In game PC journals

[Nalo Jade]

Is it possible to script journals for the players that they can edit...like a personal message board that broadcasts on the "tell self and DM channels" so that we can have the bios of players in game... and DMs can make notes in them as well?

Maybe a DM journal that is not accessible for the player and a Player journal that the player can use. This would help us have all the information we need about a player at hand in game VS asking for the players bio.

Player Journal - personal diary

DM player notes - DM Traveler: I roleplayed with this player with NPC X and the NPC now really trusts and likes the player. This player however is being secretly hunted by the guild of such and such. Please do not reveal this fact to the player this is part of a long term plot, however feel free to make the player feel as though he is being watched or followed.

[JaydeMoon]

Wasn't there a book script someone made? Allows people to write books that can be traded and or read by others?

[bartleby]

I plan on trying to make a GUI system that would give players access to editable books.

It should work such that the text entered into it would be displayed on the back drop of a book. Right now i think i might even be able to allow for several different backdrop book options. *Edit* The book GUI would be triggered by an item a PC would keep in their inventory and all data would be kept on that item allowing for the item to be treated like a book.
Whoever has possesion of it activates it can read it. Could even put in spells like explosive runes and such i guess triggered by a translation ... but thats going a bit far for right now ... *Edit*

The GUI should hopefully also contain Multi language support with multiple Fonts to represent apropriate languages and checks to see if characters are able to read the language before it can be toggled to translated switching the font back to the standard ledgable NWN2 font. I have a number of the fonts collected already but if anyone had any recomendations I could use them.

I need to finish up Multiple summonings first though (I have 2 easy unsummon scripts to finalize and i think 6 lvl 9 creatures to finish making in the editor) .. I think i have the book system rather well sketched out ... I just wish i could find some darn time.

It also struck me that if there were anyway to format the text in the standard chat window it might be cool to switch the fonts of languages that have a different alphabet for the DMFI thing.

[Nalo Jade]

Bartleby, THANK YOU for all the work you are doing!

I wish I had the know how to do the things you are doing.

Can I complicate things with some "out there" questions?

Can a journal be made that is in a DM only language, so the player carrying the journal cannot read the journal?

Can the journal be edited by a DM without the DM having to take possession of the journal?

Could multiple journals be editted at the same time?

I am envisioning a DM meta journal for players that only a DM can read and edit, it would be cool if at the end of a session a DM could add an entry to all the players DM journals summing up the nights events.

I.E.

"5/14/08 Players X,Y,Z raided a local goblin hovel and discovered the remains of a merchants body. They will be investigating it further."

It would be cool if somehow that statement could be set via the DM channel and then recorded in each players "DM Journal"

Would it affect the database?

I am just wondering if this kind of thing is even possible.

[ç i p h é r]

Possible, yes. Affects database, yes.

[bartleby]

Can a journal be made that is in a DM only language, so the player carrying the journal cannot read the journal?

Can the journal be edited by a DM without the DM having to take possession of the journal?

The GUI would just serve as a means of presenting stored data so it would be relatively easy to just change where it gets the string from ... It could be done how ever DMs would like the best as far as the asthetics go. If DMs would rather have a book of a characters life than a standard boring scroll bar then it should be easy to modify a Book GUI to do that. Would probaby want to modify it more and add more jumping around options than just a book though. It would be nice to make it easy access basicly just activate an item and then select a character and have text concerning that char show up ...

Could multiple journals be editted at the same time?

So long as your only messing around with one string at a time that should be fine i would think ... in the end all its doing is manipulating characters and then saving them somewhere and most of that is done already via existing NWN2 GUI framework.

I am envisioning a DM meta journal for players that only a DM can read and edit, it would be cool if at the end of a session a DM could add an entry to all the players DM journals summing up the nights events.

That would be very cool to add in and not too hard I wish it were as simple as just saving the string to the char but then i think bics would get huge. I have no idea how the database works but if there is a good way to jump from a pcs name to a string connected with them then it should be easy.

EDIT: One thing that i am not 100% sure of is the string length limit or if there even is one. I know that there isnt supposed to be but that if you have a string that is too large in a script it can break things. So would need to do some experementation and need to look at how large having a number of books is going to make a char bic too. I dont think it should be any more of a problem than it would ahve been from nwn1 though as far as that goes.

[bartleby]

Had some questions on what people would think would be best as to how to store the data and how to present it. This is what i was thinking so far.

Technical:

Each charactor has attached to him/her either directly (String variables saved to the character file itself), or indirectly (string variables saved to a database tagged with the chars name) string variables denoted by and containing the text of each seperate dm that wished to add an entry to the PC.

For example DM John Doe wants to make an entry about PC: Jim Bob. DM John Doe's entry on PC: Jim Bob would be named something like "DMJournal_JimBob_JohnDoe". Each DM would be able to edit only their entries but each dm would be able to read all entries.

Unfortunatly there would probably have to be another variable to keep track of DM name strings so you can put the names back together in a script but im not sure on that yet so the Tech question is how costly would it be to put the variables directly on a PC is it going to blow the .bic size up too much or is it reasonable? And if it isnt reasonable then how would i store them some where else?

DM Usabilty Questions:

How would DMs Like to interact with something like this?

Would they like one text file per DM without allowing other DMs to modify what they put down or would they like one comunal text string that allowed all DMs to modify what is written?

How would it best be filtered for reading. Cronologicaly? By DM? Cronologicaly By DM?

How would the output best be Diaplayed?

Do we want to add an option that lets PCs modify a string for anything they want to add? Maybe a PCs Bio or what quests theyre involved in What type of plots their PC would be interested in etc?

And anything else anyone can think of. If DMs think something like this would be usefull and would like it i would like to pursue it as it parrellels what im doing with books any way. I already have a decentish Input screen GUI and scripts going I think should be very easy to redirect where it ends up saving the data right now its on the trigger item but could go anywhere.

[Nalo Jade]

DM Usabilty NJ Opinions:

I would encourage you to send this to Rusty for review.

I am completely geeked at the prospect of this.

How would DMs Like to interact with something like this?

I would like to be able to click on the player, portrait or use a wand...then be given the choice to read

1. PC's Meta description/Bio (Player can input text only on character creation, or at intial start area maybe using an object?)
2. PC's personal diary (DMs cannot edit this only the player can)
3. Check the DM diary (Read only each entry listed in chronological order and each entry having a signature for the DM who posted it.)
4. Add to the DMs diary (This would allow me to speak on the DM channel and then have that text added as an entry to the PCs journal with my GSID/Name signature and date.)
5. Add to the DMs diary for this PCs entire party (This would do the same as above but would be used for the "end of the adventure" notes so a DM would not have to retype the same thing 6 times)

Would they like one text file per DM without allowing other DMs to modify what they put down or would they like one comunal text string that allowed all DMs to modify what is written?

One communal file not editing only additions.

How would it best be filtered for reading. Cronologicaly? By DM? Cronologicaly By DM?

Chronologically, maybe able to sort by either?

How would the output best be Diaplayed?

Via DM channel or Tell to the DM.

Do we want to add an option that lets PCs modify a string for anything they want to add? Maybe a PCs Bio or what quests theyre involved in What type of plots their PC would be interested in etc?

I think a PC "Meta Description/Bio" would be a good thing to have. So they have their physical description for players and dms to see, and then they have their meta info for DMs only to see, fears, weakness, obsessions ect... but they would also need an ongoing journal sorted by dates so as a DM we can see changes and such.

And anything else anyone can think of.

When making the "pitch" to the DMA maybe include the added benefits,

Tracking RP progress to reaching personal goals, Prestige class qualification, Helping DMs really "know" the PC, Helping DMs know how NPCs have previously acted towards this PC, Continuity for the player as DMs may change, Helping DMs keep tabs on potential abuses/cheaters. Will make reading bios more frequent since it can be done in game rather than refering to the forums. Validation for levels, exp and wealth could be documented easily without forums.

[edit: added #5 above for whole party entry]

[bartleby]

4. Add to the DMs diary (This would allow me to speak on the DM channel and then have that text added as an entry to the PCs journal with my GSID/Name signature and date.)

You wouldnt need to use any sort of a channel to input text youll be able to use an actual text box that loads the text your going to modify or add to. I posted a pic of something like what would be implemented. <Edit> Yes the text in the input box is very dumb because i couldnt think of anything to write heh its just there to show what text would look like </Edit>

I was thinking it might be better to allow strings to be modifiable by the DM that wrote them but not to anyone else as it would be a sort of quality control. That way no one can open the string modify it saying something like "This PC deserves Uber loot - signed HDM" unless he realy was the HDM. If some one writes something on the PC it better be the case becasue it would be traceable. You must have written it becasuse no one but your DM Toon can open this string.

ALL the strings would be viewable of course as well though an in its own GUI screen not sure exactly what that will look like yet but i was thikning of using a modified version of the book GUI Im working on.

[Nalo Jade]

cool looks good.

I see what you mean about quality control, sounds like a DMA thing to me.

May want to re-size that pic a bit

If this gets approved you will be doing a great thing for improving comunication between DMs and getting more things "in the game".

Any idea how much impact on the database this would have?

Would it be tied to the PC's bic? (Meaning when a PC dies, we need to remove the bic from the vault to reduce wasted space?)

[Nalo Jade]

*bump* Just curious if this will become a reality, it looks like it would be very helpful for the PrC documentation as well for the PA.

[bartleby]

Still working to get the parser to parse. I havent had much time to work on it im afraid ... RL is hecktic as all heck but once a solid book system is finished adapting it to store the string variable ultimately on the PC or in a data base (data base probably better) rather than the book should be very easy.

[Nalo Jade]

Sweet!

RL giving you troubles... is there someone we can like "take out" to ease things up for you?

of course by "take out" I mean like take to dinner or something ... something. Maybe a long walk off the GW with quickrete sneakers? I mean... nevermind.

THANK YOU!