[Scripting] Some notes on 'send_character_off_map' (Kingdoms)

[SigniferOne]

This command is used to send a character off the bounds of the map, and nonexistent for the purposes of gameplay (he's even counted as dead in the family tree). But when you spawn him again, he retains all of his old traits, and can be used again.

Here is the usage:

send_character_off_map edward1

"edward1" is the label for the character, as defined when the char was created (in descr_strat.txt and through scripts):

character	Edward, named character, male, heir, age 19, x 103, y 48, label edward1, battle_model Edward_General
traits FactionHeir 1, EnglandHero 1, Generous 1 , BattleChivalry 1 , LoyaltyStarter 1 , ManagementStarter 1, EdwardCrusade 1
army
unit		NE Bodyguard				exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0

To test that this character's traits are all saved in its entirety, I gave him the trait Womanizer ("Girls 2"):



Here you can see Edward standing there; I walked him out into the woods so that we can see what happens to him more clearly.

The next turn (in my modified script), you accept to send him on a crusade; send_character_off_map edward1 executes; and Edward disappears from the map.



Notice the same spot on the campaign map, the character is completely gone. He's absent from the lists of generals, from any conceivable way to reach him. The family tree has this:



(More on this later). In order to bring Edward back, next turn the script uses the "spawn_army" command to start him up again:

spawn_army 
	faction england
	character	Edward, named character, x 108, y 32, label edward1, direction N, battle_model Wallace_General, portrait wallace
	traits GoodCommander 4, GoodAttacker 4, GoodDefender 2, BattleChivalry 3, StrategyChivalry 3, LoyaltyStarter 1, ManagementStarter 1, CrusaderHistory 1, VictorVirtue 2
	unit		NE Bodyguard			exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
end

A few things are immediately apparent:

-the character icon is retained from the "dead" list on the family tree
-the traits are saved correctly

A few things are also important:
-it does not matter what traits you give to him when you spawn_army him again
-it does not matter what battle_model you try to assign anew to him
-you cannot fix the "dead" portrait by spawning the char with another one (that's what I was trying to do with the wallace model and portrait).

Sum: the send_character_off_map command works generally well.

Bugs:
-listed as "dead" on family tree.
-cannot fix the portrait
-the britannia campaign has therefore a bug, because england player will not get the highly-traited Edward returning from the crusades, and he will look like a regular english general, with a dead portrait. Though he will have all of the traits you had for him when you played him before he ran off to the Crusades.