Issue with Sandbox Package and Idle Narkers

[Stormbringer13]

Hiya folks,

 

Hoping some of y'all more knowledgeable than myself might be able to help me resolve an issue I've been having recently. I just started modding this week, and created my first NPC last night. He's currently running a sandbox package, and while he interacts with furniture perfectly well, he completely ignores the idle markers I've set down near him. There's three idle markers within the radius of his sandbox, navmesh accessible and all that, but the damn things won't start.

 

Not really sure what to do here, the wiki seems to imply that if you plop the idle markers down they should work just fine, but I got nothing.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[EPDGaffney]

I've personally had a hard time with idle markers. I've never needed to go back to trying to get them to work, because this worked well enough for my purposes:

https://prnt.sc/iwdv0c

 

Those are furniture markers, which will do something like what you want, but are obviously more restrictive. You can check the idle markers' animations themselves for conditions that may not be met by your arrangement of them. That's in Gameplay (top toolbar) --> Idle Animations, and then that menu will have a lot of sub-directories. If your animation isn't in one, in this menu it will be in the LOOSE directory.

 

Apart from this, I know you're new to modding, but I have used this scripting function a few times instead of relying on the markers:

https://geckwiki.com/index.php/PlayIdleEx

 

If none of this works for you, some of the lads here do more work with non-hostile NPCs than I do, and they may be able to help you.

[kingbeast88]

Sandbox packages have a few different flags. One is Furniture (other than beds) which should allow things like sitting in chairs, another is Idle Markers like using a rake. If the package you are using is a vanilla one make a new one with the Idle marker flag checked. The sandbox package also has a radius so the markers need to be in that radius unless they also have a wandering flag check in the package.

[Stormbringer13]

Thanks fellas. Couldn't get the idle markers to work, but I threw in another furniture animation and figured out what the SmokerFaction does, so I'm pretty much set for now.

 

@EPDGaffney I'll keep that JIP function in mind, especially as I've started to get a handle on scripting. If you don't mind me asking, how often do you use NVSE and JIP functions? Wondering if it's worth checking out now or waiting until I'm pretty well settled with the vanilla functions.

[EPDGaffney]

Em, every five minutes, haha. I would get on that immediately.

 

I would get GECK PowerUp going as well to help you with scripting. It will give you a lot of unnecessary warnings when you aren't scripting, the majority of which don't help you really at-all (and they're all over the vanilla game as well), so don't panic about that. But with scripting, it is just a miracle. It tells you when result scripts aren't compiling, it tells you which lines are a problem, and often tells you what the problem actually is.

 

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/41642

[Mktavish]

I've found those blue idle markers pretty worthless when trying to integrate them into a sandbox package.

Although I think most of the time , the idle animations are just not playing nice with the npc, its a fricken mystery sometimes. So to test out what idles will work for sure. I would suggest test it with a patrol package first.

 

Also make sure you are toggling archive invalidation (turn it off then on again) when launching your load order to test out the AI changes.

[Mktavish]

If you don't mind me asking, how often do you use NVSE and JIP functions? Wondering if it's worth checking out now or waiting until I'm pretty well settled with the vanilla functions.

 

For a clarity attempt on this question ... There is no time once you start using these addons ... that you would not be using them. They are merely an extension of the knowledge / language , that the engine / edit tool ... now understands . All the vanilla functions / language ( which is still the lions share by a thin margin) are there for your use.

 

Err if that just muddies the water :confused:

The only difference really , is a different launcher.exe ... you can completely ignore it's effects if you so choose. And hence the game player of your mod , could also ignore (not use nvse.exe) since you did not put any of the extended language functions in it.

But anybody intent on checking out all the modding there is to have ... well ... you can guess if they have already downloaded NVSE / JIP

 

By the way ... you will never be "pretty much settled" with the vanilla functions ... there is too many :wacko: just pick your cherries :smile:

And to be honest ... I have not DL'ed and installed JIP yet ... LOL don't smack me EPDGaffney :pinch: :pirate: