Finders Keepers
A part of the BRAINS project

Progress: 50% complete
Release Date: Soon, I'm waiting on OBSE v0018.

I've decided to develop http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1005791&hl=brains in parts and release them as I go. This way, it will be easier for me to develop and you guys will get to play bits and pieces of it until I integrate them all together.

Description:
Why is it that you're the only one who ever gets rich in the game? Well the residents of Tamriel have had enough and they've decided to institute a new rule?"Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers!" No longer will NPCs wait around for the player to clean out all the loot, now they are just as likely to pick up loot as you are. So as the game progresses and you find cool new items, so will the rest of the residents of Tamriel. Finders Keepers allows any NPC (mod-added as well) to loot corpses or pick up weapons and shields off the ground. The intelligent looting system will allow NPCs choose which items to loot (e.g. A Mage may take spell scrolls whereas a Thief may take lockpicks). In the future this will also be integrated with BRAINS so that NPCs in combat can switch weapons/shields if they see a better one on the ground.

Planned Features:

• Adds the ability for any NPCs (mod-added NPCs as well) to loot dead bodies, weapons, and shields on the ground
  
• NPCs in combat without a weapon or shield may loot them off the ground or off dead bodies
  
• NPCs will only loot items they like (e.g. A Mage may take spell scrolls whereas a Thief may take lockpicks)
  
• Some NPCs may give you preference over the loot if they like you enough
  
  
• NPCs may fight each other or you over loot
  
  
• Ability to coerce NPCs into yielding loot they picked up
  
  
• Some NPCs will pay their respects to the dead
  
  
• Fully animated and voiced

Possible Features in Future Versions:

• NPCs will try and sell their loot
  
• NPCs may offer to sell you the loot they picked up if they like you enough
  
• Ability for humanoid creatures to loot
  
  
• NPCs may bury their friends bodies
  
  
• Guards will take loot off of dead bodies and place it into a nearby evidence chest (thanks for phoenix1213 for the idea)
  
  
• NPCs will be able to pick up any item on the ground, not just weapons and shields

Features in bold are new.

And finally, for anyone looking for a good chuckle here is a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mUEa9CKU30 of this mod in early development :hubbahubba:

As always, comments and suggestions are welcome!

So this mod expands on MMM's looting npc's and creatures?

Will this conflict with TalkieToasters companion mod since it also allows your companions to loot

No, if you're using MMM this mod would replace MMM's Looting add-on. AFAIK MMM only allows creatures and NPCs from that mod to loot by placing scripts on each actor. Finders Keepers works differently in that 1) It will not add a script to every NPC/Creature 2) It will allow ANY NPC to loot. Technically you could have both mods active at the same time but this mod has been built completely separately from MMM so that anyone can use it.

Also, although I can't speak to MMM's Looting add-on, Finders Keepers makes the looting behavior intelligent and contextual. It's primary integration with BRAINS is to allow NPCs who have lost their weapons/sheilds or have low quality weapons/shields pick up better ones off of fallen comrades.

Sounds like a good Idea. Probably a big step for the atmosphere of the game.
And the Video with the funny music is also good

I wouldn't know without taking a look at the mod. My guess is the worse thing that would happen is your companion would loot nearby bodies or weapons without you telling them too. A quick solution would be to exclude scripted actors from being allowed to loot (given that TalkieToaster places scripts on his companions.. again I don't know without looking). Hope that answers the question.

just to let you know there was another mod called finders keepers. that had the glasses that had the various detect scripts and night eye etc.

There aren't scripts on the companions in TalkieToaster's mod, it lets you recruit NPCs that are already in the game.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to this, and the rest of the project. It's about time that NPCs get some BRAINS! (See what I did there?)

That test video cracked me up, by the way.

It looks like it will be really good.
Nice work. I assume they won't be able to pick up quest items?
And will they be less likely to pick it up if they are nearly/are encumbered?

looks cool. Man my trash heap in leyawinn s no longer safe

Oh...crap...Volendrung, I dumped it in the middle of the market district somewhere. Lol.

RE: Description: Things like this really make me wish I could fix the missing mesh issue with http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18072 constant-effect enchantments on weapons.... Killing everyone with cursed weapons FTW!

Speaking of which....
RE: Planned Features: I've seen this happen in vanilla


Also I really hope you don't find a way to disable Finders Keepers with Talkie Toaster's CS&R... When CS&R companions would loot things the game would sometimes freeze or crash.... Hopefully with F, Kers that won't happen and I could just turn off CS&R looting for my companions.

I've seen an NPC pick a weapon off the ground, but never off a corpse. Moreover the behavior is very erratic and doesn't happen as often as it should if the NPC were more "rational".


Oh great, I didn't know you could turn looting off. That solves that problem.

Oops. Forgot to look up the mod name in TESNexus before hand Any suggestions for a new name for this mod? How bout Corpse Kelptos hahaha j/k

Yes. and Yes.

That Video is really funny XD

Hey guys, I need some input for this mod:

• Should friends loot each others bodies?
  
• Should guards be able to loot?
  
• Should there be a "cool down" period before a body can be looted?
  
• Should NPCs be able to loot any item on the ground or just weapons and sheilds near dead bodies?
  
• Should NPCs bury their friends?
  
• What should I call the mod since "Finders Keepers" is already taken?

Like your other modules and ideas, this look great!

My answers are in bold :

Another question: Should NPCs fight over loot?


Now the implication to this is 1) you probably don't want to leave anything on the ground anymore 2) NPCs will start picking up stuff in the world (e.g. vases, urns, plates etc.) Is this what you'd want? Also, I'm not entirely sure how feasible this would be yet, just wanted to see if ppl are interested in it.

I'd like it until I go into the Oak and Croiser and all that is left is what was nailed down.....

Hilarious video! I'm looking forward to seeing this mod completed. It's always bugged me that I seemed to be the only one looting in the game. Especially with the Bandits. Isn't that what they're supposed to be doing out there in the middle of nowhere? I also glanced at the combat behaviour component and that also sounds very promising.

I've got a mod where you can see longer after you die, and it always irritated me that the bandits would kill you, and then just walk off. They did that to everyone, in fact. It would be cool to see Bandits actually taking better armour, etc.

One other issue with NPCs looting any item in the game world is that eventually the game world will be wiped clean of items! I tested this myself most items do not respawn after being taken by the NPC except for food... I started seeing food respawn without plates lol. So I'm pretty hesitant to implement this feature right now.


By disposition and faction

Very simply, nothing too complex since this is somewhat out of the mod's scope. Basically after paying respects to the body and removing items from the corpse the corpse will sink into the ground and be disabled.

That sounds good. Another thing that's bothered me about the game is how callous the NPCs can seem when one of their comrades has fallen,or even if there's just a body lying around. Another thing you might want to include, if an Imperial Legion on the road comes across another Legion that had been killed earlier by a Bandit, that they acknowledge the corpse and dispose of it in a dignified manner instead of simply walking past and ignoring it.