Attention - v1.1+ will EXCLUDE ARGONIANS from the slower swimming effect. (I.E. Argonians now swim faster than all other races, in addition to breathing underwater)
Big thanks to Hamstersensei12 for that suggestion!
(If you want Argonians INCLUDED, meaning Argonians swim slower too, simply use v1.0)
Really appreciate this but can't shake the feeling that this should be achievable without the need of a plugin at all - isn't swimming an anmiation? Wouldn't it be possible to slow it down by editing its meshes or writing something into some .json file?
On the contrary, it's absolutely fantastic that this can be solved by simple plugin edits alone: if this was about meshes/animations, it would quickly turn into a compatibility nightmare for anyone not using vanilla meshes/animations, and specific patches would have to be done for each and every mesh or animation out there... awful! There's absolutely no sense in fearing plugins - even way back when the plugin limit was much harder to work with it was simply a matter of merging changes and getting priorities straight, and nowadays it's almost non-existent with ESL, ESPFE, etc. This is the superior option in terms of ease of use, customizability, convenience, flexibility, etc., compared to directly modifying files that other mods might want to modify too! The only semi-valid alternative is what you hint at with external text files; stuff like SkyPatcher allows changing similar things to plugins while entirely circumventing their implementation, which can be a blessing or, if used poorly, a curse! You could implement this speed tweak with SkyPatcher (I'm pretty sure at least, but don't quote me on this lol) but in a pointless search for avoiding a measly extra plugin file, you might end up messing with other mods that, for example, set the swimming speed to a specific base number and then modify it depending on their own conditions, as their settings are now being overridden at runtime without any explicit conflict causing it! This can lead to users reporting unexplainable 'bugs' with zero conflicts between plugins because a SkyPatcher text file is at fault and the user cannot easily be aware of it without being a lot more informed about the exact effects each of their mods has. Don't take this as me delegitimizing the other possible solutions, they all have their place and are worth using, but in this case a plugin is really the best option for instant compatibility with everything else - save a different, swim-speed modifying mod! - and ease of use & troubleshooting. I hope you'll appreciate them a bit more, I honestly miss this system most of the time I'm modding other games because it's very useful and practical - though that's also in no small part thanks to the huge work the community has put into tools like xEdit, cause goddamn the CK is a mess lol
4096 and constantly changing the top 10 to accommodate for new exciting content. To my own surprise I experience no game-breaking problems directly connected to reaching the cap - I'm particular about compatibility and avoid large demanding overhauls like LOTD or nightmares of the type that having to generate LODs would turn into. Also it's not 2011 anymore and today's NG coding is amazingly durable and versatile. But to be clear: most of all I'm just content with playing continuous test runs reveling in the modded beauty I've gathered, fixing rumpled rugs, renaming doors and beds, hearing npcs fart and burp while looking to my dose of new possibilities every day.
Nevertheless I'm gonna kill some patch and give you that esl slot - swimming like a shark does suck tbh.
That's impressive. Having the mental wherewithal to assemble a load order that long without making a mess of it is a skill in its own right, so well done. And also thank you for giving me one of your slots! :-)
Some patches can be replaced with frameworks like FLM, KID, SPID, SkyPatcher, or LLOS. I've actually used my Patch Wizard scripts in xEdit to eliminate some plugins entirely. Others you might be able to combine into a single plugin.
Btw Balthor thanks for that excellent and educational dissertation. I'm glad I'm not the only one who still values the simplicity and compatibility of the "old ways".
15 comments
Well done my friend!
Big thanks to Hamstersensei12 for that suggestion!
(If you want Argonians INCLUDED, meaning Argonians swim slower too, simply use v1.0)
EDIT - DONE! (see v 1.1)
The only semi-valid alternative is what you hint at with external text files; stuff like SkyPatcher allows changing similar things to plugins while entirely circumventing their implementation, which can be a blessing or, if used poorly, a curse! You could implement this speed tweak with SkyPatcher (I'm pretty sure at least, but don't quote me on this lol) but in a pointless search for avoiding a measly extra plugin file, you might end up messing with other mods that, for example, set the swimming speed to a specific base number and then modify it depending on their own conditions, as their settings are now being overridden at runtime without any explicit conflict causing it! This can lead to users reporting unexplainable 'bugs' with zero conflicts between plugins because a SkyPatcher text file is at fault and the user cannot easily be aware of it without being a lot more informed about the exact effects each of their mods has.
Don't take this as me delegitimizing the other possible solutions, they all have their place and are worth using, but in this case a plugin is really the best option for instant compatibility with everything else - save a different, swim-speed modifying mod! - and ease of use & troubleshooting. I hope you'll appreciate them a bit more, I honestly miss this system most of the time I'm modding other games because it's very useful and practical - though that's also in no small part thanks to the huge work the community has put into tools like xEdit, cause goddamn the CK is a mess lol
Nevertheless I'm gonna kill some patch and give you that esl slot - swimming like a shark does suck tbh.