Newbie questions + bugs?

[eobet]

Hello!

I'd like to understand what Exult is.

Is it an exact reverse engineered implementation, like I believe ScummVM is, or is it an approximation of the original game?

And now to some... bugs? Or features:

* I cannot put more than one bag in any backpack.
* A lot of cloud shadows remain stationary, until you walk near them.

Oh, heck, I'll sneak in a feature request as well:

Smooth scrolling! I'd like to ne able to choose 30fps, and then have the screen movement interpolated. The current system is a bit headache inducing.

[drcode]

Yes, it's a reverse-engineered implementation like ScummVM.

Not sure about those bugs.

And we might work on smooth scrolling after 1.2 is released.

[eobet]

Whoop, while waiting for a reply, I found the FAQ... it said the following things:

Combat works differently. We don't have any hard data or formulae that tell us how combat worked in BG/SI, so Dr.Code put something together.

We don't know what all the data in 'weapons.dat' and 'ammo.dat' means, so hit points and damage don't work as well as in the original game.

---

So which one is it? Guesswork or original algorithms?

[drcode]

Original algorithms based on guesswork. We're probably fairly close now.

[eobet]

I figured out the cloud shadows. I use a larger play area than normal, so I probably see newly spawned clouds which don't animate until the normal, 320x240 play area is near them.

I wonder if it will be the same way with monsters...

[drcode]

Normal area is 320x200. And yes, wierd stuff can happen if you play with a larger area.

[eobet]

Ok, thanks for the info.

Might the spawn (or hatching, if it uses eggs as I remember U6 did) distance be calculated according to the playfield size in the future as well?

Also, was I alone in the backpack bug? Not being able to place more than one small bag in my backpack? All the companions are also affected by it. I use Black Gate + Forge of Virtue with Exult v1.1.10rc2.

[Wizardry Dragon]

I am fine. I even have bags in other bags.

(Is that a bug? Naah, it's a feature

- Wizardry Dragon

[drcode]

Eggs have, as part of their data, the distance at which they're supposed to be hatched. That's one way playing with a larger window can be strange, since that distance is usually set so monsters are spawned off-screen. The larger window means that you may see monsters magically appearing as you approach.

[Colourless]

I'll also add this, in previous versions of Exult we did have some of the Eggs hatch at a range that was dependant on screen size. However, this seriously broke aspects of Forge of Virtue so we can't do it.

[Neutronium Dragon]

As I recall, you could only fit two bags into a backpack in BG if you had virtually nothing else in the backpack. SI allowed you to fit three in with a tiny bit of space to spare.

Neutronium Dragon