Author Topic: Weapon attack ranges. Do they exist?  (Read 449 times)

Legacy_HipMaestro

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Weapon attack ranges. Do they exist?
« on: May 17, 2011, 04:43:56 pm »


               The discussion of using whirlwind has prompted me to ask a question which I have been curious about since I first installed and played NWN, so I am seeking clarification from the community.

What are the relative weapon ranges for each type of weapon... or do they even exist?  Offensive spells have clearly-defined attack ranges so it would seem logical that weapons would also have analogous delimiters.

Specifically, if a PC is surrounded by attackers, is the attack proximity greater for, say, a spear than a dagger, for example?

I suspect there IS such a weapon characteristic used in the game but have never been able locate the values in a 2DA, so if it does exist it may be hardcoded.  These ranges are not easily play-tested but, in certain situations, like when threatened through a confined space like a doorway, hostiles that carry larger weapons seem to be able to attack through obstructing crowds while those with smaller weapons just wait their turn until the proximity changes.  Then again, it could just be an aged imagination gone haywire. ':blink:'
               
               

               
            

Legacy_OldTimeRadio

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Weapon attack ranges. Do they exist?
« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2011, 07:00:29 am »


               I am not an expert on this but I've read it's a combination of baseitem.2da and ranges.2da.  If you look at the column names, you'll see what I mean.  If you find yourself doing lots of searches to find more information, you might want to take a look at the NWN Omnibus.  It'll allow you to locally search through an archive of almost 50,000 messages from the old BioWare forums, all BioWare developer documents (which cover the 2DA files) and a bunch of other stuff- all at once.

Great for finding out answers to questions like yours, quickly.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par OldTimeRadio, 18 mai 2011 - 06:00 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_WebShaman

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Weapon attack ranges. Do they exist?
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2011, 07:22:23 am »


               AFAIK, there are no weapon ranges (one size fits all) (apart from melee vs missile), but attack ranges.

I think there are two attack ranges for melee, probably dependent on size, I believe.  I think that perhaps Whirlwind and Impr. Whirlwind play with these values.

Weapons make no difference to this.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_HipMaestro

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Weapon attack ranges. Do they exist?
« Reply #3 on: May 18, 2011, 01:58:50 pm »


               @OldTimeRadio:  I was wondering how I could have missed that resource until I noticed the posting date.  A very concise compilation that will be very useful, just as you indicated.  Nice linkage, brother!

@Web:  There seem to be 3 ranges listed in the the range.2da but another distinct set of values in the baseitem.2da. It is way beyond my expertise to decipher how these respective values interplay, but it seems odd that if they are indeed implemented in-game that the relative characteristics wouldn't have found their way into the tlk strings associated with each item.  At least the observed action during combat would have had some relevancy.

In any case, guys, I appreciate the illumination on this peripheral topic.

Danke!