Dishonored Ultimate Difficulty Mod

[lammiwonks]

any news on the mod?

[calmflow]

Not exactly the thread for this, but since this is somewhat recent I'll ask here:

I intended to play this game over again, opting for a nonlethal approach this time, as I had just done a nonlethal playthrough of Deus Ex and it was a lot of fun. However, it just seems like the game mechanics are not really set up for this. Maybe I haven't toyed with it enough, but let me present to you a situation:

In the very first mission, where you must scatter the thugs knocking on Grannys door, how do you take them all out in a nonlethal way without being seen? The only luck I've had has been with a clumsy combination of blink/choking one of them and then sleep darting the other. I tried using the sleep dart first and then choking the second, but the third always notices. That wouldn't be so big of a deal except that my option from there is pretty much blink away and wait for him to forget me. I can see how this might get easier once I have the Slow Time skill and the Possess skill, should I just wing it until I do, or is there a mod that replaces the Sword with a blackjack or something...

I exited via the upstairs balcony and navigated my way across the way until i was crouched behind the corrugated iron 'wall' somewhat behind them, from there I sleep darted each of them in turn, they notice their compatriots falling asleep but it wont bust your ghost achievement, however if you play proper Ghost (no alerts), then you'll need to find another way.

Also, the whole game can be completed non lethally, I've done it twice, one with magic, the second time was no magic (blink, runes or bone charms) + Ultimate Difficulty Mod.
(blink was required twice, once when ascending the water lock in return to the tower and the other was when escaping from the cell the whalers keep you in)

[jdv]

For those wondering:

Work on the mod is alive but progressing slowly with other obligations looming. I have been tweaking the current settings to feel right, but have had trouble changing the price of items in the shops / spells.

I just now figured out how to change the price of the "abilities": power jump, dark vision, etc. I think I'll be able to work out the same thing for the magic powers. Then, I will make it such that you can only afford 3 powers fully upgraded assuming you obtain all the runes in the game, forcing specialization.

Equally important will be changing the mana-regen settings, but I can't figure that one out yet.

I've also implemented some changes to how the sleep darts work :sleep serum now takes some time to work it's way up into the brain, so the only way to use them without raising the alarm is to shoot isolated guards, and immediately hide. The guard will look around for the cause of the pain, but won't raise an alarm if he does not see you.

For those eager to help:

1) Look through the .ini files in the directory this mod is installed in. See what minor changes do to the gameplay and post recommended changes here.

2) (Advanced) Go here: http://www.gildor.org/downloads

Decompress.exe and Unreal Explorer can be used to view the internals of 'DishonoredGame.upk', found in {installDir}/DishonoredGame/CookedPCConsole

Inside this file is (almost) all of the settings tweaked by the .ini files, as well as a plethroa of new ones directly related to the goals I cannot seem to achieve. For example, blink mana costs and blink distance per level. However, these files are not directly moddable as far as I know, so I need to figure out how to tweak these settings from the .ini files as I have for everything else. If you are motivated PLEASE help me with this. It will befit the community greatly

Cheers, Joseph

[Mr.Bueno]

This is an excellent discovery, sir. I wasn't able to open your .rar file (because I don't have WinZip and I can't use its evaluation version) so I started to make tweaks into .ini files myself. I have made a few discoveries that might be of use to add into your mod:

1. Pistol Effectiveness

In your videos where you introduce Ultimate Difficulty Mod, you seem to rely much on using the pistol (as anyone would who plays on High Chaos and doesn't want to be stealthy). In my opinion, the upgraded pistol with short-range spread damage is quite overpowered. I've been able to remove the short-range spread damage from the upgraded pistol, and it changes the combat quite much:

You have to actually aim towards opponents. Shots that miss won't do damage, or even more importantly, won't stagger opponents. Make every shot count, as precision is needed to hit. You won't be able to rush into a group of enemies, fire four shots wildly before (auto-)reloading and wait for smoe to clear and see that opponents are either dead, knocked down or staggered. Of course, bullets that hit stagger. This makes the combat harder, and it can be made even harder by reducing the time which is required for opponents to aim. It makes sense that you can't stand on open against three Watch Officers who are aiming at you.

2. Modifying Powers

As you have already found out, passive Powers are easily modified. My suggestions on them are that their Rune costs should be raised by one for each level. As Vitality Level 2 would cost 4 Runes, you could increase the health regeneration it gives, because in my opinion, the health regeneration it gives is not quite useful in itself.

Agility Level 2 could be modified to make player more agile rather than increase overall speed. I've been able to make Agility Level 2 to allow player to sprint in sideways and backwards. This improves at least ability to dodge projectiles as you can strafe faster facing towards your opponents.

There are settings for Bent Time as well which seem to slow down actions i.e. things pulled from Bend Time move slower, and therefore making Bend Time less effective.

Modified Windblast, however, is my favorite. By default, Windblast does damage as it hits opponents i.e. opponents can be killed before they hit the walls or drop down from height. I've been able to remove aforementioned initial damage and add some height which oppnonents are thrown rather than the distance they are thrown.

This make Windblast more interesting to use, as it will be easier to throw opponents down from heights. This also makes Windblast more non-lethal to use, as you could throw opponents in open area without killing them. Opponents do die, of course, if they hit walls hard enough or drop down from high enough. This is made easier to do, and so Windblast is made more of a non-lethal Power.

The greatest improvement that could be done is what you have already mentioned: Reduce Blink distance and Mana regeneration. I hope that my discoveries could be of use to you.

[june gloom]

Just get 7zip. Problem solved.

[jdv]

This is an excellent discovery, sir. I wasn't able to open your .rar file (because I don't have WinZip and I can't use its evaluation version) so I started to make tweaks into .ini files myself. I have made a few discoveries that might be of use to add into your mod...

Hello there,

First, try http://www.7-zip.org/ or http://www.rarlab.com/

Second, would it be at all possible for you to post the exact settings changed to achieve the above results, in a format similar to this?


Camera.ini

[DishonoredGame.DishonoredCamera_Lean]
m_fMaxLeanAngle=15 --> 4
m_fMaxLeanAngle_Crouched=15 --> 4
m_fMaxLeanSoftenAngle= 4 --> 2
m_fMaxLeanSoftenSpeed= 4 --> 2

If all of those things you mentioned are true, I will implement them right away, and after testing I will release version 0.03 with my own tweaks as well. You will of course be credited.

Thanks!

[Mr.Bueno]

Yes, of course. So here are the exact changes with some comments:

In DishonoredNPC

[DishonoredGame.StateNPCMasterThrown]

m_fMinMomentum2DMagnitude=800.0 -----> 0.000
m_fMinMomentum2DMagnitudeWhenStunned=3000.0 -----> 0.000
m_fMinMomentumZ=0.0 -----> 1000.000
m_fMinMomentumZWhenStunned=1500.0 -----> 2000.000

These tweaks are for Windblast. It throws opponents higher in the air rather than further. Pistol shots won't throw opponents anymore, so if they would, the opponents would be thrown vertically upwards. With explosions (e.g. grenades and whale oil tanks) I haven't seen this happen.

In DishonoredPlayer

[DishonoredGame.DishonoredPowersComponent]

m_Powers=(m_Name="Vitality",m_eUISelection=eDisUISelectionType_Vitality,m_Levels=((m_RuneCost=0,m_Mo difiers=),(m_RuneCost=2,m_Modifiers=((m_AttributeName="Attribute_HealthMax",m_ModType=eDisAttributeM odifierType_AddVal,m_fModValue=20.000000))),(m_RuneCost=4,m_Modifiers=((m_AttributeName="Attribute_H ealthMax",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_AddVal,m_fModValue=20.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_HealthRegenLimit",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_AddVal,m_fModValue =20.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_HealthRegenInitialDelay",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_SetVal,m_fM odValue=5.000000)))),m_CurrentLevel=-1)

A rather long line for modifying Vitality Power, but important bits are highlighted. These need experimenting though. Both Attribute_HealthRegenLimit and Attribute_HealthRegenInitialDelay are quite self-explanatory. They are on their default values. Rune costs are as I would wish them to be, but they're modifiable, as you know.

So Attribute_HealthRegenLimit is 20.000000 by default. I've tried it with 100.000000 which consists the entire health gauge. Value 50.000000, however, doesn't seem to change anything. And with Attribute_HealthRegenInitialDelay you can choose after which interval the regeneration starts.

As I said, these need experimenting.

This is going to be a long post, so I'll post more when I have more time. You can experiment with the Vitality in meantime

[Mr.Bueno]

And continuing my last post...

[DishonoredGame.DishonoredPowersComponent]

m_Powers=(m_Name="Celerity",m_eUISelection=eDisUISelectionType_Celerity,m_Levels=((m_RuneCost=0,m_Mo difiers=),(m_RuneCost=3,m_Modifiers=((m_AttributeName="Attribute_JumpZ_PowerJump",m_ModType=eDisAttr ibuteModifierType_AddVal,m_fModValue=1300.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_PowerJumpFullStop_PROT OTYPE",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_SetVal,m_fModValue=1000.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribu te_FullStop_ExtraStopVel_PROTOTYPE",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_SetVal,m_fModValue=500.00000 0),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_HeldPowerJumpButtonTime_PROTOTYPE",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierTyp e_SetVal,m_fModValue=0.400000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_HeldPowerJumpAccel_PROTOTYPE",m_ModType=e DisAttributeModifierType_SetVal,m_fModValue=1800.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_MaxSpeedBeforeF allingDamage",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_SetVal,m_fModValue=2550.000000),(m_AttributeName=" Attribute_MaxSpeedBeforeFallingDeath",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_SetVal,m_fModValue=3500.00 0000))),(m_RuneCost=4,m_Modifiers=((m_AttributeName="Attribute_JumpZ_PowerJump",m_ModType=eDisAttrib uteModifierType_AddVal,m_fModValue=1300.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_PowerJumpFullStop_PROTOT YPE",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_AddVal,m_fModValue=1500.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute _FullStop_ExtraStopVel_PROTOTYPE",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_AddVal,m_fModValue=500.000000) ,(m_AttributeName="Attribute_HeldPowerJumpButtonTime_PROTOTYPE",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_ SetVal,m_fModValue=0.400000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_HeldPowerJumpAccel_PROTOTYPE",m_ModType=eDi sAttributeModifierType_SetVal,m_fModValue=3000.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_WaterSpeed",m_Mod Type=eDisAttributeModifierType_AddBasePercent,m_fModValue=10.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_Gro undSpeedSprint",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_AddBasePercent,m_fModValue=30.000000),(m_Attribu teName="Attribute_LandAnimRate",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_AddBasePercent,m_fModValue=50.00 0000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_MantleAnimRate",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_AddBasePercent ,m_fModValue=50.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_GroundStrafeMultiplierSprint",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_SetVal ,m_fModValue=0.500000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_GroundBackwardMultiplierSprint",m_ModType=eDisAtt ributeModifierType_SetVal,m_fModValue=0.400000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_MaxSpeedBeforeFallingDamage",m_ModType=eDisAttributeModifierType_SetVal, m_fModValue=2550.000000),(m_AttributeName="Attribute_MaxSpeedBeforeFallingDeath",m_ModType=eDisAttri buteModifierType_SetVal,m_fModValue=3500.000000)))),m_CurrentLevel=-1)

This is Agility, named as Celerity here or Power Jump as you've referred it. Important bits are highlighted again. Attribute_GroundStrafeMultiplierSprint is sideways movement while sprinting, and Attribute_GroundBackwardMultiplierSprint is for backwards movement while sprinting, respectively. I doubled their values, and they may need balancing to make Agility Level 2 worth 4 Runes as I've proposed it. Rune costs are already set to 3 and 4.


In DishonoredPower

[DishonoredGame.DishonoredActivePowerComponent_BendTime]

m_fPostEffectCooldownTime=2.000000 ----> 5000.000000
m_fPostEffectWarmupTime=2.000000 ----> 5000.000000
m_fPullFromBendTimeDuration=0.500000 ----> 10000.000000

Not sure what all of them do exactly, but I've noticed a difference with tweaked values.

And now, to business.


In DishonoredWeapon


[DishonoredGame.DishonoredDamageType_BulletBlast]

m_bDisableHitReaction=True } These two lines are added,as they are critical
m_bCannotKillNPC=True }
m_bCanThrow=True ----> False
m_bCausesBleeding=True
m_bExplodesGrenades=False
m_bExplodesWhiskeyBottles=False
m_bForceThrowOnDeath=True ----> False
m_bInstaDeath_NonPlayerToNPC=True ----> False
m_bSeverLimbsUponDeath=False
m_ExpectedHitReaction=eDisPawnHitReactionType_Strong ----> None

[DishonoredGame.DishonoredDamageType_Bullet]

m_bCanThrow=True ----> False
m_bCausesBleeding=True
m_bExplodesGrenades=True
m_bExplodesWhiskeyBottles=True
m_bForceThrowOnDeath=True ----> False
m_bInstaDeath_NonPlayerToNPC=True ----> False
m_bSeverLimbsUponDeath=True
m_ExpectedHitReaction=eDisPawnHitReactionType_Knockdown ----> None
m_SeverLimbsUponDeathParams=(m_fRequiredExtraDamage=0.000000,m_fChanceOfTriggering=0.300000,m_fRadiu sAroundImpact=20.000000,m_fChanceOfDestroying=0.700000,m_bIncludeNearestBone=False,m_bExcludeChestBo ne=True,m_bExcludeHeadBone=False,m_bAllowChestBone_BloodThirsty_Lvl1=False,m_bAllowChestBone_BloodTh irsty_Lvl2=True)

[DishonoredGame.DishonoredDamageType_BulletMedium]

m_bCanThrow=True ----> False
m_bCausesBleeding=True
m_bExplodesGrenades=True
m_bExplodesWhiskeyBottles=True
m_bForceThrowOnDeath=True ----> False
m_bInstaDeath_NonPlayerToNPC=True ----> False
m_bSeverLimbsUponDeath=True
m_ExpectedHitReaction=eDisPawnHitReactionType_Projectile ----> None
m_SeverLimbsUponDeathParams=(m_fRequiredExtraDamage=0.000000,m_fChanceOfTriggering=0.300000,m_fRadiu sAroundImpact=20.000000,m_fChanceOfDestroying=0.700000,m_bIncludeNearestBone=False,m_bExcludeChestBo ne=True,m_bExcludeHeadBone=False,m_bAllowChestBone_BloodThirsty_Lvl1=False,m_bAllowChestBone_BloodTh irsty_Lvl2=True)

[DishonoredGame.DishonoredDamageType_BulletFar]

m_bCanThrow=True ----> False
m_bCausesBleeding=True
m_bExplodesGrenades=True
m_bExplodesWhiskeyBottles=True
m_bForceThrowOnDeath=False
m_bSeverLimbsUponDeath=True
m_ExpectedHitReaction=eDisPawnHitReactionType_Weak ----> None
m_SeverLimbsUponDeathParams=(m_fRequiredExtraDamage=0.0,m_fChanceOfTriggering=0.200000,m_fRadiusArou ndImpact=20.000000,m_bIncludeNearestBone=False,m_bExcludeChestBone=True)

Above are the changes for pistol. BulletBlast refers to short-range spread damage, and two important lines are added that Disable Hit Reaction and Cannot Kill NPC. The former removes staggering effect from bullets that don't hit, and latter removes damage altogether. I've tested that by possessing an opponent hit by short-range spread damage. No damage occurred.

The only case where modified BulletBlast has affected is against Weepers. They get knocked down, but I didn't test if they took any damage.

As BulletBlast or short-range spread damage is made almost useless, it can be considered as a purchase to unlock pistol upgrades.

From all Bullet Hit Types I've removed their ability to throw opponents, as they would fly almost vertically upwards which is reserved for Windblast. As the Hit Reactions are set to None (Most of the highlighted parts), opponents still stagger if they are hit. Hit Reaction Strong should be experimented, because its the only one that can be modified from DishonoredNPC, if I remember it right.

And, friendly fire by opponents won't kill their allies immediately, as noted in InstaDeath_NonPlayerToNPC.

Finally, I have the modified Windblast damage:

[DishonoredGame.DisDamageType_WindBlast]

m_bCannotKillNPC=True This line is added

This should remove the damage caused by initial hit of Windblast, as it did with short-range spread damage. I haven't tested it with possession though. At least the initial damage cannot kill, and opponents have seemed to survive a few Windblasts in open areas before dying.


There, I think that was all. I hope that these improvements can be used to enhance Dishonored playing experience as they end up to your mod

[jdv]

And continuing my last post...

Wow. Thank you SO much for this contribution! This is an enormous amount of very creative work that I think will be very fun.

I will set about testing these changes immediately. I am apprehensive about some of the changes, namely changing the blow-back feature of windblast/pistol (since it is just so damn cool to send a group of enemies flying over the edge), and my preferences is for this mod to change the core gameplay mechanics as little as possible while making the mod more difficult, but now that we have all of this publically documented, it is up for the community to decide. We can always have multiple versions of the difficulty mod .

Cheers, and keep the recommendations coming!

Joseph

[jdv]

Quick update: v0.03 is released. I think it is overall a better experience than before.

1) Some overpowered weapons (gun + windblast) have been toned down a bit.
2) I've tweaked the lean to feel better.
3) Guards swarm you in even greater numbers near the end of the game
4) Abilities now all cost 6 runes for lvl 1, 4 runes for lvl 2 upgrade. Therefore most playthroughs you will need to pick only one of them, if any.
--> My hope is to do this with every spell, in which case I will lower the cost of the abilities. My aim is to force specialization.
5) Sleep darts now take 10 seconds (ish) to work on everyone, including unaware enemies, until you buy the combat sleep-dart upgrade. Stealth is still possible using them, because they won't raise an alarm unless they actually see you. They will look for the source of the sting, though, so use them carefully.

I've likely forgotten some changes, but they are all documented in mod_changelog.txt. Enjoy!

[soundcreepy]

First of all, thank you for this mod, this has revived Dishonored for me. One main question though. You mention playing vanilla first because there could be issues with some of the scripted events. How likely is that to happen? I have tried playing Dishonored vanilla and I almost put myself to sleep.

I know you may not exactly be able to answer that question with certainty, but any estimate would be stellar!

[june gloom]

I almost put myself to sleep.

i'd like to formally request we ban the use of smilies because of posts like this

[soundcreepy]

I apologize, I'm used to doing that in just about every other forum I post in, but will refrain if that's your request.

[jdv]

First of all, thank you for this mod, this has revived Dishonored for me. One main question though. You mention playing vanilla first because there could be issues with some of the scripted events. How likely is that to happen?

Pretty likely if you aren't an expert at the game. Dishonored has an incredible number of scripted conversations in it that are really fun to eavsedrop on, etc., but the enhanced perceptual abilities of the NPCs means a lot of these conversations will not happen properly if you bumble around and make too much noise. Your targets might come running after you as well.

It is hard to explain exactly how, since there is so much material in this game you won't see on a given playthrough, but if you raise an alarm, most of it will go unseen.

It's up to you. I think the gameplay is much more fun with this mod, but I've already beaten the game normally 8 times (and by the way,
I still find new things...)

[soundcreepy]

Ok, thank you very much for the info, I guess I'll try to get through vanilla at least once then.

[Queue]

I can play Thief with the best of them, but I found Dishonored bloody difficult as a pure sneaker.

After it finally dropped down into the $20 for cost, I bought the game this afternoon, and I have to say I am so far very, very, very annoyed with how awkward and unforgiving the sneaking around bit truly is. And I'm playing on idiot mode!

Also, I can't figure out how to drop or holster the damn gun so both weapons are not in view. But I'm inclined to think that it's not possible.

Maybe I should read the manual....

[calmflow]

To sheath weapons, hold F

[jdv]

After it finally dropped down into the $20 for cost, I bought the game this afternoon, and I have to say I am so far very, very, very annoyed with how awkward and unforgiving the sneaking around bit truly is. And I'm playing on idiot mode!

Also, I can't figure out how to drop or holster the damn gun so both weapons are not in view. But I'm inclined to think that it's not possible.

Maybe I should read the manual....

You need to take advantage of the vertical. Enemies actually look where their heads are pointed, and they don't have a tonne of vertical FOV. It takes some getting used to, if you are used to games like Thief.

[weirwood]

It's a bit off-topic, but have you by any chance found out what the precise difference between the normal difficulty levels is, in-game? If so, I'd very much appreciate a copy-paste of the relevant entries.

[jdv]

Hi everyone,

Work has been all-consuming recently, which has meant I have had no time to play games or develop this mod further, but I'd like to say that I am currently installing the new DLC and will be testing for full compatibility with the mod. Expect an update v0.04 shortly which will ensure bug-free gameplay.

Regarding the differences in difficulty: I do not know of a comprehensive list. However, you can find lists of variables in the .ini files which are followed by a number [0 - 3], as such:

Player.ini
m_fOffscreenMeleeDamageReduction[0]=0.5 --> 0
m_fOffscreenMeleeDamageReduction[1]=0.5 --> 0
m_fOffscreenMeleeDamageReduction[2]=0.5 --> 0
m_fOffscreenMeleeDamageReduction[3]=0.5 --> 0

These represent easy - difficult, in ascending order.

Cheers, Joseph

[Fallen+Keeper]

I tracked this mod down to this forum I should have expected that a difficulty mod would come from a ttlg member

I'm really tempted to try this mod, as I was a fan of the difficulty mod made for Thief and I found Dishonored to easy to enjoy in the long run. I have some doubts though. By saying that it's compatible with DLC, do you mean that it doesn't break them? No conversations ruined by NPC that hear when someone on the other part of the level farts?

And by WOB you mean TBW, right?

[jdv]

Ah ha! You caught a good mistake. Thanks.

Well, remember in thief 2 + difficulty mod? Sometimes you were clumsy and would break conversations from a good distance. However if you are good at stealth, none of the scripted events will break.

By compatible, I mean no known bugs. The changes make a few (i.e., one or two) brawls happen that were not originally intended in the game, but they are few + far between, and kind of fun.

I tracked this mod down to this forum I should have expected that a difficulty mod would come from a ttlg member

I'm really tempted to try this mod, as I was a fan of the difficulty mod made for Thief and I found Dishonored to easy to enjoy in the long run. I have some doubts though. By saying that it's compatible with DLC, do you mean that it doesn't break them? No conversations ruined by NPC that hear when someone on the other part of the level farts?

And by WOB you mean TBW, right?

[Tautologist]

It's possible to mod things like Blink mana cost and distance per level by directly modifying the game's upk files.

This isn't hard, but it can be somewhat uncomfortable. Nevertheless, some games have pretty big modding communities based around editing such files directly. In particular, XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

Lots of parameters and scripts (along with resources such as textures, meshes, etc) are located in the upk files. They're compiled by the unreal development kit. You can't open them using official unreal software, however. The files can also be compressed so that they take less space (Dishonored's files are compressed).

Some games will refuse to load modified files (though this can usually be circumvented), but Dishonored doesn't seem to have a problem with this. It loads files from the CookedPCConsole folder by name, and will also load files in sub-directories. Files with the same name (wherever they are within the CookedPCConsole folder) conflict, and the game seems to choose recent files over old ones, which means it will naturally load any files you modify over the original files.

In order to start modifying Dishonored's upk files, you need a few tools.

1. Gildor's Unreal Package Decompressor
2. Eliot's UE Explorer
3. A hex editor. HxD is a popular choice.

As I mentioned earlier, Dishonored's upk files are compressed binary files. We first need to decompress them using Gildor's tool (just drag and drop the upk file onto the decompress.exe executable). Then open the resulting upk file using UE Explorer. By the way, the game also has no problem loading decompressed files.

There are many, many upk files in the folder. There aren't any tools that can somehow find whatever you're looking to modify (I'm not aware of them at least); you'll have to do a lot of guesswork. Some files contain only content (e.g. textures and meshes, and possibly flash content). There are also pck files that contain audio.

1. Files that begin with L_ are probably level files
2. Files that begin with UI_ are UI related files and don't seem to contain unreal code
3. Files that contain 'twk' or 'Tweak' generally include minor modifications
4. DishonoredGame.upk seems to include most of the "interesting" things that have direct game counterparts. For example, it contains power, item, and upgrade-related definitions.

Modding DishonoredGame.upk
Let's open the decompressed file using UE Explorer. Then go to the Objects tab. Since the main questions in this thread seem to be about modding powers like Blink, I've looked into this subject, and here is what I found out.

Power definitions are generally divided across different unreal classes. The primary power classes for active powers seem to inherit from DishonoredActivePowerComponent. You have classes like DishonoredActivePowerComponent_Blink, for example. DAPC classes are connected to classes that inherit from DisTweaks_ActivePowerBase via a property called m_pPowerTweaks An example of a DT_APB class is DisTweaks_Blink.

Some of these classes have the 'config' flag, which means they are mapped to an ini configuration file. As far as I know, you can't add this flag yourself. However, this allows you to see which properties can be set from the ini file.

A lot of the settings set in the DAPC classes are overwritten by the ini file or by special objects of the DT_APB classes. Some of the parameters set in DAPC classes seem to have no effect at all. Also note that some other upk files (e.g. tweak files) may overwrite some of the settings in DT_APB classes.

Now, to the matter at hand. If you go to the Content tab in UE explorer and browse through the different packages, you'll see several DT_APB objects. For example, Twk_Powers.Blink.Twk_Blink. This is where some important settings are set, including mana cost, rune cost, and power-specific things like Blink distance based on level.

We'll pick the Twk_Blink object and set some of its properties.

We cannot edit the object directly from UE Explorer. We'll need to hex-edit the file in order to change these settings. However, if we just want to modify some numeric parameters, it's not as bad as it might sound. (In the XCOM modding community, some people actually insert new code by hex editing).

First, in UE explorer, go to View->View Buffer. This will show you a hex view of the object you're browsing. Then go to Edit->Export Binary File. This will dump the binary definition of the specific object you're browsing into a file. Open the resulting file using a hex editor, and copy its entire contents (before editing) to the clipboard. Now you'll need to find the value you want to edit. This requires a little guesswork, but the structure is generally similar to what you see in UE Explorer. For example, search for the mana cost (20) and the 2nd level rune cost (03), and change them to other integers. When looking for the 2nd level rune cost, note that it's adjacent to the first level rune cost (there should be several values of 03 in the file).

In theory, you could now use the Import Binary File functionality of UE Explorer to dump the changes back into the upk file. This functionality seems to be broken, however. You'll have to open the DishonoredGame.upk file using the hex editor, and search for the entire hex block that comprises the original object definition and replace it with the edited object definition. There should be only one such block in the file, which means there is no chance of error.

And that's it.

[jdv]

It's possible to mod things like Blink mana cost and distance per level by directly modifying the game's upk files

...

And that's it.

First, thank you for your help with this. I got as far as looking at the hex code a while back, but no further. I couldn't figure out for the life of me what values to change.

However with a bit of persistence and your guidance, I should be able to do it in time. Right now is NOT that time unfortunately, I have a billion things on the go, but in a month, about, that will change significantly, and I would love to get to modding these files.

With store prices changed + rune prices changed, Dishonored would have a real functional economy, forcing specialization. I think this is the biggest thing missing from the game now that the guards aren't blind, deaf, and drunk. I really appreciate your detailed post regarding this. With everything made more expensive, I would feel comfortable scaling back a bit of the combat difficulty, to make for a more balanced experience.

I'm pretty happy with the general feel of the game right now (still ghostable, but it isn't easy to do, and mass murderer is equally hard, with a balanced approach being the most appropriate solution). I think the community feels the same way, although I am still open to criticism. I consider this a long term project. The mod won't die any time soon!

Jeeze... I'm at 206 hours of playtime. I just don't understand those people who complained the game was short

[Tautologist]

Sure, I'm happy to help. The changes you propose sound great. There is simply too much wealth, too many runes, and too many bone charms (most of which are also rather useless, and others overpowered).

It's somewhat disappointed that Arkane haven't released this sort of patch themselves (e.g. an "ultimate difficulty" DLC). I really thought they nailed the resource distribution in the DLC (with a few minor nitpicks). At least on the difficulty setting I was on, you had to work hard for your money and lift everything in sight.

Anyway, here is some more stuff I found out.

Character Attributes
The object Startup.Twk_Pawn_Corvo.Twk_Pawn_Corvo_Release (In the file Startup.upk) has many useful character attributes, such as:

1. Maximum health and mana
2. Health/mana granted by potions
3. Health/mana regeneration
4. Maximum bone charms
5. Many, many other things, such as crouch height, slide distance...

It also contains difficulty-based settings for some of these attributes (someone was previously interested in this).

Another interesting object is Startup.Twk_PlayerVisibility.Twk_PlayerVisibility which has some visibility attributes.

Store Prices/Inventory
The store is of the class DishonoredGame.DisTweaks_Store. The object that contains the actual inventory and price list (at least in the original game, not in the DLC) is L_Pub_Craftsman.Stores_Twk.Stores.Twk_Store_Craftsman (L_Pub_Craftsman refers to a upk file). The inventory, including names, descriptions, and item prices is probably encoded in the property m_StoreItems. This property is an array of structs, which UE Explorer doesn't usually decompile. It's still possible to edit store prices, however, by taking advantage of the characteristic structure of each inventory entry. Here is an example of this structure. It seems to be present in every single item.

The characteristic block is '00 A4 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 37'.

A couple of notes:

1. In the image, the characteristic block is marked in red, the price is marked in blue, and the length of the selected offset block is marked in black. It shows the price of regular crossbow bolts, which is 20 (encoded as 14 00 00 00).
2. The characteristic block appears in each inventory entry, and the offset is always identical (that I've seen). However, things besides the offset and the characteristic block can differ between inventory items (e.g. the data contained between the characteristic block and the price). There is usually something next to the block that tells you which store item you're editing, though.
3. Numbers are encoded as 32-bit integers in little-endian format. This means that the price code is four bytes long, but the order of the bytes is reversed. Something like '1E 00 00 00' should be read as '00 00 00 1E'. (Note that the order inside each byte is *not* reversed).
4. It's probably possible to write a small application that will automate much of the process.
5. This is experimentally verified for several items.

Upgrades
Some upgrade definitions can be found in the (content) package Startup.Twk_Upgrades, which contains an object for each upgrade. However, UE explorer can't manage to decompile almost anything here, because most of it is in the form of struct arrays, and I have no idea what sort of data is contained in them. It's probably not something that can be easily edited, which is a shame.

Weapon Stats
Some weapon stats can be found in Startup.upk. This includes several kinds of packages, such as Twk_Projectiles with stats for arrows and bullets, as well as things like Twk_SpringRazor and the package Twk_SwordBase, which seems to have statistics for a sword. However, these are probably superseded (at least partially) by what's found in Twk_Inv_PlayerSpecific, since it contains things like CrossbowCorvo and PistolCorvo and has difficulty-based settings.

Passive Powers
Passive powers are defined (in the upk files) in DishonoredGame.DishonoredPowersComponent, which is linked to an ini file (as people have found previously). It's probably possible to use the list of attributes appearing in the classes DishonoredGame.DisTweaks_PlayerPawn_Attributes and DishonoredGame.DisTweaks_Pawn_Attributes to redefine these powers in pretty major ways, but I haven't tried this yet.

Bone Charms
These seem to be defined in Startup.Twk_Pawn_Corvo.Twk_Pawn_Corvo_Release.DisTweaks_WhaleBoneCharmList. However, they are defined as an array which UE explorer doesn't seem capable of decompiling.