Tekuromoto's Less predictable respawn




Version: 0.5
Date: 16 January 2012
Author: kuertee
Source: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/29973
Requirements:
* Skyrim 1.8
* Skyrim Script Extender http://skse.silverlock.org/





Short description


Randomises the respawn rates of cells.


Gameplay changes


Randomises these Game Settings whenever you move between cells:

* iHoursToClearCorpses
* iHoursToRespawnCell
* iHoursToRespawnCellCleared

Why? I'll let Tekuromoto's read-me explain. I copy-and-paste this
verbatim from his Oblivion mod's read-me:



How It Works


In order to understand what the mod will and will not do, it's important
to understand how the Oblivion engine respawns (or resets) cells.

First off, what do I mean by "respawn"? Well, don't think of it in a
Diablo-esque sense. You cannot respawn monsters in the area for a
hack-and-slash style horde of monsters that continually come at you from
off screen. In Oblivion, every cell contains data about what's in it:
NPCs and monsters, items (both placed by the designers and dropped by
actors including the player), havoked items (like books and dishes),
plants, food, and containers. When a cell is respawned, a number of
things happen:

* dead actors (and their inventories) are removed
* new actors are "spawned" if there are any spawn points in the cell
* havoked items that are still in the cell are returned to their
original positions (books onto shelves, dishes onto tables, whatever)
* food that was initially in the cell (not dropped there by an actor)
is replenished (this is a special case, and seems to have to do with
NPCs being able to eat via the AI packages; other non-edible
ingredients that have been removed do not replenish)
* items that were left in the cell are removed
* plants have their ingredients replenished so they are harvestable
again
* containers that are not marked as "non-respawning" (ie, most
containers other than those in player houses) have all their contents
removed and discarded, and new contents are generated.

Everytime you enter a new cell, whether it's a shop, a dungeon, or a
"cell" in the wilderness, that cell gets a timestamp indicating when it
was last visited. The next time you enter that cell, the timestamp is
compared with the respawn timer and if enough time has elapsed then the
cell is reset. This has a number of ramifications:

1. A cell that is visited fairly frequently, say once every couple of
days, will never respawn with the default timer of 3 days. (EDIT: 10
days in Skyrim. END EDIT.)
2. A cell that is visited only once in the game still has all of it's
data stored in the savegame file; it does not get reset (and garbage
cleaned up, etc) until it is visited again.
3. The length of the respawn timer should not affect savegame size;
only the number of cells visited (in addition to quest variables and
all that) affects the amount of data in the savegame.
4. An inordinately long respawn timer (that never changes) will have
the effect of making the world seem less dynamic, especially in cities
and dungeons (see point 1).

This means that every cell you enter is checked against the _current_
respawn timer value. So what this mod does is randomizes the respawn
timer. Say it's been randomized to 36. If you've been away from this cell
for more than 36 hours, it'll reset, and the timestamp set to the current
time.. At that time (when you've entered your new cell) a new value is
rolled; let's say it's 62. The _next_ cell you enter is checked against
the _new current_ respawn timer of 62 hours. Again, if you've been away
from this cell for more than 62 hours, it'll reset and the timestamp gets
reset and all that... BUT! If you haven't been away from the cell long
enough for it to get respawned, the timestamp STILL gets set to the
current time. Hence the problem with revisiting a cell over and over
within the respawn time limit: it'll never respawn.

What this mod doesn't do is spawn new types of monsters, or affect the
contents of non-respawning containers (such as in your house), or
distribute new spawn points around the world (EDIT: (in an OOO/MMM
overhaul type of sense) END EDIT.), or allow you to have certain types of
cells respawn on a different schedule than the rest of the world.



Details


You can configure this mod with SkyUI's MCM or in the Console by typing
"SetPQV kuTLPRQ {mod data} {value}".Below are the various mod data that
you can change, their default values and a short description of their
effects.

userMinIHoursToClearCorpses = 0
userMaxIHoursToClearCorpses = 0
By default, the mod does not change this setting.

userMinIHoursToRespawnCell = 24
userMaxIHoursToRespawnCell = 72
Randomises the respawn of cells from between 24 hours to 72 hours.

userMinIHoursToRespawnCellCleared = 24
userMaxIHoursToRespawnCellCleared = 72
Randomises the respawn of cleared cells from between 24 hours to 72 hours.

A configuration file
(data\ini\kuerteeTekuromotosLessPredictableRespawn.ini) is provided with
the relevant console commands. If you want to change any of the default
values above, change them in the INI file then run the file by typing
{bat "ini\kuerteeTekuromotosLessPredictableRespawn.ini"} (without the
brackets) in the console. You only need to do this when you want to
change the values of the property. Your changes will be saved in your
game.


Install


1. Use Wrye Bash
(http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=1840) to install
this mod. Just drag the package (which is a normal ZIP file) into Wrye
Bash's Installers tab. However, the package is only a normal ZIP file,
so if you know the game's mod file structure, install it manually.
2. Change your settings within the game in Sky UI's MCM or check the
settings in "Data\Ini\". If you change any of it, execute your changes
by typing in the console {bat
"ini\kuerteeTekuromotosLessPredictableRespawn.ini"} without the
brackets.
3. Activate the mod.


Uninstall


1. In the console, type "SetPQV kuTLPRQ uninstallNow True." Or with
Sky UI's MCM, set the uninstallNow toggle to True then exit the menus.
2. Wait for a message confirming the uninstallation. Save the game.
3. Deactivate the mod with Wrye Bash. If you installed this manually,
simply delete all the files you installed. (Wrye Bash keeps track of
files used, so installing/uninstalling the mod with it is 100%
simpler.)


Troubleshooting


* You can reset the mod by typing {SetPQV kuTLPRQ resetNow True}
(without the brackets) in the console. Or with Sky UI's MCM, set the
resetNow toggle to True then exit the menus.
* When it resets it will ask you either reset all of its data or
continue with the current data. Resetting all its data will remove all
your configurations and set the mod as if you have first installed it.
* You can check all the mod's data by typing {SQV kuTLPRQ} in the
console. You can check if your configurations were set in the mod
properly with this.
* If you find that your changes (with the command SetPQV or from
executing the INI) does not appear in the mod, check the command again
for spelling errors. Then try again.
* If you find that resetting (with resetNow) and uninstalling (with
uninstallNow) don't seem to work, the mod may have been suspended. It
is best to simply start-over (i.e. reinstall the mod) after a "clean"
save.
* Creating a clean save:
1. If you can uninstall the mod from the console with {SetPQV
kuTLPRQ uninstallNow True}.
2. Wait for the mod to confirm the uninstallation. It may take a
minute. If no confirmation appears, then simply continue to the next
step.
3. Save the game manually from the console by typing {save
uninstalledMod}.
4. Uninstall all the mod's files (*.ESP, *.PSC, *.PEX) from the
game folders. Make sure that none of the mod's Scripts are left. A
mod manager like Wrye is best used for this.
5. Load the "uninstalledMod" save.
6. Save the game manually again from the console by typing {save
cleanSave}. Because all of the mod's files were removed, all of its
data will be "zeroed" in this game.
7. Play from this game.

* As a last resort, you can also enable script logging and investigate
it and/or send it to me. Contact me first either on TESNexus or the
official Bethesda forums. To enable script logging, read this thread
from the official Bethesda Creation Kit Forum:
http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1345130-having-papyrus-trouble-here-are-
some-things-to-try/.


History




0.5, 16 January 2013:

* Initial release.


Credits


Tekuromoto

kuertee in http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/


Tools Used


Creation kit - http://www.creationkit.com


Licensing/Legal


You can do whatever you want with this mod but all I ask in return is
that you give me credit. I would also like to be contacted when you
include this mod in part or in full in a public release.