[RELWIP] Automatic Variants - Thread 5

Post » Sun May 27, 2012 5:23 pm

Automatic Variants

Past threads http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1355628-relwip-automatic-variants/ http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1360923-relwip-automatic-variants-2/ http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1364221-relwip-automatic-variants/ http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1366265-relwip-automatic-variants-thread-4/



http://www.mediafire.com/?64j5gciq13boeoe

(1.4.0.1 alpha)


http://www.mediafire.com/?uymz4vqyegei6kn

(1.3.1 alpha)


http://afterimagemetal.com/AutoVar/Automatic%20Variants%20Readme.html



Make sure to download some AV Packages as well:

Bellyache Animals Package (http://www.mediafire.com/?3gcw8tif6gcitqa) (http://www.mediafire.com/?8edl189mcc7wcy9) (http://www.mediafire.com/?yypbl6oab1qdrs4)

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1366987-relzwipz-starx-av-packages-creature-variants-thread-2/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1364817-relz-sounaiprs-av-packages/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1353944-relz-sickly-skeletons-5-flavors/

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1361042-relwip-insanitys-av-packages/ (not updated to AV 1.3 yet)





AV in action

http://imgur.com/a/OwwwI#0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK_h_x6CZiA

(Using 3rd party texture packages)




Other AV links

https://code.google.com/p/automatic-variants/source/browse/#git%2Fsrc%2Fautomaticvariants


A list of known bugs to be addressed. Add anything you wish.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E927IcNpzrWfssHIHRkm75oLk44fh6TngWBp4ytrxfM/edit


Some 3rd Party Testing Tools:

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1366638-relwip-wolverines-collection-of-av-packages-ports-examples-skeletons-and-tools/




Big thanks to Bellyache for allowing her mod to be used as the "flagship" example for AV,


And to StarX for picking up the torch and creating his fantastic package!





What Does AV do?

AV Provides an easy place to drag-and-drop alternate textures/models and have them automatically integrated into the game.


Modders:

What this means is you (a texturer/modeler) can make 20 skins for Trolls, drop them into AV, and have every troll in the game suddenly pick a random skin from the 20 you made. The same (will go) for models as well.

You could make 20 iron dagger variants with differing textures/models, some hooked slightly, some curved up a bit, some chipped, some gemmed; Drag them all into AV, and suddenly every time an iron dagger spawns, theres one of your dagger variants chosen randomly from the bunch.

No hassle, no work in the CK, just drag and drop into an http://afterimagemetal.com/AutoVar/Automatic%20Variants%20Readme.html#avpackage, and run the patcher. All the hard work of shuffling records around is done for you.

Note: Models not yet implemented, but will be soon. Just textures for now.


Users:

Never again will you have to choose only one texture or model from an entire selection.

Modders will offer AV Packages that you can drag and drop into your AV setup, and have them automatically integrated into your game. Think of it as a new way to install textures/models, where you don't have to pick just one.

If a texture/model pack you love doesn't offer AV Packages yet, don't fear! Just ask the modder to make an AV Package for their setup, or even do it yourself in the meantime with the http://afterimagemetal.com/AutoVar/Automatic%20Variants%20Readme.html#avpackage.


What should you expect from AV?

AV aims to make Skyrim a place full of diversity and variance; To never see the same thing twice.

It also strives to be extremely easy to use, while still offering an immense amount of power to users.

You should expect AV to make your world much more colorful, varied, and interesting... especially with the help of texturers/modelers to feed the algorithms with multitudes of choices to pick from.


What's in store for the future?

Down the road it will expand to allow for variants in many other areas. You can expect things such as variance in stat changes, allowing for random bell curve differences to be applied to stats, so no two things have exactly the same setup.

Also, expect the ability to specify rules for certain variants to be generally more expensive, do more/less damage, be more/less aggressive, have more/less health etc; So you can make a gemmed dagger or mangy troll and have it reflect stats that make sense for it.

And most likely much more! Be sure to check the http://afterimagemetal.com/AutoVar/Automatic%20Variants%20Readme.html#todo section for a full list of ideas for implementation.












Please refer to the http://afterimagemetal.com/AutoVar/Automatic%20Variants%20Readme.html for more information

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Ebou Suso
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 4:21 pm

Uploaded StarX's temporary fixed packages.
Let me know when you upload them again yourself, Star. 8)

Also reuploaded bellyaches as the folder structure was not "newbie-proof". You don't need to download again if you already have it working.
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neil slattery
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 1:19 pm

:cool:
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Tom
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 6:29 pm

Uploaded StarX's temporary fixed packages.
Let me know when you upload them again yourself, Star. 8)

Also reuploaded bellyaches as the folder structure was not "newbie-proof". You don't need to download again if you already have it working.

You are damn sure they weren't! :biggrin:
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Red Sauce
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 10:38 am

@Leviathan1753. Thanks for the StarX upload and the changed Bellyache AV package. Although I consider myself a relative seasoned AV-er by now I could not figure it out right away, let alone newbies, so thanks. You seem to have missed StarX female draugr though, no biggie, just wanted to mention it....
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sam westover
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 5:12 pm

Hey! This is working fine for me! :)

There is just one issue: PlayerHouseMannequin. AV overwrites replacers -> Like Female Mannequins. They are reset to the default wooden version. Could you exclude this in AV or/provide a further development....

Thanks for this! Finally some diversity!
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Mélida Brunet
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 7:36 pm

Y'all don't need to wait for all the texture uploaders to "fix" it. All you need to do is create a folder named "Skin" where all the variant folders are and move the variant folders into the "Skin" folder. The tool Lev provided does just that.

Takes about a couple seconds to do that.

Say we take StarX draugrs

AV Packages\StarX AV Packages\Draugr , there's STXDraugr01to STXDraugr15 . Create a "Skin" folder so that it looks like AV Packages\StarX AV Packages\Draugr\Skin and move all STXDraugrXX to "Skin". Do that to every folder and every package manually, or let the tool do it.

Or just wait and wait. Meanwhile others will already enjoy it.
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Chloé
 
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Post » Mon May 28, 2012 12:43 am

Thanks Lev, will reupload my packages soon at Tesa! Will give you a heads up when the time comes.
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Shiarra Curtis
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 2:50 pm

@sounaipr. Would it be possible for you to update your AV package ports. It would make life easier for us, especially the newcomers to AV. You have probably done it for yourself by now, can you please share it with the rest of us?

If I remember correctly the new directory structure was introduced to make it easier for stuff like Bellyache werewolves (which have multiple eye colors) and the problems with your Giants ports (lots of outfits) . Am I correct that when the Giants port is being made compatible with the new dir. structure that the file size of it can be heavily decreased (its now 1.16 GB or so). This probably means a bit more work (or a lot more, can't really guess) from your side. Still I think the effort would be appreciated by the community (at least I would).
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kat no x
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 9:23 am

@Leviathan1753. Thanks for the StarX upload and the changed Bellyache AV package. Although I consider myself a relative seasoned AV-er by now I could not figure it out right away, let alone newbies, so thanks. You seem to have missed StarX female draugr though, no biggie, just wanted to mention it....

Yeah, I don't think the female variants actually work. XD
I've mentioned a few times that AV probably wont work on females yet, and when making the packages, it didn't seem to be making any variants for them, so I just left them out. I'll get around to females sooner or later. 8P Right now female draugr just aren't inspiration enough.

Hey! This is working fine for me! :smile:

There is just one issue: PlayerHouseMannequin. AV overwrites replacers -> Like Female Mannequins. They are reset to the default wooden version. Could you exclude this in AV or/provide a further development....

Thanks for this! Finally some diversity!

If I'm reading the bug correctly, I don't know why AV would be doing this. AV loads in your current mod order, so it shouldn't be reverting anything to default. Are you sure you have load order 100% right? some managers like Wrye are unreliable.
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kat no x
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 11:53 am

If I'm reading the bug correctly, I don't know why AV would be doing this. AV loads in your current mod order, so it shouldn't be reverting anything to default. Are you sure you have load order 100% right? some managers like Wrye are unreliable.

No need to worry about my loadorder. ;)
Okay, I'll try to narrow it down/to name possible complications:

0. The generated AV.esp added the NPC "PlayerMannequin"
1. The female mannequin file is an esm, that alters the mannquin race. -> http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=4164 and is not added as a Master file.
2. I also have http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11803, which adds mannequins, and AV strangely added the Deus Mons.esm and .esp as Masters. Maybe it generated the PlayerMannequin from there?
3. The generated "playerMannequin" has vanilla entries, and not the changes from All Body Mods Compatible Female Mannequins.

Hope that helps! ;)
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I’m my own
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 10:26 pm

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1364817-relz-sounaiprs-av-packages/
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Vicki Gunn
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 6:48 pm

@sounaipr. Thanks for the new 1.3+ compatible packages.

WOW. The old version had 57 variants and was 1.16 GB. AFAIK the new version has 10*6=60 variants and is 96 MB. It seems that the new directory/file structure REALLY does make a BIG difference. 1.16*1024/96=12.38 times smaller. Again WOW....

Are it really 60 variants now or did I make a calculation error?
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Charles Mckinna
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 9:35 pm

@Leviathan. Before sounaipr uploaded his AV 1.31+ compatible packages I converted (using your tool) his mammoth package. Seemed to work fine. Because I made a mistake the package was put in dircectory sounaipr AV Package instead of sounaipr AV Packages (watch the extra S). I copied all his packages in sounaipr AV Packages started AV and disabled my old sounaipr AV Package/mammoth package and enabled the packages in sounaipr AV Packages and exited AV. After that I deleted the ../textures/AV packages\sounaipr AV Package directory (with the mammoth). Thought I deleted the ..\skyrim\Data\SkyProc Patchers\Automatic Variants/sounaipr AV Package dir as well (NOT SURE). To be sure I ran AV again. NOW the sounaipr AV Package directory is greyed out in AV but can enable it again. Also saw that a skyrim\Data\SkyProc Patchers\Automatic Variants\Inactive AV Packages\sounaipr AV Package was being created.

Now my questions:
1) DO I have a potential problem like something anolog to when I remove the AV.esp file (as mentioned in the README) or is everything fine. D*rn should have waited till sounaipr had updated his packages....... Not sure if other ppl have experienced a similiar problem...
2) How do I get rid of the sounaipr AV Package when I run AV?

I REALLY hope I do not have to start all over again. Started fresh (as in a new game) this day.....
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james reed
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 4:14 pm

@utoplyst
All body mods might not be added as a master because it just makes modifications to the original race. The modificatons should still be there, but AV doesn't need to override those changes when it's duplicating NPCs, so it doesn't add that mod to its master list directly. Is that making sense? XD
I'll look into those mods and see what I can find. 8) Thanks for the links

@Package Size
The new structure definitely simplifies things for sounaipr, but also the new compression algorithm I made makes sure there's only ever ONE of each unique texture file (the rest are replaced by my own version of "windows shortcuts"). This is the main reason the packages are so much smaller.

@Mismatched AV Package installs
This sounds like a prime time to test AV Prepping! 8) You should be 100% fine if AV Prepping is doing its job. Even if all your packages were messed up and weren't installed right, all your NPCs should be prepped and willing to accept new (corrected) packages without causing bugs. I stress the -should-.

I would go into AV and do "Gather and Exit" and then reinstall/reorganize/clean up your packages folder to be correct, and then patch and play and see if AV prepping keeps you from getting bugs. 8)
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Lisa Robb
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 8:56 am

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1366987-relzwipz-starx-av-packages-creature-variants-thread-2/

(This time for real I hope!) :P
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glot
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 6:38 pm

Hey quick question that i'm confused on. Do i put the AV Packages in the Automatic Variants folder?
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Sammie LM
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 9:07 am

All packages should go in:
Data/SkyProc Patchers/Automatic Variants/AV Packages/ ...

So that would be
Data/SkyProc Patchers/Automatic Variants/AV Packages/ Bellyaches Animals
or
Data/SkyProc Patchers/Automatic Variants/AV Packages/ StarX AV Packages

Some downloads will have that full folder structure shown above, while others like sounaipr's just include the packages that you should drag into "AV Packages"
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Russell Davies
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 7:01 pm

Ok thats what i thought. The AV folder didnt have AV Packages by default but adding in the first package creates because of its file structure. Just wanted to be sure on that.

Also i saw something about starting this up mid game. What exactly is the issue? What does "Sliding" NPC's mean?
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Alexandra walker
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 12:15 pm

Ok thats what i thought. The AV folder didnt have AV Packages by default but adding in the first package creates because of its file structure. Just wanted to be sure on that.

Also i saw something about starting this up mid game. What exactly is the issue? What does "Sliding" NPC's mean?

Hi. I'm the expert on sliding NPCs here (no kidding :P). This is a problem that occurs when you install AV in a save where it was never installed before. After installing it, if you visit an already-explored area, creatures with AV packages do funny stuff like sliding, rotating. http://www.mediafire.com/?rsm84y859ofy201 a fun video. This isn't a problem with AV, just how Skyrim works. So you should use AV with a new game always.
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Emma louise Wendelk
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 5:01 pm

I see. So is a fix in the works or has it been determined not possible due to Skyrim's engine?
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Melanie Steinberg
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 11:02 pm

It's due to Skyrim's engine.. So I have no fix planned to make AV work on already-started games. 8( Trust me, I've tried 3-4 major routes all of which have resulted in failure due to some Bethesda related shortcoming or bug. XD

The best I can do is the already-existing AV Prep setting. Once you DO have AV installed on a game, it should be safe to add/remove/shuffle around packages.
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Katie Louise Ingram
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 9:29 pm

Would doing a full cell refresh (i.e wait 30 days inside a house) fix the problem with skating animals? I was thinking:

Go to a house (no animals inside)
Install AV.
Wait 30 days for a cell refresh.
Play?

Do you think that would work?
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Britta Gronkowski
 
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Post » Sun May 27, 2012 6:51 pm

Ah, so once a game has the AV Patch incorporated into its save i can tinker with it as much as i want. Thats nice to know.
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Jade
 
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Post » Mon May 28, 2012 1:01 am

Would doing a full cell refresh (i.e wait 30 days inside a house) fix the problem with skating animals? I was thinking:

Go to a house (no animals inside)
Install AV.
Wait 30 days for a cell refresh.
Play?

Do you think that would work?

You'd think! XD
That has been tested and has failed to work, not only with AV, but also other mods that experience the sliders/bugs associated with being added to an existing savegame.

My theory is that Bethesda's savegame system is a bit whacked and is holding on to data it shouldn't. When cells are reset you'd expect them to be reset to "new game" setups, but unfortunately, info about the cells seems to get saved and the bugs persist. Frustrating and dangerous for sure, as it seems like there's less and less ways now to reset a savegame to "factory settings".
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Assumptah George
 
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