Fun while dromeding...

[Lytha]

Making stairs and applying textures gets a bit boring after a while (for me, at least)...

I have placed several AIs in my level; I call them "reference objects"... they are there to remind me of what I intend to do with an area. Since nothing is roombrushed yet and I have no databases compiled or scripts loaded, they just stand there and hold the arms out to the left and to the right.

I am used to them doing that now for quite a while, and I am relatively often in the game mode of the editor to check the architecture ingame. Then I just ignore the AI, or steal the arrows, or toss them around a bit... but most of the time, I just ignore them.

So... Yesterday, I wanted to make the mission Darkloader-ready so that a friend of me could check the architecture of the mission and give me a bit feedback (and a pat on the back) about the thing. It had to be Darkloader-ready for him, because he has never messed around with dromed; and I did not want him to fly around because of these high poly views close to the top of the sky. I loaded the scripts, compiled the databases, set the mission parameters, and made a fake goal for this prae-alpha test. All went nice and well...

When I entered the mission, my "reference object" AIs totally freaked me out. It is not as if they are scary AIs at all (well, some are, maybe), but it was just the fact that I did not expect them to move, to chase me, or to attack me... I walked happily around in this well-known area, as if I would do with Alt+G, and suddenly something approached me from behind; something that usually just stands there without moving!!! Even more scary because there were of course no sounds at all (no rooms.)

This really cheap horror effect caused me seriously to scream as if I were in RTC for the first time...

Yikes; I would not have thought that an own project can freak the mission creator out at all. :D


Well, my AI will remain frozen now until I am done with the architecture. No more cheap horror effects of someone approaching me from behind in a supposedly quiet and peaceful area.

[Zaccheus]

Heh - that's funny!
:eek:

While restoring the hammerite cathedral, I had to remove all the freaky ambient sounds that are darted around that mission.

So walking around the (now totally non-spooky) mission, I came to the part where you cross the high beam in the cathedral, when suddenly this creepy hiss comes blasting through my speakers and scares me half to death!

I quickly went back into edit mode and removed that last ambient sound marker.
:D


BTW - you might want to add the 'front-door-guard' property to your AIs.
:)

[ChristineS]

Very funny, I often make some Ai's to play around with, while I'm testing the level....:D
You can also type in the commandbox: aiawareofplayer. Than the Ai's won't see or hear you....:)

One time, I have made some fishes in my mission, had add: does patrol, but forgot to make a patroling route for them. I went in game mode and the fishes flies out of the water to follow the patrol route of the guards nearby..... the fishes are very faster than the guards and it looks so funny...:D

[Lytha]

I was so scared by my AI that I went ahead and put all of them into the neutral team for my friend.

He knocked them out anyway *duh*, and I bet he wouldn't have been as scared as I was, because he does not know these AIs as "harmless motionless decorative objects that I can toss around if the stairs frustrated me."

It was the effect of "something well known as harmless becomes a hostile killer object", and that made me jump from my chair. And I had thought the AI would need roombrushes to be smart. It was unexpected that they could follow me through half the mission. :eek:


I left some of the unarmed AIs in Team Bad1 though, and their behaviour was already quite bizarre. I have no idea why the lady would run to <i>that</i> guy if she wants help...

Oh, that will be fun once I enable them again. :)

[Lytha]

Ah, I have a few new ones. ;)


Creature Attachment of two AIs, put them into different teams. It might be helpful to make at least one of them to non-physical. :)


Put a scouting orb into the player inventory. Let the omnipresent conversation froggie remove the link "Contains; Orb; Player". Now let the Froggie zap the Orb with a nearby teleport trap - the ultimative way to watch the Garrett-object, since you can now move and walk around infront of your own eyes. No more Orb Acrobatics to check if the nostrils of the Garrett Skin are in the right place! ;)

It becomes even funnier when the conv froggie frobs the orb now a few times, or the player. Whatever you like. ;)