Hugs are breaking my game

[asd000]

I have a mod which is cancelling dialogue and forcing a hugging animation. Just a normal friendly hug with someone you're facing and talking to. It doesn't seem to be part of a larger scene or event (like a BaboDialogue/Approach thing), and everyone goes back to what they're doing immediately. I feel like it was someone's half-baked idea of an immersive relationship thing, because it only happens with followers or NPCs that have friendly relationship status.

 

The problem is that after the hug forces the dialogue menu to close, that NPC is now impossible to have a conversation with. You can activate them and they might say a line, but there is no dialogue menu and they just keep walking around. If I save/load the game, or take them to a new cell, I can talk to them again. But if the hug strikes, it breaks the game all over again.

 

I cannot figure out what mod is doing this. Does this sound familiar to anyone? It could be any number of mods that have a bunch of undocumented features (which is.. most of them). I try to read through descriptions as thoroughly as I can and none of them mention anything like this. I also test mods as I install them to make sure they seem to work more or less as expected, but this is a "feature" that doesn't emerge until I've been playing for a few hours. I had no idea this was there until I already had a (probably too long) load order.

 

I don't expect anyone to actually read through this, but if anyone is able to help me out here and is curious, here is the load order (a couple of these are disabled, like Lux patches for follower mods I ended up not using):

Spoiler

Skyrim.esm
Update.esm
Dawnguard.esm
HearthFires.esm
Dragonborn.esm
ccBGSSSE001-Fish.esm
ccQDRSSE001-SurvivalMode.esl
ccBGSSSE037-Curios.esl
ccBGSSSE025-AdvDSGS.esm
_ResourcePack.esl
unofficial skyrim special edition patch.esp
RSkyrimChildren.esm
Hun Lovaas.esl
Water for ENB.esm
Lux - Master plugin.esm
Expressive Facegen Morphs.esl
High Poly Head.esm
TheNewGentleman.esp
Campfire.esm
Lux - Resources.esp
SmoothCam.esl
TrueHUD.esl
___BlockAngleFix.esl
kcf.esm
SexLabAroused.esm
SexLab.esm
Devious Devices - Assets.esm
Devious Devices - Integration.esm
Devious Devices - Expansion.esm
CreatureFramework.esm
ECE Sliders for Racemenu.esl
Eye Fix Slider.esl
RS_Books.esl
Sexy Adventures.esl
Heels Sound.esm
Duchy Sword.esl
EFFCore.esm
UHDAP - MusicHQ.esp
UHDAP - en0.esp
UHDAP - en1.esp
UHDAP - en3.esp
UHDAP - en2.esp
UHDAP - en4.esp
Lux Via.esp
ZaZAnimationPack.esm
PamaPrisonAlternative.esm
Devious Devices - Contraptions.esm
DynDOLOD.esm
SexLab - Sexual Fame [SLSF].esm
PamaFurnitureScr.esp
SMIM-SE-DragonbornTernFix.esp
Kaidan - DBVO Patch.esp
SkyUI_SE.esp
SMIM-SE-ShackRoofFixes.esp
SMIM-SE-FurnitureChestSnowFix.esp
SMIM-SE-FarmhouseFlickeringFix.esp
SMIM-SE-ShackRoofFixesDragonborn.esp
ICNs_ImmersiveCollegeNPCs.esp
MCMHelper.esp
UIExtensions.esp
RaceMenu.esp
RaceMenuPlugin.esp
run for your lives.esp
Chapter II - Soundtrack mod by Dreyma Music.esp
Around the Fire.esp
The Companions Music Overhaul.esp
Melodies of Civilization.esp
MelOfCiv - Chapter II Patch.esp
Still.esp
Still - Chapter II Patch.esp
Dawnguard Music Overhaul - Combat.esp
Dawnguard Music Overhaul.esp
Dawnguard Music Overhaul - Epilogue.esp
Companions - Dawnguard Patch.esp
HD Lods SSE.esp
FOLIP.esp
FNIS.esp
SLSF Reloaded.esp
Conditional Expressions.esp
Bathing in Skyrim.esp
Veydosebrom Regions.esp
Simplicity of Snow.esp
StormLightning.esp
SMP Wind MCM.esp
FSMPM - The FSMP MCM.esp
Disable Free CC Contents.esp
OCW_Obscure's_CollegeofWinterhold.esp
Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods.esp
NAT-ENB.esp
Relationship Dialogue Overhaul.esp
KS Hairdo's.esp
MoreNastyCritters.esp
Faithful Faces - High Poly Head.esp
Faithful Faces - High Poly Head0.esp
Lux Via - plugin.esp
Civil War Overhaul.esp
Cidhna Mine Expanded.esp
HottCattle.esp
troublesofheroine.esp
SeranaDialogAddon.esp
OCW_ICNs_OE_FEPatch.esp
Immersive Encounters.esp
Hand Placed Enemies - Light.esp
BalazarTheHusky.esp
Hidden Hideouts of Skyrim - Merged.esp
Public Whore.esp
BaboInteractiveDia.esp
Populated Skyrim Legendary.esp
SnoipehMoreCreatures.esp
SLSFFameComments.esp
NightMotherLight.esp
SkyrimSewers.esp
Morning Fogs SSE.esp
Cloaks.esp
New Vaermina Statue.esp
EFFDialogue.esp
Ashe - Fire and Blood.esp
SLUTS.esp
MistySkye.esp
SM_Astrid.esp
Animal_Research.esp
troublesofheroineDG.esp
SexLab Approach.esp
troublesofheroineDB.esp
Devious Cidhna.esp
Missives.esp
Immersive Patrols II.esp
TBD - DibellaStatue.esp
PrisonAlternative_Executions_Riften.esp
PaPunishmentPack1.esp
SimpleSlavery.esp
PaarthurnaxQuestExpansion.esp
Enhanced Vanilla Trees SSE.esp
College Of Winterhold - Quest Expansion.esp
PrisonAlternative_Executions_WindHelm.esp
MoreNocturnalStatues.esp
SunHelmSurvival.esp
3BBB.esp
SOSPhysicsManager.esp
12FemaleBrows.esp
TheEyesOfBeauty.esp
The Eyes Of Beauty - Elves Edition.esp
Koralina's Eyebrows.esp
KSHairdosSMP.esp
KSWigsSMP.esp
Vanilla hair remake SMP NPCs.esp
evgmodularSMPhair.esp
chooeymodularSMPhairedit.esp
Beards.esp
Realistic Haircolors.esp
RaceMenuMorphsHIMBO.esp
The New Gentleman - Bad Dogs Hoodies.esp
The New Gentleman - Bad Dogs Orc Schlong.esp
The New Gentleman - Spiky Argonian Schlong.esp
koralinas_freckles_moles.esp
Koralina's Makeup Tweaks.esp
BD Armor and clothes replacer.esp
CBBE.esp
RaceMenuMorphsCBBE.esp
Brows.esp
KaliliesBrows.esp
Even More Brows HPH.esp
Elephant'sScriptLatencyTester.esp
Falmer Servant Lines Expansion.esp
FSLE - More Locations.esp
FSLE - Unique Abilities.esp
NB-Scars.esp
Dynamic Activation Key.esp
Simple Hunting Overhaul.esp
SkillsOfTheWild.esp
SunHelmCampfireSkill.esp
SunHelmDiseases.esp
unyielding_nerf_25_50.esp
UltimateImmersionToggle.esp
CarryYourCarcasses - SHO.esp
COLLISION.esp
TrueDirectionalMovement.esp
SOSCinematicKills.esp
Precision.esp
dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp
Dynamic Impact - Slash Effects X.esp
Dynamic Impact - Slash Effects X-01EBT.esp
BetterThirdPersonSelection.esp
FirstPersonInteractions.esp
Bandit Lines Expansion.esp
Civil War Lines Expansion.esp
Forsworn and Thalmor Lines Expansion.esp
Sonders_Keyword_Distribution.esp
SolitudeThroneFix_BOS.esp
Warming Hands.esp
Use Special Markers.esp
SmoothJumpINISettings.esp
KatanaCrafting.esp
Divine Conjuration Audio Sound.esp
Modesty_Keyword.esp
Vampire Lines Expansion.esp
(SDZ21) Natural Beauty Makeup.esp
OrkishBountyHunters.esp
SL Dirty Deeds Missives.esp
AlftandFix.esp
The Amazing World of Bikini Armors REMASTERED.esp
TAWOBA Remastered Leveled List.esp
(Pumpkin)-TEWOBA-TheExpandedWorldofBikiniArmor.esp
aMidianborn_Skyforge_Weapons.esp
DraugrBikini.esp
TAWOBA_dawn.esp
TAWOBA_sons.esp
TAWOBA_guards_addon.esp
SlaveTats.esp
RapeTattoos.esp
FadeTattoos.esp
PWPatch.esp
Public Whore Voice.esp
PWComments.esp
PW Comments Voice.esp
BakaFactoryABC.esp
OAroused.esp
OSLAroused.esp
Naked Defeat.esp
SexLabHorribleHarassment.esp
Devious Devices SE patch.esp
Devious Devices - NG - Armbinder replacer.esp
Devious Devices - NG - Piercing replacer.esp
DynamicArmorMenu.esp
SexLab Aroused Creatures.esp
DBVO.esp
SLAL_AnimationByBakaFactory.esp
PsycheAnimationObjects.esp
ToastSLAL.esp
SLAL_AnimationsByLeito.esp
SLALAnimObjBillyy.esp
AnubAnimObj.esp
SLALAnimObj.esp
Cloaks - USSEP Patch.esp
Cloaks - Dawnguard.esp
Cloaks_SMP_Patch.esp
DragonPriestHoodVariants.esp
CBBE 3BA Vanilla Outfits.esp
HIMBO.esp
CBBE 3BA Vanilla Outfits - HIMBO.esp
WaitYourTurn.esp
troublesofheroineHF.esp
PrisonAlternative_Executions_Solitude.esp
TNTR.esp
Licenses.esp
Licenses - Dialogue Patch.esp
Licenses - Ambience.esp
ImmersiveInteractions.esp
ICNs_Lite.esp
Tirk the Horny Riekling.esp
Defeat the Dragon Cult.esp
FDE Roggi.esp
FDE Erik.esp
FDE Faendal.esp
FDE Aela.esp
FDE Brelyna.esp
FDE Lydia.esp
FDE Jordis.esp
FDE Jenassa.esp
FDE Illia.esp
FDE Mjoll.esp
FDE Uthgerd.esp
_GSPoses.esp
TRE_Freckles.esp
NITHI NPCs - Whiterun - Men.esp
NITHI NPCs - Whiterun - Women.esp
NMZ - Haafingar - Women.esp
NMZ - Haafingar - Men.esp
NMZ - Haafingar - Men - USSEP Patch.esp
NMZ - Haafingar - Women - USSEP.esp
NITHI NPCs - The Thieves Guild - Men.esp
NITHI NPCs - The Thieves Guild - Women.esp
NITHI NPCs - The Rift - Men.esp
NITHI NPCS - The Rift - Women.esp
NITHI NPCS - Ulfric Your Way.esp
NITHI NPCS - The Reach - Women.esp
NITHI NPCs - The Reach - Men.esp
NITHI NPCS - Companions - Kodlak.esp
NITHI NPCS - Companions - Aela.esp
NITHI NPCS - Companions - Ria.esp
NITHI NPCS - Companions - Tilma.esp
NITHI NPCS - Companions - Athis.esp
NITHI NPCS - Companions - Farkas.esp
NITHI NPCS - Companions - Njada.esp
NITHI NPCS - Companions - Skjor.esp
NITHI NPCS - Companions - Torvar.esp
NITHI NPCS - Companions - Vilkas.esp
NITHI NPCS - Eastmarch - Men.esp
NITHI NPCS - Eastmarch - Women.esp
NITHI NPCS - Dawnguard DLC - Fort Dawnguard - Men.esp
NITHI NPCS - Dawnguard DLC - Volkihar - Women.esp
NITHI NPCS - Dawnguard DLC - Fort Dawnguard - Women.esp
NITHI NPCS - Dawnguard DLC - Volkihar - Men.esp
BB's Solstheim NPC Overhaul - Women.esp
BB's Solstheim NPC Overhaul - Men.esp
BB's College of Winterhold NPC Overhaul Revisited - Women.esp
BB's College of Winterhold NPC Overhaul Revisited - Men.esp
Beef Unending - A Civil War Replacer.esp
Aranea D7.esp
Eola D7.esp
Illia D7.esp
Brelyna D7.esp
Jenassa D7.esp
Karliah D7.esp
(SDZ21) My Lovely Hair Color.esp
(SDZ21) Lydia.esp
(SDZ21) Rayya.esp
(SDZ21) Jordis The Sword-Maiden.esp
Pureblood Valerica.esp
Trueblood Serana.esp
RSChildren.esp
RealisticRSChildren.esp
Orkish Bounty Hunters 0.4 Voice Lines.esp
BakaMotionData.esp
mrt_SimpleProstitution.esp
Cum Addict Begging Addon Voice Lines.esp
CumSwallowNeedsAddon.esp
CumSwallowNeeds_BeggingAddon.esp
NoAnimResetNPCTest.esp
[Caenarvon] Magecore.esp
evgnnsmpaccessories.esp
sirwho_Wizard_Hats-Simple.esp
Highrock_Vagabond_Armor.esp
Archmage.esp
Chevalier's Armor Set.esp
TES Arena Bikini.esp
[FB] Einherjr.esp
LustmordVampireArmor.esp
Remove Your.esp
ahzWaywardKnight.esp
ahzFleetKnight.esp
Girl's Travel Outfit.esp
Girl's Travel Outfit Recolors.esp
BoxtonCloak.esp
KSO Mage Robes Vagrant.esp
KSO Mage Robes.esp
[COCO] Chaos Sorcerer.esp
Maya Tribal Wraps.esp
BDE_Armor.esp
ROSDDA.esp
_Fuse00_ArmorVendalian.esp
[Christine] Bandit Summoner.esp
sirwho_Witchy_Wizard_Hats-Simple.esp
Misty_Sexlab_Addon.esp
Misty Skye CBBE 3BA Patch.esp
evgSouthboundScouts.esp
[Imp] Piercings of the Divines.esp
[Imp] Piercings of the Divines Slot 60.esp
Paragon Sparrow Huntress.esp
LB Lady Alina SSE.esp
TsunTsun Armor Remastered.esp
[Christine] Companion Moon.esp
Lazy Weapon Pack 2.esp
Sugaruya Katana.esp
SuppleEbonyBow.esp
Austio Weapons.esp
Morgynn Sword.esp
SM_Astrid_Body.esp
_Fuse00SirenHair.esp
[ELLE] Knight Elaine.esp
SunHelmOCWPatch.esp
ocw door fix.esp
High Poly NPC Overhaul - Obscure's College of Winterhold.esp
High Poly NPC Overhaul - Immersive College NPCs.esp
COW_RS_Patch.esp
Immersive Encounters - RS Children Patch.esp
Immersive Encounters - High Poly AIO.esp
SDA RDO Patch.esp
SDA Campfire Patch.esp
SDA Lustmord Patch.esp
Ashe - SMP_Hair.esp
Ashe RCO Patch.esp
RDO - EFF v4.0.2 Patch.esp
Naked Defeat_Voice.esp
SLUTS Voice.esp
Balazars Bitch 0.944 Voice Lines.esp
BaboDialogue 5.80 Voice Pack Complete SE.esp
BaboDialogue 5.80 Voice Pack Complete SE0.esp
BaboDialogue 5.80 Voice Pack Complete SE1.esp
BaboDialogue 5.80 Voice Pack Complete SE2.esp
SLHH Expansion 3.82 Voicepack.esp
SLAP Redux 3.31 Voice Pack Complete SE.esp
SLAP Redux 3.31 Voice Pack Complete SE1.esp
SLAP Redux 3.31 Voice Pack Complete SE0.esp
Remove Your Tats - Fix.esp
Simple Slavery Voice.esp
SLSFFameComments 3.64 Voice Lines.esp
SLSFFameComments 3.64 Voice Lines0.esp
SLSFFameComments 3.64 Voice Lines1.esp
SLSFFameComments 3.64 Voice Lines2.esp
BetterTelekinesis.esp
madEngagingCombat_MagicResist.esp
madEngagingCombat_Easy_MR.esp
madEngagingCombat.esp
madEngagingCombat_Easy.esp
madEngagingCombat_IgnoreTransformations.esp
madEngagingCombat_MCM.esp
OBody.esp
Sovngarde Steel Armor and Weapons.esp
Skimped - Sovngarde Steel SMP Cloak Fix.esp
SolaceDress.esp
SL Dirty Deeds Missives - 1.4.2 - Race Edits.esp
RUSTIC SOULGEMS - Unsorted - ESL.esp
EVE - KillMove Fixes.esp
[Imp] Ayleid Piercings.esp
[Imp] Ayleid Piercings Slot 60.esp
Requiem.esp
Requiem - Restored Saving Messages.esp
Requiem-Missives_extended_patch.esp
Requiem - Simple Hunting Overhaul.esp
Requiem_Alduin_redone.esp
Requiem-general_NPC_tweaks.esp
Requiem_VampireCollection.esp
Requiem - Magic Redone.esp
Requiem - MR Better Telekinesis Patch.esp
HeartofIceRequiem.esp
At Your Own Pace - College of Winterhold.esp
At Your Own Pace - Dark Brotherhood.esp
At Your Own Pace - Thane Overhaul.esp
At Your Own Pace - Companions.esp
At Your Own Pace - Thieves Guild.esp
At Your Own Pace - Misc.esp
At Your Own Pace - College Quest Expansion Patch.esp
XPMSE.esp
AlternatePerspective.esp
Requiem for the Indifferent.esp
Requiem - MR Bound Armor Fix.esp
Lux.esp
Lux - Lyssia patch.esp
Lux - Katana Follower.esp
Lux - Auri Song of the Green patch.esp
Custom Patch.esp
Lux - Astrid Patch.esp
Lux - Cidhna Mine Exanded patch.esp
Lux - USSEP patch.esp
Lux - Misty Skye patch.esp
Lux - CC Fish patch.esp
Lux - NAT ENB.esp
Lux - Saints and Seducers patch.esp
Lux - Skyrim Sewers.esp
Skyrim Sewers - Lux - Water for ENB Patch.esp
Lux - Hidden Hideouts of Skyrim patch.esp
OCW_CellSettings.esp
Lux - OCW College.esp
Lux - Alternate Perspective.esp
Water for ENB (Shades of Skyrim).esp
Lux - Water for ENB patch.esp
Lux - Water for ENB (Shades of skyrim) patch.esp
GrassBound.esp
DynDOLOD.esp
Occlusion.esp

 

A lot of them are things like lighting mods, weapons/armor, gameplay stuff like campfire/sunhelm, requiem, NPC visual replacers, etc. The only ones that I think might affect conversations with random NPCs like this are:

 

Relationship Dialogue Overhaul - I doubt this is it.. I used that mod for years and never saw anything like this.

SL Fame Comments - I think this mod only adds comments and maybe some quests or conversations, but it does deal with NPC relationships and conversations in ways I don't really get.

Babo Dialogue, SexLab Approach, Horrible Harassment - These mods are kind of a black box.. they do a bunch of mysterious stuff with NPC interactions, sometimes based on relationship levels, so one of these seems like a strong possibility.

Maybe one of the "fancy" follower mods like Serana Dialogue Addon, or Astrid? I only have a couple of them, but these can be over-designed.

There are a handful of other SL mods that do things I don't comprehensively understand, but somehow I doubt this is a function of Prison Alternative or Naked Defeat.

 

If anyone can help me identify the culprit I'd grateful. I wish it were simply a CTD or some kind of file/record conflict. At this point my options are either.. spend a potentially insane amount of time troubleshooting every individual mod for this one awful gimmick, or uninstall the game.

Edited February 16, 2025 by asd000
minor clarification

[traison]

Personally I would go by the assumption that some part of this will contain the word "hug":

1. The script that's doing it might have a variable containing "hug".
2. The animation file name might contain "hug".
3. The plugin might have a record with an editor id containing "hug".

Search through all pex, bsa, esl, esp and esm files in all mods for the word "hug" and you're bound to find it. Notepad++ can most likely do this search, as long as its not hiding inside a compressed BSA. Set the filter to "*.bsa;*.pex;*.es*". Alternatively you can use my string search utility specifically made for Skyrim - it recently got a GUI update, and the ability to read compressed BSA archives. This is available upon request.

 

The file name search can obviously be done with Explorer.

 

Edit: The easier option would be to just wait, as long as you're not in a hurry. There's people on these forums that are good with loadorders and such.

Edited February 16, 2025 by traison

[asd000]

Thanks for the suggestion. I found that Notepad++ crashes when I try to search my mod folder like that, but I can experiment a bit with different ways of searching for this.

[asd000]

So I found a handful of scripts with "hug" in the titles, but I don't think any of them are the culprit.

 

SLApp_TIF_BackHugAfterStart.pex

SLApp_TIF_BackHug01.pex

SLAppHugAuraMagicEffectScript.pex

SF_SLAppAfterBackHugMolest_075E6226.pex

SLApp_SF_Ask2Hug_0403B9C2.pex

 

All are from Sexlab Approach Redux. The first two I think deal with an event where a character hugs you from behind, and then you can talk to them about it. I'm guessing the "aura" one is also related to this, because they glow after that.. presumably to make it easier to find who did it (not sure, it's odd). I don't know what the last one is for, because there's no asking involved in the problem I'm having. If I search for people having hug-related bugs in the Approach thread, it's all about this event (which is not the issue I'm having).

 

I can't actually open the .pex files to see if they tell me something about what they're doing. I can't figure out how to search inside of plugins (notepad++ says it finds things, but it's all blank or garbled unreadable stuff) either.

 

The animations I found are mostly from the "baka motion data pack" but the animation in question might actually be a vanilla animation that isn't used much. There are Nexus mods (which I don't use) that let you hug NPCs after all, and I don't think they require anything crazy in terms of FNIS/OAR/etc.

 

So.. still not much to go off of, but I'll try disabling Approach in a new profile and seeing if I can get this to happen.

 

[asd000]

FOUND IT

 

Immersive Interactions (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/47670?tab=posts&BH=8)

 

I was barking up the wrong tree entirely. It is the vanilla animation, which isn't used in the vanilla game because it's technically a killmove that can execute NPCs randomly (learned about this years ago and forgot all about it). And it can be disabled from the MCM.

 

The only thing that worries me is that I don't really see anyone else complaining about this in the posts for that mod, and I would think that such an annoying bug wouldn't go unnoticed. This has me thinking it isn't just Immersive Interactions, but some other mod I have installed whose bugginess is manifesting through Immersive Interactions. But.. oh well, that's Skyrim modding I guess.

[CaptainJ03]

3 hours ago, asd000 said:

Immersive Interactions

Would have been my first guess, but it didn't break anything on LE.

I just had another mod, totally unrelated (Meridia's Order) completely break Sexlab, so searching and finding this is like a needle in the haystack.

[asd000]

40 minutes ago, CaptainJ03 said:

Would have been my first guess, but it didn't break anything on LE.

I just had another mod, totally unrelated (Meridia's Order) completely break Sexlab, so searching and finding this is like a needle in the haystack.

I completely forgot about it, honestly. I installed it early on while putting together my current mod list because I've always played 95% of the game in first person, but I'm trying an "all third person" save for a change of pace. I thought having some extra animations for picking things up, opening doors, etc. would help keep me from reverting back to my 1st person habits.

[traison]

7 hours ago, asd000 said:

I can't actually open the .pex files to see if they tell me something about what they're doing. I can't figure out how to search inside of plugins (notepad++ says it finds things, but it's all blank or garbled unreadable stuff) either.

 

That is irrelevant, they're binary files. The important thing is which file the match was found in. The reason why you can use a text editor like Notepad++ to search these binary files is that, for instance, the pex compiler does not mangle names. A variable named "MyHugAnimation" in the source code (psc) will still show up as "MyHugAnimation" in the bit soup (pex).