|
Post by Sniffles on Mar 3, 2024 22:23:17 GMT
Vagaries of life and unlife. As the cold stone about, time stands still for them in the long forgotten garden. An idyll out of time of a simple and tranquil nature. Perhaps a romantic interlude, but for both a time of reflection as they briefly shed their cares and give consideration as to what is of true value, what is fleeting and transient, with both, mighty, powerful, blood of the dragons and blood of the daedra, find themselves swept up as leaves upon the winds, at the mercy of the fates.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Mar 3, 2024 21:51:35 GMT
@aatrnasyn I'm pretty sure there are several leveling mods considering how hated the game system is. Squishy's method worked for her because she's so detail oriented but drove me bats. Then looking at Skyrim's version, it's all about training. Keep training, it's a new level every day or two, stop training, you almost stop dead with the leveling. (At level 41 I switched to enchanting, smithing and speech training. Went up to level 51 in less than three weeks. Then, with the skills I had an interest in topped up I quit training. One month later I just barely am at level 53 and most of that was a chance encounter to learn restoration and one illusion session. Then the next iteration, Fallout 4. The developers knew their leveling sucks max and handed off leveling to quest completions. Same same. Run out of quests, leveling comes to a halt.
So IMHO, Squishy has the right idea and a mod that follows along those lines would be best, but extremely difficult. The mod needs to recognize individual players preferences and interests which borders on the absurd. Complex algorithms dead ahead. All the leveling mods I've read up on are WYSIWYG arbitrary in one way or another. For certain, a compulsive flower picking sightseer with a warped sense of humor is never going to be accommodated.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Mar 3, 2024 7:11:26 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Mar 3, 2024 2:35:36 GMT
That is quite comprehensive, Sniffles! See, back in the day there were folks who were into roleplay, but there were others who were also way into the numbers side of things. I'm more of a roleplayer, but that's one of the things I like about the older RPGs, they catered to both sides of the coin.
This, too. This is the sort of stuff which really makes each game & character unique.
The gal I am with now for instance: Joan of Arkay. She's got a huge backstory, since she began her tale in Morrowind, and now she is in Year 1 of the 4th Era (mods...) She's not especially quirky or odd, she is a Crusader, and probably my most conventional character I game with. But she does use Destruction spells alongside of Turn Undead & Restoration. Destruction is not supposed to be used by someone of her ilk, if we're talking of the old-skool DnD terms. But she learned Fire & Frost spells when she was a teen, and finds them useful for ranged targets!
Excellent example with Joan of Arkay. (For me) Incorporating her abilities into PC planned activities would always add 1 or more, (1+1) depending upon depth. Action -> reaction a 1, action -> further action, planned, thought ahead, (1+1+1) would get 2 - Intelligence plus creativity (a significant factor absent in the leveling system).
A serious nod to my partner Squishy for her take on the leveling. Meticulous detail is her forte.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Mar 3, 2024 0:44:16 GMT
For what it is worth, my partner came up with a solution to the leveling system for the PC. It requires some introspection and being brutally honest with yourself. At every level up you take note of how much improvement overall you have. A number. Then level using the game leveling system. Then open the console and take into account what you have done in actual game play and opportunities where, time and place permitting, the PC would have undertaken training OR simply learned naturally from circumstances. Separate the game mechanics from the roleplay. Often similar to each other. Then in the console you adjust up and down the various stats giving the PC the sum total earned using simple logic. Rule: 5+5+5 or even more overall is always possible but not just three categories. The total of 15 is slightly flexible and spread over everything.
Strength and Endurance always increases. Factor in physical activity. Marathon activity favors endurance, close combat and exertion as climbing favors strength. Agility increases using the rule of how well damage has been avoided and negotiating difficult terrain.
Personality is increased in direct relation to social contact. Lots of Inns and engaging in dialogues. Intelligence is increased by magical use and academic studies reflected in alchemy. Always factor in fails as part of the learning lessons. Speed and Willpower are different, calculated last. They are fixed at 1 since they improve indirectly. Speed is adjusted upwards by Agility and Endurance, Willpower by Endurance and successful accomplishments. A sloppy barely survived dungeon crawl vs taking your time and being meticulous, getting and and out with minimum of fuss and mess even if it takes a lot longer time..
So yes, micro management and some soul searching is in order. A gameplay session set aside specifically to review what you have done and how well you did it.
For example, me, dedicated flower picker given to strolling and esthetics involving scaling near impossible terrain, my 5+5+5, 15 total, is usually dialed down to 8-12 due to my RP style. But my sessions, hours of play and save game reverts in defeating Umbra and getting that sword scored me 7+6+1. Endurance and willpower over the top, Intelligence as dumb as a doorknob plus a little bit for creativity. My intelligence always suffers as in my pursuit of ingredients I often accidentally stumble into fights. When I distracted and maneuvered Glarthir up to dive rock and pushed him off my stats got extremely skewed for that leveling, Intelligence 2 (malice aforethought), Personality -2 (natch), Agility 3 (survive the trek and avoid his dozens of attacks), Strength 1 (the trek, shoving him etc), Willpower and Endurance, 7 and 5. 16 total.
ALSO, use your weirdness! Your quirks and oddities the game never takes into account. For example. I worked out a methodology and ended up selling around 100 Black Bows. What I call a fudge factor. I think I gave myself 1 or 2 extra leveling points entirely outside the Oblivion box for the effort.
Factors I usually use tailored for my style of game play. Tanking fights 0. Strength might get a 1, intelligence a -1.
Sniping and tactical encounters - successful, Agility 1, Intelligence 1.
Potion cooking Intelligence 1or 2, Strength -1, Personality -1, selling potions Personality 1 Stupid moves as in falling off cliffs; dieing -2, surviving - Endurance and Agility 1/2 + 1/2.
Completing a quest the wrong way, outside the box, always gives a 1 for creativity. Lots of opportunities there in the DLCs
Crime always gives a -1, morality issues. Some DLCs always give -1 or -2 for engaging in general stupidity. Horse armor? (Psycho micromanagement esthetics for the foof inclined. Just paint your uncontrollable critter with camo). Vile Lair? Fighters Stronghold? (Augment what you already have!) The Orrery?? (Just what you always suspected, Oblivion the game - functions and crashes, are dictated by the phase of the moon.) Other DLCs like Shivering Isles afford a wonderful opportunity to do things wrong and somehow make them work.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Mar 2, 2024 5:52:56 GMT
Loooved the fifth and seventh shots from your collection above, Sniff! I'm working hard on perfecting screen grabs, casual, Serana and flowers, and staged, Rigs turning her head.
Beyond surrealism. I'm taking Serana through her mothers garden again, just following her around. Such extreme contrast, the subject stunningly beautiful, graceful, but perplexed. Childhood memories, dreams, visions, meeting a cold harsh reality in that decrepit Gormenghast-like surrounding. Enigmatic as in dark, obscure, almost inexplicable; a riddle; a statement, the hidden meaning of which is to be discovered or guessed. A magical mystical moment out of time as her wondrous form and newly discovered life is utterly antithetical to her surroundings. Sadly, the effect would be ruined by censorship. I freely admit to being given strongly to esthetics. A purgatory Leda and the swan was assigned to for centuries. “She had shown him by her independence how it was only fear that held people together. The fear of being alone and the fear of being different.”
Mervyn Peake meets Paul Rubens
In the above posting images, efforts at creating art. I strive to make a single word describe the subject. Rigmor - defiant, Serana uncompromising.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Mar 2, 2024 0:54:55 GMT
Dawnguard onward! Both wondergals have been carefully outfitted to compliment appearance and match their upcoming roles in the vampire epic. None of the barely surviving each encounter crap - they are 101% arse kickers.
Riggsy darling, PUHLEEZE don't shed that gear. I'm not pretty screaming, ripping my hair out and banging my head against walls.
(A delightful paradox, cute clad in skimpy pure tank. Over the top stats.)
Serana just plain rocks in the exotic dancer style. Sheer perfection. Just imagine her in a venue belly dancing surrounded by drooling groping drunken schmucks. Hey guys, fair warning, watch for ice spikes embedded in your anatomy.
Prelude. Enjoying the trip out into the Rift to the max.
Exkuuze me? Just what good is a head high logs and spikes fortification in front of one hundred foot high battlements? Isran my dear, have you finally gone round the pipe?
He has.
In the depths of Volkihar Serana has an existential moment. (Location caused rendering issues - art scenes)
It's possible the Ideal Masters sorely underestimated a vengeful saucy vampiress recruiting more than capable assistance and turning the dearth of Soul Cairn into our playground. (Riggles the miniature maniac disposed of two of the guardians before we even started that part of the quest. Not bad with a bow as well.)
Bring it! Meet Azura's wrath, schmucks!
Addendum: Serana's revised (revamped? wince) dialogue is superb! Over the top. Mature, brilliantly thought out as she works her way through a family crisis, a lot of introspection, serious self realization, and as cake frosting almost in shock as she discovers romance still dwells within.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Mar 1, 2024 23:57:35 GMT
Sniffles: regarding disappearing NPCs, are they mod-added? If so, sometimes this can be fixed by making sure they've got a Persistent Reference in one of the game's cells or worldspaces, usually wherever they started. Does this help? I think my saved game cleaner is a major culprit. I park a follower and after a while it ham fisted comes along and thinks the NPC, or a vital bit of data regarding the NPC is an unattached instance. For example, I parked several NPCs in Lakside and went off to do the entire Rigmor quest line. Going back to the house Serana was missing. I got her back and just noticed Vilja is missing. But it's no problem at all to fix. I just make a save, then open an earlier save where I know the NPC is present, get the ref number, close that save and open my most recent save, then console, moveto player, and all is well, NPC back and fully functional.
So figure it's really the game engines fault, being a right pig about leaving messes around that will eventually cause serious issues. Best is to refresh NPCs. A problem can arise with this I suppose in that if I bring back an NPC their quest line may be broken. So damned if I do, damned if I don't. Eventual garbage overload and game crashes or mangled quest lines?
In Vilja's case, I got Tindra moved into a house and the only additional part of her quest is Sindra becoming available. Hasn't happened in over 50 hours with Vilja active. No big loss there as I don't think there is any more significant developments in her quest.
AS for Serana post Rigmor, when I did a moveto her quest line continued right where we left off. No problem at all.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Mar 1, 2024 8:05:59 GMT
cumbersum The leveling system is the MOSTEST MAJOR GRIPE everyone has with Oblivion. A Mt. Everest plummet below fetid garbage. The reason why I gave up shortly after starting a new play through several years ago. I'll let others better informed than I to offer suggestions.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Mar 1, 2024 1:23:16 GMT
Knights, new plan... no wait. Awww snit. The general idea is continue on with the Dawnguard quest line, but new and improved. Serana with her new upgraded dialogue and Rigmor to discover what she is like outside the box of her mod. Serana handles the magic, Riggly with her smithing improved Azura's Bane sword the tank and DB with her bow. Simple. Except Rigmor's mod ate TWO sets of gear I had custom made for her, I'm royally burned out smithing and enchanting, and all my resources are scattered between three homes with no fast travel available anywhere near them. Serana's gear had been borrowed from and Riggly is makeshift at best and inappropriate in public. Sigh. long treks just to round up smithing and enchanting equipment, now seriously depleted.
Finally, build the requisite gear, dump everything on Riggles, see what she will and won't wear, take notes, reload the save, make just the gear she wears, then wash, rinse, repeat with Serana. Two days postponing Dawnguard and messy confusion.
Uhhhhhhh................ no. I'm not an average hack and slash pound out a quest gamer. We are exploring all the nuances of our interactions and sight seeing with major emphasis on enjoying the environments. The quest is byplay.
And almost ready! Just hand Riggles her new gear, and game crash. Just the pre-spiffying saves and I've forgotten everything.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Feb 29, 2024 2:59:01 GMT
Sniffles : Do you mean syrupy melodrama? Why, it's almost as if you've got this mod figured out! Memories. Squishy had never watched TV or saw movies in her life - ultra objective. We went to a theater now and then. The third time we went she exclaimed, 'This is the same goddam movie'. She predicted the entire plot and plot twists then dragged me out in the middle of the final syrup dose to get eats. The only place open was MCDouche. She fed the meat stuff to a stray dog and we stuck the pickles to a window and had races as to which would slide down the fastest. More interesting than the movie.
She added new lyrics to her favorite refrain. A take off from 'I can see clearly now the rain has gone.' She had altered that as a slogan for an STD clinic, "I can pee clearly now the pain has gone." And altered it again upon seeing the vapid drooling of the audience over a boring movie, "They can see clearly now their brains are gone."
So you should have been drowned at birth? Allow me to fix that little mistake.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Feb 28, 2024 5:50:15 GMT
Hint: When the final battle against the big New Order boss comes about, you'll be on top of a tower. Just make sure that he's between you and the parapet, and when he's done with his pretentious monologue, nail him with an Irresistable Force shout. He should go tumbling over the side to his demise, and you can follow the quest marker to find his carcass! I should have used the shout. Just as he was about to jump he sort of got an arrow in the back of his noggin. Skytrim fizzicks is a little fooked when bows get sooper dooper plonked up. almost sent him out to the You Can't Go That Way. Is that it? Pack her back to the cabin, chat up Sethri, collect another couple of useless melee weapons and escort her to the border? Or keep her on as a banana slug follower rivaling Serana without any interaction? I ask because I had to disable-enable and ResetAI about five times to move the events along.
I'll move her up to the departure point I suppose and see if there's one of those GAG BARF departure scenes with a choice attached.
Edit. So bye bye and summon ability. Here's hoping she's got some interesting dialogue. I've got several boat anchor melee fighters that just make my sightseeing miserable most of the time. Next up, Rig(or)mor(tis) does soul cairn.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Feb 27, 2024 1:19:39 GMT
Hint: When the final battle against the big New Order boss comes about, you'll be on top of a tower. Just make sure that he's between you and the parapet, and when he's done with his pretentious monologue, nail him with an Irresistable Force shout. He should go tumbling over the side to his demise, and you can follow the quest marker to find his carcass! GAG. Of all that's unholy, the dreaded evil villain rant. I would mash the shout key through the back of the keyboard the moment I saw it coming. I like Squishy's getpos setpos z + 200 or so. They fall and kersplat in front of you.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Feb 26, 2024 23:44:05 GMT
Sniffles : I can imagine the scene: Rigmor trying to fire up the crowd, a few random "RAH! RAH! DOWN WITH THE THALMOR! SKYRIM FOR THE NORDS! LOOK! A BEAR! GET THE BEAR! Get the bear! Get the bear!" Nod nod nod.... Since the PC is converted into a mouse clicker throughout most of the slide show style melodrama it affords the player many opportunities to be an on site news reported recording events in 3rd party perspective.
I'm up to and dreading the upcoming major battle. Providing my wuss comp can handle it, 1, it's ultimately a foregone conclusion scripted event (no doubt with chocolate, peanut butter, cream cheese pastrami sammitch melodrama) 2, and the PC actions will have no effect on the outcome, 3, I really have no idea how to handle things. Just unleash Zephyr's full fury at random assuming the good guys are all set essential as it's going to be mass destruction, beef up the missing shouts to contribute to the mayhem (wussy garbage stuff for level 50+ PC), or maybe round up some additional assistance such as complete Serana's gig out to Soul Cairn, engage the final confront, then go TFC and grab shots of Durnheviir and some summoned undead getting in on things. That would be very protracted - but so is the entire mod - but make for a lot of interesting screen grab byplay.
I've got 40 or more saves throughout the entire mod, and since all events are scripted, it's very tempting the completely weird things out during the various predictable moments. Squishy once completely frapped a scene with Vilja where her and PC were sitting at a table with a non hostile spriggan and a live rabbit as the apparent entree.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on Feb 26, 2024 22:05:56 GMT
Foops
Riggly delivers a pep talk to the huge army. Interrupted by a bear wandering into camp and her speaking to the empty wilderness.
A bad idea making a save here at the new beflowered camp outside Ivarstead. Upon reload the game was missing a few things and Drags-on gurl found herself a couple thousand feet above Whiterun without terrain details loaded.
|
|