BP Series Party AI Scripts for BG:EE (non-weidu) Available!
horredtheplague
Member, Developer Posts: 186
I just got the game last night, and got to work right away. It's very crude compared to the classic BP Series, but this is a non-overwriting version built from the vanilla assets. Just add the scripts to your folder and you're ready to go.
You can get the files and more information at Spellhold Studios: http://www.shsforums.net/topic/55587-bp-series-party-ai-scripts-for-bgee-non-weidu/ I also started a feedback thread there for any comments, questions, suggestions or complaints.
Enjoy!
--Horred the Plague
You can get the files and more information at Spellhold Studios: http://www.shsforums.net/topic/55587-bp-series-party-ai-scripts-for-bgee-non-weidu/ I also started a feedback thread there for any comments, questions, suggestions or complaints.
Enjoy!
--Horred the Plague
6
Comments
Your scripts work quite well for me. I had forgotten BP scripts had a melee/ranged toggle but having that again is a lifesaver. Vanilla scripts kept bring my squishy partly members into melee.
Is Item Use working OK? The in-game comment doesn't agree with the text file - 'personal use'? Not sure what that means. I assumed the text file was more up to date and my characters ARE using healing potions so I suspect the text file is correct.
Thanks for all your hard work!
For the item switching (HotKey(E)), the strings go as follows:
"Quick Item" = "Use All Items" Anything goes in item use, subject to availabilty.
"Personal Item" = "Use No Disposables" Daily-recharging items are fine, but nothing w/ charges
like wands or potions
"Item has no usable..." = "Use no items" (not even rechargables)
For the auto-buffing (HotKey(B)), the strings are even worse:
"Long Sword" = "Long-Duration Buffs"
"Medium Shield" = "Medium-Duration Buffs"
"Short Sword" = "Short-Duration Buffs."
On the bright side, I got some nice updates into the Series today. From the changelog:
The new version is available in the Big Picture forums, over at Spellhold Studios. This about covers every issueI've seen so far. I'm cleaning up the code itself as I read it, testing and optimizing the scripts as I testplay, pause and recompile. I'll have to see some more, acquire a few levels to get a good in-game look at many of the features, or wait for some reports from you that are using them before the next update. But the BG2:ToB source code they were derived from was very thoroughly tested over the years, so I'm fairly confident the transition will be a smooth ride.
There's a good reason for doing this (allowing it to happen), too. Much of the scripts are written from a PC's allegiance perspective. When the NPC leaves the party, they are no longer part of faction "PC", but are now considered faction "NEUTRAL".
I can think of one really bad example off the top of my head---the "Friendly Fire" script block of BP Series. Meant as a warning to you, when you're (accidentally) hurting your own people. A good thing when they're in-party, right? But if they were out of the party w/ a BPSeries script and you attacked them, they'd just keep shouting "Friendly Fire" until you killed them. They'd never switch to Enemy() and fight back.
And I can select the scripts in game (which is great) but they dont have descriptions (which isnt so great) so I am having a little difficulty figuring out which Scripts are supposed to be used with which classes.
So um. Stupid question. Is that info in the read me? If not can you tell me which script is for what class please?
If you find the use of in-game strings and lack of info in-game bothersome, I'd recommend using the weidu version of the mod instead. At this point it requires a little work on the user end, which is why I offered this easy-drop version of the mod as well---with drawbacks, such as you just mentioned. All info except which funky in-game strings I used for what, is in the read me. In a post a few up from this one, I covered a couple of the worst of these.
Jeez.
I wont bother in future.
Naturally, a non-weidu release would come out after the weidu release, were I to make it.
Thanks,
Horred
Focus on the weidu version for now. When you have settled on a semi-final version (as these things tend to be) do the work of converting to non-weidu. This will speed the path to completion, instead of doing double the work for every update.
From what I recall from the non-weidu version is still miles better than anything else out there.
And thanks for the updates
How I install weidu currently: I copy dialog.tlk from my lang/en_us folder into my Data/00766 folder before installing, because that's where weidu currently needs it *right next to* the chitin.key file. Then, after install I make a backup of my lang/en_us folder's dialog tlk, and finally overwrite it w/ the modded dialog.tlk in my 00766 folder. Add more mods, follow the same procedure. That's the only way I've found to get the custom strings to show up. The dialog.tlk backup is just a precaution (in case you get some sort of unexpected meltdown, easy painless reversion).
This mod seems really awesome. I can definitely see the appeal... but all I want my guys to do is just auto attack with range or meele and prioritize on my commands. I tried using the pure fighter script and it seems to work well... however I'm having a problem with my fighters cycling through weapons.
The last couple versions of BP Series offered more weapon-switching options. The "Intuitive" modes are still a little touchy--some things I need to work out yet. It could be all the random weighting of the melee/ranged swaps, I'll check it out and see if I can sort it.
One of the newer modes, Absolute, might be just what you're looking for. It siwitches to melee weapons at melee ranges, and ranged weapons beyond that. There's also locked modes for melee and ranged, to prevent switching. The latter good for meat shields &/or archers.
The only bad news is, we now have a very overcrowded swap hotkey(K). Takes nearly a round to click through the set. It's a shame so many keys are used up by the regular game. I'd love to make this smoother on the end user if I could.
Last tally had this at 56 party AI scripts for 3 games. I'm not sure how many more I wish to maintain with regular updates. Though admitedly, a "very bare bones" script wouldn't require much maintenance.
Maybe some other scriptor that prefers this approach will make a set? We'll see. With the new games both out, a new generation of IE scriptors might surface. What I personally like these scripts for is setting them for everybody but the main PC, and then trying to play as much in realtime as possible. Or, on some lazier days, setting the whole party and just watch it all happen. In the easy-medium battles, there's rarely need for interference. I'm confident enough in them, I'll leave the room in mid-combat.
I can't say the same, when I pit BP Series vs BP AI on autopilot. They use similar tactics, and it evens out the odds. Still fun to watch (especially as the mad scientist responsible), but be ready to intercede or you'll get burnt.
P.S: If you can open the scripts folder in NearInfinity, select BP-PUREF. Right click, choose Add Copy Of--rename it to whatever (8 chars or less). Select your new script. At the bottom is a button Find. Choose In This Script Only. Run a text search for HaveSpell and HasItem, follow the links in the popup box. Delete all blocks that contain it. Or, leave in the self-healing potion blocks, certain HLA's--whatever you decide. Hit compile, then save. And you should have close to what you were looking for, with a few bonus perks. It won't have a text description when you choose it in-game, but it should work fine. If you forget what key does what, just check BP-PUREF's description.
Since the version of WeiDU included in the archive you can find in the link you gave is 23600, which is non-beta, that means you have another mod in your game which brought a beta version, and the auto-update feature of WeiDU updated older setup-something.exe such as setup-bpseries.exe.
If the main version of your WeiDU is lower than 239 (for instance 23801), you can simply download the latest non-beta version of WeiDU here and copy weidu.exe as setup-bpseries.exe (overwriting the existing one) in your game directory, then run setup-bpseries.exe again.
Assuming it is lower than 239, I understand what you mean is: I rename weidu.exe to setup-bpseries.exe, I overwrite the setup-bpseries.exe in my game folder with this file and then I run the new file. That will install BP series. Did I get that right?