Dorateen
Arcane
You can also switch to sprites, at least for player characters in KotC2. And for new modules created in the editor, it's possible to load maps and monster sprites that could be closer in visual style to KotC 1.
Update #39: KotC 2 Version 1.06 Now Available For Download!
Hurray! Version 1.06 of KotC 2 Augury of Chaos is now available for download at http://www.heroicfantasygames.com/DigiVendorPro/download.php for both Windows and MacOS.
Mac users please note: installing version 1.06 will delete your character roster, saved games and user-created modules. Future versions will not delete these files as they will now be saved outside the application's folder, in Library/Application Support/KotC 2.
If you want to keep these files, please make a copy of the folders Applications/Knights of the Chalice 2/Contents/MacOS/Saves and Applications/Knights of the Chalice 2/Contents/MacOS/Modules and paste them into Library/Application Support/KotC 2 (just create the folder KotC 2 within Library/Application Support). If you've made a copy of the Modules folder, please delete the folder Library/Application Support/KotC 2/Modules/Augury of Chaos before playing.
List of improvements in KotC 2 version 1.06
Change in the file OpenAL32.dll in the Windows version
- Fixed a bug that caused a crash when grappling with a target that has the Fortuned condition, which comes from the Cleric spell Good Fortune.
- Fixed a bug that prevented you from selecting the correct answer to math puzzles when the answer was '-1/2'. Normally, the slash symbol is used to specify different possible answers, so this caused a problem when the answer itself contained a slash. Also fixed problems in two other math puzzles.
- Added some further optimisations to make the game run faster.
- The game will no longer try to apply the effect of weapon enchantments Knockback and Dispelling when the target has been knocked out.
- Items a character isn't proficient with will be highlighted, even if they're in containers or in the 'Floor items' or 'Party items' boxes.
- The Known / Learn / Later status of spell scrolls will be displayed even if scrolls are in containers or in the 'Floor items' or 'Party items' boxes. The Later status means that the character will be able to learn the spell later on, when the character has reached the required Caster Level.
- When dropping a container on the floor, the container slots will disappear (in 1.05 you could still have access to the contents of a bag even after dropping it).
- Fixed a bug with background images displayed during dialogue. The images continued to be displayed even when they were no longer supposed to be.
- Druids with the Water Sphere will now get their bonus on the radius and range of Mass Cure spells (and the range will be improved from Close to Medium, not Medium to Long).
- The feat Improved Burning Hands will now correctly increase the radius of Burning Hands by five feet.
- The Cleric's Luck domain will now correctly provide the +2 bonus to Saving Throws.
- Pressing the shortcut key L will now open a box asking you to confirm that you want to load the quick save. You can press L again or click Yes to confirm.
- In the Arcane and Divine spell selection windows, added a column for the spell school of each spell. Also moved these windows to the centre of the screen.
- Expanded the full-screen version of the Creature Editor and Template Editor windows. They now use the whole screen and two columns are added (Hit Points and Class name).
- You can now move in combat using the numeric keypad. This may be useful when you're controlling a large creature and you can't mouse over the square you want to move to.
- Added many hyperlinks to the spell descriptions. You can display the descriptions by right-clicking on a spell icon or through the in-game help database. That took me longer than I would have liked.
- Fixed a bunch of broken hyperlinks in the help files and spell descriptions.
- Added new hints for the door-puzzle where you have to set a sequence of symbols like x and o.
- Added extra rewards if you keep the Angel or Giant Spider alive during the fight with Pizarra.
- When starting a new game with characters from the roster, any spells known by the characters that do not exist in the module will be deleted from the character sheet. This doesn't affect the roster copy of the characters. When starting a new game with characters from a saved game created in a different module, any spells / items / weapons that do not exist in the new module will be deleted from the character sheet. This doesn't affect the original saved game. The reason for deleting is that it should be the module creator who decides what items can exist in the module. For example, maybe the module isn't intended to have a Flying Carpet, a Wand of Treasure Detection, an Ultrablast Longsword or a Laser Crossbow. However, player-enchanted weapons and armour do get transferred, as those are saved in the file SaveWeapon.wml, found inside the saved-game folder. Therefore, you can always open and edit that file in the game's weapon editor, if there's a weapon you really want to transfer into the new module.
- Weapons that have an associated script now can't be enchanted by the player. Not a great solution, but it's a problem if we enchant a weapon with a script because the weapon's name will change (e.g. from +1 Stormbringer to +3 Flaming Stormbringer) and then the script will no longer work as intended if this script (or any other script) references the original name of the weapon.
- Mac OS version: saved games, user-created modules, the file CharacterRoster.cml, user screenshots, exported images and the file settings.dat will now be saved in the folder Library/Application Support/KotC 2. Previously, all these files were saved within the application's folder, meaning that all saved-game files and other user files would get deleted when you install a new version of the game.
I wanted to see whether I could distribute the game with a single OpenAL32.dll file that works for everyone, so I did a bunch of tests. It turns out that the latest OpenAL Soft versions (1.20.0 and 1.20.1) cause stutters and crash the game on my computer, while the game seems to run flawlessly with any OpenAL Soft versions before 1.20.0.
So maybe the file that would work for everyone is the version 1.19.1 of OpenAL Soft. I'm adding to the KotC 2 game folder a new folder called OpenAL containing the version 1.19.1 as well as the two other files that could be installed with the KotC 2 installer version 1.05. To try any one of the files, simply copy it and paste it into the folder C:\Knights of the Chalice 2. When running the game, Windows will give priority to the file that is in the game folder (before the file that is in the system folder).
Since I would like to test the file 1.19.1, I'm now placing it into the game folder. If the game doesn't work for you and you experience freezes, please delete the file OpenAL32.dll in C:\Knights of the Chalice 2 and it should work again for you (please let me know by email if the new OpenAL file doesn't work for you). Hopefully 1.19.1 will work for everyone and OpenAL will no longer be a problem for anyone using the Windows version!
PS. All the versions of OpenAL Soft can be found there: https://openal-soft.org/openal-binaries/.
KotC 1 and KotC 2 on GOG.com
Just today I signed and sent back the GOG-Publisher contract. They kindly emailed me a few days ago and said that they would support the launch of both KotC 1 and KotC 2 on GOG.
KotC 2 is also planned to be launched on Steam but it is not there yet. Thank you for your patience! Thing is, I think I should finish work on the tutorial & guidebook, and maybe on the sprites too, before the official launch of KotC 2.
KotC 2 Sprites using PVG assets
I've spent about two weeks working on the sprites from PVG. What I'm planning to do is this: you're going to be able to choose for each of your characters a body style/colour and a hair style/colour (different depending on gender). Then each of your characters will have a sprite and a large paperdoll image reflecting your selection. I've already selected and regrouped those base images for use in KotC 2 (they're not in KotC 2 version 1.06, though).
Over both the sprite and paperdoll, the game will display the armour, right-hand weapon and left-hand weapon or shield. PVG has a lot of good stuff. All of the sprites have walk and run animations comprising eight frames in eight directions. They also have idle animations and dead/prone frames.
However, the PVG assets are divided between two styles (new style and old style). The new style comprises all of the new assets PVG has been releasing on its Patreon channel, while the old style comprises all of the assets found in the PVG asset packs, such as the Medieval Warfare pack, which contains many weapon sprite and paperdoll images.
I will use stuff from both styles, but that means more processing work for me to make the two styles compatible with each other. For example, the old-style weapon animations from the Warfare pack match the new-style character sprites, but in many sprite frames there is a small gap of a few pixels near the character's hand, when I display the weapon's sprite over the character's sprite. As it's a small gap, it's not too hard to fix, but it must be checked for every weapon frame (and for each weapon there are 64 walking frames + 64 running frames + idle frames + a different version for female characters).
Anyway, adding sprites to KotC 2 is one of the three important things I want to do soon. The other two important things to work on are the guidebook and the tutorial module.
Next Steps for KotC 1 and KotC 2
Thank You For Your Support, Dear Knights and Wizards of the Realm! Enjoy!
- Create the tutorial module and the Augury of Chaos starting area.
- Additional work on the KotC 2 Augury of Chaos PDF guidebook, including module-creation info.
- Read and reply messages on the HeroicFantasyGames.com forums, Discord server, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram. Yes, this is also a priority.
- Rework the character-creation screen to allow the player to create his character sprites.
- Add a new local-map screen, that is to say an expanded version of the minimap.
- Get KotC 1 onto the GOG retail platform and send out GOG keys of KotC 1.
- Add isometric torch light effects in the editor and game.
- Add feat-selection recommendations, as in KotC 1.
- Add names to the KotC 2 Credits Screen as appropriate, and assign forum labels.
- Fix any remaining bugs and issues in KotC 2.
- Add the new feats / items / spells / features that were promised during the Kickstarter campaign.
- Post the solutions to the KotC 2 Kickstarter Puzzle Challenge on Facebook.
- Add the new soundtrack from Manuel into the game.
- Continue working on the Steam page for KotC 2 and start working on the Steam version of KotC 2.
Try to contact Pierre via his site. The game is out for backers.KoTC2 is released? Full game now? Where i can buy it?
KoTC2 is released? Full game now? Where i can buy it?
Gotta wait a while for those versions.What? I cant buy game unless i am backer? No steam or GoG?
Well yeah, it's 3.5, nothing beats high level magic in being OP, but at the same time you miss on the chance to use all those sick-ass weapons.I recommend to each and every one of you to try a full caster party. It will be a rocky start, but pretty soon (in my case, after the goblin arena) you will destroy everything standing in your way.
Then one main point we may disagree on is that you think it's a small thing and I think it's a big thing. I built my own party and the game provided varied, consistent and fun challenge to overcome to this party, a campaign which provides that is by default alright to me, that makes it better than what most games I play have to offer.Until you beat it you still have this competitive drive blinding you.