Blades of Avernum Item Editor v1.0.0 Readme/User Guide/FAQ
by The Mystic

1. Introduction

Welcome to my Blades of Avernum Item Editor!

This editor is open source.

2. System Requirements

Windows 98/XP/Vista
VB6 runtime files (included)
Blades of Avernum

3. Installation

Copy “Item Editor.exe” and the “ItemEdit” folder to the “Blades of Avernum\Data” folder.
Run “vbrun60sp6.exe” to install the VB6 runtime files.
If necessary, I've also included the .ocx files I used to create this editor; should you need them, copy them from the “source” folder to your “windows\system32” folder.

4. User Guide

Action Menu:
	Generate Script (Ctrl-G): Generates a syntax error free item creation script.  The script begins with “begindefineitem” and the item number, followed by anything where the box marked “Display in script” was checked.
	Reset Editor (Ctrl-R): Resets everything to its default settings, and clears the generated script.
	Clear Script (Ctrl-E): Clears the generated script; everything else remains untouched.
	Copy to Clipboard (Ctrl-C): Copies all or part of the generated script to the clipboard, allowing you to paste it into the text editor of your choice.
	Quit (Ctrl-Q): Ends the program (obviously).

The main interface has 4 tabs: General, Graphics/Abilities, Misc, and Generated Script.

General tab:
	Item Number: Defaults to 440 (the first unused item in BoA's “corescendata” files).  Always displayed; everything else is displayed only if its corresponding box marked “Display in script” is checked.
	Clear/Import Item: If “Clear” is selected, adds the script to clear the item.  If “Import” is selected, adds the script to import the data from the item indicated.
	Item Name: The name displayed when an item is not identified.  This text box is limited to 19 characters.
	Item Full Name: The name displayed when an item is  identified.  This text box is limited to 29 characters.
	Variety: The type of item you're scripting.  This also determines the availability of certain item properties.
	Damage Per Level: If the item is to be used as a weapon, this is the base damage per level of the item.
	Bonus: Additional damage if the item is to be used as a weapon, or additional protection if the item is to be used as armor.
	Skill Used: If the item is to be used as a weapon, this is the skill it uses. This can be any skill on the list.
	Protection: Base damage that this item may block when equipped in melee.
	Charges/Amount: If the item variety is gold, this is the number of coins your character get upon picking it up.  Otherwise, this is the number of charges the item has.
	Encumbrance: How much the item interferes with your character's movement. Each level reduces the character's chance to hit by 5%.

Graphics/Abilities tab:
	Sheet Number: If this option is selected, the picture boxes will preview the graphic in the “Item Graphics” folder that corresponds to the number shown.
	Custom Sheet: If this option is selected, the picture boxes will preview any custom item graphic you select. Press the “Find” button to locate and open another graphic.
	Floor Icon: This previews the graphic used when the item is on the floor.
	Inventory Icon: This previews the graphic used when the item is in your character's inventory.
	Icon Adjust: Shows the adjustment(s) applied to the item's graphics.  It would also preview these adjustment(s) in the “Floor Icon” and “Inventory Icon” panes, but I don't know how.
	Item Special Abilities: Any special abilities (up to 4) that this item has. The strength of each ability is determined by “Strength,” which can be negative, depending on the ability.

Misc tab:
	Special Class: Used to identify the item's class for certain script calls.
	Value: The item's value in coins. If zero, the item cannot be sold.
	Weight (tenths): How much an item weighs, in tenths of pounds. For example, if the amount shown is “12,” then the item weighs 1.2 pounds in the BoA scenario.
	Identified: If “Yes” is selected, then this item will always be identified.
	Magic Item: If “Yes” is selected, then this item is magical.
	Cursed: If “Yes” is selected, then this item is cursed; if equipped, it cannot be removed until the curse is lifted.
	Used Once Per Day:  If “Yes” is selected, then this item can be used once, then cannot be used again until the beginning of the next day. Also, this item does not take charges.
	Junk Item: If “Yes” is selected, then BoA will consider this item to be useless, and will delete it if an area has too many items.
	Missile Animation: If the item is a type of missile weapon, this previews the graphic used when the missile is airborne.

Generated Script tab:
	This tab contains just a large text box that's set up as a sort of quasi-Notepad, and is only available when it contains generated script.  You may edit the generated script directly in the text box, or copy all or part of it to the clipboard (if no text is selected, everything gets copied), and paste it into the text editor of your choice.

5. FAQ
Q: Why won't a line print?
A: Every item attribute has a corresponding check box marked “Display in script.” If you want to print a line, make sure that attribute's box is checked. The only exceptions are the “begindefineitem” line, which always prints; and the “it_floor_which_sheet” line, which prints only if you check the box for one of the icons.

Q: Why are certain attributes unavailable?
A: Certain attributes only apply to certain types of items, so it's kind of logical to make available only the ones you'd need. Think about it: If you're designing a suit of armor or pair of gauntlets, why would you want or need it to have a missile animation?
