[Wipz]Quest NPCs that move

Post » Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:26 am

What a shame :( Seeing NPC's stand around doing nothing after their quest has been finished is something that always irked me.
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Anna Kyselova
 
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Post » Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:10 am

I have been watching this thread with interest since its inception (even earlier than that when it was just a twinkle in lettuceman's eye). I agree entirely with the concept. It has been my intention to include more such epilogues to quests through LGNPC. Currently only the Foreign Quarter includes such a resolution, but there are others in the works. In the update to Traveling Merchants I am including some (for the lack of a better name) rangers that will patrol the roads. One Hlaalu ranger travels the road between Balmora and Suran where Thoronor and Edras Oril are encountered. I decided it would be unseemly for them to hang out there indefinitely so I disabled them after a day change and a few cell changes.

The reason that I have not posted until now is because I do not agree with your approach to the issue. Of course, that is none of my business. I acknowledge your right to mod anything you want. However I do not think it is necessary for these NPCs to have a new destination and be observed walking to it, nor do I think it likely the Redguard Pemenie will be offered asylum by the Camonna Tong.

I am not posting now to be critical of your choices, but to offer my support if you are settled on having NPCs physically travel to their final destination. You should understand that pathgrids will not extend across cell boundaries and that significant distances need be traversed in a series of AITravel instructions one beginning when the previous ends. NPCs will only execute their travel when their cell is loaded. This means that the player will effectively escort the NPC to their destination. If the player outstrips the NPC (or travels in a different direction) soon the NPC will cease to move until the player draws near again, hours, days or months later - hardly the timely resolution of the NPC's situation you are striving to achieve.

I advocate disabling NPCs when they are out of sight of the player and teleporting them to new locations should that be appropriate. It is much less problematic and likely just as satisfactory a solution to the matter. In the case of the trader Teris Raledran and his guar Rollie, a script attached to an invisible activator placed in the Foreign Quarter Canolworks, disables both of them after the day has changed and the player leaves the cell at least once.

Good luck with this project and feel welcome to contact me if you have any questions about travel scripting.

Yes, I had no idea how the pathgrids for MW was beforehand. So, a lot of stuff kept getting messed up and lost interest in it for awhile :P
Then I installed windows 7 and forgot I had. Then I was like playing Morrowind and thinking.......wait didn't I do something? And eureka, I did lol.

Yea, I agree Cyran0.
The reason I decided to have them walk at first was for the most immersion possible. However, I didn't realize that I was in fact modding Morrowind here :P and you know how weird MW can be. So yea that pretty much didn't work. I'm reading your description now, and I'm like, why didn't I think about this before?!!? :banghead:
A much much better idea. Less problems, same effect.

Wow, I started this simple thing so long ago?!?! :unsure:
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Lew.p
 
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