Yes, I'm still alive.
So is the mod.
Status UpdateI'm poking at the mod between the cracks of a serious RL workload at the moment. Major deadlines before the end of the year then... some free time!! I also have a new PC on the way partly dedicated to modding. My current gaming machine is quite old and unsatisfying. Looking forward to actually being able to SEE the stuff in the game without having to ignore the woefully underpowered video card's clear influence.
The Craftybits Key & Make Functional I have no idea why, yet, but the CB Key can ONLY be set while looking at something that can be converted. Very screwy and I'm looking into fixing that. It'll SAY you've selected a key but the key won't work. You also can't reset the CBkey to the same key: please follow these steps to make sure your CB Key works properly- you only have to do it once.
1) First, use the CB Option item reset your key to something you DON't want. This clears the way to properly selecting the key you do want.
2) Look at something you can convert. (Not daggers or axes- they no longer need to be converted!) I use a wooden pole or some raw arrowshafts harvest from a tree since they are fairly easy to get at the beginning of the game.
3) While looking at the convertable item, open your CB Options and select Reset CB Key.
4) Select your correct key while still looking at the convertable item.
That should do it. At least it does it for me.
What I'm Doing About ThatObviously that's not how I intended the CB Key to work. Setting the key in the first place should work and resetting it should work without having to look at something specific. Its probably something simple in the script but I haven't found it yet. When I do I'll polish what updates I have and get a patch up.
I'm also changing the startup sequence. Instead of having to select your CB Key and Spear Key right up front... I'm just setting them to defaults (CB= K and Spear = V) and you can change them via the options menu. That unclutters the usual barrage of messagebox's when starting a new game.
Make Functional is not complete at the moment. With the introduction of many new materials, the ability to harvest wood without special tools and several other changes on how the mod works, the CB Key is the primary tool and Make Functional has not been fully updated. While this may change with a future update, I'd rather focus my limited time on making sure the CB Key works than duplicating its functionality in case it doesn't. My intention is to can the Make Functional spell as soon as the CB Key works as it should every time. Many of the current issues with the CB Key can be addressed by the reset work around above- and a few other issues have already been solved and waited for a releasable update.
Other Things in the Hopper- Bug fixes. As always.
- The CB Team is currently testing a possible fix for planting. I think I found what was causing the instability with it and have implemented a solution that worked with the small amount of testing I had time to do. I'm not sure if the fix *really* works in all situations, but at least I can report that some progress is being made there.
- The guild facility is also getting some love. I've started adding the crew of NPC's and making a safe place for the you to live there if you want- a bed to rent cheaply and safe storage. I have 3 priorities here:
1) To replace the warehouse.
2) To ship the first guild with enough detail that its realistic enough to use without feeling like you're in a ghost town and
3) There is enough underpinnings in place that the guild.esp can be upgraded without endangering savegames.
- A craftybits Alt Start option. Based on ElPolloAzul's "Player Starts Elsewhere" proof of concept and (hopefully) bugfixed with a bit of research into how to do Alt Starts properly... you'll start at the Guild Hall. Your cousin just left after a hurried visit and shoved a package into your hands just as he was getting on the ship. He seemed oddly anxious. Reading the letter with the package lets you know why: he's just escaped from prison and witnessed the assassination of the Emperor! For some reason he got the Amulet of Kings and instructions where to take it but is leaving Cyrodiil instead. And plopping this problem in your lap without even telling you about it first!
Reading the letter doesn't give you the amulet. Dropping the letter and activating it does and starts the main quest. That way you can choose whether or not to start the MQ and carry around the Amulet. I'm not sure, yet, what affect leaving the MQ half started will have on the rest of the game, though. I may change it so that the MQ is started when you read the letter but you still have to drop and activate to get the Amulet. I just want the option of not carrying around the @&^! amulet if I'm not doing the MQ right away.
Why an alt start for craftybits? First, I'm selfish. I do a LOT of testing while working on the mod and this makes it MUCH easier. I start right at the best testing facility I could imagine and getting up and running is quick and easy. Second, this is the beginning of several other crafting and crafting guild related quest plans. While the quests themselves will probably have to wait on V1 of the mod, the NPC's and facilities at the guild need to be available soon- probably V.7- mostly to replace the warehouse with an immersive, reasonable in-game facility.
Happy Holidays!
CLS
» Sat May 28, 2011 6:50 am 
oo: :blink: :cold: 
