changing skill names and descriptions of skills

without changing the core game (going into the localization folder and changing the english file). I just need a definitive yes or no on this so i can move on with the mod, anyone knows?

You can give custom skills name and descriptions but you can't change the names and descriptions of skills already in the main game. You can make clones of those abilities and gives those new names and descriptions

you sure it's that sraightforward? This setup for example:

original spell:

new entry "Projectile_FlareStart"
type "SkillData"
data "SkillType" "Projectile"
data "Ability" "Offensive"
data "Element" "Fire"
data "ActionPoints" "8"

duplicate:

new entry "Projectile_FlareStart2"
type "SkillData"
data "SkillType" "Projectile"
data "Ability" "Offensive"
data "Element" "Fire"
data "ActionPoints" "4"

SkillSet.txt:

new skillset "Class_Wizard"
add skill "Projectile_FlareStart2""
add skill "Target_TargetedOilSurface"
add skill "Projectile_PoisonDartStart"
add skill "Projectile_StaffOfMagus"

Works in so far that i get the duplicate spell available in the game when i'm a wizard, but no changes that i make to stuff like action points in the duplicate spell has any impact on the game, only changes to the regular spell has any effect. I can't remove the original spell either without making the spell unusuable. How do i sort of disconnect the two from each other?

Are you sure that you're getting the duplicate spell then? Because it should be working if you start the game as a Wizard. Try setting the Element to Water and see if it shows up in the Hydrophist school.

I know I have made a duplicate skill or two back when I was messing around with skills, such as a modified Lava Core for my "Painting the World Red" thread, and maybe for my Purchasable Skillbooks mod. If you want the skill to truly replace the other, you will need to have the normal Skillbook point to your new skill as well.

I believe that would work but I highly recommend using the excel files Larian provides to do your skill modding. It lays out everything you need while the txt files will get much more difficult to handle as the number and type of skills added increase.

Originally Posted by Rhidian

Are you sure that you're getting the duplicate spell then? Because it should be working if you start the game as a Wizard. Try setting the Element to Water and see if it shows up in the Hydrophist school.

I know I have made a duplicate skill or two back when I was messing around with skills, such as a modified Lava Core for my "Painting the World Red" thread, and maybe for my Purchasable Skillbooks mod. If you want the skill to truly replace the other, you will need to have the normal Skillbook point to your new skill as well.

Changing the element to water in the duplicated spell gives this message "Changing Equipment dropped level(s) of Hydrosophist. Because of that you unlearned Flare".

So that had an effect. Changing descriptions or action points doesn't however, in that case the game seem to read from the spell that i've duplicated from. weird. Did you manage to change the description and in game name of the skill without starting to mess with the localization folder in the main game?

Originally Posted by Rhidian

Are you sure that you're getting the duplicate spell then? Because it should be working if you start the game as a Wizard. Try setting the Element to Water and see if it shows up in the Hydrophist school.

I know I have made a duplicate skill or two back when I was messing around with skills, such as a modified Lava Core for my "Painting the World Red" thread, and maybe for my Purchasable Skillbooks mod. If you want the skill to truly replace the other, you will need to have the normal Skillbook point to your new skill as well.

ok i'll try that, have you managed to change the desriptions of a duplicated spell in this manner?

Did you make your own Localization entry in TranslatedStringKeys and have your skill point to that? You want to be changing where the stuff like "Skill_Flare_Description" and such point to (you can change the Ref versions as well to have the description there, but that doesn't do anything ingame; it looks like the Ref is just meant for the modder's reference).

There are three Localization files that each skill uses (and an extra Ref version for each):
1) Name of the Skill
2) Description of the Skill
3) That extra text at the bottom of the skill saying what the effect actually is

Edit:
Here's the stats for my modified Rain skill, "Healing Rain"

DisplayName, Description, and StatsDescription (not the Ref versions) are the ones that point to the Localization file to use.

ah ok. What i have to do then essentially is to go into TranslatedStringKeys in the editor, make a new file called English.lsb and then somehow fill out the different fields in some way?

You can name the file whatever you want.

As for the contents, like for my skill above I might have the following:

Key: Rain_Water_DisplayName
Content: Healing Rain

hmm that worked partially but i still have the problem of the spells seemingly overlaping with each other. Changing displayname in the duplicated spell works, changing Description only works if i change the original spell and action points are still only changeable if i change the original spell. Any idea of what i need to change to get them completely separated?

This is what the duplicated spell looks like currently:

Where is your entry that defines the Level of the spell?

All skills have that after the main entry like I do above.

thanks a lot now it works!