Remember when I mentioned that being able to use a general-purpose language like TypeScript prompted me to return to modding Skyrim? Well, that is no longer the case, sadly.

After migrating to SkyrimVR, I realised it's based on an outdated version of SE that Skyrim Platform doesn't support. As such, I had to abandon the idea and rewrite the client code in Papyrus.

At least the devs of the Skyrim Platform are interested in making it compatible with SkyrimVR, so I'll probably rewrite it again when it happens. But until then, I have no choice but to stick with the old, clunky Papyrus, which was one of the reasons that I lost my motivation during the development of Slaves of Tamriel.

Still, it's by no means all doom and gloom. I was very impressed by the level of immersion SkyrimVR can bring, which helped me maintain my motivation despite the setback.

Currently, I'm testing out a proof-of-concept animation system that allows the player to assume various positions expected of a slave by simply moving their body.

For example, if you kneel in real life, your character will play a kneeling animation (i.e. `ZaZAPC017`). And you can also spread your legs by putting your hands farther apart on your thighs while kneeling. I plan to add more gesture-based animations in future.

It was not pretty to deal with vectors and matrices in Papyrus, but I think it was worth it. In addition to the gesture system, it can also detect the player's pose, position, and rotation relative to another character. It means I can make a slaver character "see" if you're kneeling in front of him with your head bowed, as expected of a slave. It opens up many interesting possibilities, like commanding you to fetch something and expect you to give it to your owner with two hands raised above your head, for example.

And, of course, if you fail to follow such a protocol, the owner character will notice it and reprimand or punish you. It won't feel too repetitive since the dialogue lines are dynamically generated, and they will remember how obedient you've been and treat you accordingly.

It'll be a long journey, but I'm excited about the prospect, which will hopefully keep me motivated until then.