The Future of RPGs is Now; AI Animates Bannerlord Characters
Modder known as Bloc has released a public version of a modification for Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord that enables you to „chat” with NPCs to discover their secrets (or simply immerse yourself in the game world).
Modder known as Bloc has kept his word. Mount & Blade: Bannerlord II has received a modification enabling us to conduct conversations with "living" NPCs with the help of artificial intelligence. The developer has also included a new video, presenting the mod in action (available below).
We have previously written about Bloc's project. As a reminder: the mod used the popular ChatGPT tool as the basis for his "narrative engine". His database includes data on the world of Calradia - from important places, characters and factions to professions and information on the daily life of the inhabitants.
Changes, lots of changes
At least that was the case with the draft version that Bloc presented at the beginning of the year. Since then, the modder has made numerous changes. True to its name the public version of the mod is based not on ChatGPT, but on the Inworld algorithm, which was developed for use in video games.
In practice, this translates into the possibility of, nomen omen, pragmatic use of "chat". In the course of conversations with nobles or even commoners, various secrets can be uncovered, as long as one conducts the conversation efficiently. In this way, we will learn about the secret pursuits of nobles, but also possible plots.
"Chat" with NPCs needs some tweaking, but the design is already impressive.Source: Bloc / Nexus Mods / TaleWorlds.
Each nobleman has his own character and story background, which are randomly generated at the start of the game. This is supposed to be another factor that makes each Bannerlord playthrough different.
Of course, the mod's main goal was to increase imersion. Nothing prevents us from simply talking to the inhabitants of Calradia and learning more about them and the game world. For the same reason the developer included a speech synthesizer, so that conversations are not limited to just reading the chat log.
However, Inworld AI - Calradia has significant limitations, including the need for an Internet connection and the creation of an Inworld account. For the same reason, it is better to refrain from typing in vulgarities, even as a character's name, to avoid potential problems (for example, account blocking). This can be considered a step backwards from what Bloc showed in February.
In addition, the modification currently supports only English. Occasionally the AI may happen to answer questions asked in languages like Polish or Turkish, but Inworld's developers are just working on implementing other languages. Bloc also stresses that the mod was not created with compatibility with other modifications in mind.
Inworld AI - Calradia - installation guide
Bloc has prepared a step-by-step guide to installing the mod in the form of a video (which you can watch above) and an article on Nexus Mods.
- After downloading the modification from Nexus Mods and unpacking the "Inworld" folder, we find the location of Mount & Blade: Bannerlord II. Copy the mod's files to the "Modules" folder ("Steam\steamapps\commonMount & Blade II Bannerlord\Modules").
If you can't find the folder with the game: on Steam, go to your game collection and right-click on the name of the item. Then go to "Properties" and "Local Files" one by one, then click on the "Browse" button.
- Go to Inworld's official website, click on the "Start Creating" button and select the email login option (ONLY this option; ignore logging in via Google and Microsoft accounts).
- Once logged in, create a Workspace by clicking on the "Change" button on the left side of the screen, then " Create New Workspace" and "Save".
- Open your workspace and go to the "Integrations" section and select "Generate new key" to generate the key and "secret".
- In the mod's folder (Steam\steamapps\commonMount & Blade II Bannerlord\Modules\Inworld\ModRelayer), find and open the .env file in Notepad.
- In the body of the file, enter your Inworld data, each in the appropriate section and enclosed in quotation marks (in sequence: email, Inworld login password, key, secret, and workspace name). Save the changes.
The process is a bit more complicated than most modifications. This may explain the relatively small number of downloads (at the time of publishing this text, less than a thousand Nexus Mods users had checked out the mod).
