GH2: Temporary Lancemates

[Joseph Hewitt]

I've just added temporary lancemates to GH2. These are similar to regular lancemates, but contrary to what might be expected from the name they cannot be dismissed by the PC.

These NPCs will be used for plot events; for example, the PC might need to escort a character somewhere or rescue a cute fluffy dog from the bottom of an ant-infested dungeon. In these cases both joining the party and leaving the party will be accomplished by scripts; the PC will only have as much control over it as is given to him by the scripts.

The first thing I'm writing using this system is a near-clone of ADOM's puppy quest: there's a miner lost at an asteroid station, the PC can go to the bottom level and retrieve him.

Problem: Members of the lancemate team are always given seek & destroy orders. There should be a way for the game to specify alternate orders for lancemates; in the above case, the NPC should be given Follow PC orders. In other cases the NPC could be given passive orders.

I'm sure I'll find more problems as testing proceeds...

[Phil Munoz]

hopefully, temp lancemates aren't included in the charm/leadership limitation.

ah, adom.  I always feel so sad when i deliver a corpse instead of a live puppy to the little red girl.

hopefully, team mates can be told to stick close to you, but run away from combat.

[Joseph Hewitt]

Quoting: Phil Munoz

hopefully, temp lancemates aren't included in the charm/leadership limitation.

As of right now, they do. At first I thought it would be better if they didn't, but then I thought this might be exploitable (i.e., deliberately not finish a quest just to keep the extra "free" lancemates in the party). For now I'm not sure which would be best so I'll test the game as-is and change it later if need be.

Quoting: Phil Munoz

hopefully, team mates can be told to stick close to you, but run away from combat.

The temporary lancemates will do whatever they're set to do, whatever that order may be, and can only be changed if the script permits it. Perminant lancemates, on the other hand, will be able to have their orders set by the PC. I think the orders one will be able to set are "act normally" (seek & destroy AI type), "follow me" (follow PC AI type), and "keep out of combat" (passive AI type).

The miner in the current scenario will use the "follow me" AI type.

[Phil Munoz]

Ah.  In that case, you can make temp lancemates naggers, if possible.  they'll complain and nag if you don't take them where ever you're supposed to take them.  Probably a set timeframe before he starts complaining, and possibly a check on the current location versus the temp lancemate's destination.

This is more or less what wizardry 8, did.

[Anticheese]

Quoting: Joseph Hewitt

As of right now, they do. At first I thought it would be better if they didn't, but then I thought this might be exploitable (i.e., deliberately not finish a quest just to keep the extra "free" lancemates in the party). For now I'm not sure which would be best so I'll test the game as-is and change it later if need be.

"Sir! We are under attack by Aegis forces! We have no more pilots, But we have tons of mecha!"

"Send in..The Puppy!"

Not likely, Temporary lancemates should not count against your leadership slots.

I gather that temporary lancemates such as the lost miner would be pretty damn weak, So please try to invest the time into improving the "Oh mighty hero, Save me!" A.I so that it does not run headfirst into a gunfight.

You would be amazed how many commercial games make that mistake.

[Joseph Hewitt]

Quoting: Anticheese

Not likely, Temporary lancemates should not count against your leadership slots.

I gather that temporary lancemates such as the lost miner would be pretty damn weak,

Not nessecarily. A puppy quest clone is only one of many possible uses for the system. In other cases, the temporary lancemate could be quite useful. Another scenario I had in mind is for privateer characters to be assigned a loyalty officer to assist and watch over them in the core story; additional examples could include a police officer PC being teamed up with a partner for the length of an episode, a guide leading the PC through a ruin, or even a NPC cavalier hiring the PC as backup to help out on one of his missions.

If your lance is full when the temporary lancemate joins, nobody has to leave- it just means you won't be able to recruit anyone new until the number of lancemates comes down again. I could see this maybe being an issue for a roboticist or animal trainer, but not so much for other characters.