SSE Npc Ai packages - spawn after load door

[TyburnKetch]

I have quite a few AI packages running on an Npc. All work well, apart from an issue I am having when he moves from an Interior load door to the exterior. It is not door specific. He does this on all of the doors I have leading out of the interior.

 

If I request him to finish his current package and resume or start a new one, he does, but if he has to go through one of these load doors, if i follow him, he has vanished when i get to the exterior. I run to where I know he should be, for his current package, and sure enough he is there. He seems to be missing out the travel part of his proceedure, but only after using a load door from interior to exterior.

 

He has a standard sequence: Travel, unlock doors. Then simultaneous: sandbox, wait.

 

I have not set up any preferred paths, either on the navmesh or in his packages. Would this make a difference?

 

Am I missing something obvious in his sequencing?

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[cumbrianlad]

Preferred paths shouldn't be needed. They are just 'preferred' routes and NPCs use them to get somewhere rather than any other navmesh, when they are available, but they'll use any correct mesh they can navigate.

 

Are the interior and exteriors finalized and the doors linked properly?

 

Is his target on navmesh?

 

Has it all been path tested?

 

Apart from that I don't know, unless there's a time limit on it and he doesn't have time to complete it.

[TyburnKetch]

Thank you for this.

 

I am 99% sure that all the navmesh is finalised, the door markers are properly placed and linked properly and I have done extensive path testing. But I guess it will not hurt to have another look.

 

As for the time issue: perhaps. I have my npc perform 4-5 packages each day but i have noticed if he is late for a package and I am in the same cell as him he will walk to his next package start as expected. It seems that if I am not in the same cell as him then the game just transports him instantaneously to his required destination. Which is understandable, just a bit wonky.

Edited July 17, 2020 by TyburnKetch

[cumbrianlad]

The only other thing I could think of is if a condition on the package is wrong, so he can't do it. I've made that mistake myself before.

 

if it's in a quest you could get him to 'Evaluate Package'. You probably know that. NPCs don't evaluate packages as often if the player is not present, I believe. That's why you see 'Evaluate Package' a lot in quests when NPCs are moved in place ready for the player arriving in their location. That command jolts them into the quest alias package they should be using. Otherwise they'll still be trying to sandbox with weapons sheathed when they're meant to be guarding with weapons drawn!

 

I have a little saying... "Never underestimate the power of AI stupidity!"

 

I don't think Bethesda were really worried about NPC packages firing correctly when they weren't in quests. I'm guessing that this explains why you can enter a shop during the NPCs working hours and they are often not there. Waiting for an hour teleports them in front of you. Wonky, as you say and it doesn't look good, but I don't think there's a lot can be done about it without scripts.

[TyburnKetch]

Again, thank you! Evaluate package was the very thing I was going to start adding everywhere! Hopefully that will jolt him into acting a bit more realistically :)

[cumbrianlad]

You'll probably only need it once or twice to get over the difficult packages, if it helps. I use it in every quest where I need to move them or in the case of my last NPC, I just called the function in a stage when the player was far enough away in a neighbouring cell for him to have ample time to walk to his XmarkerHeading.