Posts from Adjusting the formula for the mana-draining abilities of Imps, Devils, and Lesser Devils.

Hello everyone. I have a question: how and where can I change the formulas for the abilities of Imps, Devils, and Lesser Devils? I found on the wiki that 1 Imp and 1 Devil steal 0.25 mana per creature. A Lesser Devil steals 0.125 mana per creature. I need to change these values. I searched through the xdb files for the creatures themselves, but I couldn't find these settings, just as I couldn't find the settings in the xdb files for the abilities themselves. Can you tell me where I need to look?

the file was updated in a patch, so take it not from data.pak, but from a2p1-data.pak

folder \GameMechanics\RPGStats

file DefaultStats.xdb

Yes, this method really helped. The only thing is, I made changes for a specific map, not the entire client.

But then another question arises: I reduced the values for the ManaSteal ability to 0.1 per level and SyphonMana to 0.05 per level. After that, I went into the game to test it, and in battle, the demons drain 0 mana.

So, the question is, is this related to the game not being able to read non-integer numbers? And is there anything I can do to make it work?

I'll attach screenshots:

And an off-topic question: where can I change the stats of the summoned phoenix (HP, min-max damage)?

The phoenix issue is resolved. I figured it out myself.😅 A new question has arisen: Where can I find the file containing all hero specializations and their settings? I'm interested in Faiaz. I've searched through the entire data.pak and a2p1-data.pak, but I haven't found anything, not even anything remotely related.

Yes, the method really helped. The only thing is that I made changes for a specific map, not for the entire client.

But another question arises here: I reduced the values for the ManaSteal ability to 0.1 per increment and SyphonMana to 0.05 per increment. After that, I went into the game to test it, and in battle, the imps drain 0 mana.

Basically, the question is whether this is related to the fact that the game cannot read non-integer numbers? And is there anything we can do to make it work?

I will attach screenshots.
Attachment 73803
Attachment 73804

And an off-topic question, where can I change the stats of the summoned phoenix (HP, min-max damage)?

we don't have Warcraft here) changing files means changing the whole game

the formula must be broken; we don't know the formulas, so I can't say at what value everything will work. The question about integers... is strange because there are only fractions here: 0.5 and 0.05... but I would assume that the formula gives some negative values; frankly, I wouldn't be surprised after the formula for a unit's spellcasting, which includes a logarithm..... in general, I did a quick test: 70 imps steal 9 mana, which is basically 0.125 mana per unit, as written on the wiki..... Is it possible that the Nivalis developers added a power to the formula? So that 0.5 turns into 0.125?? A strange and counterproductive option..... but I would bet on it; then the amount of drained mana with 0.05 will be 0.000125, and you will need 10,000 little devils to drain even 1 point.

about hero specializations
they are in the same file, just somewhere below; not everything can be changed (the item is called HeroSpecializations)

Added 3 minutes ago
how many imps do you have? I see only 6K cerberuses

Drawing 15840.

I calculated it so that this number of Imps would drain 100 mana, not all of it. And the Lesser Imps drain 50 mana per ability use.

Regarding specialization, yes, I did browse those files, but there are only a few heroes there, and those are from the campaign. Does that mean it's not possible to access the specializations of other heroes?

Regarding specializations, yes, you are right, I was looking through those files, but there are only a few heroes there, and those are from the campaign. So, is it impossible to access the specializations of other heroes?

Is that what you mean?

Damn, you're right, that's it. I was searching this file using the tags "armor", "destroyer", "ray", thinking I would find what I needed. Thanks again. And regarding the demons, theoretically, is it possible to adjust the values as I described above?

Could you perhaps help me with another question?

It concerns the map editor. Nothing is displayed in the objects section. That is, I can't place anything on the map.

However, before, everything was displayed and working. Now I can't understand what happened...

Maybe you could help me with another question?

It concerns the map editor. Nothing is displayed in objects for me. That is, I cannot place anything on the map.
Attachment 73806

And before that, everything was displayed and worked. But now I can't understand what happened...

Check the data folder, specifically the folder itself, not the data.pak file. There should be an index.bin file there; delete it.

Added after 1 hour 5 minutes
The mana drain formula is complex and unexpectedly includes values from mana steal .

1000 imps drain 125 mana. But when setting to 1 instead of 4, the mana drain decreases to 63.... this is strange; the value has been reduced by a factor of 4, but the result has decreased by a factor of 2.

Added after 2 minutes
I checked, and the value 0.1 broke the mana drain ability.

The index.bin file has been deleted. But the objects are still empty, and the filters are not available.

However, the database tables have become accessible.

Regarding the imps, I will continue to investigate, but I have a feeling that the formulas simply won't work for my size.

Added 6 hours 16 minutes ago

Added 1 hour 5 minutes ago
The mana drain formula is complex and unexpectedly includes values from mana steal

1000 imps drain 125 mana
but when setting to 1 instead of 4, the mana drain decreases to 63.... this is strange, the value was reduced by 4, but the result decreased by 2

So, I conducted personal tests regarding this issue. What I can say for sure is that in the formula, values of 1 simply do not work. The minimum available is 1 unit of mana for 16 imps (increase).

And regarding the reduction of the value by 4, everything is correct because the initial formula has the form of 4 mana per increase (16 imps). We get 4/16 = 0.25 per imp. We substitute the value of 1 in and get 1/16 = 0.0625 per imp. Therefore, according to your test, it is clear that 1000 imps burn 1000*0.0625 = 63 mana, rounded up.

Regarding 0.5, I believe that this value is multiplied by the formula above, so for imps, we get a multiple drain equal to half the drain of imps/devils. For example, taking 1000 imps, they would drain 63*0.5 = 32 mana per application. I think this is a more logical application of this line. I will not check it myself, as it is no longer relevant.

Thank you for your help with this issue; it's a pity that the game does not process values <1 in this specific situation. 😃

I still decided to check the value in the 0.5 field.
And what turned out? It doesn't affect anything (or maybe I'm missing something).

Initially, I thought that this applies exclusively to imps because in the game files, their ability is called SyphonMana. But the test showed that imps and devils drain the same amount of mana.

The test was conducted with the value in the = 1 field. I will attach screenshots for clarity.

And now I have a question: shouldn't imps drain less mana compared to devils? As far as I remember, they should.