SKYRIMLE Multiple Floors Sandboxing (by Dovahklon)

[dovahklon]

This is posted here not as a suggestion for S.T.E.P. but for feedback. And hopefully some of you will find this little plugin useful. :)

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Have you ever wonder why the NPCs mostly just stay at the same floor, even though the cell (regardless where at) has multiple floors?

Do you have a nice custom home that has multiple floors in the same cell (i.e. no loading doors), and you want your NPCs to move up- and downstairs more?

This little tweak should address that need.

What does sandboxing mean?
Sandboxing is just a term describing NPCs' auto behavior in a given location, like walking around, sitting down, drinking, eating, etc. Keep in mind that NPCs cannot roam outside of this location.

Why don't NPCs go up and down the floors in a cell (a single loaded area) with multiple floors?
In Skyrim, NPC's sandboxing behaviors are defined to a specific location in 3d (a spherical shape). The global game settings GMST fSandboxCylinderTop and fSandboxCylinderBottom restricts that location to a more flat shape (imagine chopping the top and bottom of an orange off, so it's flat on top and bottom).
The default value for fSandboxCylinderTop is 150 and fSandboxCylinderBottom -100, which is too flat for the NPC to notice things the floor above or below (a floor is 288 unit tall).

What this does:
This is a little tweak to change the global game settings GMST fSandboxCylinderTop from 150 to 576, and fSandboxCylinderBottom from -100 to -576. As a result, the NPC can detect things (markers for various actions) roughly 2 floors above and below during their sandboxing behavior within their sandbox radius, so they will go up or down the floors to use those things (furnitures, markers, etc.).
 

P.S. I hope many of you will find the information helpful, but I also hope I have demonstrated in the little way that I can what my ideal modding community should be, one that shares files, knowledge, skills, and methods openly and selflessly with the sole intention of improving modding as a hobby without violating anyone's intellectual properties.

 

Requirements:
None, just Skyrim the base game.

Compatibility:
Should be compatible to everything.

How to Install:
NMM: simply download with NMM and install it with NMM

Manual Install: simply extract sandboxcylinderheight.esp to SkyrimData

Load order doesn't matter. You can place it anywhere within your mod list, as I have yet know of any mods that make the same changes.

Other Notes:
This is a little side thing that came off when brainstorming with the Vilja team to improve companions' sandboxing behavior in custom player homes. So please do check out the wonderful mods the Vilja team offers (they have more, I am only listing out a couple):
Vilja in Skyrim
The Hairstyler

Please let me know if you have any problems, questions, or concerns, but due to real life schedules, I might not be online here as frequently. You will be more likely to catch me on Emma's Elder Scrolls Forum.

Edited April 25, 2015 by dovahklon

[justjr]

Very well done, is hard to think on more improvements able to be mod-implement in Skyrim these days. So much stuff out there.

But this is one simple and well thought example.

[dovahklon]

Thank you, and I hope you find this enhances your gameplay in a small, immersive way. :)

Edited August 24, 2014 by dovahklon

[Glanzer]

I'm amazed at the great mods like this one that are still coming out to improve skyrim. I think a lot of players will enjoy this change. But I wonder if more people would try it if it were named something simple like "Followers Climb Stairs".

Edited August 27, 2014 by Glanzer

[DoubleYou]

Indeed I saw the mod and thought it must be a modder's resource...

[dovahklon]

whoops, I hope it wasn't too misleading and deter players from enjoying it. I am not good at being creative with names...

[justjr]

Maybe NPC Climb Stairs is more accurate name. Not followers.

[DoubleYou]

The fact that it made hotfiles should make people notice it despite its name.

[kryptopyr]

Maybe it's because I'm use to dealing with the CK as much as (or more) than actually playing, but I saw the file name and knew immediately what the mod was.  It's a very accurate name so long as the user understands what sandboxing is.

 

Thanks for this mod, Dovahklon.  I've seen other partial attempts to fix this issue, but as far as I know, you are the first to discover such a simple and elegant solution.

[GunerX]

Neat. Ill give it a shot.

 

Along the lines of "Followers" and other NPCs, do you have any ideas for a GOOD mod that makes NPC's / Followers get the hell out of the way? Ive been trying various Mods to make them move out of my way but so far none are really that great. The best one Ive tried is "MOVE B***H", and it only works some of the time.

[redirishlord]

Doesn't Nausica's Tweaker from STEP Core do it for you?

 

The sandboxing increase is great btw, and anybody using a multi follower mod should get what the title refers to, so since it finds something the vanilla experience would benefit from it makes sense for STEP as well.

Edited August 28, 2014 by redirishlord

[GunerX]

nausica's tweaker....yah...that thing...is a hunk of junk.

 

 

Not to mention it isnt compatible with other follower mods, and almost all other follower mods are better than it.

 

 

-edit-

 

Just tested Multiple Floors. Told my followers to Relax in Breezehome, some went upstairs and sat down.

 

I never actually noticed before that they wouldnt go upstairs unless I did first.

Edited August 28, 2014 by GunerX

[redirishlord]

I've got that and AFT and no real problems with followers, except before Dova's fix their sandboxing was limited. I'm looking forward to seeing followers explore Galadriel's and Saerileth's homes now that they will "understand" the whole vertical thing (upstairs AND downstairs, in ONE house, what a concept). The adopted children will have no more excuse not to sweep the entire house.

[GunerX]

yours works? I use AFT and my nausica tweaker does basically nothing.

[fireundubh]

It's depressing that this settings tweak has received more endorsements in 6 days than my most complex mod has received since October 2013. Maybe I should just release settings tweaks...