Simple fix for Level 10 Spell bug and Overflow bug?

[General]

Is there a simple fix for the Level 10 Spell bug? Possibly just replacing the creatures.txt file or similar? I don't otherwise want to change the original.

Ditto for the Overflow bug.

I'm hoping it might be possible to simple replace 1 or 2 files and play the original game as it was intended.

I am on my second run through the original DK1 from GoG. I have just read about the Level 10 Spell bug, which explains a lot of things (e.g. why Reapers are so disappointing). I bought DK on disk in 1997 and had huge enjoyment from it. Right now I just want to play it through a few times. Then I'll try out the KeeperFX version, which I understand fixes many of the bugs in the original game, but also modifies many other things.

I can do basic text editiing so a set of instructions is ok if there are no corrected files available

In other words at the moment I just want to play DK1 as it was intended. Then I'll move on to KeeperFX and mods/maps etc.

Thank you for any help.

[YourMaster]

No, without keeperfx you're stuck with bugs like this. Reapers are bad at lvl10 not mainly because of the lvl10 spell bug, but by the stat overflow bugs, which are worse. (When dexterity - hit chance - grew past 255 it went back to 0).

[Metal Gear Rex]

As far as a question of what was "intended", that's really difficult given how development was and the fact that the game was tested with these bugs and still allowed to pass. Fixing these bugs causes drastic changes to the gameplay experience, which could be considered "unintended".

[YourMaster]

right, although the bugs themselves certainly were not intended, simply fixing the bugs and not balancing the game around the chances is not ideal either.

Nobody will ever be able to tell the experience DK1 'should have been', if they would have known about all the bugs we know about today and had time and money to fix them up how they wanted. But at the very least, the KeeperFX original campaign I maintain to be as much in the spirit of the original game as possible, without making changes that are different just for the sake of being different (often even when I think it would have been better). So people playing the original campaign could experience the game 'as it should have been', possibly.

[General]

right, although the bugs themselves certainly were not intended, simply fixing the bugs and not balancing the game around the chances is not ideal either.

Nobody will ever be able to tell the experience DK1 'should have been', if they would have known about all the bugs we know about today and had time and money to fix them up how they wanted. But at the very least, the KeeperFX original campaign I maintain to be as much in the spirit of the original game as possible, without making changes that are different just for the sake of being different (often even when I think it would have been better). So people playing the original campaign could experience the game 'as it should have been', possibly.

Hi and thanks for the several replies.

1. How many save slots does keeperfx have? My GoG install only allows 8 slots which is frustrating.

2. How much difference will I notice with KeeperFX? Metal Rex Gear mentioned "drastic" changes to the game play experience. YourMaster posted "balancing the game around the changes"

3. I read the release notes for 049 which I guess apply to the release in particular. From this I gather that:
- Enemy AI can imprison, torture and convert my creatures

Otherwise I'm not sure of the specific changes with KeeperFX to the game play experience:
- Level 10 Spell bug and Overflow bug are fixed?
- Creature Word of Power spell now cause damage, e.g. from Dragons?
- Barracks work as described, i.e. can possess a creature and lead a party of 2 creatures, whereas iirc previously needed 3 and one was left behind
- Creatures no longer can pass/be blown through the corners of rooms?



Thanks again for replies. I must say I'm delighted there's been bug fixing and this release. Thanks very much for all the work you've put in.

[YourMaster]

1) Basically still 8. Unless you use the console. Then you can use 50, but basically nobody knows that.

2) Fixing bugs causes drastic changes. KeeperFX is then re-balanced so the changes are not as drastic.
Say, the Dragon Word of Power was supposed to do damage but there was a bug giving it 0 range and thus do 0 damage. Bullfrog tried fixing it by simply raising the damage until they gave up. With the bug fixed a single cast of WoP would do so much damage that it would kill every single unit in range in a single cast, totally OP. So, keeperfx set the damage to something sensible, that you would never notice anything weird. The goal is for everything to feel 'normal'.

3) The release notes of 0.4.9 are about what's different between 0.4.8 and 0.4.9 yes.
And yes, enemy units can imprison, torture and convert your units. In the original campaign they will bring them to prison, but in most maps not go beyond that to keep the experience close to original. In skirmish maps they can go beyond and depending on the personality will convert your units to create a more fun experience. User made maps can also take advantage of the new capabilities of the AI.

- Lvl10 spell bug and stat bugs are fixed. Creatures are rebalanced to take this fixes into account.
- Call to Arms no damage bug is fixed.
- Barracks works as described. You can take a full party.
- Creatures can still be blown through corners of rooms.

[General]

1) Basically still 8. Unless you use the console. Then you can use 50, but basically nobody knows that.

2) Fixing bugs causes drastic changes. KeeperFX is then re-balanced so the changes are not as drastic.
Say, the Dragon Word of Power was supposed to do damage but there was a bug giving it 0 range and thus do 0 damage. Bullfrog tried fixing it by simply raising the damage until they gave up. With the bug fixed a single cast of WoP would do so much damage that it would kill every single unit in range in a single cast, totally OP. So, keeperfx set the damage to something sensible, that you would never notice anything weird. The goal is for everything to feel 'normal'.

3) The release notes of 0.4.9 are about what's different between 0.4.8 and 0.4.9 yes.
And yes, enemy units can imprison, torture and convert your units. In the original campaign they will bring them to prison, but in most maps not go beyond that to keep the experience close to original. In skirmish maps they can go beyond and depending on the personality will convert your units to create a more fun experience. User made maps can also take advantage of the new capabilities of the AI.

- Lvl10 spell bug and stat bugs are fixed. Creatures are rebalanced to take this fixes into account.
- Call to Arms no damage bug is fixed.
- Barracks works as described. You can take a full party.
- Creatures can still be blown through corners of rooms.

Thanks for the info and thanks again for the FX version. I've installed it and it's great.

Um, I do have acouple of questions.

1. Game Speed too quick
It's way faster than the original. I set the Run Options/Game speed to 1 and it's still way too fast. I'm not sure it made any difference. Not a problelm in early levels but I see problems with the Tower Defence maps like Hearth and Mirthshire in particular.

I'm also wanting to introduce a couple of people to the game and it would be better for them if it were slower.

2. Zoom out with End is limited
Is it possible to zoom out further using the End key. In both the original and the GoG install I can zoom out using End to see the whole dungeon. In KeeperFX I can only zoom out far enough to see about 4 x Dungeon Heart area, i.e. about 10x10 tiles.

3. Saved game possible workaround
I was thinking I could save the start of levels, find them in the Cloud Save folder, and store them separately in named folders. This way I might remove a saved game in the current cloud save, add in the one stored separately, and so be able to access all the levels of the game at will.

I say Cloud Save folder because nothing is stored in the Save folder. The games all seem to be in the Cloud Save folder.


Just for clarity, i am using the GoG install of DK

[YourMaster]

1) The game speed is how the game was originally. Perhaps you are comparing it with the dosbox version which had a bug that it would slow down due to emulation problems. Dosbox version could be set back to 'correct' by upping the frames by pressing Ctrl+F12 for 10-15 times until the framerate was smooth again. You could play the game in slow motion if you want to, by setting the game speed to a value below the default 20 with the launcher, although I strongly recommend against playing the game in slow motion, especially if you want to introduce new people to the game they deserve the original experience, not a bugged out boring speed.
If the game does not slow down for you by setting the gamespeed, you either did not start a fresh campaign/map (but loaded a save which stored the default gamespeed) or you did not launch the game from the launcher where you configured the slower game speed.

2) KeeperFX actually has a much bigger zoom out then before, in version 0.5.0. If you think you had more zoom out in the original game, I think you are on 0.4.9 or older AND was playing in straight view in GOG but are in normal view in KeeperFX. Straight view has a bigger zoom out limit. Either update to 0.5.0, or inside the graphics menu set the game to straight view so you can zoom out more. Zooming is done with the scroll wheel.

3) You cannot transfer save games from GOG to KeeperFX. If you want to play all levels, easiest it to just use the cheats. If you are using KeeperFX, you are not using GOG, and KeeperFX saves the games in the save folder. Unless you have rights issues, then it uses personal storage.