[RELz] Enhanced Seasons : IV

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:53 am

Enhanced Seasons
By WrinklyNinja
Version: 1.3 (10/11/2010)

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=27972

Description

Enhanced Seasons seeks to bring more variation between the seasons of Cyrodiil using a combination of contrast and saturation changes, seasonal (and latitude-based) day lengths, and the changes in volatility of the weather.

In doing so, it implements a northern and southern hemisphere divide, with Topal Bay lying on the equator. This makes Cyrodiil lie completely in the northern hemisphere, and means that going south of Topal Bay will reverse the seasons, affecting all the effects.

Enhanced Seasons requires at least OBSE v0019, and some of its features also require OBGEv2, though it is not required to run the mod.

Enhanced Seasons' features are:

* Season-based graphical effects, changing saturation and contrast between seasons.
* Seasonal and latitude-based sunrise/sunset times.
* Seasonal weather volatility for vanilla weather.

All features are fully customisable using the included ini file.

ReadMe

Spoiler

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Enhanced Seasons
By WrinklyNinja
Version: 1.3 (10/11/2010)

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Index:

1. Description
2. Installation
3. Uninstallation
4. Customisation
5. Known Bugs/Compatibility
6. Contact Information

7. Legal
8. Credits
9. Version History

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1. Description
=============================

Enhanced Seasons seeks to bring more variation between the seasons of Cyrodiil using a combination of contrast and saturation changes, seasonal (and latitude-based) day lengths, and the changes in volatility of the weather.

In doing so, it implements a northern and southern hemisphere divide, with Topal Bay lying on the equator. This makes Cyrodiil lie completely in the northern hemisphere, and means that going south of Topal Bay will reverse the seasons, affecting all the effects.

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2. Installation
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Requires: OBSE v0019 or higher.
Recommended: OBGEv2 (for graphical effects changes to work).

Extract the contents of the archive to your Oblivion\Data directory.

The archive is BAIN-ready, and you can also make an OMOD out of it if you so wish, though no conversion data is supplied.

The OBGEv2 OBSE plugin is required to enable the contrast and saturation changes, but is not required to use any other features of the mod.

Load Order:

The plugin is load order independent, as it is purely scripting, but I would recommend loading it early to keep it out of the way of the more position-critical mods that load later. Highly recommended is to use Better Oblivion Sorting Software (BOSS) to sort your load order for you.

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3. Uninstallation
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Delete 'Enhanced Seasons.esp', 'ini\Enhanced Seasons.ini' and 'shaders\EnhancedSeasons.fx' from your Oblivion\Data directory, or deactivate the archive in BAIN/OMOD in OBMM if you installed through them.

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4. Customisation
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You can use the 'Enhanced Seasons.ini' file in your Data\ini folder to customise how Enhanced Seasons affects your game. Each of the following features may be customised:

Shader Effects:

This requires OBGEv2 to be installed. Enhanced Seasons will apply different amounts of saturation and contrast depending on the season, to give each a slightly different look. You can customise the levels that are set for each season.

Vanilla Weather Volatility:

Enhanced Seasons will alter the volatility of the vanilla weather system depending on the season. You can customise the volatility levels for each season. This will not affect the volatility of weather mods, if you have one installed.

Seasonal Day Lengths:

Enhanced Seasons will alter how long your days last for depending on the season and your latitude, so the days are longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect being more pronounced the further north you go. You can set the sunrise and sunset start and end times for each season to customise the day lengths.

If you have All Natural installed, Enhanced Seasons will automatically ensure that you experience your desired sunrise/sunset times in both exteriors and interiors.

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5. Known Bugs/Compatibility
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Enhanced Seasons should be compatible with everything, unless another mod also dynamically alters climate weather volatility and sunset and sunrise times - there are none that I know of.

You may experience momentary loss of weather sync when you go through a load door - if this happens, it should only last under a second. If the weather loses sync for longer than that, let me know.

You may also, if you have seasonal day lengths enabled, experience sudden changes in lighting as you traverse Cyrodiil, most likely at sunrise and sunset. This is due to the day length being updated as you change latitude, and the lengths being incremental. Unfortunately, I am already using the smallest possible increments, so nothing more can be done about this.

Finally, if you have the shader effects enabled, crossing and re-crossing the equator (any point at the same latitude as the bottom of Topal Bay) will cause the shader effects to switch between seasonal settings multiple times as the seasons are reversed continually. Try simply to avoid walking due east or west whilst on the equator.

If you are experiencing graphical corruption or crashing, try removing the OBGEv2 plugin, as it causes problems for some players.

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6. Contact Information
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To report bugs, suggestions or comment on the mod, PM wrinklyninja at the Bethesda Game Studios Forums, using that nickname. You may also find me at TES Nexus with the same nickname.

There should also be an official thread open on the Bethesda Game Studios Forums, just search for '[RELz] Enhanced Seasons' to find it. You can post in there as an alternative to messaging me. You must register for free to post messages.

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7. Legal
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NOTE: "Original resources" means anything that I have created from scratch myself, it does not include modified vanilla resources or resources created by others. Any first person references (I, me, my) refer to WrinklyNinja.

This mod, its files and the archive containing the previous, are distributed under the agreement that:

1. The sole author is "WrinklyNinja".
2. The sole name of the mod is "Enhanced Seasons".
3. Any included original resources and their copyright belong to me.
4. Neither the archive nor any of the files it contains are to be re-distributed, original or modified versions.

This mod should only be available for download from TES Nexus (www.tesnexus.com). If you have downloaded this mod from another site, it was uploaded there without permission, and you should report it to both the site administrator(s) and myself as such.

If you wish to re-distribute this mod, either the original or a modified or translated version, you must first obtain permission from me.

If ALL of the following applies:

1. You have attempted to get in contact with me directly (through PM, email and forum posts), but I have not responded within a month of your attempt.
2. I have not logged into my www.gamesas.com account for AT LEAST 6 months.
3. I have not logged into my www.thenexusforums.com or www.tesnexus.com account for AT LEAST 6 months.

then you may redistribute this mod as you see fit, including modifying it, under the conditions that:

1. Authorship is retained (ie. I am recognised as the author).
2. Branding is retained (ie. the name of the mod does not change, nor does its identity).
3. Ownership and copyright of original resources is retained (ie. I own them and their copyrights).

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8. Credits
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..qZilla for creating ScreenEffects, which showed me how to write my own shader effects file.
..Scanti and shadeMe for creating and working on OBGEv2 respectively.
..The OBSE Team for creating OBSE.

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9. Version History
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v1.3

- Increased the number of divisions of latitude in Cyrodiil from 10 to 72 to decrease the time difference between each division.
- Removed the element of random chance from the season calculation as this would cause rapid effects changes at the beginnings and ends of seasons.

v1.2

- Fixed save game bloat due to new string variables being created every time the day length changed.

v1.1

- Combined the seasonal and latitude-based day length variations for a more sensible effect.
- Switched equator from the Imperial City to Topal Bay.
- Seasons now reverse if you go south of Topal Bay (ie. switch to the southern hemisphere).

v1.0

- Fixed chance of weather changing when climate changes were applied.
- Fixed sunrise and sunset times not being applied properly.
- Fixed contrast and saturation effects stacking on save game loads.
- Switched to requiring the OBGEv2 plugin from OBGE.
- Added latitude-based sunrise and sunset times variation.
- Simplified time format in ini to make it easier to use.

v0.9

- Initial release. Based on the Enhanced Seasons optional feature that was within Enhanced Weather and All Natural.
- Added climate sunrise/sunset begin/end time customisation.
- Added climate weather volatility customisation.
- Added OBGE OBSE Plugin detection to unlock features.
- Switched to using own shader file so ScreenEffects is no longer required.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:23 am

I wish I understood what all the shader stuff does.
I just set and go with shader on and hope for the best.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:44 am

:bowdown:

Congrats on release, can't wait to use the mod!

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:01 am

Let me know if you come across any bugs or anything - I've had plenty of time to forget about stuff over the last year and may have overlooked something. I did do a lot of testing, of course, but you never know. :shrug:

Unless there are bugs, I consider this to be final - ie. I won't be adding any new features (unless I think of something awesome that I have time to do).

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 2:56 pm

Just downloaded, installed, and about to try...

Congrats! :celebration:

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:14 am

How would this relate to All Natural and the ini settings for colors? I remember a few years back using Enhanced Weather with Screen effects. Is this similar?

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:39 pm

How would this relate to All Natural and the ini settings for colors? I remember a few years back using Enhanced Weather with Screen effects. Is this similar?

It's exactly the same.

The AN colour settings will modify the colours the weather gives, and this will change the colouration of everything independently, per-season as opposed to per-weather.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:54 pm

Awesome. Enhanced weather and screen effects was spectacular, never wanted to go indoors

You are an artist.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:43 am

You are an artist.

I am apparently lucky when pulling values from thin air...

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 2:49 pm

I am apparently lucky when pulling values from thin air...

Hah, all these amateur comedians out of work and you're.......modding. Hmph.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:37 am

I just downloaded this and will check it out soon, but I do have a question first:

Do I have to enter the shader in my shaderlist, or is it enough to modify the ini to load it?

I'm running the latest released OBGE2.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:51 am

I just downloaded this and will check it out soon, but I do have a question first:

Do I have to enter the shader in my shaderlist, or is it enough to modify the ini to load it?

I'm running the latest released OBGE2.

No. You don't load non-OGE shaders via the shaderlist. This is stressed in the OP of the forum thread and in the new readme, and should also be mentioned in the current release's readme. If you did try loading it via shaderlist, then ES wouldn't be able to change any of it's variables and you'd see no difference.

You just need to turn the shader effects on in your ES ini.

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:53 pm

Great work on ES, wrinklyninja. Version 0.9 gave me CTD's, but 1.0 so far hasn't. I like the shader coloration too.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:28 am

Do I just need the Core OBGE2 or do I also need the Shader Pack as well?

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:59 am

Do I just need the Core OBGE2 or do I also need the Shader Pack as well?

Just the DLL. The shader pack isn't required for ES.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:31 am

Does this mod affect weather, either vanilla or All Natural? More snow in winter, more rain in spring, more thunderstorms in summer, etc?

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:07 am

Do I just need the Core OBGE2 or do I also need the Shader Pack as well?

As said, just the core. I should make that clearer in the OGE thread.

Does this mod affect weather, either vanilla or All Natural? More snow in winter, more rain in spring, more thunderstorms in summer, etc?

It affects the overall volatility of the weather in vanilla, but it doesn't change weather chances in vanilla (it's not possible to do that), and All Natural already has seasonal weather (just realised that's not mentioned in the AN readme - added now).

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:50 am

Hi Wrinkly, thanks for the new release - immediate dl for me

Could you consider including day/night and season-dependant temperature changes?
Like, a variation (included in a certain range as to give a bit of randomness) of the current climate value of an area, given actual time/season/weather condition.

That would be awesome and add even more immersiveness and realism for people like me using http://www.invision.tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/534-duke-patricks-basic-hypothermia-ii-rev-31/

If this already happens (maybe thanks to AN, whose readme I've still to study) then great - sorry for the req

Cheers, Tommy

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:45 am

Could you consider including day/night and season-dependant temperature changes?
Like, a variation (included in a certain range as to give a bit of randomness) of the current climate value of an area, given actual time/season/weather condition.

That would be awesome and add even more immersiveness and realism for people like me using http://www.invision.tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/534-duke-patricks-basic-hypothermia-ii-rev-31/

Looking at Hypothermia, that already includes monthly variations, which is basically seasonal, so I don't see why I need to do the same thing.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:55 pm

Looking at Hypothermia, that already includes monthly variations, which is basically seasonal, so I don't see why I need to do the same thing.

You're right.. Seems I'm info-overloaded and tend to forget stuff at times

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:45 am

Enhanced Seasons will apply different amounts of saturation and contrast depending on the season, to give each a slightly different look.

Is this the only thing you'll miss if not using OBGE?

Which version of OBSE 19 is recommended?

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:56 pm

Is this the only thing you'll miss if not using OBGE?

Which version of OBSE 19 is recommended?

Yes, and stable version.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:55 am

Looks interesting, but one nitpick: Shouldn't the days get shorter the further north you go, and longer the further south you go, instead of shorter both ways?

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:23 am

Looks interesting, but one nitpick: Shouldn't the days get shorter the further north you go, and longer the further south you go, instead of shorter both ways?

I'm taking the IC to lie on the equator. I did a lot of reading up and investigation on this, and a lot of time was spent thinking about it, but in the end, it doesn't make any sense, so I just picked the IC as the middle as it looks like it is on the maps we have of Tamriel.

Of course, this made me just realise that the seasonal day lengths are wrong then, because I was thinking in a purely northern hemisphere approach, but things are the other way around in the southern hemisphere.

Should I take into account hemisphere for the seasonal lengths, or just make it so that Cyrodiil sits in the northern hemisphere only?

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:46 am

Looks interesting, but one nitpick: Shouldn't the days get shorter the further north you go, and longer the further south you go, instead of shorter both ways?

What I noticed when I moved from MI to TX was that rather than longer/shorter days, it was the transition time (dawn and dusk) that was greatly shortened in TX. Sunset wouldn't last long enough for me to pour a cup of coffee, never mind sit on the porch to enjoy it and the view. I'm not sure Cyrodiil covers enough latitudes to get you to the arctic day/night cycle, which is truly disconcerting.

Isn't it a matter of proportions? Near the equator you have a nearly 50/50 day/night split year round. As you travel north or south from there the proportion changes depending on season as well as latitude. Days are longer in summer, and longer the farther from the equator you go.