DarthTyren

Alright, here's the big update:

Everyone give a nice, warm welcome to the new manager of PartySwap: @Leilukin!

I'm aware how long I took with this announcement. I sat on this decision for months, but with Leilukin's current activity level in the community and as a modder, as well as her familiarity with the mod and how it works and her vision for the future, there really was no one else this mod could be passed off to.

I want to thank everyone who supported me and PartySwap over the last several years, and even as I step away from modding and Star Wars entirely, I hope you'll join me in wishing Leilukin the best.

For the last time...

Darth Tyren has spoken!

On 4/29/2023 at 2:56 PM, RaztoR said:

That does ring a bell. It has been a while since I played the game using the Aspyr patch. I am running the "legacypc" version on Steam along with Flawless Widescreen and some auxiliary mods that I do not believe to be relevant to the issue at hand. i.e. texture upscalers. However, I may decide to do a more thorough investigation if the issue cannot be replicated elsewhere when the partyswap mod is used either by itself or in tandem with your romance mods. The only other suspect I can think of is the latest TSLRCM version.

And updates to RCM that I've yet to account for are likely.

CONFESSION TIME: I've kinda taken a break from KotOR modding and Star Wars in general, as I have far greater pursuits to occupy myself with. I've been doing a lot of writing and playing other games that before I never would have given thought to, not to mention taking my faith far more seriously. Logically, that means certain things would have to fall to the side to make room, and Star Wars ended up being one of those things I lost interest in, something I never thought possible.

This puts the future of the mod in a bit of a pickle: I can't spend much time working on keeping it updated, because that would require sinking hours of productivity into playtesting that I can't commit to anymore. I apologize for my silence and my absence, but only now have I actually gained the courage to say as much. So, though it pains me greatly, and I'll probably regret it in the short-term, after much careful contemplation on the matter, I have to believe this is what's best:

PartySwap is up for adoption.

If you would be interested in taking over future development, send me a DM explaining why you're the right person for the role and what your plans for the mod would be going forward. Why such a fuss? It sounds lame, but this mod is the biggest contribution I've made to the world to date. I don't want to just hand it over and suddenly have it botched and butchered beyond recognition like Disney's Star Wars - so yes, there's a bit of pride here. I feel like I'm handing over my child.

Until next time.

21 minutes ago, HDR1 said:

I do have one question, is the party selection screen hard-coded? I ask because it is a bit of a hassle to switch the Handmaiden in/out of the party and it would be great if she was on the party screen. So I was wondering if it is possible to make Handmaiden or Disciple take someone else's place on the party screen? Goto would be the obvious choice since he is by far the least used party member by everyone. Because of this, putting Goto as the character you need to swap via the Partyswap item would be more convienent and it would also make the Handmaiden feel like a "true" party member instead of a droid that is.... well, useless.

I'm not sure how "hard-coded" it is, but it felt like it at the time given my knowledge of the game files - in that you can't add more buttons to the select screen, nor can you change which party slot corresponds to which button. The thing about Handmaiden and Disciple is, although they take up the same physical button on the select screen, they actually inhabit different positions on the table under-the-hood. This is why I first starting looking at potentially just adding another button in the GUI and letting Handmaiden correspond to that. I couldn't much make heads or tails of the GUI files, and I certainly didn't see anything linking the buttons to the actual party table. So that idea flew out the window.

The next approach was to find a way of making Handmaiden take up any other slot on the screen. Sadly, the only place she'd fit without actually replacing another party member, or potential party member, is right where she already is. Then I considered G0-T0, and having him be replaced as a party member in general so Handmaiden could take up his spot, and just letting him be a floating dummy on the player's ship. Here's the problem with that - work. I would have needed to comb through the game, remove every call specifically to G0-T0 (not associated by object tags) in both dialogs and scripts, and also change every call to the Handmaiden (not associated by object tags) for the purpose of putting her in a different place on the party select screen. And for all that work, I'd actually be removing G0-T0's content (which is tied to influence) from the game.

I looked at this and decided it was unfeasible. So, we have the item, because where she is is actually the best place for her. It was a compromise I made that was the best choice all around.

On 3/20/2022 at 3:37 PM, Aure0815 said:

Hello,

I tried installing this mod but I'm getting errors any help would be appreciated!

It looks like you attempted to install it more than once without doing a full uninstall in between. It also looks like, assuming this is the right directory, you don't have TSLRCM installed, which is why all the module file errors have appeared. This mod requires RCM to work.

8 hours ago, AlexandriasFolly said:

The installer isn't prompting for a directory when I attempt to install. Can I get any help with this?

Odd - I just checked it out and it should definitely be doing that the moment you click the "Install Mod" button.

On 4/9/2022 at 8:15 AM, DarthDrija said:

Kyle Katarn doesn't fight, enemies die when they see him.

Enemies don't see Kyle Katarn. His stealth skill is so good it's passive.

If your argument is that it would be lore-friendly... no. It's not. Kreia HATES machines. She would see handicaps as a challenge to overcome, and just like with losing her sight as well as losing her connection to the Force, she accepts the challenge with dignity.

Note I'm not bashing anyone who wants to see this be made, but please don't use nonsense as your reasoning for a request.

It would absolutely be possible. The question is would anyone ever actually see the production of such a project as worth their while - and making Kaah somehow not feel like a pointless tack-on. I might have to go back on what I said about Dustil considering that voice reproduction models are clearly being made for other characters in KotOR (I don't know how I missed that).

No matter what, it would have to be handled differently than how PartySwap is handled. PartySwap as-is could only work mechanics-wise for Disciple/Handmaiden or Mira/Hanharr, because those are the only open slots on the party table.

The game is sadly hard-wired to be limited on the number of companions you can recruit (up to twelve). It would maybe be possible for one other potential companion to join you before the final act (two if you're not using PartySwap), and they could take the place of either Mira or Hanharr (whoever wasn't recruited). Of course, popular consensus is that G0-T0 doesn't deserve to be a companion, so if one was willing to put the work into just making him a basic NPC which spawns on the Ebon Hawk - and stays there - after Nar Shaddaa (or, ya know, just remove him from the game outright), then maybe that's a slot that could be freed up. I almost did this for PartySwap as an alternative option, but the amount of work it would require to set Disciple up to go in G0-T0's spot on the table and remove G0-T0 from the table altogether w/o deleting content was too much for me at the time.

As for personal thoughts... I think Kaevee was cut for good reason, Kaah was the biggest disappointment of M4-78, which I already don't like, Dustil most likely wouldn't be able to sound like Dustil (some might consider that a good thing), and Atris wouldn't need a PartySwap extension - she could just join you in Kreia's/Bao-Dur's/HK's place after you defeat her (all that would need doing is resetting the appropriate influence level).

On 6/20/2021 at 1:32 PM, TheCobaltSkyrim said:

So, an update: after completely reinstalling the game with a version of TSLRCM and M4-78 EP that are not tied to the steam workshop, I now have both the Handmaiden and Disciple in my party. Now I have a new problem. The item I received after recruiting the disciple doesn't seem to be working properly. It locks my character in a dialogue window with no options to select. 😕

Could you upload a newer install log? Because that sounds like the DLG file that the item fires is broken.

Also, for future reference, if you wish to use any mods other than TSLRCM, don't use Steam Workshop because it's a compatibility nightmare.

I would need to see the DLG and source in order to help with that.

2 hours ago, Neville said:

I see compiled scripts for the module. The "RemoveAvailableNPC(0)" line is for source scripts. I have an older version of the spawn armband. The Readme file states that Bastila can be added to the party after the Leviathan, so problems may occur.

If you use the armband to add Bastila back, yes. If not, she's taken out of the party, making it possible to have a new NPC in her place.

2 hours ago, Neville said:

Would a replacement NPC (I am attempting to work with necessary script) be, additionally, in the same location as Bastila on the Ebon Hawk?

Because default position on the Ebon Hawk is relative to position on the party table, yes.

The ultimate question is "Is this NPC still on the Party Selection screen?" If not, then they have been fully removed from the available party. For example, when Bastila is taken by Malak aboard the Leviathan, you no longer see her as an available party member. This allows mods like BOS:SR to kick in and place a new NPC straight into the party in her place.

Whenever an NPC needs to be removed from the available party, you just need to run the RemoveAvailableNPC() function in a script, usually fired by dialog.

2 hours ago, MotleyNerd said:

It does. There seems to be a workaround. You aim the TSLPatcher at the mods_language file under dlc in the TSLRCM for mobile before putting it into the mobile device's files and it will recognize it as a valid destination and install as normal.

Oh - well, then I'd have to check and see if the file structure in those dlc folders is comparable to those on PC installs. I'm guessing there's some difference, and that's why there's a mobile specific version of RCM?

16 hours ago, MotleyNerd said:

Are there any plans to port PartySwap to mobile?

Heh... THAT'S a loaded question. For right now, the answer is no - mainly considering I'm unsure if TSLPatcher will work for mobile installs, and that's the only way to maximize compatibility with other mods.

On 1/30/2021 at 1:00 AM, Marsproject said:

So I have the newest version of TSLRCM installed, the droid planet addition, and a few workshop mods(canonical exile, TSL Hakpad, Invisible Headgear, widescreen ui (stretch fix), and KSE).  This mod installed easy enough so I was able to get Handmaiden into my party as well as Disciple, but when using the item after getting Disciple nothing happens.  I have tried with him in the party and not and when I use the item it does the animation where you use an adrenal or medpac on yourself but nothing comes up and the select menu doesn't change.

 

 

I can almost guarantee you the Hak Pad Workshop mod is causing you issues. Frankly, you shouldn't be using ANY Workshop mods with TSLRCM for exactly this reason, but that mod's spells.2da file can't merge properly with the one from PartySwap because PartySwap needs to be installed on top of TSLRCM in order to work. When you have conflicting 2DA files like that downloaded from the Workshop, it annihilates all compatibility.

On 1/21/2021 at 4:42 PM, kirookshono said:

I'm having the same problem, but I don't have a holorec.dlg file in the override folder. I do have Handmaiden.dlg, but I have no way to check how that works. It might be because I'm using TSLRCM 1.8.6, which may not be compatible, or because I had to manually copy and paste in the TSLRCM files because they kept downloading to the wrong folder.

Or it could be from any other mods you installed. This is the issue with Handmaiden not spawning after the Council holorecording, correct? What does your setup look like? What do you mean when you say the RCM installer keeps installing to the wrong folder?

Also, can anyone confirm that changes were made in RCM 1.8.6 that would require me to take another look at this mod?

Okay, so there's nothing wrong there, and Dantooine open plains shouldn't have party selection disabled, and if you're on Dantooine in the first place, then you aren't on the Red Eclipse quest...

I'm completely clueless. Try a full reinstall I guess? I'd recommend skipping the workshop completely, but that's up to you.

So, I no longer actively support Steam Workshop installs (because they tend to break everything) but, for curiosity's sake, would you mind also uploading the partyswap.dlg found in your override folder? I ask because it looks like you tried to install the mod on top of itself, rather than do a full uninstall before reinstalling/updating it.

When I ask what version of the game, I mean "Do you have the game on Steam?" If so, you aren't using any Workshop mods, are you? Also, could you upload your installlog.rtf?

What other mods are you using? Which version of the game? Which version of RCM? Were there any errors in the installer log?

For some context, Party Selection is disabled on the Ebon Hawk, but you should be able to use the item in the enclave sublevel and in the world. Do you have any other mods that affect those modules in particular?

... Where are you?

I don't think I've gotten any, but I don't typically focus on events, nor am I a cheevo-farmer. I do very little in-game outside of raiding and replaying the story for a rewrite nowadays.

Lol - that's what I get for trusting genchat. That's what I thought initially, but I asked for clarification after the nature of the story progression was revealed.

"Over the years, the Hutt Cartel’s reputation has taken a hit. The once powerful organization no longer instills respect and fear. To restore the Cartel’s influence, two up-and-coming Hutts, Gaboorga the Abundant and Duuba the Magnanimous, are throwing the most lavish “charitable banquet” in history for the galaxy’s underprivileged. And if the Cartel happens to advance their business interests during the Feast, everyone wins! 

If Gaboorga and Duuba can cooperate, they could rocket the Cartel back into the upper echelons of the galactic underworld. But the Hutts’ conflicting priorities means they’re constantly undermining each other. Each week a new Story Mission will unlock to progress this storyline, leading to the climactic choice during the third and final week:  Gaboorga or Duuba? Only one Hutt can win, and the fate of the Feast of Prosperity is at stake. Choose wisely!"

So here's a Thanksgiving/Harvest themed event surrounding Halloween. I'm still questioning the genuineness of these Hutts, but it only lasts a couple more weeks, and from all reports it's a seasonal event - meaning once it's gone, it'll take a year to come back. Here's my take:

"In the growing shadow of war, swoop fans across the galaxy descend on Dantooine, Tatooine, and even Onderon for the sport’s biggest spectacle—The All Worlds Ultimate Swoop Rally! They’re packing the stands, eager to take their minds off their troubles and cheer their favorite swoop gangs. The bikers are here to take on dangerous challenge courses, show off their piloting skills, and flaunt their souped-up swoop bikes. The thunder of the engines, the deafening applause from the fans, the wind battering their helmets… there’s no bigger rush for these thrill seekers.

Despite their reputation as wild rebels whose makeshift courses disregard local districting restrictions, swoop gangs aren’t a serious threat to anyone--something all true swoop fans know! They just love adrenaline-pounding speed, sweet jumps, and big explosions, and the All Worlds Ultimate Swoop Rally combines all three in one crowd-pleasing package. The biggest gangs on the circuit — Horizon’s Razor, the Pit Screamers, and the Blatant Beks — are ready to show their fans a great time."

So, yeah - this happened. Pretty well thought-out imo, and they added more content alongside it as well. It's likely to see a lot of activity until folks can finish the storyline for each gang and get all those sweet, sweet cheevos. For anyone interested, the event will be making its return on July 28.

Here's a video of me showing it off live: