how to change the type of damage creature attacks use? for example, i want a deathclaw to deal fire damage only

[EPDGaffney]

I think I would just do the damage calculations you want, subtract from that the damage already done, and apply the end result in addition the damage already being dealt. The downside to that method is the shield icon will look unbroken, but you'll otherwise need to grab the DT and DR values, store them in variables somewhere, set the DT and DR to 0, wait for the damage to be dealt, and then set the DT and DR back to what they were. The 'waiting' is the tricky bit there. No real non-hacky methods exist for it. I've done many things like this to good effect, but the hackiness never sits right with me. Also, this is assuming the event handler kick in before the hit actually happens; if it doesn't, we can't use this method and will need to use the method where we apply additional damage and let the shield icon display unbroken. I don't think there's a way to alter what the shield icon displays, really. I can think of one that would take an extreme amount of effort and involve XML coding. I don't know that it's worth it.

 

Anyway, you'll never become an experienced modder if you don't experience modding. So do your best to set up scripts like that, then come back and let me proof them if they don't work. It's a hurdle you jump once, and then you have a massive tool under your belt to play with (ooer).

 

Also, ForceAV is generally not a good idea to use. It overrides other stuff permanently. ModAV would be preferable. Unless you maybe use a custom scripted effect that's set to recover on being removed. But effects can go weird at times. Never happened to me personally, but that's the hard word in the modding streets.

[sjohnson89]

i have a feeling all of these scripts will have too many issues end they will end up ruining the resistance system. plus they have an impact on performance. they are too unstable for my taste. thats the number one reason i want to stay away from scripts. the other one is, well they are too complicated for me.

 

i'm into modding but these are well out of my reach, at least for the moment. i'd like to start with something simpler. hell, even in gym i didnt immediately start heavy lifting even with my strength advantage. i feel like these are too advanced for my current level.

 

kotlecik (author of after war nevada) shares my feelings:

 

Well, since you are not a programmer, I believe that scripting something that ignores DR/DT with critical hits might be out of your reach. Even I currently have no idea how to script it correctly.

 

hopefully in the future, if i'm still playing nv i might try getting into more complicated stuff. for now i have to focus on alternative fixes like i did previously.

[Mktavish]

So you want the juggernaut feel but yet you don't want it to be overpowered ?

 

And I am assuming this is only achievable with power armor ?

 

Well how about some power failures on your power armor ... random glitches that slow you down , both locomotion and combat reaction. And maybe some protection loss in some cases. Or could even have a rare event of taking damage. IDK just some quick idea's ...

But instead of truly random , could make it a little more smart , because truly random could end up being to tedious to play. But just the worry that it could break down from the player perspective could add that thrill of not knowing :ermm:

But then there is all those other moments of just KIck'n ARse :devil:

[sjohnson89]

actually i had similar ideas BUT it was for a salvaged power armor mod. it would be super hard to get a decent working power armor in that mod project but i ditched the idea.

 

i guess i'll end up making it similar to fo2 because in that game with advanced power armor (mk ii)+3 ranks of toughness+implants made you almost invincible. you laughed at multiple deathclaws or enclave patrols. i may increase exp required to level so that getting there takes some time. i dunno

[Mktavish]

i may increase exp required to level so that getting there takes some time. i dunno

 

Well just remember the grind needs to be unique and interesting ... otherwise I would guess most people end up saying ... sheesh , I played this before already , before they even get to your intended content.

 

I thought the glitchy power armor could give some of that juggernaut feel in spurts , before the near end game.

[EPDGaffney]

I like the glitchy power armour idea. Maybe it needs resources to be kept in good shape and malfunctions in various ways if that doesn't happen, similar to hardcore needs but just tie it to armour condition I suppose, if you don't want it to be too complex.

 

Scripts are generally stable if you write them correctly. I'm here to help you do that if you want to. They similarly have very little performance impact if you use things like event handlers and you don't have a hundred of them for the same event (and even then, I'm just guessing it would be bad; I've used ten or so OnHit handlers with long scripts to process and never noticed the remotest performance hit). Scripts are usually only bad if you have loads of GameMode scripts at once and especially object scripts that are GameMode, because they run every frame (which is almost always overkill). Quest scripts with a really fast processing time (like every 0.1 seconds or faster) are used all throughout the vanilla game and they work fine, but if you stack up too many of that kind of script via mods, maybe then you'd see a hit.

 

If you don't want to jump into scripting right now, no pressure. Just don't be under the assumption that they're unstable or bad for performance as a reason not to pursue it. There are cases where you stretch the limits of our scripting resources for this engine and in these specific cases, we may have a problem. Otherwise, it's down to the scripter and not the script, which you shouldn't worry about because I'll fix your scripts for you.

 

And last, you should probably be aware that this is not a real scripting language, and it's much simpler than a real one. This means you write more and it's less efficient, but it means that you have an easier time of it as well. C++ is what I'm trying to learn now and it still makes my head spin a bit. This is the reason almost every legendary Gamebryo 'programmer' has no programming background. All you need is dedication. It may seem daunting before you start learning, but once you're in it, it's more rewarding and addicting than anything else.

[sjohnson89]

mktavish,

 

good point. sometime later i'm gonna compare fo2 and nv exp system to see the difference between them. i know that fo2 has superb rewards for killing things, for example deathclaws give 1000-2000 exp depending on their variant. i can include something like this. i dont know which game requires more exp to level but killing stuff should grant more rewards, especially if its a powerful being like a deathclaw.

 

epd,

 

when i wasnt into modding i saw many mods that said "no save game bloating because this mod doesnt use any scripts", "no scripts so no performance hits" etc etc. i understand that it is quite possible to make a script with minimal hit on performance but there is also the fact that i'm a perfectionist. if i see characters hp decreasing slightly after getting hit or other weird interactions like that its a big immersion killer for me.

 

but of course i'm not throwing the towel yet, in the future i have plans to get into advanced scripts and make a power armor model completely from scratch (a very simple looking one).

[EPDGaffney]

Well, whenever you want to get into it, I'll probably be here. If not, someone else probably will. Save game bloating doesn't occur just because you use scripts, and it's not that big of a deal anyway, compared to the bloating you get just from playing the game. And performance hits are more often from graphics than from scripts. The major problem in that regard with scripting is that a lot of modders don't want to learn how to do it right and just drop their idea in a GameMode script that they never turn off, which in conjunction with players not wanting to be bothered adding mods to their game the right way, produces situations where the less judicious among us have games with loads of unnecessary scripts running the entire time. This could potentially cause a performance hit but if they have a decent CPU, probably not much of one if any. Their graphics mods will probably hit them first.

 

This is my latest mod:

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/65370

You think you're a perfectionist? It's the simplest concept in the world and look at all that documentation.

 

This is a mod that conceptually does what I wanted but to be perfectly honest, does a poor job of it:

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/44546

It runs a GameMode script constantly, and not only does that make it inefficient, the mod is sluggish because the modder didn't want to use a processing time faster than 0.1 calls per second, for performance reasons.

 

My point being, there's right ways and wrong ways to approach scripting, and if nothing changes between now and the time you're ready, I can make sure you're not doing it one of the wrong ways. You'll be all right.

 

3D modelling is another thing that may seem hard at first but once you really get into it, starts to be addicting and rewarding. It's probably much less prone to frustration and confusion as well, so by all means, jump into that if you like. Just make sure you grab one of the right versions of Blender if you're going to do this for New Vegas mods. Or any Bethesda games, really. There are some technical aspects regarding the export and import and you'll want to be aware of what they are. Dubious has what you need linked in his Getting Started guide.

 

Speaking of 'getting started', Docta Sax posted that scripting tutorial he's working on. It's really well put together from what I've read so far, and I think it's great for beginners, so look at that if you want.

[sjohnson89]

well by perfectionist i mean even the slightest hitch annoys the hell out of me and i dont rest until i fix whatever is causing that issue. this applies both to real life stuff (whether its a drawing, a homework, reaching my soft cap at the gym or a personal project) and whatever i want to do on computer, although the latter is still in a newbie stage.

 

i fully agree with the result being well worth the effort in 3d modelling. it always caught my interest. such a nice thing to do, feels like you are a sculpture artist.

 

i use blender 2.0 alpha btw, i hate the old one's ui.

[EPDGaffney]

I'm more or less the same in that regard. It makes my work really shine when it's done, but it makes a lot of my projects hit a wall at about 90-95% completion, which is annoying. Odd enough, not really for modding, though. I don't think I've given up on a single idea and I've never sacrificed processing efficiency to get anything done. If anything, I'm pathologically over-cautious on that front.

 

2.0 alpha? Isn't that 'the old one' you hate? We tend to use 2.49, but by version I meant more than the number. I should have said 'package' I suppose. I use Blender Portable (for which I made the icon) for my mods, and keep my other Blender up to date for developing my own game. And yes, I don't care for 2.49's UI, but we need to use a version that can use the NIF scripts we have available for Fallout 3/New Vegas (NV is never mentioned in the scripts, so we just pretend we're exporting for FO3 and it works fine). It's missing some great features as well, but if you want to get your model into this game, that's your safest option. The core code for Blender changes too dramatically in later versions for the NIF scripts to be functional.