Testing anyone?

[Vagrant0]

To bad you can't script your npc's to yield if he/she accidently attacks an ally. I didn't mind the npcs being strong, I just felt it a waste to loose one npc on the first day, unless they respawn then thats a different story.

 

They respawn. I made sure this was the case since someone might want to use them as a companion with come of the recruiting mods. Cool thing is that when they respawn, they should go right back to where they were stationed last.

 

They are leveling NPCs already. They start at level 10, and go all the way up to 100, I believe 1 level higher than player. Making the difference 10 instead might be an answer later, but I really want to wait until I have all the kinks with the packages and scripting worked out before I start changing stuff.

 

As for scripting a yield, that was one idea I was thinking about, I know of how it might be done. The problem is having a way to test the script.

[sleaaels]

Ah thats good, so i take it back, no problems found yet:)

[GBHis]

Ordering the NPC to attack, then ordering it to stop attacking and yield to the other?

[Vagrant0]

Ordering the NPC to attack, then ordering it to stop attacking and yield to the other?

 

In this case, the player wouldn't be doing either. This was an accidental attack when one of the NPCs and a guard went after the same creature or whatever. Since this kinda changes every time the game loads, and can't really be predicted, it kinda makes it hard to plan. Then there is the chance that yielding won't do any good since there is still something (like disposition/crime gold) that till tells the guard to attack. Using the yield method in this case would just run into an infinite yield loop.

 

I see it as an issue, but without knowing a bit more, or it happening more often at later levels, I don't think there's anything I can do.

[Vagrant0]

Anyhow, since the mod has been out a week, what are your thoughts about this mod? What is good, what isn't? Should I continue it, or start working on something else? Basically, tell me what you think.

[sleaaels]

Well still haven't found any problems, i think its ok really.

Well its nice to see more friendly npcs out and about. I like the fact they don't seem to have same scripting. I think its understated, but thats what its suppose to be. Overall good mod....One change though; add one or two per town with unique scripts would be great.

[Vagrant0]

The main reason for them all having the same basic script and packages was mostly to make it easier to test all the main stuff that's going on behind the scenes. I was planning on adding a bit more individual variation to the NPCs once I had all the scripting done, and knew I still had room for the finer ajustments. I really can't do any of that yet as I don't know how many packages you can stick on an NPC without it killing someone's computer, or if there's just a very large hard coded limit. The script length is also a concern as I need to chain together all the travel points through the script so that the NPCs don't use more direct routes (mage guild teleports for instance) when going between cities. Which brings me to another question, have you noticed any slow down due to my mod being active?

 

Still looking for feedback too.

[sleaaels]

Not with me at least, would it really effect performance if you add 1-2 extra char wiith scripts per town? I'm asking because i'm curious, because all those scripts wouldn't run constantly no matter where you are right?

[Vagrant0]

Not with me at least, would it really effect performance if you add 1-2 extra char wiith scripts per town? I'm asking because i'm curious, because all those scripts wouldn't run constantly no matter where you are right?

 

Supposedly, scripts on NPCs run every 15 seconds or something. In testing, as long as I wasn't sleeping constantly, or durring key periods, they continued to get work, change locations, and everything. The main question I had was because in testing I noticed some slight slow down and occasional freezing. The next phase will only be using the same NPCs, just using two different towns, but was concerned that if anyone was experiencing any problems, I might have to considder changes to the end result.

 

As said, I plan on adding more NPCs to the rotation eventuallty. And will probably add a few dozen more standard NPCs in areas near Bruma and Anvil as those areas kinda lack the number of non-quest hotspots that Bravil and Skingrad naturally have. But my concern with this part is adding caves, houses, and other stuff which might conflict with other mods, or create their own problems.

 

I may also end up enlisting some more of the typical wallpaper NPCs that are already in the game to have a slightly more interesting role. But, this too has its problems as people often kill these NPCs for fun. I was hoping to get some response about these two things so I can plan accordingly. If needed, I could just have them stand around drinking all day, but would prefer to have something a bit more enriching.