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PhysX and Ragdoll in Sacred 2


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Hail! It has been...what, 2 years? Bah, my memory fails me...

 

Warning: Please skip the quoted part if you don't want to waste 5 minutes of your life, you can go directly to the question at the bottom.

 

Anyway, I got myself a new rig (i7 950, 8 GB RAM, nVidia GTX 560 Ti) about a month ago, and slapped a Win7 64-bit Ultimate on it. It is a huge upgrade from my previous old box, which was gritting its teeth just to run Sacred 2 at medium settings.

 

I was a big fan of Sacred 2 (can't say I still am...which I'll explain soon)...played TQ:IT (Titan Quest) too but loved Sacred 2 much more. TQ is all old and ancient; but Sacred 2 features a very nice blend of sci-fi with swords and magic.

I felt real itchy about Sacred 2 several days ago...you know what I mean: the unique skill and combo system, the epic-sized scenic world awaiting exploration, the fabulous music and chanting, the witty grave messages, the seraphim and her supersized B- *cough* BeeEffGee (as a matter of fact, BFG WAS/IS TEH biggest baddest gun...I was stunned by how it looked and the way it was summoned the first time I saw it), and all the good-ol'-fashion fun of hacking, smacking and blowing up everything from goblins to giant robot.

 

So, there I went flipping through my disc collection, got it installed and eager as ever to play with my ser- *cough* shadow warrior.

Ah, the familiar loading screen with a familiar random silly message, and much sooner than I expected, there I was in the wonderous land of Ancaria with everything appeared much more beautiful and detailed than I visited previously.

 

Alas, 15 minutes after my heroic feat of slaying wolves and bandits, the game crashed...meh, maybe it just needs a lil' warm-up...so I thought.

After about 3 reoccurence of such mishap within 1 hour, I stopped, googled and researched about such phenomena online, seeking the collective knowledge of the world's netizen who faced similar trajedy: Win7 64-bit doesn't mix well with Sacred 2, so it seemed.

 

The next day and a half's supposedly gaming session, I spent on reading forums, install and reinstalling drivers/Sacred 2, finding and downloading DLLs, messing with options.txt, PhysX, compactibility setting, 4GB patch, blah blah blah you name it...it was torturous.

Just this morning, I finally got both Win7 64-bit and Sacred 2 handshaking and shoulder-tapping each other (they get along well for about...2-3 hours each session, before Sacred 2 decided to bail...but oh well, I played for at most 2 hours per session anyway).

 

Oh the joy! A big world, full of adventure, monsters lurking everywhere, quest and too-much-side-quests to tackle, the sound of fabulous musics...

There, my shadow warrior is roaring and bulldozing the squeaky goblins;

There, my dragon mage with his lil' evil' homing suicidal golems are having a blast of time, literally;

There, my high elf is spewing meteorites and spitting glacial shards;

There, my seraphim is kicking arses and swaying her b- *cough* blades;

I was having so much fun...

 

BUT WAIT! What's this sudden emptiness that I sensed? I felt something amiss...something important...It is rather, unnatural, like eating pizza without mozzarella cheese...or perhaps it is pepperoni?

I kept on playing for about another hour, switching between my 4 favorite classes, seeking the root of this void...but to no avail...

 

Feeling unsatisfactory, I stopped Sacred 2, and went back to TQ:IT.

As I am entering Hades in TQ, I didn't pay attention to the screen, I was pondering about Sacred 2...

Was it the scenery?

Was it the skill?

Or was it the fancy suits?

Or was it...

 

...Still pondering, I habitually move my hybrid psychic mage towards an unfortunate group of harpy, and instictively pressed my opener-spell...AND IT HAPPENED! THE MOMENT OF "EUREKA!", as I see those toasted monsters sent flying in all sorts of direction, in all manner of twisted-but-intact limbs, and in all different magnitude of momentum and speed!

 

Yes, my fellow Ancarians, the magic word for today iiiiiiisssssss *drumrolls* TEH fabulous *drumrolls* TEH magnificient *drumrolls* TEH humorous *drumrolls* TEH life-enriching *drumrolls* TEH most-loved *drumrolls* RAGDOLL *thunderous applauses*.

 

 

I remembered quite clearly that (before? or was it after Ice and Blood?) Ragdoll effect was indeed effective in Sacred 2.

Back when I was using some old crappy PC to run Sacred 2, which wasn't even able to run PhysX and all on medium settings, I remember enjoying Ragdoll effect in Sacred 2.

 

Now, don't confuse with those PhysX effects when I say Ragdoll effect. When I turn on/off PhysX, the only visible changes are those dry leaves and pebbles...when I say Ragdoll, I am talking about the "PhysX effect" on monsters when they died, which doesn't seems to change no matter PhysX is turned on/off.

 

It was not as crazy as in TQ (Titan Quest) where monsters will fly high up into the sky and virtually sent rocketing in all directions, but it was definitely there and much more obvious/entertaining than what we have today (I am still on 2.65.1, haven't patch to latest 2.65.2). I also had CM patch v120 installed, but I doubt it is the culprit.

 

No matter what settings I tried (on off PhysX, medium, high, low settings),

no matter what kind of skills I use (on shadow warrior, seraphim, dragon mage and high elf),

all that I see in Sacred 2 now, is that the monster simply faint nearly right at where they were last hit, and just "flow into the life-stream"/"gone with the wind" about 10seconds later, with the first 3-5 seconds seemingly able to be kicked around (not for much though).

Ok, all my characters are just about level 2X and doesn't have much mod on skills yet, but it is still far from what I remembered.

 

What I remembered:

On my shadow warrior, there's some skills that can send monsters like goblin, flying outward for some distance (about the length of 3 player's chest, and height of 1 player's chest);

The same ragdoll effect can be achieve by seraphim with some explosion mod on Archangel's Wrath and sometimes soulhammer;

The high elf can blast monsters off some distance (if the monster died) with some of its fire skill, and the glaciel shard skill (if the monster is hit by many shards at close-range, imagine shot-gun).

 

I don't remember seeing such ragdoll effect on my dragon mage...my favorite skill of dragon mage is the one with lil' evil' homing suicidal golems, it seems to be of explosive type, but I never remember seeing them sending corpse flying...Which, makes me suspect that ragdoll effect is removed(?) after Ice and Blood expansion?

 

I played Dryad before (not for long though...not my cup of tea), and remember laughing real hard when she blow-piped a goblin down a cliff. It's vivid: the goblin was NOT at the edge of the cliff, but about 2 blow-pipe length away from the edge. It died by a blow-pipe skill, and being sent flying OVER the edge of the cliff, and started to free-fall along the cliff, hit the cliff half-way down, then rolling down the rest of it. Vivid, huh? I bet you will too if you are the one who did it, it was both rare and hilarious.

 

 

 

Here's my questions:

1) There must be some "weight" value of Ragdoll stored somewhere...anyone knows where it is? The current settings seems just too heavy.

2) There must be some "momentum" value of skills stored somewhere...anyone knows how to modify them? The current settings seems no impact/momentum at all.

3) Is there a patch/fix/crack/hack/whatever that can bring back proper/higher ragdoll effect to Sacred 2?

 

Perhaps it's one of the text files in [script] folder?

Perhaps it has something to do with PhysX? (Though I doubt this...)

 

Please enlighten me, Sacred 2 is sooo much less enjoyable without it.

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

Sincerely,

A Sad Lurker

Edited by unknowngst
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Ragdoll death is a default animation played if the dying creature has no particular death animation. :)

 

Pardon me, but I am confused.

 

Are you hinting that, if I am able to somehow remove the default animation played from every monsters, then all of them will die the Ragdoll way?

 

If so, will you be so kind as to show/hint me how I could achieve that?

 

Will I be able to configure the "weight" and/or "momentum" parameter?

 

I not trying to get anything fancy...just trying to get the old Ragdoll effect back. I googled and searched but I can't find a solution, until I gave up on lurking and, here I am, asking for help.

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Basicly Yes. They all would die ragdoll style. It would need serious editing of your game's zip archives in the pak folder and I do not see how you could change weight and momentum. (Maybe balance.txt has some options I am not aware of because we do not touch that file for CM, but I think this might be hardcoded.)

 

You need to remove every GR2 file in the zips (Start with graphics05.zip. That is the first to have granny files.) that has "_death_" in the filename. (There will be different suffixes to those like "..._death_bh.gr2, ..._death_zw.gr2 etc." for different weapon usage (Unarmed, Dual Wield, ...).

 

Let me know how it goes. :)

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Thanks czevak, that's some hopeful pointer.

 

I'll start small, one step at a time...Pirates will be my first victims, the headlines of Ancaria tomorrow will be "Mysterious Pirates Genocide In Multitude Massacre Methods".

 

At the meanwhile, I am also exploring those scripts files...

 

I'll keep you guys in the loop :)

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Rejoice! Fellow Ancarian,

 

Hours of perusing and delibating over the ancient tomes and scrolls have revealed a secret art most terrific!

 

Aye, as ye might have guessed, my journey in search for The Holy Grail of Ragdoll has bare thou fruits - nay, the TRUE Holy Grail of Ragdoll has yet to be found -- but WAIT! A replica that can produce the same result has been found...with a tweeny tiny bit of "catch" (which I'll mention in the end).

 

Here's the juice:

It is rather simple :)

I had some background knowledge of all those .txt files in the script folder. And then I read about this thread:

http://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?/topic/18337-modifying-combat-arts-and-understanding-flags-spellstxt/page__st__20

And a light-bulb pops above my head!

 

Here's the general concept:

I just need to apply the skill effect that HURLS/PUSHBACK enemy to the skills that I want, and the game engine will take care of the rest with its already-existing ragdoll system!

 

And how to make that happen? Simple, here's the step:

1) Go to [sacred 2 installation directory]\scripts\shared\spells.txt (open it with notepad or any text editor).

 

2) I will use Seraphim's Baneful Smite as example.

Refer to this link for the skill name you want to change: http://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?/topic/18337-modifying-combat-arts-and-understanding-flags-spellstxt/page__view__findpost__p__6902263

From the link above, Baneful Smite = "se_cm_blitz".

 

3) Search for keyword "se_cm_blitz" (without the quotes).

 

4) This is what you will see:

mgr.defineSpell( "se_cm_blitz", {

eiStateName = "cSpellCast",

fxTypeCast = "FX_SE_BLITZ_C",

fxTypeSpell = "FX_SE_BLITZ",

fxTypeCastSpecial = "FX_SE_CAST_K",

duration = 0.050000,

animType = "ANIM_TYPE_SM12",

animTypeApproach = "ANIM_TYPE_INVALID",

animTypeRide = "ANIM_TYPE_INVALID",

animTypeSpecial = "ANIM_TYPE_RIDESM05-SPECIAL",

causesSpellDamage = 1,

tokens = {

entry0 = {"et_duration_sec", 500, 0, 0, 8 },

entry1 = {"et_damage_magic_rel", 0, 20, 0, 9 },

entry2 = {"et_spelldamage_magic", 490, 245, 0, 133 },

entry3 = {"et_spelldamage_physical", 490, 245, 0, 133 },

entry4 = {"et_debuff_movespeed", 300, 2, 1, 42 },

entry5 = {"et_chance_disarm", 500, 0, 2, 5 },

entry6 = {"et_chance_electrify", 297, 3, 3, 5 },

entry7 = {"et_debuff_EAW", 1500, 20, 4, 42 },

entry8 = {"et_dotdamage_magic", 490, 245, 5, 42 },

entry9 = {"et_chance_chain_nr", 800, 1, 6, 4 },

},

fightDistance = 525.000000,

aspect = "EA_SE_CELESTIALMAGIC",

cooldown = 0.000000,

soundProfile = 0,

cost_level = 210,

cost_base = 420,

focus_skill_name = "skill_SE_celestialmagic_focus",

lore_skill_name = "skill_SE_celestialmagic_lore",

spellClass = "cSpellSeBlitz",

spellcontroltype = "eCAtype_a_effect_attack_ray",

sorting_rank = 1,

})

 

5) Now, we need to add 1 more line after the line starts with "entry9" as "entry10" (the 11th effect of the skill).

COPY the entire "entry9" line, STARTING FROM THE LEFTMOST EMPTY SPACE (because there're two Tab character in front) UNTIL THE VERY END OF THIS LINE.

 

6) Hit [Enter] at the end of "entry9" line, and paste what you have copied. Now, this should be what you are looking at:

entry9 = {"et_chance_chain_nr", 800, 1, 6, 4 },

entry9 = {"et_chance_chain_nr", 800, 1, 6, 4 },

 

7) Now, edit the last line, make them look like this

entry9 = {"et_chance_chain_nr", 800, 1, 6, 4 },

entry10 = {"et_hurl_enemy", 1000, 0, 0, 9 },

 

8) Yup, that's it! Save your file, *READ THE UNDERLINED SECTION OF THIS POST FIRST*, go into game, and start hitting enemy with this skill. If this skill is the skill that kills them, they will fly in the air for a brief while, and you will see the ragdoll effect, instead of just "lump, lay down and die"!

 

Try it out with one skill first, and if it is satisfactory, apply it to every other skills that make sense!

This effect can even apply for those Area of Effect skills, such as Flaring Nova! Now, instead of just "lump and die" within the Nova, enemies will be thrown in the air and away from the center of Nova!

I applied this effect to the following Seraphim skills:

Pelting Strikes - "se_co_schlaghagel"

Assailing Somersault - "se_co_wirbelsprung"

Soul Hammer - "se_co_seelenhammer"

Baneful Smite - "se_cm_blitz"

Archangel's Wrath - "se_te_schwertfeuer"

Flaring Nova - "se_te_schockwelle"

They all work wonderously!

 

PLEASE, only apply this to those skills that MAKE SENSE. Example, DO NOT apply this skill for Divine Protection or Hallowing Restoration! It may or may not break the game!

 

Now, as I said, this is not the TRUE Holy Grail. Why? Here's the *catch*:

1) After applying the patch, when I loaded up my character, I found that my character can't move, neither can the monsters...can't do anything at all.

BUT, I found a solution: simply choose a different difficulty to load. Example, if your character is now in Silver level/difficulty, simply load into Bronze level/difficulty. Any level/difficulty will do, just load into a different one than your current save...and VIOLA! Your character can move again, and everything else will be back to the normal PLUS all those changes you just made :) Yup, that's all the *catch*...it's really nothing big, just a small annoyance. You can simply "Save and Exit" -> Go back to your previous level -> continue enjoying the game :)

You will only need to do this ONCE. Once you have done it, subsequent load will not break the game anymore :)

I am not sure why, neither did I try to find out...but my guess is: something to do with "cache" (the game is remembering something old, thus anything new will "break" it. But by loading a different level/difficulty, it kinda "refreshes" the game.

 

2) Here's the warning and disclaimer:

- The aforementioned *catch* is what observed by me...and I have tested the game for 2 hours without any crashes/difference/error...BUT again, it's just me, I am not sure whether the same thing will happen to everyone, so apply all the changes at your own risk! BUT, please post here if you notice any other weirdness/error, share your joy and trouble with everyone, and perhaps you will be rewarded :)

- BACKUP YOUR FILES FIRST! By that, I mean whatever files you have changed, and YOUR SAVE FILE (just in case).

 

MAYBE, just a BIG MAYBE, you won't even have such a problem! MAYBE I encounter such a problem because I installed CM Patch v130...JUST MAYBE! I am not trying to accuse/blame CM patch for this! They did us an epic contribution, I am very grateful to them! So here I am sharing my findings :) Let us all make Sacred 2 more enjoyable!

 

That's all! What are you waiting for?! Go ahead apply the changes and let loose the dogs of war!

 

 

 

P/S:

Here's some little technical sharing, I am not sure whether this information has been found (most probably it already being discovered):

entry10 = {"et_hurl_enemy", 1000, 0, 0, 9 },

There's "1000,0,0,9" string, let's call them "A, B, C, D":

1) I tried different values at A: -1000, 0, 100, 500, 1000.

If A = 0, there's no hurling effect at all...enemy just "lump and die" as if there's no change at all.

Any value <> 0 -> same effect...no increase in damage, no increase in "impact momentum", doesn't seems to be a probability...nothing...

 

2) B -> I am not sure...

 

3) C -> This is the "mod" of your skill.

Value "1" or "2" = Bronze mod.

Value "3" or "4" = Silver mod.

Value "5" or "6" = Gold mod.

 

4) D -> It is kinda explained in the link mentioned above, so I am not going to explain it again. I didn't find anything new either.

 

 

Now, some other pieces of information:

(I am NOT trying to claim credits, NOR trying to say I am the first to discover all the following information, I simply don't know...)

1) script\shared\Creatureinfo.txt has "weight" setting...which could be interesting...I am thinking: if weight = 1, enemy will be thrown away even further. Not sure, haven't tried.

2) One thing that bugs me about Sacred 2 --> There's WAYYY too many rats and goblins...I am thinking: I'll change their spawns to become female pirates instead :P

3) script\shared\ItemInfo.txt has something interesting settings...perhaps we can make all items to fit into only "1 X 1" slot, instead of "3 X 2" or "2 X 2", so we can fit more stuff into our inventory...I am sure this is already discovered, seeing how simple it can be done.

4) I think there's some way we can make monster "wears" items like they are players. Example, make those female pirates wear "The Revelation of Seraphim" sets :) OR EVEN BETTER: Make them all looks like seraphim :D

5) There's also a "scale" setting in creatures.txt...which is a well-known settings, but I am having some real funny usage for them...more about this later...

 

I'll try to achieve these goals sometime...or not...not sure.

Perhaps some of these can be considered by the CM Patch community? I mean, release them as "Add-on" to CM Patch :P Pretty please!

And thanks for the CM Patch, I am very grateful!

 

 

EDIT:

Anyway to make the "hurl" more powerful? Without changing monster's weight?

Edited by unknowngst
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It has been awhile...I was on my quest to find a way to hurl enemy further away when dead...

 

My quest failed. YET, my journey brought surprisingly pleasant results.

 

In short,

At the begining of my journey, I was a lone seraphim fighting mundane monsters, which looks just the same boring way from one region to the next.

At the end of my failed quest, I ended up with a mod that:

1) Spawns seraphims (a mix of mounted and on-foot) at any chosen places.

2) Each one of these seraphims will wear totally random armors and weapons (including bunny ears, jester's hat...anything).

3) They can be made [vs me and vs monster], [vs me only] or [vs monsters only].

 

Ancaria has been boring with a lone hero...I have plans to expand this mod to includes all classes, PLUS a new class called Valkyrie (yes, the idea is from Valkyrie Profile...a summoner of fallen heroes). The basic idea is a class that can summon up to 3 different race (no repeating race), with major abilities to buff/heal those summons, while debuffing/disable enemies with crowd-control skills, plus some survival skills like "jump"/"hide" and very basic damage skills. Every time you summon a race, it will also wear random armor+weapon.

Imagine: You cast Light Pillar with mod that pulls enemies to the center of pillar, and your summoned High Elf + Dragon Mage + Inquisitor casting some Area of Effect spells right in the middle of pillar!

 

Ancaria can be made so much more interesting with Seraphim+Inquisitor+High Elf+Dryad+Shadow Warrior+Dragon Mage+Temple Guardian fighting each other on the map AT THE SAME TIME, and you yourself being the hero summoning your own Seraphim+Inquisitor+High Elf+Dryad+Shadow Warrior+Dragon Mage+Temple Guardian joining the fight :)

 

So...I guess I can live without "hurling enemy further away", because this mod can be much more fun than that :) I failed this quest, but began a more interesting one. This thread can be closed already.

 

More info about the mod can be found here: [MOD] Age of Heroes (Ancaria's Most Chaotic Era)

Edited by unknowngst
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