[RELZ] Companion Vilja ver 3

[emma]

COMPANION VILJA VER 3.0

- by Emma and CDCooley

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"Technically, Vilja is just a companion. But that is sort of like saying a phoenix spouting fire and swooping down on a battlefield is just a bird. What separates Vilja from any other companion I have ever played - mod or part of an original RPG - is her fully-developed personality."

- RPGWatch review by Vox Clamant

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NOW UPGRADED TO VER 3.0!

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Screenshots and download at TESA

Furhter screenshots and download at Emma's Elder Scrolls site

Quite a lot has happened since ver 1 of Companion Vilja was released in december 2009. She has grown really fast!

Now ver 3 is here, with several new features.

Before I start out on a description of the new version, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to a Great Grandmaster in storytelling, Discworld author Terry Pratchett. He has been travelling Cyrodiil with Vilja in tow since the first version of her was released, and he has not only been so kind and brain-stormed over her with me, but has also written more than 100 of the new chatter- and Thieves Guild-entries in ver 3 especially for Vilja. Several of her new features and topics originates from his thoughts on her. Many, many thanks!

What's new?

Some screenshots to illustrate the latest news:

Now YOU can go adventuring with HER. Yes, you can actually be her companion. She might suggest it, or you can suggest that she takes the lead. She might show you places you've never seen before!

It's a very different roleplay-experience to travel side by side instead of having a companion always five steps behind you.

More new features in ver 3:

- Vilja the spellcaster - as a reward for the new little quests included (which should start automatically a few days after you finished the previous one, which was added with ver 2) Vilja will be able to learn how to use a few simple spells. No ranged destruction casting, of course, as you would probably be her first victim. But, she can among other things learn how to paralyze her enemies and how to protect herself better. Once she has learnt her first two spells, she will be able to learn more in a pace you decide and in whatever order you prefer. And, no need to worry, you can finetune in the dialog exactly which spells you want her to use and which ones she should keep deactivated.

- Vilja the pathfinder - as a bonus to the "Vilja leads the way"-feature described above, she can also lead you out of dungeons and show you the way to various places - guilds, shops, etc.

- Show her your favorite places - she will remember them and will be able to teleport or travel to them at any time.

- Combat instructions - you can now give her new fighting instructions during combat, either by talking to her directly or by casting her summon spell.

- Vampirism - previously, Vilja has been completely ignorant of whether or not your character is a vampire. Now, she will know if that is the case and randomly comment on it. (She's still afraid of other vampires, though).

- Inbuilt reset- and upgrading system. Vilja's start combat-spell can be used to reset Vilja if something unexpectedly should go wrong. It can also be used to upgrade her storyline if you for unknown reasons should want to uninstall/reinstall the mod.

- Further expanded interaction with other companions. Vilja is aware of your other companions (after an introduction by you), with some of them she will interact on an individual basis and also comment on them in her dialog with you. These are currently: Neeshka, Rhianna, Arren, Stoker Wolf, Saerileth, Viconia, Sonia, Valeria, Vincente, Ramy, CM Partner Valtierro and Eyja (works with both the Eyja mod and the original Eyja). But she will also recognize other companions and CM Partners as fellow companions. If you want to relax at the computer for a while, just leave Vilja and your other companions in wandermode, and I'm sure there will happen things you hadn't expected. In ver 3, she also have several unique subjects she might - or might not - want to discuss with them.

- There are also a number of new "roleplay-features" included. For instance, once her first questline is completed, you can invite her to an evening out or arrange a cozy supper at home. You can thank her if she has been of great help, you can tell her when you give her something precious. She will also occasionally ask for your opinion on more serious and indepth matters, where you can pick choices according to your characters personality (or, of course, the choice you hope will please her).

- Dialog manual included. As Vilja's dialog is evolving over time and includes quite a few topics, we have included a "manual" in the zip-file. There is also a manual with important notes on gameplay included, please read it!!

- The most extensive work is not 'visible', though... The whole dialog system has been restructured and should hopefully lead to that she now is better at saying the right things at the right times. Of course a lot of new dialog has been added, both general chatter and questchatter related to Thieves Guild and miscellaneous quests: Vilja's voice-set for female nords currently includes approx 3.900 mp3-files. The whole Oblivion voice-set for female nords and orcs consists of 2.434 mp3-files, so Vilja alone has almost twice as much to say to you as all other nord and orc females in Oblivion have alltogether!

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COMPANION VILJA VER 3

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Character, story and voice by Emma

Scripts by CDCooley

Featuring Zrenk Dungeon by Blockhead

Vilja means willpower

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Vilja in Swedish means willpower, guts, determination. And that is something Vilja has got lots of!

When her sister was put in prison on bread and water for selling beauty crème with unexpected effects to the Vvardenfell nobility, Vilja instantly decided to help her. But things hasn't turned out the way Vilja expected...

She is now waiting for a friend of her sister in The Bloated Float at the Waterfront in the imperial city. But, the days are passing, and the friend hasn't shown up. Meanwhile, her sister is suffering in prison.

Will you help Vilja? Will you let her come along with you in her search for ingredients for an antidote potion that might make it possible for her sister to help those unfortunate that used the beauty crème?

Vilja is a young nord girl, born in Solstheim and living in Cyrodiil since... well, that she will explain to you, herself, when she knows you

better!

She isn't the best fighter in the world (why would she then need your help?), nor the best marksman, and when it comes to spells, she has in the beginning only learnt waterwalking, teleporting and some healing ones.

But she will certainly change your lonely life in Cyrodiil, as she is talkative, curious and very unpredictable.

This how Vilja's story started in ver 1. Since then she has grown considerably and should now surprise you with new questlines and new and expanding features for many, many game-hours to come.

Background

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General (ver 1-2):

Although I - Emma - have made several companion mods for Morrowind, Vilja is my first companion mod for Oblivion. When I had played through the game for the second time in spring 2009, I started to feel lonely and looked around for companions similar to my Morrowind ones. After a lot of research, I found my favourite - Companion Neeshka by Rsdnt_Evle. After using her for a while, I couldn't resist starting out on my own companion. At first she was just a clone of Neeshka (which is why also Vilja will be found in the Bloated Float in Waterfront) but as time passed, Vilja took her own path and Neeshka would today probably disagreeingly shake her head if I insisted that Vilja was a 'distant relative' of hers...

Vilja is in many ways similar to my Morrowind companions - she has her own story, her own personality, her own missions, and lots and lots of dialog. Vilja is also very much aware of what is going on around her. She will comment on your ongoing quests and actions, and sometimes your decisions will please her... or make her really angry. Read more below.

The most important difference between ver 1 and the newer versions is that since ver 2 we are now two people working together on Vilja. CDCooley, who I have previously worked together with on Morrowind projects, had fallen for Vilja's charms and offered to work on her scripts. This has meant a huge leap forward when it comes to functionality and general AI. All her original scripts are thoroughly reworked. The small, but annoying, glitches from version 1 are since long gone, and since ver 2, Vilja is not only a hopefully nice company but also a well functioning companion that can be an asset rather than a burden in combat and other situations. On top of this, we have introduced interaction between companion mods - something that since long is standard for Morrowind companions.

What more to expect - brief overview of the features available already in previous versions:

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The news in ver 3 has been described above. This is a brief overview of the features already present in ver 2.

Vilja riding on her own

Vilja recognizes other companions...

...and sometimes even know about their stories

She has her own opinions...

...and sometimes she knows what you are doing in an almost scary way...

...and she is very much aware of the quests you are doing.

- There are now totally four quest-lines connected to Vilja, which will keep you busy for many hours. However, don't expect long, involved storylines with new landmasses! Instead, the story-lines are relatively short, simple and there to give you a background and a reason why Vilja will want to team up with you and continue to be your side-kick.

- Vilja has her own life story, her own goals, her own wishes and needs. If you talk to her, you will learn more and more about her over time. Treat her well and your friendship will grow stronger and stronger. She is not a romance companion, but she does offer affection, loyalty and friendship.

- Tired of companions that promise to stay out of trouble and then still charge as soon as you see an enemy? Well, Vilja shouldn't... If told to stay out of combat, she will indeed do so... until you are so badly injured that you desperately need her help to survive. The behaviour with all enemies attacking your companion is also gone - if she is set to defensive fighting or no fighting, it is more likely that you are their main target, which makes it much easier to level up. I.e. it is no longer a problem to have Vilja in tow from level 1 - you will still be able to level up your fighting and armor skills. And if you want to sneak your way through dungeons, she will do so, too... unless, of course, you have told her to attack anything hostile. (Note that this might not always work with enemies added by other mods!)

- Vilja comes with an Options-book where you can set various features on the spot, like for instance: which swimsuit you want her to wear (you have 20 to choose between), health bonuses, chatter-frequency, essential versus non-essential, can get encumbered versus never gets encumbered. You'll find her Options-book in her skillreport-menu.

- Vilja's level is set to 3 levels below yours. This means that if you start out with her when you are at level 1, it will take a while before she reaches higher levels (should happen when you are level 4).

- You will get a Vilja SUMMON SPELL that will bring her to you, should she ever vanish. In ver 3, this spell can also be used to give her new instructions during combat. Vilja's START COMBAT SPELL can be used to help her pick enemy. In ver 3, it can also be used to reset her if you run into unexpected problems.

- Vilja has her own horse, and when you mount your horse, she will summon hers and go riding with you. She can also use her horse when you are walking, or walk while you are riding.

- She is very talkative, but you can tell her to shut up if you don't want to listen to her.

- You can't bribe her or play the speechcraft game with her. But you will find other ways to improve her disposition towards you. (Do you like strawberries? Well, hope you are not too fond of them, as Vilja will want them all).

- You can tell her to eat, drink, take a nap, go swimming, go home, meet you in various cities. She will recognize your home as her home as well, once you have told her that this is where you will live.

- apart from her regular inventory, she has a special pyjamas-bag (where you can choose what she should wear... well, or not wear, obviously... when she sleeps) and two extra storage bags for items you want her to carry without using.

- New scripting takes care of the well-known Oblivion issue with companions 'vanishing' from Oblivion planes and then showing up again in the same state and with the same equipment as when you first started the mod.

- Vilja will comment frequently on the original Oblivion quests that you are doing together,and your actions might please or displease her. And don't be surprised if she also comments on other things in the gameworld. "Oh look! A butterfly! Isn't it beautiful?"

- Vilja will also know about other things. For instance, she will know if she is nude or if your character is nude, she will know if your character is ill, or if your character is a vampire (new in ver 3), she will know if she is swimming (and put on a swimming suit), she will know what kind of dungeon you are in and what kind of enemies you are facing. Of course she'll also remember if you have promised her to take her out for the evening or if you are planning an cozy evening at home.

- She can make some simple potions for you if you give her an ingredient. She can collect ingredients for you. She can later on heal you if you ask her to. When you are at home, she might surprise you with one of her pies. You can send her to do some shopping for you, but it's quite hazardous as she might not have the same idea as you on what is a bargain. If you run out of lockpicks, you can buy some from her, and she can help you with a hammer if necessary. Oh, she can light a torch, too. And rake your garden. Give her cloth, and she will make you a new outfit - but don't expect anything fancy, just ordinary Oblivion clothes. The 'service' isn't there to be a cheat, only add to the immersion.

- If you leave her in wandermode, you can watch her perform her daily schedule, and when she is making potions, she will literally be making potions, provided that you have given her some of the simple ingredients that she can use (she never claimed to be an excellent alchemist, so don't expect anything too fancy)

- On top of that, she offers heaps of advice and suggestions on what to do - but her ideas might not always match yours.

- Vilja has her own friends in Cyrodiil. Don't be surprised if she decides to go and have a chat with one of them! Those who know her will also have an extra "Vilja-topic" where they will comment on her (those who have played my Morrowind companions will recognize this).

- As some of you might want to change Vilja's looks, we are providing a Customization pack - see below - which will help you to create your own, unique Vilja, or choose between a number of premade looks for her.

- As I have voice-acted Vilja, myself (where else would I find a lunatic that would voice-record and lip-sync close to 4000 voice-entries?), she is speaking english with a strong scandinavian accent (I'm from Sweden) and she is probably making quite a few mistakes, especially when it comes to pronunciation. Please let me know of unacceptable mistakes that should be attended to in later versions (her english won't be flawless no matter what, as my english isn't flawless).

Known issues

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- Vilja is very talkative and will chat with you wherever you go. However, the lipsync in Oblivion only works when you are facing the talking npc. This means that sometimes, her lip-movement will appear once you turn around and look at her, i.e. she will then appear to be talking but you won't be able to hear anything.

- Vilja can fight both melee and ranged, but like every companion in Oblivion, she sometimes "forgets" to load her bow with arrows! (If you are already using companions in Oblivion, you are probably familiar with this problem). We haven't found any way to 'fix' this, but she will start using arrows again after you have switched cells. An improvement with ver 3 is that she is also likely to start using arrows again if you use her summon spell to tell her first to switch to melee fighting and then back to ranged fighting.

- If you are wearing the Mythic Dawn robe or the zero-value armor provided by the Alternate start by ship-mod, Vilja will consider you as 'nude'. This is because these items have 0 value. The 'cure' is to put on a ring, an amulet or shoes that have a value of at least 1 Gold.

- Like any other companion, Vilja will only sleep in beds that have no owner assigned to them, and she might not sit in chairs that aren't marked as "persistent". If you tell her to take a nap and she refuses, it's not her fault - there simply isn't a suitable bed at the location. She will then revert to her daily schedule and do what she would normally have done at that hour of the day.

- Some modder-made houses are companion-friendly, others aren't. If there are no pathgrids, no persistent chairs and no beds without ownership, companions won't behave very well. Thank you Korana for explaining all the important things regarding this, and for always making your houses companion-friendly. A list of companion-friendly house can be found here.

Compatibility

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Vilja should work very well together with other mods. However, an old mod called Cheydinhal Petshop affects a global that will prevent Vilja's daycounters from working (this is not unique for Vilja - the Petshop has the same effect on all mods with daycounters).

In order to ensure that she won't conflict with landscape overhauls etc we have avoided adding anything to the exterior game world.

If you use mods like for instance persuasion overhaul you might find that npcs from the Vilja-mod will have additional topics where they will use the game-original voices. It's not a conflict, but it sounds a bit annoying. There isn't much we can do about this, although immersion-breaking it won't cause any real problem.

Vilja and CSR

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Vilja is fully compatible with Companion Share and Recruit (CSR). However, if you are running the optional CSR addon for faction recruitment, there is a partial incompatibility with Vilja and other companions that are members by any factions (by choosing the wrong dialog topipc when talking to Vilja, you are at risk to turn her into a common henchman). This issue is thankfully sorted out by Amgepo's mod DRC available here.

Vilja and FCOM-OOO-MMM:

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FCOM-OOO-MMM-patch:

Vilja doesn't have the ability to 'recognize' all of the factions that npcs and creatures from FCOM, OOO and MMM belong in. CorePc from the FCOM-team has made a patch to attend to this. The current (ALFA-BETA) version is available here.

Vilja and Sensual Walks

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A patch has been made so that Vilja will adapt the sensual female walk when you use the Sensual Walks for Female NPCs mod by Surazal and Mur_Zik available here.

Companionfriendly Inns

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As I am sure many companion-users have noted, companions will not sleep in inns. This is because of how ownership is assigned to the beds. However, I have now released a mod called Companionfriendly Inns where temporary extra-beds are enabled in rented rooms - beds where your companion can sleep.

THE CUSTOMIZATION PACK

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As so many players have wondered how to change Vilja's race and looks, CDCooley has made a Vilja customization pack for easier upgrades of customized version. In the customization pack, you'll also find simple instructions on how to customize your own Vilja.

YOU'LL FIND THE CUSTOMIZATION PACK AMONG THE OPTIONAL FILES FOR VILJA.

Note that you need both the Vilja 3.0 package and the latest version of Vilja in order to make this work!

Plese understand that the changes are just cosmetic - Vilja will still have the same dialog and will always consider herself a blond nord girl from Solstheim.

Many thanks to Xtudo, Gonzoguns and 4VGN for providing alternate looks for Vilja!

[Zerengil]

Will download and try this tomorrow....or well, later today.