Dragon Age: Origins
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jonpetro

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About this mod

Random enemies with advanced tactics, more abilities, and better gear are created on the fly, as is new and unusual equipment that encompasses virtually limitless appearance variations and magical properties. 10 all new difficulty levels up the challenge even more - Never play Dragon Age the same way again!

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Slink's Slightly Skewed (s3) "RAVAge" 1.02

Play through Dragon Age again - for the first time... Every time.

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This mod adds random enemies and magic items throughout the game. Each encounter is a new and exciting experience, as your foes will be different and uniquely equipped during each playthrough, and every fallen enemy or treasure chest may contain a poweful new item to aid in your quest.

The Enemies:

Enemy groups will sometimes spawn with a varying degree of reinforcements, ranging from basic fodder to powerful specialists, and even completely unique enemies you may never have fought before. Like all enemies in RAVAge, these foes will have their own unique magic equipment which they will use against you - and possibly drop when killed.

Random enemies are drawn from a database of over 150 custom creatures, and they are fit with dozens of hand-written AI routines tailored to make them smarter, meaner, and more dangerous. You'll even encounter foes with unique class combinations and abilities, testing your tactics like never before.

The Items:

The items you will find can be of any type and appearance, and may contain virtually unlimited types and combinations of magical properties, rune slots, and dozens of special custom runes created just for this Mod. Items will also be given unique names based on the traits they possess. You can now tailor your equipment loadout to suit your own unique playstyle, rather than having to build your character around the standard "uber" items that are the same every playthrough.

Drop types are automatically adjusted based on your class, specialization, and even your equipment preferences, providing you with more useful drops overall. Drop types can also be fine-tuned using the .ini settings, to give you even more of what you want.

Items are scaled to the level and rank of the dropper, and will always have a small chance of being exceptionally strong for their level.

Now your most formidable enemies - not the merchants of Ferelden - are the guardians of your most powerful treasures.

Scripting and such by: Slink ([email protected])

Other design work, porting, debugging, and fun stuff by: Veteran Gamer.

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IMPORTANT NOTE:

This mod makes the game anywhere from marginally to significantly more difficult, depending on the settings you choose. Almost all aspects of RAVAge are customizable through the DragonAge.ini settings, allowing you to tailor the mod to your preferences.

The default settings should be quite a bit more difficult than a vanilla playthrough, with occasional encounters of exceptional difficulty, and it should offer a fair amount of custom items on par with and often better than those already available throughout the course of a standard game.
This increased difficulty is recommended to achieve an overall feeling of a more "advanced" playthrough. When combined with the extra experience gained from additional enemy encounters, as well as the better items you will find, the game will be harder but offer commensurately better rewards.

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THE FIRST THING YOU WILL WANT TO DO is set a difficulty level. By default you will have a relatively small chance of seeing normal and some lieutenant-ranked random enemies, and there will always be an extremely small chance of encountering a random boss.

Each setting (1-5) increases the frequency of random spawns, as well as the overall rank of the spawns. The default setting is 0 - Not 1.

Keep in mind that these difficulty settings compound with the game's preset difficulty (Easy, Normal, Nightmare), and that level 5 can be VERY hard, even on Normal Mode.
If you want an even greater challenge (and even better rewards), you can set ExtraDifficulty=1-5>. Whereas the standard "Difficulty" setting regulates the number and rank of enemy spawns, the "ExtraDifficulty" setting increases the actual level of enemies, as well as their equipment level. Do NOT take this setting lightly... You've been warned.

Note: Difficulty settings are curbed at very low levels, particularly to prevent the Origins stories from being overly difficult. The full settings do not set in until after the first few initial areas.

Also, you may wish to keep at least one game saved before entering any new area. Since random enemies and items spawn the first time you enter a new area, you can then go back and "reset" the spawns if you find yourself overwhelmed.
There is also a special .ini setting that can be used if you get really stuck. Setting ImStuck=1 will grant you immortality until you reset it to 0.

Instructions on how to use .ini settings are documented further below.

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SECONDARY EFFECTS:

The following "secondary" effects are listed below, and may be disabled via the .ini settings.

* You will automatically loot enemy corpses of basic items and coins. Equipment and other unique items will remain on bodies. To disable, use NoAutoLoot=1.

* You will receive an "<item> added" message whenever you pick up, receive, or loot an item. To disable, use NoFloaty=1.<br><br>* Combat stamina/mana regeneration has been increased for both party members and enemies. This is intended to make combat more frenzied and ability-oriented.<br><br>====================<br><br>OPTIONAL FILES:<br><br>The main archive includes a directory that contains the following optional files. To activate any of these files, simply place the desired .GDA in your /core/override directory. Or, to activate them all, place the entire directory in /core/override.<br><br>* BITM_Light_Armor_DEX_s3.GDA: This causes Light Armor to rely on Dex instead of Str when determining wear requirements.<br><br>* BITM_Medium_Armor_DEX_s3.GDA: Same as above, but converts Medium Armor.<br><br>====================<br><br>INSTALLATION:<br><br>If you have any previous versions installed (or any other mods you want removed) I highly recommend using DAModder, found at -<br>http://www.dragonagenexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=286<br><br>If for any reason the Mod doesn't seem to be completely removed, check:<br><br>/Program Files/Dragon Age/Data<br>as well as:<br><br>/Documents/BioWare/Dragon Age/addins<br>for leftover directories, or specifically, a leftover .erf belonging to slinks_s3*. Special thanks to DevNull for sorting this one out!<br><br><span class="wbbtab"></span>*****<br><br>Then, run the DAZip for the version you want using DAUpdater, usually found in:<br><br>/Program Files/Dragon Age/bin_ship/<br><br>-----<br><br>NOTE: THESE MODS (ORIGINS/AWAKENING) DO NOT WORK INTERCHANGEABLY...<br><br>You must have the proper version loaded when you run the game!<br><br>Simply run the specific DAZip for the content you are loading (Origins/Awakening) before you start the game, and you're good to go. There is no need to disable or uninstall the other mod prior to switching - it will be replaced automatically each time.<br><br>All items obtained in Origins will transfer over to Awakening just fine, but they will not be available if you try playing Awakening with the Origins mod currently installed.<br><br>Any problems, feel free to mail me.<br><br>-Slink ([email protected])<br><br>====================<br><br>COMPATIBILITY:<br><br>This mod should be fully compatible with all third party mods and DLC that extends either the Origins or Awakening campaigns, such as Warden's Keep, RTO, etc...<br><br>Certain DLC that relies on separate resources, such as the Darkspawn Chronicles and Leliana's Song campaigns, may not be compatible. RAVage must be uninstalled (not disabled) prior to playing these seperate campaigns, or strange things may happen.<br><br>When going back to Origins or Awakening, simply run the correct DAZip before you start the game, and your items should be in tact.<br><br>====================<br><br>CONFIGURATION:<br><br>To customize Random Age settings, simply add the following lines - replacing the suggested values with your own values - to the end of your DragonAge.ini file, usually located in:<br>/Documents/BioWare/Dragon Age/Settings<br><br>First, add the heading:<br><br>[RAVAge]<br>And below that, in any order, place any desired settings. Note that hese settings are case sensitive, and may not contain any spaces. Enter them exactly as they are shown below:<br><br>Difficulty=1-5&gt;<br>(Additional difficulty levels based on enemy reinforcement types and numbers. A value of 0/not set is slightly more difficult than vanilla, with 1-5 being progressively more difficult.)<br>-----<br>ExtraDifficulty=1-5&gt;<br>(This setting raises the level of random enemies, and also scales their equipment to a higher level.)<br>-----<br>NoExtraMobs=1<br>(Set this if you do not want to face additional random enemies.)<br>-----<br>NoMobEq=1<br>(Mobs will not equip their random items.)<br>-----<br>NoBossExtra=1<br>(Prevents boss and elite boss enemies from receiving outside assistance.)<br>-----<br>NoItems=1<br>(Disables random item drops. Enemies will still equip random items however, unless NoMobEq=1 is also set.)<br>-----<br>NoAutoLoot=1<br>(Prevents you from automatically looting basic items and coins from enemy corpses.)<br>-----<br>ItemsPerHolder=1-5&gt;<br>(Adjust the base number of items given to each placeable. Default is 5.)<br>-----<br>DropRate=1-10&gt;<br>(Adjust the base frequency of random items dropping. Default is 5. Note that if you have more items per holder, your drop rate will have an inherently higher base chance - these two settings work in conjunction with one another.)<br>-----<br>PropRate=1-10&gt;<br>(Adjust the base frequency of additional magical properties. Default is 5.)<br>-----<br>NoNegative=1<br>(Random items will have no negative properties.)<br>-----<br>NoAutoAdjust=1<br>(Prevents drops from being auto-adjusted based on your class, specialization, and equipment preferences.)<br>-----<br>NoVFX=1<br>(Disables VFX being placed on custom weapons/shields.)<br>-----<br>EliteOnly=1<br>(Only elite yellow mobs and bosses will drop random magic items.)<br>-----<br>NoFloaty=1<br>(Disables the "Item Added" message.)<br>-----<br>NoFade=1<br>(Random items will not drop in the Fade.)<br>-----<br>ImStuck=1<br>(Grants your character immortality until it is returned to 0. Use this if you get stuck and can't beat an encounter.)<br>-----<br>FreeMoney=1<br>(Sets your money to 500 gold any time you load into the game with less than five-hundred.)<br>-----<br>*** To adjust drop rates of specific item types, use the following settings. The default levels are 5, and while they are active they will adjust drops slightly based on your class, specialization, and equipment preferences. ***<br><br>FreqArmorLightMedium=1-10&gt;<br>FreqArmorHeavyMassive=1-10&gt;<br>FreqMage=1-10&gt; (Includes robes, and cloth caps.)<br>FreqStaff=1-10&gt; (Mage staves.)<br>FreqAccessory=1-10&gt; (Rings, belts, and amulets.)<br>FreqShield=1-10&gt;<br>Freq2h=1-10&gt;<br>FreqRanged=1-10&gt;<br>FreqDagger=1-10&gt;<br>FreqWeapon=1-10&gt;<br>====================<br><br>UPDATE HISTORY:<br>1.02:<br>Fixed the texture rendering issues.<br><br>1.01:<br>Fixed a bug that could cause crashes when loading a new area populated by Undead enemies.<br><br>Removed buggy rune slots from certain item types.<br><br>---<br><br>RAVage1.00<br><br>FEATURES:<br><br>* Over 150 new hand-crafted enemies make encounters unique in every new game. Enemies will also equip and use a wide variety of random item selections, meaning even the same enemies may have new and unusual combat characteristics.<br><br>* New creature packages reference dozens of custom AI scripts for smarter, tougher enemy encounters.<br><br>* Powerful magic items will be found on enemies and in containers throughout the game. Now every playthrough will contain a limitless variety of new and unusual items.<br><br>* Both enemies and items are randomly generated "on the fly", using algorithms that ensure they are completely random every playthrough as well as "realistically" created.<br><br>* A revised dynamic Mob spawn routine that centers around your chosen difficulty setting. Higher settings now feature more bosses and epic encounters that might not be experienced on lower settings. There is also now an "ExtraDifficulty" setting to raise the stakes even higher.<br><br>* Restrictive hidden hard caps on stats such as elemental damage, resistances, and combat speed have been removed.<br>NOTE: Those using previous version of "Random Age" should re-read this document, specifically the section on .ini settings. Some settings have been added, removed, or changed, so your old settings will need to be modified in order to work correctly.</item>