SKYRIMLE Interesting NPCs

[keithinhanoi]

Yes, Octopuss, a timely post.

 

Kris has continued, tirelessly, to update, improve, and expand Interesting NPCs on weekly basis.

 

Since I've just finished making a all-encompassing compatibility patch in TES5Edit, I can tell you there are all kinds of things that 3DNPC.esp edits.

 

First, there are loads of cell record edits, mostly slight changes in the positions of objects, sometimes ones that USKP makes positional changes to (presumably for same or similar reasons - so it's a coin toss of which edit you'd want to keep.) However, this of course means the sub-block CELL location records have to come along for the ride, and despite 3DNPC not making changes to them, the vanilla values they contain may overwrite edits in earlier loaded mods. Still, if you're using any lighting / weather mods (RLO, ELFX, CoT, RCRN, etc.) they are generally loaded later, so the their sub-block CELL location records would "win" the overwrite contest.

 

Then, in NPC records, there's changes to Luaffyn which will revert the USKP-added dead body script (or BOYD, if you use it.) No big deal, just patch forward - I think 3DNPC's change was mainly to make her essential, if I'm not mistaken.

 

Finally, there are dialog topics, obviously, with all that talking going on, but those can be left alone, as far as I understand it.

 

Really where things get tricky with Interesting NPCs is with all of the placements of those new characters. If they're placed in a spot where another mod sticks a house/building or some other large object, then, well, they may get stuck there. Any mods changing navmeshes may also break expected NPC actions.

 

Generally, I have not seen any major issues in my game, but having read the comments thread, I know that Kris takes user reports pretty seriously, and will do his best to remedy things if they were caused solely by the mod.

 

Regarding the earlier produced lower quality voice recordings - If I don't like any particular Interesting NPC character, then I'll exit the conversation, and not talk to them again. There are just so many characters that are very nicely done to make up for it.  On top of that, I have found for me that there are a few spectacular characters which, on their own, are good enough to be a complete follower mod.

 

I will admit that many of them are far more talkative that vanilla characters can be, but it's often a pleasant break from the brief and abrupt exchanges you often get elsewhere. Besides some of the better potential follower characters, my other favorites are ones who have been completely integrated with existing vanilla characters.

 

So, yes, it's an enormous mod, not without some shortcomings, but it is absolutely near the top of my must-be-on-my-mod-list list.

[Kuldebar]

I haven't tried Interesting NPC's yet, frankly, its breadth and scope is a bit too daunting, and I seem to see it's name come up rather frequently on mod forums with the question, "is it compatible with Interesting NPC's?

I just have been burned too many times...such masterpieces come at heavy costs...

 

So, I use another mod instead, and it is compatible with my modding philosophy.

Inconsequential NPCs by Ripple  I am very pleased with this mod, been using it for the last few versions.

 

A curious quote:

Posted 24 May 2013 - 04:19 AM

As Vond said the scope of this mod is very different from that of Interesting NPCs. For reference this mod uses 28 scripts at the moment and is about 14 mb in size while Interesting NPCs uses over 3700 scripts and is 1.3 Gb as a download.

 

 

It has a much narrower focus than IntNPC, no followers or quests...just immersive additions to the game. And made carefully to avoid compatibility nightmares.

 

Edited March 7, 2014 by Kuldebar

[keithinhanoi]

So, I use another mod instead, and it is compatible with my modding philosophy.

Inconsequential NPCs by Ripple  I am very pleased with this mod, been using it for the last few versions.

Yes, I use that as well, and it's a lovely complement to Interesting NPCs in my mind.

 

Seeing a number like 3700 for the number of scripts doesn't scare me off, because they are not the kind of scripts that are constantly running.

 

1.3GB? Here in Vietnam that may take 8-12 hours to download. I've become patient, not spoiled as I remember I was before I moved away from the US. Anyhow, the .bsa is just 48MB, with a 17.4MB .esp plugin. The rest is loose files, so the incremental updates are not as "painful" as that first download.

 

Suggestion: consider Interesting NPCs for a special "character-focused" play through, if you're into themes...

[statmonster]

Interesting NPCs is incompatible with everything in some sense but also easily solved with some patches.  I also did not really find any of the voices bad, I just assumed they were different (what does someone from the frontier region of Hammerfell really sound like?) - I suspect my standards in this regard are pretty low though.  None of these are reasons not to use it if it appeals to you.  And everyone should probably try it - many of them really are interesting.  But that's also the problem with it - they are all so "interesting" - it's like going to a reunion and hearing every bug-eyed 3rd cousin twice removed of an acquaintance's life story, over and over again if you play with it more than once or twice.  They don't to the sense of a world full of people like Inconsequential NPCs or the like do - they add all these people with a very specific background not a generic sense of crowds in urban areas, taverns, etc.  Still all in all it's a vey impressive mod even if I haven't used it in recent play-throughs.

[Kuldebar]

But that's also the problem with it - they are all so "interesting" - it's like going to a reunion and hearing every bug-eyed 3rd cousin twice removed of an acquaintance's life story, over and over again if you play with it more than once or twice.  They don't to the sense of a world full of people like Inconsequential NPCs or the like do - they add all these people with a very specific background not a generic sense of crowds in urban areas, taverns, etc.  Still all in all it's a vey impressive mod even if I haven't used it in recent play-throughs.

Oh, that's a really good point. Yes, Interesting NPC's and Inconsequential NPC's do two different things using much different approaches.

The "problem" with INTNpc's is that they are interesting, well so is every other NPC in Skyrim that comes up and shares their "life story". Shut up little girl, I don't care about your mother's produce stand or artic fruits!

And, let's be honest, does Skyrim need more quests? Are there not enough already? ( I know that question is off-base )

 

Ripple makes some statements that sum up my own thoughts:

 

Do you chat with everyone you see on the public transit? Make inquiries into the name and profession of whoever you meet on the street? Why is it that almost every unique NPC in Skyrim is willing to stop everything they are doing just to waste precious time answering the Dragonborn's stupid questions when they probably have better things to do and more important places to be...

Most of the 'Inconsequential NPCs' do not care if your character is the Dragonborn. They don't really want to talk to you (but they are all voiced), so most of them won't have much to say to you (and those that do, will generally not have nice things to say). They won't ask you to 'deliver this...' or 'fetch that...', and they won't tell you their life stories because they just don't want to get to know you. There is no way for you to improve your relationship with them, because you are as inconsequential to them as they are to you. They are not going to drop everything they are doing to become your followers (...at least, not for free). They are so unimpressed by you that the thought of marriage is completely ridiculous to them. All they want is to go about their business and cope with the daily grind.

 

Edited March 8, 2014 by Kuldebar