Lock/Unlock packages in unloaded cells.

[Fallout2AM]

Handling packages is everything but easy, my npcs for example were failing to pick a package when I was setting the conditions inside the dialogue, because evp wasn't working in the dialogue end script. I had to use workarounds - still, it seems that everyone was doing that, in tutorials, never understood why it wasn't ever working for me. My main issue, since the begin, was not much with packages but with EVP itself. When you go in game, you see that the npc is not behaving correctly, you disable / enable or ResetAI via console, and then you see the npc picking the right packages >>> it doesn't fail evaluating the conditions, it fails in executing the package. I'm sorry if I'm explaining bad what I mean - my point is that for me saying the system is failing evaluating a condition would be like saying that the scripting system itself fails, like a IF returning true when it must be false or vice-versa, and I really don't believe it. When I have a strange behaviour on a script, usually it happens because there are external factors I didn't consider (i.e. the most obvious - I did a mistake in the script). There are far too many things I don't know, are not documented and are hidden (sometimes hardcoded) and don't give me enough elements in my hands to lend to a precise conclusion. For example, just these past days someone told me Waiting has some hardcoded features in NV, I was ignoring that and god knows how many things I'm still ignoring - the same things that could lead me to have a mod not working as intended.

Another small example of these past weeks, it's not about packages but about animations, whose condition system is very similar, they are cyclically evaluated every x from top to bottom. I found there's a certain event happening in game (vanilla too) that stops the whole system to work. There's no documentation around, it's not a feature very much used and I wouldn't be surprised if noone has ever noticed it, I just found it because it's the base of the main features for my mod.

[RoyBatterian]

Indeed, we don't have the design documentations for the games or the engines, so we're half blind and poking around in the dark trying to reverse engineer how everything works.

 

It's important to share these discoveries, so that the community can benefit from them.

 

You mentioned something with the animation system stopping working, what would that be? I am aware that certain creatures can only make use of certain animations for weapons for instance. But you say there is a condition the breaks the animation system entirely?

 

Of course there are others that sit on their knowledge to feed their ego and make themselves feel superior or whatever... thankfully that doesn't seem to be much the case with the Fallout games. :D

[Fallout2AM]

...it's a matter of numbers... it's just a matter of numbers... we're just less people modding fallout so it's less noticiable, but Ego spreads and will always spread wherever there's something foraging it...

uhm, whatever *lol* no it's not about animgroups but specialidles. However, since it's the result of my own tests, I would prefer having a bunch of scapegoats trying it on their game before spreading this info. This means me releasing my beta (which requires some more time) or if you want to verify it in the meantime then PM me and I'll tell you how to reproduce the issue

[grigoriprime]

My 2 cents:

 

The lock/unlock options in packages (even in FO3) can cause strange issues even when they logically should be correct. Having multiple NPCs locking and unlocking the same cell (especially the "while at location" options) can cause lock status and even cell ownership issues and seem to occur when the cells are NOT loaded.

 

Also, removing script packages for merchants with associated stores (particularly vanilla merchants and stores) and adding new ones WILL work but there are issues that are specific to merchants. You may end up with a delay of several (real life not game time) minutes while the game evaluates things and some things may act as though "continue when player near" was checked even if it isn't. The NPCVendorFollowPlayerTriggerPackage in particular.