Gavin's progress

[Miloch]

And I know how tough it is to remove a beard.

Well, with a proper razor...

 

Heh. Couldn't resist.

 

[i didn't see the bearded version but for a portrait started yesterday, not bad at all... ]

[berelinde]

It's been a while, but there is finally a bit of progress.

 

I'm now up to LT 12, and have expanded a couple of the earlier ones. Plans for the day include getting one more done.

[Kaeloree]

Awesomely! Can't wait to see some more previews, berelinde!

[berelinde]

How about the goofiest banter, naturally between Gavin and Alora. You have to remember that Alora is the original sugar-frosted flake, so don't expect great literature.

 

GAVIN: ~Alora, your cheerfulness is contagious.~

ALORA: ~Aw, thanks! At least somebody around here appreciates a smile!~

GAVIN: ~Don't get too excited. The plague is contagious, too.~

ALORA: ~Oh, Gavin! Don't let the rest of those misery guts rub off on you!~

GAVIN: ~I'll try not to, Alora, but this is a very serious quest we're on, you know.~

ALORA: ~That's no reason to be grumpy. We can be seriously happy!~

GAVIN: ~I don't know if that's actually possible. But everyone is a bit on edge, these days. What would you suggest to cheer everyone up?~

ALORA: ~There's kittens, or ice cream, or maybe we could all sing a song, or... I know! How about a carnival?~

GAVIN: ~The only carnival I know is down by Nashkell, and I don't really know if we have that kind of time. Besides, it wasn't that good. Between the bandits and the iron shortage, it looks more like a ghost town than a carnival.~

ALORA: ~How about... how about going to see a magic show! Thalantyr at High Hedge is supposed to be good. Maybe he's got a show we could watch.~

GAVIN: ~Um, Alora, I remember hearing about him when I was living in Beregost. He doesn't seem the dog-and-pony-show type.~

ALORA: ~Well, you'll just have to watch me juggle, then.~

= ~Okay, everybody! Watch! I can juggle 4 balls at once!~

= ~Now, Gavin, I'm going to throw you the balls one by one. You try!~

GAVIN: ~Uh, Alora, this isn't a good idea... Ow!~

ALORA: ~Oops! Sorry, Gavin! Well, maybe juggling isn't for everyone. But at least everyone is laughing!~

 

 

And one of the more serious ones:

 

GAVIN: ~Faldorn, must you stare at me? I am only mending my shirt.~

FALDORN: ~You worry too much about your clothing. It is not cold.~

GAVIN: ~No, it is not cold... What? No, I'm not that... er...~

= ~Anyway, I only have two shirts. This one is clean, but torn. The one I'm wearing now is too dirty to wear again. So, I must mend the clean shirt.~

FALDORN: ~People are stupid. They are content to let the Great Mother be ravaged, but they worry about clean shirts.~

GAVIN: ~I can do something about my clothing now. Saving Faerun will take more time.~

FALDORN: ~But it is much more important.~

 

 

As for current material, dialog with player input does not preview well, so you're going to have to wait for Gavin-initiated flirts. They're going to be the last thing I do, though, so when you see them, the alpha will be done.

[Riviera]

Nice!

 

[BigRob]

I like the approach for the banters. They're characterful without being hugely important moments in the character's life.

[berelinde]

Working on the quest this weekend. Coming along nicely.

 

Had a thought, though. With most romances, the match is checked when the NPC first joins, and that's it. If the NPC later meets the romance requirements, too bad. The match has already been determined.

 

In theory, it would be possible to use a friendship dialog option to check the match again, once conditions were more favorable. Something like "It would be nice to have a chance to get to know you better." Then, the match check would run again, and if the outcome was favorable (stats or reputation were higher, for example), the romance would begin.

 

Thoughts?

[Miloch]

If it's possible, why not exploit it? I don't hold much stock in "first impressions" anyway.

[BigRob]

Sounds like a good thing to add. Depending on how any friendship talks fit in with the romance talks, such an option might introduce a lot of complexity.

[berelinde]

After a very grumpy session with scripts, the quest is done. I'm going to test it before I move on.

 

This has been a great learning experience. I went into this completely blind. Had I known how much was involved, I surely would have never started. But it does get easier, and you can start out slow. First, get through the joining dialog. By then, you know the basic dialog structure. Then do the banters and get a feel for chains. Moving ahead to the quest was a huge jump, because I had to learn how to do things like move NPCs (damn the difference in structure between EscapeAreaMove() and MoveBetweenAreas()!) and get spellcasters to cast their spells.

 

That was the big hurdle, and the one thing I was absolutely dreading. And now it's over. My relief is boundless. I hope it works.

[berelinde]

If it's possible to have negative progress, that's what this week has been.

 

Fixed one thing, and broke something else. Typical. But at least I know what went wrong, and how to fix it.

 

Done this week: fixed the timers on the quest, added one whole-party interaction, wrote 1 LT, fixed all the interjections so that they don't mess up PC or NPC responses, put in the NPC-initiated flirt framework, to populate when I feel inspired, and tweaked the quest so it's possible to do something really nasty to Gavin.

 

And I made an item. Me! Go fig. (So it's a simple item. Shhh! Maybe no one will notice. It's still a big deal for me.)

 

Left to do: 50% of the LTs, populate the NPC-initiated flirt framework, add the "bonus flirts" for frequent flirters And fix the quest AI

 

Edit: Got a few more things done over the weekend, so this week did show net progress. Populated the NPC-initiated flirt framework, added a few bonus flirts, did a non-party-joinable NPC portrait, fixed the thing I broke, and added a really essential PC PID option.

 

Left to do: 50% LTs, a handful of NPC-initiated non-timer flirts, rework the quest AI, and add a PID that will enable the Romance match to run a second time if the pc gains things like wisdom or charisma or reputation that makes an ineligible character eligible.

[Menelanna]

nice work so far. this guy sounds really interesting to me. and "bonus flirts"? awsome! cause you know I am one of those frequent flirters in BG. well keep up the great work.

[berelinde]

Done this week: added a chance to meet Gavin's family for those with ToSC, and about a dozen interjections.

 

Got derailed on a side project earlier today, but I've managed to get one more LT done.

 

I'd really like a 2006 release, but I don't know if that's going to happen.

 

There's a reason for that. In the game, Gavin will be 28 years old when you meet him. IRL, he will have been a PnP character for 28 years, although he has appeared in different forms, with different names, and in different game worlds. I guess he'll still be 28, as long as it gets out by July...

[Menelanna]

wow. things seem to be going nicely for this guy. by the sounds of it if you keep up this pace you will have him out really soon! keep up the good work and yeah give us spoilers!! we girls need our flirt spoilers.

[berelinde]

All right, maybe a couple little flirt spoilers. (Man, am I easy, or what?)

 

He does not speak, but instead, takes your hand and gently traces the lines on your palm with one callussed fingertip. When you move, he startles as if he had forgotten the hand had an owner. He reddens.*

 

Forgive me, <CHARNAME>. I was distracted.

 

and one more

 

You know, <CHARNAME>, there was a time, not long ago, when the approach of evening would fill me with dread. I would watch the sun sinking on the horizon, and I would not see the beauty of the sunset, but the mockery of the dawn. There was no promise of a new day, just the cold emptiness of night.

 

I never realized how beautiful the sunset could be.