Scripting, animations & placement help [K1]

((Some waffle – sorry – it just seemed rude not to say hello!))
Hello! As you can see, I am indeed a lurker. Not that I don’t want to share my new-found enthusiasm for Kotor modding (indeed I’ve been dying to greet you awesome people). It’s just that so far whenever I’ve had a question, I’ve found the answers already here (so well done, you). And I can’t post answers to other people’s questions, because I’ve only been into this for 4 days (ergo I know 0). So sadly I’ve had no excuse to post anything, until now.

((The questions bit!))
I am (you’ve guessed it) creating a mod. Being a total newbie, I kept it simple... until I read through all your super walkthroughs and tutorials. Not so simple now >:). Anyway I’ve got my locations, npcs, dialogs, variables, super plot and a few jokes to boot. All good! I do however need some help with one thing (no doubt more things later).

I haven’t found anywhere on this site a ‘dummies guide to animation’. I understand that only the existing animations are available. But I need some questions answered;

+ Can I put npcs ONTO objects? For example stand someone on a table? I’ve had a play with my xyz’s, and from what I’ve seen, ‘z’ doesn’t seem to do anything. Can’t get their feet off the ground. And If you tell something to spawn where an object is, it will spawn close, but not in/on. So, err…yeah. Can you put stuff on things?

+ Can you freeze animations? For example, if I script a toon to wave, can I freeze them with their hand in the air and just leave it there while the action continues?

+ How do I spawn dead people? I need some dead sith for one scene. For the moment I’ve exported & spawned them neutral, just so I can tweak placement without them running around and hitting me (I’ve discovered that an explosion I’ve scripted won’t go off if they stand too close to it). Anyway, I can’t find any conditions in the npc blueprint that will spawn them dead (cant even set HP to 0). In short, I need dead NPCs that are targetable for dialog/inspection and won’t despawn. Whew!

+ Finally, if I KO someone via dialog (using the ‘fall_something_knockout’ talk animation) they get up again. How can I make them stay down? Is there an infinite loop somethingorother?

Sorry if any of these have been answered. Honestly I have searched (it’s why I initially registered). Scripting is definitely hard >_< though I’ve got a long way from staring at other people’s scripts.

((More waffles! http://forums.stuffz.net/images/icons/waffle.gif))
I also wanted to congratulate you on an excellent forum filled with excellent advice. For a non-programmy-type like me to read through this stuff, then actually be able to make modules, characters, events, etc. Well, its nuts quite frankly.

Have a super day!
Paper


EDIT: Ah! Also, with dialog editing, lots of posts on this forum refer to animations by number, not the "SOME_ACTION_HERE" names I see on the editor. Can I enter these numbers somewhere into the dialog editor instead of drag-n-drop from the list? I couldn't find a field/button for it. I’d like to experiment a bit with adding start and loop animations to nodes...I think! -Thanks

Welcome to the forums, Papership!

The Z axis doesn't work with characters. That is why we have walkmeshes. A walkmesh determines the Z axis of the player at a given point. There is no way to make an NPC stand on a table. As for animations, I don't think we've fully gotten animations down yet... A lot is really complicated, and might require new tools.

Believe me, you're best off starting with a VERY simple mod. I know, it's not what you want to hear, but if you want to be a good modder, this is what is best for you. I hated it when I first joined up, but it's just something that you have to do. Make a few new items and experiment with the KotOR tool before you try to do anything to complex. If you ever need any help, don't be afraid to PM me.

I hope this helps you, and I'm looking forward to seeing your work in the future.

Oh, thankyou! “KeepItSimpleStupid” is always good advice. ^_~ I suppose it isn’t essential to get characters on tables. What I have already is a simple mod; you warp to the Ebon Hawk, fight some sith, discover lots of corpses (which are standing at the moment because I can’t spawn them dead). Then you have some entertaining dialog with both HK & T3 (yes, many options!). The dialogs are animated, triggering scripts, etc. The module works, and can stand alone. I’m working on chapter 2 at the moment, which is a return to Korriban.

Progress with my problems; [UPDATE ] All down!

+ “Can I put npcs onto objects?” = Nope! Thankyou Sithspecter. I shall adapt!
+ “How do I spawn dead people?” = [UPDATE] Found all my deathy answers on this thread; Making a Corpse: http://www.lucasforums.com/printthread.php?t=148993)
+ “If I KO someone via dialog how can I make them stay down?” = [UPDATE] The above thread answered this also.
+ “Can I enter animation numbers somewhere into the dialog editor instead of drag-n-drop from the list?” = Worked it out; right click the white bit.

Hurray! I know I must look like an over-ambitious beginner. Story of my life ^.^ But I’m not trying to make a huge mod before having the tools and understanding to do so. Rather, you lot have given me all these tools and understanding in advance, now I’m inspired to see what I can do with them.

Thank you!
~ Paper ~


UPDATE: All problems solved! Onward I go. Ebon Hawk was a nice little space in which to learn the ropes. It’s going to be a bit time consuming from here, esp all the git editing :roll: But I know I’ll enjoy doing it!

I will add some info on the mod’s plot & content when it’s nearer to completion. For now, let’s just say it’s a little story expansion, which fits nicely into the existing plotline.

Glad to see that you got it all working, Papership!