Most useful commands, tricks and tools while testing

[miracle.flame]

Could you share your most commonly used commands and tricks how to move around quickly when you need to test particular changes in game.. or check if anything broke?
You know, summoning anything, switching around quest states, triggering various scenes..moving around...

[Aloysius]

There is the map instant traveling, just type map within the console then the name of the map you need to go. the console will help you by listing maps in your maps folder while you type.

Aside from the occasional noclip and notarget, you also can advance variables you need in the console like you do in python, G.Variable_name = number

Though the most important secret reside in your own coding, for me that is. Whenever you can, don't link your new content to vanilla or other mods variables, and when you have to, set some quick script testing shortcut that you will disable later.
Sometimes I have to myself, my quests following and sometimes changing the progress of the vanilla story, I need to either advance the G.story_state in the console or create a quick new script overiding vanilla to make the needed maps and characters be in the state I need them. Teleport to Lacroix office from the start menu and have the all thing be like if I just arrived from the giovanni mansion for instance.
It's not so much a trick but to know your way with bloodlines scripts and maps.

[argikt]

Like Aloysius says variables.
Also spawn items (some quests checks if you have it)  "give item_g_lockpick" for example...

[Malkav]

God or Buddha mode can be useful if for some reason you can't use notarget but don't want to pay attention to fights.
Other than that I find picker and cl_showpos useful for working on maps.
And of course you can set debug texts in your scripts. Just add a line print "some useless text" and this text appears in the console whenever this part of the script is executed.

My tools of choice are Winmerge and notepad++ for the actual editing and file comparing. And for bloodlines specific actions I use VTMBEdit which is included in the SDK. The functions to test for missing quotes and braces in dialogs,entity lists and /vdata files are quite useful. And for me, extracting the entity lists is necessary because I haven't got the hang of Hammer (yet).

[miracle.flame]

Thank you all. These are all very useful. Just a word worth noting - I am testing the Wesp's UP only, after localization applied.

How do I actually advance in G.story_state? Using G.story_state=## does not seem to change much...

[Wesp5]

How do I actually advance in G.story_state?

It has to be G.Story_State, capitals are important in Bloodlines!

[Aloysius]

How do I actually advance in G.story_state?

It has to be G.Story_State, capitals are important in Bloodlines!

Yes, to be accurate you need to look up yourself the variables names that are pertinent to your modding/testing in the py files and spell them exactly like they are there, Miracle.flame.
G.Story_State is the vanilla one I use the most in my own code when I need to check the main quest progress but it's not the only variable that is pertinent, it all depend on what you are looking to do/advance specifically, and why you need to know how the game scripting is made.
I mentioned py files but sometimes variables are made to progress in a dlg file or a bsp file as well.

[miracle.flame]

Darn, I was so close and missed such a detail! 

Thanks a lot, this is going to help a big time while moving around and testing.
Would you mind listing some key jumpoints of quest states with short description what's the status for that value?

[Wesp5]

Would you mind listing some key jumpoints of quest states with short description what's the status for that value?

It's all in the UP readme:

-6   Started New Game.
-5   Character Creation.
-4   During opening cinematic, added by wesp.
-3   During tutorial.
-2   Tutorial done, transition to haven.
-1   Entered haven.
0   Entered Santa Monica.
1   Convinced Trip to sell you guns.
2   Showing Elysium tip for the first time (temporary).
3   Showing combat tip for the first time (temporary).
5   Spoke with Beckett at warehouse.
10   Entered downtown.
15   Elizabeth Dane completed.
20   Spoke with Bach at Grout's mansion.
25   Spoke with Prince after Grout's mansion.
30   Spoke with Beckett at museum.
35   Spoke with Prince after museum.
40   Spoke with the Tzimisce, added by wesp.
45   Spoke with Gary.
50   Mandarin started experiments.
55   Rescued Barabus.
60   Spoke with Chang brothers, added by wesp.
65   Spoke with Prince after Giovanni mansion.
70   Spoke with Johansen.
75   Spoke with Prince after Leopold Society.
80   Spoke with Ming-Xiao after Hallowbrook.
85   Spoke with Prince about Ming-Xiao.
90   Spoke with Jack after Griffith park.
95   Spoke with endgame cabbie.
100   Cabbie takes you to Chinatown (Kuei-Jin ending).
105   Cabbie takes you to Chinatown (Sabbat ending), added by wesp.
110   Cabbie takes you to Prince (Prince ending).
115   Cabbie takes you to Anarchs (Anarch ending).
120   Cabbie takes you to Chantry (Camarilla ending).
125   Cabbie takes you to Chinatown (Solo ending).

[miracle.flame]

Thanks, Wesp. It's good to find it here too. I realized there are much more triggers required than those. I could figure out a few things but how to quicky dispose of npc in a proper way? For example to meet this requirement IsDead("Zygaena")...?

[Wesp5]

For example to meet this requirement IsDead("Zygaena")...?

In this example, you really need to kill Zygaena :)!

[miracle.flame]

Certainly, I am testing dialogues and need to meet starting condition IsDead("Zygaena") and G.Zyg_Human == 0

[Wesp5]

I am testing dialogues and need to meet starting condition IsDead("Zygaena") and G.Zyg_Human == 0

Sadly, I know no other way. The game somehow keeps track of the NPCs it kills...

[Malkav]

Certainly, I am testing dialogues and need to meet starting condition IsDead("Zygaena") and G.Zyg_Human == 0

Another option if you only want to test what follows this starting condition and not the condition itself, you can temporarily alter the starting condition to (IsDead("Zygaena") and G.Zyg_Human == 0) or G.Testvar == 1 and then set G.Testvar accordingly in the console.
You can use different values for the testvar in different places. I would however always use a value different from 0 and add a line G.Testvar = 0 to the setBase and setPlus functions so the variable is reset on every mapload.