Getting NPC actors to bash with a ranged weapon

[SKKmods]

It seems to be not possible to make NPCs bash with a ranged weapon when they run out of ammo.

 

The base game configures them for unlimited ammo for most weapons (ex fatman and missiles), but one of my mods limits them to one custom bullet for a custom handgun. Its rather specific to a "one bullet one kill" combat mod.

 

The expectation is that they will fall back to use the weapon bash when they miss a shot but they don't, they use fists. Which is an issue as I need them to do 65,535 damage with each hit, and fists * bash perk wont reach that high.

 

Workaround is to give them a custom melee weapon with 65,535 damage, but for the user experience I would really prefer them to use the ranged weapon.

 

TL;DR can you force an NPC to bash with a ranged weapon ?

 

 

[hereami]

Possibly, giving them custom combat style, where Bash is maxed out? Could be provided by combat override package, conditioned to having zero ammo inside inventory, and configured to use Weapons:Ranged against Player? Just a guess.

 

Very interesting, if there's an easy way to determine if corresponding ammo is missing for any equipped weapon?

[SKKmods]

Unfortuantely combat style has zero effect.

 

It's like they do not recognise ranged weapons as melee capable no matter what the range/damage is set to.

 

Maybe there is no bash animation if that is a thing ?

[PhanomGames]

What about a custom race with no unarmed weapon?

[Zorkaz]

A custom race or anything racedata related sounds like it could lead to a bunch of issues/mod incompatibilities. But then again this would probably be a starting point.

[SKKmods]

Unfortunately recreating custom races for all of the potential weapon brandishing hostiles is impractical, so stuffing a backup set of invisible 65535 damage knuckles in inventory is the solution.

[Zorkaz]

I admire your determination.

I recently tried to make a settlement as big as the world. But it had obviously issues so I left it.

Yours sounds as hard to make.

[SKKmods]

Well the concept has been running OK for some months with my Gun Games mod for Diamond City, looking to extend that right across the commonwealth.

 

For my own LOLs as people still playing Fallout don't do it for the fast paced combat.

[Bromancelot]

I looked into this the other day. I did some backtracking on how the author of "More Smarter Companions" got it to work. He made 2 separate combatstyles for each companion. One for long range, one for close. I tried that method he used out so that the NPC used both combatstyles and used the same weapon (a sniper rifle). Works.

 

I just duplicated one of his companion scripts, targeted it to a different NPC and had it use one weapon.

[SKKmods]

Well for whatever reason they refuse to use the custom "one in the chamber" 44 pistol in melee combat.

 

Maybe they don't recognize a good pistol-whipping, only rifle butt-stroking.