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jack1974 wrote:Will check that, normally should work.

By the way, I loaded the savegame you sent me, and it was done in the versions 1.1 to 1.1i which were the "Ren'Py bugged ones". Probably you missed it since there were lots of posts. Anyway the summary is: I tried to use a new Ren'Py version which had autoupdater and was faster, but turned out it wasn't really well tested and was full of bugs. People experienced crazy bugs like the one you described, so I had to revert to the previous version of Ren'Py.
You can continue a savegame from the original game but you can't load any saves done in those first beta versions since aren't compatible anymore.

The file I sent you was from the 1.1q version after I purchased and updated to the expansion version. Have sent this reply to your email as well. Not sure which one might be better to reach you with. Not sure what to do from here. Sadly disappointing to purchase the game and then hear about all the other people who are having fun playing it. Could my version just be buggy? So if I delete the game install and then redownload the whole game might that correct the problem? Would I be able to just use the code I got with the expansion to register the download? Discovered that my saves were buggy too. So days of play are lost as they won't load anymore. They are 1.1q saved games and I'll be starting all over yet again.

jack1974 wrote:Ok I tried here quickly but the skills works fine (tried several shield). I think if you're playing in that outdated beta version that might be the problem, it caused lots of random bugs that had no relationship with the game code

Good to hear that the skill should work with every version. But as I mentioned above, I had updated to the latest version. You can see the version is 1.1q and that the expansion has been registered as well on the main menu of my saved game. Hopefully you'll have a wonderful solution for me. Eager to start playing again. Have placed all my faith in you to find a workable solution. But no pressure or anything.

The problem is that if you have a save from the original game (1.0b) it will work. But if you started a new game using the first beta versions of the expansion (1.1 and up), there's no hope to load ANY game since they were all bugged
Did you play the original game and have some "untouched" savegames from it? if so, those will load correctly.

Sorry again, I've learned the hard way that I'll never use a new version of Ren'Py in future until has been tested for at least several months, but to be fair is the first time that happened. Previous updates were all working flawlessly, this time it was a big update with a much faster speed, autopatcher, and many other new features so was eager to use it...

Found a little bug which can be used as a cheat, so posting it here since seems most relevant. A (very) brief search shows this hasnt been mentioned yet but my bad if it has and this is old news.

Basically when you level, spend your attribute points as normal, then save and load the save. You'll find you can add 3 more points on top of the 3 you already added. Doesnt always work and haven't bothered to fully test it (am doing a hard run and trying to be as hardcore as possible) but maybe some peeps might wanna use it to boost their favorite character (or one they view as underpowered).
So yeh Loren now has a "cheat" of sort

Haha interesting! I don't think it was mentioned before. Well I had a cheatmode that added XP but I removed it, so I guess this can replace it

Ugh, I can't believe I didn't realize this before.

You know how increasing the "damage" stat on your weapons gives a much bigger boost than a similar increase in the "attack" stat? It's the same way for magic. The thing to realize is that the most powerful staves have about 10 damage, while light bladed weapons go up to about 18 damage.

In other words, mages do much more damage with a short sword equipped than with a staff, not to mention they'll receive less speed penalty. All my spells are now 50% stronger!

Haha this definitely needs to be changed then! Actually I should just forbid mages from using anything but a staff

Knives might be alright, I don't think I've seen any knife go above 11 damage, not to mention Chambara starts off with one when she joins your party. Though I'll leave it to you guys to decide how it *should* go.

Hmm true, the problem is that Daggers are included in Light Blade category, together with some powerful Short Swords... I should have made a separate item category, but is a bit too late now. I guess I'll leave Chambara with that "bonus" since she can't heal so at least is more balanced.

Actually, looking at the big picture I guess the weapon change was only the tip of the iceberg... there's actually a good deal of equipment that increases the "damage" stat, and it seems to multiply damage in roughly the same way as the same stat on weapons. For example:

Draco uses Fireball I on a lone Cyclops

Dagger of Sparkles (damage stat of 11) equipped: 65-74 damage
Short Sword Thanos (damage stat of 18) equipped: 82-95 damage
+Raven's Bandana, Lucky Charm and Sandals of the Mercenary (additional 17 damage, for a total of 35): 139-160 damage

It just looks like a big deal on mages because we expect them to have weapons with about 10 damage, whereas our Warriors are using weapons with a damage stat of 20-something or even 30-something. Whether that's part of the design or not, it might be hard to patch since there's different equipment standards on mages compared to other classes, and the multiplicative effect of the "damage" stat probably isn't common knowledge in the first place. It's good food for thought for the sequel though!

P.S.
I'm not trying to break the game just to spite you guys. I'm actually doing a self-imposed challenge in this run where I try to beat Hard Mode without using any items, so I'm getting all I can out of my equipment. (Though I did sell my pouch items to get more cash)