NellSpeed Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Got a general question for the community-- is there any general commentary on using existing in-game NPC assets to re-create a new companion NPC? I've been fiddling around with Dean Domino the last few days, and the more I listen to his voice, the more I feel like he'd make a great, totally different character. Instead of Dean Domino, famous singer (and sociopath?), he would be Dean Domino, actor-- using as many existing voice files as possible. (Here's the general outline, for the sake of thoroughness.) Dean Domino the actor started out in Shakespearean theater. Unlike many aspiring actors, he was more drawn to comedy than tragedy or history, and his willingness to introduce physical comedy into his performances made him stand out. Unfortunately, his easily-bruised ego put him in the ranks of "Oh, god, not again", and he bounced from troupe to troupe, finally taking his leave from Europe, convinced that he'd be properly appreciated in America. At first, all went well. He joined a group that set Shakespeare's plays in the Old West, and not only did he learn to use firearms, he also learned something about special effects (fireworks, safe use of gunpowder, etc). It seemed as if he'd found his niche. And then, during a tour through the Southwest, he had yet another gigantic fight with yet another fellow actor, and they dumped him... just in time for all War to break loose. He ended up stranded in the Sierra Madre, shutting himself away in a room the size of a closet, emerging only as long as it would take to scavenge for food. And there he stayed for the next 200 years. Until one day, everything changed-- and after poking around for information, Dean couldn't help but feel like he owes the rescuer of the Sierra Madre an in-person thank you. Actor Dean's skillset would stay about the same, there would be a fair number of in-game collisions (such as posters), and of course most of the dialogue would be text-only, with silent ogg files to keep it from speeding by and animations to help make it interesting. I don't think I'd do any quests this time, unless it's something like "Hand over wine and fireworks and nice clothes to improve your relationship with him". I'm already fiddling around with adding random comments, and of course with commentary on current events. ("You really think they're not going to stab you in the back-- or the front-- the moment they get a chance? Well. Far be it from me to argue with you, but... no. No, wait. I am, in fact, going to argue with you.") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mishaxhi Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 The way you've laid it out sounds solid. Many people who make mods like this cut up the original voice files and arrange them into new ones, you can be pretty creative with them. Technically it's a very easy thing to do, don't know how much you already know but this is the best guide on creating companions - http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/45278/? Look into trigger boxes for creating locational based dialog, they're magical things. You can also add lines to be played by simply slotting Say command lines into existing quest scripts - I've played with this quite a bit and it's never broken anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NellSpeed Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Look into trigger boxes for creating locational based dialog, they're magical things. You can also add lines to be played by simply slotting Say command lines into existing quest scripts - I've played with this quite a bit and it's never broken anything. Yes, I love these! I feel like they add a lot to the atmosphere, even if the timing can be a little wonky. It looks like NV uses the same basic code as Oblivion, and I remember at least some of that-- initial test run of random comments seems to have the same problems as before, which is actually kind of comforting! And as usual, it's going to be the writing and planning that's going to take more time than actual coding, since I try to keep things simple. (From an ethical standpoint, as I understand it as long as the DLC is required, use of assets is okay; but of course, I'm going to do my research first. Worst case scenario, I stick to silent files / lip-sync.) Thanks for the link and the input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mishaxhi Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 And as usual, it's going to be the writing and planning that's going to take more time than actual coding, since I try to keep things simple. Oh without a doubt - companions are extremely quick and easy to build, but if you wanna make something great, you're gonna be writing for weeks, constantly second guessing and rewriting entire sections as you think of new ideas. Well, good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NellSpeed Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Oh without a doubt - companions are extremely quick and easy to build, but if you wanna make something great, you're gonna be writing for weeks, constantly second guessing and rewriting entire sections as you think of new ideas. Well, good luck.Amen to that. Last time I did something like this I ended up with nearly twice as many lines of dialogue as I ended up actually using. Thanks for the good wishes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nivea Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Nellspeed making a Fallout companion? Sweet! *waves* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NellSpeed Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hey, there! Good to see you, Modder Who Introduced Corgis! (I need to hit endorse on that later.) I'm still at the outline phase at the moment; easier to take the time to put it together from the start, than leap into the GECK and realize, Oh, yeah, I should've done X like Y, Y like Z, and left Z out altogether. So I'm keeping it simple: you get a choice of OTP, BroTP, and maybe NoTP, as many general comments as possible (gotta make sure to include conditions so New Guy (I don't think he can be a revamped Dean, after all-- doesn't quite work on review) doesn't keep running his mouth over something quest-related), and presents! (And did I mention I loved your corgis? They're wearing tiny hats!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallout2AM Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Dean Domino is a great character (oh well everyone in Sierra Madre is wondrous) and this is a brilliant ideaI don't think it's possible to use the "ghoul Dean" voice, but at this point any human vanilla voice could be ok for small commands and comments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NellSpeed Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 Dean Domino is a great character (oh well everyone in Sierra Madre is wondrous) and this is a brilliant ideaI don't think it's possible to use the "ghoul Dean" voice, but at this point any human vanilla voice could be ok for small commands and comments Dean's a very well-written trainwreck-- just not someone I'd want at my character's back when the wheels come off the wagon! As it turns out, though, it's very much possible to recycle his lines-- thank goodness for Audacity!-- and I've got the basic companion put together using the tutorial Mishaxhi linked. Now comes the fun part (i.e., editing & re-editing & re-re-editing dialogue, and running dozens of tests on pretty much everything). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallout2AM Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 it's very much possible to recycle his lines But not upload it, since it's DLC material, that's what I was meaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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