Introducing NPCs day/night cycles

[Talad]

Hi! In the last few weeks we decided to finalize the work done by Stelanso on the paths and make those operational. Many new utilities have been added in game by Magodra for the devs to manage paths, it's great stuff which allows us to finally edit paths in game, without external programs. Those new capabilities accelerated greatly our progress on paths, and after some work and testing we released a first version on the main PS server. Most NPCs of hydlaa and ojaveda now have day/night cycles. Those are not yet fully fixed/reviewed, but should be good enough to bring more life to the cities, and have them look more real.

Next steps are:
- fix the rotations after completing a path (some NPCs are facing the wrong direction after moving)
- fix the disappearance of some NPCs (in certain cases after they go home, they never come back)
- review the guard shifts, and ensure those are realistic and meaningful. At the moment for example Utno extends himself a bit more into east hydlaa.
- define some NPCs which will be available only at night (example Zak may roam hydlaa at night?)
- Add more RP deepness to each NPC and their movement, like having them say something when reaching a location, meeting other NPCs, going to shop, etc...

Please provide your feedback on this topic, and let us know if you see any NPC stuck. If you have any other suggestion on this topic feel free to let us know.

[Phantomboy86]

Heh, Zak at night. thats interesting

Also i noticed two NPC's that go up to the Laanx statue (presumably to worship I guess?) but they face off at weird angles, if you need to know their names to correct it when you go about that its Roya and Kaiman

[Gilrond]

Should moving NPCs stop if you'll try talking to them? Will you also enable moving creatures in the wild?

[zarre]

NPC's don't walk around players currently. It was a bit distracting to have an NPC walk through two players roleplaying in the street near the Library. Luckily the guards' sword didn't seem to kill either of them.

Does Jirosh have a back-up for when he leaves, so we can get materials out of storage to continue crafting?

[Aramara Meibi]

Will you also enable moving creatures in the wild?

NPCs moving about town is a step up, and I'm sure no small feat of programming, but, well, I've made my view of NPCs known.

But moving creatures in the wild would be keen. What I'd really like to see is migrating herds, or roving packs in the wild, ideally they would spawn at the edges of the map, make a course through the map, and vanish off another edge, giving the sense of a more expansive landscape. Their course would be dictated by differentiated behaviors, timid herbivores would avoid populated areas or well traveled roads, while more aggressive carnivores may track down and attack travelers. I know creature behavior was a big part of GSOC, so i'm excited to see what you guys came up with

[Rigwyn]

Moving quest related NPCs is going to make it harder for players to quest - especially for newer players. While this is nifty, I think the most practical use would be to move NPC guards so that it looks like they are patrolling the area. ( letting hydlaa guards attack those with drawn weapons on sight might be nice too, but I won't go there xD )

Having mobs wander would make the game look more realistic - epsecially if they moved in packs - taking long routes thoughout the map. A group of wandering bandits, traders, or clerics(for the baddies to loot)  might be nifty too ( assuming you can attack them )

[weltall]

the work in gsoc regarded tribes and wasn't actually entirely completed.

[SAristo]

Just pointing out that some of the NPC movements might need rethinking, unless the quest scripts are also changed e.g. Tilavi sends me to Hirenn cos she wants a night off and can't go herself, and then who should wander into Hirenn's while I'm talking to him but Tilavi herself. I'm like, "Screw it, do your own errands, fenki."

[verden]

Fantastic! Get 'em all moving and we'll sort it out later. Hoping for rogues coming out at night, as well as beasts sleeping during the day. Missing NPCs may seem like a problem for some, but people will get used to it. Although having nightshift duplicates of some NPCs, like a guy who runs the smithy at night, would not be a bad idea.

[Elkarway]

Just pointing out that some of the NPC movements might need rethinking, unless the quest scripts are also changed e.g. Tilavi sends me to Hirenn cos she wants a night off and can't go herself, and then who should wander into Hirenn's while I'm talking to him but Tilavi herself. I'm like, "Screw it, do your own errands, fenki."

From my experience with fenkis, that behaviour is perfectly consistent.

[Symasta]

Nice work!

One stuck path:
Bjorid is stuck in the front gate of Oja at around 1 o'clock (PM).

Greetings,
Symasta

[bilbous]

I was wondering tonight if a shorter day cycle would make sense. There is no apparent reason why a 24 hour cycle is needed and it might be better if various npcs were unavailable for shorter periods more frequently. Of course as long as there is no exhaustion mechanism for player not resting npc unavailability will be an issue.

[SAristo]

From my experience with fenkis, that behaviour is perfectly consistent.

  Our char should have a chat concerning what else yours can tell mine about fenkis...

[Korumak]

ok probably going to get flamed for this.... (dons helmet)

I just started the "Zak in the box" quest... no spoilers other than to say part of it was to find a specific NPC... Zak.  All over the dungeon... no where.  All over Hydlaa... nope, went up the tower.. nope... not hiding out at the magic shop... not buried in walls... not in east hydlaa.  I was tempted to check under a few skirts... but i restrained my self.  I went down EVERY road in Hydlaa+east, no where to be seen.

I spent over 3 hours trying to find one npc to hand him something, tracing and re-tracing my steps going to every part in the entire City of Hydlaa i had access to, over and over again just in case i caught him on the move. Guess what I gave up after three hours cause it ain't worth the aggravation.

Now that out of my system... I'm all for roving NPC Guards, Townsfolk walking around to make it seem populated.  But please for the love of everything rash and reasonable.  Keep the Armorers, Quest NPC's, Trainers, Still.  It's hard enough figuring out who its supposed to be, Where there supposed to be, at what levels there supposed to be in game with out adding to the fact, there on vacation, buried in the walls, or jumped off the map.
Thank you
I'll just shut up now.

[derula]

Zak.

Pretty sure he has his reasons to hide from you. Or well, anyone for that matter.