[SEARCH] Shorter countdown for Sanguinare Vampiris transformation?

[Blaze69]

Basically, what the title reads.

 

I want to start a vampire playthrough (and also complete the vampire side of the Dawnguard questline), but I want to roleplay my character actually being infected against their will and then eventually giving in to the bloodthirst. The thing is, the only options to turn into a vampire are to accept Harkon's offer during Dawnguard's Main Quest (which would mean willingly contracting it, so not an option) or to contract vampirism by catching the Sanguinare Vampiris disease while fighting vampires and then turning. But the three day delay between infection and transformation makes it laughably easy to cure the disease before you turn, so I would have to actively avoid any cure or just wait for three days straight, which is lame.

 

Ideally, the transformation would happen during nighttime, so being infected short after dawn would give an entire day to cure it; likewise, being infected just before (or even worse, after) dusk would most certainly mean you are stuck as a vampire unless you happen to carry a cure disease potion when it happens. Though any kind of shortening of that period would probably do it.

 

I've checked the main vampire overhaul mods, and none of them seem to change that 3-day period before you turn. Is there any mod that does so that I have missed? And if there isn't any, does anybody know how would I go around editing it to make it shorter?

 

Thanks in advance.

[karlpaws]

GIven how much is customized by the vampire mods, I would guess if there was a way to change that, they would. Werewolf return transform timers have a couple different workarounds and you can stay wolf as long as you want.

 

If you are opposed to instantly becoming a vampire through the overhaul mods (they should all have an option) both LAL and Unbound have start-as-a-vampire options. You could roleplay that first level 1 - 4 as succumbing and when you hit 4 having to feed as you turn mindless.

 

There are some alchemy overhauls that let you create blood potions, but I'm not sure how early in the alchemy process they all are or whether they work on animals. You could go all "Interview with a Vampire" and feed on skeevers and such before roleplaying tipping into madness and having to feed on humans to partially regain your sanity. I think that unlike werewolves, vampires do not have any in game way of gaining the ability to feed on animals.

 

I think in the end you might need to go the "actively avoid curing" route as a personally imposed role play rule and pick something you can do for three days, like waiting in side for only 6 hours, and then hunting for plants "to make a cure" or hunting animals hoping their blood will slake your thirst.  That or use a LAL or Unbound start in a vampire cave as a vampire and play your first couple levels like normal, as the thirst tries to take over.

 

(I date back to tabletop days, when keeping to character was something you had to impose on yourself. Can lead to hilarious outcomes like purposely triggering a trap your character is too dumb to spot, making the save against damage, another against the strength of the mechanism and walking away with a powerful weapon )

[Blaze69]

[...]

Yeah, that's what I thought. Oh, well, I guess I will have to go the full-RP route.

 

I was actually thinking about playing either a random adventurer left for dead and stumbling upon a vampire lair while looking for help/supplies, or a new recruit for the Vigilants of Stendarr that gets cocky and tries to take on a full vampire lair by themselves (Using Alternate Start's "Left for Dead" and "Vigilant of Stendarr" starts, respectively). I guess I will either have to still play those and wait though the 3 days once infected or just use the Vampire start altogether.

 

What baffles me is that there is a random world encounter in the vanilla game where a hunter shows up and asks for a Cure Disease potion because he was just bitten/scratched by a vampire and has contracted the disease. If you tell him you have no such potions, he runs away in fear 'cause he's "going to turn". And I'm like, "you have three days to cure yourself and the nearest town is ten minutes from here, calm down".

 

Anyway, thank you for your reply. I still want to take a look at the scripts and see if I can tinker with them. We'll see.

[karlpaws]

 

[...]

Yeah, that's what I thought. Oh, well, I guess I will have to go the full-RP route.

 

I was actually thinking about playing either a random adventurer left for dead and stumbling upon a vampire lair while looking for help/supplies, or a new recruit for the Vigilants of Stendarr that gets cocky and tries to take on a full vampire lair by themselves (Using Alternate Start's "Left for Dead" and "Vigilant of Stendarr" starts, respectively). I guess I will either have to still play those and wait though the 3 days once infected or just use the Vampire start altogether.

 

What baffles me is that there is a random world encounter in the vanilla game where a hunter shows up and asks for a Cure Disease potion because he was just bitten/scratched by a vampire and has contracted the disease. If you tell him you have no such potions, he runs away in fear 'cause he's "going to turn". And I'm like, "you have three days to cure yourself and the nearest town is ten minutes from here, calm down".

 

Anyway, thank you for your reply. I still want to take a look at the scripts and see if I can tinker with them. We'll see.

 

 

Ah yeah.  That encounter isn't always a hunter I think, but shows the lack of scale.  Town might be farther away than 10 minutes. You also find a woman escaped from Mistwatch no where near the fort and sometimes on the other side of a town or three from it. Some things just aren't based in lore I think and only represent a way for you to do something to your own credit or fill in a random map marker.

 

There are also some comments by NPCs that indicate not everyone receives a blessing or cure from the shrines. I guess the player is just especially devout to all of the Nine.

 

Lastly on the three day thing, that might not be common knowledge. Sometimes guards say they hope it is not true that you'll be turned if you are scratched. Instead of waiting for all three days, maybe look up the console command to change the time scale (if you don't have a mod that does so) and increase it until you turn?

 

[Blaze69]

Lastly on the three day thing, that might not be common knowledge. Sometimes guards say they hope it is not true that you'll be turned if you are scratched. Instead of waiting for all three days, maybe look up the console command to change the time scale (if you don't have a mod that does so) and increase it until you turn?

Oh, forgot to post about this. I took a look at the scripts, and after browsing through the whole PlayerVampireQuestScript, it turned out the 3 day countdown is part of a different script (VampireDiseaseEffectScript). It's not touched by Better Vampires or Sacrosanct, but judging by my only search of the script name it looks like Vampiric Thrist may touch it (I would have to check).

 

Anway, editing it was really easy (or so it seemed), and I tweaked it to fit my intentions. Basically, if the disease is contracted after 3 AM and before 7 PM, the "change" is set to happen between 7 and 9 PM chosen at random. If it's contracted between 7 PM and 2 AM, the game choses at random between a countdown of 1, 2 or 3 hours. Basically, what I was aiming for; the best time to hunt vampires is after dawn and during the day, because there is enough time to find a cure disease potion before dusk. On the other hand, getting involved in a fight with a vampire after dark will probably end up in vampirism unless you happen to carry a cure disease potion with you when that happens.

 

It seemed to work fine, so I may think about uploading the script edit here in LL for anybody interested. Oh, and since I've already got what I wanted, I guess this thread can be marked as "Solved". Thanks for your answers anyway!

[karlpaws]

 

Lastly on the three day thing, that might not be common knowledge. Sometimes guards say they hope it is not true that you'll be turned if you are scratched. Instead of waiting for all three days, maybe look up the console command to change the time scale (if you don't have a mod that does so) and increase it until you turn?

Oh, forgot to post about this. I took a look at the scripts, and after browsing through the whole PlayerVampireQuestScript, it turned out the 3 day countdown is part of a different script (VampireDiseaseEffectScript). It's not touched by Better Vampires or Sacrosanct, but judging by my only search of the script name it looks like Vampiric Thrist may touch it (I would have to check).

 

Anway, editing it was really easy (or so it seemed), and I tweaked it to fit my intentions. Basically, if the disease is contracted after 3 AM and before 7 PM, the "change" is set to happen between 7 and 9 PM chosen at random. If it's contracted between 7 PM and 2 AM, the game choses at random between a countdown of 1, 2 or 3 hours. Basically, what I was aiming for; the best time to hunt vampires is after dawn and during the day, because there is enough time to find a cure disease potion before dusk. On the other hand, getting involved in a fight with a vampire after dark will probably end up in vampirism unless you happen to carry a cure disease potion with you when that happens.

 

It seemed to work fine, so I may think about uploading the script edit here in LL for anybody interested. Oh, and since I've already got what I wanted, I guess this thread can be marked as "Solved". Thanks for your answers anyway!

 

 

You were able to edit the script so that the change happens in less than 12 hours? You could contact the BV and VT modder and see if they're interested, along with the LAL dev. I think Unbound might be "completed" but could give him a shot too.  Certainly in the meantime you could post it here I think.

 

[Blaze69]

You were able to edit the script so that the change happens in less than 12 hours? You could contact the BV and VT modder and see if they're interested, along with the LAL dev. I think Unbound might be "completed" but could give him a shot too. Certainly in the meantime you could post it here I think.

Yeah, the script was simple. When Sanguinare Vampiris is added to your character, it takes the current value of the GameDaysPassed variable, adds 3, and saves the result as "VampireCountdownTimer". Then it registers for an update each hour (of in-game time, not a real-life hour).

 

On each hourly update it checks for the time of day to trigger the day/night vampire mesages that show up when you are infected if needed, and compares the value of the GameDaysPassed variable with the VampireCountdownTimer one. When they are equal (whim means it's been three days since you were infected), it goes on to trigger the transformation.

 

I just replaced the references to GameDaysPassed to some checks on the time and added a few extra lines of code to define the two different "infection periods" (aka during the day and after dark) and that's it. As I said, it seems to work as intended, though I will have to run some more tests, just in case.

[karlpaws]

That's what I assumed from your description. I hadn't sufficiently thought about it but I did realize that when you turn does seem to vary and is not always when the sun sets on the third day.

 

My next blog story is planned for Dawnguard side run, but I can test it in the meantime if you want to share.

[Blaze69]

My next blog story is planned for Dawnguard side run, but I can test it in the meantime if you want to share.

Sure, it would be great if you could test it for me. It does work on my setup, but I would like to be sure it works on other games before I think about uploading it to the Downloads section.

 

Here you go, script and source (in case you want to check it out as well):

 

 

[karlpaws]

I've gotten infected a couple times (found I must have a bug in one of my mods that allows an infection, as I will turn to a vampire but still be diseased... odd but not connected to this, had it before) and I think I found, if not a bug, what we called a logic error in programming.

 

Get infected at 2:30 AM. When do you turn?

 

Well I guess really its a description problem in that you said "get infected before 2AM or after 3AM." If you're the farthest you can get from a cure, 2:30 is a great time to get infected. Gives you till 7PM to get a priest.

[Blaze69]

I've gotten infected a couple times (found I must have a bug in one of my mods that allows an infection, as I will turn to a vampire but still be diseased... odd but not connected to this, had it before) and I think I found, if not a bug, what we called a logic error in programming.

 

Get infected at 2:30 AM. When do you turn?

 

Well I guess really its a description problem in that you said "get infected before 2AM or after 3AM." If you're the farthest you can get from a cure, 2:30 is a great time to get infected. Gives you till 7PM to get a priest.

Well, I used the same function that was already present in the script and that gets the vale of GameHour (a float) as an integer. Not sure how the rounding goes, though.

 

If it considers 2 AM all the way to 2.99 (aka 2:59), then you can still get the three hour countdown if you get infected before 3:00 sharp. If it considers 2.5 (2:30) to be 3, then yes, from 2:30 onwards any infection will get the transformation time set at 7 PM. I guess I will have to check the CK wiki and see if that float-to-integer command is explained in detail.

[karlpaws]

 

I've gotten infected a couple times (found I must have a bug in one of my mods that allows an infection, as I will turn to a vampire but still be diseased... odd but not connected to this, had it before) and I think I found, if not a bug, what we called a logic error in programming.

 

Get infected at 2:30 AM. When do you turn?

 

Well I guess really its a description problem in that you said "get infected before 2AM or after 3AM." If you're the farthest you can get from a cure, 2:30 is a great time to get infected. Gives you till 7PM to get a priest.

Well, I used the same function that was already present in the script and that gets the vale of GameHour (a float) as an integer. Not sure how the rounding goes, though.

 

If it considers 2 AM all the way to 2.99 (aka 2:59), then you can still get the three hour countdown if you get infected before 3:00 sharp. If it considers 2.5 (2:30) to be 3, then yes, from 2:30 onwards any infection will get the transformation time set at 7 PM. I guess I will have to check the CK wiki and see if that float-to-integer command is explained in detail.

 

 

Given that information, no. 2 AM is the cutoff for "night infections".  So infections from 7pm to 2am are "3 hours max until turning" and 2am to 7pm are delayed until 7pm, though I more often turned 2-3 hours later though I did have one around 7:15. That might be partially script lag and I'm not sure how timescale affects any of that.

 

[Blaze69]

Given that information, no. 2 AM is the cutoff for "night infections".  So infections from 7pm to 2am are "3 hours max until turning" and 2am to 7pm are delayed until 7pm, though I more often turned 2-3 hours later though I did have one around 7:15. That might be partially script lag and I'm not sure how timescale affects any of that.

Oops, my bad. Yeah, the limit for the short period is 2 AM. I did it that way because the game considers sunrise as 5 AM, and being turned and immediatedly getting the sunlight debuff/damage would be a little rough. Thus, the limit is 3 hours before sunrise, so worst-case scenario you get enough time to make a run for the closest building/cave/ruin to hide from the sun. Of course, script lag and the like would mean you could end up turning after dawn, but I think my current setup is good enough.

 

Also, from an in-lore point of view, it only makes sense for vampires to turn during the night, when they can actually hunt and drink their first blood. Turning at any point after dawn would probably end up with the vampire dead, be it due to the sun damage combined with their post-infection weakness or due to someone else discovering them and putting them down before they can kill anybody. Viruses that kill their vectors before they can infect other subjects disappear real fast, you know. (I am aware vampirism in Elder Scrolls is technically not a virus/disease but rather a curse/gift from a daedric lord, but still).

[karlpaws]

 

Given that information, no. 2 AM is the cutoff for "night infections".  So infections from 7pm to 2am are "3 hours max until turning" and 2am to 7pm are delayed until 7pm, though I more often turned 2-3 hours later though I did have one around 7:15. That might be partially script lag and I'm not sure how timescale affects any of that.

Oops, my bad. Yeah, the limit for the short period is 2 AM. I did it that way because the game considers sunrise as 5 AM, and being turned and immediatedly getting the sunlight debuff/damage would be a little rough. Thus, the limit is 3 hours before sunrise, so worst-case scenario you get enough time to make a run for the closest building/cave/ruin to hide from the sun. Of course, script lag and the like would mean you could end up turning after dawn, but I think my current setup is good enough.

 

Also, from an in-lore point of view, it only makes sense for vampires to turn during the night, when they can actually hunt and drink their first blood. Turning at any point after dawn would probably end up with the vampire dead, be it due to the sun damage combined with their post-infection weakness or due to someone else discovering them and putting them down before they can kill anybody. Viruses that kill their vectors before they can infect other subjects disappear real fast, you know. (I am aware vampirism in Elder Scrolls is technically not a virus/disease but rather a curse/gift from a daedric lord, but still).

 

 

At the risk of starting a holy war a disease that is Intelligently Designed should be more effective and more successful than something naturally mutating. 

 

Connected, something I might need to look up (or flat out ignore) is how much Harkon knew about this prophecy he was trying to fulfil, and if Vyrthur would be happy with anyone blotting out the sun or if he really intended to do it himself and would Harkon been able to be successful at all? I'm thinking that as he had the bow, he intended the vampires to come to him seeking, and created the prophecy because he couldn't exactly leave and collect a few on his own. That though raises the question: why?