unfortunately, it seems that most of the precious findings previous modmakers have made about npc scripting are more or less lost.
there's a big gap resulting from all good scripters dropping out at some time without passing on the info, which means that everybody who wants to script has to reinvent the wheel.

yet this is dramatic becasue the scripts are the heart of ja2's story and npc interaction, key to the cut scenes, the characters to hire and sometimes the script even has further infuence on the behaviour of characters than we'd think.

I can't write a tutorial or walkthrough for scripting because it is very difficult to put it inot words abstractly, also, depending on what npc scripting programme we use, things look different anyway

so what i'm going to post is merely dropping some info to the forum in order for smart enough people to figure it. It is quite more demanding than other aspects of modmaking, so one should brace himself with a high frustration tolerance and a lot of patience and some serous abstract logical thinking capabilities.
Plus, i don't know much about it myself, so the more i write, the higher the chance i tell you guys something wrong.

there are a few programms, npc edit, npc.exe. some betas, the npc scripter (russian)

but of course they edit the same type of file so what they do in the end is the same, just the GUI differs.

in any case, the npc script is an assembly of single records.

records may differ according to if they're used at all, only once a dialogue, only on certain days... etc.
Records are ONE BIG "IF X ---> THEN Y" logical condition, split into an input/ conditions part and an ouput/ actions part

the different GUI's might show it differently.

let's look at general aspects that apply both to input and output first:

every progamme will have an entry whether or not the record in question is USED at all, or whether it is not used, used at specific days
every record has a byte that defines whether used just once, used once a record or used always.

while this is important, it is pretty self explanatory, depending on the programme, you'll have to find the right byte if it isn't labeled.

Some records might have to be at a special place inside the script in order to work: One example is when an RPC is being recruited for money after a yes/ no popup, the record where he joins seems to only work as record 1

also, not every record can just be shifted around inside the script. Some records are activated by hardcoded routines, one example is carlos. His record 1 is activated upon the player being beamed to the basement (see later the list of NPC actions)

Also, pop-ups, and especially the reaction to pop-ups are rather restrictive in this sense, they shoudl be left in place if you want to use them. it is rather difficult to activate popups beyond copy-pasting the entire script.

let's have a look at what the two parts of the scripts do

the input side:

several input conditions must be met to activate the output:

1. player/npc interaction

*edit* credits for all listings go to trailblazer, neyros and realist

[PCInput]
//--------------------------
1;Friendly approach
2;Direct approach
3;Threaten approach
4;Merc tries to recruit NPC
5;Repeat approach
6;NPC receives an item
7;NPC initiating conversation
8;NPC initial quote
9;NPC who are you
10;This record was triggered by another record or NPC
11;Approach giving first aid
12;Approach with special initial quote
13;Approach Enemy NPC quote
14;Approach declaration of hostility
15;Escorted PC in wrong sector
16;Escorted PC is recruited
17;Approach with initial quote
18;Shop is closing
19;Current sector is not safe
20;Finished slapping
21;Finished Punch_0
22;Finished Punch_1
23;Finished Punch_2
24;Finished opening object
25;Finished getting an item
26;Finished giving an item
27;Finished traversal
28;Approach to Buy/Sell
29;Friendly/Direct/Threaten/Recruit
30;Friendly/Direct/Recruit
[End]

these entries define at what kind of interaction the record is used. Some of these interactions are player-initiated, others are defined in other records of the npc's own script, such as 10 or 24-27

2. Leadership check

some interactions can be coupled with a check for leadership
note that the number given in the script is modified by the merc in question and the npc in question (see prof.dat) and might not always work ingame.

a leadership check only makes sense if a player-initiated input is used, obviously.

3. Active quests

[Quests]
//--------------
0;Deliver Letter
1;Food Route
2;Terrorists
3;Kingpin Chalice
4;Kingpin Money
5;Runaway Joey
6;Rescue Maria
7;Chitzena Chalice
8;Held in Alma
9;Interogation
10;Hillbilly Problem
11;Find Scientist
12;Deliver Video Camera
13;Blood Cats
14;Find Hermit
15;Creatures
16;Find Chopper Pilot
17;Escort SkyRider
18;Free Dynamo
19;Escort Tourists
20;Doreen
21;Leather Shop Dream
22;Escort Shank
23;[UB] Destory Missiles
24;[UB] Fix Laptop
25;[UB] Kill Bloodcats at Bettys
26;[UB] Find Musket For Raul
27;No 27 Yet
28;No 28 Yet
29;No 29 Yet
[End]

In the input side of the record in question, you may check for active quests. This has a similar effect as the global activation checks, if that quest isn't active, the record won't be used.

This on/ off switch can be used very nicely to have Questgiver NPC's behave different once their quests are finished. a typcial example in vanilla ja2 is auntie

3. Item in the inventory of the NPC (Npc gets item, npc has item)

the input side may also check for an item in the possession of the NPC. This is especially important to prevent a crash that happens when an NPC tries to give an item he in fact doesn't have

it is also used in conjunction with the player input "npc receives an item" in pretty much any item-related quest

The game can use numbers beyond 350 for this purpose, so you can use 1.13's items.xml entries too

in one of the GUI's, this part is coupled to the next section, check for Grid

4. Npc stands on a grid

This check not only allows for an on/ off switch like previous checks, it also allows to script movement. Characters can move to specific places in the sector where they can do other actions. One example is fatima who walks over grids defined in her script. This part of the input script can check whether an NPC has reached the grid in question and then continue the path or the action.


5. triggers true, triggers false

[Triggers]
// These triggers are used universally for both True, False and Set situations.
// -------------
0;Omerta Liberated
1;Drassen Liberated
2;Sanmona Liberated
3;Cambria Liberated
4;Alma Liberated
5;Grumm Liberated
6;Tixa Liberated
7;Chitzena Liberated
8;Estoni Liberated
9;Balime Liberated
10;Orta Liberated
11;Meduna Liberated
12;Pacos approched
13;Fatima Read note
14;Fatima Walked away from player
15;Dimitri (#60) is dead
16;Fatima responded to Dimitri's supprise
17;Carlo's exclaimed 'no one moves'
18;Fatima described note
19;Fatima arrives at final dest
20;Dimitri said Fatima has proof
21;Miguel overheard conversation
22;Miguel asked for letter
23;Miguel read note
24;Ira comment on Miguel reading note
25;Rebels are enemies
26;Fatima spoken to before given note
27;Start Drassen quest
28;Miguel offered Ira
29;Pacos hurt/Killed
30;Pacos is in A10
31;Current Sector is safe
32;Bobby Ray's Shipment in transit
33;Bobby Ray's Shipment in Drassen
34;33 is TRUE and it arrived within 2 hours
35;33 is TRUE 34 is false more then 2 hours
36;Player has realized part of shipment is missing
37;36 is TRUE and Pablo was injured by player
38;Pablo admitted theft
39;Pablo returned goods, set 37 false
40;Miguel will join team
41;Gave some cash to Pablo
42;Skyrider is currently under escort
43;Skyrider is close to his chopper in Drassen
44;Skyrider explained deal
45;Player has clicked on Heli in Mapscreen at least once
46;NPC is owed money
47;Npc is wounded
48;Npc was wounded by Player
49;Father was told of food shortage
50;Ira is not in sector
51;Ira is doing the talking
52;Food quest over
53;Pablo stole something from last shipment
54;Last shipment crashed
55;Last shipment went to wrong airport
56;24 hours elapsed since notified that shipment went to wrong airport
57;Lost package arrived with damaged goods. 56 to False
58;Lost package is lost permanently. Turn 56 False
59;Next package can (random) be lost
60;Next package can (random) be delayed
61;Package is medium sized
62;Package is largesized
63;Doreen has conscience
64;Player Spoke to Gordon
65;Ira is still npc and in A10-2(hasn't joined)
66;Dynamo asked for first aid
67;Dynamo can be recruited
68;Npc is bleeding
69;Shank wants to join
70;NPC is bleeding
71;Player Team has head & Carmen in San Mona
72;Player Team has head & Carmen in Cambria
73;Player Team has head & Carmen in Drassen
74;Father is drunk
75;Player has wounded mercs within 8 tiles of NPC
76;1 & only 1 merc wounded within 8 tiles of NPC
77;More then 1 wounded merc within 8 tiles of NPC
78;Brenda is in the store
79;Brenda is Dead
80;Brenda is at home
81;NPC is an enemy
82;Speaker Strength >= 84 and < 3 males present
83;Speaker Strength >= 84 and at least 3 males present
84;Hans lets ou see Tony
85;Hans is standing on 13523
86;Tony isnt available Today
87;Female is speaking to NPC
88;Player has enjoyed the Brothel
89;Carla is available
90;Cindy is available
91;Bambi is available
92;No girls is available
93;Player waited for girls
94;Player paid right amount of money
95;Mercs walked by goon
96;More thean 1 merc present within 3 tiles of NPC
97;At least 1 merc present withing 3 tiles of NPC
98;Kingping expectingh visit from player
99;Darren expecting money from player
100;Player within 5 tiles and NPC is visible
101;Carmen is in San Mona
102;Player Spoke to Carmen
103;KingPin knows about stolen money
104;Player gave money back to KingPin
105;Frank was given the money ( not to buy booze )
106;Player was told about KingPin watching fights
107;Past club closing time and Darren warned Player. (reset every day)
108;Joey is EPC
109;Joey is in C5
110;Joey is within 5 tiles of Martha(109) in sector G8
111;Joey is Dead!
112;At least one player merc within 5 tiles of Martha
113;Spike is occuping tile 9817
114;Angel offered vest
115;Angel sold vest
116;Maria is EPC
117;Maria is EPC and inside leather Shop
118;Player wants to buy vest
119;Maria rescue was noticed by KingPin goons and Kingpin now enemy
120;Angel left deed on counter
121;Maria quest over
122;Player bandaged NPC today
123;Doreen revealed allegiance to Queen
124;Pablo should not steal from player
125;Player shipment arrived but loyalty to low, so it left
126;Helicopter is in working condition
127;Player is giving amount of money >= $1000
128;Player is giving amount less than $1000
129;Waldo agreed to fix helicopter( heli is damaged )
130;Helicopter was destroyed
131;Waldo told us about heli pilot
132;Father told us about Deidranna killing sick people
133;Father told us about Chivaldori family
134;Father told us about creatures
135;Loyalty is OK
136;Loyalty is Low
137;Loyalty is High
138;Player doing poorly
139;Player gave valid head to Carmen
140;Current sector is G9(Cambria)
141;Current sector is C5(SanMona)
142;Current sector is C13(Drassen
143;Carmen has at least $10,000 on him
144;Player has Slay on team for over 48 hours
145;Carmen is suspicous about slay
146;Slay is in current sector
147;Carmen gave us final warning
148;Vince has explained that he has to charge
149;Vince is expecting cash (reset everyday)
150;Player stole some medical supplies once
151;Player stole some medical supplies again
152;Vince can be recruited
153;Vince is currently doctoring
154;Vince was recruited
155;Slay offered deal
156;All terrorists killed
158;Maria left in wrong sector
159;Skyrider left in wrong sector
160;Joey left in wrong sector
161;John left in wrong sector
162;Mary left in wrong sector
163;Walter was bribed
164;Shank(67) is part of squad but not speaker
165;Maddog spoken to
166;Jake told us about shank
167;Shank(67) is not in sector
168;Bloodcat quest on for more than 2 days
169;Effective threat made to Armand
170;Queen is DEAD!
171;Speaker is with Aim or Aim person on squad within 10 tiles
172;Current mine is empty
173;Current mine is running out
174;Loyalty low in affiliated town (low mine production)
175;Creatures invaded current mine
176;Player LOST current mine
177;Current mine is at FULL production
178;Dynamo(66) is Speaker or within 10 tiles of speaker
179;Fred told us about creatures
180;Matt told us about creatures
181;Oswald told us about creatures
182;Calvin told us about creatures
183;Carl told us about creatures
184;Chalice stolen from museaum
185;John(118) is EPC
186;Mary(119) and John (11 are EPC's
187;Mary(119) is alive
188;Mary(119)is EPC
189;Mary(119) is bleeding
190;John(118) is alive
191;John(118) is bleeding
192;John or Mary close to airport in Drassen(B13)
193;Mary is Dead
194;Miners placed
195;Krott planning to shoot player
196;Madlab explained his situation
197;Madlab expecting a firearm
198;Madlab expecting a video camera.
199;Item condition is < 70
200;Madlab complained about bad firearm.
201;Madlab complained about bad video camera.
202;Robot is ready to go!
203;First robot destroyed.
204;Madlab given a good camera.
205;Robot is ready to go a second time!
206;Second robot destroyed.
207;Mines explained to player.
208;Dynamo (#66) is in sector J9.
209;Dynamo (#66) is alive.
210;One PC hasn't fought, but is able, and less than 3 fights have occured
211;Player receiving mine income from Drassen, Cambria, Alma & Chitzena
212;Player has been to K4_b1
213;Brewster got to talk while Warden was alive
214;Warden (#103) is dead.
215;Ernest gave us the guns
216;This is the first bartender
217;This is the second bartender
218;This is the third bartender
219;This is the fourth bartender
220;Manny is a bartender.
221;Nothing is repaired yet (some stuff being worked on, nothing to give player right now)
222;Player made purchase from Howard (#125)
223;Dave sold vehicle
224;Dave's vehicle ready
225;Dave expecting cash for car
226;Dave has gas. (randomized daily)
227;Vehicle is present
228;First battle won by player
229;Robot recruited and moved
230;No club fighting allowed
231;Player already fought 3 fights today
232;Hans mentioned Joey
233;Player is doing better than 50% (Alex's function)
234;Player is doing very well (better than 80%)
235;Father is drunk and sci-fi option is on
236;Micky (#96) is drunk
237;Player has attempted to force their way into brothel
238;Rat effectively threatened 3 times
239;Player paid for two people to enter brothel
242;Player owns 2 towns including omerta
243;Player owns 3 towns including omerta
244;Player owns 4 towns including omerta
245; Something about miguel/ rebels
248;Fact male speaking female present
249;Fact hicks married player merc
250;Fact museum open
251;Fact brothel open
252;Fact club open
253;Fact first battle fought
254;Fact first battle being fought
255;Fact kingpin introduced self
256;Fact kingpin not in office
257;Fact dont owe kingpin money
258;Fact pc marrying daryl is Flo
259;FACT_I16_BLOODCATS_KILLED
261;Fact npc cowering
264;Fact top and bottom levels cleared
265;Fact top level cleared
266;Fact bottom level cleared
267;Fact need to speak nicely
268;Fact attached item before
269;Fact skyrider ever escorted
270;Fact npc not under fire
271;Fact willis heard about joey rescue
272;Fact willis gives discount
273;Fact hillbillies killed
274;Fact keith out of business
275;Fact mike available to army
276;Fact kingpin can send assassins
277;Fact estoni refuelling possible
278;Fact museum alarm went off
something about Kyle 279 (kyle received deed)
280;Fact maddog is speaker
something used in darren's script 281 maybe darren explained fighting rules
282;Fact angel mentioned deed
283;Fact iggy available to army
284;Fact pc has conrads recruit opinion
something about angel giving jacket after laving the deed on the counter.
286 used in angel's script too
287 used in angel's script as well
289;Fact npc hostile or pissed off
291;Fact tony in building
292;Fact shank speaking
293;Fact doreen alive
294;Fact waldo alive
295;Fact perko alive
296;Fact tony alive
298;Fact vince alive
299;Fact jenny alive
300;FACT_JENNY_ALIVE
something about Pacos or brewester or even krott 301 (maybe krott left)
302;Fact arnold alive
303=Àðíîëüä æèâ
304;Fact rocket rifle exists
305=24 HOURS SINCE JOEY RESCUED
306=24 HOURS SINCE DOCTOR TALKED TO
307= (OK USE ICECREAM)
308=FACT_KINGPIN_DEAD
318=KIDS ARE FREE
319=PLAYER IN SAME ROOM
320=?
321=?Áðåíäà æèâà
322=?
323=?
324=PLAYER IN CONTROLLED DRASSEN MINE
325=PLAYER IN CONTROLLED DRASSEN MINE
326=PLAYER IN CONTROLLED CAMBRIA MINE
327=PLAYER SPOKE TO CHITZENA MINER
328=PLAYER IN CONTROLLED CHITZENA MINE
329=PLAYER SPOKE TO ALMA MINER
330=PLAYER IN CONTROLLED ALMA MINE
331=PLAYER SPOKE TO GRUMM MINER
332=PLAYER IN CONTROLLED GRUMM MINE
333=?
334=LARRY CHANGED
335=PLAYER KNOWS ABOUT BLOODCAT LAIR
336=HOSPITAL FREEBIE DECISION MADE
337=ENOUGH LOYALTY TO TRAIN MILITIA
338=WALKER AT BAR
339=?
340=JOEY ALIVE
341=UNPROPOSITIONED FEMALE SPEAKING TO NPC
342=84 AND 85 TRUE
343=?
344=?
345=?
346=? something about skyrider?
347=?
348=Èããè (#068) ìîæåò áûòü íàíÿò
349=?
350=KINGPIN WILL LEARN OF MONEY GONE
351=Áåøåíûé (#072) ìîæåò áûòü íàíÿò
352=?
353=?
354=SKYRIDER IN B15
355=SKYRIDER IN C16
356=SKYRIDER IN E14
357=SKYRIDER IN D12
358=SKYRIDER HINT GIVEN
359=KINGPIN IS ENEMY
360=BRENDA PATIENCE TIMER EXPIRED
361=?Dynamo returned to matt
362=DYNAMO NOT SPEAKER
363=?
364=?
365=PABLO BRIBED
366=?
367=CONRAD SHOULD GO
368=PLAYER KILLED BOXERS
//
// -------------------
// Unfinished Business
// -------------------
//
400;[UB] Player Imported Save, Mary Dead
401;[UB] John Kulba offered to be recruited
402;[UB] Tex in game alive in store
403;[UB] Player bought something from Betty
404;[UB] Player bought 1 of Tex's videos
405;[UB] Raul's inventory changed since last visit
406;[UB] Player threatend Raul
407;[UB] Player bought something from Raul
408;[UB] Player threatened Raul
412;[UB] Player bought Barret from Raul
413;[UB] Merc say quote when talk menu closes
414;[UB] Player imported save and miguel is dead
415;[UB] Player imported save and fatima or pacos is dead
416;[UB] Player imported save and carlos is dead
417;[UB] Player imported save and ira is dead
418;[UB] Player imported save and dimitri is dead
419;[UB] Player imported save
420;[UB] Player killed all bettys bloodcats
421;[UB] Biggens on Team
422;[UB] Fan stopped
423;[UB] Biggens on team AND fan stopped

these are classic conditions that can be used in the input side as both true or false, with any (logicly possible) combinations

it appears that some of them are actual checks of the game (e.g. fact rocket rifle exists, fact joey 5 grids from martha in g8, skyrider close to heli etc.) that don't need to be set in a different script/ record but are checked by hardcoded means.

All other triggers are set to true by the output side of the script, which we will discuss later.



these conditions on the input side can be cumulated at will to allow for different records.

e.g. a character stands on grid 16442, trigger x true, trigger y false, has item z in his inventory and is being threatened by a merc with leadership over 50

Though item and grid cannot be cumulated with a GUI that has either in the same entry.

all of the above conditions, plus the general record activation entries must be met in order to activate the output part of the script.

as you can see, there is a huge number of possible combinations. Most records only use few entries in order to avoid confusion.
Another important fact is that the entire script is apparently read from left (lower number to higher number) to right, so if you have two records with identical input side, the one with the lower number will be read first.

if it is a record that is "always used", it will always be read first and the later record is ignored!
If it is a record that is used only once or once per interaction, the other record will be used the second time, and, if it has different output, make for a different result

in many scripts it is so that threatening an NPC will first lead to a curse, then to the NPC turning hostile using this function.

Output side

The output side contains an NPC's action and speech, but also a big number fo sometimes very important actions. Many of those are not restriced to the npc in question but affect the Merc doing the talking, the overall game itself or other Global aspects.


1. Npc Speech

If the conditions on the input side are met, the NPC speaks his lines as defined in the output side. This is crucial for telling any story that might make sense.

Another important function of speech is that it is sometimes necessary for a script to continue. There sometimes are actions that won't work without speech, for example you can't jump to an NPC and away from that NPC again without some sort of action or speech.

however, these are special cases, but whenever a record isn't activated despite all conditions of the input side being met, it's worth a try to add some speech ;-)

2. NPC actions

//-------------------
1;NPC rejects an item given by merc
2;NPC faces closest player
3;NPC opens closest door
// -0003 allows to open door while moving from one gridno to the other. see ernest's script. npc 105.
4;NPC joins the squad without salary (if you hire an RPC that is standing on a flat roof or on an (inaccesible) high roof, they'll teleport to the ground grid below them, even if it is obstructed
5;NPC raises gun threateningly
6;NPC lowers gun
7;NPC readies gun
8;NPC starts running (use -0008 at end of record)
9;NPC stops running
10;Town loyalty increases
11;Town loyalty decreases
12;Stop player from giving 1st aid
13;NPC faces North
14;NPC faces NorthEast
15;NPC faces East
16;NPC faces SouthEast
17;NPC faces South
18;NPC faces SouthWest
19;NPC faces West
20;NPC faces NorthWest
21;Trigger friend with hostile quote
22;NPC becomes enemy
23;NPC joins the Squad with salary
24;NPC stops conversation
25;Enter combat
26;Terrorist reveals himself (This is inaccurate. What actually happens is that the nickname that was previously defined in the right "nickname" field of proedit is replaced by the left full name field. It can be done with ANY npc and more than 8 characters can theoretically be used, but might not properly display
27;NPC opens closest cabinet
28;NPC slaps!
29;Trigger Queen by cities controlled
30;Send Soldiers to Drassen
31;Send soldiers to Battle Location
32;Trigger Queen by SAM Sites
33;Punch PC slot 0
34;Punch PC slot 1
35;Punch PC slot 2
36;Fristrated slap
37;NPC punches first living PC
38;Shoot Elliot
39;Player says nice later
40;NPC gets items from closest cabinet
41;Initiate shopkeeper's interface
42;NPC gets out of wheelchair
43;NPC gets out of wheelchair and becomes hostile
44;Player says nasty later
//-------------------
50;Grant experience 1
51;Grant experience 2
52;Grant experience 3
53;Grant experience 4
54;Grant experience 5
//-------------------
100;NPC goes to hideout (works from anywhere, by any NPC, activates NPC 058 record 01 upon arriving (carlos normally)
101;Fatima give Letter
102;NPC leaves the hideout
103;NPC traverses map east
104;NPC traverses map south
105;NPC traverses map west
106;NPC traverses map north
107;NPC reports shipment size
108;NPC returns stolen shipment items
109;Set Pablo bribe delay
110;NPC asks about escorting him
111;NPC drinks
112;Trigger end of Food quest
113;Pacos starts hiding
114;Pacos starts following
115;Set delayed package timer
116;Set random package damage timer
117;Free kids (Doreen)
118;Choose Doctor
119;Report Balance
120;NPC asks about paying RPC
121;Delayed make Brenda leave
122;NPC has sex
123;Kyle gets money (requires tile object on specific tile, works in any map with any NPC, works more than once)
124;Layla given wrong amount of cash
125;Set girls available
126;Set delay until girls available
127;Set waited for girls false
128;Trigger Layla's record 13, 14 or 15
129;Open Carla's door
130;Open Cindy's door
131;Open Bambi's door
132;open Maria's door
133;Possibly advertise Cindy
134;Possible advertise Bambi
135;Darren pop-up request
136;Add Joey to World
137;Mark Kingpin's quote 0 as used
138;Start boxing match
//139 is obsolete
140;Martha has heart-attack
//Reminder: 140 works for all NPCs with last change, update when ready!
141;Darren given cash
142;Angel given cash
143;Trigger Angel's record 17 or 18
144;Buy leather Kevlar vest
145;Trigger Maria
146;Trigger Angel's record 16 or 19
147;Angel leaves deed (works for any NPC, drops item 226 to grid 12700 or 12701 something.
148;Trigger Angel's record 21 or 22
149;UN recruit NPC
150;Teleport NPC
// This also works without a path, from flat roofs and high roofs to the ground (not vice-versa)
151;Remove Doreen
152;Reset shipment arrival stuff
//153 Fix helicopter by next morning?
154;Decide active terrorists
155;Trigger Father's record 15, 18 or 20
156;Check last terrorist head
157;Carmen leaves for C13
158;Carmen leaves for good
159;Carmen leaves when new sector is loaded
160;Trigger Vince by loyalty
161;Medical pop-up request
162;Medical pop-up request 2
163;Check doctoring money given
164;Start doctoring
165;Vince unrecruitable
166;End combat
167;Become friendly at end of combat
168;Set Escorted PC to NPC
169;Buy vehicle pop-up request
170;End cut-scene
171;Start bloodcat quest
172;Start mine
173;Stop mine
174;Reset mine captured
175;Set Oswald's record 13 as used
176;Set Calvin's record 13 as used
177;Set Carl's record 13 as used
178;Set Fred's record 13 as used
179;Set Matt's record 13 as used
180;Trigger Matt
181;Reduce Conrad's salary conditions
182;Remove Conrad
183;Krott's pop-up request
184;Krott increases loyalty
185;Trigger Yanni
186;Trigger Mary/John's record 9
187;Trigger Mary/John's record 10
188;Add John's gun shipment
//189 unused
190;Trigger Krott's record 11 or 12
191;Madlab given gun
192;Madlab given camera
193;Madlab attaches good camera
194;Madlab readies Robot
195;Walter given money initially
196;Walter given money
197;Make NPC 1st bartender
198;Make NPC 2nd bartender
199;Make NPC 3nd bartender
200;Make NPC 4th bartender
201;Gerard given cash
202;Fill up car (obsolete??)
203;Joe given cash
204;Trigger Elliot's record 9 or 10
205;Handle end of fight
206;Darren pays PC
207;Fight again pop-up request
208;Trigger Spike or Darren
//209
210;Change Manny position
211;Timer for vehicle
212;Ask about paying RPC with daily salary
213;Trigger Micky BY SCI-FI
//214
215;Trigger Elliot by battle result
216;Trigger Elliot by SAM disabled (obsolete??)
217;Layla's next line after Carla
218;Layla's next line after Cindy
219;Layla's next line after Bambi
220;Layla's next line after Maria
221;Prompt player to lie
222;Remove Joe Queen
223;Remove Elliot and end cut-scene
224;No SCI-FI end cut-scene
//225
226;Trigger Marry/Darly prompt
227;Have married NPC leave the team
228;Kingpin given money
229;Trigger Kingpin's record 14 or 25
230;Send Enrico/Miguel email
231;End Demo (unused??)
232;Enter conversation mode
//233
234;Timer on Keither going out of business
235;Keith going back to business
236;Make Rat disappear
237;Doctor escorts patients
238;Elliot decides quote for PC attack
239;Queen decides quote PC attack
240;NPC cancels waypoints
//241
242;Reveal Tixa
243;Reveal Orta
244;Drink wine
245;Drink Booze
246;Trigger Angel's record 22 or 24
247;Set Trigger 105 to false
248;Make Brenda stationary
249;Trigger Kingpin/Darren impressed
250;Trigger Kingpin impressed
251;Add rat
//252
253;Endgame state 1
254;Endgame state 2
255;Make Miguel stationary
256;Make Estoni a fuel-site
257;24 hours since Joey resqued
258;24 hours since doctors talked to
259;Send soldiers to Omerta
260;Add more elites
261;Give knowledge of all mercs
262;Remove Merc for marriage
263;Trigger Joe's record 32 or 33
264;Remove NPC
//---------------------------------
// History log beeps:
// these will beep "History log updated"
// and will add relevant lines like Got the RR from Krott
// Note that UC uses different logs
// string-search the exe to replace those strings and they become very useful!!
//
265;History: Got rocket Rifles
266;History: Deidranna dead bodies
267;History: Boxing matches
268;History: Something in mines
269;History: Devin
270;History: Mike
271;History: Tony
272;History: Krott
273;History: Kyle
274;History: Madlab
275;History: Gabby
276;History: Keith out of buniness
277;History: Howard Cyanide
278;History: Keith
279;History: Howard
280;History: Perko
281;History: Sam
282;History: Franz
283;History: Arnold
284;History: Fredo
285;History: Richguy Balime
286;History: Jake
287;History: Bum Keycard
288;History: Walter
289;History: Dave
290;History: Pablo
291;History: Kingpin money
//---------------------
292;Send soldiers to SAM
293;Move Pacos to basement
294;History: Assasin
295;Trigger Hans by room
296;Trigger Madlab's record 31
297;Trigger Madlab's record 32
298;Trigger Brewster by warden proximity

kyle one record before dissappearance 300


310=Îòêðûòü îêíî òîðãîâöà

//---
500;Turns to face nearest merc
501;Turns to face profile ID

miguel script action 559 denies recruitment

601; npc moves to different location

650;Last turn to face profile
//----
// Reminder: Fix the list of additional codes.
1000;Train Health
1001;Train Agility
1002;Train Dexterity
1003;Train Wisdom
1004;Train Medical
1005;Train Explosives
1006;Train Mechanical
1007;Train Marksmanship
1008;Train Strength
1009;Train Leadership
1010;NPC suicides kamikazi-style (with C1)
[End]

Along with the triggers, these npc actions are the core of scripting and storytelling. there's tons of things you can do with those actions and some imagination. Some of them work always, others only do certain specific, hardcoded things, like placing the deed item on a specific grid.

You see that not only the actions of the npc are defined here, but also some history log entries, Merc comments, experience gain, mines starting and ending to produce income, have sex, and even activate the End Game.

Some actions (like slap elliot) are restricted to certain situations (elliot seems to be needed for this... at least i didn't manage to get myself slapped here, lol)

i tried to add some comments to some of the non self explanatory actions, but by far not all actions are reseached enough

4. Npc gives an item

This is the counterpart to npc has an item and or npc gets an item. See above, npc's should only give items if they also have it, otherwise you risk crashes.

5. Quest given/ activated

the output side my also activate quests and add entries to the history log while doing so.

for a list of quest, see above my comments on the input side

6. Quest closed

this closes the quest, adding a black entry to the history log and turning the other, formerly red entry, black too.

7. Jump/ Activate other scripts/ records

This one is particuliarly important for any storytelling beyond simplictiy. It is (one of) the counterpart of player interaction 10 (record was activated by other record or npc) of the input side.

By entering the npc number to jump to and the record in the script of this NPC to which you want to jump you can activate a different npc's and sometimes also EPC's npc script without any more player interaction. However, a jump may sometimes also cancel an NPC action or movement or such, so place them wisely in the script.

note that there are specialities in the cut scene scripts where deidranna/ elliot/ joe jump to each other.

8. Move to grid

This is the output counterpart of "npc stands on grid"
it makes npc walk to the grid specified if they can reach it (pathfinding, locked doors with the npc not having "key" box checked in the map file, etc)
see the additional posting below for means to modify movement from grid to grid

9. Stopwatch

if ever you encounter these numbers

-536 Stopwatch -535 Stopwatch off

it means that the player can't do anything during the stopwatch. This can be used to prevent exploits like shooting questgivers after doing their quests or simply to prevent the player from interfering into a difficult scripted action.


there ae a couple of more entries that i don't know or that are always 0 or that i forgot.

i will be updating these posts if get around to, and hopefully fix mistakes and give credit

most of the lines were probably first dug out by trailblazer, then neyros and the makers of the npc scripter deserve credit too.

if somebody would be so nice to translate the gibbersih entries to russian and from russian to english, that'd be nice too.

The different entries match more or less to the list of triggers and npc actions in the code, credits to realist for digging them out.

addition:

not all NPC actions can be done by all bodytypes.

If an action doesn't work despite all conditions being met, try assigning a fighting bodytpye (e.g. reg male, reg female) to the character in question using proedit

addition:
some npc actions (e.g. action 8, running, or action 3 opening closest door, or action 150 teleporting) are used in conjunction with movement (see earlier the explanations on movement)

teleporting needs no path from one grid to the other.

the activation of these actions may slightly differ from script to script and according to which programme you use.

addition:
Dual-use scripts:

The scripts 160-196 are used for deidranna-elliot cut scenes:

Elliot Record Deidranna Record

Event: Omerta 180 160
Event: Drassen 181 161 15
Event: Cambria 182 162
Event: Alma 183 163
Event: Grumm 184 164
Event: Chitzena 185 165
Event: NW sam site 186 166
Event: NE sam site 187 167
Event: Central sam site 188 168 57
Event: Sent Flowers 189 169
Event: Won back a town 190 170 70
Event: Interrogation 191 171 73
Event: lose support scifi 192 172 101
Event: Skyrider 193 173 109
Event: Madlab Quest 194 174 113
Event: approach meduna 195 175
Event: Balime 196 176


however, current prof.dat's go up to slot 169. (Mods like Demise of Man may have even more slots, but demise of man also has the possibility to use "alternate npc scripts" so these slots don't conflict in DoM)
This means, for example, that your script for character 163's npc interaction is the same script that is used for deidranna during the "alma" cut scene. So you're not supposed to carelessly overwrite it in order to change slot 163's behaviour. Rather "add" your records for slot 163 after the records needed for the cut scene. According to my observations, these records ARE used and not, as we coudl suspect, be ignored.
Remark to this example: slot 163 might be used for vehicles or other "invisible" profiles. Handle with care times two...

1) Do all of these scripts need to exist in the game for the game to function?
2) I assume that they all need to be rewritten and thusly converted to a different format to be completely changeable?

Man,this is pure gold! Thank you scorpion.

Action Scripting (I call it this to separate it from regular dialogue scripting for anyone reading this who is not familiar with the term as it pertains to this subject) is about the most difficult and frustrating part of mod making.
If I could pick one aspect to rework from the ground up it would be this one (and maybe the way tilesets are restricted to sets instead of available in any map).
But if someone comes along and actually starts to understand how to externalize this stuff into a more workable format every new modder might not have to reinvent the wheel when we want to do something with the action scripts.

@ sincleanser

1. Most characters have such scripts by default in npcdata.slf. so you don't have to add any new scripts for most characters to work and certainly not for the game as such to run.
if you add a character on slot 65 or 71 for example, where thre's no script already in place, then you just can't interact with them if they don't have a script. Some slots share their script with cutscenes though. i think i should add that to my above postings.
Btw the .npc scripts don't cover all aspects of noc dialogue, e.g. some comments are "standard" without mention in the scripts. But even these "standards" seem to only exist for default used character slots, e.g. not slot 65 or 71.

2. "Completely changeable" would require a lot. See, for most npc actions to function, there needs to be hardcoded npc action. the scripts only activate these actions, if the exe doesn't have code for them, the scripts won't have any effect. Fo example the "sex with npc" script doesn't work in that censored version of ja2 where the "sex" animation is disabled.
In order to change these scripts within the realms of currently existing triggers and code, you don't need to change the format or anything, often, simply replacing one value with another does the job.
However, in order to move beyond the limits of current npc actions and triggers, it is most likely that a move to .lua would be the most beneficial thing to do and also the most innovative thing for story modding to ever happen. That said, the idea that scripting will become easy just because we'd use luad instead of .npc is an illusion. The subject matter as such is hard and complicated and i don't know if even the mighty lua can make this matter accesible enough for easy editing.

@Khor

Advancements in the scripting engine would be the very requirement for non-hardcoded new events of all sorts. That would be nothing short of a quantum leap. There are a few coders that work with .lua and they do great things, let's hope the npc scripting at some point is possible for them to tackle. Whether a complete rewrite is possible, or if .lua would allow to simply add new, custom npcactions that can be triggered with npc scripts, both would open the doors very wide for future modders to achieve custom stories and events.
For example translating the existing "facts" from hardcode to external lua would allow to majorly redesign many quests and add flexibility where we, as of today, have to work around the hard code.