Email: bratgirl@starnose.com
Website: www.starnose.com/morrowind
Even if you skip everything else, PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS & TROUBLE-SHOOTING SECTION. I will not be responsible for any damage this mod may cause in any situation, but I'm always willing to try to help if politely asked.
For those of you who don't read spoilers (or semi-spoilers P*) I suggest you save your game BEFORE going into Loo's cave!!! Also, it's important to unequip your weapon BEFORE setting the spider down.
EXPLANATION AND PURPOSE OF MOD
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Requires Morrowind and Tribunal (for the advanced scripting options) to run.
This mod adds a movable silver mimic chest and a silver spider 'statue' that's a slightly limited bag of holding. There are a few other goodies though nothing really uber. No quests are involved but I've explained their presence in the world sufficiently. I've designed it to make your life in Morrowind a little more convenient, that's all. (Check the end of the readme for locations and semi/real spoilers 8*)
The chest has 100's of millions of pounds capacity and is safe from resetting and eating your stuff but, IF YOU MOVE IT WITHOUT FIRST REMOVING YOUR ITEMS, THEY WILL BE LOST FOREVER. The reason for this is that a placeholder is put in your inventory and the actual chest is deleted (along with anything in it) when you 'pick it up'. A brand new instance of it is created when you 'set it down again'.
The silver spider (because it's a skipanim creature set to companion share) has infinite capacity. The skipanim makes it inconvenient to try to get it to follow you, but why would you want to since you can just pick it up and carry it?? This also puts a placeholder in inventory when you pick it up while disabling the creature (your items remain safe inside). I'm not sure what happens if you kill it (I never tried). I do know it gets mad at you if you strike it (which you WILL do if your weapon is equipped when you set it down!) and won't let you access its inventory anymore => See the trouble-shooting section if this happens. It has lots of hitpoints and the corpse is set to persist so I imagine you could do all the same stuff with it's dead body as you can with it 'alive'.
I've done some scripting so you can move it across cells but it can only be placed in outside cells. The scripting accounts for this (doesn't let you put it down indoors except into a container) and also fixes the wrecked graphics moving an object across multiple cells causes WITHOUT using the fixme command. I couldn't get fixme to work right and, even if I could, the long load time and movement of the player was unacceptable. If you're interested in how I did it, take a look at the scripts in the editor, or open the esp file in a word/text editor (shows the scripting in plain text). I was pretty thorough in commenting them.
Both the mimic and the spider have been set up so you have to have a special item in your inventory (a different one for each of them) in order to access the move options. I did this to avoid having to click through a message box each time you just want to put stuff in and also to avoid having people accidentally pick up the mimic and losing all their stuff.
Feel free to use the ideas/scripting for your own modding but PLEASE GIVE ME CREDIT FOR IT if you do so. I came up with what I feel is pretty original content and scripting so I certainly deserve it. No need to get my permission or anything but it would be great if you drop me an email if you do end up using any of it.
The mod has been completely cleaned with TESAME and debugged in both the editor and the game. To avoid accidentally over-saving it, I've set it to read-only attributes. There are no leveled items, so no need to update any lists. Let me know if you have any questions about all this, or if you find any bugs. If folks find enough bugs and/or give me enough ideas/fixes I like, I may consider doing an updated version.
NOTE: The mimic is designed to be a catch-all or collection chest, not a bag of holding (that's what the spider is for P*) I didn't even try to set it up like the spider because I've had evil luck with persistent references on containers and I couldn't get the spider stuff to work in interiors (that means all of Mournhold too). Just so you know, that's an idea I've already discarded.
SPECIAL THANKS: As most modders out there, I would be remiss to fail offering special thanks to GhanBuriGhan for Morrowind Scripting for Dummies. If this was a tree-media book instead of an E-book, it would be so dog-eared and worn from usage as to be nearly unreadable. 8*)
INSTALLATION & UNINSTALLATION
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Unzip bratgirl_mimic_silver_spider.zip into your Morrowind folder (default C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Morrowind) allowing it to overwrite if it asks (this doesn't remove any files, it just adds these to the existing folders). To manually install, unzip the file anywhere and, using the folder structure as a guide (or the included FILELIST) place the files into the appropriate folders.
To uninstall, use the FILELIST and remove all the files listed. My other mods use the subfolders in Icons/ and Meshes/ named 'brat' so, if you use any of those mods, you will want to remove only the files listed.
Be sure to click on 'Data Files' in the Morrowind launcher and select the mod before playing.
SAVE GAMES & CLEANING THEM
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If you decide to uninstall this mod, you will want to 'clean' your save game first. It's important that you first remove any of your items from both the silver spider and the mimic chest. I always make a 'keep for now' save when removing mods in case something disastrous happens. After emptying the spider and the mimic, save your game, exit and uncheck BratGirl's Mimic & Silver Spider.esp under Data Files in the Morrowind launcher.
Reload the save and click past the errors. At this point, save again and exit. Your save should be completely clean when you reload. Since I used unique names for everthing but the silver weapons and a few of Loo's inventory items, almost everything from the mod should be gone and there shouldn't be anything at all left in Loo's camp-site. For the same reason, more drastic cleaning (using TES editor or TESame) will not be needed.
WARNINGS & TROUBLE-SHOOTING
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==> THE MIMIC EATS STUFF WHEN YOU PICK IT UP: If you don't remove your items from the mimic before picking it up, they will be lost (actually deleted along with the container object) forever.
==> OVERFLOW LOOT BAGS: Say you've been using the mod for awhile, throwing stuff into the mimic. Say you then decide to move your whole household to your new stronghold and you want to move the mimic over there first to throw your junk back in. So. You remove it all and pile it all over the place. Move the mimic over and when you come back, HALF YOUR PILES ARE GONE!!! In searching around in a panic, you find a creepy dirty little bag called an overflow loot bag gobbling up your treasures.. (One is supposed to appear when more than 256 individual items are placed in one area) BETTER SCENARIO: Recall/teleport (or if you're close enough to a door to just go outside), load all the stuff, including the mimic, into the spider and carry it over to your new household 8*D
==> DISABLED SPIDER GETS DELETED: Obviously, the spider doesn't really go into your inventory either. What actually happens is an item is added while the creature itself is disabled. It stays where you last put it until you either 'set it down' again or reload the game (it's moved to a far-away location on a reload to fix a bug).
BAD SCENARIO: Say you install a mod that puts a group of monkey trainers in Pelagiad and you run it for a few hours, long enough to have over-written your saves. At one point in there, you put the spider down to sell some stuff then picked it back up and went home. You get out of the game and decide you don't really want the monkey trainers. Since you've had trouble cleaning saves, you rename your save file to an esp, open up TESAME and delete the reference to Pelagiad. You get back in the game to check it out and everything seems fine till you try to put the spider down and nothing happens. Guess what? The disabled creature was sitting in Pelagiad (where you last set it down) with the rest of your stuff in it.. 8*(
BETTER SCENARIO: Had you reloaded once (and saved again), the spider would have gone to its generic spot and been safe from deletion 8*)
BEST SCENARIO: Set the spider down in some cell that won't be affected before cleaning any save games 8*D
==> LOSING THE SPIDER: I was originally going to make a recall potion for it, but it would have involved too many checksums and global variables. Also, it seemed kind of unrealistic to use a recall potion to get the spider back and then come across the original spider in the chest you left it in a month ago 8*P So.. Here's some ways you can 'find' it and get it back if you need to. To use the console in-game, press the ~ key to bring it up (tilde: just to the left of the top numeral '1' above the tab key)
Step 1) If you know for sure it was in item form (in your inventory) and you just can't remember which container you put it in, easy. Open the console, type: player -> additem bratgirl_yspider_item 1 (press enter). It's now in your inventory and you can set it down.
Step 2) If you're not sure whether it's sitting out somewhere or in a container, open the console and type: bratgirl_yspider_crea -> getdisabled (press enter). If it returns getdisabled >> 1, follow instructions in step 1. If it returns getdisabled >> 0, read on.
Step 3) Open the console, type: bratgirl_yspider_crea -> disable (press enter). With the console still open, type: player -> additem bratgirl_yspider_item 1 (press enter). DON'T SET IT DOWN YET! Make a new save (I always have a special save I overwrite for this kind of thing and testing new mods), load that new save and now it will work when you set it down.
==> ACCIDENTALLY HITTING THE SPIDER AND CAN NO LONGER ACCESS IT: You must unequip your weapon before placing the spider, but here's how to fix it if you forget. Ofcourse, just reload the game if you can (calm creature doesn't fix it). It can't fight back because of the skip anim but it will face you and 'slide' away if it hasn't been overburdened yet. The worse thing is it gets P'Oed at you and will no longer allow companion share. Anyhow, open the console and type: bratgirl_yspider_crea -> stopcombat (press enter). All fixed.
==> CAN'T SEE THE SPIDER (OR ITS NAME-TAG) BUT CAN HEAR IT 'MOANING': This is caused by a rare bug I was unable to fix 8*( see known bug #5 for details). I played for hours and hours before it happened and it's only happened once. Here's how to fix it if you don't want to reload and move to another area before placing it. Open the console, type: bratgirl_yspider_crea -> disable (press enter). With the console still open, type: player -> additem bratgirl_yspider_item 1 (press enter). DON'T SET IT DOWN YET! Now move to another outdoor cell and set it down. It may look a little bulgy as the skipanim was broken (thus the moaning) but it should look normal again after you reload the game.
==> ODD SILVER BRACELET MESSES UP STATS: (See known bug #7 for details)
OPTION 1) If possible, put the bracelet back on with the strength or speed enhancing item. Now, take off the item BEFORE you take off the bracelet (stat will show red). When you remove the bracelet, stat will be back to normal and a normal color.
OPTION 2) Open the console, type in: player -> setspeed xx Or: player -> setstrength xx Where 'xx' is the number the stat is supposed to be. You could go to a previous savegame to find out if you can't remember what it's supposed to be. BE SURE YOU REMOVE ANY SPEED OR STRENGTH ALTERING ITEMS BEFORE DOING THIS!
KNOWN BUGS, FIXES & ISSUES
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KNOWN BUG #1: You can't use setpos xyz commands to move an object beyond the currently active cells.
=>FIX: Disabling then re-enabling the object makes it work.
KNOWN BUG #2: Graphics are wrecked (or gone) by moving an object across cells using the above fix.
=>FIX: Script bratgirl_yspiderfix_scr, which essentially uses timer controlled setpos xyz commands a second time after it's placed within the active cell.
KNOWN BUG #3: When you reload the game, the fix for the first bug no longer works (the spider becomes enabled where you last placed it but won't move across cells).
=>FIX: Startscript bratgirl_yspidermove_scr, which uses the accepted position command to move the spider (only if it's disabled) to a remote location, enabling then disabling it again in the process. I think it needs to be active in your current game session to work is why this fixed it.
KNOWN BUG #4: You strike the spider if you place it while your weapon is equipped. I worked a little bit on fixing this, thinking it might be the menutest command in the scripting. Well, removing menutest did fix it, but it broke the graphics-fix script. At that point, I decided to leave it alone as it seems kind of appropriate to have to unequip your weapon before handling it anyway. If you drop it right at your feet (in third person or with the line under the cursor), you still strike but you'll miss it. Placing it far enough away seems to make you miss it too.
=>WORKAROUND: No fix, but most of us are used to unequipping our weapons when we talk to NPC's anyway, and it really hasn't been a hassle for me while beta-testing. Check the trouble-shooting section for how to resolve it if you forget and end up hitting it.
KNOWN BUG #5: (VERY RARE) Spider gets so broken when you place it you can't see it or its name-tag, but can hear it moaning because the skipanim script also breaks. Startscript bratgirl_yspidermove_scr actually causes this one. I initially had the spider transported to a storage cell each time you picked it up (to avoid accidentally deleting it while cleaning savegames), until I realized that it broke if I placed it three times in a row in the same cell. If I placed it in another cell anytime between those three times, it didn't break. Unfortunately, some of that original scripting is what fixed the bugs in just disabling it and leaving it where you last put it down (which is what I finally had to go with). Only now, you have to save/reload multiple times inbetween trying to repeatedly set it down in the same cell over and over again to break it, and sometimes that doesn't even work. In trying to reproduce the bug (for trouble-shooting purposes), most of the time I couldn't.
=>WORKAROUND: No fix but I suggest if you're going to do unusual save/reload type stuff (for game testing or whatever) that involves the spider somehow that you keep it set out somewhere (enabled) while doing so. Without multiple save/reloads you can place it over and over again in the same spot untill Red Mountain freezes over. Or, if you set it down in another area every third of fourth time even with the save/reloads, it isn't an issue. Check the trouble-shooting section for how to resolve it if it does end up happening.
KNOWN BUG #6: (Once in a blue moon) Spider enables when you set it down, but back where you LAST set it down. This has only happened three times in hours and hours of beta testing and only when the last place was a certain spot in Pelagiad. I still haven't figured out why or been able to reproduce it. I have a dirty mod installed that puts a merchant in Pelagiad (not one of mine but too useful to take out) and have had other things like bad memory pointer crashes and statics disappearing there because of that mod.
=>WORKAROUND: This may be just a problem with my own game and not happen to other players but, if it does, follow step three under finding the spider (or just go back to where you last put it down and pick it up). I've started saving BEFORE I set it down, and reloading also fixes it.
KNOWN BUG #7: Odd silver bracelet can mess up strength/speed stats while equipped with constant effect items that fortify/damage speed or strength. I scripted the bracelet to add 35 strength and remove 35 speed because I didn't want to give an uber strength item to players who will have their own enchanted stuff anyway, but just a thing to help carry loot. Using enchantment to drain the speed meant they would have to go get it restored after they wore it (not supposed to happen but very often does). Also, I hate the mid-section explosion dealy that happens when you equip a damaging item 8*P. The problem isn't when you take off the bracelet but when you take off the constant effect item AFTER you take off the bracelet. EXAMPLE: You have the blinding boots of speed on and you put the bracelet on to carry some loot. You take it off and strength is back to normal and speed again shows as enhanced at 200 + normal speed. Now, you take off the boots and the stat is back to normal but shows in red!! If you restore it, it goes all the way up to what it was with the boots on! Obviously, you don't want to always be so fast (plus it's cheating 8*P) and, if you did it several times, you'd be moving fast enough to kill Morrowind 8*(
=>WORKAROUND: No fix as it's a problem with the game itself. Work-around is to NOT USE IT with strength or speed enhancing/damaging items (or be sure to remove it AFTER removing those items)!! See trouble-shooting section for how to resolve it if needed.
KNOWN BUG #8: Goofy axis on the mimic container places it sunken halfway in the floor/ground.
=>FIX: Do-once scripting repositions the chest when it's first placed to exactly where you set the inventory item (with the added benifit of making it immediately 'solid'). This means you can place it anywhere an ordinary item can be placed. Fortunately the container nif I reskinned for it has an underside (many don't) and it looks completely cool too 8*D
Please feel free to send me bug reports and/or (tested) fixes.
STUFF NO ONE EVER READS ANYWAY
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This mod can be redistributed, but only in the original zipfile and with this README and other supporting files included (and always 100% free of charge, of course). Modders are free to break it down and use the ideas /scripting/reskinned artwork for their own mods but must give me credit somewhere in their mod-info /readme file(s), unless they rework it so much it then becomes their own.
The Elder Scrolls III, Morrowind is copyright by Bethesda Softworks, LLC.
~o~ BratGirl 8*)
LOCATIONS & SEMI/REAL SPOILERS
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LOCATION: Loo's camp is NE of Khuul, on the mountain range that devides the ashland type of terrain from the greener West Gash Region. If you go up Foyada Banj-Dad (see paper map) on the north side of Red Mountain past Maar Gan and climb the left-hand mountains (as you face north) almost all the way to the northern 'top' of Vvardefell (a short ways from 'Derelict Shipwreck') you'll run into it. Traveling NE from Khuul past Ashir-Dan or due west from the Urshilaku Camp, you'll probably need to levitate to get to it. He's leaning against a huge boulder formation on top of a mountain facing north and his hat is pretty easy to spot even from the air. (Don't try it at night P*)
SEMI SPOILERS (scroll down 8*)
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If you have trouble finding it (it's kind of hard to find), you can open the console and type in:
player -> position, -53488, 147262, 3140, 0
Which will set you right in the middle of it. I have poor luck with the COE command, but the specific cell is "West Gash Region, -7, -17" if you want to try it.
REAL SPOILERS (scroll down 8*)
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As I said above, SAVE BEFORE ENTERING LOO'S CAVE!!! There aren't any uber monsters to fight or anything, but Loo was no dummy *Hehe* Not only do you have to have strength at 110 to get in, you have to have it at that to GET OUT again. Also, when you first enter, you drop a ways to the bottom of the cave (seems to do about 10 hp damage). Who knows, maybe you'll level up in acrobatics P*) Problem is, you'll need to levitate to get back up to the door. Super jump is no good because the invisible ledge you came in on will just drop you to the floor again. To make matters worse, it's really, really dark in there and, since there aren't any game doors in or out (all scripted) Almsivi and Devine Intervention won't work (this was actually an accidental side effect but fitting so I left it in *grin*) Recall spells do work though, assuming you've set a mark somewhere.
Down by the spider and the mimic are two items that might help a bit. The 'lamp' is constant effect light on self for 10 pts and the odd bracelet gives you +35 strength (knocks 35 off your speed for balancing). They both take the shield slot though, so you can only use one or the other at a time. I suggest you take the hint in Loo's unfinished letter and go over to Thongar's in Khuul to buy some strength potions (I put them in a chest so it won't matter if you've already talked to him).
MAJOR SPOILER (scroll down 8*)
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When you first find the silver spider and mimic chest in Loo's cave, this is the only time you can load up the spider indoors (despite the info in Loo's unfinished letter). Who knows, maybe Loo's death caused it to jump out of the mimic where Loo had stuffed it when he first hid his possessions. Anyhow, the reason I'm even mentioning all this is, if you have the mimic item in your inventory (and not in the spider) when you first come out of the cave, the mimic will address you (message box pops up as you begin to walk away). It asks if you will build a cairn for Loo and says you're free to take Loo's things as he has no further need of them. Reason for this is to absolve you from feeling like you're just plundering some poor sap's grave, and it also establishes further that the mimic is sentient and cared about Loo as a friend.
Without giving any more away (there has to be SOME surprise even in spoilers 8*P), you will definitely want to make a savegame if you decide to show Loo any disrespect *grin* It will ask several times (on a countdown timer and a player -> getdistance command) and then won't ask again. Loo has some cool (not uber) stuff on him you'll want to grab (with the mimic's blessing, remember P*) I deliberately made the cairn so it's not solid until you re-enter the area so you can just walk into it and activate Loo's body if you didn't get a chance to before.
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