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17 hours ago, kilroywasalwayshere said:

   Does a world update contribute to memory strain?  For example, when you save the tree in Whiterun it grows leaves in the vanilla game.  Does that make the game less stable my putting that update into memory, or is it possible to have a background quest that updates that tree from stage 1 to stage 2 circumventing the memory problem.  If so we could do the same thing here and make a background quest that updates hives from stage 1 and so on.

 

The tree example is (I think) just a disable call on the old tree and an enable call on the new one.  No script is running on the tree long-term.

 

To use the same scheme for updating a hive, we would first need something to catalog the hive in its "last visited" state (probably using a formlist), add a timestamp to it, and then when x hours have passed without the hive being visited again, swap out x number of chaurus for their next form.  For a single hive, I don't think that would be an issue as long as there weren't multiple hives to update and you didn't need to be too consistent about the "off camera" activities.

 

I'm not sure how well this would handle passing traits from one to another, either.  It might work, but the code would be pretty damned long (maybe 1200 lines or so) if it had to handle all the edge cases.

 

That may be a doable thing though, and since it is feeding a formlist, I don't think it would need to keep everything in memory.  The main issue is the tracking of multiple locations.  For that to work right, it would have to already know where all the hives (current and potential future) were.  I will have to experiment with dropping quest aliases in an unloaded area and see what happens.  If they can't be aliased, then they won't feed into a formlist, and then the whole thing won't work, even if I can figure a way to determine all the hives to track remotely.

 

I haven't had nearly enough coffee for this, ha.

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13 hours ago, wren888 said:

I hope there's no conflict between the two mods.

The only (minor) issue would be if a molt is triggered, and that wouldn't have an adverse effect on the mod. At worst, the chaurus breeder is a normal chaurus when you meet and they become a reaper over the course of events.  It may not be able to pass the alias or faction data to the next form without explicit coding for it, but I think I can add that without too much trouble.  (Molts don't trigger during sex, so that wouldn't be a problem).

 

EDIT: Thinking on this more, I can add a "Molting Blocked" faction and have an occasional update quest slap that on quest aliased chaurus.  It would just need to know all the chaurus that might need to be covered this way, and how to ID them.  Not too difficult with scripting, and it could be part of the overall quest updater.

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2 hours ago, Seijin8 said:

The only (minor) issue would be if a molt is triggered, and that wouldn't have an adverse effect on the mod. At worst, the chaurus breeder is a normal chaurus when you meet and they become a reaper over the course of events.  It may not be able to pass the alias or faction data to the next form without explicit coding for it, but I think I can add that without too much trouble.  (Molts don't trigger during sex, so that wouldn't be a problem).

 

EDIT: Thinking on this more, I can add a "Molting Blocked" faction and have an occasional update quest slap that on quest aliased chaurus.  It would just need to know all the chaurus that might need to be covered this way, and how to ID them.  Not too difficult with scripting, and it could be part of the overall quest updater.

Very good. Thank you.

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   I've decided to take the challenge I posed earlier for the sake of keeping the brainstorming coming.  How should Followers be treated during a capture or enslavement event.  If the PC is captured with followers in tow, it may complicate the handling of npcs, and what if they're essential, such as Serana.  Lets start by saying we have Lydia as our follower, and we are captured in Lost Echo Caves.  Our options at this point are: 1. kill Lydia 2. dismiss Lydia 3. enslave Lydia alongside the PC.  The first two options are the simplest, but let's peruse option 3 out of curiosity.  Now that we have our PC and an NPC enslaved in the same hive, how does this change the way we can interact with the hive?  In this scenario both Lydia and the PC would be breeding with Chaurus as per the enslavement requirements, or the reason why they were captured.  Consequentially, they would both be gaining favor with the hive, as well as strengthening individuals.  Perhaps this could create an interesting dynamic between the player and their follower if their follower is gaining more power in the hive then them, or their Chaurus beats our Chaurus.  Maybe our follower could be a gateway, or an outside look at how the mind controlling pharamones of the hive are affecting us as our once loyal follower is slowly turned against us and may even threaten our lives.  

 

   I've also had a few more thoughts on expanding a hive beyond the pre established Chaurus hives.  We've established that the Chaurus would benefit more from occupying some areas more then others, and thus we could limit the expansion to predetermined areas and thus handle this system via quest updates rather then pure dynamics.  However, in regards to the current occupants of these areas, could certain NPC's be more valuable to the hive then others?  I was exploring the idea that maybe Chaurus eggs could evolve differently if they were incubated in different races, such as Dunmer eggs producing a fire brand of Chaurus, or Napalm Chaurus.  While this is perhaps a little too simple of an evolution requirement, and if we went this route different breeds of Chaurus would be everywhere as opposed to in isolated areas due to unique circumstances.  However, what if the hosts stats came into the equation?  Such as how much magicka or stamina the victim has?  Could a magically tuned victim produce stronger Chaurus?  Better venum?  More fertile eggs?  Just a couple more things to think about.  

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On 6/23/2019 at 1:13 PM, kilroywasalwayshere said:

Maybe our follower could be a gateway, or an outside look at how the mind controlling pharamones of the hive are affecting us as our once loyal follower is slowly turned against us and may even threaten our lives

I very much like that idea.

 

As far as the different races having different effects, I would say "no" since that is inherently very limiting to what a player could do based on something not easily changed during a playthrough (and leaves some issues with determining custom races), but having magicka/stamina/health produce an effect is something that could be done.

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   So, I'm probably about 6 years late on this, but did you know there are equipable mind control spiders in Dragonborn that can be thrown at npcs to turn them into allies for a limited time similar to some Illusion spells?  They also have a unique effect with the spider hanging off the victim, was thinking this could be an interesting resource for this project.  

 

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22 hours ago, kilroywasalwayshere said:

   So, I'm probably about 6 years late on this, but did you know there are equipable mind control spiders in Dragonborn that can be thrown at npcs to turn them into allies for a limited time similar to some Illusion spells?  They also have a unique effect with the spider hanging off the victim, was thinking this could be an interesting resource for this project.  

 

Thats actually a really good point....i completely forgot about those cute little buggers. They could have a lot of applications if a Chaurus version could be made. The first thing that comes to my mind is maybe a non-violent way to gather breeders for the hive, though you may have to breed a special parasite variant of the Chaurus for this to be an option. This could probably be accomplished by eating certain alchemy ingredients while pregnant, or maybe introducing the sperm of a specific creature into the womb while pregnant with the Chaurus eggs. Maybe the Lurker or Seeker? Another possible way to create them may be to place the chaurus eggs into the same contraption the spiders come from. Add a skull and run the machine?

 

If the effect could be applied to creatures as well as humans, maybe this could be a way to take over other hives as well, infesting them with the Chaurus Parasite from your own hive and forcing them to work for and with your hive. You would probably need to find a way to get rid of the Hunters first though as they are supposed to carry parasites away from the hive.

This could also be a way to get captured. Sleep or get defeated in the wrong place and you may find that you have become infested and now serve the hive. (probably a pretty low chance for the sleep one.) This could lead into an escape path where you try to free yourself of the parasite. The parasite itself would cause you to black out if you left the confines of the hive, while also forcing you to submit to the Hive whenever it was breeding time. Escape itself would be a struggle for control against the parasite in your mind. Dream sequences could simulate the battle for control, while the waking periods can allow you to try to push further away from the hive or even enact sabotage on the hive.

 

For this path, there could be four possible "ends".
1. The parasite wins and you fully give yourself to the hive.

- This would allow the player to leave the hive at will once again, however they will automatically return to the hive whenever it is time to breed again, as well as giving birth.

2. The player wins and the parasite is destroyed.

- This would likely culminate in a boss battle dream sequence where the player fights an enlarged version of the parasite, or maybe even a representation of the hive mind itself. If the player wins, they are free but the hive is now hostile to them. Failure will either reset the whole process or trigger the parasite win scenario

3. The parasite and the player reach an equilibrium.

- In this case, neither the player nor the parasite can fully control the other. This can be caused by failing 45%-55% of the dream sequences. The player is able to leave for periods of time, but eventually the parasite draws them back. The longer the parasite is ignored, the more detriments the player incurs.

4. The player wins and takes control of the parasite.

- With this, the player enters the control route. They attempt to take over the hive by becoming the Queen, using the parasite as a sort of psionic relay to the rest of the hive. I think the control route has been discussed before though.

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   Another cool minor feature that we could use is the little orbs from Yngol Borrow.  In Yngol's Borrow little blue orbs jump out of coffins and out of walls and guide the player towards the end.  We could use this as another way of guiding the player towards hidden secrets when we get to the expanding/exploring part of the mod.

 

   Also, would it be impetuous to ask how the mod is coming along? Or, more importantly, if there are parts of the mod you still want some more brainstorming done on? 

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2 hours ago, kilroywasalwayshere said:

   Another cool minor feature that we could use is the little orbs from Yngol Borrow.  In Yngol's Borrow little blue orbs jump out of coffins and out of walls and guide the player towards the end.  We could use this as another way of guiding the player towards hidden secrets when we get to the expanding/exploring part of the mod.

 

   Also, would it be impetuous to ask how the mod is coming along? Or, more importantly, if there are parts of the mod you still want some more brainstorming done on? 

1) The barrow balls would be an interesting thing to use for a side quest, good thinking.

 

2) Incredibly impetuous, yes.  Be very ashamed.  :P The mod has had little work done on it in the last couple of weeks.  I blame Stellaris, BattleTech, Jennifer Jones S3, Warhammer 40K (and all brands of paints, most especially Scale 75) a recent earthquake (which I slept through), July 4th fireworks, and now Stranger Things S3.

 

(Seriously, if a week goes by that something I've been waiting on doesn't materialize, then I will be right back onto the mod.  Ideas are always welcome.  I'm still meandering through how best to create the interaction layer, but at this stage I'm thinking I will just have to create *a* layer and use it until it proves insufficient, then create another.  Trying to generate the perfect one from scratch has been... unproductive.)

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First of all, I love this idea! For what ever reason the chaurus have always fascinated me and I was frustrated by the lack of lore. I developed some of my own theories, but struggled to connect all the different life cycles especially after they added the hunters. My theories mainly involved the chaurus have become falmer "cattle" in that juveniles and younger chaurus produce unfertilized eggs that can be harvested as food or ingredients, while the queen is the only one capable of producing fertilized eggs. By integrating the eggs in a recipe for food, this could help with the viability aspect of the mod while also affecting a players stats/relationship with the hive. Dominance battles would occur between queens or rival chaurus hives (like ants or bees). The hunters I'm at a loss for, but I do like the earlier mention of them being more of the soldiers and/or gatherers that travel outside of the hive for additional resources and not playing all that active roll in the... breeding elements. Eggs implanted by younger chaurus would have effects of body modification and parasites while mating with the queen would produce eggs that would hatch, adding to the hive as you progress. I look forward to seeing how this grows and develops!! :)

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Little suggestion (I say little but... yeah no) Have, either in this mod or in a completely separate mod made for Chaurus Life as an Optional Requirement, added caves all around Skyrim that focus just entirely on chaurus "hives"? None of the other added nonsense in the current caves like dwemer ruins, spiders, a secondary inner cave, or the chaurus themselves being extremely deep in a humongous cave. Just simply multiple caves that focus on Chaurus Life. They could also be made more suitable for playing alongside Underground Survival and its Requirements

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53 minutes ago, izynxi said:

Little suggestion (I say little but... yeah no) Have, either in this mod or in a completely separate mod made for Chaurus Life as an Optional Requirement, added caves all around Skyrim that focus just entirely on chaurus "hives"? None of the other added nonsense in the current caves like dwemer ruins, spiders, a secondary inner cave, or the chaurus themselves being extremely deep in a humongous cave. Just simply multiple caves that focus on Chaurus Life. They could also be made more suitable for playing alongside Underground Survival and its Requirements

Something like this is planned, but room/cave creation is my weakest ability in modding, so it may be a long while.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Okay, been a bit longer than expected, but I am back at work on this.

 

Working on the interaction layer, most of this is behind-the-scenes and would be invisible to the player, but some of the indicators would be the ability to translate the chaurus' sounds into some kind of meaning.  This would be done with subtitled phrases being played if the player is close enough to them, and as the player gets more familiar with the chaurus' hive, the range and level of understanding will increase, adding more dialogues with more granularity.  So for instance, at a very early level, the same phrase might be seen as "hungry" (with a chance of misunderstanding/misinterpreting), then later "hungry for minerals", and eventually "hungry for quicksilver".  With a perk investment in their language, this could eventually be "hungry for quicksilver, my shell is too soft" or something both specific to need and result of providing for it.

 

(Note also that I will be making specific sounds for this, so a truly expert listener would not need the subtitles to interpret the sounds.  Could use advice on different sound sets to use for this though.  I am thinking crow/raven calls as a basis since I'm already using some of those in the sex sounds.)

 

So right now I am looking for some input on what dialogue with chaurus should be like.  In the event of conflicting responses, I can probably make it a toggle in the MCM for which version plays out.

 

My initial thought is to have nymphs use lines like:

"Danger!"

"Thieves!" (someone unknown/unfriendly is seen taking eggs)

"Help"

and various odd noises that don't correspond to anything as they are learning to speak and sometimes just burble about

 

Workers might add some elements, like:

"Hungry"

"Alert!"

"Fight!"

 

Reapers add social nuance:

"Challenge!"

"Need a breeder"

"Victory!"

"Time to hunt"

 

And Tyrants would add hive-structural dialogues, such as:

"Find breeders"

"Harvest eggs"

"The hive grows stale"

 

Finally, I'm thinking that hunters would have the most eclectic and nuanced dialogues:

"Maggots churn inside... I lust..."

"Must find meat... living meat..."

"The beyond calls..."

 

(I also thought that the notion of "I" as an individual would not appear unless it was a tyrant or hunter)

 

So keeping in mind that the dialogues should be fairly basic, are there any you all think should be present?  I was thinking of using the seven deadly sins as the prime drivers for reaper and fledgling hunter behaviors (not for religious reasons, just makes for a handy list).

 

Thoughts are welcome on this.  It will be another aspect of the mod that I can chip away at with a relatively high work input to result ratio.

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On 6/15/2019 at 3:46 PM, Seijin8 said:

Thanks for the interest in the mod.  I look forward to hearing more such thoughts as things progress.

 

Actually, making a custom chaurus race is very simple.  Making it interact with things correctly is the tough part (and may not be possible).

 

My thoughts on transformation are manifold: there are many ways to do it and I don't see a lot of value in selecting one over another when I can simply do all of them.

 

If each "step" of transformation includes some visual change and a set of traits changing that affect gameplay, then the player can simply choose which path they want to go down.  My thoughts on this right now (subject to change because we are still a ways off from implementation on this):

 

  1. Slimegirl transformation, where the PC gradually becomes a translucent teal color.  The stats changes associated with this would involve disease resistance, poison resistance, improved swimming/waterbreathing, but a much increased temperature sensitivity (both in terms of spell/effects and Frostfall.)   This form is optimized for breeding, and allows multiple impregnations at once without all the strain that would normally put on the PC.  This form is no longer as effected by parasites, and has greatly reduced debuffs from all forms of chaurus sex interaction and breeding.
  2. Insect "transition", where the PC gains chitin parts (as has been mentioned, simplest route is parts of chitin bikini armors, though I think those are the exact inverse of the parts that should be covered/exposed).  This would include increased combat abilities, possibly flight (via Real Flying/Edda variant), and direct interaction with the hive as a functional part of its hierarchy -- no longer just a breeder.  In fact, breeding elements would still be present, but would directly counter many of the buffs this form offered (advanced pregnancy means no flight, less armor, painful cracks in the chitin, etc).  Think Kerrigan or Sil from Species.
  3. Insect "transformation", where the humanoid form is lost and a "chaurus form" is used instead.  This would allow a wide array of new abilities, but also prevent many others.  I'm unsure where this would go right now because I would need to experiment with what it could conceivably do and what the game engine will allow.

 

In all cases (except maybe #3), there would be a balance of how adjustable the appearance was.  The maximum level of #2 wouldn't just be a chick with antennae and wings.  In a previous use of PSQ I experimented heavily with the (entirely subjective) transition of beautiful human -> exotic human -> exotic not-quite-human -> exotic and monstrous not-quite-human, but still maybe beautiful -> exotic monster, echoing beautiful traits but not in a way that the human mind instinctively perceives as beautiful -> exotic and monstrous, where the human traits echoed only reinforce the uncanny valley sense of what you're looking at -> monster, flatly over the line.

 

Of course, this is a subjective scale.  Would the player want to fully become a monster, losing all sense of the prior self?  Is there a desire to be able to still interact with people and cities and towns?  Does the player find none of these really appealing, but wants to dabble in it anyway?

 

I wouldn't want to force my vision of this subjective experience onto anyone, but I also don't think "full transformation" should be hidden with a hat or a simple spell.  Full transformation to any form means fully embracing the hive.  Period.  Interactions with NPCs now involve running, threats and combat.  Period.  If the player doesn't want that, then they'll have to accept something less than complete transformation.

 

To be clear on this: choices without consequence aren't meaningful.  If nothing is lost in trade, it isn't a choice, just a stat progression.

 

On the other hand, I don't want someone to feel like the only way to engage the game again is to revert to an older save.  No transformation is "permanent" (the very notion of being able to shape-shift invalidates any permanency of form).  There will be ways to work around even a full transformation, at least in part.  If nothing else, visiting the khajiit caravans at night or while they are in transit should always be possible.  Certain locations and the people there may be persuaded to accept you.  The College of Winterhold should be willing to engage with you regardless.  Same with the Dark Brotherhood.  Other could have an argument made, though it'd be more difficult.

 

So yeah, all in flux, nothing decided, but however I do it, there will be visual and functional variation and a lot of it will be selectable by the player, so their version of "fully transformed" may be a good deal less monstrous than someone else's version of the exact same thing.

Having just come to the topic and having seen this, I would agree with what you suggested with #2. I also know that Immersive Creatures has a humanoid chaurus model and full chaurus models for multiple types of chaurus which would make the processes potentially viable. I also sort of feel that perhaps there should be room for males to partake in the chaurus life too, not just female characters. I also share your standpoints about the transformation aspect as well as the potential disruption of play but personally, I would love to delve into slowly becoming a chaurus, becoming part of the hive and eventually helping develop it to take over, with your character's mindset slowly and noticably shifting as you become more and more one with the chaurus hive mind.

 

Hopefully this sort of aspect will be part of the mod eventually as I would love to take that slow, maddening descent with a character.

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1 minute ago, skyrimdragon said:

Hopefully this sort of aspect will be part of the mod eventually as I would love to take that slow, maddening descent with a character.

While things like this are planned (a long ways off though), the gameplay associated with this is troublesome.  First and foremost, I approach this mod as a component for role-playing and emergent storytelling.  Having your PC's will overtaken in permanent fashion doesn't offer any roleplay, just repetitive tasks for the hive.  While I don't mind a certain tedium in a survival setting, it gets old quick.

 

For me, this sort of gameplay is like extreme bondage mods.  In my opinion, it is interesting at first, annoying in no time flat, and ultimately gets uninstalled/turned off because whatever gameplay may be there is a pain in the ass to get to and through.  Having to slowly hobble to town while attempting to avoid anything is an interesting challenge once, maybe twice.  The fifth time it happens, I will be bailing out of that because it just isn't fun for me.

 

Accordingly, in the event of a complete subsumption of the character's will (temporary by design), there would be no associated gameplay, just a fade to black and a long time passing, change of location, and the next moment of "gameplay" is the character temporarily re-emerging somewhere else, in a different situation, maybe a horrific (non-interactable) scene, fade out, etc until such time as the character regains some measure of control.

 

To be clear: I am not making a "live life as a bug" simulator.  That would take a very long time to create and it wouldn't be interesting to me.

 

Any transformation that happens will at worst be like werewolf mode (which I think sucks btw, since it has so few options compared to any other gameplay), and will more likely be retaining human-esque shape and capabilities, and no direct loss of will (though maybe doing tasks for the hive).

 

I'm happy to hear alternative thoughts on this, and where feasible, I will add things that simulate this stuff to an extent, but in general, I am greatly in favor of situations that add additional options while curtailing first-order optimals to create new gameplay experiences.

 

Picture a form that is incapable of stealth and cannot use bows because the sharp protrusions of their new chitin shell keep cutting the bow string.  The primary Skyrim combat game loop (easy mode stealth archery) is now gone, but in its place are all the other systems the game already has, and they suddenly don't seem sub-optimal.  For a mage style, imagine that the use curve on magicka gets accentuated: concentration spells are now highly inexpensive to use, and more than two can be cast at a time, but higher output single-shot spells become prohibitively expensive and when magicka is drained too far, it is slow to recharge.  There are a lot of adjustments that can be made to expose and accentuate other gameplay loops by removing a few of the normally optimal setups and replacing them with new variants.

 

Things like this will be what the transformations do: things that shift the way you play the entire game, without removing your ability to play or presenting unreasonable obstacles.

 

In the event that working for the hive ends up being a series of fetch quests, those quests will end by exposing new gameplay loops that offer interesting options you otherwise wouldn't have.  (And even then, I'm loathe to do something so simplistic as Get "X" bring it to "Y".)

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1 hour ago, Seijin8 said:

While things like this are planned (a long ways off though), the gameplay associated with this is troublesome.  First and foremost, I approach this mod as a component for role-playing and emergent storytelling.  Having your PC's will overtaken in permanent fashion doesn't offer any roleplay, just repetitive tasks for the hive.  While I don't mind a certain tedium in a survival setting, it gets old quick.

 

For me, this sort of gameplay is like extreme bondage mods.  In my opinion, it is interesting at first, annoying in no time flat, and ultimately gets uninstalled/turned off because whatever gameplay may be there is a pain in the ass to get to and through.  Having to slowly hobble to town while attempting to avoid anything is an interesting challenge once, maybe twice.  The fifth time it happens, I will be bailing out of that because it just isn't fun for me.

 

Accordingly, in the event of a complete subsumption of the character's will (temporary by design), there would be no associated gameplay, just a fade to black and a long time passing, change of location, and the next moment of "gameplay" is the character temporarily re-emerging somewhere else, in a different situation, maybe a horrific (non-interactable) scene, fade out, etc until such time as the character regains some measure of control.

 

To be clear: I am not making a "live life as a bug" simulator.  That would take a very long time to create and it wouldn't be interesting to me.

 

Any transformation that happens will at worst be like werewolf mode (which I think sucks btw, since it has so few options compared to any other gameplay), and will more likely be retaining human-esque shape and capabilities, and no direct loss of will (though maybe doing tasks for the hive).

 

I'm happy to hear alternative thoughts on this, and where feasible, I will add things that simulate this stuff to an extent, but in general, I am greatly in favor of situations that add additional options while curtailing first-order optimals to create new gameplay experiences.

 

Picture a form that is incapable of stealth and cannot use bows because the sharp protrusions of their new chitin shell keep cutting the bow string.  The primary Skyrim combat game loop (easy mode stealth archery) is now gone, but in its place are all the other systems the game already has, and they suddenly don't seem sub-optimal.  For a mage style, imagine that the use curve on magicka gets accentuated: concentration spells are now highly inexpensive to use, and more than two can be cast at a time, but higher output single-shot spells become prohibitively expensive and when magicka is drained too far, it is slow to recharge.  There are a lot of adjustments that can be made to expose and accentuate other gameplay loops by removing a few of the normally optimal setups and replacing them with new variants.

 

Things like this will be what the transformations do: things that shift the way you play the entire game, without removing your ability to play or presenting unreasonable obstacles.

 

In the event that working for the hive ends up being a series of fetch quests, those quests will end by exposing new gameplay loops that offer interesting options you otherwise wouldn't have.  (And even then, I'm loathe to do something so simplistic as Get "X" bring it to "Y".)

I entirely understand, though I feel perhaps you could twist it for story elements of development. Let's say for instance that the chaurus queen figure is aware or becomes aware of the actions of Alduin or other evils (Miraak, Lord Harkon, Thalmor etc) above ground... were they to succeed, the world above might fall, but there's always the critical risk that they may just come down to the hive and kill or enslave them all. Then the hive manages to get someone who could prove useful, a drone amongst the many who could do what the others could not... you. Suddenly they have a tool, a thing that could potentially ensure their survival and potentially even lead to them thriving. To rob away your mind entirely could potentially mean that they lose their potential tool... so they do only enough to ensure you grow and retain a loyalty to the hive, to believe yourself one of their own and 'want' to do what is best for them and thus to her, letting you act upon the things that would harm the hive as a whole... and if possible, help it grow and thrive, occasionally getting quests related to the progression of the hive as a whole... and the potential dangers that can come from without... or within.

 

This kind of style of story telling would allow a similarity to what you called 'life as a bug' while also allowing the player continued freedom, only their priorities would change to reflect their new faction over others... twisting the experience to be more like a distorted faction group like Skyrim's other groups.

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10 hours ago, skyrimdragon said:

Let's say for instance that the chaurus queen figure is aware or becomes aware of the actions of Alduin or other evils (Miraak, Lord Harkon, Thalmor etc) above ground...

Bethesda didn't even attempt to make their world so quest aware.  It isn't impossible to do, but it would be very difficult, and I'm not tackling that any time soon -- probably never.

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59 minutes ago, Organ_Co said:

Where is a good place to observe the effects of this mod?

Anywhere that chaurus exist in large enough numbers and where you won't be attacked.  Keep in mind that at default settings not much happens without reapers being present.  Dropping the transformation time in the MCM to 0.1 or something should make things evolve rapidly.

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In terms of dialogue, maybe every so often they would reference the player in their chittering?
- "Undetected" wouldn't have any player relevant info
- "Know something is off" Could be some basic info like "Smell" or "Track" for the most basic translations and "New Smell, Intruder?" or "Unknown Tracks!" for the mor advanced translations.
- "Detected, Hostile" Not much chittering here really unless they can't find the player. This would probably just be tied into their combat dialogue and probably just repetitions of the "Attack" order.
- "Detected, Non-hostile" would be more useful to players who have taken the time to learn their chittering. This could help the player identify their relationship status with the hive as a whole. It could also help the player know if they are being kept as a pet, are seen as an asset, or are merely a curiosity to the current hive leader. This would be stuff like, "[Race Adjective]* healthy, not ready to breed." or "Other-Creature is here. Investigate."

Thats about all i've got atm, hope i made some sense XD

* - By [Race Adjective] I mean how they might describe the races of nirn. Argonians might be "Hard-Tails" while bretons might be "Magick-Kin" (Im on three hours of sleep so my naming ideas arent the best but i think i got my point across.)

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26 minutes ago, Elvorana said:

This would be stuff like, "[Race Adjective]* healthy, not ready to breed." or "Other-Creature is here. Investigate."

I hadn't considered giving them more refined detection parameters, but that definitely makes sense.  I don't think they would care much about specific races, though beast races would probably be a different thing.  I find it unlikely that they can differentiate meaningfully between an Altmer and a Nord.  It is most likely they would differentiate a breeder only through pheremones or spotting behavioral patterns, and not really appearance (up until transformation anyway).

 

Then again, we don't really know what they use for primary senses at all.  I doubt it is vision, more likely vibrational sense.  Maybe that is sufficiently fine-tuned to know friendlies by bone density or walking pattern.

 

EDIT: Thinking on that further, I wonder what vibration-sensing creatures would make of high heels?  Maybe have something check for the presence of the HH spell and keywords about material on the slot 37 item... not sure how to detect NiOverride heels this way though.

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8 hours ago, Seijin8 said:

Bethesda didn't even attempt to make their world so quest aware.  It isn't impossible to do, but it would be very difficult, and I'm not tackling that any time soon -- probably never.

That's understandable, but I was generally giving a example. The most appropriate way to handle this would be to actively give them a questline with their own problems (like how vanilla skyrim guilds do) where the player affects the progress entirely by how far along they are in it. Most of these tend to end with radiant quests once the main quest for them is done with some sign of progress (thieves guild comes to mind for this).

The base recipe for all that tends to be 'faction has X problems, player shows up, faction recruits player, player starts resolving problem, more problems may show up external or internal to the faction, but eventually problem is resolved, player usually attains a high rank in said faction and then radiants are offered to help that faction little by little.'

 

As long as there is a viable reason for the queen to not want to just turn the player entirely into a mindless drone such as having a ulterior need or desire with them to handle a task only they could handle, you could feasibly have the player join the hive and even be transformed but not end up 100% trapped in the life of a bug, while still believably having them be part of the hive.

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49 minutes ago, skyrimdragon said:

That's understandable, but I was generally giving a example. The most appropriate way to handle this would be to actively give them a questline with their own problems (like how vanilla skyrim guilds do) where the player affects the progress entirely by how far along they are in it. Most of these tend to end with radiant quests once the main quest for them is done with some sign of progress (thieves guild comes to mind for this).

The base recipe for all that tends to be 'faction has X problems, player shows up, faction recruits player, player starts resolving problem, more problems may show up external or internal to the faction, but eventually problem is resolved, player usually attains a high rank in said faction and then radiants are offered to help that faction little by little.'

 

As long as there is a viable reason for the queen to not want to just turn the player entirely into a mindless drone such as having a ulterior need or desire with them to handle a task only they could handle, you could feasibly have the player join the hive and even be transformed but not end up 100% trapped in the life of a bug, while still believably having them be part of the hive.

I'm feeling like we're on different wavelengths here.

 

My avoidance of the guild quest theme is because it is a tired and frankly lazy trope in game design, and I have no interest in doing it, even if it didn't require hundreds of hours of work to enact.

 

You keep mentioning a queen.  What queen?

 

There will be no shortage of quests related to this mod (as it develops), but these will not follow a pattern of guild quest lines.  Most players will be unaware these quests have even started.  There will be no quest markers, journal entries or hand-holding; the quests and their results will come from (and be shaped around) emergent gameplay.  The hive's needs are not explicit, and there won't be a note dropped into the inventory to tell you about what they need.  Every hive is different, and on every game start random variables will be assigned to make each "run" potentially unique.  One of my goals for this is to never have the mod be a matter of ticking off a checklist or following previously established patterns.

 

In many ways, the quest structures will be rogue-like.  Semi-random entry requirements, semi-random progression.  Aside from some checks to make sure that no option is arbitrarily sealed off at game start, the rest will be as random (and partially hidden) as I can make it.

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