A different concept to try

[Rich]

Bliss is a great game, and I love all the customization you can do with the action editor.

I used the basic action file with the game and revamped the play to add new twists.
First I added drinking to the game early on. The pace gives you time to sip on some drinks (you will be directed to do so) before the action heats up.
During this time you also will be able to earn substantially more money, but can use it later.
I have modified alot of the later actions to give you an option to pay a fee to not perform an act, or to have to pay a fee for a service. Money will now have some importance later on.
I have also added alot of new commands.
If you want to try this out, there are a few things you should do when starting:
1. When selecting your action files, only select the drinkingandloving action file, unselect the basic file and any add ons or others you created.
2. Set the custom categories in your profiles as follows
have a drink - min 1 max 6
make a choice - min 8 max 9
making money - big bucks - min 7 max 9
making money- small buck - min 1 max 3

Also start with level 1 ice for both players and set the game to very slow (this gives you time to drink and earn money before the game heats up)

Let me know what you think. I may post some other commands I added. I had to take some out so the file would be small enough for the site to let me upload

[Don]

Rich,

Thanks for your contribution. It will be interesting to hear if people enjoy it.

One technical comment. It is not generally a good idea to play without the BasicActions file. It is better to use your file to replace or block actions in the BasicActions file.

1)To replace an action in the BasicActions file just create a new action with the same name.
2)If you want to block an action from playing but you don't have a replacement action, just create a blank action with the same name and make sure it is not assigned to any situations.

This way, actions from the BasicActions file that are not overridden by your file will still play. This ensures that there will always be an action for every situation and you won't come up with the error message. It also makes your custom action file usable with future versions of the game that will include situations not covered by your custom actiion file.

Thanks,

Don

[Rich]

Don,

Thanks for you comments.

So if I have a custom action file with a duplicate action name, does it always use the custom file first?

Also if I understand correctly, if I leave a duplicate action in both the basic and the custom, and the custom action is blank, the game will always completely skip that action entirely?

I have also noticed that it is possible to have the same action name in the same file, how does the game handle that situation?

One last question:
Is it possible in the action editor to combine two action files into one file with a different name? I ask because I can fix this to run with the basic action file pretty easily if I can merge it with the basic and then just blank out what I don't want.

I have tried this out several times and have not had any problem running out of commands or addressing situations, but as you said it will need to be updated when new features are added to the game.

Thanks for you help.

[Don]

Rich,

To answer your questions.

So if I have a custom action file with a duplicate action name, does it always use the custom file first?

Every action file has a priority assigned to it. You set this by Selecting File | Edit Description (or press F9) in the action Editor. The way actions override each other depends on the priority of the file they are in. An action in a priority 1 file will override an action by the same name in a level 0 file. If there were a third action file with priority 2, then it's action would override the one in the Priority 1 file.

Also if I understand correctly, if I leave a duplicate action in both the basic and the custom, and the custom action is blank, the game will always completely skip that action entirely?

If you just want to eliminate an action, you can create an action by the same name in a higher priority file. Then make sure that none of the situations are checked on your new action. That way the action in the base file will be overridden by the action in the custom file, and the one in the custom file will never be played. It doesn't matter so much that it is blank, just that no situations are checked.

I have also noticed that it is possible to have the same action name in the same file, how does the game handle that situation?

As of version 1.5, the Action Editor's Validator (which you should always run before you save a file) will reject any file with duplicate action names. However, if you do leave duplicate names in place they will both be used because they will be the same priority. Similarly, if you have two files with the same priority and each of them has an action named "Hugs", than both versions of "Hugs" will be used. Overriding only takes place if there is a difference of priority. In theory, a level 8 action named "Hugs" could block 50 level 1 actions that were all named "Hugs".

Is it possible in the action editor to combine two action files into one file with a different name? I ask because I can fix this to run with the basic action file pretty easily if I can merge it with the basic and then just blank out what I don't want.

Yes, to combine two files, open the first one, then choose File | Append File from the menu. That will add the new file to the end of the existing one.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks,

Don

[tecbuilder]

The only problem I see from a user standpoint is that there is no way to check if the person has sufficient funds to decline. I read the comment about starting out cold, but if you decline enough you will still go negative. Otherwise, I really like the decline option.

[jdcooper]

I agree, for some reason the game will let you go negative which defeats the point of having money once you build all the properties.

Jeremy

[tecbuilder]

I created a 'blocked' file for just these types of situations, i.e. I don't want an action to start. I use multiple files, but one single block file. Works very well.

tec