Recruiting

[schlangster]

I've had some ideas and plans for a Project Nevada - Encounters module for many months now, but I also knew that I didn't have the time/motivation to do that alone. I've asked a few other modder's here and there, but so far nobody was really interested :(

 

To summarize what this is about, I'll quote a posting I made on the BSG forums back in May:

Oh and well, normally I don't like to announce ideas or plans unless I'm confident that they will succeed, but I'll make an exception for a new module I've started working on, and of which I'm not sure if it will ever be released. Maybe someone likes the idea and is willing to help me finishing it.

This module is named Encounters. There are already mods like IWS to add spawns you might say, and you are right. But one thing that always bugged me with those mods, even back in Oblivion, was that these spawns were placed and then just stood there waiting for you. When I'm standing on a hill, I don't want to see the world crawling with all kinds of stuff just standing there. So instead of just adding more spawn points, what I would like is add a little more variety to how enemies approach you. New Vegas already has scripted ambushes, but not nearly enough of them.

 

What's already implemented:

- A generic ambush system. The default ambushes all have unique scripts, so adding more of them would be a huge amount of work. This generic ambush script on the other hand just uses a common set of objects that can be copy&pasted for create a new ambush. It consists of one or more trigger areas, one invisible controller reference and a number of disabled creatures or NPCs. The trigger areas are linked to the controller, whenever the player enters a trigger area, the controller is activated. The spawn references are linked in a chain, and the controller is linked to the first of them. Once activated, it enables all of them and sends them towards the player. Instead of trigger areas, a controller can also be linked to a door, then the ambush is triggered when the player activates that door (leaving a house for example). The system supports some other stuff like chance-based encounters or disabling them once certain actors are dead or objects disabled (allowing to set complex conditions like faction reputation etc). An example for such an ambush is being attacked by bunch of Escaped convicts after crossing then bridge in Primm.

- A generic system for respawn zones. The idea is to create areas where there's a constant danger. Currently the problem is that after clearing an area you can be pretty sure that until it respawns there won't be anything happening there anymore. In respawn zones on the other hand, there's always the danger of more enemies. The way they work is comparable to ambushes. Theres one or more (large) trigger zones. Whenever the player is inside those, every 10 seconds or so theres a X% chance that an enemy is spawned at designated spawn locations. These locations are picked so that they are outside the players vision range. Examples are respawning convicts in Primm, or deathclaws in the quarry. It's not gonna be like in Call of Duty, with waves of enemies, as I said the idea is that there is always the danger of being attacked in these areas, so you cannot let your guard even after you cleared the placed spawns. Like ambushes, its possible to disable these zones once an actor is dead, or set the spawn frequency/chance.

- Sleep ambushes. I don't really like fighting vermin in the open. What I would like, however, is when stuff like giant rats attack me when sleeping/resting outdoors. Might be deathclaws as well The system is pretty basic yet, whenever you're waiting or sleeping outdoors theres a chance that some sneaky creature (based on your level) spawns behind you and attacks. After that a cooldown prevents any attack for the next X minutes.

 

What I'm still working on:

- Hunters. Imagine walking the wasteland during night, suddenly you hear a terrible roar! Your current location is marked, and from that moment on you have 10 seconds to get as far away from there as you can. If you reach a given distance, you managed to escape, otherwise a deathclaw hunter will spawn behind you. The same could be done for groups of raiders (instead of a roar you hear a voice like "Aha! Got you!").

 

Additionally, with TheCastle's permission I "salvaged" some things from IWS

- The Civilian Guards, Faction Guards and Faction Patrols. These can be dynamically enabled/disabled in the PN control panel.

- Placed spawns for super mutants and ghouls etc. I removed pretty much all added vermin/animal spawns though, simply because I don't like fighting them, and because of the problems I have with too many placed spawns I described earlier.

- The active spawn system, which is a clever script Castle developed to spawn additional creatures at existing spawn points. This will be the supported method of enabling more spawns. The good thing is that it can be configured at runtime, so you have a menu where you could say "No extra deathclaws" or set a general profile for how many more creatures you want to spawn. I've started to modify this script, shortened it a little and added menu options, but I haven't done much testing yet.

 

The main reason why I'm not sure if this will ever see the light of day is that while the scripts for ambushes and the like are already done and working, they still have to be placed/created. I've added ~15 ambushes so far, covering the road from Goodsprings to Nipton, Black Mountain and Quarry Junction. There's still a lot more ground to cover, and I just don't know the game very well to be honest I've spent most time modding it instead of playing, so to place ambushes in areas I've never seen means playing them first, then again and again to test how it feels like. I'm just not very well suited for this task, plus I'm not in the mood for playing right now.

 

As mentioned there, the scripting infrastructure is already done, and I'll keep working on that myself.

 

So what I'm looking for is someone to place ambushes basically. What this involves:

- Picking a suitable locations & enemies (type + number)

 

- Setting the whole thing up, like in this picture:

http://img6.imagebanana.com/img/navx9jxe/spawn.png

 

- Lots of playtesting to see how it works out

 

 

If you're interested in helping with that, the only requirements are that you really mean it, and that you put some thought and effort into it, cause this has to be good in the end :)

[Sepherose]

I really wish I had the know how to help with this :/ I'm starting to venture into areas of the GECK that I don't know much about though, so I guess after a bit if you still need help i could give it a shot.