Title : Arch Mages of Quake Filename : archmage.zip Version : 1.0 - beta 2 (see history) Date : 2/4/97 Author : Chris Burke Email : wyrm@engin.umich.edu Thanks : id Software of course John Carmack for quakec Sto (axe of command) Ronald E. Mercer (teleweapons) Type of Mod ----------- Quake C : yes - and how! Sound : no - so it can be run on a server :) MDL : no Format of QuakeC ---------------- unified diff : no context diff : no .qc files : yes progs.dat : yes Description of the Modification ------------------------------- Turn Quake into a magic-based RPG! Gone are those mundane tools of the marines. Instead, you wield magical spells into battle. Gain experience for slaying your enemies, increasing your level and magical power. How to Install the Modification ------------------------------- Make a new dir in your quake directory (ie c:\quake\archmage). Copy this archive into that directory, then unzip it with the -d option. Then from the c:\quake dir. type: quake -game archmage Technical Details ----------------- Because of the change in nature of the game, much of the information on the screen is changed. Current Ammo number always refers to available Mana (spellcasting power). shells ammo refers to your current experience level. nails ammo refers to which weapon key (1 - 0) is currently selected. rocket ammo is 1 if you are ready to cast a spell, 0 if not. cells ammo is the amount of Mana the currently selected spell costs. __Selecting Spells__ a spell can be assigned to each of the weapon keys 1-8, and additionaly 9 and 0. Once a spell is assigned to a weapon key, simply press that key to select the spell, then use the fire button to cast that spell. to assign a spell to a key, use the following procedure: press the key to which you wish to assign a spell. press 'L' then go to the console. this will display all spells you know, and their number. at the console, type 'impulse 1xx' where x is the number of the spell you want to assign. leave the console, and that spell will be selected. whenever you press that weapon key, you will be able to cast that spell by pressing Fire. this sounds kinda complicated, but its not bad once you get used to it. by default, Magic Missile is assigned to key 2, Shield to 3, Jump to 4, Light to 5, and Monster Summoning 1 to 6. all others default to axe. you can assign a spell to key 1. pressing 1 a second time will go to your axe. -- impulse -- default key -- function ----------------------------------------------------- 100 L displays all known spells, and their number. press 'l' in the game, then go to the console. if the list is too long, use PgUp and PgDn to scroll through it. 1-10 1-0 select spell for keys 1 - 0 50 s Stay: Summoned creatures in front of you will remain at their location, until they find something to kill. 51 f Follow: Summoned creatures in front of you will follow after you, until they find something to kill. This is the default behavior. 52 g Go: Summoned creatures will move away from you. Used in case your eager creatures box you in, or to drive them ahead of you. 1xx Assign spell xx to the current weapon key 2xx Cast spell xx immediately. Bind to a key to instantly cast a spell without selecting it. 11 Cycle weapons 12 Server Flags 13 Mana Cheat 254 Level Cheat (use to see all the nifty spells) __Levels__ Arch Mages is based upon an experience point system. When you kill something, you get experience. More powerfull foes give you more experience. Upon reaching a certain number of experience points, you will advance to the next mana. This increases the maximum amount of Mana you can possess, and you learn new powerfull magics. Also, many spells are more effective a higher level, where the caster can call upon more magical power to create the effect. In deathmatch, the amount of experience you get for killing another player depends on the *difference* between your levels. Killing a higher-level mage than you yields more, while killing lower levels yields far less. Thus it does a Sorcerer no good to kill an Apprentice (except of course for the frag :). another deathmatch note - when you die in deathmatch, you will keep all of your spells and experience, and your mana will be at maximum. __Spells__ The arcane tools of the mage. Spells, offensive, defensive, and utilitarian, are what makes Arch Mages of Quake unique. There is much more depth than simply selecting the most powerfull spell and letting loose. The greatest of mages will master all spells, and know when to use which, and what combinations are most effective. Summoning - Summoning is the ancient art of creating a gate through time and space, and calling through the gate another being, and binding that being into service. Summoned monsters will attack your enemies, and ignore your other summoned creatures, your teammates, and your teammates creatures. Controlling these creatures is a dangerous practice. Though generally secure, it is possible for the bond between summoner and summoned to be broken. If an ally hurts a summoned creature, it is likely that it will attack the ally. If the caster himself hurts his creature, it is possible that the creature will go awol, and revert to its natural, hostile state. All spells available are listed here, by level, and with the amount of mana each costs LEVEL 1 (starting level) Magic Missle -1 fires a magical bolt of energy. High speed, and moderate damage. The amount of damage inflicted increases with the level of the caster. Light -3 the caster will glow for a period of about a minute, with that duration increasing with the level of the caster. Shield -5 creates an invisible wall of force in front of you. This shield give protection from a variety of projectile attacks, yet allow the caster's own spells to pass through. Enemies cannot be moved with the shield, and it does not stop lightning. Shield durability increases with level. Jump -3 triples the jumping ability of the caster for a length of time dependent on level. Monster Summoning 1 -8 randomly summons either a Rottweiler or a Grunt into your service. LEVEL 2 Slay Undead -2 a bolt of energy which is completely useless against the living, but devastating against undead. Gust of Wind -3 Produces a powerfull gust of wind with a cylindrical area of effect extending away from the caster. The wind is strong enough to push creatures and items. The strength of the gust increases greatly with level, as does the duration. Raise Dead -6 All humans (player, grunts, enforcers) near the player will be enchanted with an unholy power, bringing them back from the dead as zombies. Alarm -4 creates an invisible cube centered where the caster is standing. Anything entering this area will set off the alarm and notify the caster of what has trespassed. One creature cannot set off the alarm twice in a row. The alarm is permanent. LEVEL 3 Fly -3/sec accelerates the caster upward. This spell does not provide for horizontal motion in the air, thus making it more of a levitation spell. Any velocity the caster had while on the ground will be maintained in flight. Hold the fire button to fly, and release to plummet. Lightning Bolt -2.5 a stroke of lightning extending in a straight line from the caster's hands. Arrival at target is near instant, and the initially impressive damage increases with level. Ligtning is also capable of penetrating shields and walls of force. Poison Dart -2.5 when this projectile strikes an enemy, that enemy becomes poisoned, and will slowly die. Poison can be neutralized by picking up a health item, or after a period of time. Monster Summoning 2 -15 summons an Enforcer or a Scrag. LEVEL 4 FireBall -5 a ball of fire is created and sent hurtling forward. The ball is highly unstable, and will explode upon contact with a solid object. Fireball is slower than the Magic Missle, but packs a great deal more punch. Damage increases with the level of the caster. Invisiblity -7 the caster of this spell becomes *completely* invisible. The spell lasts about half of a minute, more for higher levels, and ends suddenly. Any form of attack or spellcasting will immediately remove invisibility, even that which comes from a Ring of Shadows (which by itself works normally). LEVEL 5 Wall of Force -7 an invisible wall is created directly in front of the caster. It will block all objects from passing through it, though lightning and the blast from fireballs will pass through. The wall remains either for a fixed duration or until the strength of the wall is depleted. Wall duration and strength increase with level. Confusion -5 an affected target will turn, move, and jump randomly for the duration of the spell. The nearest entity in front of the caster will be effected, though higher level entities can resist the spell. Duration increases with level. Mirror Image -10 creates an illusionary duplicate of the caster at his exact location. The illusion will vanish after a period of time. Fire Spawn -1 spews fire at a great rate. Each small flame does little damage on its own, but the rate of fire makes up for this. At close range, damage can become devastating. LEVEL 6 Circle of Fire -8 creates a spining circle of flaming embers. The embers will not damage their creator, but will severely burn anything else. Each ember will vanish after touching a creature, and the entire circle will vanish over time. Drain Life -4 sends out invisible tendrils which will drain the life from a living being and give it to the caster. This spell cannot be used to surpass the normal health maximum. Monster Summoning 3 -25 conjours a Fiend or Death Knight to slay your foes. LEVEL 7 Guardian -15 creates a small stationary energy globe. This globe will shock any enemy creature that comes near it. The globe will be destroyed when either its health or energy is depleted. LEVEL 9 Storm -20 a mighty incantation which causes lightning to spew from the very heavens to strike the arch mages enemies. The unbridled power of nature is chaotic, and many bolts will fall astray from their targets. It is also possible, though somewhat unlikely, that the mage and his minions will fall victim to their own spell. The greatest of power is not without risk. Monster Summoning 4 -50 brings into existence the almighty Shambler! The deadliest of summoned creatures also is the most likely to go awol, so wise mages will watch their aim. Known Bugs ----------------- player, grunt, and enforcer bodies (those that can be raised) will sometimes sink into the floor, so that raised zombies might be unable to stand up. History ----------------- Beta 2 - 2/6/97 -fixed bug causing lockup when shields hit teleporters -your slay undead goes through your own shield -shields do not respond to Pet commands (they didn't do anything before, but the message was annoying -firespawn/shield doesn't cause crashes. -invisibility / ring of shadows work together fine now -i think there was another one, but i can't remeber it right now. anyway, that was fixed too Author Request ----------------- please try out this conversion, tell me what you think. any bug, suggestion, wanna-sees, or fan mail (yeah right), please send my way. This is only an beta version, so it needs work. I will only work on it only if I think people want me to. also, this beta has not been tested in deathmatch. please tell me how the experience goes. future versions will include: even more spells! hooray! sounds! hear your Circle of Fire burst into being! Hear the thunder crash as you unleash a Storm! Models! New graphics for spells, maybe even new monsters! (this all assumes i get an at least partially functional 3d modeller. for free.) so, in case you missed it at the top, email me at wyrm@engin.umich.edu P.S. please don't tell me that my code is unreadable. i didn't bother to comment a whole lot. future versions will be fully commented.