TraitKidStuff parents arrive at Lodge too soon

[DayDreamer]

After finding too many annoying bugs, I'd stopped playing. But some of my reported bugs were actually fixed, and there have been substantial engine changes, so I thought I'd try again in the new year.

https://afktrack.afkmods.com/index.php?a=issues&i=34224

This was the first bug I'd reported. It's easy to reproduce. Since this has not been fixed, I'm trying to find the solution, but I'm stuck.

Visit the parents the first time, then go to the Lodge. This takes a very short time as both places are in the Residential area. Yet they arrived before you.

The stage 300 dialogue says: "I was playing poker with the Dean of Engineering and he had this collectible revolver framed - and when he heard you were in Constellation... Well, we worked together to get the piece cleaned and restored. She fires beautifully now. We, uh, took turns sighting it at the range."

The script notes say: "He's lying, they had a rip roaring good time with target practice and beer, lots of beer".

Obviously, there wasn't enough time passing to play poker and restore the gun and have a long target practice. Staggeringly incongruous to me.

There are checks for MQ204 (the Lodge attack), a long time in the future (I've never gotten anywhere near that far along). But no checks for too short a time.

There's an attached script: DefaultQuestChangeLocationScript. It has the ability to check for changing locations, and for your ship changing locations. Ideally, this scene wouldn't run until you'd left the planet and come back at least once.

Somehow, this is done with the "array of stage/location data" in the script properties. But it's inscrutable. How to expand it to be legible?

Edited January 10 by DayDreamer
array of stage/location data

[DayDreamer]

Another serious issue is that the meatloaf and gran gran suit and free ship only check stage 100 (Intro Conversation played). Probably a simple copy and paste mistake. This doesn't work with the notes that Noel gives you, which happen inside the Lodge after you've returned from a trip.

The later scenes check 300 (Finished Lodge conversation). But instead they all should check 375 (Left the Lodge after the parents conversation).

That is, they all should ensure that the player has actually left the Lodge before coming back to get the notes and leave again for later items.

[DayDreamer]

Comparing the Noel hellos with the Top Level scenes, it would be best to chain them. That is, Meatloaf (1000) and its Noel note should require 375 (you've left the Lodge), GranGranArmor (1200) requires Meatloaf, and Spaceship (1300) requires GranGranArmor. That ensures Noel isn't trying to deliver multiple notes, while still allowing the scenes to proceed without some of the notes by not visiting the Lodge until multiple note opportunities (levels 5, 10, 15) have passed.

Looking at the object numbers, Bethesda made them in the order GranGranArmor 1200, HowAreYou 1100, Meatloaf 1000, Spaceship 1300, and much later Lodge scene 0300, then Intros 250, 200, 100. That's probably why the conditions are problematic.

Also, there are some other location and main quest problems. See:

* https://afktrack.afkmods.com/index.php?a=issues&i=34550

* https://afktrack.afkmods.com/index.php?a=issues&i=34880

Bethesda only checked against MQ204 (the Lodge attack). But other main quest Lodge change locations spark conversations that overlap.

MQ102 (The Old Neighborhood) is mentioned by issue #34550. Noel starts talking to Sarah ("You're back! Did you?") and Noel also starts talking to the player about the parents' arrival. Interruptible flag won't help. Need to ensure the parent scene happens sometime after the quest completes.

Noel is also involved in the Lodge arrival for MQ103, MQ104A , MQ104B, and MQ106. Didn't look farther, but probably others....

Moreover, they used main quest markers to position the parents. MQ101_WalterMarker01 is OK, because there's no prompt to visit the parents until after MQ101. But MQ401_HostileMarker03 is possibly a problem. Probably should ensure that this scene doesn't play that late as well.

Furthermore, I'm still unable to figure out how to edit the "array of stage/location data" in the script properties?