THE LEGACY 
========== 

Release 1.3 (Dated as of: 1 April 07) 
By Paul 'Simyaz' Thomson 


TABLE OF CONTENTS:
==================

I: Features
II: Premise
III: Update Details
IV: Installation 
V: Quest FAQ
VI: Technical FAQ
VII: Hints
VIII: Editing and Distribution
IX: Credits and Acknowledgements
X: Additional Information


I - FEATURES: 
============= 

Complex quest involving a number of different encounters, 2000+ lines of dialogue, and a highly complex and engaging story.

Branching quest/dialogue line, resulting in varying encounters and endings depending on HOW you choose to progress through the quest itself.

Companion NPC packaged with all the features available to NPC Companion MODs at this point in time.

"A multi-layered complex quest to learn why it was you were DESTINED to become a hero..."


II - PREMISE: 
============= 

It was actually mid-development of The Butcher of Armindale where I first came up with the story that would eventually become the quest behind THE LEGACY. Similar to many writers, I tend to have my most productive ideas when I am knee-deep in another project, and thus am left to contemplate what "might have been" had I not been working on something else at the time. More often than not, these ideas are filed away at the back of my mind, and promptly dismissed as being unfeasible further down the track. Yet THE LEGACY was -to me- something MORE than just a fleeting idea.

With The release of The Butcher of Armindale months in the past, and the "revision" of Ruined-Tail's Tale still keeping my threads alive and active, I decided that I needed another project to tide me over until the release of NwN2 (and the production of the story-driven MOD I have desired to make for years now.) Many options were available, many were unfeasible, and many more were simply not DEFINING and ORIGINAL enough to warrant my dedicating countless hours of my spare time to.

Yet THE LEGACY -an idea that was inspired by games like Planescape Torment, Morrowind, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, and numerous others- was something that I knew I could mould and shape into something that I would consider to be a true breakthrough for Oblivion. I didn't want to do another "Companion MOD" like Ruined-Tail's Tale or The Butcher of Armindale, I wanted to do something that could take my desire to craft stories to the next level. And thus the quest now known as THE LEGACY was born.

The actual development of it was filled with sporadic bursts of reckless creativity, followed by long periods of inactivity (most of which were caused by Motor Racing events I was attending, or interesting games being released.) Yet EVERY time that I was moments away from giving up and filing TheLegacy.esp away on some obscure disk filled with half-finished crap, I found inspiration in fans dedicated to my previous MODs. Countless people sent me E-mails, or offered support in varying ways on the threads dedicated to my MODs. It was THESE people, and THESE people ALONE that have ultimately given THE LEGACY the "Release 1.0" tag that it has today.

There are a few people I want to mention in particular:

Wizard Of Thay - whose help on the forums, and with aspects of my previous projects has been truly invaluable to me. Over the last few months I have come to think of him as the "rational element to my own irrationality." He has evaluated parts of the story, beta-tested this MOD and the 1.0 Release of Ruined-Tail's Tale, helped to publicise ALL of my works online, and has offered technical advice that has assisted development on numerous occasions.

AndyW - Who worked with me on The Butcher of Armindale, and is responsible for the excellent CompanionShare script that is used in this MOD. Additionally he has been a source of encouragement, and a worthy evaluator of all of my Oblivion works thus far.

Arilita - Just a "fan" whose input regarding my previous MODs has served as a revelation to me. Regarding both the level of interest in my works, and also a few good ideas that have been put into play in this MOD, and also the upcoming release of The Butcher of Armindale 1.0.

There are numerous others that deserve credit, and I imagine a few people will be disappointed to have missed out. But if I have addressed you on the forums or via E-mails in a non-derogative manner, then rest assured I would have credited you if I could.


III - Update Details
====================

Update 1.3

*Added the new spell "Dark Legacy" if the player opts to follow the darker path of the story.

*Added a consistency checker to ensure that people who have died earlier in the story are NOT alive at the end of it.

*Changes to the dialogue in the final encounter to add more freedom to players who have chosen to follow the darker path of the story.

*Added new loading screens for the new cells in this MOD.

*Worked to ensure that The Legacy 1.3 is ready for TEARS OF THE FIEND (The Legacy + The Butcher Convergent storylines.)


Update 1.2:

*Rewrote the "low end version" of the MOD so that now it ACTUALLY avoids the CTD bug on the flashbacks. (NOTE: When using the "Low End Alternate Version," make sure you REMOVE everything after "TheLegacy" in the filename. eg. "TheLegacy - Low End Alternate Version.esp" BECOMES "TheLegacy.esp")

*Changed a few journal entries to make the progression through the story more obvious.

*Changes the Quest flag on all quest-related items so that at the end of the game you can drop/destroy them if you so choose.

*Corrected a number of spelling errors.

*Corrected the "porting" bug in the Ehothorn estate (attempt 2).

*Fixed Allecia's run-speed.

*Edited a number of sound files to decrease size, and to change some of the sounds in general.

*Changed Allecia's pathing during the "Journey from Cheydinhal" to stop her bugging out and doing nothing.

*Changed Allecia's AI during the "Journey to the Orphanage" to stop her bugging out.

*Changed the images used for the various "books" so that they more closely resemble the actual books themselves (on 1024 x 768 display setting, at least.)

*Changed the Bsann the Archaeologist's approach to the player to stop players bypassing certain sections of the MOD.

*Made a few change to the Player's version of the Ehothorn Estate for various reasons.

*Added a few more "consistency checking variables" to stop the player from bypassing certain sections of the MOD.

*Added some hints/walkthroughs for the most common quest problems (such as the infamous sundial puzzle) to this very ReadME.


Update 1.1:

*Released another "low-end PC" version of the MOD so that players with problems during the flashbacks will actually be able to complete the MOD. I personally recommend running the normal version of the MOD, and if that fails simply switch to the low-end version, and load up a save close to where you encountered problems. NOTE: In this release of the "low-end PC" version there are NO flashback effects. Be forewarned that this will detract greatly from the immersion of the MOD, and will make it harder for the player to distinguish dreams from reality. NOTE 2: When using the "Low End Alternate Version," make sure you REMOVE everything after "TheLegacy" in the filename. eg. "TheLegacy - Low End Alternate Version.esp" BECOMES "TheLegacy.esp"

*Made some changes to the way Allecia follows the player in the hope of alleviating some of the annoying pathfinding bugs.

*Made a few changes to the in-MOD dialogue to try and remove any possible "bi-passes" and bugs to certain sections of the MOD.

*Changed the ownership of Allecia's inventory so it no longer shows up as the player "stealing" her equipment while trying to manage her inventory.


Update 1.01:

*Made a few changes to the "mysterious chamber" to avoid players bipassing certain key events.

*Resolved the bug with several NPC not disabling correctly, and subsequently continuing to follow the player unnecessarily.

*Resolved the bug with "The Fiend" killing the player even after the quest had been completed.

*Resolved the bug in the Ehothorn Estate in which the player would be ported to the Excavation site without reason.

*Stopped players from receiving quest-related dialogue (banter) from Allecia after the quest is completed.

*Added an in-game HINT to make the MINING section of the game easier.

*Made some changes to the ending of the game to make it a bit more challenging.

*Created a LOW-END SYSTEM .esp version of The Legacy for Players experiencing trouble with crashing during the flashback scenes. The theory behind what causes these crashes is focused around how Oblivion interacts with the player's PC when complex actions are occurring simultaneously. To the same extent that a low end system will crash when it runs out of memory (And if it cannot resolve to clear memory in order to continue player) for some reason high-end systems (with 2GB+ of memory) seem to crash when the system attempts to use ALL of the available memory (switches to use both (all) slots on the board.) This new .esp is designed to LIGHTEN the workload on the Memory.

Only use ONE of TheLegacy.esp's.


IV - Installation
==================

Simply unzip TheLegacy.zip into your Oblivion directory, being sure to maintain the "folder integrity" during the unzip process. If for some reason you are unable to complete this, the relative files should be placed as follows:

TheLegacy.esp file - Oblivion\Data\
Sound files (prefixed with LEGACY_Soundname) - Oblivion\Data\Sound\FX\
Voice files - Oblivion\Data\Sound\Voice\TheLegacy.esp\
Texture files - Oblivion\Data\Textures\Menus\Book\TheLegacy\
Music files - Oblivion\Data\Music\Specific\

NOTE: If you find you are experiencing crashing during the "flashback" scenes, delete TheLegacy.esp from within the Oblivion\Data folder, and rename "TheLegacy - Low End Alternate Version.esp" to "TheLegacy.esp."

Once the files are correctly installed, start up Oblivion, be sure to select "TheLegacy.esp" within the "data files" section of the Oblivion splash screen.

Load up a saved game, or start a new game, and simply "rest" in an Inn or Tavern to trigger the first encounter.


V - QUEST FAQ: (POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!)
==============

Q: I don't know what I'm supposed to do now, and I don't want to read the walkthrough. Any hints?

A: Well, if you can't figure out what you are supposed to do from the Quest Guide (in your journal) and the mapmarkers aren't helping (sometimes you need to use your own initiative and not rely on mapmarkers to guide your path) the thing I would suggest is that you talk to Allecia about it. If you don't know what to do, it's a good bet that she does.


Q: I'm having trouble MINING, and I can't seem to figure out what I need to do. What's the solution?

A: When you are up to the MINING section in the game, and assuming you have the right equipment to do it (Allecia will prompt you to locate the equipment if necessary), all you need to do is stand near the rock you want to MINE for a few seconds, and a box will appear prompting you to perform the relevent action. 


Q: I just finished the MOD and I don't like the ending I received. What did I do wrong?

A: You have to remember that THE LEGACY is the first MOD to make use of a branching storyline. You should probably be able to guess most of the key points in the game which will determine which path you take (they ARE fairly obvious) but to give you a hint, the crossroad that you come across is how you decide to deal with Pellew during your first (and possibly second) encounter with him. The resulting decision will completely change the course of the MOD for you, and also determine the ending you get. Furthermore, playing through the MOD and making "good" or "evil" choices will also alter certain parts of the game.


Q: Your other companion MODs gave you an opportunity to "get to know" the companion you are with. Does the same apply to Allecia?

A: Yes it does, and no it isn't relevent to the quest (though it will offer some clues to make the quest easier to complete.) The conversations you have with Allecia occur at timed intervals (similar to Ruined-Tail's Tale and The Butcher of Armindale.) However, rather than in RTT and TB, when Allecia initiates a conversations with you the actual topic isn't ALWAYS determined by Allecia. As a player YOU can steer the conversation in different directions, and (within reason) YOU can discuss the topics you want to discuss in order. Bare in mind though, Allecia won't want to talk ALL the time, so don't pressure her too much.


Q: Is it possible to stop Allecia from being killed by the "Hunter" and/or the "Half-Celestial"?

A: It IS possible, and as to how difficult it is will depend on your progression through the MOD. The idea is that the more pieces of information you "let slip" about your LEGACY during the course of the MOD, the easier it will be for the "Hunter" and the "Half-Celestial" to track you down. As a rule of thumb, taking the "easy-way-out" in a lot of conversations results in making the ending harder. (For example, if you gave out 5 or more pieces of information during the course of the quest, you will have only 55 seconds to complete the "Journey into the Soul" section (with the Fiend) before Allecia dies. For less pieces of information gives away, you have more time. Zero pieces of information gives you 2 minutes, 30 seconds to complete the "Journey into the Soul" section.)

Some hints for avoiding inadvertently giving away information about your LEGACY are:

*Selling your story to avoid paying for services from Quest NPCs makes it EASIER for them to find you.

*Eliminating the "Half-Celestial" early on in the MOD means that the "Hunter" has to work alone. This makes it HARDER for him to find you.

*Having the "Half-Celestial" inspect your body for markings makes it EASIER for them to find you.

*Turning over the relics you took from the ruined Ehothorn Estate to Bsann makes it EASIER for them to find you.

There are a few others as well, but you can try and find them out yourself.


Q: What are the possible endings to the MOD and how do I get them?

Alright, in the final Fight (Ending Part A) you can encounter the following combinations:

NOTE: These combinations are dependent on which of these NPCs you kept alive during the course of the quest, as well as how you responded to The Fiend in the "Journey into the Soul" part of the MOD.

*The "Half-Celestia'" AND "The Hunter" attack you - You can either fight them, OR if you didn't submit to the Fiend you can talk your way out of it.

*The "Half-Celestial" attacks you - You can either fight him, OR if you didn't submit to the Fiend you can talk your way out of it.

*The "Hunter" attacks you - You can only fight him.

In the Final Encounter (Ending Part B) you can achieve the following combinations:

*Allecia Lives - You can talk her out of attacking you OR You can fight her and end the quest there.

*Allecia Dies - You escape the Dig and the quest ends there.


Q: I'm stuck trying to break into the "Hunter's house." Everytime I sneak in he finds me and throws me out. Any hints mate?

A: So, how to get into the Hunter's house? There is no way you will be able to sneak in while he is on the prowl. But then again, no one can stay inside ALL the time... Perhaps you should do what a Stalker would do, and scout the target building before making another incursion. Patience is the key my friend. 


Q: I'm stuck on the "Sundial" puzzle. Could you PLEASE point me in the right direction?

A: The logic is as follows:

KEY -

Normal text - KNOWN from information provided in the game (via the books near the sundial, and the book taken from the Ruined Ehothorn Estate.)
[Parenthesized text]  - Discerned from logic in the game. (Explained at the bottom.)
(blank area) - Unknown to the player and unable to discern from information provided.


1 - A circle
2 - A circle with a line through it
3 - A figure-of-eight
4 - A square
5 -
6 - A triangle
7 -
8 -
9 - A B- Shape
10 -
11 - [A COLOURED circle]
12 - A COLOURED circle with a line through it.
13 - [A COLOURED figure-of-eight]
14 - [A COLOURED square]
15 -
16 - [A COLOURED triangle]
17 -
18 -
19 - [A COLOURED B-Shape]

Now, how do you discern the logic behind the coloured numbers (referenced in bold?)

Look at the 12-shape. It is the same as the number 2 shape, but coloured in.

Now look at many ancient scripts. For example, Roman numerals. Everything exists on the first 10-shapes, and then builds on it as it increases. Via the symbols of X, L, C and M. In this particular script, the denotation of increase is determined via the same 1-10 numbers, but coloured in.


Q: Just how BIG is this MOD?

A: 2098 lines of dialogue. 2117 Files in total. As to how that that translates into "play time"... Only time will tell. 


VI - TECHNICAL FAQ:
===================

Q: I don't hear any sounds in the game, what is going on?

A: If you are actually talking about SOUNDS, then it is because the sound files (all of which are labled "LEGACY_<soundname>.wav") have been installed to the wrong location. The CORRECT location is: Oblivion/Data/Sound/FX.

It is also a known issue that foreign language versions of Oblivion need to have the dialogue files renamed due to the fact that the directory structure is different to the English version of the game.

For instance, these applies to spanish Oblivion needs:

Argonian->Argoniano
Breton->Bretón
Imperial->Imperial (no change)
High Elf->Alto Elfo
Redguard-> Guarda rojo
Nord->Nórdico

If you are referring to not hearing any DIALOGUE, that is because there IS no spoken dialogue. The sound files you see are "silent.mp3s" and are used to force the text to stay on screen for a specific amount of time. 


Q: What is with the voice files that don't have any sound?

A: They are "silent.mp3s" and are used to force the dialogue text to stay on screen for a specific amount of time, in the case of THE LEGACY it is for approximately 8 seconds.


Q: On some of the books I receive during the quest I see no text or pictures OR when I open them Oblivion crashes to my desktop. What's the problem?

A: That means that you have installed the pictures in the book to the wrong location. The correct locations is: Oblivion/Data/Textures/Menus/Book/TheLegacy/


Q: Oblivion crashes to the desktop during a certain conversation in Cheydinhal. What is happening?

A: During a conversation in Cheydinhal, as well as a few others, the demand on system resources (primarily memory) becomes quite high due to both complex scripts running, and numerous functions being executed within a very small period of time. This is a problem with Oblivion and seems to only affect low end systems, or high end systems (how bloody strange is that?) with mid-range systems working fine. Try switching to the "low-end system version" I included in the .zip file, it doesn't have that problem on most PCs.

(NOTE: When using the "Low End Alternate Version," make sure you REMOVE everything after "TheLegacy" in the filename. eg. "TheLegacy - Low End Alternate Version.esp" BECOMES "TheLegacy.esp")


Q: Allecia's Pathing is kind of buggy. How can this be fixed?

A: As NPC pathing relies on the pathnodes within Oblivion to move, it can't really be fixed. For the most part Allecia SHOULD "warp" behind you when you get too far away from her, and she will warp to the player when you trigger certain key events, or reach certain key locations (to avoid you having to wait for her to catch up.)


Q: Whenever I enable the TheLegacy.esp file, Oblivion crashes at the main title screen. Is the MOD bugged?

A: No, it's not bugged, this problem happens when you have Knights of the Nine installed. The solution is to change the load order of the MODs, placing KotN either before or after Ruin.esp (the opposite to however you had it set up before.)


Q: I'm having a strange bug that hasn't been covered in the README so far. What should I do?

A: First of all, DISABLE any MODs you are running and load up a save BEFORE the bug occurs. Try running THE LEGACY from there and see if the bug repeats itself. If it DOES, then I suggest you send me an E-mail at Simyaz@bigpond.com OR drop by THE LEGACY forums on elderscrolls.com.forums (just do a search for Simyaz to find my thread) so that myself, Wizard of Thay, or AndyW can try and resolve the problem.


VII - HINTS:
============

At this point in time *I* am not offering any specific hints regarding this MOD, so DON'T send me an E-mail asking for advice regarding a particularly difficult section of the MOD. Rest assured, everything about this MOD is logical and will make sense if you use ALL of the information provided, talk to ALL the relevant NPCs, and take advantage of ALL the information contained within this ReadMe.

Wizard of Thay is -at this point in time- working on a walkthrough for this MOD, so if you pester him enough you might get lucky and convince him to accelerate the writing process, or perhaps provide you with a tidbit of information relative to your problem.


VIII - EDITING, USING, DISTRIBUTING: 
====================================

I really don't care where or how you distribute this MOD provided that you don't change this ReadME or take credit for it. Feel free to use my script and NPCs all you want, but PLEASE don't plagiarise my story/dialogue. Obviously I can't do anything to stop you, but seriously, there can be no justifiable reason to steal my writing. 

Basically, as long as you aren't going to publish any changes to this MOD (By posting it online or distributing it in any way) I don't care what changes you make.


IX - CREDITS/ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
==============================

Development Team:

Paul 'Simyaz' Thomson - Writer/scripter/creator/Voice Actor 

AndyW - Creator of the CompanionSHARE script used (with permission) in this MOD. AndyW is also credited with providing a great deal of technical assistance, and encouragement regarding the development of this MOD and my previous projects. I wish him all the best with his own Story-Driven CompanionMOD - Mirielle.

Wizard of Thay - Beta tester for this MOD. Wizard is also credited with his PR-related assistance on the forums (Specifically: Technical support and providing Q&A's for fans), as well as being a source of inspiration and encouragement in the development of Ruined-Tail's Tale 1.0 and this MOD. Rest assured, Wizard of Thay's assistance was invaluable beyond mere words.

Other:

Most of what follows are sources of inspiration...

HP Lovecraft and all of his works
Baldur's Gate II
Planescape Torment
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Disturbed; Dimmu Borgir; Korn; Cradle of Filth; Lamb of God; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly OST.


X - ADDITIONAL:
===============

Other MODs by SIMYAZ:

The Legacy (Multi-layered Quest MOD with COMPANION) - http://tessource.net/files/file.php?id=8356

Ruined-Tail's Tale (COMPANION MOD with story-driven Quest) - http://tessource.net/files/file.php?id=3027

The Butcher of Armindale (Malevolent COMPANION MOD with story-driven Quest) - http://tessource.net/files/file.php?id=5781


E-mail: Simyaz@Bigpond.com
MSN Messenger: Simyaz@Hotmail.com
AIM: Simyaz0


