Oblivion Real-Time Conversations

[VengerVoldur]

Copied from UESP, Oblivion Mod forum subsection: http://forums.uesp.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=38561

 

Original Post:

After the discovery of the FDlgFocus line in the Oblivion .ini, I feel more pressed to find a good real time dialogue mod.

I am working on a personal video project for some friends of mine. The primary goal of the project is to record / play as realistically as possible. This was lost whenever I entered dialogue with NPCs. With the FDlgFocus set to 10 (which results in no zoom feature when you enter dialogue), the world in the background looks silly being paused while we talk. Admittedly this is a nifty feature, especially so if it occurred in real life. Paused time / time dilation ftw! But it doesn't occur in real life and nifty isn't realistic in my project. So I need a mod that brings the world back into motion.

I am aware of the Real Time Interaction mod (RTI), but I don't want most of its features, nor do I believe that it brings dialogue into real time. It does Persuasion, dialogue responses, lock picking, and any other menu into some bastardized real time interaction with hotkeys and shizz. And I suppose for some folks that is good. But I don't care about all that. All I need is the world to continue on as I talk. That's it. No fancy new menu interactions (Shift + Scroll Wheel).

Does this sort of mod exist? And if so, links please?

Post 2:

I've done some more research on this topic and I have found this:

http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/ ... -dialogue/

Obviously this is of no help to me as my goal is not met. However, that thread was made back in 2011. Despite its age, Oblivion still has a very strong modding community. I am hoping something more has come of this mod idea; clearly I am not the only one who seeks it.

Does any one know if this issue was circumvented and released as mod? Or is it still undoable? And while it does not further my immersion based goals, why is this undoable? Why can't time be unfrozen while in dialogue?

EDIT: So I might have learned in part why have real-time dialogue is not possible. In real life, if your conversation gets interrupted, you deal with the interruption, then resume the conversation, presumably like nothing ever happened. Duh. This is possible because we as humans know where we left off.
In Oblivion, and I'd reckon most games of that era, don't do real time interactions because it would be a beast to "remember" where the conversation left off because of so many variables. This is just a guess, considering I've never played Skyrim, but I'd bet that the game is still paused during interactions (potions, smithing, tanning, etc) but the character is still in motion. I guess it would be a bit like a .gif file. Properly speaking movement is occurring, but it is a "closed loop" action. So despite advances in game technology, I don't think the problem has been solved.

But, assuming I understood the material I read correctly, why must the game remember at all? Simply force exit dialogue. (And yes, there would be a few seconds where exiting dialogue and you returning to game play would mean you taking a few whacks from a sword, but this would happen IRL as well as you fumble for your weapon / are distracted / etc). After the situation has been addressed, return to the NPC and simply start the conversation over. While this would be annoying, it would be a real time interaction.
Also, why can't conversations, or any interaction menu (save perhaps entering your pack) be limited to "safe zones" too just like it is when trying to Wait? If there are enemies around, you get a pop-up message saying that the area isn't safe (or whatever the verbiage is). Same goes for viewing your map, making a potion, and talking for an NPC. These things take time; if you are at risk (i.e.: enemy in the area) you aren't going to try making that potion or view your map. You want your eyes up, alert and ready for anything.

Making it realistic is the kicker though. With NPCs it is easier. Instead of a pop-up message that prevents you from talking when enemies are near, script NPCs to say something like, "I don't feel safe here. Perhaps we can talk somewhere else where we aren't at risk." This is similar to the way NPCs greet you when you walk by them.
But how to carry this over to making potions or viewing your map, etc? I suppose the same pop-up message could be applied. Although this isn't very realistic, especially if you play with no UI, like I, and MANY others do. But then, why not do as I suggested with my "Low Magicka Sound" mod (http://forums.uesp.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=38552) and have short audio bytes play, one for each race and sex, that says something like, "I don't feel safe here." whenever the variables for the script are met? (Of course, variety in the things your character says is nice, so several lines of dialogue would need to be recorded. But that isn't really in line with this topic.)

To me, this seems very straight forward. I don't know scripting, nevermind Oblivion's, so I cannot speak on the difficulty of the project. However, it would seem that over riding or deleting Oblivion's current UI interaction, or lack thereof, would be the most difficult part.

Thoughts?