keeping Yoshimo

[Miloch]

Miloch, if you have any interest in developing a minimod for this, let me know, and if needed I'd be happy to write dialogues for it.

I have very little experience coding dialogue, though a lot of other folks do. Especially if you're willing to write the dialogue, you might be able to entice someone like berelinde, cmorgan, maybe even Domi to code it up. If they can be pulled away from NWN2 or whatever...

[Icendoan]

Hey, I can code Dialogue!

 

I can possibly make a contribution! YAY!

 

Icen

[Lemernis]

Thanks Icendoan!

 

They'd be very simple dialogues. Just in the interest in getting it done. Tempting though it may be for each of the NPCs to comment, I think the dialogue would remain just between Yoshi and the PC.

 

But it's all for naught unless someone agrees to write the code that

 

* adds the buttplug variable before the party reenters the Vulgar Monkey to have Yoshi rejoin

 

* spawns in a renamed copy of Yoshi's file at the very start of ToB.

 

I guess there's no way to spawn a version of Yoshi that perfectly matches the XP and other stats that he reached at the end ot SoA. Is that right?

 

If so, I think it'll probably still be acceptable to spawn in a level 10 version of Yoshi for the player to level up. Leveling him up only takes a few minutes.

 

Oh, also--as I mentioned in the parallel thread on this subject (the 'how to'), I've encountered a bug with my copy of Yoshi. So a coder would have to diagnose/address that too.

 

But if there's an interest let me know. I'll write the dialogues and if Icendoan codes them, then maybe that'll motivate a coder with the skills to complete the whole thing to take it on.

[Miloch]

* spawns in a renamed copy of Yoshi's file at the very start of ToB.

 

I guess there's no way to spawn a version of Yoshi that perfectly matches the XP and other stats that he reached at the end ot SoA. Is that right?

Well, I'm not sure how the game handles SoA-ToB continuity (if it does), but you should be able to match the PC's XP at least via npclvl25.2da which already has (it looks like) the correct entries for Yoshimo.

[Lemernis]

Preliminary draft of first conversation. Note the lack of multiple choice responses, which is intentional in the interest of simplicty. If Icen or anyone else can code something more elaborate then by all means I would prefer to include more dialogue options. But anyway, this is to get the ball rolling:

 

Yoshimo: >CHAR NAME<, I beg your attention. There is something I must speak with you about.

 

PC: Yes?

 

Yoshimo: On the docks I spotted some old enemies of mine. I am confident they did not see me. But I fear that if they did they could jeopardize our mission. They are wizards of immense power.

 

PC: We've dealt with mages before, Yoshi. I'm sure we can handle them.

 

Yoshimo: These are particularly deadly foes, rumored to be otherworldly. It was even whispered by some that they are undead. When I knew them they sailed aboard the Sea Witch. Their feelings toward me are…um, not exactly friendly…

 

PC: What did you do?

 

Yoshimo: I could not resist stealing an item from them. I will spare you the details. But suffice it to say they if they spotted me if would be very bad.

 

PC: Yoshi, we have defeated many powerful foes. How much more dangerous could they be?

 

Yoshimo: Trust me. If they discover me it will mean my death, as well as that of any who accompany me.

 

PC: I still think we should be able to defeat them.

 

Yoshimo: You possess great power >CHAR NAME<, but you are not invincible. I have witnessed these two destroy opponents mightier than you. Please, I beg of you. I do not want your death on my conscience. I ask that I may leave your company temporarily so that you enjoy the best chance of success in rescuing Imoen.

 

PC: I’m surprised by this. I’ve seen you wary but never afraid. This isn’t like you.

 

Yoshimo: I humbly ask that you place your trust in me.

 

PC: Trust a thief?

 

Yoshimo: Heh, good point. But have I not served you well? … All I can do here is ask you to trust your instincts.

 

PC: Very well. It seems I am unable to deter you. Assuming I can get Imoen back, will you rejoin me then?

 

Yoshimo: I will have to see. But yes, I will try. I very much want to. Look for me here in the Vulgar Monkey at that time. I must drop out of sight for the time being.

 

PC: I wish you luck. We’ll be back. Hopefully you can join us before we set sail back to Athkatla.

 

Yoshimo: That is my sincere hope as well my friend. May Ilmater bless and keep you until we meet again.

[Lemernis]

Here is the mod storyboard:

 

 

Yoshi Asks to Temporarily Leave the Party

 

* Yoshi requests to temporarily drop from party in Brynlaw.

 

 

Preliminary draft of that dialogue:

 

 

Yoshimo: >CHAR NAME<, I beg your attention. There is something I must speak with you about.

 

PC: Yes?

 

Yoshimo: On the docks I spotted some old enemies of mine. I am confident they did not see me. But I fear that if they did they could jeopardize our mission. They are wizards of immense power.

 

PC: We've dealt with mages before, Yoshi. I'm sure we can handle them.

 

Yoshimo: These are particularly deadly foes, rumored to be otherworldly. It was even whispered by some that they are undead. When I knew them they sailed aboard the Sea Witch. Their feelings toward me are…um, not exactly friendly…

 

PC: What did you do?

 

Yoshimo: I could not resist stealing an item from them. I will spare you the details. But suffice it to say they if they spotted me if would be very bad.

 

PC: Yoshi, we have defeated many powerful foes. How much more dangerous could they be?

 

Yoshimo: Trust me. If they discover me it will mean my death, as well as that of any who accompany me.

 

PC: I still think we should be able to defeat them.

 

Yoshimo: You possess great power >CHAR NAME<, but you are not invincible. I have witnessed these two destroy opponents mightier than you. Please, I beg of you. I do not want your death on my conscience. I ask that I may leave your company temporarily so that you enjoy the best chance of success in rescuing Imoen.

 

PC: I’m surprised by this. I’ve seen you wary but never afraid. This isn’t like you.

 

Yoshimo: I humbly ask that you place your trust in me.

 

PC: Trust a thief?

 

Yoshimo: Heh, good point. But have I not served you well? … All I can do here is ask you to trust your instincts.

 

PC: Very well. It seems I am unable to deter you. Assuming I can get Imoen back, will you rejoin me then?

 

Yoshimo: I will have to see. But yes, I will try. I very much want to. Look for me here in the Vulgar Monkey at that time. I must drop out of sight for the time being.

 

PC: I wish you luck. We’ll be back. Hopefully you can join us before we set sail back to Athkatla.

 

Yoshimo: That is my sincere hope as well, my friend. May Ilmater bless and keep you until we meet again.

 

 

Code: add BG2 Tweaks "Improved Kick-out Dialogues" script so that Yoshi can stay put.

 

 

Yoshi Rejoins the Party

 

* After the party returns from Spellhold, Yoshi is happy and relieved to rejoin (he succeeded in getting Irenicus' geas dispelled although he will not disclose this until later).

 

Code:

 

- add the buttplug variable before party reenters the Vulgar Monkey

- Yoshi dialogue fires when he is neutral before readding him manually

 

* Pirate Bill in the Vulgar Monkey offers passage home for any *one* NPC that the party needs to boot by virtue of Yoshi rejoining; if PC accepts gold is deducted. Player then may manually remove the party member.

 

Code:

 

- Pirate Bill dialogue fires right after Yoshi's, before manually readding Yoshi to the party

- Yoshi's rejoin dialogue is from BG2 Tweaks "Improved Kick-out Dialogues", so I think anything would be required here.

 

 

Yoshi's Confession

 

* A confession by Yoshi some time later in the game; PC's options to react. I.e., PC may

 

- appreciate Yoshi's dilemma and thank Yoshi for risking his own life

- get pissed but let Yoshi remain in party

- get pissed and boot Yoshi from the party

- go hostile on Yoshi.

 

Code:

 

- Yoshi's confession dialogue

 

This involves a bit more complicated coding because of the different options the PC can choose.

 

But honestly, if that proves too time consuming, as far as I'm concerned the last part could be skipped altogether and it will still be satisfying. It's fine by me if Yoshi remains mum about the whole thing. Then the end result is that the PC had a traitor in his midst, planted by Irenicus, who changed his mind and decided to risk his own life to side with the PC instead. And the PC was none the wiser.

 

Yoshi Added to Party for ToB

 

* Yoshi respawns right at the start of ToB via a copy of his .cre file

 

Code:

 

- Ideally, a renamed copy of YOSHIMO.cre with the identical stats as Yoshi had at end of SoA. If that isn't doable, the level 10 version that can be leveled up via the CLUA Console. In either case his join up dialogue has to be rewritten so that he's not in Irenicus' dungeon anymore.

- add chapter check for triggers

 

Epilogue

 

* Yoshi gets an epilogue at the end of ToB.

 

Code: code this to be included.

[Icendoan]

Well, the buttplug variable is fairly easy to replicate.

 

IF
!InPartyAllowDead("Yoshi10.cre") //Whatever is actually spawned in Chez Irenicus
!Global("ButtPluggingCumBubble","GLOBAL",1)
!AreaCheckObject("AR1600","Yoshi#.cre")
THEN
RESPONSE #100
  SetGlobal("ButtPluggingCumBubble","GLOBAL",1)
END

 

Or, if Yoshi isn't going to die in SpellHold;

 

IF
InPartyAllowDead("Yoshi10.cre") //Whatever is actually spawned in Chez Irenicus
!Global("ButtPluggingCumBubble","GLOBAL",1)
AreaCheckObject("AR1600","Yoshi#.cre")
THEN
RESPONSE #100
  SetGlobal("ButtPluggingCumBubble","GLOBAL",1)
END

 

The above code doesn't work too well, ask someone for a nice big trigger, like you have defeated irenicus.

 

Should be appended to somewhere, Baldur.bcs might work, otherwise dplayer is a good bet.

 

Icen

[Artimus]

There's already EXE hacks to let you talk to charmed creatures, fix experience scaling and other such things.

 

Couldn't something similar be done for the code that looks for Yoshimo's death variable?

 

Simply search the EXE for Yoshimo's death variable, overwrite it with something random (a valid death variable, but not Yoshimo's) and see if it makes a change to any of the ingame events?

[berelinde]

There's a way to transfer Yoshi's items, at least to the ToB version, but it's a bit dodgy.

 

Since he's going to get blown away at the start of ToB anyway, you can just use a MoveGlobal() to get him there, and have him DropInventory(). Depending on how you do it, you can probably get him to do this before the DestroySelf() command kicks in.

[Lemernis]

Thanks for input, feedback, and any and all help! In some form this has to be doable. It's very fun and satisfying to keep him around, if this simple mini-mod gets completed players will enjoy it.

 

I think my friend was correct that the bug of ToB Yoshi and the PC constantly turning to face one another is caused by Yoshi wanting to say something to the PC, but because he has no dialogue it loops. In Abazigal's lair, when I tried doing the Lycanth the Mad subquest of unpetrifying the three low level adventurers, when I tried resting I kept getting a green message "you cannot rest when intitating dialogue," or something to that effect. And at that time Yoshi and the PC started exhbiting that behavior of constantly turning to face one another.

[Lemernis]

There's a way to transfer Yoshi's items, at least to the ToB version, but it's a bit dodgy.

 

Since he's going to get blown away at the start of ToB anyway, you can just use a MoveGlobal() to get him there, and have him DropInventory(). Depending on how you do it, you can probably get him to do this before the DestroySelf() command kicks in.

 

Thanks! This makes me wonder if there might yet be a way to avoid the .exe removing Yoshi's .cre file. I would think the game doesn't expect him to be there at the start of ToB. But if ToB is hardcoded to remove Yoshi then so be it.

 

ToB pulls Yoshi from the game but all of his items do get transfered to the party. So if the above is problematic to code, after Yoshi's copy is spawned in the player can just give him his items back.

 

Really, I think the only real coding challenge in all of this is finding a way to spawn a copy of Yoshi that perfectly matches his original file at the end of SoA (XP, profs, HLAs, etc). But even if not, the player can still just level him up via the console.

[Miloch]

ToB pulls Yoshi from the game but all of his items do get transfered to the party. So if the above is problematic to code, after Yoshi's copy is spawned in the player can just give him his items back.

There is a reference to Yoshimo at 0x729cf0 in the .exe (as well as Imoen, Edwin and Anomen) but I don't know what purpose it serves, if any. I rather doubt this is controlled by the .exe though, and is probably in the game scripts somewhere. But I could be wrong - like I said, I know jack about ToB. There is at least one script that forcibly removes Yoshimo from the party (cut41g.bcs) but it appears to be a SoA script.

[Lemernis]

Icen, if I write the conversations for all the dialogues are you willing to code them? Again, they'll all be very simple--three are strictly between Yoshi and the PC, and one is between Captain Bill and the PC (deducting gold at the end if the PC says yes, I will pay for passage for one party member back to Athkatla). If you can do this, I'll write the conversations up. I'll then take what we have (storyboard plus the coded dialgoues) to some of the other modding communities to cast a wider net, as it were. Maybe someone who has experience with ToB modding, a bit of free time, and the inclination, will put this all together into a minimod.

[Icendoan]

Sure. PM them to me.

 

Icen

[Taimon]

By the way, it's not that hard to avoid the loss of Yoshimo on the MoveToExpansion() action. Since this is only a strcmp in the bgmain.exe, you get away with simply changing the name there.