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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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!"

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!

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.

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+.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.