SSE Do I still need to make a SEQ file?

[antstubell]

I used to mod Oldrim and it was necessary to make a SEQ filw in order to get the game to recognise new quests. Recently back to modding in SSE and just made a quest. Let's say it doesn't do what it is supposed to. In game console quest can be seen running at stage 0. But as I progress the stages don't change. I can console the stages and I get the correct message displayed, Quest started, progress, quest end. Before getting into any other possible errors, do I need a SEQ file?

[tsdobbi]

I used to mod Oldrim and it was necessary to make a SEQ filw in order to get the game to recognise new quests. Recently back to modding in SSE and just made a quest. Let's say it doesn't do what it is supposed to. In game console quest can be seen running at stage 0. But as I progress the stages don't change. I can console the stages and I get the correct message displayed, Quest started, progress, quest end. Before getting into any other possible errors, do I need a SEQ file?

 

The seq thing only affected dialogue options as far as im aware for "startgameenabled" quests. (which I am currently running into on my first quest, generate seq, dialogue still doesnt show up).

 

However, you need to set the quest stages via script. i.e. say the quest is supposed to advance upon reading a note. In on read of the note (or upon selecting dialogue) you need to set the new quest stage.

[cumbrianlad]

Hi, Antstubell,

 

as tsdobbi says, SEQ are only needed for 'Start-Game Enabled' quests, hence the acronym SEQ. That the quest is a dialogue quest or any other quest doesn't matter. If it's start-game enabled, it now requires an SEQ file. Most vanilla dialogue quests you look at are start-game enabled, hence the confusion that dialogue quests always need an SEQ file... they don't. If you edit a start-game enabled quest quest in any way it is safest to re-generate the SEQ file for the quest.

 

If you've flagged your quest as atart-game enabled, you need an SEQ file. If the quest is starting, then the SEQ file is not your problem. I assume you gave it an event, such as 'Change location event' in the Story Manager.

 

Personally, I hate start-game enabled quests. I only use them for NPC dialogue, and only then if the NPC will persist in the game beyond the quest. The reason for this is that start game enabled quests always load with the game and run. Wherever poss, the SM is the way to go. That way you can start the quest when needed, shut it down when it isn't and that saves every player's cpu!

 

That it starts and doesn't progress, says that all your Aliases have loaded, The SM event node conditions are right, but the problem lies in the papyrus fragments of the quest stages, or perhaps in any script that you have added to the quest. It could be that you require an NPC alias and allow the alias to be dead, but you need to speak to him. The quest would fire and run, but stall because the poor sap was dead!

 

The other problem could lie in your quest objectives and how they are set up.

 

I'd start by looking at your quest aliases carefully. Then I'd look at the quest stages. Also, if you set stages in dialogue fragments, check that the papyrus end or start fragment is setting the right stage.

 

Without knowing more, that's all I can offer.

[tsdobbi]

Hi, Antstubell,

 

as tsdobbi says, SEQ are only needed for 'Start-Game Enabled' quests, hence the acronym SEQ. That the quest is a dialogue quest or any other quest doesn't matter. If it's start-game enabled, it now requires an SEQ file. Most vanilla dialogue quests you look at are start-game enabled, hence the confusion that dialogue quests always need an SEQ file... they don't. If you edit a start-game enabled quest quest in any way it is safest to re-generate the SEQ file for the quest.

 

If you've flagged your quest as atart-game enabled, you need an SEQ file. If the quest is starting, then the SEQ file is not your problem. I assume you gave it an event, such as 'Change location event' in the Story Manager.

 

Personally, I hate start-game enabled quests. I only use them for NPC dialogue, and only then if the NPC will persist in the game beyond the quest. The reason for this is that start game enabled quests always load with the game and run. Wherever poss, the SM is the way to go. That way you can start the quest when needed, shut it down when it isn't and that saves every player's cpu!

 

That it starts and doesn't progress, says that all your Aliases have loaded, The SM event node conditions are right, but the problem lies in the papyrus fragments of the quest stages, or perhaps in any script that you have added to the quest. It could be that you require an NPC alias and allow the alias to be dead, but you need to speak to him. The quest would fire and run, but stall because the poor sap was dead!

 

The other problem could lie in your quest objectives and how they are set up.

 

I'd start by looking at your quest aliases carefully. Then I'd look at the quest stages. Also, if you set stages in dialogue fragments, check that the papyrus end or start fragment is setting the right stage.

 

Without knowing more, that's all I can offer.

 

 

 

Maybe you can help me out as well. So my quest is working fine as is. I just want to improve my understanding to figure out why doing it another way doesn't work.

 

1. I have a start game enabled quest that just adds a note to the players inventory that will trigger my main quest upon reading.

2. Two weird things. Clearly the start game enabled add note quest works...when the game started. The note is in my inventory when i start the game. However, my main quest is set up to be triggered by reading the note. When my main quest was not set up as start game enabled, reading the note doesn't trigger it, I read and nothing happens.

event onRead()
    Q.Start()
    Q.SetObjectiveDisplayed(0)
    Q.SetStage(0)
endEvent

When I set my main quest up to be start game enabled (it doesn't start automatically) HOWEVER, when my main quest is set as start game enabled...reading the note DOES trigger the quest to start. I would prefer NOT to set up my MQ to be start game enabled so I dont have to keep generating these seq files. But it isn't making sense to me why the trigger doesn't work to start the quest if it isn't set up as start game enabled. Is there a command I am missing to start a non start game enabled quest?

 

So I am a little confused on what start game enabled actually does. Because I would think my MQ doesn't have to be start game enabled if I am triggering it by some other means. Furthermore if it is start game enabled, shouldnt it just start when I load the game?

[cumbrianlad]

tsdobbi,

 

Your quest never needs to be start-game enabled, unless it must be an active quest when the game starts. Obviously, the Helgen quest when the player starts a new game must be start-game enabled, or else the game would never start. Normally the generic dialogue quests are start-game enabled. To Beth, this wasn't an issue because they knew how many start-game enabled quests they were using and that this would not stress out the player's machine. Tbh, I even made my new NPC dilogue SGE ijust in case. i should maybe have the courage of my convictions and test it by swapping the quest to the SM.

 

I get exasperated by the number of modders who make their quests start-game enabled, just because it's 'easier'. If you play and have 100 mods with 1 start-game enabled quest per mod, the game engine is forced to load 100 quests, even if they are finished.

 

Once you get the hang of using the story manager, it's a really powerful tool and very useful. you don't even have to use that! You can use trigger boxes and cut out both the story manager and SEQ systems! More on that later.

 

Most quests are triggered by a 'change location event'. They don't have to be. For the 'change location event' to trigger or any other event, you can add conditions to your quest in the SM (story manager). You can condition it to start only when another quest has completed, or reached a certain stage. You can condition it to start only when the player hits a certain level... all sorts. Every time the player fast travels or goes through a load door, the game evaluates which quests are valid. so for change location events, the player has changed location. The game engine looks at all 'change Location' events that are still valid (not completed) and decides to start a quest if all the conditions are met. If the quests are start-game enabled, as far as I'm aware, it will also run through all of these, too. This is why, imo, start-game enabled quests are bad for hogging memory.

 

I'd say specifically to your script question, "Why are you trying to re-invent the wheel?" There are perfectly workable vanilla scripts that are set up to do what you want to accomplish with your note. Set up your quest. Make it an event in the Story Manager, add your note as an alias of the quest, preferrably by creating it in a chest, NPC inventory, etc. (This means that the player can't find it before the quest starts and doesn't make it a permanent reference) then on the alias form in the quest choose ''DefaultSetStageOnCloseBook". Be careful. There is one that is "DefaultSetStageOnCloseBookNotAlias". That's for books left lying for the player to find when a quest is not active. Set up the property to point to your quest and what stage needs to be set and boom! Job done.

 

Do it his way and it will work every time. Trust me.That's exactly how I trigger my Shades Of The Rift mod to work. I didn't even add it to the story manager. It's not start-game enabled and it has Event: None in the check box. i used a 'Default set stage trigger' and when the player enters the trigger it sets the stage to '0', the start-up stage. the next stage is triggered by the player finding and reading a note, just as you need. entering a certain area sets off another quest automatically via the SM using the 'Change Location' event.

 

So you see that there are many ways to reliably trigger a quest. Start-game enabled sucks imo and is a last resort.

 

You are entirely right. Your quest does not need to be start-game enabled.