How do I make a hostile creature speak?

[gedweyignasia]

How can I make a hostile creature speak? It doesn't have to be conversation, just floating text above its head. I tried a few things, but nothing shows up. FloatingTextStringOnCreature doesn't seem to do the job, regardless of the boolean flags I pass in.

Solution:
SpeakString() works

If you're spawning that creature from another object and it has to speak right as it's spawned, use AssignCommand(DelayCommand(SpeakString())), and give it a tiny delay.

Thanks, mreider79, Duster47, and NOT ENDELYON! (OK, and also Endelyon.)

[mrieder79]

The question is: What do you want this creature to do?

Do you want it to say something, then attack?

Are you trying to make it say things during battle the way other creatures on the server do?

If you want it to say something prior to attacking then you will want to start it out as neutral then script what you want to happen, then at the right time, you want to turn it hostile. Then AI takes over and you can hak hak hak.

If you want it to say stuff during battle, then you will probably want to ask Rasael how he scripted that. I've never messed with that sort of thing to my recollection.

[gedweyignasia]

Are you trying to make it say things during battle the way other creatures on the server do?

Yeah, that's what I'm aiming for.

[Duster47]

Are you trying to make it say things during battle the way other creatures on the server do?

Yeah, that's what I'm aiming for.

If this is something you want to do for a BG submittal, then I suggest you not spend time on it. We have scripts that do this. No need for re-inventing the wheel. Again.

If you want it for your own use or elsewhere, then continue your inquiries here or elsewhere.

[gedweyignasia]

It's for something I'd like to submit, but at the same time I'd like to know how it works or one way to make it work. Don't worry, though! I haven't thrown a whole lot of time into it! It'd just be a nice aesthetic touch.

[mrieder79]

There are hook-ins to the AI that runs NPCs. Tons of them. For many, all you have to do is store a variable with a particular name on the NPC with the appropriate information and the AI script will do what you want it to do.

Most likely, you simply have to save one or more string variables on the NPCs in question with the appropriate tag and the AI will do the rest. I can't say for sure that this is how it works because I've never done that before, but based on my experience scripting in NWN2, I wouldn't be surprised if this is how it's done.

Again, I believe Rasael would be able to clear things up here.

[gedweyignasia]

I'd prefer to avoid hooking into the AI. I'm trying to make a general-purpose utility for spawning creatures if the caller has the right variables set so as to avoid making a whole bunch of scripts, since they're hard enough to organize as-is.

Code: Select all

	for (ctr=0;ctr<num_spawns;ctr++) {

		string sSpawnThis = "ged_spawn_" + IntToString(ctr);
		sSpawnThis = GetLocalString(OBJECT_SELF,sSpawnThis);
		object oSpawn = CreateObject(OBJECT_TYPE_CREATURE,sSpawnThis,lSpawn,FALSE);

		AssignCommand(oSpawn,ClearAllActions());
		if (bSafeSpawn == 1) {
			newLoc = CalcSafeLocation(oSpawn,lSpawn,3.0f,FALSE,FALSE);
		}
		AssignCommand(oSpawn,ActionJumpToLocation(newLoc));

		string sSpeak = GetLocalString(OBJECT_SELF,"ged_spawn_speak_"+IntToString(ctr));
		if (sSpeak != "") {
			AssignCommand(oSpawn,SpeakString(sSpeak,TALKVOLUME_TALK));
		}
		ChangeToStandardFaction(oSpawn,STANDARD_FACTION_HOSTILE);
	}

[gedweyignasia]

The actual code it's set to is here, I just tidied it up and removed some attempted fixes that didn't work:

Code: Select all

int ctr = 0;
	for (ctr=0;ctr<num_spawns;ctr++) {
		string sSpawnThis = "ged_spawn_" + IntToString(ctr);
		sSpawnThis = GetLocalString(OBJECT_SELF,sSpawnThis);
		object oSpawn = CreateObject(OBJECT_TYPE_CREATURE,sSpawnThis,lSpawn,FALSE);
		ChangeToStandardFaction(oSpawn,STANDARD_FACTION_COMMONER);
		AssignCommand(oSpawn,ClearAllActions());
		if (bSafeSpawn == 1) {
			newLoc = CalcSafeLocation(oSpawn,lSpawn,3.0f,FALSE,FALSE);
		}
		AssignCommand(oSpawn,ActionJumpToLocation(newLoc));
		string sSpeak = GetLocalString(OBJECT_SELF,"ged_spawn_speak_"+IntToString(ctr));
		if (sSpeak != "") {
			AssignCommand(oSpawn,ClearAllActions(TRUE));
			AssignCommand(oSpawn,SpeakString(sSpeak,TALKVOLUME_TALK));
		}
		ChangeToStandardFaction(oSpawn,STANDARD_FACTION_HOSTILE);
	}

[gedweyignasia]

Figured it out; need to AssignCommand(DelayCommand(SpeakString())). If you try to speak just as you spawn it doesn't work right.

[Endelyon]

NOT ENDELYON

I'll remember this. Next time you need help I'm playing dumb.

(Okay no ILU pls bring Heather back)

[gedweyignasia]

NOT ENDELYON

I'll remember this. Next time you need help I'm playing dumb.

(Okay no ILU pls bring Heather back)

Banana. Peel. It's canon.