"In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams."
-Nigeran proverb-

Building Bridges(BB)

Description

This plugin allows players to interact with each other by leaving messages in gameworld. These messages will appear in the playthrough of other players and you also will see what they wrote.

You can leave messages in any interior or exterior cell from any mod. Which means you could do it in Official DLCs, Project Brazil,TTW, New Vegas Bounties and basically any mod downloaded from Nexus or anywhere else. If players have that mod installed, they will see your message exactly where you left it.

Here's a little showcase:

                                                   

Features

• Rating system
  

Each mesages you left has it's own rating. People can leave likes to your message increasing the rating of the message and your rating as well,
Rating gives you levels. With each new level you have more messages you can place at the same time and your messages can be longer. You can't see whose messages you are liking and the same goes for everybody else.

• Managing your messages
  

In BB menu you can choose to manage your messages, removing them at any time. If you removed your message, your rating gained by that message stays with you.

• Report system
  

If you see a message which breaks BB rules you can report it and it may be deleted when processed by a moderator.

Rules

Rules are simple - don't be an unpleasant person.
More specifically I will not tolerate:

• IRL POLITICS IN ANY WAY OR FORM. This is not a platform for that;
• Offending people;
• Racism;
• Posting your or someone elses personal information;
• Offensive content;
• and so on.
  

By breaking those rules you might be banned from posting new messages.
Plugin author(me) doesn't take any responsibility for any message that is posted by users. Use the plugin at your own discretion.

How to install

                                          

How to use

-To post your message - press "B" (by default) to initiate BB menu and choose "Post message" option.
-At level 1 you can have up to 20 messages at the same time containing up to 115 symbols.
-Only ASCII characters(English alphabet) are supported at the moment.
-To like message of other user - activate message and press "Like this message".
-You gain level by increasing your rating. Your rating is increased when people like your message.
-You can leave  only one message per cell(interior or exterior).
-Worldspace(non-interior) consists of small separate exterior cells. You can see what cell you are in BB menu.
-Every exterior cell can contain up to 10 messages. You usually have 8-9 non-interior cells loaded when you are outside.
-Every interior cell can contain up to 35 messages.
-Messages for which you don't have a plugin installed(TTW,Project Brazil, etc) are not processed and are not counted towards messages
fetched.
-Messages will only get removed if there they exceed the limit for the location(10 for exterior cell and 35 for interior cell). This is done so new player can leave their messages to already populated locations.
-Messages are not save-baked - they are loaded from server on each game start.


Keep in mind - messages are loaded from server on the game launch. During the game internet connection is required only when you post messages or manage them.

Level depends on your rating. By leveling up you increase the max amount of messages you can have at the same time and max symbols which they can contain. When you hit next threshold you level up automatically. You need to restart the game in order for changes to occur.
With each level you get +1 max message and +5 max symbols to the message.

Here's the leveling table:
       
 If you see a message which breaks the rules or disrupts player experience, please report it. You can report it by pressing "Report this message" in message view menu.

You can see and remove your messages at any time by pressing "Manage my messages" in BB menu.

FAQ

-Does this require internet connection?
-It does.

-Can this plugin steal my passwords\Data?
-No. The compilible source code is located here. Ask any coders if you're unsure yourself. If you're not convinced - feel free not to use this plugin.

-How does message exchange happen?
-When you post a message you send it on the server. When you fetch messages you download them from server. There is no direct connection between you and other people PCs.

-Why do I need to type in my Nexus API key?
-Nexus API key is used only to receive your BB key. It is not stored on the server. After you received your BB key you can delete Nexus API key from the INI file. All later authentification is done via BB key.

-Why choose Nexus API key as means to authentification?
-Because otherwise to play the mod you would have to register on my site, provide your email and set a password. Nexus API allows you and me to have less headache.

-What if I lost my BB key?
-Press "B"(by default) and choose "Request BB key" option and you will receive your BB key.

-Where is my Nexus API key stored?
-It's stored in INI file with a simple encoding. Unless you send the key it to someone else, it's absolutely safe. Don't share it with anyone.

-I requested a new Nexus API key. How can I change it in BB?
-Remove "apikey" value in INI file and re-launch the game.


-I changed a value in INI file but your plugin doesn't detect it!
-If you are using Mod Organizer 2 - check it's "overwrite" folder.

-What information is stored on the server?
-Besides actual messages I only store your Nexus profile number which is already public on your Nexus profile page. This is done so you can see and delete messages you posted and also allows me to restrict access to posting messages to people who break or abuse rules. When fetching messages nobody can see who posted a specific message - server simply doesn't send you or anybody else this information. Even editing DLL source code will not get anyone access to that info.

-Does it impact performance?
-Message fetching runs only when game launches in an asynchronous thread. It does not impact performance because the code execution runs independently of the game. During gameplay additional CPU time is requires when placing notes in the gameworld however I or testers didn't notice any hiccups. It will entirely depend on how many messages are in the cell.

-Does it cause save bloat?
-No because all messages are pre-placed which means that they come with the .esp file and completely removed from the savegame when it's switched off.

-I can't see my message after I placed it\it's clipping with the ground.
-You can remove the message and try again, jumping a little or choosing another spot.

-How do I change "B" hotkey?
-After launching the game with BB at least once go to Data\Config\BuildingBridges.ini(or MO2 Overwrite folder overwrite\Config\BuildingBridges.ini) and change Hotkey value from 48 to any of these keys.

Compatibility

Special measures are taken to make this mod compatible with:
-NV Randomizer;
-Solid Project;

It is compatible with any mod except some very rare cases. if you find any compability issues please report it.

By request I can try and add new functions for modders regading the plugin.

Credits

TommInfinite - for scripting and coding;
Nehred - for drawing an awesome logo!;
JazzIsPariz - for decoding the game for so many years and allowing me to use their code;
Thanks Pickysaurus for setting up a new app for me so quickly!
Special thanks for Sigerious,Lorkh,AnewFranz,The Original None,ImNotCreative,Lord Cobra,yaboo,Reyals,Franeg,Vert,Jacket,space,Effie.

Betatesters whose help was invaluable. You can see their names in the message located in Goodsprings Doc Mitchel's house and below:

• GluggyMuggy
• Afraidpizzaman
• 54yeg
• noobkillerv2
• flib
• homestuckfan87
• Lorkhansheart
• irggh
• jmanscarth
• SandalDaniel
• Lordcobra12
• anewacc
• MrWomp0303
• itsPIZZAtimee
• byrdworker
• shooptube
• Sigerious
• Francio30
• Lerne
• furrysexer2000000
• YaMainManJosh
• RadioAM
• kabyidon