Dissecting the Scripts for Weapon Racks
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Dissecting the Scripts for Weapon Racks
Did you ever wonder just how weapon plaques work? How does clicking on one lead to your sword hanging on the wall? Well now you can find out.
A weapon plaque is composed of two things, a weapon rack trigger, and a weapon rack activator. The weapon rack trigger is the part that you can see, such as the rack itself or the plaque. The weapon rack activator is the part that you don't see but which prompts you for activation.
Weapon Rack Trigger
The weapon rack trigger uses the script 'WeaponRackTriggerSCRIPT' so let's open that up and take a look.
Properties
The first couple lines are the properties declared for this script. None of these are really important in understanding how the script works, so we'll move on.
OnReset
EVENT OnReset() AlreadyInit = FALSE ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " running OnReset() and AlreadyInit = " + AlreadyInit) endEVENT
The first event that's in the script is the OnReset event. The code triggers when the object is reset. Here, it is used to reset the variable 'AlreadyInit'. You'll see what the variable is actually used for in the next event. (Even though they are properties, you may find that I call them variables because properties are basically just a subtype of variables.)
OnLoad
EVENT OnLoad() ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " running OnLoad() and AlreadyInit = " + AlreadyInit) if (AlreadyInit == FALSE) && (self.IsEnabled()) ActivatorRef = GetLinkedRef(WRackActivator) if (ActivatorRef) ActivatorRef.Enable() endif AlreadyInit = TRUE ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " The Activator Ref is " + ActivatorRef) else ;Do nothing endif ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " finishing OnLoad() and AlreadyInit = " + AlreadyInit) endEVENT
The next event is the OnLoad event. The OnLoad block is triggered when the object's model is loaded (ie it's rendered). If 'AlreadyInit' is false, and the object itself is enabled, then it tries to get a reference to its linked ref with keyword associated with the property 'WRackActivator'. If there is a linked ref, it enables it. Whether there is a linked reference or not, the 'AlreadyInit' variable gets set to true, so it doesn't try to do this whole sequence again until the object gets reset.
OnCellLoad
;EVENT OnCellLoad() ; ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " running OnCellLoad() and AlreadyInit = " + AlreadyInit) ; if (AlreadyInit == FALSE) && (self.IsEnabled()) ; ActivatorRef = GetLinkedRef(WRackActivator) ; AlreadyInit = TRUE ; ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " The Activator Ref is " + ActivatorRef) ; else ; ;Do nothing ; endif ; ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " finishing OnCellLoad() and AlreadyInit = " + AlreadyInit) ;endEVENT
The OnCellLoad event is actually totally commented out, so it won't run in the game. But it looks like they tried to get it to do the same thing as the OnLoad block. They didn't get to enabling the linked ref though.
OnTriggerEnter and OnTriggerLeave
Next, you see the OnTriggerEnter and OnTriggerLeave blocks inside the 'WaitingForReference' state. I'm not going to try and explain states here, but it's redundant and has no utility if you only have a single state in a script.
OnTriggerEnter
EVENT onTriggerEnter(objectReference triggerRef) ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Just OnTriggerEntered by " + triggerref) if (IgnoreArmor == TRUE) && (triggerRef.GetBaseObject() as Armor) ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " I'm ignoring armor, and this is armor, so I'm doing nothing.") ;Do Nothing else ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " I'm updating as normal") ;numInTrig = (numInTrig + 1) HasBeenTriggered = TRUE if ActivatorRef ActivatorRef.Disable() endif endif endEVENT
The OnTriggerEnter block is triggered when something enters the trigger area of the object. What it's doing here is to disable the linked ref. That's what makes it so that you can't put another weapon on a weapon plaque when you already have one there. The variable 'HasBeenTriggered' is just to make sure it doesn't keep triggering until that variable is reset.
OnTriggerLeave
EVENT OnTriggerLeave(objectReference triggerRef) ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " A References has EXITED, refs in this trigger now = " + numInTrig) if (IgnoreArmor == TRUE) && (triggerRef.GetBaseObject() as Armor) ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " I'm ignoring armor, and this is armor, so I'm doing nothing.") ;Do Nothing else ;Trace("DARYL - " + self + " I'm updating as normal") ;numInTrig = (numInTrig - 1) endif if (GetTriggerObjectCount() == 0) HasBeenTriggered = FALSE ActivatorRef.Enable() endif endEVENT
The OnTriggerLeave block is triggered when something leaves the trigger area of the object. The code here is to enable the linked ref again. This is what allows you to put a new weapon on the plaque when you take the old one off. And 'HasBeenTriggered' is here again to make sure that it only triggers once until the variable is reset.
Conclusion
So after going through the script, we can say that its only purpose is to control whether or not its linked ref is enabled or disabled, depending on whether or not there's something in its own trigger area.
Weapon Rack Activator
The weapon rack activator uses the script 'WeaponRackActivateSCRIPT' so lets open that up and take a look.
Properties
The first 100 or so lines are filled with properties. The important one that we need to look at is the 'RackType' property.
int Property RackType = 1 Auto {The type of rack this script is on: Default = 1 1 = Standard Weapon Rack (Includes Regular, Mount, and CoA Weapon Racks) 2 = COA Shield Rack 3 = COA Weapon Rack (Both left and right) 4 = Table-top Dagger Rack }
As the comment itself will tell you, this property is used to distinguish which object the script is on. This is necessary because this script is used for the weapon racks, the weapon plaques, and the display cases.
OnCellLoad
This is the code for the event OnCellLoad, without most of the comments:
EVENT OnCellLoad() Trace("DARYL - " + self + " running OnCellLoad() and AlreadyInit = " + AlreadyInit) TriggerMarker = GetLinkedRef(WRackTrigger) Trace("DARYL - " + self + " The TriggerMarker is " + TriggerMarker) if (TriggerMarker) && (AlreadyInit == FALSE) && (TriggerMarker.IsEnabled()) StartingWeapon = GetLinkedRef() Trace("DARYL - " + self + " The Starting Weapon is " + StartingWeapon) TriggerMarker = GetLinkedRef(WRackTrigger) Trace("DARYL - " + self + " The TriggerMarker is " + TriggerMarker) if (StartingWeapon) if StartingWeapon.Is3DLoaded() if StartingWeapon.GetParentCell() == self.GetParentCell() Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Has a starting weapon") HandleStartingWeapon() endif endif else Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Doesn't have a starting weapon") ;Do nothing endif AlreadyInit = TRUE else ;Do nothing endif Trace("DARYL - " + self + " finishing OnCellLoad() and AlreadyInit = " + AlreadyInit) endEVENT
The comments that have been omitted are not relevant, not used in the rest of the script, and probably from an early and abandoned attempt of making the script do what it does.
Here, we see that when the cell is loaded, the first thing the script does is try to assign something to 'StartingWeapon'. It looks for any linked ref without a keyword associated with it. Then the script attempts to locate the linked ref with the keyword associated with property 'WRackTrigger' and assign it to 'TriggerMarker'.
If it manages to locate this 'TriggerMarker', and this portion of the script has not been run before (AlreadyInit == False), and the 'TriggerMarker' happens to be enabled, it checks to see if anything had been assigned to 'StartingWeapon'.
If there is a starting weapon, then it checks to make sure that the weapon is loaded, and that it happens to be in the same cell as the activator. If all this is true, it calls the function 'HandleStartingWeapon'. The code for that is further down the script, and we will get to that later.
After all of this, it will set 'AlreadyInit' to true, so that this code is not run again.
OnActivate
The OnActivate block is very long, so we're going to look at it in sections. You might notice that the whole block is encased in an "Empty Rack" state, but again this is pointless when you only have one state in the script.
Standard Rack
If (RackType == 1) ; This is the Standard Weapon Rack if (TriggerRef == Game.GetPlayer() as Actor) ; Only the player can activate this MessageAlreadyShown = WRackGlobal.GetValue() if (MessageAlreadyShown == FALSE) ; If the help message hasn't been shown before then show it. WeaponRackActivateMESSAGE.Show() WRackGlobal.SetValue(1) else Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Player activated the weapon rack") PlayersEquippedWeaponType = Game.GetPlayer().GetEquippedItemType(1) ; Get the EquippedItemType that is in the players right hand if (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 0) || (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 9) || (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 10) || (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 11) ; If the player is unarmed, or has a spell/shield/torch equipped, tell him he needs a weapon equipped. WeaponRackNoWeaponMESSAGE.Show() ;elseif (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 2) ; If the player has a dagger equipped tell him it doesn't fit. ;WeaponRackNoDaggerMESSAGE.Show() else HandleWeaponPlacement() ; Grabs the weapon from the player and places it in the correct place. endif endif endif
The first if statement here is to check that the object the script is attached to is the standard weapon rack. The standard weapon racks include the standing racks, the plaque that only holds one weapon, and the large display case.
The second if statement is to make sure that it's being activated by the player. The third is to check whether or not this is the player's first time activating a weapon rack, in which case it would show a messagebox explaining how to use one.
If it isn't the player's first time using a weapon rack, then it will assign the item type equipped in the player's right hand to 'PlayersEquippedWeaponType'. If you don't know the values for the weapon types, you should take a look at GetEquippedItemType.
If the player is unarmed, or else equipped with a spell, it would show the message that the player needs to have a weapon equipped in order to use the weapon rack. There's a part here that's commented out. Looks like it was originally not possible to put daggers on the standard weapon racks but then they changed it. If the player does have a weapon equipped, it calls the function 'HandleWeaponPlacement' which is defined further down the script.
Shield Rack
elseIf (RackType == 2) ;This is the CoA Shield Rack if (TriggerRef == Game.GetPlayer() as Actor) ; Only the player can activate this MessageAlreadyShown = WRackGlobal.GetValue() if (MessageAlreadyShown == FALSE) ; If the help message hasn't been shown before then show it. WeaponRackActivateMESSAGE.Show() WRackGlobal.SetValue(1) else Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Player activated the shield rack") Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Player has shield " + Game.GetPlayer().GetEquippedShield() + " base object equipped") ; PlayersEquippedWeaponType = Game.GetPlayer().GetEquippedItemType(0) ; Get the EquippedItemType that is in the players left hand if (Game.GetPlayer().GetEquippedShield()) ; Grabs the weapon from the player and places it in the correct place. HandleWeaponPlacement() else ; If the player doesn't have a shield equipped tell him he needs one. WeaponRackNoShieldMESSAGE.Show() endif endif endif
Continuing from what we had above, this is for the case when the object that the script is attached to is the shield rack.
Again, the next two things that the script checks for is that the player was the one who activated the object, and whether or not it's the first time that the player has activated a weapon rack. The same thing is done for all the rack types, so it would have been a better idea to check for those before checking what kind of rack is being activated.
If the player has seen the message before, then the script will check if the player has a shield equipped. If so, the script calls the function 'HandleWeaponPlacement' and if not, it will show the message stating that you need to have a shield equipped to use the shield rack.
COA Weapon Rack
elseIf (RackType == 3) ; This is the COA Weapon Rack if (TriggerRef == Game.GetPlayer() as Actor) ; Only the player can activate this MessageAlreadyShown = WRackGlobal.GetValue() if (MessageAlreadyShown == FALSE) ; If the help message hasn't been shown before then show it. WeaponRackActivateMESSAGE.Show() WRackGlobal.SetValue(1) else Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Player activated the weapon rack") PlayersEquippedWeaponType = Game.GetPlayer().GetEquippedItemType(1) ; Get the EquippedItemType that is in the players right hand if (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 0) || (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 9) || (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 10) || (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 11) ; If the player is unarmed, or has a spell/shield/torch equipped, tell him he needs a weapon equipped. WeaponRackNoWeaponMESSAGE.Show() elseif (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 2) ; If the player has a dagger equipped tell him it doesn't fit. WeaponRackNoDaggerMESSAGE.Show() elseif (PlayersEquippedWeaponType == 7) ; If the player has a bow equipped tell him it doesn't fit. WeaponRackNoBowMESSAGE.Show() else HandleWeaponPlacement() ; Grabs the weapon from the player and places it in the correct place. endif endif endif
This section deals with COA weapon racks. COA stands for Coat Of Arms, and these are the plaques that allow you to have a weapon on the left and right sides.
The first thing it checks is that this is a COA weapon rack by looking at its RackType property.
The RackType property is supposed to be 3 for all of the COA weapon racks, but whoever placed the script on WeaponRackCOALeftACTIVATORPlayerHouse and WeaponRackCOARightACTIVATORPlayerHouse forgot to edit the property and change it from the default of 1, which is why you might end up with floating bows and daggers when using them.
Then it checks if the player is the one who activated the weapon rack, and whether or not it's the player's first time doing so and therefore it should show the messagebox. Otherwise, it then assigns the item type of whatever is equipped in the player's right hand to the 'PlayersEquippedWeaponType' variable.
If the player is unarmed, holding a torch, shield, or spell, it will show the message that you need to have a weapon equipped. If the player is holding a bow or dagger, it will show the message that the weapon doesn't fit on the rack. Otherwise, it will call the function 'HandleWeaponPlacement'.
Dagger Display
elseIf (RackType == 4) ; This is the Standard Weapon Rack if (TriggerRef == Game.GetPlayer() as Actor) ; Only the player can activate this MessageAlreadyShown = WRackGlobal.GetValue() if (MessageAlreadyShown == FALSE) ; If the help message hasn't been shown before then show it. WeaponRackActivateMESSAGE.Show() WRackGlobal.SetValue(1) else Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Player activated the weapon rack") PlayersEquippedWeaponType = Game.GetPlayer().GetEquippedItemType(1) ; Get the EquippedItemType that is in the players right hand if (PlayersEquippedWeaponType != 2) ; If the player is trying to place anything but a dagger tell him he can't. WeaponRackOnlyDaggerMESSAGE.Show() else HandleWeaponPlacement() ; Grabs the weapon from the player and places it in the correct place. endif endif endif
The last part of the OnActivate block deals with the case that RackType is 4, or that the rack is a dagger display case. It goes through the standard checks to see if it's the player and if it's your first time using a weapon rack.
Then it checks for what's equipped in the player's right hand. If the player is equipped with anything but a dagger, it will show the message that you can only place a dagger there. If the player is equipped with the dagger, then the script calls the function 'HandleWeaponPlacement'.
You might notice that in all these cases, the weapon is assumed to be in the right hand. That means that the script does not try and detect weapons in the player's left hand, which is why you can't place any weapons you have equipped in your left hand onto any weapon rack.
HandleWeaponPlacement
Let's look at the HandleWeaponPlacement function in two parts. The first part:
Function HandleWeaponPlacement(bool ForStartingWeapon = FALSE) ; Grabs the weapon from the player and places it in the correct place. if (ForStartingWeapon) Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Handling Starting Weapon") ;Don't do the player stuff else Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Handling Players Weapon") If (RackType == 2) Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Player currently has weapon type " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " in his left hand.") ;PlayersEquippedShield = Game.GetPlayer().GetEquippedWeapon(TRUE) ; Find out what shield the player currently has equipped Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Player has shield " + Game.GetPlayer().GetEquippedShield() + " base object equipped") PlayersDroppedWeapon = Game.GetPlayer().DropObject(Game.GetPlayer().GetEquippedShield(), 1) ; Force the weapon to be dropped, and get it's reference Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Dropped " + PlayersEquippedShield + " shield from players inventory as " + PlayersDroppedWeapon) else Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Player currently has weapon type " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " in his right hand.") PlayersEquippedWeapon = Game.GetPlayer().GetEquippedWeapon() ; Find out what weapon the player currently has equipped Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Player has " + PlayersEquippedWeapon + " base object equipped") PlayersDroppedWeapon = Game.GetPlayer().DropObject(PlayersEquippedWeapon, 1) ; Force the weapon to be dropped, and get it's reference Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Dropped " + PlayersEquippedWeapon + " from players inventory as " + PlayersDroppedWeapon) endif if (PlayersDroppedweapon) int Count = 0 While(!PlayersDroppedweapon.Is3DLoaded()) && (Count < 10) ; Have to wait to make sure the item is dropped before setting it's motion type, or else I get a "Object has no 3D" error. Utility.Wait(0.1) Count += 1 EndWhile endif endif
This part of the function is to make the player drop the his/her weapon. First it checks if there's a starting weapon already assigned to the weapon rack. If there is, then that means this function wasn't called becaues the player activated the rack.
If there isn't a starting weapon, then it checks to see if the weapon rack is type 2 (shield rack). If it's a shield rack, it will make the player drop his/her shield. Otherwise, it will make the player drop his/her weapon. It will also assign the reference to the dropped object to the variable 'PlayersDroppedWeapon'.
The DropObject function will first look through the player's inventory for non-equipped items. Only if it finds none will it try to drop any equipped items. The RemoveItem function will first look through the equipped items. Since this script uses DropObject, it may not always grab the player's equipped weapon/shield. However, this is understandable because to use RemoveItem will require adding an extra container to the whole process.
The last part of the code above is to make pause the script until the weapon/shield actually shows up outside of your inventory.
The second part of the HandleWeaponPlacement function:
PlayersDroppedWeapon.SetMotionType(Motion_Keyframed, false) ; Tell the weapon to ignore all forms of physic interaction Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Disabling physics on " + PlayersDroppedWeapon) ; Handle the placement of the weapon if PlayersDroppedWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeSword) ; 1H Sword Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Moving " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " to the SwordMarker") PlayersDroppedWeapon.MoveToNode(TriggerMarker, "SwordPivot01") elseif PlayersDroppedWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeWarAxe) ; 1H Axe Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Moving " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " to the WaraxeMarker") PlayersDroppedWeapon.MoveToNode(TriggerMarker, "WarAxePivot01") elseif PlayersDroppedWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeMace) ; Mace Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Moving " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " to the MaceMarker") PlayersDroppedWeapon.MoveToNode(TriggerMarker, "MacePivot01") elseif PlayersDroppedWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeGreatSword) ; 2H Sword Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Moving " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " to the GreatSwordMarker") PlayersDroppedWeapon.MoveToNode(TriggerMarker, "GreatSwordPivot01") elseif PlayersDroppedWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeBattleAxe) ; 2H Axe Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Moving " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " to the BattleaxeMarker") PlayersDroppedWeapon.MoveToNode(TriggerMarker, "BattleAxePivot01") elseif PlayersDroppedWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeWarhammer) ; Warhammer Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Moving " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " to the WarhammerMarker") PlayersDroppedWeapon.MoveToNode(TriggerMarker, "WarhammerPivot01") elseif PlayersDroppedWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeBow) ; Bow Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Moving " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " to the BowMarker") PlayersDroppedWeapon.MoveToNode(TriggerMarker, "BowPivot01") elseif PlayersDroppedWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeStaff) ; Staff Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Moving players dropped weapon" + PlayersDroppedWeapon + " of type " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " to the StaffMarker") PlayersDroppedWeapon.MoveToNode(TriggerMarker, "StaffPivot01") elseif PlayersDroppedWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeDagger) ; Staff Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Moving players dropped weapon" + PlayersDroppedWeapon + " of type " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " to the DaggerMarker") PlayersDroppedWeapon.MoveToNode(TriggerMarker, "DaggerPivot01") elseif PlayersDroppedWeapon.HasKeyword(ArmorShield) ; Staff Trace("DARYL - " + self + " Moving players dropped weapon" + PlayersDroppedWeapon + " of type " + PlayersEquippedWeaponType + " to the ShieldMarker") PlayersDroppedWeapon.MoveToNode(TriggerMarker, "ShieldPivot01") endif EndFunction
This part of the function is the part that actually deals with hanging your shield/weapon onto the rack/plaque/display case. First it set the motion type to key-framed, which means that it is unaffected by Havok physics. Then it checks what kind of weapon/shield it is through the use of keywords. All the vanilla bows have the keyword WeapTypeBow, all shields have the keyword ArmorShield, etc. Once the script has determined the type of weapon it is, then it will use the MoveToNode function to hang the weapon onto the linked ref (the actual rack/plaque/display case).
This is the reason why it's important that the RackType property is set correctly, because not all of the displays have the same nodes. If you try to hang a weapon onto a node that doesn't exist, you end up with a floating weapon.
You might be thinking, "But wait! What about the starting weapon? This part of the code doesn't deal with that!" That's covered by the next function, 'HandleStartingWeapon'.
HandleStartingWeapon
Function HandleStartingWeapon() If (RackType == 1) ; If this is a standard rack... if StartingWeapon.HasKeyword(ArmorShield) ;Don't do anything else ; ...and doesn't have a dagger then place the weapon. PlayersDroppedWeapon = StartingWeapon HandleWeaponPlacement(TRUE) endif elseIf (RackType == 2) ; If this is a shield rack... if StartingWeapon.HasKeyword(ArmorShield) PlayersDroppedWeapon = StartingWeapon HandleWeaponPlacement(TRUE) else ;don't do anything endif elseIf (RackType == 3) ; If this is a COA weapon rack... if StartingWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeDagger) ;Don't do anything elseif StartingWeapon.HasKeyword(ArmorShield) ;Don't do anything elseif StartingWeapon.HasKeyword(WeaponTypeBow) ;Don't do anything else ; ...and doesn't have a dagger then place the weapon. PlayersDroppedWeapon = StartingWeapon HandleWeaponPlacement(TRUE) endif endif EndFunction
This function basically takes the starting weapon, and if it is compatible with the RackType, assigns it to the property 'PlayersDroppedWeapon'. Essentially, it does the same thing as the first part of the 'HandleWeaponPlacement' function, except for the starting weapon instead of forcing the player to drop a weapon.
After assigning the variable, it will call on the 'HandleWeaponPlacement' function with the parameter set to true, so that it skips straight to the second half of the function. The only interesting thing to note for the 'HandleStartingWeapon' function is that it doesn't deal with RackType equal to 4. This means that you can't assign a starting weapon to a dagger display and have it work properly.
Conclusion
After going through this script, we have an understanding of what it's supposed to do. If it has a starting weapon, then it would hang the starting weapon onto its linked ref (the rack/plaque/display) when the cell is loaded. If the player activates it, it will cause the player to drop a weapon or a shield (depending on RackType) and then hang the weapon or shield onto the rack/plaque/display.
Putting It All Together
So when you go and use a display like a weapon plaque, you are actually activating the invisible activator in front of the plaque, not the plaque itself. When you do that, the activator will cause you to drop your weapon, and hang it onto its linked ref, the plaque.
When the plaque finds the weapon in its trigger area, it disables its own linked ref, the invisible activator. This means you can no longer activate it to hang on another weapon. If you now go and take back your weapon, the trigger area is clear and the plaque enables the invisible activator again. Now you can put a weapon on it again.
