The New Pick-pocket Script

[Blackman D]

yea it shouldnt have even triggered... at least one would think, but again nothing was done to it so idk

[Rasael]

How is it now?

[Snarfy]

How is it now?

I think it's getting worse



I knew my sleight of hand was terrible, but c'mon!

But seriously, I've never seen monsters do this before(I thought this was a city NPC feature only...?). In any case, between the issues mentioned by others in this thread, and the fact that a characters PP attempt can be detected even when that character cannot be spotted/heard, this script can be really frustrating to deal with at times.

[Steve]

What are you talking about Snarfman?!?! It still works "perfectly!"

[Theodore01]

Now i known how you made your millions

[Steve]

Now i known how you made your millions

The secret is out! A millionaire made...one chicken at a time!

[Snarfy]

Man oh man, this script is wonkier than I thought... I decided to test it while in a group and when I PP'd a monster the script initiated the "Arrest the thief!" dialogue from the character I was partied with. As in: the other player didn't click anything, they just blurted out the NPC dialogue that triggers when a nearby mob detects a pick pocket attempt.

[Mac]

what's wrong with pick pocketing chickens? Hey a Hins got to get ahead in this world somehow!

[Rasael]

Man oh man, this script is wonkier than I thought... I decided to test it while in a group and when I PP'd a monster the script initiated the "Arrest the thief!" dialogue from the character I was partied with. As in: the other player didn't click anything, they just blurted out the NPC dialogue that triggers when a nearby mob detects a pick pocket attempt.

I'll take a peek when I'm home. It sounds like it went wrong somewhere. It should only pick NPCs with certain names. (like 'guard')

what's wrong with pick pocketing chickens? Hey a Hins got to get ahead in this world somehow!

I don't think yoiu should be able to pick-pocket chickens. I'm not sure where chickens would keep their pockets.....

[Steve]

what's wrong with pick pocketing chickens? Hey a Hins got to get ahead in this world somehow!

How do you think I earned enough gold to provide Karond with 10% of his total wealth?!?

But seriously, Ras...there is only ONE place for all that coin to be!!!

http://www.english-for-students.com/The-Golden-Egg.html

[Snarfy]

I'll take a peek when I'm home. It sounds like it went wrong somewhere. It should only pick NPCs with certain names. (like 'guard')

The script seems to be behaving like every monster bystander is a guard. Just now I PP'd a duergar wizard, and one of the attack dogs used the overpower/knockdown on my toon, took 200gp from me, and recited the Fist dialogue that triggers after you get busted for pick pocketing

As for chickens... or cats... or any other neutral npc animal, yeah, you can PP all of them. Although the guard script doesn't seem to trigger for them from what I can tell.

[Theodore01]

While pickpocketing some monsters, i got spotted more than once by a partymember.

His Spot was -1. My Sleight of Hand rolls 33 to 40. How is that possible at all ?




And the spotting partymember gets the dialog popup in the middle of the screen (thats especially bad when in a fight).



It is very annoying to have to click the dialog each time.
(Is it possible to add a third button with 'dont bother me again' to it ?)
Or why do we need an automatic 'Guards' Dialog at all ? - If someone wants to call Guards or Thief he can do it by typing.

[Snarfy]

His Spot was -1. My Sleight of Hand rolls 33 to 40. How is that possible at all ?

It's possible because the PP script is horribly broken. The other day someone PP'd in front of me and my toon yelled "Guards!" just like NPC's and monsters do, and the dialogue window didn't even pop up for me. This script is, by far, my least favorite thing on the server right now(except maybe for players bringing their drow characters by the FAI to hang out for a cup of tea and a friendly fireside chat... but I digress).

Soooo, yes. Just. Broken.

[Steve]

There are still some big questions related to the Script, like:

1. Should you be able to pick a pocket during combat?
2. Should you be able to pick a chicken hole and get coin (or any NPC without...pockets )?
3. Should PCs be controlled automatically to "perceive" a theft-in-progress (read Snarfy above)?
4. Should the current "ranges" for perception be upheld? Can this work through walls, or around corners, for example?

I could go on.

Anyway, I do very much like the idea that PCs can Sleight of Hand NPCs, and that NPCs can react to that success/failure...but lets look at what is fair and "realistic," concerning the outcome. Maybe its a limitation of the Engine, in that if 1 NPC is made available to Sleight of Hand, then all NPCs must be (including chickens). That's a pity, but maybe reality.

And also...is there even any QC discussion on this, or are we writing missives to a Void here?!?!

[Snarfy]

4. Should the current "ranges" for perception be upheld? Can this work through walls, or around corners, for example?

It does work through walls, sadly. I have seen this script trigger an NPC on the 3rd floor of an interior to call for the guards with the SoH taking place in the basement, as in: 2 floors and 2 doors between the Npc spotter and the PP'er and the "Guards!" script triggered. ** Edit ** I can only assume this happens because the areas do not have 3 dimensions and don't account for height, and separate rooms on different floors of an interior can be packed quite closely together on the map. Regardless, the perception ranges seem REALLY wide to me, and the issues I mentioned might be solved by trimming, or even halving it.

My biggest gripes with this script are how it controls characters reactions to the SoH, and how meta-riffic it is. Can't detect that pesky 70 hide/MS sneak tip-toe'ing around robbing chickens? No problem! The script will stick a pop up window in your face to warn you, despite the fact you can't see them at all! Or maybe you're hiding behind that slippery little cutpurse and they don't know you're there.... until the script borks and causes your character to spontaneously call out for the guards, thereby OOC'ly revealing you to the cutpurse ... WHOOPS! Sure hope you had whisperlock on. I could go on and on...