MalachXaviel

I published an AI mod and I've been having trouble trying to change it works. https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/705 Currently I use the LoseControl state to indicate to the game that the AI needs to takeover. As opposed to DOS2, there seems to be something inherently programmed into the game for the AI to treat characters under this status differently and it will actively override any AI archetypes set for it. The AI means that although the AI will take control, it will avoid healing, buffing or using abilities that would buff targets that are under this condition, regardless of faction, allied status, condition etc. In other words, the AI will handicap itself. The reason I believe this is programmed in is that, for example, if one of your party members get's dominated, the enemy AI isn't suddenly going to start healing that character because they know the status will eventually wear off and that character will be a target again so I understand the reasoning and logic behind but I cannot find out where this is being controlled at. I've indexed and looked for references to LoseControl, LoseControlFriendly, SG_Charmed, SG_Dominated, SG_ScriptedPeaceBehaviour. I've messed with factions. I've even tried to use a couple of NPCs that I've known to go from Friendly/Hostile mid-fight (such as the Helm Mindflayer) to see if there is anything to reference. The two options I'm pursuing are: 1. Identify how the StatusPropertyFlags LoseControl and LoseControlFriendly are built, copy those, and remove whatever logic that exists that makes the AI consider them ineligible for certain abilities. The closest I've come to find this is via Shared\Public\Shared\Stats\Generated\Structure\Base\ValueLists.txt but this file literally just contains a list of the "StatusPropertyFlags" with nothing referencing how they are controlled or built. 2. Use an alternative method to LoseControl by actively changing a party member to an allied NPC at the start of the battle, and then return them to normal at the end of the battle. Changing the faction itself has no effect however when I combine changing the faction with "LoseControl" I've gotten party members to start giving out taunts and stuff during battle like the NPCs do if they belong to an applicable faction, which is kind of neat in itself, but if LoseControl isn't added, the party members are controllable like normal. I've tried to reference how party members can be converted to hostile such as during the Laezel and Shadowheart conflict event (CAMP_Shadowheart_CFM_LaezelFight_SceneTrigger_000) but it's unclear to me what mechanism the game uses to transition NPCs in and out of an AI controllable state (at least by referencing those events) Hoping some fellow modders will have some ideas

So I noticed that the Party AI in this game is virtually non-existent, in my opinion it's a bug because sometimes it works, 95% of the time it doesn't. At any rate, I consider it non-existent. I noticed it when one of my characters was taken control of by a succubus's charm and fighting me, they were using spells, prioritizing targets, and even using items from their belt. I tested this on several characters including some that I intentionally added spells and abilities to using the bag of tricks to try to fool the AI and for the most part they seem to use everything. They would use whatever spells were available that fit the situation, buffs, debuffs, attack spells, healing spells and healing items. I'm sure it's not fool proof, but it's leagues better than the AI the party is equipped with. I did this before with DOS2, making a charm spell that affected party NPCs with a long duration. It seems like the steps to start building out this concept are on the same as in DOS2, make a copy of the charm spell, change it from a debuff to a buff and see what happens and what it breaks. Does anyone know where to start for copying/editing spell mechanics or does someone want to try tackling this? I took a look at the modding tools on https://github.com/OwlcatOpenSource/WrathModificationTemplate and it seems way more complicated than DOS2.

You could mod the sprint key to simply speed up walking (to the equivalent of sprinting). The animation would look ridiculous but it would work. Or maybe a mod that "forces" the player to jump when the sprint and jump key are presed simutaneously. I dunno, I would think that unless serious modding work is put into it, the only way to have something like this is to have a workaround. The game is as moddable as it is because of these limitations. Look at videos of what the Uncharted (for the ps3) game engine looks like- especially around the level design. You can't just make a level in that game because almost every part of the environment is scripted for interaction. As far as climbing, you could PROBABLY put in something simple along the lines of saints row, infamous or crackdown's climbing system (which was kind of how climbing in the other elder scrolls was done. You'd have to make an interactable object such as a tree or ladder and script it for climbing or grabbing but it wouldn't allow near the freedom you're hoping for. Not without major changes to the game engine. It'd be a novelty at best.

What: Craftable weapons that can be enchanted and that stay in your inventory and behave like normal weapons but don't show up on the player character when sheathed. This would behave exactly like if you were to cast a conjured weapon spell except that there would be no need for a spell because the weapon is in the inventory and the weapon would also be enchantable/improvable. Why: There are numerous graphical issues with the sheathing system in this game including clipping and some weapons not even appearing on the body at all (referring to dual-wielding). It seems like it will be a lot of trouble (even with the CK) to fix these issues, although I find it unlikely anyone ever manages to fix clipping. I think by rendering the weapons this way, it will provide a work around for people who actually choose weapons and armor based on if there will be graphical issues. I think it would also provide a way fo some magic users to use the equivalent of bound weapons without having to waste time fumbling around with a spell. How: Although I have very little knowledge of modding but from what I can tell, the engine relies on three different sets of data to determine the appearance of a weapon- sheathed, unsheathed and first-person. I would think all one has to do is erase the image data in the sheathed file and the weapon would then become the "erased" version of itself whenever it is sheathed. Appearance wise I think this would work with any weapon but for realism and lore I believe weapons that have that spectral appearane of bound weapons would look the best. I may try figuring this out myself if noone else does, simply because it seems like this kind of a mod will just require switching around of files.