Thirst v1.8.3 file

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##Thirst, a Dragon Age: Origins mod by Eric Schwarz##
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=INTRODUCTION=

Thirst is a Dragon Age module focused on choice and consequence. It is a stand-alone campaign designed around non-canon story elements, but integrated into the existing Dragon Age lore.

Set in the trade city of Arceris, ruled by the mysterious Council of Six and tyrannized by the criminal mastermind Bloodblade, you play a recent arrival to the city who soon finds him or herself trapped there as an embargo comes into effect. Using your unique skills and abilities, you will uncover a conspiracy at the heart of the city and decide its fate!

This release candidate contains the full campaign, but may have bugs.  For tester convenience, a Potion of Cheats has been added to this version - using it during normal gameplay is not recommended.

=FEATURES=

- A whole city to explore! Over 50 new areas await you within the city of Arceris, from the bustling Market District, to the fetid Arceris Slums.

- Thirst's story moves forward as you help characters in the world solve their problems, your connections growing as you move up the ranks of its society.  Optional and main quests interact to open up new opportunities... or close them off.

- New character backgrounds! If you ever felt that Dragon Age's choices in backgrounds were limiting, Thirst gives you the option to pick up the sword again as a Retired Soldier, explore civilization for the first time as a Survivalist, or use deception and subterfuge as a Swindler, each with their own dialogue options and starting stats.

- Between 10-20 hours of gameplay! Thirst is both large and highly replayable, with multiple solutions to every problem and decisions that affect how the story plays out.

=DISCLAIMER=

This version of Thirst is provided as-is.  The author is not liable or responsible for any damage Thrist may make to your game installation or computer.  Please back up any important files (characters, mods, saves etc.) before installing.

=INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS=

NOTE: If you have a previous version of Thirst installed (beta, or demo), completely DELETE the Documents\BioWare\Dragon Age\Addins\Thirst folder before installing the release candidate.

1) Navigate to your Dragon Age install directory (by default "C:\Program Files\Dragon Age")

2) Locate "daupdater.exe" in the "bin_ship" directory

3) Run "daupdater.exe", press "SELECT DAZIPs" and select Thirst_1.8.3_Final.dazip

4) Click "Install Selected" and wait for the program to finish installing

5) Run Dragon Age: Origins and click the "Other Campaigns" option

6) Select "Thirst" and play!

Alternately, you can manually unzip Thirst to your Documents\BioWare\Dragon Age\ folder using a program like 7zip.

=A NOTE ON MODS=

Thirst is a huge add-on, and due to the way the Dragon Age engine handles mods and add-ons, there is a good chance that other mods you have installed will conflict with it, leading to bugs and glitches I am not accountable for.  For this reason I highly recommend you uninstall ALL other mods while playing Thirst.  Saving Thirst with mods installed, disabling the mods and trying to load your save will also likely break things.  You have been warned! 

=TROUBLESHOOTING & FAQ=

Q: Thirst doesn't load, or crashes!
A: Thirst was creating using Dragon Age: Origins with the 1.04 and 1.05 patches, as well as the Ultimate Edition.  I cannot guarantee Thirst will work on your specific configuration, especially if you are running the 1.03 patch or earlier.  I do not know of any conflicts with official DLC at this time.

Q: Thirst won't show up in the Other Campaigns menu!
A: To verify the files are in their right places, navigate to "Documents\BioWare\Dragon Age\AddIns" and make sure a directly called "Thirst" is present. If it isn't, you can attempt to manually install Thirst by using a third-party tool such as 7zip or WinZip to open the Thirst.dazip file, then place the "Thirst" folder in your "Documents\BioWare\Dragon Age\AddIns" folder.

Q: What does my character's background do?
A: Your background in Thirst will influence a number of things: certain dialogue options you have available, your starting stat modifiers, and the equipment you begin the game with.  The Survivalist background also has the unique ability to find hidden caches in levels throughout the game.

Q: My quest won't proceed properly!
A: There are no quest compasses or helpers in Thirst - you will need to use your journal and pay attention to the story and characters, plus use a little intuition, to proceed.  Some quest options are only open to specific races, classes, or if you have the correct skill levels, and previous choices you made may prevent you from completing other quests as well.

If you're certain you've identified a bug in a quest, you may need to reload an earlier save and try something different.  Please consider sending an email to sear@cmail.nu, or posting a comment on Thirst's Dragon Age Nexus page, so that the mod's author can address the problem.

Q: This combat encounter is too hard!</emp>
A: Thirst is designed to offer a fair challenge on the normal game difficulty setting, especially to those who have played older CRPGs.  Knowledge of good party building, strategy and tactics, and the game mechanics is essential to win the hardest fights.  Note that many tough battles are optional, or can be made easier through non-combat means.  You will need to be frugal with your talent, skill and attribute points; don't expect to make a character or party that is good at doing everything, or can slaughter everyone without difficulty.

Q: Are there romances in Thirst?  Will you consider adding them?</emp>
A: No and no.

Q: Something broke or doesn't work!
A: Disable all installed mods other than Thirst, either ones placed in your override folder or in the game's Downloadable Content menu (preferably both).  There is a good chance problems are caused by mods and are not part of Thirst itself.

Mods definitely known to cause problems: Xatamos Lock Bash, Awakening in OC, Vigilance/Starfang fix, and anything which changes: core classes, core skills, core characters, core scripts of any kind.  For best results, deactivate all mods and overrides before playing Thirst.

=VERSION HISTORY=

Patch 1.8.3:

- Added extra safeguards to make certain a few quests properly update (due to glitchy saves or plot variables being set unexpectedly before the quest begins)
- Fixed door not correctly opening in Arceris Crypt
- Reworked the two quests originating in the Arceris Chantry so they make a bit more sense

Patch 1.8.2:

- Changed journal entry when Runt is killed to be more generic (previously said player killed him, but the same entry could also show if Runt was killed by an enemy)
- Fixed a rare combination of ending slides that could result in the ending slideshow not fully playing

Patch 1.8.1:

- Added additional dialogue checks to the Wizard Sanctum's Undead Guardian, to prevent rare situations where he might attack you in incorrect circumstances
- Added a check when pickpocketing the cell key from the City Dungeon Warden to prevent Inside Man quest from updating, if the player isn't currently on the Inside Man quest

Patch 1.8:

- Rewrote follower hiring script; now followers will start at level 1 with no pre-set attributes or other characteristics, and will automatically be given enough XP to reach the player's level so all points can be spent manually (requires new game)
- Fixed a cosmetic issue with three guards in the Arceris Outskirts being teleported up on top of a wagon after the Outskirts cutscene played (pathfinding/collision bug)
- Fixed misaligned minimap in the Slums Hovel
- Tweaked pickpocket loot for a number of NPCs
- Cleaned up scripts to remove any NPCs who were supposed to leave an area but did not properly leave (such as when the player goes to a different area and returns before the NPC has finished leaving)
- Fixed a few waypoint names

Patch 1.7:

- Fixed another regression that was causing followers to not gain experience points
- Added a dialogue option with party members to have them train to roughly the player's level, if the player picks up a follower late in the game and the follower is under-leveled (or is affected by the above bug)
- Stopped endgame conversation with Errol in Arceris Sewers from re-occurring if revisiting the Sewers, will now only occur once

Patch 1.6:

- Fixed an extremely unfortunate regression with Mildrar's quest line caused in Patch 4 that made Mildrar's quest line begin at the wrong point (must reload a save from before speaking to Mildrar for the first time; try re-entering Mildrar's shop if you still get the error)
- Fixed issues opening stores with several merchants (caused by patch 4 changes)

Patch 1.5:

- Fixed bug with Cooking the Books quest that made it impossible to finish (must reload pre-quest save)
- Fixed dialogue issue with Virgil regarding the Mages Collective
- Fixed dialogue issues with Apprehension quest (lore compliance/consistency)
- Other small misc. dialogue fixes

Patch 1.4:

- Fixed a bug where Justine sometimes would not unlock the Archives door for the player
- When intimidating Ivan's guards, it's no longer possible to speak to them again and replay the same conversation
- Tweaked dialogue flow for merchants when opening their stores

Patch 1.3:

- Fixed a bug with a door not appearing correctly in Fourth Scepter Hall
- Fixed a small dialogue bug with the dwarven moonshiner (reload pre-conversation save)
- Fixed On the Case quest not progressing correctly (must reload an earlier save)

Patch 1.2:

- Fixes leftover test-related items appearing when entering the Arceris Chantry
- Fixed an incorrectly named map marker in the Arceris Outskirts (new game required)

Patch 1.1:

- Fixes a rare but game-breaking dialogue bug preventing Archon Valerius' conversation from completing successfully if Errol was not in the party at the time (reload pre-conversation save)

=CREDITS=

Thirst, a Dragon Age: Origins mod, was developed over 2+ years between 2011 and 2013.

Level & game design, writing & story, scenarios, and pretty much everything else by Eric Schwarz (searanox/sear/sea).  Check out his blog at http://www.criticalmissive.blogspot.ca/ and http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EricSchwarz/892300/

Arceris city map created by Felipepepe.

Beta testing and feedback:

SunJammer
Apolyon6k
Shadenaut
parlosinio
34scell
emilymarie0201
ladyluck278
hiver

Uses CharGenFixes v1.0 by FollowTheGourd:
http://social.bioware.com/project/4695/

Uses tmp7704's Mesh Lightmap Fixes:
http://social.bioware.com/project/2637/

All original Dragon Age: Origins content copyright BioWare & Electronic Arts.