I was seeing some behavior from my mod that could only be explained by the player running scripts much faster than the NPC.
Some quick testing shows that the damage (from my scripts) is being calculated and or applied to the player almost twice as fast as to the NPC I am fighting.

We are both using the same scripts!

Could Bethesda have given the player some kind of priority to run scripts? I have tweaked the INI to runs scripts with more memory but that was when Skyrim first came out and I am just noticing this script priority? situation now.

That doesn't sound too implausible. The player object has always been special, so it's possible that scripts attached to the player are given higher priority than other scripts.

I wonder how we could test this to confirm or deny it. I'd imagine the player object is generally busier than your average NPC with regard to scripts, so calling a bunch of functions on it probably isn't a fair test as they'd have to wait longer. A function like this might be a good way to test it though:
In order to make it a fair test, the script would have to extend http://www.creationkit.com/ReferenceAlias_-_Script, which I assume is how you have things set up as well.

I'd test it myself right now, but I don't have access to either Skyrim or the Creation Kit at the moment. If anyone wants to try testing this out themselves, JustinOther's and my http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/23782 utility might be helpful.

Cipscis

lol... that link gets me this:

ReferenceAlias - Script
There is currently no text in this page. You can search for this page title in other pages, or search the related logs.


I run 95% of my scripts thru magic effect abilities. Is that the same thing? I am guessing not, you mean the script that runs on the tab for quest Alias right?

see here: http://www.creationkit.com/Quest_Alias_Tab

Ah, sorry, I guess I'm too used to the format of the wiki's function page headings. This is what I meant - http://www.creationkit.com/ReferenceAlias_Script.

Running them via http://www.creationkit.com/ActiveMagicEffect_Script could work too, so long as it's done the same for the player and any NPCs that are being tested.

Cipscis

Papyrus has no priority system, for the player or anything else. Scripts run as fast as they run, almost always limited by resource contension (multiple scripts accessing the same object/script at the same time) or syncing up native calls with the framerate. If you're seeing something run faster or slower then you expect, I suggest digging into the various profiling functions available

A dev speaks! *Cough, dialogue bug thread, Cough, Cough*

I'm glad to hear that. It wouldn't be a good thing if most modders start adding scripts to the player as manichs in order to speed up things.

"multiple scripts accessing the same object/script at the same time"

This could be the issue, The player use the same scripts as the NPC however the NPC also have 2 scripts that they all share. So this can slow down ALL their scripting huh? (to be clear they only run them when the player can see them while in combat, but that can be more than several).

So I could speed it up by making more scripts that "types" of NPC would use.

er....profiling functions?

Thanks for the clarification SmkViper

@spookyfx.com:
The profiling functions are all located in the http://www.creationkit.com/Debug_Script:

• http://www.creationkit.com/StartScriptProfiling_-_Debug
  
• http://www.creationkit.com/StartStackProfiling_-_Debug
  
• http://www.creationkit.com/StopScriptProfiling_-_Debug
  
• http://www.creationkit.com/StopStackProfiling_-_Debug

Here's the advice SmkViper gave JustinOther and me when we were developing our http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/23782 utility: