LE Adding User Configurable Options in Game and other Mysteries of Papyru

[MyGoodEye]

Okay, I admit it... I'm not much of a programmer. Through much trial and error - and collaboration - I managed in FALLOUT NEW VEGAS to make a user-option menu that enabled them to determine the level of added NPCs in-game.

 

The choice was LOW and HIGH. When they chose LOW, I had the script change a global variable (WARZONESLOWHIGH).

 

In-game there was an NPC with a script attached that basically checked to see what WARZONESLOWHIGH was set to - and if "low" (1) - then do not display the "children" of said NPC.

 

With about half as many NPCs, many folks with lower-end computers were able to play. In a mod like this, which adds 1000s of NPC spawners, I find that it would be impossible to maintain a "low spawns" options as a separate file. Too much trouble and too much room for error.

 

Now then... I've come on over to SKYRIM and am attempting to do the same.

 

Only thing is that I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how to go about doing this with the new scripting system.

 

I have looked around the tutorials and the wiki, but given that it's so new, there is not a derth of information and I am, officially, lost.

 

To be specific:

 

1 - I would like to know how to make a menu (or inventory item ala FNV) which will accept user input

2 - I would like to know how to write and apply a script to an object (or NPC) which will turn itself "off" and "on" based on the user's input.

3 - I would like to apologize for being so needy but programming truly isn't my thing.

 

So, any thoughts, pointers, directions or the like would be very, very welcome.

 

Thanks much.

 

- David

[Cipscis]

You can create Message forms in the Creation Kit, and get user input from them via Show. In order to get a reference to react to activation by the player, you can use an OnActivate event. States might also be useful if your script is going to turn thing off and on.

 

I'm not sure quite where you're at with Papyrus, so I'll leave you with those links. If you need a bit more guidance, let me know and I'll try to give you a hand.

 

Cipscis

[MyGoodEye]

Holy crap, I thought I had sent you a thank you awhile back... apparently, it didn't "take"... sorry about that, but have a belated THANKS anyway.

 

I've gotten a method for user-interaction covered, I also know how to have the user-input set variables...

 

So, next question is:

 

Let's say, I've got an NPC and a GLOBAL variable.

 

When the GLOBAL is 1 then the NPC is enabled.

 

When the GLOBAL is 0 then the NPC is DISabled.

 

How would a script for that look as applied to a ACTOR in CK?

 

And yes, I know I'm basically asking someone to write it for me, but I'm having trouble with the syntax.

 

- David