Mind Control UPGRADE

This is the full text file for this dialog file with my changes and comments. So you can cut and paste it in a text editor and save it in Arcanum/data/dlg

02188MindControlDialog.dlg
{1}{Yes, master...}{Yes, master...}{}{}{}{}
{5}{[Issue instructions.]}{}{1}{}{22}{}
{6}{B:}{}{1}{}{0}{}
{7}{H:}{}{1}{}{0}{}//NEW LINE
{8}{Tell me about yourself...}{}{1}{}{0}{ce}//MOVED FROM 23
{11}{E:}{}{1}{}{0}{}

{22}{Yes....}{Yes....}{}{}{}{}
{24}{Move away.}{}{1}{}{0}{so, fl 32}
{25}{Move closer.}{}{1}{}{0}{sc, fl 32}
{26}{Wait here.}{}{1}{wa 0}{0}{wa, fl 32}
{27}{Rejoin.}{}{1}{wa 1}{0}{uw1 32}
{28}{What can you make for me?}{}{1}{wa 0}{}{su}//NEW LINE
{29}{[Back]}{}{1}{}{1}{}

{32}{Yes, master...}{Yes, master...}{}{}{}{}

So far I've seen it used from
Spell: Dominate Will, and
Item: Elixir of Hypnotic Suggestion
once the latter was fixed (by modifying item_ground.mes? or item_inven.mes? and saving them in Arcanum/data/art/item). Beware though, because the victim will hate you and fight when they are released and see you.

I added a line for healing (bandages required for heal skill), but I think it's kind of insulting for someone like the Heal Master to ask you if you want Resurrection Spell! But more interestingly, I added a schematic-use line! This might come in handy if you can't get Jayna, Magnus, Vollinger, Sebastian, or Franklin Payne to be your follower. Then you can zap them, transfer components to their inventory and make them produce. I don't really think of this as cheating - like a hack or script that gives you free stuff. I think you should have been able to do this anyway.

I must say the hypnotic potion turned out to be another disappointment after FINALLY downloading the fix. It was hard enough to get the schematic, steal hallucinite (from a fence), and then make it. Now, it doesn't seem to last any longer in real-time than the intelligence potion, but at least THAT gave you eye-candy to know when it wore off (e.g. Ashbury meeting). Perhaps it was meant for just a few rounds of turn-based combat. I suppose pressing [R] to stop game time might help.

After I won the game a couple times, I went back and looked at NPC inventories and stats. I discovered a handful of NPC's have learned schematics, some that your normal followers can't make! (I couldn't find how this was done in the editor).

Herbalist:.........................Herbology 2 (Fatigue Restorer)
Madam Lil:.......................Herbology 3 (Poison Cure),........... Therapeutics 3 (Liquid of Awareness)
Alice, half-orc dominatrix: Herbology 5 (Accelerate Healing), Therapeutics 2 (persuasion, physical prowess), Chemistry 2 (poison, Charges).
human in Ashbury pub: Mechanical 3 (Auto Skeleton Key!)
D'ak Taans Henchman:..Gunsmithy 3 (Repeater Rifle)
H.T.Parnell:...................Gunsmithy 4 (Hushed Revolver)
Hieronymous Maxim:.....Gunsmithy 6 (Looking Glass Rifle, Hand Cannon!)
Chief Inspector:............Gunsmithy 6
Albert, Tulla outcast:......Gunsmithy 6

I haven't checked the leveling schemes to see if they might do more with experience!!! But some of these NPC could easily be used and eliminated after you're done with them. Imagine poor Albert: cast out, robbed of his gem and his armor, mind-contolled to make stuff, and then left in the desert. [Sob].

I thought of making a story where after you hire Alice for the third time, she confides that she wants to leave Madam Lil's and become an herbalist, but rejects all your suggested locales until you tell her there's no herbalist in Roseborough. Once there (or on the way as your temporary follower, like Swyft) she will make stuff for you. But how would that work? I don't think she could be a herbologist AND let you swap stuff freely. Maybe she SAYS she's the new herbalist, but won't sell you anything after the quest, like Ivory and Sharpe don't.

PS:
I've now looked at the levelling schemes for these NPC's and found some do improve further than your folllowers.

Herbalists (Tarant, Black Root, Ashbury) can level-up only as far as Anatomical 5.
Gun Technologists only level-up as far as Gunsmithy 6.
Pub-Thief should level up next point to mechanical 4 (EYE GEAR), and eventually mechanical 5 (BEAR TRAP).
Madam Lil should level-up to Herbology 6 Therapeutics 6. She should get Herbology 4 with just two more points (1 if you use intelligence potion). Also Nature 4, Meta 4.
Alice should get Herbology 6 (WONDER DRUG) next point, and eventually Therapeutics 6 and Chemistry 6, (LIQUID OF AWARENESS, ANIMAL SCENT, TONIC OF INCREASED REFLEXES, CORROSIVE ACID, MIND MARVEL, HALLUCINITE, ENERGIZER, and PARALYZER). Also Melee12, Bow20.
Maxim has no scheme.


[EDIT]
OK, I tried out Alice with this, (with an elixir of hypnosis hack to make it permanent) and she was great! She really rounds out my tech-force. Not only does she have three schematic skills that go up to 6, but she has bow skill too! Finally, I have a tech follower that can use a compound/venomous/pyrotechnic bow. Whish-thud. Whish-thud. Dead Molochian.

While it would be clever to figure out how to make her a follower, I suppose it would be easier to have a script attach the scheme she uses to Jayna, like I described for Weldo Rubin. Since she's a lower-level character the payoff would only come after you level her and not immediately as for Alice.
[/EDIT]

 

This is very cool and useful. Thank you for sharing.

Is it possible for it to be applied to "floating text" characters? Not that there's a horrible shortage of half-ogres with dialogue but I'm curious.

 

I'm not sure what you mean.

Once you zap a character, it uses the mind control dialog instead of its own, until it's released. I still haven't animated the undead to check them.

 

It could be I'm doing something wrong.

It works perfectly on characters who have dialogue to begin with. For instance: this new dialogue works if I dominate Garrick Stout in Dernholm, but it does not work if I dominate the platemail equipped guard near him. The guard normally only responds with floating text: "Hark! Who goes there?"

Is this just part of the game mechanics: that some characters have dialogue and some floating text, and there's nothing to be done? Is there some blanket modification that could apply this dialogue to floating text characters? Have I misunderstood something and the mod isn't actually working correctly? Or something else entirely?

I'm not sure.

I've rushed into this like a noob and so I'm not sure if I can test it properly. I saved your text before having ever tried "dominate will", so I suppose it's possible I'm just experiencing the basic game mechanic (though it matches the dialogue you've posted here) and your mod was meant to do something else, which means I flubbed somewhere.

 

could be you can only "maintain" fewer of these than you thought, hehe. Check your players' stats.

 

I was unaware there was a problem. Before my modification, I'd only dominated a few people just to try it out and they used this mind control file. I think when I did it to the real Stillwater Giant, I could only give him commands through the picture interface and barter/inventory wasn't one of them.