How Do Random NPC Events Work in Video Games Like RDR2?

Exactly! The events don't need separate checks; they can trigger when certain conditions are met. There’s a lot of optimization involved. Instead of heavy loops, scripts can run checks less frequently, maybe every few seconds. So if an NPC is supposed to pull off a robbery, the game might simulate it and advance the state based on your proximity. If you’re far away, it won’t process in real time, saving power for crucial interactions.

It's a good question! From my understanding, it's likely not a matter of continuously checking every single event all the time. Instead, when an event starts, it might just be added to a list of active events. The game can then check this smaller list rather than scanning the entire game world constantly.

There are definitely efficient ways to handle NPC interactions. Events off-screen can be simulated with simplified calculations, like advancing a robbery scenario in a separate list every few seconds. If you approach right as the robbery is happening, the game dynamically creates the scene based on what stage it’s at.

You might want to think of it as procedural generation! Instead of having events running all the time, the game can check if you're in a specific area and activate an event only then. For instance, if you're in a location where a bank robbery could occur, it could roll a random chance to trigger that event based on the in-game time and context.