Damage Hit Effect

[DM_Aiwendil]

Following a request (http://forums.wireplay.co.uk/showthread.php?t=314196) by several players to remove the "fireworks" effects of weapon "elemental" damage we have disabled those effects.

Extra damage will still be applied and is reported in your combat server messages, it's only the visual effect that's removed.

Please consider this a trial, if you find it too confusing or detracts from the game in too great a way, please let us know, its a very simple matter to put back. (This does not effect any wisual effects applied to the weapon itself such as flames or dripping cold, only the effects when the weapon hits.)

(The reasoning was that not only do these effects contribute to lag and possible client crashes - especially during large battles - they also detract or downright contradict the "low magic" RP justifications/explanations many players use for the extra damage.)

[vulpex]

I still see the paffs when enemy hit, do i need damagehitvisual.2da in my override?

[DM_Aiwendil]

Any weapon with "built-in" damage types should not show the effect, but, it appears that darkfire et al. have additional scripted effects, apologies. I'll get those. They don't make anything easy...

[DM_Aiwendil]

The other question related to this would be should we also remove the weapon visual effect? (Darkfire and Flame Weapon being the main condenders here as usual - I don't suppose you've considered not using them all the time? ;)) - unfortuntunately I haven't (yet) found a way to turn off the automatic weapon effects for damage types (i.e. if a weapon has additional 1d6 cold damage it will show the dripping cold effect regardless of its appearance or on hit effect). I'm suspecting this is built in.

[Intel_ninja]

My personal viewpoint in this that (aside possibly increasing lag) the Flaming or Ice-dripping, or Acid-dripping et cetera weapons seem a bit too "fancy" for Middle Earth.

As for the source material I believe that actual flaming swords (or flaming weapons at all) were mentioned in situations as such:

"It was moving flame, yet a blackness was at it’s core. It’s true shape indiscernable. It was impossible to look into that shadow and not be blinded by it. Like the opposite of the bright shapes one sees when he glimpses a bright light. Great wings of blackness spread to the ceiling. They seemed to move through the stone icicles like water around stones in a river. The flames lept upward and it swung his arm back behind his head. A sword of flame burst into new fire from his hand. The arm came forward and with a great explosion was met by the wizard’s sword who was thrown to his knees from the force of the blow. Fireworks played across his vision from the flash of the blades. "

Elvish weapons did have an ability to emit a soft glow (usually pale blue or white) when enemies (orcs) were nearby (although it is not specified if all had that property or just Orcrist, Glamdring and Maegnas.)

There are also a few other examples such as Gil-galad's spear Aiglos (Sindarin: snowthorn) and Fingolfin's sword Ringil (Sindarin: chill/cold star) that was said to have "and he drew his sword Ringil, that glittered like ice." However, Fingolfin was a high king of Noldor, and used Ringil to "and he wounded Morgoth with seven wounds, and seven times Morgoth gave a cry of anguish, whereas the hosts of Angband fell upon their faces in dismay, and the cries echoed in the Northlands."
So such a weapon would be rather out of the ordinary, aswell, that excerpt is from Silmarillion, where most events are magnified in power compared to the Third Age and the Lord of the Rings.

So, in summary, it is my belief that for the Third age Middle Earth such weapons would be highly uncommon (I am referring to the constantly burning ones not "oiled" darkfire), especially those that have a "visible" effect.

As for Darkfire and Flame Weapon the visible effect helps to judge spell duration easily, which is quite comfortable, and even for the constantly flaming swords it's hardly anything game-breaking or even major, and can likely even be interpreted differently, aswell, NwN is not an accurate Middle Earth reproduction (since it's Advanced Dungeons and Dragons based it'd be quite impposible anyway.) Just my £0.02 in the matter.

[DM_Aiwendil]

My personal viewpoint in this that (aside possibly increasing lag) the Flaming or Ice-dripping, or Acid-dripping et cetera weapons seem a bit too "fancy" for Middle Earth.

As I said, I'm not sure this is possible to turn off these permanent effects, although I'll keep looking in case the consensus turns against such effects.


As for Darkfire and Flame Weapon the visible effect helps to judge spell duration easily

'Nuff said methinks. Weapon buff spell visual effects (on the weapon) should stay as they perform an important function.

(And what would the balrog be without his flaming weapons!)