[LE] Need help with creating a levelled enemy race (draugr-based)

[cumbrianlad]

I've solved this. If you have the same problem, read on. at the end you'll see the solution. Hope it helps.

 

Hello again.

 

I've created a levelled race of armoured skeletons already and other than a hiccup with scripting them to unequip their armour on dying, dragon priest style, I had no problem with the new race, levelled actor, levelled character and encounter actor system.

 

I thought that it would be the same for a new draugr race but I've come unstuck because they refuse to fight. I'm thinking that I haven't grasped the system as well as I thought.

 

My understanding of the system is like this..

1. Levelled actor: the only tabs used here are those that are not checked in the template data, which specifies which levelled character list to use.
2. Levelled character: Contains either a list of sub-lists or a list of encounter actors. Mine was just a list of encounter actors. These are sorted and selected according to the levels allocated to each.
3. Encounter actors: May again use a template but mine didn't. Every tab is used here except what has been used earlier in the process. So for my case, the tabs that were checked in the levelled actor template data.

As I said, this worked perfectly well for my skeleton race.

 

Here's what I did for the new draugr race...

1. I created a new race based on the vanilla draugr race, set both the morph race and armor race to draugr . All I altered in the race tabs was stuff in the general tab such as starting health and stamina, healing rate etc. I added text into the text tab. That's it. The original body data was left as the standard draugr.
2. Next I made a set of new EncDraugr templates based on a vanilla item to ensure that all the animations, sounds and ai packages were correct, which I left alone. My draugr use the packageDefaultDraugr, just as the original draugr do. I edited everything else except Base data. Attack data is based on my new race but is essentially the same as the basic draugr from my race menu. I had my own combat styles and encounter classes but even using standard draugr ones doesn't solve my issues. The inventory tab selects weapons and head outfit. The traits tab uses the vanilla draugr skins.
3. I made my Levelled character lists for males and females each pointing to the relevant templates. I have female melee, female missile and female mage character lists plus the male equivalent.
4. I made the levelled actors. The reason I left the base data unchecked in the template data, here, was that each draugr is named. Freydis Helgadottir, Torhild Porsi etc. I've tried ticking use base data in the levelled actors and this has no effect...they still don't fight.

The result is a set of draugr that wear their clothing, equip the appropriate weapons, are the right sex, use their spells, make suitable draugr noises and animations, follow the player around threateningly, seem to have the right amount of health for their difficulty and can be looted for their death items...they just don't fight.

 

What the heck am I missing?

 

I should add that I checked the esp file out in SSEedit and there were no conflicts at all, except for the ones around the exterior navmesh (which I'll probably need help with at some point, because I can't see how there wouldn't be conflicts since I had to alter the mesh around the tomb entrance and statues I'd placed outside)

 

Edit: Hold on! I lied! (Not on purpose, your honour, I swear...please don't sue me.) My lie was that I stated that there were no changes to the new draugr race other than the general tab and text tab. I certainly didn't deliberately alter anything else but it seems that I've inadvertently altered the entire set of attacks in the attack data tab. It's completely weird because they've all had skeever attacks substituted for the draugr ones that were originally in there. Now that is beyond me because in the entire process of creating the race I never once looked at anything to do with skeevers...

 

...anyway, I've decided to erase the race and do it again from scratch...this time keeping a close eye on the attack tab to make sure it doesn't get infested by skeevers! If this works, I'll be delighted of course...I'll also be right royally ****** to have wasted two nights trying everything under the sun.

 

Yup! As they say, "Never trust a skeever in draugr clothing". I went in and got my backside kicked all round the room by my first draugr, Freydis. She hasn't even got her new combat styles and encounter class yet, so she's going to be one heck of a tough kitty when she's properly sorted.

 

Edit 2: I'm adding this because I've found out what went wrong originally. I set up the traits tab in the levelled actors to set the skin and sex of my draugrs. When I found that this would not work and they appeared naked in game, I ticked the traits tab in the actor template data, resetting the traits in the actor to the default 'fox' race. This in turn causes the race to lose its attack data for some reason. It is easy to cure by going into the attack data tab in the race and clicking the 'update' button below the data. This resets the values to the proper ones again.

 

I'm sorry if you all know this. I'm writing it in case someone else has the same issue and reads this post. I wasted two days on this...nobody else should have to!