Dialogue

[Stoned]

Is it possible to add more dialogue to the commoners and random NPCs you find dotted across some maps? It's disappointing to say "Hail to ye!" to some random commoner and they don't reply back

 

[Jonzay]

Oh, they talk....

When you cut them down. Hehe.

 

[J-M v2.5.5]

I'd love to see more dialogue as well, but the problem is that dialogue needs to be precached, and there's a limit to the amount of stuff that can be precached.
More dialogue for NPCs might have negative consequences, such as maps like helena/deralia not being able to load.

 

[Thothie]

Sound files don't actually touch the precache limit - apparently it just marks the beginning and end of the wave file. Unlike models and sprites, it still loads them in real time.

Granted, I was thinking he just wanted text babble. That'd be something our somewhat less than prolific amateur scripters could handle, but I don't have time for ATM.

I dunno when we'll get around to getting started on the Dynamic Quest system (I'm guessing Mikkel gave up on it, so I'll have to pick it up myself), but likely, the generic NPC's and guards would be randomly selected to be used as employers at creation, under that system.

 

[TheOysterHippopotami]

I would love it if commoners could have randomly selected dialogue that ranged from a simple "hail" to information about the story or geography and clues regarding quests and items.

Thothie - can you explain how this dynamic quest system is planned to work? If this is a possibility in the near future it may change my long term plans.

 

[J-M v2.5.5]

Sound files don't actually touch the precache limit

I have this map with a whole bunch of monsters (including Torkalath Elves), but when I add Velend Varon, it won't load anymore. Different combinations of monsters cause the server to stop loading at different files, but I'm really sure that on more than one occassion, the server stopped loading and left a message in the console about being unable to precache some vv_*.mp3 file

 

[Thothie]

Velend doesn't use MP3 files. He does, however, use a model, and a several sprites.

He does precache all his voice files ahead of time. I suspect if he does have such a precache error, on one of his wav files, he makes it every time, due to a typo or file rename, but I'll have to check. There's a reason why sound file precache errors are not fatal, however.

In anycase, I once precached every wave file in Half-Life, MSC, and NS, in an effort to test this long ago. I just wish I'd done the same with the inventory sprites before I put our coders through all that trouble. >_>

Thothie - can you explain how this dynamic quest system is planned to work? If this is a possibility in the near future it may change my long term plans.

Long story short: random NPC's will have random quests sending you to random maps to retrieve random quest items or slay randomly generated (of your level or just above) mini-bosses and/or their escorts. In return for the effort, said random NPC will give a random reward, or XP in a specific skill, as defined in the quest description before you accept it. Hopefully it'll give folks something else to do, and take them to some maps they may have missed.