Sofia - a funny, fully voiced and scripted follower(WIP)

[djjohnjarvis]

@Falcondefalconde Attractive is a matter of opinion in most cases unless they are absolutely hideous. Her looks probably have a broad enough appeal but what she will be downloaded for will be her huge amount of dialogue and advanced features. I don't know many followers that have totally exclusive meshes or textures, most use a lot of other peoples mods with permission which will most likely be the case here unless a modeller has a particular interest in creating a unique armour or whatever. Maybe nearer release I'll convince some of the better modellers or texturers to create something when they get to beta test and see how good she is.

 

I have posted several videos showcasing the voice acting in the first post, I put them in a spoiler tag though so maybe you missed them. She has a very mild accent, nowhere near as strong as Vilja or the nords in game though and it's only noticeable on certain words. She has a very high quality mic so quality isn't an issue either (although you can't tell this is in the video clips I posted) and she has voiced in many top mods so has plenty of experience. I'll spare the details, you can check her info out yourself (finalCrystine): http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/951656-the-voice-actors-of-skyrim-nexus/?p=7906621

 

Custom animations although nice are rare and only a small number of modders know how to do this very under-documented and complex area of modding and they usually focus on the sex mods, which is fair enough I guess even if it is something that doesn't really interest me. Also it's worth pointing out that to have custom animations you have to run a patch on your game files which some people might not be willing to risk. I'm not ruling it out but it's unlikely.

 

I will do a quest. How big or in-depth it is will depend and I can't really say. If I come up with something big then I will probably recruit other modders but I want to actually come up with something and get some of the main follower features done first.

 

Anyway thanks for your suggestions.

[djjohnjarvis]

 

Somehow it attracted my attention and I suppose I can share a few thoughts.

In my Opinion a successful follower mod must comply with several features:

 

1) It has to be attractive (good looking, cute whatsoever). Of course, it means it has to have unique textures and meshes to distinguish it (him/her) from other companion mods. Unique weapons, armour included.

2) Full voiced - a very good idea. I prefer pure English accent (UK, US doesn't matter), but it should sound English (in the sence of pronunciation). For instance, did you hear about Vilja companion mod? Great mod. But I can't stand this accent. I've not heard the voice you use, so I cannot tell anything about this in your case. If it is "english" I am your fan :thumbsup:

3) It would be cool if your companion had some unique animation (walking, running, idle and so on). If she'd had some unique gestures, face animation or some situation it'd have been also a huge plus.

4) A couple of quests is also a strong point. One more quests - more interesting. I believe there should be some fascinating story.

 

This is my suggestions, I hope this may help you.

Well Viljas acsent is great, i kind of like it and it seperates her from all the others

 

Well Viljas voice from what I have seen has kind of divided opinions but that's fine, if it annoys people that much then they have a choice. I don't really think Sofia's voice actress has a strong enough accent to even notice really (I didn't notice until she said and I'm English) unless being picky and it certainly isn't noticeable enough to annoy people so wouldn't even be worth debating.

[Falcondefalconde]

@djjohnjarvis

 

I thought you were still in the process of creation, so I guessed a few tips might help.

It was not critisim of your mod in any way.

 

I agree, attractivness is a subjective conception, it's a fact, but I suppose such a kind of modification (companion, follower, etc.) should be attractive by its performance (I don't mean hot stuffs or something like that), we incline to be attracted by neat execution and fine perception. It is obvious, that some things in this world attract more groups of people than others, nevertheless it's hard to hit ten out of ten, there'll always be those who let it go by just because it is not "bright" enough. But I do like how you performed it, maybe I would brush her up just a little bit to discern her from the modern urban girls (make her more fantasy style).

 

 

About Vilja's accent I can say I hadn't much of a choice, but as I mentioned, the mod is great.

I had not heard Sofia (actress) speaking thus I wrote it as a suggestion. I've checked it out by now and that's fine by me.

 

Yep, animation is the hardest part I believe. No sex animation. I mean it would be nice if she could react correspondingly to some ingame events (greetings, dancing, intimidating gestures and so on).

 

It's just my personal opinion and not an instruction .

Well, I look forward to check your mod by myself. I wish you succes and hope it will be one of the best mods on Nexus.

[djjohnjarvis]

Yea I know it's not a criticism and I am still in the process of creation I was just responding to some of the ideas, I prefer to give detailed responses than just saying ok thanks or whatever. As for the animation stuff like you just said such as greeting, dancing and intimidating gestures they are possible to trigger. I thought you meant entirely new animations like ones that don't exist in the game. If you want to see some nice use of existing animation in this mod then I suggest you check out the drunk test video for Sofia which I posted on page 4 and should also be in the first post with the other videos. Anyway thanks :)

[djjohnjarvis]

Check out Sofia's new appearance. She's a bit more grown up looking and more attractive.

 

http://i41.tinypic.com/2yuwxg9.jpg

[maxx130]

Yeah if nothing else it may be good to have another body type like CBBE or something to better attract more people to your companion. Also will she be compatible with AFT and other follower mods? Also the hunter armor would look good on her well more appropriate if she was a hunter, but to each his/her own. but there are some good custom armor mods that look good on both CBBE and UNP bodies without making drastic changes.

 

 

oh and just one suggestion...you know that rude little girl in whiterun? Maybe a tiny side quest or script or something along the lines of Sofia maybe whispers something if she interrupts that sends her off screaming. would be funny I think.

Edited November 30, 2013 by maxx130

[maxx130]

Update: People wanted to be able to get Sofia drunk. It is now possible but I need to get some dialogue recorded for it and add in other funny little extras when she is drunk but at the moment she will drink any alcohol you give her and start to stagger about whilst following you. It eventually wears off of course. See the video below.

 

 

I have also created an entirely separate follower system now for Sofia so it no longer uses the original and therefore there will be no conflicts with other mods that alter follower behaviour and I can customise her follower behaviour later on should I need to. I also added in an SKSE check so that the mod can take advantage of SKSE whilst still having a high level of functionality without SKSE.

Thank you thank you. It's good to know that i'll beable to run sofia and not need SKSE. I also really like her dialog some of it is really amusing and I like that. Now I don't remember seeing if you mentioned or not, but have you decided

where we will find Sofia? Maybe in a ruin fighting drauger or on the road somewhere calling for help and you come to her aid. Just a few thoughts. Anyways im really looking forward to seeing her in Skyrim.

[djjohnjarvis]

Yeah if nothing else it may be good to have another body type like CBBE or something to better attract more people to your companion. Also will she be compatible with AFT and other follower mods? Also the hunter armor would look good on her well more appropriate if she was a hunter, but to each his/her own. but there are some good custom armor mods that look good on both CBBE and UNP bodies without making drastic changes.

 

 

oh and just one suggestion...you know that rude little girl in whiterun? Maybe a tiny side quest or script or something along the lines of Sofia maybe whispers something if she interrupts that sends her off screaming. would be funny I think.

Yea I will have her with at least the UNP and CBBE bodies since they are the most popular but maybe I will include others. I don't think she will be compatible with mods such as AFT or UFO as she has her own follower system now but to be honest it wouldn't be needed as all that advanced functionality will already be built into the mod.

 

Thank you thank you. It's good to know that i'll beable to run sofia and not need SKSE. I also really like her dialog some of it is really amusing and I like that. Now I don't remember seeing if you mentioned or not, but have you decided

where we will find Sofia? Maybe in a ruin fighting drauger or on the road somewhere calling for help and you come to her aid. Just a few thoughts. Anyways im really looking forward to seeing her in Skyrim.

Thanks. I don't know where she will be located as that will be decided when I start writing the quest.

[maxx130]

Ok, that's cool. Companion mods are my favorite kinds of mods And I use AFT for the fact of being able to dismiss (followers) them in one location and not have to run all over to get them back. But I do like using just one at times for small ruins and such (tight quarters you know) and I get shot in the backside less often. Not sure what it is with followers and my backside lol. She doesn't use a bow by any chance? this might be a good line, Be hilarious if you try and give her a bow to use that she says " you sure you want to give me that?"

"you might want to make sure your wearing some armored shorts"

 

As far as location goes just another idea but maybe you meet her outside of a city trying to barter with a carriage driver cause she's broke and you offer to help her. Most companion/follower mods out there they are in the taverns *kof Bannered mare *Kof mine is so crowded I can not get in now lol. But besides that I'm really looking forward to having her tag along with me to Issgard When that mod comes out.

[djjohnjarvis]

I have already added in the ability to set an exact location to dismiss to so you can just set it to the location of any of the other followers. There are already several jokes to do with accidents with her bow but maybe I will add one specifically for giving her a bow. Her combat style can be set but like a lot of followers by default they always seem to take out their bow even if they favour one handed. And it's funny you should mention the Bannered Mare because that's where I have her start right now but only temporarily lol. I'm also really liking the look of Issgard, I'm glad there are still new mods like that being made.