Scavver FAQ (Fallout 4 mod by ThoraldGM)

SCAVVER FAQ  -  UPDATED 20160704


 1. WILL HE LOOT MY SETTLEMENT?
 2. ARE YOU SURE HE WON'T TAKE MY STUFF?
 3. CAN HE BE KILLED?
 4. IS HE COMPATIBLE WITH MOD (X) ?
 5. CAN HE BE A COMPANION?
 6. DOES HE KEEP LOOTED ITEMS FOREVER?
 7. HOW DOES HE GROW A BEARD?
 8. WHY DOESN'T HE EQUIP ARMOR PIECES?
 9. DOES THAT MEAN HE WILL EVENTUALLY REQUIRE F4SE?
10. WHEN DOES HE BUILD A SETTLEMENT?
11. HOW DOES HE TEACH PERKS?
12. WILL YOU POST HIS PERK CHART / ALGORITHM?
13. CAN I GIVE HIM SOMETHING?
14. WHY DOES HE JUMP AROUND OR TELEPORT?
15. WHERE IS THE MOD MENU?
16. ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE A PORTABLE HOLOTAPE MENU?
17. WHY DID YOU PUT SO MUCH WORK INTO A MERCHANT?
18. ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE MORE SMART AI NPCS LIKE SCAVVER?
19. CAN WE GET SMART SETTLERS OR ROVING BANDS OF RAIDERS?
20. HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU / SUBMIT IDEAS / ETC?


1. WILL HE LOOT MY SETTLEMENT?

As of Version 1.02, he will NEVER loot Sanctuary, Red Rocket, or TenPines if they do not extend beyond the vanilla boundaries. For those 3 settlements, it does not matter what workbench form you have. In Version 1.02, I chiseled "Do Not Loot" into the hard code since so many people were having problems.

Other "build anywhere" settlements that exist between Vault 111 Exterior and Jalbert Brothers Disposal are only safe if those settlements use a vanilla workbench, and their boundaries extend less than 10,000 units from the main workbench. If you use boundary extension mods or mods that replace the vanilla workbench with a custom form, Scavver will not recognize it is a settlement and will loot it. Be aware that custom workbenches may look exactly like vanilla workbenches, and you need to ask the mod maker if the form ID changed. (Mod makers: If you send me the form ID of your workbench, I can add it to Scavver's "Do Not Loot" FormList.)


2. ARE YOU SURE HE WON'T TAKE MY STUFF?

I want you to see how awesome Scavver is under the hood. And you can't experience that if you have to kill him in the first ten minutes of using the mod.


3. CAN HE BE KILLED?

Scavver is "Protected", so he can only be killed by the player.


4. IS HE COMPATIBLE WITH MOD (X) ?

I rarely get to play, let alone have the time to check every new mod published. I know he does not require any DLC, and that he worked with Beantown Interiors when I created him. Anything beyond that is for users to test and report. I'm not trying to be grumpy... Just consider that I took six weeks of my after-work hours to program one mod. If I spend that time chasing every new hot file, no programming gets done.


5. CAN HE BE A COMPANION?

Not at this time. However, there are perks to be gained by following him, as explained further down.


6. DOES HE KEEP LOOTED ITEMS FOREVER?

For now, yes. This may change in a future update, and I will warn you if it does.


7. HOW DOES HE GROW A BEARD?

He updates his beard "headpart" once every game day (72 minutes). When he gets to the bushiest beard, he starts over again.


8. WHY DOESN'T HE EQUIP ARMOR PIECES?

Because there is currently no way to know if a picked up piece of armor is left/right, or arm/leg, or if the armor piece is going to strip him to his underwear. There is also no way to appraise Armor Rating or Weapon Damage. Until those functions exist, my hands are tied.


9. DOES THAT MEAN HE WILL EVENTUALLY REQUIRE F4SE?

I would love to make a special edition F4SE version. It would be an optional download and would not replace the main mod.


10. WHEN DOES HE BUILD A SETTLEMENT?

He builds around his trailer after completing his route, and only for three laps. Once you see the defense tower, his building is complete. If you happen to be around during the build phase, you might see him painting, hammering, or welding.


11. HOW DOES HE TEACH PERKS?

He teaches by the player observing his skills, which is something I'm really into doing more often with NPCs. If you meet the vanilla requirements for the perk and rank, and you witness the skill performed enough times, you will be notified in-game that you have gained that perk or rank. Currently, he teaches Locksmith 1-4 when you witness him loot enough safes, and if you follow him around long enough, you will gain Fortune Finder 1-3 and Scrounger 1-3.


12. WILL YOU POST HIS PERK CHART / ALGORITHM?

Eventually. Let's see if you can figure it out first.


13. CAN I GIVE HIM SOMETHING?

As of Version 1.02, you can place items in his donation bin and they will be transferred to Scavver. (Thanks to frogprincessQ4 at Nexus for the idea.) The donation bin is the rocket trash can in his trailer. Be careful: once you exit the container menu, the donation bin closes and plays the Vault-Tec lunchbox sound. At that point, your donation(s) cannot be taken back because they are immediately transferred to Scavver's inventory. (By the power of imagination and Papyrus scripting.)

I may eventually change this to a "give" dialogue option combined with an inventory menu, but if Scavver ever becomes a companion, the issue will resolve itself anyway.


14. WHY DOES HE JUMP AROUND OR TELEPORT?

I programmed him to do a "navbump" when he gets stuck. This is 100 units in his X direction of travel, 100 units in his Y direction of travel, and a gentle 60-unit Z bump, then pulled to the "nearest navmeshed location". If he accidentally gets pulled to an indoor location (like Vault 111 from the hill), then he will skyrocket into the air and be pulled to the nearest safe spot. I recommend using the mod menu if you want to know where he is at all times.


15. WHERE IS THE MOD MENU?

Scavver's mod menu is the orange ham radio in his blue trailer at the corner of the Vault 111 hilltop. "Activate" the radio and the menu will show.


16. ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE A PORTABLE HOLOTAPE MENU?

Maybe. I need to learn how to make one first. I already know the stats screen would be extremely tedious to recreate due to lack of MUD-like string functions, and heavy reliance on awkward text replacement functions.


17. WHY DID YOU PUT SO MUCH WORK INTO A MERCHANT?

The follow-up to that was... "wouldn't it be easier to just create a merchant the normal way, with a list of stuff to sell?" Yes, that would be easier, if I was just making a merchant. Scavver is proof-of-concept that NPCs in general can become better, smarter, more useful, and more interesting. And he happens to also be a merchant.


18. ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE MORE SMART AI NPCS LIKE SCAVVER?

Yes. I plan to create a smart female guard for my Diamond City SWAT mod. And there will probably be others, as time and fortune allows.


19. CAN WE GET SMART SETTLERS OR ROVING BANDS OF RAIDERS?

Group AI is coming. I can see raiders happening in the near to distant future. Settlers are the most complicated and town-building AI is something that would take months and a team of programmers to complete. If somebody wants to hire me as a full-time modder, I'm in.


20. HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU / SUBMIT IDEAS / ETC?

I'm around on Nexus and Bethesda forums, Discord chat, on Twitter @ThoraldGM, or you can email me... ThoraldGM at GMail.com.