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Sacred 2 Enhanced Edition


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Nice

Though Propelled Levitation and Deathly Spears had a better original design of symbolizing a jetpack and spikes.

What makes you think you're looking at Propelled Levitation and Deathly Spears? ;)

 

Is that a rhetorical question? Does not compute...

Or are you also changing up the CA in some drastic way to go with the icons? Run Probability that Flix is making a mod with more than just icons >>>>>>>> over 70% >> Run Personal Evaluation >>>>>>>>>>>>> "Idiot"

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The visuals are striking. These icons make me wonder how different the CAs behind them are from the original versions. I understand that in cases of icons that do not match the original CA the answer is "Completely". But what about those that look fitting? Adjusted innate properties? Different modifications? I guess it's possible, but when did you find time to make a complete spell overhaul? Or maybe some are still the same but just received new icons so as not to stand out as poor relatives? Of course, we'd find that out soon enough. Consider my questions rhetorical.

 

I think I recognize three CAs you mentioned making when you posted a topic about unused and deactivated spells. Sound-related CA for debuffing enemies which you might or might not named "Sound Vortex" probably would make an appearance in Celestial Magic, considering the icon which features a battle cry of sorts. And looks like you made a buff for SW's minions into a replacement for Shadow Veil just as you planned when you described "lost" CAs (the icon to the left of what is probably a modified Nether Allegiance looks like a prefect match to the visual effect of this deactivated buff). And a Venomous Trap for the Capricious Hunter tree, instead of Forest Flight.

 

Another immediate thought is that one icon in the modified Lost Fusion tree makes me thing about Summon TG spell from Llama's mod. Maybe you did something similar here? Maybe not. But if I was remastering Lost Fusion, I'd probably put a buff of sorts into it.

Edited by Silver_fox
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These "enhanced" icons look cool. I do recognize some of them from Guild Wars 2, and I don't think that is a problem.

Edited by Flooxim
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Thanks guys. I'll let the interest and speculation grow for a day or two while I test the next CM Items Mod release. I actually just had a last minute idea for a new Dragon Mage spell I want to try out before I start posting all the details.

 

@Silver Fox: This has been in the works for over a year. I just never really considered it for release, just a personal mod. The only really recent things were the icon overhaul, working in some of the "lost" Combat Arts, and an overall quality check.

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As this may `possibly' be `slightly' more than just a graphics enhancement, I have a question about compatibility. Will this be safe to use with existing saves, or will the results be undesirable or even potentially disastrous?

 

I will start the speculation with the Seraphim :D

Soul Hammer has an icon of... a hammer, so it is probably much the same. Pelting Strikes shows multiple blades, so it is presumably still a multi-hit attack. Assailing Somersault shows a jumping Seraphim, so the basic mechanic seem unchanged. Dashing Alacrity has speed lines (?) so possibly the same, but seems more open to interpretation. Battle Stance has a battle-like icon, so presumably similar mechanics.

Baneful Smite has a Zeus-bolt icon, so probably a similar spell. What used to be Radiant Pillar looks more like a Zot (perhaps the returl of the Sacred 1 Lightning Bolt?), while what used to be Instill Belief looks more like Radiant Pillar. The location of Hallowed Restoration looks pretty open to interpretation: it could be a heal still, but it could be a buff (ie CRPG term buff, not Sacred 2 term Buff). Cleansing Brilliance still shows a light, so I am guessing the basic mechanic is unchanged.

Archangel's Wrath looks quite different, more of a lightning-type spell than fire? Flaring Nova still looks like a circle-Area of Effect, so perhaps pretty similar. Divine Protection looks like, well, a divine protection, so probably unchanged ;) Warding Energy is clearly a T-Energy shell, so obviously the same basic mechanic, while the BFG is clearly a large blast of energy, so obviously retained.

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This is definitely more than an icons update. It will be technically compatible with old saves. But it will be best to start a new character, otherwise you may find yourself wanting to use the save game editor to change your CA's. Nothing will be broken or glitched, but you may find yourself with new CA's you never heard of, possibly with modificaton points spent in them.

 

Some things are swapped, and right now you can't tell what was swapped out just by looking at the icons. The arrangement of the icons in the aspects windows means nothing to gameplay (don't worry), so just because something new is sitting in Baneful Smite's old spot doesn't mean I swapped out Baneful Smite (I actually just moved it over to the second spot -a display change only). All Seraphim that formerly had Baneful Smite will still have it and (since I barely changed it) will be able to use it just the same.

 

On the other hand, some old CA's are intact but switched aspects, and some CA's are just gone, meaning you'll have a brand new one in its place and you wont see the old one anywhere else. I kept the swapping to a minimum though, so if you think you recognize a CA icon and it's still in the same aspect (the vast majority of CAs), then it's still in the same spot in the scripts and will still be intact for your character (though the properties and modifications may be changed).

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I updated the first post with an introduction and general information about the mod. Specific Combat Art changes will be posted soon.

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I added the Seraphim and Inquisitor combat arts to the first post. There's a few pictures and a video as well. I'll try to add the rest over the next few days.

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You seem to have it out for teleport skills. Any reasons why?

 

Also, good call on the Cabbalistic Voodoo aspect. Twisted Torment really needed a function beyond shrunken head farming. I assume it does meaningful damage now as well.

 

And if you leave Ancient Bark as is, are you doing anything about it's gfx?

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You seem to have it out for teleport skills. Any reasons why?

Well, out of 4 movement CA's I've posted so far, 2 were replaced and 2 were improved, but I guess I see what you mean. The reason is that since I can't add more combat arts, something has to be replaced to make room for new ones. Typically what happens is I evaluate which, if any, CA's are most expendable. Shadow Step and Forest Flight fell into that category. They are exploration CA's, with limited combat use. If I had released the mod a year ago, all the movement CA's would have been intact, with huge range boosts, and all spellcontroltype's changed to "move_go" to allow jumping to almost anywhere you could stand. But I realized that's all I used them for, was jumping to places I was too lazy to walk to. When I realized I was happy as could be with me Inquisitor, who has no movement CA and has to walk everywhere, I realized I had an "expendable" type of CA that I could consider replacing. Assailing Somersault and Belligerant Vault I kept because they're more combat intensive, often functioning as good combo openers.

 

 

Also, good call on the Cabbalistic Voodoo aspect. Twisted Torment really needed a function beyond shrunken head farming. I assume it does meaningful damage now as well.

The damage is increased 6-fold. It's now around the same damage values as most other hard hit spells. I don't know why it was so low by default.

 

 

And if you leave Ancient Bark as is, are you doing anything about it's gfx?

Does anything need to be done? I usually play with buff display turned off, but I know that the visuals were changed with the CM Patch already, and I though I had no problem with the old graphics, the new ones look fine to me.

 

 

It would be good if we could put 4 identical combat arts into one Combo

I don't think it can be done.

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I am so excited for this. This will completely transform some of my builds. For instance, I have a few.....what are they called here, "now you see me, now you don't" Shadow Warrior builds, in addition to a few that utilize Ruinous Onslaught. I'm not complaining at all, in fact quite the opposite, I get to figure out how to take them in a new direction now. You always breathe so much new life into this game, I'm going to be a sad camper when the day comes where you decide to hang up your hat

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I've added the Temple Guardian and Dragon Mage combat arts to the first post. I saved the best for last I think. Sorry I wasn't able to do any videos this time but there should be plenty of pictures.

These two characters got big overhauls in Llama's CM Patch Mod, and I took some inspiration from that mod, in a couple cases directly adapted some features. So I'm not trying to take credit for the original idea of Dragon's Wrath, a summoned Temple Guardian, combining Ice Evanescence and Fiery Ember, or adding elemental damage to the Elemental Magic combat arts. But nothing is copy-pasted from Llama's Mod. I think I've reworked most ideas enough to make them something else. Just getting that out of the way up front.

Here are some outtakes from this update:

I tried really hard to get this spell working for the Dragon Mage, as an addition to the Mentalism aspect. I probably would have replaced Energy Blaze with this spell, and added some Area of Effect damage to Maelstrom to make up for the loss of Area of Effect.
NxfXk5Ut.jpg hRmfyVBt.jpg

The cool thing about this spell is that it's not a quick zap, it's a sustained energy beam connecting the player to the target. The fact that it appeared like a psychic beam shooting from the Dragon Mage's head to the enemy's really struck me as cool. So my idea was that it would a kind of spell that froze the enemy in place (like Inexorable Subjugation) or at least tracked the target as it moved (like Archimedes Beam), and caused magic damage while leeching life and energy. Mods could have been further debuffs and maybe splash damage.

The problem is that the spell was designed to buff the caster (I think either Kraal or the Facetelleon casts it), not cause spell damage. I could not get the spell to cause damage of any kind. I experimented with every spellcontroltype the game had, and although I eventually got the kind of behavior I wanted, the visual effects disappeared if I changed it. In other words I had to choose between a functioning but invisible spell or a cool-looking spell that did almost nothing. So I had to abandon it.

This is my Dragon Mage trying out Frosty Lair, used by the boss Shelob (I think). It uses some pieces of the (now reactivated) Shadow Warrior CA Shivering Miasma and the gfx of the Ogre's Frost Field spell. I considered adapting it to be a good Area of Effect Ice spell for the Elemental Aspect, but with Tornado now doing Ice Area of Effect, I decided to leave it be.
CwrL1gzt.jpg

This is a temporary buff cast by undead. It looks and sounds gross, and I couldn't think of any character for whom it would be appropriate, so I didn't develop it further.
sX7CrH2t.jpg

This is the Octagolamus spell, that spurts water and knocks you back. It was interesting, but the visuals and sounds were ultimately too suited to that big marine monster for the player to use.
u05T7TJt.jpg

I also tried out the Gar'Colossus's Rock Avalanche spell as a candidate for the Elemental Magic aspect. It was cool with its barrage of falling boulders, but it seemed out of place when removed from the excavation crater battle site. Forgot to snap a picture of it.


For the next update I'll show the Divine Gifts and the new Combo icons. I would have liked to revamp the Horse combat arts, but I don't have enough interest to even redo the icons. Maybe if someone has some suggestions?

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I'm anticipating the reveal of TG and DM, because these two are the characters who look like they need CA rework more than the others. So far, I'd say that reading about all the ideas and changes (including the ones that did not work) is very inspiring. Looking at your work here gives me more understanding of what is possible within the game and I find myself thinking what I would do if I decide to make a spell mod.

 

As for my impressions of all the new and reworked CAs: There are many ideas here that I like a lot, but others are a very high-quality example of something that just is not my cup of tea. Not that you did something badly, but in some cases I see more use in the original versions of the aspects than in modified ones. When I read your descriptions, I often find myself thinking that I'd like to keep many of your changes but would like to make some of replacements and aspect switches differently. So I think I'd be trying out all new CAs and keeping bits and pieces for my setup, if you don't mind such partial use of your work.

 

I know that I won't be running this mod as a whole because some of the cornerstone concepts are not to my liking: I never much liked summons in Sacred 2, because their AI is not stellar and with my playstyle they are more of a hindrance than help. Some of the more unusual summons like Inquisitor's Doppelganger who can have your CAs and weapons are fun, but for most of the classes I just can't see the use of summoning abilities. It's just my personal opinion, and I know that there are people who would like having AI allies.

 

I like your treatment of Twisted Torment and Black Curse, and I'm curious as to how you changed Viperish Disease. This CA went through many changes throughout the official patches and was nerfed in CM, so I wonder where your version stands in comparison (I know you didn't keep track of all Sacred 2 versions, but at least in comparison to I&B and CM). A trap CA is an interesting idea - I'm not quite ready to trade Forest Flight for it, but Dryad has other things that look expendable to me (the same VD, unless your version of it managed to strike the middle ground between "useless" and "feels like exploit").

 

I really like your SW changes as well, though as a person who does not favor summons I'd probably try keeping Ruinous Onslaught. But all other changes look good and personally I won't miss Shadow Veil. SW is a very strong character by himself and invisibility makes him boring.

 

Same with Inquisitor - most of the changes are great, and I like the idea for the summoning spell that acts similarly to Divine Gift. Ker's gift was an unusual idea, but a prospect of suddenly having a new boss against you was never really attractive. In Inquisitor's case, tricks with Mortifying Pillory can make the summon into a moderately good meat shield after the time runs out, so it may be fun to try out. I don't mind adding summoning spells to Inquisitor, because with Doppelganger and Inexorable Subjugation he is the main summoner of Sacred 2 character cast already. Though personally, I'd prefer Raving Thrust over Eruptive Desecration. Neither is a major damage dealer, but at least RT does not depend on environment (corpses) and does not become useless in Whisperwood and nearly so in Swamps. Then again, it's just a personal preference and other people have different opinions, besides, Eruptive Desecration has more original concept.

 

With the Seraphim, my feelings are more mixed. Unlike you, I never felt that Archangel's Wrath fits into Celestial aspect. This CA has some synergy with BFG and with weapon-based characters, but none with magic aspect. In Celestial, Archangel's concurs with Baneful Smite, as both of them are single-target CAs. At the same time, without Archangel's Wrath, RevTech loses its main damage dealer and is left without sniping CA at all, forcing you to go Celestial unless you want to spend the playthrough boringly pelting everything to death. With this CA gone, Exalted/Revered hybrids would have to rely mostly on Exalted for offense, and go into Revered only for shields, making them much less fun to play. There is Nova of course, but without many points in Rev Lore, Nova does not do much damage, and for hybrids pouring a lot into the skill for the sake of one moderately effective CA does not make that much sense. The new Revered CA sounds interesting to try, but looks like an Area of Effect debuffer rather than damage dealer, so it's a useful thing to have but not a replacement function-wise.

If I was moving something out of RevTech aspect, it would have been Divine Protection, because having two shield-based defensive CAs next to each other looks a bit excessive, considering the lack of defense in other aspects (especially since you removed Hallowed Restoration). And its graphic effect does not even look technology-themed. With its red design, it might have been considered for Exalted Warrior originally. Though I know that other people might disagree with this point.

 

All in all, thank you for working on this mod. It would bring much desired variety to people who are not into modding themselves, and give new ideas to those who are. Now I'll be waiting for the changes in the last two characters' arsenal to be announced.

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It’s getting better and better. Finally the DragonMage gets a proper pet dragon.

 

I still think Deadly Spears needs more spikes in its icon.

 

Would you consider changing "Sentinel Construct" name to "Alpha Construct"? Because you are always carrying an alpha build of yourself. :)

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Thank you Silver Fox. I love summons, and I actually showed restraint in what I've presented here. So, I guess that's a caveat for prospective players of the mod: I hope you like allies and minions.

 

So I think I'd be trying out all new CAs and keeping bits and pieces for my setup, if you don't mind such partial use of your work.

 

I don't mind at all, after all that's what I did with Llama's Mod. I also feel more inured to criticism than with the Item Mod because I developed this for myself firstly.

 

I'd probably try keeping Ruinous Onslaught

 

Ugh, it's so crummy. I replaced it with glee. Enjoy yourself though. :)

 

But all other changes look good and personally I won't miss Shadow Veil. SW is a very strong character by himself and invisibility makes him boring.

 

Absolutely agree. Shadow Veil was exciting for about 10 levels. Then I thought, of all the characters who DOESN'T need to be invisible, it's the Shadow Warrior. You can build them almost any which way and they can take damage.

 

without Archangel's Wrath, RevTech loses its main damage dealer and is left without sniping CA at all, forcing you to go Celestial unless you want to spend the playthrough boringly pelting everything to death....The new Revered CA sounds interesting to try, but looks like an Area of Effect debuffer rather than damage dealer, so it's a useful thing to have but not a replacement function-wise.

 

I don't think I did a very good job presenting Sonic Vortex. This is essentially a powered-up Mind Strike but in a cone-shapped Area of Effect. It's designed to be the hard hit replacement. I just don't have a good leveled up Seraphim to show it off (mine is still a wimpy level 35 or so), but script-wise I predict this CA will annhiliate at higher levels.

 

I considered consolidating the Seraphim's two energy shields into one, but I think they actually managed to make them different enough that they would have different uses. So I kept them separate, but splitting them up into different aspects is not an idea that I like.

 

All in all, thank you for working on this mod. It would bring much desired variety to people who are not into modding themselves, and give new ideas to those who are. Now I'll be waiting for the changes in the last two characters' arsenal to be announced.

 

Thanks for reading. We must have cross-posted. Last two characters are up now. ;)

Edited by Flix
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It’s getting better and better. Finally the DragonMage gets a proper pet dragon.

 

I still think Deadly Spears needs more spikes in its icon.

 

Thank you. I played a trick on you making you think it wasn't Deathly Spears. The original design is a prime example of the "cuteness" factor of the original icons I wanted to get rid of. But honestly I looked high and low for some art or a photo that I could fashion into a new Deathly Spears icon. I couldn't find anything suitably mechanical and artistic enough that featured multiple spikes, just that one close-up spike that's in the new icon. Here's a suggestion (totally serious, no sarcasm), if you know of or can find a better design that shows something that looks like Deathly Spears, why don't you share it with me, and I may swap it out.

 

Would you consider changing "Sentinel Construct" name to "Alpha Construct"? Because you are always carrying an alpha build of yourself. :)

 

I kind of like that. It reminds me of the TG's class quest where he's talking to himself the whole time, and has to reintegrate with his "other" self - the hologram that is his memories. I will kind of miss "sentinel" though. I'll think about it.

Edited by Flix
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