Xtended v1.6.0 by Hazard file

Die by the Sword - Xtended v1.6.0

by Hazard (hazard_x@gmx.net)

Official site / forum thread: Forum.hazardx.com

Description

Xtended is a modification of Die by the Sword: Limb from Limb.
It fixes bugs, adds new features and modifies many aspects of the game.

Features:

- fixes several bugs that may lead to crashes on modern PCs
- new Direct3D9 graphics engine including a new lighting system and bumpmapping
- supports all screen resolutions (even widescreen)
- supports Antialiasing and Anisotropic texture filtering
- Fullscreen and window mode
- loads textures in full 32bit quality (16 million colors) instead of just 8bit (256 colors)
- allows you to override all files with new ones without modifying any original gamefiles
- overridden textures support high texture resolutions
- new cool pixel shader effects for lava and water
- a modmanager included in the Launcher
- press F12 in game to save a screenshot to the "screenshots" subfolder
- changes quest menus to be more convenient (load savegame / start new game)
- adds more arena settings
- and many more...


Disclaimer

This software is provided 'as-is', without any explicit or implied warranty. The author(s) cannot be held accountable for any damage that might be caused by this software or any of it's components.


Requirements

Required to run this modification are:

- an installation of Die by the Sword (US-Version)
- the addon Limb from Limb
- Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0 installed on your machine
- Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 x86 Redistributable Package (Yes, install the x86 version on 64bit machines too!)
- the latest DirectX Updates


I've included download links below. If the application crashes or behaves in an unwanted manner then download and install those updates/tools.


- Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86) - DOWNLOAD
- Microsoft .Net Framework 4.0 - DOWNLOAD
- DirectX Web-Updater - DOWNLOAD


Installation (when 'Die by the Sword: Limb from Limb' is already installed)

Just extract the complete Xtended archive into your 'Die by the Sword' installation folder.

Now start "xLauncher.exe".
The Launcher may ask you for the 'Die by the Sword' and 'Limb from Limb' CDs if it detects missing files.


Fresh Installation (when 'Die by the Sword' is not yet installed)

Just extract the complete Xtended archive into a new and empty folder where you also want 'Die by the Sword' to be installed to.

Now start "xLauncher.exe" and click "Install Game from CD".
It will ask you for the 'Die by the Sword' and 'Limb from Limb' CDs.


Starting the game with Xtended enabled

To run the game with Xtended, just start the "xLauncher.exe".

It is NOT recommended to launch DbtS Xtended by starting "xwindie.exe" directly. xLauncher does some additional things that may be required for full functionality.


Mod Installation

Put mods into the "mods" subfolder of your DbtS installation directory. You can afterwards enable and disable the mods easily with the modmanager. Just open the xLauncher and click on "Mods".

Download my Modpack for a whole bunch of mods.


File and Texture override

Parallel to the "data" subfolder a new directory called "moddata" will be crated by the launcher. It is used to override old files with modded ones, without the need to replace the actual file.

Whenever the game loads a new texture, the Xtended engine looks in several locations to find the texture.

For example:
The game wants to load the file "data\lavapit\Lava.bmp". Now it is looking in the following locations (in this order) to find the texture:
- "moddata\lavapit\Lava.png"
- "moddata\lavapit\Lava.tga"
- "moddata\lavapit\Lava.bmp"
- "data\lavapit\Lava.png"
- "data\lavapit\Lava.tga"
- "data\lavapit\Lava.bmp"
- "Lava.png" in "lavapit.atd"
- "Lava.tga" in "lavapit.atd"
- "Lava.bmp" in "lavapit.atd"

It will also look for a "Lava.override" file (same search order as above plus the path "moddata\#override#\Lava.override").
Those override files can contain additional settings. At the moment it is only used to attach the new water and lava shaders to the respective textures.


Deinstallation

Just delete the following files from your DbtS folder:

SlimDX.dll
xLauncher.exe
xLauncher.readme.txt (this file)
xrapi.dll
xrld3d9.dll
xrld3d9_core.dll
xwindie.exe


Changelog

Version 1.6.0
- Added Bumpmapping (It may run very slow on weaker graphics cards! Can be turned off in the xLauncher options.)
Bumpmapping textures get generated when a level is loaded for the first time. Loading a level thus will take a lot longer once.
- Bypassing the 20-FPS limit to some extend by forcing frame rendering after a certain amount of unrendered game ticks.
- The lighting engine can now render 2 concurrent dynamic lights, allowing more fluent light transitions.
- Added "Spectator Mode" to the arena gamemodes, in which all 4 players are controlled by the AI. Just lay back and watch the carnage!
- Arena fights with only AI-controlled players don't end prematurely anymore, but run until the actual win condition is met.
- Pressing any key in ai-only arena matches doesn't instantly exit the battle anymore. Press ESC to exit.
- Compass toggle key is now F2 instead of F5 (to prevent overlap with the quicksave)
- Entering the original game cheats while holding down F1 doesn't work anymore. Use the "cheat" console command instead.
- Added an in-game console that allows certain commands to be entered while playing. Press F1 to open. Supported commands:
exit - Exits the current level and returns to the Quest selection or arena menu.
fps - Toggles the display of FPS (Frames Per Second) in game.
fullscreen - Toggle fullscreen mode (same as Alt+Enter)
shading - Toggles advanced shading (same as F11)
quicksave - Save the game as "Quicksave" (same as F5)
cheat [name] - Trigger one of the original game cheats. For example "cheat mukor" for invulnerability.
show [actors|lights|fixtures|entities|all|none] - displays the name and location of certain objects. "show none" turns it off again.
freeze - Freezes all enemies. The player can still move.
spawn [race][\variant][@colorID] - Spawns an enemy of the given type. [\variant] and [@colorID] are optional.
Examples: "spawn orc" creates a normal orc and "spawn ogre\uberogre@2" spawns an ogre with two clubs and green skin.

Version 1.5.4
- Better blood and particle effects
- PNG texture support
- The Launcher now checks for missing game files once and offers to install them from the game CD.
- Game installation via Launcher:
Extract the Xtended archive into an empty folder and start the Launcher. It will offer to install the game from CD.

Version 1.5.3
- Fixed a bug in the "More Creature Variations" mod that prevented playing as an Ogre with two clubs.
- Fixed Antialiasing not working correctly.
- Options like the Resolution are now stored seperately for Window- and Fullscreen-mode for easy switching.
- Pressing Alt+Enter ingame toggles between Window- and Fullscreen-mode now.

Version 1.5.2
- Hopefully fixed the stencils.atd error that occurs for some people.

Version 1.5.1
- Fixed healthbars and the compass not being rendered correctly.
- Fixed a crash that could occur during the tutorial.
- Minor bugfixes and optimizations

Version 1.5.0
general changes:
- Replaced all rendering calls and world-to-screen calculations of the game with new ones, fixing the inaccurate display of geometry the original game had.
- Added a fancy new dynamic lighting system (toggle on/off in the xLauncher or by pressing F11)
- All textures (including animated ones) are loaded in 32bit quality now.
- Added Quicksave: Press F5 at any time during the quest to save the game.
- New mod system. Mods need to be updated to show up in the mod manager again.

new features for modders:
- Added Filesystem option to the Launcher, allowing you to select how the game should load files. You can for example set it to prefer files on disk over packed ones to make it easier to fiddle with game data.
- Added support for custom gametypes that will show up in the arena options.
- Added support for a new levelinfo.xml level description file, which replaces all other files to describe a level when used (like the .lst, .ter and most .evt files)
- Added new architecture for mod creation and installation. It's much easier to use and doesn't modify any original DbtS data files on mod installation.
- Added support for a new .dmod filetype for easy mod distribution.

Version 1.02:
- Fixed the annoying menu animation game bug. No need to keep the mouse moving anymore.
- Fixed the black screen bug on some graphics cards (mostly older Intel onboard cards)
- xrld3d9.log also logs game errors now
- Improved stability (Alt+Tab out of fullscreen mode does not crash anymore, etc.)

Version 1.01:
- vast performance increase (no noticeable slowdown even with 40 enemies on screen)
- the screenshot is now stored correctly for savegames during a quest
- fixed a game bug that may load the wrong char for LFL savegames
- After selecting the DBTS or LFL quest, only savegames for this quest are shown
- The LFL quest has a "Start New Game" button now
- Added more options to the arena settings (101 points, Win by 10, Unlimited, etc.)

Version 1.00:
- First public release


Known Issues

If the xLauncher tells you that your version of DbtS is unknown, please note the displayed CRC code and report it to this thread.


Infos for Webmasters

Feel free to add this mod as a download to your site as long as you give proper credit. However, as long as it is technically possible, please DON'T upload it to other webservers. Best way would be to link to this thread or at least direct-link my download from your page to assure that people always get the latest version!