[WIP] Atvir Dres: The Last Prince of Tear

[aluckymuse]

Hey, I've been having trouble with Atvir's horse riding function....

Consistently when I ask "why don't you ride?" he'll spawn a horse but not ride it and just stand around stupidly....if I start walking, or riding away he'll just run after me.

There have been a few, rare occasions which he mounts- and there was no decernable difference between the situations, he just randomly does or doesn't ride.

Perhaps in future you could try a compatibility patch with convenient horses? That mod works really smoothly for follower horses and I haven't noticed any bugs yet. *shrugs*

[nakakita]

Is it possible to when you re-do the 'Have I ever told you about' line of his dialogue to make sure certain conditions are met before he'll go on about you never shutting up about Helgen? The player only has to actually fess up to a near execution once in game when picking a civil war side, and there's ways to not talk about it with people who were not witnesses, so..?

 

Also, Atvir magically knows your character is dragonborn, before the Whiterun guards helping you kill the first dragon do, which is kindof funny, but it would be nice if he didn't do this before Dragon Rising is done?

 

On another note, thanks to the Headtracking mod, I've actually seen him smiling. Which I like, despite how utterly out of character it seems. I need to upload some screenshots of him to Nexus eventually. Now if only I could find something for him to wear. I think I've thrown almost every vanilla armor on him, and lots of modded armor, but nothing really seems to fit. He also has a bit of a neck seam issue which prevented me from using one armor I really liked for him. I'll definitely be happy when he gets his custom skin and armor.

 

Also, I've found that if you change his gear, save, and then exit and reload, he will retain his armor changes without any cloning and hassle. For me anyway. Maybe that tip will help someone.

[JanusForbeare]

Is it possible to when you re-do the 'Have I ever told you about' line of his dialogue to make sure certain conditions are met before he'll go on about you never shutting up about Helgen? The player only has to actually fess up to a near execution once in game when picking a civil war side, and there's ways to not talk about it with people who were not witnesses, so..?

 

Also, Atvir magically knows your character is dragonborn, before the Whiterun guards helping you kill the first dragon do, which is kindof funny, but it would be nice if he didn't do this before Dragon Rising is done?

 

On another note, thanks to the Headtracking mod, I've actually seen him smiling. Which I like, despite how utterly out of character it seems. I need to upload some screenshots of him to Nexus eventually. Now if only I could find something for him to wear. I think I've thrown almost every vanilla armor on him, and lots of modded armor, but nothing really seems to fit. He also has a bit of a neck seam issue which prevented me from using one armor I really liked for him. I'll definitely be happy when he gets his custom skin and armor.

 

Also, I've found that if you change his gear, save, and then exit and reload, he will retain his armor changes without any cloning and hassle. For me anyway. Maybe that tip will help someone.

 

I'm not totally clear on what you're asking for in the first paragraph. Which conditions do you think should be used - and why? The "About the time the Legion almost cut your head off" line is actually a place-holder, since there currently aren't any follow up topics. Also, like a lot of Atvir's lines, it's not meant to be taken too seriously... it's more of a meta-joke for the player.

 

Regarding the second point: as far as I can recall, Atvir only has one line in which he calls you "Dragonborn", which can only occur during combat with dragons (so it's assumed that you've been playing the MQ, although certain mods can remove that requirement). However, you're right - I neglected to consider that you're not actually known as Dragonborn until after the battle at the Western Watchtower. Thank you for pointing that out; I'll add a GetQuestCompleted condition to that line.

 

Atvir smiles in vanilla - usually after he says something that he finds amusing. I'm not totally sure what the more recent versions of Player Headtracking do (I don't play enough to keep up with all the updates, so I'm still running 1.4) but from what I read on the description page, that mod doesn't seem to affect NPC expressions, only PC expressions. Are you sure PH is responsible?

 

Regarding the neck seam/armour, 3D modelling and texturing is not my strong suit - I know next to nothing about correcting those issues. Up until recently, I've had a couple of very talented 3D artists working on those aspects of the mod; unfortunately, one had to resign from the project because of professional responsibilities, while the other has been having technical difficulties with Skyrim/the CK. As it stands, the Cosmetic Overhaul is stalled until these issues are resolved, or until I can find new talent for those roles,

 

That being said, Atvir's armour and weapons are 90% complete - all the meshes have been built, as have many of the textures. Hopefully I'll be able to find another artist soon, so that he or she can help polish off those aspects of the Overhaul (if anyone reading this has an appropriate skill set, and feels like showcasing their work in a popular mod, please do let me know!).

 

Lastly, Nakakita, thank you for providing that tip regarding Atvir's armour - hopefully that'll hold people over until the first Content Update has been released (armour cloning has been resolved, and the fix is coming in the next version).

 

And just to give everyone an idea of the progress of the Update, I've got approximately 75% of Atvir's first real quest built - most of what remains to be done is the (quite extensive) debriefing after the mission, and polishing the rough edges. Once it's complete, I'll be focusing on integrating dialogue for Argonian/Dunmer players, adding several more randomly-occurring scenes, and expanding Atvir's banter. Everything is on track for a release towards the end of the year.

 

Oh, yeah, one more thing (sorry everyone, I have yet to master the lost mystical art of brevity ;)). There have been a few requests for some sort of romance-able, female counterpart to Atvir. While I don't intend to build another companion as complex as Atvir at this time, the second Content Update will introduce a new NPC who will be open to player romance. A lot of the details still need to be firmed up, but I have a voice actress waiting in the wings (with one of the loveliest voices I have ever heard). Be warned, however, that pursuing a relationship with her will likely complicate your friendship with Atvir. :huh:

[calfurius]

i wonder who is it...Atvir's EX girlfriend? Atvir's Cousin? Is it an ARGONIAN!?!?

 

The Suspense is killing me

[JanusForbeare]

Well, she's not an Argonian, I'll tell you that much :). To be honest, I share Atvir's distaste for the idea of romances between mammals and reptiles. Those are some good guesses, though!

 

Also, a quick update on something I mentioned in my last post. I've approached an experienced and established 3D artist (here on the Nexus) about the possibility of taking over the construction of Atvir's custom skin, and have received a tentatively positive reply. Nothing is set in stone, yet - the modder in question has a project of their own to complete before anything is decided. However, I am hopeful that work on the Cosmetic Overhaul will be starting up again in the not-too-distant future. :thumbsup:

[nakakita]

Now I'm afraid I'm annoying you. I'm happy to hear that you got someone to help finish his skin and gear though. I also managed to fix his face discoloration issue on my own.

mentioned how.

 

As for the 'legion cut your head off' line, if it's just a placeholder, it's cool. If conditions were to be added to if he says it though (like you are not the Dragonborn pre-Dragon Rising quest), I think that if he's around if you admit it to Yarl Bulgruff, or if he's around when you sign up for a civil war side, then he'd obviously know. Or if there is an option to tell him directly later. The only other place I can think of where the player directly mentions Helgen is in Cidnah Mine, and unless you summon him while you're in there, he's not going to hear that, so that wouldn't be worth adding a notifier too. If it's too complicated to bother with, then don't, it's just a silly nit-picky thing.

 

I'm curious about this girl too now. Is she a stormcloak collaborator? Or is she a spy for the thieves cult who has been trying to blackmail him into joining? Or maybe she's just going to try and manipulate you so she makes him jealous enough to return to her?

Edited September 19, 2012 by nakakita

[JanusForbeare]

Heh, no, you're certainly not annoying me! When I responded to your message, I had just woken up and was in a pre-coffee daze. I may not have been at my most diplomatic. If so, I apologize - I certainly welcome feedback! A mod belongs to the users nearly as much as it belongs to the author, so feel free to voice your opinions.

 

Thank you for providing the link about the face discolouration bug. It's been reported before, but I hadn't found the time or information required to tackle it. I'll certainly look into correcting it when I get a chance.

 

The "Legion cut your head off" line will probably be dropped once I add some topics to the "Did I ever tell you about the time..." dialogue branch. For now, I'd recommend either pretending that your character has discussed those events with Atvir, or - as I do - simply don't bother with that dialogue option. Since there are no follow-up questions/topics, there's not much point right now anyhow.

 

As for the girl... well, I'm not going to spoil the surprise :devil: . However, I will say this... the suggestion/idea was mentioned by another user in this thread (in fact, by two users, if I remember correctly). She's someone who Atvir will both love (for what she is) and hate (for what she's become).

[JanusForbeare]

Just a quick update tonight.

 

I am happy to announce that AD has acquired its first original musical composition, written and performed by the Nexus' own Esteris. The song, tentatively titled "Atvir's Lament", can be found below.

 

The multi-talented Esteris will also be lending her beautiful voice to the mod in the near future, so this certainly isn't the last you'll hear of her!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNQ7SpFInvk

Edited September 20, 2012 by JanusForbeare

[calfurius]

That was beautiful...

[elrofrost]

First thanks. This is an amazing mod. The best companion in the game. I know how much work this took. And I know it's a labor of love really. I mean, Atvir is even better then what's-her-face in Dawnguard.

 

I have a few questions though.. what's this "tracker quest"? Is it just a marker so I can see where he is on the map? And given his "personality" I've been a little afraid of asking him to stay put in one place. Afraid he might go his own way and I'll never find him. So if I tell him to "wait here" - will he? I ask this cause I'm running the DB quest line, and I'm concerned what he might "think" after so many murders. Considering who he worships this might not be an issue, though.

Edited September 22, 2012 by elrofrost