NPCs

Prerequisites

All NPCs can be found in the Actor Class Browser under Pawn > ScriptedPawn.

Note

The patrolling algorithm in vanilla Deus Ex is quite broken and can cause crashes. It is highly recommended to subclass ScriptedPawn and change the patrolling state to this

Note

Another problem with navigation is InventorySpots. Older versions of the edtor places them automatically with each Inventory actor, and they're hidden. The only way to make sure they're removed is to search for actors with the name InventorySpot and delete them before playing the map. Whenever navigation is rebuilt, however, they will be back again.

Alliances

An NPC will have an either positive or negative relationship towards a group or the player.

Properties
  • Alliances
    • Alliance
    • InitialAlliances
      • AllianceLevel
      • AllianceName
      • bPermanent
The name of the group this NPC belongs to, e.g. "MJ12"
Accepted values are -1 for hostile, 0 for neutral and 1 for friendly
The name of the group. Can also just be "Player".
When true, this relationship cannot be changed, no matter what

Make an NPC an enemy of the player

  1. Add an NPC to your map and open its properties.
  2. Set Inventory > InitialInventory > [0] > Inventory to WeaponPistol.
  3. Expand Alliances > InitialAlliances > [0].
  4. Set AllianceLevel to -1.
  5. Set AllianceName to Player.
  6. Set bPermanent to True.

Make an NPC an enemy of another NPC

  1. Add an NPC to your map and open its properties.
  2. Set Inventory > InitialInventory > [0] > Inventory to WeaponPistol.
  3. Expand Alliances.
  4. Set Alliance to NPC1.
  5. Expand InitialAlliances > [0].
  6. Set AllianceLevel to -1.
  7. Set AllianceName to NPC2.
  8. Set bPermanent to True.
  9. Perform steps 1-8 again, but swap NPC1 and NPC2.

Change alliances using AllianceTriggers

  1. Add an NPC to yor map and open its properties.
  2. Set Inventory > InitialInventory > [0] > Inventory to WeaponPistol.
  3. Set Events > Tag to MyEnemy.
  4. Add a Triggers > Trigger > AllianceTrigger from the Actor Class Browser to your map.
  5. Open its properties and expand AllianceTrigger > Alliances > [7].
  6. Set AllianceLevel to -1.
  7. Set AllianceName to Player.
  8. Set bPermanent to True.
  9. Set Events > Event to MyEnemy.
  10. Play the map and walk into the trigger.

A diagram for clarity:

AllianceTrigger                 ┌─── "MyEnemy"
├─ Events                       │ 
│  └─ Event ────────────────────┤
└─ Alliances                    │
   └─ [7]                       │
      ├─ AllianceLevel = -1     │
      ├─ AllianceName = Player  │
      └─ bPermanent = True      │
                                │
MyEnemy                         │
├─ Events                       │
│  └─ Tag ──────────────────────┘
└─ Inventory                  
   └─ InitialInventory
      └─ [0]
         └─ Inventory = WeaponPistol

Note

The alliances set in the AllianceTrigger will override the InitialAlliances defined on the NPC whose Events > Tag match the trigger's Events > Event, so it's a good idea to leave the first few alliances empty on the trigger.

Note

If you want to trigger an alliance change during a conversation, it's best to use the mission script, as the player can cancel the conversation midway by running off.

Behaviour

Properties
  • AI
    • bEmitDistress
    • RaiseAlarm
  • Fears
    • bFearHacking
    • bFearWeapon
    • bFearShot
    • bFearInjury
    • bFearIndirectInjury
    • bFearCarcass
    • bFearDistress
    • bFearAlarm
    • bFearProjectiles
  • Reactions
    • bReactFutz
    • bReactPresence
    • bReactLoudNoise
    • bReactAlarm
    • bReactShot
    • bReactCarcass
    • bReactDistress
    • bReactProjectiles
  • Stimuli
    • bHateHacking
    • bHateWeapon
    • bHateShot
    • bHateInjury
    • bHateIndirectInjury
    • bHateCarcass
    • bHateDistress
Emit distress to other NPCs
When to raise an alarm
Run away from a hacker
Run away from a person holding a weapon
Run away from a person who fires a shot
Run away from a person who causes injury
Run away from a person who causes indirect injury
Run away from a carcass
Run away from a person causing distress
Run away from the source of an alarm
Run away from a projectile
React to the player causing a disturbance
React to the presence of an enemy (attacking)
Seek the source of a loud noise (seeking)
Seek the source of an alarm (seeking)
React to a gunshot fired by an enemy (attacking)
React to gore appropriately (seeking)
React to distress appropriately (attacking)
React to harmful projectiles appropriately
Attack hackers
Attack player when visibly wielding weapons
Attack a shooter
Attack instigator of direct injury
Attack instogator of indirect injury
Attack the killer of carcasses
Attack the distressor emitted by other NPCs

Combat

Properties
  • Combat
    • bAimForHead
    • BaseAccuracy
They will always aim for their opponent's head
The precision with which they fire weapons¹

¹ Lower BaseAccuracy gives ScriptedPawns higher reload speed, more rate of fire (including during full auto), and tighter aim. A value as low as -0.25 might give many weapons literally perfect aim. -0.1 to -0.15 is generally a range one might use for boss type enemies, but it will start by calculating with the base stats of the weapon they have equipped.

Orders

Properties
  • Orders
    • AlarmTag
    • bFixedStart
    • HomeExtent
    • HomeTag
    • Orders
    • OrderTag
    • SharedAlarmtag
Which alarm panel they will seek out when alerted
???
The radius in Unreal Units within which they will wander from home
The home position indicated by the tag of an actor¹
The order² to give
Indicates the Events > Tag of the target of the order
???

¹ Set this to "Start" if you want the NPC to return to its initial location and rotation
² Possible values for the Orders field:

Order OrderTag Description
Dancing Plays the dancing animation. Use with the AI > bHokeyPokey property to make them spin
Following Pawn Follows the target Pawn. Leave empty to follow the player.
GoingTo PatrolPoint Walks to the target PatrolPoint
Idle Does nothing
Patrolling PatrolPoint Follows the assigned patrol path
RunningTo PatrolPoint Runs to the target PatrolPoint
Shadowing Pawn Follows the target Pawn sneakily. Leave empty to shadow the player.
Sitting Seat Sits down on a Seat (from Decorations > DeusExDecorations > Furniture)
Standing Plays the standing animation
WaitingFor Pawn Waits for a Pawn
Wandering Wanders within the HomeExtent of the HomeTag position

Seats

To get a ScriptedPawn to sit down when a map loads:

  • Make sure there is ample room between the seat and any other actors and brushes
  • Place the ScriptedPawn directly facing the Seat
  • Ensure that ScriptedPawn is not initially within view of the player

General settings

Properties
  • ScriptedPawn
    • bHighlight
    • bImportant
    • bInvincible
    • bInWorld
    • ClotPeriod
    • HealthArmLeft
    • HealthArmRight
    • HealthHead
    • HealthLegLeft
    • HealthLegRight
    • HealthTorso
    • SurprisePeriod
    • WalkSound
Whether they will show the highlight interaction box
If true, _Dead and _Unconscious flags will be set for them
If true, they cannot be killed
If false, they are initially hidden
The amount of seconds they take to go back to their default state after reacting to an event
Hit points of the left arm
Hit points of the right arm
Hit points of the head
Hit points of the left leg
Hit points of the right leg
Hit points of the torso
The amount fo seconds they take to pursue an enemy after seeing them
Overlays an extra walking sound on top of their footsteps

Miscellaneous use cases

Detecting when a character is dead or unconscious

  1. Place any Pawn > ScriptedPawn > ... in your map, enter its properties and expand the ScriptedPawn section.
  2. Set bImportant to True.
  3. Expand the Conversation section and assign its BindName to something.
  4. Test it by killing/knocking out the actor, bringing up the legend menu and clicking Edit Flags.
  5. It should show up as [BindName]_Dead and [BindName]_Unconscious.

Note

As fas as flags are concerned, a character who is unconscious is also dead. So remember to check for the _Unconscious flag first, if you're using it in a conversation context.