The Great Arcanum Fix continues...
Tue 06 May 2008, 14:20:04

Drog Black Tooth has released another fan patch update for Arcanum including even more bug fixes. You can download it here and hop on over to the monster thread on the RPGCodex if you want to help Drog fix even more bugs.

Thansk Drog!

Posted by DarkUnderlord
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More fixes from Drog Black Tooth!
Fri 25 April 2008, 14:53:16

During our downtime, Drog Black Tooth was working as hard as ever and updated his fanmade fix not once but twice! So head on over to the Download section and grab UAP080425 or, should you prefer a slightly older version, UAP080420.

Posted by Dark Elf
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Arcanum Modding Tutorial
Tue 22 April 2008, 16:30:05

There's nothing like being hacked to make you poke around a server and go "Hey, I remember that". Seems that old Arcanum Modding Tutorial that I wrote years ago has been hiding. Hiding so much google doesn't even find it anymore.

Well, it's time I kicked it a bit and shoved it back online. Rather than the subdomain, it's now sitting in a sub-directory on the server here: http://terra-arcanum.com/amtut/

I also noticed that pretty much all the links on the site were broken. I fixed most of the broken links so you could find things again. Thankfully all of them were sitting in our downloads section for the most part anyway. I did however, upload Dgale's Facades list so that you can view it online now (only the downloadable version was previously available).

Right. Hopefully that'll be enough for google to re-index it again.

Posted by DarkUnderlord
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The Troikapedia has moooved...
Mon 21 April 2008, 04:00:27

As luck would have it, we moved the Troikapedia a day before we got hacked. Given it was being spammed to buggery and needed far more attention that I could give it, we've moved it to its new home at: http://troika.wikia.com

Head on over there and find out all you need to know about Troika, their games and other related shenanigans. And if something's missing, well, you can login and add it yourself like you're supposed to do with wikis.

Posted by DarkUnderlord
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We're back up. Situation Normal.
Mon 21 April 2008, 03:50:53

All right, for those that don't know, Terra-Arcanum was hacked 2 days ago by a known vulnerability in the Coppermine Gallery that we use. The patch was released on the 12th April and a second one on the 16th of April, we got hacked on the 19th. Given there's no way in hell I'd be able to update the gallery that fast, I've disabled it for now and will look for alternative image gallery solutions.

I've just finished re-installing everything from the backups. There are likely a few files I've missed though so if you notice something that used to be there that's not, let me know.

Now, there is the chance that because of this, your forum password may have been stolen by internet thievery. I highly recommend that if you use your Terra-Arcanum password anywhere else, that you change it as soon as possible. I also recommend you change it as soon as you login again here.

Apart from that, the forums are open again and things appear to be working (minor a few things like quick reply and spoiler tags, which I'll have to install again).

NOTE: Registration of new users is currently disabled until I install the anti-bot mod. I had the forums up for literally 5 minutes and had two spambots register, one of which then posted Russian spam.

UPDATE: Registration is all okay now.

UPDATE #2: Whoops. Seems I b0rked the character and other databases on the site. I've now fixed those and they should work. If you spot any MySQL errors or find something that doesn't work, use the contact us form to let us know.

Posted by DarkUnderlord
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Drog Black Tooth's Patch version 080415.
Thu 17 April 2008, 15:01:59

Drog Black Tooth's fix has been updated. Click here for more info

Head on to the Download section and pick it up!

Posted by Dark Elf
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Drog Black Tooth's Unofficial Patch
Mon 14 April 2008, 21:07:27

Drog Black Tooth at the RPGCodex has created a kick-ass patch for Arcanum, fixing many of the issues 1.0.7.4 didn't.

To the thread at the RPGCodex

OVERVIEW:

I've been working on fixing various bugs in Arcanum for the last month. I replayed the game several times, fixed some of critical bugs, added some lost content, fixed stats on lots on NPCs and so on. The list is pretty big already, but still, Arcanum is one of the biggest RPGs and I can't possibly find all the bugs alone. That's why I'm posting this topic. Report all the bugs in Arcanum you know and I'll fix them.

The reasons for this project are quite simple. There are some fixes for Arcanum on the net, but they're amateur, not proper and most likely not compatible with each other. We need a complete, tested pack.

To put it simply, I'm making a project similar to Co8 of ToEE community. For now, I'm working on it alone, but I welcome any people experienced enough. At any rate, I'm very anal about the content of this patch, I won't allow for powergaming or lulz. Let's just polish the game. I'm tired of people calling Arcanum one of the buggiest RPGs.

CURRENT VERSION:

You can download version 080413 here.

INSTALLATION NOTES:

WARNING: The patch is designed to work on the original English version of the game, patched to 1.0.7.4.
NO MODS SHOULD BE INSTALLED. The patch most likely won't be compatible with them.

Unpack the files to your Arcanum folder (Arcanum5.dat contains all data file changes, while Arcanum.PATCH1 has all module changes).
The engine itself is also modified, so make a backup of your Arcanum.exe if you wish to be able to go back later.
After you unpack the files BE SURE to run CleanCache.bat, it will delete all cached files, so new ones will be generated when you launch the game.
IF YOU DON'T CLEAR THE GAME CACHE MANY CHANGES WON'T WORK.

NOTE: The CD check has been removed as well, no point in it after all these years.
NOTE2: Although it's not obligatory, it's advised that you start the new game. Some fixes (i.e. Kraka-Tur journal) won't work with old saves.

v080413 CHANGELOG:

-Added race icons for Dark Elves, Ogres and Orcs. Now you can distinguish them from their brotherly races. Note: icons were in the game, but due to laziness were unused. No idea why, they're actually quite beatiful.
-Fixed art for Elixir of Hypnotic Suggestion.
-Fixed typos in dialogue for Raven, Zan Alurin, Alice and Willow.
-Fixed Alexander's dialogue and dying script. This allows for properly getting his ending.
-Added a missing line to Nasrudin's dialogue.
-Fixed issues with Kraka-tur's journal and Kraka-tur's dialogue. Now you have an option to shame him if you read the journal, and he also properly recognizes both his journal and eye.
-Fixed mixed up responses for dummies in Pollock's dialogue.
-Fixed Surly Virgil's dialogue. Now he properly leaves the party and has a proper response when jilted.
-Fixed Virgil's dialogue so he now recognizes the crash site and tells PC about it when asked.
-Fixed wrong line number in generic npc class responses.(gd_cls_m2m.mes)
-Restored HEF2 (Half Elf Female 2) and NPCJay (Jayna Stiles) portraits from the beta version as the ones in the final are clearly inferior to them.
-Fixed palettes for Large Wool Jacket and Heavy Rags.
-Fixed Darm Helm. Its effects are no longer permanent. (Original script contained a typo, wrong line number)
-Fixed Black Stone Blade. Its effects are no longer permanent. (Original object had a wrong WIELD_OFF script attached)
-Fixed the exit of Stone Cutter Clan script. Now it teleports you to the proper location.
-Dark Elves, Ogres and Orcs stats are tweaked a bit to match their brotherly races.
-Ogres and Orcs are no longer considered monster (except for summoned ones).
-Kerghan's Dragon Form now has a monster flag, so he can do proper damage, 5-20 of normal, poison, fire and electrical, as it was meant by developers. Note: Critters in Arcanum can do custom unarmed damage only if they have one of the monster flags (monster, undead, animal, mechanical).
-Naked Halfling was missing an undead flag. Now he can do his proper damage, 15-40 of normal.
-Added large basic and bronze platemails, large and small dragon skin leathers, small dread armor, normal and small dark, bronze and red barbarian armor to shops. No way to get most of these types of armor otherwise.
-Fixed issues with Dweomer Shield and Reflection Shield spells. They no longer work on mind controlled creatures (this includes summoned ones), thus they won't allow for making anybody a permanent follower glitch anymore.
-Removed level scaling with random encounters (except Molochean Hand and orc bandits). Level scaling was unrealistic in the first place, you could meet certain creatures only on certain levels and no creatures except molochean hand and bandits on level 50, thus making the world feel more empty and making it more trivial to level up your followers.
-Drog Black Tooth now has a proper race.
-Ivory and Whysper in Qintarra now have proper races.
-Silver Lady is now leveled up, has no pickpocket, no disintegrate and no flee flags, and most of all has a missing floating animation restored.
-Race fixes for almost all guards in T'sen-Ang. (They were elves instead of dark elves and it's easy to see now with races icons fix)
-Void party: Gorgoth and Krakatur now have proper monster flags and proper custom damage. Bane of Kree is leveled up, Arronax now has a proper race (no longer human).
-Race fixes for 3 dwarves in Wheel Clan.
-Race fixes for Orc Bandit in the Boil, 2 Dark Elf Guards outside T'sen-Ang, Bunny at Madam Lil's, Halfling Villager in Shrouded Hills, Elf Thief, Half Ogre Bandit and Halfling Bandit on the Isle of Despair, Willoughsby (first appearance, with Smythe), Ogre Bandit at the Crash Site. They all had wrong races.
-Evil Joachim at docks is leveled up to match the one at the city entrance when you walk to Caladon on your own. (Yes, there are two of them, you get a one based on how you got to Caladon)
-Fixed basic proto issues for 10 Orc Berserkers in the Boil, proper gender and sounbanks now.
-Fixed Stringy Pete and his crew basic proto issues: they no longer do 0 damage if disarmed and have proper sounbanks.
-NPCs will no longer pick up boulders on their own.
-Both hushed revolver and hushed pistol are now silent. That is, they can only be heard within 2 tiles.
-Fixed descriptions for Chapeau of Magnetic Inversion and Potion of Intellect.
-Added a missing line to Simeon Tor's dialogue.
-A medical arachnid made by player is now functioning.
-Machined Plate now gives a proper strength bonus. (Script counters weren't set and a WIELD_OFF script was missing as well)
-Fixed Nasrudin's dialogue for dummies.
-Fixed typo in Magnus' dialogue and added global flag which affects Thorvald's dialogue.
-Swyft now properly disbands in Tarant in all cases.
-Now you can properly accept Swyft's quest with high haggle skill.
-All methods to become a friend of Molochean Hand now work correctly.
-Creep Armour now gives a bonus to backstab, just as the description says.
-Fixed wrong haggle conditions and missing global flags in the dialogue for the Molochean Hand Agent at Shrouded Hills.
-Fixed the Master Mage of Water's dialogue for dummies, now the former student appears in front of the gates in this case as well.
-Fixed Weldo Rubin's dialogue, now he waits, disbands and rejoins properly.
-Fixed Weldo Rubin's stats, now he has an auto-leveling scheme, so he can level up properly.

NEW FIXES ADDED (WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE NEXT VERSION):
-Revolver Parts now have proper art.
-Small Robe of the Chameleon now has proper art.
-Tarant Sewers now use a correct music track.
-Geoffrey and Perriman dialogues and scripts are fixed, now you can have them both in your group if you're a master of persuasion and have charisma of 20.
-Fixed Simeon Tor's dialogue, now he properly recognizes Perriman and Geoffrey.
-Maxim will now recognize parts for a Mechanized Gun and build one for you.
-Fixed description on a Wise Woman in Caladon (no longer says "Halfling Villager").
-Fixed Nicholas the Bartender at Madam Lil's. He was using a generic bartender dialogue, while he had a proper one. His dialogue is rather funny, he gives you free drinks when you pay for a girl, and when you get drunk enough you get an option to sexually harass him, his comments are priceless (and random!).

Heather and Me @ RockPaperShotgun
Sat 12 April 2008, 02:52:33

RockPaperShotgun have put up some kind of fanfic thing about Heather from Vampire Bloodlines. It's the author's "personal experience with a memorable section". Here's a snip:

I’ve been on adventures before, and I always lean towards the side of right. I tried to do that here too but since entering the World of Darkness, even best intentions twisted in my hand. Heather was the classic case. I found her, lying dying in the corner of a Santa Monica emergency ward. A college girl with market-bought Scarlet dyed hair and emo glasses, straight off an Oakland campus. Pity makes me choose to feed her a drop of my own Vampiric blood, gifting her a little of my own power – enough to save her. She becomes what we call a Ghoul. Coming to, she asks me what happened. In a moment of madness, I tell her the truth. She screams, calling for the police and I make with the disappearing into the night thing my brethren and I do so well.

Vampire Bloodlines reviewed at Moby Games
Sun 02 March 2008, 02:22:05

Some bloke name Tim Cross has posted a review of Bloodlines on MobyGames. Sure, it's one of those user submitted reviews but it's not like there's anything else to post news about, is there?

Despite that seemingly insurmountable list of problems, I would still recommend this game to fans of RPGs, FPS RPGs, and White Wolf’s Masquerade universe. This game is one of the deepest and most interesting RPGs I have ever played. It actually puts its gritty urban setting to use (unlike so many games), crafting a bizarre nightmare version of our own dangerous cities. It provides a truly interesting story, great character development, and a terrifically tense and atmospheric experience. However, the number of bugs, glitches and imbalances in the game threaten to ruin it.

The only way to get this great game to be even barely playable is to download the latest fan-made patch, unfortunately. The community patch provides all of the fixes that Troika should have put into the game before it went gold. Modern resolutions are added to the game’s options (this makes a huge difference), broken quests are fixed, missing quests are added, powers and weapons that got cut are added in, character creation is fleshed out, and most importantly, the game is stabilized.

Tim Cain speaks again, at Troika Chronicles
Tue 23 October 2007, 22:23:00

Troika Chronicles, that other Troika fan-site that for some reason keeps the link to Tarantiner Bote above the link to our page even though half of their links actually lead to sites hosted by us, has managed to speak to Tim Cain, thus ending his long silence.

The interview is pretty boring, because the master has decided to start working on MMORPG's and is only talking about them, when he's not letting some Jeremy guy answer the questions or remembers his glorious past as a part of Troika and Interplay. This is actually pretty much all he says:

6 - For some time now almost everyone is talking about “casual games”, “casual players” and that modern games are much too bloated and complicated. On the other hand especially MMORPGs tend to be pretty complex especially when PvP play or high level content is considered. What are your thoughts on that subject?

Tim: I think MMORPGs are actually pretty casual, especially at the lower levels. Their high degree of social interaction actually encourages new and casual players to join, and as long as many of their complex systems are optional, most of those casual players can enjoy these games as much as the hard core players.

Frenchies make a new mod: Le livre des Ombres
Thu 18 October 2007, 13:30:25

Those French bastards have done it again! Another module. This time something about shady books. According to babelfish:

New module "the book of the shades" is from now on downloadable. It contains a score of searches and new original musics composed by my pal Mad. Malheureusement, I did not have time to record the voices, as for the preceding module. I hope that it you will even like all dem. I await your comments on this module, which will be very probablemùent my last.

a small desert island. A city protected by an enclosure and prohibited access. A can city outside. A secrecy connecting two families. A mysterious book that many people seek. Here what awaits you if you dare to download this module.

Doomsday updated
Mon 15 October 2007, 00:07:03

Following the success of his mod Doomsday, Quaid decided that he should remove some bugs and make the mod run smoother:

I've made a few modifications to Doomsday to both help some having trouble with running the game and also enhance the endgame.

*I've rerun 'Purge Destroyed Objects' in WorldEd to help clean up any unnecessary files.

*I've added an additional 'good' quest option to facilitate the endgame. Currently in version 1.0 the player must complete 2 of 3 quests to get to the endgame. There are (2) 'evil' and (1) 'good' quest, which means the player must perform at least 1 evil quest. In version 1.1, there are (2) 'good' quests and (2) 'evil' quests, where the player can do any combination of 2 or greater to facilitate the endgame.

If you download version 1.1 there is a chance that your previous save games will work. BUT THERE IS NO GUARENTEE! Safest is to start a new game.

If you would like to TRY to use your existing save games, simply rename the folder named Doomsday_v1.0 under Arcanum/modules to Doomsday_v1.1

Arcanum mod released
Sat 13 October 2007, 01:15:16

Just when we thought the Arcanum modding scene was completely dead, Quaid brings us Doomsday

Hello Arcanum Lovers!

I've created a mod called Doomsday that is available for download. The story takes place in a city at the far reaches of Arcanum. You've just arrived in town and the tension between Technology and Magic runs deep. The town is prosperous and is a veritable Utopia. Or is it? Will you be able to discover what is going on before it is too late?

Features:
- Multiple quests
- Fight or talk your way through a variety of them
- Most side quests tie in with the main quest
- Firearms (non-merchant) have been given an upgrade to balance Gunfighting
- Plenty of books, newspapers and notes to add background and flavor
- Estimated 4+ hours of gameplay

The life and times of Jason Anderson
Wed 26 September 2007, 10:48:02

Fallout fan-site NMA have an interview with Jason Anderson, one of Troika's founders. Here's a bit:

After Fallout Tim, Leonard and I went off and formed Troika Games. Our first project, Arcanum was made with only 14 dedicated employees - so once again, everyone contributed to all portions of the game and I again did art, movies, design, dialog and this time I got to try my hand at scripting, music and sound effects as well.

Next, I worked on Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines concentrating on game design, level design and creation, sound effects, and of course interface and artwork design and implementation.

Server downtime
Sat 21 July 2007, 10:16:51

Just a note to say we'll be going offline for a while as we move to a new server. We should be back up within a day or two at most.

UPDATE: All right. For all intents and purposes this is the new site so if you can read these, the move has worked and you can post in the forums as per normal.

Posted by DarkUnderlord
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GameFAQs says Arcanum Best CRPG
Tue 03 July 2007, 03:58:58

In one of their retarded top 10 lists which they pump out daily, GameFAQs has said Arcanum is number 1:

#1: Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (PC)

While most of the reviews in the mainstream public gave this gem poor scores, the thruth is that the main complains have been about graphics and the linearity of the game. But Arcanum did it all right: Meaningful choices and consequences, good character development, strategic combat, lots of possibilities, and is a lot less linear than most games today. The setting is pretty interesting too.

Sharon Shellman Developer Profile at NMA
Sat 19 May 2007, 08:57:57

No Mutants Allowed has tracked down former Troika and Fallout developer Sharon Shellman and asked her some questions. Here are a few carefully selected paragraphs designed to make you read the rest:

... You see, I personally don't hold our education system in high regards. I've seen too many people with degrees that have nothing to do with their careers, or who can't do the thing they have earned a degree in. Friends with business administration degrees who can't type, friends with computer science degrees who can't get a job because they lack practical experience, engineering degrees who don't understand the basic principals behind engineering etc., etc. In my opinion college should be used for those who truly need specialized training like doctors... many of the rest of us would benefit more from apprentice programs that teach hands-on learning rather than book learning. Too many kids are encouraged to go to college & get a degree before they really know what they want to do with themsevles... so they just get a degree in whatever and then often never use it in their actual careers...

12. How does the fan base hinder/help the projects that you've worked on?

That is a tough question. In one sense a vocal fanbase is great. I was not involved in the fanboards on Fallout, since I was only a contractor, but I was on the boards all of the time during Arcanum. I loved talking to everyone and developing relationships and getting a feel for what our fans would like to see in the game. But on the other hand, I had to be careful what I said (something I'm not very good at) because, as a developer, my opinions were often given more merit than other people's, even about things that were non-game related. And that is rather scary. I wasn't looking for that sort of power, I just wanted to voice my opinion.

Bloodlines - TRUE bug-fix patch
Thu 19 April 2007, 12:42:17

I'll let the press release speak for itself:

For two years, VTMB fans have demanded a patch that only fixes bugs found in the original release, without adding a bunch of controversial, frivolous and unbalancing gameplay mods at the same time.

Now, we finally have a TRUE patch for VTMB. Want to experience a glitch-free game the way Troika originally intended for it to be played..?

Then this is the one and only patch that you have been waiting for..!!!

GamersInfo go back over Arcanum
Sun 18 February 2007, 04:48:03

GamersInfo have decided to ignore today's shiney graphics and next generation innovation and instead blow off the dust and revisit Arcanum. And here's a snip:

It has been a long time for me. I try and have faith good things will happen, really, I do. I want to think that the next newest and shiniest game coming out will really be a good game. It so rarely is. I can rant about MMO's being so focused on artwork and technical performance and then shoving all their customers in a empty, heartless world with little to do but grind grind grind. So here I am, reverting back to some old games; games with a heart. Back to a time when game developer's really designed their game, their world, and most importantly, they defined what RPG really means. With hope, I picked up some Arcanum CDs, remembering that it has been a long time, nearly six years now. If you have never played this classic RPG, and maybe feeling a little like me, give it a listen.

They just aren't made like this anymore. Every town and NPC has a life, there is a story around every corner, and your actions in the world, affect the world.