Rats' showcase -- now with interiors

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 10:03 am

Cheers everyone!

I'm Rataleen -- Rats for short -- a long time fan, first time poster. I've been lurking about TR for some years now and I've finally decided to give it a shot to see if I could join you.

I've been modding Morrowind for ages but never actually got anything finished. Perhaps here things will be different.

So here's what I got to show you guys:

First off there's this little quest I made called "A birthday and a funeral". It is a simple quest involving everyone's favorite wood elf, Fargoth. To start the quest you must first have completed the other two quests involving Fargoth (Lost Ring & Fargoth's Hiding Place). After that speak with Arrille and the quest will start. The quest is by no means epic or very challenging - it's meant to be fun and show that I can do scripts and dialogue as well as design quests. And I'd really like to do quests for TR.

The second .esp file is "Ra'Gruzgob the Khajiit". It's a simple mod that enhances the vanilla game's mad orc Ra'Gruzgob who thinks himself a khajiit by making him say out loud khajiiti lines (e.g. "What can Khajiit do for you?").

The third one is a mod named "Dwemer Music Box". It was originally meant to be a quest item for a greater mod I planned but I never finished it. It's basically a complete retexture of the Dwemer Puzzle Box. Once activated the music box will start to glow and hover above the ground, cast a healing spell on the player and play a little tune I've pompously named "the heart of kagrenac" (a reimagination of dragonfly's TR theme actually). The music box can be found lying on the floor of Balmora Mages' Guild. Screenie of the music box included. For those of you who just want to hear the song here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS0rED_Vv_8

So TR modders, what do you think? Could there be a place for me among your ranks?

Why · Post by **Why** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:28 pm

Welcome, these sound mighty interesting! I'all review them in a couple of hours, when I'm properly awake!

Post by **arvisrend** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 8:40 pm

Sorry for this, but honestly... the quest doesn't make sense to me. Why is the cake poisoned? Arrille's dialogue clearly hints to it having a purpose, but Arrille IS a friend to Fargoth as witnessed by the disposition increase in the first ever quest the player gets in Morrowind. The quest basically has no resolution (despite technically having finishing stages).

Other things:

By repeatedly asking the "birthday cake" topic before delivering the cake, I can get arbitrarily many birthday cakes from Arrille.

"Such a waste of good cake. Fargoth will be missed, though." isn't a good dialogue line. The first sentence is sarcasm, the second sentence is expresses actual condolence.

You must stopscript every global script at a reasonable stage. In the case of rats_fargoth_death_script, it should happen on line 54.

Sorry for this sounding so negative; the dialogue isn't bad as a whole, and scripting is okay except for the missing stopscript. Somehow I'm getting the impression that you have wanted to make a quest but then abandoned it halfway through, or you weren't able to come up with a good reason for Arrille to poison Fargoth in the end.

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 5:40 am

arvisrend wrote:By repeatedly asking the "birthday cake" topic before delivering the cake, I can get arbitrarily many birthday cakes from Arrille.

Oh, and I thought I had tested this thoroughly! What a mistake. Fixed it now.

Added StopScript command on line 54 as suggested.

I also revised the whole "Such a waste of ..." line by deleting the latter sentence. I also added ClearInfoActor command to it so it won't clutter the journal with a pointless entry.

arvisrend wrote:Sorry for this, but honestly... the quest doesn't make sense to me. [...] Somehow I'm getting the impression that you have wanted to make a quest but then abandoned it halfway through, or you weren't able to come up with a good reason for Arrille to poison Fargoth in the end.

That's pretty much the case.

I agree that the quest lacks some coherence. The reason why the quest ends with haste and leaves the player with no resolution is that I just wanted to finish the work as quickly as possible so I could have it showcased. I focused more on having a complete, mechanically working quest to show rather than focusing on story (which is a bad thing to do, come to think of it). Arrille does act in a way that's totally out of character. My excuse would be that I wanted to use pre-existing NPCs so I wouldn't have to go through the "huge" trouble of creating new ones, and I wanted them to be in Seyda Neen so I could playtest the quest more easily (I tend to create new games when playtesting). In retrospect I could've put more thought to this.

Thanks for comments, arvisrend! I appreciate the frank feedback.

Post by **arvisrend** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 8:31 am

Despite people saying so, playtesting quests doesn't have to be done with a fresh character, as long as you make sure you add all the topics the player needs either through linking or through addtopic (the major difference between a fresh character and one who did every quest is that the latter knows a lot of topics). I tend to playtest with a character who has acrobatics at 100 and knows a "jump 100 for 1 sec" spell. Very practical.

Seyda Neen's NPCs don't really have well-written characters; they are too much "tutorial-themed". When you say that Arrille acts out of character... tbh, he didn't have much of a character to begin with. Better to use a different place for making quests.

Why · Post by **Why** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 10:45 am

I'll give you some detailed instructions/pointers tomorrow, if that's okay

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 10:48 am

Sure

Appreciate it.

Tyrant · Post by **Tyrant** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 2:12 pm

Well Rats, welcome to TR.

From what I can see you know how to make quests, are creative, and take criticism very well. You're going to do fine here. See ya when you're promoted

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 10:52 am

Thanks, tyrant

While still waiting for Why's feedback I decided to put another quest and a new interior up for reviewing.

To start the quest go to "Balmora, Saylena Helseri's House" cell in Balmora -3,-2 and speak to the NPC there. The quest is a pretty basic fetch quest where you have to bring coda flowers to the quest giver. At the end of the quest you get a reward -- obviously -- and the flowers you brought are put on display. Neat.

The interior ("Balmora, Saylena Helseri's House") uses Hlaalu tileset and de_p furniture. Items are either de_ or in some cases com_ where there was no de_ alternative.

Why · Post by **Why** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 5:58 pm

Sorry about the delay, I ran into some family trouble yesterday. All's well now though.

For the Arrille/Fargoth quest, I have to echo arvisrend's findings. The dialog is rather nice and you seem to know your way around scripts and conditions and whatnot pretty well. It doesn't make a lot of sense though, since they're supposed to be friends. It could've been a good opportunity to tell a story. It's one of the main things I look at to be honest - we can help you with scripts, and picking up scripting is easy if you're hanging out with us on IRC and ask whatever questions you have, but writing good stories and dialog is hard. I do believe you'll be fine if you plan it out properly up front though.

I'll review your new quest once I'm done with Zobator's!

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 5:58 am

Thanks for the comments!

No rush reviewing the new quest. Take your time, take your time

Post by **arvisrend** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:34 am

I don't quite have the time for a review now, but here is a comment.

I've playtested the quest once and I don't see anything wrong with it, but I'm not very happy with it either. It seems to miss the Morrowind quest aesthetics, as far as I am concerned. I'm missing a kind of catch or twist (particularly as finding 7 coda flowers isn't as easy as it looks). (Hint: Coda flowers have some funny alchemical properties. Maybe putting them close to a candle makes their Drain Personality property affect everybody around? It would be fun to come back a day after the dinner and see her rant about the retarded ruffians she accidentally invited to her home. And then you ask around the guests, until you find an alchemist among them who clears you up on what happened.)

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 3:44 pm

arvisrend wrote:I don't quite have the time for a review now, but here is a comment.

I've playtested the quest once and I don't see anything wrong with it, but I'm not very happy with it either. It seems to miss the Morrowind quest aesthetics, as far as I am concerned. I'm missing a kind of catch or twist (particularly as finding 7 coda flowers isn't as easy as it looks). (Hint: Coda flowers have some funny alchemical properties. Maybe putting them close to a candle makes their Drain Personality property affect everybody around? It would be fun to come back a day after the dinner and see her rant about the retarded ruffians she accidentally invited to her home. And then you ask around the guests, until you find an alchemist among them who clears you up on what happened.)

Again, thanks for commenting. That's a pretty good idea about the flowers' alchemical properties. I guess I'll work with it.

Why · Post by **Why** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 4:18 pm

Hey Rats, it's a pretty neat little quest, and your dialog is nice. I fear it's too basic to warrant a promotion though.

I'd really advice you to focus on one area of modding at a time. As it stands you have a file which contains a neat little house which is too small for an interior showcase (we require two floors of de_p) and a quest that's nice but too short. I believe you've got what it takes to earn your promotion, but the file just isn't substantial enough right now. So decide on which department you want to showcase for first - interiors or quests, and then we'll give you some pointers as to what to make. Hope this helps!

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:25 pm

I'd really like to do quests so that's what I'd showcase first then. Do you recommend I should continue and lenghten the Coda Flower quest by adding it some new twist (like arvisrend suggested) or start off with something completely new?

Why · Post by **Why** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 10:20 pm

Good to hear

I'd recommend starting a new quest. Try to use an existing NPC. Think of a short story that makes sense within the world and has the potential for multiple endings. Don't think too large - the vast majority of quests should be small, regional tasks for the player. Something like a merchant asking you to get a commomer to pay his debts. A mage trafficking with a deadroth. An enchanter looking for a lost artifact. You'll get bonus brownie points if you include some flashy scripting, that's why I like magical things, they'll give you an excuse to show off some tricks.

If you have an idea about what you want to make feel free to post it here and ask for some feedback (or join our irc and ask a quester, we'd be happy to have you there) so we can make sure your story gives you enough opportunities to show some good work before you commit to it. But remember that the most important quality a quester can possess is the ability to create content that feels right within the game. Scripting is easier to learn than creating the right atmosphere.

I hope this doesn't deter you, it can be a lot to take in. If you have any questions please do post them here or PM me. I'd be happy to help!

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:55 pm

Why wrote:Good to hear I'd recommend starting a new quest. Try to use an existing NPC. Think of a short story that makes sense within the world and has the potential for multiple endings. Don't think too large - the vast majority of quests should be small, regional tasks for the player. Something like a merchant asking you to get a commomer to pay his debts. A mage trafficking with a deadroth. An enchanter looking for a lost artifact. You'll get bonus brownie points if you include some flashy scripting, that's why I like magical things, they'll give you an excuse to show off some tricks.

If you have an idea about what you want to make feel free to post it here and ask for some feedback (or join our irc and ask a quester, we'd be happy to have you there) so we can make sure your story gives you enough opportunities to show some good work before you commit to it. But remember that the most important quality a quester can possess is the ability to create content that feels right within the game. Scripting is easier to learn than creating the right atmosphere.

I hope this doesn't deter you, it can be a lot to take in. If you have any questions please do post them here or PM me. I'd be happy to help!

Thanks, that was helpful. I'm not deterred; it's nice you guys have high standards.

How'd this be for a quest: In the Mages' Guild of Ald'ruhn there's an Argonian mage named Heem-La. Heem-La will give you a task to retrieve a magical artifact or a trinket of some sort from the shrine of Molag Bal in Ramimilk. So, you go to the shrine -- either sneak past or kill the hostile worshippers -- and return to Heem-La with the artifact. The Argonian thanks you and you'll get a small reward.

The next time you sleep, however, a Daedroth appears and demands you to return the artifact at once. You can either choose to explain the Daedroth that you don't have the artifact anymore or tell the Daedroth to sod off and fight it. If you tell that you've given the artifact to Heem-La the Daedroth will give you a really tight deadline to get it back and return it to the shrine or you'll be killed to death and your soul's dragged into Coldharbour. Either way you choose, the Daedroths will keep randomly harassing you (much like the Dark Brotherhood at the beginning of Tribunal, though maybe less often) until you return the artifact.

So, you head back to Ald'ruhn only to find that Heem-La has left the Mages' Guild. If you ask around the guild you'll eventually find out that he's hiding somewhere in Ald'ruhn fearing that the servants of Molag Bal will find him; and when you further press your inquiries you'll find out that he's went to Under-Skar thinking he'll be safer there in the presence of all the guards. The next thing you do is go out the Mages' Guild door. Outside you're greeted by a bunch of really mad Daedroths that say your time's up and now it's time to die. If your Speechcraft/Personality is really high you can talk your way out of it, but otherwise you have to fight them. (Of course, the Redoran guards will help you).

After that you'll find Heem-La in Under-Skar and he'll willingly hands over the artifact. You head back to Ramimilk and return the artifact to a Daedroth at the altar of Molag Bal. The Daedroth might even let you keep the artifact saying that Lord Molag Bal doesn't care for such useless toys and all he just really wanted was to harvest your soul. Then the Daedroth would (perhaps?) congratulate you for surviving and teleport back to his realm. End of quest.

Post by **arvisrend** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 6:10 pm

Rats, what do you think about moving your quest idea from Ald-Ruhn to Mainland? That way, if it's good, it might double as a TR quest. Besides, Vvardenfell is extremely packed with quests, particularly with mods; this creates conflicts. For instance, your quest might conflict with the Ald-Ruhn Thieves' Guild "raid the Mages' Guild" quest. (Or, for a different example, Zobator's showcase conflicted with LGNPC.)

Why should the daedroth let you keep the artefact if Molag Bal wanted YOUR soul? The quest needs a final twist here.

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 7:14 pm

Sure, why not. I can move it to Mainland. That'd be fun. Any suggestions which shrine or NPC to use? I'm not too familiar with the mainland.

Yes, that would be a bit weird for Molag Bal to reward someone after constantly killing his minions. Perhaps there could be a final ambush once you return to the shrine instead of having the daedroths ambush the player midway thru the quest.

saimol · Post by **saimol** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 7:20 pm

I'm just a lurker here, but how about such twist:
"You can keep artifact, but it will slowly drain your soul or you can return artifact and save your soul"?

Why · Post by **Why** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:33 pm

If you want to place this quest on the Mainland somewhere I suggest using Baelkashpitu, a Molag Bal shrine near Tel Ouada, and for your NPC maybe TR_m1_Devas_Terano or TR_m1_Rynna_Tunelim. Alternatively, Kisrashallat and a new traveling mage in Meralag or Darnim. I myself would simplify the story a bit though - the Daedroth appearing is fine, but the constant harassment could be a bit over-the-top. I'd say give the player somewhere between three to five days, after which the Daedroth will return and potentially attack. The Daedroth popping up every now and again reminding you how much time you have left could be neat, too, if you can pull it off without it looking stupid.

The reason the Daedroth would let you keep the artifact could be that Molag Bal doesn't give a damn about the artifact, he simply demands a soul for the theft. So the Daedroth (give this guy a name and some nice dialog by the way!) either attacks the player, or the player agrees to kill the original questgiver with the artifact and send their soul to Coldharbor.

Add a special something to the moment you retrieve the artifact originally, and it should be more than enough to get you promoted if executed well. Maybe determine what sort of weapon the artifact is by the player's skills?

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:14 am

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll start working with Devas Terano and Baelkashpitu shrine. I'll ask you if I encounter any problems or have any questions.

Why · Post by **Why** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:48 am

Great, you're welcome, don't forget about IRC!

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 5:02 pm

So here's my second draft for the quest. I though I'd run it by you guys before actually doing anything.

quest name: A Coldharbour Keelhaul

Devas Terano in Tel Ouada introduces himself to the player as a scholar of Daedric artifacts. He asks the player to help him with his research by retrieving an item from the shrine of Baelkashpitu called the 'Soul Anchor'. Terano informs the player that Baelkashpitu is a shrine to Molag Bal and that the worshippers there are likely to be hostile, but he doesn't really tell much about the artifact itself other than it's a enchanted weapon of some sort and that he wishes to study it.

The Soul Anchor is found on the altar of Baelkashpitu shrine. Depending on which player's skill is higher it will be either an enchanted Daedric Saber (if Long Blade is higher) or Daedric Trident (if Spear is higher). The enchantment is relatively crappy: Soultrap for 10 secs; Weakness to Frost 10 pts for 5 secs & Damage Magicka on self 5 pts for 1 sec.

The player returns to Tel Ouada and gives the weapon to Devas Terano who thanks the player and gives the player a reward of 400 gold. The reward is rather disappointing considering the fact that the player has fought a number of foes and that the artifact itself is worth well over 20k. After giving the reward Devas Terano more or less tells the player to sod off and leave him alone with the artifact. So, the quest seemingly ends with the player left with a bitter feeling.

After a day or two, however, a Daedroth servant of Molag Bal named Noga-Togroi appears before the player. He calls the stealing of the Soul Anchor a sacrilege and says that the player has to pay the price. The Daedroth gives the player three days to both return the artifact back to the shrine and kill Devas Terano. After that the Daedroth teleports to the shrine to wait for the player's return.

When the player goes to Devas Terano's house to look for him the wizard is nowhere to be found. Upstairs in his bedroom there's the Bosmer smuggler named Aligae whom the player can question. After some interrogation Aligae will confess that Devas Terano is in fact not a scholar of artifacts but a smuggler of them. Together Aligae and Terano are running a small smuggling business that trades rare artifacts. They've had their eyes on the Soul Anchor for some time now but knowing that it would anger Molag Bal they needed to recruit a third person to steal it from the shrine. Aligae tells the player that Devas Terano has taken the Soul Anchor with him and taken the Silt Strider to Ranyon-ruhn to meet a potential buyer somewhere in the town.

Once the player arrives Ranyon-ruhn he/she can question the Silt Strider caravaner there who will remember Devas Terano but doesn't know where he went. However, the caravaner tells the player that anyone who isn't a local is bound to spend the night in the Dancing Jug -- the only inn in town. The player finds Devas Terano there.

Once confronted Devas Terano quickly stops posing as a scholar and admits that he has lied to the player knowing that stealing the Soul Anchor would invoke Molag Bal's wrath. Upon hearing that unless the artifact is returned his life would be in danger too Devas Terano gives it up willingly. It is only after that that the player informs that he is to act as Devas Terano's executioner. Obviously, Terano pleads for his life asking the player to forgive him and not kill him. If the player spares Terano's life he will thank the player and return to his home. If the player decides to kill Terano he will at first try to run away but will ultimately try to fight back and be killed.

After getting the artifact back and confronting Devas Terano the player heads back to the shrine of Baelkashpitu. There the player is greeted by Noga-Togroi. If Devas Terano is still alive the Daedroth will be extremely angry, summon a couple of minions to his aid and attack the player. If the player has high Speechcraft skill he/she can also lie that Terano is dead. When Noga-Togroi hears of Devas Terano's death he will say that the player has been a faithful servant indeed and that Lord Molag Bal has a final task for the player. Since Devas Terano's soul alone is not good enough to satiate Molag Bal's hunger for souls, the player needs to be killed as well. In fact the whole "bringing the artifact back and killing Devas Terano" deal was only a sinister plot to have the player murder his/hers accomplice before his/hers real punishment which Molag Bal has decreed death and eternity in Coldharbour. After the dialogue ends the Daedroth will attack the player with other Daedroths by his side. After the ensuing epic battle the player will be able to collect the Soul Anchor from Noga-Togroi's corpse.

Should the player run out of time on the 3 days deadline, summoned Daedroths will begin to harass him/her regularly.

Any thoughts?

Why · Post by **Why** » Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:09 pm

Overall, this sounds pretty good!

A few things though. Molag Bal isn't one to be reasoned with, so feel free to just let the player fail the quest after the deadline and have Noga-Togroi (I like the name) attack them. Also the whole speechcraft-persuasion thing is a bit odd, you can cut that. I'm somewhat reluctant about the whole betrayal by the Daedroth. Forcing the player to take the life of his associate should be good enough, he'll be satisfied with just one soul.

Do make it very clear who the player is dealing with, it doesn't have to be Molag Bal himself. Maybe Noga is the daedroth tasked with tending to this one specific artifact, and has the freedom to make his own decisions as long as they are of benefit to his master.

A three-day deadline might be a bit strict, be sure to playtest the quest and see if it's doable within those three days. Remember that the player could be halfway across the province once he is awoken by the Daedroth.

edit: one more thing, just because Molag Bal's realm is Coldharbour doesn't mean the artifact has to have some sort of cold enchantment. It could have, but it's not required, at all. The Daedra manifest in a lot of different ways.

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:07 pm

Thanks for the comments as always!

I just dropped by to let you guys know that I've just began playtesting the quest and I'll try to get it finished by the end of the week.

Why · Post by **Why** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:58 pm

Good to hear! I have to warn you I'll be without internet for the next two and a half weeks though. Arvisrend might be around to review your showcase once you post it, he's a very capable quester/tester/reviewer, but if he's busy I fear you'll have to wait a bit. Sorry for the inconvenience :/

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:00 am

Sorry for the delay but I have nothing to submit for reviewing at the moment. I'm having trouble to get the scripts work correctly especially when I'm trying to make the Daedroth creature teleport back and forth between its shrine and the player's location (which obviously changes all the time).

MSam · Post by **MSam** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 7:14 am

Do you mean that it teleports back and forth, how regularly does that happen? During certain hours of the day? Once dialogue is finished?

Also just a thought, are the details and plot-lines of quests considered in showcases? All this nit-picky detailing about lore and such seems unnecessary if the application shows a variety of skills in scripting and dialogue - the quest design instructions are usually compiled and checked over by head of quests anyway before we begin modding.

Suppose I just wanted to say that incase Rats gets to the point where he's made a good showcase but the details are a bit uneven!

Post by **arvisrend** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:47 am

MSam wrote:Also just a thought, are the details and plot-lines of quests considered in showcases? All this nit-picky detailing about lore and such seems unnecessary if the application shows a variety of skills in scripting and dialogue - the quest design instructions are usually compiled and checked over by head of quests anyway before we begin modding.

Thing is, they're not always. Quest designs, usually, aren't complete enough so as to be implementable without making decisions, and these decisions usually require some understanding of how Morrowind NPCs think and behave. More importantly, so does writing dialogue.

The pecularity with this particular showcase is that it would probably suffice as an interior showcase already ("Balmora, Saylena Helseri's House" shows generally good rotation skills and reasonable item placement; the only problem is potentially that there are not enough references, but it's not critical). In quest showcases, though, I like to see a proof that the modder is able to "think the Morrowind way", whatever this means. Note: This is just me, and I'm not the one who decides things (Why is head of quests).

Why · Post by **Why** » Sun Aug 12, 2012 4:02 am

Arvis has got it right here. Though having said that, you're welcome to upload your work-in-progress file, Rats. Teleportation is one of the hardest things to script properly, and I don't really demand people make a new quest showcase from scratch if they don't get it right the first few times they submit a file - quests are a little bit too complicated for that. I'd be happy to look through your scripts for you once I'm back from holiday next tuesday.

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 6:54 pm

My showcase's become a real patchwork with nothing quite finished or promotion-worthy to show

Really appreciate your concern, MSam, though but I don't feel like my work's being scrutinized too harshly. It kinda makes sense to me having the showcased quests be lore-correct. Otherwise I'd be making Star Wars quests with leetspeak for dialogue after I got promoted.

So anyways, here is the work-in-progress file. And when I say work-in-progress I really mean it so bear with me.

As I said the teleportation is not working: the Daedroth does teleport to the player (not very elegantly at the moment though: it interrupts the player's sleep and often appears standing on the bed) but it just won't teleport to the shrine after the confrontation. I'm pretty sure I've got the script that's supposed to handle the teleportation just fundamentally wrong somehow but can't figure out how/why/what/ohmygodwhy. Yeah, so I'm pretty frustrated with it at the moment

But maybe a pair of fresh eyes can spot what's wrong with it (probably everything).

Since the teleportation is wrong you obviously can't really finish or play the quest properly -- some things will be cut out, some other errors will be fixed and some new things will be added -- but you get the idea where it's going and what the storyline and the dialogue are going to be.

6plus · Post by **6plus** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 8:07 pm

The problem with ACK-nogateleport:

Code: Select all

Set tele_timer to ( timer + GetSecondsPassed )

should be

Code: Select all

Set tele_timer to ( tele_timer + GetSecondsPassed )

I wonder that the script compiled without complains. tele_timer should also be reset to zero when Noga teleports the first time.

And check out your ACK-20 script, daysPassed will be set to zero every time the script compiles, I don't think it can work (I didn't test it tough).

Maybe you should put the ACK-weapon script on an activator and not the weapon or else that script will run all the time.

General hints:
Make use of intendation, it makes scripting so much easier.
Comments, comments, comments! Comment everything!

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:02 am

6plus wrote:The problem with ACK-nogateleport:
Code: Select all
Set tele_timer to ( timer + GetSecondsPassed )
should be
Code: Select all
Set tele_timer to ( tele_timer + GetSecondsPassed )
I wonder that the script compiled without complains. tele_timer should also be reset to zero when Noga teleports the first time.

Thank you so very much for this! I just couldn't spot it.

6plus wrote: And check out your ACK-20 script, daysPassed will be set to zero every time the script compiles, I don't think it can work (I didn't test it tough).

It works fine for me, though when viewing the script on the editor it does look a bit clunky.

6plus wrote: Maybe you should put the ACK-weapon script on an activator and not the weapon or else that script will run all the time.

General hints:
Make use of intendation, it makes scripting so much easier.
Comments, comments, comments! Comment everything!

Will do, will do.

Post by **arvisrend** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 10:33 am

One note about scripting: For the sake of the framerate, avoid scripts on anything that can get into the player's inventory unless you *want* the scripts to run from the player's inventory. So, instead of having a weapon tr_m1_q_molag_saber which has a script running on it and can be picked up on the player, better make two weapons which are the same but only the first one has a script, while the second one is the one the player will get. How does this work? Using a simple if ( onActivate ) clause, make sure that when the player activates the first one, it gets disabled and the player gets the second one additem'd.

You seem to have two scripts for the same thing: TR_m1_q_TO_ACK-weapon and TR_m1_q_TO_ACK-weapons. Is one of them unused? In that case, please delete or comment it out. Morrowind's CS has this strange bug which occasionally leads to scripts being assigned to some random objects; the less scripts, the less danger is there for this to happen. Also, it seems to me that MW checks all scripts on starting the game; every script thus makes the start somewhat slower.

To simplify script TR_m1_q_TO_ACK-30timer, just put an "if ( currentDay != Day )" around most of your if-blocks.

Also, this thing is fishy:

Code: Select all

if ( deadline == 3 )
if ( currentDay != Day )
	set currentDay to Day
	set daysPassed to daysPassed + 1
	set deadline to 4
	MessageBox, "Tick-tock. A day has passed. No days left."
endif
endif


if ( deadline == 4 )
		Journal TR_m1_TO_AColdharbourKeelhaul 90
		StartScript TR_m1_q_TO_ACK-Wakeup
		StopScript TR_m1_q_TO_ACK-30timer
endif

This is equivalent to

Code: Select all

if ( deadline == 3 )
if ( currentDay != Day )
	set currentDay to Day
	set daysPassed to daysPassed + 1
	MessageBox, "Tick-tock. A day has passed. No days left."
		Journal TR_m1_TO_AColdharbourKeelhaul 90
		StartScript TR_m1_q_TO_ACK-Wakeup
        set deadline to 4
		StopScript TR_m1_q_TO_ACK-30timer
endif
endif

Do you see the problem now? This throws two messageboxes in the same frame; unfortunately the game can crash when that happens (see MSFD page 104 in 9th edition). Anyway, you can probably remove

Code: Select all

MessageBox, "Tick-tock. A day has passed. No days left."

since the journal says about the same thing.

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:24 pm

arvisrend wrote:One note about scripting: For the sake of the framerate, avoid scripts on anything that can get into the player's inventory unless you *want* the scripts to run from the player's inventory. So, instead of having a weapon tr_m1_q_molag_saber which has a script running on it and can be picked up on the player, better make two weapons which are the same but only the first one has a script, while the second one is the one the player will get. How does this work? Using a simple if ( onActivate ) clause, make sure that when the player activates the first one, it gets disabled and the player gets the second one additem'd.

A valid point and a good solution. Thanks.

Another one of the weapon/weapons script is indeed unused and it will be deleted. As for the message boxes, those will be gone too. I use them when I playtest to stay informed which part of the script is running at which time.

I'll work on simplifying the ACK-30timer script.

Why · Post by **Why** » Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:06 pm

Hey Rats, how's this going? Is there anything in the above file that you're still struggling with, or that hasn't been addressed by arvis or 6+ yet? I'd love to help you out, and I feel this story might be getting a bit large for a showcase though that's fine, it just means you're exceeding the minimum requirements I suppose, and what you've got so far definitely looks promising!

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 5:33 pm

Otherwise everything's more or less OK, but I'm still having hiccups with the Daedroth teleportation. Using PlaceAtPC command to place it next to PC creates a duplicate creature (I think) which creates problems when the Daedroth is supposed to teleport away using PositionCell command. Don't know if the duplicate is the problem but even after I addressed the issues 6+ and arvis pointed out the local script assigned to Noga isn't working like I'd want it to work. So, if you wish you could take a quick look at the script too, Why.

Anyhow, I think I'll revamp the quest a bit so that the teleportation bases solely on PositionCell command and rids the duplicate problem.

Why · Post by **Why** » Tue Aug 21, 2012 8:28 pm

Yeah, I think using PositionCell will fix the issues you're having. Alternatively you could use multiple different monsters for Noga, one at the shrine, and one that gets placed near the PC with PlaceAtPC and deleted afterwards. You'd need a global script to make sure that when one dies, the other one is permanently removed too though.

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 5:03 am

Decided to drop by just to say I haven't forgotten about the showcase. I had a minor breakthrough and got the teleportation to work with fancy VFX and everything, yay!

Then my laptop unexpectedly deep-fried its innards and is essentially broken for good. I've got a back up of the .esp file so no progress has been lost, but it'll take a while before I can get my hands on a new computer. Catch you again in a few weeks or so!

Tamriel Rebuilt

Rats' showcase -- now with interiors

Rats' showcase -- now with interiors

Re: Rats' Showcase - Reporting for Duty!

Re: Rats' Showcase - Reporting for Duty!

Re: Rats' Showcase - Reporting for Duty!

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