[RELz] Oblivion Magic Extender v1.0 : IV

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:00 am

Name: Oblivion Magic Extender
Version: v1.0
Date: 2010-09
Category: Magic - Gameplay
Author: JRoush
Download: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=31981
Previous Thread: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1110827-relz-oblivion-magic-extender-v1beta4/
Contact: jroush.tesmods@gmail.com

Requirements:
NOTE: using OBME with the wrong verison of Oblivion or the CS will, *at best*, cause it to crash.

Oblivion v1.2.0416
TESCS v1.2.404 (only if you are planning to make mods using OBME)
Oblivion Script Extender (obse) v0018 or higher. v0019 recommended.

Description:
OBME extends the Oblivion magic system to make it more general and open to mod makers. It is a pair of plugin libraries for OBSE that hack the game/CS to change it's behavior. This is the same principle behind OBSE itself - it's quite safe, and legal. OBME does not alter Oblivion.exe or TESConstructionSet.exe in any way. The key features are:

More control in editing Magic Effects and Effect Items in the CS
Creating new magic effects, both in the CS and from scripts in-game
*Any* effect item may now override select properties of it's magic effect: Name, School, VFXCode, Hostility, Icon, Base Cost, Resistance AV, and numerous of other properties.
Expanded ModifyActorValue handler to specify what modifier is affected
Expanded SummonActor effect handler to allow custom summoning limits
Expanded ScriptEffect handler to allow scripts specified for an entire magic effect, not just individual effect items
Expanded Dispel effect handler to allow partial dispelling of effects, to selectively dispel effects based on magic effect, effect handler, hostility, and magic item type
When an active effect is dispelled by recasting the spell or exceeding a summoning limit, its remaining magicka may be "reclaimed" to strengthen the effect that replaces it.

OBME is a modding *resource*. All of it's features are modular, and are disabled by default. A 3rd party mod like the included examples is required to actually use any of these features. For more details and technical information, please see the accompanying document 'OBME Features.pdf'. This file has background information and technical details.

Further Details:

Spoiler

Compatibility with the Oblivion Script Extender:
The following v0018 obse functions will not work with dynamic effect codes. This is because they cannot return values > 0x80000000. This issue should be fixed in a later release of obse.

GetMagicEffectCounters(C)
GetNthMagicEffectCounter(C)
GetNthEffectItemScriptVisualEffect (use GetNthEIHandlerParam instead)
GetActiveEffectCodes

The following v0018 obse functions will not return correct results for new scripted effects. This is because they check effect code instead of effect handler. This issue may be fixed in a future release of obse.

IsNthEffectItemScripted
MagicItemHasEffectItemScript

The following v0018 obse functions do not work with OBME, *but have been made compatible in obse v0019*. Install obse v0019 and these functions will work fine.

IsSpellHostile
IsPoison
CopyNthEffectItem
CopyAllEffectItems
GetScriptActiveEffectIndex

The following v0018 obse functions are patched by OBME to force them to be compatible. The obse team is not responsible for problems with these functions while you have OBME installed.

GetMagicEffectCode
GetNthActiveEffectCode
GetNthEffectItemCode
AddEffectItem
AddEffectItemC
AddFullEffectItem
AddFullEffectItemC
GetSpellMagickaCost
GetEnchantmentCost
GetSpellMasteryLevel
GetSpellSchool

The following v0018 obse functions are deprecated by new OBME functions. They still work as intended, but the replacement functions have expanded functionality. For details, see the relevent sections of the features pdf.

Get(Set)MagicEffectOtherActorValue(C) ... use Get(Set)MagicEffectHandlerParam
Get(Set)MagicEffectUsedObject(C) ... use Get(Set)MagicEffectHandlerParam
Is(Set)MagicEffectDetrimental(C) ... use Get(Set)MagicEffectHandlerParam
Is(Set)MagicEffectHostile(C) ... use Get(Set)MagicEffectHostility
Get(Set)NthEffectItemActorValue ... use Get(Set|Clear)NthEIHandlerParam
Get(Set)NthEffectItemScript ... use Get(Set|Clear)NthEIHandlerParam
Get(Set)NthEffectItemScriptVisualEffect ... use Get(Set|Clear)NthEIVFXCode
Get(Set)NthEffectItemScriptSchool ... use Get(Set|Clear)NthEISchool
Is(Set)NthEffectItemScriptHostile ... use Get(Set|Clear)NthEIHostility
Get(Set|SetEX|Mod)NthEffectItemScriptName ... use Get(Set|Clear)NthEIName

All v0018 obse functions not explicitly mentioned are completely compatible with OBME. If you encounter any unexpected behavior, please report it to me immediately.

Compatibility with other mods:
OBME doesn't add any actual content to the game, so there is no chance of conflicts with any traditional mods.
Mods made for OBME can be loaded even if OBME isn't installed. Any OBME-specific features are disabled, so the mod may not be very useful.
Savegames made with OBME can be loaded after OBME is uninstalled, provided the 'Uninstallation' directions above are followed.
OBME is designed to be compatible with AddActorValues.
OBME is incompatible with Custom Spell Icons v3.1. This is because both attempt to patch the same game code.

Compatibility with 3rd party Mod Editors (TES4Edit, WryeBash, etc):
OBME alters the savegame and esp format slightly. Other programs that display or edit these files may run into trouble.
- TES4Edit v2.5.3 can load/save OBME mods just fine, but may crash if a magic effect or magic item is selected.
- WryeBash v287 can manage OBME mods just fine, but problems will arise if you try to build a bashed patch that includes magic items.
The maintainers of these programs (Elminster and Waruddar, respectively) have graciously agreed to add support for OBME in future versions. If you get the chance, please be sure to thank them for this.

Questions & Bug Reports:
If you have a question, *look in the included 'Features' pdf*. It has a table of contents; you don't have to read the whole thing to find what you're looking for. If your question isn't answered there, I would be glad to answer it on the forum thread.

To report a bug or ask for help with troubleshooting, follow these steps:

Read this readme carefully.
Reproduce the problem. If it's a crash, restart the game or CS and try to make it crash again.
Narrow down the cause. If it's a conflict, try to figure out which mod it's conflicting with.
Send me an email at JRoush.TESMods@gmail.com or PM me on the TESNexus/Bethesda forums

When you do contact me, be sure to include:

Include the problem details and the version of Oblivion, TESCS, and OBSE you are using
Include a list of other OBSE plugins you are using (OBGE, CSI, MenuQue, Oblivion Stutter Remover, etc.)
Attach the savegame or mod file that you were using when you discovered the problem
Attach the log files "OBME.log" and/or "OBME_CS.log", which can be found in your Oblivion folder.

I'll need all of this information to have any chance of reproducing your problem. And if I can't reproduce it, it doesn't get fixed.

Included Demo Mods:
Included are several small demo mods with names like "OBME_***_example.esp". Each demonstrates a different feature of OBME, and provides an assortment of spells, items, etc. that can be used to test it. See the the mod descriptions for details. When playtesting these mods, remember to wait about 5 seconds after loading the game for all scripts to fire up.

Installation & Uninstallation:
See the full readme for instructions.

Changes in v1.0:

Fixed issue where ModAV effects couldn't modify base actor values below zero, which was breaking some ability weakness effects.
Removed dependancy on AddActorValues. OBME is still compatible with AAV, but does not requires it and is no longer packaged with it.
Standardized format of drop-down lists for magic effects and handlers in CS
Several small bugfixes
Removed overrides to CopyThEI, CopyAllEI, and GetScriptActiveEffectIndex obse functions, as v0019 made these overrides unnecessary
Added overrides to GetSpellMagickaCost, GetSpellMasteryLevel, GetSpellSchool, and GetEnchantmentCost

Credits:

Bethesda Softworks, whose game has svcked up far, far too much of my free time
The OBSE team for their incredible modding resource.
scruggsywuggsy the ferret, who has been making a considerable effort behind the scenes to make OBSE compatible with OBME.
everyone on the TESNexus and Bethesda forums who took an active interest in the project - DragoonWraith, tejon, Waruddar, shadeMe, kyoma, and many others.
special thanks to SpeedyB, Kamikaze, and Statttis for helping track down and solve bugs
Statttis, for doing the extensive legwork necessary to implement effectitem icon overrides.

Tools Used:

Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE): http://obse.silverlock.org
TES4Edit: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11536
TES Construction Set: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11367
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008: find a download yourself
IDA Pro v4.9: http://www.datarescue.com/idabase/ida.htm
Perforce SCM: http://www.perforce.com/perforce/downloads/index.html

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:19 pm

This is the stable, final release of OBME v1.0. At least, it is stable to the best of my knowledge and I certainly hope it is 'final'.

If you encounter a bug or other issue, follow the instructions for bug reporting in the OP.
Reported bugs, if they are serious, will be fixed as subversions (e.g. v1.1, v1.2, ...)

Bug fixes aside, further work on this project will all be towards v2.0. Expect a beta release sometime in late ~~October~~ January.

Since I doubt anybody reads far enough to get to the 'credits' section, let me post it again here:

Credits:

Bethesda Softworks, whose game has svcked up far, far too much of my free time
The OBSE team for their incredible modding resource.
scruggsywuggsy the ferret, who has been making a considerable effort behind the scenes to make obse compatible with OBME.
everyone on the TESNexus and Bethesda forums who took an active interest in the project - DragoonWraith, tejon, Waruddar, shadeMe, kyoma, and many others.
special thanks to SpeedyB, Kamikaze, and Statttis for helping track down and solve bugs
Statttis, for doing the extensive legwork necessary to implement effectitem icon overrides.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:38 am

Could you add an option either in the Base Magic Effect or in the spell overrides to be able to override these two game settings.

fMagicCasterSkillCostBase -> this one sets the Spell cost to cast the spell at skill 100 so a spell that costs 100 will only cost 20 at its base value of 0.2
fMagicCasterSkillCostMult -> this one sets the Spell cost at skill 0.

I have altered these within my own spell mod to not be so drastic of a shift from novice to master but I fear that would cause incompatibilities with other spell mods that relay on that drastic change to set its spell costs, an override would allow for both to co-exist.

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:44 pm

Could you add an option either in the Base Magic Effect or in the spell overrides to be able to override these two game settings.

I'm reluctant to do that, as it would conflict with mods that replace the skill scaling with different formula. I only know of one that does so, but it's one I wrote so I'm a bit biased.

I am adding a series of event handler scripts to spells. I could probably add one that's called whenever the game wants to know the magicka cost, so you could provide whatever value you want. But that will have to wait for v2.

In the meantime, why not make your spells into lesser powers (their cost doesn't change with caster skill)? Then you can use a script to monitor the player's skill and adjust the base cost of the spells manually.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:28 am

Whoops, time to get off my ass!

And for the record, I know of at least two other mods which completely change magicka cost scaling. One's mine, and as-yet unreleased (see above re: ass). The other is bg2408's Race Balancing Project.

If you go the scripted-cost-adjustment route, I don't think you need to make the spells into lesser powers (which could cause unnecessary incompatibility with other mods, for instance Fizzle); just compensate your own multiplier against the vanilla one.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:17 am

thank you! :foodndrink:

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:20 am

What I meant was for an option within each individual magic effect that can override the gamesetting (not change it) just override it only for spells created from that base effect -> I want this because I want to be able to scale each spell magic effect differently instead of a the uniform manner we are stuck with atm, nor do I want to use heavy scripting for this if I can avoid it.

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:06 pm

What I meant was for an option within each individual magic effect that can override the gamesetting (not change it) just override it only for spells created from that base effect -> I want this because I want to be able to scale each spell magic effect differently instead of a the uniform manner we are stuck with atm, nor do I want to use heavy scripting for this if I can avoid it.

For the record, event handlers are very lightweight. However, I can see that that's not what you're looking for. I'll have to put some thought into this, to see if I can find an elegant way to work it in.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:04 am

Do you think this mod could ever be made compatible with Custom Spell Icons v3.1, or the 2 could be merged somehow? Or does OBME already have functionality to add new icons? I'm asking because OBME could probably be very useful to improve the quality of my WIP mod, but I'm already using Custom Spell Icons v3.1 since well... new icons greatly reduces confusion and just looks way better

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:23 am

OBME could probably be very useful to improve the quality of my WIP mod, but I'm already using Custom Spell Icons v3.1 since well... new icons greatly reduces confusion and just looks way better

You to make new magic effects. You can also override the icon for any effect item on any spell. Between the two features, you should be able to do anything that you could with CSI.

To answer your first question, no. OBME is incompatible with the current version of CSI by design. I discussed this with Statttis during the beta development; I have some hope that he might make a compatible version of CSI in the future.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:31 am

So, the best option then would be to make a complete new magic effect for every new scripted spell so the spells can have their own icons too I guess?

Thx for the answer

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:17 am

So, the best option then would be to make a complete new magic effect for every new scripted spell so the spells can have their own icons too I guess?

Thx for the answer

Actually it would be easier to just give each spell a unique icon by hand in the cs with OBME loaded. No need to create seperate magic effects for each scripted spell you want to change.

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 10:30 pm

awesome

as usual...
starting work on my very fun project using this I guess

(btw I'll be using PM*projectinitials**spellinitials* as my MGEFcodes... shouldn't conflict with anyone else)
Pacific Morrowind

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:18 am

Actually it would be easier to just give each spell a unique icon by hand in the cs with OBME loaded. No need to create seperate magic effects for each scripted spell you want to change.

Oh that's a feature of OBME too? Well didn't read the entire Features.pdf yet, busy with that... thanks

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:11 am

hey, just been trying some tiny things and everything works perfectly, loving it so far

Just yet another question about incompatability with custom spell icons though if you don't mind

Do problems only arise if there is a mod active which actually uses Custom Spell Icons v3.1 new functions, or does the combination of both plugins already cause trouble if you've just got .dll's from both mods in the OBSE\Plugins folder? To be sure I made a CSI Backup folder in OBSE\Plugins where I put the .dll from CSI whenever I'm testing stuff with OBME, and will put OBME.dll in a backup folder when I'm playing my normal game (since my current saved games depend on CSI), but if both can exist safely in the same folder that would save the hassle of switching them all the time

If even this causes problems, I'll just try to make my own WIPz no longer dependant on CSI as soon as possible so I can keep CSI out.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:36 am

I'll be using PM*projectinitials**spellinitials* as my MGEFcodes... shouldn't conflict with anyone else

Just for clarity - mgefCodes are only 32 bits, so you could only encode 4 letters. Did you mean editorIDs instead?

Do problems only arise if there is a mod active which actually uses Custom Spell Icons v3.1 new functions, or does the combination of both plugins already cause trouble if you've just got .dll's from both mods in the OBSE\Plugins folder?

Problems arise just from having both dlls installed. Your backup folder is a necessary inconvenience, I'm sorry to say.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:04 am

Ok that's no problem, since OBME allows assigning custom icons to spells too (from a modder's point of view even easier imo, since it doesn't require scripting) I'll change dependancy on Custom Spell Icons for my mod to dependancy on OBME instead once I'm done playing and testing a bit with OBME.

In the meantime, I'm make some effects which mainly have just new visuals, suppose I'll release those as a modder's resource as soon as possible

Things like holy fire or a more yellow-like holy healing spell, might even try some other harder stuff... working great so far

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:22 am

With a stable 1.0 release, would it be a good moment to propose a common library of magic effects made with this mod? Sort of Cobl for magic, with some effects everyone likes (levitation, poison damage, detect various kinds of stuff...) and expanding with the ideas and contributions of the scripters around? Or has it already been discused?

If you remember my screenshot, I already made a few Morrowind inspired magic effects. I think my scripts are good, though they surely have some flaw since I'm no scripting genius. But I would contribute them to such a project.

Also, I left a issue report at the nexus page regarding GetNthAEMagnitude.

Edit: about my bug report: I compiled the script with OBSE 19 beta 3, so everything in it should be in order. I will make an isolated plugin with just the change to detect life (the one I'm using depends on a master file of mine + supreme magicka + a few others) and send it to you with complete info about my setup.

Also note that the detect life effect actually works like I want it to, I just wanted to ensure the actors get the correct DetectLifeRange value when using it in case some mod depends on it.

edit2: everything works right in a new game with no other mods than the test file I used, so it must be a problem with adding the function to an existing savegame.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:19 pm

With a stable 1.0 release, would it be a good moment to propose a common library of magic effects made with this mod? Sort of Cobl for magic, with some effects everyone likes (levitation, poison damage, detect various kinds of stuff...) and expanding with the ideas and contributions of the scripters around? Or has it already been discused?

I'm working on something like this of new simple effects, no scripted things yet (though I could do that later) but at the moment just recolored ones, looking at my signature of course mainly inspired by WoW-effects but could do others to if you have suggestions.

So far made:
- Green life-steal effect
- Blue Magicka-steal effect
- Holy (yellowish) fire and healing effects)
- Shadow damage (dark purpleish)
- Frost weight (works exactly the same as burden, but looks exactly like frost damage and destruction school, perfect for use with Frost damage effects if u want to keep frost looks/sounds)

Today I'll probably make:
- Green lightning
- Nature healing (greenish healing)
And will try to find inspiration for some other stuff

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:44 am

I'm working on something like this of new simple effects, no scripted things yet (though I could do that later) but at the moment just recolored ones, looking at my signature of course mainly inspired by WoW-effects but could do others to if you have suggestions.

So far made:
- Green life-steal effect
- Blue Magicka-steal effect
- Holy (yellowish) fire and healing effects)
- Shadow damage (dark purpleish)
- Frost weight (works exactly the same as burden, but looks exactly like frost damage and destruction school, perfect for use with Frost damage effects if u want to keep frost looks/sounds)

Today I'll probably make:
- Green lightning
- Nature healing (greenish healing)
And will try to find inspiration for some other stuff

The biggest portion of the Lightning Effect being the Bolts are a procedurial effect controlled by gamesettings so you can only have 1 set color pallette for that effect -> the .Nif it uses only attaches a few random particles for the _cast effects (this is what plays on the magicNode while casting) and a few random wisps that trail the projectile. -> same goes for the Absorb Bolt Effect its procedurial.

If JRoush can figure out how to override gamesettings within magiceffects so each MGEF can have its own unique set of GameSettings for all magic based settings then altering the Bolts would be useful.

As far getting modders to agree to use a single repository of new MGEF's I doubt that is going to fly to be honest, with the exception of a few of the common (Added by EVERY Single Magic Overhaul including mine) modded spells Lev, Flight, Mark, Recall, TeleportXXX, Magic Missiles ! -> most Overhauls that add new spells are fairly unique with a few expections that most people will not care about being duplicates.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:07 am

The biggest portion of the Lightning Effect being the Bolts are a procedurial effect controlled by gamesettings so you can only have 1 set color pallette for that effect -> the .Nif it uses only attaches a few random particles for the _cast effects (this is what plays on the magicNode while casting) and a few random wisps that trail the projectile. -> same goes for the Absorb Bolt Effect its procedurial.

If JRoush can figure out how to override gamesettings within magiceffects so each MGEF can have its own unique set of GameSettings for all magic based settings then altering the Bolts would be useful.

Ah that was also the case with the ''line'' that connects you and your target when using absorb effects. Didn't know it was also the case with Shock effects. For the absorb effects (steal life/magicka) I already made I fixed it through script, which checks what spell the player currently has equipped and if it should change the colors according to that or not. The same would work just fine for shock effects. Of course, it could cause minor problems if the player has one of these spells ''equipped'' and an enemy then uses a regular shock or absorb spell, or someone uses an enchanted weapon. I guess I'll just make an option to disable the new color effects for that then.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:14 am

Hey, sorry for double-posting

Thought you might be interested in a few screenshots of what I made thanks to OBME so far:

http://img826.imageshack.us/f/screenshot108g.jpg/ a http://img210.imageshack.us/f/screenshot110g.jpg/ spell.

http://img718.imageshack.us/f/screenshot111m.jpg/

http://img204.imageshack.us/f/screenshot112u.jpg/

http://img823.imageshack.us/f/screenshot113l.jpg/

http://img704.imageshack.us/f/screenshot114r.jpg/

http://img827.imageshack.us/f/screenshot116g.jpg/

These were all pretty simple to create with OBME (all made within 1 day)

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:16 pm

With a stable 1.0 release, would it be a good moment to propose a common library of magic effects made with this mod?

To be useful, a library of new magic needs to be complete. Unfinished effects will end up slightly different in every mod that uses them, so that the library causes more compatibility problems than it prevents. That having been said, I think many people would give their eyeteeth for a new expanded magic library. If anyone is up to that task, now would indeed be a good moment to propose it.

On a related note, this was discussed in the early beta threads. I initially agreed to provide such a library myself, but I'm afraid I just don't have the time to do it properly.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 2:01 am

How about integrating new spell effects library with COBL?
I mean only the effects records - spells would be provided by external plugin

it would be funny, especially if new effects could be binded into some COBL magic ingredients (as separate plugin too, for allowing use these ingredients without obse, as COBL is going to work in two modes dependent if there's OBSE or not)

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:58 pm

Just for clarity - mgefCodes are only 32 bits, so you could only encode 4 letters. Did you mean editorIDs instead?

er yes rather... I suppose that that was what I was meaning since I'll be using those nice dynamic mgefCodes to avoid any potential conflicts (what I get for not re-reading the readme before posting and instead going on my memory of reading it in the first beta)

Problems arise just from having both dlls installed. Your backup folder is a necessary inconvenience, I'm sorry to say.

is that also the case for playing with it (CSI or OBME)?
thanks;
Pacific Morrowind