Dungeon master 2: character editor

DM2Edit - The Dungeon Master II Editor
Version 0.1 BETA
Copyright (c) 1995
Wheelhouse Worldwide Industries, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
This is a limited beta release of a saved-game editor for
Dungeon Master II: The Legend of Skullkeep.  By downloading
and using this software, you agree to the license terms
at the end of this document.  If you do not wish to agree
to those terms, delete the software now.
INSTALLATION NOTES
============ =====
DM2Edit is designed to reside in the same directory in which you have
installed Dungeon Master II.  On most systems (and the rest of this
document assumes you have a most system), this will be
C:INTRPLAYSKULKEEP.  Simply unpack the ZIP file in that directory.
If you choose to install DM2Edit in another directory, you may need to
copy the DOS4GW.EXE file from your Dungeon Master II directory for DM2Edit
to operate properly.  For example, if you have installed Dungeon Master II
in the default directory (C:INTRPLAYSKULKEEP), but you wish to run DM2Edit
from D:DM2EDIT, you would need to create the DM2EDIT directory, unpack the
ZIP file in that directory, and then issue the command:
D:DM2EDIT> COPY C:INTRPLAYSKULKEEPDOS4GW.EXE .
STARTING THE EDITOR
======== === ======
DM2EDIT is invoked from the command line using the
following syntax:
C:INTRPLAYSKULKEEP> DM2EDIT <FILENAME> <CHARNAME> [SCRIPTNAME]
The FILENAME refers to the path to the saved game file.  These are found
in the DATA subdirectory of your SKULKEEP directory.  They are of the
format SKSAVE#.DAT, where # is replaced by the number of the saved game
(beginning with 0 for the first slot) you wish to edit.
The CHARNAME refers to the first name of the _first_ character in your
party.  This is the character who appears in the upper left hand corner
of your screen (the one with green Vital Signs status bars).  In Dungeon
Master II, unless you have used the SWAP command (see below) or renamed
this character, it will almost certainly be TORHAM.  If you enter another
character's name, or if your party has less than four characters, the
behavior of the editor is undefined (i.e. it will crash).  This will
be addressed in a future version of the editor.
SCRIPTNAME is an optional parameter (both FILENAME and CHARNAME are
required).  If supplied, DM2EDIT opens a file by this name and reads
commands from it instead of from the keyboard.  If the end of the file
is reached and no QUIT or ABORT command has been given, control is
returned to the user.  If no extension is include with SCRIPTNAME, .DME
is assume.  The file HEAL.DME is included with this distribution as an
example (it restores the health, stamina, and mana of all four
characters).
Thus, an example first-time invocation might look something like this:
C:INTRPLAYSKULKEEP> DM2EDIT DATASKSAVE0.DAT TORHAM
USING THE EDITOR
===== === ======
Once you are in the editor, you will see the first character's full
name, followed by a list of his vital stastics.  It will probably
look something like this:
	TORHAM ZED
A/B>    Health:      83/ 83
C/D>    Stamina:    762/770
E/F>    Mana:        14/ 14
G/H>    Strength:    49/ 49
I/J>    Dexterity:   53/ 53
K/L>    Wisdom:      54/ 54
M/N>    Vitality:    45/ 45
O/P>    Anti-Magic:  30/ 30
Q/R>    Anti-Fire:   38/ 38
Notice right away that the Stamina you see and edit here is 10 times that
which appears in the game.  This is not a bug, the Dungeon Master games
have always used the larger number internally and divided it by 10 for
the display.  Next, take a look at the letters to the left of the stats.
Each line has two letters, and two statistics (current and maximum).  They
correlate by order.  That is, the first letter refers to the first
(current) statistic and the second letter refers to the second (maximum)
statistic.  For example, on the Stamina line, the C refers to the 762
(the player's current stamina) and the D refers to the 770 (the player's
maximum stamina).
Immediately below the stat display is the prompt "DM2E>".  You may issue
commands at this prompt for changing stats, switching characters, and
exiting the program.  There are two types of commands, algebraic and
textual.
Algebraic commands use simple (very simple!) math statements to change
the values of the various statistics.  For example, suppose we wanted
Torham to be more effective as a fighter.  To do this, we might increase
his strength to 75 (a legendary fighter indeed).  We want this increase
to be permanent, rather than having it wear off like the effects of a
potion, so we will change the maximum strength rather than the current
strength.  Looking at the display, we see that the letter H corresponds
to maximum strength (which is 49, the same as Torham's current strength.)
To change this to 75, we type the command:
DM2E> H=75
Presto!  The stats are reprinted and we see that our request has been
fulfilled:
	TORHAM ZED
A/B>    Health:      83/ 83
C/D>    Stamina:    762/770
E/F>    Mana:        14/ 14
G/H>    Strength:    49/ 75
I/J>    Dexterity:   53/ 53
K/L>    Wisdom:      54/ 54
M/N>    Vitality:    45/ 45
O/P>    Anti-Magic:  30/ 30
Q/R>    Anti-Fire:   38/ 38
However, poor Torham's current strength has not changed.  If we saved
here and returned to the game, his eye would be red and the strength
numbers would be displayed in red until, over time, his current strength
was restored to the new maximum.  To save him all that trouble, we can
speed the process along by adjusting his current strength as well.  We
could very easily set his current strength to be the same with either
"G=75" (a specific case), or with the better, more general "G=H".  In
this case, though, let us suppose that we know Torham is about to face a
particularly tough battle with a Glorp, and we want to give him in edge.
Thus, we give him a temporary shot of steroids:
DM2E> G=H+10
With the predictable results:
	TORHAM ZED
A/B>    Health:      83/ 83
C/D>    Stamina:    762/770
E/F>    Mana:        14/ 14
G/H>    Strength:    85/ 75
I/J>    Dexterity:   53/ 53
K/L>    Wisdom:      54/ 54
M/N>    Vitality:    45/ 45
O/P>    Anti-Magic:  30/ 30
Q/R>    Anti-Fire:   38/ 38
Now, if we save and exit, when we reload the game, his strength score
will be displayed in green until the effect wears off (just like drinking
a FUL BRO KU potion).
If we like these changes, we could use the textual command "QUIT" to save
them back to the save game file (backing up the old file with a .BAK
extension).  If we had run into a problem, and wished to exit the editor
without saving, we could either press CTRL-BREAK at the prompt or use
the "ABORT" command.
To edit other characters, the NEXT and PREV textual commands are helpful.
These commands cycle you forward and backward through the characters.  The
NEXT command moves you to the character that, in the game, appears to the
right of the one you are currently editing in the Champions Area.  The PREV
command functions similarly but moves to the right.  Both commands wrap
around from one edge to the other if you attempt to go before the first
character or after the last.
The last command to be aware of is SWAP, which allows you to change the
order of your characters.  This does not refer to the Marching Order of
the party, which can be set from the Action Area in the game, but instead
to the order across the top of the screen in the Champions Area.  The
SWAP command has one parameter, which is a number from 0 to 3.  This number
indicates which character you wish to swap the current one with (it is
not possible to swap a character with himself).  The character in the
top left is 0 and the one in the top right is 3.  After issuing this
command, you will be editing the new character (the one you just swapped
in), not the old one.  Be aware that this command currently trades all
equipment between the two characters.  It is not useful within the game,
but many people like to organize their party with the two front fighters
on the left and the two rear spellcasters on the right, and this makes
that possible if it was overlooked at the beginning of the game, or if the
characters' strengths shift over the course of the action.
WHAT CANNOT BE CHANGED (TODAY)
==== ====== == ======= =======
Currently, it is not possible to edit your character's class levels
(fighter, ninja, wizard, and priest).  This is not because it is
difficult to do, but because watching your characters grow and advance
is more than half of the fun of the Dungeon Master series, and starting
out with four Archmaster Everythings robs you of this.  Although the
final version of the editor will probably include this for completeness,
if it is something you are more than passingly interested in, you may find
that Dungeon Master II will not be your favorite game.
It is not currently possible to change roster positions or character
rotation from the editor, because it is so easy to do in the game.
Changing the food, water, and poison levels will be added in a subsequent
version of the editor.
Editing the items is possible, all of the necessary decoding has been
completed, and this feature will be added (as well as the ability to
recharge your favorite items when they wear down a little too fast).
Manipulating this information requires changing the length of the saved
game file, which the current internal design of the editor has not
implemented.
A brief wish list includes the ability to edit the champion portraits
(ala Chaos Strikes Back), and potentially the ability to edit the game
map to create your own exciting levels, possibly with custom monsters
and graphics, depending on the amount of resources available for this
project.  The overidealistic unachievable goal is to make the DM2 engine
as flexible as something like DOOM (although network play is probably
out of the question).
It should be possible to edit games with fewer than four characters.
The primary reason that it doesn't work is that we have never run a
session with fewer than four characters, even though this seems to be
a popular thing to do.
It would be nice to be able to import characters from the original
Dungeon Master.  This should not be difficult, but may be time
consuming.  We would also like to provide a facility for adding and
removing party members on the fly.
STAT LIMITS
==== ======
None of the stats the editor works on are unlimited.  Although the editor
imposes no constraints on your changes, the game will, and it is important
to be aware of these constraints.
Health is limited to 999.  Stamina is limited to 9999.  Mana is limited to
900.  The other attributes (strength, dexterity, wisdom, vitality, anti-
magic, and anti-fire) are limited to 250, but increasing these stats very
much (over 100) can seriously overbalance gameplay and cause subtle
problems that are difficult to track down.
SKULLKEEP TECHNICAL HINTS
========= ========= =====
It is possible to greatly speed up loading and exiting Skullkeep (helpful
for frequent edits) by removing the intro and exit artwork and animations.
To do this, issue the following commands from your DOS prompt:
C:INTRPLAYSKULKEEP> ren ftl ltf
C:INTRPLAYSKULKEEP> ren intrplay.pcx yalprtni.pcx
C:INTRPLAYSKULKEEP> ren credits stiderc
C:INTRPLAYSKULKEEP> ren intro ortni
Additionally, if you do not have a modem or do not wish to register your
software on-line, you may edit the DM2.BAT file and comment out (insert
a REM in front of) or remove the "EREGCARD" line to further decrease
load times.
PROBLEMS AND FEEDBACK
======== === ========
This is being released as a Beta to get feedback from the DM2-playing
population about features that should be added, bugs that have slipped
through, etc.  If you have any questions or comments about this beta,
please get in touch with us by one of these means:
E-Mail:  dm2edit@wwwi.com
WWW:     http://www.wwwi.com/spd/beta/dm2edit
WARRANTY
========
No warranty, express or implied, is made concerning the
functionality, reliability, or suitability for any purpose
of this software, nor is any responsibility for damage, injury
or data loss arising from the use or misuse of this software.
Use of beta software entails a certain amount of risk to your
files.  For your own safety, please make extra backups of all
data files operated on by this software.
LICENSE
=======
You are granted a limited license to use this software,
subject to certain restrictions.  You agree not sell or
transfer this license to anyone else.  You agree not
to make copies of this software other than for your
own personal use.  You agree to upgrade to a new
version or stop using the software, at your option, when
a non-beta version becomes available, or if this beta
is superceded by another.
Dungeon Master II: The Legend of Skullkeep is Copyright (C)
1995 Interplay Productions and Software Heaven, Inc.  All
Rights Reserved.  DUNGEON MASTER is a trademark of Software
Heaven, Inc.