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This is the second of two related articles. You can read the first part HERE.
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This is the second of two related articles. You can read the first part HERE.
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I'm now the proud (and extremely grateful) owner of a new pc. Work on Inigo has resumed in earnest and it feels amazing to be back. :)
It finally arrived towards the end of March (more on why it took so long below) and over the last couple of weeks I've been busily transferring, installing, tweaking, and getting Inigo back on his feet. Seeing him in HD with the settings cranked up for the first time is beyond fantastic. I'm not going to list the full spec here; it's really not important. Just know it's the most powerful machine I've owned by a country mile, and it has single-handedly saved Inigo. It also allows me to continue to produce free-lance art and animation, which is particularly vital in these trying times.
I really cannot thank those who made this possible enough. You guys are the cat's pyjamas. :)
Some of you may be thinking "Why did it take so long?" Well, that is a rather lengthy and unexciting tale, but if you're interested here it is.
I had planned to order the build in early Jan to take advantage of seasonal discounts. So, around that time, when I had my potential pc virtually built, I phoned the supplier to see if there were any unlisted deals coming up in the near future I'd maybe regret not taking advantage of. It turned out I'd be able to upgrade the GPU at almost no extra cost if I waited just a little longer... so I did.
As this was happening I was still attempting to get my old pc running so I could deactivate old Adobe CS6 installs and recover the data I mentioned in the previous article . I managed to source a replacement motherboard and some cheap RAM. I wanted to replace the fried mobo with exactly the same model to make recovery as simple as possible and eventually found a used one online. There was only one left so I snapped it up. It arrived, I installed it, and ... nothing. After further inspection, I noticed that the replacement mobo had a tiny broken... erm... part (technical term), which, to cut a long and terrifying story short, I managed to resolder. Phew! My old pc was back in the game (albeit in a far weaker, shakier state). It mumbled and grumbled at being raised from the dead, but pulled itself together admirably and limped back into action. I deactivated my Adobe software and backed up everything I needed externally. I found that I could still run the CK, but it was extremely shaky and crashed five times more often than before. Still, I could continue to make slow, frustrating, progress on Inigo while I waited for my much needed new build. Things were looking up.
The deal on my GPU upgrade went through, and over the next few days the new machine was built, stress tested, and dispatched. It would be with me soon! I couldn't wait! I eagerly tracked the delivery all morning... it had left the depot... it was somewhere near London... it was somewhere near Leeds ... it was... still somewhere near Leeds. I checked back in the evening and my new pc seemed to be stuck. Weird. Then I received two emails simultaneously, one from the supplier and another from the dispatcher. The driver had been involved in a "minor traffic incident" and my pc was being recalled for assessment in case of damage. The following day, I received another email informing me that my machine was being re-built from the ground up and that I'd have to wait another ten days before the new, new pc was shipped. There was a little good news though - they were throwing in an extra 2TB of storage free of charge for my inconvenience. I looked down at my old machine and willed it to last another ten days. It responded by rattling its fans at me and crashing the CK for the fourth time that hour. I knew how it felt.
Eight days went by, and during this time a virus called Covid 19 took its first creeping steps into many of our lives here in the UK. Where I live, early in the year inconsistent reports from China regarding the virus were initially muffled by Brexit, rail strikes, and countless other topics. But by the time my pc was due to be shipped for the second time, Covid 19 had tangibly begun to transform the world for all of us. People in the UK were told to self isolate if they exhibited any symptoms and to practice social distancing. My day job as a teacher for a private company started to look very shaky as more and more businesses closed their doors, and the government rolled out tighter restrictions on movement. The day before my pc was supposed to arrive I received a second apologetic email from the supplier, this time stating that due to a reduction in staff my order could not be completed on time. It would, they hoped, be ready in another ten days. I wasn't annoyed at them. I had ordered parts from them several times before, and had always received excellent service. They were simply suffering the same bad luck as everyone else.
I patted the grill of my old machine and whispered "Please hold on. Just a little longer." It whined at me with its CPU fan, but gamely struggled on. In fact, it didn't crash the CK at all that day. That said, it did throw a blue screen of death at me just before bed (possibly in an attempt to self- euthanise).
The days ticked by. The streets began to empty, and like much of the population, I found myself temporarily without a job as schools shut and my employer was forced to close. I kept busy, trying to extend the life of my old pc by focusing on lighter tasks; writing, 2D art, etc. Then, one rainy afternoon, shortly after the UK went into full lockdown, I received a call from an unrecognised number. "Hi. I have a package here for you. I'm outside."
It couldn't be! It was! My pc had made it! I unboxed the beast and got to work transferring everything over. It took days to get things fully set-up, preserving custom presets, re-linking backup drives, installing endless software, etc, but Inigo was a priority. Five hours after the first boot I loaded Skyrim and paid him a visit. Everything was working as it should so I took him to Cronvangr cave to celebrate, then onto a V3 location for sweetrolls and a sit down.
Phew!
So...I'm back, Inigo's back, and work on V3 is rolling along at a good pace once again. :)
I'm well and I'm using my days in lockdown to regain a little of the time I've lost over the last year.
Stay safe, my friends. And once again, to all those who chipped in and/or spread the word to make this possible, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Gary (and Inigo)
16 comments
When I was reading the description of Inigo, not gonna lie, I was sweating. I was like please please please still be supported and not kicked to the curb like a sad puppy. Which in turn brought me here to your story, It sounds wrong but Ive also been down on my luck through these times and its nice to read something relatable haha.
Keep up the good work and when times look up for me, youll be my first Donation towards a mod because you definitely deserve it.
Inigo is the biggest reason why I keep returning to Skyrim. He's someone I actually miss and reminisce about. No matter how many times I've picked him up in Riften (probably close to 50 times by now?) -- I've also found myself quoting Inigo and applying his wisdom for situations. Sometimes I've made new friends just cause they're also just as big of fans as I am.
I often tell my wife "What is yours, is mine" and "You lead, I follow,", with my own attempt at Inigo's accent. :)
Finally, I wanted to share I also experienced a hardware related failure (the fan on my GPU stopped working after many years of loyal service) last year so I can definitely relate, I'm happy everything worked out for you!
Many thanks for your hard work, I wish you all the best and for you to stay safe :)
(TLDR) I ordered a new freezer immediately, waited 3 weeks, finally the day had come, delivery was supposed to take place at 8am Saturday. At 8:13am the delivery guys arrived, they got into the rear of the truck and after about 7 mins one came out and said "I don't know how to tell you this; the freezer is NOT on the truck, You'll have to call the office Monday". Monday came and they told me they'd contact the warehouse and find out where my freezer had gone, well another 3 weeks later and a dozen emails and phone calls saying the same thing, they NEVER did find my freezer. Thank god I had ordered from Amazon so refund was super fast and easy but we went 2 months with no freezer. From now on I will always order appliances locally, no more shipping from across the country.
Stay Safe
Stay Safe, Remain healthy
I'm eager to meet Inigo again soon, so I'll have to restart Skyrim once more on a new playthrough, it seems, to hear all the snarky comments and location awareness he will offer. :)
You single-handedly rekindle my interest in this old game whenever I think of this great mod of yours.
Thank you for hours of fun with the Smart Blue Cat!