RTC/What are Triggers and Targets?

A Trigger is a Floor Mechanic that causes an action to happen when something is on the trigger, above the trigger, or both. The object that a trigger effects is called the trigger's Target, and the object that causes the trigger to perform its action is called the Operated By object.

For a trigger to function, it must have an Operated By object. This can be virtually anything that can be located on or over a floor tile: the party, a key, a piece of food... even a spell or cloud.

In the Editor, the Edit Floor Item (Trigger) screen has the following sections:

State: Either active or inactive. If active, the trigger will perform its function.

Operated By: The object that causes the trigger to "fire" if active. Click the ... button to choose from a list of objects.

On Trigger Only, Over Trigger Only, On And Over Trigger: If an object is on the floor at the trigger location, use On Trigger Only, if an object passes over the trigger (such as a spell or thrown item) use Over Trigger Only. On and Over Trigger should only be used if the object should activate the trigger regardless of whether it comes to rest on the trigger or merely passes over it.

Example 1: The party activates a trigger by stepping on it. Use On Trigger Only.

Example 2: The party closes a pit by casting a ZO spell over a trigger located on the other side of the pit. Use Over Trigger Only.

Example 3: The party closes a pit by throwing a dagger over the pit. The trigger is located in front of a moveable wall that is "blinking" on and off. Either the dagger will come to rest on the triger (if the wall is currently visible), or will pass over it (if the wall is not visible). Use On or Over Trigger.

Action: The effect the trigger has on the target. [Need full descriptions of each action here, especially "Release."] Of the possible actions, Activate, Deactivate, Toggle, and Destroy are the most commonly used. Activate turns an abject on, Deactivate turns it off. Toggle alternates between the two states of an object. Destroy well... makes an object go away.

Sound: The sound to play when the trigger is activated.

Operated Bys Direction: The direction the object that causes the trigger to activate is travelling. For example, if you only want a trigger to operate when it is stepped on from the north, set the direction to "south."

Targets: Each trigger may have up to eight targets. To add a target, click the "A" button to the right of each target's text box. After a target is added, the "A" button will change to an "E" button which may be used to edit the target. To delete a target, click the "D" button.

When adding a target, a map window will activate. Select the location of the target by clicking on the map. If the location is not on the current level, click the "Change Level" button to the upper right of the map window, and select the desired level. After choosing the target, be sure to select the correct target from the list of objects located on the selected tile. A door operated by a trigger located on a floor pad (for example) must target the door itself, not the doorframe object. Toggling the doorframe will result in the door still being closed, but the doorframe's dissappearance.

Probability (%): The chance that the trigger will activate.

Delay (1/6s): The time that passes between the trigger's activation and its actually triggering the target action. Time is measured here is one-sixth second increments; for a delay of two seconds (for example), use a value of 12. This might be used to allow the party time to run past a moveable wall before it activates or run over a pit before it opens.

Disable Self: Makes a "one-shot" trigger, i.e. a trigger that only "fires" once.

Constant Weight: The "Operated By" object must remain on the trigger. If the object leaves the trigger, the action will be undone.

Notes:

Some objects contain implicit triggers. Examples include the doorbutton object, which causes a door to open without any further editing, and the Lion Fountain object, which fills a waterskin when the latter is clicked on the former. Many objects also contain triggers, which can be used as any other trigger to cause things to happen. The best way to learn about triggers and their interractions with targets is to look at the dungeon maps in the editor, then try to emulate (or improve upon) the triggers you find there.

--Simplicus 14:45, 26 July 2009 (UTC)