DoddTheSlayer 2.0 (Important patch)

For now there is no longer a patch for the mod since the release of version 2.3 which you can download here:

http://www.divshare.com/download/5128028-3f9

Note that this is the full mod which includes all the bug fixes from patch 2.2 and some new ones that have been discovered after that patch.
Should more bugs be discovered then a patch will be released with the details in this thread.


UPDATE:
There is now a patch 2.4 to download here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?9gscr3zn1gu

Although it should be obvious, I'll mention that a certain guy wasn't really paying attention and figured this was a replacement file for the original mod and overwrote the old file. It ain't. This really is a patch file, folks.

Yes, I am that dumb.

Its ok. you are supposed to overwrite the old files to install it It's the only way you can.

No, since I wasn't really paying attention, I overwrote the mod .rar with the patch .rar. Changed the file name and everything. I don't know what I was thinking. Autopilot's a wonderful thing until it overlooks the mountain while calculating a course adjustment to 12 decimal places…

No longer a patch for now. Please refer to the first post for updated info.

PATCH UPDATE

I just want say that there is an important patch in the making.
It turns out that the new system i have created for improvable Gadgets and Instruments does not work, because the game code is ignoring the improvements as they currently stand.
In addition to this there are 7 unused Vanilla instruments that can be added to the game. Some of which i used for upgrades without realising that they are not placed anywhere.
So if you are a Bard or Gadgeteer user then you will not get the most out of this mod until this next patch is released. Keep your eye on this thread for the patch.

Ok Patch_2.4 is complete now. Besides the fix that i mentioned above for Bard and Gadgeteer stuff, there are 2 other changes that you can see details of in the readme file. The patch is less than 1mb so you will not have to wait to see the list of changes. The link is here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?z1ylxqy3yix

So I need 2.0 vanilla plus 2.4 patch, right?

Think you might need the 2.3 plus the new patch. That's what I've downloaded, even though my discs are back home.

Yes Corwin is right. There is no longer a verion 2.0 to download because it had game killing bugs.

Thanks for the clarification. I'll delete my copy of 2.0 vanilla since I'll probably sleep once or twice before I get around to my next Wiz8 run.

UPDATE:
Patch 2.4 has been updated and the link changed
Many items needed fixing. You can go ahead and re-apply the patch to you saved game and the changes will take place right away. Here is the new link.

http://www.mediafire.com/?9gscr3zn1gu

This patch originally changes all the new items for Bards and Gadgeteers, because game code was not recognising the upgrades as they were.
You can read more about this and 2 other changes in the readme file.

This patch is only to be applied to installed mod version_2.3

I get an invalid file message.

I just changed the link again. The patch was bad due to me foolishly adding the items.dbs file from an earlier version.
If anyone has allready downloaded that patch and applied it then do so again fron the new link. Any problems cause by the bad one will be immediately fixed.

The patch 2.4 is the latest at this time ?

Yes, and I'm told there's going to be "a breath taken" before further versions come out.

Thanks for the info

Just finished Dodd the Slayer 2.4 with additional tweaks by Daegan (v3.2).

I´ve to say it´s really impressive and huge mod now.
The main quest is greatly expanded and now it´s probably 1/2 longer than the vanilla, sidequests are elaborated and not just fillers, new enchanting/augmenting abilities offer a lot of possibilities for the beginning/middle game and help gadgeteer and bard to be more respectable throughout, variety of items is overwhelming and offers very diverse potential for character development, new areas look nice with new textures without detracting from overall game´s feeling, opponents are tough and some battles are really epic.
Calling this game Wizardry 8.5 now seems more than appropriate .

Played the game with my usual party of 8, being curious how well would they fare.
And I´ve to say that lizardman fighter, faerie ninja, mook gadgeteer, hobbit bard (female), elf bishop (divinity/alchemy), faerie bishop (wizardry/psionics), Vi Domina and RFS fared rather well.
Ended at levels 30-33, 3000 kills, 51 party member deaths.

Some other points and mild spoilers ahead.

I was really glad that two places that reeked of unfinished business in the vanilla game are now utilized and incorporated into the expanded main quest. I can imagine that developers have had originally similar plans with them so the changes fit naturally in the game.

The new enchanting ability works well and I was having a lot of fun with trying various enchantments on respective items, waiting for the outcome and then considering which one will be more useful.
I was having even more fun with finding and upgrading gadgets and instruments.
Especially this feature made me glad I went with both gadgeteer and bard.

On top of that, Daegan´s tweaks further helped in making the gameplay smoother and balanced by giving more power to offensive spellcasting and fastening the projectile speed. Vanilla spells were made a bit more powerful and there are some new high level uber ones which are very useful in the second half of the game.
Thanks to it, all my spellcasters were more diverse and fun.
Especially the bard who, thanks to one tweaked instrument, had most kills in the end!!
Giving different icons to various potions and some other items greatly reduced inventory juggling, revamped alchemy worked logically and fresh and some other various in-game surprises were nice touch.

As a big fan of Wizardry 7 I was delighted that both new optional quests were inspired by some of its features.
The first one is basically a very cool reimagination of good old chambers of gorrors with especially nasty baddies and great treasures. There´s a pretty significant twist to it and my gadgeteer was rather crucial in those areas.
The second one is a very elaborated and quite long dungeon romp done by Qusari.
It has its own story with connections to the main line of W8 as well as to some events in W7. It´s full of puzzles, traps, easter eggs and a lot of pretty cool eye candy to boot. It´s a sorta hybrid between rattkin funhouse and dane tower from W7 and I really enjoyed it throughout since I´ve always missed something like that in W8.

As for the overall difficulty, I felt the game was generally a little bit easier than the expert version 1.4, be it for the abundance of new items and upgrades or some Daegan´s tweaks features but I didn´t mind it at all. The gameplay was challenging throughout without being frustrating or too time consuming.
The toughest part was the first 1/3 where party haven´t that much possibilities of dealing with some encounters. Later, the toughest battles were mostly concentrated into new areas.
At the Peak, all the temple battles were great and the battle at Life temple was one of the most fun (and challenging) in the whole game.

I haven´t really seen any glaring negatives in my playthrough and the minor ones were, well, minor .

Ok, maybe, some vanilla encounter which used to be quite memorable are now walk in the park compared to the new ones. I almost felt sorry for Pee Wee and Rapax Prince army and poor Nessie fell in one round encountered at levels 16-18. Maybe some upgrade to such encounters would be beneficial for the atmosphere and would put them more in line with the added content.
The biggest vanilla surprise were L40 magma scorchers who almost decimated my unprepared party. It´s a pity one needs to be really high level to come across more similar vanilla monsters encounters. Putting some high level vanilla monster here and there may be nice.
(The biggest surprise came from the bucaneers ghost encounter though. I always reload there for at least half an hour to get some nice loot, but this time after a fifth reload or so, two bucaneers dropped *Light* sword!)

Also, there seem to be a lot of new mergeable items now. Although I enjoy occasional experimenting with it, I think that putting hints about some of the more obsure ones in-game wouldn´t hurt.

Ok, running out of space probably.

All in all, Wizardry 8 with Dodd 2.4 is EPIC.

Thanks to Qusari and Daegan for their well thought out and elaborated additions and most importantly thanks to Dodd for putting such a huge amount of work into his mod and keeping the last great really oldschool rpg fresh even today!!

Originally Posted by DeepO
Just finished Dodd the Slayer 2.4 with additional tweaks by Daegan (v3.2).

I´ve to say it´s really impressive and huge mod now.

All in all, Wizardry 8 with Dodd 2.4 is EPIC.

Thanks to all who contributed to make it so.
Good Job,
old fool

Thanks for feedback. No real spoilers there i think. I have not played with Daegan tweaks yet, but i know there is still more to come from him.
I am probably done with this mod now even though i do have more ideas. I have only a few fact slots left for making new quests which is unlikely to be enough for anything wothwhile.