Neeshka's Romance Updates

[Domi]

I have it half-coded atm (iirc), so the triggers will need to inserted to the dialogues afterwards. Basically, almost all the dialogues now specify the event after each they should be called. The way we were doing it is putting a script in the original dialogue to call a follow up dialogue. I am not a fan of messing with original areas since we go through the override, and the module is already too hefty size wise due to the voicing we had. We can take this offline, if you are around, I would surely be grateful for any advice on increasing the efficiency. Not to mention talking to someone who remembers which tool did what... like extracted the dialogues, lol. We didn't purchase a game laptop yet, so I still have the NWN2 one tied into SWTOR, but where there is a will...

[The Double Agent]

Hey Domi and team! I wish I could add some kind of advice on coding but I don't know a single thing about it; all I can say is I'm totally looking forward to the enhanced and enlarged mod!

[MagnificentBeard]

Hello! Much like Double Agent, I know nothing that could help. But i'm still quite interested in seeing this happen. I've been meaning to dust off NWN2 for a couple months now. It'd be awesome to have this mod when that day comes, and it's encouraging to see some activity here.

[Tchos]

I have it half-coded atm (iirc), so the triggers will need to inserted to the dialogues afterwards. Basically, almost all the dialogues now specify the event after each they should be called. The way we were doing it is putting a script in the original dialogue to call a follow up dialogue. I am not a fan of messing with original areas since we go through the override, and the module is already too hefty size wise due to the voicing we had. We can take this offline, if you are around, I would surely be grateful for any advice on increasing the efficiency. Not to mention talking to someone who remembers which tool did what... like extracted the dialogues, lol. We didn't purchase a game laptop yet, so I still have the NWN2 one tied into SWTOR, but where there is a will...

 

Do you mean you want to take this privately, to email or something? I'm more than willing to discuss technical details publicly, and usually do. On the Bioware NWN2 forum, for instance, we're quite active in the scripting and modding forums, and we post solutions and code openly so that it can help others who may read it later. If it's too off-topic for this thread, perhaps a new thread? Otherwise, PM me and I'll give you my email address.

 

At any rate, there's no difficulty in remembering how to do things in NWN2 for me, since I'm currently very active in both playing and modding it. To extract dialogues, I simply use the toolset. There is at least one external third-party dialogue editor, but it loses all attached scripts and doesn't allow you to increase the font size for readability, so I've never found it useful.

 

Inserting triggers by script will not increase the area sizes, or do anything to the areas that require distributing modified areas. I work solely through the override for these purposes, as you do. The only increase in file size will come from the scripts that work the magic, which are quite small -- no larger than 20kB, I'd expect for a script of this type.

 

Also, I'm not sure I was clear about the purpose of the conversation I mentioned. My script would create the conversation triggers dynamically, while playing the game, so it just needs to be attached to something that you know is going to happen in the game, so it'll be executed. My suggestion there was for any early cutscene conversation, just because they're easy to add things to.

 

It's not exactly related, but here's an example of some of my other scripting that can change things within a game in progress.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vOhek2VZYQ

 

Here, I'm only changing their conversations, but I can change their names, descriptions, AI, whatever, on the fly at any time during the game, and back again if I need to. The demonstration uses the console, but it can be triggered by an event, item, object, conversation, or anything else within the game. (Also shown in the video is my UI modification. See other videos in my channel to see other things I've done in NWN2.)

[Domi]

This is awesome! We have workrooms at the back of every forum, where we usually work on stuff so not to spoil the things for the player, since this forum will be read by the folks that will eventually play the module and some might not want to know what triggers when etc. I will take my laptop with me to a business trip this Wednesday and try to finish coding the dialogue that I stopped coding half-way through in 2010. If you can point me to a canned post about triggers, that would be great. I would love to try it, particularly on that one talk I had no idea what to do with! Thank you for taking interest, folks!

[Tchos]

Ah, I understand not wanting to spoil the love talks for the players. In that case, we should take it to private quarters, where I can explain things in detail and write some scripts. There is no canned post I can point you to, as this is a rather advanced technique that hasn't even been mentioned much on the forums, let alone documented, but I've helped one other person get something similar running, and he had little experience with scripting at the time.

 

I'll just need to know some things, privately, such as where and when you want the first trigger to be (in detail), what the conversation file is called, and which node begins the talk.

[Domi]

Gotcha. I will go through the list of talks, and get the typical conditions. Again, great thanks for the generous offer to help!

[Tchos]

The pleasure is mine.

[Domi]

Okay, I managed to get into my files and find my 'place'.

 

I have 16 dialogues left to code, somewhere between Act 2 middle and Act 3. At least 3 of them are PC-initiated, thanks heaven. I am totally stomped by one-line comment dialogue (?) I have included apparently (as I was testing, I assume?), just a reaction to a certain event in the game, can't see a script associated with it.

 

I also need to get through the dialogue were I stopped to make sure I actually coded the entire thing. My memory is that I did not, but I do not see broken links. Yet. It is large.

 

It actually feels... doable?

 

If anyone is tuned in, folks, seeing I have lost the voice-actress, should I lose the replacement lovetalk when Neeshka resists the Last Enemy in the end and stays with the PC? I have a lovetalk written, but it will stick out as a sore thumb in the game, when the voicing will stop mid-cut scene. I am against getting a third voice for the same character, no matter how great the match is.

[Tchos]

I generally don't see voicing as necessary or expected in my games, and I would rather have silent content than lose content just because it's not being voiced. The books I read aren't voiced, and they move me just fine.

[masteraleph]

Agreed with Tchos- voicing would be nice, but I'd at least prefer the content.

 

I do have to say, as an aside, that this is one of two mods where the mod coming out will get me to replay the old game, even if I otherwise wouldn't at this point (the other is jcompton's De'Arnise Romance mod, in a ToB format). I'm incredibly excited to see progress and eagerly looking forward to this- so you do still have people who care.

[rimmington]

I generally don't see voicing as necessary or expected in my games, and I would rather have silent content than lose content just because it's not being voiced. The books I read aren't voiced, and they move me just fine.

 

Agreed. Really excited to see some (visible) progress on this mod!

[Domi]

Well, me being able to find where the heck I was in 2010 hardly constitutes admirable progress. I will try to do better. We'll see. SWTOR is seductive!

[The Double Agent]

Can't wait!

[Domi]

Why, thank you again, good folks! Well, I finally actually doing it Hey, five lines of coded dialogue is better than zero, right? I've got to the first non-trivial condition, now have to look on the previous dialogues to see how I handled it. But as I get my legs under me, it should get easier, and, of course, faster. So, the progress is - still coding Dialogue 25, Act 2. Actually, starting to get enthusiastic about it. Reading is on hold, but what can you do, can't have it all!