Rumor dialogues

[temnix]

A question to those who have dealt closely with rumor "tables" (DLGs) for inns and temples in BG, BG2 and IWD, for all of the chapters. Preferably including SoD, too, if it has rumors. Do you have the names of all of the files written down somewhere? I would like to cover all with a patch.

[Endurium]

Baldur's Gate + ToSC:
- RBALDU.DLG (Baldur's Gate)
- RBEREG.DLG (Beregost)
- RCANDL.DLG (Candlekeep)
- RFRIEN.DLG (Friendly Arm Inn)
- RNASHK.DLG (Nashkel)

Baldur's Gate 2 + ToB
- RUMORA.DLG (Athkatla)
- RUMORI.DLG (Imnesvale)
- RUMORP.DLG (Brynnlaw)
- RUMORT.DLG (Trademeet)
- RUMORU.DLG (Underdark)
- RUMSAR.DLG (Saradush)

Icewind Dale + HoW + TotLM
- DEHRUM.DLG (Easthaven)
- DLWRUM.DLG (Lonelywood)
- DKURUM.DLG (Kuldahar)

Icewind Dale 2
- 10SALTY.DLG (Targos) the only tavern/inn dialog in the game

BG1EE (I can't check SoD but I doubt it uses any either)
- Uses same files as BG1

BG2EE
- Uses same files as BG2

IWDEE
- Uses same files as IWD

I don't have PST/PSTEE to check.

Glad it was NI and not my games.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Endurium
Corrected NI flakiness

[DavidW]

On my install, the rumor files for both BG1EE and BG2EE are present and working normally.

[Endurium]

Thanks for the heads-up; turns out NI mangles strings when changing between games on my potato laptop. Also will teach me to post with a migraine coming on. I amended my post.

(FYI edit: NI was'nt flushing string entries properly so I was seeing the previous game's strings in the current game's dialogs until doing a refresh. Oops)

Edited September 25, 2019 by Endurium
Found NI booboo

[Leeux]

Could this rumor system be used to trigger hint Journal entries for mods? Or event add quest journal entries? I remember a long time ago (around 2012) when I was trying to play Secret of Bonehill and never found out where the main quest for that mod started.

I was expected to visit the Temple of Lathander in Beregost after Chapter 3, I think... it would have helped if there was some rumor going around about a priest staying there that needed help

I'd imagine the same happens for other mods that add quests too... I normally don't like to peek too much at the readmes regarding info on how to start the quests, whom to talk, etc. as I'd prefer to be surprised by it going blind... but that's just me ofc.

[Endurium]

Yes @Leeux; if you look at, for example, classic BG1's rumor DLG you'll see after the state that shows you the text you see in the tavern UI, the terminating response sets a Journal Entry with a similar note. Apparently the drinking UI automatically selects that response for us.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Endurium

[Leeux]

Nice! Awesome, thank you! It's strange that this is not used more often then    I used to think that maybe it was impossible to mod these rumors, and that's why. Nice to know they can be modded!

[temnix]

@Endurium Excellent. Just what I needed. Unfortunately, rumors dialogues can only start quests and leave journal entries, but don't accept actions... They do react to triggers and arrangements of states, though, just like normal conversations. In a default rumor file the states all have True() triggers, and that works for them as a random selection, but you can have your own structure, including NumTimesTalkedTo(), in case you want to have, say, a bulletin board with jobs at the thieves guild where they know you have returned. You must step away and start the conversation again for the globals to refresh, though. All of the true-checking states have equal weight, however. If you put something on top, the bottom lines remain available - and there is no way to set a global from the inside.

What's interesting is that Myself in these conversations refers to the PC who is drinking the drink, not to the PC doing the talking or the NPC. The party member is really telling the rumors to himself (it is the same way with cures at temples, the characters actually cast the spells. If there are any level-dependent variables you will get better results if you send a cleric to buy the cures). If the dialogue includes any triggers that apply to the current drinker, all of them apply at random. For example, if you preface some lines with ~Race(Myself,HUMAN)~ and others with three triggers for evil alignments, both Imoen and Edwin will receive lines from the first category but only Edwin will get the evil rumors. Also with these dialogues triggers have to be written in a column:

OR(3)
Alignment(Myself,LAWFUL_EVIL)
Alignment(Myself,NEUTRAL_EVIL)
Alignment(Myself,CHAOTIC_EVIL)

Edited September 26, 2019 by temnix