Current Version: 0.95

Note: This mod requires OBSE 18.

Here is a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyIfmTLfkcs of the mod in action. (Note: Video shows current features and UI as of 0.94.)

Description:

Tired of all the voice-acting in Oblivion limiting the depth of your NPCs? Still remember the pages of dialog that a random Morrowind NPC could spout with impunity?

This mod is part of the solution. It creates a Morrowind-esque dialog system in Oblivion. Currently the system isn't quite ready for prime-time, and needs some UI tweaking, but it does work. For every NPC in the game, modded or not.

Note: This mod requires http://obse.silverlock.org/ 18!

Changelog:
0.95 - Updated mod for OBSE 18.
0.94 - Fixed color issues on player response text, removed debug messages.
0.93 - Completely changed how Oblivion's dialog menu looks and functions. Added in support for multiple-line player responses. Modders need to modify the ConstructionSet.ini file in order to increase the number of characters the player's response will have.
0.92 - Modified the UI a bit. Added in the ability to use a book as the source of text. Check the ReadMe if you are interested in using a book as a long dialog string.
0.91 - Added a shiny interface with a scrollbar.

Download it from:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=23793 (Version 0.95)

Is this functionality similar to that of the Journal mod's Topic tracker ? Some of us here haven't had the opportunity to play TES3 ....

In a word: No. I might put up a video of the mod in action, since it's one of those that is easily explained via a video. Now I just need to figure out if I should use FRAPS or something else...

Fraps, if you ask me. Record at half-resolution and encode using quantization in H.264 - What I always do ( Fast ). But do try explaining it in layman's terms ...

Short video of the mod in action is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdoJSw2eEa4.

hmm, just watched the video reneer, but its a tad hard to make out the text is very small and in an odd place.
Ill guess the placement is either unavoidable or unintentional, but it might be a good idea to make Headers appear in the dialogue for easier reading.

Nice ! Though I suppose it can't have topic links for cross-reference ... ( yea, I remember bits and pieces of Morrowind form last year's 1hr playthrough ). Really, looks nice. Like you'd said, the UI element could do with some eye-candy. And also, think it'll be possible to add some kind of separator/spacer b'ween each response ? Currently, it looks preety cramped up. Also, will repeated selections of the same dialog option ( like clicking on the Rumors topic twice ) add 2 instances of the response text ?

PS : I either heard your door bell or DownThemAll notifying you of completed d/loads in that video !

Don't look to the video as an indication of quality or ability to read the text. This is YouTube we're talking about, not Oblivion running in big-by-humongous resolution.

It won't make two instances of the same response. And it is quite possible to add in other detail like a separator. I just wanted to get the mod out and maybe find someone who knows more about Oblivion's XML system than I do.

I like that you made the word printing way smaller.

I'm still a little confused about this mod because I didn't play Morrowind so I can't draw a parallel. Is this basically turning off the voice and replacing it with subtitles?

-Francisco-

No. Voices still play just fine with this mod. The overall point of it is so that other modders can create longer written dialog without A) worrying about issues with the dialog being read in time, and B) less of a need for voice-acting when literary description is more available.

So this adds the same font and method in player made mods that have description but no voice?

In a way.

Let me break it down for you:
1) In vanilla, without a voice file, the dialog will only remain on screen for a few seconds. The only way to fix this is to create a 'silent' voice file or lengthen the time that Oblivion lets dialog be on the screen without a voice file.
2) This mod creates a 'side-bar' of the text that the NPC speaks, and this text isn't governed by Oblivion's rules. Later on in the mod, when I figure out the XML stuff, there will be a scrollbar that allows you to go back and forth in the current conversation with the NPC.

Cool beans, more text viewable at a time. No need to have them repeat stuff and have to click 6 times again to get to the sentence you want.

In all honesty, the first isn't nearly as important with the availability of http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16622.

What makes this exciting for me is that it will allow quest mods to display more information at once, and when it becomes more developed, scrolling back through topics.

Couple of questions:

1.) Will this extend player responses (namely the stupid 38 character bug)? If so, this is HUGE.
2.) Will it be possible to extend the dialog/text over the majority of the bottom part of the screen, rather than just the right corner (I understand this is just Proof of Concept, I'm just curious).
3.) Would it eventually be possible to set it up Morrowind-wiki style?

True, but even so, this mod allows a user to read over the text more than once, rather than having to replay a whole sequence over again.

1.) Maybe (not sure, I would have to check.)
2.) Certainly. I just wasn't sure of how to make the text 'disappear' before it covered the NPC's head.
3.) Morrowind-wiki style?

Oh, to be sure it's still awesome. I'm just more excited about the other implications



When you talked with an NPC on a subject, certain topics of interest that the NPC might know more about were highlighted for followup within the actual NPC response, from which the PC could directly question from within the NPC response.

Ex.

PC: Question on Balmora
NPC: Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah [Topic of interest, say something about the FG] Blah Blah Blah


In the above situation, you could directly click on that topic of interest, and the NPC would provide information on that topic.


Oh god, at least that's how I remember Morrowind's dialog system. I really should replay it some time. >.<

Ohhhh. That. Uhhh... I don't know, honestly. My gut response would be to say "no" - but I haven't looked into it. So... "maybe."

Wow, this looks great. When I read the http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=978401 I couldn't resist tampering with it. Guess you were a bit faster than me. :goodjob:

[edit]
Since you're already keeping track of what the NPC says, do you have any plans on storing this information for later use? Like dumping it in an array per topic, sorted by NPC and response? If not, would you be interested if I make a plugin for this that does?
[/edit]

[edit2]About the above, it might be possible to add several text elements instead of one large text element. Then you can cut up the text, have a few of them clickable and thus allowing the player to select parts of the text. But the hardest part would be to determine which part of the response is a link to another topic. :shrug:
[/edit2]

[edit3]
Last one, I promise.

I noticed you destroy the strings and arrays after the dialogue is over. Although a good habit, it's probably unnessecary. I mean, the player enters dialogue alot so you might as well keep the strings and arrays. Not intended as criticism.

Oh and did I mention how awesome it is you made this mod (and how fast, makes me feel lazy ).
[/edit3]

-kyoma

This mod will be great for expanding the dialogue options for modders out there, so they don't need to upload silent files or other options. Thanks Reneer.

Hmm. Since I already do this (sort of) it wouldn't be hard to add it into the mod. Not sure what it would be useful for, though I get the feeling you already have an idea (though after some thought I would assume you would want to create a journal of info obtained from NPCs.) And I don't have any issue with you making a plugin (unless I get there first! ) but I just want to make sure that this mod is very easy for users to put into their games. When I started working this mod, I kinda got the feeling that it might be a 'Big Thing.'

Yeah, sounds kinda feasible. I'm certainly no expert on how to work the XML files, though.

Yeah, I just figured that destroying the strings would be safer. I was having enough fun getting constant CTDs when I screwed up giving OBSE the correct traits to edit as it was.

Great. I'll have to check this.
Thanks and keep up the good work!

Cheers!



p

When I fire up CS there is still the 38 limit. So I guess it is hardcoded?

heh, finally someone is doing something about that horrible voice-acting. morrowind had a way better sustem, and didnt need so much voice actors either.

can you make them greet you before dialog like in Morrowind?

Possibly. It wouldn't be hard to get the NPC to greet the player before dialog begins.