NPCs suddenly lack idle conversations/gossip, immersion disappears

[Danman804]

Exactly as it says on the title. You know the 'idle conversations' and 'immersive npc to npc dialogues' like those spoken between ysolda and nazeem in whiterun market, or others around skyrim in general. I do not know what triggers this problem, but majority of the time when I start up skyrim, all such dialogues are none-existant. I have no problem interacting with npcs, but otherwise they do not talk to one another, do not gossip or make conversations. Sometimes this is not so, but majority of the time the npcs in skyrim act like they have no voice cords.

 

Is this a glitch? What is a trigger for this to happen, or what triggers general between-npc idle conversations and gossips? Lack of them really breaks the immersions.

 

If this is a case where I simply can't hear the idle conversations but it is being activated by the game, what is the solution?

[Georgiegril]

So I do not know whether this is your situation, but I recently encountered in my own mod development, that that it is quite easy to make changes to one character's dialogue that has extended effect. So I would start disabling any mod that you recently added or updated that has anything at all to do with character dialogue, and see if that helps. And if it does, please alert the mod author. They will want to fix it.

[Danman804]

So I do not know whether this is your situation, but I recently encountered in my own mod development, that that it is quite easy to make changes to one character's dialogue that has extended effect. So I would start disabling any mod that you recently added or updated that has anything at all to do with character dialogue, and see if that helps. And if it does, please alert the mod author. They will want to fix it.

 

Thank you. I don't have any mods that do what you described, only a mod that adds a non-voiced dialogue about refilling fresh water for empty bottles.

Any other answers are welcome, and appreciated!

[Georgiegril]

If you would kindly list your mods, I will see if anything sticks out. (Also any that you recently removed)

It seems extremely likely to me that this is a mod issue, since it is only idle dialogue that you lack.

 

Have you run BOSS or Wrye Bash to make sure you are loading them in the best possible order?

 

If you would rather not share your mods, you will need to either

a) uninstall (not just deactivate) all mods, either en masse or one at a time but in any case exactly as the author instructs. In some cases there are specific procedures or uninstall programs you will need to run and failure to do so will lead to even more problems than you have now.

 

b) After ininstalling, check to see if the idle dialogue has returned. If you still have no dialogue, you may want to try verifying your cache, and if necessary, uninstalling/reinstalling the game.

 

After that, reinstall your mods one at a time, running boss and pplaying the game to make sure it is working properly.

[Jinxxed0]

It could be a nav mesh error. I'm not 100% sure what causes it as only a hand full of people have started getting it within the last week. Me included. It caused NPCs to not move and just stand there.

If your NPCs are moving and walking around, just try disabling all your mods, thats always the first step.

 

If you NPCs aren't moving, its a nav mesh error. If this is the case, get rid of most if not all mods that use .bsa files and get their "loose files" alternative if the modder provides ones. Also get rid of the clutter in your data folder such as read me's that may have been installing (if you use the NMM theres likely a ton of read me's and useless folders in their. I've been told that having a bunch of unofficial .bsa files in your data folder can cause navmesh errors. But if it's not a navmesh error, forget this as it's probably a mod causing trouble. Even if it doesn't seem like it, the simplest mods cause screw up the already buggy as hell Skyrim

[Danman804]

If you would kindly list your mods, I will see if anything sticks out. (Also any that you recently removed)

It seems extremely likely to me that this is a mod issue, since it is only idle dialogue that you lack.

 

Have you run BOSS or Wrye Bash to make sure you are loading them in the best possible order?

 

If you would rather not share your mods, you will need to either

a) uninstall (not just deactivate) all mods, either en masse or one at a time but in any case exactly as the author instructs. In some cases there are specific procedures or uninstall programs you will need to run and failure to do so will lead to even more problems than you have now.

 

b) After ininstalling, check to see if the idle dialogue has returned. If you still have no dialogue, you may want to try verifying your cache, and if necessary, uninstalling/reinstalling the game.

 

After that, reinstall your mods one at a time, running boss and pplaying the game to make sure it is working properly.

 

I have some sounds of skyrim mods, as well as personalize music mod, not sure if they conflict with these idle dialogues. Also, what's strange is that sometimes the idle conversations take place, but sometimes I go the entire game 3-4hrs without hearing a single peep from people in tavern, etc and this happens even when I use the same set of mods from NMM. I do verify my cache, defrag, and sync, not sure if these are the cause of the problem.

[Georgiegril]

The navmesh bug appears to be triggered by going 2 cells away, and then back to the original cell. Do the NPCs respond when you approach them?

I don't think the 2 mods you listed would cause this, more likely any companion mods, quest mods, some mods that alter dialog for guards, etc.

[Jinxxed0]

The navmesh bug appears to be triggered by going 2 cells away, and then back to the original cell. Do the NPCs respond when you approach them?

I don't think the 2 mods you listed would cause this, more likely any companion mods, quest mods, some mods that alter dialog for guards, etc.

 

 

Quest mods seem to really mess with nav mess the most for something. Beth should just spend like a week redoing stuff.

[Danman804]

The navmesh bug appears to be triggered by going 2 cells away, and then back to the original cell. Do the NPCs respond when you approach them?

I don't think the 2 mods you listed would cause this, more likely any companion mods, quest mods, some mods that alter dialog for guards, etc.

 

Could you define 'Cell'? NPCs generally respond when i approach them, it's just the idle dialogue that seems to be the problem.

[Georgiegril]

Well having spent some recently agonizing time on navmesh, I can testify that it is really easy to screw up, and when people create a quest mod, they may affect navmesh that is used by another mod even if they execute their mod perfectly, and so it causes a conflict...not bethesda's fault, or anyone's, in that case, just modders not being aware of every single mod out their and how each affects the worldspace. The navmesh bug, however, that is all Bethesda....

 

@OP: A cell is the space between loading screens, generally speaking. So say you start in whiterun, that is one cell. Go into Dragonsreach, that is a new cell. The door to the dragonsreach porch has a loading screen, so when you are on the porch that is actually the 3rd cell. It is outside, though, so you could fast-travel back to your starting point in Whiterun, back two cells. This is the kind of scenario which might trigger the navmesh bug. That is different than a mod conflict involving 2 mods creating different navmeshes for the same area, although the navmesh bug might cause a modder's created navmesh to disappear, so.... any of these might cause the situation you describe, particularly if your NPCs are either standing around or moving in strange ways, like little circles, repetitive movements, even disappearing entirely.

 

The only time I had the problem while playing, I just returned to an earlier save and did not take the two-cell return route that I had used when the issue came up. Starting a new game would also remove the particular appearance, although the real solution needs to be addressed by Bethesda. If you have any mods that affect navmesh (quest mods, houses, mods that modify cities, for example) you might try uninstalling them, however especially quest mods can have lasting problems if not uninstalled exactly as the author recommends. It may be that in the case of a mod conflict, that you would also have to find a previous save that worked, or start anew...