Pocket Plane Group

BG2 Completed Mods => NPC Flirt Packs => Topic started by: Kulyok on May 02, 2009, 05:52:54 AM

Title: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 02, 2009, 05:52:54 AM
(I don't remember if I asked before, but as it hasn't been changed in the latest version, I'll ask again).

During my latest playthroughs, I noticed that Anomen's soundset changed after a certain event. After some research, I found out that Flirt Pack did this.

My problem is that I want flirts, but I don't want Anomen's sounds. If Flirt Pack introduces them, cool, but, please, pretty please, make them an optional component?

After all, there are four Solaufein-related optional components, and nobody plays Solaufein these days. :)
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Leomar on May 02, 2009, 07:02:54 PM
After all, there are four Solaufein-related optional components, and nobody plays Solaufein these days. :)
We Germans plays Solaufein.  ;D

Greetings Leomar
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: jcompton on May 02, 2009, 08:45:26 PM
All we're doing is applying the soundset change TOB makes for CN Anomen in SOA. I don't really see a compelling reason for that change to be optional.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: melora on May 02, 2009, 11:24:39 PM
i still play solaufein
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 03, 2009, 01:54:00 AM
Quote
All we're doing is applying the soundset change TOB makes for CN Anomen in SOA. I don't really see a compelling reason for that change to be optional.

For (six? seven?) years I've been playing with Anomen, LG and CN, SoA and ToB, romanced and not. I'm quite positive that during these years I've never heard "I'm ready to act!". However, Flirt Pack changes that - it adds something I never had in the original game. I believe that it should be optional.


(I don't know if BG2Fixpack changes anything in this regard, as I don't install BG2Fixpack: for some odd reasons they switch composite bow icon with long bow icon. Gross).
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: jcompton on May 03, 2009, 10:28:45 AM
For (six? seven?) years I've been playing with Anomen, LG and CN, SoA and ToB, romanced and not. I'm quite positive that during these years I've never heard "I'm ready to act!".

Then you have selective hearing.

ANOM25.BCS line 20:
Code: [Select]
SetPlayerSound(Myself,70844,SELECT_COMMON1) //  I am ready to act.

All I did was copy ANOM25.BCS lines 8-26. Word for word.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: jastey on May 03, 2009, 11:14:54 AM
My opinion: The soundset is not needed for flirting, so it should be optional. The mod's name is flirt pack, not BioWare NPC extensions and fixes.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: jcompton on May 03, 2009, 11:31:40 AM
My opinion, alas, differs.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 03, 2009, 12:58:07 PM
Grrr!
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: jcompton on May 03, 2009, 01:15:40 PM
Are you mad because you've been mishearing TOB all these years, or mad at me because I don't subscribe to the idea that every line in my TP2 should be a SUBCOMPONENT?
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 03, 2009, 01:30:46 PM
I suspect both positions you presented are - polar? distorted? Okay, like Goblin says here in Russia(our Goblin is like your Susan Boyle, only he doesn't sing): "You joked, I laughed". Let's stick to the facts now:

1) Flirtpack makes changes to Anomen's soundset. Right? Because if it didn't, there would be no .tp2 lines there.

2) I want flirts, but I don't want these changes. I'm a (bad) programmer, but I simply forget to comment out these lines each time. And I suspect I'm not alone - and other users don't know which lines need to be commented out.

3) You don't need SUBCOMPONENTS(yeah, I still don't know how to use them properly, either). The change is simpler than that. I'd just cut and paste the required .tp2 lines to the very end of .tp2 file, and add a BEGIN ~Anomen's new soundset~(or a @12345 tra line which will mean the same thing). That's it.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: jcompton on May 03, 2009, 02:05:16 PM
1) Flirtpack makes changes to Anomen's soundset. Right? Because if it didn't, there would be no .tp2 lines there.

Specifically, it moves the changes Bioware makes to Anomen's soundset to take place earlier in the game--when the actual event which causes those changes takes place.

Quote
2) I want flirts, but I don't want these changes. I'm a (bad) programmer, but I simply forget to comment out these lines each time. And I suspect I'm not alone - and other users don't know which lines need to be commented out.

I thought that it was a reasonable amendment to make at the time. Honestly I have less of a strong opinion about it now, but I will defer to my younger, more passionate self on this one.

Quote
3) You don't need SUBCOMPONENTS(yeah, I still don't know how to use them properly, either). The change is simpler than that. I'd just cut and paste the required .tp2 lines to the very end of .tp2 file, and add a BEGIN ~Anomen's new soundset~(or a @12345 tra line which will mean the same thing). That's it.

My point is that I do not see a compelling reason to present a detail as exceedingly minor (and, as I have demonstrated, wholly original-content-authentic) as an a la carte option.

Someone else might come along and say "I really hate the shaved-Anomen portrait, can you make that bit optional?" I'm not about to do that, either. It's part of the story told by the flirt pack.

Besides, it seems like you're assaulting the messenger a bit here. You don't like the line--well, that's fair enough. You don't remember that line being a part of the official CN Anomen soundset--but I assure you that it is. If you think it should be an a la carte option to have that moved earlier than chapter 8... well, you're welcome to that opinion, but I didn't/don't think it's worth an additional install-time option. And you'll be subjected to it when you reach chapter 8 with or without the flirt pack.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 03, 2009, 02:10:22 PM
Well, as a good manager(and I know you're a good manager!) I'd suggest an even better option, then:
a component which a) offers Anomen's "good" soundset early in the game, according to the story told;
b) does the opposite: offers Anomen's "annoyed" soundset always and forever, in chapter 8, 9 and 311.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 04, 2009, 02:16:45 AM
(Anyway, seems like I'm going to go and create just such a tweak myself, if NPCFlirt should remain as is. After all, every self-respecting modder should have a tweak pack of his very own, right? :) )
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: jcompton on May 04, 2009, 10:20:00 AM
Yeah, this has been a fun discussion about mod scope, but I'm not changing anything.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 04, 2009, 12:39:23 PM
But I am right.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 06, 2009, 10:31:20 AM
Aaand in the meantime Anomen _just did_ this lovely sound change(right after being knighted). Is there any possible way to change his ***(lovely, of course, I mean, just lovely) soundset back?
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: jcompton on May 07, 2009, 02:52:44 PM
Sure. Either edit the sound strrefs in his CRE in the saved game (NI can do this) or build an Anomen string-fixer like you would for a mod NPC.

The latter approach would be more flexible and the other anti-CN soundset people can benefit from it as well.

I'll draw your attention to

Code: [Select]
IF
Alignment(Myself,CHAOTIC_NEUTRAL)

and suggest that perhaps something else is wrong with your game if a knighted Anomen triggered the soundset change.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 08, 2009, 12:27:20 AM
That's what worries me, too: I've got Tweak Pack(just select components, nothing NPC-related), Ajantis NPC, Banter Pack and Dungeon-Be-Gone(deleted my Weidu.log and mod directories, though - pressed for space).

I will try and discover which mod triggers this change for "knighted" Anomen. Mind that he's not romancing my PC - she married Ajantis before Anomen got knighted. :)

My problem is that I don't know what strrefs I should use instead, but I'll probably search through dialogue.tlk. Thank you for the tips!
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: jcompton on May 08, 2009, 09:52:10 AM
My problem is that I don't know what strrefs I should use instead, but I'll probably search through dialogue.tlk. Thank you for the tips!

Look at the default anomen CRE in NI. That'll have all of the strrefs you want.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 08, 2009, 10:06:18 AM
OF course! JC, you rock. Like, totally.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: berelinde on May 08, 2009, 10:36:35 AM
Are you going to go the "string fixer" route and set SELECT_COMMON1  to a strref that isn't "I am ready to act"? And if so, are you going to make it publicly available?

If not, I'll just throw something together myself, but I won't bother if you're already doing it.

I never minded when Anomen made the "annoyed" sound he usually made in SoA, but that ToB/NPC Flirt line has irritated me FOREVER. It sounds metallic, somehow.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 08, 2009, 11:21:13 AM
Please, go ahead. I know you've got a tweak pack - it could be a great addition. I'd download it.

Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: berelinde on May 08, 2009, 11:28:30 AM
Sure, it's easy enough. I'll even put it at the top of the tp2 so folks can [Q]uit out of the installation if they don't want the more ridiculous stuff.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: berelinde on May 09, 2009, 02:38:28 PM
Here it is. (http://www.tolkienacrossthewater.com/b!tweaks.html)
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 09, 2009, 03:01:37 PM
Right in time for my ToB game, too! Thank you, downloading to my BG2 mod folder.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: berelinde on May 09, 2009, 03:13:44 PM
Cool. Let me know how it works out. I didn't test in ToB.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Kulyok on May 10, 2009, 12:31:04 AM
Sure, but probably in a few days, so someone else will be quicker: I've got to install IWD-in-BG2 first.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: berelinde on May 10, 2009, 04:24:26 AM
If you already downloaded it, you might want to get a fresh download. The archive got scrambled on uploading it to the server, so I had to upload again using the more reliable FTP. This one installs cleanly and checks out in NI.

Sorry about the inconvenience.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: temujin on May 11, 2009, 08:06:50 AM
As for the topic, it goes without saying that making things optional is FAR superior to making things mandatory and forced especially when the technical changes made can be classified more as tweaks (as opposed to changes to the actual storyline).

Most skilled mod authors seem to have understood this simple, basic, fundamental aspect of modding.  Only primitive, 'caveman' modders still living back in the stone age argue against optional components. 

I would've expected this from my two buddies over at BWL, but disappointed to see this mentality still surfacing every now and then in this day and age.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: jcompton on May 11, 2009, 09:55:21 AM
I really can't tell you all how perversely delighted I am to see such heartache over one of the most insignificant elements of a six-year old mod.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: temujin on May 11, 2009, 10:49:36 AM
I can't either, but I figured this sort of thing would make one feel elated and I figured I'd just help out.

Regardless, whether it's six years, six months or even six days old doesn't excuse it from the fact that "optional = good, imperative = bad."
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: Xenageo on May 22, 2009, 06:57:21 PM
jc: YOU SIR HAVE MADE US THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE QUADRANT!

Kulyok: THIS BOOMERANG DOES NOT WORK! IT IS STICK-SHAPED.
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: ddv on May 28, 2009, 06:11:34 PM
what an odd thing to complain about
Title: Re: Make Anomen sounds optional, please!
Post by: temujin on May 28, 2009, 09:31:31 PM
Pointing out a peremptory disregard to valid criticism is not = complaining.

What I do find odd are those that seem to have the intellect to turn on a computer, register and post on a messageboard, yet somehow unable to figure out how to turn off (http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/4335/32078644.jpg) the 'Caps Lock' button... :(