Companion Master

Version5 now available 3/07/10

This mod is a rebuild of five other mods I made. If you have any of the following mods installed please remove them before installing this one. I am including the readmes for all the mods. Some functions have been altered to fit with this build only using one spell and one inventory item. Once you have used the spell on an actor to add them to the companion list you can access all the options for each companion from one inventory item that can be hot keyed for ease of use.

Set Essential Actors Plus - Toggle actor settings like Essential, Respawns, Quest Item, Persuasion, and Rumors
Companion Horse Support - Provides horse riding for any NPC
Companion Repair and Recharge - Companions use repair hammers and soulgems to repair/recharge their gear in real time and gain experience in Armorer
Companion Resurrect - Resurrects dead actors at the price of 1/2 your health over 5 minutes
Companion Tracker - Mark companions with a quest arrow to help locate lost or dead companions quickly


New in Version 5:

Fixed the Companion Tracking option.

Added a mark and recall option menu. To access this menu you have to hold down the activate button while activating the Command Ball. This menu displays the following options. These options will not work on actors that are mounted on horseback.

Mark a Location: This option will make the current location the player is standing, and then ask you to set a location slot. There are 8 location slots that can be saved. Interior cells will store the cell name as the button, but exterior cells will still show . This may be fixed in future versions of OBSE.

WARNING - Locations should not be marked in towns (child world spaces). Initially they will be operable displaying the town name, but as soon as you leave that world space that slot will display and will lock up your game if you try to teleport there.

Travel to a Location Alone: This option will teleport the player to the selected location without companions. Make sure you select a location you have already set or you will end up in an empty holding cell as that's where the markers are stored until they are set the first time.

Travel to a Location with Companion: This option will teleport the player, and any companions near the player, to the selected location.

Send a Companion to a location: Sends the selected companion, or all companions to the selected location without the player, and forces a wait package on those companions to make sure they stay put.

Send a Companion to my Location: Teleports the selected companion, or all companions, to the players current location, and adds a follow package to each companion that was teleported.

New in Version4:

Added a Group Command Menu where you can issue basic commands to all members of your companion list. These
commands currently include; Follow, Wait, Ride Horse, and Dismount. To access this menu you must hold down
the "Block" key on your keyboard while activating the Command Ball inventory item either from a hot key, or
the inventory screen.

When giving companions follow orders their follow distance is determined by their position in the companion
list. This applies to group orders also.

If using the group command Ride Hosrse, if some of your companions don't have a horse set as owned by them
they will fall into position and follow on foot.

Horses are excluded from group commands even if they are in your companion list. If you need a horse to
follow then give them the standard follow command from their individual list. Other creatures are included
but since they can not ride hosese they will fall into following position on foot.

Changed the companion training to allow you to train a companion every day instead of every two days.

Improved performance when giving multiple companions the Ride Horse command in quick succession. Now each
companion will be tracked seperately, and fall into the correct position instead of bunching up on the
player.

Removed the soul trap spell effect from the Companion Master Spell, and replaced it with no effect which
just lights up the target a little.

Bug Fix
I added a small fix where if your companion was sitting and you select More Companion Options nothing would
happen, now it functions normally. Still V3.

New in Version3:

Teach Spell - You can now teach your companions spells from your spell list providing they have the correct skill level to cast it. Only spells that meet the skill requirements will be displayed.

View/Remove companion spells - You can view a list of your companions spells, and remove them by clicking the desired spell to be removed.

Train Companions Skills - You can train your companion's skills +10 (to a maximun of your current skill level) as long as you have a higher level in that skill. Currently you can train one skill on one companion every two days.

Fix Double Face Bug - The companion Master spell has an option to correct the double face issue some users experience with companions. After using this fix you will need to re-issue commands as typically scriptpackages will be removed. Initially the companion will be disabled. After about 5 seconds a message box will remind you to reset follow orders on your companion, they will be enabled.

View Companions Stats - Lets you view your companions stats.

Fixes:

Changed the way items in the inventory are displayed when using the Select Companion Armor and Weapons option. Now only Weapons, Armor, Clothing, and Ammo will be displayed.

Changed the order of most commands in the menus to make selections easier to find.

Removed the Add Companion to the Companion List from the inventory item menus as it didn't seem necessary. If you need to change a slot an actor currently uses then use the spell on them.

New in Version2:

Select companions Armor and Weapon - This option allows you to specifically select which items from your companions inventory they will equip. No need to play games with their inventory by removing items you don't want them to equip, just select the items from a comprehensive list. Use the back and more selections to navigate through all of your companions items. A message will be displayed in the upper left when you have reached the end of the items list. Further attempts to see more items will return items with .

Lock Companions Gear - Use this option to force equip items on your companion after selecting their gear for them. Normally a companion will switch to the gear they like best each time they are loaded into a new area. This option will prevent that and make them wear only the items that you have selected for them. This also applies to weapons. Say you want your companion to use their bow, but during a fight they will switch to melee when their target gets in close. This can be a real problem if you have removed melee weapons to force them to use the bow, as now they will switch to hand to hand when things get tight. Again this option prevents them from using any other item then they one they have equipped when you lock them. PLEASE ONLY USE THIS FEATURE IF YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE OUTLINED HERE. It is totally reversible with the following command, so make sure you use Unlock Companions Gear before attempting to access their inventory in any other way than included in this mod. If you decide to uninstall this mod make sure you unlock any locked companions before proceeding to ensure you will not have problems with CTDs using their (from your companion mod) share feature.

Unlock Companions Gear - This option lets your companion select their own gear once again. This is necessary if you used the above command to lock their gear, and now you need to access their inventory. Typically when an actor has items force equipped, using their share function can cause a CTD. Use this option before you use your companions share option to ensure that the force equip flag is turned off. An exception to this is when using the share function from this mod. I have scripted it so that if the actor has items locked, by force equipping, that those flags will be removed, preventing any crashes.

Share Items - A safe share feature that will remove the force equip flag set by the above option.

Remove Companion From the Companion List - Removes the companion from the companion list obviously.

Bug Fix
I added a small fix where if your companion was sitting and you select More Companion Options nothing would happen, now it functions normally. Still V3.

New Features Version3:

Teach Spell - You can now teach your companions spells from your spell list providing they have the correct skill level to cast it. Only spells that meet the skill requirements will be displayed.

View/Remove companion spells - You can view a list of your companions spells, and remove them by clicking the desired spell to be removed.

Train Companions Skills - You can train your companion's skills +10 (to a maximun of your current skill level) as long as you have a higher level in that skill. Currently you can train one skill on one companion every two days.

Fix Double Face Bug - The companion Master spell has an option to correct the double face issue some users experience with companions. After using this fix you will need to re-issue commands as typically scriptpackages will be removed. Initially the companion will be disabled. After about 5 seconds a message box will remind you to reset follow orders on your companion, they will be enabled.

View Companions Stats - Lets you view your companions stats.

Fixes:

Changed the way items in the inventory are displayed when using the Select Companion Armor and Weapons option. Now only Weapons, Armor, Clothing, and Ammo will be displayed.

Changed the order of most commands in the menus to make selections easier to find.

Removed the Add Companion to the Companion List from the inventory item menus as it didn't seem necessary. If you need to change a slot an actor currently uses then use the spell on them.

New features Version2:

Select companions Armor and Weapon - This option allows you to specifically select which items from your companions inventory they will equip. No need to play games with their inventory by removing items you don't want them to equip, just select the items from a comprehensive list. Use the back and more selections to navigate through all of your companions items. A message will be displayed in the upper left when you have reached the end of the items list. Further attempts to see more items will return items with .

Lock Companions Gear - Use this option to force equip items on your companion after selecting their gear for them. Normally a companion will switch to the gear they like best each time they are loaded into a new area. This option will prevent that and make them wear only the items that you have selected for them. This also applies to weapons. Say you want your companion to use their bow, but during a fight they will switch to melee when their target gets in close. This can be a real problem if you have removed melee weapons to force them to use the bow, as now they will switch to hand to hand when things get tight. Again this option prevents them from using any other item then they one they have equipped when you lock them. PLEASE ONLY USE THIS FEATURE IF YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE OUTLINED HERE. It is totally reversible with the following command, so make sure you use Unlock Companions Gear before attempting to access their inventory in any other way than included in this mod. If you decide to uninstall this mod make sure you unlock any locked companions before proceeding to ensure you will not have problems with CTDs using their (from your companion mod) share feature.

Unlock Companions Gear -This option lets your companion select their own gear once again. This is necessary if you used the above command to lock their gear, and now you need to access their inventory. Typically when an actor has items force equipped, using their share function can cause a CTD. Use this option before you use your companions share option to ensure that the force equip flag is turned off. An exception to this is when using the share function from this mod. I have scripted it so that if the actor has items locked, by force equipping, that those flags will be removed, preventing any crashes.

Share Items - A safe share feature that will remove the force equip flag set by the above option.

Remove Companion From the Companion List - Removes the companion from the companion list obviously.

Additional features:

Pick Lock -Target a locked door or chest with your crosshair, and select a companion to try to pick the lock (providing they have lock picks). Companions have a greater chance of failure if their security skill is less than the lock level. Companions have a small chance to gain one level to their security skill every time they successfully pick a lock.

Attack Target -Target an actor with your crosshair and give the "Attack" order, then select an actor from your companion list to attack that target. You can select one companion at a time, or select all to have them concentrate attacks on one target. This is a great way to bring down dangerous boss type characters, or have companions concentrate on killing a conjurer instead of wasting time on their summons.

Move to Target -Target any object in game with your crosshair, then select a companion from your companion list to order that companion to move to the location of the object. Move options are "Run To Target", "Walk To Target", "Sneak To Target". Any object up to 10,000 game units away can be selected. Small rocks or trees work best. Selecting a larger object may prevent the actor from getting close enough to it to satisfy it's package settings which will result in the actor trying to get to a point that is blocked by the objects collision radius. If this happens you can just use the wait command to make them settle down. When an object is selected it will play a red shader effect to let you know where the actor will move to.

Additional:

This mod requires the latest version of OBSE (currently 17b)
You can download OBSE here http://obse.silverlock.org/download/

This mod requires the OBSE plugin file "RefStuff" (included in this download)
http://zenthought.org/content/project/refstuff

Demo Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0O2KC5yacw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkA5nbWctnM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9atB88o2gY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI1TZS1HnCc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDaJyD0Dcag

Download:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=29652

Thanks again! This is so useful and will open up some slots on my play list. I have a funny story from testing my install. My PC was in the Skingrad house, the dremora from your Portable Oblivion Portal decided to attack. My PC is weaponless because she's at home. So dremora kills Eyja, while I scramble for a weapon. After killing him, I used your companion resurrect on Eyja. It worked like a charm! Just like she had never been dead.

Nice one I really need to look at the portal mod again. I did a lot of searching but getting the sigil stones to respawn has alluded me.

Have a nice day Phaedra, and thanks for all your support

Thank you ever so much for this! It adds so much to the usage of companions, and it's great that it can be done 'outside' the original companion mod. I.e. that your mod provides so much OBSE functionality that one doesn't have to make the companion mod itself dependant on OBSE.

This sounds like a must-have to me

The ideal complement for CSR

I was using your Set Essential Actors Plus, but I've replaced it with this one. Thx again!

This seems like practical additional features for companions. I have some questions and thoughts:

1. How does a player choose a "target" to be attacked, a door to be lockpicked, or a horse to be mounted by companion? By casting spell to the target? I saw on the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRBeOEwA1K4 that a player have to cast spell on the target. Is it possible that you use other means other than casting spell for selecting target? I don't mean to be a nuisance, I have tried several companion mods myself and I'm one of the people who think "casting spell" to select target is kind of immersion-breaker, time-consuming, and tend to clutter the spell lists with things "non-magical". I see that you're using OBSE for this, and from what I remember, CSR successfully implemented the target selection system without having to cast a single spell (and that's with the old version of CSR). However, I can only hope you'll take these into considerations, otherwise it's your mod.

2. What happen if a player lock companions gear, then when visiting a place to rest (for example a tavern) tell the companion to rest and switch to "relax" outfit? Will the companion retain its "locked" gear or will it change to the non-combat outfit?

3. Companions often suffer from "double-face" bug after fast-travel. Is there anyway you implement something to prevent this? Some of my companions (from signatures below) always suffer this bug, the exception is the modified Vincente Malefactor, perhaps you want to take a look?

Target selection is done by putting your crosshair on an object, then selecting the inventory item either with a hot key, or opening the inventory and clicking it. It uses the function GetCrossHairRef so a hot key works best, it still works in menumode but the last confirmation message box won't open until you exit the inventory (that's just how the crosshair function works).

There is only one spell, and it's used to add companions to the list. Once they are in the list you don't need to use the spell again unless you want to resurrect them. The spell still offers some selections also available by using the inventory item, but again if you add them to the list you never have to use it again. Even horses can be added or removed from the list to make tracking them possible, and setting/changing their owner, essential status, etc.

If you lock the companions gear they will not change the locked items unless another script calls removeitem on one of the locked items. That is my intention with the function that if I lock them I don't want them to change items unless it's my choice. If you want your companion to use different clothing you can just unlock them (then if you give them a package with armor weapons unequipped they should change), and even set any specific items if you choose to. You can also select items for them to equip without locking them after, but then the companion will pick the items they want next time you load into a new area.

I have had many companions, all that I made myself, and have never experienced the double face bug. I know the unoffical patch has some spell to fix the bug but honestly I never looked into the issue having not had the problem myself. I'm sure adding another selection to fix it if it occurs wouldn't be too difficult.

I only recently started getting that DFB with Neeshaka and Ruin, haven't ran into it with emma's companion ... (how to spell her name escapes at the moment caust it's late.)

Looks like it's pretty easy to fix with just a disable/enable. Hard for me to be sure though as I can't replicate the error. In any event I'll script something to deal with it in the next update that just does it automatically. Only happens when using fast travel right?

Sorry, I don't quite understand, selecting or opening an inventory? Does this mechanism work like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd-_T_qGUP0 or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyhLSRIyLHY?


This bug actually also occurred with the vanilla NPCs who temporarily become your companions. Try the main quest mission on which you escort Martin Septim or one of the guild quests where some NPCs are following the player. You should notice they are "doubled" after fast-travel.

Does this work with CM Partners companions? If so does it replace the CM command menus with new ones? Thanks.

Fast travel for Neeshaka I think sleeping on Ruin ... or maybe he had it on fast travel but I noticed it AFTER I woke up in Glarinth's house (<3 Claim that Interior) On a side note does "Refstuff" work with OBSE 18 beta 5? Then I could turn off Vilja's Essentialness ... since I'm partially into her quest as it stands... and I'm at a part in Ruin's story where I might need to TGM as much as it pains me to do such.

Companion options are selected from menus. Menus are opened by activating an inventory item. If you hot key the inventory item then you just press the key while your cross hair is on a target, or open the inventory and select the inventory item if you don't have it hot keyed.



Works with CM Partners and doesn't replace any CM menus at all. There is a patch for CM that alters the PartnerScript to remove some ondeath stuff that prevents them from being resurrected properly, and removes the whole warp to player when the companion falls behind. The warp bit won't work when the companion is on a horse, as calling moveto on a mounted NPC results in them being stuck in one place bouncing up and down. Giving the companion orders to take a position, or pick a lock, some distance away would also result in the companion warping back to the player every time it got about 50 feet away, so removing warping was needed.



RefStuff plugin will work with the latest build of OBSE.

Since this mod overrides the CM Partner script, is load order a factor here?

Does this works with any NPC's ? Would be fun to create some chaos with wicked commands.

It surely is, but this mod doesn't change CM partners at all. That would make it dependent on CM Partners.esm, which would make this mod useless for people not using CM. There is a esp as an additional download for the CM partners mod, and it needs to be loaded after any mod that would edit the PartnerScript in CM.



Yes it will work on any NPC if you just want to mess around. It won't make those NPCs a companion though as it doesn't change actor value settings. I test the commands using one of my companions and a few random NPCs. When I tell them all to attack a guard for instance, they all clobber him to death, but when it's over the other NPCs involved in the killing report the one that actually got the last hit resulting in more guards coming.

would it be any trouble to add some videos to the thread showing some the functions of this mod? sounds great though, looking forward to test it out.

I'll add some videos later today.

Hi b3w4r3!

I already use several of your mods myself and to get them bundled into one with extras is simply fantastic! Will try these out ASAP. Great that I can now have them as a single mod too!

Fine work, man

On a related note has anyone tried to create a companion mod that removes companions' headgear when they are either indoors (urban setting) or in a non-combat situation? Its always bugged me a bit that my companions wander around my castle with their helmets on, even though I don't want to have to manually change their gear every time.

Good to hear hope this makes things a little easier.

That's a nice idea about headgear. Unfortunately there's no easy way to determine what type of interior you are in. You could make them only use their head gear when in combat with a little scripting, but that's probably best handled through the individual companion's script rather than an outside mod.

this is AMAZING!!!

Well removing headgear while outside of combat sounds interesting. Don't know what code to put in the script but it sounds interesting nonetheless. I'm sure I could find the script though!

Hi again b3w4r3,
I have another question: your readme explains all about setting a companion's gear, locking it, unlocking it, etc. but it does not actually explain how to go about activating these functions. The Companion Master spell does not have any such options, even if I add my companion to the list. How do I go about it?

Superb mod anyways

Those options are only available when using the inventory item after you have added the companion to the companion list using the spell. When you activate the inventory item you will get a few selections, select companions armor and weapon, lock companions gear, and unlock companions gear are near the bottom. The spell has limited functions and is mostly only intended to add your companions. Once you have them added you should use the inventory item to give orders and make selections.

On another note I tested some code that will allow your companion to only equip his headgear during combat. You would add these directly to the companions script in the menumode block, and gamemode block as indicated.

This will work for head gear that uses the hair slot, as most helmets in vanilla do. The Daedric Helmet uses both Head and Hair slots so this code doesn't work for it. I'll do some more testing and see what I can come up with. In any event this will take loading with the companion into a new cell after adding the code to their script for it to start working. Then they should only use their hat when fighting.

ref hatBegin MenuModeset hat to getequippedobject 1EndBegin GameModeif hat != 0 if isincombat == 1 && getequipped hat == 0   equipitem hat  elseif isincombat == 0 && getequipped hat == 1   unequipitem hatendifendifEnd

I didn't mention that the me used in the script is the reference to the companion. It should work without it so I'll remove from the script on this edit.

Hi b3w4r3,

This is awesome, thanks for the advice re the eqpuipping, and I will add the code to a companion script in the next day or two and try it out. Will probably have questions