Renee's Modding Thread Options

[Renee]

Mod-making thread basically, which focuses heavily on quest-making. The first two tutorials (How to make a fetch quest and how to make a kill quest) are very hand-holdy. They are designed for those who are just starting to learn the art of quest-making. Other tutorials get more advanced, as my wacky ideas have pushed their boundaries.

Just click on any of the links in the post below this one.


Bethesda Units. (How distance compares in-game to real-life).

Xpadder Walkthrough page. Xpadder is a site which allows gaming controllers to mimic the key & mouse functions. Xpadder, or similar programs such as Joy to Keys, are absolutely crucial to get the most out of older games such as Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Oblivion, for those who prefer controllers. They can also be used for newer games (Fallout 3/NV or Skyrim) to provide alternate controlling scenarios during times when a game's native D-pad arrangement needs to be shut off.




This post has been edited by Renee: Apr 16 2024, 06:27 PM

[Renee]

Making an NPC Follower Game: Fallout 3

Note: this method will work for Oblivion too, however, I also had some unsolvable problems with my OB followers. So for now, this only pertains to FO3. Oblivion has CM Partners, as well as Companion Share & Recruit. Both of these mods are so well done, it's almost pointless to try and top them.

Personally though, I've been dissatisfied with the follower mods I've seen in Fallout so far. Maybe that's why I decided to learn how to make my own.

-------------------------------------

1). Start up the Fallout 3 GECK, yadd yadda....

2). OBJECT window > Actors > NPC
Make a new NPC. Place him or her into the world somewhere. Do the usual: ID, Name, Race, and don't forget to give him or her a Voice Type. Once he or she is in the world, give him/her a Reference ID. Persistent Reference toggled on. I am calling this ID aaaFollowerRef for this lesson.

If the follower is going to be combat-oriented, choose an appropriate Class, like "SoldierScout" or "BrotherhoodKnight." Not Doctor, or Drunk.


3). Stats tab:
Change the various settings to make this NPC as you'd like, so they'll be strong, or agile, or proficient with a particular type of weapon, etc. Note that Class tends to change those Skill values around, if Auto Calc Stats is chosen.

4). Factions tab:
Putting the NPC into a particular Faction is good, but the PlayerFaction is NOT important at all. Do not put them in Player Faction, I have found it can actually cause problems.

AI Data tab
This can vary a lot of course, depending what kind of NPC follower you're going to make. A combat-oriented character (if we want him / her to live) should have Aggression set to Aggressive, Average for Confidence, and Helps Friends and Allies for Assistance. We don't want them too aggressive or confident; this can cause them to do stupid things.

Even with the settings I just suggested, they can still do stupid things. But those are the settings I prefer. If you'd like to know more about setting up an NPC, just follow the GECK's official page.


5). OBJECT window > Actor Data > Quest
Right-click > New into the Editor ID window. Quest Name is not important, except for your own reference. None of this will appear in-game, except NPC dialog.

Make sure Start Game Enabled is on, and Priority can be 55. Script Processing Delay can be on.


6). We're going to write a script now.... under the main script area, so make sure its type is Quest. Note that this script is ultra-short.
===========

sciptname aaaFollowerScript

short Status

; 0 = Sandbox, 1 = Follow, 2 = Wait

============

Note: The semi-colon to the left of 0 = Sandbox is there to make sure the game's engine won't read the words which come after the semi-colon. The game will not actually read anything after a semi-colon (on that particular line of text, anyway), so you can type whatever you'd like after one, for your own reference.

Save the script and close it. Click OK (closing the Quest window), save, reopen the Quest window, and find your script in the scroll-bar. Click OK again.

Now, the weird thing about followers or companions in Fallout 3 is: there are two methods which will work. Method 1 begins below. Method 1 uses AI Packages which are attached directly to the NPC's AI Packages tab, however, I have found that sometimes this method does not work 100%. One follower might follow us. Tell them to Wait, and they still follow us, for instance. So... follow steps 7a through 9c below for Method 1. Method 1 is the 'official' method taught in a few You Tube videos, okay?

If stuff is not working properly (Follow, Wait, and Sandbox, mostly) go to Method 2, which is at the bottom of this post.

7a). Go back into the NPC's AI Packages tab, right-click > New into the AI Package List window, and make a Sandbox AI, by changing the Package Type scroll-bar to Sandbox. Give the package an ID name too. I am calling it aaaFollowerSandbox for this lesson.

7b). Click on the the Wander Location button, and change it from Near Editor Location to Near Current Location. Click OK. Make Radius = 1000, or whatever number you choose. Numbers lower than 50 will cause them to wander in almost in a circle. Anything over 500 will give the follower some breadth, causing him or her to move around an entire room or two.

Basically, this Sandbox package will be used whenever we leave the follower in a situation that isn't dangerous. For RP purposes, they should be able to move around and do stuff in their time off, since they're "at ease".

7c). We can toggle as many Allowed Behaviors as we'd like. In the Flags tab, we can also leave Enable Fallout Behavior toggled on, for somebody who's got some dynamic off-time going. Or we can toggle this off, and then click whatever behaviors we'd like the follower to allow.


8a). Now make a Follow AI. Follow all the steps in 7a, except find Follow in the scroll-bar this time. I am calling it aaaFollowerFollow

8b). In the Follow Target area, choose "Specific Reference," and choose Player in the Ref scroll-bar. "Cell" is not important.

8c). "Follow Distance" can be set at 300 for close-quarter action, or much further away if we want a tail rather than a shadow.

8d). Uncheck the "EndLocation" toggle.

8e). Flags tab
We can leave Enable Fallout Behavior on (or turn this off, but choose a few individual flags, like "Reaction to Player Actions"). But make sure to also check the "Continue during Combat" toggle on. "Allow Swimming" and "Allow Falls" can also be checked on.

On the other hand, "Allow Swimming" might be bad in some cases. It really sucks seeing your follower go rushing underwater just to defeat a mirelurk. Next thing you know, your stupid follower is drowning.


Now, to make a Wait AI. "Wait here" is going to be used to make an NPC just stand in one place. This is obviously best to use once we're out in the field again. The follower won't go wandering off, and is less likely to attract danger because of this. I am naming this final AI Package aaaFollowerWait.

9a). Right-click > New into the Editor ID window again. Choose "Guard" for the Package Type.

9b). Under "Reference to Guard" leave the 'Linked Ref' toggle on. "Remain Near Guard Location" can also be on. Press the rectangular button (it should say Near Editor Location by default) and change this to Near Current Location. Guard Location Radius can be 0, for best results.

9c). Flags tab
Most of these should be off, unless we've got ourselves a chatty, undisciplined follower who doesn't stand down very well. For best results, of course, just turn all the Fallout Behavior stuff off.


12). QUEST window > Topics tab.

We're going to make a total of four GREETINGS, and five dialog Topics. Go ahead and right-click > New a GREETING topic, as well as these five dialog topics: one to do with Following, Waiting, Trading, getting Fired, and a "Goodbye" topic.

12a). The first GREETING should literally be a 'first time' greeting, which will be what the follower says to our character when first met. "Hey, who are you?" or whatever. That's a bad example, but you can get more creative here. Make sure "Say Once" is toggled on. The only Condition will be a GetIsID, for that particular NPC.

Now, in the Add Topic window, we can link from this first GREETING to only the Follow topic.

>>> 12b). The second GREETING assumes we went ahead and got this NPC to start following us. Conditions go....

GetIsID aaaFollowerName == 1.00 AND
GetQuestVariable 'aaaFollowerQuest', Status == 1.00

... since this GREETING will be what the follower says when actively following. Dialog for this greeting can be "What's up? Why have we stopped?" or whatever.

In the Add Topics box, right-click > New, and then link this GREETING to the Wait, Trade, You're Fired!, and Goodbye topics. When the NPC is already following us, we'll be able to tell him or her to "Wait here," "Can we trade some things?" and so on.

>>> 12c). The third GREETING is going to be used when the guy has been waiting around in Guard mode (not moving, in other words). "Hey I'm bored. When are we gonna get going again?"... Copy All Conditions from the second GREETING, and paste them into the third. But we're going to change the final number to match what's in the Main Script.

GetIsID aaaFollowerName == 1.00 AND
GetQuestVariable 'aaaFollowerQuest', Status == 2.00

In the Add Topics box, add all the topics except the Wait one, since the NPC is already waiting during this greeting (duh).

>>> 12d). The fourth and final GREETING will be used once the NPC has joined us (or we've fired him or her, or he/she hasn't been rehired yet), yet still is in Sandbox mode. So the NPC will say "Want me to follow?" for this GREETING, or whatever.

GetIsID aaaFollowerName == 1.00 AND
GetQuestVariable: 'aaaFollowerQuest', Status == 0.00, since this GREETING will be what the follower says when he or she is still sandboxing.

In the Add Topics box, only add the Follow and Goodbye topics. This way, we have the option to have the NPC follow us (breaking Sandbox mode) or simply stay there.



13a). For the NPC following topic. Give the NPC some stuff to say under Response Text ("YES, time to kick some Wasteland ass!") and add some words into the Prompt slot to make some text for us to click on, telling the NPC that we'd like him or her to start following us. "Hey, I could use your help," is fine.

Paste the same Conditions from the GREETING, but this time it will be ...

GetIsID aaaFollowerName == 1.00 AND
GetQuestVariable: 'aaaFollowerQuest', Status != 1.00

Note: != means "does not equal one."

13b). In the Result Script (End) box it should say these three things:

Set aaaFollowerQuest.Status to 1
aaaNPCFollwerRef.EVP
SetPlayerTeammate 1

Substitute "aaaNPCFollowerRef" with the actual Reference ID of your follower.

> EVP stands for EValuate Package. It is what the GECK uses to translate stuff, somehow.


*Note that final script: SetPlayerTeammate. This will make sure the follower tends to mirror the pc's behavior. So the follower will sneak if we do. He/she will draw their weapon when we do, and also use up any ammo we give him or her. Ammo which is a default part of their inventory though (from the GECK) will not decrease.

13c). In the Add Topics box, add the Wait, Trade, and Fire topics, so that even after we ask them to follow, we can change our mind, or still trade with them.


14a). Now, the Wait topic. Follow all the steps from the Follow topic, but make sure "Goodbye" is toggled on, if you want a quick exit.

14b). Paste all the same Conditions from before, but this time the quest variable will be....

GetIsID aaaFollowerName == 1.00 AND
GetQuestVariable 'aaaFollowerQuest', Status == 1.00

14c). Result Script (End) should be

Set aaaFollowerQuest.Status to 2
aaaNPCFollowerRef.EVP


15). Next is the Dismiss (or Fire) topic. Give this an appropriate Prompt ("Time for us to part ways, pard'ner...") and NPC Response Text ("WHAT? I thought we were buds! You suck!"). "Goodbye" should be checked on.

GetIsID aaaNPCFollower == 1 AND
GetQuestVariable: 'aaaFollowerQuest', Status != 0

The Result Script (End) should say

Set aaaFollowerQuest.Status to 0
aaaNPCFollowerRef.EVP
SetPlayerTeamMate 0

Note that last one, the teammate one. This will cancel any behaviors the NPC was up to before we fired him or her. So if this NPC was sneaking especially, they will go away while not sneaking.


16a). Now, Trading topic. Do all the stuff with dialog and Prompts. Set the condition window like this to make sure he only trades while following.

GetIsID aaaFollowerName == 1.00 AND
GetQuestVariable aaaFollowerQuest.Status == 1.00

We can also set it so that he'll trade only while waiting, by changing that 1 to 2. And there's actually also a third option, as seen below...

GetQuestVariable aaaFollowerQuest Status != 0

I actually like this one the best. It allows the NPC to trade while they're following or waiting. Only when sandboxing will we not be able to trade stuff.

16b). We also have a choice of 'hearing' the NPC speak either while his/her inventory is opening, or after it opens. If we put the following in the Result Script (Begin) window, it will make them speak while we are looking at their stuff, the way some merchants speak while we're starting to browse their menus.

OpenTeamMateContainer 1

If we put this into the End box, they will say what they have to say, and then show us their inventory.

The 'Trade" topic does not need anything in the Add Topics box, so leave this box blank.


17). Finally we need a way to get out of conversations. which is the Goodbye topic. We can just make some dialog and Prompt, and choose the Goodbye toggle. We can use the same GetIsId, but we finally won't need a GetQuestVariable, so that we can say Goodbye to this NPC whether or not he /she is following.


18). Now... Priorities. In the upper right hand corner of the Topic panel is a small slot for Priority. Give this Goodbye topic a lower Priority than the others (all of which will be 50 except for GREETING, which is 55). We can give the Goodbye topic 49. What this does is it causes the NPC's topics to appear from top to bottom according to how high each Priority is. "Goodbye" will always appear toward the bottom.

That should be all. Note that during actual gameplay, NPC followers sometimes wander off and do their own thing, when they're supposed to be following us. This happens especially when going from one cell to another: indoor to outdoor is most common. This can get frustrating! But even though there are some long pauses when it seems the NPC is nowhere around, they eventually do start following.


19A). Oops, one more thing. We can add a script to the NPC follower which makes them not only heal up, but which will also restore several of their stats, especially once combat is over. Here it is.

--------------------------

scriptname aaaNPCFollowerScript

Begin OnCombatEnd

If (GetPlayerTeammate == 1)

ResetHealth
restoreav PerceptionCondition 100
restoreav EnduranceCondition 100
restoreav LeftAttackConditino 100
restoreav RightAttackCondition 100
restoreav LeftMobilityCondition 100
restoreav RightMobilityCondition 100

EndIf
End

Begin OnDeath

Set aaaFollowerQuest.Status to 0
SetPlayerTeammate 0

EndIf
End

---------------------------------

This script is especially helpful, since followers don't seem to use Stimpaks, even if we add these to their inventories. Grrr.....

The death script at the bottom is basically a "clean up" function, which turns the entire follower quest off for that particular NPC, once he or she had died. It cancels any running background scripts to keep the game not sending or collecting any information to this dead NPC.


METHOD 2.

This portion of the tutorial will hopefully work 100%, assuming the follower(s) don't always do what they're told. Don't worry, this is easy.

20a). Remove the AI Packages (Sandbox, Follow, and Wait) from all NPC followers involved.

20b). Open up the follower quest > Topics section. Start with the topic which causes them to Sandbox. In the Result Script (End) box, remove the aaaFollowerRef.EVP part. Leave the "Set aaaFollowerQuest.Status to 0" and "SetPlayerTeammate" parts alone.

20c). Now type aaaFollowerRef.AddScriptPackage aaaFollowerSandbox and put this below the aaaFollowerQuest.Sandbox line of code.

20d). Do the same for the Follow and Wait parts of the quest.

Voila.

This post has been edited by Renee: Mar 14 2024, 04:49 PM