Base Mod Content Thread: Scripts

[Wynna]

This post will summarize all script suggestions for the NWN2 ALFA Base Mod. General and specific suggestions welcome but please read the summary before suggesting new scripts or their specific details.

Thank you.

Edit: I'll try to organize these into categories of input soon as the summary list is already long.

Please note that I've not included lycanthropy and undead curses for PCs in here, as neither undead nor lycanthrope PCs are playable PCs in ALFA.
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Summary

* JAI + NPC AI/Roles
* NESS + NPC Activities
* Persistant Storage.
* Pets.
* Mounts. (probably unnecessary in NWN2)
* Pack Animals.
* Herbs.
* Adjusted Monster AI.
* RP XP.
* Spell changes.
* Spell recovery.
* Rest alteration.
* Crafting.
* Changes to the implementation of subraces.
* Tents.
* Fishing.
* Useable items such as the archery target/portable stool/candle from Bartleby's scripts.
* Armour customisation scripts.
* Arrest & Jailport
* Player Reputations & NPC Reactions - I've got a lot of things written down here which I want to post when I'm satisfied with it
* Merchants - support haggling, stealing, trying things before buying them
* Player Housing & Shops - possibly in tandem with taxation
* Armor Damage - visual mods like the shoulder or leg plates being hacked off
* Weapon Breakage - helps support crafting and professions
* Currency Denomination (CP, SP, GP, PP) - if this 's not supported or if the Gold standard is carried over from NWN1
* Banking - possibly regional coins and exchange rates, loans and interest
* Racial Languages
* Wild/Dead Magic Zones
* NPC Experience - NPCs can gain experience and change over time
* Proper Pick Pocketing - limited to small items (what can fit into one's hand)
* Pack Mules/Bags of Holding
* Gambling
* Aging
* Small tasks: wood chopping/feeding chickens&livestock/carrying water/NPC fishing/hammering variations.
* Baalster's Reputation System
* Baalster's Rumor System
* VFX script for any existing placeable (From Cipher's Placeable thread suggestion)
* Movable placeables system to apply to any placeable in game
* Movable Siege Engines that take damage/burn down persistently
* Apply Level/XP costs of death at ressurection time for spells and scrolls
* Weight (Gold, Ammo)
* Encumberance

[NickD]

From my thread of questions:
* Persistant Storage.
* Pets.
* Mounts. (probably unnecessary in NWN2)
* Pack Animals.
* Herbs.
* Adjusted Monster AI.
* RP XP.
* Spell changes.
* Spell recovery.
* Rest alteration.
* Crafting.
* Changes to the implementation of subraces.
* Tents.
* Fishing.
* Useable items such as the archery target/portable stool/candle from Bartleby's scripts.
* Armour customisation scripts.

I'm not sure if this is the right place, but items for the HAKs:
* Addditonal skills.
* Changes to the implementation of PrCs.
* VFX.
* Gold weight.
* Ammo weight.

[Spider Jones]

Hmm, I'd like to see a global script that makes PCs clobbered by city guards and the like who would not normally cut criminals dead in the street that ports PCs instead to a cell, and all their gear into a persistent chest. Perhaps to be placed on most commoners and types that may end up attacking a PC pick pocket (though, some wouldn't mind sticking an axe through a thieves' face, especially if they're breaking into their home).

[ç i p h é r]

Here are some suggestions (everything AND the kitchen sink). I'm summarizing here, since elaborating would make the list nigh unreadable:

* Player Reputations & NPC Reactions - I've got a lot of things written down here which I want to post when I'm satisfied with it
* Merchants - support haggling, stealing, trying things before buying them
* Player Housing & Shops - possibly in tandem with taxation
* Armor Damage - visual mods like the shoulder or leg plates being hacked off
* Weapon Breakage - helps support crafting and professions
* Contractable Diseases - Lycanthropy, Vampiric Curse
* Currency Denomination (CP, SP, GP, PP) - if this 's not supported or if the Gold standard is carried over from NWN1
* Banking - possibly regional coins and exchange rates, loans and interest
* Racial Languages
* Wild/Dead Magic Zones
* NPC Experience - NPCs can gain experience and change over time
* Proper Pick Pocketing - limited to small items (what can fit into one's hand)
* Pack Mules/Bags of Holding
* Gambling
* Aging

[fluffmonster]

I would recommend making all scripts universal...as in, all scripts are centrally resourced, and no mod includes scripts which are not part of that resource. Use that assumption as the baseline, deciding if any exceptions are warranted.

[Grand Fromage]

I would recommend making all scripts universal...as in, all scripts are centrally resourced, and no mod includes scripts which are not part of that resource. Use that assumption as the baseline, deciding if any exceptions are warranted.

Why waste space in other mods with server-specific scripts? For example, Silverymoon's University scripts are rather huge, it wouldn't make sense to have every server using up 3 MB or so for scripts they aren't using. This also means that no one can write and import a script for whatever purpose until everyone else updates their mods. And, if every server has every script, then it follows that every DM should have input on every script. That'll be fun.

Bad idea to have every script universal. There are plenty of reasons to have a script only on one server. Universal scripts for gameplay stuff/toys (chip's items come to mind here) and that sort of thing are a good idea, but that's all.

[Creslyn]

I think those sort of scripts would come under Quest scripts, which would be module specific for the most part (though some could be used universally).

[Faeryl]

I would recommend making all scripts universal...as in, all scripts are centrally resourced, and no mod includes scripts which are not part of that resource. Use that assumption as the baseline, deciding if any exceptions are warranted.

Why waste space in other mods with server-specific scripts? For example, Silverymoon's University scripts are rather huge, it wouldn't make sense to have every server using up 3 MB or so for scripts they aren't using. This also means that no one can write and import a script for whatever purpose until everyone else updates their mods. And, if every server has every script, then it follows that every DM should have input on every script. That'll be fun.

Bad idea to have every script universal. There are plenty of reasons to have a script only on one server. Universal scripts for gameplay stuff/toys (chip's items come to mind here) and that sort of thing are a good idea, but that's all.

I know that NU has quite a few scipts that are underdark server specific, so +1 to what GF said. Why would anyone else want scripts that que PCs into noble house rankings, Loltian priestess ranks, and hand out Drow Noble Insignia as appropriate?

[ç i p h é r]

I think you guys missed this part:

Use that assumption as the baseline, deciding if any exceptions are warranted.

The real question is how effectively we can meet the individual needs of builders though generic systems. I think quests are the prime example where there would be a great deal of variation between servers, but perhaps an adequate quest system eliminates the need to introduce custom scripts on each server. I'm not sure what Silverymoon University uses, but if it's some sort of library script system and if it can be generalized for global use, then everyone could certainly make use of it.

So, I believe what Fluff is aiming for is correct. More centralization, more collaboration, less fragmentation. The efficiencies jump up markedly from there, especially if we script to meet our OVERALL needs, not just for our own. The revised tech team structure should faciliate that I think (ie server X has an idea, discusses it with tech team and finds out servers Y and Z have similar needs, so a more generic solution is devised which can go into the global repository).

On the infrastructure end, I think we will need to have a central script repository with version control to meet both the global and regional need (as exceptions are found). It'll help eliminate redundancy and ensure conventions are followed. A key for effective module maintenance and collaboration.

Versioning is to be expected, particuarly for scripts, so we should be prepared to deal with that in the best way possible. We can get hosting and version control all in one place if we want to list our project on sourceforge.net or we can setup our own on our website (along with the wiki I assume is in the works). I think instinctively, people put up fences around their work to keep others from having it, but distributing our work serves to promote our community and establish leadership, which is truly invaluable.

[Faeryl]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I actuallly LOVE the idea of having a script library. In fact, it's something I've longed for.

I guess my objection was to the part

and no mod includes scripts which are not part of that resource.

I know we have a zillion little scripts that are very specific to, say, a particular NPC, or a particular area, or a particular quest. And while I did catch the idea of

Use that assumption as the baseline, deciding if any exceptions are warranted.

I just don't want to get bogged down in the red tape of having to decide through comittee each an every time a simple script is added to a mod to determine if it should also be added to the library. Honestly, that would drive me nuts.

[Grand Fromage]

A central bunch of scripts is a good idea, let's just not get insane with requiring all mods to be identical.

[Fionn]

I read f|uff's exception to mean:

Ask yourself "Will other mods need a similar system" before you add custom scripts to your mod. If the answer is yes, have your scripter contact the scripting team to have a global system written

Obviously, you may wish to have a temporary local system in if you need it quickly (say, catapult fire for a siege next weekend), but hopefully the global script is already written by the time you need it.

Faeryl - just because it's global does NOT mean it needs to be in every mod. Catupult scripts above would be a good example - no need to have them in if you aren't using them. No need to write them when you do if they're in the script library.

[NickD]

* Armor Damage - visual mods like the shoulder or leg plates being hacked off
* Weapon Breakage - helps support crafting and professions

Extremely annoying. We used to have weapon breakage, and it was very annoying, which is why it has been removed. Perhaps if it only worked on normal armour and weapons, not magical and even then it was even rarer than what it was.

* Contractable Diseases - Lycanthropy, Vampiric Curse

This was brought up a few times about a year ago when Nerine created scripts for lycanthropy. It was decided against allowing PCs to be lycanthropes or vampires.

* Currency Denomination (CP, SP, GP, PP) - if this 's not supported or if the Gold standard is carried over from NWN1

As nice as it would be, I don't see how we would be able to do it as elegantly as the current GP system, and I think we should just stick with GP. Only GP will be supported in NWN2.

* Aging

Ugh, no. I think you've already suggested this and it was decided against going with aging scripts then, so I don't need to explain why.

* NPC Experience - NPCs can gain experience and change over time

Why? If a DM wants an NPC to gain levels he'll just update the NPC in the mod. Otherwise all the farmers are going to be level 20 commoners just because they've been around since the module was built.


I liked the rest of your ideas though

[Baalster]

In my opinion, the infrastructure for each module should be identical. Forced identical even, if needed. It will be the only way we can keep them all updatable by anyone, and not rely on scripters who may come and go.

So yell all you want, but if I have my way, it will be a strong regime for what goes in and now in an ALFA module. It's time we take control over the modules, and make them ALFA modules, not a module in ALFA.

So you may not be able to get all your scripts in. It will be up to the techies to decide. Some things may go to fast vote, but my guess is that the tech team body would be able to make those decisions for the most part.

A library to choose from would be what Fionn talks about - some stuff that you may need only for a period of time. Anything that goes into the base module should be mandatory. It should not be allowed to make modifications to them, unless leveraged up to, and approved by the tech team. This may look to be a cumbersome thing, and maybe at first it will be. Until we get a grip on how to work this way. But if regions contribute rather than fight wars for things that may not happen, we will get a better standardized base module, a system where we can update parts of it through erfs, and we are able to contribute to the NWN2 community alot easier.

Baalster
HDM 081 Whitehorn

Baalster

[bartleby]

Mundane/Generic NPC tasks.

Examples:

Wood Choping script.
Feeding chickens/livestock.
Carrying water.
NPC fishing.
Hammering varriations.

Anything else that could be thought of. Having NPCs act like theyre living would realy serve to liven up the world and would add an element of continuity if implemented cross serverly.

Would also like to see shops done well but im afraid the majority of that will be up to how NWN2 handles things....