- Joined
- Apr 23, 2013
- Messages
- 287
- Reaction score
- 101
So we finally get the custom stations I've been hoping for for nearly a year now! Thanks Schemes!
Anyway, customized station spawns are cool, but the implementation of pre-spawned static custom structures highlights the possibility of more fully utilizing the NPC's I think. So to keep it simple and add more life to stations I'd like to propose a station-only multifunctional NPC controller block. These blocks can spawn a few types of NPC's, they let you change settings like the 'wander' range of the attached NPC, aggression of guards, friendliness of traders etc.
Spawning:
Spawning NPC's would be done by placing a NPC controller block anywhere on the station and activating its context menu for the first time. This menu will let you choose from a list of possible NPC's. Upon choosing one the menu will change to that NPC type's settings menu that lets you set any variable that's relevant to its role. When confirming these settings the menu will close and your NPC will spawn once the 3x3x3 area above it is free of obstructions (to prevent nasty clipping bugs and allow some initial movement). Each block is linked to the NPC it spawns.
Saving a station will also save the settings of all the attached NPC controllers. When the station is loaded up again someplace else or spawned in by the universe generator, the NPC's spawn on top of their blocks and resume operating like instructed by their controllers.
Proposed NPC types:
--> General Trader (if you prefer to talk to an NPC for your general shoppings)
The general trader is basically the shop as we know it, but you can now access it through the NPC's dialogue options for RP purposes.
--> Equipment Trader (sells equipment; handgun, helmet & future personal items)
More or less the same as the general trader, but this guy sells you the personal items like handguns and suit add-ons. For now it's not that much, but it's a nice place to start for the upcoming plans to add a whole bunch more personal tools and items.
--> Recruiter (Same one as in current stations, allows you to hire your own NPC's)
Does what the current station NPC does, allows you to hire even more NPC's! (The one's for your ships that is, not these station NPC's)
--> Guardsman (Armed NPC that fires on players or NPC's hostile to the faction that owns the station)
Guardsmen are armed NPC's that are mostly there to look good, but they will fire on players or NPC's that approach them that belong to a faction that is hostile to the station it is guarding. You get to set its aggression and general behaviour in the settings screen. (possibly makes boarding stations a tremendously fun mini-game.)
--> Banker (Stores your hard-earned cash for you, with interest!)
An NPC that can store your money in the station's mainframe and keep it nice and safe until you return to collect it once more. The money is stored in the station, not in the NPC, so you can go to any banker on the station to access your account and retrieve it. Your credits can only be lost if the station is destroyed or captured. Storing money safely costs money however, depending on what is set by the operator (0 to 10%). The operator can collect this interest at any banker NPC.
--> Quartermaster
You need to link this guy's controller to plex-storage blocks, allowing it to store and retrieve items for visitors. The item handler for this guy would basically just dump everything into these storage blocks wherever it fits and keep track of who deposited what, regardless of what is actually physically present. Allowing the plex-storage to function as normal and to give more flexibility to its operator, so linking new storage blocks and unlinking the old ones is fine, but if the contents of the old blocks is not transferred, a visitor might get the message that his items are no longer in storage. It would of course be advisable to bury these storages deep in the station to prevent theft or abuse by unauthorised individuals.
--> 'Helpdesk' NPC
Can give answers to a list of FAQ's. So the operator can set questions to be displayed in a list in the NPC's context menu and when clicked by the visitor the NPC answers the question with the answer previously entered by the operator.
NPC Settings/controller block menu:
The settings that can be adjusted for the spawned NPC's depending on their type. As well as a respawn option if the NPC gets lost or killed when the menu is later opened after initial set up. The context menu that contains these options is only available to the operator (that being someone with rights to 'edit' the station).
--> Respawn NPC
If the NPC that belongs to this block is missing, killed or otherwise in trouble, this lets you respawn it.
--> Stationary
Should the NPC stand still atop its block?
(Good for traders behind a counter or guardsmen standing guard next to doors)
--> Welcome message
How should the NPC greet its customers?
--> Wander range
If the NPC is allowed to move, how many blocks may it move from its controller?
(maybe a slider with a 5 to 50 range?)
--> Allowed customers
Should the NPC offer its services to faction members, any friendly player, friendlies and neutrals or anyone including hostiles (for neutral trading posts)?
--> Aggression (guardsmen)
Should the NPC open fire on hostiles and neutrals, only hostiles, anyone or only return fire?
--> Credit limit (banker)
How many credits may each player store at the station at most?
(reduce the liability of your station if at risk, prevent massive losses on risky stations)
--> Interest rate (banker)
What does it cost to store your money at this station? Stationwide variable, changing one banker changes all of them for obvious reasons.
(storing money at a station costs anywhere between 0 and 10% per day)
--> Maximum item types stored (quartermaser)
How many types of items can the visitor store?
(can prevent 30 players from storing every item in the game to prevent smaller storages from filling up too quickly, becomes max. storage slots used once items get a stack size limit)
--> Add question (helpdesk NPC)
Allows the operator to add a question and accompanying answer to the NPC's context menu.
--> Delete question (helpdesk NPC)
Opens list of existing questions that can be marked for deletion.
Well, that became a lot of text rather quickly. Obviously this is quite detailed, but it simply serves to paint the picture of a rather simple new block that basically just utilizes what is already implemented in the game more extensively. Maybe some of this stuff has been suggested before or might even be planned already, if so I haven't seen it (Ive been a tad out of touch lately) but I apologise in advance.
TL;DR:
In short, add an NPC controller block that can spawn an NPC of the operator's choosing (traders,recruiters,guards,bankers etc.). This block is configured upon first activation and controls how the NPC that spawns from it behaves and what it can do. Can also be accessed later to edit or respawn the linked NPC. The block can only be placed on stations and is linked to the one NPC it has spawned.
So... let's hear everyone's thoughts?
P.S: Sorry for my apparent inactivity lately, but the site still hates my connection somehow, making it terribly slow to load, log in, browse, etc.
Anyway, customized station spawns are cool, but the implementation of pre-spawned static custom structures highlights the possibility of more fully utilizing the NPC's I think. So to keep it simple and add more life to stations I'd like to propose a station-only multifunctional NPC controller block. These blocks can spawn a few types of NPC's, they let you change settings like the 'wander' range of the attached NPC, aggression of guards, friendliness of traders etc.
Spawning:
Spawning NPC's would be done by placing a NPC controller block anywhere on the station and activating its context menu for the first time. This menu will let you choose from a list of possible NPC's. Upon choosing one the menu will change to that NPC type's settings menu that lets you set any variable that's relevant to its role. When confirming these settings the menu will close and your NPC will spawn once the 3x3x3 area above it is free of obstructions (to prevent nasty clipping bugs and allow some initial movement). Each block is linked to the NPC it spawns.
Saving a station will also save the settings of all the attached NPC controllers. When the station is loaded up again someplace else or spawned in by the universe generator, the NPC's spawn on top of their blocks and resume operating like instructed by their controllers.
Proposed NPC types:
--> General Trader (if you prefer to talk to an NPC for your general shoppings)
The general trader is basically the shop as we know it, but you can now access it through the NPC's dialogue options for RP purposes.
--> Equipment Trader (sells equipment; handgun, helmet & future personal items)
More or less the same as the general trader, but this guy sells you the personal items like handguns and suit add-ons. For now it's not that much, but it's a nice place to start for the upcoming plans to add a whole bunch more personal tools and items.
--> Recruiter (Same one as in current stations, allows you to hire your own NPC's)
Does what the current station NPC does, allows you to hire even more NPC's! (The one's for your ships that is, not these station NPC's)
--> Guardsman (Armed NPC that fires on players or NPC's hostile to the faction that owns the station)
Guardsmen are armed NPC's that are mostly there to look good, but they will fire on players or NPC's that approach them that belong to a faction that is hostile to the station it is guarding. You get to set its aggression and general behaviour in the settings screen. (possibly makes boarding stations a tremendously fun mini-game.)
--> Banker (Stores your hard-earned cash for you, with interest!)
An NPC that can store your money in the station's mainframe and keep it nice and safe until you return to collect it once more. The money is stored in the station, not in the NPC, so you can go to any banker on the station to access your account and retrieve it. Your credits can only be lost if the station is destroyed or captured. Storing money safely costs money however, depending on what is set by the operator (0 to 10%). The operator can collect this interest at any banker NPC.
--> Quartermaster
You need to link this guy's controller to plex-storage blocks, allowing it to store and retrieve items for visitors. The item handler for this guy would basically just dump everything into these storage blocks wherever it fits and keep track of who deposited what, regardless of what is actually physically present. Allowing the plex-storage to function as normal and to give more flexibility to its operator, so linking new storage blocks and unlinking the old ones is fine, but if the contents of the old blocks is not transferred, a visitor might get the message that his items are no longer in storage. It would of course be advisable to bury these storages deep in the station to prevent theft or abuse by unauthorised individuals.
--> 'Helpdesk' NPC
Can give answers to a list of FAQ's. So the operator can set questions to be displayed in a list in the NPC's context menu and when clicked by the visitor the NPC answers the question with the answer previously entered by the operator.
NPC Settings/controller block menu:
The settings that can be adjusted for the spawned NPC's depending on their type. As well as a respawn option if the NPC gets lost or killed when the menu is later opened after initial set up. The context menu that contains these options is only available to the operator (that being someone with rights to 'edit' the station).
--> Respawn NPC
If the NPC that belongs to this block is missing, killed or otherwise in trouble, this lets you respawn it.
--> Stationary
Should the NPC stand still atop its block?
(Good for traders behind a counter or guardsmen standing guard next to doors)
--> Welcome message
How should the NPC greet its customers?
--> Wander range
If the NPC is allowed to move, how many blocks may it move from its controller?
(maybe a slider with a 5 to 50 range?)
--> Allowed customers
Should the NPC offer its services to faction members, any friendly player, friendlies and neutrals or anyone including hostiles (for neutral trading posts)?
--> Aggression (guardsmen)
Should the NPC open fire on hostiles and neutrals, only hostiles, anyone or only return fire?
--> Credit limit (banker)
How many credits may each player store at the station at most?
(reduce the liability of your station if at risk, prevent massive losses on risky stations)
--> Interest rate (banker)
What does it cost to store your money at this station? Stationwide variable, changing one banker changes all of them for obvious reasons.
(storing money at a station costs anywhere between 0 and 10% per day)
--> Maximum item types stored (quartermaser)
How many types of items can the visitor store?
(can prevent 30 players from storing every item in the game to prevent smaller storages from filling up too quickly, becomes max. storage slots used once items get a stack size limit)
--> Add question (helpdesk NPC)
Allows the operator to add a question and accompanying answer to the NPC's context menu.
--> Delete question (helpdesk NPC)
Opens list of existing questions that can be marked for deletion.
Well, that became a lot of text rather quickly. Obviously this is quite detailed, but it simply serves to paint the picture of a rather simple new block that basically just utilizes what is already implemented in the game more extensively. Maybe some of this stuff has been suggested before or might even be planned already, if so I haven't seen it (Ive been a tad out of touch lately) but I apologise in advance.
TL;DR:
In short, add an NPC controller block that can spawn an NPC of the operator's choosing (traders,recruiters,guards,bankers etc.). This block is configured upon first activation and controls how the NPC that spawns from it behaves and what it can do. Can also be accessed later to edit or respawn the linked NPC. The block can only be placed on stations and is linked to the one NPC it has spawned.
So... let's hear everyone's thoughts?
P.S: Sorry for my apparent inactivity lately, but the site still hates my connection somehow, making it terribly slow to load, log in, browse, etc.
Last edited:
