figure1.pcx
This is the fourth issue of the Unlimited Adventures NewsLetter, and the first issue to use this, the new, format. Hopefully, the articles will be easier to read, more fun to look at, and more informative. Enjoy!
Devils, Were & More Art Type:Combat Icons # of Pieces:12 Artists Name: Abbot HThese icons cover a strange variety of monsters from the fiends called the Baatezu, to frost giants, to were-creatures. They are quite nice, and as the artist himself said, measure up nicely to those already available.
The icons come in 3 pieces, 4 icons per piece. The first is the Were-creature set. This covers a wererat, werewolf in dire wolf form, wolfwere and werebear. The second covers a Frost Giant and Hellhound, Red dragon wyrm and sword wraith. The Red Dragon is redrawn from a blue dragon, and is quite good. Besides the pose, you can't really tell what it started as. Finally comes the devils, which cover Pit Fiend, Erinyes, Gelugon and Lemure.
All these icons are well done, and they do cover many areas of monsters that needed filling (hey, the more devils and demons the better, in my humble opinion ;>), and I've always wanted a sword wraith although I'm not sure why.
On a side note, read the txt file, the description of the standard hellhound icon is great. All in all, I'd say that this art packet is well worth the d/l time, which is short anyway. Now if we could only get s'more demons and devils...
Combat Icons:A- Distinctness (not blurry): A+ Overall: A -Nyx Nightshade
Art review:Clouds of Xeen Pics Format:PCX # of Pieces:100+ Name of Artist:RWBarfootThese are pics and big pics taken from the game Might and Magic:Clouds of Xeen. The art is impressive, clear with bright colors, with some pieces better than others. A few of the captures, I personally believe, are rather pointless, but I suppose someone can find a use for them.
There are a good amount of pictures here, over 100. Some are sets, like a pic sorceress poised to cast, where the next one is her actually casting the spell, or a bird flying at you over the course of 3 pics. These could be useful in simulated animation, tho, again, what use there is for a bird flying at you over the course of 3 pics is beyond me :>
I'd say that the packet is worth the d/l time, but don't expect to want to keep every last piece.
***Nyx Nightshade***
Pics:B+ Big Pics:A Distinctness (not blurry):A+ Overall:A
Author:Ursurp Toe Full Title:Dimension of the Strange Imported art: Yes # of Dungeons:? Addition Documentation:No (?)Warning, do not play this mod unless you're willing to split your side laughing.
Dimension of the Strange is the sequel to the immortal Hack-a-rama, which, as you can see by the name, isn't a story full to the brim with plot-line. Dimension of the Strange has a plot-line... it just happens to be a rather ill execution.
You are recruited (read:blackmailed) by the duke of a town called Gilbergh to enter the abyss on a mission to find and return a brilliant scientist called Sir Roderick to the town. The scientist has been kidnapped, and is being forced to create devastating weaponry for a powerful demon that will be used to conquer the world, unless you can stop it. The only problem is, Roderick doesn't want to come back, and, to start, you must convince (read:force by any means required) hin to see it your way, fight your way through several layers of the abyss, guided by a wise aleck mage who shows up early on each level, get out of there, hopefully before the demon catches you, which of course never works, and you get caught.
There are new, imported pictures, and monsters as well. Don't underestimate those things with like 1 hp and an 8 AC, they'll still put a hurting on ya.
Some of the laughs are purely from the silliness of it all, but who cares? It's a great game to play on a bad day :> It'll cheer you up in a flash.
Story Execution:A Combat:B+ Graphics:B+ Bug Control:A (none that I could find) Plot:B- (there isn't much of one, but there's not supposed to be :>) Overall:B+
I should probably stop here and explain to those new to the FRUA realms that the only way to give the player gems or jewels is with the GIVE TREASURE event. The GIVE TREASURE event gives experience points to the player in addition to the treasure. There is no flag to check and say don't give experience, but give the treasure, or vice-versa.
Anyway, I soon discovered the player would receive 250exp's for each gem given and 2200exp's for each jewel given. This was not good, the player could quickly jump levels by cashing in plat. I had to figure out away around the nasty exp problem. Well, short of going in and hacking the code there was no apparent solvency for this delicate problem. I became resigned to the idea that the player was going to get exp's for buying gems and jewels and that there was no way to sidestep this nasty exp mill.
The problem, how to integrate the shop without the player taking advantage, several solutions quickly came to mind.
I would have to make it expensive yet somewhat fair. I knew the player would get 2200 exp's for jewels and 250 exp's for gems. I also knew the player was getting 2 for 1 exps for every piece of plat found. I finally decided that I would take the exp's and multiply them by two to get the cost of one gem or jewel. This would be expensive to the player, but fair considering that he was getting exp's and would become less encumbered. Thus, the player would have to shell out 500 plat for every gem he wanted and 4400 plat for every jewel.
Below is an example template for the Gem and Jewel shop.
As you can see building a gem jewel shop can be tedious and monotonous. But, I think it makes a nice addition for a town's marketplace.-Question Button (Choices: Gems Jewels Leave) -QB-GEMS-Question Button (Choices:One Two Five) -QB-GEMS-QB-ONE-Who Pays (plat:500) -QB-GEMS-QB-ONE-WHO PAYS-Give Treasure (gives one gem)
I haven't seen a Gem or Jewel shop, nor have I heard of one being in mods, other than neverwinter. However, I haven't played a whole lot of mods. But, I hope this small article helps someone.
BTW: It makes a nice addition to the CASINO mod some fine fellow out there wrote. I found his mod neat, interesting, and very educational. I think its a good one to downloaded if you get the chance.
Shadowmaster SHDWMSTR03@AOL.COM
By looking at the last newsletter, you can peruse the listing and see how many modules begin their life on the PC. Since the PC enjoys a nine to one advantage in the real world, it is safe to make the assumption that it has the same type of numbers in the FRUA universe.
Being a FRUA lunatic has its disadvantages from the start. Having to put up with the obvious "orphan complex" brought on by SSI is at the top of a very short list. We hope that some rich programmer "sugar daddy" will pick us up and then walk into the "lived happily ever after" sunset. Since that set of events are what made Hollywood and not reality, be must live on the crumbs of others. They may even be quality crumbs, but they are still crumbs.
Lets face it, FRUA is a great vehicle for people like us. Sure, we would like a turbo-charger and a mechanic on duty to keep making adjustments to make it even better. And a Volkswagen Bug is by no means mistaken for a Ferrari. But both get you from point A to point B. Before FRUA, we did not even have the luxury of a bicycle or even two feet!
The Macintosh side has even more problems because of all these factors, with the numbers disadvantage being the last hurdle. That will not likely stop very many of us from trying anything we can to keep our habit alive. The conversion of the plethora of PC modules is that last hurdle. We want to be included in the little fantasy games others play.
Fortunately, many brave adventurers have already brought several modules to the Mac. Most of these are also of pretty good quality, although you may have to judge for yourself. I have yet to see a really bad module converted to the Macintosh. I doubt that anyone would spend any real time doing such a feeble act. Even the one who converts an adventure gets a kick out of how many downloads it may get. Everyone's ego must be stroked sometime.
As far as the mechanics of conversion go, it seems quite simple at first. The files themselves can be used on either platform, Mac or PC, as long as they are all located together within a folder, or a subdirectory for the PC. It is in the graphics where you will find the most problems. The graphics on a PC have different header structures that the Macintosh has. This is problematic of many graphic formats, not just FRUA. It goes down to the very basic structures of the computers themselves and how they disseminate information to the user.
If you have a good graphic program, a copy of ResEdit, and a good text editor, then you may have some success in translating the files. There have been reports that you may have to reimport graphics into FRUA (hence the graphic program), but that may not be true. ResEdit may be all you need. Norton Utilities Disk Editor, under the last menu item at the bottom of the menu, can also help. By resetting the type and creator, you should have success, but not always. I could depend on how the graphics were provided by the original author. Not all modules have the graphics linked to the adventures files.
The near future may have an answer for us all. An avid FRUA lunatic by the name of John Kochmar (Jkochmar) is currently working on an application that would allow you to convert the modules back and forth from the Mac and PC. The program will initially work on the PC only, but another individual whom has yet to come forth and identify himself will work on the Mac version as soon as John is finished.
This program has been talked about for some time though, and its release has been pushed back several times. This is not an example of a non-dedicated individual, but of the realities of life, mainly working for a living and enjoying one's family in-between doing the programming work that we all crave. We must remember to be thankful that anyone is doing this at all. Without people like this, FRUA would surely die a slow and ugly death.
Well, that's all that's fit to print this month. I hope to talk about John's creation next issue after a brief online discussion with him latter. So until then, have a glorious adventure!
-KevinB13
Random combat has become the bane of designers and players alike. It is at once the most abused and underrated part of the UA system. Very few mods. have been able to strike a nice balance of combat and story (the two mods. that come to mind are the fantastic "Moloch's Revenge" and "Mines of Moria").
Some descend into hack-and-slash adventures, with only a bare-bones plot that serves as an excuse to put dozens of monsters in the party's path every six steps. They are reminiscent of the ancient "Bard's Tale" and older "Wizardry" titles - little story, lots of combat. Others roll out a great story, only to fizzle out and die because of a lack of interACTION. There ARE mods. out there that try very hard to be balanced, but a lack of playtesting in other areas ruins the overall experience.
UA is, in essence, a combat engine. Traps, puzzles, and conversations were never stressed in the gold box games. Yet they were great fun; even if the newer generation of RPG's were moving away from mindless violence. You could sit back, fight a horde of Beholders or Draconians, and know that yes, your trigger-happiness was helping the world. At the best of times, you never noticed the skimpy plot or the plain graphics (plain in comparison to games like "Arena" and "Ultima Underworld"). The random combat drew you into a great gaming experience that lasted for weeks or months.
Random combat does extend play by about 25% (this is higher in mods. with combat every four steps). If used properly, it can heighten the gaming experience... but enough of an introduction. Here's how I used random combat, and how I hope you, the designer, will use it:
Elisstar
A simple answer would be that NPCs in a module are often reused by its author in that module (after all, aren't NPCs suppose to move around?), and he/she doesn't have time to draw new backgrounds for every new NPC location. Still, without backgrounds, the NPCs start looking two-dimensional, and you never really get the feeling that the NPCs are really there with the characters...
Well, that's where this article begins. Today, I'm going to talk about masking your figures, then cutting and pasting it on top of new backgrounds. Masking means surrounding your figure with a single color background (of a color not used by the figure itself), so it becomes easy for you to cut and paste the figures into already made backgrounds. Just use your mask color as the transparent color for the cut and paste routine of your drawing program, cut the figure (TIP #1: Actually you should cut the whole area [88x88 for pics, 304x120 for bigpics] as it makes it easier to align your figure), then paste it on top of a new more detailed background picture.
Well, you might ask, what if the new background is using a different palette than my figure? To answer that I must say, you should always prepare for it beforehand. First thing you do, is create a palette containing all the basic colors you would ever (and I mean ever) use, so that way, porting between the two pictures is a snap. Personally, I use and always use the default color palette of my drawing program [Deluxe Paint IIe (Commercial)] to draw my basic figures and any new backgrounds I create for my drawings. If you are using all of or part of somebody else's picture for background (don't think bad about it, I do it myself), you should, if your drawing program allows it, resample that picture into your generic palette -- and if it doesn't, I suggest downloading Paint Shop Pro (Shareware available in AOL); it allows you to save palettes and load it into any picture, resampling it automatically.
I've included two samples (figure1.pcx and figure2.pcx) to demonstrate my point.
Always remember, great backgrounds will enhance any figure tenfold -- and one last thing, try to keep your backgrounds in sync with your story line; that way your pictures will enhance your adventure, too.
Well, this concludes the art tips for this week; stay tuned for next time when I will talk about recycling (no, not color cycling) your figures into several different pictures, to greatly improve your story.
(Ed. Note - because he has been literally flooded with art questions, Dika will only answer them in this column)
-DIKA WOLF
The most common stumbling block in making an Unlimited Adventures module is the inability to draw icons or pics successfully. After getting the program, I immediately was dissatisfied with the original monsters. But making my own would require new art. First of all, you have to practice. It took me almost 2 months of practice to get my icons looking better than simple pixelated scribbles. Here's some of the ways I advanced my skill.
A small Statue of Cthulhu is described as:
"...A monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long narrow wings behind. This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was if a somewhat bloated corpulence and squatted evilly on a rectangular block..."-The Call of Cthulhu By H.P. Lovecraft
how2chth.pcx
I hoped that helps some. Thanks for the support of my work and the numerous encouraging downloads.
-ERMAC RED-
While I have _attempted_ to bring people other than myself in to help me do playtesting and try things in ways I just wouldn't think of, it hasn't seemed to work out too well. So far I have only had two playtesters who actually sent me back more than two bug reports - JWQuinn (who no longer does FRUA) and Engineer94 (Who is still testing some, but is working on his own module. I have a list about as long as my Dungeon Listing of playtesters who expressed their interest to be a playtester, promised they would actually test and send in reports and then -vanished-. I am thinking about giving up on the idea completely. If anyone would like to playtest, and will actually playtest for me, please contact me (address at the end of this article) and I would be GRATEFUL!
I'm sure you're asking what the story behind Struggle is (sometimes I ask the same thing.) Struggle includes the first functioning dungeon I ever wrote, and it will most likely contain the last. What simply started out as a castle on a hill, abandoned by a fleeing Duke, turned into an enormous adventure that threatens to destroy the Western Realm, and the entire world as well. Anyway, as it stands now, you and your friends, hungry for adventure, hike up the hill to Duke Longmoor's old abandoned castle in search of some fun (and maybe a little gold!) Within the castle you stumble upon the secret of the Books of the Avni. You eventually get dragged into a series of events that threatens to revive the dreaded armies of the Northlands and bring Ashi-Ku-Ra, the destroyer, within the realm once again. The ending will be quite a surprise to you I am sure.... heh heh.
Currently the Editor version (not the Export version) is about 1.6 megs in size. Unless I do some drastic adding of art, I expect it to stay about in that range. Templates will, of course, be deleted and the spaces filled with dungeons that contribute to the plot, or have side quests that are not essential. Currently all dungeons are being used, with about three occupied with templates and the like. There are two modules used for editing purposes at this time (Mission Control). While there is not an expansive amount of artwork (all but one BigPic replaced and various pics and icons) it has enough to give it a good feel and tell the story reasonably well. The story itself is quite long. As it stood a few months ago (the last time I ran through it) it took a few hours to complete. Since that time another event structure has been added and the latter (the back door, as I call it) part of the game has been roughed out, but not enough to be connected to the main part of the game. You might find it interesting to know that nobody but me has actually gotten through the game... most playtesters don't last that long. One playtester (Azcandra) claimed to have gotten very far into the game back in January or February, but he did not report some major errors and fatal bugs, so I cannot confirm this. JWQuinn ran through a good part of the game with level 36 characters, but I cannot confirm this either for the same reason above.
The basic groundwork for Struggle came from a story-line I've been toying with in my head for quite some time now. I tried to first make it with an old construction set called The ACS (The Adventure Construction Set). It was too limited, though, and I could not do much of a story with it. Two games were made, but they were not of the highest quality. A few years later The Bard's Tale Construction Set hit the shelves. I eagerly bought it and took it home. It was fun for about a week, but it was too limited as well. No games were ever made with BTCS. Almost a year ago, I found myself wandering through Babbages (As I usually am) and happened to see a program called FRUA. I looked at it, skeptical after my encounter with BTCS. Eventually I bought it... and soon after ZSoft's PC Paintbrush 5+ (CorelDRAW! could not draw pics that could be imported into the construction set). While FRUA has many limitations, I created Struggle non-the-less. While it has almost nothing in common with my original story-line (which is still on paper in a drawer somewhere) it has a few of the basic elements of it in it. If I wanted to do my story the way I -really- wanted, though, I'd probably have to write my own engine - something which is probably not going to happen anytime soon.
If you would like to contact me for more information, or would like to ask me a few questions, feel free to E-Mail me at the address below.
McD Mcdavies@aol.com (no, my name is not McDavies <g>)
BrettE1 is the author of the FRUA modules "Caves of Chaos" and "Moria". I have played "Caves of Chaos" to completion (one of the few modules that I can say that about) and have started on "Moria". I was quite impressed with both of them.
"Caves of Chaos" is a faithful adaptation of the old TSR module "Keep on the Borderlands". If you are looking for a FRUA version of that old module, this is it; accept no imitations. For FRUA designers, this adventure uses an obvious form of the "Utility" event to determine whether the party gets to see the castellian; once the party has collected the heads of all the chief monsters, they are welcomed in for their victory celebration.
"Moria" is a refreshing change of pace from the usual FRUA adventure. Money is not a motivator in this game; your characters begin play with no money and receive all of their necessities (such as mundane weapons and clerical healing) for free. Nor are magic items a motivation (At least in the early stages; I have not yet gotten very far in this game.); the party begins play with much better equipment than the lesser monsters.
No, in this game your motives are much simpler: Kill off all the monsters in this huge dungeon and make sure that they do not come back (Easier said than done, of course, since the Orcs in this game seem to be about as tough as Ogres in a standard scenario). The set-up of the dwarven encampment makes it clear that you have the support of the entire dwarven army (thus the free lodging, supplies, and healing), although only the king and two of his guards actually accompany you into the dungeon.
BrettE1 also makes effective use of EXP awards to guide the adventurers. For example, at one point I got my party into a fight in a tavern in the dwarven camp. It was a reasonably tough fight, since magic was disallowed, but it looked like it might be good for practice and experi- ence. Finally, when the fight was over, my party received a grand total of 0 EXP. Quite fair, as the party was not supposed to be beating up Dwarves. It is too bad that FRUA does not allow the scenario author to award negative EXPs or strip a rogue Paladin of his no longer deserved status.
I asked BrettE1 for some of his suggestions for improve- ments to FRUA, and he gave me his suggestions along with his other plans and ideas. I think that one idea that he missed (perhaps because he does not consider it possible?) is some sort of revision of the character generator. The "Moria" scenario, in particular, practically cries out for the inclusion of Dwarf Clerics and other "illegal" types.
*****
Another good thing is the character icon editor. One thing I did not like about FRUA from the start was the fact that you could not generate your own party icons like in the old Gold Box games. I'm not sure why SSI did not carry that feature over into FRUA. It was a laborious process to generate your party icons, but once you were finished they were *your* characters, looking the way *you* envisioned them. The more you can customize your party, the more fun any CRPG is.
After a few months, I began thinking about another FRUA project. I liked the idea of converting a paper & pencil module to FRUA, because I don't have time to create a really good adventure myself. I had had for about 10 years a module called Moria, the Dwarven City. It was published by Iron Crown Enterprises for their Middle Earth Role-Playing system. I've always loved Tolkien's books and have a special fascination for Moria. I had always wanted to DM a party through Moria, but the place is so huge, this module I had was more like a resource book than a module. It had large-scale maps and lots of tables to roll off of, but no real adventure outline. However, I decided to scale it down and create a FRUA adventure from it.
The Moria project took about 4 months. And that was with me spending several hours a week on it. The hardest part was drawing all the maps. And even with using all the FRUA dungeon maps available, I couldn't even begin to duplicate the sheer size and complexity of Moria as Tolkien described it. But I gave it my best shot. I was constantly re-doing parts, finding new custom artwork that I wanted to use, working out bugs, etc. The chief monsters in Middle Earth are orcs and trolls. And in Tolkien's world they are *much* tougher than their typical AD&D counterparts. I had to duplicate this in the adventure. Furthermore, I had to make the Dwarven allies appear capable (as Tolkien's Dwarves are), but not so much that they didn't need the PCs to help them. Finally, I had to make the Balrog a true challenge for the party. In Tolkien's world the Balrog is almost unstoppable, and I had to duplicate this. I remember more than once in a Gold Box game where the chief badguy ended up being a pushover for my party. I was resolved that the Balrog would not suffer the same humiliating fate!
Even with the paper & pencil module, the Moria adventure took a lot of planning on my part. For example, I drew out the whole Dwarven Sage chained sequences on paper before I ever created it in FRUA. I was particularly proud of that bit of work. It allows you to get as much or as little information about Moria as you want.
After I uploaded Moria to AOL, the first critique I got for it was from Troubador. He was upset because the adventure seemed to have a bug that made it unplayable! I was horrified! I had play-tested Moria till I was sick of it, but it still seemed to have gotten released with a fatal bug. Turns out Troubador was playing it on a Mac after having converted it from the IBM format. And the Mac version had a bug that made a "guided tour" event not work properly. After that was cleared up, Troubador played the adventure and offered some suggestions. I took most of these suggestions and incorporated them into the version of Moria that is now available on AOL. I soon got feedback from a few other people and it was mostly favorable. So I was pleased that I had not wasted my time creating Moria.
The success of Moria prompted me to dig out my Keep on the Borderlands conversion and upload it to AOL. I made a few changes that brought it up to par with version 1.2 of FRUA and E-mailed it to Troubador for playtesting. He hated it! And he told me so! He had a long list of things he didn't like about the adventure. So it was back to the drawing board for me and the Caves of Chaos. After an intensive 2-week rewrite, I submitted the adventure to AOL. It seems that Troubador gave good advice, because I've gotten more feedback on the Caves of Chaos than I have for Moria and everyone seems to like it. So, once again, I was pleased that my efforts were not wasted.
Unfortunately, while many editors and additions are coming to UA soon, few mods have been posted lately. Many designers have announced the development of said mods, but they are slow in coming. We can only wait in suspense.
Another note: The UA sections of AOL and the Internet are working separately, with little contact. If someone out there is willing to become the 'bridge' between the two, please contact me. Hopefully, we'll be able to get some more Mods. off the Internet (and vice-versa) and have a 'meeting of the minds' between the two groups of programmers.
-CORIC DAVENPORT-<C>
Offset Field Remarks
1-67 ???
68-71 XP Total
76-77 Platinum Pieces
78-79 Gems
80-81 Jewels
82-83 Age in Years
84-87 ???
88 Race 0 = Elf
1 = Half-Elf
2 = Dwarf
3 = Gnome
4 = Halfling
5 = Human
6 = Monster
89 Current Class 0 = Cleric
1 = Knight (Not Used)
2 = Fighter
3 = Paladin
4 = Ranger
5 = Magic-User
6 = Thief
7 = Monk (Not Used)
8 = C/F
9 = C/F/MU
10 = C/R
11 = C/MU
12 = C/T
13 = F/MU
14 = F/T
15 = F/MU/T
16 = MU/T
90-91 ???
92 Gender 0 = Male
1 = Female
93 Alignment 0 = LG 3 = NG 6 = CG
1 = LN 4 = N 7 = CN
2 = LE 5 = NE 8 = CE
94 Status 0 = Okay
1 = Animated
2 = Temp Gone
3 = Running
4 = Unconscious
5 = Dying
6 = Dead
7 = Petrified
8 = Gone
95 ???
96-110 Name 15 ASCII Characters
111 ???
112-113 Str (raw/modified)
114-115 Int
116-117 Wis
118-119 Dex
120-121 Con
122-123 Cha
124-125 Extraordinary (percentile) Str
126-128 ???
129 Maximum HP
130 ???
131-136 Saving Throws
137 ???
138 Changed Class (0 = No, 1 = Yes)
139-146 Thieving Skills (will expand later)
147-156 ???
157 Cleric Level
158 Knight Level (Not Used)
159 Fighter Level
160 Paladin Level
161 Ranger Level
162 Mage Level
163 Thief Level
164 Former Cleric Level
165 Former Knight Level
166 Former Fighter Level
167 Former Paladin Level
168 Former Ranger Level
169 Former Mage Level
170 Former Thief Level
Note: "Former" class represents the first class(es) of a dual classed
Human. It is ignored if race does not equal Human.
171-187 ???
188 Icon ID 0-48 (Going outside this range crashes the
FRUA program; I already tried it)
189 Modifiable? 8 = Has not begun adventuring (can modify)
1 = Has exceeded level in former class
0 = Has not exceeded level in former class
190-197 ???
198-338 Memorized Spells
339-354 ???
355-361 Number of Cleric Spells (Levels 1-7)
362-363 Not Used
364-366 Number of Druid Spells (Levels 1-3)
367-372 Not Used
373-381 Number of Mage Spells (Levels 1-9)
382 Active Flag 0 = Down
1 = Up
(I am not sure of this one yet)
383-394 ???
395 Current Hit Points
396-??? ???
File size for an unequipped character is 398 for Human, 428 for Dwarf or
Gnome, and 408 for all other character races. The variations in file size
could prove troublesome for any programmer attempting to program a character
editor or (even better) an alternative character generator.
The fields that are not identified here may well be important; I am sure that they contain (among other things) drained class levels, special racial and class abilities, spells that are knowable (in spell book), items that are usable, and items that are actually possessed. I will provide updates as I discover these fields.
One use that can be made of these values is that you can now guarantee the presence of a particular NPC in the party (assuming that the player does not use this cheat himself) is to give that character a ridiculously high ability score or thieving skill (such as charisma of 30 or Climb Walls of 200) and then have a "Who Tries?" event that requires that ability to succeed and has a text that strongly encourages the player to select that NPC. If the player has removed the NPC from the party, he cannot succeed in this event.
During my investigations I have also found some subtle differences in the way NPC/monster files and player character files are organized. While I am still convinced that the internal computer representations of these files are identical, there are obvious differences in usage that suggest that the MONSTxxx.DAT files are massaged in some way as they are read into memory. I created a simple monster, a complex monster, an NPC, and a player character each with identical characteristics. There were too many differences among the files for me to accept that they are used in the same way.
-KAVIYD-
The Computerman's Lair -- 14.4kbps 24hrs/day -- WildCat! 3.90 -- FidoNet 1:3666/107 -- All Role Playing and OS/2 conferences carried -- *Special Unlimited Adventures Forum* -- *FREE* Access (unlike everything else around here... ;) -- 1-704-324-9949 in Hickory, NC (near Charlotte)Thanks!
-McD
The UANL has finally split: MAC users now have their own NL, thanks to the skills of Kevin Black. This version will only run on MS-DOS machines; our MAC brethren have moved on. But do not fear: the issues will be about the same.
As always, I like to open with a few comments about the issue. For #4, we've got some exciting stuff: art columns by TWO of the hottest artists on AOL - Dika Wolf and Ermac Red; more reviews, previews, news, and tips; an all new beginner's column by Ellistar; some optimistic news on the most exciting part of the UA future - the editors; and much, much more!
This issue includes some great extras, too. Nyx Night has put her interactive-demo (as chronicled in #3) into use here; we've got the most exciting preview/demo yet! Dika & Ermac have four pics. to illustrate their article's points.
Of course, the biggest addition is the new format, as you have no doubt noticed by now. This easily-menued system (thanks to McD Avies) allows for painless scrolling, printing, and even editing.
As for the future, it looks brighter than ever. We've got more surprises in store for you, the reader. I'm not at liberty to say just what we're planning but I can give a little hint: think of a serial module, where an adventure continues month after month, with very little development delay! Think of more art from Dika & Ermac (and maybe a little by yours-truly). And finally, think of a NEW section, where UA users from across the country can post messages - to ask for art, story-design, cheats, etc (for more info on the UANL-net, see the included article). I also hope to include some more campaign information for my very own world, the "Succession Wars" setting (aka "Minions of Twilight").
One more thing: for issue #5, I'd like to put in a "WANTED" section. Here, UA'ers can ask (or volunteer) for various UA materials, suppliments, etc. So, if you need that last piece of art a few maps, or whatever, send your query here, to 'Coric'.
Well, enough of my ramblings (I seem to do more and more of it each issue). Enjoy!
-Coric Davenport- <C>
*Editorial staff: Editor-in-chief: Coric Editor (MAC platform): KevinB13 Assistant Editor: Kaviyd Assistant Editor: Shdwmstr03 *Columnists: Reviews & Previews: Nyx N1ght, Nyx N1ghts Art: Dika Wolf Beginner's Corner: Elisstar *Correspondants: Ermac Red BrettE1 McD Avies##New staffer:
I've been receiving alot of praise for the NL (and some criticism: that's what led to the new format) lately. Now, I LOVE praise, but I can't hog all the glory, as much as I may try. Without the UANL staff, this would not be possible; I wouldn't have the time - or heart - to do the entire issue by myself. Thanks to these wonderful writers & artists, you can enjoy the best of UA every three-weeks.
I launched this NL as a part-time hobby; I never expected it to reach the level that it has. Had it not been for the other eds., I'd probably be hacking away at MOT instead of writing this article. Anyway, thanks guys (and gal).
However, I enjoy deep conversations almost as much as I enjoy praise. So, if you have a UA-related question that burns deep inside, or you just want to know the skinny on all the new stuff, or if you just want to chat about the world in general - drop me a line.
-Coric Davenport- <C>
-Some text-editors may conflict with the NL colors. To avoid this, reboot the system before opening the NL.
-Because the NL is written by many people, the stories vary in column size (different wp settings). Several of them are too large to fit on the screen at once (either verticalls | or horizontally - ) but you can scroll in all four directions to read the article.
-The other files included are:
-CORIC DAVENPORT- <C>*Figure1.pcx-} For Dika Wolf's article *Figure2.pcx_} *How2Chth.PCX-} For Ermac Red's article *Starspwn.PCX_}-Three of these pics can be imported into UA, but to view them properly for the article, you need a PCX viewer of some sort.*all .DAT & .TLB files go to Nyx Night's preview. To use them, create a subdirectory named "c:\frua\demo.dsn". Create another sd, called "c:\frua\demo.dsn\save". Then, copy the .CCH files into the save dir (this is vital - it will not work otherwise). Finally, simply boot-up FRUA and choose PLAY "Making Amends Demo". Like the old gold-box demos, this is completely self-running. Just sit back and enjoy the show.