[rel] Phinix Master Summon

[phinix]

Phinix Master Summon v1.2 - (Updated: 06/03/06)

 

This mod adds one Ring of Chaos to Oblivion which provides a completely redesigned Conjuration system right on top of the existing game engine, without changing any of the default spells, actors, or stock settings! (See this page for cheats/spoilers, additional bug fixes, random screenshots, and a list of all creatures available to summon.

 

Mod Page (complete readme, latest version.)

 

Essential features briefly outlined:

• Summon virtually any generic creature in the game depending on your skill level and magicka, including many which were not available for summoning (or at all) before.
  
• Fully scaled leveled summons for balance, capped to max scalable levels per class (Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, and Master) so creatures you can cast as an Apprentice don't become too powerful once you are able to cast multiples of them as a Master, etc.
  
• Multiple scripted summons allow you to conjure multiple creatures and even a certain number of the same creature depending on their (and your) levels, without changing any global game options.
  
• Intuitive menu options: Choose either Over World or Under World creature lists, and whether to summon from Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, and/or Master sub-lists for each (available depending on your level.)
  
• Many options for commanding your summoned creatures including "Dispel all Summons" (now available individually as well), "Attack" and "Defense" modes, enhanced follow AI (including a new "Recall Summon" system), scripted horses, "Sustained Summoning," and more. (See below for a detailed list of new features.)
  
• No stock game creatures, spells, items, or options were changed in any way, for maximum compatibility with all future mods and expansions.
  
• Summoned creatures will never attack you unless you attack them repeatedly first, nor will they attack guards or city folk unless you specifically tell them to...
  
• Perks for skill level increases including casting cost reductions on multiple instances of the same creature, gradually increased summon duration for all creatures, access to higher class level creature lists, etc.
  
• New unique scripted magic effect creatures (flaming fireball hurling zombies, etc.)
  
• More...
  

New in version 1.2: (MAJOR update release!)

• Summons will now always appear directly in front of the player, fading in from 256 units away (though they might be a little closer by the time they are fully faded in if they're really fast.) Big thanks to Galsiah, PJYelton4476, and The_hitman on TES Forums for help with debugging the trig functions for that one!
  
• Casting costs now use the stock game engine algorithms, thanks to a rather tricky workaround I finally perfected. The game will now determine how much a given summon will cost to cast based on the player's skill level in Conjuration, their Intelligence, etc. Previously the scripts used a fixed value for each summon that remained the same regardless these levels, which was extremely not good.
  
• Added an independent Dispel command to each summoned creature's activation menu, so now you can dispel only certain creatures as well as using the existing "Dispel all Summons" option from the main menu.
  
• Added a new function to the main context menu: Recall Summons. Now you can instantly teleport your summoned creatures back to you no matter how far they might have wandered, so you never have to worry about them failing to grasp the concept of stairs (let alone the apparently ignored AI setting to swim) again.
  
• Fixed a bug with the Reset Defensive command. Occasionally actors that had either been in combat with or were in the vicinity of an attacking summon when the command to go defensive was set would end up activating that summon themselves, resulting in a (seemingly) infinite menu loop. Now the OnActivate menus only respond to the player.
  
• Fixed a bug where the horses would seem to stay put when summoned until asked to follow, however would intermittently lose the wait status on their AI package after asking them to follow and then asking them to stay again, causing them to wander around aimlessly.
  
• Reset Defensive (or the "Defend" option available from the summon activation menu) now actually ends combat between the creature and whoever they are actively combatting, so guards or other actors won't simply keep attacking and cause combat to immediately start up again. (When in combat with many actors at once you may need to reset defensive a couple times before they all get the message. Also, essential NPC's who have been knocked unconscious at the time the Reset Defensive is issued might still continue combat when they wake up if they were hostile to the summon prior to getting owned).
  
• Changed the behavior for ignoring friendly hits. Now your summons will not aggro on you unless you hit them more than three times in a row out of combat (in combat they will never aggro on you.) Also, using the "Defend" command from the activation menu on any creature or the "Reset Defensive" option on the main menu will stop a creature attacking you once they have become aggressive.
  
• Changed the default AI follow distance for summons from 0 to 195, which works out to roughly 4-6 feet from the player. (Before they were always right on your heels, which was bad.)
  
• Added a new black unicorn to the Overworld Master list; the Nightmare. This horse is as fast and strong as the unicorn, plus it has various scripted magical enchantments such as self-illumination, which works much better than a torch or the greenish Light spell when combined with its ethereal flames. Also, both the standard Unicorn and the Nightmare both have the ability to run on water...
  
• Fixed a potential exploit related to the regeneration of magicka when waiting/sleeping. Previously the summoned creature scripts were set to ignore this, so with the new sustained summoning system it would be theoretically possible to keep a creature alive indefinitely by simply resting for an hour or so as soon as your magicka started to get low, thus restoring it without any real penalty. Now any summoned creatures are killed when you wait or sleep.
  
• Tons of operational and cosmetic improvements (I might list more if I could remember even half of them!) The entire scripting base has been completely recoded and is now much more streamlined and robust. Many previous redundancies and potential conflicts were resolved preemptively, and the entire summoning system is now much more efficient.
  

Sustained Summoning:

 

Also added in this release is the "Sustained Summoning Penalty" feature. Now instead of immediately vanishing when their spell timer runs out, you are able to sustain your summons through focused concentration of willpower. The price is a constant magicka drain for each creature sustained beyond their time limit, and the higher the cost of the creature to cast, the higher the magicka penalty to sustain them. These penalties are cumulative, and sustaining a larger entourage of summons will add up quickly and result in a very rapid drain, so best to stock up on those sorcery potions!

 

If your magicka drops too low (below 3) you will lose any summons you have sustained beyond their limit. This adds a whole new dynamic to the game, in that one must be constantly vigilant of their present summon status and magicka levels and actively supplement with potions and alchemy in order to sustain an opted battle strategy.

 

Of course the player has the option of canceling sustained summons in order to conserve magicka if the situation demands it. However, certain situations might call for dispelling only those summons who are affecting a significant drain, while allowing others to remain and fight for you as long as possible. Previously this was not possible with the generic "Dispel all Summons" command, but with the new individual dispel option available through each summon's activation menu, it can be done.

 

When a summon's timer runs out and the magicka drain is added, that creature will become semi-transparent or "ghost-like" as a side effect of the effort required to sustain them beyond the traditional capacity of the spell. This way you can always tell which creatures are causing the drain, and so deal with them appropriately.

 

 

Installation:

 

Important!

 

If you are upgrading from the previous version 1.0 you will have to take the following steps to ensure there are no conflicts in transitioning to this massively updated release:

• Un-check the previous phinix_master_summon-v1.0.esp in your mod list.
  
• Extract the mod files and copy the contents of the Phinix Master Summon folder to your \Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\Data directory, saying "yes" to overwrite the existing files. Do NOT check the new .ESP in the mod list yet.
  
• Load the saved game you were using with the previous version without either .ESP version checked in your mod list, saying yes to any errors that pop up about missing content, and then once it is done loading create a NEW save game. This should remove all references to any version of Phinix Master Summon in this new save.
  
• Exit Oblivion and check the new phinix_master_summon.esp in your mod list. Reload the game and open the new save you just created.
  
• Finally, you must visit the Mystic Emporium in the Imperial City Market District. On the counter you will see a book called "Reset Chaos Ring" (its dark, but its right in front of Calindil.) Activate this to add the ring back to your inventory.
  
• Version 1.2 should henceforth work without any conflicts. (You can delete the older .ESP once you are satisfied.) If there are any bugs, try saving again once you have the new version checked and loaded, shut down Oblivion, and reload this new save again. This has resolved 100% of the issues I have had with upgrading during testing.
  

I apologize for the inconvenience. Future versions will use the same naming convention and so should not require these steps to work correctly the first time through.

 

Starting a New Game:

 

Playing this mod does not require you to begin a new game. If you have already played through the Mages Guild quest to get your staff, simply follow step 5 in the above installation instructions where it references visiting the Mystic Emporium and activating the "Reset Chaos Ring" book. When it asks if you had previously found the ring, say yes and you shall have it.

 

New Installs:

 

If you have never installed a previous version of this mod simply ignore the above process. Download and extract the mod files and copy the contents of the Phinix Master Summon folder to your \Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\Data directory. (It is safe to say yes to overwriting existing files or folders, as all included files are unique. You only get that message because the "textures" folder is named the same.)

 

 

Known Issues:

 

This mod has been tested extensively with numerous other mods and standard game dynamics, and as of version 1.2 all known bugs have been resolved. Removing this mod from your list will not invalidate your save games (this too has been tested and verified extensively.)

 

There is of course always a possibility of unforeseen complications when combining various mods, however due to unique scripting to avoid changing anything from the game itself (all new spells, objects, creatures, etc.), there is very little chance of serious conflicts.

 

I have not yet been able to test for compatibility with certain official plugins such as the Horse Armor mod. However again because this mod does not in any way alter the stock game horses it should not conflict with such mods in any way; the only possible drawback would be the inability to add horse armor to your summoned horses in this version. Since they only last for a short time anyway this might not be seen as significant, however depending on feedback and whether I decide to purchase the Horse Armor mod in the future, I will write a variation which enables such functionality as well.

 

If you run into any issues or there is any other mod you would like to see made compatible that you feel is not already, please do not hesitate to contact me. Any suggestions, questions, issues, bug reports, etc. should be posted directly to the Phinix Master Summon thread at the Elder Scrolls Forums. I will post all updates and responses to specific inquiries to this thread, plus you can PM me there directly.

 

Also, you can optionally visit this mod's pages at TES Source or Planet Elder Scrolls and leave comments there as well if you like.

 

For a complete graphical version of the readme file including numerous screen shots, spoilers, cheats, a list of all available creatures, etc., please visit the Phinix Master Summon Mod Page.

 

 

Download:

 

Phinix Master Summon v1.2

 

 

Have fun!

 

Phinix