SKYRIMLE Automatic Variants (by Leviathan1753)

[LeetMiniWheat]

This was recently updated btw. I posted a duplicate thread on accident before I saw this one. Worth checking out I think.

 

It's up on Nexus here, not sure if it was when this thread was posted. (OP refers to a forum thread)

[skwareballz]

I hope that SUM gets released sometime soon, rebuilding all these patches every time my load order is changed is getting tedious.

 

I used the alpha v1.4.3 without any problems, but I was only using one package, Bellyaches (which is excellent by the way). I used the newer v1.5 for a couple of hours last night and used a couple of Wolverine's batch files with the ported packages and it worked just fine. I had loaded up one file that had a bunch of zebras though and I will not be keeping that one.

 

As soon as Skyrim Monster Mod is supported this is going to be the best thing ever and the weapon and item variant support should be next to get support. Probably one of the most important mods ever.

[Farlo]

Awesome to see it finally on the Nexus, I've been using it for a while now with most of the texture packs I could find for it. This will be very useful in the future if we want more skins as well, it seems fairly easy to build your own packs.

[LeetMiniWheat]

@Skwareballz: SUM?

 

 

Also, maybe [WIP] tag should be removed from OP?

[skwareballz]

Yeah SUM, SkyProc Unified Manager, which will automate the process of using multiple SkyProc patchers so it is much easier and less time consuming for stupid or lazy people, like me.

 

Maybe we need to debate if it is stable enough to actually be included in the STEP guide for wide adoption by the community, or even just casual STEP users. This project might have finally moved out of alpha, but do not be surprised if it is pulled once more, or if future updates break the mod. Stability of a mod has to be concern when recommending something that is still in it's infancy, as most SkyProc projects are. That said, I personally don't think I can go back to using just one of the Bellyache's variants when I've been playing with all of them since AV v1.4.

[jmad75]

Where have I been??? I'm just now checking this out. This is fantastic! Reminds me of Mart's Mutant Mod for FO3.

 

Now, can I just install this after Bellyaches Animal Pack replacer or should I deactivate that?

[skwareballz]

You need to uninstall the current Bellyaches Animal and Creatures Pack you have and then when you download AV also get the Bellyache pack in the option files. Then follow the setup on the Official Readme to the letter if you've never used any SkyProc mods before.

[LeetMiniWheat]

Yeah SUM, SkyProc Unified Manager, which will automate the process of using multiple SkyProc patchers so it is much easier and less time consuming for stupid or lazy people, like me.

 

Maybe we need to debate if it is stable enough to actually be included in the STEP guide for wide adoption by the community, or even just casual STEP users. This project might have finally moved out of alpha, but do not be surprised if it is pulled once more, or if future updates break the mod. Stability of a mod has to be concern when recommending something that is still in it's infancy, as most SkyProc projects are. That said, I personally don't think I can go back to using just one of the Bellyache's variants when I've been playing with all of them since AV v1.4.

Nice, I've been manually patching a few SkyProc things (ASIS, RePerkussion, and SkyBash) and it does get to be a PITA. I'll have to try that. Sucks that most of Skyrim mods are WIP still...

[Farlo]

Yeah SUM, SkyProc Unified Manager, which will automate the process of using multiple SkyProc patchers so it is much easier and less time consuming for stupid or lazy people, like me.

 

Maybe we need to debate if it is stable enough to actually be included in the STEP guide for wide adoption by the community, or even just casual STEP users. This project might have finally moved out of alpha, but do not be surprised if it is pulled once more, or if future updates break the mod. Stability of a mod has to be concern when recommending something that is still in it's infancy, as most SkyProc projects are. That said, I personally don't think I can go back to using just one of the Bellyache's variants when I've been playing with all of them since AV v1.4.

This is exactly right, and however awesome the mod is, it probably won't make it into STEP for some time, except for the "Mods not Included" list.  The entire process is brand new and remarkable as it is that it's usable for most people, a lot more research and testing needs to be done to ensure it's stable through updates of itself as well as other mods.  Also, it requires quite a bit of maintenance to keep up-to-date with your loadout, but hopefully SUM can fix that down the road.

[frihyland]

I'll be putting it in an "everything unique" pack after SUM is completed and well tested, I figure it'll be a nice Christmas gift.

 

Just so you get how this stuff works, it attaches a script to every item it affects and their is no uninstalling it once that is done. It also becomes dependent upon every other mod you have installed (and their load order) so to uninstall them can be troublesome. Running the skyproc patchers is an insanely complex process that should only be done after you have already achieved the perfect installation (and backed it up) and aren't going to mess with it again.

 

These issues and others will need to be addressed and likely will be by SUM , cautions aside though Skyproc has more potential than any other project by far and they are proceeding very intelligently. They have purposely kept a low profile for the last 4 months till the major bugs are worked out and take feedback very seriously.

[skwareballz]

@ LeetMiniWheat: What order do you put your Skyproc esp's?

 

And why does RePerkussion have NPCPerked.esp (included in download) and the Perk Patch.esp (the patcher generated esp)? Are both needed?

 

+1 to PITA

[frihyland]

Nexus link (Automatic Variants) added to OP.

[skwareballz]

This post is pretty much for future reference, but since I've been testing AV a lot lately, I'm posting all this info in case I forget about it. I've become a little obsessed with AV the last week or so with all the new packs starting to roll out. There is something that I've found out that needs to be considered for testing with this mod in regards to STEP.

 

The install procedure is easy enough and using this will not be intimidating after a couple of uses, but when a STEP user that has tons of files already in their texture folder is using the patcher there are certain issues.

 

AV has the ability to package normal maps (_n.dds) along with the texture (.dds). AV will look for every file that is associated with a creature in it's own folder first, and say a creature has 6 files of textures and what not, and the AV Pack only has 4, then it will move on to the loose files and finally the bsa for the remaining two files. If the STEP recommends Fhaarkas Softer Animal Fur for the normal maps of cows, trolls, ... then it will not show if the Bellyache pack for AV is installed, because AV will use the included normal map in the AV Pack without ever using the Fhaarkas normal map.

 

For the STEP recommended stuff to work there are two options. One is to use the AV patcher GUI to disable the files in any of the AV Packs that would get used instead of what STEP recommends. The second is to overwrite the normal inside the Data/SkyProc Patchers/Automatic Variants/AV Packages/ folder or the Data/Textures/AV Packages/ folder with the desired normal. This means copy-pasting over the _n.dds for every instance of the normal map which can get tedious and time consuming.

 

I asked Levianthan about this and he said that he now has an idea for making an override folder which would use all the files in the that folder with the AV Packs so they can't override. With the amount of mods that are in STEP, it looks like we need to pray to the Nine for Lev to make that happen.

 

Otherwise the guide will have a lot of: go to Bellyaches Animal->WolfBlack, highlight wolf_n.dds, click disable, go to WolfIce, highlight wolf_n.dds, click disable.... (This is if and when AV is included).

 

My personal AV Packages folder is already nearing 2GB, lucky for me there aren't a ton of creature normals added by STEP, it's pretty much Fhaarkas and Bellyaches (which is now an AV Pack). When AV adds in items and maybe weapons and armor, this concept will be essential for testing.

[frihyland]

Thanks skwareballz I appreciate the documentation.

[Neovalen]

Any updates on the "good/essential" packs or new things for Automatic Variants? I know there has been several revisions since this was written and I'm looking to put it in my next guide update.