Spelling Issues
 

I'm trying to put a standard combat summon into Dominions. The code I'm using, aside from name and description, is the following:
#school 3 #researchlevel 5 #path 0 3 #pathlevel 0 3 #effect 3 #damage 2502 (the monster's number) #explspr -1 #nreff 5000 #fatiguecost 210 #sound 29 #end

Seems sensible enough, yes? Only problem is, when I imput it, I get the following as the spell.
Range: 40+
Area of Effect: One person
Precision: 0
Fatigue cost: 210-
Earth gems required: 2
Damage: 508 (stun)

The obvious problem is that it's not a summoning spell. I've looked over it a few times now and can't seem to find out what's wrong. Also, is there any way to boost the gem cost without boosting the fatigue?

Re: Spelling Issues
 

#eff 3 is wrong. It is supposed to be a spell for summoning a creature IN BATTLE, e.g. Summon Water Elemental. You should add 10000 (ritual) to the effect. I haven't managed to get #eff 10003 to work, though.


Also,
9.18 #nreff <nbr of effects>
Sets the number of effects for this spell. For summoning
spells this determines how many creates are summoned.
Add 1000 to this value to give more porwerful casters
more effects.

#nreff 5000 would probably work, but I doubt it would work as you intended. It'd make the spell summon 0 creatures for the normal caster, but 5 more (five times 1000) for every extra level of the required path the casting mage had. You should use #nreff 5001, or perhaps 5005 or 3003 or something like that.

Re: Spelling Issues
 

Wait... So to make it work in battle I should set it to a ritual? I don't exactly follow... I'll keep the nreff thing in mind, though. Thanks

Re: Spelling Issues
 

Wait... So to make it work in battle I should set it to a ritual? I don't exactly follow... I'll keep the nreff thing in mind, though. Thanks

Re: Spelling Issues
 

Sorry, I didn't notice you DID mean to make it a combat summon.

Any way, it seems something doesn't work. It might be that mod manual states some numbers wrong, or it might be a problem with the mod commands, but something seems to be missing. Try copying a spell that summons units in battles and then using (some? all of?) your current commands.

Re: Spelling Issues
 

Ah, that's a good idea. I'll go try that.

Re: Spelling Issues
 

Unfortunately, the issue remains. I'll see how ritual summons work...

Thanks for the suggestion, though. It was a really good one, and I expected it to work.

Re: Spelling Issues
 

The spell modding commands are somewhat weird. I've had a mage cast modded spell without spending gems (no effect as it required some), and then go on to cast another spell on the same round. This was probably due to me trying to use the same fight with the spell changed from what it was during the hosting.

Also, in at least one case, number of effects is related to the level of the casting mage. Living Clouds summons 4+ elementals, but if modded to require Air 3 instead of Air 4, the number of effects changes to 3+. It might've been done by making a summon with equivalent of #nreff 1000 , if all levels the casting mage has in the path are counted instead of just those above it.

Re: Spelling Issues
 

Some of the mapedit commands also have weird results. The #fort command rarely gives the desired fort. The mapedit command which allows a nation to already start with a spell only works for the first turn. There's others as well.
I wish I had the time to be one of the beta testers so I could have caught this for them.

Re: Spelling Issues
 

I half-suspect they don't actually read the bug reports...

Re: Spelling Issues
 

UPDATE: Ritual spells work fine. The game just has something against combat summons, I guess...

Re: Spelling Issues
 

I read all bug reports that are posted in the bug thread. I try to read all posts.

I solved why I didn't get my ritual spell working: I used #eff instead of #effect... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif

The command for summoning a creature might be wrong. It's 3 - an uneven number! If #effect list of effects is a bitmap, it can only have various powers of 2. 2^1, 2^2, 2^3 etc.

Re: Spelling Issues
 

Here is a new, working spell:

#newspell
#name "Summon Slingers"
#descr "This spell summons a heroic Slinger"
#school 0
#researchlevel 1
#path 0 6
#pathlevel 0 1
#effect 10021
#nreff 1
#fatiguecost 100
#damage 50
#end



EDIT: because this does work, #effect numbers CAN be uneven.

Re: Spelling Issues
 

Another spell that works! Furthermore... this summons units in battles! It seems #effect 3 and 10003 don't work, but #effect 21 works just fine in battles (unless on of the summoned critters was a commander).

It's not perfect, but it is VERY interesting: this summon spell still has range 30+, and fires bolts of flame... the Hoburgs (as units) are summoned where the flames strike the ground.


#newspell
#name "Summon Hoburgs"
#descr "This spell summons Hoburg Militia to fight for the caster."
#school 0
#researchlevel 0
#path 0 6
#pathlevel 0 1
#effect 21
#nreff 10
#fatiguecost 100
#damage 483
#end

Re: Spelling Issues
 

I didn't mean you, but the developers. I'm not sure they read the wishlist and bug reports.

At any rate, I'll keep looking for some working effect numbers. Very cool find, though.