Qwinn´s Ultimate DAO Fixpack v3 (no longer beta!)

[Qwinn]

Hmm, no, the GDA method would stop *any* kind of clothing from dropping. Bleah.

 

I could have it check for any of those specific clothing types in sys_treasure_h, since I already touch that file for the Dog Fetch fix.

 

But I was still very bugged by Ignacio's Dagger. What the heck keeps that from being dropped by the same code that drops the noble clothing? I wanted to find what that method is before proceeding. Then I found this page:

 

http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:Ignacio%27s_Dagger

 

So, a couple of people claiming it *can* be attained in the unmodded game. So, clearly, it's worth setting the TS_EQUIPMENT_OVERRIDE flag on Ignacio to deal with both the clothing and dagger.

 

Given that... I mentioned that there's a ton of creatures using this clothing - however, very few would actually ever be killed in normal gameplay. So, I think I will in fact handle this via setting the flag on just those creature files:

 

IF020: "Noble Clothing": It was possible to attain this item from certain characters as a rare drop that only looks correct on a single gender, and if equipped by the other gender produces a yellow covering with the words "DO NOT USE" on it. I have removed this drop from the following characters: Ignacio, the Chamberlain zombie in Redcliffe castle, Nelaros in the City Elf origin, and two Disguised Crows in the "Ransom" portion of the Trial of Crows. If anyone is able to find another creature that can drop this item with my fixpack installed, please let me know. Thanks to firepanda of the Nexus forums for making me aware of this one.

 

IF021: "Ignacio's Dagger": This NPC only item, which was definitely never meant to be acquired by the player, will no longer be attainable as a rare drop from Ignacio.

 

Oh, and not sure I mentioned I took care of this one too:

 

CT029: Lake Calenhad Docks: If the Templar mentioned in fix CT018 is killed, he will no longer rarely drop invisible pieces of Templar armor. Thanks to firepanda of the Nexus forums for making me aware of this one.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Qwinn

[firepanda]

Hm that's very odd -- the devs gave Ignacio his own item, just to give him better stats? Regardless, it's good to see the mystery solved.

 

Another bug that I haven't seen mentioned in the readme (though I could have sworn v2 fixed it). The pressure plate in 'Forest Stream' (the random encounter for Leliana's Path) can be detected but not disarmed.

Edited July 5, 2017 by firepanda

[Qwinn]

Nah, I was never able to fix that one. That trap is on a bridge, which as I've mentioned before causes all kinds of area geometry issues. To make it disarmable, I'd have to have it either floating well over the bridge or move it completely off the bridge, I decided leaving it as is was less bad than any of the other options.

[MaciejSiemienski]

[Qwinn]

Another bug that I haven't seen mentioned in the readme (though I could have sworn v2 fixed it). The pressure plate in 'Forest Stream' (the random encounter for Leliana's Path) can be detected but not disarmed.

I took another look, and I remembered wrong! (I think I was thrown off by the mage in the area throwing fireballs at me while I was on the bridge). It's actually not on the bridge, it's adjacent to it, and I was able to fix it fairly easily without having to move it any direction except vertically.

 

RA004: Random Encounter "Forest Stream": A detectable but undisarmable trap in this area (part of Leliana's personal quest) can now be disarmed properly.

 

Macie: Still waiting for one or two more people to tell me they made it through to the end without issue. 2 people is simply not enough, considering how many different race/class/gender combinations there are, and how different the game can play out for each of them, never mind all the decision points at each quest and the landsmeet, etc.. Funny video though, I did laugh!

Edited July 6, 2017 by Qwinn

[MaciejSiemienski]

Very well. :) Just one question: are you currently working on any other mods, or do you intend to?

[firepanda]

 

As annoying as I find the random rare loot to be (so annoying that I've modded it out of my own game rather than punch walls and fight Gaxkang over and over), I don't believe it is a bug. If Bioware had wanted loot to be guaranteed, they could easily have made it so by removing any RNG or setting the appropriate flags in inventory. Instead, they built that randomness into the system, and it occurs at all levels of loot drops, not for just a few isolated bosses.

 

Ok, I promise this is the last you'll hear from me on this. I found an interview with Mike Laidlaw, lead designer for DA:O. He reaffirms my point: there should not be randomness for unique items.

 

 

GB: Now with important equipment like what we're talking about, is that statically placed in the world?

 

Mike: Yeah. There are many things that are statically placed in the world specifically to be rewarding based on a series of events and adventures. I think it's a very valid way to put treasure, is to say we know that you got through something amazing to get here, so in that chest is something amazing to reward you. I would never, ever rely upon a completely random treasure system for that kind of thing, unless I had assurances that it would draw something from the amazing pile.

 

(Emphasis mine.)

 

There are only two unique items that are 'rare' in the base game. This randomness goes against the design principle quoted above. And we know that devs don't always set inventory flags correctly. Surely it stands to reason that these are bugs, not exceptions?

 

(And regarding Star Metal and Axameter, you can travel from place to place indefinitely, and eventually trigger the encounter. Fade Wall is a reward, which you can't refight Gaxkang for.)

 

~

 

EDIT: Also, I'm doing a playthrough now, no problems so far. Just kind of busy rn, so I'll need the weekend to finish it. (I instead spend my spare time searching through decade-old dev interviews.)

Edited July 6, 2017 by firepanda

[Qwinn]

Not a bad argument, firepanda. Whatcha think, theskymoves?

[theskymoves]

Not a bad argument, firepanda. Whatcha think, theskymoves?

 

I've stated my opinion already and I stand by it.

 

It is REALLY amusing, though, to read a quote like 'I would never, ever rely upon a completely random treasure system for that kind of thing, unless I had assurances that it would draw something from the amazing pile.' and 'fondly' recall DAI's random loot and all those hours of save scumming, and grinding for rare gear. Never, ever say 'never, ever' and all that...

[Qwinn]

*nod* Okay, good to know Inquisition does rare drops, I didn't know that. That does take the edge off the argument.

 

firepanda: Your argument is certainly plausible. I don't doubt at all that the drop rate on those items *could* be a bug. There's nothing I can see that makes that *im*plausible. Unfortunately, I need more than just being plausible to deem it a bug. I'm not requiring 100% positive proof, but I do need like 80%+ probability in my head, and I'm not seeing it here (I'd call this around 40-60%). Even if I were to agree with you personally, I still think there's plenty of people that wouldn't, and I don't want to scare them off from using my fixpack because it becomes viewed as doing tweaks rather than just fixes, and I wouldn't really have a solid answer to that accusation against the change you're requesting. I think both with my PS:T fixpack and this one, I've struck a pretty good balance in terms of where I've drawn the line of what would be too controversial to do and what wouldn't, and this one is just over the edge of "too controversial". There are other mods out there that do what you want, and I don't see how either could conflict, so I'll leave it at that. I do appreciate the suggestion though, it was certainly worth a good long think.