At the moment we still cannot add NPC spawners to our own bases without cheating but, I suppose it's not as simple as just making them BP allowable. It would be too much of an exploit if you could just build a small BA and spawn a million Zirax minigunners or spiders. So, maybe playable variants can be added that also provide some benefits and upkeep. How they would work: -Preset NPC spawners for the different soldier types and civilians (human soldier A/B spawner, alien soldier spawner, human civilians spawner, alien civilians spawner). Civilian spawners spawn all types of civilian models. -Spawners consume food, could be any food type stored at the BA or a specific ration stored in a specific container. If no food is available, no NPCs will be spawned/respawned. -Number of NPCs to spawn can still be customisable since it will be balanced out by food consumption (spawn too many NPCs and you'll constantly struggle with food shortage). What they would add: -Benefits of soldier NPCs is pretty self-explanatory as they are already, they're basically mobile sentry guns that don't require ammo. -Civilian NPCs could be used to fill the need for a BA repair function. The BA will be gradually repaired over time, with rate of repair dependent on number of civilian NPCs spawned. They can also replace destroyed blocks if a repair template is saved. Some advanced options that can be added: -Follow, hold, sit on seat and RTB orders for soldier NPCs via dialogue. Moving out of range of following NPCs will automatically respawn them in case they get lost or stuck, RTB order does the same. Holding and sitting NPCs will stay where they are unless ordered otherwise. -Aggressive/defensive stance option for soldier NPCs (set via spawner settings or dialogue order). Defensive soldiers will ignore nearby enemies and only shoot at them when in range (as they currently work), aggressive soldiers will actively seek and pursue detected enemies. -Patrol/movement radius setting for spawners to avoid soldiers wandering off too far and leaving their posts undefended, or NPCs falling off elevated platforms (would be useful for current spawners as well).
I don't know anything about the spawners or how to use them. However, I like your suggestions of NPC functions (I'm referring to Crew NPCs). While I believe something along those lines is in the works, only time will tell.
NPC spawners actually work pretty well for defense against predators and enemy patrols, although they can suffer from the same AI issues. And it's great to watch a Zirax patrol being gunned down by my own soldiers. They can shoot down drones too if they come into range. They also provide some means of defense for cheap, small BAs like mining outposts and border watchtowers. Troops at my promethium mine already saved my hide from a night raptor pack because I was stupid enough to forget my weapons at home. Your turrets also don't have to engage enemy troops if you have your own troops to do that. BA turrets blowing the dust that used to be a Zirax trooper into orbit always seemed like overkill. A firefight between them and my troops is much more fun and engaging, bad AI or not. The problem is, you have to cheat them in. Either via spawnanyblueprint console command for BPs saved with "forbidden" NPC spawners, or by building the BA normally and then giving yourself a few NPC spawners to place via the itemmenu. You don't need an NPC core or admin core for them to work.
Are you saying that if I place a NPC spawner in one of my bases, I will then have defending troops?!? If so, that is very interesting indeed. Is there like an on/off switch or some other way to make them "work"? What's the gestation period?
Yes, sort of. It doesn't always work properly. Sometimes they stay passive and don't engage enemies (and enemies don't engage them) but, I suppose this is down to the game's AI identifying threats. They tend to kick into action if they respawn whilst there are enemies nearby. It's somewhat hit and miss, troops at my mining outposts always jump into action right away but, troops at my HQ tend to take some time before they realize there's an enemy attacking them. I also noticed that human troops do run out of ammo. But I just let them die so they can respawn. You can't switch them off. In survival, they immediately start spawning as soon as you place down the spawner. They don't even need power. The "static" option in the spawner's settings must be ticked for them to work. Killed NPCs take a minute or two to respawn.
Okay...I'm an old guy apparently with degenerative everything, but I can't find this "static" option. I can't find the spawner's settings! So I'm not seeing any friendly companions popping up to watch my back or to forget to flush the toilet. What am I doing wrong? What am I not doing right?
You have to access them via the control panel. Also, a possible fix for AI not engaging targets (I've been getting it a lot lately) could be the Reforged mod since it improves AI detection and combat. I have not tested it yet.
Now I understand why you so badly want the reticle to be fixed. He's showing the NPC spawner, you're showing the player spawner.
It should be NPC spawners, yes. It's easy to get them mixed up sometimes because the player spawners are blocks on their own and NPC spawners are part of the alien blocks group. I actually have no idea what the player spawners are for.
@Kassonnade , @Dragon Thank you for clearing that up. Once I turned 50, everything went to hell. One problem...player spawner is the ONLY spawner I have. The only NPC block I have is a core. Is that part of it? And yes, my cry for a better reticle is a serious need for me. I suspect it is for others, as well. Hold on... I found it! It works! They look a lot like the bad guys. What's worse, they sound like 'em! Oh, hey! I SEE!!! It's all the way at the end, but there they are. I noticed they don't react to a drone attack. This will require some experimentation but it is better than the guards that just stand there occasionally scratching their butts. 30 years ago I would've been a lot better at this.
Well I wasn't as lucky as you : everything went to hell in my mid - 30s when I met the lady who is now my ex... Regarding the reticle... I played a lot of The Division 1 in the last month, and the action takes place in a post-pandemic New York (!) in the winter, and the reticle is... white. Add to this that their dynamic weather system throws in frequent episodes of thick (white) fog and (white) blizzards. It's primarily a shooter where the player has to click and hold the right mouse button to "aim" first (LMB is just for the trigger) for the reticle to appear, and the game still allows for "hip shooting" (click the trigger and the player shoots roughly where the reticle should be, then quickly lowers the weapon back down after firing). This makes it cumbersome to shoot enemies rapidly and precisely because when right-clicking (aiming) the player slows down from a jogging to normal walk (receives more shots) until the RMB is released. So I made a small square of scotch tape (the transparent type) and with a black 2mm felt pen I made a small circle on it with a point in the center, and made it less sticky by putting/ removing it a few times on something clean (I want it to stay transparent). Then I put it exactly where the reticle should be centered, so I could see it all the time. I used the scope view of a sniper to see the exact location to put the tape, and I didn't even remove it between play sessions because it's a minor annoyance, and I became accustomed to it. This made quite a difference for precise "hip shooting" and also to have the aim already "on spot" when using conventional RMB + LMB aim & shoot (more accuracy and damage).
Did you know you can't sleep with NPCs on guard (or anything else for that matter) because the game considers them the "enemy"?!? If I want to take a nap, I have to kill everybody first! I admit it's a small sacrifice for my much needed beauty sleep, but I have to chase the little buggers down to do it! I mean...C'mon, is this necessary?
I NEED my EIGHT! IRL, it takes me all fricking day to get 'em, but I do (usually). In Game, I get about 14 hrs whether I like it or not, unless I skip it altogether. If we can't hit the sack till sundown, I don't wee why we can't wake at sunrise. But I guess that's for another thread. Good Night.
Update: Perhaps everyone already knew this, but apparently, it's only the potentially lethal NPCs (human or otherwise) that keep me from my Zs. I've got women wandering around all over the place and had no trouble hitting the sack. Still, at some point, this will need to be addressed.
Be sure to lock the door! Spiders wandering around is one thing, but women... Have you tried creating a faction, assigning the BA to the faction and see if it makes a difference? NPCs will have to respawn for them to be under the new faction though.
My understanding (little as that may be) is that the NPCs belong to the faction to which the spawner is connected. In answer to your question, no I haven't and, once again, my ignorance is showing. I seem to recall seeing something regarding creating factions but didn't give it any thought at the time. I guess I'll have to look for it. Another thing about human NPCs, they need new clothes! Or else the Player does. The civilian attire is absurd. Men look like yuppie lawyers and the women look...well they don't look like galactic explorers. Can't we find something more 25th century, more technical, more adventurous, less buttoned-down, grab some coffee, I'm late to the office looking? The officers would be okay except they don't resemble the player when not in armor/spacesuit. I think one should resemble the other, either way. They would then seem to belong together. Lastly, it would be nice if we could change colors of the uniforms.
They do belong to the faction the spawner is connected to but, you can create a faction (meant for multiplayer, I suppose) and then change the BA from "private" to the faction you created. I always create a faction even if I play alone, for roleplay purposes. I have never tested sleeping though, I'm currently back in creative doing more retrofitting and building new stuff. Civilian attire is indeed very 1980 but, at least it's not like X4 where my warships are all filled with hooded gangstas instead of uniformed crew. The human pilot NPC actually fits pretty well, so do the human elite soldiers. Different colours for uniforms would be great. I actually did try the texture and colour tool on NPCs before.
I tried the color tool as well. No joy. I envision orange-clad repair technicians, light blue/green or white medical types, and so on. I gather these NPCs are acquired, and not the creations of Eleon. While disappointing, it would explain a great deal.
