(Help Wanted) Darkstone: Evil Reigns Master Thread (Help, Patching and Modding)

[Golden-Dragon]

Btw, I was able to extract the .apk/.xpak file from the Mobile version and found some interesting stuffs. There was maybe some plans to add new unique's/items to the game. The uniques.txt was written in french, and I used google translator and found this:

https://imgur.com/a/ZsRwTFE

Now we need a way to extract the PSX version too. It may be not so easy to extract these files.

 

[Ithamar]

Do you think it's possible to change/edit the 3d models? What program did you use? Do you mind sharing them.

Yes, once I finish figuring out the format fully, that's quite possible. For example we could already add more "environment models", i.e. walls, houses, trees, etc since I already have that format worked out. For those, any program thet can export OBJ format (Wavefront OBJ is the full name of the format) like Blender or Sketch would be fine. That's a good one to add to the darkstone tools maybe, an OBJ to O3D (Darkstone's own format).
Something similar could be done for the animated objects, the NPC and such.

Hmmm, I'll see if I can write something up on the Darkstone-tools wiki about that.....

 

[Ithamar]

Btw, I was able to extract the .apk/.xpak file from the Mobile version and found some interesting stuffs. There was maybe some plans to add new unique's/items to the game. The uniques.txt was written in french, and I used google translator and found this:

https://imgur.com/a/ZsRwTFE

Now we need a way to extract the PSX version too. It may be not so easy to extract these files.

Hehe, nice, that indeed looks like they planned more updates, might be good to "steal" from for Darkstone Web Once I'm done with the animated models, I'll take a look at the Android/PSX files, see if we can figure those out!

 

[Stormcrowfleet]

Btw, I was able to extract the .apk/.xpak file from the Mobile version and found some interesting stuffs. There was maybe some plans to add new unique's/items to the game. The uniques.txt was written in french, and I used google translator and found this:

https://imgur.com/a/ZsRwTFE

Now we need a way to extract the PSX version too. It may be not so easy to extract these files.

I'm actually french. If you send me the original I can translate it for you and make sure google is accurate.

 

[Golden-Dragon]

That really comes in handy. Thanks
https://filebin.net/9dig4wwiwt0o538d

 

[Stormcrowfleet]

magic item propositions

helm of invisibility: player becomes invisible with the object equipped, but randomly appears [which I interpret as being "sometimes randomly appear"]
helm of infravision: player have infravision with the object equipped, but weak protection
ring of plenty: player don't have "hungry" effects [can't remember the term used in the actual game]
bow of confusion: target hit by the arrow is under the spell effect "confusion"
bow of transformation: target hit by the arrow is transformed into a chicken. weapon does no damage.
stone bow: target hit by the arrow is transformed into stone. no damage inflicted
bow of forgetfulness: target hit is under the "forgetfulness" spell effect [can't remember the spell name]
poison bow: target is poisonned (the tip of the arrow should disperse a green fume/vapor like the bow of fire)
storm mace: the "storm/tempest" spell is cast with each attack [again, don't remember the name]
cloak of charisma: the bearer have feat/skill trade (level 2) [this object uses "level 2 PAR EXEMPLE", where par exemple can be both translated as "as an example" or as "only", very difficult to tell since both could work]
identification staff: the spell in this object can identify up to 10 objects
potion of night vision: potion that gives night vision for the same duration of the spell
pumice: repair objects
cloak of vitality: x2 HP
multiple shuriken: 2, 3 or more thrown at the same time (in the form of a cone that spreads)
staff of fragmentation: the place where the player clicks explodes. then, smaller debris of explosions occurs.
berserking sword: (cursed: stats to go down) but the player has the effect of the berserk spell at all time
armor of slow: (cursed) the character has the effect of the slow spell on himself
potion of mana: (cursed) if drank, the potion transform the player in a chicken for the length of the spell [I'm guessing the same transformation spell as per above]
scroll of invocation: (cursed) the golem turns against the caster of the spell
scroll of stone: (cursed) the player is transformed into stone


crystals can also bring bonus as soon as they are found:
- crystal of wisdom +2 to magic
- crystal of virtue -1 year
- crystal of courage +1 level of experience
- crystal of nobility +10000 gold pieces
- crystal of compassion +5000 xp
- crystal of integrity +2 vitality
- crystal of strength +2 strength

[bunch of codes for unique item, I can translate if you want, but they say they have no stats as of now]

MAGIC_FEATURES=40,
MAGIC_ABONDANCE2, // 40: no hunger
MAGIC_REGENLIFE, // 41: life regen
MAGIC_REGENMANA, // 42: mana regen * 2
MAGIC_SLOWPOISON, // 43: slow poison (/2)
MAGIC_LUMIERE, // 44: light aura * 2
MAGIC_LOOSE, // 45: pierced pocket [??? unsure what they mean. is there a condition where your pocket "leak" somehow?]
MAGIC_SLOWTIME, // 46: base spell duration * 2
MAGIC_PERCEPTION, // 47: permanenent detection of trapped chests
MAGIC_MANASHIELD, // 48: damage are sustained on the mana [mana shield]
MAGIC_IMMORTALITE, // 49: eternal youth

 

[Golden-Dragon]

I like these properties for the Magic items. The bonus for obtaining crystals is very nice.

You don't need to translate the other stuff. That was very helpful. Thank you.

 

[Ithamar]

Stormcrowfleet Awesome, thanks! I'd brofist your post if I could, but it seems I'm too much of noob still here

 

[Poseidon]

magic item propositions

bow of confusion: target hit by the arrow is under the spell effect "confusion"
bow of forgetfulness: target hit is under the "forgetfulness" spell effect [can't remember the spell name]
storm mace: the "storm/tempest" spell is cast with each attack [again, don't remember the name]
cloak of charisma: the bearer have feat/skill trade (level 2) [this object uses "level 2 PAR EXEMPLE", where par exemple can be both translated as "as an example" or as "only", very difficult to tell since both could work]

MAGIC_FEATURES=40,
MAGIC_ABONDANCE2, // 40: no hunger
MAGIC_REGENLIFE, // 41: life regen
MAGIC_REGENMANA, // 42: mana regen * 2
MAGIC_SLOWPOISON, // 43: slow poison (/2)
MAGIC_LUMIERE, // 44: light aura * 2
MAGIC_LOOSE, // 45: pierced pocket [??? unsure what they mean. is there a condition where your pocket "leak" somehow?]
MAGIC_SLOWTIME, // 46: base spell duration * 2
MAGIC_PERCEPTION, // 47: permanenent detection of trapped chests
MAGIC_MANASHIELD, // 48: damage are sustained on the mana [mana shield]
MAGIC_IMMORTALITE, // 49: eternal youth

Those spell names are correct. For the cloak of charisma I assume they mean you get level 2 only as in, it's static level 2 it's not added to your trade level if you have it.
Leaking Pockets is a type of curse that drops an item from your inventory from time to time.

 

[Ithamar]

Ok, was getting somewhat fed up with the animated characters, I took a short break to make it possible in Darkstone Web to select the room to preview, and make it possible to load custom MTFs.

You can simply drag and drop your MTF files on the Darkstone Web window, and they'll be added to the UI. Please note, that the first time you drop something, the demo MTF will "disappear". This is to allow you to use proper "full version" MTF files, without causing conflicts between the demo MTF and the fullvermsion one(s).

So, if you want to peek into the custom quest MTF, drop the data.mtf of the full version on there, drop the quest MTF on there, and all should work.

game3dee.github.io/darkstone/

 

[GrumpyPants]

Hey Poseidon,

I stumbled upon this place from a link you posted in the GOG forums. I played this game a lot when I was younger, I've just started again from scratch, and I would be delighted to see it alive again.

I'm no dev, but if the project reaches the point where you need some extra testers I'd love to help out however I can. I'm more than happy to mess with my game files for mod testing.

 

[Golden-Dragon]

Hi GrumpyPants and welcome. Nice to see another Darkstone fan.

I'm currently playing the Android version for research. There are quit some improvements like Auto-pickup for gold, Auto-save, World markers etc. I included these changes all into my list. It's getting bigger and bigger.

Feel free to post any ideas, suggestions, improvements or things you would like to add.

 

[GrumpyPants]

Thanks for having me!

I think the main suggestion from me would be putting a lot of the information from the manual into the game. I understand hiding the numbers from the player to maintain the "feel" of the game. However I do think some in game spell and skill descriptions would really improve the flow. It's distracting to tab out to check the manual while learning/relearning the gameplay, and annoying to find only a vague description. There's even already a spellbook and skill list in the game. This didn't bother me at all 20 years ago but times have changed

There's lots of interesting lore in the manual that never comes up in game too. The world has a history, and each region is the origin of a different playable character, but it's all hidden in the appendix.

Would it be possible to mod the save files so it's not tied to PC name? I'm starting from scratch after switching PCs, because I accidently overwrote my characters.lpl with cloud save turned on. I had a really good warrior-wizard run going. I was able to edit the save file to load it on the new PC but they'll be trapped on Novice difficulty forever now.

Your list covers a lot of high level stuff and annoyances I'd forgotten about. I'll hopefully have more insight by the time I retry the other classes and claw my way back up to high levels.

 

[Ithamar]

Hey GrumpyPants welcome! I had just discovered the game for the first time, and am enjoying it so much, that I've decided to have a go at creating a reimplementing (see the link in my signature for where I am at. At the same time, I'm trying to get some open source modding tools going to make the current game interesting enough until I'm done

In any case, as Golden-Dragon said, please share any experiences with the game, good and bad, so we can build the best Darkstone possible!

 

[Ithamar]

I think the main suggestion from me would be putting a lot of the information from the manual into the game. I understand hiding the numbers from the player to maintain the "feel" of the game. However I do think some in game spell and skill descriptions would really improve the flow. It's distracting to tab out to check the manual while learning/relearning the gameplay, and annoying to find only a vague description. There's even already a spellbook and skill list in the game. This didn't bother me at all 20 years ago but times have changed
.

You are so right on this! I'm feeling the exact same way, and we should look for a good way to integrate more information in the game itself, this is definitely one of the areas where it shows its age.

There's lots of interesting lore in the manual that never comes up in game too. The world has a history, and each region is the origin of a different playable character, but it's all hidden in the appendix.
.

Well, if you follow the "tutorial" walk with the guard, and then talk to some town folks, one will ramble on with the "point of the game", i.e. in one stream of dialog explain at least a bit of lore, but since it is one non-interactive stream of monologue, you tend to skip through it anyway

It wasn't until I looked at the manual a lot of it started to make sense, and the story around the "kill everything that moves" dawned on me

Would it be possible to mod the save files so it's not tied to PC name? I'm starting from scratch after switching PCs, because I accidently overwrote my characters.lpl with cloud save turned on. I had a really good warrior-wizard run going. I was able to edit the save file to load it on the new PC but they'll be trapped on Novice difficulty forever now.
.

Hmmm, the problem with this is that you'd need to change Darkstone's code. So either patch the executable, or use a "trainer" style solution, where you either let the trainer program start the game, or start the trainer program while Darkstone is running. I found an interesting code base for that on github, which we should contact and see if he's interested to continue with it himself, or otherwise see if someone else is willing to dig into it (It is C code Stormcrowfleet ). I can help with that too, but I'm trying not to spread myself too thin

In any case, yes, "player assistance" is a very good point where we can improve the game a lot. Some of it was already done in the Android port, if you check the video Poseidon posted you'll see what I mean, but I'm sure we could do that even better

 

[Golden-Dragon]

Ok, was getting somewhat fed up with the animated characters, I took a short break to make it possible in Darkstone Web to select the room to preview, and make it possible to load custom MTFs.

You can simply drag and drop your MTF files on the Darkstone Web window, and they'll be added to the UI. Please note, that the first time you drop something, the demo MTF will "disappear". This is to allow you to use proper "full version" MTF files, without causing conflicts between the demo MTF and the fullvermsion one(s).

So, if you want to peek into the custom quest MTF, drop the data.mtf of the full version on there, drop the quest MTF on there, and all should work.

game3dee.github.io/darkstone/

The preview for the Darkstone Web is very nice. I used the quest Journey In Uma for it. It's cool to see the assets, they created for it.

Good work.:D

 

[Golden-Dragon]

Thanks for having me!

I think the main suggestion from me would be putting a lot of the information from the manual into the game. I understand hiding the numbers from the player to maintain the "feel" of the game. However I do think some in game spell and skill descriptions would really improve the flow. It's distracting to tab out to check the manual while learning/relearning the gameplay, and annoying to find only a vague description. There's even already a spellbook and skill list in the game. This didn't bother me at all 20 years ago but times have changed

Yea, I agree. That's a good idea. It would really help players that are new to the game.

There's lots of interesting lore in the manual that never comes up in game too. The world has a history, and each region is the origin of a different playable character, but it's all hidden in the appendix.

The Lore is something I really like in Darkstone. It would be so great to implement it.

Your list covers a lot of high level stuff and annoyances I'd forgotten about. I'll hopefully have more insight by the time I retry the other classes and claw my way back up to high levels.

That was just something quick. I'm still working on it.

 

[Ithamar]

The preview for the Darkstone Web is very nice. I used the quest Journey In Uma for it. It's cool to see the assets, they created for it.

Good work.:D

Thanks, glad you like it. I just pushed the ability to look at all the separate objects (O3D files in the MTF), which include stuff like chests and such. Less impressive then whole rooms, but it can be fun, and I needed it for some debugging

I don't know if everyone here is aware, but there's quite a few "3rd party" quests out there (some more polished then others). The best source I've found for those is here:

http://darkstone.it-taucher.at/en/index.html => Select Quests from the side menu

Those are all created using the official Quest Editor for Darkstone, which has also helped me understand the internal workings of Darkstone a lot!

 

[Golden-Dragon]

The preview for the Darkstone Web is very nice. I used the quest Journey In Uma for it. It's cool to see the assets, they created for it.

Good work.:D

Thanks, glad you like it. I just pushed the ability to look at all the separate objects (O3D files in the MTF), which include stuff like chests and such. Less impressive then whole rooms, but it can be fun, and I needed it for some debugging

I don't know if everyone here is aware, but there's quite a few "3rd party" quests out there (some more polished then others). The best source I've found for those is here:

http://darkstone.it-taucher.at/en/index.html => Select Quests from the side menu

Those are all created using the official Quest Editor for Darkstone, which has also helped me understand the internal workings of Darkstone a lot!

Yea, I still have some quests on my computer.

Btw, can I upload voices.mtf from the game on the Darkstone wiki? I have the french, german and english mtf files.

voices0.mtf=french
voices1.mtf=english
voices2.mtf=german

Thinking about support for multi language, but dunno about copyright and things.
And I saw a korean version in YT. If I could get my hands on it

 

[Ithamar]

Btw, can I upload voices.mtf from the game on the Darkstone wiki? I have the french, german and english mtf files.

voices0.mtf=french
voices1.mtf=english
voices2.mtf=german

Thinking about support for multi language, but dunno about copyright and things.
And I saw a korean version in YT. If I could get my hands on it

If those are files from the original (sold) distribution, I'd prefer not too upload them on the wiki directly. This is exactly why I am using the demo MTF file for Darkstone Web, since it was freely/publicly available already.

If the Korean one is "3rd party", the best would be to get permission from the creator to distribute it.

If the idea is to get people to either record in new languages, or re-record the existing languages, it would be better to get the transcripts and list those on the wiki, for people to use. I think that would be more likely to be accepted, but plaase note that I Am Not A Lawyer

If the game wouldn't be for sale anymore, I would consider contacting the original devs / publisher and ask them for permission, but since it is still being sold it is unlikely they will let us distribute their assets (including voices/music) along with a replacement for something they are still getting money for

There's actually a somewhat related discussion on this board about things like this:

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/would-it-be-illegal-to-remake-and-sell-an-old-game.134485/

 

[Poseidon]

Hey there GrumpyPants , glad to see another fan. Any help is definitely most appreciated. If you'd like to chat further, feel free to join the Discord as Ithamar mentioned, I feel it works a bit better for discussions such as this, but some people do like the forum-style and there's nothing wrong with that, I'm OK with either.

Golden-Dragon where did you even find the Android version, I couldn't find it on the Play Store, was it a 3rd party .apk site?

 

[Golden-Dragon]

Hey there GrumpyPants , glad to see another fan. Any help is definitely most appreciated. If you'd like to chat further, feel free to join the Discord as Ithamar mentioned, I feel it works a bit better for discussions such as this, but some people do like the forum-style and there's nothing wrong with that, I'm OK with either.

Golden-Dragon where did you even find the Android version, I couldn't find it on the Play Store, was it a 3rd party .apk site?

Yea, it was a 3rd party .xapk site. For some reason, it was removed from the Playstore.

 

[Golden-Dragon]

I have a question Ithamar. How do I add several files into a .mtf without placing them into a folder? The structure should look like this:
/Music/
/Voices1/
/mdata/
/skins/

 

[Ithamar]

I have a question Ithamar. How do I add several files into a .mtf without placing them into a folder? The structure should look like this:
/Music/
/Voices1/
/mdata/
/skins/

You want to create an MTF, that has those paths inside right? So that "mtf list" would show those paths without the usual DATA prefix? I guess I did not think of that when creating the mtf tool, I was too focused on all the stuff in the DATA folder

I can think of two ways to handle this in the mtf tool:

1. allow to pass multiple directories, e.g. do "mtf create myfile.mtf /path/to/Music /path/to/Voices /path/to/mdata /path/to/skins".
2. change the MTF tools behaviour, to not include the top "leaf" of the path you pass. At the moment, if you do "mtf create myfile.mtf /path/to/data" it includes "data" in the paths stored in the mtf file. I did that so you can extract to any directory, and you don't need to have another (empty) directory above it.
3. Make the above functionality optional, i.e. create a commandline argument to pick method 1 or two from above.

Anyone any preferences? Does one or the other make more sense to you?

 

[Golden-Dragon]

I have a question Ithamar. How do I add several files into a .mtf without placing them into a folder? The structure should look like this:
/Music/
/Voices1/
/mdata/
/skins/

You want to create an MTF, that has those paths inside right? So that "mtf list" would show those paths without the usual DATA prefix? I guess I did not think of that when creating the mtf tool, I was too focused on all the stuff in the DATA folder

Yes, that's right.

I can think of two ways to handle this in the mtf tool:

1. allow to pass multiple directories, e.g. do "mtf create myfile.mtf /path/to/Music /path/to/Voices /path/to/mdata /path/to/skins".
2. change the MTF tools behaviour, to not include the top "leaf" of the path you pass. At the moment, if you do "mtf create myfile.mtf /path/to/data" it includes "data" in the paths stored in the mtf file. I did that so you can extract to any directory, and you don't need to have another (empty) directory above it.
3. Make the above functionality optional, i.e. create a commandline argument to pick method 1 or two from above.

Anyone any preferences? Does one or the other make more sense to you?

I would prefer option 3. A command line to pick method 1, 2 or both.