Greetings,
Glflegolas here.
What's this?
The title essentially says it all. This is a new way for NPC's to spawn.
Why change the way NPC's spawn?
Currently, NPC's spawn randomly throughout their respective biomes. While this is OK for some NPC's (i.e. Rangers), it looks kind of funny to see Rohirrim scattered around the fields of Rohan.
So, how's this going to work?
The new NPC spawn mechanics will be similar to those used in invasions. Firstly, NPC's will, in general, spawn much more rarely. For example, much of Rohan would be empty. To spawn an NPC, the first thing that would happen is that a "general" would spawn. He would essentially be a banner-bearer, but with somewhat improved health when compared to the normal NPC's. One tick later, this general would spawn somewhere between 8 and 16 NPC's of his faction around himself. The mechanics for this sort of spawning would be similar to those used by Travelling Traders. These units could be either ranged or melee units.
In the case of certain factions, such as Isengard, Mordor, Gundabad, and Dunland, the company leaders would have a chance to be Berserkers, Black Uruks, or Gundabad Uruks, depending on the faction. Otherwise, these elite units would not spawn naturally. Their health would be the same as it currently is.
In addition, generals deal more damage than normal units. Instead of dealing 75% of the damage the player deals with their held weapon, they deal as much damage with that weapon as a player would. That is, a general with a Gondorian sword deals 7.5 HP per hit, as opposed to a Gondorian soldier, who deals 4.5 HP per hit.
Wait -- isn't this suggesting new NPC AI?
Nope. The spawned NPC's won't follow their general. Their AI would not be changed. Also, the general is not a major character. He is simply a slightly stronger version of the normal NPC's.
Which NPC's would spawn this way?
Most of the mod's NPC's would spawn this way. The exceptions to this rule would be:
- Rangers
- Bandits
- Dwarves (as they do not typically spawn above ground)
- Civilians
- Wargs
- Olog-hai
- Mirk-trolls
- Ents
- Huorns
- Trolls
- Utumno mobs
High King Itilion's topic:
A while back, High King Ithilion made some suggestions that were somewhat similar to mine. Please see his thread for some his ideas, which were somewhat similar to mine.
Mevans' blog post
On the 13th of May, Mevans wrote a blog post describing what the health of NPC's should be in the future.
What do you think of this?
10:52, May 15, 2016 (UTC)