... Whew...! Getting on up there...
... Wow... Has it really been two whole years since then...?
The date is June 12, 2025. This... Is my birthday.
... Today, I decided, as a birthday present to myself... I would release all of this new and updated QoL content for all of you, and won't sweat the details. How very altruistic of me...? Indeed... Perhaps, he has an agenda, or maybe, I just believe giving is its own reward...
... But, really though, I have decided it was time to release this stuff to the wilds. I have done a countless amount of testing... But I think I should instead just make it all public and beg your forgiveness later if anything breaks or is broken.
I also decided, from now on, ALL posts about ANY of the QoLs should be in the same thread. I'm getting tired of managing 9+ different forum posts, when they could easily be in the same place.
... Anyways, let's not sour this and get to the juicy part.
Today is the date I have decided for that major "QoL" update I have been eluding to long ago. This also marks the precursor and eve of OoTS's eventual release. Just read on below to hear all about this.
Qol #01: Particle Effects ~ Adds particle effects to temporary effects, creating clarity and beauty
Qol #02: Tile Scanner ~ Allows you to glean important tile-based information simply by hovering it
("Stealth Scanning" has been rendered a "cheat" feature)
QoL #03: Summoning Timer ~ Adds an on-screen display for your character's remaining "time", whatever that may be
QoL #04: Healing Display ~ Adds various forms of detailed information about the quality of your healing/regeneration
("Multiplicative Healing Reduction" has been rendered a "cheat" feature)
QoL #05: Various Warnings ~ Adds warnings and safeties to common things that endanger players or runs
QoL #06: Wait Time ~ Produces delays between various combat-related actions, creating greater clarity
("Real Time" has been rendered a "cheat" feature)
QoL #07: Visible Sizes ~ Modifies the size of characters and their frames so that it reflects their size/strength
QoL #08: Life Displays ~ Adds several ways to better view the life status of present characters
QoL #09: Automation ~ Adds several new features that automate common and/or tedious gameplay
Enjoy these new QoL updates!
Now then, at this point of the post, I want to update everyone on the status of "OoTS" and what I am going to be doing next.
This is just the precursor to a long plan to finally execute on an enormous, ambitious project I've had in the making for years now. Yes, it involves ToME, OoTS, and SOOO much more... Including YOU, the entire community of ToME itself. It will be something delectable that might even change the face of ToME modding.
This project of mine is broken down into several "Phases"... "7" of them, in fact. Yes, that's right. I still have 6 more large-scale things I plan to release after the revitalization of OoTS, and they will each be coming shortly after the first one (MUCH shorter). OoTS truly is just an epilogue to the story I want to tell. There is SOOO much more to come.
To give you all a teaser, "Phase 1" is to revive, update, and "enrich" the old "Odyssey of The Summoner" add-on I made a long time ago. I am pretty much 90% of the way done with it, but it still needs some more bolts screwed in, or else it will all fall apart, as pretty as it might look.
A side-effect of this release-- And THIS is the good part-- Will also be the release of another supporting add-on I refer to as the "Nekarcos Development Tools" (or "NDT" for short). This is an add-on that contains every assisting tool, algorithm, system, environment, structure, etc, etc... That I have developed over the years modding ToME, and it will be all yours to use publicly-- Should you choose to develop a mod/addon that will "require" it.
My hope is that this add-on will become a collaborative, structured, "standardized" medium for ALL of the modding community to join together in, a way to "unify" coding methods, as well as sort of "unofficially patch" ToME until the devs are ready to once again act upon it. Because it will be the core of every non-QoL thing I make from now on, it will be updated frequently. I would even consider making it open-source if there is enough demand for it.
... So, in case you're wondering: What is my "goal" in all of this...? What do I stand to gain, since it's likely NONE of this will even be monetized...?? Well, if I am to be totally honest: I have felt for a long time that Tales of Maj'Eyal was the perfect outlet for "my" form of engineering and creative expression. It has a game engine that is actually perfect for "story-telling" and creative expression, if used the right way... And THAT is something that has made me ENDLESSLY interested in this game. If you ever played OoTS, you might have even seen for yourself: EVERYTHING has a story and is very painstakingly-designed-- Even the very talents you learn and use. They are designed so that you can craft the "character" you want to be, not so much the ultimate min-maxing synergy. It is far more interested in producing an "experience", much less so "another really OP game-winner for Insane difficulty".
The more code-savvy would even notice the add-on ID refers to "Therianthropy". That is because... The original goal of OoTS was to create an add-on that would give unequivocal control to the player's ability to "create" a non-human character. Non-human because vanilla ToME is already full of a host of ways to create humans and humanoids. As such, I have always more-so been interested in fantastical beasts... And certainly still are. The key words here are "creative expression". I value that as a design principle more than anything else.
- Also, I want to take this moment to finally give my thanks and immeasurable gratitude to DarkGod and his team at NetCore Games. I can safely say: I am an "acolyte" to your designs and crafts. I see the incredible potential you have thrusted into our hands, and as one that is part of your community... I don't want to disappoint.
I don't know if you'll ever read this... Maybe someone will forward this love letter to you, or you'll find it a long time later in a garbage heap somewhere... Maybe it will never reach you... But, you know what? That's fine. I have plenty more love to give to you and this game, and could easily write another one.
In short: Don't give up. Believe in yourself. That's what "a little voice" said to me and revived my "addonsian" spirit. And, if you won't, I will, and you can always look forward to coming back and seeing me here. I hate to quote a copy-pasta, but... If there is only one fan of ToME left, it would be me. If ToME has no fans left, I have likely left this mortal coil.
... Ahem! Anyways, that aside, I have personal reasons for pursuing this too. I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking for recognition and notoriety... Yes, maybe even a small modicum of patronage and some monetary gratitude... That is inevitable and goes without saying. I am a human being that eats and needs to pay bills, as much as I let on the facade that I am some sort of floating head with an internet connection in null space. I am ostentatious by nature... But that is also why I beseech you, my audience, to let me bend your ear. You see... I have a story to tell... A very large... And long one... One so much so an epic, I am struggling, by myself, to contain it... To convert it into a playable form within a reasonable amount of time. I am honestly full of fear almost every day that by the time I have this DLC-of-an-add-on completed and done, the ToME community will have already moved on to other things by then.
And so, I guess as my final message in this long post:
... Please, wait for me... I beg of you.
Time in this world is already so merciless... So I just ask that YOU, who are reading this, are not the same.
... Or, to drop this very archaic-sounding speech: Please, just let me cook. You won't regret waiting, I swear.
