to level 10 as Thieves.
- Gnome:
- Since this race does not exist in Cerilia (the world of
Birthright) and there are no suitable replacements, this race should
be "stubbed out" of the character creation menu.
- Halfling:
- Halflings may be Clerics, Fighters, Rangers, Thieves,
Cleric/Rangers, and Fighter/Thieves. They are limited to level 12 as
Clerics.
- Human:
- Humans have the same class options as in standard UA. In a
"low" adventure, they may be Magic-User/Thieves but not single-classed
Magic-Users.
- Classes:
- All classes function normally as per 2nd edition rules
except as noted.
- Magic-User:
- In a "low" adventure, high level spells are limited to
the schools of Divination, Illusion, and Enchantment. Spells of
other schools above second level are unavailable. All Magic-Users are
multi-classed Magic-User/Thieves (representing Bards). In a "high"
adventure, Magic-Users function as per standard AD&D.
Yeah, this is John here, bugging you yet again while you try to read
the NL. This section is a compilation of bugs from previous issues of
the NL, so that potential designers who need to be aware of them (and
hackers who might try to fix them) have all the material they need in
one nice spot. Enjoy!
--Ekstra
With the UA version 1.2 patch disk, many of the original bugs in
FRUA were fixed, but it's evident from the discussion area in AOL
that people are still having problems. Likewise, even in the newer
uploaded games, the authors seem to be missing bugs as well. This
is just to inform those of you who might be interested of some of the
ones I've found. The list isn't all inclusive, but you're welcome to
e-mail me (or send additional comments to the NL) regarding any
others. Likewise, if anyone (esp. hackers) finds a way to fix them,
please let me know:
- Potions of giant strength -- these have a limitless duration.
(Thanks to all of you designers--including the author of "The Dungeon"
--who've included them in their magic shops... Unfortunately, you'll
never see them in my own designs).
- Thrown weapons -- any weapon that can be thrown and retrieved
after battle will increase the xp award for a combat. This may not
be very important in high-level adventures or with non-magical
weapons, but it should be kept in mind for lower level games with +1
or better daggers, hammers, etc.
- Bundled or joined items -- items that are joined and then sold
in a shop are worth more than the sum of their individual values--at
least, so the game seems to think. In effect, if 2 items are joined,
they can be sold at 4 times their worth, if 3 are joined, they sell
for 8 times, and so forth. Designers who don't want their
adventurers to acquire a lot of money quickly should consider this.
- Dungeon 36 -- once you've saved this level, 'do only once'
events will never occur. It's still possible to use the level, but
keep this in mind. Other strange bugs have been reported regarding
this dungeon. If your mod. isn't 36 dungeons long, don't use it.
- NPC Says event -- you can't tie an event to 'happen' if this
'doesn't happen'. Presumably, the game treats this event as if it
happened, whether the NPC is in the party or not. This doesn't
prevent the event from happening in the future if it's set to 'do
only once,' but it does make it impossible to set up a chain of
events on the NPC not saying something.
- Add/Remove NPC event -- same as above.
- Sleep events -- if you have more than one sleep event in the
same zone, the second and succeeding events will only happen if
whatever triggers the chain always happens. Ie., if the first event
in the chain is supposed to only happen at night and the next only
happens during the day, the party will never be awakened during the
day. A simple way to fix this is to insert a chain before the events.
If the chain is set to "always happens," the other two events will
work as desired.
- Monster immunity to confusion -- selecting this in the monster
editor seems to have no effect (confusion spells work on them quite
well). There may be a way around this, but I haven't found it yet.
Interestingly, setting the monster's intelligence and wisdom to very
low numbers (such as what low-level thieves have) seems to improve
their saving throws.
- Monster ability scores -- adjusting these numbers higher than
the default seems to have no effect, at least so I've found with
dexterity and strength. I've seen this mentioned on-line, regarding
NPCs and "who tries" events, so I assume other abilities might be the
same. Ability scores can be raised by copying from a monster who
has the desired scores or higher.
- Shops -- on a similar note to #3, this isn't really a bug, but
it bugs me (as a designer, not a player) when I see it: If you
design a module with several shops in it, don't set one to sell
things at x2 and the other at x10. Unless the module is a
demonstration of capitalism and good business sense, and it doesn't
matter if the characters have all the money they could ever want by
walking from one store to the other - the lowest priced store should
be set to no less than 1/2 the highest priced store. The only
exception is for non-magical arrows, bolts, darts, and javelins.
Since these can't be re-sold, a shop that sells only these items can
reasonably be set to far lower prices than the other stores.
- Summoned Monsters -- If the monster type chosen in
the global info of a module happens to have a fear aura, an
interesting effect will occur...whenever characters go into
combat on that level, whatever monsters they face will have
to save vs. that fear aura (just as if it were radiated by a
party member). Note that a monster needn't be summoned
for this effect to occur. This presents some interesting
possibilities for designers -- the ability to reflect the party's
growing (fearsome) reputation being but one. Keep in
mind, though, that most monsters (by default) are not
immune to fear. Thus, using this intentionally may require
some monster stats to be modified -- by giving immunity to
fear -- or they won't fit into the expected mold (undead
being a prime example).
- Self-Corrupting Dungeons -- At times, one event chain will
copy over another, making two of one chain and removing the other
one. Worse, the lost events (and text) still count against the total of
that module. If you attempt to delete one of the duplicated sets, both
are deleted at the same time. This glitch can cause serious problems
in your games if (for example) the missing chain of events is vital to
continuing the adventure. Unfortunately, the problem isn't limited to
any specific module in FRUA -- I've seen it in overland 4 and
dungeons 4, 12, and 14. The only way to "repair" the faulty module
is to clear it and start over, so the best course for designers is to save
often and watch out for the glitch. If it happens, revert to your saved
module and avoid using the location on the map where the problem
occurred.
Game/event options:
- Auto Approach -- Choosing auto approach in the combat event
has no effect on the final range of the monsters. In fact, unless a
sprite is chosen for art, and the monsters are set for nearby or far
away, this choice will have no effect at all.
- Execute event at destination -- You may want to test this option
if using it (with a transfer module) to send characters to an overland
map. In most cases, the event at the destination won't fire until the
party leaves the space and then returns.
- Graphics -- If a big picture is used for combat graphics, and a
treasure event happens afterwards, the character names will not
appear on the latter screen. The treasure can still be given out, but
the player won't know who's getting the items without a bit of
experimenting. The problem (missing character names) will happen
on almost any event following one where a big pic is used. While it's
not much problem before a "treasure event," it can be frustrating if
followed by a "Who Tries" event (to disarm a trap, for example...).
- Module Art -- Choosing "River" art seems to have no effect. In
some of the older gold-box games, characters would actually be
faced with a river, among the other obstacles on the map. I've been
unable to duplicate this. Since the art currently appears much the
same as "Forest," it's possible the pointer has been misplaced.
- Party Never Dies -- This option (in the combat event) is to
prevent the entire party from being lost. If they lose the battle, all
previously unconscious characters (even those who were that way
before the battle began ;) will be restored to 1 hit point. The option
doesn't prevent characters from being disintegrated, though, so it IS
still possible for a party to lose.
- Set Level -- The "Alter" menu allows players to change the level
of the game, making it easier or more difficult by changing the hit
points of the monsters. However, the experience points for the
encounters don't change, no matter what the level. The pointer for
this has probably been misplaced as well.
Events:
- Combat Treasure -- This event doesn't have to be placed
immediately before a combat to work. It could be placed anywhere
on the map or any time before the actual combat. If placed on the
map, the treasure will be given after the party's first battle (provided
the party has passed over that area of the dungeon). Avoid removing
the "do only once" option if you do this, though -- multiple "combat
treasure" events are cumulative, so a party which passes over the
event 5 times will receive 5 times the treasure after the next combat.
- Encounter Event -- The "advance" option has no effect on the
monster range in combat. This contradicts the "help" file. Virtually
the only way to set different ranges is to use different combats on
each chain of this event (one for combat, the other for talk, etc.).
- Pass Time -- This event has no effect on character age. Aside
from visual effects, its only purpose is to make spells on party
members wear off.
- Quests -- Contrary to the help text, quests CAN be set to failed
or completed with another event -- Utilities. If 128 is stored in the
quest, the quest is "failed." To give "quest complete," use the utilities
event to store 255 in the quest. Another error in help file is that text
will only be displayed if a yes or no question is used with the quest.
In reality, all text placed here will be shown no matter which option
is chosen.
- Who Tries event -- If using this event to perform "ability checks"
(i.e., comparing strength, etc., to a dice roll), it doesn't seem to
matter what type of die is chosen. A character apparently has the
same chance of succeeding whether a d20 or a d100 is used.
Monster effects:
- Monster Items -- Another contradiction in the help text,
monsters won't use special magic items (scrolls, wands, etc.) in
combat. At least, none will that I've found...
- Owl Bear Hug -- This monster effect will keep a character from
moving (if it succeeds), but it seemingly has no other effect. The
crushing damage is ignored, and normal attacks continue.
Items:
- Armor glitch -- Leather armor can't be worn by Rangers or
Paladins. This can be easily fixed by using the item editor (the
current "class info" is wrong).
- Scroll of Protection from Dragon Breath -- A glitch sometimes
occurs in the game when a character attempts to ready this item -- the
program states that "^ is already wearing armor!" A more serious
glitch sometimes happens if a mage is carrying the item and already
has it equipped. When he uses it, he loses the ability to cast spells
(permanently).
- Weapon glitch -- Slings can be used by mages (and not by
thieves). Though I take shameless advantage of this as a player, the
item is set wrong in the .dat files. The item editor will fix this as
well. I haven't checked all slings, but +1 slings are currently usable
by mages, while +5 slings are not...
Misc:
- Art Gallery -- Although you can put as many pics in your art
directory as you'd like, FRUA will only list a limited number. I've
been told the exact amount varies according to how much RAM your
computer has. With 4 Meg, my list tops out at just over 24 pics. (ed.-
memory may have nothing to do with this - my 1 meg system displays all
400-odd pics in my directory :) <John (Again): I doubt memory has
anything at all to do with this. It's too disproportionate. Bryan got
400-some pics on a 1 meg system, Autery got 24 pics on a 4 meg
system, and I get 640 (I counted!) pics on a 16 meg system. I also
got 640 on my old 2 meg system. I have no explanation for it.>
- Constitution 19 -- According to the help text, a character with a
19 constitution should regenerate 1 hit point per hour. Although this
worked in SSI's earlier games (and perhaps in UA version 1.0), it
doesn't in FRUA version 1.2.
- Dispelling Disease -- Casting "dispel magic" on a diseased
character has drastic effects...the disease remains, but the character
loses 4 points of charisma! This might be a nasty effect if a dungeon
designer were to have his gamers encounter a group of priests
alongside a mummy or two... ;)
-Autery
<Editor's Note: This was originally an e-mail from FET Selonn to
Autery. Autery thought it would be a great idea for the bugs column,
and sent it along to me. I have severely altered the opening
statement, but I don't think FET will mind much. It keeps the basic
idea, but instead of addressing it specifically to Autery, it
addresses it to all UAers reading this article. Sorry for the lengthy
digression--Ekstra>
Hi UAers! It's FET Selonn. This is basically a response to Autery's
articles on Bugs n' Stuff in FRUA. I've found a few that haven't
been mentioned before (that I know of). So I thought I'd pass them
on to you. Some are not exactly "bugs", but errors by the
programmers. Here goes!
ITEMS:
- The encumbrance of the Composite Short Bow and the Composite Long
Bow are reversed. The Long Bow should be 80, and the Short Bow 50.
- +4 weapons cost less than the +3 Weapons.
- According to AD&D 1st Ed. rules (page 28 in DM Guide), magical
armor is supposed to weigh 50% less than normal armor. Because they
are made of lighter and stronger metals (like Frodo's mithril shirt),
they allow freer movement and are less bulky. 2nd Ed. rules word it
a little differently, saying that the weight of the armor is the same,
but that the character receives a bonus to their overall encumbrance
instead. To the point. All of the magical armor in FRUA weighs the
same as its normal counterpart. Besides the AC increase; there is no
encumbrance bonus at all. I've tested it. This is not a BIG point,
but it is a nice thing for the player. It worked in Pool of Radiance.
- This is something that EKSTRA ran into lately, and I have already
been through it myself. The pointer for "arrows" is 30. It is the
only one that you can use for making arrows. If you edit another
Pointer...say 78, and make it "Is an arrow or bolt," it doesn't work.
When you make an item with that Pointer the game will not recognize it
as an "arrow". Instead it does all kinds of strange things...like
corrupting that item slot. If you have a back-up of your original
item(s).dat you can still import the original item and pointer back
over it. So basically you're stuck with only one pointer for arrows.
Change it and all arrows in the game are changed! I know, it's
tragic! <Not again! Yeah, it's me. Actually, this wasn't quite the
problem I had. My problem was in renaming the string "Arrow", which
had some really wild effects. I had not attempted changing any other
item pointers to be arrows or bolts, and (in the end) I found a better
string to modify. However, it is still a bug worth noting.>
(Of course, most of the above can be fixed with the Item Editor!)
SPELLS:
- The Cleric's HOLD PERSON spell only affects "humans". It is
supposed to also affect: brownies, dryads, dwarves, elves, gnolls,
gnomes, goblins, half-elves, halflings, half-orcs, hobgoblins,
kobolds, lizard men, nixies, orcs, pixies, sprites, and troglodytes.
The only way around this is to change the monster's race to human
in the Monster Editor. Oh, well.
?????:
- This is a genuine bug. I don't know what caused it, but it
happened to me. Somehow my first monster slot (basilisk) just plain
disappeared! Along with its connected sprite picture. It was just
gone! No saving throw! The only way I found to correct this was to
open a new design, and copy everything over to it, which was a pain
since I had to import all the icons, sprites, and pictures again! How
do you know if you've got it? The Dracolich is the 10th monster on
the list, if it's the 9th...you're bugged.
I'm sure there are some more that have slipped my mind. I don't
always remember to write them down when I encounter any problems.
Lastly, do you think anyone would be interested in an encumbrance
sheet for misc. items, weapons, etc.? Let me know.
I hope these are of use. Thanks!
-FET Selonn
This information is here as a result of Kaviyd's and my own work with
music files for UA. We have discovered a few more anomolies to
hacking music.
In my previous article (see NL #10), I mentioned that file size was
important. I was wrong. We have gotten files as small as 3K and as
large as 20K to work properly in UA. (Original file sizes are about
5.5K and 8.5K.) So, apparently, I was wrong about this when I wrote
my article.
I had also thought that the number of tracks used in the song was
important. It isn't. The number of tracks means nothing to MIDIFORM
(the program which converts MID to XMI) nor to UA. The number of
channels matters, however. The file can only use channels 2-8, and
channel 10 for percussion. Channel 1 cannot be used. (This is
generally an easy thing to fix; use your MIDI editor to change
everything with channel 1 to channel 8 or something.)
The number of notes played simultaneously is important. While UA may
have no argument with it (we will never know), MIDIFORM does. Because
MIDIFORM will not convert a file (at all) with more than 32
simultaneous notes played anywhere, UA (by default) won't be able to
use that music. The only way around this is to alter (sometimes
severely--listen to the rendition of the Mountain King included in
the package of 13 tunes on AOL) the music. So, this is important.
(This is, in fact, one reason that the initial batch of 5--and then
re-uploaded with 6--tunes only had three of the Star Wars tunes in
it. Much of the music I had from Star Wars played more than 32
simultaneous notes.)
One important aspect in this whole thing is that sometimes,
apparently randomly, a tune will not function in UA. There seems to
be no rhyme nor reason to this. Tunes that should work won't, and
tunes that shouldn't do. You have to do your own testing.
Now, for one more important update since my article in issue 10. I
will not be available for converting music anymore. MIDIFORM is
available on America OnLine, and should be available on the net and
on CompuServe (maybe Prodigy, too). It is in a (rather large)
programming package called MIDPAK. (This may also be known as
DIGPAK). Anyway, you can use the program MIDIFORM in that collection
to do conversions for your own use and uploading. With any luck,
perhaps the collections I have uploaded to AOL will have made it to
the net.
I have successfully created a music file for ADDQ2.XMI, which is the
one that contains the six short tunes between Overture and Victory! I
cheated on this, though--I used the music from Buck Rogers: Matrix
Cubed. However, I did use all of its music in this, except for its
overture. And it worked!!! I uploaded it, with a couple other files
that I had not previously uploaded. Then, I set about making my own
middle file. I had almost every piece of Star Wars music ever made,
and there are a lot of them. So, I figured, what a great place to
start! I extracted five minor themes from a piece I had that was the
closing credits music from "The Empire Strikes Back", and saved them
as separate MIDIs. Then, I got a sixth piece of music from a file I
had containing "Yoda's Theme", and saved it as a separate MIDI.
(Before saving any of these, I made sure that they would work in UA
as per the rules above.) I built up an ADDQ2.XMI file from them.
It worked, also! Except, the Imperial March crashed (!) UA somewhere
in the middle. Then, I remembered that while all of the themes in
that file were short (except the Imperial March), if you add them up,
it was long. (Say each piece of music is 15 seconds. 6 pieces of
music x 15 seconds = 90 seconds.) I realized that UA had been cutting
off Victory and Overture tunes at about a minute each. I thought
about it. I went back into the file, and cut back some of the pieces
of music. I deleted one, split another into two (which worked well,
because it did technically have two different themes in it), and
really shortened the Imperial March. I resaved all of the MIDIs,
and rebuilt the file. This time, it worked perfectly! So, I fixed up
the other Star Wars tunes from the first music collection, and
uploaded it. I also sent it to Kaviyd (as he had been helping me
gather quite a bit of music) and UARaistlin (as he had, once upon a
time, planned on doing a Star Wars module and wanted music). Anyway,
we can build our own middle music files, but we need to keep the
tunes short. Really short. Like, 10 seconds each, tops.
I've also recently discovered that there are some interesting effects
to some of the instruments. If you use French Horns or the BrassSect
instruments (I forget the patch numbers, I'm sorry), then (in UA) you
hear (instead of French Horns or a Brass Section) what sounds like a
loud snare drum or cymbal crash. Many other instruments sound
differently than they should. Always test (and listen to) your music.
And go back and edit it, if necessary.
So, to briefly recap:
- I don't do music requests anymore. In fact, technically, I never
did any.
- It is possible to make middle sound files! But the music must be
very short.
- General rules for converting MIDI to XMI:
- You must not use MIDI Channel 1.
- You may only use MIDI Channels 2-8, and 10. (10 is the drum set.)
- More than 32 notes cannot play at the same time.
- Some instruments sound vastly different in XMI format than they
do in MID format. Always test your files!
- You can get MIDIFORM (the program to convert MID to XMI) on
America Online in the MIDPAK kit. It should be available at some
anonymous FTP sites, as well. It is also available in the book,
Tricks of the Game Programming Gurus. You should be able to find a
copy of MIDIFORM somewhere.
That's all for this time around....
--Ekstra
Much thanks to Kaviyd@AOL.COM for his contribution of information and
the music he brought to me. Kaviyd--I will be working with some of
those other music files now that I have successfully created an
ADDQ2.XMI file!
I've got some technical information for you. I've uncoded the
STRG001.DAT files. What are they for? Well, I'll explain. The
STRG001.DAT files contain information on menus in each module.
To be specific they contain the menus in the Art Gallery, the Picture,
Sprite, Combat Icon, Big Picture, and Overland Map menus.
The FRUA program also references this STRG001.DAT file for the Monster
Editor and the monster names are contained in this file. (Monster
names are contained in the MON?????.DAT files as well, but changing
these will not change the graphic menu names.)
Now what good is all this? Well, to be honest, it is very valuable.
With modifications to this file you can EXCHANGE graphics in FRUA. For
example, Your Picture "Bit 'O Moander" can be used as a full size Big
Picture, or Sprite, or Overland Map.
Do you want to know how? Well, ok! Let me start by giving you the
technical information on STRG001.DAT. This file contains 262 records,
each record contains 14 bytes. That's a total of 3668 bytes or the
length of the file. Now the 14 bytes are what I want to focus on.
**********************************************************************
Byte 1 - This byte holds the value for what number picture to load.
ex: 42 - 'BIGP0042.TLB', 'PICA1042.TLB', ect...
(Here is a reference chart for graphic .TLB files)
1 to 75 - PICA1???.TLB
76 to 137 - PICB1???.TLB
138 to 163 - PICC1???.TLB
164 to 192 - PICD1???.TLB
193 to 226 - PICE1???.TLB
227 to 262 - PICF1???.TLB
1 to 262 - SPRI0???.TLB
1 to 262 - BIGP0???.TLB
1 to 127 - CPIC1???.TLB
Byte 2 - This byte contains a value for what type of graphic that file
number is (Reference: Byte 1).
(Here is a table of the values byte 2 will equal.)
Type of Graphic Default Renamed Imported Renamed&Imported
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Pictures 1 1 129 129
(All but Mon & NPC)
*Combat Icons 4 68 132 196
(Mosnter Names)
*Pictures 5 69 133 197
(Monster Names)
*Sprites 6 70 134 198
(Monster Names)
*Combat Icons 8 72 136 200
(NPC Names)
*Pictures 9 73 137 201
(NPC Names)
Big Pictures 16 16 144 144
Overland Maps 32 32 160 160
* - This means that type of graphic is associated with the monster
editor. You'll see these names on the Monster Menu.
- Note: Any of these values MOD 64 will equal the default value.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Byte 3 through Byte 14 - These 12 Bytes are coded, when uncoded they
will spell out the 15 letter graphic name.
(Here is decoding information - Letter ? will be an ASCII value)
(Note this only works for LETTERS not SYMBOLS, write for more
info.)
Letter 1 = INT(Byte3 / 4) + 64
Letter 2 = (16 * (Byte3 MOD 4) + INT(Byte4 / 16)) + 64
Letter 3 = (4 * (Byte4 MOD 16) + INT(Byte5 / 64)) + 64
Letter 4 = (Byte5 MOD 64) + 64
Letter 5 = INT(Byte6 / 4) + 64
Letter 6 = (16 * (Byte6 MOD 4) + INT(Byte7 / 16)) + 64
Letter 7 = (4 * (Byte7 MOD 16) + INT(Byte8 / 64)) + 64
Letter 8 = (Byte8 MOD 64) + 64
Letter 9 = INT(Byte9 / 4) + 64
Letter 10 = (16 * (Byte9 MOD 4) + INT(Byte10 / 16)) + 64
Letter 11 = (4 * (Byte10 MOD 16) + INT(Byte11 / 64)) + 64
Letter 12 = (Byte11 MOD 64) + 64
Letter 13 = INT(Byte12 / 4) + 64
Letter 14 = (16 * (Byte12 MOD 4) + INT(Byte13 / 16)) + 64
Letter 15 = (4 * (Byte13 MOD 16) + INT(Byte14 / 64)) + 64
*********************************************************************
Now that all the technical is spelled out let me explain how to
change a Picture to a Big Picture. Let's say we are looking at
record #6 - Bit O' MOANDER (A Picture not associated with the monster
menu).
- Step #1:
- Create a test design!!! Then import any type of graphic so FRUA
will create a file named 'STRG001.DAT'. You can then unimport it.
- Step #2:
- HEX Edit or write a program to read 'STRG001.DAT'
Look for where Byte 1 = 135 (remember each record is 14 bytes)
Byte 1 = 135 that means it will load a file named "?????135.TLB"
We don't want to change this value.
- Step #3:
- Directly following Byte 1 is Byte 2 which equals 1 or 129.
Byte 2 = 1 if default, or 129 if imported (see reference chart).
We see 1 or (129 MOD 64) = 1 so we will know the file name is
"PICB1135.TLB"
*Note: That if the value was 6, the file name would be named
"SPRI0135.TLB", but it isn't, so we move on.)
- Step #4:
- We are going to change Byte 2 from 1 or 129 to 144 (Big Picture
Value, see reference chart) and then save the change to
"STRG001.DAT'.
- Step #5
- Now that we have done this we will create a file named
'BIGP0135.TLB' by copying one of our other Big Picture files.
Example: C:\FRUA\TEST.DSN> COPY BIGP0252.TLB
BIGP0135.TLB
- Step #6
- We will now run FRUA and go to the Big Picture Menu. WOW!
I see BIT O' MOANDER as a big picture! How about you? You'll
notice it moved from the Picture Menu to the Big Picture Menu.
Now it's time to include the warning: DO NOT UNIMPORT THIS
GRAPHIC, you'll get a disk read error.
Ok, it's that easy!!! But life is never that simple. If you were
to repeat this procedure with say a Byte 2 value of 5, you will find
that the monster disappears from the Monster Editor (just as BIT 'O
MOANDER disappeared from the Picture Menu). If you'll check that
reference chart again, all graphic types with an * have monster names,
any of these converted to another type of picture will mean that
monster is gone!!! O well, what do you want anyway, you can now expand
FRUA past that pathetic 8 Big Picture limit, or decrease that stupid 37
Sprite max (note you will lose monsters if you convert a Sprite).
To help you explore the FRUA 'STRG001.DAT' files I'm including a
little program that will read an 'STRG001.DAT' file, show the record
number, file number, the graphic code, and uncode the name for you to
read. It's called PICTNAME.EXE. <John: It ain't perfect, but it works
well most of the time. I got extra letters on a few of the names in
one of my mods, but it seems to generally work.>
If you have any questions, and I'm sure you can think of a few,
contact me here on AOL at screen name: Peter Kos. I'll be happy to
write any utility program you might need to explore the 'STRG001.DAT'
files, just ask!!!
Look for a Module I just uploaded to AOL called BIGPICS.ZIP
* Note: the description says 34 extra slots! That is wrong. I
didn't notice at the time the loss of 34 monsters, but it has 42 Big
Picture Slots regardless.
Peter J. Kos
--Peter Kos@AOL.COM
This month there will be no WANTED! section. I apologize for this,
but during the period of chaos, the WANTED! ads were lost. This will
be recontinued as soon as ads come in to the new address, UANL2.
I apologize for any inconvenience this might cause anyone.
--Ekstra
Okay, this is a neat idea I thought of while playing Might and Magic.
You ever notice how in many CRPGs, the floors and ceilings sort of
change when you move and you feel more like you're actually moving?
Then, you look at UA and you feel like we're behind the times? Well,
with the backdrop editor, you can now perform a neat trick to make
players feel more like they're moving.
First, the explanation of how. You take a backdrop. You flip it on
its horizontal axis. (just the backdrop, not the whole image. Use
Deluxe Paint's select tool to select only the backdrop.) If the
backdrop has something that really shouldn't change position that
drastically (say, the moon, the sun, something like that), then only
select the floor portion of the backdrop. Save this as another file.
You now have two LBM files (in this example, we have EXAMPLE1.LBM and
EXAMPLE2.LBM) and the backdrop editor. Import both backdrops into
separate slots, so that you can use both of them in your module. Fire
up UA. Go into the edit module mode, choose one of your dungeons, and
put up the walls. (Trust me, you want the map done before you put
down backdrops....it makes it soooooo much easier!!) In order for the
backdrops to look right, you have to have both backdrops available
within your dungeon. Then, you lay them out like a checkerboard. Once
this is done completely, wander through the dungeon (even still in
design mode), and notice the difference.....Wonderful, isn't it?
Of course, like any UA fix, this has its problems. There is sometimes
a kind of flash between the screens as it loads up the new backdrops.
This isn't too bad or anything, but it might be on slower computers.
The problem affecting most UAers with this fix, though, is that it
literally cuts in half the amount of backdrops you can have. First of
all, there are only 19 backdrops to begin with. This means that it
gets cut down to 9. Then, you can only have 2 unique backdrops per
dungeon. (Using 2 backdrops for each unique backdrop, makes 2 unique
backdrops only.) This is probably not much of a problem (not too many
people really use four backdrops per dungeon, unless they use one map
to simulate many, many, many places. But it can be very limiting.
However, I feel that these problems are mostly minor compared to the
benefits. (It looks sooooo much better.)
I have included the LBM files. They are EXAMPLE1.LBM and EXAMPLE2.LBM.
I would have included them as PCX files, but the Backdrop editor only
supports LBM files.
example1.lbm
example2.lbm
--Ekstra
Here are two (fairly) simple techniques to make your random combats
more popular with the RC-hating populus...
- Create a special quest event that's reserved for Random Combat
status. Let's call it Quest 41. Write this number down so you don't
forget it.
Your first event in your first dungeon should be a quest stage.
Advance quest 41 to stage '1'.
Next, ask the party (with a Yes/No Question) if they want random
combat. If 'Yes' is chosen, do nothing. Leave the quest set at '1'.
If they choose 'No', use the 'utilities event' to take the quest from
the party.
Lastly, create your random combat(s). On the first page of each step-
combat, set the 'Event only happens if...' to 'quest 41 in progress'.
With this in place, the combat only occurs if the party requested
random combats. Otherwise, the game simply pretends the event doesn't
exist...
A warning -- make sure you re-set the quest to '1' each time you
give the yes/no option (I like to throw it in every 4 or 5 dungeons --
in case a player decides that no, he doesn't like all the combats, or
yes, he'd rather be fighting monsters at every corner than wander an
empty keep).
- This one's very simple (I'm not sure if someone's mentioned it
already):
Again, have your first event set quest 41 to stage '1'. Then, create
a random combat. Set the 'Event only happens if..' to 'quest 41 in
progress'. After each combat, use the utility event to add a certain
value to a quest (ie - add 1 to 41 after every combat). Then, chain a
'quest' stage to this. Decide how many random encounters you want the
party to hit, and then set the quest to two above this (ie -- you
want the party to be attacked ten times, so you set the quest to '12').
Have the quest completed if this way-point is reached. Once the quest
is completed, the combats won't occur any more!
Sound good? I think they'll work. :>
-Bryan-
New music files abound! Therefore, I took it upon myself to write
this article on the effective use of music, as well as other sounds,
in a UA module! This article is useful even when using the default
music from UA, because it explains some of the basics of the
effective use of music. So, if you're interested in improving your
modules through the use of audio stimuli, read on!
Before anything, let's talk a bit about music. It's more important
than you think. A lot of mods are pretty much silent, and that does
detract from them. I don't know about you, but I like having music--
even the standard UA stuff--to enhance the "feel" of the mod. It's
much like a movie, when you think about it. Try this: If you have a
newer TV that has Closed Captioning, turn it on. Then, turn off the
sound on the TV. Next, put in a movie where the music is important,
like any of the following: any Star Wars movie, Jurassic Park,
Ricochet, any Indiana Jones movie, Stargate. (Those are just
examples, but....) Notice anything different now? Yeah, the movie
really goes bad without the sound! The same tension, excitement, and
sometimes fear that go with the sound disappear without it. UA
modules are the same way! You must include some "ear candy" to go
with the "eye candy" (art and other visible stimuli) or else your mod
will suffer!
First off, the effective use of music is an artform, just as writing
it is. This is why many movies have both musical score credits and
musical direction credits. Someone has to decide what goes where for
proper effect. This artform is a relatively simple one, though, and
anyone with a good ear for music can pick up this skill in no time.
You simply have to know what works where. Let me give you an example:
Your players stumble across an old, decrepit mansion. Using the
default music, which tune (or tunes) would you select for this?
Right, Mystery or Uh Oh would be perfect. Using Victory would be
senseless. See? Simple.
Second, every major bad guy or good guy should have theme music.
Period. You have it; use it! The major bad guy should have some major
bad guy-sounding music; the Evil March would be perfect! The major
good guy should have major good guy-sounding music; Treasure would
work well. This is also simple, and can add a great deal to your
module.
Third, you should save one piece of music for the closing sequence.
What piece depends on what your closing sequence is like. Generally,
Victory is a good choice, provided it hasn't been used beforehand.
Using these tips, I hope we will see a new wave of modules that make
full use of the sounds available in UA!
--Ekstra
-The UANL staff:-)
*Editorial staff:
Editor-in-chief: EKSTRA <ekstra@Aol.Com>
Assistant Editor: Kaviyd <kaviyd@aol.com>
Associate Editor: MntnBkeDan <mntnbkedan@aol.com>
*Columnists:
Reviews & Previews: Currently open...
Art: Dika Wolf <dikawolf@aol.com>
Beginner's Corner: Currently open...
Writing Workshop: Currently open...
UA City: Currently open...
*Contributors (all from AOL unless noted):
DBoyd11074, Autery, Peter Kos, PCC Bryan, FET Selonn, Nyteshde
The UANL address: UANL2@aol.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You know all those columns that say "Currently open..."? Well, I'd
love to have you in those positions!!! I would like everybody who
would want to be a member of the NL team to write in with why you
would like whatever position. You should include at least two columns
for that position. I also encourage new columns on anything
UA-related.
For instance, say you really like writing, and are a good writer. You
send in two or three articles for the Writing Workshop (proving that
you can keep the deadlines and are dedicated to remaining on staff)
and the position is probably yours! (However, if I get multiple
requests for one position, chances are I will pick what I consider to
be the better candidate for the permanent position, and place the
other articles in future NLs as freelance articles. Either way, the
articles get into the NL!)
The Beginner's Corner is very similar to the Writing Workshop in
requirements, except that your articles have to be geared toward
beginner players and designers. For instance, you might write up tips
on what you view as the perfect party, or you might write up
step-by-steps on how to use complex quest chains and such. The ideal
candidate also has one more requirement: He/She must have at least
two modules uploaded to either America OnLine or the FRUA FTP sites.
If you wanted to be the Official Reviewer, you would have to send in
six to eight reviews. (Yi!) This is because the reviewer needs to
review three or four items per issue. However, the reviewer can
review anything UA-related: Art, hacks, music, mods, examples,
tutorials, etc.
The UA City is a special case. Upon my receipt of the notes from
ShadowMaster, I will then put in my official request for a
replacement.
I look forward to hearing from you!
The UANL is open to all submissions from all authors. I
encourage all of you to submit & become a part of the NL. Not only
does it save the staff some unnecessary work, but it also makes the
NL more interesting. However, there are several guidelines that need
to be followed:
- SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS (ART, MODS, AND ARTICLES) TO THE AMERICA ON-LINE
ADDRESS: 'UANL2@AOL.COM'. This is a new address, created entirely for
your convenience when submitting.
- Please send the articles as separate files (NOT an AOL letter).
Zipped files are even better (I can handle all versions of PKzip). I
can also handle ARJ, but I prefer ZIP. Self-extracting archives are
okay, too. If you are going to include files (graphics, etc.) with
your article, include these in the ZIP, ARJ, or self-extractor. I
will convert these archives to ZIP when they are included in the NL,
because not everyone uses ARJ, and self-extractors don't let you know
they're self-extractors until you start extracting! Much easier to
use ZIP.
- Text files should be done in standard ASCII format.
- Art files should be done in the .PCX format. I will accept LBMs,
if necessary (for something involving color-cycling, for example, or
for backdrops, which must be in LBM format), but I prefer PCX. Not
everybody can view an LBM outside of importing it into UA, which is
why I prefer a PCX. However, if your picture involves LBM enhanced
features, such as color-cycling, or are something like backdrops
which must be in the LBM format, simply make note of it in the
letter you send accompanying the file.
- A width of 70 columns is required. This is, essentially, a
limitation of the Readme compiler used to create the NL. Do me a
favor and keep a width of 70 columns. It saves a lot of work and, in
the end, gets the NL out just a little bit quicker. (If I don't have
to reformat the docs you send, that much more time can be devoted to
setting up the NL and putting other articles in, see?)
We are now accepting submissions from every category of story -
news, reviews, tips, etc. We also welcome and encourage art and
module submissions. The Wanted! column will not be continued if I
don't get more ads in (free, of course :)
Submissions are a key part of any hobbyist newsletter; ours is no
exception. As I've said time and time again, this is YOUR NL! If you
want it to be the best that it possibly can, you need to submit. We,
the editors, cannot do it all by ourselves; we need your help (esp.
you Internet users!)
All kinds of submissions are welcome. You're welcome to send in
demos of your mods (provided that they are under 100K; we will only
publish a maximum of 100K--that's file size, not the number of files
--each issue because we want to keep the file size down). You can
send in original pics, bigpics, sprites, and icons if you want. (If
you send in a scan, you better have drawn/painted/photographed the
original!) You can send in articles on almost anything UA-related,
if you like. If you want to include a small set of hacks or whatever
(like a PC icon file, or a set of item hacks, or some backdrops, or
whatever), we can publish it. In other words, if you can think of it,
and it's UA-related, we can probably publish it!
(NOTE: all submitted material is subject to editing for clarity,
brevity, and/or vulgarity. The UANL staff accepts no responsibility
for anything said or implied in the free-lance articles; if you have
a gripe, see its author. ;)
I really don't know what to say that I haven't yet. UA seems to be
picking up more devotees every day, as we are still answering many a
"Where do I get UA?" post...This is good, it shows that public
interest has not waned. (Why is it that SSI doesn't hear these people
asking for more copies of UA? SSI must like not getting paid!) More
and more uploads of more and more various types are appearing on AOL's
boards, including music done by yours truly (with a great deal of help
from Kaviyd, without whom the second collection never would have
happened), backdrops, art, modules, tips, even logs of the closed UA
AOL message boards! It seems to be a pretty good time for UA. It's
been around at least 2 years, I think, and yet it's still going
strong. How many other games can say that? I think it will be around,
basically, forever. And, I for one am glad! This is the only game I
have that I have continually left on my hard drive since I got it.
Every other game has gotten removed. But, due to its very nature, UA
is the ultimate game! And, with all of the new hacks being perfected,
it seems that UA will finally earn the name Unlimited!
Viva Unlimited Adventures!
--Ekstra
There have been massive delays in the creation of this NL for many reasons.
The most stunning reason is because the Editor-In-Chief, Coric (PCC Bryan,
Bryan SM) has stepped down, and I (EKSTRA) have had to play a bit of catch-up
when attempting to fill his shoes. I was shocked when I heard that Bryan was
stepping down, but I did not want to see the NL die off, so I offered to
replace him. The long version of the story is in the NL's opening screen.
Anyway, here we go for UANL12!
This archive should contain:
NOTES TXT This file, I hope.
UANL12 EXE The NL itself.
EXAMPLE1 LBM Example file for Ekstra's article on backdrops.
EXAMPLE2 LBM Another example file for Ekstra's article on backdrops.
VISTATEM PCX Example file for Dika Wolf's Art Tips column.
FIGURE1 PCX Another example file for Dika Wolf's Art Tips column.
C_SHMRN2 PCX An original Autery icon of a female mage. One of his best!
P_JAME01 PCX "Teaser" pic from Ekstra's upcoming module, "The Beast Within,"
the promo of which appears in this NL.
PICTNAME EXE Utility for seeing the names of all of the art inside a module,
based solely on STRG001.DAT. (Courtesy of Peter Kos.)
HTML last updated: Oct 15, 1995