Item Customization via XP-Craft: Paazin has been working on this, initially in order to allow DMs to modify the look of certain items in-game. The Customizer GUI has already been added to our GUI hak, and the major hurdle remaining is in compiling exhaustive lists of the available item appearances to code into the system. Later stages will involve implementing stations in OOC areas of existing mods, and potentially making scaled-down versions for PC use in a more IC fashion (or in an OOC fashion for new PCs/start areas).
- Assigned to: Paazin
- NWN2 scripting experience: Moderate
- ACR/NWNx4/MySQL host setup required
- Hosting/infrastructure needs: Moderate (2 or more machines needed to test)
- Priority level: Low (convenience factor)
ACR Optimization: Currently a number of ACR systems involve frequent or redundant queries to the central MySQL database. Hialmar has some ideas on how to make things more efficient from the infra side of things, but there is cleanup that can be done inside our ACR code, especially during the login process (and in terms of combat logging, though I'll split that into it's own project.
- NWN2 scripting experience: Moderate
- ACR/NWNx4/MySQL host setup required
- Priority level: Medium (scaling up as we get more Live servers)
Combat data logging optimization: Presently during each OnDeath() event of an NPC or creature killed by PCs or their associates, a flurry of records is pushed across to the remote SQL database documenting how much XP was earned by each PC in the party, who the party leader was, and what was killed. In a large-party situation with multiple opponents, this can lead to significant lagspikes at critical moments. It may be possible to store combat records as local variables on a dynamically created waypoint in the area until combat is finished, then push them out onto the database after confirming no one onserver is currently in combat. As an aside, such a system could also facilitate later development of a system to award XP based on Encounter Level, rather than the individual CR of each monster. Also possible there may be improvements that can be made to how the log records are sent through the MySQL plugin such that they have less overhead for the nwn2server (or can be sent collectively as a transaction instead of individually as separate DB accesses).
- NWN2 scripting experience: Moderate-High
- ACR/NWNx4/MySQL host setup required
- Priority level: Moderate-High (combat lag is a universal problem, though we're used to it by now)
ALFA readable/writable Book GUI: Bartleby made a very impressive implementation of these several years back now, but it has never seen the light of day on the servers, primarily because it relies upon use of an XML file that will not read from inside haks, so it is nonfunctional unless we advocate players replacing base game resources inside their installs, potentially breaking future NWN2 patches/updates. It should be possible to edit this to just use DMFI letter replacement code instead of the custom language fonts. It is also possible there is a way to get the fonts recognized that I've overlooked. Even with the language support removed entirely, this would be a tremendous and long-overdue add to ALFA.
- GUI scripting experience: Low-moderate (editing existing custom GUI)
- NWN2 scripting experience: moderate
- Priority level: Moderate (too long overdue, universally useful)
Many more projects to be assigned. Do we have volunteers for any of the above? Glad to help anyone get started, all of these are things I've meant to do that just keep getting delayed by more pressing issues.