Level scaling in Arcanum?

[Masterfrog]

Hey, I'm obviously new to these forums, but I looked through them swiftly and they seem like the best resource for Arcanum anything, right now.

I played Arcanum alot when I was a bit younger, and I practically loved it to death. Recently, however, I tried to play it again, and I basically broke my childhood admiration for it. I just couldn't have any fun in this game, simply because it didn't have level scaling.

So, and sorry if this has been asked and answered before, I was simply wondering if there is any unofficial patch or mod that introduces this to Arcanum, or if anyone knows of any other way around the problem.

My main gripe with the game is that followers do not scale to your own level. So if I'm level 15-16 when I find Magnus, he's basically worthless. Same goes for any character. Even more frustratingly is when, without trying to spoil anything if there's actually someone who hasn't played the game and is going to, you-know-who leaves the party at around level 20, and when you've then reached around level 40, he returns, only to still be level 20 and being absolutely worthless.

The game would also be alot more fun if enemies, atleast partly or in certain situations, scaled levels to meet yours. It just seems as if the game is made to be played out in a specific way, and that if you deviate from that, and arrive in the "wrong" location at the "wrong" level, things will be too hard/easy and simply, just not fun.

So there it is. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[ecliptic]

Wow, I couldn't imagine wanting to patch IN level scaling..

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Play on medium instead of easy. You will level up much slower, and the followers will be closer to your level when you meet them.

 

[Cogar]

Followers level up one level when you level up one level if they are in your party at the time--at least if you are on medium difficulty. (The one exception may be the dog, which may stay at 30 until you are at least level 30 and then will level with you--don't know for sure on that one.)

 

[Mr. Wednesday]

I agree with having followers scale to your level; does the unofficial patch fix that? But having enemies scale to your level would remove the fun of exploration IMO.

 

[desocupado]

I remember using a mod in oblivion to REMOVE level scalling. It's really awful and I have no idea how anyone would like to play with it.

I'm playing arcanum right now, and it's a nice game, just wish virgil wouldn't try to heal me, with me being tech and all.

 

[Melcar]

Never liked level scaling in any situation. Level scaling for followers/NPCs is convenient, but often than not it breaks the "atmosphere". I'm adventuring and killing things left and right to get to level 20+, and this fucker who sits in a bar all day ends up being as powerful as I am. Global level scaling = bad; follower level scaling = I can live with but breaks any sense of accomplishment.

 

[BethesdaLove]

Virgil heals monsters contolled by my mindfucking necrophiliac and than they kill him...

Also for some reason Harm does 40 points of damage and Quentch Life too. But Harm costs 10 times less... Funny game.

 

[Mr. Wednesday]

Never liked level scaling in any situation. Level scaling for followers/NPCs is convenient, but often than not it breaks the "atmosphere". I'm adventuring and killing things left and right to get to level 20+, and this fucker who sits in a bar all day ends up being as powerful as I am. Global level scaling = bad; follower level scaling = I can live with but breaks any sense of accomplishment.

I just hate grinding. Grinding doesn't give me a sense of accomplishment, it gives me a sense of boredom.

 

[bhlaab]

Never liked level scaling in any situation. Level scaling for followers/NPCs is convenient, but often than not it breaks the "atmosphere". I'm adventuring and killing things left and right to get to level 20+, and this fucker who sits in a bar all day ends up being as powerful as I am. Global level scaling = bad; follower level scaling = I can live with but breaks any sense of accomplishment.

On one hand I agree with that, but it sucks in a non-linear rpg to have to find follower npcs at the precise right moment for them not to be massive gimps.

And considering that most npc followers are specialized based on their histories, it usually makes sense (example: Tycho from Fallout sits in a bar all day, but he's also an ex-Desert Ranger so it makes sense that he would be as capable of wholesale slaughter as you are)

 

[Melcar]

Never liked level scaling in any situation. Level scaling for followers/NPCs is convenient, but often than not it breaks the "atmosphere". I'm adventuring and killing things left and right to get to level 20+, and this fucker who sits in a bar all day ends up being as powerful as I am. Global level scaling = bad; follower level scaling = I can live with but breaks any sense of accomplishment.

On one hand I agree with that, but it sucks in a non-linear rpg to have to find follower npcs at the precise right moment for them not to be massive gimps.

And considering that most npc followers are specialized based on their histories, it usually makes sense (example: Tycho from Fallout sits in a bar all day, but he's also an ex-Desert Ranger so it makes sense that he would be as capable of wholesale slaughter as you are)

Stuff like Tycho I agree. As long as there is a good reason, in the way of nicely laid out back stories and such, having powerful followers from the start is acceptable. Being able to recruit an NPC that is twice your level is interesting as long as they have a good reason for being that powerful (a seasoned mercenary or a semi retired adventurer, etc.). It adds flavor to the NPCs and to the story as a whole. But the worse part of level scaled followers is when you meet them at low levels; sure, it allows for more personalized customization, but it's rather retarded meeting an "experienced wizard" at lvl 1.

 

[bhlaab]

I don't think 99% of players think on such a micro level. People do tend to allow their minds to fill in the narrative gaps.
"Ok this guy said he was good at magic but he sucks. Hey you, get out of my team" and that's that.

 

[Whispering Darkness]

I'm playing arcanum right now, and it's a nice game, just wish virgil wouldn't try to heal me, with me being tech and all.

Virgil has skill in Heal as well. Give him some bandages and he'll use those instead of his normal healing spells.

Also, Virgil leans more towards magickal aptitude. Jayna Stiles is a great tech alternative. She learns several Herbology schematics which gives you access to healing and fatigue salves. She also gains skills in Heal, just like Virgil.

It's truly not a big deal with NPCs and their level when they join you, really it is not. I only play on Hard Mode and by end of the game, all my followers are level cap due to completing quest and the like. Even if you hit level 50 your followers will continue to level up to 50 when you level up. Just make sure you have some sort of combat skill [Melee, Bow, Throw, Firearms] even if you go full Charisma and Persuasion or you won't get to level cap by the end of the game.

For all those who are still playing Arcanum... stop getting Dog! He's a damn crutch. Just play without him, it'll be alright.

 

[Texas Red]

I think you can choose how a follower level ups. There are sort of schematics in their character sheet, like Pure Melee, Good Mage etc.

Shota, you can get some Kodex Kool Kreds by making a mod that scales followers. This always bothered me as well.

 

[Masterfrog]

It's interesting with all these replies but sadly, none of them really answers my questions, which may be because there really isn't any answer, but yeah.

As for:

First of all, download the latest patch, here:

http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/patches/arcanum_en_1074.exe

Then download the latest unofficial patch here: (The second file is to fix a small art problem.)

http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/fixes/UAP081004.exe
http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/fixes/Arcanum6.dat

and the restoration pack:

http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/fixes/UAPEXP081004.exe

Install them. After doing all this, if you are still unhappy with the encounters, then download these:

http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/doa/molhand.zip
http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/doa/orcbandit.zip

That scales the Orc Bandit encounters, and the Molochean Hand encounters. Both are kinda outdated and will disable some of the fixes from the unofficial patch.

Have fun!

Thanks for the tips, but no matter of fixes and patches will make me want to play the game unless there's Companion Level Scaling in there. If there is that feature in one of those patches, you failed to point that out, but I will happily install it all again.

The whole idea with static companion levels is, to me, ludicrous. From a play perspective, it's just not fun if my companions are either inferior or superior to me, and just ruins the game. For me, that's all there is to it. It makes the game boring, and if the game is boring, I won't play it. Sure, you could argue that if I just meet the right companions at the right level there's no problem. But firstly, that removes much of the freedom, and does so from a free-roam game with a very open world, effectively stunting much of the gaming experience, by dictating what I should or should not do. Secondly, that requires me to know their level and location beforehand, so that I can go there at the right time. This will effectively remove much, if not all, of the immersion that this game otherwise could deliver so well.

But of course, I'm not really crass enough to have to have this fixed through a patch or fix. I can understand if I'm relatively lonely in wanting exactly this, so there being no such thing wouldn't be a surprise. However, any means to come to the same result would do just fine, for example if I could modify my followers levels through some game file after I have them in my party, that would work perfectly. Or just anything to the same effect. Does anyone know anything like that? Thanks, again, in advance.

 

[motya]

help

First of all, download the latest patch, here:

http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/patches/arcanum_en_1074.exe

Then download the latest unofficial patch here: (The second file is to fix a small art problem.)

http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/fixes/UAP081004.exe
http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/fixes/Arcanum6.dat

and the restoration pack:

http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/fixes/UAPEXP081004.exe

Install them. After doing all this, if you are still unhappy with the encounters, then download these:

http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/doa/molhand.zip
http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/doa/orcbandit.zip

That scales the Orc Bandit encounters, and the Molochean Hand encounters. Both are kinda outdated and will disable some of the fixes from the unofficial patch.

Have fun!

Thanks a lot!

I've got one fast question (sorry for little offtopic)

I've come back to arcanum after a few years break. I do not have time to play it again many times, but just once will be refreshing and fun (and won't eat all of my free time

BUT.

Besides those patches above I've found also something with the name Arcanum: Work in Progress version 4.4 witch is unfortunatelly not compatible to UAP081004.exe

Which option should I chose to play, which's more fun / better / more complete? Or maybe is there any chanse to mix them togeher? Please help

 

[Masterfrog]

http://www.terra-arcanum.com/downloads/arcanum/doa/arceditor1_8.zip

That allows you to modify your followers levels. The readme explains everything. Have fun!

edit: if you can't figure out how to use it, feel free to PM me.

Hey, I'll try that out! Thanks alot for the tip!

EDIT:: By the way, will this work with the Arcanum 1024x768 mod/patch/thingamajig?

 

[Black]

edit: if you can't figure out how to use it, feel free to PM me.

CF trying to be useful? Oh please!

 

[oscar]

The KotoR's have made me sick of follower level scaling. Perhaps in a broad sense, for instance, a follower described as a "mighty wizard" or "famed adventurer" shouldn't join you and be at level 8.

Better to have them not show up at all or the "leave me till you know more of the world".

 

[Norfleet]

But the worse part of level scaled followers is when you meet them at low levels; sure, it allows for more personalized customization, but it's rather retarded meeting an "experienced wizard" at lvl 1.

I'm not sure what's the worse of the two, really: Experienced level 1 wizards, or woefully inept level 20 wizards that couldn't manage to set fire to gasoline.

 

[rroyo]

WIP is by rroyo from T-A, it's a pretty good mod, the amount of changes is staggering. It also contains a bunch of fixes from the unofficial patch, but not all of them.

Thank you!

FYI: Version 5.1 has been out for a month now and it contains the complete UAP 081004 - with a couple customizings. Restoring the Reflection Spell trick being chief among them.

http://terra-arcanum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=14734