@Devs: Attracting Different Type of NPC's by Building Homes?

[MycroftCanadaNS]

hi.

I am wondering if you would be working on allowing us too attract NPC's by building homes for new NPC's to take over, and claim as their own space in the world?

So if I build a certain structure which has a anvil, and a forge, it would attract an npc who would move in, and start making custom weapons, or if I build a structure with a blueprint table I could have a npc move in who could sell me blueprints for buidlings, and all I need to do is place the footprint or blueprint of the building on a piece of land, and bang, it gets built...or... well you get the idea.

Just wondering.

[Rhedd]

I would LOVE that.

I'm not a big fan of 2D pixel graphics, but that's the one thing about Terreria that I found absolutely charming. You build your own village or castle and people actually move in!

Especially as a solitary player, these games start feeling lonely after a while. That's a neat feeling in the beginning, like you're a pioneer in a new land, but after some time I start wishing for villages and people. (Pets help! Love my new owl!)

The new NPCs that you find in houses and huts, etc. are a wonderful addition. I hope future plans include what the OP suggested.

[T]

You might want to post this in the "Suggestions" forum instead.

Also, npc's living in a house would be pretty cool, kind of what Dragon Quest Builders(PSVita/PS4) is trying to do. Although I imagine it might be hard to do. Have to figure out how and where to make them spawn(without errors/problems/getting stuck). And give them something to do(so have to program an AI) and probably the worst of all would be the pathfinding.

[MycroftCanadaNS]

Originally posted by TheBullet:

You might want to post this in the "Suggestions" forum instead.

Also, npc's living in a house would be pretty cool, kind of what Dragon Quest Builders(PSVita/PS4) is trying to do. Although I imagine it might be hard to do. Have to figure out how and where to make them spawn(without errors/problems/getting stuck). And give them something to do(so have to program an AI) and probably the worst of all would be the pathfinding.

The pathfinding has almost been taken care of for the enemy npc's, and from what I have witnessed so far, it is basic, but it works.

You are right, a new A.I would have to be created to take care of the workload for friendly NPCs to do chores such as having NPC's who would would choose to be a farmer (perhaps the player creating or tilling the home's backyard). The farmer would have to have an A.I created strictly for that particular NPC which would have them go out, and harvest seed, then plant that seed, then harvest, and only then can they sell what they have created such as bread products, and etc.

You could also help harvest, and sell your seeds to that farmer.

The NPC I think which might be a small problem to code is an NPC who chooses to be a Miner. Now that might cause a small problem, but it can be overcome with some extra coding.

I know it will add some more time too the game as far as development is concerned but it will be worth it in the end.

[Rhedd]

Wow. This simple idea exploded into insane complexity fast enough! From the original idea of buildings attracting the same type of NPCs that you see in "the wild" to a full blown simulated town with an army of minions to perform all sorts of complex task chains for the player!

>_>

I'm sticking with my original opinion that I'd love to see nothing more than what happens in Terreria: You build places for NPCs to live, probably designate them in some fashion, and then immobile shopkeepers and color-adding NPCs move in. Period.

Of course, if the devs want to go crazy and make Portal Knights a complex town simulation I won't complain. ^_^

[Valor]

I'm a fan of the orignial idea myself. I have an entire city built and I'd love to have some NPC's to use those rooms I've built!

[T]

Well, this is a suggestion, so might as well dream big :D. The farmer could have a designated "npc farm area" which would be an area the npc 'knowns is used for farming, and then plant a crop of his liking(assuming the map allows it).
One question would be, how does the game know an area is a house for npc's or a farm area? This could be done similar to how the portals work, you create a portal, place it somewhere and the games knows this will be the new portal. For an npc house it could be a sign or a special npc-bed. For an npc-farm-area this could be defined as 'the piece of land that has been turned into soil, that is surrounded on all 4 sides by an npc-farmer-fence includung an npc-farmer-fence-door.
Now for the miner, yes that would be complicated, because the miner would have to dig and search. Perhaps an easier, although somewhat 'cheating' way of doing it would be to have a designated npc-mining-area (similarly looking to the mining area in the very 1st map) and have the miner do his job there. The mining-animation would play, but not actual mining would be done, no blocks would be destroyed, they would just be 'generated' in his inventory.

[MycroftCanadaNS]

Originally posted by Rhedd:

Wow. This simple idea exploded into insane complexity fast enough!

lol, isn't that the truth. :)

I thought it best to start posting new ideas for the NPC's since the developers have started working on them.

Also since I'm here, you could even build an inn where travellars would arrive, spend the night, and maybe you could walk in, have a draft, talk to an npc, and hire them too do a job for you.

I know it's crazy, but the whole world would be your portal, and what you build, and how you build it is up to you, and your friends.

That would be a positive step for having dedicated servers much later on.

[APoCaLyPSE666NoW]

Like Starbound already did that, it's not bad idea to force npc spawming in players houses. These npcs can for example do auto-farming with seeds, auto collect ressources around base, founding family with childrens with, ...

But i think some should stay in unknow areas to force exploration, like the ones who are able to figth in your side, giving quests against gold.