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Yep, It's another post about a Rasaad quest bug (Spoilers)

People are probably sick to death of hearing about Rasaad's quest bugs, as I can tell many people have made posts like this before me. Somehow, none of the things that solved the problem in those posts have worked for me though, so here we are. Also, as it is my first post, I don't know much about the forum etiquette here so I threw a spoiler warning in the title just in case, sorry in advance if there's a tagging feature that I overlooked.

So first off I should specify I'm talking about BG:EE here and the Rasaad quest in that game (The Enemies of My Friend). I'll try to include as much information as possible to streamline this process and not waste anyone's time.
- Like many others, I encountered him in Nashkel, had a chat, and then left him there.
- He joined the fight against the assassin which I have heard can cause problems.
- I came back after completing most of the stuff in Baldur's Gate (almost all sidequests and encounters and the like up through Chapter 5). Pretty much all I haven't done at this point is go to the Iron Throne to progress the main quest.
- He told me his life story once and then I walked around for about two seconds and he told me his life story the second time. I had heard it would take almost a week in-game time between these two conversations but they triggered only a few seconds apart for me.
- I thought that was enough to progress so I went to the docks and no cutscene.

Things I have tried already:
- I passed time in an inn until he had been in my party for 30+ days and then went back during the night to the docks.
- I tried wandering around Baldur's Gate for a while in different districts and then going back to the docks.
- I tried the console commands people have thrown around in the forums (unless there's more I haven't seen), so checking the Rasaad_Plot Global value. Interestingly, mine is already at 1 which is supposedly what it should be to trigger this cutscene.

None of these worked, hence why I'm here, and I'm hoping someone can help figure this out. I've also attached a save below. It is from after my first attempt at entering the docks, but before my attempts at bugfixing on my own (figured it might be better to provide a save from before I started messing about with the console).

Comments

  • ChroniclerChronicler Member Posts: 1,391
    snizkabiz wrote: »
    - He told me his life story once and then I walked around for about two seconds and he told me his life story the second time. I had heard it would take almost a week in-game time between these two conversations but they triggered only a few seconds apart for me.

    I've been noticing that lately. I've seen it with both Rasaad and Neera. I used to have to adventure with them for a while before they initiated their dialogues but now they start talking within a zone or two after joining. Like when Neera joins me in Bereghost I never make it to Nashkel before she starts talking.
  • snizkabizsnizkabiz Member Posts: 9
    edited April 2022
    Come to think of it you're right I had it with the other EE companions as well where like shifting one zone or resting at the inn once would instantly give me the new dialogue - interesting

    not sure if it's the cause of the issue though...
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    edited April 2022
    [EDIT] It has been pointed out below that the console can be used to set local variables and timers, provided that the mouse pointer is hovering over the creature for which the local variable or timer is to be set (Rasaad, in this case). So, in short, the simpler fix would have been inputting C:SetGlobalTimer("DARK_MOON_AMBUSH","LOCALS",1) into the console.[/EDIT]

    I don't think that your problem can be fixed using the console, because I don't think that the console can be used to set [local] timers or set local variables. This is unfortunate, as the cutscene at BG South is triggered upon the expiry of a timer, and that timer is set by a block which is activated by local variables.

    Do you use EE Keeper, or NearInfinity? If so, you can fix the problem yourself. You would need to open the party NPC entry for Rasaad, navigate to the section where his local variables are displayed, change the value of the local variable "RASAAD_CDEV" to 1, and change the value of the local variable "RASAAD_CDEV2_END" to 0.

    The result of the above is that a 2-day timer will be set and, after that timer expires, the cutscene in BG South will trigger. The block that sets the timer also initiates dialogue, so you will have to repeat the "Do you seek enlightenment?" conversation - just don't reply "Not now, Rasaad" (this will happen immediately upon loading the save edited via EE Keeper or NearInfinity).

    If talk of EE Keeper and NearInfinity sounds like goobledegook, then try unzipping and using the save that I've attached - it should work as described in the previous paragraph. Note that I haven't tried downloading, editing, and re-uploading another person's save before, so I hope there aren't any problems. However, I can promise you that the BG South cutscene triggers just fine when I make the above changes and load the zipped game on my PC. Either way, the save is renamed, so it won't overwrite anything.

    I suppose I probably could have just set the 2-day timer so it immediately expired, but I don't fancy going back to re-do it, so I'm afraid you'll have to tolerate the repeated conversation and the 2-day wait. Sorry!
    Post edited by The_Baffled_King on
  • snizkabizsnizkabiz Member Posts: 9
    oh whoa! yeah I don't recognize those programs at all, I don't mod the game at all just trying to 100% the vanilla game. I'll give your edited save a try in a bit, thank you so much!

    As an aside, do you have any idea how this gamestate could have happened? It doesn't matter too much and I'll be happy to just be able to continue but I am curious to know where it got borked. I assume those values are supposed to be set automatically following certain interactions, but as far as I know, I got all the interactions with Rasaad normally.
  • snizkabizsnizkabiz Member Posts: 9
    If talk of EE Keeper and NearInfinity sounds like goobledegook, then try unzipping and using the save that I've attached - it should work as described in the previous paragraph.

    It just worked! Exactly like you said it would! You are a legend, my friend, many thanks!

    Not fully clear on what you did but it worked and I can continue my 100% mission! Thanks again!
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    edited April 2022
    snizkabiz wrote: »
    It just worked! Exactly like you said it would! You are a legend, my friend, many thanks!
    You're welcome; I'm glad I could help.
    snizkabiz wrote: »
    oh whoa! yeah I don't recognize those programs at all, I don't mod the game at all just trying to 100% the vanilla game.
    EE Keeper is a save-game editor, and it can also edit creatures and party NPCs. NearInfinity is a program that allows one to delve into, and change, much of what can/will happen in the game. Mods use something called Weidu, which basically automates a long string of actions which, in many cases, a person could perform for themself using NearInfinity.

    EE Keeper and NearInfinity are GUIs (graphical user interface), so you're working with menus and icons and so on. The former is trivially easy to use; the latter a little more difficult, but not prohibitively so. Weidu is a command-line program, not a GUI, and it's a lot more complicated than EE Keeper and NearInfinity.

    If you enjoy Baldur's Gate and want to play it again - or if you liked it, but there's a few things you want to change/improve - then it is totally worth using EE Keeper or NearInfinity. EE Keeper is useful also just for troubleshooting if something breaks.
    snizkabiz wrote: »
    As an aside, do you have any idea how this gamestate could have happened? It doesn't matter too much and I'll be happy to just be able to continue but I am curious to know where it got borked.
    I can't tell you why the gamestate happened, but I can show you what was meant to happen and show you why changing the variables that I mentioned above fixed your problem.
    The following is an extract from the file RASAAD.BCS, copied and pasted using NearInfinity. BCS are script files; this one is attached to the creature file for Rasaad, so it essentially travels around with him. The extract contains two script blocks, which begin with "IF" and end with "END". The lines above the "THEN" are trigger conditions, and the lines below the "THEN" are the actions taken as a response when the trigger conditions are met:

    IF
    	InParty(Myself)
    	GlobalTimerExpired("RASAAD_CDEV2_TIMER","GLOBAL")
    	GlobalLT("RASAAD_CDEV","LOCALS",2)
    	!ActuallyInCombat()
    THEN
    	RESPONSE #100
    		SetGlobalTimer("DARK_MOON_AMBUSH","LOCALS",TWO_DAYS)
    		StartDialogNoSet(Player1)
    END
    
    IF
    	GlobalTimerExpired("DARK_MOON_AMBUSH","LOCALS")
    	Global("RASAAD_PLOT","GLOBAL",1)
    	AreaCheckObject("AR1200",Myself)  // S Baldur's Gate (docks, Iron Throne, Low Lantern, Umberlee temple)
    	OR(2)
    		!Range("entillis",30)  // Entillis Fulsom
    		Dead("entillis")  // Entillis Fulsom
    THEN
    	RESPONSE #100
    		FadeToColor([10.0],0)
    		SetGlobal("RASAAD_PLOT","GLOBAL",2)
    		[Snip - text removed for brevity]
    END
    

    First, I'll highlight the values of the relevant variables and timers at the point at which the first script block above triggers, and the places where they were set. The global variable "RASAAD_PLOT" will be set to 1 in the dialogue when Rasaad is recruited for the first time. The local variable "RASAAD_CDEV" shoud be set to 1 and the global timer "RASAAD_CDEV2_TIMER" should be set for 7 days during the first post-recruitment dialogue with Rasaad (provided you don't shut him down when he offers to tell you why he became a monk and/or came to Nashkel).

    Moving on to the above script blocks, the expiry of the global timer named "RASAAD_CDEV2_TIMER" is among the trigger conditions checked in the first of the two blocks above. When it has expired, you can see that the response section of the first script block has Rasaad perform two actions: initiate dialogue, and set a two-day local timer "DARK_MOON_AMBUSH".

    In the second of the script blocks above, you can see that the expiry of the local timer named "DARK_MOON_AMBUSH" is a trigger condition in a block that also checks, among other things, if you are in BG South (docks). The response section of this block (together with a second block that I haven't pasted) contains the actions that set up the ambush in BG South.

    For this to all function, there are two further things needed that I will briefly mention: first, a variable has to change so that the first script block triggers only once (as Rasaad would otherwise be on a loop where he constantly sets the local timer named "DARK_MOON_AMBUSH" and begins dialogue). Second, another variable has to change so that the "enlightenment" dialogue seen when the first script block triggers is not repeated when Rasaad initiates dialogue for any other reason.

    Both of these things happen during the "enlightenment" dialogue triggered by the first of the two script blocks above. First, the local variable "RASAAD_CDEV" is set to 2, stopping the first script block from looping (you can see in the first script block that the trigger condition was GlobalLT - "LT" being "less than" - 2). Second, the local variable "RASAAD_CDEV2_END" is set to 1, which stops the "enlightenment" dialogue from repeating and stopping other dialogs from happening. For reference, dialogue states are selected on the basis of trigger conditions, in a fairly similar fashion to the way script blocks trigger.

    So, taking all of the above into account, here's what happened after I read your post and downloaded your save. First, I already know from using NearInfinity how Rasaad's quest line is meant to trigger, so I figured it would be fairly easy to give you a hand. Second, I used EE Keeper to check the values of the relevant global variables and global timers linked to your game, and the values of the relevant local variables and local timers linked to the Rasaad creature file. This is what I found:

    - The global variable "RASAAD_PLOT" was at 1.
    - The local variable "RASAAD_CDEV" was at 2.
    - The local variable "RASAAD_CDEV2_END" was at 1.
    - The local timer "DARK_MOON_AMBUSH" had not been set.

    In theory, it should not be possible for "RASAAD_CDEV" to have a value of 2 without the local timer "DARK_MOON_AMBUSH" being set. Anyway, I then used EE Keeper to set the local variable "RASAAD_CDEV" to 1 (so that the first script block above would trigger, setting the local timer "DARK_MOON_AMBUSH"), and I also used EE Keeper to set the local variable "RASAAD_CDEV2_END" back to 0 (so that the "enlightement" dialogue will be selected, setting "RASAAD_CDEV" back to 2 and preventing the first script block from looping).

    Obviously it is much easier to resolve these problems when one has a pre-existing knowledge of the relevant variables and in-game sequence, and NearInfinity is pretty much required for that (for starters, EE Keeper doesn't let you look at scripts). That said, I actually fixed the problem using only EE Keeper. And that is why having EE Keeper is useful - it means that people can tell you how to fix problems in your games, rather than having to download, fix, and re-upload your saves for you.

    EDIT: Also, remind me to never again answer a question that begins "as an aside" with an 11-paragraph response! : )
    Post edited by The_Baffled_King on
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    edited April 2022
    Chronicler wrote: »
    snizkabiz wrote: »
    - He told me his life story once and then I walked around for about two seconds and he told me his life story the second time. I had heard it would take almost a week in-game time between these two conversations but they triggered only a few seconds apart for me.

    I've been noticing that lately. I've seen it with both Rasaad and Neera. I used to have to adventure with them for a while before they initiated their dialogues but now they start talking within a zone or two after joining. Like when Neera joins me in Bereghost I never make it to Nashkel before she starts talking.

    @Chronicler

    Out of curiosity, might this difference be because in the past you recruited them into your party and continued adventuring with them, while more recently you have recruited them, kicked them out of the party before a day had passed, and then added them back into the party after at least a day has passed? Also, it's feasible to spend 16 hours (non-travel hours) split between Beregost, South Beregost Road, and North Nashkel Road, especially if you rest, which would mean Neera pipes up before you get to Nashkel.

    @snizkabiz

    Just to clarify, this is what should happen if your PC is female, and you recruit Rasaad, kick him out before a day has passed, and then re-recruit him after at least 4 days have passed since he first joined the party:

    (1.1) He immediately initiates dialogue, saying "You appear troubled. Does a shadow lie upon your soul, <CHARNAME>?"
    - Reply "No time to talk" = End dialogue. The question is repeated in 30 days' time.
    - Reply "No, it's just something I ate" = Rasaad replies, then ends the dialogue.
    - Reply ".... How did you become a Sun Soul monk?" = You chat, then he asks "How may I enlighten you?" (see (1.2), below)
    - Reply "Why did you come to Nashkel ... ?" = You chat, then he asks "How may I enlighten you?"

    (1.2) When Rasaad asks "How may I enlighten you?"
    - Reply "How did you become a Sun Soul monk?" (if not asked already) = You chat, then return to "How may I enlighten you?"
    - Reply "Why did you come to Nashkel?" (if not asked already) = You chat, then return to "How may I enlighten you?"
    - Reply "That's enough reminiscing for now. We'll talk again later." = End dialogue

    (2) He immediately re-initiates dialogue, saying "Do you ever stop to contemplate the moonlight reflected on water?"
    - 4 replies, none of which make any difference to the ambush in BG South.

    So, he is meant to initiate dialog twice, and both dialogues refer to Rasaad's life story (although the moonlight-related dialogue is romance-specific). However, if Rasaad initiates dialogue and says "Do you seek enlightenment?" without 7 days having passed since the "You appear troubled..." conversation, then something weird happened.

    As I said earlier, from looking at the variables and timers in your saved game, it did seem that something weird happened. I just thought I'd be a little more specific, seeing as my previous post referred somewhat vaguely to "the "enlightenment" dialogue", but Rasaad does ask two very similar questions about enlightment!
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    Just for the record: local variables can be set - and checked - via the cheat console but the mouse pointer needs to hover over the creature in question.
    Timers can be set to "expired" by setting them like a variable to "1" (with the same cheat command like you would set a variable of teh same name to 1.)
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    edited April 2022
    jastey wrote: »
    Just for the record: local variables can be set - and checked - via the cheat console but the mouse pointer needs to hover over the creature in question.
    Thanks, I've edited my initial post to incorporate this correction.

    jastey wrote: »
    Timers can be set to "expired" by setting them like a variable to "1" (with the same cheat command like you would set a variable of teh same name to 1.)
    Yeah, I realized that I could have just done that in EE Keeper, but by that point I'd already uploaded the edited save and, like I said, I didn't fancy going back to re-do it.
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,822
    Incidentally, the "at night" part of going to the docks is irrelevant. Go at any time; the Dark Moon's mysterious time-altering power will advance you to midnight.
  • snizkabizsnizkabiz Member Posts: 9
    In theory, it should not be possible for "RASAAD_CDEV" to have a value of 2 without the local timer "DARK_MOON_AMBUSH" being set.

    Yeah, that makes a lot of sense thinking about it from the frontend as well. As I thought all the conditions should have been met and like you explained they actually all had been, but for some reason, the timer just wasn't set. Weird!

    Thanks for the whole explanation, very interesting stuff and helpful for understanding the situation. Maybe I will get into some use of EE Keeper and the like for subsequent playthroughs but first I'm going to finish the game and probably play through the whole Bhaalspawn saga. I've never played these games before but they've always been highly recommended to me and I'm enjoying them so far!
  • snizkabizsnizkabiz Member Posts: 9
    So, he is meant to initiate dialog twice, and both dialogues refer to Rasaad's life story (although the moonlight-related dialogue is romance-specific). However, if Rasaad initiates dialogue and says "Do you seek enlightenment?" without 7 days having passed since the "You appear troubled..." conversation, then something weird happened.

    Something weird definitely happened then! From what I remember I got all three dialogues in a row. So, the series of events is: I did his meeting sequence in Nashkel and then said he could come with me but immediately dismissed him. Then I played through most of the rest of the game. Then I came back and picked him up, assuming I would need to wander around with him for a bit to trigger the dialogue but instead he hailed me immediately after recruiting him with important dialogue #1. Then I entered the inn in Nashkel and after entering he hailed with important dialogue #2 (the enlightenment one). Then I talked to the barkeep and rested for 8 hours and after waking up he hailed again with the moonlight romance dialogue (which I promptly shut down, sorry Rasaad!) So it sounds like the dialogue sequence was messed up and happened too close together but I don't know how.
  • snizkabizsnizkabiz Member Posts: 9
    jmerry wrote: »
    Incidentally, the "at night" part of going to the docks is irrelevant. Go at any time; the Dark Moon's mysterious time-altering power will advance you to midnight.

    I had read that on the wiki and it happened in the new fixed save, the only reason I included it in the original post was because I didn't actually know for sure what triggers it (since I haven't looked at the scripts myself) and I had seen in other forum posts that it has an effect. But yeah, people on the internet often don't know what they are talking about and clearly whoever i had seen say it has an effect was wrong because the Baffled Legend up there kindly laid out the exact triggers necessary for the cutscene to play, none of which are the time of day! :lol:
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    edited April 2022
    snizkabiz wrote: »
    Thanks for the whole explanation, very interesting stuff and helpful for understanding the situation.
    I'm glad you got something out of it! As you asked, I figured I'd give an explanation that conveys an idea of how the game works, to give an idea of how easy it can be to change stuff. Rasaad isn't straightforward, because of the interaction between his BCS script file, his dialogue file, his quest, and his romance. However, some stuff can be changed very easily by adjusting a single script block.

    snizkabiz wrote: »
    Maybe I will get into some use of EE Keeper and the like for subsequent playthroughs but first I'm going to finish the game and probably play through the whole Bhaalspawn saga. I've never played these games before but they've always been highly recommended to me and I'm enjoying them so far!
    That's like a good idea. I'd only suggest changing things on a first playthrough - be it via EE Keeper, NearInfinity, or installing mods - for people who only want to play the game once, or people who have started to play but aren't enjoying it.

    snizkabiz wrote: »
    Then I entered the inn in Nashkel and after entering he hailed with important dialogue #2 (the enlightenment one). Then I talked to the barkeep and rested for 8 hours and after waking up he hailed again with the moonlight romance dialogue (which I promptly shut down, sorry Rasaad!)
    Can I check what version of BG:EE you're using? Is it the most recent patch - 2.6.6 (this is shown at the bottom of the main menu screen; the one with "OPTIONS", and "QUIT GAME")? I remembered that my most recent installation is v2.6.5, which may be why I can't fully explain your bug. However, I've realised that Rasaad has a very similar bug in v2.6.5 that I can fully explain (and can therefore stop from happening).

    snizkabiz wrote: »
    But yeah, people on the internet often don't know what they are talking about and clearly whoever i had seen say it has an effect was wrong because the Baffled Legend up there kindly laid out the exact triggers necessary for the cutscene to play, none of which are the time of day! :lol:
    And the fact that you noticed this from the triggers, without me having explicitly addressed it, shows that you'd be fine using NearInfinity if you felt it was worth your time.

    Of course, one always has to be careful about what people on the internet say... For example, they might say they think that local variables/local timers can't be changed using the cheat console, and they would be wrong about that *cough cough* ; )
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