Owned objects are highlighted a different colour with Tab key.
00zim00
Member Posts: 267
Currently when you press the Tab key it highlights intractable objects in the game. Red for locked/trapped. Purple for doors and light blue for everything else.
My request is to add a different colour for objects that are owned by an npc that trigger the "guards being summoned" response.
I tend to do a lot of quick saving/loading when I’m looting people’s houses which begins to become tedious. So by adding a new colour such as orange, I can in one glace know if they are owned.
One thing to keep in mind the "trap/locked" red colour would need to override the owned tag. You have to unlock objects first before you can even open it anyway.
My request is to add a different colour for objects that are owned by an npc that trigger the "guards being summoned" response.
I tend to do a lot of quick saving/loading when I’m looting people’s houses which begins to become tedious. So by adding a new colour such as orange, I can in one glace know if they are owned.
One thing to keep in mind the "trap/locked" red colour would need to override the owned tag. You have to unlock objects first before you can even open it anyway.
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In the case of people “detecting” you, I don’t mean making the colour change on/off on the fly as the npcs randomly walked around the room Just have it on if it’s owned regardless of how close they are.
Objects placed in BG seem to be very random in what is considered owned and what isn’t. Example: I might go to a shop and 1 out of the 8 objects will summon the guards while the next shop over they might all activate calling the guards.
I guess perhaps you could say that this is a bug, and that all objects in people’s homes and shops should have the Owned flag regardless. It all depends how you look at it.
I dunno, this feature would be nice, but wouldn't it be nicer if the rules were consistent instead?
Loading an old save file from the start of entering the city of Baldurs Gate I quickly went through only a few houses and tested what summoned guards and what didn’t. I always made sure I am in close proximity and in plain sight of people in their homes. I have found many places throughout the game that also have problems but ones i can confirm i had issues with when i tested are below:
AR0006 (Rinnie's House) Chest calls guards but not the bookshelf’s
AR0805 (Arkions house) Chest doesn’t summon guards - upstairs works
AR0803 is an example of a house where all objects summoned guards
AR0810 (A Shop) The bookshelf at the door summons the guards but the other two don’t
AR0706 Chest next to Cyrdemac is locked yet he doesn’t care if you open and steal from it lower chest with ruffians don’t care either. Merchants cupboard will summon them as well as Alyths room on this floor both the bookshelf and draws do summon guards
AR0711 Cupboard summon guards the two chest of draws don’t nor does the sac in the kitchen
AR0712 (second floor of above) chest of draws will not summon guards
AR0710 Nothing summons guard’s except the lock draws
AR0707 Chest doesn’t summon guards
AR0143 (Glanmarie house) lower bookshelf doesn’t summon guards but upper bookshelf does
At first I thought this could be an issue with Named NPCs not caring if you steal near them or maybe they are unable to see you steal but I found examples where they could see you.
Then I thought it might also be related to the contents inside the objects themselves? EG: an empty barrel in the shop doesn’t call the guard which is fine. And for example AR0810 the open able bookshelf’s that don’t call the guards only contain bad items (Heavy Crossbow, 10 bolts and a book of history of the red ravens) Does the "gold" value somehow affect if a guard is summoned or not? However I have changed my mind of this as I have found other bookshelf’s that just contain one book and the guards still get summoned
Also I noticed an object having a lock or not seem to have no bearing on if they are summoned or not. However it’s more common that a locked object will summon the guards.
So in conclusion there seems to be no rhyme or reason when it comes to summoning guards when you steal no matter who is around. A commoner, child or a named NPC it seems to be rather random.
I don't like the idea to add an owner tag to containers. It would be as silly as adding an exclamation mark over the head of a quest giver or such other aids so frequent in modern games.
From a roleplaying perspective you just have to assume that everything in a commoner house or a store is owned by someone, whether the guards are summoned or not.
In case you are wondering why not all containers behave in the same manner, the script that summons the guard is implemented as an undetectable and unremovable trap attached to the container. Some containers just don't have one.
It’s not really game breaking to keep everything as is. How it works currently is just annoying and breaks immersion more than anything else imo xD
If you murder someone in the street, no-one will call the guards.
If you have a look at a bookcase, guards may be summoned.
I think there needs to be a greater range of ways you can deal with summoned guards (e.g. using charisma to persuade them to leave without fighting, or to take a fine). To be killed for stealing three gold, but not for murdering an innocent, destroys the immersion for me.
For instance, you can bribe Amnish Soldiers (e.g. if caught stealing in Nashkel), but not Flaming Fists.
Anyway, the best strategy to deal with guards is just running away. They will be gone after a while and you can safely come back.
I agree that it is weird that guards are not summoned when you murder innocents, but that it balanced somehow by the rather steep reputation decrease, which in turn may trigger guards spawning and or attacking on sight if the reputation become too low.
Granted it isn't a perfect system, but it is not so completely broken either.
Off the top of my head this is what I can come up with. Others feel free to make suggestions, and not all of these changes need to be implemented to solve the problem.
Simple answer would be to make any container that is flagged to summon guards a light orange.
A more detailed an potentially game changing suggestion would be, if the npc who owns the lootable container is within sight radius of lootable container AND you can see the npc also (aka you can clearly see that they can see the chest your wanting to open) .Then it highlights a light orange indicating if you attempt to open the chest it will summon the guards/make them hostile (red/trap supersedes this in visual priority)
If a container is orange you can use your pickpocket skill vs the npc watching in order to access the loot container undetected. (Unlocking the chest supersedes this). You get a penalty or bonus to rolls depending on the quality of the loot. Eg: empty container nearly always succeeds. As well as containers full of common items, basic ammunition, non-magic items. I guess the same scaling ratio of open locks but you use pickpocketing.
If either player or npc are invisible or similar, bonuses or penalties should apply. So if the owner npc for whatever reason is invisible then it won't turn orange because you can’t see them watching you/the container. Likewise if you are invisible you then if then attempt to loot it, you get some bonus added to your Check. Maybe a + or -4.
I have no idea how the loot system works in the engine. Ideally if you can automate this for every container in game and not do it by hand lol.
Any questions or something you want me to elaborate on let me know