[A20] khzmusik's Modlets

[Souhank]

Greetings Khzmusik I wanted to ask months ago, but I forgot, do you plans to make a npc factions modlelts with alpha 20? in alpha 19 the mod was awesome! it just needed more prefabs and missions. 

[ate0ate]

8 hours ago, Souhank said:

Greetings Khzmusik I wanted to ask months ago, but I forgot, do you plans to make a npc factions modlelts with alpha 20? in alpha 19 the mod was awesome! it just needed more prefabs and missions. 

I'd imagine that creating something like that utilizing the new npc core's doodads and thingamajigs might take a bit, plus the new world gen, but I also hope that it is in the works eventually. It really spoiled me. I didn't start playing 7 Days until a19 and went modded nearly straight outta the gate. Really fell in love with how alive the world felt back then using khzmusik's suite of npc mods. Good times.

Edited April 18, 2022 by ate0ate (see edit history)

[khzmusik]

On 4/8/2022 at 3:43 PM, pottervogel said:

when the bundle is stackable and can be crafted with one dye it is almost the same as stackable dyes but without losing all dye per accident

 

I meant to reply earlier, sorry about that.

 

I see now what you mean - you're not so much crafting a "stack of dyes" so much as a separate item that is stackable. It's not a bad idea, but it's probably a bit complicated.

 

I think I will simply make dyes craftable from paint. That's consistent with what the game already does for other items. Since scrapping items vs. smelting them loses 25% of the materials (I asked about this in a separate thread), I figured that it should take 25 paint to craft a dye, since scrapping a dye gives you 20 paint.

[khzmusik]

4 hours ago, ate0ate said:

I'd imagine that creating something like that utilizing the new npc core's doodads and thingamajigs might take a bit, plus the new world gen, but I also hope that it is in the works eventually. It really spoiled me. I didn't start playing 7 Days until a19 and went modded nearly straight outta the gate. Really fell in love with how alive the world felt back then using khzmusik's suite of npc mods. Good times.

 

Thank you both for asking. It does mean a lot to me.

 

If you don't know, in A20 I was part of the NPC Core team. While it was good at first, it ended up being a very bad experience for me, largely due to one other team member. (It's not Xyth or anyone else on the forums.) In essence, any time I brought up stuff I wanted to do - like dynamic factions, or a "reputation" mechanic - the guy basically said "I know what players want, and nobody wants that" and insisted I make changes that very nearly made these things impossible. (These same changes ended up causing major bugs which I spent weeks fixing.) Unfortunately he became the major driving force for NPC Core.

 

It really soured me on not just modding, but the game in general, and it also made me act like an ass. I had to step away, and in fact I quit Guppy's Discord entirely.

 

But, I am still working on all of that. I just am not working as hard as I was before, and you're right, it is a whole lot of work.

 

My current project is to make Whisperer NPCs, complete with custom sounds and whatnot. Once that is done, then there should be NPC packs for all the factions we had in A19. I was going to move on to POIs next, and I still hope that with the stuff I did that is now in Core, more people will be making NPC POIs.

 

The quests are probably the last thing that will happen. To work as it did in A19, we need a drop-in replacement for the "Goto" quest objective, so quests can target POIs with certain tags (and so vanilla quests won't target those POIs). A20 changed the way that the game chooses POIs, and it's a lot more complicated now (especially in multiplayer).

 

The fact that you guys showed interest is really good for me. I can feel justified putting more time into this now.

Edited April 18, 2022 by khzmusik (see edit history)

[ate0ate]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I was aware that you were involved in the development of NPC Core and I may not have said anything but I was quite excited to see that. I kind of had these most likely unrealistic hopes that the faction system would be essentially built in from the start and likely improved. The only thing that even bothered me at all in a19 was how turrets and sledges targeted npc's regardless of your relationship. Everything else was absolutely amazing. I honestly have not enjoyed my experiences thus far with a20 and npcs. The spawns are terrible in their current state and it just feels like a bunch of random things running around the wilderness regions. I'm sure it'll get better, but its rough to enjoy as it stands now. So much potential though. Personally I don't think that their really is any one way to play this game. I don't really like the streamer beloved horde night every night or even the separate horde night base building. I usually turn horde night off entirely and ramp up the roaming hordes to focus on immersion and exploration. To each their own I suppose. Take your time and make what you enjoy. Theirs plenty of us that will love playing it waiting patiently.

[arramus]

On 4/18/2022 at 10:51 PM, khzmusik said:

I still hope that with the stuff I did that is now in Core, more people will be making NPC POIs.

Yes, indeed. Another 100 x 100 Bandit Settlement was added this week incorporating the GS01-800 base groups you created and Dark's creations are nicely setup for those. And the spiders are back with the arachnid setup in their own GS01-800 steps. I opted to set no probability at all for the base entities, and use its 1.0 default, and will promote that as the default value to creators so every Addon gets an identical chance to spawn. And naturally, lowering for 'feral'/'infected'/'heavy ranged' types, but with ever increasing values over GS will be easy, and adheres to vanilla format. Yes, setting up the GS for groups will serve the NPCMod and Addon creators well into the future and is much appreciated. The gains will certainly be cumulative as more content is shared.

[khzmusik]

I just added a series of modlets that restore gamestage progression to the NPCs that spawn into POIs.

 

A recent update to the NPC Packs for NPC Core removed all the probabilities from the entities which are spawned into sleeper volume groups. As a result, players will encounter the same NPCs at gamestage 400 as they do at gamestage 1; and at all gamestages, they have an equal probability to encounter an NPC with an M60 as they do an NPC with a club.

 

This is obviously not balanced. So if you are playing with - or designing - POIs that use human NPCs, I highly recommend that you download these modlets for a better gameplay experience.

 

The probabilities were generated by scripts (one script per NPC pack), and the scripts are in the modlets. Feel free to modify them for you own use. You will need to know JavaScript (but nowadays, who doesn't).

 

Now that those are out of the way, I will get back to creating Whisperer NPCs. After that, there should be NPC packs for all the different factions, so I will finally be able to start porting over (or redoing entirely) the NPC POIs I created in A19.

[khzmusik]

 

I am very pleased to announce that I finally finished the Whisperers pack!

 

It includes characters that can be either "basic" (standard enemies) or "advanced" (if using mods/modlets that change faction alignment, you can talk with them, or even hire them, once your standing with the Whisperers faction is good enough).

 

Also included are Whisperer voices that I recorded myself, and came out pretty creepy, I think.

 

The link to the repo is in the first post, but here it is if you don't want to hunt it down:

https://gitlab.com/karlgiesing/7d2d-a20-modlets/-/tree/main/1-khzmusik_NPC_Whisperers

[theoilver]

Hi, sorry I feel lost.

 

Do I need to also have "0-XNPCCore" in my Mods folder if I want to try the mod below?

2-XNPCCore_khzmusik_Progression

 

What other mods do I need to have in my Mods folder if I want to try "2-RaiderzPack_khzmusik_Progression"?

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by theoilver (see edit history)

[khzmusik]

2 hours ago, theoilver said:

Hi, sorry I feel lost.

 

Do I need to also have "0-XNPCCore" in my Mods folder if I want to try the mod below?

2-XNPCCore_khzmusik_Progression

 

What other mods do I need to have in my Mods folder if I want to try "2-RaiderzPack_khzmusik_Progression"?

 

 

Those "progression" modlets are designed to work with the various NPC packs. Since there's no way for me to know which packs a user has installed, I had to make one modlet per NPC pack.

 

They're named after the pack that they work with, except they start with a higher number, and have a "_khzmusik_Progression" suffix. So, "2-XNPCCore_khzmusik_Progression" is designed to work with "0-XNPCCore", and "2-RaiderzPack_khzmusik_Progression" is designed to work with "1-RaiderzPack", and so forth.

 

That's the recommended way to name modlets that are designed to work with other modlets. (For example, the "2-NPCXSpiderPack-ColonyExpansion" by Arramus is designed to work with/extend "1-NPCXSpiderPack".) I thought this was either obvious or common knowledge, so I didn't explain it in the post itself. Obviously I was wrong, so I'll update the post.

 

EDIT: The list also says which modlet it was designed to work with. So the link to "2-RaiderzPack_khzmusik_Progression" says explicitly that it is "for 1-RaiderzPack".

 

EDIT 2: Maybe the installation procedure, as opposed to the modlet relationship, isn't clear? In general, if a modlet is designed to work with another modlet, it doesn't include that other modlet. They need to be downloaded and installed separately. That's true of all modlets in general. And, yes, they should all be installed into the "Mods" folder.

Edited May 17, 2022 by khzmusik (see edit history)

[ate0ate]

I took a small break from the game so I thought I'd check in today to see what changed in that time and was I ever pleasantly surprised to find the progression system I've missed since a19. Thank you so much @khzmusik! Those Whisperers look absolutely amazing. Can't wait to see them in action. Looking at the repo it seems that you've added progression for, well, only every single add on NPC group that I am aware of. That leaves me with just one question then; do you sleep?? But seriously, thank you for the work here. It really does make the game infinitely more enjoyable to me.

[khzmusik]

Quick update: I am in the process of updating the "Trader Lore" modlet for A20.

 

The A19 version works fine if it's installed into a vanilla game, but not if it's installed into a game with SCore/NPCCore installed. Those modlets (forget which) modify the trader dialog window, and if you install the Trader Lore modlet, the responses don't show up for some reason.

 

As soon as I figure that out, and fix it, I will release it here.

[Aesirkin]

9 hours ago, khzmusik said:

Quick update: I am in the process of updating the "Trader Lore" modlet for A20.

 

The A19 version works fine if it's installed into a vanilla game, but not if it's installed into a game with SCore/NPCCore installed. Those modlets (forget which) modify the trader dialog window, and if you install the Trader Lore modlet, the responses don't show up for some reason.

 

As soon as I figure that out, and fix it, I will release it here.

 

Thanks khzmusik!  I'm closer to vanilla, so I'm going to give the A19 version a try.  I appreciate you looking at it and, of course, you creating it! 

[khzmusik]

On 6/24/2022 at 8:55 AM, Aesirkin said:

 

Thanks khzmusik!  I'm closer to vanilla, so I'm going to give the A19 version a try.  I appreciate you looking at it and, of course, you creating it! 

 

You're very welcome.

 

I just uploaded the A20 version. This version will work with modlets (like NPC core) that change the dialog windows. Unfortunately, in this case, you'll get warnings in the console about XPath not applying, but those can be ignored (it's intentional behavior).

 

I also just uploaded another modlet, that changes the behavior of NPCs spawned into sleeper volumes in POIs. The NPC Core defaults have them waking up immediately when they're spawned in, which can make it difficult if you're designing a "dungeon crawl" style POI with NPCs in it. The modlet uses SCore feature flags to make NPCs behave a bit more like zombies. It's mainly for POI designers, but you might find it useful if you're playing a mod with NPCs in it.

 

I also figured out how to get links to automatically-generated .zip files on GitLab, so I added those links to all the modlets. It should make life easier. But make sure you put the directory inside the top-level directory in your Mods folder.

 

I'm still working on other things (POIs, more NPCs) so stay tuned.

[khzmusik]

Just added another modlet: Human Faction Reputation and Quests.

 

This adds a "reputation" system to the game, where the player can gain or lose reputation with the human NPC factions. The two ways a player can change their reputation is by killing NPCs, or by doing faction-specific quests that you get from the traders.

 

There are quests that require human POIs, but those aren't added to the trader quest list yet. There aren't enough POIs to support them. I'm hoping that will change in the near future.

 

@bdubyah I know you were curious about doing something like this. Feel free to use this modlet, it should hopefully save you a lot of work. (You might even have enough human POIs to support the POI quests.)

 

Details about all of this are in the first post, or for technical details, here is link to the README:

https://gitlab.com/karlgiesing/7d2d-a20-modlets/-/blob/main/1-khzmusik_Human_Factions_Reputation_Quests/README.md

[bdubyah]

On 7/9/2022 at 4:56 PM, khzmusik said:

Just added another modlet: Human Faction Reputation and Quests.

 

This adds a "reputation" system to the game, where the player can gain or lose reputation with the human NPC factions. The two ways a player can change their reputation is by killing NPCs, or by doing faction-specific quests that you get from the traders.

 

There are quests that require human POIs, but those aren't added to the trader quest list yet. There aren't enough POIs to support them. I'm hoping that will change in the near future.

 

@bdubyah I know you were curious about doing something like this. Feel free to use this modlet, it should hopefully save you a lot of work. (You might even have enough human POIs to support the POI quests.)

 

Details about all of this are in the first post, or for technical details, here is link to the README:

https://gitlab.com/karlgiesing/7d2d-a20-modlets/-/blob/main/1-khzmusik_Human_Factions_Reputation_Quests/README.md

Nice. Sounds like an awesome addition. Been on a bit of a hiatus at the moment, but will definitely take a look once I'm back at it, whenever that is. Lol.

[Aesirkin]

On 6/27/2022 at 7:34 PM, khzmusik said:

 

You're very welcome.

 

I just uploaded the A20 version. This version will work with modlets (like NPC core) that change the dialog windows. Unfortunately, in this case, you'll get warnings in the console about XPath not applying, but those can be ignored (it's intentional behavior).

 

 

Just FYI, we were having issues on our server with traders only giving low tier quests.  We were seeing mostly tier 1s with maybe a tier 2 thrown in.  And there wasn't an option to change tiers.  I removed the trader lore modlet and immediately began being offered tier 4 quests.  Not sure if that's a feature, but it felt like a bug, so I wanted to let you know.  I removed the mod for now so don't rush to fix it for me.

[khzmusik]

2 hours ago, Aesirkin said:

 

Just FYI, we were having issues on our server with traders only giving low tier quests.  We were seeing mostly tier 1s with maybe a tier 2 thrown in.  And there wasn't an option to change tiers.  I removed the trader lore modlet and immediately began being offered tier 4 quests.  Not sure if that's a feature, but it felt like a bug, so I wanted to let you know.  I removed the mod for now so don't rush to fix it for me.

 

I'll definitely look into that. The traders should be giving the same quests they always have. Hopefully it's something simple.

[khzmusik]

4 hours ago, khzmusik said:

 

I'll definitely look into that. The traders should be giving the same quests they always have. Hopefully it's something simple.

 

I'm not sure if I'd call it "simple" so much as "a dumb mistake."

 

I was so focused on porting over the "lore" parts of the dialogs, that I forgot to even consider the vanilla parts of the dialogs. Specifically, the parts TFP added in A20 so that players could go back to previous tiers.

 

I just pushed changes so it should all work now. I also bumped the version to 2.0.0 since it's no longer compatible with A19.

 

In my tests, I was not required to start an entirely new game save, but I was required to restart the game (so if this is on a server, you'll have to restart the server at minimum). However, I can't guarantee that your experience will match my tests, so if it's at all practical, I'd recommend starting a new game save.

 

Sorry about that.

 

On a different subject, I'm pretty close to porting over the "Slow Build" modlet from A19. It should be ready soon, probably tomorrow evening.

[khzmusik]

I just updated the Slow Build modlet for A20.

 

It deliberately slows down building (and crafting to some degree). It's designed for people who want to favor renovation over building from scratch, or for people who want their inventory management to be a little more challenging. Frames (and blocks and ladders) now require nails to craft, so it also discourages nerd polling somewhat.

 

It is very similar to the A19 version, but with a couple additional features (or "features"). In A19, I did not reduce the stack sizes of building-related resources; the A20 version does. There are also a couple of QoL improvements (updated localizations, the "gather nails" objective added to the "Build a base" starter quest, etc).

 

Hope you enjoy it!

[SockWulf]

 

Quote

 

Mostly Dead

• Skill points are reset (not removed), and books that were read are forgotten.

 

 

Pardon my ignorance, but does this mean that you get your points back to spend again? If so, is there a way to completely remove all of the dead player's skill points instead, so that they have to re-build from scratch?

[khzmusik]

20 hours ago, SockWulf said:

 

 

Pardon my ignorance, but does this mean that you get your points back to spend again? If so, is there a way to completely remove all of the dead player's skill points instead, so that they have to re-build from scratch?

 

Yes, you still have your skill points, and you're at the same level, so you can spend skill points again. That was intentional; "mostly dead" is supposed to make you start as if you were a new character who had been playing in the same world as your original character. Similar to how State of Decay works (but obviously you can't do the exact same thing in 7D2D).

 

That particular feature uses the same mechanics as the vanilla "fergit'n elixir." 

 

The modlet doesn't have any feature to discard your skill points. I didn't put one in, because in the past, Khaine had an almost-identical "hardcore" modlet that was meant for "dead is dead" play styles. (In fact my modlet was originally a modified version of his.)

 

But, it looks like he never updated his modlet for A20, so at this point I assume he has no intention of keeping it going.

 

I will add in that feature - it shouldn't be too difficult - but it will be disabled by default. I'll include instructions about how to enable it, which shouldn't involve more than some light XML editing.

 

EDIT: It might be easier for the end user to just make a separate XML modlet that changes "Mostly Dead" to "Dead Is Dead". I'll still add the instructions though.

Edited July 17, 2022 by khzmusik (see edit history)

[khzmusik]

On 7/16/2022 at 6:29 PM, SockWulf said:

 

 

Pardon my ignorance, but does this mean that you get your points back to spend again? If so, is there a way to completely remove all of the dead player's skill points instead, so that they have to re-build from scratch?

 

I just updated the Mostly Dead modlet to version 3.0.0, and it now truly supports "Permadeath" play styles through XML edits. While doing so, I noticed that the previous Mostly Dead version had a whole lot wrong with it - to the degree that I don't know if anyone even used it. So there are also many, many other fixes, balancing improvements, etc.

 

I also made a separate modlet, Mostly Dead: Permadeath, which makes those XML edits for you. (You'll still need the Mostly Dead modlet.)

 

Please note that updating to 3.0.0 is not save game safe. If you already started a "mostly dead" game, you shouldn't update, you should start a new game. Otherwise you'll lose all your progression and skill points.

 

If by some chance you start with Mostly Dead 3.0.0, and decide to move to Permadeath afterwards, that should be save game safe. At least it was when I tried it.

 

Hope you like it!

[SockWulf]

You are an absolute star khzmusik! Thank you SO much for your hard work!

[khzmusik]

I just added a new modlet for NPC Core NPCs.

 

This modlet introduces weapon-specific NPC Loot Bags. They have a chance to drop a weapon, ammo, or parts for that weapon. Each loot bag also has a chance to drop food, drink, and/or medical items.

 

I also created loot bags for NPC Core Mechs. They come in two flavors: ranged (which use a "hidden pistol" to deal with built-in guns), or melee. All mechs drop non-organic parts such as oil, springs, headlights, etc. They have a relatively large chance to drop robotics parts, and a small chance to drop rare items like forged steel, engines, batteries, or wheels. The ranged Mechs also drop 9mm ammo, and may drop 9mm parts.

 

Weapon quality, ammo counts, and item tier probabilities are tied to loot stage.

 

If you have any NPC Packs installed, from anyone, those NPCs should automatically drop the loot bags with no modifications necessary to those NPCs. (This is because my modlet name is prefixed with "3" so it will load after the NPC Packs, and it targets entities that extend the NPC Core templates, not just by entity name.)

 

Details are in the README:
https://gitlab.com/karlgiesing/7d2d-a20-modlets/-/blob/main/3-XNPCCore_khzmusik_Loot_Bags/README.md

 

I hope you enjoy it.