Introduction

Generic follower frameworks don't always play nice with Serana. The usual recommendation is to install them AFTER completing the Dawnguard questline, which means choosing between having an impractical, dysfunctional follower for a good chunk of the game, or having a practical follower but at the cost of possible game/quest/follower-breaking bugs. On the other hand, Serana is a unique follower with unique behaviours and needs which are rarely fully explored and accounted for in generic follower frameworks given their, well... generic nature. To make things worse, vanilla Serana is also riddled with bugs and inconsistent behaviours, for which a patchwork of mods (not always cross-compatible) is required to address them, leading to an overall unsatisfactory experience when using her as a follower. It's clear Serana would profit from an exclusive, custom-tailored framework solution.

Serana Follower Framework has been developed in part to fill that void. A much improved version of SIF (Serana Improvements & Fixes), SFF seeks to give Players a fully functional follower framework built exclusively around Serana, available from the very start and usable throughout Serana's questline, ridding her from those most annoying and frustrating bugs and inconsistencies which usually affect her while at the same time expanding and giving Serana additional follower features - nothing more, nothing less. As a follower framework, SFF keeps intact Serana's vanilla personality (for better or for worse). You will find no new quests nor major voiced dialogue lines included, nor any new additions which deviate from Bethesda's original rendition of the character, for that matter.

On the surface, SFF might look very similar to SIF and indeed they are: there is a clear overlap of functions and features between them. That said, the code and logic behind SFF has been completely revised and redone, with the elimination of obsolete and inefficient code, much more robust logic leading to less unpredicted behaviours and failures, less unnecessary changes to vanilla assets, and increased flexibility given most features are now MCM-togglable. Like its predecessor, SFF's most basic aim is to reduce Player headache and increase quality time while having Serana as a follower.



Features
(See Changelog for a comprehensive list of changes)

(Palliative) Fixes
[Palliative can be defined as "relieving pain without dealing with the cause of the condition". As well pointed by some early commentators on SIF, some of these "fixes" do not deal with the underlying causes of the bugs they purport to fix. They do, however, free the player from having to manually deal with them through console commands or otherwise].

• auto-equip hoodie behaviour will no longer apply to cured Serana
• auto-equip hoodie behaviour will no longer fire during night time
• auto-equip hoodie behaviour no longer tied to the use of default vampire armour
• auto-equip hoodie behaviour will not fire if Serana is using a Player-given hood or helmet 
• Crouch/Sneak Bug: game will detect if Serana is stuck in crouch mode and refresh her automatically (MCM togglable)
• Combat Pose Bug: game will detect if Serana is stuck in combat pose (dual casting magic pose) after combat, resetting her AI if necessary (MCM togglable)
• fixed Companion's Insight ability not working on Serana [v1.1.0]
• fixed Player's Vampire Lord Drain spell debuff while having Serana as an active follower [v1.1.0]
• game automatically removes base Drain spell from Serana when she is cured [v1.1.0]
• Semi-Crouch/Hunched Anim. Bug:  Serana sometimes gets frozen in a "Semi-Crouched" position (where she is neither standing nor sneaking). Game will now automatically correct it [v1.5.0]
• Teleportation bug: Serana sometimes does not follow Player when entering/exiting cells. This will force-teleport Serana to Player in these occasions [v1.5.0]
  

Mechanisms & Systems
[Follow System]

• Distance Setting: Players can choose between three follow distances (Close, Normal, and Far). If using Close distance option, Serana automatically reverts to Normal distance if Player is crouching, so not to get in the way
  

• Follow Mode: Players can choose between two modes: Traditional Mode (vanilla behaviour, with Serana following behind you) and Companion Mode (Serana will walk by your side, as in  IsharaMeradin's mod "Followers as Companions" mod). Companion mode behaviour only fires if Player in third person, not sneaking, and while neither Serana nor Player are in combat, reverting to close range follow if conditions are not met
  

(as of[v1.2.0], Players can also change what side and distance Serana will use when following beside you)
(as of[v1.3.0], Player can also toggle optional "Variable Companion Distance" mode: Serana will follow closer to Player when indoors while following beside)

• Toggleable Sandbox: Serana's sandbox behaviour can now be disabled by the Player, if so desired, reverting her to the traditional follow behaviour of vanilla followers
• Alternative Sandbox Mode.: in vanilla, Serana's sandbox behaviour is determined by Player radius - if Player is settled, Serana sandboxes; if Player moves beyond a certain radius (no matter how close or far from Serana they are), sandbox beh. stops. Alt. Sandbox Mode inverts the logic: sandbox only starts if Player is settled, but continues for as long as Player is within Serana's radius (i.e., as long as Player is near Serana, she'll continue sandboxing, no matter how much they move about (MCM togglable) [v1.3.0]
• Advanced Sandbox Mode: Serana will only initiate sandbox beh. if there are idle markers or furniture available for her to do so. No more "empty" sandboxing (MCM togglable) [v1.3.0]
  

[Home Assignment]

• Player has the ability to set different home locations for Serana (Castle Volkihar, Fort Dawnguard, or any other Player-owned cell). If dismissed by player, she will wait for them in the chosen location 
  

[Autonomous Behaviour AI]

• Auto Home Relax: Serana will skip her follow behaviour and sandbox/"relax" whenever Player enters an owned cell (MCM togglable)
  

• Sleep Cycles: both vampire and cured Serana now have independent sleep cycles. Serana will skip her relax behaviour and go to sleep when in a Player-owned cell during appropriate hours (from 08:00 to 16:00, if vampire; from 22:00 to 06:00, if cured) (MCM togglable)
  

[Teleportation]

• If Serana is too far from Player and not in combat, she will be teleported behind the Player on weapon draw (MCM togglable)
• Some locations are automatically excluded from the mechanism (e.g., Apocrypha and Sovngarde) 
• Some quests also temporarily block the feature, such as Diplomatic Immunity (as of v1.2.0, the only quest added)
• Added a 'Summon Serana' spell, which teleports her to the Player without restrictions, available after the completion of 'Beyond Death' quest (MCM togglable) [v1.1.0]
• Added a 'Teleport to Soul Cairn' spell, available after completion of 'Beyond Death' quest (MCM togglable) [v1.1.0]
  

[Outfit Management]

• Home Outfit: users can set a specific outfit for Serana to use while in Player homes. If left empty, Serana will bypass the system and use her normal outfit
  

• Sleep Outfit: users can set a specific outfit for when Serana's sleep packages fire. As before, if left empty, Serana will not change outfits during sleep time
  

• Custom Hoodie: while some users might enjoy the auto-equip hoodie behaviour, her default hoodie is not always visually appealing. Players now have the option of giving Serana a custom hoodie or other head gear via the appropriate dialogue ("Use this hoodie"), which will be used instead for the auto-equip behaviour
• Combat Headgear: Player will have the option of setting specific headgear to be used when in combat (either same head piece as the Custom Hoodie or an independent headgear item not tied to Custom Hoodie (MCM togglable) [v1.2.0]
  

• Backpack: Players will have access to a parallel inventory, indispensable given the way the outfit system works. Players should only add to her inventory those items they want her to use (armour or otherwise). All else should go in her backpack (MCM togglable)
  

• Elder Scroll equip: managing Serana's outfit sometimes leads the Elder Scroll she carries throughout the first half of the questline to go missing. The game can now detect when that happens and force re-equip it (MCM togglable)
  

• Toggleable auto-hoodie equip behaviour: complete bypass of Serana's automatic hood equipping behaviour now possible. Serana will only equip Player-given head gear, or nothing, if not given one (MCM togglable)
  

• Outfit permanence: once Serana's default outfit is made manageable, she will always use the outfit Players add to her inventory and will never revert to her vanilla outfit, even when dismissed
• Advanced Outfit System: Enables Player to create, set and manage up to three pre-defined outfit sets for Serana, easily applying and comparing different outfits without having to manually add/remove items through Inventory. An "Alternative Logic" mode is also available, enabling users to bypass Creation Engine's traditional outfit system (which impedes Player-modified armour buffs being applied to npcs) by adding outfit items as individual pieces directly to Serana's Inventory instead (MCM togglable) [v1.2.0]
• Outfit Previewer Mode: much like  Show Player In Menus mod by myztikrice, this feature will pose Serana whenever Player is managing her Inventory or Outfit Sets, enabling the Player to see in real time and in full changes made to her outfit. Users can rotate Serana around and also zoom in or out to appreciate any changes made to her attires (MCM togglable) [v1.5.0]
• Conditional Outfits: users can now set different conditions for dynamically applying Custom Outfits (as of v1.6.0, only "city outfit" condition has been implemented) (MCM togglable) [v1.6.0]
  

[Synergy System]

• Spending time together in combat will give Player a variable amount of XP in some random but pre-defined skills (Alchemy, Conjuration, Destruction, One-Handed or Light Armour). XP amount will depend on your SDE relationship level. The higher it is, the higher you xp gain will be. Equally, shared combat time will lead to incremental relationship/affinity points gain (MCM togglable)
• Alternatively, Synergy can give Players only affinity points if so desired (MCM togglable) [v1.2.0]
  

[Vampire Lord Transformation][v1.1.0]
[Incorporation, adaptation and revision of Borgut1337's phenomenal mod, Vampire Lord Serana, now fully integrated into SFF]

• Players can choose whether or not to allow Serana to adopt her Vampire Lord form (MCM togglable)
• If enabled, Players have complete freedom to pick and choose the conditions that may trigger her transformation (MCM togglable)
• Serana has access to proper Vampire Lord Drain spell 
  

[Alternative Sun Damage Mechanism] [v1.1.0]

• Vanilla Vampire Serana has a 100% debuff to magicka and stamina regen, leading to constant fatigue or headache animations playing if using mods like EVG Conditional Idles
• This alternative mechanism reduces the debuff to 90% if using enough protective armour, giving Serana the chance to (slowly but surely) regain her stamina and magika levels while outside
  

[Hunger & Feeding System] [v1.6.0]

• Serana now has a hunger cycle, with three different hunger levels that increase (more or less) every 24hs
• Player can offer to feed Serana their blood, dynamically reducing Player health and increasing Serana's depending on hunger.
• Feeding option only available during night time (19:00 - 05:00)
• SDE integration: Serana will be grateful for being fed, and it'll reflect in your SDE affinity lvl
• Additional, toggleable options which make it more than a "cosmetic" feature: Dynamic Buffs (increasing or decreasing Serana's weaknesses and resistances), Feeding Block (stopping Player from feeding Serana if NPCs nearby or if in a settlement), and Potion Use (enabling Serana to satiate her hunger by using Blood Potions) (MCM toggleable)
• Feeding also enabled on low health
• Fully voiced: text and audio cues will alert you as to Serana's hunger status (which can also be checked in MCM monitoring page), with post-feed commentary also present
  

[Horse-riding][v1.2.0]

• Adds a very basic horse mounting system, enabling Serana to use a horse when Player is mounted (MCM togglable)
• Players can give any of the five Vanilla hold horses they might own for Serana to use
• Arvak also usable if Player has the 'Summon Arvak' spell
• Players can choose between different horse behaviours for when horse is dismounted ('stay put', 'return to stable' or 'follow')
  

[Trap Waiting Behaviour] [WIP] [v1.2.0]

• Return of SIF's trap waiting mechanism, but implemented 100% via code: no unnecessary changes to cells
• Much like Frea in Temple of Miraak, Serana will wait for you to disable traps where it makes sense to do so
  

(so far only Temple of Miraak swinging trap added)

[Valerica Follower Framework support] [WIP]

• Added optional, barebones follower framework for Valerica. 
  

Misc.

• full MCM integration: most features can be disabled or enabled according to Player preference; Player can also monitor some stats and other info on Serana (home location; current location; relationship level, armour rating, etc) 
  

• SDE integration: certain dialogue options will give relationship points (e.g., telling Serana to follow you closely or asking her to live at your house)
  

• Serana tracker quest: Players now have the option of enabling a tracker quest, which will show you on the map exactly where Serana is
  

• added Serana to CurrentFollowerFaction upon recruitment, making her compatible with mods that depend on this to work (e.g., AutoRecharge Weapons)
  

• many other small tweaks and changes
  

Compatibility

SFF relies on two fundamental vanilla scripts: "DLC1_NPCMentalModelScript", "DLC1NPCMonitoringPlayer" and their associated quests. MODS THAT MAKE CHANGES TO THESE SCRIPTS ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH SFF!

Follower manager framework mods (e.g., AFT, NFF etc.): they can be used together with SFF as long as Serana is managed EXCLUSIVELY by the latter, and the former for your other followers. Adding Serana to more than one follower framework IS GUARANTEED TO CAUSE PROBLEMS! Don't do it. For those that insist on doing it, be sure to disable those features of SFF which overlap with other mods or vice versa.

NOTE: some users have reported issues when using AFT, even if Serana not added to the framework.

Horse management mods (e.g., Convenient Horses): should be compatible. Make sure to disable SFF's horse/mount features to avoid conflicts.

Outfit Manager mods: you may use them with other NPCs, but using them with Serana will generate conflicts with SFF's outfit management system.

Player house mods: For specific features to work (such as auto-relax and home-setting), any cells meant to be used as homes need to have proper ownership factions and keywords. HOWEVER, due to how inconsistent cell ownership implementation is (be it in vanilla homes or mod-added ones), SFF includes an option to add any individual cell to an ownership "whitelist", bypassing said checks and avoiding the need for patching. 

Appearance, level and skills mods: they should all be compatible as SFF does not edit Serana's NPC record. Please beware that for the Vampire Lord feature to work properly, any appearance/replacer mods you use must be compatible with race-change transformations - if not Serana will be invisible in VL form. 

Regarding Anniversary Edition (AE): as reported by some users, SFF should work fine under AE as long as SDE is also installed. I have tested it myself and encountered no major issues. Use it at your own risk. 


Incompatible or partially compatible mods:
- Serana Dialogue Add-on: SDA is INCOMPATIBLE with SFF. As informed to me by destroyaha (an SDA moderator) and reported by other users that tried them together, using SFF with SDA will result in unpredictable behaviour. SDA and SFF are conflicting mods, not complementary, with many overlapping features and modifications, and should not be used together. There are no patches planned. 

- Vampire Lord Serana: as of v1.1.0, Vampire Lord Serana is INCOMPATIBLE with SFF, given the latter now incorporates much of the former, sharing most (albeit modified) scripts, spells and magic effects. 

- Skyrim Souls RE: from v1.7.1 onwards, SS:RE is PARTIALLY COMPATIBLE with SFF, with the mod automatically detecting if Skyrim Souls is installed or not. That said, the JOURNAL MENU/START MENU/MCMMENU should NOT be unpaused, as compatibility has not been extended to SFF's MCM menu code, which depends on the game pausing to work as intended.



Requirements

All versions: SKSE

- Serana Dialogue Edit (for v1.0.0 only. Also required for later versions if using AE!)
- Papyrus Extender (for v1.1.0 and later)
- PapyrusUtil SE (for v1.3.0 and later)
- ConsoleUtilSSE (for v1.5.0 and later)
- Address Library (for v1.5.0 and later - only if using the SKSE plugin for 'Outfit Previewer' feature)
- Andrealphus' Papyrus Functions (for v1.6.0 and later)

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- Relationship Dialogue Overhaul (required for Valerica Follower Framework optional)


Translations
- Chinese (Simplified)



Credits