PDA: Is there an 'auto resolved' action that triggers everywhere? (->Chatter & Banter)

Discussion in 'Scenarios' started by Needleship, Sep 6, 2019.

  1. Needleship

    Needleship Master of Custom Terrain

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    Hi all! :)

    Still trying to build an alternative EGS tutorial.
    Now 80h in, explaining Wifi.

    Is there a way for an auto-resolve action?
    That will be resolved always, without player input?

    Ideally something like: "Check: True" Or "Check: None" :)

    This would allow for NPC chatter and banter,
    instead of wall-of-text notes with an 'OK' button, or messages with tiny text that vanish too fast.


    ---
    Experimented with 'check: ToolbarContains'.
    That one triggers, as soon as the defined object is there. E.g. the survival tool- As long as it is in a single task.
    Had a lot of conversations written, and the timing option allows for some humor.

    Problems:
    - You have to keep the survival tool always in the tool bar.
    That works really fine during your first baby steps - ... but as soon you get a motorbike, your toolbar willl 'vanish', while driving - resulting for that check to fail. Same for any other vehicle, or even by using the connected toolbar.
    In that case, you have to switch back to your standard toolbar, pick up the SurvivalTool and drop it back in there - Which is extremely cumbersome.



    ---
    'InventoryContains' seems only to check, if the item is dropped in there.
    Which is a shame- That could be the ideal trigger for auto-activated chapters, too...

    (Untested) Another, very cumbersome option could be to work with OnCompletePlayfieldOps, and a POI that has a lever that triggers a delay, and that delay signal is then PDA-checked to trigger the next task.
    Problem seems to be there: The POI has to be loaded in...?
    So it won't help if you are anywhere other on the playfield.



    Has anybody got any idea how to tackle this...?
     
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  2. Taelyn

    Taelyn Guest

    Dont think so there is one. Ill ask
     
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  3. texas_tornado

    texas_tornado Lieutenant

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    Hey Needleship - do you have any experience with C#? If so, you could use the PDA.cs (PDACS) system. It will give you MUCH more control over this type of scenario as well as allowing you come up with MANY ideas the PDA.yaml does not support.

    However, it does require an intermediate knowledge of C# and at the moment, the regular PDA.yaml will not work in parallel. On the other hand, everything you do in PDA.yaml is very easy to support in PDA.cs.

    And there is a class specifically for dialogs in PDACS :)

    Otherwise, I'll take a look at what can be done for this request and put it on the docket...
     
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  4. Needleship

    Needleship Master of Custom Terrain

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    Hi @texas_tornado !
    Thanks for the heads-up! :)

    - No, sorry, no real C# experience yet. :(
    I thought I would try it with the 'old' PDA first, to get at least some version off the ground.

    (Although interested - I have a brother that is a C# programmer - -
    ...learning C# will be far too much work for me for now...)


    And other non-coder scenario builders might need that function, too.

    - So, if possible, please do! :)

    That one 'chatter' problem could be the last stumbling block, apart from all the mission writing.
     
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  5. Needleship

    Needleship Master of Custom Terrain

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    Maybe as an addition:

    - In some cases, (e.g. when POI raiding), a 'NearPOI' can do the 'auto-resolving' job needed for chatter.
    You could even define more POI in the same check, so it fires at those, too:
    Code:
                Check: NearPoi
                Names: [ JunkT1 , DroneBaseT1 ]
                Amount: 1
                Required: NeedOne
    ... is invisible, and will solve at the junk or the Dronebase.

    (But it won't help if you move further away, or are somewhere in the wilderness.
    ...E.g. when doing tutorial missions.)
     
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  6. texas_tornado

    texas_tornado Lieutenant

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    Sounds good! I will be doing some more PDA work very soon so I'll keep you updated!
     
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  7. Needleship

    Needleship Master of Custom Terrain

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    Oh, yes please!! :D
    ... Tutorial or communication while you are in a space ship, kilometers away from a POI... that would be the places where there is right now 'comm silence'.
    - If there was a way to add a 'distance' to the NearPOI, then you could place a 'chatter' POI somewhere in the system. (Distance=40.000)
    (And have other nice stuff, like messages if you are further closing down to a POI)
    ...But an auto-resolving check is probably less performance demanding?)
     
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