advance_advice_thread

[Lord Adherbal]

ok thanks. So what would be the best way to launch a background script ? The player using the F1 method ? or linking it with some HUD element ?

[Epistolary Richard]

To be honest, that's still in the air. The answer really depends on how mod users take to it. Myrddraal's scripts in the beginning used the F1 method because it was a useful method for beta-testing, it could be activated but equally it wasn't so obstrusive that it would get in the way. It was there if you knew what you were doing. Because other modders have been using his multiple turn script, they've also transposed the F1 method.

I know that EB, we're aware that many of the mod users won't be big modders themselves and it won't necessarily be easy for them to get into the routine of the whole "Press f1, press request advice, press show_me" routine every time they reload, so we've looked into integrating it more naturally, so when they reload they'll be prompted to start the script when clicking on a HUD element or a settlement or the like. Now, that wasn't straightforward to implement, but it was our opinion that it was more in line with that mod's intended wide appeal.

There have been very few major mods released that have had an integrated background script to date (I think TFT, I'm not sure of any others) and that I think was an optional four turn addition.

After a few major mods are released a community standard will develop, as the mod users will get used to a particular method, right at the moment though, it's a compromise between ease of implementation for the modder and the ease by which the mod-user will be reminded of the requirement to reactivate.

Of course the new Reload event that Guy put into the BI release might change all that for mods intended for BI. We'll have to see how it operates.

[Stuie]

There have been very few major mods released that have had an integrated background script to date (I think TFT, I'm not sure of any others) and that I think was an optional four turn addition.

TFT is using click-on-a-settlement to make the advisor appear. So far I haven't heard any complaints, and most of the time a player will click on a settlement in the natural course of events when they start/continue a game. Even if they forget the first turn they continue a game, clicking on one the next turn is good enough for starting the four-turns-per-year portion of the script. The rest of the script's functions are not as time sensitive.

So this is our Crassus/Gauls campaign code from the EDA (note that only brutii, scipii, julii, gauls and eventually parthia are playable in TFT, and thus the not I_LocalFaction conditions - those factions have their own triggers as the start date differs for their campaigns):

;------------------------------------------ TFT_Campaign		
AdviceThread TFT_Licinii_Campaign_Thread		
	GameArea Campaign	

	Item TFT_Campaign_Text_01	
		Uninhibitable
		Verbosity  0 
		Threshold  1  
		Attitude Normal
		Presentation Default
		Title TFT_Campaign_Text_01_Title
     	Script scripts\show_me\Crassus_TFT_Campaign.txt	
		Text TFT_Campaign_Text_01_Text1


;------------------------------------------ TFT Campaign

Trigger 2300a_TFT_Campaign_Thread_Trigger
    WhenToTest SettlementSelected

    Condition not I_LocalFaction romans_julii
          and not I_LocalFaction romans_scipii
          and not I_LocalFaction parthia

    AdviceThread TFT_Licinii_Campaign_Thread  0

[Epistolary Richard]

Ah, thank you Stuie, I stand corrected