trigger Triggering a BCS script with item button

[Incrementis]

Good evening,

To understand what I mean, here is a brief description and what I have found so far.

There are item containers in the game(BG:EE), e.g. “Bag of Holding” (Bag19.ITM) or “Scroll Case” (BAG03.ITM), which can be opened by right-clicking and then pressing an “OPEN CONTAINER” button in the item description window.

The idea is to trigger a BCS script when this button is pressed.

There is one option that I know of, which is to use itemdial.2da, but this theoretically opens a dialog window which is valid as a backup solution, but there are two things I'm not sure about:

1. Is it possible to trigger a script from a dialog response(I am not experienced with dialogue functionalities)?
2. Can the dialog window be forcibly suppressed? The dialog window would be redundant and therefore not needed if it can be prevented.

As for the container's button, there is enginest.2da, which may be able to change the text button. So maybe there is a way without using itemdial.2da?

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment.

[subtledoctor]

You can certainly run a script from a dialogue response. But, AFAIK it needs the dialogue, i.e. the box opens and even without any text there will be a button to close the dialogue box. It sounds like you don't want that UI condition.

You can have an item summon an invisible creature and have that creature run a script. It is fairly easy to set up. But, AFAIK you need to be out in the game screen using the item from a quickslot or something. I'm not sure it would work from a "open container" - style button in the inventory screen. (Also, my guess is that it would take some doing to make an item with a custom button, more than just editing enginest.2da. (But I could be wrong!))

TBH, I don't really get running a script from a button in the inventory screen; AFAIK scripts do not run in the inventory screen because the game clock is stopped. So what is the point of triggering a script this way?

If it were me I would just use an invisible creature from the game screen. But the description of the desired result is too vague for that to be real advice.

[Incrementis]

3 hours ago, subtledoctor said:

TBH, I don't really get running a script from a button in the inventory screen; AFAIK scripts do not run in the inventory screen because the game clock is stopped. So what is the point of triggering a script this way?

Thank you for your reply. The reason why the button is supposed to trigger a script is specifically for books.

I would like to have the option to trigger a chapter sequence when I press the explained button and rename it to "OPEN BOOK" or "READ".

The chapter sequence allows music and a text set to music as well as a topic as an image. This is primarily for roleplaying purposes (and perhaps for people with very poor eyesight as well), to allow the player to enjoy the story of the book without having to read it, and to set the mood with the chapter art and music.

The reason I'm being so vague is because I don't believe sharing this information will lead to any solution, but I do believe it will satisfy your curiosity.

[subtledoctor]

Interesting! Sounds cool. (But someone with better understanding of the engine than me will have to tell you if it can be triggered from the inventory screen. I did work a bit with triggering a chapter/text screen from scripts/dialogues in my Reflections mod, but it was the first time doing it and my knowledge is rudimentary.)

Good luck!

[argent77]

As you and subtledoctor mentioned before, you could associate the book with a dialog (via ITEMDIAL.2DA) that acts as a "confirmation dialog". Maybe like this?

Quote

You have opened the book "<book_title>". What do you want to do?
- Read the book.
- Put the book away.

A dialog can execute any kind of scripting.

[Incrementis]

1 hour ago, argent77 said:

acts as a "confirmation dialog". Maybe like this?

Yes, thanks that could work. In this way the entire process could be enhanced.

Item description windows:

• contains only book content in text and image(e.g. drawn without color) form only

Dialogue windows:

• Contains external information about the book, such as the author and appearance of the book, as well as confirmation whether it should be opened

Reading the book:

• contains the same information as the description windows, but with music, colored images and spoken text

Well, that sounds like a solid short concept at least (future implementation and tests will tell).

 

1 hour ago, argent77 said:

A dialog can execute any kind of scripting.

I'm happy to hear that!