(Script Idea) Random Guy

It's a trope that most of us likely already know: Even the mightiest of heroes need a bit of R&R now and again. So upon wandering into town it's not unnatural that one of the first places they'll stop is bound to be the tavern. And here, they meet an interesting fellow (quite likely a drunkard) who babbles on incessantly about things he's seen and heard. Sure, much (if not most) of what he says is nonsense. But maybe, just maybe, he'll say something that's actually important for the hero to know!

My vision for this gameplay element is a modified version of the NPC scripts, that rather than point to one particular string which is then displayed, randomly chooses from a list of multiple predesignated ones so that the NPC says something different every time you talk to him. Bonus points if there's also a place to put in strings that he can't access until a certain part in the story, to make it seem as though he is commenting about plot related events!

Hmmm...

You might be able to do this with careful application of string control codes.

http://www.shardstorm.com/ZCwiki/Str..._Control_Codes


Through careful application of control code #4, you can have a 'seed' string that you set as the dialogue for the screen, which randomly redirects to a series of other strings (or, if all of the gotoIfRandom strings fail, goes to a message about him being drunk and unconscious or something).

As for having him speak plot-relevant events, you could achieve such by planting a dummy item in the player's inventory after key events, and then using control code #5 to jump to a different 'seed' string that has a new set of random messages relevant to the possession of the plot item. Alternatively, you could dedicate one of the script counters to plot progression and trigger the same kind of leap with control code #6.



It takes a lot of planning (Much of which should be done on paper outside of the editor) but it could work without a single script.


Just a thought. I'm sure somebody can write a random string script that's easier to set up.