Maxing out stats and Doom's mask

[speax]

Hey everyone I finally beat the game and decided to play through again on hard mode with default stats because of mods but before I do I had a few questions:
1) Is there any way to max out stats (points in powers and costumes, as well as strike, body, focus) quickly by cheating (such as editing a file or a password/code) and non cheating?
2) In the Bradygames guide there's a mention of a gear award called Doom's Mask with the description +1 to all Powers, that you get after beating Dom but after doing so on normal difficulty I didn't see any item. Does it exist or was this an error on their part?

[Achilles1986]

1) Is there any way to max out stats?

Of course. Here are a few ways:

A) You can get your characters to maximum level (99) by using the "up, left, up, left, down, right, down, right" sequence in the menu where you choose your team / characters.

B) You could edit their "powers" (found in the corresponding .engb talent file. For example for Thor, it is in data/talents/thor.engb). So this way you can just increase the damage & duration of their powers (usually a _dmg field, _lif respectively), you can decrease the energy consumption (usually a _pwr field), or you could lower the level required to obtain a certain power (_req field).

C) You can edit the abilities that each skin has. You can replace the abilities of each skin, and change their values. And, since you mentioned "body, focus and strike" stats, I will give you an example of how to do everything I've mentioned so far. I felt that Juggernaut was not powerful enough, so I replaced his "Max energy"  ability with a customised "Boost stats" ability. How customised was it? Well, at its maximum level, it provides + 20 Body, Focus and Strike. I also doubled his Defense ability (18 instead of 9).

2) In the Bradygames guide there's a mention of a gear award called Doom's Mask with the description +1 to all Powers, that you get after beating Dom but after doing so on normal difficulty I didn't see any item. Does it exist or was this an error on their part?

I also finished the game on normal difficulty and don't remember seeing that item.. But it does exist, as seen in the items.engb file:

Code Select Expand

   item {
   class = gloves ;
   cost = 50000 ;
   displayname = Doom's Mask ;
   enemy_level = -1 ;
   model = pickups/equip_belt_a ;
   name = DOOM_MASK ;
   quality = legend ;
   spawned_from = DrDoom ;
   type = equipment ;
   unique = true ;
      enhancement {
      description = +^1 to All Talents ;
         powerup {
         life = -1 ;
            affecter {
            attribute = all_talents ;
            level = 1 ;
            }

      enhancement {
      description = +10%% to $HP and $EP ;
         powerup {
         life = -1 ;
            affecter {
            affect_type = scale ;
            attribute = maxhealth ;
            level = 1.1 ;
            }

            affecter {
            affect_type = scale ;
            attribute = maxenergy ;
            level = 1.1 ;
So, it actually does more than just upgrade powers by 1 level. It (apparently) also increases HP and EP by 10%. Another thing, do you see that spawned_from = DrDoom field? Yes, my friend, you could modify that into spawned_from = Scorpion and it would become the first item you get in the game (after defeating Scorpion). You can also modify what it does.. you could add an XP amplifier, body stats.. whatever. For ideas, and specific coding.. just look at the other items.

[speax]

You are the reason people turn to forums for answers. Thank you so much for such a quick and detailed reply. Not only did you answer my question but also another I had just stumbled upon. Thanks a lot.

[speax]

I've come back with a few more! lol Can you change the abilities for each outfit, do you just replace the skin number? How many attributes can you give an item? Can you create one? I'm trying to make a Heart of the Universe with basically every attribute out there but I'm assuming item's can only have a max of 2? Also on a side note I've heard that either Asgard Armor, Dark Uru Hammer, or White Ring of the Mandarin is flawed in that it applies its effect to all powers rather than just electricity (or whatever it is for the ring), but when I've looked at the code it clearly states only electricity. Is there a deeper coding error? These are all just general questions don't have to answer all of them, you have been already more help than anything.

[Achilles1986]

I've come back with a few more! lol Can you change the abilities for each outfit?

Yes. For example I have given the "Focus" ability to characters that didn't have it at all, in any of their skin.

do you just replace the skin number?

Yes. I don't remember exactly, but I think it is enough to change the number of the skin. But just to make sure, you should also change the outfit number. Usually, it goes like this:
The first skin is skin 0, and its abilities are numbered 11, for the first ability, 12 for the second, and 13 for the third.
The second skin is skin 1, and we have 21, 22, 23.
Third skin is skin 2, with abilities numbered 31,32,33.
The fourth is skin 3, with abilities numbered 41,42,43.

Tip: Make backups of original files in case something goes wrong. Trust me, it happens. For example, I had some problems with Apocalypse's skins. The coding in his skins is all messy. They weren't placed in order, the outfits / abilities weren't numbered correctly.. but for some reason, it worked like that.. and when I tried to rewrite them correctly - it didn't work right. So I gave up on "cleaning the mess"..  I got the original file back and I only replaced what I needed, leaving the "order" alone. So you should do the same. Change only what the ability does, but keep the original numbering of both the skin and the outfit.

How many attributes can you give an item? I'm trying to make a Heart of the Universe with basically every attribute out there but I'm assuming item's can only have a max of 2?

I do not know the exact number of maximum attributes (they are actually called "enhancements", as seen in the coding) you can give to an item.. but I do know you can have more than two. At least that's what another user reported somewhere in the forum.. from what I recall, he gave an item at least 3-4 attributes. I haven't tried it, and I don't think I ever will.. I find 2-3 attributes to be enough for one item.
Actually, I think I found the answer to this question: the number of enhancements that items can have seems to be set using this code:

Code Select Expand

      affecter_entry {
      affecter = talent ;
      max_value = 4 ;
      min_value = 1 ;
      }

I believe that "4" in there was actually "3" in the original file, which I moddified. So now, some of my items have 4 enhancements. One of them even has 5 "effects", as I will explain further:
And even if there was a limit to the number of "enhancements" that each item can have, you can at least double that by giving each enhancement 2 "effects", as seen in Doom's Mask.. it gives 2 "attributes". The first one upgrades powers by 1 level, and the second boosts both HP and EP. This is done with the aid of the "affecter" field - which, obviously, states what gets "affected":

      enhancement {
      description = +10%% to $HP and $EP ;
         powerup {
         life = -1 ;
            affecter {
            affect_type = scale ;
            attribute = maxhealth ;
            level = 1.1 ;
            }

            affecter {
            affect_type = scale ;
            attribute = maxenergy ;
            level = 1.1 ;
            }

Also on a side note I've heard that either Asgard Armor, Dark Uru Hammer, or White Ring of the Mandarin is flawed in that it applies its effect to all powers rather than just electricity (or whatever it is for the ring), but when I've looked at the code it clearly states only electricity. Is there a deeper coding error?

I don't know of such an error.. altough I must admit I haven't even "tested" it, meaning that I never played with the "see damage" option activated. And looking at the code.. I don't see an error:
White Ring of Mandarin has "scope_damage = dmg_energy".. which should be correct.
Dark Uru Hammer has "scope_damage = dmg_electricity" .. should be right.
Asgard Armor also has "scope_damage = dmg_electricity"..

Perhaps you misunderstood. There is a coding error in their coding, but it's not the way you explained it. The problem is that the "extra damage" provided by these items isn't there because of a typing error, located one row above the fields I previously specified. Here it is:

scpope {
scope_damage = dmg_electricity ;

It's that "scpope". There's an extra "p" in there... and that makes the whole item not function properly: it does not apply the extra damage to your "electricity" powers. So the first thing you should do is to fix that. Use the "find" option (Ctrl+F) and correct it wherever you see it. After that, activate the "see damage" option, and test out your other theory. (wether the item adds damage to all powers, or only to electricity ones)

Can you create one? (an item)

It depends.. what exactly do you mean by this. If you want to ADD an item.. I don't know... maybe there is a limit of items specified somewhere else in the game files, maybe there isn't. But you should have no problems REPLACING an existing item.. after all, what use do you have for "Scorpion's tail", or better yet - for "Loki's Gift" (which reduces your output damage and increases the damage you receive) ?