"Humble NPCs" patch

I got it and it works good. Thanx a lot.

 

It looks like that almost everybody here agrees with the fact that Drifter's hack is the best solution to have the best controll on the NPCs.
The only pity is that using this hack should prevent Liv's mod from working and I can't wait to see the mini quests & events that she realized for NPCs.
Really, I absolutely agree with the fact that who wants to cheat just uses the console and doens't loose time to search for NPCs and to steal their possessions and that, since the AI that leads NPCs looting is absolutely crappy, it is better to completely remove looting and disabling NPC "auto-selling-to-merchants".
Liv, even if you are right if you wish that NPCs loot at least money, think about the fact that they never spend to give their contribute when the party...
- goes to an inn and rest
- get healed from a cleric
- goes to a smith to buy ammo and new armor or new equipment
- the wizard enchants magic items for them
- Generally, no NPC will help the party with economical expenses but only loot for himself.
I prefer to image that all moneys are grouped into a common fund and that the NPCs get payed when their work is completed, at the end of the game.

 

Gah

I didn't know that it removes the events that NPC's have.
But I did like the sound of not having the morons be over their weight limit every combat.
And if people want to find a way to cheat, they will.

 

For example ...? ???

 

The only npc's that have anything of real value are Burne and Otis. Burne and his 30% fee is the biggest looter in the game. I guess he wants his castle to look real good. Fruella wants her own jewelry exchange when she retires. None of them donate a gp to the greater party cause. When Liv2.0 comes out if I use any npc it would be Elmo, and maybe Burne. I'm thinking of only pc's, pc patchcount at 6 and go from there. I'm not interested in any mini-side quests. If I do use npc's, i'll use the Drifter patch.

 

click click click

When bartering:
RIGHT click on the portrait of other pc/npc cancels barter and opens inventory of that pc/npc.
LEFT click switches to inventory of that pc/npc without canceling barter.
At least that's how it works for me.

 

I don't want to be polemic, but Liv doesn't earn any salary and for sure she id doing her mod for herself.
Now the question is: Liv, are u making your mod for the forum and other players too? If the answer is again "yes", then you should consider about integrating drifter's solution with your mod, since it looks like that majority wishes so. Instead if your thought is "I do it for myself and/or for other reasons, then who likes it may play it", then ignore everybody and go on by your way.

 

I think the question of integration shouldn't be stressed further.
I don't see any problem in having my patch as separate, and applying it on top of any other mod, if one choose to.

 

Well, Liv said she doesn't want to, and as far as I am concerned, that's completely okay. Just let it go. Anyone who wants to apply Drifter's patch to Liv's mod is free to do so.

 

Hmm... well yes I would like to have all those options too

But, at least for me, the stuff that Drifter fixed has only been a minor annoyance for me, while the stuff that Livonya added along with the stuff that she fixed actually made the game really playable for me. I have only ever finished the game once and that was with Livonya's 1.5.1 beta with no cheats (Okay one cheat. Getting out of the temple can be such a pain in the ass. Running down all of those corridors (with no chance of an encounter) to get to an exit, was such a waste of time to me that I would give my wizard a scroll of teleport in the console just to speed things up when I needed to get back to Hommlet or Nulb.) Troika's vision of the game was right on and they got it about 50% percent before time/money/inspiration ran out. You can see it in the game. The intent was there, the execution was lacking. Livonya has reenabled that vision and taken it a step further than Troika was able to manage. Drifters patch ( and I don't intend any belittlement in anyway) creates a work around to a nagging (although tolerable) problem in the game. Livonya's mod brings the game closer in spirit to what it should be and makes the game much more enjoyable in real terms. There is no dilemma for me here. I will take Livonya's patch first any day. However, I would also like to know which of her additions/fixes would be invalidated by Drifters patch. I do agree with Livonya that the way things are now, while not perfect, are that way to enforce the idea that npc's are autonomous. They have their own agenda's, and for the sake of the story they should not be completely submissive to the wishes of the player. You do not have to have any npc's in your party, ever, to finish the game. The NPC's are not just there to help you in battles. AISI, both in the original module and in ToEE their primary function is to enhance the story. This has nothing to do with trying to emulate a multiplayer version of the game, it is more about the framework or background or story of the game. IMHO the NPC's should be more autonomous not less. If the things that Livonya is talking about when she says they are not compatible with Drifter's "fix" are autonomy or story based issues then I can continue to deal with the slight inconvenience of overburdened NPC's. Finally, it "is" Livonya's mod. She does not owe anyone anything. She is sharing for her own reasons. We simply reap the benefit, she does the work. As she has stated, she is only trying to make the game into something she would enjoy playing more. If you like her mod, great. If you like Drifter's dll patch, also great. If you want to try the two together then (as Liv has warned you) you won't get the full effect of her mod (or maybe it won't work at all.) Anyway, again this board has burned up my available free time and I must off to bed with me. If you want to find me, just search for the largest post available

Darmagon

 

What exactly IS the problem guys? Quit making a mountain out of a molehill. Drifter has coded a great little patch that a lot of people have been waiting for. Can't we just leave it at that?

0rion79: Would you please let Liv decide what she does or doesn't do with her mod? That post of yours will most certainly rub her up the wrong way. Peace, Liv!

 

Ditto for me.