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About this blog

Greetings everyone! This page contains my various Bethesda blogs. At the time of this update, it contains my troubleshooting playthrough series, my Skyrim modding diary, my mod cleanup case study series, and my Shout Like a Virgin beta test blog. You can access all the entries from the sidebar on the right side of your screen.

 

Playthroughs

I've recently exceeded the 1000 mod threshold, and it's time to start periodically doing brief playthroughs to ferret out hidden conflicts and other bugs. In this series, we'll do shorter, more focused adventures where we try to tell an interesting story and also talk about what problems we ran into them and how we addressed them.

 

  • Charley's Story: Charlotte Ellison survived a nuclear war by spending more than two hundred years in stasis. Now she has to survive in a very new world, facing very new threats. A Fallout 4 playthrough.
  • The Spider's Web: Kirstia's search for answers has taken her to the island of Solstheim. Now she must uncover the secret of The Teacher - also known as Mephala - and continue the journey to master her powerful magical heritage. But can she survive as her enemies, new and old, close in? 
  • The Curious Case of Forrien Hlaalu: A year after she returned to Northpoint, Kirstia is back in Skyrim and looking for answers. The strange events that occured during her search for Sybil Fjotra continue to trouble her, as does the ongoing influence of the strange gods of the Forsworn. After a chance encounter over drinks, a wizard from the College of Winterhold sets her on the trail of a scholar who may have the answers she needs...
  • The Search for the Sybil: Exiled from Skyrim to the remote land of Northpoint, Kirstia Bjissen has fallen on hard times. Just as she hits rock bottom, a voice speaks to her and charges her with a sacred quest that will take her back to her native land - and likely into danger. Can Kirstia find the new Sybil of Dibella before her past catches up with her?
  • Shout Like a Virgin: Miraculously saved from death, Monilee of High Rock finds herself in Skyrim, a land riven by civil war and harboring dark secrets. While she tries to build a new life in this foreign land, she's haunted by half-remembered dreams, and in chasing them she discovers her role in the turning of the ages. However, Monilee has not gone unnoticed by powers outside the mortal realm. Used as a pawn in the struggle between Nocturnal and Dibella, it will take all her wits, endurance, bravery, and stubbornness to reclaim sovereignty over her body and her soul.

 

Modding Diary

This series tracks my modding projects in-between playthroughs and case studies. The main focus will be on the technical processes of cleaning, editing, and integrating mods into a large load order configuration, including managing emergent multi-mod interactions. 

 

Modding Case Studies

This blog reviews the tools and techniques that authors and end users can apply to make their mods as stable and compatible as possible, as well as how end users can integrate complicated mods into a large load order setup. In addition to coverage of well known techniques such as automatic mod cleaning, this blog delves into more complicated issues such as navmesh repair. 

 

Entries in this blog

Past Lives (Charley's Story, Chapter 75)

I arrived back at Abernathy Farm just before dusk on May 30th, and quickly found my self being hugged on both sides by Winter and Piper.    "Welcome back," said Piper.   "I'm glad you're safe," said Winter.   I returned the embrace, though the nature of my position ended up with Piper being on most of the receiving end. "I missed you both," I said.     They hustled me into the homestead and didn't waste any time getting me out of my suit - and n

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

The Confrontation (Charley's Story, Chapter 74)

It was just my three companions that penetrated into the headquarters building. While the Minutemen had been invaluable in seizing the base, too many people in the tight confines of the central building would just invite heavier casualties. With the boosted strength and resilience of the powersuit, along with Nick and Curies' natural toughness (owing to their metal bodies), I decided that we were the closest thing there to a breach team anyway.   I thought it was inconceivable that Kel

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Operation Anthony (Charley's Story, Chapter 73)

"I'd hate to see you put yourself in danger for us, Cosmos, but if you really think it could help... I'm willing to give it a chance."   I had deep misgivings about Cosmos' idea that we could parlay with the mercenaries. At the same time, a lot of lives were on the line, and if there was any chance of settling things without a fight, I had to give it a try. And so, I stood by while Starchild - one of his followers - walked a brahmin loaded with purified water up to the base, promising

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Diplomatic Opportunity (Charley's Story, Chapter 72)

While Red's rangers started the process of cleaning out and fortifying the motel - and more importantly, building a checkpoint on Speen Street to control any northbound traffic coming out of town - Red followed me into Natick. Nick and Curie followed as well, albeit at a little bit of distance. There was an uncomfortable quiet about, and I wondered if this meant the locals were hiding from me, or if it meant they were getting ready for an ambush.     Ultimately, finding some

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Swift Strike (Charley's Story, Chapter 71)

"For fuck's sake, Charley, it's me, Red. Don't you recognize me?"   There's no way she grew all that hair on her own since the last time we crossed paths. So yes, in fact I had not recognized her. And I had so many questions about what I was seeing.    "Sorry, Red," I said, "I didn't. It's the hair, I think. I like the color coordination though - carpet, drapes, and upholstery."   She scowled a little more. "Now you're just trying to embarrass me. But yeah, it's a w

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Experimental Vault (Charley's Story, Chapter 70)

"Tell me, Overseer," I asked, "what does the name 'Brotherhood of Steel' mean to you?"   Gwen MacNamara seemed to chew on that question for a while before answering. "Probably not as much as it should. We briefly had contact with them seven years ago, but since then it's all been rumors and second-hand reports. They're based in C.C.," she explained, referring to Columbia Commonwealth, "but they started out further west. They'd have you believe that they're a military order dedicated to

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Doctor's Orders (Charley's Story, Chapter 68)

Back at Sunshine Tidings, I was struggling a little with the whole Red Tourette situation. The woman had a bizarre, childlike naivete that I caught myself allowing to color my interpretation of her actions. On the other hand, she also had a childlike viciousness to her, like a kid who pulls the wings off of flies and has trouble understanding why it's bad. Talking to some of the members of her gang while I helped them dig new wells, I learned that the reason for the gruesome execution of the mut

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Tourette Syndrome (Charley's Story, Chapter 67)

"Charley," Jake's crackling voice said through my Pip-Boy speaker, "you will not believe what we found!"   "Susie and I just go back from Boston," he continued, "and no, don't worry, we changed our of our vault suits. This was a completely unofficial tourist visit. But anyway, my friend The Ron..."   Nick groaned, "why am I not surprised he's involved?"   "...found me a lead on another comm hub. Get this, it was in the basement of Vault-Tec HQ, of all places. Now, I

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Difficult Inheritance (Charley's Story, Chapter 66)

It rained overnight, but by morning the precipitation had tapered off, leaving behind a wall of fog that started right at the tree line. I took a walk around the camp, examining the buildings and also checking out the trail that Dirk had mentioned the day before. It was overgrown and pretty easy to miss, so I had to give Dirk some credit on that score. One branch looped back to the east and eventually ended at the shore of the reservoir, while other branches went west and north, the latter being

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Camping Trip (Charley's Story, Chapter 65)

I realize that I've been glossing over a lot of my travel time, so let me anchor you on the calendar. Operation Anthony started the morning of May 8th, 2288. Why Anthony? Before the war, the name Kellogg was most associated with a food company - Kellogg's. And one of that company's marketing mascots was a cartoon animal named Tony the Tiger. I couldn't resist being a little referential in the name, but I thought it was sufficiently obscure two hundred years after the war.    That morni

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

War Council (Charley's Story, Chapter 64)

When I got back to Concord, Preston, Connie Abernathy, Stef Ainsleigh, and Trudy had already gathered there to discuss my plans. I could tell that some of them weren't very enthusiastic about starting a war with Kellogg's mercenary outfit, and I'd have to do some convincing to get this plan rolling. Before that part of 'the talk' started, however, they took some time to fill me in on developments during my absence.   The hacked ASAM units had worked well, and all of our settlements had

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Dog Walk (Charley's Story, Chapter 63)

Almost as soon as we crossed the Boston city limits, it became clear that things hadn't changed for the better. Hearing gunfire, I unslung my shotgun and moved forward, carefully, to investigate. What I found was a fight between raiders and robots, with a caravan caught in the middle. Piper and I tried to take some of the pressure off the caravan, and we succeeded in pushing the raiders back into a cluster of houses. That, in turn, gave the caravan the breathing room they needed to urge on their

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Fugue State (Charley's Story, Chapter 62)

As Piper tells it, I kept my cool as I left the greenhouse, but as I stalked towards the boundaries of Graygarden I got tenser and tenser in the shoulders, until I was practically hunched over. Around the time I crossed the rail tracks, I'd stared muttering to myself, and once the farm fell out of view being the rise of a hill, I stopped, balled my fists, and screamed at the top of my lungs.     "I AM NOT VALERY GRAY!" and variations on that theme formed the core of an exten

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Gray's Garden (Charley's Story, Chapter 61)

Mama Murphy was taking care of Dogmeat up at Sanctuary, but before we could go collect him I needed to take care of a few administrative matters at home. I had a stroke of luck in learning that both Winter and Trashcan Carla were in town that morning, so I gave each of them a few ASAM sensors to bring to the Diner and the Farm. Jake had loaded them up with the hacked firmware, and they would allow those settlements to run up some additional defenses under the supervision of the ASAM sensor.

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Hidden Depths (Charley's Story, Chapter 60)

We set off first thing in the morning, aiming to get to Concord with plenty of time left in the day. I wasn't sure what Jake had meant when he referred to a well, but I had a hunch it involved the municipal plutonium well. I could imagine a lot of dangerous scenarios involving that facility, and I didn't want to drag my heels about getting to the site, especially if it was something important enough for Jake to try and contact me on the radio.     Most of the run up the road

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Inspection Tour (Charley's Story, Chapter 59)

The next morning was had clear skies and bright sun - perfect for inspecting the base. However, both of us had gotten dirty from the road, and I asked Dean what the options were for washing up. She tossed her head towards the little pond that housed the base's crab farm enclosure and then reached up to the top of her desk to retrieve a bar of soap.    "It's not much, but the water's clean and as long as you stay outside the fenced in part there's no critters in the pond."   I

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Troubling Thoughts (Charley's Story, Chapter 58)

"I figured it was just performance anxiety," I told Piper as we walked down the hill away from Ridge, "so I leaned in and helped him. And the thing that upsets me so much is that the person who I was before the war would never have done something like that. I mean, I wouldn't have cajoled him into a sex act he was uncomfortable with either, but especially putting my hands on him when he was so reluctant and uncomfortable."   "Did he tell you to stop?" She asked me.   I shook

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Performance Anxiety (Charley's Story, Chapter 57)

After spending the night at Abernathy Farm, Piper and I got ready to make the trip up to Ridge. One final detail Winter showed me, before leaving for her own journey down to Concord, was one of the improvements she'd made to the plumbing on the water tanks. There were enough farmhands at that point that Blake and Connie's bathtub really wasn't enough for everyone, and so she'd installed showerheads on the water tanks when she refitted all the plumbing lines. The shower was cold, but if nothing e

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Royal Progress (Charley's Story, Chapter 56)

"Nice day," Piper commented as we stepped outside the following morning. "Where are we going first?"   I chuckled at that, "same plan as yesterday. We'll start with Abernathy Farm, then on to Ridge. We'll visit the quarry on the way back if we have enough daylight. First though, let's check in on Nick and Doctor Cain."   We found the two of them taking a coffee break outside Jake's workshop. I nodded in approval, noting that Cain had obediently left her work smock back inside

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Mysterious Stranger (Charley's Story, Chapter 55)

"Found another one!" Piper called out from a side room as I considered the woman in the power suit.    "Can you hear me?" I asked her.   The suited woman nodded, but remained silent.   "OK, I'm going to take you down now. Try and keep still while I untie you."   Once more, she nodded, and I set about getting her off the cross.     She took a moment to recover before standing shakily and shuffling over to a nearby workbench. Looking at

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Radio Dispatch (Charley's Story, Chapter 54)

"Urghhh," I groaned as Winter pushed the last thick bulb of the rectal connector past my anus. While I caught my breath, she stepped past me, tossing the vaginal plug onto the bed beside me.   "Give me a second," she said, "I need to get a fresh bottle of lube."   "Fuck that hurt," I said, "did you make that this bigger?"     Winter wiggled her ass at me as she walked away. "Same 65 millimeters as before. Sounds like you haven't had enough things in your

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Hostage Exchange (Charley's Story, Chapter 53)

"Alright," I said, "let's go. Jake, you take Piper to the security post and draw vests and helmets. As much as I like your outfit, you need some more protection. Paul, find Preston and tell him we need backup."   "What about you?" he asked.   "I need to get into my power suit. I have it stored in my office downtown. We'll all meet up in front of the plutonium well once we've got our gear."   Jake cocked his head a little, "don't you need help to get into the power s

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Cultural Differences (Charley's Story, Chapter 52)

The next morning, we spent a little time at the Drumlin Diner before heading on to Concord. I introduced Piper to the regulars; first Wolfgang and then Trudy. Wolfgang obligingly retold the story of how I defused the fight between him and Trudy, and then liberally embellished it, giving me credit for turning his life around and turning him into a legitimate health care worker. Now, Wolfgang was about as legitimate - at best - as the drug pusher at Chem-i-Care, and I don't think he fooled Piper o

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III

Going Home (Charley's Story, Chapter 51)

Piper and I didn't stick around at Vault 81 for breakfast. Instead, as soon as we dragged ourselves out of bed, we headed for the surface and started making our way back towards Boston. In a vacuum, I would have liked to head back to Concord and brief Preston on the situation with Vault 81, but Nick was waiting for me and hopefully, in my absence, he'd acquired the search warrant we needed to break into Kellogg's house.   Since the route we'd taken from Diamond City to Vault 81 had pro

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gregaaz in Charley's Story III


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