Animal Research: The Insatiable Scholar

[killer905]

8 hours ago, tlrd said:

I've found a compatibility issue for some reason having Growl - Werebeasts of Skyrim bugs out the werebear. He'll start to transform and then a second after the transformation he turns into a werewolf. The animation and quest progress as fine however. I've no clue what the issue I loaded them both in xedit and couldn't find the issue. Other werebear's( the ones you can summon via the creature summoner form the MNC page) work just fine and its registered in the creature framework(someone was having similar issues but there solution didn't work) after uninstalling growl the werebear transformation sticks and the animation play just fine so its got to be something with GROWL just don't know what.

Hmm, your description of ‘a werebear turning into a werewolf after a while’ suggests a misconfiguration in MNC? I'm not sure, but it's worth checking in MNC MCM Menu and Growl - Werebeasts of Skyrim any conflicts with MNC.

[tlrd]

I checked the MCM for MNC and the werebear option is listed as More Nasty Critters and it works with summoned werebears just not for the human transformed ones. But I checked Both MNC and Growl in xedit and the only conflict was in the werebear race form but letting MNC load after Growl didn't fix it. I'll post in MNC since it's not a bug for Animal Research sorry for faulty bug report. 

[killer905]

13 minutes ago, tlrd said:

I checked the MCM for MNC and the werebear option is listed as More Nasty Critters and it works with summoned werebears just not for the human transformed ones. But I checked Both MNC and Growl in xedit and the only conflict was in the werebear race form but letting MNC load after Growl didn't fix it. I'll post in MNC since it's not a bug for Animal Research sorry for faulty bug report. 

That's just my guess, but you can check if in Snowclad Ruins (there are werebears there) and see how they behave. Will they be like yours, where the werebear turns into a werewolf, or will they be as they should be? Animal Research uses a command to transform from a human into a werewolf or werebear.

[tlrd]

22 minutes ago, killer905 said:

That's just my guess, but you can check if in Snowclad Ruins (there are werebears there) and see how they behave. Will they be like yours, where the werebear turns into a werewolf, or will they be as they should be? Animal Research uses a command to transform from a human into a werewolf or werebear.

they're werebears not wolfs and during the quest Filial Bonds (vanilla quest from Dragonborn)  you talk to an npc who turns into a werebear and he transforms just fine as well I'm completely stumped.

[Predict2420]

On 2/28/2026 at 6:10 AM, Gristle said:

If you are on stage 350, it means the trigger box at the drawbridge advanced the stage correctly. Stage 350 starts a very brief scene. It's just Tirwin saying "Please, stop!" That dialogue advances the stage to 355. So, if the stage doesn't advance from 350 to 355, it means the scene didn't run. 

 

Also, all the other problems you mention involve scenes not starting.  The only related thing I can think of is that, in the last major update, I started putting the PC in each scene, even though the PC is given no dialogue or actions. Why? Because this shuts down other mods (like my Fame Comments mod) that are designed not to interrupt when the PC is in a scene. It works well for that purpose, but it sounds like you may have some other mod that has put the PC in a scene that has not ended. I'm thinking a mod because you are only the second person to report this scene issue. 

 

There's a LL mod that tells you if the PC is in a scene (and what scene), but I forget which mod has that in its MCM. Anyone know?

 

Just some feedback. It was exactly as you said. As soon as i get tto the bridge, it jumps to 350, but never to 355.

Still, i was lucky and got it fixed quickly somehow.
I found the sqv command and checked a few quests:
sqv var_collarquest showed a priority 90
I sqv a few other quests and all had pretty low priority, except one that had priority 100.

I found that strange and checked it.
Apparently, i had a follower mod ("Heart of Ice Astrid" or something) that for some reason it starts as soon as the game is loaded into sm_astridstart and that's the one with priority 100.

 

I did the first quest of that mod (fortunately, there was a quick way to end it) and then tried to go to whiterun again. Now, tirwin talked and everything seems nice. I now at college at all seems good.

I don't know about skyrim mechanics, so im not even sure if that was the real cause. But it helped, i guess. (out of curiosity i even tried in another save game and it worked again).
So, hope it helps someone else

[viksi.xxx]

Hello, everyone. Has anyone had any problems with the quest ‘Forbidden Knowledge’? I can't get into the tower because Vivienne isn't there. How can I get her back into the tower? Please help.

[Voronves]

13 hours ago, Predict2420 said:

Just some feedback. It was exactly as you said. As soon as i get tto the bridge, it jumps to 350, but never to 355.

Still, i was lucky and got it fixed quickly somehow.
I found the sqv command and checked a few quests:
sqv var_collarquest showed a priority 90
I sqv a few other quests and all had pretty low priority, except one that had priority 100.

I found that strange and checked it.
Apparently, i had a follower mod ("Heart of Ice Astrid" or something) that for some reason it starts as soon as the game is loaded into sm_astridstart and that's the one with priority 100.

 

I did the first quest of that mod (fortunately, there was a quick way to end it) and then tried to go to whiterun again. Now, tirwin talked and everything seems nice. I now at college at all seems good.

I don't know about skyrim mechanics, so im not even sure if that was the real cause. But it helped, i guess. (out of curiosity i even tried in another save game and it worked again).
So, hope it helps someone else

Oh damn i have the same problem as you so i guess i now have to go through all my mods and find one that has quest priority of 100 :( Or maybe is there a way to give Tirwin quest higher priority to just override the issue somehow? And did the priority 100 quest was in your journal or did it just worked in the background somewhere?

 

[eflat01]

3 hours ago, Voronves said:

Oh damn i have the same problem as you so i guess i now have to go through all my mods and find one that has quest priority of 100 :( Or maybe is there a way to give Tirwin quest higher priority to just override the issue somehow? And did the priority 100 quest was in your journal or did it just worked in the background somewhere?

 

 

Reminds me that these were the suggested rule long ago and carried over into Creation Kit from GECK, Took me a while to find the text I download so long ago. I do not know if this changed any and it had always been more of just a guideline.

1. On Dialogue Control Higher priority numbers i.e. 90-100, ensure your mod's dialogue appears over other lower-priority quests. (most mods still use about 90)
2. Best Practice: For standard, non-essential, or mod-added side quests, Bethesda Devs had recommended a value of 60 as being generally appropriate, that allows them to override miscellaneous quests which are about 30 to 50 but stays lower than main storyline quests.
3. A common pitfall If you find your dialogue isn't showing up, it is likely because another quest with a higher priority is active on an NPC (this does not matter as much anymore with extended dialog systems).
4. Example Use: A quest with 70 priority is often used for specific quest events. 

 

My experience with the engine over the years had been priority along with load order seem to make a difference. When you have numerous quests of the same priority the load order does seem to play a part in which thread (especially where scripting/fragments are run) take place. 

 

I do not know why the author of Heart of Ice Astrid may had set a priority of 100? On a follower's quests mod 90 would had likely sufficed, unless the author found bugs or timing issues I can't think of a reason it should be higher? 

 

I think 90 should suffice and you can edit that in SSeEdit or CK (in xEdit it's in DNAM section)

Edited March 2 by eflat01

[eflat01]

18 hours ago, tlrd said:

they're werebears not wolfs and during the quest Filial Bonds (vanilla quest from Dragonborn)  you talk to an npc who turns into a werebear and he transforms just fine as well I'm completely stumped.

 

 

This from Growl's description page has me wondering if the mod somehow does trickery with the two races. 

Version 2.0.0 includes major improvements to werebears. They can now access the Werewolf perk tree without having to change back to werewolf form, the option is available to become a werebear from the beginning, and shifting out of werebear form no longer unequips your armor. Werewolves and werebears are functionally identical, but of course we all know that bears are just better than wolves.
 

[Gristle]

3 hours ago, eflat01 said:

 

Reminds me that these were the suggested rule long ago and carried over into Creation Kit from GECK, Took me a while to find the text I download so long ago. I do not know if this changed any and it had always been more of just a guideline.

1. On Dialogue Control Higher priority numbers i.e. 90-100, ensure your mod's dialogue appears over other lower-priority quests. (most mods still use about 90)
2. Best Practice: For standard, non-essential, or mod-added side quests, Bethesda Devs had recommended a value of 60 as being generally appropriate, that allows them to override miscellaneous quests which are about 30 to 50 but stays lower than main storyline quests.
3. A common pitfall If you find your dialogue isn't showing up, it is likely because another quest with a higher priority is active on an NPC (this does not matter as much anymore with extended dialog systems).
4. Example Use: A quest with 70 priority is often used for specific quest events. 

 

My experience with the engine over the years had been priority along with load order seem to make a difference. When you have numerous quests of the same priority the load order does seem to play a part in which thread (especially where scripting/fragments are run) take place. 

 

I do not know why the author of Heart of Ice Astrid may had set a priority of 100? On a follower's quests mod 90 would had likely sufficed, unless the author found bugs or timing issues I can't think of a reason it should be higher? 

 

I think 90 should suffice and you can edit that in SSeEdit or CK (in xEdit it's in DNAM section)

Here's what I have observed/learned:

 

Quest Priority:

* Affects how AI package stacks in aliases from different quests combine, and thus which AI package controls

* Affects which scene plays when multiple scenes are triggered involving the same actor

 

Dialogue Priority: 

* Affects order in list of normal dialogue topics when speaking to an NPC

* For multiple Blocking topics, determines which single Blocking topic appears

 

In the reported cases, the problems all seem to involve absent scene dialogue. When a scene starts, it can block other scenes using the same actor. Scenes can be flagged as "interruptible" but even then they will only stop if a higher-priority event starts. In this case, the reported problems involve scenes where the PC is the only common actor. (I put the PC in these scenes so Fame Comments won't interrupt.)  So, I can only conclude that another mod has the PC stuck in a long-running scene. 

 

Scenes can be long-running for several reasons. For example, PC is in a scene and leaves the cell before the scene finishes. Also, some scene actions have no natural end, e.g., a follow package, which could lead to a mod author accidently creating a scene that runs forever.

 

EDIT: Also, I've never used it, but I believe More Informative Console can tell you what scene an actor is in, and from what mod.

 

Edited March 2 by Gristle

[Mikufan39]

On 2/28/2026 at 12:43 AM, Gristle said:

I think I found the problem. I'll fix in the next update. In the meantime, use "remove MUSDread" in the console. If that doesn't work, use "remove DLC2MUSDungeonApocrypha"

 

I tried entering those commands in the console, but it didn't recognize them. 😭
Is there something I'm missing?
I also tried putting it in quotation marks " " and got the same result

[killer905]

24 minutes ago, Mikufan39 said:

 

I tried entering those commands in the console, but it didn't recognize them. 😭
Is there something I'm missing?
I also tried putting it in quotation marks " " and got the same result

removemusic DLC2MUSDungeonApocrypha

[homertx]

I really like this mod, but there's a problem. Whenever we reach the designated animation area for a quest, Tyrwin and the animals either get stuck in the ground or fly into the air, but the scene with the Lustful Creatures Summoning doesn't have this problem. What could be the reason for this?

[eflat01]

19 hours ago, Gristle said:

Here's what I have observed/learned:

 

Quest Priority:

* Affects how AI package stacks in aliases from different quests combine, and thus which AI package controls

* Affects which scene plays when multiple scenes are triggered involving the same actor

 

Dialogue Priority: 

* Affects order in list of normal dialogue topics when speaking to an NPC

* For multiple Blocking topics, determines which single Blocking topic appears

 

In the reported cases, the problems all seem to involve absent scene dialogue. When a scene starts, it can block other scenes using the same actor. Scenes can be flagged as "interruptible" but even then they will only stop if a higher-priority event starts. In this case, the reported problems involve scenes where the PC is the only common actor. (I put the PC in these scenes so Fame Comments won't interrupt.)  So, I can only conclude that another mod has the PC stuck in a long-running scene. 

 

Scenes can be long-running for several reasons. For example, PC is in a scene and leaves the cell before the scene finishes. Also, some scene actions have no natural end, e.g., a follow package, which could lead to a mod author accidently creating a scene that runs forever.

 

EDIT: Also, I've never used it, but I believe More Informative Console can tell you what scene an actor is in, and from what mod.

 

 

Yes, I use More Informative Console (it's great for debugging) but I've yet to encounter the issue some of these people seem to experience.

Edited March 3 by eflat01

[razayel]

Where are older versions? 052 in particular. Needed for a modlist

[killer905]

35 minutes ago, razayel said:

Where are older versions? 052 in particular. Needed for a modlist

We do not support older versions. Please install the latest version or request the modlist author to update the modlist.

[unwashed biomass]

On 2/28/2026 at 7:57 AM, Gristle said:

As kiiler905 mentioned, you can do this (after the dog quest). But don't give her more than one custom outfit - meaning, remove all other outfit pieces from her inventory when you give her the custom outfit.

It wasn't there last version i played (or i really don't remember), just gotten to that part in current save, sweet. Problem solved before asking xD

 

On 2/28/2026 at 7:57 AM, Gristle said:

I can't recall any such comments. Can you recall a few words from any? As for Aroused Creatures, it can also be a bit hard incompatible, in that it could interfere with the mod's animals. But in any case, yes, a note in the description is appropriate.

Phraze goes someting like this "It's good to see you" - but that may or not may be from other mods now as i think of it.

 

On 2/28/2026 at 7:57 AM, Gristle said:

Like killer905 mentioned, this is a Skyrim bug. She is made a "Teammate" using Skyrim's teammate system, which is what makes her go into stealth mode when the player does.  Serana has the same issues. The standard Serana fixes are 1) fast travel, 2) command her to sit, 3) force shout her, or 4) disable/enable in console.

Yea, i'm so spoiled with NFF that i forgot that was notorious in vanila. NFF almost got rid of it, it has fix glitch dialouge topic that knocks down follower just in case of something like that.

 

On 2/28/2026 at 7:57 AM, Gristle said:

Like killer905 said, the PC being an expert would take away from of the importance of her quests for the books. It would also create a need for some alternate dialogue. But, in future updates, the PC could be given the opportunity to go first with the animals. That would allow a player to be more of a mentor.

I would love that! <3 (also forgive my incoherency, i was intoxinated xD).

 

As of Aroused Creatures issue. Technical soft incompatibility probably can be solved by adding actors (creatures and Tirwin) to quest similar to when PC is assigned by your SLSF Comments mod by NPC Approach (Spouse thingy) - i remember in early mod builds aproaches hanged and quest was stuck on player when NPC didn't make in time to force greet. Then all AC auto encounters were aborted because there is option (on on default) to skip NPCs/PC involved in quests.

  As of immersion compatibility i guess almost unsolvable.

 

[MadMansGun]

On 3/1/2026 at 6:14 AM, killer905 said:

Hmm, your description of ‘a werebear turning into a werewolf after a while’ suggests a misconfiguration in MNC? I'm not sure, but it's worth checking in MNC MCM Menu and Growl - Werebeasts of Skyrim any conflicts with MNC.

it's more likely a error between growl and animal research, growl edits the transformation quest/spell/scripts and animal research is still using those for its own transformations.

 

i tried to find the issue but the scripts in theses 2 mods are just giving me a headache to look at, but i am assuming whatever sets the player in growl to be a werewolf or werebear is also effecting the npc/s in animal research.

Edited March 4 by MadMansGun

[Maidenslayer]

I previously reported that Book #1's wolf cage key would not appear in the bandit's chest.

 

I'm happy to report that with version 054 the wolf cage correctly appeared.  However, I could not find any "backup key" that your updated description implies.  Where is it?

[killer905]

1 hour ago, MadMansGun said:

it's more likely a error between growl and animal research, growl edits the transformation quest/spell/scripts and animal research is still using those for its own transformations.

 

i tried to find the issue but the scripts in theses 2 mods are just giving me a headache to look at, but i am assuming whatever sets the player in growl to be a werewolf or werebear is also effecting the npc/s in animal research.

The symptoms suggested MNC to me, but I think we'll need to do a growl analysis to see what the werebear race looks like, but if it works on wild werebears, it should also work on AR. Strange case...

[killer905]

33 minutes ago, Maidenslayer said:

I previously reported that Book #1's wolf cage key would not appear in the bandit's chest.

 

I'm happy to report that with version 054 the wolf cage correctly appeared.  However, I could not find any "backup key" that your updated description implies.  Where is it?

Looking at previous posts, it should be in the bucket, but it seems to be invisible. Checking in CK, I no even see this key there.

[Gristle]

2 hours ago, Maidenslayer said:

I previously reported that Book #1's wolf cage key would not appear in the bandit's chest.

 

I'm happy to report that with version 054 the wolf cage correctly appeared.  However, I could not find any "backup key" that your updated description implies.  Where is it?

Good. There's two kinds of backup. First, although the key is placed in the chest when you talk to Aela, the mod checks again when you get to the wolf cage - if the key's not in the chest, it's added.  Second, there's a key in the bucket to the right, although it usually ends up under the bucket, which you can kick out of the way.

[MadMansGun]

1 hour ago, killer905 said:

The symptoms suggested MNC to me, but I think we'll need to do a growl analysis to see what the werebear race looks like, but if it works on wild werebears, it should also work on AR. Strange case...

there are only 2 scenarios i can think of in MNC that could turn a werebear into a werewolf:

 

1. the "Player Hermaphrodite Werewolf patch" has been installed, it was not made to deal with the player becoming a werebear (but this would not effect NPCs, only the player)

 

2. the "werebear" NPCs are actually getting transformed into werewolves with a werebear armor equipped over top to make them look like one.

in this scenario CF would see through the fake body to the base armor/body under it, and by default "stripArmor" is set to "true" unless stated otherwise in the json, therefor it would remove the armor (when aroused) and equip the werewolf penis to the body underneath.

[unwashed biomass]

What could be the reason why completing Animal Research quests don't give exp while using Experience mod?

[Gristle]

2 hours ago, unwashed biomass said:

What could be the reason why completing Animal Research quests don't give exp while using Experience mod?

It should work. The "deer" experience won't work because the animal used is actually an elk. For creatures like the Spriggan and Flame Atronach, it might be looking for the male versions of these creatures, and the mod uses female versions. Otherwise, all the race types should be quite normal and detected by the Experience mod.