[MattCaspermeyer]

The mod has transitioned to the second stage of the alpha development phase.

I'm starting to add new features to my mod for the game.

I've worked on making a common set of files between my AP and CW files to make modding both expansions easier. As it stands now, I'm working on two mods simultaneously and it is literally taking twice as long. I'm hoping with this change, that I'll be able to progress more rapidly between modding both games.

I've also included both the EN and ENG versions of the LNG files in the same archive to make the installation process easier as well as to make future different language variants easier to implement (if you'd like to volunteer to translate to a particular language in the future just let me know).

There are now just 2 KFS files to extract to your mods folder, but you still need to also extract TEMPLATES.LNG (more on this below) and so it should be easier to install / uninstall the mod now.

I am having a problem with modding CW and having files in the addon\mods forlder for AP. It mostly seems to be an issue with TEMPLATES.LNG and so for example if I have my H3T AP KFS files in the addon\mods folder then the fix that I implemented for the Pet Dragon Lightning Ball attack won't work any more. If I delete all the files in addon\mods then it works. Note that TEMPLATES.LNG must be separately extracted to the orcs\mods as mentioned above.

So it looks like (for now) if you want to experiment with the H3T CW mod, you have to backup and delete all files in the addon\mods folder. You can then restore those files if you want to play an AP mod. I don't know any way around this at this juncture, so if anyone has some insight, please let me know.

Here is the list of changes:

Alpha Stage 2 Changes:

Version: Alpha 2012-10-07
-------------------------

Bug Fix:

1. Ice Orb unit features fixed - the features are supposed to be Ice, Ball, and Magic Immunity (the error was missing the comma between Ice & Ball).
2. Fixed Ball of Lightning text description error.
3. The Paladin Prayer ability now heals plants, mechnical, and golem units per its description.
4. The Orc Tracker's Healer ability states: "The hunter heals and revives nearby friendly animals...". The revive part of that wasn't working so now Orc Trackers can resurrect a completely dead "beast" stack.
5. Goblin Shamans - Astral Attack damage is now 2-4 (was 20-25). Whether this is a bug or not is opinion, but the damage was the same as the Orc Shaman's (and looked liked it was simply copied and not changed from the Shaman's ability).

Improvement:

1. Added starting hero class variability to armies, spells, and items
2. Where possible, I've combined identical files between the AP and CW versions into a common KFS
3. Both the EN and ENG LNG files are now in the same archive (this supports future additional localizations)
4. Where possible, instead of changing the original function, I've added a new function with h3_ as a prefix to indicate that this is a modified (instead of new) function from the base files
5. With the above change, h3_ functions now go into a new LUA file with h3_ prefixed to its file name
6. Blood Shamans - Spirit Rage damage reduced from 7-15 to 6-14 (just a minor attenuation).
7. Gizmo AI updated:
   1. Gizmo now decides whether to attack or heal based on your power compared to your enemy's. For example, if your power is 25% and the enemy's 75%, there is a 75% chance Gizmo attacks the enemy and a 25% chance it heals your troops. Ally / enemy power is updated when Gizmo's turn takes place.
   2. Gizmo uses a scoring system to determine which ally needs healing / dispelling / more action points.
   3. Gizmo uses a scoring system to determine which enemy needs attack / fewer action points (the latter isn't used much since Gizmo initiative is so low, but will come into play in the future when Gizmo gets initiative bonuses).
   4. The scoring of either ally or enemy is based on whether Gizmo can get to that hex location on this turn or not. The unit with the highest score is the one selected by Gizmo.

Files affected:

• mod_homm3_tomes_common.kfs - this contains files that are the same between the AP and CW versions of this mod
  • *.ATOM
    • BRONTOR.ATOM - commented out the posthitslave for the above ground Brontor (ref: http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpos...9&postcount=10)
  • *.LNG
    • EN(G)_H3_HERO.LNG
      • Added combined slot - Shield / Regalia
      • Added combined slot - Belt / Artifact
      • Added combined slot - Artifact / Gloves
    • EN(G)_!!!EXP_PET_HINT.LNG - ensured that template name is "shock" and not some other character set that looks like it
  • *.LUA
    • H3_LOGIC_HERO.LUA
      • Added new hero_random_army function that randomly generates the hero's starting army per their army= list to their max supporting leadership
      • Created h3_add_hero_spell function to include the random generation of spells and scrolls if a spell in the hero class spell section is set to 0.
      • Created h3_add_hero_item function to include random generation of items if they are set to a negative integer
    • H3_ADDON_SPECIAL_ATTACKS.LUA - moved the paladin changes to special_prayer to a new file
  • *.PNG
    • INVENTORY_SLOT_ARTEFACT_BELT.PNG - new combined artifact / belt picture
    • INVENTORY_SLOT_ARTEFACT_GLOVES.PNG - new combined artifact / gloves picture
    • INVENTORY_SLOT_SHIELD_REGALIA.PNG - new combined shield / regalia picture
• mod_homm3_tomes_cw.kfs
  • *.ATOM
    • GIZMO.ATOM - "scripted" ability now references "h3_gizmo_attack" for its script attack function
    • GOBLIN_SHAMAN.ATOM - changed "badabum" damage to 2-4
    • ORC_HUNTER.ATOM - "veterinar" ability now references "h3_hunter_veterinar_calccells" for script calccells function
    • PALADIN.ATOM - prayer ability script attack is now h3_special prayer to implement the inclusion of plant, mech, and golem for units it affects
    • SHAMAN_BLOOD.ATOM - Spirit Rage damage reduced from 7-15 to 6-14 (just a minor attenuation)
  • *.LNG
    • EN(G)_UNITS_FEATURES.LNG - fixed cpi_orb_feat to properly delimit the Ice Orb features
    • TEMPLATES.LNG - fixed "shock" template for pet templates as it was misspelled and in a different language set
  • *.LUA
    • H3_NEW_SPELLS.LUA - implements the Hero's Gizmo spell cast function "h3_lina_gizmo"
    • H3_ORC_HUNTER.LUA - implements the changes to the Orc Hunter's script calccels function "h3_hunter_veterinar_calccells"
    • H3_SPIRIT_LINA.LUA - implements Gizmo's script attack function "h3_gizmo_attack"
    • LOGIC_HERO.LUA
      • Updated generation_hero function to call hero_random_army function to randomly generate starting armies
      • Updated generation_hero function to call h3_ replacement functions for spell and item generation
      • Updated hero_rebirth function to either regenerate the hero's army per their army= list or to return their starting army if they die in the Debir Training Center
  • *.TXT
    • HERO.TXT
      • Added new combination item slots
      • Updated hero class army= unit list so that units listed are selected randomly and those selected populated to max hero leadership
      • Updated hero class spell section to include spells with possibility to start game with them
      • Updated hero class item section to include possibility of starting the game with items in the list
      • Updated hero class slot section to include new combination slots
      • Added new spell_chance and scroll_chance variables to determine chance of random spells and scrolls
    • LOGIC.TXT - added H3B difficulty level variables to the difficulty section
      • New variables with implemented features:
        • releadmax: maximum leadership for rebirth of hero's army after loss
      • New variables whose features haven't been implemented yet (these features will be implemented in a future update):
        • eunit: enemy unit statistic scaler based on difficulty level
        • maplocden: enemy unit statistic scaler divisor based on map difficulty location
        • minstatinc: the minimum a stat will increase (or decrease) if eunit's scaling causes no change
        • emamaregen: enemy hero mana regen (percent of max mana)
        • ehlvldbc: enemy hero level at which they can cast an extra spell per turn
        • ehmanadbc: enemy hero mana (limit) at which they can cast an extra spell per turn
        • roundmrgk1: round at which mana_rage_gain_k goes to 1/2 and morale is -1
        • roundmrgk2: round at which mana_rage_gain_k goes to 1/4 and morale and initiative is -1
        • roundmrgk3: round at which mana_rage_gain_k goes to 0 and morale, initiative, and speed is -1
        • roundehero: rounds to add to mana_rage_gain_k when fighting an enemy hero
        • roundtower: rounds to add to mana_rage_gain_k when fighting towers
        • roundboss: rounds to add to mana_rage_gain_k when fighting a boss
    • SPELLS_SPIRIT.TXT - "spell_gizmo" now references "h3_lina_gizmo" for its script attack function

If you want to try this mod out, install it per the instructions in the *readme.txt file and you can just start a new game with any of the classes and note the variability in starting army, items, and spells.

Note that the maximum rebirth leadership of your hero (when you lose a battle) is specified by the "releadmax" parameter in the "difficulty_k" section of LOGIX.TXT.

Thanks for trying out my mod and providing feedback!

Here are some screenshot examples of possible starting Hero screens for the Paladin and Mage as well as their starting spellbooks. The download link for the mod is below the pictures.

/C\/C\