Roast cooking for NPCs, and also as companion command

[Sami]

As we continue with focus on NPCs, which becomes the core content of next release, they have now been given wits to actively roast raw meat or fish in their possession.
This feat is mostly witnessed by player character when meeting wandering NPCs who can now actively cook the meat of the animals they've hunted and butchered.
It now becomes an actual game created scene possibility to meet a wandering woodsman sitting by the fire and roasting the meat of hare he just happened to hunt down.

Moreover, roast cooking is also added as a new companion command. Unlike player character, companions don't leave the meat by the fire and pick it up when it's done, but they stay put by the fire while roasting is being done. Companions roast ten pieces of meat at a time, and if not given another order they try to keep on cooking until everything is roasted.

These are future additions - not yet functional in current version 3.52.

[PALU]

Nice! Does the "active" cooking means they won't process skins of killed animals, or will they do what I do, i.e. first process the skin and then cook (in my case it's typically dry/smoke, but roasting is plenty good enough for the time being) until the skin is ready for the next step? It's a natural extension of the system (as well as something that would be useful to order companions to do), but might be a bit of a scope bloat currently.

[Sami]

Nice! Does the "active" cooking means they won't process skins of killed animals, or will they do what I do, i.e. first process the skin and then cook (in my case it's typically dry/smoke, but roasting is plenty good enough for the time being) until the skin is ready for the next step? It's a natural extension of the system (as well as something that would be useful to order companions to do), but might be a bit of a scope bloat currently.

Active skin processing ability for NPC is pending to be added, it's not yet there.
Companions naturally do thing in the order you command them, but eventually - when there are more and more tasks - it naturally would be good to have them working self-imposed.

[Mati256]

Thank you Sami, I love where this is going!

[Tom H]

Do they have to be holding the meat? Or, can it be a stack on the ground? Carry weight limitations are difficult to guess with a npc.

[Sami]

Do they have to be holding the meat? Or, can it be a stack on the ground? Carry weight limitations are difficult to guess with a npc.

They need to be carrying the meat.

[caius]

Moreover, roast cooking is also added as a new companion command. Unlike player character, companions don't leave the meat by the fire and pick it up when it's done, but they stay put by the fire while roasting is being done. Companions roast ten pieces of meat at a time, and if not given another order they try to keep on cooking until everything is roasted.

These are future additions - not yet functional in current version 3.52.

That is awesome!  Can a similar dynamic be added to NPC commands for smoking, drying, or salting meat?  If they have in their possession cords, a knife, and/or salt, can that be added to their repertoire of commands?

[Sami]

Moreover, roast cooking is also added as a new companion command. Unlike player character, companions don't leave the meat by the fire and pick it up when it's done, but they stay put by the fire while roasting is being done. Companions roast ten pieces of meat at a time, and if not given another order they try to keep on cooking until everything is roasted.

These are future additions - not yet functional in current version 3.52.

That is awesome!  Can a similar dynamic be added to NPC commands for smoking, drying, or salting meat?  If they have in their possession cords, a knife, and/or salt, can that be added to their repertoire of commands?

Those are more complex cookery deeds, and not coming this time. Basically everything can be done, but unfortunately the time is limited and masses of other features are shouting and waving "please add me, please add me."