Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Oblivionauts Cover Art

Cover art for our next modding project Oblivionauts has been released! Click to download!


Details on our upcoming project will be released publicly soon. Make sure and check back here or subscribe to this blog to receive any new updates we post. You can also follow us on Twitter or Google+.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Woverdude
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/113795600799397866390/113795600799397866390/posts



Wednesday, December 5, 2012

EBM.2 WIP: Level Building and Voice Acting



I finished the listing and sorting of the books and so it's now time to get back in touch with level design and level building. It should be more pleasant and I hope to advance quite quickly during my available free time.
Yesterday I also did some tests to learn the basics of quest and dialogue design and managed to implement a speaking NPC ingame – see below for the details! =]


Workflow
  1. Listing and sorting all the books in categories and sub-categories
    -> Done
  2. Planning the spatial organization of the library
    -> WIP
  3. Building and testing the library cells
    ->WIP
  4. Adding, placing and compiling all the new books
  5. Test, fixing, test, fixing...
  6. Release
I've started to build the level, Nordic style this time. I'm already getting familiar with the nomenclature after a few hours of work. Here's a screenshot of the current status of level building. It shouldn't be expanded a lot more than this normally, I don't want the place to be too huge since there will be all the navmeshing to do...


Update: now the level building is complete. I admit I expanded a little more than I originally thought I would but whatever, at least there's place for tones of books. So I'm now in the process of placing furniture and decorations.





Actor with voice
Creating dialogs and actors with voice files turned out to be quite simple, if you wish to try I suggest you to jump to this page created by Shawn, it contains all the informations and links you will need to success in your implementation. Below is a short recording of my test. It went nicely so far though you might notice the overlay skin texture of Jobasha's head has gone missing. It's something I still have to understand and fix.
Jobasha's voice actor is Tim Morgan and I must say he did an impressive first take!


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Winter Break Modding Project

I'm thinking about working on a Skyrim modding project over winter break. Unlike my previous projects, this one would involve storytelling and quests rather than gameplay recoding. Are there any of y'all that would be interested in working with me for a few weeks between semesters to create an interesting and unique modification to Skyrim? I am looking for people with any of the following skills:

Story/quest writing
Character design
Art/3d-modeling
Programming
Level design
Voice Acting
Fictional worldbuilding
Game testing

The concept for the project has already been developed some, but I would like input while developing the rest of it and help with creating the actual mod. For those of you who have played Skyrim but do not have a PC copy, I may consider PAYING to get you a copy of the game for your PC.

Obviously, you will need to have a PC capable of running the game if you are going to work on the coding, modeling, or level design. You would also need to be willing to work with me and any others on the team, as well as be able to devote some time each week during the break to the project.

If you are interested, then please message me and I can give you more details on the project. I can guarantee that you will find plenty of interesting work if you do join. :-)

Once the project is complete then it would be released for free online for players to download. A donation link would be available for fans, and any donations would be split with you.

If you are interested in my previous modding work, you can check out the following pages:

Skyrim Nexus: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/users/1266423
Steam Workshop: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198008458024/myworkshopfiles
Modding Blog: http://tesmods.blogspot.com/


My mods have been downloaded over 40,000 people and viewed by likely 300,000.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

SkyUI 3 MCM compatability

Howdy, y'all.

I'm sorry for not releasing a new version during the past couple of months. I have been far too busy with school and work to make an update. I have not forgotten about this mod, though. If at some point I have more free time to work on it, then I will. I am not ignoring the complaints and bug reports that y'all give; rather, I simply haven't had the time to respond to you or to fix them.

That being said, with the announcement of the Mod Configuration Menu for SkyUI 3, I am going to try to take out some time from my busy schedule the next few weeks to make an MCM menu for Way of the Monk. One of the biggest complaints about this mod is the menus. They're crap. I know. Not only are they annoying to you, but they are annoying to me. To make the menus of the sort that WoM uses now often requires over 1000 lines of code, and many hours. I spent probably 100-200 hours working on the menus alone. The MCM is not only easier for the player to use, but supposedly it reduces the scripting time to a couple of hours max. Not only that, but it allows checkboxes, drop-down menus, option highlighting, sliders, and many other useful features. It is still in alpha phase, so it might change over time and y'all might not have downloaded it yet. However, once I learn the system and have taken the time to script it, I will hopefully have made Way of the Monk MCM compatable.

What does that mean for y'all? Well, first, the menus won't be so annoying. You will be able to press 'escape' to access them, rather than casting a spell or power. You will also be given more options. I will try to code into the menus new options including leveling speed. This will allow you to change how quickly you raise your Monk skills. I am not sure what the menu restriictions are, but I *might* (I stress *might*) even be able to create a menu for choosing perks. I hate the current menu system that this mod is using. It's awful. Especially when choosing perks. Many peoples' complaint is that they don't want to have to use those awful menus, and they want the process of choosing new perks to be easier. So far, that has not been possible without replacing an existing skill tree in the main leveling menu. MCM may allow me to do that.

I'm not sure exactly when I will create this menu. Likely, it will be an incremental process that may take a week or two, as I learn the MCM system and code when I get the opportunity. I may also need to wait a while for MCM to get out of alpha stage, to ensure that I don't have to rewrite part of the code. Supposedly, Gopher is going to make a tutorial on creating MCM menus, which I am also waiting for. The one downside of this is that the MCM menu will not be available for Steam Workshop users. I am going to add an optional download here on the Nexus for it. Also, I may have to change Way of the Monk to an ESM, which would make it incompatible with the Workshop.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

EBM WIP: plans for EBM v2



Due to real world life I was not able to post any update about EBM for months, neither could I work on the mod, not even could I play Skyrim! (how bad is that!?) But I kept on thinking and planning what should be done for the v2... Overall I plan to redo everything in way to get the mod as clean as possible. And I think the library it should feature might be nicknamed "Little Apocrypha".

What EBMv2 should contain
  • More new books
  • Books from the previous games, from Arena to Oblivion (yes!)
  • A giant secret library to sort and store all those books in several samples
  • Bibliographies listing books related to a same topic (ex: Dwemers) and where to find them in the library, and possibly compendiums with excerpts related to a given topic
  • (optional) retextured assets to serve as signs to find your way in the library
  • (optional) more textures for book covers (including mere color variations)


Workflow
  1. Listing and sorting all the books in categories and sub-categories
  2. Planning the spatial organization of the library
  3. Building and testing the library cells
  4. Adding, placing and compiling all the new books
  5. Test, fixing, test, fixing...
  6. Release


What's being done currently
[update] I finished listing and sorting the books, basing me on the Imperial Library. So far I have listed 331 titles (not books but titles of one-shots and series) and 197 of those titles are yet in Skyrim though some series (like the Wolf Queen) are incomplete. However I didn't include books we aren't supposed to find (such as the Mysterium Xarxes, diaries and other quest-related books). This makes yet around 200 books to format and implement and some include pictures.
I tag the books with keywords about their content that will help for bibliographies, and assign them to fitting categories which are divided into:

  • Physics:
  • History (various eras)
  • Geopolitics (Nirn, Imperial Provinces, Guilds & Factions)
  • Fauna & Flora (races, creatures, plants, minerals)
  • Arts & Crafts (literature, smithing, cooking, etc.)
  • Metaphysics:
  • Monomyth
  • Aedra
  • Daedra (Princes, Lorkhan, Oblivion)
  • Cults (Orders, consequences of their deeds on Nirn)
  • Myths & Legends
  • Arcane Arts (magic of all schools and kinds)
  • Pain & Care (diseases, curses, etc.)
The goal of this sorting is to plan properly the level building of the library.



How to help
As you guess many books will fall into many categories but this way I hope to make the place as handy as possible for players who like to play scholars. I don't know how many there are but surely more than I think.
And of course, any help in the sorting and tagging would be very helpful, or if you've already created information compendiums or so, it would surely be very fitting.

If someone wishes to do some retexturing I'd be very interested as well. For book covers of course, something based on the Book of the Dragonborn or Spell Tomes could be nice since those book feature a different textures for back and front covers, allowing to differentiate them more. But also for some assets such as banners and rugs that would be used as signs for the different parts of the library.

If you have ideas and suggestions, they're also very welcomed of course.


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

1.5 Changelog

1.5 Changelog

Here (finally) is the changelog for the 1.5 update for the Skyrim mod "Way of the Monk":

+ Improved appearance of the Pillars locations
+ Fixed the requirements for Irons Fists 3
+ Fixed issue for some NPCs where they would appear naked
+ Replaced Cultist Follower with a voiced follower
+ Added a quest to find all of the Pillars, with a reward for finding all of them. Start the quest by reading the book, "The Pillars".
+ Fist weapons are now affected by OneHanded Perks. The Claws, Talons, Punch Daggers, and Katar are affected by the sword perks; the Ulaks are affected by the War Axe perks; and the perferators and Burning Fists are affected by the Mace perks
+ Increased base damage of Steel Punch Daggers by 1
+ Created more Cultist NPCs
+ The new follower now levels with you up to level 60
+ Unarmored now does not level when you are a werewolf
+ Fixed issue where the OneHanded Unarmed Weapon was doing more damage and affected by more perks than it was supposed to.
+ The Deadly Blows perks no longer stack
+ Fixed menu issues with the Silent Movement and Padded Movement perks
+ Corrected information in the menu for the Wielder Pillar
+ Added visual effect to Whirlwind Attacks from the Wielder Pillar
+ Fixed the menu issues with acquiring the Vitality perks
+ Fixed the conditions for the Vitality perks

I apologize for the delay. I've been pretty busy and tired recently because of the new school semester. I will start work on version 1.6 soon.

Way of the Monk can be downloaded at the following locations:

Skyrim Nexus

Steam Workshop

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Need Voice Actors For Your Mod?

Are you creating a quest or follower mod? Do you need voice actors? This post gives a number of tips and links to help you find voice acting talent.

Doing it yourself:
First off, you may simply be able to do it yourself. Now, there's the possibility that your voice may have a different sound or be a different gender than your mod's characters. However, if you voice does fit a character, here are some tips to recording:
  1. Turn off all fans, air conditioners, and cell phones. Get rid of or turn off anything that could add background noise.
  2. Place your microphone at the very least an inch (I suggest 2-3 inches) from your mouth. That is to eliminate the small staticky sounds that may come from a dry mouth or from the mic rubbing against your skin.
  3. Keep a glass of water nearby to make sure that your mouth does not become dry. A dry mouth will make your produce a static-like sound in your recording.
  4. Sit up or stand up. Breathe with deeply, with your stomach expanding rather than your chest. This will provide a good airflow through your vocal chords, and provide your brain with the oxygen it needs.
  5. Sing for a while before recording. It doesn't matter if your singing voice is awful enough to kill cats, sing for a bit.  Doing so will loosen your vocal chords and get your lungs moving right for recording.
  6. Download Audacity. It is a free audio editing and recording program that is powerful enough to be used in professional settings. If you want to you can even learn how to add effects to your voices, but that won't be neccesary for simple voice acting.
  7. Along with the recordings for your lines, record a 5-6 seconds long file that is nothing but silence. Make sure that you do this with the same mic and in the same setting that you used for your line recording. This silence sample will be used later with Audacity to remove background static and noise from your audio files.
  8. Record your lines in the .WAV format. This can be done with Audacity. There are only two audio formats that the Creation Kit (for Skyrim) uses, and those are the .WAV and the .XWM formats. If you have the time, I would suggest converting your files to .XWM. They are not as large as .WAV files, but they will work fine. The decreased file space means that you will be more likely to pack your mod into the 100 mb limit of the Steam Workshop. Use this guide to convert the files. As far as I know, this is the only guide in existence that teaches you how to convert .WAV files to .XWM.

Recruiting others:
  1. The Voice Actors' Guild - The VA Guild is a part of the broader Engineering Guild, which is a modding community createed by the modder Giskard, who is well known for his Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Oblivion mods. I have used them before and they are a great group. Very friendly, quick, and professional. While you're there, you can also download some of the fantastic mods that they have produced.
  2. Post a thread in the Skyrim Nexus, Bethesda, or Steam forums asking for a voice actor. You are less likely to get someone with voice acting experience, but they are likely to be more eager to help.
  3. Take a look at the list of voice actors that helped with the Interesting NPCs mod for Skyrim. The mod author supplied links to their Nexus Pages, so you can contact them if you like their voice or are looking for any voice actor. With this specific group, I would suggest going into Skyrim and listening to their voices. That way you can choose the actor you want based upon their voice. Keep in mind, though, that they do not have to work with you if they do not want to. The likely get plenty of requests and do not have time to help everyone.
Once you have the lines:

Even once you have gone through the work to find voice actors, you will need to add them to the game. Below are a number of tutorials for adding voice files to characters in Skyrim.

  1. Deck16 - Adding a Voice Follower
  2. Creation Kit Wiki - Bethesda Tutorial Dialgoue
  3. Voice Acting: A Complete Guide
  4. Creation Kit Tutorial: Quest Dialogue [1/4]

Monday, August 13, 2012

Becoming A Master

...or at least a master file.

So, over the past version or two I have slowly been considering the possibility of changing my mod from an .esp to an .esm. Or, more understandably, from a plugin to a master file. The difference between plugin and master files are as follows.

Plugin File (.esp): The standard format for mods. They modify or add content within master files while they are loaded. Their changes are not permanent and will not actually modify the .esm file. Instead, Skyrim reads their information and makes the changes inside of the game. Every .esp has a list of master files that are required for it to run. Most of them only require the Skyrim.esm Master File. However, if one were to require Dawnguard, for instance, then it would require both Skyrim.esm and Dawnguard.esm. When you make a mod with the Creation Kit, they are the format that it saves your changes in. They can be uploaded to the Steam Workshop.

Master File (.esm): Skyrim.esm is the main master file. They are what hold all of the main files which the game uses. They have higher priority than any .esp files in the load order. You can make an .esp that modifies and .esm, but you cannot make an .esm that modifies an .esp. They are the star of the solar system and all of the little .esps orbit around them. They can only be created by using modder-made tools to convert a .esp to an .esm, and they cannot be uploaded to the Steam Workshop.

So, why the extended monologue about the difference between the two? Mainly because I am currently giving a significant amount of thought to changing my mod to an .esm. This has a number of pros and cons, but I think that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

Pros:

+ Modules. I would finally be able to make all of those optional modules that people have been asking for. Some people just want the overhaul without the weapons. Some want the skills to be in the vanilla perk trees. Others want quests. Some want small optionals like a Fists of Steel perk for Light armor. Others might want a Chi system. The list goes on. Making Way of the Monk a Master File mod would allow me to make those modules. You would download the master file with the whole shebang. Then, if you wanted certain aspects changed you could either download a module (.esp) for yourself, or even make your own to use.

+ Compatibility. Compatibility issues would be much easier to solve. Instead of having to change large parts of my system to work with another mod or have them do the same thing, I (or someone else) could just build an .esp that bridges the gap between the two mods and makes them compatible. It would be totally optional and the compatibility patches would be much easier to create.

+ Teamwork. If, at some point, someone else wanted to join me on the project and help me out, then a Master File would be a LOT easier to work with. Say, for instance, that someone wanted to help me build a questline for the mod. We could 1) work together on the SAME file at the SAME time using a program made by SureAI, allowing us to simultaneously build the questline together. Or 2) one of us could make an .esp plugin for the .esm that adds a questline that is totally optional. That way you could get the main mod without having to worry about all of the issues that come with quest mods.

Con:

+ No Steam Workshop. Unfortunately, the Steam Workshop does not allow modders to upload .esm Master Files. At all. And even if it did, it has a filesize limit of 100mb. While just the overhaul would not likely meet that size limit, the modules might. Especially if they included new meshes, textures, or sounds. The normal mod has already reached a size of 72 mb. Simply adding full dialog for two characters might raise the size past the 100mb limit on the Steam Workshop. If I turned Way of the Monk into a master file, then Steam users would not be able to download the latest versions from the Workshop. I would not delete the mod, so they would still be able to get whatever version existed before the change to .esm. However, to get any later versions they would *have* to use the Nexus.

Conclusions:

So, what do y'all think?

Personally, I think that it is worth the risk. As the creator, I want to grow this mod as much as I can without being limited by the Workshop's capabilities. However, I do not want to alienate players unless I have to. Please feel free to give me your input on the choice.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Dawnguard is now available for PC!

As of today, August 2, the first Skyrim DLC Dawnguard is available for download to PC from Steam. It's been a fairly long wait, and is priced quite highly. It's appearance was also quite sudden, with no announcements from Bethesda. Regardless, it is now purchasable. Here's hoping that it is worth the wait.


Purchase link at Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/211720/

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

1.4 Changelog

This is a complete changelog for the 1.4 beta update to Way of the Monk. If more changes are made in the release edition of 1.4, then they will be added to this list.

You can download the beta version of 1.4 here.

Changelog:

+ Evasion and Escape enchantments can now be put onto other robes
+ Fixed requirements of the Rapid Fists 2 perk and the Rending Strikes 2 perk
+ Added a Perk Requirements book that tells you the requirements for every perk. It has been added to the table at the Pillars of the Way.
+ Changed Soft Resistance to apply to all weapons
+ Created two more levels of the Unarmored Stance perk and changed its requirements
+ The Whirlwind effect now only works on the Unarmed weapon
+ Created the Unimpeded Combat perk, with three levels, that increases your attack speed when you are unarmored
+ Created the Endurance perk that increases your health regen in combat
+ Created the Vitality perks, which lets you choose the Stamina or Magicka attribute. Which ever one you choose will have its regen fortified in combat.
+ Created the Silent Movement perk that reduces your movement noise by 50% when you are unarmored
+ Created the Padded Movement perks that make you harder to detect when sneaking and unarmored
+ Created the Chokehold perks that increases your sneak-attack damage with the Unarmed weapon and with the Monk weapons
+ Created the Knockout Punch perk that allow you to knock out your enemies when sneaking, undetected, and using the Unarmed weapon
+ Created the Martial Master perk that reflects 10% of damage when you are unarmored
+ Split the Unarmored perk category into two subcategories: Defense and Combat. The perks have also been re-organized.
+ Changed the menus and functions of the Progress, Choice, and Rewalking Pillars to reflect changes

Final 1.4 update (after beta):
+ Created a chest to contain the books and items at the Pillars of the Way
+ Added a Hooded Robes of the Way at the Pillars of the Way for those who are playing at high difficulties
+ Update the Choice power with the menu changes
+ Update the Progress power with the menu changes
+ Corrected Unarmored Stance description
+ Fixed the misdirecting buttons in the Progress menu
+ Slightly increased base damage of Orcish claws for balancing
+ Slightly increased base damage of Daedric claws for balancing
+ Slightly decreased base damage of Elven Glaive for balancing

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Poll: What Feature Do You Want?

If you've been following the comments on the Skyrim Nexus page for Way of the Monk, then you probably read me talking about a poll for new features. The gist of that discussion is this: Because I only have a limited amount of time to focus on modding, and because I want to please as many of my players as possible, I have been gathering a list of requested features to be added to the next version. Feel free to continue suggesting additions. Each of you get 3 votes for what you want to see in the next version. You can spend all of those votes on one feature, or spread them out. Post below in the comments with your 3 votes, along with any areas that you want me to work on (they will be added to the list).


  • Chi system (needs a minimum of 20 votes) [4 votes]
  • Improved aesthetics
  • More perks [3 votes]
  • More enchantments
  • Perk transparency/improvement (making it easier for you to know the requirements) [2 votes]
  • Improve unarmed stealth combat [3 votes]
  • Food/alchemicy buffs for unarmed combat
  • More armor (only I only have spellweaver armor approved so far)
The five features with the most votes will be added to the next version of the mod, as long a they have a minimum of 2 votes each. Feel free to suggest more!

Suggestions can include having specific mods incorporated into this one, but you MUST have gained permission from the mod author beforehand. I won't add a mod unless I have permission from the author.

Skyrim Monk Let's Play #1 - Intro



I have uploaded a new video for the Way of the Monk mod to Youtube. This video describes how the mod works, and introduces my upcoming Let's Play series for it.

If you'd like to be notified when I post more videos, then feel free to subscribe to the channel.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Tutorial: Creating A Skill

Object: To create a new skill using Papyrus scritps

Difficulty: Very complicated and difficult

Time Needed: A great deal. If you are an unexperienced modder, it will take you even longer. For experienced modders, while actually writing the scripts might not take much time, designing the system, implementing it, and perfecting it until it plays well can still take a long time.

An extended version of this tutorial, along with a fully-functional example woodcutting skill mod are available on the Skyrim Nexus for free.

Things you will need:



  • Creation Kit.
  • A plan for how the skill will work mathematically
  • Scripting and general Skyrim modding experience

Note: You cannot create a new skill that uses the vanilla interface without editing most of the base code of the game. This tutorial explains a workaround tactic for create a system of scripts that let you track the how much the player does a certain item so that you can add perks, quests, or other features that depend on the player reaching a certain level in that skill. This tutorial is not going to follow the normal format (a list of buttons that you need to click and actions that you need to do). Rather, it is going to explain the concept of the skill workaround, and how to design/implement it. The actual implementation and the specific equations will be left to you to develop. In this tutorial, we will be using a Woodcutting skill as an example.

Setting up the XP: You first need to plan out the math of your skill. How you gain XP, how much XP you need to level, whether each level requires more XP, what higher levels give you, etc. These decisions will decide how the skill actually works mathematically and are extremely subject to change. I can't tell you how many times I have tweaked and changed my Unarmed leveling system in Way of the Monk. Once you being testing the skill you will inevitably find ways in which it can be improved or tweaked. What sounds good  in theory may not play well in the real game.

The first thing that you need to determine is the XP system. Even though Skyrim tries to take away the numbers as much as possible so that the game feels more immersive, it does actually use XP. Every time you use one of the skills (by casting a spell, hitting an enemy with a weapon, creating a potion, etc.) your XP is raised by a certain amount. Once it hits a cap, the skill level is then increased and the amount of XP needed to reach the next level is raised. You can study the XP system in Skyrim on the UESP wiki. I would highly recomend that you study the vanilla skills to gain a grasp of how they work. In the Woodcutting skill that I will be using as an example I used the following Papyrus Code:
if WoodcuttingXP.GetValue() >= 100
    WoodcuttingLevel.SetValue()WoodcuttingLevel.GetValue() + 1)
    WoodcuttingXP.SetValue(WoodcuttingXP - 100)
endif
Each time you activate the Woodcutting block, your XP will be raised. In the above code, the IF statement determines that when your XP reaches 100, your skill level is raised by one and your XP is reset.

If you want to have the amount of XP required to level increased every time, then you can do one of two things. 1) Instead of increasing the XP by a set amount every time the Woodcutting Block is activated, you should use a variable that can be decreased every time you level. So, say the variable starts out at a value of 10 and you must use the Woodcutting block 10 times to reach level 2. You should add to the above code a line that decreases that variable from 10 to (for instance) 8. Next time, it will take 12.5 (rounded to 13) uses of the Woodcutting Block to raise your level to 3. You can continue that process as long as you want to make it harder to level each time. Keep in mind, though, that if you simply subtract from the variable each time then the variable will eventually hit 0 and the level will never increase. So I would advise you to either write an IF statement to make sure that it never hits 0, or make sure that it hits 0 at just the right time if you want to have a level cap.

2) The other possibility is to have the amount of XP required to level set as a variable and increase it each time you gain a level. So, say at level 1 you gain 10 XP each time you use the Woodcutting Block and must acquire 100 XP to reach level 2. You can write the code so that when you hit level 2, the amount required to level is raised to (for example) 130. That way, it will take 13 uses of the Woodcutting Block to reach Level 3.

So, which of those methods should you use? It's really up to you. The second method is much more natural and runs much smoother than the first. But the first one makes it easier to modify the speed at which you raise your level with perks/abilities, and can be set up so that it stops level progression after a while.

Rewards: A skill is useless without rewards. You can give the player as fancy of an XP system as you want, but if it doesn't change the gameplay for them, then there is no point in downloading your mod. The vanilla game uses a perk system and a scaling system to reward the player for using a skill. The manner of your rewards depends entirely upon the skill that you are creating. For a Woodcutting Skill, the player might expect to be able to get a perk that increases the amount of firewood that they get each time they use the Woodcutting Block. Another good reward might be the ability to create items with your wood (arrows, bows, Forsworn items, etc.). Decide what type of reward you would like to give to the player.

Perks are the standard method of rewarding the player for raising their level. They are also an incredibly versatile way of giving bonuses to the player. I won't discuss perks in detail, since that's another discussion for another time. I will add, though, that one of the conditions that you can add to perks and their effects is the GetGlobalValue condition. This condition is extremely useful when using a skill system based upon Global Variables. If (for example), you want to specify that a Perk Entry only works when your Woodcutting Level is over 10, you can choose the S GetGlobalValue(WoodcuttingLevel) >= 10 condition information. This condition can also be used on Magic Effects in Spells.

Perk points are a good way of giving the player a choice in how they level. There is a reason why the game developers of Skyrim gave the player the choice of choosing their perks, rather than making the perk rewards mandatory like in Oblivion. It adds replay value and makes the player feel more invested in their character. If you're going to give the player that option, you will most likely end up having to create more perks so that they have some to choose from. While that means more work, it also means a more enjoyable playing experience.

The other type of reward that I mentioned was scaling. Scaling is when your ability to use the skill is improved as your level is increased. In the case of weapons, it means that your damage is increases when your level in that type of weapon is raised. The best way to set this up is to use an equation or perk that includes the skill level divided by a certain amount (e.g. effectiveness = 1 + Level*.01). You can also increase the effectiveness by a finite amount each time you level.

Example, using the equation:

        WoodcuttingEffectiveness.SetValue(1 + (WoodcuttingLevel.GetValue()*0.01))

OR by increasing it by a finite amount:

      WoodcuttingEffectiveness.SetValueInt(WoodCuttingEffectiveness.GetVaueInt() + 1)
This can be done with perks or by code in the leveling script. In the case of the example Woodcutting skill, the player can gain perks that increase the amount of wood that you gain each time you chop at the Chopping Block.



Another standard way of rewarding the player for raising their level is with new abilities or spells. New powers can be hard to make if you are trying to create a new type of effect that suits your skill, but they are a great way of making the player feel like they have accomplished something.

The other standard way of rewarding the player is with items. If you are a 3d artist, know someone who is, or have the permission of a mod author to use their models, you can add new items to reward the player with. Otherwise, you can add new enchantments or allow the crafting of vanilla items that you previously could not craft. Now, to fit the rest of the game, you probably don't want to simply add the item to their inventory once they reach a certain skill level. That breaks immersion and seems totally unnatural or special. It is best to either have a quest or a leveled list to give the item to the player. You can either make a quest for them to find it that you can only start once your skill reaches a certain level, or you can create a leveled list that has a chance to give you the item determined by a global variable. You can learn more about using globals in leveled lists by reading the "Chance None" entry on the wiki page, or by studying the Golden Touch perk in the Creation Kit.

The Coding Process: Now that you have finished the planning process, you need to actually write the code.

First, you need to find an Event that will run the code. This can actually be more challenging than it sounds. In my Way of the Monk mod, the Unarmed leveling script actually used the OnEffectStart Event because it was implemented as a script on a Magic Effect. Why? Because it was the only way to make sure that the script ran when the player successfully hit the enemy. Finding the right event can be tricky, and will likely take some testing. The Event that you use is totally dependent upon the nature of your skill, and it will probably take a lot of testing and inventive designing to find the right one.

For the Woodcutting example skill, finding the event was a bit difficult. I tried creating a unique script that ran on the OnActivate Event, but that ended up only running it whenever the player pressed 'e', rather than each time that they chopped wood. It would also run whenever NPCs used the Chop Block. So, instead, I edited the woodchoppingscript (not the vanilla script for the process) and added in my calculations as a function that ran when the played chopped a piece of wood.


        if WoodCuttingLevel.GetValueInt() <= 3
                WoodcuttingXP.SetValueInt(WoodcuttingXP.GetValueInt() + 1)
                if WoodcuttingXP.GetValueInt() >= 10
                        WoodcuttingLevel.SetValueInt(WoodcuttingLevel.GetValueInt() + 1)               
                        WoodcuttingXP.SetValueInt(WoodcuttingXP.GetValueInt() - 10)        
                        Debug.Notification("Your Woodcutting level has been raised to " + WoodcuttingLevel.GetValueInt())
                        PerkPointsAvailable.SetValueInt(PerkPointsAvailable.GetValueInt() + 1)
                        PerkPointsEarned.SetValueInt(PerkPointsSpent.GetValueInt() + PerkPointsAvailable.GetValueInt())
                endif
        endif

 After this, I created some perks, created a power to let you choose your perks and check your stats, and some notifications to let the player know that they are leveling as they use the Chop Block.

After you have found the Event to use, and have implemented the code, you need to test your mod. Creating the code is the easy part. Refining it takes time. I would highly suggest finding a group of modders to beta-test your skill once you have finished it. A system that seems to work well in the code and in your own testing might not work as pleasantly when others are using it.

Testing: After you have finished your planning, your coding, and your implementation, you must test your mod. I would highly suggest gathering a group of beta testers. You can do this by uploading your mod as a BETA version online. Let players know that what they are downloading is still in beta-mode, and give them an invitation to report any bugs or areas which could be improved.


Example: If you want to see an example of this tutorial in action, then feel free to download the Woodcutting Skill mod. You can also download an extended tutorial for creating a skill in PDF format.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Video Updates

If you've been reading the comment sections of either the Steam Workshop page or the Nexus page, you might have noticed me posting about video updates.

In fact, I have created a new Youtube channel for my modding projects. So far, I have created three videos to provide you with news. These videos will be coming out fairly regularly. I expect to be making at least one a week, and will also upload them whenever I have important information to give to ya'll.

The latest one can be watched below, which talks about the damage bug with the Unarmed weapon. In it, I also talk about how to fix the issue and discuss what will be in the next update. Feel free to subscribe to the channel if you would like to recieve notifications when I post modding updates and the occasional gameplay footage of Skyrim or other games that I run across.




Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Character Profile: Glosthiem

 Character Profile
Character profiles are introductions to characters that will be added by Way of the Monk


Name: Glosthiem
Race: Nord
Gender: Male
Class: Commoner
Age: 42
Skills: Unarmed, Unarmored, Archery, Restoration, Alteration
Associated Factions: Cult of the Way
Rank: Wanderer
Background: Born in Helgen to a Talos worshipper, he heard of the Cult of the Way when he was young. When he was 22 years of age, his father gave his hard-earned wages to send his son to the Temple of the Cult to train and study their way. Though Glosthiem was two years older than the normal age, the Elders decided to accept him as an Initiate due to his aptitude and knowlege of Talos. It was there that he trained for 20 years under the Elders until the time came for him to choose his Path. He was given the choice of becoming either a Wanderer or an Elder, as all Initiates are. He choose the Path of the Wanderers in order that he might bring justice and the enlightenment of Talos to those that he encountered. It was also his wish to return to his family and to take them to the Temple to live in safety from the Empire and the Thalmor. When he arrived at Helgen, however, he found the town in flames and his family dead. Above, he could still hear the shouts of a dragon flying from the ruins. In despair, he passed through the town and came to the Pillars of the Way. The Pillars were a sacred place for the Cult, and it was there that he planned to meditate and consider his next steps. Until he saw a battle-wearied adventurer accompanied by an officer of one of Skyrim's armies coming down the road, that is...

Voice Acting Samples
The voice acting samples are lines of dialog that you the character will have in the game. If you want to try your hand at voice acting for this character, then contact me with recordings of these lines. The files should be in the WAV of XMW formats.

Filename: WoM01MeetingGlosthiemIntro                                                                      Mood: Surprised
Text: "Are you from Helgen? What did you see? What happened there?"

Filename: WoM01MeetingGlosthiemIntroYes                                                                Mood: Surprised
Text: "A dragon? Gods save us! I arrived after the town had been torched. I thought that I heard the cry of some monster in the distance."

Filename: WoM01MeetingGlosthiem02Why                                                                  Mood: Sad
Text: "I was born in Helgen, and sent to the Cult of the Way at their Temple to train. But I recently completed my training and was returning to my family."

Filename: WoMGlosthiemCombatInjured01                                                           Mood: Hurt, Excited
Text: "Gah! Justice will prevail!"

Filename: WoMGlosthiemCombatCryApostate01                                                  Mood: Angry, Excited
Text: "Heathen Apostate!"

Monday, June 4, 2012

Version 1.3 Changelog

I have completed most of the work on the next update and will post the final version as soon as I can on the Nexus and the Workshop. I am also going to release a temporary beta version tonight for those aching to play it. That way, some of ya'll get to go ahead and play it, and the others get to play a more polished version when it is released tomorrow or the day after.

As for the changes, there are quite a lot. Most of these changes required numerous other changes to code and systems that I do not even mention. If I make any more for found bugs by beta-testers, or if I add something new, then I will add that work to the list below. The most important changes are listed in the Highlights section.

Highlights:



  • Savegame bloat issue has been eliminated. It might still bloat a little more than without any mods, but no more than is expected. I have not done extensive testing on this, but it appears that you might even be able to use a character from a bloated save. Load the save with the new version and create a new save when you are done playing. Basic testing seemed to indicate that the fix eliminated or at least reduced existing bloat.
  • A level cap of 100 on both skills has been added
  • A large set of ingame help and troubleshooting files has been added to the Pillar of the Way
  • You can now disable either of the skills at the Pillar of Rewalking
  • Many of the menus have been either improved or mostly recreated to be easier to use and less buggy
  • The perks have been rebalanced so that you can specialize in using the "Unarmed" weapon or using the monk weapons (more details to come in a blog post)


Efficiency/Coding-improvements:

  • Removed some calculations from leveling scripts to improve speed
  • Changed a number of debug notifications to use message notifications with flags to insert variables
  • Perk Points Earned is only calculated when neccesary to reduce the amount of math on each Event, changed the Pillars' scripts to account for that
  • Changed some variables to integers rather than floats
  • Changed the way that the Level progress is calculated to use integers and be more efficient
  • Eliminated some redundant Objects that are not used by the mod, but were added during creation
  • Eliminated Unarmored scaling script (got rid of the savegame bloating)
  • Eliminated the non-functioning Unarmed scaling scripts
  • Elemental perks are now removed when you choose a new Path
  • Corrected the conditions for a number of perks and messages that were not working


Gameplay:



  • A level cap of 100 has been added to both skills
  • Both skills take more time to level
  • The teleportation ability and a number of spell have been removed from Apostate Elders
  • Savegame bloat issue has been eliminated
  • Removed Unarmed and Unarmored scaling scripts. They weren't working properly and were causing the bloat
Menus:

  • Help menus added to the Pillar of the Way for the Pillars, Monk weapons, Leveling system, equipment, and Player Guides
  • Troubleshooting menus added to the Pillar of the Way
  • A 'Give Unarmed' Button has been added to the Pillar of the Way so that you can get another "Unarmed" weapon if you need one
  • A Settings menu has been added to the Pillar of Rewalking that lets you disable either of the skills
  • The 'Update' option has been removed from the menus
  • The Stats menu has been improved and the Level Progress is now displayed as a whole number
  • Changed the perk system so that the categories are broken down into branches
  • Eradicated the bug where clicking 'Ok' when there were not perks available would take you to a message for a perk
  • Added some 'Return' and 'Close' buttons to various menus for navigation ease
  • Cleaned up the text for some menus to improve their appearance and readability
  • Changed the content of a number of menus to be updated to the current system and be more informative
Perks:

  • Damage bonus for The Shadow Pillar now properly works and adds an extra 20% chance to crit when sneaking and using either the "Unarmed" weapon or the
  • Perk names now follow a format. Those with "Fists" in the name work for the "Unarmed" weapon. Those with "Strikes" in the name work for the Monk weapon. And those with "Blows" in the name work for both.
  • Bleeding Hands renamed to Rending Strikes
  • Renamed Quick Blows to Rapid Fists
  • Renamed Tiring Blows to Draining Fists
  • Renamed Critical Blows to Iron Fists
  • Renamed Weak Points to Penetrating Blows
  • Renamed Vitals Shot to Critical Blows
  • Renamed Fist Stabber to Puncturing Strikes
  • Changed weapon requirement of Rapid Fists to only work with the "Unarmed" weapon
  • Rending Strikes now only works on Monk weapons and the effect does not stack
  • Fixed the conditions of Critical Blows so that it now works properly
  • Draining Fists now only works with "Unarmed" weapon
  • Unencumbered perks do not stack
  • Puncturing Strikes no only works on Monk weapons
  • Changes Unarmored Stance so that you need at least the second level of one of the previous perks, rather than the final level
Thanks to Kibaken on the Nexus for helping me rebalance the perks!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Savegame bloat is gone!

Preliminary tests show that the save bloat has been eliminated! Testing results below:

I was trying a playthrough of my mod with Mojarq the kitty a while back. I compared the times and file sizes of that save with a new test character.

Mojarq the Kitty:

Save 1 - Time: 00.42.50 Filesize: 4209 KB
Save 2 - Time: 01.00.34 Filesize: 4847 KB

Test character:

Save 1 - Time: 00.37.37 Filesize: 3165 KB
Save 2 - Time: 01.03.57 Filesize: 3347 KB

I will continue to test it, but it looks like the problem has been eradicated. Or, at least, hugely reduced. Huzzah! :-D

If test results hold steady, then this fix will be included in the next update along with many other improvements.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

A Bit of an Update

Some of you might be wondering how much I have progressed. Truth be told, I haven't managed to get much modding in the past while because of a cold and job-hunting for summer work. I have made progress, however, and will write another post with more news soon.

As far as tutorials go, I am planning on releasing a tutorial on how to create a new skill within the next few days. The method that I use for skills can be used for many other types of mods, including quests. However you decide to use it, I hope that it will help you with your modding.

If you want to get regular updates when I post news or tutorials, feel free to subscribe to this blog or to add The Skyrim Modding Blog on circles on Google+.

Dawnguard - Official Trailer!



Bethesda posted the trailer for the Skyrim DLC on Youtube a couple hours ago! Now I'm too excited!!! :-D

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Plans for the Chi System - Help Decide!

Due to popular demand, I am planning on adding a Chi system to Way of the Monk. Below are the possible plans for the system that I am seeking input on. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to post them.

There are three types of systems that I am considering as becoming the one implemented for the the Chi powers. The Chi powers are (for the most part) going to be temporary buffs or powers, rather than magical super-attacks. I may add a few cool effects such as a Falcon Punch sort of power that throws the enemy back, but those will be high-level.

The current idea for the gaining of the powers is through achievements and quests. For Part 2 I will only include Radiant Quests, but for Part 3 I hope to add a questline. That will give me many more chances for unique rewards of items and powers. Completing these quests will open up training options from your mentor that will give you access to new Focus powers as well as perks, items, etc. Players will also receive achievements for accomplishing certain feats. Achievements will vary in nature, but will include such deeds such as finding all of the Pillars, defeating 100 Apostates, reaching level 100 in one or both of the skills, etc. When the player completes a quest or an achievement they will be able to choose new Focus powers. In your opinion, would it be better to have a specific power given for a specific quest, or let the accomplishments act like leveling and let the player choose their new reward? Also, do you think that they should be given the power immediately, or have to train/speak with their mentor, read a book, use a special crystal, or do something else special.

Now for the Focus Points: Focus Points (FP) will be required to use the Focus Powers. I plan on doing this so that the player is not overpowered and so that the powers themselves become much more valuable to the player. There would also be a cap for the FP so that they cannot have too many points. They would be able to increase that cap through various methods. I have ideas for three possible systems. Let me know which one sounds best to you. Feel free to suggest any changes to my ideas, as well as suggesting a system of your own.

System 1: The player gains FP through defeating enemies. This would be the hardest system to implement scripting-wise, but it seems like the most interesting to me. I might even be able to set it up so that the player gets more points if the enemy's level is higher. This would require a higher FP cap than the others, and Focus powers would consume a relatively high amount of FP in the expectation that they will be using that power to gain more FP soon.

System 2: The player gains FP through consuming Focus Crystals. Focus Crystals would be a retextured versions of the Soul Gems. They could also gain FP through casting certain Restoration Spells. In other words, and entirely consumable-item based system. This system may or may not use a FP cap at all, but each power would use a lot of FP.

System 3: The player only gains FP through quests and achievements. I honestly don't like this one very much, but I thought I'd give it to ya'll in case you have some ideas about it. There would be no FP cap and powers would use a relatively moderate amount of FP.

System 4-ish: The powers don't use FP at all, but use Magicka. I don't really like this one at all. For one, it would require the player to specialize in Magicka when leveling up. Also, the powers would not seem nearly as valuable, and I would have to greatly limit their effects to not overpower the player.

There would also be another dimensions: Focus Crystals. Focus Crystals (as stated above) would be retextured Soul Gems to give them some color and a sort of magical glow to differentiate them from the originals. There would be two types of Focus Crystals. There would be those that simply restore or temporarily buff the cap of your FP. These would be included in all three systems, but would be dramatically enhanced in the second one. There could also be unique equipped Focus Crystals that give you constant effect bonuses against certain types of enemies or situations. They would have their own lore and quests. Do you think that the unique Focus Crystals are a good idea?

These, overall are my ideas for the way the system will work. I haven't gotten too much into what the specific powers will be yet, since I haven't even decided the basics yet. Feel free to suggest actual effects, though.

So, comments? Suggestions? Ideas? Criticism? I value outside input, so feel free to give me your thoughts.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Assets needed!

In order to improve my mod and its presentation, there are a number of assets which I want to add. I am not an artist, however, and have no skills in image-creation, modeling, or animation. So, if you would like to help, below is a list of assets that I am looking for. If you want to help out, then please contact me (Woverdude). I will credit you for your work. If you would like to create multiple assets, then we can discuss small payment options. I can't pay you much, but if I really like your work and you are dependable, then I will try to reward you with something for your skill and hard effort.

Art:



  • A poster image for my mod. Something that captures the idea behind the mod and would be used as a front picture or advertisement for everywhere that I post about my mod
  • A retexture of soul gems to include different colors, including magical glows.
  • A new banner to be used ingame. It should have a red background with the image of a white moth in the foreground.
Models:

  • New Monk-themed armor for those who want bash their enemies' teeth in, but want to be protected while doing it. I would like to have both a heavy and light version, but I am not picky. It should not be skimpy, and should fit well with the customary fantasy-genre monk class.
  • New weapons. This could include brass knuckles, spiked gauntlets, katars, etc. They should fit in with the standard Monk class, and should be lore-friendly. Also, they need to function properly in the CK and have quality textures. Feel free to design it as a piece of armor that would have a weapon at the end. I can set it up so that it is a glove that adds to the amount of unarmed damage dealt.
  • New robes. Any kind as long as they are lore-friendly, fit the Monk theme, and are not skimpy.
  • Elemental robes. Unique robes that have the appearance of a certain element. One should look fiery, one should appear icy, and the other should seem electric.
Voice Acting:

Contact me for details. For now I only want one voice actor. You need to be male, have an adult (preferably older and deep) voice, and be easy to understand in English.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Writers & Modders Needed - Want to post on our blog?

One of the primary goals for this blog was that it become a central website for Skyrim modding news. To further that goal, I am allowing modders to request to use my blog for their mods. If I give you permission, then you will be given posting permission. With this permission you will be able to post news about your mods, important guides or readmes, announcements of new features or mods, and requests for help or team members. In addition, you will be given your own Page on the sidebar for all of your mods, news, and relevant information.

Because I don't want to be swamped with e-mails, and since I want the modders on this blog to be committed, skilled modders, I do have some restrictions.

Restrictions:



  • Commitment. I need to know that you aren't going to either disappear from this blog or give up halfway through a mod. I understand if you find out that a mod idea is impossible or too difficult, or if real life stuff gets in the way of modding. However, I need to know that you are at least going to try to finish your work, and that you will post at least once a month.
  • Skill. You must have completed at least one mod, and it must have been downloaded at least 1000 times. I am not trying to be mean to small-time modders, but I want merely want to make sure if you join my blog you will bring readers and that you make great mods.
  • Be easy to work with. Be nice to readers, write good posts, respond to comments, etc.

Besides those restrictions, all you need to do is send me (Woverdude) an e-mail with some information about you and what you will post. Include links to a mod(s) that you have made. If you are interested in this, please contact me. I will take a look at your mod(s), maybe download them and try them out. If I like your mods, and think that you'd be a great addition to this blog, then I will e-mail you back and give you posting permission.

Skyrim News and Tutorials:

In addition, I would like the Skyrim Modding Blog to become a hub for Skyrim tips and news. If you keep up with the current Elder Scrolls news and write well, I would love to have you as a news writer. Send me an e-mail with some information about yourself, how closely you watch Elder Scrolls news, and (preferably) an example of some article or post that you have written.

Also, if you are a Skyrim modder who isn't looking for a place to post news, but would like to write tutorials, then contact me. I have already written a number of tutorials, plan on writing more, and have a page for them. If you've never written a tutorial, take a look at those to see how they work. If you want to write tutorials, shoot me an e-mail with some info about yourself and with an example of a tutorial that you have written. If you have not written any tutorials yet, then please write one for me to look at.

A note about posting frequency: I will not have the same restrictions for tutorial and news writers. In terms of frequency, I ask only that you post at least once a month. Also, if you are not going to be available for contacting or writing for more than a couple of weeks, please let me know.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Way of the Monk - Part 1.2: Update Changes

If you've been reading my comments on the Steam and Nexus pages, then you know that I've been redoing a lot of my code. Much of my code was slow, over-complicated, and bloated the savefile. Because of that, I have been spending my time studying Papyrus and rewriting my code, rather than add new features. These changes will be compiled in the next update that will be uploaded later today or tomorrow if I find more changes that need to be made. The list of changes may be edited if I make more modifications between now and the time I upload the update.

List:

  • Levels and perk points are now displayed as whole numbers without a ton of 0's trailing after the first digit
  • Fixed and improved the leveling system and the way that it calculated perks
  • The Pillar of the Way now includes some information about the managing powers that are given to you
  • Adding an "update" function to the Pillar of Rewalking that updates your perk points to the new, improved system
  • Added the update function to the Choice power
  • Increased Burning Fists basedamage from 12 to 14
  • Burning Fists can now be smithed
  • Fire Atronach claws can now be smithed
  • Modified the Pillar of the Choice to warn the player that they should update their stats
  • Added 'Return' option to many of the menus for improved navigation
  • Fixed Burning, Freezing, and Electric robes so that they now work properly
  • Cheating with the Pillar of Rewalking now changes the speed at which you level as if you had leveled normally
  • A warning message is shown when trying to reset your perks so that you do not reset them accidentally
  • Added warnings about the 'no perk bug' to the Pillar of the Choice
  • If no perks appear when choosing a new one, but you click 'Ok' and the description for a perk appears, you will not be able to add the perk if you already have it. This is to avoid accidentally using up your perk points. The 'no perk bug' will be fixed in Part 2
  • Savefile bloat has been reduced
  • Menus should load faster
  • Simplified the scripts for the Pillars without changing the way they work
EDIT: Update has been uploaded to the Nexus! I am working on getting it uploaded to the Workshop.

Way of the Monk: Chi system

If you've been following my updates and plans, you might have seen some talk of a Chi system. No longer talk, it is now on my list of planned features.

Name: The system and powers will not be called "Chi" because Skyrim is not Chinese. Instead, they will be called "Focus".

How you will get them: You will be able to acquire them through a number of achievements and quests. If, for example, you completed a quest to find all of the Pillars, you would receive a power. Or, if you, got an achievement for acquiring all of the Monk perks possible, you would be given a new Focus ability.

How they will work: Now, for the most part I do not plan to create a system like the Grandmaster mod that casts spells when you attack with unarmed. I may add a few of that sort, but they will mostly be lesser powers that either give you a temporary effect. One power might, for example, temporarily make all of your Monk attacks paralyze your enemy. Another might slow time so that you can avoid or block a blow. Some of these powers will cast spell when you attack, though. A Focus ability could, for instance, cast a lightening bolt when you power attack. Whatever the effect, though, they will vary and will hopefully be unique to my mod.

How you can help: Suggest powers in the comments. Please don't overload me with a hundred suggestions, but I do want you input. After all, I can only think of a limited amount. And those that I think of will be related to how I usually play the game. So feel free to suggest new magical powers that will effect unarmed, unarmored, and fist-weapons.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

New video for Way of the Monk!

Ecceau has created a video for me that features the Way of the Monk. It is a truly impressive video and shows his skill. If you enjoy it, please take the time to like the video and subscribe to his channel. I definitely think that he deserves it.





Btw, I will post a news update soon including my current progress and work, as well as information about the upcoming Chi system.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Way of the Monk featured in Spanish!

Way of the Monk has been featured in Spanish by a Skyrim reviewer: JohnnySQS. If you know the language, check it out!


Saturday, May 12, 2012

Updated Plans for Part 2 of Way of the Monk

A while back I wrote a post that detailed my plans for future parts. While I still plan on splitting the mod into three parts with specific plans for each one, I have changed my mind on what features I will add. Here are the features that will be added or improved in Part 2:


  • Monk follower(s)
  • Joinable Apostate and Cult of the Way factions
  • Radiant quests for both factions
  • A summonable mentor that lets you manage your stats (as a way to improve on the current stat management system)
  • Scaling options to balance my leveling system with Bethesda's (only if the SKSE team adds a certain function)
  • More Unarmored perks
  • Due to popular request, the beginnings of a Chi combat system. More will be revealed later.
The release date for Part 2 is totally unknown, since I haven't even begun it. Since I will be working on it over Summer Break, though, I should finish it in a timelier manner than I did Part 1.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Way of the Monk on Steam!

Previously, I could not upload Way of the Monk to the Workshop because of the file size limit. Today, however, when I manually created the .BSA archive that stores all of the new files, I told the program to compress the archive. In normal people speak: The mod takes up less space on your computer. Thus, the Workshop is now willing to be friendly. Hurrah!

Download link: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=70846921

Way of the Monk - Part 1 Updated!

My Way of the Monk Skyrim mod has been updated to version 1b. The 'b' does not mean that it is a beta, but that it is the updated, second version. I'm sorry for the long wait, guys. I've been pretty busy and haven't had as much time as I'd like to mod.

The full list of changes is below:


  • Fix Unarmed leveling so that the skill is only raised when you are using Monk Weapons
  • Seer Pillar now gives you the Seer power rather than the Dimensions one
  • Fixed spelling and grammatical errors in "The Pillars" book
  • Add a riddle for the Elemental Pillar
  • Changed the Magic Resistance buff for the Elemental Pillar to 10 for balancing
  • Added Progress on the Way lesser power that lets you check your stats while adventuring
  • Added Choice Upon the Way lesser power that lets you choose new perks while adventuring
  • Shadow Pillar now gives you the Shadow bonuses like it should
  • Activating the Pillar of the Way now gives you the Progress and Choice lesser powers
  • Changed Soft Resistance perks so that the Armor Rating bonus is visible in your inventory
  • Changed Evasion robes to use normal brown and yellow monk robes to add color variety
  • Changed IDs for areas with Pillars so that they can be coc'd to with the console
  • Added a one second delay to the Unarmored leveling script so that you do not level at an insane speed when hit by a concentration spell
  • Raised default attack speed for Unarmed weapon to 1.1.
  • Leveled the Burning, Freezing, and Electrical robes so that they do not all deal the same amount of damage
  • Fixed the Choice Pillar so that it now shows you the Unarmored perks when you meet the proper requirements. 
So far, I have not found a way to restrict Unarmored leveling to when you are not wearing armor. I am going to contact some people on various forums for help. Hopefully that issue should be fixed in an upcoming update or version.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Player Guide: Specialization

Even though the Way of the Monk's primary purpose is to provide a new playstyle, I have incorporated several ways to specialize your character.

1. Classic Monk


There is, of course, the classic fantasy-genre monk that wields no weapons, wears no armor, and heals his fellow warriors. Either the Pillar of the Healer or the Pillar of Aptitude are for you. The Pillar of the Healer's power automatically heals nearby allies by 3 points per second. Used with a follower-enhancement mod such as UFO, this will be especially useful. The Pillar of Aptitude does not give you any special powers, but instead increases the speed at which your Monk skills level. This classic character-type would use both of my new skills, as well as take advantage of the new weapons. To raise your player level and to survive for the first few levels, I would also suggest taking the time to improve your Restoration and Aleration skills.

2. Strangle 'em!


Want to sneak through the shadows and surprise your enemies with a stranglehold? With the latest patch from Bethesda, a ton of new Unarmed killcams have been added, including a number of which are specific to stealthily killing someone from behind. Just adds another level to your awesomeness. Finding the Pillar of the Shadow Monk would be my first deed. Read "the Pillars" at the Pillars of the Way for a riddle to find its location. The Pillar gives you a Backstab-like effect that multiplies your sneak-attack damage by 6 with Monk weapons. For you Unarmored assassins, it also fortifies your Sneak by 10 when you are not wearing armor. If you are going to play the part of a blade-less shadow killer, you might want to consider playing a Khajiit to get their Unarmed Damage and Sneak bonuses.

3. Magical Monk


One of the uniquenesses of this mod is its Unarmored features. In the vanilla game you must rely on your spells or talent in avoiding attacks to survive blows from your opponents. But with Way of the Monk, you can use the Unarmored perks to raise your chances of survival, and the Unarmed perks to fight in close combat. The Pillar of the Elemental Monk would be the most beneficial for such a character, since it gives you a resistance to magic when unarmored and lets you deal elemental damage to enemies with your attacks. Use whatever magic skills you desire in combination with my own new skills.

4. Tough Pugilist


Perhaps you just want to be a metal-encased warrior that beats his enemies into submission with his fists rather than a warhammer? Go for it! There is no specific pillar for a heavy-armor or light-armor monk, but I might suggest using the Pillar of the Wielder that multiplies the speed of your Monk attacks by 3 once a day. Use either of the vanilla armor skills that you want. I would suggest getting the Fists of Steel perk if you are a heavily armored Dovahkin.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Way of the Monk patch coming next week

As players of Way of the Monk might have noticed there are a number of bugs within the first release. Despite beta-testing, these bugs still found their way in. I did not expect it to be bug-free, however, and have started work on the first patch. I finished quite a fair amount of the work a couple of weeks ago, but because I moved and had finals, I was delayed. But I took my last final that requires studying and so work has begun again!

Expect the patch to come out some time next week. I'm not entirely sure what part of next week it will come out in, but it should be uploaded soon. I have to do some rethinking of my scripts, as well as some minor tweaking and rebalancing of the skills. Once I have completed the tweaks and modifications, I will test it and upload the final version to the Nexus along with a list of changes.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Way of the Monk: Part 1 - List of additions

This list is for the use of those who want to test my Way of the Monk mod, cheat ( :-P ), or just want to read about all of the additions. Each addition is categorized by type and listed with its name and description.

When I say "Monk weapons" I mean both the "Unarmed" weapon the new fist weapons.

For any item, perk, or spell simply type help "item name" 4 into the console but replace "item name" with the name while keeping the quotes. This should give you the code for the it.


Pillars:


Managing Pillars:

Pillar of the Way: Adds perks that run the leveling scripts in case the player does not have them for some reason. Also gives the player the "Unarmed" weapon.
Pillar of Progress: Lets you see a list of your stats that includes levels, leveling progress, and amount of perk points. Also lets you see what perks you already have and read descriptions of them.
Pillar of Choice: Lets you choose new perks if you meet the requirements. Also lets you check how many perk points you have.
Pillar of Rewalking: Allows you to reset your perks. It takes all of your perks away and gives you back all of the perk points that you have gained. Warning: You can only do this once.

Power Pillars:

Pillar of Aptitude: Increases the speed at which your Monk skills level by 20%.
Pillar of the Elements: You gain a spell that lets you choose whether to deal shock, fire, or cold damage. Whichever one you pick will be applied to enemies when you attack them with the Unarmed weapon or with any of the new fist weapons. You also gain a 20 bonus to Magic Resistance when Unarmored. (May decrease this amount for Update 1 for balancing)
Pillar of Dimensions: Adds a lesser power that lets you teleport randomly around the battle to avoid damage. Warning: it's a bit buggy. Every now and then you end up inside a wall. I will fix this for Part 2.
Pillar of the Healer: You automatically heal allies within ten feet by 3 points per second.
Pillar of the Seer: Gives you a lesser power that partially blinds you, but allows you to see both living and undead in the vicinity.
Pillar of the Shadows: Adds perk that multiplies sneak-attack damage by 6 for Monk weapons.
Pillar of the Whirlwind: Adds daily power that temporarily multiplies attack speed of Monk weapons by 3.

Locations:

So far I have only added locations for the Pillars. All of these locations have map markers. Not all of them can be traveled to with the console, though. I will fix that for Update 1 and post the codes.

Pillars of the Way: Can be found slightly up the hill from the Guardian Stones. Includes the Way, Progress, Choice, and Rewalking Pillars.
Guardian Stones (modified): Added the Pillar of Aptitude to the circle of Guardian Stones.
Pillar of the Elements: Atop the hill on the island in Lake Geir.
Pillar of Dimensions: Island in south-east branch of Karth River. Follow the river and you should find it.
Pillar of the Healer: Hill-crest north-east of Sleeping Tree Camp.
Pillar of the Seer: Lake Yorgrim.
Pillar of the Shadows: Near the Shadow Stone. I may find a more inventive place for it later.
Pillar of the Whirlwind: Reachwind Eyrie

Perks:

Some of these perks have multiple levels. In such cases I will give the amount of levels. I will also provide the ID. In the IDs, x stands for the level of the perk.

Attack perks: (uses Unarmed skill)
Quick Blows: 3 levels. Your Monk weapon damage increases by 10%, 20%, 30%. ID: WoMPerkAx
Bleeding Hands: 3 levels. Your Monk weapons cause bleeding damage. ID: WoMPerkGx
Vitals Shot: 3 levels. Your Monk weapons have a 10%, 20%, 30% chance of dealing critical damage. ID: WoMPerkCx
Weak Points: 1 level. Your unarmed attacks ignore 10% of armor. ID: WoMPerkAA

Unarmored perks: (uses Unarmored skill, will add more perks in future for balancing)
Soft Resistance: 3 levels. Your Armor Rating increases by 20, 40, 60  when unarmored. (Bonus does not appear in your inventory, but it does exist. Will try to fix this.) ID: WoMPerkUx
Unencumbered: 3 levels. Your speed increases by 10%, 20%, 30% when unarmored. ID: WoMPerkUSx
Softened Blows: 3 levels. Damage from enemies using Monk Weapons is reduced by 10%, 20%, 30% when unarmored. (May replace in future version to add more interesting/helpful effects). ID: WoMPerkUEx
Unarmored Stance: 1 level.  Power attacks use 10% less stamina when you are unarmored. ID: WoMPerkPA

Damage perks: (uses Unarmed skill)
Deadly Blows: 3 levels. Your Monk weapon damage increases by 25, 50, 75%. ID: WoMPerkDx
Tiring Blows: 3 levels. Your Monk attacks drain your enemy's stamina by 10, 20, 30 points. ID: WoMPerkDSx
Critical Blows: 3 levels. When power-attacking your Monk weapons deal double, triple, four-times critical damage. ID: WoMPerkDFx
Fist Stabber: 1 level. Fist weapons (not normal unarmed attacks) do 20% more damage. ID: WoMPerkDH


Items:


All of the weapons can be found in the QAS testing room. Type coc QASmoke to get there. You will see a table in front of you with wooden ladles. On the other side are the containers that hold the Way of the Monk items.


Weapons:
See tom 349's mod. All of them are added. See BloodySunday's mod to see how the weapons will look with his retexture.

Clothing:
I've added a number of monk robes that were in the CK but not in the actual game. They were created by Bethesda but never added them to the world. You can see the colors in the screenshot tab of the mod's Nexus page.

Enchantments:


Some of these are adjustments or new variants of normal enchantments. The Robe enchantments will be scaled in the future for balancing.

Effects:
Bleed: Weapons with this enchantment deal bleeding damage.
Burning Robes: Flame cloak for 5 damage with 10% weakness to fire.
Electric Robes: Shock cloak for 5 damage with 10% weakness to shock.
Freezing Robes: Cold cloak for 5 damage with 10% weakness to cold.
Disarm: Weapons with this enchantment have a 20% chance to disarm. (will balance)
Escape: All incoming damage is reduced by 20%. (for robes)
Evade: All incoming damage is reduced by 10% (for robes)
Robes of the Way: Fortify Armor Rating by 20, fortifies unarmed damage by 10.
Stagger (Weapon): Weapons with this enchantment have a 20% chance to stagger.
Stagger (Clothing): 15% chance that weapons will stagger.

Item variants:
Bleeding Weapons: Deadric claws, Dwarven Ulak, Ebony Ulak, Elven Glaive, Elven talons, Iron Claws, Katar, Orcish Claws, Steel Punch Dagger
Stagger (weapon): Dwarven Ulak, Ebony Ulak, Glass perferators, Nord Ulak
Disarm: Dwarven Ulak, Ebony Ulak, Glass Perferator, Nordic Ulak
Absorb Health: Elven Glaive, Steel Punch Dagger
Absorb Stamina: Elven Glaive, Steel Punch Dagger
Soul Trap: Elven Glaive, Katar
Paralysis: Elven Talons, Iron Claws, Orcish Claws, Steel Punch Dagger
Burning Robes: Hood brown robes, brown robes
Electric Robes: Hooded red robes, red robes
Freezing Robes: Hooded grey robes, grey robes
Escape: Hooded green robes, green robes
Evasion: Hooded grey robes, grey robes (will change to default monk robes to add color variety)
Fortify Unarmed: Ring of Punching, Spiked Gauntlets (uses stormcloak officer model and stats)
Stagger (clothing): Ring of Staggering

NPCs:
Apostate: Melee version: Nord and Imperial; Magic version: Nord and Imperial
Apostate Apprentice: Melee version: Nord and Imperial; Magic version: Nord and Imperial
Apostate Master: Melee version: Nord and Imperial; Magic version: Nord and Imperial
Apostate Elder: Fire version: Nord and Imperial. (Will add shock and cold versions)