I followed the install instructions for patching, hires, etc, from the forums here.

I'm not sure what I ran as the level remover, but I was having the problem where the game crashed when I leveled up to 51. So I created the "rules" folder and stuck the xp_level.mes file into it. I'm assuming that I used the right level cap remover if I had that file at all. Is that correct?

So here's the problem. The XP numbers in the file look correct, but the actual numbers in game are reduced to pitiful numbers. After I moved the file where it needed to be and started the game back up, it said I needed -19,000 (approx) to level. That was *negative* 19k. My XP bar started gaining like crazy. If I hadn't noticed the problem I probably would have been gaining a new level every 5 minutes.

Since the number look correct in the file, what is the problem? How can I edit the file to make the numbers work?

The remarks in the file include:

// NOTE: only the lines 1 thru 50 are valid, and line 1 should
// always be 0 xps

Eh? What's the point if the lines beyond 50 don't work?

Any help would be appreciated.

A couple of questions, and a suggestion:

1) Did you install Drog's unofficial patch (the UAP)? If so, did you start the game over afterward? The patch is known to have issues with pre-patch saved games.

2) Try this: Start a new game. On the character editor screen, note how much XP you need to get to the next level. At the very beginning of the game (before you even start to play) it should say 2100. If it doesn't, then you definitely know there's an issue with your .MES file.

3) If it does, then back out of the new game, go to the .MES file and edit level 2 to say a different number (for instance 2,000 instead). Pretend to start another game and see whether the XP reflects the change. (IMPORTANT: you must save the file as a .MES; anything else will corrupt it.) If it doesn't, then the .MES file the game is referencing is NOT the same one you're using.

3) If all else fails, go through the file line by line, looking for a typo — such as a number that's smaller than the one above it.

In the vanilla game, you can never go past level 50. With the patch you still can't; but every time you would've reached the next level your followers gain a level, allowing them to eventually catch up with you.

With the patch, you're supposed to be able to (in theory) go as high as level 127. But for all practical purposes, there aren't enough encounters in the entire game to get you anywhere near that high.

I hope this helps. If it's anything other than what I've suggested above, then I'm as clueless as you are, and my last piece of advice would be to delete and reinstall the game, followed by the UAP, then the level cap remover.

Okay, I figured it out.

I tried what you said and everything checked out. I'm properly patched and all is in order.

Here's what the problem is: The XP values for levels over 50 in the .mes file do not follow the same XP progression as the levels up to 50. In fact, it actually requires less XP to go from level 50 to 51 than to go from 49 to 50. That's kind of messed up in my opinion. Since I didn't know I needed this .mes file in a special folder until I looked online, when I moved into the folder on my level 50 character, I got the weird numbers and the discrepancy in how far the XP bar was advancing depending on whether the .mes file was in the folder or not. Had the file already been there when I leveled to 50, I wouldn't have noticed anything other than leveling faster than expected after level 50.

This is probably intentional, but it doesn't make a lot of sense in my opinion. I can see changing the XP requirements so they stay static for each level above 50, but actually dropping them to less?

Guess I'll have to figure the proper XP progression and manually change the values.

Glad I was able to help. I've already done this. I could post the numbers I use, if you're interested.

Hi,

I recently passed my third playthrough of Arcanum. I also noticed that leveling was kind of "smooth" after level 50. I opened that .mes file and it's just as you said - it takes more xp to get from level 49 to 50 than from 50 to 51. Then, I noticed that on top of the file there's a note:
"
// NOTE: only the lines 1 thru 50 are valid, and line 1 should
// always be 0 xps

// All of these values are 25% of what they should be until we
// get more secondary quests in the game.
"

Perhaps the answer is to multiply all values above 50 with 1.25. Alternative would be to plot curve from level 1-50, and use it to approximate values from 50-100 :). What do you guys think?

The amount needed to level in the last several levels up to 50 increased by 1k each level. I initially tried continuing that progression, but it became ridiculous. So instead I just set it at 75,000 for each level above 51 (it took 71,000 to reach 50).

TwoHandedSword, what values did you use?

For everyone's convenience, I gave them their own thread. Click this link to go there.