4 replies to this topic

[dorotea]

Hi folks,

Just wanted to hear your opinion on using or not using the WEIGHT when putting together a banter file for a new non-Bio npc. All Bio authentic npcs have Weighted banter (and sometimes j-dialog). So, when I add/modify to these I always deal with WEIGHTs.

However the B file seems to be working just fine, even is you have a 'romance' or romance-like series of dialogs triggered by timers, even if you don't use WEIGHTs. And in my experience new romances don't use it at all - or am I mistaken?

Any opinions/recommendations on the matter?

[Kismet]

For a new NPC, you shouldn't need to use weighting. For your own NPC you can get around weighting by just moving the states in a particular dialog file to where you want them to be.

[dorotea]

That is what I noticed as well. If I have all 'romance' dialogs coded first (say states 0-20) and all the banters with npc's added after (say states 21- 100) the romance goes as it should and the banters happen as well. But I am wondering what will adding WEIGHTS actually do. Not that I am looking for extra work - but it is interesting.

Anybody has xp with making new original npc and using weights?

[Grim Squeaker]

I've only ever had to use weighting when I've want another NPC to have a completely new dialogue when forcetalked. e.g. In Harvey when he is changed into a spider by Adalon then I don't want all the drow to actually respond to him as if he were a drow. So I used code like this:

APPEND UDARDUL
IF WEIGHT #-1 ~Name("G#Harvey",LastTalkedToBy)
Global("G#HarveyChangedSpider","GLOBAL",1)~ THEN BEGIN GH#I#UDARDULIgnores
SAY ~(She ignores you).~
IF ~~ THEN EXIT
END
END

I imagine Lord M used similar coding in Immy's Romance to override various NPCs standard forcetalk options so that you can ask them about your dreams.

[Grim Squeaker]

Oh I've thought of another reason you might want to have weighting. Imagine this is the layout of your .d file:


IF ~OptionalConditions~ THEN BEGIN blocks

IF ~OptionalConditions~ THEN BEGIN blocks (Forcetalks)

CHAIN blocks that begin conversations


If the CHAINs weren't weighted then those forcetalk ones (which are always true, unless you are careful with your coding - using stuff like checking the Gabber) then those dialogues would never occur - the forcetalks would play instead.