[RELzWIPz] Enhanced Skyrim Followers: Aela the Huntress, of : V

» Tue May 29, 2012 3:55 pm

NEWS:
28 May 2012: I have released http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11450! Please give it a try if you meet the requirements and let me know if you encounter any issues.

SOME SCREENSHOTS:
http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/11450-1-1330353743.jpg | http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/11450-1-1330389031.jpg | http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/11450-1-1332014596.jpg | http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/11450-1-1333646316.jpg | http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/11450-1-1330371050.jpg | http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/11450-1-1333772259.jpg

Enhanced Skyrim Followers:
Aela the Huntress

"I don't know how those cozy lords manage to drag themselves out of bed every day. Why bother if you're not living?"

1. Introduction
2. Core Features
3. Release Plans
4. Requirements
5. Compatibility
6. Likely Questions
7. Contact Info
8. Credits and Thanks

1. Introduction

The character of Aela the Huntress impressed me from the first encounter with the degree that she felt like her own person, living her own story. Aela had her own opinions, her own expertise, her own family history, her own plans and goals. She wasn't just waiting around to assist my character--if anything, my PC had to prove himself worthy of assisting her. It made for a refreshing change in a game that's otherwise so focused on how special the PC is. I was quite disappointed, then, that after Aela became available as a follower, most of her personality and individuality vanished. This woman whose years of hunting and questing had given her extensive knowledge of Skyrim, who had a vested interest in its fate, was unaccountably silent as I went about shaping her land's history. Enhanced Skyrim Followers: Aela aims to change that discontinuity.

ESF: Aela will improve Aela's follower functionality and expand her dialogue. The goal is to create a traveling companion with more personality and utility, and to add character commentary in a way that increases the game's atmosphere and highlights the stakes of the game's situations and themes. There will be new dialogue centered around most of the main and faction-related questlines in the game, as well as various sidequests and environmental situations. There will be game avenues that Aela will now refuse to follow you down; there will be avenues where her following may be contingent on the PC's race, qualities, skills, perks, quest progress, and dialogue choices. There may be situations where she will take action against you, if your actions bring dishonor to the Companions, or to her personally. But there will also be increased opportunities for rewarding situations with Aela, as a shield-sister in the Circle of Companions, as a friend, and as a romance partner.

Please do note that this is a work in progress, so consider everything mentioned here to be tentative.

2. Core Features

Enhanced Follower Functionality (Nearly Complete)

Better inventory management
Tactics management (melee vs. ranged weapon choice, aggressiveness, follow distance, torch use)
Improvements to AI and behavior packages to increase immersion
Sandbox mode ("relax here" vs. "guard here")
Wardrobe management (unlockable, configurable outfits for combat, exploration, and in-town use)
Beast form on command, or when the player transforms
Teleportation: Aela to the PC, or the PC to Aela
Optional map marker
Realistic set of perks (including avoidance of traps)
Rides horses and other mounts
Increased maximum level, including optional support for skill uncappers to increase level over 81 and skills over 100.
"Move out of my way!" command

Enhanced Dialogue (In Progress)

Mostly silent/unvoiced, but with some lines voiced by re-purposing other game dialogue spoken by the same actress
New variety in voiced greetings and farewells
New context- and location-specific dialogue and choices for existing game quests and situations
Banters between Aela and other vanilla followers
New dialogue choices and follower functions that become available based on your statements and actions over time

3. Release Plans

An initial version has now been http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11450. This version focuses on the enhanced follower functionality listed above.

Future releases will come in stages, improving the functionality and adding new quest commentary. I hope to release stages every months or so. But working in all of the ideas that I'd like to include--expansion of the Companions questlines, refinements to vanilla quests such as the civil war's Battle of Whiterun, more with werewolves, more with friendship, romance and marriage tracks, personal quests for Aela, support for popular quest/companion mods and DLC, etc.--will likely take years, if the game holds my attention that long. The multi-year development of Emma's Vilja companion for Oblivion is the most likely model for the path this mod will follow.

4. Requirements

While the current version does not, future versions of the mod may require SKSE, the Skyrim Script Extender.

This mod may also require Wrye Bash's "Bashed Patch" feature to work correctly with some other mods (see COMPATIBILITY below).

5. Compatibility

In general, mods that make widespread changes to textures/models/stats that affect all Nords, all women, all armor and weapons, etc., should work okay with this. But mods that change Aela or her equipment specifically (removing or changing her warpaint, giving her new perks, etc.), or that make changes to the groups she belongs to--Companions/followers/marriage partners/werewolves--are likely to have compatibility issues. Some of these issues may be solvable by using Wrye Bash to create a "bashed" patch, and/or by using BOSS to set your load order: I highly recommend that you do use both tools.

I'll hope to create, or ask others to create, patches for the most popular overhauls where necessary. I also may end up creating my own overhaul of the Companions faction as a companion to this mod--lengthening the quest chain with new unique and radiant quests, adding some skill requirements, offering the choice to decline various options along with consequences for doing so, adding some post-vanilla content such as recruiting new members--which would likely render most other Companions overhauls incompatible.

Primary needs mods should not cause problems, but likely won't impact Aela without patches.

This mod should work with mods that increase the number of simultaneous followers that the PC can have, and indeed I plan to write a few conversational banters between Aela and each of the other default game followers with that in mind. Mods that add new followers should not cause problems, but Aela may not be aware of a non-vanilla follower unless a patch is made.

If you are a mod maker and want to talk about interoperability between our projects, feel free to PM me.

6. Likely Questions

Is this mod voice-acted?

Not in the sense that you probably mean. I am writing a lot of dialogue for Aela and those around her, and that is a project likely to continue for several years. If at some point I reach a point where I can say that the mod is done, then I'll put out a call for voice acting. But that is years away, if it ever happens; and it is by no means a certainty that anyone with a suitable voice will want to take the time to record all the dialogue I'll have added by then (plus re-recording all of Aela's existing dialogue). So right now the dialogue additions are mostly silent; you'll need both Dialogue and General Subtitles turned on, in the Settings section of the game menus. If you hate reading text and need voice acting, you should avoid this mod for the foreseeable future.

That said, the existing voice actress for Aela, the talented Claudia Christian, also voiced several other characters in the game. This gives me a sizable library of voiced dialogue that I can sample from. You will hear re-purposed extracts of these sound files sprinkled throughout Aela's added dialogue, where I could work them in seamlessly.

Can you add feature X, or dialogue about Y?

Maybe, eventually. I'm learning everything as I go, and also I have my own feel for the right balance between number of features, frequency of dialogue, and amount of complexity. I've used a number of stock and modded followers/companions for various games, and believe I am aware of the best practices. And I have a large number of ideas of my own that I hope to implement, that will take a lot of my time. That said, if there's something you'd like to see, feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

What is this Aela like as a follower?

Things to bear in mind when choosing whether to use this mod and have this version of Aela as a follower:

Like many Nords, Aela is something of a racist. She doesn't think that non-humans should be banished from Skyrim; it's more a chauvinism. Nords come first in her thinking, and she believes that given the chance, Nords will always come out on top.
As a direct descendant of one of the first Companions, Aela hopes to be remembered as doing honor to her family name, and for bringing honor to the Companions.
Because of the mystical elements the Companions and their inner Circle are involved with, she is more tolerant of magic than most Nords.
Because she grew up hunting across the land with her father, and because of her induction into the Circle and what that entails, she can be very primal, practical, and down to earth. She's not feral, but she can be anti-social, especially among those she does not know well.
At the same time, because of her long family history with the Companions on her mother's side, the stories she's been told and the books she's read, she has somewhat romanticized--and thus uncompromising--views of honor and heroism. When her pragmatic and romanticized perspectives align, she can be self-certain, commanding, and judgmental. However, the perspectives do not always align perfectly. In those cases she may be extra commanding and judgmental, if only to hide her lack of certainty.

Please note that Aela as depicted in this mod does not reflect my own personal beliefs. For dramatic effect there are elements of her character that I'm using to bring abstract conflicts in the gameworld down to the street level, to embody them in a person who you can interact with--which means the PC will have the chance to explicitly challenge or reject certain ideas, in a way that they don't in the unmodded game.

I disagree with your ideas about Aela

Fair enough. This mod is based on ideas that I thought would enhance my time with the game, playing of hints that Bethesda offered about a character and the world she lives in, and also with a concern that the mod enhance gameplay by offering a fairly strong, distinct personality that forces the player to make the sorts of consequential choices that I think will add to the game--in its aesthetics, drama, and replay value. Other people may read those hints about her character differently, or have less patience for the consequences I've imposed. You are free to edit your copy of the mod in any way you see fit, so long as you do not distribute your edited version.

I'm making a mod and would like this Aela mod to be compatible

Excellent; I would like this, too. Really, this is the main reason I made this post while the mod is still a work in progress: to let other modders know it is being worked on. As a player of Skyrim, who is making this mod primarily to enhance my own gameplay, nothing would make me happier than to see Aela interacting with other modded followers, commenting on mod-added quests and situations, and so forth. I'm not sure there's much to be done at this point, but when your mod gets to a stage where you want to talk about compatibility, please feel free to PM me.

7. Contact Info

You can PM me as DreamKing on the official Bethesda forum.

8. Credits and Thanks

Ethatron for the BSAopt extraction tool, and Agnahim for FUZ Extractor, which together allowed me to examine the audio files before the Creation Kit's release.
Modders of existing Bethesda game companions whose work I've enjoyed and been inspired by: Emma's Constance for Morrowind and Emma and CDCooley's Vilja for Oblivion; Kateri's Julan for Morrowind; Jac's Jasmine for Morrowind; RickerHK's Brisa for Fallout 3 and Wendy Gilbert for Fallout New Vegas; llamaRCA's Charon Improved for Fallout 3 and Willow for New Vegas. All are highly recommended.
Bethesda for making a game worth modding, and for making modding tools available.

» Tue May 29, 2012 9:14 pm

Awesome! Modding gods speed you on your way.

» Wed May 30, 2012 12:01 am

Sounds like you have some wonderful and well-thought out ideas. I'll be looking forward to seeing where this mod goes.

» Tue May 29, 2012 7:11 pm

Can i sugest some things ?
For those who want a more imersive game ... the hability to the companion choose the weapons and armors he want.
No more player using the companion for pack mule. if the companion guess the weapon is better than what he are using, he ask to have it.
if the player need help carrying things ... he ask for help and will only take what he gives.

I can help with voice acting. i just need the text and a sample of the voice.

Looking forward to it

» Tue May 29, 2012 11:53 am

Love this idea. would suggest that there are some things that Aela would not approve of as well such as some of the dark brotherhood quests
some of the imperial civil war quests.

» Tue May 29, 2012 4:53 pm

Great, absolutely great. Do you know what this reminds me of? It reminds me of Baldur′s Gate II where you had a living group who commented your actions. Each with a different story and at least one unique quest.
Charaters had really personality. I think Skyrim made a good beginning in this. For example Lydia who make comments about the terrain like caves great ruins ect.
It would have been so awesome if Skyrim would have enhanced that feature

Anyway, good luck with this will definitely download your mod thanks.

» Tue May 29, 2012 11:37 am

This looks very promising, and already you've got an offer from someone to help with VA

Following this mod! Best of luck!

» Wed May 30, 2012 12:09 am

Great, absolutely great. Do you know what this reminds me of? It reminds me of Baldur′s Gate II where you had a living group who commented your actions. Each with a different story and at least one unique quest.
Charaters had really personality. I think Skyrim made a good beginning in this. For example Lydia who make comments about the terrain like caves great ruins ect.
It would have been so awesome if Skyrim would have enhanced that feature

Yes, that's exactly what I am aiming for. The old Black Isle/Bioware games are some of my favorites. Their style of party interaction--the distinct personalities, and the bantering and bickering between them--in an open world Bethesda game would be my ideal CRPG. I figured I'd do my share to try to bring it about.

Can i sugest some things ?
For those who want a more imersive game ... the hability to the companion choose the weapons and armors he want.
No more player using the companion for pack mule. if the companion guess the weapon is better than what he are using, he ask to have it.

Do you mean Aela would ask for a weapon/armor if she sees that the PC is carrying something better than what she is equipped with? That's not a bad idea, but the tricky part is that sometimes a specific weapon or armor might be better in a certain situation--against an enemy who deals certain kinds of damage or who has certain resistances--even if its base stats look weaker. But I will try to think about ways to allow Aela to comment on her equipment.

I will say that I do want to give Aela a little more personality in what she chooses to equip. I'd like to make her refuse to use elven armor or weapons, for example.

I can help with voice acting. i just need the text and a sample of the voice.

As I said in the intro post, I suspect I will be writing dialogue for quite some time--maybe a year, maybe more. I don't want to get into voice acting until I'm confident that the lines are final and the dialogue is complete. If you think you might be interested in voice acting at that later point, a good audition would be to try recording your own take of a few of Aela's lines from the game.

Love this idea. would suggest that there are some things that Aela would not approve of as well such as some of the dark brotherhood quests
some of the imperial civil war quests.

Yes, I picture Aela as having Stormcloak sympathies--if you haven't joined a civil war faction by the time she becomes available as a follower, that's the side she'll push for. That doesn't mean the PC may not be able to persuade her to follow along through the Imperial side if they make a convincing argument for it; or that there aren't things in the game that could shake her confidence in Ulfric (something you find in the main quest "Diplomatic Immunity" for example); and also, there are points in the Stormcloak quest chain--like Ulfric's insistence on attacking Whiterun--where she might have second thoughts.

I haven't played the Dark Brotherhood quests yet so can't comment on that. My sense is that, like Mjoll, Aela might actually have an easier time accepting the DB than, say, the Thieves Guild.

Awesome! Modding gods speed you on your way.

Sounds like you have some wonderful and well-thought out ideas. I'll be looking forward to seeing where this mod goes.

This looks very promising, and already you've got an offer from someone to help with VA Following this mod! Best of luck!

Thanks, folks--the words of support are much appreciated!

» Tue May 29, 2012 11:40 am

I've always had problems with companions. They die way too easily from AoE fire, which in turn makes a good bit of magic and some shouts unusable. If a mod can address that, though, I think it'd be awesome to take Aela around.

For a suggestion, I really hope you can do something for her lycanthropy. Both her and Skjor go on and on about how they see it as a blessing, and they could never imagine someone wanting to get rid of it, but she never uses it outside of a small scripted scene. At the very least, an option to "command" her to change would be a vast improvement (something which she could refuse under certain circumstances, like if she doesn't like you enough, or if there are non-evil, non-werewolf-friendly NPCs nearby, etc). Having her change of her own volition would be nice too, but I could imagine that to be tricky to tell when it's safe and makes sense to do so.

» Wed May 30, 2012 2:33 am

I've always had problems with companions. They die way too easily from AoE fire, which in turn makes a good bit of magic and some shouts unusable. If a mod can address that, though, I think it'd be awesome to take Aela around.

Yes, I play as an archer, and Aela too often rushes ahead into combat, blocking my shots (and getting pissed if I hit her by mistake). Out of the box, the additions that I plan to make are adding the ability to toggle Aela as essential or not, and tactics commands to do things like "try to keep your distance from enemies and only use a ranged weapon." That should help avoid AoE friendly fire. Really I am expecting someone will release a mod to adjust friendly fire for all followers: whether followers care about it, whether they take damage from it. If nobody does, then I may myself.

For a suggestion, I really hope you can do something for her lycanthropy. Both her and Skjor go on and on about how they see it as a blessing, and they could never imagine someone wanting to get rid of it, but she never uses it outside of a small scripted scene.

I agree, this bugged me, too. I don't want to make any promises before I've seen what the new scripting system can do, but I do have several ideas in mind for expanding lycanthropy as it relates to Aela: a tactics setting like the above, a new radiant quest to hunt together as werewolves, a unique quest or two, scripted sequences, and dealing with the future of the Companions when it comes time to induct new members into the Circle. Whether the PC chooses to cure their own lycanthropy would impact some of these, and also the type of relationship with the PC that Aela will be willing to pursue.

Thanks for the comments!

» Tue May 29, 2012 5:06 pm

Yes, I play as an archer, and Aela often rushes ahead into combat, blocking my shots (and getting pissed if I hit her by mistake).

You're lucky. When I had Eric the Slayer, decked out in some nice dwemer/ebony armor mix, there were times he'd jump in the way and I would one-shot-kill him with my bow (a 3X sneak bonus and occasional crit strike; since he's focusing on the enemies, he doesn't "detect" me and gets sneak attacked).

IIRC, there's a setting somewhere to turn off friendly fire. Though I don't know if this applies to all NPCs that aren't hostile to you, "allies" only, or just your current followers.

» Wed May 30, 2012 2:14 am

Good luck with this. It looks like you've put a lot of thought into it and I hope she comes to life. When we get the GotY version, I may have to take her for a spin.

» Tue May 29, 2012 10:47 am

IIRC, there's a setting somewhere to turn off friendly fire. Though I don't know if this applies to all NPCs that aren't hostile to you, "allies" only, or just your current followers.

Yes, you can set individual NPCs to not get upset about friendly fire (the "sifh" console command); that's something I'll definitely turn on for Aela in this mod, at least after a certain point. Ideally I'd also like to figure out a way to set whether an NPC takes damage from friendly fire (or the PC, from a friendly NPC). That may require scripting, if it's possible at all; and if I can do it, I'll make it something that can be turned on and off, to suit different playstyles.

Good luck with this. It looks like you've put a lot of thought into it and I hope she comes to life. When we get the GotY version, I may have to take her for a spin.

Thanks! I really enjoyed your Jasmine companion mod for Morrowind--I was impressed by how much dialogue she had. It often seemed there was a new line not just for every quest, but for every stage of many quests. Definitely an inspiration.

And yes, I'm hopeful, with the brief glimpses we've seen of the Creation Kit, that I'll be able to actually implement a lot of the ideas I've had. It'll be fun trying.

» Tue May 29, 2012 7:11 pm

Thanks! I really enjoyed your Jasmine companion mod for Morrowind--I was impressed by how much dialogue she had. It often seemed there was a new line not just for every quest, but for every stage of many quests. Definitely an inspiration. And yes, I'm hopeful, with the brief glimpses we've seen of the Creation Kit, that I'll be able to actually implement a lot of the ideas I've had. It'll be fun trying.

I'm glad you think so.

If you can create a good companion system, I may have to ~~steal~~ borrow it after we get Skyrim. Either way, it'll be nice to know that at least one of Bethesda's companions will be an actual person instead of the cardboard cutouts they tend to foster on us (I'm looking at you, Fallout 3).

» Wed May 30, 2012 2:40 am

I had a good first week of progress on this:

I unhooked Aela from the vanilla follower system--she'll join if you already have another follower, and other followers should join even if Aela is already following.
I added several tactical settings:
- Attack on sight, attack only after she or the PC has been attacked, or don't attack at all.
- Use ranged weapons only, use melee only, or use a mix.
- Choose a follow distance between close, medium, and far.
I added a "relax here" (sandbox) choice in addition to "guard here."
She won't complain about friendly fire from the PC (need to test this more with friendly fire from additional followers).
She should no longer affect the PC stealth meter when she is following you.
I raised her maximum level to 100, up from 50.
I gave her the Light Foot perk (and its prerequisite, Muffled Movement) to avoid triggering some traps--although this needs testing, as perks may not work for NPCs, or may require her skills to raise high enough to qualify for the perks.
I gave her a version of the Ancient Nord Armor that is light armor rather than heavy--because, I mean, look at it: does it look like heavy armor to you?
I created a version of the standard modded follower teleportation device, which you can use to teleport Aela to you and (if you are a werewolf) you to Aela. Useful if she gets lost. Has some story implications. May cause problems in situations where the game does not expect you to be able to teleport out of a situation, though, so use with care.
I'm adding the ability to ask her to go hang out at an owned home or an inn after you dismiss her from following you.

Even if the follower additions Bethesda showed in their Game Jam video come to pass and make some of this obsolete, it's not a bad week of work, I don't think--I had a lot of fun (amid some frustration) learning how to do all this stuff.

If all goes well this week I may try to arrange a "pre-alpha" limited testing release before too long.

» Tue May 29, 2012 6:02 pm

I added another feature last night: torch management. Now in addition to the default setting to use a torch whenever she feels it is dark enough, you'll also be able to ask Aela to only use a torch when you light one yourself, or to only use one when you ask her to.

This was important to me as I play a sneaky character, and it was annoying to try sneaking around in the dark while Aela carried a lit torch, calling attention to us.

» Tue May 29, 2012 7:04 pm

I have released an http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11450! This version focuses on improving the core follower functionality--I need some sort of Universal Silent Voice plugin before getting into most of the story aspects.

To use version 0.1 you must have an existing save to load the mod into with the following requirements:

1) You have completed the Companions quest "Glory of the Dead," the final quest in the main Companions questline.
2) Aela is not currently following you.
3) Aela is not your spouse (I think this is a requirement, but am not 100% positive--give it a try if you are married to her, and feel like being a guinea pig).

Here is the full readme for this version:

Spoiler

Enhanced Skyrim Followers: Aela the Huntress
By DreamKing
Version: 0.1, 27 February 2012

= Introduction =

This initial testing release of ESF: Aela adds a number of new follower features to Aela the Huntress, of the Companions. It *is* a testing release: that means expect problems and read this document thoroughly, especially the sections on "Installation," "Compatibility," and "Known Bugs" before deciding if you want to use the mod. This is the start of a larger project, which will flesh out Aela'a character and the Companions questline. I'm releasing this limited version, which only includes basic functionality changes to Aela as a follower, for several reasons. One is that this is my first mod, and I want to be sure I'm not doing something horribly wrong before continuing the project. But also, I think the mod as it stands will be genuinely useful for players. There's still a lot more to be done, but I think this is a good start.

If you're curious about where future development will take ESF: Aela, you can read the main project thread at the Bethesda forum:
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1336512-wipwipz-enhanced-skyrim-followers-aela-the-huntress-of-the-companions/

= Getting It Working =

Installation

Before installing this mod, you must have a saved game ready that meets the following conditions:

1) You have completed the Companions quest "Glory of the Dead," the final quest in the main Companions questline.
2) Aela is not currently following you.
3) Aela is not your spouse.

There are no other mods that are prerequisites for using this version of ESF:Aela. However, future versions will require SKSE, the Skyrim Script Extender.

This mod is packaged in an archive compatible with Wrye Bash's BAIN installation method and with the Nexus Mod Manager.

To install manually, extract ESFAela.esp and ESFAela.bsa from the archive with 7zip (http://www.7-zip.org/) or a compatible program and place them into your game's Data directory. For most users this will be something like C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\Data (although if it is, you may want to read up on moving Steam out of the Program Files directory to avoid permissions problems).

Use a load order management tool (Skyrim's launcher, Wrye Bash, Nexus Mod Manager) to ensure this mod loads after any other mods that impact either followers in general or Aela in specific. See the section on "Compatibility" below. I recommend using BOSS (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=6) to automatically sort your load order in a way that resolves common problems.

I recommend that you keep at least one save game from before you installed this mod, that you can revert to in case of any problems.

Compatibility

- Mods that alter all Nords, all female bodies, all faces, and so forth, should be compatible. Mods that alter Aela specifically--that remove her warpaint or otherwise change her face, or that give her new perks--will conflict. Make sure ESFAela.esp is lower in your load order than these mods, and try using Wrye Bash to create a "bashed patch" that will allow them to work together.
- Mods that alter all followers should be compatible; however, any improvements they try to make will probably not impact Aela. To be safe, again, position ESFAela.esp lower in your load order than any of these mods.

Uninstallation

To manually uninstall the mod, just remove ESFAela.esp and ESFAela.bsa from your skyrim\Data directory.

= Features =

Basic Changes

- Aela has been removed from the default follower system--other followers will join while she is following, and she will join even if others are already following.
- She has also been removed as a potential marriage partner (for now; future versions of the mod will include expanded romance/marriage options).
- The constantly re-appearing Hunting Bow and endless supply of arrows associated with the vanilla followers are now gone.
- She now has both an equippable, "at-hand" inventory, and a "treasure sack," the contents of which she will never equip.
- Her stats--health and skills--will now level correctly with the player, up to a maximum level of 100.
- She should no longer turn hostile from actions you take while in werewolf form.
- She will now sit when the player sits. (She'll pick the closest chair or bench--not barstool, sadly--to where she is standing when the player sits.)
- You can now ask Aela about a variety of subjects. However, she's not one for casual chit-chat or frequent deep personal conversations--after a few queries, she'll get tired of answering your questions. You can ask more in 24 hours; gaining her respect will increase the number of topics you can ask about per day.

Respect

Before Aela will agree to certain requests, you'll need to earn her respect. Respect is earned through combat victories and completing quests while Aela is with you to witness them--victories won while she is dismissed, or waiting, do not count. Also, you may lose respect if you show too much of an interest in spells or thievery while Aela is present.

New Tactical Choices

- Ask to use ranged weapons only, melee weapons only, or a mix (the default).
- Have her attack at will (default), only after she or the player has been attacked (good for sneaking), or never attack.
- Set her follow distance to close (default), medium, or far.
- Beast form: by default, Aela will now use her beast form when the player uses their's, if the player is a werewolf. If the player earns enough respect, they can ask Aela not to use her beast form while travelling together.
- Toggle her as essential (unkillable). Although note that some quests override this; in practice, depending on where you are in the game, it may not be possible to make her not essential. If she is made not essential, she should now use health potions in her inventory (but this needs testing).
- She can light torches automatically when it gets dark (default), only when the player lights one, or only when the player asks that one be lit. If you want her to use torches automatically, you will need to supply her with a torch.

Outfits & Equipment

- The outfit system is much expanded. Aela now has three separate outfits--Combat, Travel & Exploration, and Town. As you earn more of her respect, you will gain the ability to set the contents of each of these in turn, through the "tactics" dialogue. You can also have her change into the appropriate outfit automatically, or only at your command. And you can always continue to put armor in her inventory, which will override the outfits if the gear in her inventory is better than the gear in the outfits.
- You do not need to set all three outfits. You could have just Combat and Town outfits, for instance, and she will use the Combat outfit while exploring.
- Do not put armor you have enchanted or improved through smithing into her outfit slots--it may revert to its default, unimproved form!
- As a matter of personal preference, she will not be willing to use Elven equipment--think about the history of the Companions, never mind recent history in Tamriel--and will also reject any heavy armor or two-handed melee weapons you try to give her as not fitting her talents.
- To go along with this, her default combat outfit is now a version of the Ancient Nord Armor that is light armor, rather than heavy. Because really, does it look like heavy armor?

Teleportation

- If Aela gets lost, you can use The Ring of Blood Call (which you should take from her inventory) to teleport her to you--at the cost of 20 Health. If the player is a werewolf, you can also use the Ring to teleport yourself to Aela. This is meant to be used only when one of you is lost or stuck; using the ring as a solution to puzzles may break quests and is not recommended.
Wait Here/Relax Here/Meet Me Elsewhere
- In addition to the vanilla "wait here" option, there is now also a "relax here" option, which will put Aela in a "sandbox mode" where she will sit, eat, move around, and otherwise interact with her immediate environment.
- She will stop waiting for you and return to her usual schedule after only 1 day (24 hours) when using these options. Other followers wait 3 days; Aela isn't that patient.
- In addition to resuming her default duties back at Jorrvaskr, you can now ask Aela to meet you at any of the default player houses you own, or any of the Inns in habitations that you have visited. She will stay there for 7 days before getting tired of waiting around, and resuming her normal Companion activities.
- There is a facility to add up to three houses from other mods to the list of houses you own, that you can meet Aela at. In practice however few house mods are currently supported. For this to work, a house mod must follow the vanilla system where 1) the house has its interior cell set to be owned by the player and 2) that cell must be defined as a Location with the keyword LocTypePlayerHouse. While in such a house, you will see an option to tell Aela about it in the "about this place" dialogue.

= Known Bugs =

- When using the carriage system, Aela won't arrive at your destination with you--you'll have to wait about 20 seconds for her to catch up.
- If you try to give Aela armor she won't wear (Elven or heavy) multiple times, her body may disappear until you close the Inventory screen.
- Outfits can be erratic. If you make a change to an outfit and it doesn't "stick," try entering a new cell--something that triggers a load screen. Also, don't put more than one type of any item into an outfit.
- For some reason the game considers standing and stirring a pot to be sitting, so if the player sits and a cookpot is closer to Aela than any chair, she may start stirring it. The main room in Breezehome is one place this can easily happen.
- Certain calculations--like Aela's level--are only made once every 24 hours in gameworld time. If you see that she is a level behind you, don't worry, she should catch up soon. Respect also calculates once every 24 hours; you can force a recalculation by asking her to stand guard, then follow you again.
- Every now and then Aela will say something out of character--like "I'm getting out of here" when she sees a fight. I hope to figure out how to selectively prune those comments; the alternative will be disabling them entirely.
- I haven't been able to buy Hjerim in my game because of bugs, so it is available as a destination for Aela as soon as you get the key--which can happen before you are actually able to use it as a residence. This will be fixed in future versions, once I get that far in my own game.
- Aela still uses her human voice while in werewolf form. I haven't decided yet if this is a bug or a feature--I think of it as the voice the player hears in their mind, knowing that the beast is Aela.

= Contact =

If you have problems, suggestions, or questions about the mod, the best way to get in touch is via the thread for the mod in the Skyrim Mods area on the Bethesda Forum (http://www.gamesas.com/forum/183-skyrim-mods/). One of the reasons that I'm releasing this testing version is to see if there are any problems; I'd like to hear from you. As of this writing, the current Forum thread for the mod is:

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1336512-wipwipz-enhanced-skyrim-followers-aela-the-huntress-of-the-companions/

You can also send me private messages as DreamKing (preferred) on the Bethesda Forum (http://www.gamesas.com/) or on the Nexus Forums (http://forums.nexusmods.com/) as DreamKingMods.

= Disclaimer =

Use of this mod may lead to broken quests, corrupt or bloated save games, and other issues. Make sure you keep a save game from before you installed this mod, than you can revert to in case of any problems. Use of this mod will increase load on your computer components; make sure they are adequately cooled, supplied with power, etc.

= Legal, Distribution, and Use of Assets =

In part or in whole, you may not upload, re-host, or otherwise make this mod or an edited version you derive from it available at any other location under any circumstances, except as specified here.

This version (0.1) of the mod is authorized for release on the Skyrim Nexus (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/) only. If you downloaded it from an unauthorized location, be advised that there may be newer versions of the mod available with important fixes and additions posted on authorized sites.

I'll be making the source of the scripts used by this mod available as a separate download; feel free to use these scripts as a base for creating follower mods for NPCs other than Aela, which you may release as you wish. I apologize for the sloppiness of the scripts and their lack of generality: I was learning as I went. You may release scripts that you derive from my work, provided that you properly credit me and remove all references in the scripts to ESFAela. I welcome suggestions for improvement of the scripts.

If I do not respond to attempts to contact me via the methods listed in the "Contact" section of the latest release of this mod for 6 months, and have not given prior notice of planned absence, then consider this mod and its assets released to the community.

= Thanks and Credits =

Anyone who has used follower mods in previous Bethesda games will quickly see that very few of the ideas I'm implementing here are original: I'm combining features from follower mods that I enjoyed. Most notable influences in this release are Emma and CDCooley's Vilja for Oblivion, RickerHK's Brisa for Fallout 3 and Wendy Gilbert for Fallout: New Vegas, and llamaRCA's Willow for Fallout: New Vegas. Much thanks and credit to these modders; if you play those games, I recommend those mods.

Thanks to Ethatron for the BSAopt extraction tool, and Agnahim for FUZ Extractor, which together allowed me to begin editing the voice files before the Creation Kit's release.

Thanks to the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (http://www.uesp.net/) for being a frequent and valuable reference.

Thanks to the Nexus Network (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/) for providing a platform for mods and the community that exists around them.

And of course credit and thanks go to Bethesda Softworks, for releasing and supporting modding tools for their games--without which this mod could not have been made.

» Tue May 29, 2012 3:15 pm

Just a quick note for anyone who downloaded the initial 0.1 release of ESF: Aela this morning that a http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11450. This fixes a serious problem with the initial release where I foolishly thought the Creation Kit was bundling all the necessary scripts for the mod to work into the archive for me. That wasn't the case, and so a lot of functionality wasn't working. I've manually packed the BSA archive for 0.1.1 and all seems to be well. You should be able to just copy the new files, ESFAela.esp and ESFAela.bsa, over the old ones--although to be safe, it would be good to dismiss her, and then immediately ask her to follow you again. Apologies for the inconvenience!

» Tue May 29, 2012 3:33 pm

Just wanted to note for anyone following this mod here that I've been uploading bugfix releases over at the Nexus: the current version of the mod is now http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11450. Please upgrade if you haven't already. Cheers!

» Tue May 29, 2012 1:58 pm

Really I am expecting someone will release a mod to adjust friendly fire for all followers: whether followers care about it, whether they take damage from it. If nobody does, then I may myself.

YES PLEASE. I AM DESPERATE.

where is that mod already????

» Tue May 29, 2012 11:05 pm

I have uploaded http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11450, which makes the following changes:

Fixed a bug with the outfit system where removing outfit items would fail, causing the whole outfit to not appear in-game. If you were using the outfit system in a previous version of this mod, then for each outfit, after installing this update, you should take out the items in the outfit, and then immediately re-add them. This will re-register the outfits with the game and allow them, and any subsequent outfit changes you make, to appear correctly.
Fixed a bug where Aela would not use torches when set to use them on her own initiative, and any torches placed in her inventory in that mode would vanish. If you set her to use torches in a different way, and then go back to having her using them on her own initiative, you will need to give her another torch.
Fixed a bug where if the player sat down while Aela was waiting or sandboxing, she would start following the player again.
Fixed a bug where completing a Totem of Hircine quest would re-add Aela to the default follower pool, making the "follow me" dialogue choice appear when she was already following you.
Minor fixes to dialogue--correctly alphabetized the list of Inns, etc.
Added some new greetings and refined the conditions on existing greetings; for example, she now won't greet the player with "I had wondered where you'd got to" unless the player has left her waiting for several hours.
Added a tweak so that if you ask Aela to hold her position while you are both sneaking, she won't stand up when the conversation ends.
Added a tweak so that when Aela switches to her "in town" outfit automatically, she will unequip any weapon/shield/quiver she currently has equipped.
Added a tweak so that when you tell Aela to relax at a location, she will unequip any weapon/shield/quiver she currently has equipped.

Current users of the mod can upgrade by just overwriting ESFAela.esp and ESFAela.bsa with the new versions of those two files. New users should read the mod description, especially the sections on Installation and Compatibilty.

Cheers!

» Tue May 29, 2012 6:21 pm

I've just uploaded http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11450 to the Skyrim Nexus. This version of the mod adds several new features:

I've added a simple portable bedroll. If you are in an appropriate location, you can use the "discuss this place" dialogue topic to tell Aela that she should get some sleep here. She'll then unroll her bedroll directly behind where she is standing (if it is raining or snowing, she'll also pitch a tent) and go to sleep. She'll sleep until you click her to wake her up, or 8 hours pass, whichever comes first. "Appropriate locations" are typically either unowned locations--outdoors away from cities, or in dungeons--or inside a house owned by the player. The ground needs to be very flat for this to work well.
Also, if Aela is within a few steps of an unowned bed or bedroll, an option will appear in her "discuss this place" dialogue where you can ask her to sleep there. She will move to it and sleep for 8 hours, or until the player wakes her by clicking her.
When using both of these functions, if Aela is not essential, she will heal while she sleeps. She'll heal 1/8 of her total health for each hour she rests.
I've added a simple "warp" feature where if Aela gets too far behind the player, she will increase her speed to 2.5 times normal to catch up more quickly. Her speed boost only occurs when she is out of the camera's line of sight, so she will actually catch up more quickly if you don't turn and look for her.
I've tried to make Aela a little more aggressive--she should stand around watching you fight less often. Now when you or she are hit by something hostile (not friendly fire), I've added code to make her try to initiate combat with the aggressor, if she is not in passive mode.
I fixed a bug where her use of health potions in her inventory during combat could lead to greater health than her maximum possible value.
I added an uninstall function to simplify restoring her as a normal follower when this mod is uninstalled.
I've added a new lesser power called "Ask of Aela" that triggers a menu with quick access to common commands. You gain the power when Aela first follows you (players upgrading from an older version of the mod will gain it immediately). You can favorite the power, and then use "Z" to activate when it is equipped. Slightly different menu options will appear depending on how you've set her up, whether or not you are in combat, and how close you are standing to her.

Normal mode choices:
- Set Combat Style: just like the tactics dialogue choice, allows you to set her to use ranged weapons only, melee-only, or a mix.
- Open Treasure Sack: only appears when you are close to her.
- Move: if she is blocking a doorway and won't move on her own, stand close to her, facing in the direction you want her to move, and use this command.
- Change Outfit: only displays if you have selected to manually change her outfits, and at least two outfits have been unlocked. If only two outfits have been unlocked, this button will toggle between them; if three are unlocked, it will bring up a menu allowing you to choose which she should wear.
- Light Torch/Put Out Torch: only displays if you have selected that she should only use torches when you ask her to.
- Do This: activates the "use" cursor for her, just as if you had held down the "E" key while targeting her. The difference is, you don't need to be close enough to target her to activate this, which can lead to some interesting combat tactics, among other things.
- Hold Position/Catch Up
Combat mode choices:
- Disengage/Engage: use to force her to exit or enter combat.
- Switch to using only ranged weapons
- Switch to using only melee weapons
- Switch to using a mix of ranged and melee weapons
- Do This: as above, use this to get her to attack a specific foe, hold a certain position, etc.
- Give Health Potion: when she is not essential, her health is less than 100%, and you are close to her, you can use this to give her a single health potion which she will immediately consume to regain some health.

If you are upgrading from a previous version of the mod, you can just replace the mod's old files with the new ones. (If you are upgrading from a version older than the previous release, 0.1.4, read the main page for some additional instructions regarding outfits.)

With this 0.2 release, most of the follower features that I wanted to add are now implemented. That doesn't mean that I won't be adding any features in the future, and of course I'll continue to refine the existing features and fix any bugs that arise. But the focus of my work will now shift towards the more story-driven aspects of the mod: giving Aela more dialogue about the quests and situations in the game, and the actions the player takes to resolve them.

Enjoy!

» Tue May 29, 2012 3:00 pm

I've uploaded http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11450 to the Nexus. New in this version:

Added the ability for Aela to ride horses--and other types of mounts added by mods. The player has a new power "Give Mount to Aela" that will assign a mount owned by the player to Aela; thereafter, she will ride her mount whenever the player rides theirs. See the readme section "Mounts and Riding" for more details.
http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/11450-1-1333582784.jpg

Added a new weapon use tactics choice "Match My Combat Style" where she will switch between ranged and melee weapons when the player does. Note however that because of an engine bug/limitation, she will not switch when the player equips a different weapon type via a hotkey: you must select your weapon from the favorites list or the main inventory screen for her to know that you have equipped a new weapon.
http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/11450-1-1333646316.jpg

Added preliminary support for skill uncappers like Elys's Skyrim Community Uncapper. I raised Aela's maximum level to 9999, and added capability for her skills to climb over 100. This is disabled by default, enter "SetPQV ESFAelaCoreDialogue bUncapSkills True" into the console to enable skills over 100. Her primary attributes--health, stamina, and magicka--won't yet raise above their uncapped values, though; I'm still trying to figure out Bethesda's formulas for those.
http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/11450-2-1333641159.jpg

There are a few new lines of dialogue sprinkled around, a mix of voiced and silent.
http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/images/11450-1-1333651228.jpg

Gave her several more perks in the Archery and Light Armor trees--low-to-middle tier stuff, nothing overpowered.

Minor fixes: fixed a bug where asking her to extinguish a torch after fast traveling could take several repetitions; she now fully closes her mouth before her status window opens; added a missing line of spoken dialogue when you ask her to sleep in a bed; the Arch-Mage Quarters can now be listed among the player's houses, and Hjerim should only appear on the list when it is actually owned; the "give health potion" button now only appears in combat when she has less than 100% health.

Enjoy!

» Tue May 29, 2012 5:24 pm

I added this mod and really likew it.i only have one problem could be only me. When I ask her to follow me and she says "we hunt together but first I need to give you something". When I say "A ring", all dialog from her stops. Her mouth moves and she keeps acting but no voice is heard. I deactivated all my other mods I thought my be inhibiting her but no joy. I have this loaded last just in case that was it. but I haven't had any success. Maybe its just my glitch - I just thought you should know.
Once I have the ring everything seems to be fine dialog and everything else.

Thanks Nod

» Tue May 29, 2012 10:05 pm

nodtugud, glad you're liking the mod. I use existing voice assets that come with Skyrim where I can in this mod, but unfortunately those assets can't cover all the things I need Aela to say. So for any sort of complex custom response, there is no voice acting; you'll need to have subtitles turned on to see what she is saying. I talk a little more about this in the first post here, up above, in the "Likely Questions" section, as well as the readme under "Enhanced Dialogue."

There's actually very little silent dialogue in the mod now--that initial conversation, plus a few one-liners here and there. But there will be more coming as I delve more into Aela's reactions to the events of the game.

(If you didn't have subtitles turned on for the conversation where she gives you the ring, basically what she says in the silent part is that because it was her blood that transformed you into a werewolf, you are connected to her. The ring she gives you amplifies that blood connection, allowing her to teleport to you--at the cost of some blood.)