CleverRaven / CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA

Angry Pyromaniac Survivor can't be Stopped

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#54,263 8 comments 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
(S2 - Confirmed) <Bug> NPC / Factions
Dominant language
C++
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Description

### Describe the bug

I recently ran into a (I think) new type of survivor, the "angry pyromaniac," who wants the player to go burn down a specific building. I was like, "cool fine, no problem!" and then realized he'd begun following me, and when I went to speak to him I couldn't do anything but say "OK" to him with two variants and then close the dialogue.

This became a problem quickly, because I hopped into a vehicle and he kept vocalizing about nearby corpses which he then tried to jump out of the moving vehicle to smash (as long as you're moving they stay on the running boards/doorway and won't jump out, at least). Additionally since he seemed to be using the "stay within 4 spaces" behavior by default he'd rubber band back to me constantly and keep vocalizing, and eventually he started a fight with about 15 zeds and a mi-go at once after hearing a noise, because I was simply unable to stop him from doing anything or tell him to guard a spot, etc.

This survivor quest seems fun (although I have reservations about the time required to burn down a building, since it can take days sometimes) however, it's kind of unreasonable for someone to try and drag this chaotically-behaving NPC to the target and not have them get killed on the way. Alternatively, the conversation dialogue might warn the player that he'll immediately follow them so they could at least turn him down and come back later after clearing out a path (but you can't find the path until you pick up the quest, so chicken and egg problem..)

I am not sure why it was decided to have the NPC follow the player outside of some flavor stuff of them wanting proof of the burned building, since, what's the point of having a social-based character if you can't lie to an NPC about finishing their quests, etc? I even tried to temporarily ditch him while he was pulping a corpse, and he beelined after me and caught up.

### Steps to reproduce

1. Speak to Angry Pyromaniac NPC.
2. Accept their quest.
3. Try to talk to them about anything/go near enemies.

### Expected behavior

I had expected to somehow be able to rein in this NPC during the quest, since I had no warning and had to drag him into a city I'd never explored before as soon as I picked up the quest.

### Screenshots

_No response_

### Versions and configuration

- OS: Windows
- OS Version: 10.0 2009
- Game Version: 939ec93 [64-bit]
- Graphics Version: Tiles
- Game Language: System language []
- Mods loaded: [
Dark Days Ahead [dda],
Disable NPC Needs [no_npc_food],
No Fungal Growth [no_fungal_growth],
Bionic Professions [package_bionic_professions],
Graphical Overmap [Graphical_Overmap],
SpeedyDex [speedydex],
Stats Through Kills [stats_through_kills],
Stats Through Skills [StatsThroughSkills]
]

### Additional context

_No response_

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by reproducing the Angry Pyromaniac survivor quest using the listed steps and observe the NPC's following, dialogue, and combat behavior. Determine which player control or warning is intended, then verify that the NPC can be managed safely during the quest and no longer behaves unexpectedly.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
game-dev
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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