Scripting text conversations

[Enigma65 0]

Aculaud,

In your mission Terror Tactics, how did you set up the text conversations between the player character and the AI personages?

Is it a combination of triggers or did you have to write a special script for that?  I'm trying to do the same for a mission I'm creating.

[Enigma65 0]

59 views of this question and not one reply.  Does this mean I am missing something so simple that the question is idiotic?  Or is what I am trying to do just so complicated, nobody has the answer?

Just looking for a pointer here, not a dissertation.

Cheers,

Enigma65

[ralphwiggum 6]

why don't you send a PM to acculaud?

[Enigma65 0]

I will but first wanted to see if anyone else had any suggestions.  Also figured Aculaud would have seen this post and responded.

Perhaps the answer to my question is a national security issue.

[Bart.Jan 0]

It can be done by script (activated by trigger). It's not too complex.

[RED 0]

Just make a simple script like :

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">

titletext ["You need to look at the command referance !","PLAIN",2]

~5

titletext ["Thank you Red you are so wise","PLAIN",2]

<span id='postcolor'>

That will display the first text then the second bit after 5 seconds

RED

[KingN 251]

In fact, I have used that kind of conversation once. I did it this way:

-activate the coversation by conv=true

trigger1:

condition:conv

on activation:conv2=true

effects/text/bottom: Hi

trigger2:

condition:conv2

on activation:conv3=true

countdown: min:3   max:3   mid:3

effects/text/bottom: Hello, How's it going?

trigger3:

condition:conv3

on activation:conv4=true

countdown: min:3   max:3   mid:3

effects/text/bottom: Not bad...

and so on...

But I think that the RED's one is maybe better and quicker...

[Enigma65 0]

Excellent. I was thinking in terms of something like what you both describe. This puts it in better perspective for me. I will try this tonight as I continue building the mission.

Thank you for the help.

[Chris Death 0]

Well, using trigger's and variables for that is a way,

but i would rather use a gamelogic and it's waypoints

(or even a script).

Here's the gamelogic version:

Create a unit - side = gamelogic

Let the gamelogic wait at this waypoint until you

want the conversation to be started.

:note - you can syncronize this waypoint with a trigger,

with some other waypoint, or you can use the condition

field (like in that example above cond-field: conv)

If you are using the syncronize way remember, you

can setup gamelogic's waypoints with type: AND/OR

The type AND means, if you syncronize this waypoint

with (let's say) 3 different triggers, it will wait there until

all of these 3 triggers became activated.

If you use the type OR and you syncronize it again with

3 different triggers, only one of these triggers has to become

active.

OK, this was how to let the gamelogic sit and wait, until

the conversation starts, now to the conversation itself.

Create waypoint after waypoint (as much waypoints as

you need to setup the conversation), and use the effect's

menu of the waypoints (you can also use the activation

field for that)

Also you can setup timeouts for the waypoints, same like

with waypoints of real units, to set delays between your

cutscene. You can also change music, use the camera

effects etc. - just play around with it and you'll see how

potential the gamelogic's are for doin that.

btw - you can also use these gamelogic waypoints for

syncronizing with waypoints of other soldiers so that they

wait, until the gamelogic reached it's waypoint.

And one last (just for info) - a gamelogic doesn't need to

walk from waypoint to waypoint, it hops imidiately from one

to the next (except you use timeouts/conditions or sync it

with triggers/waypoints).

hope this wasn't toooo confusing

~S~ CD

[Enigma65 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">hope this wasn't toooo confusing<span id='postcolor'>

DV Chris Death, I had to call my local EMT's because I thought my head was exploding after reading your suggestion.  

Someday, I hope to get to the level you are but for now, I think I'll stick to the very basics.  I am learning fast.  This is a powerful game but it takes me time to figure all the nuances of the editor.  Makes it fun though.  You really can be very creative with the mission editor.

So far, I've created a pretty good "test conversation" with the script advice from those posting previous to you.  It is working well.  Thanks to you all.

I'll look into the "game logic" issue a bit later.  Do you have anything I could read on the subject?  Are there tutorials dealing with game logic?

Thanks again.

[Chris Death 0]

You could register (if you aren't already) at the forum on

http://www.ofpec.com

There you go for the Hints and Tips section, and

watch out for a thread called: The potential of gamelogic units

If you are already registered to their forums, just click on

the link below:

http://www.ofpeditingcenter.com/cgi-bin....4605694

If this doesn't make sense to you, just read it again and again

(took me 2 times, to accept that this is stuff i may need).

~S~ CD