GrimCreation

You've made some very valid points and shined some light on a rather troubling situation. A question I got from all this is, if we can't count on Bethesda to watch our backs what can we do? Given how much their recent actions have undermined system we've been operating on for some long can we still go on the same way or is it time to find a new course? Whatever future holds for us all I hope the PC community stays strong during these troubled times it would be nothing short of tragic to see it all fall apart after so many years up and running.

Sadly you're question is little beyond my own skill level which really only is it texture tweaking and tattooing. I can only really offer some advice that I'd try fallowing if I was in your shoes. First get your hands on a custom follower who uses a specific body stype mesh and study how it all comes together both in terms of file and folder locations as well as whatever its got going on in its creation kit set up. In theory that should give you insight on the steps you'd need to take with your own. That would probably be the quickest way to possibly get answer to your problem. Another thing you could try is contacting a modder who has made and released good custom follower mods and see if they'd be willing to actually shine direct insight into the exact areas you seems to be stuggling in. Yet another thing you could try is using the custom race mod combined with Familair Faces mods and the mods that go well with it to create a stand alone player character (with the help of custom races) whom you then turn into a npc follower via Familair Faces mod. Its unorthodox as it technically not traditional but its a simple work around for anyone finding the original way to be to much trouble. If none of the mentioned work out or don't float your boat, I'd say keep searching the net and perhaps you'll strike gold sooner or later. Thats about all the help I personally can provide, I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

I still play, though like most people who have been part of the modding community for a good number of years I have not escaped the sting recent events have left. Honestly I love Skyrim too much both fantastically modded and just plain old vanilla to let recent events push me away from it. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying I don't care about what happened, because I do and it really broke my heart to see so many people turn on each other almost at the drop of a hat. Mistakes were made and emotions ran wild on all sides involved leading to more mistakes, but thats part of being human, the best thing we can do is learn from them and take steps to try not repeat history or at least ensure the damage is not nearly as bad the next time. Will the community ever be the same? No, some of the damage done will be remain as shameful scars of a dark point in our history. However this doesn't mean things will go down hill from here. Sure it might not be the same but that doesn't mean that things won't get better, this tragedy might open the way for a new golden age for this modding community for all any of us know. I for one have hopes for a brighter future and believe it is within grasp if we want it. We're at a crossroad right now with paths leading to various possible futures some good some bad. The choices we as a community make in the months and even years to come will decide the direction we go for better or worse. It won't be easy creating a postive future as even a road towards a better tomorrow is not with out its bumps especially with some past bitterness still hanging around in the air. Still it is a journey we can all can make if we really want too. So I say keep playing if you want and keep modding if you want, the real world is too serious often brutally so and life too short to deny oneself what decent pleasure they can find.

In response to post #24871339. #24886114 is also a reply to the same post. I'd be inclined to agree with some of your points in regards to all lashing out on all sides which took place in this paid mod mess, though I do find your take a bit extreme for my tastes. Further more I do believe you're generalizing a bit too much then what I'd think would be reasonably fair. The community is huge both in regards to mod creators and users. Is it really fair to lump bulk of each respective group into the 2 major fighting sides? Also just because this event was horrible train wreck doesn't mean future will be so grim. People can learn from their mistakes and make good efforts not to repeat them. However you are entitled to your own views and as fairly rational person I shall respect that even if I don't agree with all of it.

In response to post #24860514. I believe in Donations, I think if we can implement a good donation system we can find some decent middle ground where modders have a decent chance to make some money of their work (a lot of which is valuable) while keeping a the flexible open relationship with mod users that has been the heart of the modding community for so many years. I'm sure some modders would love to have their modding be an actual paying job, for others its more of a serious and passionate hobby. So its easy to see why even with in the modder ranks divides in stance in paid-mods formed. This is also why we see the both positive and negative effects with modder as end result to the section of the user community that rallied against paid-mod's winning the battle and ending paid mods for now. I think at some point in time the modding community might be open and more or less accepting to paid mods. However the stunt Bethesda and Valve pulled in the Steam Workshop was to big of a step in a different direction to suddenly drop it on community built on free sharing. I think Donations would have been a better move for Valve and Bethesda to put into the workshop, I've already mentioned the pros such a move could make at the start of this post. Hell Bethesda and Valve could have taken a cut from the donations and there for get that slice of cake they definitely seemed to want. Though I do believe that the bulk of the donation should go to the mod creator and not the other way around. This is just my thoughts and observations on the matter.

Thanks for putting everything out on the table for us, I think this should settle things for most people who aren't conspiracy theorists.