Hey guys, I've been busy on my mod the last few weeks, and have decided to check that my dialogue quest for hunters in game still works.... It doesn't. It used to, and now for some reason it just doesn't show.

The only condition on the dialogue is " S - GetInFaction - HunterFaction == 1'. So all hunters in game would say the dialogue lines. They used to, see below:

http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/images/18866-1-1341772545.jpg

Has anybody else had this happen atall?

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From my post further down the thread:


Ok so after further testing I have found the following for dialogue only "quests":

(My dialogue only quests are a single 1 line topic/response branch with a condition S - GetInFaction - HunterFaction == 1, and a single line with S - GetIsID - Elrindir == 1)

COC from main menu

No dialogue shows at all for hunters or Elrindir. No amount of waiting or fast travelling seems to solve this. SQV MyQuest shows the quest as running fine.


Load a save that has never seen the mod

No dialogue shows at all for hunters or Elrindir. No amount of waiting or fast travelling seems to solve this. SQV MyQuest shows the quest as running fine.


Load a save that has been saved with your mod loaded (I loaded an old save, and instantly saved it to make this new save)

All dialogue works perfectly!


(For testing) Load a clean save as above, then go to hunter (no dialogue shows). Save game right there, then load that save from the ESC menu.

All dialogue works perfectly fine!


Basically, your dialogue only shows if you load the game with your mod enabled, save it, then reload that save. So this is completely reproducible. I added the COC test results as I know some modders use that. I myself use it to test level design etc.

Something has definitely gone wrong with the latest patch, because any save loaded with a new ESP (my own for example) would instantly work fine with new dialogue quests. Now though, you need to save, then reload that save...


EDIT

Obviously this can cause problems because if you save with a mod loaded, that has an active quest with scripts, then those scripts will be saved into that save. Meaning any edits you make to it in the CK won't change for that save.

EDIT 2

A couple of people have reported this doesn't fix the issue, but more have said it does. Best to try it for yourselves. Until we get a fix from Beth

What version of Skyrim are you running?

Are you using an esp? Have you changed or edited your mod since the official 1.7 release today?

Hath the dialogue bug striketh back a-gain?

Thanks for posting guys. I'm using the latest version (well, the version I was using in Beta) 1.7.7.0.6 and yep, my mod is an ESP file.

All of a sudden it just no longer works, also the dialogue branch I gave to Elrindir (condition is just subject is Elrindir) no longer works :/

Even went as far as uninstalling mods like SoS. Never had a problem with them before and just thought maybe they are causing compatibility issues. Loaded my mod last also didn't fix. I'm still testing out now, will post back if I find any other dialogue simply not working anymore.

Ok so strangely my Dialogue for both the end of a quest, and a dialogue "quest" made available after finishing said quest, works fine for my NPC. Fantastic infact, proud of myself

But my hunter faction (standard game version) dialogue has just stopped completely. Strange.

I don't want to plant any seeds, so keep in mind I'm going off PURE speculation here with no backing but previous testing;

The dialogue bug strikes at random. I have NO dialogue working, but most of my testers have random chunks of it working. So it's possible that it's randomly affecting your hunter faction but not your other dialogue. I suggest giving the mod to someone else, to see if they get the same results. If they do then it's most likely something you need to fix. (Conditions, etc) If they get random other dialogue not working, then the dialogue bug is still alive and strong.

Ok so after much testing (wanted to actually mod tonight ) It seems that once you load the game, after you travel to a few different cells, interior and exterior, the dialogues all work fine. As opposed to working straight away from the menu COC, or from loading a game and travelling straight to a hunters area.

As you said Alex, it seems really random. Maybe the "quest" just doesn't fire right away as a start game enabled quest should, who knows. It's psst me off a bit because I've wasted a couple of hours finding a bug...

EDIT:

What's annoying is I used to be able to just COC to guardianstones from the Main Menu, and talk to the hunter down the hill, always worked fine. Just recently, at some point within the space of about the last 2 patches, it now doesn't work straight away.

One thing to test; load straight in from the menu or something, then use 'SQV MyQuest' to get info on your quest. Then you can see if it's starting or running instantly or if something is wrong.

Alias's can cause quests not to start if they can't fill.

Thanks mate didn't know about that. I'll use it next time I'm on

Big are you still having problems? Currently none of my dialogue is working at all, which is breaking all my scripts. I tried your method of just loading into other areas, but that didn't seem to fix it either.

So;

Did your dialogue work before 1.7?
Are you using an esp?
Have you saved your mod since 1.7's release?

Yes, yes, and yes. It worked fine last night, and now it's not working.

Something happened with this newest update, because all my stuff was working fine last night around midnight. Only reason I point to the patch is because even my backups from a few weeks are infected.

I have an identical situation on my end. My mod was working late last night, but not today after the update. I have 30 individual backups as I have progressed. Jumping back to any one of them, including the earliest "hello world" version that involved a single NPC and one valid topic, will not allow me to speak with any NPCs. SQV on the quest name tells me the quest is both enabled and running; it is definitely not an unfilled alias issue.

(My mod was working before 1.7, my mod is an ESP, I have saved the mod since 1.7.)

I tried creating a new, clean mod with a single NPC and one valid topic - nothing. I even started Skyrim with the Bendu Olo test mod I'd put together three weeks ago - I haven't touched that ESP at all since then - and again, no dialogue is working from that.

This really doesn't look good... The question is, how come so many others are reporting that their esp's have been fixed? It would certainly appear here that the issue is all but fixed. I may have to PM Gstaff again to update him on the situation.

This is really puzzling and worrying.

Did I read it correctly that modded (new topic branches/quest) dialogue was working fine for both smoofysmoof and blacksnail with the v1.6.89 patch, but not with the new v1.7.7 patch?

All the modded dialogue in my own mods work fine now where it didn't work with v1.6.89 - but I didn't create new topics etc. I only edited existing dialogue (conditions mainly). Something seems to have gone wrong with mod created dialogue topics/branches perhaps?

It's situations like this the open betas are supposed to help us avoid. If only more people took time out to test their own authored mods with the beta. *sigh*

Yea just to add I also tried earlier versions of my mod. Strangely the dialogue for my npc worked fine for an actual quest, and also for a dialogue quest that is conditioned to be available after the quest is finished.

But it was my dialogue quest for hunters that the issue. All that is is a new quest, with a single branch, with the condition of getinfaction HunterFaction on subject. Even tried making a new one with the exact same conditions.

I then deleted both of those, restarted the ck and created a new dialogue quest, basic as above with the same condition.

I'm going to test again tonight after work. As I said once I'd travelled about it worked ok, eventually. But not consistently, it's really random (or so it appears).

Two other things I have noticed since patch.

I have this door in my mod that I must have gone through over 500 times for testing and every time it has loaded me into the right spot in my world space. Now today, for some reason 1 out of 5 tries going through this door leads me atop a floating, square plane above my own world space. It's not just one square, but at least a dozen I have noticed that are randomly placed.

Also, one of my ambush quests used to have a delay and now it doesn't. Before you would go through this door and be invited to an awaking Spriggan. Since patch 1.7, the moment the player loads the Spriggan is already awake and attacking.

These are just two things I noticed that can't just be coincidence. So everyone, as reminder just thoroughly recheck your mods, because you might be experiencing this dialogue bug or something else entirely.

Someone on Nexus pointed me here. Similar issues for me.

1. When I COC from the main menu, no dialogue options show up.

2. If I start a new game and get through Helgen, then COC, dialogue is seemingly fine for all(87) but my 2 newest NPCs. They show nothing.

3. Trying to create new NPC, whether it's in my mod or starting from scratch with a new mod, no dialogue options show.

4. Previous versions of my mod are completely broken as far as dialogue.

I didn't have a single problem for 5 months and 89 NPCs until today.

For me, yes. I had created original dialogue and had not modified any existing vanilla dialogue. Now none of it is working.

This is very interesting. What about loading a save? I have a save I've been playing since like 1.1, I try that and no dialogue. If I coc from menu, no dialogue. I have not, however, tried playing the opening on a new game. I'll have to do that.

EDIT: I have also contacted Gstaff again. Hopefully I can get a response tomorrow. My goal is to get a dev in here so we can talk directly with them about the problem and it's symptoms.

Well, I can confirm the dialog for both my mods, ScenicCarriages and BFF Animal Companions, are broken. Making both mods unusable and players are now uninstalling.

I verified each mod seperately starting from a clean save with no other mods running. I tested the released versions (compiled under 1.5 & 1.6 respectiviely) which worked pre-patch. (Why am I modding again??)

Testing method:
1. Started game with no other mods active
2. Competed intro and exited Helgen Tunnel
3. Walked to Whiterun (Made Save)
4. Exited Skyrim and loaded appropriate mod

As much as I hate saying it, the more of you that file in with broken esp's, the better. That means the issue is bigger and Beth is more likely to pay attention to it.

I was worried that esp's were fixed and that they were going to ignore esm's. But if both are still broken, there is still hope for me. Maybe that's selfish... Regardless I hope we can gather enough info to help Beth get this thing fixed once and for all.

Agreed. I wouldn't call it selfish, I'd say it's holding out hope!

If this isn't a big problem that Beth fixes asap, then I for one will stop buying and modding Beth games. This is my first game to mod... maybe I started too soon.

Not singling you out here.

I've been saying all along, and for good reason, that testing by way of using COC from the main menu is a bad approach. Some things will simply fail to work, even if they worked before. My advice has always been and will always remain: Use a save made just after completing Helgen. Whether you do this using the vanilla game or with an alt-start mod loaded doesn't much matter. Just don't COC from main menu. All game behavior becomes undefined when you do that. Quests you think should be started won't be. Events you think should have triggered won't have. It's never been a good testing method.

Those of us who have said that the bug is fixed have all been using normal game testing to validate that. Load up, enter game, go somewhere to test a set of dialogue.