v.2.00 is available for download.
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When posting bug reports, questions, etc., please include which versions of SDR, OBSE and AV Uncapper you are using.
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37385
http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=6608
http://tesalliance.org/forums/index.php?/files/file/893-sdr-sneaking-detection-recalibrated/
Brief description below. Latest version news follows description.
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Sneaking Detection Recalibrated (SDR)
This mod completely rewrites how sneaking/detection works. Complete details are on the main file site (see link above). A brief list of the main features* are as follows:
- Takes into account the light falling on the detector as well as the player
- The player's sneak skill is not modified in any way
- All penalties / bonuses are calculated separately for each detector-player relationship
- hardcoe settings override all the default oblivion Sneak Mastery perks, and are replaced with new rules and adjustments.
- Having a lit torch will cancel out any current or cast invisibility spell effects on the player.
- Silence spells cast on the player will nullify sound penalties
- As your Sneak mastery level increases, the speed at which you sneak gets faster
- Extended sneak attack bonuses up through Master Sneak.
- Everything you have equipped impacts your sound penalties, not just boots.
- Equipped gear takes into account, clothing, light armor, heavy armor, and weapon (if drawn).
- Equipped gear penalties apply to player and NPCs.
- Skillup bonuses for sneak attacks using bows if not detected (courtesy Haarvest and Sky Captain)
- Takes into account peripheral vision angles.
- Sneaking NPCs become transparent if not invisible.
- Chameleon refraction effects replaced with transparency.
- These and more features covered in the readme .txt and a .pdf manual (part of the download package)
- Only one .esp, one .ini, OBSE v19+ and AV Uncapper plugin required.

* Although some of these features may seem familiar from other stealth mods, other than the skillup feature, all others were coded from scratch with completely new formulas and concepts.
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Current Version: v2.00, 2011/05/25

Changes to latest version. (Complete changelog available int he readme)
GENERAL CHANGES
> Broke scripts up into smaller functions that could be called from player and NPCs alike.
> Overhauled scripts and variable naming conventions to be more efficient.
> Completely redid almost every formula, and rebalanced default .ini settings accordingly (see below)
> Included option to load SDR with default settings if .ini is missing. User is warned with a message box if that occurs.
> Rewrote the messages that pop up when you advance to Apprentice / Journeyman / Expert / Master in Sneak.
BASIC SETTINGS
> Revamped the sneak movement speed / sneak mastery so that it applies equally (mostly) to NPCs and player, as well as provide more customization flexibility.
> Fixed bug where custom light level offset was being replaced by old SDR light level offset programming that I forgot to delete.
ADVANCED SETTINGS
> Reduced the default combat penalty adjustment from 50 to 35
> Reduced the default light penalty multiplier to 1 to accommodate the new hardcoe formulas.
hardcoe SETTINGS
> NPCs that hold a lit torch will now also have any invisibility effects cancel out on them if the option is selected for players in Basic settings.
> Changed the short range boost from two distances to three, as well as increased the range and penalty multiplier of each.
> Reduced Tracking of suspicious activity bonus to 30
> Revised how bumps for torches and light spells work, and provided user customizable settings
> Added new option for exponential curved lighting bonus to be spotted, rather than just a linear one. The degree of bonus can be changed in the ini settings.
> Added new peripheral vision adjustments. Ini settings allow adjustment to scale, as well as option to disable for creatures and Argonians.
> Added new option to replace Chameleon effect with alpha shading. Applies to player and NPCs.
> Added option for NPCs to become more transparent if they are sneaking. Transparency amount depends on how well they can sneak in comparison to player's Sneak skill and other environmental factors.
> Added a sub-setting that adjusts how well you can see someone based on their disposition towards you, making it much easier to see allies, and harder to see enemies.
DEBUG SETTINGS
> Removed debug text for sneak movement multiplier when sneak mastery goes up as it no longer applies.
> Added debug text option to show NPC Alpha channels and factors that go into calculating them.
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Feedback, suggestions and bug reports are very welcome.

Awesome. Any predictions on when 2.0 will be available for download?

It is up on Tesnexus.

:foodndrink: Congratulations on the release saebel, downloading - Found a bug though, it seems to have caught one of those readme things, they're a bit like bones you get one and before you know it they spread like wildfire

Right time for a bit of study. Thank you.

Too Obvious......

Thank You.

GEEZ! You guys are fast on the draw.

TES Nexus and Planet ElderScrolls are both updated now. Going to add a TES Alliance site next.

Thanks for all the kudos and support! I think you'll really enjoy this new version. I had a heckuva lot of fun play testing it.

saebel

Oh yeah downloaded and going to update, thanks again for making this mod saebel. :celebration:

You bet!

Just wait 'til you check out the .pdf manual. I got a little nuts on the detail.

Also, now available for download from TES Alliance.

Hope you all enjoy it. Looking forward to your feedback.

saebel

Really looking forward to play with this gem since you added the feature similar to Reneer/Haldar's. I am running short on esp solts (254 mods in my list +100 more merged). Is it advisable to merge this into a "Game Tweaks" mod that I have created? I know that you may refine this in the future, and may make my merged mod obsolete, but would it crash etc. if I merged it?

I've never merged mods before, so I don't really know what would happen. I'd consider the following:
- Check to see if there might be a similar mod in youe current load order that SDR replaces.
- Make sure SDR is really what you want, before you decide to merge it.
- SDR is very complicated: 3 Quests, 2 tokens, 19 scripts, plus the new version replaces some of the skill up dialgoue, which is not scriptable.
- I won't have time to help you if you run into trouble. SDR ended up taking way more time than I imagined or intended, and the next several months, if not years, are going to be very busy for me working on real life projects that are coming down the pipeline. So I'm only willing to alot time to maintaining and updating SDR.

That being said, feel free to try it for your own private use, but I'd prefer it was not made available to the public with SDR in it at this time.

Good luck! It's an ambitious undertaking.

Great mod. Thanks.

I would not merge this mod.

Saebel has proven to be an updater - so expect more fixes.

That makes re-merging all the time a pain, but it can be done. I'd stick with merging older no longer updated mods.

Saebel-

Thank you so much for integrating the transparency gimmick from Reneer/Haldar into your already great sneak mod.

... now to just get one working install.

I should've clarified that the merged mod was for personal use only!

As Psymon said, newer mods usually get updated frequently, making the upkeep of personal merged mods a pain. I'll most probably bite the bullet here, as my mod list is brimming at the mo!

This is marvellous.

The only change for personal preference I have made is to zero the Sneak Movement Multiplier. And toned down the Sneak Damage multipliers a little to Vanilla Extended.

Otherwise its hardcoe defaults .... and very very nice

I have Companion Vilja installed, but she is busy looking after the home until you get round to maybe having a look at companions.

Just finished the last few of the Dark Brotherhood quests and everything feels perfect. No doubt you will probably have more refinements to come but at the moment I am not going to be prompting any, its an instant essential only after a few hours play.

@ anithinks, no worries. I figured it was probably for personal use, but it didn't hurt to answer the gammut of possibilities in case others had similar questions. As for updates, I certainly *hope* there won't be any in the immediate future. I play-tested the heck out of it, and as far as I can tell, this release *should* be bug free (aside from mod conflicts, which I don't count as bugs). Only time will tell.

@ alt3rn1ty, wow thanks for the praise!

It's going to be awhile before I tackle companions, but some have speculated that I may not need to. I'd have to look at the math, but it's quite possible that between NPCs, it all cancels out - or at least enough so that having companions in tow should be playable enough. At worst, any companion sneaking with you will be harder to detect than you because of all the bonuses gained by being in proximity of the player.

Basically, I have only two options when it comes to handling companions:
1. Figure out whether or not any given NPC is following the player, and if so, cancel out some or all of the bonuses.
2. Create a OBSE plug-in that hooks the actual hardcoded Oblivion detection formula and replaces it.

If I do number 1, it can only be so helpful because proximity, line of sight, and distance related bonuses are calculated only based on the NPC to player relationship, not NPC to NPC. In order to do NPC to NPC, I'd have to do number 2.

Number 2 is tricky. Although I am very good with scripting and basic programming, I do not have the skills or knowledge base required to create a plug-in that hooks the detection formula. It was the first thing I looked into when I first started researching this mod, and it is way beyond my current skill set, and I just don't have the time to learn the skills necessary to pull it off in a reasonable time frame. The only guy I know who can do that is the one who figured out the detection formula in the first place, and he's already way too busy with a slew of his own unfinished mods, plugins, and real life.

So, unless some magical lightbulb of genius hits me, or someone else steps up to the plug-in challenge, I wouldn't count on the companion issues being resolved soon.

But I'm planning on using Vilja too, so I'll probably either leave her at home for all the sneaky stuff, or who knows, maybe I'll figure something out.

Along those lines here are a couple of mods that may support this mod if not give you some inspiration:

http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25335 (makes the magically summoned creatures hide when you do).

http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=28292 (for those that think absorbing stats and derived stats should be a vamiric hidden kind of thing).

Thanks for pointing me to this mod, Psymon. I always thought that the absorb attribute thing should have been non-offensive spells. I still remember the first time I tried that spell after buying it from a spell merchant. Let's just say that Thoronir and I were not on good terms anymore...

Erm, you don't see svcking some guys strength as a hostile act?????? I am pretty sure I would be rather put out if someone did that to me......

Well, I was thinking more on lines of "Absorb Mercantile". Where else would I need to use this, except before trading with a merchant? And usually, the merchant is the only person in the shop, so absorbing mercantile form the merchant seemed obvious to me. Thoronit didn't agree, and neither did the omniscient guards. After a reload, that spell went to the realm of never-to-be-used and perfectly useless spells.

Granted, there are a selection of spells that fall into that category. And while it may not result in physical harm to the NPC, it would result in financial loss.... (in the over all scheme of things....) Should the game take into account "Financially Hostile" though?

Off topic for several posts but to clarify - the point of that mod is to change the behavior of the spells so that they can be used while sneaking. Not that all spells are stealthy as per rhe readme:

It would seem obvious to me that if I had the magic power to absorb your mercantile skill that along with that I had the ability to not be seen while doing it. Of what value is a "Ta-da now stand still vile enemy while I take from you the ability to make sound financial decisions"

This makes a certain set of spells useful for those who invest in sneak - if you don't invest then it is as normal.

Ah, I missed the part in the description: if your skill in the corresponding school AND your sneak skill are both higher than the casting cost of the spell.

That makes a big difference.

Nice. Probably don't need to incorporate them. Seems like they'll stand just fine on their own. I'll have to give them a test drive.

I use Tamriel Travellers, which adds merchants scattered all around Cyrodiil - most along roads or in towns/cities. Some of them just stand around, but some actively go around in sneak mode. This is one guy just outside of Chorrol (http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/7307/sneaking.jpg. Note how he's faded - that's really cool. :goodjob: Once I got to within 5 feet or so, he became solid. I've been playing with this for a couple hours now, and gone through two or three dungeons. It's worked very well so far.

That's great! :tops: That sounds about right too. Be careful though, in really dark places, against hostile sneaking NPCs, you might not see them until you are right on top of them!
It actually gives you a reason to use a torch so you have a chance to spot them before they get too close. :flamethrower: