A screenshot of the docks at sunset from my Oblivion modification, Port Umbra.

One of the events I wished to include in this project was the mayhem associated with a riot within the castle walls themselves. Pulling off this sort of action required extensive scripting to get all of the events. To meet this challenge, I wrote scripts that sent various noblemen as well as the Count to the banquet hall to sit and eat at a particular stage in one of the quests. When the player searched for the Count to bring him information, prisoners would run into the room and attack the Count, his guests, his guards, and the player.

The prisoners first reside in the Castle dungeons. My original plan involved moving them to various places around the banquet hall when they were needed, but this script caused their appearance to lag considerably. To get around this, the prisoners in their cells were hidden, and previously disabled clones were unhidden around the hall, directed to move in and attack different noblemen and guards.

In order to get the prisoners to attack the player and the guards, I put the player in the same faction as the guards, and increased the prisoners’ hate for that faction. After the prisoners have all been killed, the script tells the Count to approach the player and begin a conversation, prompting the next part of the quest.