A bit of a loaded intro to this entry, but this fact is what I discovered a while ago as I once more became enamoured with modding Skyrim. As part of that rekindled interest, I finally bit the bullet and progressed from LE to SE (knowledge of any previously brought up niche terms is assumed). It was a transition I'm glad I took as the latter's modding scene is far more vibrant than the dying embers of the former.

Moving on, that is not say that futa material is completely lacking in Skyrim. Things were somewhat limited back in LE, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot more options and tools available with SE. There was even a helpful community of fellow enthusiasts in the old and long-running futa content thread who welcomed me with open arms. Now, obviously TRX_Trixter should be celebrated for their foundational work, but another mod author that I would also like to particularly commend is donnerwetter. It was with a lot of their mods that I managed to establish and enjoy my current set-up in Skyrim.

Unfortunately, partial dissatisfaction accompanied that experience. As noted in the opener, there frankly isn't much armor or accessories for the aspiring futa lover. I'm not a real mod author with all the skill that may be associated with that title, but I still wanted to right this wrong. I was especially motivated by my time with LE as I remember there being some really hot mods like Vivi's Cockcages. So what can someone with limited experience actually do?

Figure 1: A Skyrim resident saddened by a lack of cool accessories.

Obviously, I cannot actually create anything from scratch as I do not have the modeling or texture knowledge... but I can employ another strategy: experimentation. This approach is similar to my previously mentioned method of examination and replication (refer to other blog entries for further explanation), and both are generally derivative in nature rather than pure creation. Experimentation is more free-form than the other and usually involves just testing various ideas as they come and refining them as much as possible. Secondly, additional research may be required as well.

There are clear goals here: I want to make a mod that will consist of a plugin, meshes, and textures. Its creation will be dependent on assets from preexisting mods but will ideally be completely standalone; I will likely need to request permissions from various authors. It should be capable of BodySlide (BS) so that other TRX users can customize for their own preferred body shapes. Some other details under consideration: SexLabNoStrip keyword built in, body slot usage, etc.

I've actually started testing out various ideas already as one can see in the previous image. The cock ring present originates from Vivi's Thongs but is modified to fit and adjust to a TRX instead of the original static schlong. Unfortunately, due to my inexperience with OutfitStudio (OS), it can deform severely in response to certain slider usage. The goal is eventually to become more versed in OS, and I have been watching some SunJeong tutorials in my limited free time to aid in this pursuit. The going is slow though, and my progress reflects that.

So the plan and some difficulties have been outlined, let's explore the fun stuff now: what sort of content should be in the accessories pack? Just to be clear, everything involved with have to do with futa schlong. My current plan is to attempt to convert some of the excellent Vivi's other mods to work with TRX, and one can obviously count the aforementioned cock ring among them. Something else of Vivi's I teased a while back is a cute cock sleeve. The sleeve was adjusted to be more lacey and transparent, and other colors were experimented with.

Figure 2: A non-traditional wedding outfit.

Anyways, I've definitely blathered on enough. To be brief, aside from these accessories, I also plan to implement a bunch of penis piercings. The basis for these can be found in this diagram and this illustration for those interested. I played around with a magic cross piercing, but that one still needs further refinement so no preview just yet. I'm prone to being long-winded so I'll try and wrap up with a showcase of my latest work though.

Figure 3: Plugged up in multiple ways.

Yep, it's a beaded sounding rod of sorts! Incredibly niche, and admittedly a bit too extreme for some, but an option for those adventurous few. That's it; I'll hopefully be able to put out some more good news soon.

- BB

Like many others, I've been an ONG user for a while and content with just that. However, recent shake-ups in the O-ecosystem have left me marooned on older versions of everything. I'm not the sort of person to jump ship for new updates immediately as there are usually unexpected issues; the best policy is to just trail behind and let problems be already resolved by the time one gets to them. Suffice it to say, I'm sticking with 6.7e for now as current versions of ONG are making drastic changes.

But regardless of the framework, I also found myself stuck with an older version of OARE. Versions>1.34 got rid of poly animations as well as a lying hand-job animation (LHJ) that I was a bit fond of. Consequently, I was content to remain with 1.34 until Open Animations 3PP, a poly animation pack, was publicly released. OARE kept getting new and revised animations though, so I finally just caved and updated to 1.37. I then decided that I should attempt to bring back the animation I liked.

Hence the point wherein this entry started. I have to say, the ONG system's a bit esoteric. I have a presence in both ONG Discord forums, but there wasn't any readily available resources to help out as far as I could discern. EDIT: the mod description has some outdated links regarding the API. With no guide or documentation at hand, I turned to my usual and limited approach for mod-making: examination and replication (E&R). It has been an important concept for me, someone who straddles the line between mod author and mod user. I'm not a full-fledged creator, but nor am I a fledgling user clogging up support channels with inane questions. It's a methodology I recommend to those in a similar situation as it'll allow one to make some limited scope mods to fulfill one's own desires.

But I digress. Back to the point at hand, I examined OARE 1.34, 1.37, and Drago's Anal Add-on. Like how I originally learned how to make SLAL packs, I applied E&R and determined that my solution would consist of three parts: animations, scenes (XMLs), and FNIS stuff (list and corresponding HKX). I gathered all related files from my 1.34 installation, and after a cursory examination, I figured out that last item could be accomplished in a similar manner to how SLAL packs are. The other parts were where some complications laid.

Figure 1: The modified XML of LHJ.

People unused to these XMLs might find their contents to be a bit overwhelming, but they're surprisingly readable. This case was no exception; a quick glance made most self-evident things clear. ONG utilizes a tag system of some sort, and the folder structure seems to reflect this to some degree. Now, without a guide, one must apply some guesswork, e.g. LyB!Kne seems to indicate that the LyB is referring to the "lying back" male actor while Kne is for the "kneeling" female actor and ! is a delimiter. EDIT: Confirmed by tags.xml. HJ likely stands for hand-job, some of the red variables can probably be safely ignored if they're the same across multiple options, etc.

Anyways, this made it clear that my first idea of messing with the folder structure was probably not a good one, at least without better understanding. I eventually settled on the simplest solution also being the best one after some reconsideration. I had never intended to make a replacer (the original LHJ I prefer was replaced by one that I didn't like as much after 1.34). No, to make it easier and more compatible, this entire thing was intended to be relatively self-isolated as add-on content instead. Thus, all the animations were renamed to AceCuddlingHandjob from the original AceLyingHandjob, and similarly, all references to the original name within the XMLs were also mass changed. This way I could retain the original folder structure and tags for the most part.

Figure 2: The modified folder structure for the new add-on.

From there, I had to decide how to integrate LHJ back into the system. There was a new MaleLyingKiss animation (MLK) in 1.37 that was perfect both in terms of positioning and as a leaf animation so it was chosen as the point for appending. The flow of animation within ONG is akin to an undirected graph so aside from modifying MLK's XML so that it could lead to LHJ, I knew I also had to make it reversible. This is done via using <option> as you can see up above.

With everything in place with regards to anims and scenes, I created the FNIS list via referencing 1.34's and copying it with some changes to account for new naming. Run FNIS Blue and voila, one HKX as needed. Put everything in the appropriate folders, and the "mod-making" is all done. Zip and load into a mod manager, activate Nemesis, and the moment of truth awaits...

Figure 3: A loving caress returned.

It works! I'm satisfied; OARE Personal Add-on only has one conflicting file with the main installation, MaleLyingKiss.xml, so compatibility should be easy to maintain, and I'll likely be returning to LHJ to try and add sounds when I one day update my ONG. Now, this wasn't a titanic undertaking or anything actually complicated, but this minor example helps illustrate how simple E&R has helped me achieve smaller goals when it comes to Skyrim modding.

As an aside, I found some guides later on and would direct anyone else interested to search the Nexus using "ostim guide" to peruse them. One, by the name of porting guide, is old and outdated but does shed some light on the old animation system somewhat. The other is very recent and covers the XMLs in detail; as a guide, it is much more helpful and relevant what with all the changes that have occurred since the original OStim. That said, I'll hopefully be able to find even more and better resources eventually, the O-community develops more, and the former occurs as a result of the latter!

- BB