Kerbals being more petlike

[SaturnV]

Kerbal that can move around themselves are dangerous and annoying in oute space.

Beside there are additional AI script for them that need SQUAD to complete while this is not a core feature.

But some idle animations are welcomed, that would makes kerbal more lively I think

[Wabbit]

Kerbal that can move around themselves are dangerous and annoying in oute space.

Beside there are additional AI script for them that need SQUAD to complete while this is not a core feature.

But some idle animations are welcomed, that would makes kerbal more lively I think

This has been said at least thrice

[klgraham1013]

Kerbal that can move around themselves are dangerous and annoying in oute space.

Beside there are additional AI script for them that need SQUAD to complete while this is not a core feature.

But some idle animations are welcomed, that would makes kerbal more lively I think

Confirmed: No one is actually reading the thread.

...I take that back. Maybe you read the thread and are just stating your concerns. I'd just like to point out, I've addressed all your concerns already.

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This is what I was thinkin when the post was new, like every randomly picked (10-60) seconds, kerbal moves randomly picked (1-360) for a distance of (5-30), and then check if he's standing in a scenario or zone which can trigger an animation every once in a while, which can be done by checking every x-y ticks (since I have no concept of tick-based time) so it's not repetitive and flat.

This is basically it. This actually sounds very doable.

Edited January 21, 2015 by klgraham1013

[Wabbit]

Confirmed: No one is actually reading the thread.

...I take that back. Maybe you read the thread and are just stating your concerns. I'd just like to point out, I've addressed all your concerns already.

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This is basically it. This actually sounds very doable.

I might be able to write something for it if I can find the values for Kerbal movement.

and i have to find out how to have something turn off on entervehicle so it dosen't spam the console with errors. Another thing to know is how to do max dist. From craft

[klgraham1013]

Imagine the game still giving random movement commands after entering a vehicle. You know what they say:

" When the rockets a rockin' "

[Wabbit]

Yea, that's what I mean by console spam.

[Tw1]

That's why we suggested the "Chill Out" button. The player activates it.

I would like such a thing. It's the player's responsibility to make sure they're not going to go of a cliff or something.

[ceauke]

I might be able to write something for it if I can find the values for Kerbal movement.

You mister, may just become my hero :-)

(Maybe you can start by only moving the kerbal if he's standing on a planet.)

[CaLVin-K]

just imagine this actually being implemented and robbaz or scott manly turning around after fidgeting with their ship just in time to see a kerbal jump off a cliff, or do something hilariously stupid. and maybe in career/science mode the more leveled up your kerbal is the less likely he is to do something really stupid ( EXAMPLE= jumping off of a cliff) while he is in the "idle" mode and he's walking around and doing things.

Perhaps the likelihood of a Kerbal doing something stupid could be determined by the "stupidity" trait.

Edited January 21, 2015 by CaLVin-K

[Wabbit]

You mister, may just become my hero :-)

(Maybe you can start by only moving the kerbal if he's standing on a planet.)

Yeah, there has to be a value for on body=true/false

[klgraham1013]

Perhaps the likelihood of a Kerbal doing something stupid could be determined by the "stupidity" trait.

For now, I think keeping it simple is the best option.

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More can be added later if Wabbit can get the basics going. :fingers-crossed:

[Wabbit]

For now, I think keeping it simple is the best option.

---

More can be added later if Wabbit can get the basics going. :fingers-crossed:

I'll work on it when I get home. Probably gonna start out really simple. And I can't animate.

[klgraham1013]

I programmed in the 90s. I know things have changed a lot since, but I'll help as I can. I think walking is fine for now.

[Wabbit]

I programmed in the 90s. I know things have changed a lot since, but I'll help as I can. I think walking is fine for now.

When you were but a wee lad?

Related to the topic, I think you use blender for models. This evening I'll be messing around with the kerbals. I can maybe make some parts like walkways, which can be placed between hatches and around bases for kerbals to walk on.

[Alias72]

I suggest adding a sit command. The kerbal will pout and groan but he won't wander off a cliff. he may do other things like pull out a juice box, stargaze, sleep.

I also posted a related suggestion about utilizing the stupidity and courage modifiers that relates to this. essentially kerbals who are smart ignore stupid orders (live EVA during supersonic flight) and kerbals who are cowardly avoid courageous things (like planting the flag and becoming a hero). Instead reacting negatively by cowering in fear or getting mad at you.

[Wabbit]

I suggest adding a sit command. The kerbal will pout and groan but he won't wander off a cliff. he may do other things like pull out a juice box, stargaze, sleep.

I also posted a related suggestion about utilizing the stupidity and courage modifiers that relates to this. essentially kerbals who are smart ignore stupid orders (live EVA during supersonic flight) and kerbals who are cowardly avoid courageous things (like planting the flag and becoming a hero). Instead reacting negatively by cowering in fear or getting mad at you.

Kerbals with juiceboxes? Count me in!

About the stupidity/courage, this is going to be aimed to be more fun than function. It is supposed to add some cute things for kerbals to do, instead of just standing around like robots awaiting commands. It's not supposed to implement any new mechanics.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Wabbit

[klgraham1013]

When you were but a wee lad?

When I was in High School. Skipped homework to work on games. Maybe not the best choice I ever made. Did some work on BBS games. Made an RPG for myself and my friends. Did a few little action games. This was all 2D, simple stuff, though.

[Wabbit]

Apparently, Kerbals use the same movement params as vessels

[Wabbit]

I'm looking at the FollowMe mod, I could learn something about walking kerbs from it

[klgraham1013]

I'll grab the source as well. See if I can't learn something.

[Alias72]

Kerbals with juiceboxes? Count me in!

About the stupidity/courage, this is going to be aimed to be more fun than function. It is supposed to add some cute things for kerbals to do, instead of just standing around like robots awaiting commands. It's not supposed to implement any new mechanics.

The part of my suggestion most relevant is the response kerbals have. currently kerbals do not appear to get scared or angry. I wouldn't mind seeing them cower and curse at you're many screw-ups. perhaps this could be tied to the engineer mechanic being added. If on another planet and the ship the kerbals came in would throw off errors in the editor, then they make very upset and anxious emotes while wandering the surface. an example would be you crash your ship destroying its engine. The kerbals (now on Duna) who exit the ship start wandering around cursing their luck and cowering at the prospect of dying on a distant world.

[Wabbit]

The part of my suggestion most relevant is the response kerbals have. currently kerbals do not appear to get scared or angry. I wouldn't mind seeing them cower and curse at you're many screw-ups. perhaps this could be tied to the engineer mechanic being added. If on another planet and the ship the kerbals came in would throw off errors in the editor, then they make very upset and anxious emotes while wandering the surface. an example would be you crash your ship destroying its engine. The kerbals (now on Duna) who exit the ship start wandering around cursing their luck and cowering at the prospect of dying on a distant world.

Oh! Yes, this has been discussed; we talked about after a crash kerbals running around flailing their arns, and have faces covered in soot. We're looking to, in any simple way we can, make kerbals mire personal, give them personality and generally liven them up so they don't just stand at attention like robots.

[Sampa]

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Mind if I quote you on this? Because it is awesome

Sure! I don't mind! The more this is stated, I believe, the more likely this will catch Squad's attention!

[Fel]

For the idle movement, I have an idea..,

A script that executes every 30-45-60 seconds. It will consist of moving in a random direction, for a random distance (limited 5-20 meters). And they can also use ladders, will crawl around on crafts, and maybe be attracted to anomalies, interesting areas or other kerbals.

Another option would to be not making this automatic, but having an option under the kerbal's MOUSE2 menu, there could be an option for "chill out" This would mean that they are in free roam mode, and will kinda walk around, take stuff in, talk with other kerbals. Maybe, either in mission reports or in a seperate kerbal-specific menu there could be a log of what they did. (i.e. 13:04 Bill Kerman picked up a rather odd rock. He spent a while studying it, then tossed it away to go do something else.)

Tl:dr

Kerbals move around randomly every once in a while and go towards cool stuff

Yeah.... random random motion actually looks pretty bad. I forgot why I quit on that (Oh right, because I'm a quitter) but getting Kerbals to look a bit more animated is restricted because it kind of looks more like random motion for random's sake.

It generally looked better to get Kerbals to "target" something (like a vehicle) but then you would want them to DO something to that vehicle / other kerbal / random rock or whatever. Still, you end up with an animation playing repetitively which isn't exactly great.

Honestly, it didn't look too bad... it just didn't look very good.

I think the way I looked at it was that there really needed to be more of a mini-sims game underneath. If a kerbal wanders to another kerbal there should be dialog boxes pop up, they interact, and then one of them bonks the other's helmet (or not).

If a kerbal starts "lecturing" other kerbals should wander to him (or run away!) More.. interaction... than just random motion.

Honestly, underneath the game... the sims really isn't that complex. lots of this can "easily" be modded in... over a few months... of hard work... for no pay... and no appreciation.

I would say, also, that you could probably do path finding rather easily... if you get the surface map information (elevation) and map the surface in "largish squares" after that you can either choose to brute force or use an algorithm for pathfinding. (The idea is that the cost of motion to a square is equal to the difference in (uhh, not sure... a stressed average on outliers)-altitude between the two squares. This costs "some" memory [less if you're intelligent enough to stream in tables from the HD rather than loading everything], but is extremely cheap compared to using raycasts and other things to navigate a terrain.) [in theory, this would mean the kerbal would mostly stay on the same altitude unless it became easier to get to a location by pathing through something dangerous]

Edited January 29, 2015 by Fel

[ostrich]

or just make them blink.

edit: give them some kind of radio and have them dance on spacecraft.

Edited February 9, 2015 by ostrich