I changed the title and expanded the description of the main post so it's more clear what the thread is about.
Regarding my own adventures, I haven't much to say most of the time because I usually start the game to test stuff from my mod projects
. But at the moment I play the game more extensively because I'm working on a spell (and a corresponding ability) that tries to fix the hostility between followers that can occur due to friendly fire. I only started recently to play with multiple followers in Skyrim. Before that I mainly traveled alone and, occasionally, have one follower with me. Then I got the idea to
playtest version 1.6 of my Spectral Music Player mod with multiple followers.
The Argonian on the left is my character Scalez. The Khajiit in the middle is Za'rjo, a merchant follower and spellsword. To the right, floating, the Spectral Drum which can apply combat buffs to the party and play music. Last but not least, there's Samuel - his Signature Spell is often good for a surprise.
On one of the recent journeys, my team discovered this huge Dwemer ruin in the distance:
"What treasures await us there?"
At first, it seemed that there was no way in. I didn't want to spend a couple of hours wandering around aimlessly to find a solution. That's why I consulted the internet. It turns out I needed to do the quest
in order to enter Bthardamz. According to the The Elder Scrolls Wiki it's the "
largest ruin in the game". Exploring the dungeon pushed my patience to the limits. "Will this ever end?!" I thought. I was lucky when I finally reached the end of the dungeon and even more lucky after exiting it and seeing the daylight again.
While I traveled with my followers I noticed one thing that really got on my nerves: Followers that fight each other due to friendly fire. There are mods which negate friendly fire damage but I haven't found one that stops the hostility due to friendly fire between followers. So I decided to
create my own one. I'm still working on it. Each time I thought I finished the mod, I got the idea for an additional feature that makes traveling with followers more comfortable. I managed to implement all planned features a few days ago. Then I learned it's probably better to limit the number of actors, who can get ability, to minimize the impact on the performance (the ability registers
OnHit events and stops combat between actors who have this ability).
Because, if I understand it correctly, if too many instances of a script are attached to too many actors doing something at the same time can cause lag, freeze or stutter. Also
casting spells inside ActiveMagicEffect scripts should be avoided because it can impact the performance negatively as well (some of my ActiveMagicEffect scripts cast spells), see
this Reddit post. But if the magic effects are short lived, then casting
shouldn't be a problem. The Reddit user, who wrote the post that I linked last, uses a quest with
aliases that have a script attached to them instead of ActiveMagicEffect scripts. When he wants to attach a script to an actor, he can force the actor to an available alias. I plan to do something similar.
So I will rewrite some parts of my Bond of Friendship mod (again) and I hope it's the last time I do this.
I still struggle to balance the time I spend on working on my projects and playing the game just for fun (don't even get me started on playing other games than Skyrim). I think I generally spend about 90 % of the time on the former and about 10 % on the latter.
So I felt proud to have been able to search the Nexus for some new outfits for my gang and try them out in the game:
From left to right: Za'rjo wears "Infantry Armor", Samuel wears "Nemesis Armor Set" and Scalez wears "Blackened Steel Armour and Weapon set". Scalez turned into a two-handed warrior because he needs variation.
Edit:
Regarding my Bond of Friendship mod, I managed to limit the number of managed actors via actor slots (which are quest
aliases). I had problems to get the aliases to work. After hours of trial and error, I found out what I was doing wrong: I simply forgot to start the quest that contains the aliases
. If the quest is not running, the script will not be able to fill the aliases with
ForceRefRo. Now everything seems to work as intended. Next comes the final test of the mod.
I changed the title and expanded the description of the main post so it's more clear what the thread is about.
Regarding my own adventures, I haven't much to say most of the time because I usually start the game to test stuff from my mod projects :D. But at the moment I play the game more extensively because I'm working on a spell (and a corresponding ability) that tries to fix the hostility between followers that can occur due to friendly fire. I only started recently to play with multiple followers in Skyrim. Before that I mainly traveled alone and, occasionally, have one follower with me. Then I got the idea to [url=https://modding-on-the-spectrum.com/viewtopic.php?p=1663#p1663]playtest version 1.6[/url] of my Spectral Music Player mod with multiple followers.
[imgc=1000]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/1704/287627-1686004226.jpg[/imgc]
[TextWidth=1000][align=justify][i]The Argonian on the left is my character Scalez. The Khajiit in the middle is Za'rjo, a merchant follower and spellsword. To the right, floating, the Spectral Drum which can apply combat buffs to the party and play music. Last but not least, there's Samuel - his Signature Spell is often good for a surprise.[/i][/align][/TextWidth]
On one of the recent journeys, my team discovered this huge Dwemer ruin in the distance:
[imgc=1000]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/1704/287627-1686005630.jpg[/imgc]
[i]"What treasures await us there?"[/i]
At first, it seemed that there was no way in. I didn't want to spend a couple of hours wandering around aimlessly to find a solution. That's why I consulted the internet. It turns out I needed to do the quest [InlineSpoiler=Show hidden content][url=https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/The_Only_Cure]The Only Cure[/url][/InlineSpoiler] in order to enter Bthardamz. According to the The Elder Scrolls Wiki it's the "[url=https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Bthardamz_(Skyrim)]largest ruin in the game[/url]". Exploring the dungeon pushed my patience to the limits. "Will this ever end?!" I thought. I was lucky when I finally reached the end of the dungeon and even more lucky after exiting it and seeing the daylight again.
While I traveled with my followers I noticed one thing that really got on my nerves: Followers that fight each other due to friendly fire. There are mods which negate friendly fire damage but I haven't found one that stops the hostility due to friendly fire between followers. So I decided to [url=https://modding-on-the-spectrum.com/viewtopic.php?p=1704#p1704]create my own one[/url]. I'm still working on it. Each time I thought I finished the mod, I got the idea for an additional feature that makes traveling with followers more comfortable. I managed to implement all planned features a few days ago. Then I learned it's probably better to limit the number of actors, who can get ability, to minimize the impact on the performance (the ability registers [url=https://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=OnHit_-_ObjectReference]OnHit[/url] events and stops combat between actors who have this ability). [InlineSpoiler=Show technical explanation]Because, if I understand it correctly, if too many instances of a script are attached to too many actors doing something at the same time can cause lag, freeze or stutter. Also [url=https://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=Cast_-_Spell]casting[/url] spells inside ActiveMagicEffect scripts should be avoided because it can impact the performance negatively as well (some of my ActiveMagicEffect scripts cast spells), see [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/comments/mpexp0/comment/gu9ullq/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button]this Reddit post[/url]. But if the magic effects are short lived, then casting [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/comments/mpexp0/comment/guajizb/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button]shouldn't be a problem[/url]. The Reddit user, who wrote the post that I linked last, uses a quest with [url=https://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=Quest_Alias_Tab]aliases[/url] that have a script attached to them instead of ActiveMagicEffect scripts. When he wants to attach a script to an actor, he can force the actor to an available alias. I plan to do something similar.[/InlineSpoiler] So I will rewrite some parts of my Bond of Friendship mod (again) and I hope it's the last time I do this.
I still struggle to balance the time I spend on working on my projects and playing the game just for fun (don't even get me started on playing other games than Skyrim). I think I generally spend about 90 % of the time on the former and about 10 % on the latter.
So I felt proud to have been able to search the Nexus for some new outfits for my gang and try them out in the game:
[imgc=1000]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/images/1704/287627-1688066080.jpg[/imgc]
[TextWidth=1000][align=justify][i]From left to right: Za'rjo wears "Infantry Armor", Samuel wears "Nemesis Armor Set" and Scalez wears "Blackened Steel Armour and Weapon set". Scalez turned into a two-handed warrior because he needs variation.[/i][/align][/TextWidth]
Edit:
Regarding my Bond of Friendship mod, I managed to limit the number of managed actors via actor slots (which are quest [url=https://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=Quest_Alias_Tab]aliases[/url]). I had problems to get the aliases to work. After hours of trial and error, I found out what I was doing wrong: I simply forgot to start the quest that contains the aliases :sn-5:. If the quest is not running, the script will not be able to fill the aliases with [url=https://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=ForceRefTo_-_ReferenceAlias]ForceRefRo[/url]. Now everything seems to work as intended. Next comes the final test of the mod.
Modding on the Spectrum