Mod NPC Idea

[Endless Twilight]

So to check, then, I would use Alignment("Anomen",LAWFUL_NEUTRAL) as a condition for Anomen pre-test and Alignment("Anomen",LAWFUL_GOOD) as a condition for Sir Anomen?

 

Also, now that I've sat down to seriously write Anomen's banters, forget what I said about his relationship with Naomi coming across as possibly romantic. They are friends, and Anomen is perhaps one of Naomi's closest friends in the Bioware cast unless he fails his test, but there is no implication of their relationship possibly turning romantic. That said, though, if Naomi was straight, things probably would go otherwise.

 

And a word about the format of Naomi's banters - Naomi has sequential banters with some NPC's, where one banter has to fire in order for other banters to go. Anomen is probably the best example of this, as they have a banter where Naomi gets Anomen to stop calling her "fair lady" and the like, which then opens up their other banters.

[Guest Lady of payne]

You need to create here theme for this NPC. You write much about her.

[Endless Twilight]

You need to create here theme for this NPC. You write much about her.

 

I beg your pardon? I'm not sure what you mean by "create here theme".

 

And yes, I do write a lot about her. Personal weakness, perhaps, but Naomi isn't intended to be a mysterious person.

[berelinde]

She means that you need a forum for her somewhere.

 

In general, I've found that it's a bad idea to have a forum for an unreleased mod. It adds tremendous stress. If you have a forum, you have to check it, which can be a huge distraction. And you start obsessing about the post count in it. If the post volume is low, you wonder why more people aren't posting. If post volume is high, you spend all your time talking about your NPC and not enough time writing. Either way, it's pressure you don't need. So you are wise confning your discussion to one thread until you've got an alpha that needs testing.

[Endless Twilight]

Ah. True, and I'm pretty busy with real life stuff. As it is, the only actual progress I've done is code some of Naomi's banters.

[theacefes]

She means that you need a forum for her somewhere.

 

In general, I've found that it's a bad idea to have a forum for an unreleased mod. It adds tremendous stress. If you have a forum, you have to check it, which can be a huge distraction. And you start obsessing about the post count in it. If the post volume is low, you wonder why more people aren't posting. If post volume is high, you spend all your time talking about your NPC and not enough time writing. Either way, it's pressure you don't need. So you are wise confning your discussion to one thread until you've got an alpha that needs testing.

 

I'll have to disagree on this one...having an in-progress forum for Auren (back in the day...well, for me anyway ) gave me a great amount of encouragement and input so that I could fix a lot of stuff content and coding wise while I was making the mod, especially since it was my first mod ever and I was new to the community. Then again, those were different times, in a different community, with different people.

 

As for how much time you should be dedicating to this...remember it's something you're doing because you want to. Don't keep a timesheet on how much you are or are not writing. Also, I would recommend coding as early as possible (code and write at the same time if you can). Writing a novel and then trying to make it into a mod rarely works and the fantastic mod "idea" is doomed to remain a mod idea forever.

 

Finally (and I can't stress this enough), freaking backup your ideas/mod as often as possible. I don't know about others but when I see an "idea" with potential and watch the modder talk about how he/she is in alpha and then their computer magically dies and they lose everything, I get suspicious and most of the time don't believe they ever made it to alpha. But I'm a bit cynical.

 

Anyway, my two cents. Good luck.

[Endless Twilight]

I'll have to disagree on this one...having an in-progress forum for Auren (back in the day...well, for me anyway smile.gif ) gave me a great amount of encouragement and input so that I could fix a lot of stuff content and coding wise while I was making the mod, especially since it was my first mod ever and I was new to the community. Then again, those were different times, in a different community, with different people.

 

It's something to think about, but I have no idea what the process is to request a forum, and I'd rather wait until I have something more substantive done.

 

As for how much time you should be dedicating to this...remember it's something you're doing because you want to. Don't keep a timesheet on how much you are or are not writing. Also, I would recommend coding as early as possible (code and write at the same time if you can). Writing a novel and then trying to make it into a mod rarely works and the fantastic mod "idea" is doomed to remain a mod idea forever.

 

At present, here is what I have: Banters with Minsc, Jaheira, Yoshimo, Nalia, Aerie (non-romantic), and Anomen coded. Will try to write and code banters with Jan tonight. Aside from that, I just have several ideas for Aerie romantic conversations and Haer'Dalis conversations.

 

Finally (and I can't stress this enough), freaking backup your ideas/mod as often as possible. I don't know about others but when I see an "idea" with potential and watch the modder talk about how he/she is in alpha and then their computer magically dies and they lose everything, I get suspicious and most of the time don't believe they ever made it to alpha. But I'm a bit cynical. smile.gif

 

Point taken. Naomi shouldn't be a terribly involved character, anyhow - no romance, no quest, no new areas. She should get my feet wet in modding and get some experience, as I do have an idea for a character to do after Naomi, which would be a more involved quest.

 

Well, she will have a couple of quests, but minor ones. My thinking for her LG conversion is that it will take place in two parts - at one interval, she'll want to go visit the Order of the Radiant Heart and have a chat with a cleric of Torm. She'll be thinking things over, and Charname may have a chance to further encourage her road or talk her out of it, which would kick back the counter a bit. After that's happened, when she reaches her second interval, she'll want to go back to the Order and formally convert to Torm's worship.

 

However, and I know this is a bit of a cop-out, but Naomi's quest to formally earn Torm's favor will be folded into the main quest - depending on the chapter you're in when this happens, she'll either be tasked with investigating the guild war plaguing the city, or to investigate what's happening in the east at Suldanesselar.

 

Some party members will influence Naomi more towards good (Aerie, Keldorn, and Edwin, mainly - Edwin will bring out the good side of her in her contempt for him), and some will knock her back a bit (Viconia, Cernd, and Nalia - those last two bring out the harsher side of Naomi). Charname's influence will be mostly indirect and be by example. High or low reputation will affect her, as will some quest resolutions (poisoning the druid grove will push her back, for example, while deposing Faldorn will encourage her).

 

Shouldn't be anything too complicated, though.

[Sister Vigilante]

I would strongly favor adding a quest (that is, a full quest perhaps with new characters and an XP reward), as most of the original NPCs have them. And most of those quests aren't terribly involved; most don't even have new enemies. I always liked Keldorn's especially which is short, but also highly realistic and adds all the depth to his character you could want.

 

Just supposing...maybe something involving the Amnian courts, a moral dilemma about crime and justice? It would give a good window to demonstrate her philosophy without her just describing it.

 

EDIT: Actually thinking about it, the alignment change might work well as a quest. But while this may seem odd, I would suggest adding an XP reward. Not for the sake of powergaming; it would just make it resemble the other quests.

 

 

I'll have to disagree on this one...having an in-progress forum for Auren (back in the day...well, for me anyway smile.gif ) gave me a great amount of encouragement and input so that I could fix a lot of stuff content and coding wise while I was making the mod, especially since it was my first mod ever and I was new to the community. Then again, those were different times, in a different community, with different people.

 

It's something to think about, but I have no idea what the process is to request a forum, and I'd rather wait until I have something more substantive done.

 

As for how much time you should be dedicating to this...remember it's something you're doing because you want to. Don't keep a timesheet on how much you are or are not writing. Also, I would recommend coding as early as possible (code and write at the same time if you can). Writing a novel and then trying to make it into a mod rarely works and the fantastic mod "idea" is doomed to remain a mod idea forever.

 

At present, here is what I have: Banters with Minsc, Jaheira, Yoshimo, Nalia, Aerie (non-romantic), and Anomen coded. Will try to write and code banters with Jan tonight. Aside from that, I just have several ideas for Aerie romantic conversations and Haer'Dalis conversations.

 

Finally (and I can't stress this enough), freaking backup your ideas/mod as often as possible. I don't know about others but when I see an "idea" with potential and watch the modder talk about how he/she is in alpha and then their computer magically dies and they lose everything, I get suspicious and most of the time don't believe they ever made it to alpha. But I'm a bit cynical. smile.gif

 

Point taken. Naomi shouldn't be a terribly involved character, anyhow - no romance, no quest, no new areas. She should get my feet wet in modding and get some experience, as I do have an idea for a character to do after Naomi, which would be a more involved quest.

 

Well, she will have a couple of quests, but minor ones. My thinking for her LG conversion is that it will take place in two parts - at one interval, she'll want to go visit the Order of the Radiant Heart and have a chat with a cleric of Torm. She'll be thinking things over, and Charname may have a chance to further encourage her road or talk her out of it, which would kick back the counter a bit. After that's happened, when she reaches her second interval, she'll want to go back to the Order and formally convert to Torm's worship.

 

However, and I know this is a bit of a cop-out, but Naomi's quest to formally earn Torm's favor will be folded into the main quest - depending on the chapter you're in when this happens, she'll either be tasked with investigating the guild war plaguing the city, or to investigate what's happening in the east at Suldanesselar.

 

Some party members will influence Naomi more towards good (Aerie, Keldorn, and Edwin, mainly - Edwin will bring out the good side of her in her contempt for him), and some will knock her back a bit (Viconia, Cernd, and Nalia - those last two bring out the harsher side of Naomi). Charname's influence will be mostly indirect and be by example. High or low reputation will affect her, as will some quest resolutions (poisoning the druid grove will push her back, for example, while deposing Faldorn will encourage her).

 

Shouldn't be anything too complicated, though.

[Endless Twilight]

I would strongly favor adding a quest (that is, a full quest perhaps with new characters and an XP reward), as most of the original NPCs have them. And most of those quests aren't terribly involved; most don't even have new enemies. I always liked Keldorn's especially which is short, but also highly realistic and adds all the depth to his character you could want.

 

I understand, but Naomi is my first experience modding, and I do not want something complicated like an involved quest. Cowardly, perhaps, but I think I'll have my hands full with Aerie and Haer'Dalis.

 

Just supposing...maybe something involving the Amnian courts, a moral dilemma about crime and justice? It would give a good window to demonstrate her philosophy without her just describing it.

 

I don't think so. Even as LG, Naomi would rather execute an innocent man than let a guilty man go free. The guilty will be punished to the full extent of the law. "Justice" has nothing to do with anything.

[Endless Twilight]

Okay, so the computer wasn't so fixed - went kablooie again in the same way, but fortunately, this time I did have the sense to have important files backed up on a flash drive, including Naomi, so progress hasn't been wiped out again.

[ericp07]

Okay, so the computer wasn't so fixed - went kablooie again in the same way, but fortunately, this time I did have the sense to have important files backed up on a flash drive, including Naomi, so progress hasn't been wiped out again.

 

Could be time to replace, and not repair. I didn't read what exactly what the problem before, but I'll look back at earlier posts, in case you described it. Nice that your stuff was backed up this time

 

Happy modding,

Eric

[berelinde]

Modding is hard on the computer, it seems. Maybe because they get so much use.

[ericp07]

Modding is hard on the computer, it seems. Maybe because they get so much use.

 

The same might be said about audio and graphics work, but years of performing such functions, as well as gaming and other uses, have caused my systems no noticeable wear and tear. I guess it's all relative Well, OK, so my external HD enclosure bit the dust, but only after many years of faithful service, and the HD I had inside it has been fine all the while (so I mounted it internally).

 

- E

[Endless Twilight]

No word on when my computer will be back, but I was asked a question that I thought was worth answering publicly: I do not at this time have any plans to voice Naomi, though if someone wishes to volunteer, I'll consider it. My own voice is horribly inappropriate for the role.

 

A conceptual question for when I do get the computer back though: can a music track be played for NPC/NPC dialogues? I found a wonderful music theme for Naomi, which I had intended for Naomi/Charname as the romance theme, but with that now in the dustbin, I'm thinking I might apply it for Naomi/Aerie, if it's possible and doesn't cause problems.

[ericp07]

No word on when my computer will be back, but I was asked a question that I thought was worth answering publicly: I do not at this time have any plans to voice Naomi, though if someone wishes to volunteer, I'll consider it. My own voice is horribly inappropriate for the role.

 

A conceptual question for when I do get the computer back though: can a music track be played for NPC/NPC dialogues? I found a wonderful music theme for Naomi, which I had intended for Naomi/Charname as the romance theme, but with that now in the dustbin, I'm thinking I might apply it for Naomi/Aerie, if it's possible and doesn't cause problems.

 

You could leave it to the player to select a soundset, find one you find appropriate and add it (there are many available for download), or you could request that a voice actress record the lines as you'd like them worded.

 

As for theme music, yes, it's entirely possible! If memory serves, Aerie has her own romance theme, but you could probably override hers in favor of a soundtrack you prefer.

 

Either or (preferably) both of these will enhance the feel of the mod. Very well worth looking into!

 

Happy modding,

Eric