I would like to know how others handle multiple NPC types. I started off with only one NPC, type A. When I was ready to start adding additional NPC types; obviously, I wasn’t going to just duplicate the lines for each individual NPC type. So I used local variables to configure and style the NPCs depending on their type, which works ok. I guess the only disadvantage in doing it this way is having to create separate sprites for equipment and apparel (img1). I thought creating different animations for each type would also be painful and confusing.
The other thing I did was creating spawn points for the positioning of the NPCs with the aim of reducing the potential lag and perhaps eventually randomizing positions and types (img 2). The NPCs will spawn when Player X <= to each NPC spawn point. This way I don't have 30 NPC running at once all over the level.
Anyways, how do you handle multiple NPC types in your games?