Looping through doors

[xkkmEl]

Anyone knows the cause of the NPC bug where it repeatedly disappears, then reappears running (usually through a door but it also happens in the wilderness)? This loops every 2 or 3 seconds.

 

It seems to happen to every follower mod to some extent.

 

I am playing with a personal mod that does some "npc.moveto( player)", places a simple "FollowPlayer" AI package and runs sexlab animations, and I am getting a lot of this looping behavior but I can't figure out how to avoid it, or whether I am even causing it.

 

I thought it might be related to having two quests at the same priority that are putting conflicting AI packages on the NPC, but it doesn't fit (or I have not found the conflict). Exiting to desktop and reloading does not help. Resaver shows nothing unusual in the save file.

 

[Pellape]

Is it specific NPC's from a specific mod or is it random ones? I know what happens in game every 3rd second and it is quest updating, so a quest script as one example runs every 3rd second default. If it is mod related, contact the author of that mod and report it to them. If it is an original NPC that do this in an original door, I do not have any tips to give really. I use Quest scripts in Oblivion, when i add custom AI packages to my companions, as I do not know any ways to let them keep a custom AI package really as they drop them after approx 20 sec.

 

You can DL CK (Construction Kit) for free now from Steam, so if it is mod related and the author do not respond to your bug request, the only thing you can do is to check that specific NPC's AI package inside CK by loading that specific mod into CK.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Pellape

[xkkmEl]

I can confirm that I must be causing it, as it affects specifically the NPCs I am messing with.

 

To be specific, my wip mod messes with random NPCs already in the game. Some it assigns to "role A" and others to "role B"; just a handful of each. Both groups are placed in quest aliases that place an AI package on them. In some occasions, I call moveto to place them near the player.

 

The difference between the two groups is in the AI package. Role A has a "FollowPlayer" package, and I see a few problems. Role B has a "Follow" package that follows one of the role A NPCs; these have massive looping problems.

 

The problem may be triggered when the player goes through a load door (or fast travels). The FollowPlayer package contains a check for "ActorValue MovingIntoANewSpace != 1" which the other package lacks. So perhaps its related to this... perhaps via a Pathing algorithm quirk. Even if this theory is right, I'm not sure how to fix it.

[xkkmEl]

I've added a "EvaluatePackage" call after "MoveTo". I has significantly reduced the amount of looping... not to zero, but near or at par with the normal game behavior.

[xkkmEl]

Didn't work. Still have massive amounts of looping behavior.

If anyone has any insights, it'd be appreciated!

[xkkmEl]

Still having massive looping issues.

 

My best theory as of today is that it is a memory management issue. The worst of the looping behavior happens when the npc is moving just out of sight... and quickly reappears near a door or other cell boundary. Sometimes, the npc disappears when in plain sight, and again reappears near a cell boundary. Often, I can delay the disappearance by following and actively keeping the npc in sight; the npc disappears immediately when I turn to face a different direction. The more custom assets the npc is using, the more likely he will be affected.

 

I have not been able to connect this behavior with my use of Actor.moveTo or with anything in my AI packages (like 'completion' or 'repeat when complete').

 

If anyone has further information, it will be greatly appreciated. In particular, if anyone knows a trick to get the game to assign a higher priority to displaying these NPCs...

Edited February 26, 2023 by xkkmEl