Completed:
MerchantsAhoy! v1.0
A mod which adds several new merchants and custom items into the game. All items have custom descriptions and icons and the merchants are fully voiced with alien vocals!


All features %100 complete.





In Progress:
Padawan.
A mod which allows the player to recruit, train and interact with a Padawan learner eventually either corrupting the young Padawan to the Dark side or seeing her through her Jedi trials as she becomes a knight.

Story - %92
Skins - %0
Models -%0
VoiceOvers -%2
Scripting - %3
Dialogue - %2
Global.jrl Entries - %4
.2da files -%5
Items - %0
Encounters %0
Lipsynch %0


So, now that my first project is complete I think it's time to unveil my new primary project - a recruitment mod! This is a far more ambitious project and will likely not be completed for some time. At present I have no need of assistance although if you would like to help you may send me a PM.

At present I'm focusing on the storyline the scripting and the dialog and won't have need of new skins/models/V/O's for some time, still I'll need them in the future so if you're a tad bored and want to preemptively offer your help... go ahead!

As the famous saying goes - it'll be done when it's done.

Welcome to the forums...merchants...it's a good way to get started into modding..small and a good challenge...spawning, scripting, dialog..little of everything..good luck....I always think a little black market spin is good, triggered by certain dialog or number of visits to the merchant, where he/she/it offers you stuff that a regular customer would not see

Welcome to the forum

I would say first get the merchants to show up in the proper modules with the dlg and items you wish to sell. Then after that is done an working you can either release that or then move to re-skinning or changing the Merchants to be more unique and if you want you can even add some background info on each one or even a small quest...but before all this get them to showup and have the dlgand items all working then you can think about larger things.

Always build to the smallest level of your mod and to the level of release, then you can always build on a foundation that is already bug free

Thanks for the welcome newbie and logan; I'm looking forward to working on this mod and it's nice to see a response.

I've completed several mods in the past for my own use, (A good portion of them included editing other peoples mods for compatibility), so I'm not completely new at this, but my modding skills are somewhat rusty after four years of neglect....

One of the things I've always noticed about the KOTOR games is the serious lack of places to buy new things. Once you get to a certain point; you always end up with a massive pile of credits and nothing useful or interesting to buy. Hopefully this will remedy that error somewhat and allow the player to spend some of that hard earned cash, if only to read the item descriptions for kicks.

Glad you both like the idea, I'm looking forward to more feedback as I progress with this mod.

~Dr. Hal

Here are some screenies from the first merchant I added: Benjo, a food salesman in the upper city. Many, many, many more to come.


http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/2117/benjo3.jpg)

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/9359/benjo2.jpg)

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/4681/benjo1.jpg)

Yes, the Icons are a little funky. maybe I'll fix them later on. Right now they work.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/3286/benjo4.jpg)

Im curious, what exactly does a food salesperson sell in this game? Some custom items might be cool.

Just check the last image. I created some new healing items, each of which comes with a unique description and Icon.

Guess I missed that :argh: Hey, that's pretty cool. You're right, the icons look funky, but I actually really like them. If it was my mod I would keep them but it's not my mod is it? Cant wait to see the others :thmbup1:

Heh, thanks. Glad you like it. I'll certainly be keeping the icons, but if I have the time at some point I might fix the edges and get rid of some of the little 'raggedy bits'.

More to come with the next merchant!

~Dr. Hal


Edit:

If anyone wishes their custom items to be placed in this mod to be accessible through one of my merchants, let me know. I'm more then happy to add your items, (with full credit of course).

In addition; if anyone has an idea for a merchant, or would like to have a merchant named after themselves, let me know. If I have the extra time later n, I might add you to my mod!

Post a short Bio here about your character and why he/she is a merchant, what he/she sells and where he/she would be. I'll review them all and pick the one that has the highest public approval and I like the most.

True, the icons do stand out more than anything else in the game, but I don't think that breaks the appearance of the game. The names, I would consider making a little more in-universe, but it still doesn't seem to be too out of touch with the game. Namely if the descriptions and names are meant to be funny, though most other items in the game keep it quite serious(save for a precious few...).

Though I do wonder what your making these items do. If they were single use items, like the Stimulants, that restored your health(and possibly be a little detrimental as well, depending on exactly what kind of food it would be, though nothing extreme, like food poisoning. That would probably be more irritating than anything, namely if it would be random).

You might consider having the food Merchant appear somewhere else in the game, other than Taris. I'd imagine he'd have some stupid reason for getting off the planet, just like Deadeye, though him doing so means that you can access his inventory even after Taris(which you might make a little different, as his supplier would've likely changed).

I like the food for sale, especially the Burger-o-Booms! The icons aren't that funky, I kinda like them! Benjo talks like Mordin, from Mass Effect 2. Also, why is Benjo standing in a non-crowded area? Shouldn't he be somewhere where there is more people? Also, you should spawn a food thing next to him. I forget exactly what it's called, but it's the food rack standing next to the Selkath Merchant in the Manaan Docking Bay.

Rtas Vadum: True, the game keeps things quite serious for the most part. However I have played through Kotor 1 more times then I can count on both hands and I personally think that a bit of humor allows me to enjoy the game more. It's a matter of personal taste really. Some people prefer complete immersion, I prefer a healthy mixture of deep immersion and 4th wall breakers to lighten the mood.

The Icons in the original game started to feel a bit dated to me after my twentieth playthrough; once again my goal is to add some 'spice' to the game.

I kind of like where you are going with that, but my modding skills were never amazing and I'm still getting reacquainted with the art. (The mods I created in the past were for personal use only and never released, this time around I decided to try it in public.)

At the moment the items are simple single use items using the medpack as a base. If you have any suggestions for creating a more 'personalized' item, please let me know. Suggestions are always welcome.

EDIT: I completely missed the last part of your post. Great Idea. I'll find somewhere nice and cozy to add him. Like Dantooine. He'll be the most unlucky food merchant in the history of the galaxy.

~Dr. Hal


EDIT:

LordDeathRay: Good idea! I'll see about adding that to the mod. Glad you like it, it's being quite fun to create. And he does kind of talk like Mordin doesn't he? Ha, I didn't even realize that.

Thanks! I know, mods are fun to create. And I could tell that he talks like Mordin because Mordin is one of my favorite squad members, 5th only to Thane, Garrus, Zaeed, and Legion.

Here's an update for Benjo with his new Kiosk.

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/2168/benjokiosk.jpg)

Edit: Man, I need to play Mass effect again. It's been ages.

Beautiful! Now it looks like he has a store! I just thought of another idea, but it's your mod. Maybe he tried to convert it into a restaurant, but failed? Just an idea. And maybe you should spawn a few customers there, as that is a rather secluded area of Taris. The only person close to him is the racist Gorton Colu, which is apprx. 15 meters away.

Rtas Vadum: True, the game keeps things quite serious for the most part. However I have played through Kotor 1 more times then I can count on both hands and I personally think that a bit of humor allows me to enjoy the game more. It's a matter of personal taste really. Some people prefer complete immersion, I prefer a healthy mixture of deep immersion and 4th wall breakers to lighten the mood.

The Icons in the original game started to feel a bit dated to me after my twentieth playthrough; once again my goal is to add some 'spice' to the game.

I kind of like where you are going with that, but my modding skills were never amazing and I'm still getting reacquainted with the art. (The mods I created in the past were for personal use only and never released, this time around I decided to try it in public.)

At the moment the items are simple single use items using the medpack as a base. If you have any suggestions for creating a more 'personalized' item, please let me know. Suggestions are always welcome.

Well, not to sound like someone wanting to copy Fable's Food items entirely, the core idea does fit within the SW universe, though some things just wouldn't really fit(Crunchy Chicks, anyone?). I don't know other effects can be added, but some items that either slightly raise your stats, or give you a certain amount of alignment points.

EDIT: I completely missed the last part of your post. Great Idea. I'll find somewhere nice and cozy to add him. Like Dantooine. He'll be the most unlucky food merchant in the history of the galaxy.

Yeah, and the lampshade falls when you ask him about the whole thing. And most people really wouldn't want to buy it(namely if they know how Deadeye escaped Taris), unless he has something really interesting to say about it.

Edit: Man, I need to play Mass effect again. It's been ages. Ages?! Mass Effect 2 just came out a few months ago in January! That's ages?! I seriously never knew that.

Rtas Vadum: Ha, that might be fun. Poor, poor Benjo. I suppose I could use antidotes and stimpacks to simulate different foods. If I have time to implement this I will. Good Idea.

LordDeathRay: Heh, I was referring to #1, but actually I kind of feel like playing #2 again as well. Maybe once my kotor binge is over and done with.

Oh. Mass Effect 1 was out from 2007, right? Anyways, instead of double-posting, read http://www.lucasforums.com/showpost.php?p=2732863&postcount=15). I don't know if you ignored it or not, so...

Right.

Ah, No I just missed it. I tend to ignore only silly ideas, and that was far from it.

For the time being I want to finish creating the rest of the merchants, but once that is done I might very well go back and add interesting tid-bits like this. Once again, good idea and thanks! (There's a spot in the 'thank you' section of the readme for you.) :thmbup1:

Thanks! I tend to use common sense in my mods, and give advice with common sense in it. And thanks for putting me in the readme, although I didn't really ask. But, thanks.

Same here; common sense is good. Well I always try to give appropriate thanks in life, and since you have contributed to the betterment of the mod, well it seemed right.

Here's another update. A group of Tatooine merchants hanging out around the landing area hoping to catch wealthy travelers.

At the moment they don't have any dialog or inventory but at least the hard part of placing them is over.

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/7235/tatmerchants1.jpg)

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/8203/tatmerchants2.jpg)

http://img532.imageshack.us/img532/9249/tatmerchants3.jpg)

Why is the Jawa staring at the wall? And the twi'lek's kiosk is facing the wrong way. Just pointing them out.

The Twileks kiosk has been fixed. As for the Jawa, I was going to fix it, (still might), but there's some comical dialog I wanted to try out first.

Does anyone think that I should add some more merchants to Anchorhead, or is this enough?

I like what you are doing :).

If you add any more merchants to Anchorhead I think you need to put them in the big open area near the exit. I always thought the place was a bit empty and needed some vendors.

Agreed. That was partly what made me start this project. I was tired of seeing all these wide open spaces in dense metropolitan areas. Glad you like it! Keep watching this thread for updates.

yes, but the best would be to make like a market, with stands in the middle, the problem is that it would need modeling, the existing stand don't fit...

I have an idea. Maybe, in the Valley of the Dark Lords, there is a Sith archeologist named ... (can't think of a name as of now) that sells some of the items that he found in the tombs. There could also be a workbench next to him. I'll tell you where you should put them if you take my idea.

Seikan: That would be something... I could add a bunch of Kiosks and swoopbikes and such to the main area of Anchorhead along with a a couple more merchants and some random NPCs. Once the real merchants are in place throughout the game I'll consider this.

LordDeathRay: I'll consider it, but adding a workbench just for the sake of the workbench isn't really in the scope of the mod. Maybe once everything else is finished.

----

A thought just occurred to me. I'll probably have to work on some sort of compatibility patch for Recruitable kay and BoS. I believe they both use the onEnter script. (Which is what I am currently using to add the merchants and items.)

I was going to this Myself But i dont have the time.... On Kashyyyk in the Shadow Lands there that Bit Near Jolee's Hut thats Mainly Unused there Could be a Czerka Survial Seller who sells Weapons and Armor.

Holty1-5: Good Idea, I'll see about putting someone there.

You could just repack the modules for those areas and add your merchants, then you wouldn't have to worry about that type of scripting issue (ie. compatability). I don't think there are that many mods that involve the modules folder vs simply the OR folder. Still, whatever you decide, the lack of merchants w/truly diversified stock/prices throughout the game was a bit annoying. Do you plan to use custom sound files or will all the merchants sound like generic aliens?

Totenkopf: Now that is a good idea. I'll take a look at that. Most likely I'll simply use generic alien sounds for simplicity. I have another unannounced mod I'm working on which will hopefully have custom VO's. That mod will be likely be taking up much of my time. This mod was never intended to exist on that scale.

Essentially I'm creating this mod with the hope of expanding the options the player has for customizing his or her character. New items with fun descriptions and icons, and some jazzy but simple dialog is the extent of my plan. (Originally I had also intended this to work as a platform for other modders to add their custom items into the game; however interest in this seems to be lacking).

Edit: Here are some new screenies. The dialog is finished. Now all I need to do is create the stores; the items, and the scripts.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/3562/swkotor2010061914190988.jpg)

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/7076/swkotor2010061914192796.jpg)

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/8144/swkotor2010061914193276.jpg)

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/9589/swkotor2010061914193465.jpg)

Here are some new screenies. The dialog is finished. Now all I need to do is create the stores; the items, and the scripts.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/3562/swkotor2010061914190988.jpg)

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/7076/swkotor2010061914192796.jpg)

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/8144/swkotor2010061914193276.jpg)

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/9589/swkotor2010061914193465.jpg)

Hmm, I don't know what to say about that, other that it does look okay. I'd think about spacing them out a little more in the area, though not much more. Though if you were going for a sort of "Merchant-Area of the docks" kind of thing, then it doesn't need to be changed.

Though I would consider some custom skins for the Merchants, if any thing, just to make them stand out a little more. I wouldn't mind helping with this, if you agree.

Rtas Vadum: You are more then welcome to help if you feel like it. At the moment I need a new skin for a Duros, a female Twilek, a Jawa, a Human, And a Ithorian.

Do you plan on making this mod for TSL?

An other thing, you could add to the dialogs some competition between some merchants, etc... a little like the merchants on nar shaada in TSL, but without the exange part, and the bad b
guy part, just the competition, maybe some dialog that could lead to some special prices etc ^^

Canderis: No. At least not any time soon. If I do end up playing K2 again in the future, I might consider it, but for now any mods I make will be for K1.

Seikan: Good Idea! I think that might be fun to do. Once the base of the mod is complete I'll see about adding something like that.

And about the "platform for other mods" I send you a PM ^^
Tell me what you think :o

Seikan: I've replied.

Update: First three Tatooine merchants are about 80% done. These three will be it for now unless anyone wishes to have me add a custom merchant to Tatooine. (I might add more stuff to Anchorhead later. We'll see.)

Just want to say I love what you're doing here. It's something this game has long needed :). I have a couple ideas/suggestions, so you can take them or leave them of course. The first is a set of 2 merchants on Manaan, one Republic merchant type and one Sith type, each in their respective quarters. I don't really know what they might sell TBH, but I can think up/make some stuff at a later time of you're interested.

The other idea would to place a Mandalorian somewhere in the Galaxy (preferably in one of the empty areas you mentioned). He could sell heavy weapons and Youd be more than welcome to use some of my mandalorian armor skins (I'd put a link but I'm on my phone now so it's kinda hard). Check out my posts in the "Mandalorian Assault" thread and let me know if you're interested. Good luck!

Dak Drexl: Glad you like it! And I agree, I've played through K1 far too many times without spending hardly any money at all. This way you'll be forced to spend some of that dough, even if it's only to read the item descriptions or see what a new piece of armor looks like.

I like the idea for the Sith and Republic merchants on Manaan. That could be an excellent place to provide some semi-comic competition.

As for the Mandelorian merchant: I love it. You've created some great skins which I think would make an excellent addition to the mod. Would this be a 'normally' named merchant or do you want him named 'Dak Drexl'?

Hehe, I would be honored. PM me your e-mail and I'll just send you all the skins so that you can pick and choose. They're just skins though, there are no .uti's made yet.

Also, I forgot to mention that I love that jawa's dialogue. I'm one of the guys who likes some comic relief every once in a while.

Dak Drexl: Glad you liked it. A Jawa merchant seemed the perfect place to add some comedy. I'll PM you momentarily.

Update: Tatooine Merchants 85% complete. (All that's needed now are the items.)


EDIT: Fixed.

Update:
I've finished the icons for all of the new droid items sold on Tatooine; as well as the descriptions and the .uti files for the three new forms of droid plating. I'd say I have another few hours of work left before tatooine is finished.

Here is a teaser of one of the new droid items. There's still quite alot to be done and I likely have at least another hours work with the droid items alone, but all of the icons for the items are finished at least.

I'm still trying to figure out what the little Jawa is going to sell.Ideas from the community are always welcome.

All in all I'm guessing I have about 3+ hours of work left before I finish work on the Tatooine merchants; probably another 10+ before the mod is completed, tested and packaged. Whew. (That's not an estimate of how long before it's done however. It might take a week or a month, I won't know for certain until it's finished!)

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/7793/swkotor2010061922401328.jpg)

Since Jawas salvage things, you could probably justify a fair range of objects, from weapons to armor to droid parts, etc.. You could even make one of the merchants higher end (price-wise) and trade off the discrepancy (esp early in the game) to add credits to purchase more items elsewhere. Also, liked the almost deadpan "no" bit by the jawa. Little guy has attitude.

Totenkopf: Thanks, writing his dialog was quite fun. He has serious spunk. Also: Good point and good idea, thanks.

Here's a quick update on the mod. I've finished all the icons for the new droid items. I'm still not sure if I'll be including new Icons for all new items though I think I might. Anyway, here is a screenshot for all of you wh are interested. It shows two of the new icons.
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/9143/swkotor2010062117182086.jpg)

Nice work with the icons... I have attempted a mod or two like this, but never saw it through (need to learn PS).

They have a sharp, clear appearance, and are unique!

Qui-Gon Glenn: Thanks. I'm actually using GIMP for this, which if anything makes this somewhat harder. Still I think they are coming out nicely. Part of the idea behind this mod is to bring something a little fresh to the game, and new icons like this add some color and a 'newish' feeling. (The droid items are very pricey too, which will be good for those high level characters who have millions of credits and nowhere to spend them.)

Nice Icons. If you also want i can send you the All the Current Skins in Mandalorian Assault :p Dak doesnt have all of them and i have UTI's already Made xD

PM me if your Interesseted.