Devlin Opera for the 65742th time

[Grey Roger]

Will you look at the calendar, it's that time of the year again!

Welcome back, @BathtubPirate!

Nobody in the world (or at least very few people in the world) love this game more than I do. The base game, the mod and modding itself are all important parts of my life.

Same here.

I'm planning to get a tattoo in honour of it, no joke.

OK, you win.

First reason is the question of relevance. There's always talk about moving to a different engine or creating a new game altogether, which honestly scares me, because I'm the kind who doesn't like too much change. I don't want to be left alone with it in a way.

I'm still using the old engine, at least for the time being. Some time I'll find time to try Storm X again. In any case, I'm hoping storylines and sidequests will just transfer over to Storm X without much, if any, modification, otherwise "Devlin Opera" isn't the only one which will need to be reworked!

Second reason is how I have to re-install, set up everything new, make all the adjustements ranging from personalised controls to modding stuff I made and so on. All the files and codes and folders almost scare me off after this long break. Last year, I have learned and achieved so much, it would make it even more difficult to re-learn everything.

And an important addition to the second reason: I moved out from where the computer with everything on it is. It's all there, I'm still nearby, I often visit but I don't live there and I don't own the computer. And when I moved, I only brought a very, very old laptop with me. This means before I could even think of playing and/or modding regularly and intensely, I'd have to buy a new computer. Which is planned for this year and is not really a question of money, but a question of time and commitment and logistics and so on...

Remember that Storm 2 dates back to 2003. PoTC plus New Horizons will probably work on that laptop, assuming you can persuade it to use its graphics card - or, if it has none, use the Intel Fix for Build 14. (Remember to not put it into "Program Files" or "Program Files (x86)", which is where the stock game wants to go by default, otherwise Windows security is going to do silly things.)

My recommendation would be to install PoTC plus New Horizons, then play it a bit to become familiar again. Probably try either some FreePlay, or for preference, a storyline. There's a nice, short storyline called "Devlin Opera" which would be perfect for this.

In any case, it's good to hear from you again!

 

[BathtubPirate]

In any case, it's good to hear from you again!

Good to hear from you too, GR! And encouraging!

And what you lack in tattoo commitment, you make up for by representing the niche all year long.

Well, technically my old laptop should be able to run the game. It runs GTA San Andreas easily, at least... My concerns are probably less about capacity and more about the logistics of transporting all those files, different folders for the newest game and the Devlin stuff, as well as al the tools like GM viewer etc. onto it, if I want to get a proper new computer anyway.

I guess I could just go to my parents' place and play it a bit on the weekend. Maybe the itch then gets so strong I don't have any choice but make things move...

There's a nice, short storyline called "Devlin Opera" which would be perfect for this.

I like that one a lot too... Maybe I should also get a tattoo in honour of Devlin Opera. The one I've planned is actually stock game based.

You haven't even played the part where you're locked in a tavern and have to sort the drinks of two dozen quirky characters, have you? I think I've never uploaded it.

 

[Grey Roger]

You haven't even played the part where you're locked in a tavern and have to sort the drinks of two dozen quirky characters, have you? I think I've never uploaded it.

No, at present the version I have ends in Santiago after you have chosen Beatrice's encounter with some Spanish beetles, Bonnie figuring out what she shall do with a drunken sailor, or Blaze's chase to the outskirts.

 

[BathtubPirate]

No, at present the version I have ends in Santiago after you have chosen Beatrice's encounter with some Spanish beetles, Bonnie figuring out what she shall do with a drunken sailor, or Blaze's chase to the outskirts.

The beetle part and the tavern parts are my favourites, I think they offer some fresh gameplay (self-praise stinks, I know)

If I recall correctly: I was on such a run, instead of sending you that chapter I went straight to the next one and then lost track in the middle of that one.

Nostalgia is hitting hard right now. I'm probably going to ask my IT friend about going to buy a new computer together.

 

[Grey Roger]

There are two reasons why I don't regard the beetle hunt as my favourite part. One is that I wouldn't want to choose between the three paths in Santiago, they're all fun, so when I get to Santiago I save game before making the choice so I can play all three. The other reason is that the three-way split in San Pedro is also a lot of fun, so I save game there to be able to play all three as well.

There's been a lot of work on translations, so I'm hoping to put out a new update soon. If you can upload the next chapter, it can go into the update too.

 

[BathtubPirate]

There's been a lot of work on translations, so I'm hoping to put out a new update soon. If you can upload the next chapter, it can go into the update too.

I'll see what I can do and when I can do it. It would end in the middle of a chapter (in which you, as Blaze Devlin, infiltrate a gang of corsairs to play them against each other). But the chapter before that, the one with the locked tavern, has been finished since last year...

 

[BathtubPirate]

@Grey Roger tonight I finally opened NH for the first time after the long break and played through all routes and eventualities of the Devlin Opera until I reached the dead end (the last thing happening is an amusing joke about the local governor). Call me arrogant, but I'm quite proud of what I achieved over the last three summers. It's a crime the waitress-chapter has been unreleased for so long. I'll try to set up everything on my shitty home computer soon.

 

[Grey Roger]

What was the joke about the governor? If you mean Rocoso Balboa, the govenor's name for coding purposes is Balboa but his visible name on screen in "Early Explorers" is Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.

You are certainly right to be proud of the storyline so far and I've been looking forward to another chapter for a long time!

 

[BathtubPirate]

The governors always say something like "I heard you went to great lengths to see me..." but this time, Blaze answers what I've always been thinking: "Actually, I just went through the front door."

A little bit later, he insults the governor who then throws a tantrum.

You'll get the chapter!

 

[BathtubPirate]

@Grey Roger so far I've managed to install the stock game on my very shitty computer. Next will be the mod. Say, what was the best fix again when the game crashes after starting a new game?

 

[Grey Roger]

Delete the file "options". And check the log files to see if there is something causing the crash, especially if it keeps happening.

Once you have got the game working and have set up controls and other options the way you like them, make a copy of "options". Next time the game starts acting weirdly, or even routinely as a precaution, delete "options", make a copy of the copy, and rename that to "options". That puts the file back to a known good state with all your choices, so you don't need to set everything up the way you like it again.

 

[Grey Roger]

The governors always say something like "I heard you went to great lengths to see me..." but this time, Blaze answers what I've always been thinking: "Actually, I just went through the front door."

A little bit later, he insults the governor who then throws a tantrum.

Now take a look at any soldier dialog. I reckon there's a 1/10 chance that if you talk to a regular guard, he'll say:

Why must it be a rough-looking sailor like you trying to talk to me?! Aren't there any beautiful women in this city?

Beatrice is likely to take offence at that. (Or Bonnie, if you're playing her in one of the multi-way adventures. Especially Bonnie, considering what she's wearing!)

 

[BathtubPirate]

I still mean the stock game. Isn't this the problem with the intel fix?

Hehe, good idea about the soldiers

 

[Grey Roger]

I still mean the stock game. Isn't this the problem with the intel fix?

I don't know how you'd apply the Intel fix to the stock game. If I remember correctly, it's included as one of the options when you run the mod installer.

 

[BathtubPirate]

I don't know how you'd apply the Intel fix to the stock game

But I found out

Tell me, how can I check if pchar is a specific character model in a dialogue file? I have an idea - or to be fair, you had one...

 

[Grey Roger]

'if (PChar.model == "your_model")'

Or you can check if the player is not in a specific outfit. For example, in "Ardent", case "mona_attack_go_to_flagship3":

            if (PChar.model != "Ardent_Fr" && PChar.model != "Ardent_FrF")
            {
                Characters[GetCharacterIndex("French_Contre-Amiral")].dialog.CurrentNode = "spy_caught";
                LAi_ActorDialog(characterFromID("French_Contre-Amiral"),PChar,"hung at dawn",5.0,5.0);
            }
            else
            {
                Characters[GetCharacterIndex("French_Contre-Amiral")].dialog.CurrentNode = "who_are_you";
                LAi_ActorDialog(characterFromID("French_Contre-Amiral"),PChar,"",5.0,5.0)
            }

You have just infiltrated a French ship. Recent events should have put you into a French uniform. If you were stupid enough to change out of it, bad things are about to happen! The condition has to check for two models because Charles Ardent will be using a different model from Helen Ardent.

 

[BathtubPirate]

Beatrice is likely to take offence at that. (Or Bonnie, if you're playing her in one of the multi-way adventures. Especially Bonnie, considering what she's wearing!)

Ooh, trying to code again and it doesn't work...

The game runs on my 10 year old potatoe computer. Long loading times, slightly lagging here and there (RivaTuner works), but should be enough to do some code until I get better equipment. It's just so unusual to play it in this room, with a different keyboard and a different sound system... And actually I would prefer the 4:3 aspect ratio to wide screen, do you know where I could change that?

 

[Grey Roger]

From "error.log":

COMPILE ERROR - file: storyline\DevlinOpera\dialogs\English\Isla Muelle Soldier_dialog.h; line: 1

That looks like a mistake in "Isla Muelle Soldier_dialog.h", not "Isla Muelle Soldier_dialog.c". Check for missing commas, missing quote marks, correct number in the 'DLG_TEXT' declaration at the top. Or upload it and I'll take a look.

For the display, how have you set the 'screen_x' and 'screen_y' lines in "engine.ini"?

 

[BathtubPirate]

I have found a mistake in dialog.h, now the conversation can be initiated, but it doesn't use the lines depending on the pchar.model, only the else-case (line 17).

I'll look into engine.ini

 

[Grey Roger]

Your code will work for Devlin but not for any of the others. The 'else' only applies to the 'if (PChar.model == "Devlin")'. So Devlin gets the special treatment, then all the code for Beatrice and Bonnie is forgotten as the 'else' sets them all to use the basic dialog because they're not Devlin.

This is what 'switch' is for. Try something like this:

switch(PChar.model)
{
    case "Beatrice":
        link.l1 = DLG_TEXT[38];
        link.l1.go = "Bea_special";
    break;

    case "BeatriceA":
        link.l1 = DLG_TEXT[44];
        link.l1.go = "Bonnie_special";
    break;

    case "BeatriceB":
        link.l1 = DLG_TEXT[44];
        link.l1.go = "Bonnie_special";
    break;

    case "Devlin":
        link.l1 = DLG_TEXT[41];
        link.l1.go = "Blaze_special";
    break;

    link.l1 = DLG_TEXT[17];
    link.l1.go = "exit";
}

Each of the specific models is handled by a 'case'/'break' section. The part with no 'case' is the default if none of the cases match.