grond

Basically the more things you change the more things you'll have to check. Lots of unforeseen connections in the game. But don't be nervous - that's what Betas are for! I'll happily run through whatever you end up with.

If you could twist the road so it goes through the little plot of crops it will pass the Inn. Then you could move the two houses back a bit, move the crops ( watch for the sowing farmer - you'll have to tweak the package he uses ) flatten the hill below Fingerbowl Cave and set a row of houses there. You could probably leave the road where it is but I like an Inn that's on the Road. That's just me. Be careful if you do change the road -- reset the pathpoints! And check the AI of every NPC living there, whatever you end up doing. Best of Luck!

I use Pluggy arrays - one that hold the names of cells, the other holds Xmarkers I've dropped into each of those cells. I use the Pluggy functions SetRefInArray and GetInArray in a script that was started by Kyoma at the CS Forum. His script didn't work, but it was a great template. I switched some things around and now there's an NPC that travels well, to almost every spot on the map. What began as a 1300 line GetInCell script turned into a 75 line script that loops through two massive arrays. That process took me over a month from start to finish. 1200+ "SetRefInArray" lines for the two arrays...and now that the NPC travels, I'm going to change the script again ( ! ) so when the main quest starts the Rival will come looking for the PC. There are about 500 different other things I want to do before releasing anything. Right now I'm outlining the main quest, which is arduous ( because I want to be lore-correct ), and working on the sets for the climax of the main quest at the same time, thinking about one while I work on the other. I like doing it this way; even though it probably takes more time, it feels more cohesive. After that there are some books I'll need to write, and at least one Imperial Broadsheet ( a Missing Person Notice ). Then I'll make the main villian in my little show, and the supporting cast and sets. After that, there will be some more scripting, I'm sure. Then comes the dialogue, which I'll leave as silent files until the VAP fills up. I'm thinking the main quest of this mod will take us into September, mostly because this beautiful hot Midwestern USA sun isn't around for very long, so when he calls me, I gots to go! :simbe: Maybe I'll get into the rival and ignore the main quest, and get a pre-quest adventure released as soon as I can. Sort of a proof of concept pre-release, Weynon House type thing. But it won't be tomorrow, because it's supposed to be hot, clear and sunny, and the WonderDog comes first... Expandability is what I'm aiming for. So there is the main file, an esm, and any new quests I will make can be esps. Then anyone will be able to make a "rival quest" mod!

grond here, I hate to spam, I have close contact with my feminine side ( hence my purple dragon ) but I am a doood. I too like the smiley - :tails: Welcome Angel (you too Vereta!)

Hail and well met!

Welcome, Vereta! I'm sure that by now DR has enlightened you with the minutiae of joining the VAP, so I won't repeat him. If he hasn't contacted you yet, just take a look at the stickies in the VAP forum. They'll lead you to the answers you need. I don't have speakers connected to my computer ( only use headphones when I want sound ) so I can't comment on your sound issue. And the downloads section could use a little color, I suppose. Anyway, welcome!

Quote I am trying to give life to the companion character by including some smaller side quests that directly relate to the companion. It is the companion's journey in these sidequests, and the player is along for the ride. I 'm hoping such a role reversal will give the character more dimension.O it definitely would deepen any companion. Flesh him out. But be careful to give the PC something to do, or you'll lose the player's interest. Find the line between leaving the player on the sidelines and having the player do all the work. I have a goal that the Rival NPC will try to reach, after the initial quest is over. If they have become friends ( I intend on making a couple of different branches to the main quest, giving the player the opportunity to finish the quest without the Rival, thereby making an enemy out of him. ) The Rival will ask for the player's help in reaching the goal. Quote It sounds like you are also working on an expansive backstory for your companion...By developing a captivating story, the character becomes more that just a nameless follower!That's it exactly. Without a story, the NPC is a mercenary, hired to shutup and fight. That's useful and fun, but that mod is already out there. That's one reason why I don't want to put another 'follower' into anyone's game. There are enough 'follower' NPCs. And there seem to be plenty of story-driven companions, but I imagine there's room for more well-told tales. And if you engage the player, by making the backstory involve the PC, then you'll have a hit! I've been told over at the official forum that some will play the companion quests and abandon the companion afterward. I definitely don't want that to happen - I hope to make this NPC unique in that s/he won't want to follow, so you can abandon him. S/he'll have things to do. Then if you return to the Rival ( who might not be where you left him ) and want him to come with you, it'll take some persuasion, and then if s/he agrees to come along, s/he won't fight for 1st in line, with any other companions the player might have - s/he'll walk beside the player. Because s/he knows how to get to where you're going. That'll take some doing, but it's not impossible.

I prefer an essential companion. I don't want to worry about the companion's health. I don't want to have to take care of him. I feel my Rival ( or any companion ) should be able to heal himself when he needs to. My NPC does that, but he won't back off from a fight when his health is low, so he'll just go down. I ignore the fact he's immortal. I just roleplay that he's taking precautions. But for the sake of the mod there will be a reason your Rival doesn't die. It's hush-hush right now, as it's part of the quest... That's also why I've set the Rival's level to a minimum of 30. Then he seems to be able to handle himself the way I can at level 2. The Rival also levels with the player. I've fought my Rival and won, so I don't think 30's too high. Good luck with your companion, DR. . . can't wait to see what you make!

Name: My Rival ALPHA Version: 0.0.2 Date: 7/02//2008 Category: Companions/Quests Author(s): grond Forum: TES Alliance Thread <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> THIS MOD REQUIRES OBLIVION SCRIPT EXTENDER (OBSE) AND PLUGGY ( AN OBSE PLUG-IN ) OBSE: http://obse.silverlock.org/ PLUGGY <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Description =========== This mod adds one NPC, and 664 X-Markers to Fighter's Guild Halls, Cities' shops, and over 600 caves/mines/forts/ruins. This is an NPC I've been working on for my own game. I don't want a meat shield. I don't want a toadie, or a flunky or a lackey. I want a companion that feels real - one that never follows six feet behind me ( unless I persuade her to ) one that doesn't care if I walk away without her - she might come along on her own, and she might not. I want a Companion that's as close to sentient as I can make her. I want a rival. So that's what I'm making. The Anti-Companion. Not your enemy. Not your friend. My Rival is neutral toward you. My Rival wants little to do with the likes of you. Friendship will come later, after you do some things to save her. And yourself. After the mod's main quest, my Rival will be less hostile towards you, but still will have a life seperate from yours, and that will cause the NPC to be less available than other companions. So you'll depend less upon her/him as a tool, and more as a fighting comrade. My Rival is no meat-shield, but he/she might act as your bodyguard - if you stay out of the way. In this version, I have created one Rival of either sex of the vanilla Oblivion Races -- you can choose ONE. This is an ALPHA TEST - Version 2. Location ======== My Rival travels extensively throughout Cyrodiil. In this version s/he's a quest target, so simply make "My Rival" quest active to find her/him on your map. In a future version My Rival's quest targeting will be toggleable. If you can't find your rival, wait an hour ingame. Type "~" to go into the console. (You will see a message "New Location set to "x". That's my mod telling me where the rival is.) Type "movetoqt" then press Enter, and hey presto! you'll be in the middle of whatever your Rival's into. But you'll probably want to be in god mode - "TGM" in the console. THE PRESENT ============ ***This is the second ALPHA TEST. To play it safe, make a copy of your save game BEFORE using this mod.*** In this version there is a Male and a Female Rival of each of the vanilla races. In this ALPHA the rival will simply travel, walking from dungeon to mine to cave. Run alongside My Rival. You'll have an excellent opportunity to practice your weak skills as My Rival tangles with even the biggest OOO hordes of enemies and monsters. Don't expect much in the way of love, or friendship, or even acknowledgement from My Rival. There is no custom dialogue, no quest, and no sharing between the two of you. Not yet...these things will come with time, but for now, please follow the Rival around and record any odd behavior she displays. I want to hear from you. Any suggestion will be taken into consideration, and will be included in a final version, if it fits in with the plan I have for this companion... ...help me make the companion we both desire. THE FUTURE =========== -More custom races. -Several loot caves. -A house and a mount. -A background, several crises, a hard path, and possibly a homeland. -The ability to make more life choices for My Rival (Name, Alignment, Battle Technique...) -The Rival will become an independent NPC who: ...will choose when s/he desires your companionship. ...will not always agree to join you when you ask. ...will know where most places are, and how to get there without following you. ...has a separate life, and a personal goal, which you can choose to aid or thwart. ...has his/her own loot stashes throughout Cyrodiil just as you do. INSTALLATION - The Base Rival is a Female Nord, so if that's your choice, you may skip step *5*. =============== 1. Copy your save (.ess) file, and rename it (MySaveBackup). This step will ensure you don't lose anything by testing My Rival. 2. Extract the contents of the archive to a temporary folder. 3. Copy RivalTestCOPY.ESM to your (install folder)\Oblivion\Data folder. **This is the NECESSARY BASE MASTER file.** 4. Copy RivalTestCOPY.ESP file to (install folder)\Oblivion\Data\. **This is the NECESSARY BASE ESP file.** 5. Copy your Race/Sex choice - i.e. - RivalBretonM.esp - to your (install folder)\Oblivion\Data folder. The Base Rival is a Female Nord, so if that's your choice, then skip this step. 6. Start Oblivion Launcher, click 'Data Files', place an X beside the .esp file(s). Uninstall ========= 1. Start Oblivion Launcher, click Data Files, uncheck RivalTestCOPY.esm, RivalTestCOPY.esp, and the racial choice .esp you've added. 2. Delete the files from \Oblivion\Data\ 3. Try to live without your Rival... Known Issues or Bugs ==================== --Rarely you might experience a loss of controls. This has happened to me twice in testing. If it happens, you'll probably need to exit the game. --The Rival has severe pathing problems. Simply waiting for an hour or two will get things moving again. --S/he has Fighter's Guild sales talk in her greeting. --There are other packages on the Rival that might run in odd places, i.e., eating in a cave while monsters approach. Remedies will come in the next version. --Your enemies might ignore you completely, in favor of the berserker that is My Rival. --Your Rival wears what the base Rival wears. In a real release every rival will wear different clothing/armor. --Due to the XMarkers strewn around Cyrodiil, there are bound to be ( very minor, so far ) conflicts. --Please report any odd occurance you find. THE PAST ======= 0.0.2 2008/6/18 - ALPHA .2 Release: *Added 600 locations to My Rival's Itinerary. *Added all vanilla races as choices for My Rival. *Made Base Rival a Master File. 0.0.1 2008/4/28 - Initial ALPHA release. *Added 30+ locations to the Rival's Itinerary. Contact ======= You can find me at the official Elder Scrolls forum as 'grond'. You can find me at TES Alliance as 'grond'. You can find me at TESNexus as 'Tad Nugent'. You can send me an email here: grond AT Comcast DOT net. Credits ======= Thanks to: Bethesda for creating Oblivion and letting me use their toolbox. The creators of OBSE. Elys for Pluggy. The Wiki Gods. The Gurus at the TES CS Forums. Kyoma for the script that loops through the array. Migthegreat for the inspiration for the reverse order system. Greenwarden for detailed criticisms of the early travels of my rival. reallybigjohnson for input regarding true rivalry. Jonathan D. Wells for his Annotated Map of Cyrodiil. The makers and maintainers of the outstanding interactive map at UESP: http://www.uesp.net/...map/obmap.shtml TESNexus.com for the one-stop-shop resource for authors and players. LHammonds for the Readme Generator this file was based on. Thanks to YOU for trying this mod. Thanks to The Flying Spaghetti Monster for creating us all. Tools Used ========== Readme Generator - http://lhammonds.gam..._generator1.asp Licensing/Legal =============== Do you like the Rival? Then feel free to take it and make your mod. But - don't you dare pretend that you made her. Give credit where it's due, including the makers of those mods I used to make this one. Include those readmes as well. Stay tuned to this thread and the thread at the Official Forum ( but mostly this thread ) for updates! Please let me hear your comments! PM or post if you'd like to test.

Quote Oblivion is a great game, but a good graphics card helps I'm sure. I'm surprised mine runs as well as it does!What do you run the game on DR? Me, I went from a GF 6200 to an 8800. Finally got to see the opening movie. NPCs blink in the CS. I get over 6 FPS in most places. Yeah, the upgrade helped. Welcome, CaptKill. If I were an FPS guy, I'd get a better video card for Crysis, not Oblivion. My friend is an FPS guy - thinks Morrowind is a steamy pile, and ignores Oblivion. It's odd, because we played PnP D & D long before you guys were born, probably...(early 80s) Upgrade the card, get the game, install OOO, steal a bow, go nuts!

Hey all! I'm the new guy. One day I'll hatch... Great looking site, glad to be on board.