Two important questions about DU

Post here if you need help getting started with Daggerfall Unity or just want to clarify a potential bug. Questions about playing or modding classic Daggerfall should be posted to Community.
Post Reply
User avatar
Rubinia
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 8:37 pm

Two important questions about DU

Post by Rubinia »

Hello,

I've recently learned about Daggerfall Utility. In fact, it has much more content than I absolutely need, and I have a bunch of questions to ask. I realise I could find my answers by cautious search, but it's easier to ask people who already know and can tell.

First, I am reluctant towards any upgrades. Classical Daggerfall is so cool to me because it's hard. You probably know well how easy one dies there. It seems in DUtility are some tools for cheating. E.g. shift your Health from 50 to max any time you want, by keyboard command. As I won't need this kind of tools, is it possible to choose not to install them? Generally, can I choose which extensions and tools of "DU" I want to instal and which don't during the installation process?

I know from description that numerous minor bugs were fixed, which is good due to legendary bugginess of Daggerfall game. But it's not specified which. As I know from some fan-made patches to Classical Daggerfall (post version .213) these patches 'solve' something that is not an error, e.g. a patch made the exterior doors of house-the-quest-location permanently open, even during night, as long as the quest is active. They justified that warrior-like characters would have nasty trouble with opening doors and thus quest would be too difficult and frutrating for them. As I know the warriors can kick doors off (Chuck Norris manner) I would argue. And again, I like frustration and I wouldn't like to play like this. In a way I see it an error is when black screen occures and I must reboot. Or when I end up with error number.:D
My question is: does "DU" contain changes in quests (or enviornment-behaviur) in way which makes completing in-game goals easier AND is unable to be turned off?

The third and the last. On my computer as I play Bethesda free Classical Daggerfall version with in-build extention .213, the quality of graphic is poor. I'm curious if installation of "DU" will automatically and drastically improve it, or perhaps not. I ask if you noticed sudden good changes in graphics as a consequence of installing the Utility.

Oh wait. I've one more question: if I uninstall "DU" will the classical Daggerfall version be destroyed or damaged, or harmed?

I would appreciete backup, personal opinions, if you have knowledge and time :D
Hey, do you know anyone who asked: Let's go and watch some cranes, would answer: No, thanks budy, I don't like cranes

User avatar
Interkarma
Posts: 7236
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2015 1:51 am

Re: Two important questions about DU

Post by Interkarma »

Hi Rubinia, welcome to the forums. :)
Rubinia wrote: E.g. shift your Health from 50 to max any time you want, by keyboard command. As I won't need this kind of tools, is it possible to choose not to install them? Generally, can I choose which extensions and tools of "DU" I want to instal and which don't during the installation process?
Do you mean the debug console? This is a pretty standard feature in many games, even later Elder Scrolls games have one. It's primarily there for developers and testers, but can sometimes help end users work around bugs. You don't need to use the console and can turn it off from INI file if you don't wish to use it. The only person you would be cheating is yourself, anyway.
Rubinia wrote: I know from description that numerous minor bugs were fixed, which is good due to legendary bugginess of Daggerfall game. But it's not specified which.
Daggerfall Unity is an entirely new code base built from scratch in a different engine - it doesn't use Daggerfall's code base at all. It's not really practical to compare bugs as Daggerfall Unity will have new, exciting bugs all of its own. :)

My intent is to create an experience as close as possible to classic Daggerfall with some quality of life enhancements (e.g. smoother controls, mouse wheel support, scrollbars, tooltips). No dramatic changes to core gameplay are planned. If something gameplay-related doesn't operate like vanilla it probably hasn't been implemented yet.

To use your example, doors which should be locked during certain hours will eventually operate just like vanilla Daggerfall. The schedules of various buildings have been already been researched and documented in code. However these schedules will not be implemented until later in life-cycle. Check the roadmap to see what's been completed and what's coming up. The roadmap is not exhaustive and can change at any time.

It's also important to understand that Daggerfall Unity is itself moddable. If someone on forums creates something cool, and I think it's cool, that doesn't mean it's going to be a core part of Daggerfall Unity. It just means I think it's cool. Mods will be mods.
Rubinia wrote: The third and the last. On my computer as I play Bethesda free Classical Daggerfall version with in-build extention .213, the quality of graphic is poor. I'm curious if installation of "DU" will automatically and drastically improve it, or perhaps not. I ask if you noticed sudden good changes in graphics as a consequence of installing the Utility.
You will see an automatic improvement to Daggerfall's visuals, even without enabling any optional community mods. But I wouldn't call that improvement drastic. The overall retro aesthetic of Daggerfall is intentionally retained in default setup (no mods) because that is my preferred way to experience the game. I like the crunchy pixels and camera-facing sprites. But I also like smoother controls and UI, so those are probably the things you'll notice the most.

If you haven't seen it already, have a watch through Zeta's let's play of Daggerfall Unity 0.2. He has a few mods enabled but you should still get idea of how Daggerfall Unity looks vs. classic Daggerfall. Especially around draw distance and lighting.


Rubinia wrote: Oh wait. I've one more question: if I uninstall "DU" will the classical Daggerfall version be destroyed or damaged, or harmed?
Daggerfall Unity does not install to your computer and does not modify your Daggerfall installation in any way. When you download Daggerfall Unity from the Live Builds page, just unzip package somewhere (e.g. Desktop) and run executable. You will need to point it to a valid Daggerfall installation so it can read the game files, but that's about it. When you're done testing Daggerfall Unity simply delete the unzipped folder.

For game files, my preference is for the Daggerfall Setup version. The Bethesda installer's file structure is still a bit rooted in the CD days and will require you to manually copy .VID files into your ARENA2 folder for Daggerfall Unity to work.

You can also download a universal copy of the game files from Live Builds page and use that. You don't need to use your copy of Daggerfall at all if you don't want to.

And please read the manual included with download. It covers some common questions around setting up, changing INI settings, locating save data, and a few troubleshooting tips.

I hope that helps! :)

User avatar
Rubinia
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2016 8:37 pm

Re: Two important questions about DU

Post by Rubinia »

Interkarma wrote:Do you mean the debug console?
I'm not quite sure. It was grey pannel simmilar to ShoutBox or other chat, where commands could be typed in very programmer-like style, then something in the game-world changes in a way it was told to. Saw on YouTube channel somewhere.
Interkarma wrote: You don't need to use the console and can turn it off from INI file if you don't wish to use it.

Perfect! It's good to have a choice. As I read through, I see most if not all contains of DUtility are optional. Flexibility, I think that's the word.
I think I understand now. There was an fan-made extension to 'Heroes of might and magic IV' called Equilibrium which worked the same way, having only basis on the core H4 folders but it had separate data and savegames.
Interkarma wrote:Daggerfall Unity will have new, exciting bugs all of its own. :)
I look forward! :D You made my day!

Thank you for fast and first-hand answers. I appreciate. ^^
Hey, do you know anyone who asked: Let's go and watch some cranes, would answer: No, thanks budy, I don't like cranes

Post Reply