FISSION Death Ending Mini‑Guide

Add Custom Death Endings (Slideshow + Voice Over)

This guide assumes you have a working mod folder (e.g., mods/mod_mytown.dat/ from the Quick Start Guide). You’ll add new death endings that play when the player dies under specific conditions.

1. What You Need

Your existing mod folder: mods/mod_mytown.dat/ (a folder for development, compress into actual .dat for release)

You will create one new file:

• data/enddeath_mytown.txt – defines the death ending(s)

Plus optional art (.frm) and voice‑over (.acm / .wav) files.

2. Create the Death Ending Definition File

File: mods/mod_mytown/data/enddeath_mytown.txt

Format: GVAR, Value, AreaKnown, AreaNotKnown, MinLevel, Percentage, VoiceOverBase

79, 1, -1, -1, 0, 30, nar_mytown_death

Fields explained:

If multiple endings are eligible, one is chosen randomly based on their Percentage weights.

3. Where to Put the Files

mods/mod_mytown/
        ├─ data/
        │   └─ enddeath_mytown.txt
        ├─ art/
        │   └─ intrface/
        │       └─ mydeath.frm (optional – custom slide art)
        └─ narrator/
            ├─ nar_mytown_death.acm (or .wav)
            └─ (optional language subfolder)

Note: The art used for death endings is hardcoded (the game shows the static, iconic, “YOU HAVE DIED” screen). Your custom death endings only affect the voice‑over that plays, (and subtitles), not the visual. The VoiceOverBase determines which audio file plays after death.

4. How It Works

• When the player dies, the game evaluates all death endings.
• An ending is eligible if:
  • GVAR < Value (or GVAR == -1 skip)
  • AreaKnown is visited (or -1)
  • AreaNotKnown is not visited (or -1)
  • Player level ≥ MinLevel
• Among eligible endings, one is picked randomly using the Percentage as weight.
• The game then plays the audio file narrator/<VoiceOverBase>.<ext> (.acm or .wav).

5. Triggering a Death Ending from Scripts

Set the relevant GVAR(s) before the player dies. For example, to enable a special death ending:

set_global_var(79, 0);   // GVAR must be less than 1

If you want an ending that requires the player to have visited a certain area, set that area’s visited state via worldmap functions or by actually visiting it.

6. Test Your Death Ending

Run the game and trigger the conditions (e.g., set GVAR, reach required level, visit required area).

Kill the player (e.g., with kill_self debug command or in combat).

Listen for your custom voice‑over.

If the default death voice‑over plays instead, check data/lists/enddeath_list.txt to verify your ending loaded correctly.

7. Important Notes

No custom art – Death endings only change the audio. The “YOU HAVE DIED” screen is fixed.

Audio format – Use .acm (Interplay’s compression) or .wav. Place in narrator/ or narrator// for localization.

Stable IDs – The game does not assign IDs to death endings; they are processed in file order.

Collisions – There is no hash collision system; multiple mods can add endings, and all are evaluated. Ensure your VoiceOverBase names are unique to avoid conflicts.

8. Quick Troubleshooting