Moved some progress bars forward. It's getting closer - I can almost taste it. The latest problem is scripting a way to simulate stealth for Rat Form. This has proven to be a serious challenge, and is the only thing remaining that I don't know how to do before release. When you are shapeshifted, you are essentially "mounted" as far as the game mechanics are concerned, and therefore the aspects of sneak and stealth are not available for me to manipulate. I've tried a couple other ways to make it work. One, by modifying your enemies disposition toward you unless you get too close as a way to give the appearance that they don't see you. Also tried using game settings to change at what distance enemies will attack you when you're in rat form, but this seemed to change absolutely nothing. I'm open to ideas and assistance.

My previous character started to become not funny any more so i started a new char. I have installed your Druid mod version that is on Nexus right now and have started on the path of the Druid. I am only lev 3 right now but from those spells i have gotten and chosen i have to say that i like Gust of wind and Winter Shock. Weirdly enough i have not tried Call Tree Scarabs yet even though i have encountered enough armored NPC's to see how effective they are. But so far it seems like this character is going to be fun.

But at the moment i have two questions:

1) The Highland wolf...when you character levels up and you summon the Highland wolf will it be the same level as your character?

2) From what i just read on the first page of this thread the next version seems to be quit different from the current version on Nexus. When the new version comes out, do we need to start a new game or can we update and continue with our current Druid character?

I'm talking from a position of ignorance and so what I'm about to suggest is probably impossible or downright stupid but...

I've used a mod - http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15025 - that dispels invisibility/chameleon effects if you get too close to an enemy. Now I don't particularly like the idea of the rat-form being invisible but perhaps it would be possible (using http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=31981?) to create an invisibility spell that makes you invisible to NPC's but doesn't apply the visual effect. :shrug:

Wow.... simple plain wow! that was the first thing which popped in my mind when enjoying this thread and watching those videos!
Once released, be ready to get some serious File Of The Month rewards! It looks stunning already!
I also like how you're trying to keep all of your spells balanced and not being overpowered.

One thing i did notice though is the "red bull" flapping of the crow form you're using. If im not mistaking, the mod Midas Magic is using an temporary Eagle form which let the player "fly" towards a certain goal (if im correct, its in one of the Astral Worlds, so if anyone familliar with Midas Magic could help me out here, it would be appreciated). Xilverbullet used the same method of morphing as you did, making the player invisible for a while while mounting the eagle pretending the player to have been morphed into the eagle.
Perhaps you could check the eagle spell Midas used? The spell doesnt seem to be available in the Midas spell list though.

PS here's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o4QTB3jNVwi found on Youtube using the eagle as a flying mount. Not sure if its really used by Midas, but im pretty sure it is.
Anyway, keep up the good work mate! Im pretty sure ill go try the mod as soon as it reaches Beta!

PPS I was thinking about the http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10819mod which lets the player ride big flying dragons. Perhaps you could use part of the code used for the wings flapping?
Although the mod isnt much alike your crow form, it might be worth to check it.

1. The highland wolf scales with you up to a limit, as do the other summons.

2. You're right, the new version is totally, totally different, built from scratch. You won't need to start a new game. And with regard to the old Druid Mod, at this time the esp files don't even have the same name, so if you wanted to you could run both at once. Although I personally wouldn't.

Thanks! I'd never heard of Proximity Based Sneak Penalties. Reading the description on the Nexus Page, it looks like it is working with the same parameters that I'm attempting to, like distance from hostile detectors and their line of sight. If I still don't have luck tonight, I'll crack open that mod and see what the scripts look like. Could be a big help.

Good luck. And in case you haven't got the idea by now, I'm excited about this mod!

Good to know in both cases and no i will not use both, thanks pimpskinny.

I honour you with my first post, Pimpskinny!
I have lost my Oblivion spirit, now I just wait for your mod to be completed. I just have a question, is the rat a tiny normal one? (I'd like that) Or is it one of those giant rats?

And, approx how long will it take to finish with the mod?

- Potion

Success on Rat Form stealth I discovered that the command I was using to get the amount of light on the rat (you) was always 0.0. So I fixed that. It's been just less than two months since I started the mod and now I think it's in the homestretch. Now it's a matter of making a temple and scripting the quest, things that are familiar to me and shouldn't be too hard.



Thanks! I have spent a ridiculous amount of time working on balance.



I've had a comment before on the flapping speed of the crow form's wings. I've tried to slow them down, but this has proved very difficult and I haven't yet figured out how to do it. I'll try again later. But I won't let it hold up a release.

I'm aware of the Midas eagle, and it is available as a spell. But I like the look of the crow I borrowed from Waalx a lot better. Also aware of the Akatosh Mount. Both (and mine) use the same method to fly. However, there is no "code" for the wings flapping. The flap speed is determined by the animation file associated with the bird's 3D model. And changing things within it has unintended consequences that I can't get around at this time. Specifically, slowing the animation speed causes the bird to fly at a slower travel speed in the game. While the animation looks better, it would take you forever to actually get anywhere.

Well done :foodndrink:

Wish i had that kind of OCD during my working hours.. my boss would raise my salary in no time... aahh well :whistling:



Ok, fair enough. The crow does look nice indeed! No need to keep the mod waiting for release for the flapping bird anyway. Might add a little rocket under his belly as well then
Keep up the good work!

Haha, thanks. The rat is smaller than most.

I think a release should be out before April. I don't foresee anymore difficult parts.

Awesome :]

A few bug fixes and tweaks with various things yesterday, including animal stealth. I think I've now successfully made it so your companions (from this mod or otherwise) will break your stealth while in rat form, which I think they should. Otherwise it would be unbalancing for you to cruise around unseen while your companions kill stuff for you.

I'm starting to think about final details, and I'm wondering: Would it be a good idea to name all of my custom spells "Druid XXXX" like "Druid Summon Wolf," and "Druid Shapeshift into Bear" to make them easier to find and make it clear that they are from this mod? The spell book can get confusing and I'm thinking this might help.

Also, do you think rat form should be able to have night vision like lion form?

It would certainly aid finding them and I can't think of any downside.



Since the rat form is all about sneaking then I suppose so. Vanilla dungeons are generally navigable without a torch or nighteye but if some variety of 'Darker' mod is installed... Possibly you could get by with life detection and this would make the rat form more unique but nighteye is probably the best choice.

Like wetblanket i think that would be good. Easier to recognize as spells from your mod and faster access to.

+1 Sounds like a good idea. Have you skipped the idea of renaming the mod (and thus the spells I'd guess) to make it lore friendly?

I do like the idea of making all spells together, otherwise it'll literally be a hell finding them.

Great work, appreciate it!

No I haven't skipped it, I'd still like to do what I can for lore. Even though personally, I really know nothing about the lore haha.

Do you know if "druid" even makes sense in the Elder Scrolls universe? I really don't. I've been somewhat careful to avoid things that might be lore unfriendly. The word "druid" hardly appears at all in the mod right now. The only instances of it are a premade class you can choose during character creation called "Druid" with the most beneficial skills selected for this mod (optional), and the summoned creatures are named "Druid's Bear," etc.



They'd still be spread across a little bit. One touch spell, a couple target spells, and many self spells, and a couple lesser powers. But yea, making them with all the same "prefix" would still group them a lot better.

No, I don't know much about lore either. I have yet to read a single book in game, either in Morrowind or Oblivion, although I always collect them... Anyway, if you'd like to go that route I'd recommend that you make a thread in the Elder Scrolls Lore forum - last time I asked about how resurrection could fit in lore for a mod I was considering I got loads of info.

I've gotten some good info in there. Thanks for pointing the way :thumbsup:

Looks like I'm pretty lore-friendly already, at least as much as I could be. I was thinking of dropping the word "druid" from the mod, but then I remembered that the word was put into Oblivion by Bethesda with "Cowl of the Druid." So, if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.

Can't be more lore friendly than that.

Tick, tock, tick, tock. Getting close. I built the Temple. And I gotta say, it's awesome. :mohawk:

I did what I could to keep the temple away from Unique Landscapes areas for compatibility, but I swear UL affects the whole map these days.

Scripted the quests. Finished the books, and added another short book tying the mod into lore. Completed the last couple spells - to teleport you to the temple and also to recall you back to where you came from. And as always, more tweaks here and there when I found something not working right. At this point I would pay actual money to someone who can figure out how to eliminate all CTD potential from the shapeshifting spells, although I have increased the success rate by a lot.

Just some details remain.

I was just reading the first page and got to the credits... very unexpected and I'm not sure it's deserved but thanks