Running without a server

[TymTheEnchanter]

Hi,

I have been looking around for a means of capturing the chat window messages of a character for a bit and finally cam across talus which seems like the ideal program. The only thing is that I want to be able to do this within a standard module, not on a server. So is it possible to run talus purely within a mod? Also I am on linux using nwwine to run the toolset and the bioware linux native client.

Many thanks

[Mekerek]

Are you trying to just capture the chat logs of your client? Or are you trying to capture all chat while you are hosting a module?

I don't quite understand the question.

Mek

[TymTheEnchanter]

I am trying to capture all chat each player makes via the chat window. Initially I would be aiming at single player mods, but ideally I would like to be able to determine which pc said what in a multi player mod as well.

More specifically I only really want to capture the chat text if the pc is within a certain range of a given object so they can do things like walk up to a cave and say "Open Sezame" for example, but to not have this reliant on the conversation system, or have an npc (parrot) who repeats everything the pc says and so on, or a familiar that responds to their masters words etc etc.

The aim is to have the player interact with the world around them by typing in what they want to say in the chat window.

The really important thing is that it is runnable within a standard mod running on a local machine only and only requires 'normal' haks etc to install.

Does that answer your question?

Tim

[Mekerek]

This sounds like a normalish persistant world to me. Perhaps you have no database, but I don't know why you wouldn't get this setup to be using NWNX and just have it run your module when you want, instead of running it through the normal client, you would run NWNX. This would allow for normal voice systems to work such as Talus. The thing is that the talus listener would probably run stand alone (that is part of it, that runs and traps incoming NWN talk) and shouldn't be a hard thing to accomplish without a 'Server' but as for a stand alone module, I think you might be looking the wrong way unless there is something on the vault (which I haven't looked). Considering you are on Linux you should be able to run a 'server' in the background (without a GUI) and then run your own client if you with to DM/Play yourself without issue.


Mek

[TymTheEnchanter]

Your suggestion makes sense, if it was just me playing my mod, but as I would like to share it with the community I wouldn't expect the majority of players to install nwnx and then load a server and a client just to play my mod, seems like a bit to much effort (unless the mod is blindingly good but that probably a bit too much to hope for at the moment).

As far as I understand it then, talus is a packet sniffer that captures the traffic between the client(s) and the server and inspects them for certain data (tells etc) and then provides additional instructions to the module running in the server? To do this in the standalone client would be impossible as there is no such traffic to intercept with everything happening at the function level?

I have had a look on the Vault and the nwn forums, but will continue to see if there is any way to accomplish this.

Thanks for the help and if you can think of any other pointers that might be useful I would be very grateful.

Tim

[slidermike]

Not to step in too deep here (Mek and Lan are the experts on this) but Tim, NwNX is only to be run on the pc acting as the server. It runs in the backround and adds much functionality to NwN.
www.nwnx.org/

Again, only the server pc runs the NwNX application. All the other users would just run as clients loging into an internet session like normal and wouldnt see anything different.

[TymTheEnchanter]

Slidermike,

That is exactly what I am trying to avoid. I want to have some of the functionality of NwNX and talus but I need it to be packagable in a module via normal haks and scripts etc.

[Lanthar D'Alton]

Well, in this situation, you actually just want to use the in game listener system actually. You should look on nwvault for a script that makes a zombie open a door for you, then adapt it to your needs.