VPNM - Vanilla Plus NPC Management

You guys should join Nick's discord server - you're more likely to get a response from me there.

This mod allows you to control which NPCs are spawned into the game. You can toggle options in the Config file found in "diacyst/Config" or directly meddle with the lists found in "diacyst/Constants", whichever you prefer. Some NPCs can be found in multiple lists, but they're listed like so for documentation - I even added notes for most of them, except for the well known characters.

For those who wanna know how VPNM operates, it basically makes a modified checklist with the use of app. CharacterData's Generate and GenerateBackStage parameters to mark which NPCs can exist in the Normal World and Unmoored World, respectively. The RegistPriority parameter is used to modify generation priority, so that Quest and Service NPCs appear sooner than less important NPCs. I also meddled with app. NPCData. ConfigGenerate - I nudged the base scores a tad then removed the bonuses to nearby NPCs...

• []Quests NPCs are directly in quests, whether they're part of the main story or just sidequests. Some are actually forcibly spawned in events where they're supposed to be present, so it can break immersion if those NPCs had been removed. Also, some NPCs are required to spawn or else you'll get a blackscreen. [/]

  []Service NPCs are those that you need to interact with to access some gameplay mechanics, like upgrading and inn saves. Musicians are also included here because music is arguably a major part of the whole gaming experience. By default, they're guaranteed to spawn in the Unmoored World, so any missing merchants (looking at you, Zachary!) will be there. There's also another toggle that removes Service NPCs that still wander in the Unmoored World - they don't evacuate to the Seafloor Shrine. [/]

  []Background NPCs are people that affect the ambience of certain locations, either due to their actions or simply by being there. Some of them are also Imperiled and Informant NPCs - you can read about them below.[/]

  []Extra NPCs are any of the 3 kinds of NPCs above who don't necessarily have to be around in order to progress, but they appear to help in certain cases. Their presence can make certain scenarios harder or easier, depending on who gets removed. Extra Background NPCs contribute nothing else other than giving the places they spawn in more life, so they're disabled by default.[/]

  []Imperiled NPCs get randomly put in unfortunate situations in the wilderness, primarily Monster Culling Requests. Preventing them from spawning doesn't break the game, but it'd be rather strange for your pawn to say someone's in trouble then lead you to a monster with no one to save. Also, no NPC = no reward, but at least you'll get the loot, assuming the monster doesn't fall into the water or its corpse doesn't get decimated.[/]

  []Informant NPCs drop tidbits of info on you when you talk to them. They don't repeat it if you talk to them again, and people who have the same voice might not say it, too. I think there's probably a cooldown, and if not, I think restarting the game will get them to talk about it again. They're optional because you can learn said info by yourself if you're not skipping content on purpose. They're toggled by location - Vernworth and Bakbattahl are disabled by defaullt.[/]

  The Full Population feature allows you to select which areas are whitelisted, instead of by person. NPCs in the Geyser Hamlet are the only ones whitelisted by default.

  There are also custom lists that are used to forcibly add or remove NPCs, either due to preference, or because certain NPCs can change the atmosphere of a given place if they're present.

  Finally, there's an option to make everyone killable, but it's disabled by default. Most of the unkillable NPCs are children, mind you. I didn't test how this will affect quests so you're on your own if something happens.

  I decided to upload this not only because I want an online copy of it but also for other people to use it as reference, particularly the lists I made by redoing the quests and exploring the world multiple times. To be honest, this has been in the backburner for at least a month now, and I only got around to working on it again because Arrythmia started working on Crowd Density Overhaul and I wanted to help with the whitelists.