Hmmm, I LIKE this. Dark, mature, and with smashing AI that makes a dashing rogue even more...well...awesome! I'm quite impressed with the progress. Bravo. And the offer still stands for testing when you need it.

@Chaos 303030: Thanks for the continued interest. I'll take you up on that offer for testing when the time comes. There's going to be a LOT of testing required.

All right, time for another TLDNR update!

Well, I've been working hard on Balzu, especially the AI scripting, and I'm making some progress but I've also come up against a bit of a barrier: script lengths. As it stands, I can implement custom AI attributes, disposition indexes, and various flags that are specific to each actor for tracking the actor's personality and their opinion of the player, but I can only have a limited number of actors defined this way. I've been trying to come up with a workaround, but it's still up in the air at the moment how it will be resolved.

I've also been elaborating the suspicion mechanic to implement some features: sneaking players will become progressively more suspicious to other actors. Sneaking for a second or two won't have any ill effects, but prolonged sneaking will draw attention. Additionally, spending any length of time trespassing will make you more suspicious. A guard observing you sneaking while trespassing will become very suspicious very quickly and start following you around until you stop behaving suspiciously. A good deterrent for criminal activity. Also, wearing suspicious clothing (like part of a criminal faction uniform, or part of a guard uniform if you're not a member of the guard faction) will make you more suspicious, even if you aren't arrested for being a member of a criminal faction or impersonating a guard. In other words: if you've acquired items from known criminal groups or items that only law enforcers would carry, you'll draw suspicion to yourself.

I've also been elaborating this mechanic in another direction: shadowing. Although I haven't worked out all the details yet, the basic gist is: if you follow another actor around (spend a lot of time in the same cells and follow them from cell to cell) they will start to become suspicious of you. The more suspiciously you behave (for example, sneaking) and the more suspicious they are by nature, the more likely they are to confront you or try to lose you. If they are on their way to a private destination and they detect you following them, they may change their destination, call the guards, or run to a location they own and lock themselves in, depending on the circumstances. In this case, if you can remain undetected, sneaking is your best bet (but will draw attention to you if you are observed by other actors) but the jig will be up if they detect you. If you follow them without sneaking, it will be harder for them to determine whether or not you are actually following them, but they are more likely to detect you and have more opportunities to make that decision. (This concept was originally inspired by the 'Unfriendly Competition' quest where you follow Agarmir to his home.)

The fines for indecent exposure are also working. It's a very simple system which simply detects whether or not you have various slots equipped. Wearing 'skimpy' armor won't be detected as indecency as long as the proper slots are equipped, so if that's the way you roll you don't have to worry about being harassed by the guards unless you have nothing equipped. Other actors will comment on your various states of dress (or undress) either approvingly or disapprovingly depending on their personality and how attracted they are to you. (The dialogue still has to be written, but the actors can detect it now so it's just a matter of plugging in text.)

Actors can also detect whether or not you are injured and the extent of your injuries. This still has to be elaborated but, essentially, if you are wounded, actors will comment on your state of health, guards will escort you to healers, and healers will heal you (but some will charge you for it). I should note that not all players will start with a basic healing spell in Balzu. That's something you have to learn, either through selecting the correct class or background, or by joining a faction and being trained in the arts. Balzu uses a first aid system that works somewhat like the repair system: you buy bandages and apply them to your injuries. The amount you heal depends on your Armorer skill. (The rationale being that seasoned veterans are good at stitching wounds as well as maintaining their weapons and armor.) Of course, you can always rest or buy healing potions from apothecaries as well, and there's probably going to be a very slow health regeneration option as well.

:cookie: for anyone who read all that.

some of that kind of sounds like reneers guard overhaul does. perhaps you could take a peek at that mod and ask to borrow some of those ideas since that mod has been around forever and has been thoroughly vetted.

i must have missed this mod.........glad its coming along. always looking for something more dark medieval style and less disney world like oblivion.

It should sound like RGO, since it duplicates some of its features. Unfortunately, with a custom world mod, many mods like RGO just won't work since none of the locations or factions are the same. I'd need to either adapt that mod to work with Balzu or rewrite it if I wanted to use any of its features. So I'm rewriting it. I'm also extending it.

In fact, the enhanced AI in Balzu changes all actors, not just guards, so rewriting the guard AI is just one spoke in the wheel. It's just that the guard AI seems the most tractable. ALL actors will become suspicious of players acting suspiciously, but what they do about it depends on their character, occupation, and responsibilities. Some will turn a blind eye to avoid trouble, others will report it to the guards, others will confront the player, etc. Suspicion is a mechanic, and the script implements it differently for different types of actors.

I've also implemented most of kuertee's Clothing Matters and will be duplicating and extending the functionality of persuasion overhauls and companion overhauls. There really isn't any need to ask to borrow ideas since they are all obvious limitations existing in the vanilla engine. The AI in Balzu just happens to be duplicating all of these features since they are features I would like in my own mod. Fortunately, it's all one organic system, so I don't have to worry about compatibility issues.

Thank you for the interest in the mod and taking the time to reply.

Well, I read it all, so I'm going to enjoy my cookie

I have to say, the entire project is looking really sweet, especially the AI improvements and extensions. The disguise and suspicion mechanics sound very cool as well. One idea for the suspicion mechanic I have is that wearing clothes inappropriate or standing out from the crowd of the area you are in could increase the rate at which NPCs become suspicious of you - wearing fine silks at a cargo dock for example would make you more noticeable to NPCs, and therefore make them more likely to notice your actions.

That's a good point. I hadn't considered that particular angle. Standing out from a crowd will make you more suspicious, at least until people get to know you. I can actually implement that fairly easily, since I already use clothing value as a factor in other calculations. One other thing to note is that wearing fine silks at a cargo dock is also going to make you a target for criminals. (That's part of my 'Criminal Overhaul' ^TM. More on that later.)

I just realized that the number of NPCs in a cell will also be a factor in determining your success or failure in an attempt to shadow somebody. More NPCs means a better chance of losing 'yourself in the crowd' and keeping a low profile. Of course, you might want to dress appropriately. (Maybe I should start working on my 'Spy Overhaul' ^TM as well. :laugh: )

Thanks for the suggestion. Enjoy your cookie.

I'm really impressed! This is definitely a mod to watch. I'm really amazed with all the scripting work you're doing and how interesting and immersive you're making the AI. Keep it up TM, its looking great!

I've been working away at the immersive persuasion system and I think I have the basic infrastructure worked out, though it's still in the early stages.

To test it, I've been implementing Taunting, which is one of the nine standard persuasion techniques. (The tenth is Lying, but that's context sensitive and not always accessible from the menu.) Taunting allows you to antagonize the person you are in conversation with until they either attack you or get so fed up with you that they refuse to speak to you anymore.

The effectiveness of your taunting depends on a wide variety of factors: your Personality and Speechcraft (which affect all of the Persuasion techniques), your Intelligence (being smart makes you better at targeting sensitive issues), your opponent's temperament (Vanity, Modesty, Confidence, Compassion, Responsibility, and Energy), and your opponent's Intelligence and Speechcraft (smart actors, and/or actors trained in rhetoric, will be better at identifying and neutralizing your intentions). There is also a random element, so that you can never be quite sure if you'll be successful or how successful. Additionally, skill perks at higher levels of Speechcraft make your successes more effective and your failures less damaging.

You also have a choice of different approaches to take when taunting: targeting an actor's appearance will be more effective against vain characters, for example, and impugning a lady's moral character is more likely to be effective if she is modest. Compassionate actors are less susceptible to taunting in general, and Responsible actors are less likely to give in to violent urges. (Making guards hard to provoke.)

In general, Intelligent, Compassionate, Responsible people are very hard to provoke to violence, as they should be, but stupid, callous, and irresponsible people are easy to provoke. Whether your attempt to provoke an actor succeeds or not, they will like you less than they did before; however, only a successful provocation will lead an actor to attack you and earn you experience (in Speechcraft).

I plan on extending this mechanic to allow for bar brawls as well: if you provoke someone with your fists raised (and no weapon equipped, obviously) and they initiate combat, they will fight you bare-fisted and either beat you into submission (you yield to them) or they will realize they are over-matched and 'cry uncle' (yield to you). Be forewarned: just walking into a strange bar in a rough neighborhood may be all it takes to provoke some patrons with Balzu's enhanced AI!

I'm hoping to get some screenshots and videos up of some of the persuasion techniques soon but I still have a few bugs to iron out and a lot of canned dialogue to port over from other topics.

More soon.

Here's an early WIP vid of Taunting in action: http://www.wegame.com/watch/balzus-immersive-persuasion-system-taunts/

Note that not all of the dialogue is voiced yet. I still have to port some over from vanilla topics. I would like to record completely new voices eventually, since I expect to have several thousand lines of dialogue, but that's a ways off, yet.

Just another quick update. I have Flattery working now, as well, so it is possible to both raise and lower an NPC's disposition and get experience for it. The most important element in Flattery is the actor's Vanity. Vain actors tend to be easier to flatter, though Suspicious actors are less likely to think you are being sincere and Modest actors are less likely to believe what you say is actually true.

There is also a limit to how often you can effectively persuade an actor: each subsequent attempt at persuasion is now less likely to succeed, so grinding away at an actor in an attempt to max their disposition will eventually start working against you. If you leave them alone for a few days your effectiveness will return to normal.

I'm still working out the exact formulas to get everything working realistically and maintain game balance but essentially, characters with low Personality and Speechcraft are going to fail in their persuasion attempts most of the time and characters with high Personality and Speechcraft will succeed most of the time even at level 1. Your degree of success, the maximum you can raise an actor's disposition, and the severity of penalties for failing at a persuasion attempt are influenced by skill perks in Speechcraft.

More videos and whatnot soon.

I've added another video of the http://www.wegame.com/watch/balzus-immersive-persuasion-system-revised/ in action. [Warning: Strong language.] This one has a bit more dialogue and demonstrates Taunting, Boasting, and Flattery. There is still some repetition in the dialogue because I'm not done copying over files from vanilla topics. Still tweaking it a bit, too. The character I'm using has a high Personality (50) and Speechcraft (40), both of which can be set via chargen if you want to play a smooth-talking character. Most players won't be able to influence NPCs this easily. (You can't really see the influence in Boasting and Flattery like you can with Taunting, but it's there.)

There will be a limit to how high you can raise an actor's disposition based on your Personality and Speechcraft (among other factors). Also, an actor's level will work against you: higher level actors, who are presumably more experienced and worldly, will be less easily moved by your attempts at persuasion.

Note that the Taunt, Flattery, and Boast options all target different actor attributes and utilize different player strengths and weaknesses, so your chances of succeeding with any one option will be different from all of the others. Also, they impact different disposition indexes in different ways and affect male and female actors differently. Using Flattery on a member of the opposite six will raise both your Friendship and Attraction index a little, for example; Boasting will raise an actor's Respect if you succeed, but lower his Trust if you fail. Right now, different persuasion menus are provided for male and female characters and male and female actors (total 4 possible menus). I may also expand this range horizontally by tailoring the options to different personality types.

You birthsign, and the actor's birthsign, also play a role in determining their initial disposition toward you, though I'm still tweaking that element.

More soon.

Another update.

I've been looking into how to implement companions for Balzu since it's closely tied to the persuasion system and AI overhaul. Ideally, I'd like Balzu to be compatible with CSR and CM companions so if you prefer one or the other over the custom build you can still opt to go that route.

Balzu's native companion mechanic is likely to be a little more complicated and 'realistic' in terms of how you relate to your companions than either of the previously mentioned mods, though I'm not likely to be able to improve on the actual gameplay side of things. (And it still won't come close to a dedicated companion mod like Vilja.)

In Balzu, your companions will only perform duties they are qualified for; what I mean by that is: you will be able to hire retainers like guards, guides, porters, doctors, alchemists, smiths, bards, etc., but they won't necessarily fight for you (and of course there will be a limit on how many can actually accompany you). There will also be 'classical' companions that are true adventuring partners who behave like other companions, though you may discover they have a little more independence than you're used to! I'll also be toning down the 'buffing' aspect of things to more realistic and challenging levels: only qualified healers will be able to heal you, and will only be able to use the spells that they know; only smiths will be able to repair things and fletch arrows, etc. I'm still working out the details, obviously, but the point is having a companion or two in tow is not going to unbalance the game, so don't get lazy!

Also, the number of companions you can have, and their loyalty to you is going to depend on your Personality and Speechcraft. A charismatic non-combat-oriented character may be able to complete the quests as easily as a 'tank' by acquiring good followers and using their guile to manipulate actors who may be obstructing them.

On the landscaping side of things, I have expanded the world space by 36 cells to 100 cells (10x10 grid). Total progress works out to about 55% since the additional cells are just grassy knolls at this point. To give you some perspective: it takes a character with 100 Speed and Athletics 1m10s to run from one end of the map to the other. That's about a third of a mile in each direction, or the approximate size of the Imperial City Island (without the city in the middle). There are over 9000 hand-placed references in the mod which works out to about 1% of the total number of references in the vanilla game.

Once I have the bare-bones AI system in place (a couple more months at least) I will probably be looking for beta testers. I'll keep you posted.

Nice to see this is still up and running.

I like what you're doing with the actor AI, a lot! It sounds like it will actually be interesting and attention-consuming to interact with the NPCs in your world, which is far more than I can say for the vanilla game. Keep up the good work.

You asked for perk ideas. How about an 'eldritch' perk/weakness, which makes you more attuned to magic and more affected by it? Your spells would stronger, but enemy spells cast on you would also be more effective. Overall this would likely work out to be a bonus, but it would make you have to lookout sharp for enemy spellcasters.

Another might be a 'ranger' perk, which simulates you having sharper senses. This could be done in part by tampering with some game settings, making the sounds of nearby actors louder and light sources visible from a greater distance. Chameleon spells would be reduced in effectiveness against you, causing a larger visible distortion, and actors with invisibility spells might have a slight chameleon distortion effect, or significantly louder footsteps, or leave footprints even. Nights might appear slightly less dark to such a character.

There are a lot of semi-obvious perks that could help a character exploit different aspects of your new Persuasion mechanics, along the lines of the 'Rake' and 'Coquette' you already mentioned. A 'Brute' could be more effective at intimidation and/or insult, for instance. Similarly, you could have perks to help build rapport with some particular segment of society; a 'Savant' might do better persuading the intelligent (or stupid but easily impressed), and simultaneously have a boosted Intelligence score. A 'Born Nobleman' might do better with all upper-class types. However, I suspect from your description that most of this is already being implemented, albeit not in the form of perks.

Finally, it might be worth your while to take a glance http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20736 Picador's Vows and Covenants mod implemented an interesting variety of conditional bonuses that (depending on the lore of your mod) might play well as perks and weaknesses.

Good luck!

Asterai

Thanks. Work on it every day. Nice to see you're still making awesome textures.


Thanks for the ideas. Tbh, I haven't given a lot of thought to perks yet, since I've been working on the AI and landscaping, but I do plan on implementing perks that take advantage of each of the different persuasion types and disposition indexes. 'Honest Face' makes you better at lying, for example, and I had one planned for intimidation called 'Stone Cold', though I might use Brute in some fashion if that's all right. I haven't really taken a look at V&C yet, so thanks for the tip.

Perks (and Flaws, which you can also 'purchase' to gain points for other Perks) were created not just to give you an edge, but to allow you to customize your character and breathe some life into them, so I'm always happy to hear more suggestions if anyone has any.

I've started working on the first dungeon. Just a simple, low-level dungeon for players to get their feet wet in. A couple of shots (uncompressed, sorry):

http://www.truancyfactory.com/projects/balzu/images/Balzu_BoleteCave01.bmp

http://www.truancyfactory.com/projects/balzu/images/Balzu_BoleteCave02.bmp

http://www.truancyfactory.com/projects/balzu/images/Balzu_BoleteCave03.bmp

On average, dungeons in Balzu will be about twice the size of vanilla dungeons. Of course, I'm also planning some much larger ones. Just about done the first level of this one.

I've also got the Gifting mechanic in place, though it still needs a lot of tweaking and testing. Basically, it allows you to influence people by giving them gifts. It's an easy way to win over peasants and beggars, who generally don't own a lot, but becomes progressively more expensive the higher the recipient is on the social ladder. Giving a pauper a loaf of bread will have a noticeable impact on their disposition toward you; conversely, giving a nobleman a pewter vase is likely to be seen as an insult.

The Gift mechanic also sets up NPC Vices: special objects which hold a very strong appeal for certain actors. If you know an actor's vice, say, a preference for strong wine or good tobacco, giving them some as a gift will give you an additional bonus in your attempt to persuade them. Actor vices can often be discovered through observation, or by talking to other actors. Some common vices include alcoholic beverages, tobacco, sweet cakes, expensive clothing, rare books, gems and jewelery, and quality arms and armor. Literally any object in the game could be a vice.

If you have any questions about the mod, suggestions, or ideas, don't hesitate to post.

Well, after a very long hiatus (over four months!) I've finally returned to work on Balzu.

Previously, I had encountered some obstacles to implementing the advanced AI functions; specifically, how the functions were being called, script length limitations, database requirements and the complexity of the scripts themselves. I was also less than satisfied with the implementation of the new persuasion mechanic with its 'one size fits all' approach to interacting with NPCs.

I've begun redesigning the AI engine by dismantling the massive 'core' script and decentralizing it, moving scripting decisions to the actors themselves. In other words: each actor will have it's own customized AI routines using the base mechanics I've already described but instead of having a master script anolyzing the NPC and selecting routines based on it's anolysis, each actor will make his or her own decisions. This removes a couple of the problems I had encountered previously:

1. storing vital NPC data in a database that had to be accessed and updated every frame, and
2. script length limitations that required me to 'chunk' the database into separate files accessed by the script engine.

Now, actors will have a script attached to them storing the data I had previously located in the db, and they will access the same functions that I previously accessed from the master script. Whether or not this will prove to be more or less memory intensive than the previous script remains to be seen.

I will also be changing how the persuasion mechanic works. Most of the mechanic will now be embedded in the dialogue itself, so it will be customized for that specific NPC. In other words, where before I used a generic menu system to interact with all NPCs, I will now be able to write persuasion dialogue tailored specifically for that individual. This also means that all persuasion techniques will be context-sensitive. This will remove a lot of the silliness of attempting to use the same limited number of stock insults, compliments, etc., for every NPC and provide narrative-driven, context-appropriate responses that fit with any pending quests that may be associated with that NPC.

Along with this, the entire companion mechanic will change. Now, whether or not an NPC chooses to become a companion, and the type of companion that they will become, depends entirely on the way that NPC relates to the character. In other words, if you play a criminal, only criminally-minded NPCs will offer to accompany you. If you play a paladin, only nobly minded (or exploitative) NPCs will accompany you. There will be no hard and fast divisions between companions and other NPCs. Perhaps, if the baker likes you enough, he will tag along, helping where he can, but avoiding suicide missions. In all likelihood, he's not going to want to team up with a complete scoundrel.

Additionally, you will not have complete control over how your companions behave. They may decide to leave you for no apparent reason, or flee a combat, or chase a particular foe based on their background and motives. In general, they will behave in ways that support you: if you sneak they will sneak, if you attack, they will attack, but they will not be mindless automatons. You can give them directions, and they will generally follow them if they like and respect you enough, but if you propose something that goes counter to their nature, or ask them to do something foolhardy, they will act to defend themselves and their ideals.

Anyways, I know this was a long post that amounts to little more than a pipe-dream at this point, but for those of you who stuck with it: that's where I'm at, and thank you for reading!

I like the forests and how you added all of the trees, they look very nice. As somebody who's also making a worldspace now, I've got to ask; how do you navigate through that dense of a forest without issues in making it still passable or taking a major hit in FPS?

It's also nice to see more people working on making worldspaces. I dunno why, I just love 'em.

Honestly, my fps is taking a serious hit. But I have a pretty old PC, so I'm going to wait until after my upgrade before I start worrying about it. Wandering around my worldspace is a pure delight for me, so culling it is a last resort. It will also depend on some feedback from others when I get to beta testing. As far as navigating it goes, there is still plenty of room to run around between the trees and such. It hasn't been a problem. It's not really dense the way a real forest usually is, but a lot denser than vanilla forests. (Maybe twice the density?)

I also love custom worldspaces. I think it's the main reason why I mod, though I love the other aspects as well. I'd love to see what you're working on.

I just went along with what I was planning, and so far my dense forest (maybe 3x that of Oblivion's forests) isn't killing my FPS too much. I have a decent PC though. :shrug:

I know what you mean about wandering around your worldspace though! It's almost like writing a book that you can live in and experience first-hand. Creating a universe, even.

So far I don't have many unique meshes and the like, because this is a more recent one. I was making another mod that took place in the same world, but at the moment it was just too hard to make a sprawling Negalias (race of people) island-city. Not to mention the disappointment when my little sand-birds wouldn't work at all... although now I think I know why. :facepalm: I have a bunch of clothes, hairstyles, and other meshes when I'm ready to do that though, so it wasn't a complete loss.

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Anyway, here are just a few screenshots of my world (Sunai)... Sorry if I'm interjecting some things that you don't want in your thread. If you want I'll change the post to delete this part.

But here they are: http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac87/MartutTES/ScreenShot217.jpghttp://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac87/MartutTES/ScreenShot220.jpghttp://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac87/MartutTES/ScreenShot221.jpghttp://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac87/MartutTES/ScreenShot223.jpghttp://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac87/MartutTES/ScreenShot224.jpghttp://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac87/MartutTES/ScreenShot222.jpg

Sorry that they're all dark, I took them all at night-time. :blink: That's the Village of Plint and the surrounding forests, which is all I've got outlined. Those buildings are also just place-holders for when I finally sketch up and create some Tescan Village architecture.

Looking good, Martut! :goodjob: I especially like the third screen. Can't wait to see more.

I know what you mean about using placeholders. I would love to do all new architecture as well (I've been roughing out some thumbnails, but that's a ways off, yet.) I also have some ideas for new dungeon tilesets that are a little different from the vanilla ones. I have some basic modeling skills; it's really the textures that I find somewhat tedious and time-consuming, probably because I'm not very good at it yet.

Mod News: I ripped out all of the AI scripts yesterday and fixed some of the features that got broken in the process (the rent a room script and the crime-handling scripts). Everything seems to be back to normal (ie. vanilla) and working properly. Now to redo the entire AI engine! :shakehead:

Thanks, my favorite was the 3rd one too.

Yeah, I'm not very good at texturing yet either. The best I've done so far is making my own http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac87/MartutTES/ScreenShot230.jpg, but I'm still workin' on them a lot to make them look the way I want them to. I write lore for mine too, as I'm going along.

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The mod looks very cool, it looks like I missed a video or two yesterday.

Just a quick update.

I've started rewriting the AI engine using JRoush's AddActorValues to create the new AI variables. This has significantly reduced the amount of work involved and drastically cut the length and number of scripts required. It also solves the database bottleneck I ran into in my previous attempt. I can now add the new AI to every actor without having to worry about reading and writing to a messy collection of databases. This will not only simplify the task of creating the enhanced (or as I've begun to call it, Luminous) AI, it will also reduce processing overheads.

I've also redesigned the persuasion mechanic. It is now organically integrated with the dialogue menu (no more annoying menu interface) and is tailored to each NPC and the current context of the conversation. Now when you persuade someone, your dialogue will fit the person and the situation for a more immersive and seamless experience. I've also added an additional persuasion technique, Begging, which works like a sort of reverse bribe where you may be able to convince the NPC to give YOU money (or food, lodging, etc.).

I've also adopted OBME to create custom spell effects. I'm still learning how it works, but I've already replaced my scripted poison bite and custom creature summons with new magic effects that work seamlessly with less mess and fuss (and debugging!).

Big thanks to JRoush for making most of my latest developments possible. (And to Tejon for pointing me in the direction of AddActorValues.)

I've also done a little bit of work on the landscaping, so I'm sitting at about 62% complete (10x10 cells). Getting there!

Hoping to have my first public beta by the end of the year. New screenshots and videos are just around the corner.

Thanks for reading. :wave:

Another update for the curious.

Done a lot of landscaping (several cells worth) plus a lot of work on the persuasion system. I now have Intimidation, Boasting, Flattery, Amusing, and Taunting working, but they all need a lot of tweaking to get them within playable parameters. As it is, some are insanely hard to use and others a little too easy.

Each technique depends on a wide range of factors beyond your Speechcraft ability. For example, Intimidation is easier if you are physically large and muscular and equipped with quality arms and armor (or, alternately, project a powerful occult aura). Actors will find it easier to resist your attempts at intimidation if they are similarly built and equipped and skilled with their equipped weapon (or preferred magic). Boasting is easier if you're famous and you look like you just got out of a nasty brawl (damaged weapons and armor and visible injuries). Your ability to Amuse an actor depends on their sense of humor (yes, there is an attribute for that in Balzu). Some of these techniques have stronger effects than others, so it pays to get to know the actors and your own strengths and weaknesses before attempting to persuade someone. If you spam them with persuasion attempts, their patience for you will quickly diminish, though it will recover over time (each day a little). These techniques also have mastery perks, though right now they only affect the degree of your success or failure. Your birthsign will also affect your ability to use each technique. For example, characters born under the sign of the Bear are better at Intimidation, but worse at Amusing people.

Check out the http://www.truancyfactory.com/projects/balzu/balzu.html for more media and info (several pages worth!).

More soon!

Okay, I have a stupid question: All these overhaul changes to AI and conversation: will they function in Tamriel, or only in Balzu? Matter of fact, is Balzo a new world, or an overhaul? You've probably explained that, but as dense as I am, I've no doubt missed it.