Some random ideas Ive thought up involving NPCs without having to actually code anything just use of the Console. Sorry if someone else has mentioned this sort of thing before:
TLDR: Using the console to allow NPCS to craft and build for you with the appropriate items and skills. Also trading for basic goods that uses INT and the Barter skill, and Custom Missions from the Govt Representative to clear out areas for some MREs and stuff, encountering Mutant NPCs, NPCs driving vehicles for you
Iâve seen it mentioned before that people wonder why NPCs canât construct things (fences etc) or cook food and stuff while youâre out looting/scavenging. In a way, they can, though its a little hacky/consoley and requires your willing to roleplay.
If an NPC has the skill to cook things, like for example Meat Jerky. You place a pile of the materials required at wherever you cook (Ten meat chunks, the salt needed etc) . Lets say they cook x10 of them. It takes 3 hrs in game. So if youâve been out scavenging or whatever or are doing other things at your base, after 3 hrs or more they finish cooking it: You take the raw materials needed to make it and destroy them and then spawn the finished meat jerky. In this way, NPC can âcraftâ for you though like I said it requires some roleplaying/console use on your part.
And for construction lets say you want them to build 4 sandbag barricades: You get the 8 canvas sacks and the sand needed, and it takes 4 hrs to build. After 4 hours pass in your game, it gets built (You spawn it via console, and destroy/place the items needed in a seperate pile somewhere; in case you ever were to âdeconstructâ them for example)
Other random thought for trading:
You could find a secure/ideal place that you clear out or create with tents to make a Trading Post. At this you could trade extra/excess stuff you have for basic goods (Some foods and improvised gear; no Bionics etc as a matter of game balance) Your intelligence and barter skill could come into this calculation. Lets say that 3 meat jerky costs $200, depending on your barter/int it would get adjusted (Example: you have 8 int and 0 barter so you have to pay $300 for the jerky, something like that) Whereas if you had 4 barter it would reduce the buying price by like 20% or something (Thus making a use for the Barter skill) Keep in mind that I play with higher item spawn rate so I usually have extra stuff I could trade. The trading posts could have a demand for certain items every 7 days or something (Example: you roll a d10 and you get a 1, 1 being food so if you traded excess food you get a 10% bonus to the selling price because they need food more than tools/weapons) The Refugee Centers could also fulfil the role of a Trading Post in this way.
And also with the Refugee Center, the Government representative guy could give you âmissionsâ I.E. Clear out the city next to us of Zombies/Threats and Iâll give you 10 Mres when youâre done, something like that. Or he could want you to gather blood samples/pictures of dangerours monsters (Jabberwocks and so on) and would pay you in MREs or something
One other Idea that I saw someone post on the Cataclysm DDA Reddit (Not my original idea): To encounter mutant NPCs, you could roll a d10 or something and that could determine if they are a mutant and what kind (Example: You roll a 1, they are standard human, you roll a 2, they are a spider, you roll a 10 they are a chimera, etc. etc.)
Another idea I thought of: NPCs driving vehicles, again using the console you could drive your main vehicle and NPCs back to base, then using the console teleport back to another vehicle and also drive it home (As if one of your group drove the vehicle behind your main one or whatever.) Sure again a little hacky but it works with imagination/Roleplaying.
Anyway those are just some random ideas I thought of, if other people might have fun with that then go for it, and if its not your cup of tea thats fine too. I know its a bit hacky/arbitrary but its a way to have more trading/NPC interaction without anyone having to actually code the behavior/features directly in, just requires some imagination on your part.
Have fun Humans (and my Fellow Mutant) survivors.
