NEW Project: Sacred 2 Purist Fixpack

[Flix 5,116]

I've completed the work on the Purist Fixpack, as well as the Christmas patch and an additional patch to add in the Dragon Mage's mutation set.  It seems stable and bug-free after initial testing.

All that's left is one final round of playtesting with a new character.  I expect to be able to release the mod this weekend.  

[Hooyaah 2,817]

 

Thank you for the Christmas gift Flix!

[NathyielNathyiel 45]

Long time I didn't post anything here.
I'm really curious about this mod as I didn't really play Sacred outside of CM patch. SO I'm curious about a Vanilla-like experience.

Here's a quick question : Reduced Fog, I suppose it should work without problem but I prefer to ask.

[gogoblender 3,068]

21 hours ago, Flix said:

I've completed the work on the Purist Fixpack, as well as the Christmas patch and an additional patch to add in the Dragon Mage's mutation set.  It seems stable and bug-free after initial testing.

All that's left is one final round of playtesting with a new character.  I expect to be able to release the mod this weekend.  

 

Thank you Flix

its a very generous gift of your time for the fans

You've brought Christmas to Ancaria again

gogo

[Androdion 875]

Now I just need to find myself some time to play with it, ha ha. Between two (three actually) hellish weeks at work with barely any time off and my first Grim Dawn toon at Ultimate it won't be easy. I'll try though.

Any pointers on compatibility and installation order? Like: Sacred 2 Gold clean install -> Trimmed Elite Textures -> enable Purist Pack with GME -> play? I just keep mentioning Elite Textures because I've grown too accustomed to playing the game with HD textures, so that's something I'm not ready to part with.

How do you feel the patch will react if I start a new toon and then twink it to be a blank level 75 toon with Character Editor? Never caused any fuss with any other iteration of the game as far as I can remember, and I'd prefer to just start at Platinum and mastery level for a bigger uphill challenge, instead of going Silver->Gold->etc. The idea is to do treat Platinum as Silver/Gold, play the toon well above level 100, and then get up to Niob and do the entire game content in the highest difficulty. I love the early progression into a full blown power char, but nowadays time is so limited that I fear that I won't be able to run through four different difficulty levels in a single toon. Two seems much more feasible, and it provides an added challenge since I'll get a much harder start. But I think it'll provide some interesting challenges, like using General skills more right from the start. Think for instance of looting with a mastered Enhanced Perception from the start. I may have to reactivate my Utility BFG Seraphim concept, with Enhanced Perception, Bargaining and Blacksmith.

[Flix 5,116]

8 hours ago, NathyielNathyiel said:

Here's a quick question : Reduced Fog, I suppose it should work without problem but I prefer to ask.

Yes, there would be no overlap with the files so feel free to install Reduced Fog.

 

24 minutes ago, Androdion said:

Any pointers on compatibility and installation order? Like: Sacred 2 Gold clean install -> Trimmed Elite Textures -> enable Purist Pack with GME -> play? I just keep mentioning Elite Textures because I've grown too accustomed to playing the game with HD textures, so that's something I'm not ready to part with.

Generally, if a mod is going to be compatible with PFP it will be because there is no file overlap at all, meaning install order won't matter.

Let me share my view on Elite Textures that may help simplify matters: I paste the Elite Textures Trimmed into my "pak" folder immediately after installing Sacred 2, and promptly think of them as just part of the base installation, not a mod at all.  With that in place, feel free to install anything you want, whether CM Patch or PFP, EE, D2F or Addendum, there's not a single mod that's going to conflict with them because there's no mods that mess with those zip files.  The fixes and changes from various mods that may affect textures, will simply layer on top of Elite Textures, according to the mod author's wishes.

...

I kind of hit a snag with some "soft crashes" where the character gets booted out to the main menu when completing random quest phases.  I thought this might be due to legacy characters but it's happening with brand new ones as well so I'm trying to get this one issue resolved before I upload anything.  

[Androdion 875]

Alright, thanks for pitching in. Any word on Char Editor interaction? Do it at my own risk I guess? 

[jwiz 68]

9 hours ago, Flix said:

...

I kind of hit a snag with some "soft crashes" where the character gets booted out to the main menu when completing random quest phases.  I thought this might be due to legacy characters but it's happening with brand new ones as well so I'm trying to get this one issue resolved before I upload anything.  

 

I've always found the elite textures to be quite crash-happy without the 4GB patch.

Don't know if the CMP automatically modifies the sacred2.exe that way.

 

[Flix 5,116]

4 hours ago, Androdion said:

Alright, thanks for pitching in. Any word on Char Editor interaction? Do it at my own risk I guess? 

I don't expect any problems, so long as the character is created under PFP.  Also use the "Enable Safe Editing" checkbox in the editor.

4 hours ago, jwiz said:

I've always found the elite textures to be quite crash-happy without the 4GB patch.

Don't know if the CMP automatically modifies the sacred2.exe that way.

PFP has been patched for large address awareness, so between that and the other elite texture edits the game is stable in that regard.

These "crashes" are related to quest.txt or some other file in the server folder.  I'm trying to narrow down the cause. It seems to be triggering whenever a quest phase updates and/or when an NPC tries to drop an item.

[jwiz 68]

32 minutes ago, Flix said:

...

These "crashes" are related to quest.txt or some other file in the server folder.  I'm trying to narrow down the cause. It seems to be triggering whenever a quest phase updates and/or when an NPC tries to drop an item.

Sounds to me rather like a parsing error due to misspellings in quests.txt?

 

[mabo2135581688 4]

Where can I download this fix      NEW Project: Sacred 2 Purist Fixpack

[Androdion 875]

8 hours ago, mabo2135581688 said:

Where can I download this fix      NEW Project: Sacred 2 Purist Fixpack

It's not available yet.

[Flix 5,116]

I have updated the lead post with three links. One is the latest change log, the other two are download links for the current iteration, which I have dubbed a beta test version.

Due to time constraints I haven't tested extensively so I expect weird behavior, please report bugs so that I can improve the fixpack.

[Evolyn 2]

Thanks for this patch!

Registered here to be able to report bugs without cluttering the threads but not an easy task with a limit of 0 daily pms

Playing steam version, only your patch, no other mods, started fresh seraphim single player, game keeps crashing back to desktop at boss Gar'colossus and for some strange reason sometimes npc Meliondor appears next to me in the boss arena even when the quest Unexpected News is already done after I launch and load back into game again.
Whats the easiest way to provide you the savegame?

Edited January 5, 2022 by Evolyn
fixed typo

[Flix 5,116]

18 minutes ago, Evolyn said:

Playing steam version, only your patch, no other mods, started fresh seraphim single player, game keeps crashing back to desktop at boss Gar'colossus and for some strange reason sometimes npc Meliondor appears next to me in the boss arena even when the quest Unexpected News is already done after I launch and load back into game again.
Whats the easiest way to provide you the savegame?

Hello again.  You can email it to me at bengeddes@Yahoo.com or just use a file host like Google Drive.

There's probably something wrong with the Gar'Colossus' combat arts. I'll check it out.

[gogoblender 3,068]

56 minutes ago, Evolyn said:

Thanks for this patch!

Registered here to be able to report bugs without cluttering the threads but not an easy task with a limit of 0 daily pms

Playing steam version, only your patch, no other mods, started fresh seraphim single player, game keeps crashing back to desktop at boss Gar'colossus and for some strange reason sometimes npc Meliondor appears next to me in the boss arena even when the quest Unexpected News is already done after I launch and load back into game again.
Whats the easiest way to provide you the savegame?

Hi and welcome to the forums Evolyn! I saw what you wrote about PMs, usually a member cant pm until they make their first message on our boards, which then unlocks PM ability and helps keep the bots in cgecj,

Your Pms are now available because you posted, but if not please indicate back and Ill have a look at it 

gogo

[Flix 5,116]

Oh yes, welcome to the forums Evolyn! We touched base on Steam but this is where I am most active.  No need for PMs for bug reports, keeping them public is fine.

I'll do my best to stomp the bugs in a timely manner but you're the first intrepid pioneer who's reporting them so you may get hit with a few.  You may want to tackle some side quests while I work on this Gar problem.  I believe it has to do with his stone throw attack, although it only crashed on the second one, it might be related to the FX, or possibly the "next in line" attack, which is a melee double hit.  I'll keep working on it.

My remaining "to-do" list for testing was: all the campaign bosses and all the character class chain quests.  I also didn't have a chance to test Christmas patch, making sure that it all activated properly and that there was no sign of Christmas without it installed.

[Evolyn 2]

Well, I'm having fun while "testing" thanks to your work ;)

I'm now focusing more on side quests now as you suggested, I'll write down everytime one npc sends me back to main menu. Hope this helps finding the root cause for the quest problem. Having done more quests where everything worked fine than quests where I needed to go back into the game. I'm doing them in no specific order. I'll keep updating the list as I play more.

When savegames are included they're in front of the target npc and after loading back into and clicking on npc it always results on my machine in get kicked back to main menu.

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:Children_and_Demons
- When talking to Farmer Koremar after escorting the children (done this quest with two chars, happened only with one where I needed a second try)

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:The_Lost_Amulets
- When talking to Nimantus for reward

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:Tragic_End
- When talking to Nimantus for reward

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:The_Runemaster's_Son
- When talking to Zamanar for reward (2 times in row) (tried quest with second char, worked fine first try)

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:Children_and_Demons_II
- When talking to Elodriel for reward

no wikipage exists, guess its a reenabled quest: the bride who doesn't dare
- When talking to Blind Guardian Fan in Thylysium for reward

random encounter
- When talking randomly to Alan Wild for no specific quest (had ! on his head anymay)

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:Changing_Sides
- When killing Orpheus (the moment he dies)

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:The_Elixir_of_Souls
- When talking to Retilynen for reward

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:Ghost_Hunting
- When talking to Retilynen for reward (4 times in row)

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:Leader_of_the_Pack
- When talking to High Elf Soldier for reward (needed 13 tries, even restartet game meanwhile, teleportet away, did another quest and then tried again and it finally worked) (savegame)

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:The_Hunt
- When talking to General Whimsical for reward (2 times)

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:An_Eye_for_an_Eye
- When talking to Guardsman for reward (10+ times) (savegame)

http://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred_2:Good_Address
- When talking to Captain Hank for reward (10+ times) (savegame)

Edited January 9, 2022 by Evolyn
added more entries

[Androdion 875]

@Flix I don't know if I'll have the time since I haven't been able to play any games since the year started, but in case I do is there any specific testing you need done?

[Flix 5,116]

16 minutes ago, Androdion said:

@Flix I don't know if I'll have the time since I haven't been able to play any games since the year started, but in case I do is there any specific testing you need done?

The things I haven't had a chance to properly test:

• Campaign Bosses
• Character Class Chain Quests
• Northland with and without Christmas Patch installed 

I'm pretty well convinced the soft crash to main menu is random and not tied to any particular quests, nor is it tied to quest rewards dropping. It seems to be happening when the game tries to write quest data to the save file.

[Evolyn 2]

Continued my journey today and one quest was really challenging, got kicked out 12 times before it worked. Updated the list and added savegame, may this helps for further investigation. Maybe it was just a coincidence, I don't know. Anyway, I'll keep gathering all the infos about the bugs I encounter.

Edit: If I'm using quicksave every time before I'm talking to npc's, may I'm provoking this bug to occur?

Edited January 7, 2022 by Evolyn

[contra 8]

I'm glad to see the "official" equivalent of the Sacred 2 Gold 2.65+ patch in my lifetime, the following Google translation may not convey what I mean due to language barriers.

I carefully watched the PFP full change log document, and I can feel the author's rigor. but don't forget the influence of habits, I have even blurred the boundaries between Sacred 2 Gold and CM patch 1.6. CM patch is excellent and widely spread, so those Legendary items no set bonuses were scripted by Ascaron, you can consider using the CM patch setting. For example, Draco's Garments of Mutation should belong to a SET that should really exist but Ascaron did not complete, it is confusing to classify it as a Unique item, also including Kira's Protection, Black Death, & Equilibrium...which are widely Positioning that is recognized by the public.

Edited January 7, 2022 by contra

[Flix 5,116]

Hello to you.  Draco's Garments of Mutation was entirely my own invention that I created as a standalone mod many years ago (my very first mod actually) and was later imported into CM Patch 1.50.  There is not a shred of evidence for the set in the vanilla game files, unlike the other Mutation sets which were completed by Ascaron.

This is why the Dragon Mage mutation set is a standalone module in PFP, and not part of the main mod.  It doesn't fit the criteria of the mod, yet there's really no reason not to have it available, because we already have a template for how a mutation set should be designed (I based the bonuses and armor choice on the existing mutation sets).

Thank you for pointing out that Draco's Garments of Mutation is dropping as unique items.  This is a mistake on my part because I forgot to add the set bonuses.    I will fix this oversight in the next release.

As for the other items (Kira's, Black Death, Equilibrium), there were no set bonuses scripted in the files that Ascaron provided, and there were no clues in the scripts or files on what the set bonuses were supposed to be.  Therefore I decided not to invent set bonuses, nor would I copy the purely invented bonuses that were added in the Community Patch.

I understand that much of the Community Patch has become "canon" in the eyes of the public.  But, I have to reiterate that this mod is not made to appeal to the widest audience possible (for that we have Enhanced Edition or Addendum).  I designed this mod for those people who wanted a strict patch.  There's a lot that could (and IMO should) be done to improve the game and make it more cool and fun to play.  But I have to restrain myself to the guidelines I set for myself: this mod is for the purists.  

[Flix 5,116]

21 hours ago, Evolyn said:

Edit: If I'm using quicksave every time before I'm talking to npc's, may I'm provoking this bug to occur?

No, I don't believe that's causing the problem.  In fact I'd advise quicksaving so you can at least begin in the same spot when you reload the game.

I'm pretty sure this isn't tied to any particular quest or type of quest either.

[contra 8]

6 hours ago, Flix said:

As for the other items (Kira's, Black Death, Equilibrium), there were no set bonuses scripted in the files that Ascaron provided, and there were no clues in the scripts or files on what the set bonuses were supposed to be.  Therefore I decided not to invent set bonuses, nor would I copy the purely invented bonuses that were added in the Community Patch.

I can understand the original intention of your design. However, can we consider it this way? These items no set bonuses scripted in the files that Ascaron provided is because Ascaron did not have time to complete them, which is a pity. We can try to give a reference example, we can learn from the setting value of CM Patch, but do not open the drop rate, or in other words, they are just data exists in the scripts , they cannot actually drop in the game, but the game save converted from CM Patch can be displayed normally, They are ingrained properties of SET Items，instead of the current attributeless Unique style. In this way, even picky players will not install third-party MODs, and they will not see these "non-existing" SETs, and they have made the greatest compromise for players who are used to CM Patch.