WIP - CDM - Astral Projection

Post » Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:40 pm

Name : CDM - Astral Projection
Version : 1.0
Requirements : Skyirm, Latest Patch
SKSE, Version 1.6.16 or Later

Link : Coming Soon...Ish

Current Progress :
- All described features implemented; Testing for Bugs/Issues.

Overview
CDM - Astral Projection grants you the power to separate your Spirit from your Physical Body, and move onto the Astral Plane. Whilst on the Astral Plane you are able to move around and observe the world without being seen by those still on the Physical Plane. It is an ideal power for scouting new areas, exploring in safety, or just taking a leisurely stroll across Skyrim.

Obtaining Astral Projection

Spoiler

When you first load the Mod, you will receive the Book, Astral Projection. If read, you will instantly gain the Astral Projection Spell. For those who do not want the Spell immediately, you can purchase the same Book from various vendors throughout the world.

Astral Projection Level

Spoiler

Astral Projection is in the School of Alteration, and therefore your Astral Projection Level is tied to your Alteration Level. There are five Levels of Astral Projection, and when you first load the Mod you will be at Level One. Improving your Astral Projection Level is permanent, and will not be altered even if you make your Alteration Skill Legendary.
Each Astral Projection Level has a slightly different effect:

Level One (25 or Less Alteration)
The initial form of Astral Projection. The Practitioner is very weak and unskilled at this Level, and can only maintain their connection to their Physical Body over a short distance. At this Level, the Player cannot interact with the Physical World in any meaningful way-- they cannot open Doors or use Activators.
If the Player moves too far from their Physical Body they will instantly be forcefully returned to their Physical Body, ending their Astral Projection.

Level Two (25 - 49 Alteration)
At this Level, the Practitioner gains the ability to travel an infinite distance from their Physical Body. They are still unable to interact with Doors or Activators.

Level Three (49 - 74 Alteration)
The Practitioner is growing more confident in their Astral Abilities, and is now able to briefly manifest on the Physical Plane just long enough for minor interactions with the world around them. At this Level, the Player can use most Doors and Activators, greatly expanding the range of their Astral Projection abilities.
The speed at which you shift between Planes is increased.

Level Four (75 - 99 Alteration)
Reaching Level Four grants the Practitioner the ability to briefly manifest on the Physical Plane long enough to make themselves visible to others. At this Level, the Player is able to speak to NPCs, but is unable to Pickpocket or Loot them. This does not affect their ability to remain undetected whilst on the Astral Plane.

Level Five (100 or Greater Alteration)
At this Level the Practitioner has mastered Astral Projection. In addition to all previous bonuses, the Player can now choose to Summon Physical Body when returning to the Physical Plane, allowing them to bring their Physical Body to their present location, rather than returning to where they previously where.
You can now shift between Planes much faster.

Beginning Astral Projection

Spoiler

To move to the Astral Plane, simply equip the Astral Projection Spell and charge it up, exactly as you would any similar Spell (i.e., hold the Attack button down until the spell completes).

Returning to the Physical Plane/Body Death

Spoiler

In order to return to the Physical Plane simply re-cast the Astral Projection Spell exactly as you did to begin Astral Projecting.
You can only return to the Physical Plane if your Physical Body is still alive. If for some reason your Physical Body has died, you will never be able to return to the Physical Plane, and will be trapped as a disembodied spirit. At this point, your game is effectively over-- you can still see the world, and potentially interact with NPCs, but your ability to complete Quests and develop your Character are severely hindered.

Astral Projection Duration

Spoiler

Travelling on the Astral Plane is difficult and wearisome, and therefore the Player can only remain on the Astral Plane for a short period of time. When you begin Astral Projecting, your Magicka Meter becomes your Astral Meter, and will continually drain for the duration of your Astral Projection. Regardless of your Astral Projection Level, if the Astral/Magicka Meter reaches zero, you will instantly be drawn back to your Physical Body.

Obtaining the Alteration Skill Perk, Stability, will reduce the rate at which the Astral/Magicka Meter decreases by 50%, doubling the time you can spend on the Astral Plane.

Benefits of Astral Projection

Spoiler

? Immunity to Physical Damage
? Immunity to Falling Damage
? Complete Invisibility to all non-Scripted NPCs (See Notes for more details)
? Speed Fortified by 150-Points
? Water Walking
? Water Breathing

Penalties of Astral Projection

Spoiler

? Cannot cast any Spell except Astral Projection whilst Projecting
? Cannot gain any Skill Experience
? Cannot attack or cause Physical Damage to others
? Cannot pick-up Items (See Notes for more details)

Important Notes

Spoiler

There are several ‘issues’ caused by the way Skyrim works which have a minor negative impact on your Astral Projection experience. These are not, directly, issues with the Mod but rather due to how the game works, and the effort to fix them would likely result in incompatibilities and glitches, therefore they have been left as-is.

? Certain NPCs are Scripted to seek-out and interact with the Player. Even when Astral Projecting these NPCs will be aware of the Player and able to locate and speak with them; they will still not be able to visually locate the Player, and will therefore be unable to attack the PC.
? Various background Activators (such as Scene Triggers) still detect the PC whilst they are Astral Projecting, because they PC still physically exists within the game world; this means certain events will still react as though the Player was physically there.
? You are able to drop Items from your Inventory, and change which Items you currently have equipped; however, whilst Astral Projecting you cannot pick-up new Items.

Known Issues

Spoiler

? Astral Shift cannot be aborted

Thoughts/Comments welcome :smile:

User avatar
Shannon Marie Jones
 
Posts: 3391
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 3:19 pm

Post » Thu Apr 17, 2014 7:35 am

Interesting. Does the Astral Plane allow a person to raise up in the air? For example, if I wanted to land on the roof of a tower without climing the stairs?

User avatar
Mandi Norton
 
Posts: 3451
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:43 pm

Post » Thu Apr 17, 2014 7:28 am

There is not any 'proper' levitation or floating, or anything like that; however Jump Height is multiplied to ten times its normal value (from 76 to 760), which allows you to reach much greater heights; I'm not sure if it would be possible to add actual floating, it's not something I've looked into...

There's also a site-to-site teleportation, based on my old Blink Teleport Mod, which can do similar to line-of-sight targets.

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james reed
 
Posts: 3371
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:18 am

Post » Wed Apr 16, 2014 11:34 pm

Thoughts:

Can the player use this as an instant escape from imminent death? If it can be, it will be used that way.

Does the player need to make any provision for their body? E.g. lie down, sit - something to provide stability. It the body can be displaced by collision with a passing elk, it might fall of a cliff... How will the mod track interactions with the "lifeless" shell?
User avatar
FirDaus LOVe farhana
 
Posts: 3369
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2007 3:42 am


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