Is my mod idea possible within the confines of current modding tech?

[abrb2011]

Hi! I've been a mod user since the early Oblivion days and am an avid Skyrim mod user, so i know my way around actually using and installing mods. I also dabbled very sparingly into creating player housing in Oblivion but never took any of my pet projects to fruition, so safe to say I know jack about current modding. Anyways.

 

I've had an idea in my head for a while for a mod that would basically make it possible to use conquered dungeons/forts/encampments/etc as player "housing". Basically make a base out of any place you cleared. Even open world ones like Hagraven encampments out in the wilds that have no interior cells. In my fantasy world I'd be able to do this with any place conquered. Obviously that is an overly-ambitious goal.

So I was thinking, it would be a fun and cool experiment to just try it out on one single cleared zone. Before I invest hour and hours into this idea trying, I was wondering if it's even possible within the confines of current modding technology? This led me to a couple of direct questions I was hoping you guys might be able to help me with.

Can cells be modified to not respawn, perhaps while "flagged" as player housing?

Could they be reverted back to normal functionality if the player chose a different housing location (without breaking the game)?

Would it even be wise to modify vanilla assets in this way?

If not, is it possible "clone" cells and perhaps create faux entrances to identical copies that would serve as the housing?

I imagine this idea has been hatched before, but I haven't found a mod for this yet. Although I didn't prune the depths of the abyss for an example of it.

[lofgren]

Unfortunately there is no way to prevent cells from respawning I am prety sure, which kinda nips this concept in the bud (like you said, you are no the first to think of it).

[lofgren]

I was thinking some more about this and I think it could be done with some creative workarounds. For example, when a cell is reset any disabled references remain disabled, so you could simply disable any enemies who respawn in the player's house. You could block activation of containers and instead when the player opens them, show him the inventory of a remote container in a non-respawning cell.

[abrb2011]

I was thinking some more about this and I think it could be done with some creative workarounds. For example, when a cell is reset any disabled references remain disabled, so you could simply disable any enemies who respawn in the player's house. You could block activation of containers and instead when the player opens them, show him the inventory of a remote container in a non-respawning cell.

Workarounds sound like a good idea. I suppose it would still stop me from using outside areas with no interior cells but that's not a total party pooper I suppose.

[DigitalVixen]

A very simple workaround would be to adjust the two values ihourstorespawncell and ihourstorespawncellcleared.

 

The first value is, basically, the time it takes to respawn a cell in the open world. If you do not visit the cell within the hours specified, the cell will be respawned next time you visit it. The other value are for indoors cell (this accounts for houses, dungeons etc) and if it is set high enough you could, technically speaking, make it your home.

 

The next problem would be to not have respawning containers such as chests, barrels and etc. to put your things into. There is a mod called Dynamic Things which would allow you do this. When you put something into a container of any kind you get the choice to make it static and not respawning.

 

Tweaking those two game values and using Dynamic Things you could make any place a home for your character.

 

To modify the settings you would use:

setgs ihourstorespawncell X

setgs ihourstorespawncellcleared X

 

To see what they are currently set to use:

getgs ihourstorespawncell

getgs ihourstorespawncellcleared

 

The only problem using this approach is that quite a few mods modify these values on their own and as such they would be reset when the scripts for those mods are set, alternatively on gameload - depending on how the mods are coded. You can also add these values to a bashed patch if you'd like - Wrye Bash lets you set these settings upon creating a bashed patch.

[DigitalVixen]

So in conclusion - yes, your idea would be perfectly viable.

 

To ensure that it would work alongside any other mod you would create a script which runs periodically and check the values. If they are set to something else than what you deem necessary for your mod to function then the script could reset the values to whatever you prefer.

 

I forgot to mention in the earlier post that the hours mentioned are hours spent in the game, not real-time hours or something such.

 

Also - potentially it could break quests or mods setting these values too high. At least that seems to be the general conclusion from the modding community. Me myself run these values at extremely high settings and I have yet to encounter a problem or issue.

[DigitalVixen]

Meh, I forgot to mention. These two values are game-wide. Meaning you can't set them for a precise cell.

[abrb2011]

I'm definitely excited to see that there are options that could bring this idea to fruition. Changing game-wide settings may be beyond the design goals of this mod so I suppose I will have to mull over the information provided. Thank you for the input!

[jayne2132]

Couldn't you just select the individual actors and containers and select 'no respawn' checkbox? I haven't tried this, is there a reason it wouldn't work?