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Post by Wolf on Dec 5, 2011 16:36:19 GMT
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Post by Wolf on Dec 3, 2011 20:24:48 GMT
Edit: Sorry, Amgepo, my post crossed yours. TES4Edit is of course no substitute for the CS although it has additional features. I read somewhere, recently, that the PC-version of Skyrim is only 14 % of the total sales for the game. So, we are a minority . 14 %?! Thats more than in other games. But this shows that we computer gamers are an endangered species, on the edge of extinction, because we are taking the hard way . (Edit: I looked up some numbers of another new game and there it is 5 million and 4 millions for consoles and 400 000 for PC) Although your fingers may be itching to do anything creative (because "playing construction set" is just as much fun as playing the game) the Creation Kit and the game must be from the same forge to work together as it should be and as it is necessary for quality and reliability of such a complex mod as a companion mod. And of course you must know the game by heart first. It seems there is a possibility to edit some specifics, as the ID-numbers are out, with the Fallout 3 CS. But I would never rely on that. And there are ways to ship around the steam requirement, but they are of course illegal. It's no problem to extract the Skyrim archives in the Fallout 3 Archive Utility: www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=34So retexturing is possible to full extent. For NifSkope there exists a new .xml file plugin but the meshes show defects and lack links to the textures. There is no working plugin for Blender or else so you have to export the meshes as wavefront.obj, mend them and assign UVs and textures. Quite a work. I tried several mods, but I found non of them I would keep. I just made a little bit cleaner texture with higher resolution to create more sympathatic female faces. That's it. Your comments on the different .ini settings, Amgepo, were of much more worth as the existing mods, which sometimes even make things worse. For now I see no other way than to sit back comfortably, the amulet of Vilja's mother around the neck, waiting for this ominous Creation Kit to be released, enjoying and learning the game and absorbing the atmosphere of this new world. Emma, don't get yourself under pressure. Rome wasn't built in one day and Vilja wasn't created two months after the release of Oblivion . You will have your time. All the Elder Scroll games have been made with such dedication and love for details that it seems to me it is not exclusively all financial interest behind this piece of artwork. So I can't believe they have the intention to "screw us up". Hmm... I hope so.
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Post by Wolf on Dec 3, 2011 6:42:34 GMT
The worst part is the Steam requirement. Each update makes your game more dependant of it. It's like a beast that with each bite place you better for the next one. That's a nice comparison, Amgepo! I like it. But it sounds as if they want to harm us in anyway. I think it's ambivalent. There are surely many common users who profit from the comfort of the automatic updates and DLCs and the easy way of sharing their game experience. (Oh, I know you hate automisation and I do either up to a certain degree). The industry on the other side has the opportunity of the free market survey. You said it so fitting: experimenting with us. Gstaff didn't mention the steam dependency in his thread, but in the other one I linked in my previous post, after one guy asked. It's the 14th post in that thread. Yes, I've read that, but the answer sounded just assuming to me. And I think there is no real sense to link to steam whenever the CK is started. The modding community will know where to get their updates and third party tools and why should the industry survey the, compared to the common users, small number of modders who will voluntarily upload at Valve Workshop? After all we don't know for sure what will be. But it is really worth discussing, even now. It's most interesting what you said, Amgepo. Why not open a new thread for the Creation Kit although it's not out yet? I'm sure there will be requirements in the future.
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Post by Wolf on Dec 2, 2011 20:45:52 GMT
I’ve read the thread of Gstaff over and over and I didn’t find anything concerning a requirement of Steam. But the Creation Kit will be linked to the Valve (Steam) Workshop. Just in the way of TESNexus or any other huge mod database this will collect all the submitted mods and give access for the users of the Creation Kit to work with the entire pool of the modder’s resources. So far this sounds quite comfortable and positive. On the other hand, by reading the license agreement of the Valve Workshop, you’ll see that you give the game industry full and free access to your creative work. If your work is used in a game you will be granted a fee by the grace of the game creators… how much isn’t specified yet. And with money of course, laws, jurisdiction and taxes will cut in. No more conditions like in paradise anymore. Another aspect is that the game industry has the opportunity of a very simple way of research about the behaviour and likings of the gaming community. Without wasting money for that purpose they can see which features are most popular. This is not necessarily negative for it may lead to better games… well, but only for the majority. But who knows whether we personally like what the majority goes for? I can’t tell if it’s the case with Skyrim, but I know it from Dragon Age that with the installation of the Steam account you agree to send while you are playing logfiles to the developers, that show in which way you are playing and which preferences you have… “just to make the game better” :-/ . You need quite a lot of confidence in the game developers to let them see how often you die in the game, how long you are playing, when you are playing, with which mods you are playing, which romance you prefer and so on. For my term I play in the offline mode on a computer which has no permanent connection to the internet and I’m updating only if it is really necessary. I hope this keeps a bit of privacy and a lot of data crap away. I don't need a connection to a forum while I am playing. Anyhow I like the third party forums – and especially this one here – much more than the forums of the game developers. As I have read the post of Gstaff, I think it will be only optional to submit your mods to the Valve Workshop. There will also still be the individual way to share your mods (at least I hope .
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Post by Wolf on Nov 26, 2011 21:16:16 GMT
Wotan, tack så mycket! I had no idea that there is such a detailed history behind this all. So there are different eras, I see. That explains everything. In this case it can't be according to the lore, that Vilja would appear in Skyrim in person. This means there has to be a far descendant of Vilja - a several times great granddaughter of her. Thanks again for the link. I had my two first CTDs - one for example because Esbern was stuck, running against a wall, and he didn't load into the next cell. And there are some weird things like the impression of getting weaker the more I level up and just as Amgepo said, perks that seem to be of no use. And there is definitely a quicksave-bug with lacking of animation or functions. Sometimes I wonder whether I am the only one, who is running around for several days with an arrow sticking in my nose or an ice-bolt or icicle piercing through my arm . The blessings of the shrines may reduce the pain but how am I supposed to drink with the arrow in my face Maybe my enemies are supposed to die laughing? ;D
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Post by Wolf on Nov 26, 2011 13:11:58 GMT
It may be a simple silly question, but does anyone know, when in the chronological sequence after the Oblivion crisis Skyrim is set. Some say 200 years after that. But the years in Oblivion show up with about 400 and in Skyrim it must be thirty years after 171, but after the Oblivion crisis relying on all the NPCs are talking. So what's correct?
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Post by Wolf on Nov 21, 2011 21:25:56 GMT
Congratulations Marek! What would Fergus be without his AI?
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Post by Wolf on Nov 20, 2011 19:56:31 GMT
I'm glad you did not surrender . I found something, but maybe you tried that already. If the DEP (Data Execution Prevention) of Windows 7 gets notice of an "improper" use of the RAM (maybe from an old application), it closes the application. So try this: inactivate the Windows Defender before running the CS or add the CS to the exception list of the Windows Defender. I'm always running my PC without Defender - well it's scarcely connected to the internet - and no issues since the first days of Vista. Security is not quite so bad, but nowadays one gets the impression securitiy is more effective in keeping us from simply working with the computer . Let's hope this might settle things for you.
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Post by Wolf on Nov 19, 2011 19:49:47 GMT
Sorry, in that case I have not the slightest idea. I'm sure you have uninstalled the CS correctly and it's newly installed in the new Oblivion data folder. As you said you have uninstalled and reinstalled Oblivion outside of the program files folder probably because Wrye Bash suggests it. You didn't just move the Oblivion folder by chance away from the program files folder? Maybe clean the registry of old entries. Run the CS and Oblivion as administrator. Maybe choose to run it in an XP compatibility mode. But now I'm done. No ideas anymore. Good luck.
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Post by Wolf on Nov 18, 2011 22:24:01 GMT
Anyway, I installed Windows 7 on my computer too and I started to have some issues with the construction set and the edition of AI Packages. Everytime I try to edit one, or even click on it, the CS closes. Hey Marek. Does this issue occur also in different .esp files or only in just one? I've encountered shut downs of the CS with Windows 7 only if the file is faulty, for example if something is missing, a mesh, a script, or a lacking AI-package etc.. The CS doesn't display every mismatch. If I may make a guess, I assume the issue is not due to Windows 7 but more probable in the file.
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Post by Wolf on Nov 17, 2011 17:06:57 GMT
Yes, really they should have picked the companion warp. Stuck companions are annoying. But I think the Beths are going more for realism than functionality here. Although you make your companion warp behind the player, you will sometimes recognize the sudden appearance as odd. If I get you right, Emma, your housecarl came back to you after some time? She wasn't lost forever, was she? When I lost my sulking compy, she was lost quite for a long time, but she was there again after loading into a new place. You are the first one I ever heard complaining because of too extensive caves or dungeons . Yes, it takes sometimes a very long time until you get your quest done because they put a lot of work in it , but it's challenging until you see light at the end of the tunnel. You see: It's cold out there and freezing. A little dungeon-crawling is much more comfortable . That's my feeling too. I even don't dare to speak to people, anxious they will be giving me a quest, I feel forced to do immediately. On the other hand it is nice that there are a lot of side-quest. But you know you are in Skyrim by now, don't you? Just look at the warm colours of shrubs and leaves in the lowlands - a small Indian Summer. Maybe give your game a wee bit of saturation. Just set "define saturation" under Tonemap in the injFX-Settings.h (Skyrim folder) to more than 1.00. Only change the second decimal, otherwise it is too much. And make a copy of this file before you change anything. The game shows a very high contrast in my opinion. It's just like beeing in the snow in bright sunlight. There is nearly only "black" and blinding white for the eye. If you change the "brightness", which is actually the gamma, there will be too many nearly black parts. I tried a lot, but nothing could make it better than it is. So there is nothing else but , when you are out in the snow .
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Post by Wolf on Nov 16, 2011 20:39:48 GMT
Finally – I got it ;D. The postal delivery service found its way to my home – after several attempts and in spite of GPS, DHL, ESP and an absolutely correct home address . I found the hidden path from the Pale Pass over the Jerall Mountains to Skyrim much more easily. Oh, how I felt guilty about leaving Vilja alone back there in Cyrodiil. Although I left her several houses and homes (all the work of others), a lot of loot and monstrous money to keep her shopping everyday – there is this strong emotional link… . At least I really should have taken her Wolfcry armour with me . But as it is, my hands were bound. At least in the introduction sequence. Quite an idea for an introduction. Seems the game is over for yourself before it has even started. Coming from a warm and colourful land like Cyrodiil – “like in a fairy tail” a recent post said so fittingly – Skyrim is of a harsh and defying beauty. The landscape is absolutely gorgeous – and there are so many of them – (sorry for my English) - gorges I mean . The Beth people have put so much love in every detail. When wandering along the rivers, with their foaming brine and the jumping salmons, you get really attracted by the water, whishing you can put your feet in it - so crystal clear and ice cold – really mesmerizing, that’s the word Jackowords used. You can stand there and watch all the time, almost like being on a holiday in Kanada, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, the Alps, the Karakorum or wherever. Skyrim is again a vast playground with more than ever believable realism. And it extends more in 3D than Cyrodiil. The land is authentic through and through and I guess the atmosphere is very Morro-windy, especially up there in mountains with the wind blowing snowy veils over the rocky edges, although I had only watched my children playing it. First I was really insecure, whether I should play the game, for the videos and some of the screenshots looked so gloomy and had such an artificial tint. The in-game-experience was such a difference. A very subtle change of the settings in the .inis depending on your graphic card and your monitor and it looks quite natural and fitting to the different weather conditions and atmospheres. So far, so positive. But the wooden faces of the people seem to have the same deep and porose veining as the logs in the sawmills. Weather-tanned and just natural would have been enough. The Nords look quite good though, the Dunmers look just like they behave, the Kahjiits and the Argonians are quite improved in my opinion, but I feel sorry for the Imperials etc. and especially the Highelves and the Woodelves (Can’t get the Tolkien-Elves out of my head). One thing I liked most with Oblivion was, that the people were talking to you and smiling at you face to face. In Skyrim it’s hard to get their facial expression and they are all sulky or unemotional (so far). I can’t imagine Vilja with such a face. Some animations give a spastic impression for folks who are spoiled by motion-capture animations. But I suppose they are getting rheumatic in the cold . Although the inns and houses look really warm and cozy. The companions are quite simple in their functionality. They just do their job, if they don’t get lost. No personality, but I once was surprised, that the woman I had in tow – a grim looking steel-cladded battle-matron with an upside-down-smile – warned me and was aware that a cave was dangerous! Oh, how I miss Vilja! But would she really fit in here, into Skyrim? It seems the Bethesda Team did learn quite a lot from the modders. They have included so many features and even aspects of role playing into the game, such as improving your weapons and armour or preparing meals practically and visibly. I know who came up with this idea first. (Btw, when my guy is forging the glowing iron, he holds it upside down, hitting the wrong, the cool end with the mallet, and is – OUCH! – terribly burning is elbow ) Amgepo is right, that the early levels are too easy in combat. But there is an expert mode, but I didn't try it yet. The game is running completely stable on my system. But as Amgepo pointed out, it is not advisable to load from a running game back into the same scene. I had no crashes, but there will be very probably lacking animations or other minor issues. (The banners of the stone piles in the mountains ceased to move) So just load from the main menu. The GUI looks more like an App on a smartphone. It’s the only thing not fitting into the atmospheric setting of the game and I’m missing shortkeys. .... Edit: I missed reading something. You can assign hotkeys from the Favourites Menu.... Well, that is - very comprehensive and in short - my first impression. PS: Does anyone know, which version of Nifskope it needs to open the .nif files of Skyrim and if the newest version of Blender and Python-Plugin works with these files?
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Post by Wolf on Nov 15, 2011 7:58:56 GMT
In view of things like the chainmail bikini mod ... the CS would have to already be out, right? How else are those mods already being made? Or are people using the fallout3 or oblivion CS's to do it? But, no, what would not work, since Skyrim uses a brand new engine ... errr, doesn't it? Hi, Blockhead. Most of the already existing mods are just retextures. The chainmal bikini is also a retexture of the regular lady's undies. They are using the .dds format for the game again. So that's no problem to modify. (Practically I have no right to utter a word in this thread because the postal delivery service ( Delivery Has Lacks) isn't able to find my house and they have sent my copy back . But I've already made some downloads of Skyrim mods. They are most impressive, as I look at them, standing there in my mod folder, waiting for things to come .)
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Post by Wolf on Nov 8, 2011 15:35:43 GMT
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Post by Wolf on Oct 29, 2011 7:23:01 GMT
I'm sorry for being so illiterate, but could anyone explain what it means that a game is for Steam only, what causes and concequences this will have? I don't have anything that is for Steam, I'm embarrassingly unfamiliar with it. Hi Emma, at last I couldn't resist to enter your forum although I've sworn myself "not another account, username and password". But your community is so great. I'm surely late with my reply and maybe you know everything already. (Actually I am, having just seen amgepo's explicit reply) I copied this from Wikipedia: Steam is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications platform developed by Valve Corporation. It is used to distribute games and related media online, from small independent developers to larger software houses. Steam also has community features, automated game updates, in-game voice and chat functionality. I'm sure your son uses DragonAge with Steam. He could tell you his experience. First you have to create an account in Steam which is for all games that are "Steam-powered". First I was very suspicious because you allow them making changes on your computer by automatic updates, but I've never experienced or heared anything illegal about it since. Of course there are commercial interests in advertising other games or recommending DLCs. For them you buy points and you will always have some points left which are not enough to buy a new DLC. So you always pay too much. Steam should have no influence on modding though I do not know, if the automatic future updates may cause issues. You see Modding works also with Dragon Age although independent scripting is much harder there. I'm afraid there will be less scripting possibilities in Skyrim if you regard the development of the games over the last years. But I hope I'm wrong.
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