After searching for hours and with many a trial and error I decided to put what I have learned into a thread so that people will not have to go through the same rigmarole of package settings.

Iliana, as always ever helpful has already added to the list.

If you know anything about packages then please add to the list so we can develop I library of best practice ideas.


Packages contained so far in this thread:

Hoe, rake or paint
eat
chopping
praying
drinking
stealing


1. HOE or RAKE or PAINT

AI Package : Use item at
Location : XMarker
Target : ObjectID : Hoe01 or Rake01 or Paintbrush01

NPC Inventory : Hoe01 or Rake01 or Paintbrush

2. FAKE COMBAT or WEAPONS PRACTISE or CHOP

AI Package : Use item at
Location : XMarker or Fixed ID Target
Target : ObjectType : Weapons:NONE (for punching), or Weapons:Blunt, etc. (for weapon)

NPC Inventory : appropriate type weapon

3. COWER

AI Package : Flee not Combat
Tick box : Always run
Location : XMarker if required

E.g. Fake combat + cower, "take that you bad Khajiit!" http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9646/anqbeatthecat.jpg

4. Sweeping NPC

Package. Use item at. Condition (optional) Location, select either rug or similar or use x marker. Target: ObjectID : Broomlower01

NPC must have in inventory Broomlower01 from misc menu.

5..Drunk NPC. NPC will equip mug and sip from it, wobbly legs.

Package Use item at. Condition (optional) Location, select with x marker or directional x marker.
Target: ObjectID middleclasspewtermug01.

NPC must have middleclasspewtermug01 in inventory.


OBEISANCE AND PONDER TOKENS.

By setting the package to USE ITEM AT, you can designate time and place, use an X marker to decide which way the NPC will be facing, then into the target section add one of the following.

1. Obeisance token. NPC will kneel and pray.
2. Ponder token 1. Standing with hands together praying.
3. Ponder token 2. Standing with finger to chin pondering.
4. Ponder token 3. Standing hands on groin area with head down, penitence. Could also be used for urinating if set against a wall.
5. Preach token. NPC will raise hand and punch to the air as if getting the crowd to cheer during a speech.


Fake Punch up or weapon combat between two NPC's By ILIANA:

1. Add two XMarkerHeading items from the statics folder where you want the two fighting NPCs to stand facing and almost touching each other. Click on them in the render window and in the REF field for the first call it something like MESOGBrawlRef01, and the second MESOGBrawlRef2.

2. Then add your two fighting NPCs somewhere in the slums (anywhere will do). Give each of these a fixed REF name as well, e.g. [NPCName]Ref.

3. Go to AI Packages, and duplicate the four packages called AnvilThurindilFights..., AnvilThurindilGoToFightMarker, and the matchign two for AnvilHaulsRopeFaster. Give these duplicate packages names to suit your NPCs.

4. Open up your new packages. In the location tab for each change the XMarkerDirection reference to your ones. One for each NPC. In the GoToFightMarker also change NPCs in the conditions to your NPCs selected in the render window.
Also change the time to suit, those ones are set for 1AM, I changed my ones to 8PM instead.

5. Add these two packages to your NPCs list. The GoToFightMarker one comes second.

And thats it!

Which gives you a couple that stand around slugging each other for 3 hours. Like so--
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/4770/anqfistfight.jpg

Excellent thread...
makes it very understandable to use packages.
Well Done! :trophy:

Thanks. Anyone who uses packages please post your own so we can develop a useful resource library.

Could anyone do an EAT package description?

Ok, here is a lazy solution for a working smith or butcher.

Just use the fake combat package with a blunt weapon and equip the NPC with a hammer or cleaver and point him in the direction of a table or anvil. Its not perfect, since some parts of the animation look a little too enthusiatic, like the side swipes, but its fine as a city background scene. I used the same with a dead fish, some blood decals, cleaver and a bench for a fishmonger.
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/9060/anqsmith01.jpg
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/8738/anqsmith02.jpg
The smith's hammer is a weapon from Farmer's Strike Back. You could use the sickle from that mod in the same way for a harvester in the wheat fields.

I'm going to try that. Ive been looking at the other animations to see what else can be done. So far nothing to report.

Anyone know how to do the EAT package. Even when I equip my NPC with a larder full of food he wont touch it.

For eat packages I mostly just use the aaaEat ones, which set the NPC to eat in the location you place them in the editor.
The aaaEatCurrentLoc ones are used to make them eat in the location they are at at the time, so if one of these interrupts a wander in market package, then the NPC will stop there to eat rather than return "home."

You can add an apple or something to their inventory if you like. But if you leave their inventory empty and they are in their home the NPC will simply sit at the dinner table and eat whatever is lying around, including poison apples if the player lays one there.

Animals can also use eat packages without a problem.


Here is my version of a fishmonger chopping with a cleaver. Stick an invisible collision box above the table as well, so you get the sound of him hitting something! Otherwise its completely silent.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9279/anqfishmonger.jpg

Hi ! How do you make animals eat ?
I'd like to make a mountain lion feed on a dead character but I don't know how.

I wouldn't want to see this thread purged or forgotten. Can this be listed on the Wiki?

I'd be happy to assist.

You'll need new idle animations ( for he creature ) for that - Once you have that, everything else is pretty much straight forward. Just http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Forcing_Idle_Animationsfrom a script, while checking if it's close enough to a dead body. I believe the Can Corpse Check flag can be put of use here somewhere, but not exactly sure how.


I agree.

Steal Package:

AI Package: Find

Target: Object you want character to steal. Don't change anything if you want them to take everything. Value: Input the total monetary worth of objects stolen.

Location: Choose either a cell or a current/editor location. Keep in mind that if you put them near an NPC, they may attempt to pickpocket, which may lead to guard interference. Radius:Input any number (min. 3000 recommended)


Finally change the character's Responsibility to below 30.

A couple of ideas for diversity in packages and how to make NPC's more alive with packages.


1. Two drunken sots having a chat.

Place two x marker direction heading meshes facing close to each other, almost touching.
Designate a package for two NPC's, use item at, pick the location as the x marker heading meshes and equip both NPC's with middle class pewter mug01. Set the time of the packages to the same. In target, set the target as the pewter mug.

The NPC's if you set their packages in coordination with other packages such as selling, wandering etc will at the time you have set go and stand opposite each other, pull out their mugs and start drinking from them as if they are having a chat over a beer.

You can then set them both or one of them to after drinking run a package to use item at. Equip them with the pondertoken03 and do an X marker heading against a wall. Set the input box under target in the package at about 10 or 15. The NPC will now break off after drinking, go stand against a wall and look as if he is urinating. Obviously it would look silly using a woman unless you set the always sneak package. Havent tried that last one yet but imagining it, it could certainly raise a laugh.

Bump. Surely there are other modders out there who have done packages for NPCs to equip items and so forth? Anyone fancy posting some package settings?

Just something regarding AI packages and scripting ...

Here's an alternative to the http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/OnPackageDone block. Especially useful if you cannot script the actor directly. Create a http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Unplayable_Items with the following script attached to it :

begin onAdd   set rOwner to getContainerendbegin gameMode   if ( rOwner.getIsCurrentPackage <EIDofPackage> ); the EID of the package you want to process	   if ( rOwner.getCurrentAIProcedure == 17 ) && ( rOwner.getCurrentAIPackage == <PackageNumber> )		; do stuff	   endIf   endIfend

The PackageNumber can be derived for http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/GetCurrentAIPackage - It is based on the AI package's type.

What about the clapping and cheering animation that NPCs do when you are with Marten near the end? How would you get the NPCs to do that?

There must be other animations that modders have done packages for NPCs to equip items and so forth? Anyone fancy posting some package settings?

Echoing the above. If you have any knowledge of packages, please post your description of how each works here. This is of enormous help to other modders.

Looking for:

Getting NPC's to cheer
Getting NPC's to clap
How to make someone sit down and drink from a mug or cup

Any other packages that you can add.

As thekarithian said previously, the purpose of this is to help people add life to their towns. Something I'm interested in too. I dont want to ruin this thread, and I'm writing it distractedly on my lunchbreak, so I hope what I am asking here is related.
If I had time I would like to make more animations too, I am a Maya artist, but its such a fiddly process it puts me off.

What can I do with the existing animations to make a market place seem more alive? I have made some market stalls and want the NPCs to wander around it. I dont want them to wander aimlessly like in the ICmarketplace (walk for 20 paces, stop, stare into space, repeat) I want them to look like they have a purpose, at least window shopping.

• Heres one thought I had as a start, (now I'm no scripter, but mean to take time to learn someday) placing Xmarkers in front of each market stall, then getting the NPCs to vist these markers in a random order (dont want them all to stand outside the first stall!), perhaps playing the 'Ponder/thinking' animation, (it would be better if there was a handing over money/goods animation, but I dont think there is one?) or perhaps holding a brief conversation, then moving on to another stall. How does that sound? Is it possible to script something like this?
  
• Another thing I would like to do, is to have NPCs greet the player (or each other) but carry on walking. A kind of 'hello' and then pass by. It seems odd that NPCs always stop as I pass by them. But then I guess they dont have anything more pressing to do than to talk about Mudcrabs all day...
  
• Also, varying walking speeds might be nice (I dont think walking speed is that varied?). Some people leisurely shopping and browsing. Others rushing about their business in a hurry. Is this Possible?

Lastly, here are some other animations that I think are packages. Not very market related, but still might be useful?
Shooting target with Bow
Drinking Potion
Singing

(is there one for begging?)

What is the singing package? How do we put that into a package?

For the walking and ignoring people, just tick the skip fallout behaviour and the NPC will carry on, totally ignoring the player.

. Yup - Since you can add packages during runtime, you can get NPCs to do this thing when the player is around. But there are some technical difficulties.
. The Personality Idles 4 mod adds a wave animation to NPCs, which they play when they greet the player out side the dialog menu
. Can be done. OBSE17 adds a couple of functions which modify movement speed of actors.

So how would we practically go about getting this kind of stuff to work?

Thanks!

More package settings from people would be nice.

Here are a few more, and some ideas.

1. DRINK FROM BOTTLE

AI Package : Use item at
Location : Not required, but XMarkerHeading or a fixed ref chair if you want a spot
Target : ObjectID : PotionSkooma

NPC Inventory : PotionSkooma

The "skooma" animation is actually just a bottle rather than skooma.
Picture : http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5082/anqdrinkbottle.jpg

1. ALCHEMIST MIX POTION

AI Package : Use item at
Location : Not required, but XMarkerHeading or a fixed ref chair if you want a spot
Target : ObjectType : Apparatus

NPC Inventory : MortarPestle

2. WALK A CIRcUIT

Place three XMarkers around the town and name them.

Three location AI Packages + one default location AI Package.

A. Travel route
Package Type : Travel
Tick Box : Must Reach Location
Time : (same time for all)
Location : XMarker, Near Reference, 0 Radius
Conditions : GetDistance < 512 and parameter is the previous XMarker on the route

E.g.
TravelToWell8x10 (target XMarker near well, condition XMarker near market)
TravelToAlley8x10 (target XMarker alleyway, condition XMarker near Well)
TravelToMarket8x10 (target XMarker market, condition XMarker near alley)

B. Default

As above, pick one of the locations used above, but don't attach any conditions. This is just a failsafe package.

3. RIDE HORSE FROM A TO B AND BACK

Two XMarkers near diferent towns or villages or forts.

Two AI packages.
Tick Boxes : Use Horse, Must Reach Location
Location : XMarker, Near Reference, Radius 400
Conditions : GetDistance <= 500 (Paramaters : XMarker at opposite location)


4. NPC UNDRESS

Create a new armor item using one of the vanilla clothing meshes. E.g. a shirt set up as a cuirass.
Then in the AI tick "Armor Unequiped" when you want the NPC to remove it.
You can use this to create a street fighter who takes off his shirt when he enters the ring in this way.

5. NPC TWO SETS OF CLOTHING

As above create a set of clothing as armor, and also equip the NPC with a regular clothing set. To switch between the two outfits use "Armor Unequiped" tick box.

6. DRINK FROM MUG

A standard eat package with ale, beer, mead or wine in NPCs inventory.

7. BEGGAR

Add NPC to the Faction : Beggars and it will play when they approach.

8. PRAY AT GRAVE??

Not sure if this actually works but there is an anim set up for it.

Place the activator TesterGrave somewhere, package UseItemAt, Location or Target?? : TesterGrave.


OTHER RARE ONES

Looking in unique anims quite a few are unique to specific NPCs like SeductiveIdle (Signy HomeWrecker), SentryLookOut (ForlornWatchman, BladesSentry), CheckCorpseExtended (Kvatch sequence), HandsOnAltar (MankarCamoran), OneHandKneelingSwordDown (Blades), OnFire (MythicDawn), Salute (Burd), Cheer (Blades), Genuflect (Ocato, GrayFox).

I think you would need to set up custom forms under IdleAnims to utilize any of these.

As a general tutorial how would one set up custom forms to run these idleanims?

Just to clarify. There are no actual animations involved in the following packages? :

4. NPC UNDRESS

5. NPC TWO SETS OF CLOTHING

7. BEGGAR

So, you don't actually see the NPC undress? It just happens instanteously right? (which is a pity as I always find it weird when sleeping guards wake up and are suddenly wearing armour in the blink of an eye)
And likewise for begging? I can't recall a begging animation...?

Still handy to know though. Maybe one day someone wil create animations for these....?

Maybe someone else here knows. I've never ever tried using any of those unique anims myself. But I might try some out in a little stand-alone esp sometime to see if I can make them work.
It should just be a matter of appending the unique anims list with a few new custom forms, and then using conditions to tie them to tokens or specific custom AI packages.



No, no anims for clothing, its all instantaneous. I was just throwing in an idea I had used for switching up outfits.

I don't know about the begging one. There is a begging.ktf attached to the faction Beggars. I'll have to follow a beggar around the streets one day and see if I can catch them in the act. Maybe it clicks in when they go talk to another NPC on the street.