tag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160Ordinary DayAnd it's all your state of mindAnna the Piper2024-03-16T07:13:13Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2052272In Which Finds-The-Way Becomes Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild2024-03-16T07:13:13Z2024-03-16T07:13:13Zpublic0<p>As you eventually do if you’re me and you’re running the Thieves Guild in Skyrim, I finally got Finds-the-Way to the point of becoming Guildmaster! So most of this session from early January is her doing the thievery work necessary to pull that off.</p>
<p>And oh yeah, she’s also now thane of the Reach!</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/03/16/in-which-finds-the-way-becomes-guildmaster-of-the-thieves-guild/#more-42092">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/03/16/in-which-finds-the-way-becomes-guildmaster-of-the-thieves-guild/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2052272" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2051756In Which Marwyth Gains a Companion and Saves Fort Amol2024-03-12T01:51:11Z2024-03-12T01:51:11Zpublic0<p>Last post of 2023 content for Marwyth’s playthrough on ESO. This is for the final few days in December, and features a bunch of action all over the place: New Life Festival, moving the plot along in Eastmarch, picking up Ember as Marwyth’s first Companion, and more!</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/03/11/in-which-marwyth-gains-a-companion-and-saves-fort-amol/#more-42342">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/03/11/in-which-marwyth-gains-a-companion-and-saves-fort-amol/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2051756" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2051378In Which Marwyth Witnesses the Rampage of Veya Releth2024-03-12T01:32:12Z2024-03-12T01:32:12Zpublic2<p>I’ve been doing posts for ESO lately that cover an entire week’s worth of action for my various toons, but here I’m going to make an exception. Because for the last week of 2023, I got in enough action with Marwyth that doing a full week for a post would be enormous. So I’m chopping that week’s action in half, and for this post, I’ll talk about the 24th through the 26th of December.</p>
<p>Because this was when I ran the plot to meet Veya Releth in Balmora–a character who becomes very important later in the Summerset portion of the Daedric War storyline! And I have a lot to say about that, so this deserves a post all to itself.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/03/11/in-which-marwyth-witnesses-the-rampage-of-veya-releth/#more-42010">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/03/11/in-which-marwyth-witnesses-the-rampage-of-veya-releth/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2051378" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2050988In Which Elessir Acquires Auriel’s Bow2024-03-02T03:02:15Z2024-03-02T03:02:15Zpublic0<p>Another Skyrim catchup post, the last one of my 2023 sessions. This is Elessir’s playthrough, and a super short post, because this one just basically covers his hitting the Forgotten Vale with Serana and Lucien.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/03/01/in-which-elessir-acquires-auriels-bow/#more-42001">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/03/01/in-which-elessir-acquires-auriels-bow/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2050988" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2050706In Which Finds-The-Way Does Favors for the Jarl of Markarth2024-03-01T06:59:35Z2024-03-01T06:59:35Zpublic0<p>Short post since this is mostly familiar action, and hardly any German language commentary, even. Main action here is Finds-The-Way running favor quests to achieve the thaneship of the Reach, but with a side helping of aetherium shard acquisition, and also thievery!</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/29/in-which-finds-the-way-does-favors-for-the-jarl-of-markarth/#more-41999">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/29/in-which-finds-the-way-does-favors-for-the-jarl-of-markarth/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2050706" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2050514In Which Kendeshel Explores the Ruins of Winterhold2024-03-01T05:44:38Z2024-03-01T05:44:38Zpublic0<p>Back to Kendeshel’s playthrough! After this one I have four more playthrough posts left for catching up on 2023, then I can work on getting caught up on 2024’s posts!</p>
<p>Main action here: running the Fall of Winterhold quest added in by Immersive College of Winterhold; taking out Tyra Blood-Fire, the Seducers bandits near Forsaken Cave, and the dragon Viinturuth; and doing a little light thievery on behalf of the East Empire Company in Windhelm.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/29/in-which-kendeshel-explores-the-ruins-of-winterhold/#more-41997">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/29/in-which-kendeshel-explores-the-ruins-of-winterhold/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2050514" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2050112In Which Elessir Recovers a Third Elder Scroll and Confronts Alduin2024-02-29T22:59:04Z2024-02-29T22:59:04Zpublic0<p>Slowly closing in on the end of my 2023 catchup posts! This one is back to Elessir’s Skyrim playthrough.</p>
<p>Main action here is finishing up in Blackreach, and discovering to my chagrin that I’d left Septimus’ Lexicon behind when I left with the Elder Scroll; retrieving the Lexicon, taking it back to Septimus, and meeting Hermaeus Mora; confronting Alduin for the first time on the Throat of the World; and running Ancestor Glade to discover the location of Auriel’s Bow.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/29/in-which-elessir-recovers-a-third-elder-scroll-and-confronts-alduin/#more-41995">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/29/in-which-elessir-recovers-a-third-elder-scroll-and-confronts-alduin/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2050112" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2049805In Which Finds-The-Way Escapes from Cidhna Mine2024-02-29T05:02:54Z2024-02-29T05:02:54Zpublic0<p>Still working on getting caught up on Skyrim posts. This is another one from mid-December, Finds-The-Way’s playthrough. Primary action here is finishing the quest to get the White Phial, running the Forsworn Conspiracy, and running Arkngthamz and meeting the ghost of Katria. With the obligatory German language geekery!</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/28/in-which-finds-the-way-escapes-from-cidhna-mine/#more-41993">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/28/in-which-finds-the-way-escapes-from-cidhna-mine/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2049805" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2049275In Which the Dragonborns Fight Thalmor and Rescue Esbern2024-02-25T00:23:53Z2024-02-25T00:23:53Zpublic0<p>This one is <em>way</em> overdue, over two months at this point, but I’m posting it anyway to get it out of my queue! This is the last session Dara, Mel, and I ran in Skyrim Together Reborn, on December 3rd.</p>
<p>This is all main Skyrim quest action, primarily featuring raiding the Thalmor Embassy, and then proceeding to rescue Esbern from the Ratway. With a side helping of general Skyrim Together shenanigans, as we do.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/24/in-which-the-dragonborns-fight-thalmor-and-rescue-esbern/#more-42211">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/24/in-which-the-dragonborns-fight-thalmor-and-rescue-esbern/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2049275" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2048307In Which Elessir Investigates Serpent’s Trail and Alftand2024-02-07T21:40:59Z2024-02-07T21:40:59Zpublic0<p>More mid-December Skyrim catchup, this time with Elessir’s run. This is a short post, and mostly just features my first taste of the content provided by the Beyond Skyrim: Bruma mod, since I visited Serpent’s Trail on a quest for a Dawnguard schematic.</p>
<p>But I did also move the main plot along, and made it down into Blackreach to find the Elder Scroll there.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/07/in-which-elessir-investigates-serpents-trail-and-alftand/#more-41989">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/02/07/in-which-elessir-investigates-serpents-trail-and-alftand/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2048307" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2047886In Which Kendeshel Fights Warlocks on Wyrmstooth2024-01-27T00:51:16Z2024-01-27T00:51:16Zpublic0<p>Another Skyrim catchup post from mid-December. This one is Kendeshel’s playthrough, and features more action on Wyrmstooth! So by definition, there are spoilers here for that specific mod, though for side quests, not the mod’s main one.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/01/26/in-which-kendeshel-fights-warlocks-on-wyrmstooth/#more-41911">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/01/26/in-which-kendeshel-fights-warlocks-on-wyrmstooth/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2047886" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2047671In Which Elessir Explores the Soul Cairn2024-01-26T22:01:12Z2024-01-26T22:01:12Zpublic0<p>While I’m waiting for the RaceMenu mod to update itself again following the latest Skyrim update, I’m taking the time to get caught up on the backlog of posts. So here’s another Skyrim catchup post from mid-December, this time in Elessir’s playthrough. This is moving the Dawnguard questline along, and in particular, the Soul Cairn!</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/01/26/in-which-elessir-explores-the-soul-cairn/#more-41905">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/01/26/in-which-elessir-explores-the-soul-cairn/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2047671" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2047451In Which Marwyth Investigates a Disastrous Heist2024-01-26T04:25:15Z2024-01-26T04:25:15Zpublic0<p>This is another catchup post as I work through my backlog of session notes. Here, I’ve got some sessions from mid-December with Marwyth, my ESO alt! Main action here is with advancing the Thieves Guild plotline, and finishing up the Shadowfen branch of the Ebonheart Pact plotline as well.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/01/25/in-which-marwyth-investigates-a-disastrous-heist/#more-41899">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/01/25/in-which-marwyth-investigates-a-disastrous-heist/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2047451" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2047215In Which Finds-The-Way Finally Finds the Dark Brotherhood2024-01-25T06:37:19Z2024-01-25T06:37:19Zpublic0<p>I have fallen behind on my playthrough posts again, in no small part because I’ve been in a headspace where I’ve been way more interested in just straight up <em>playing</em>. But I have continued to take notes for blog fodder! So here’s some catchup dating from mid-December. This is the Skyrim session in which Finds-The-Way <em>finally</em> gets to encounter the Dark Brotherhood. ‘Bout goddamned time, says Finds!</p>
<p>And there’s Thieves Guild action in there too, and the obligatory German language geekery.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/01/24/in-which-finds-the-way-finally-finds-the-dark-brotherhood/#more-41915">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/01/24/in-which-finds-the-way-finally-finds-the-dark-brotherhood/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2047215" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2046969Skyrim updated, again, mods broke, again2024-01-19T23:50:36Z2024-01-19T23:50:36Zpublic4<p>So Bethesda dropped another Skyrim update, with some patches for the new Creations menu added onto the game’s main menu. </p>
<p>Which of course meant that all the core community mods had to update again. Which meant everybody’s modded playthroughs got borked.</p>
<p>(Not calling this a hot take, because that would imply I actually have a heated opinion on this. And there isn’t any particular heat here. So call this a clement take if you like!)</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/01/19/skyrim-updated-again-mods-broke-again/#more-42031">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2024/01/19/skyrim-updated-again-mods-broke-again/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2046969" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2045481In Which Elessir Rescues a Vampire and a Moth Priest2023-12-19T23:59:33Z2023-12-19T23:59:33Zpublic0<p>Time to check back in with my Elessir playthrough in Skyrim! With this post and its two sessions, I’m finally kicking off Dawnguard with this alt. Read on for the details!</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/12/19/in-which-elessir-rescues-a-vampire-and-a-moth-priest/#more-41902">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/12/19/in-which-elessir-rescues-a-vampire-and-a-moth-priest/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2045481" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2045220In Which Finds-The-Way Slays a Thalmor Assassin and a Cruel Headmistress2023-12-15T02:04:32Z2023-12-15T02:04:32Zpublic0<p>Double session post for Finds-The-Way! Main action here: meeting Paarthurnax; running Volunruud; committing some light thievery in both Whiterun and Solitude; taking out J’datharr the Thalmor assassin; taking out Evethra the mad mage; acquiring the greatsword Shadowrend; showing up for a fishing contest and taking out the bandits who tried to ambush her; acquiring the hammer Nerveshatter; slaying Grelod the Kind at the Riften orphanage; and slaying Crowstooth and Alvasorr the Rat at Arcwind Point.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/12/14/in-which-finds-the-way-slays-a-thalmor-assassin-and-a-cruel-headmistress/#more-41851">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/12/14/in-which-finds-the-way-slays-a-thalmor-assassin-and-a-cruel-headmistress/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2045220" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2044896In Which Marywth Returns to Shadowfen and Vvardenfell2023-12-08T21:59:41Z2023-12-08T21:59:41Zpublic0<p>First time I’ve run Marwyth in a while, but now that I’m coming out of hiatus, I wanted to lead with her on my ESO posts! So here’s a new drop of adventuring with my ex-Ashlander Dunmer, featuring some action in Shadowfen to move the Ebonheart Pact plot along, and then some action on Vvardenfell!</p>
<p>As a general reminder, I’m only going to count play days where I do actual adventuring to Gyllerah’s and Marwyth’s playthroughs. Just to relieve myself of having to write about dozens of days where I just log on and run writs. 😉</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/12/08/in-which-marywth-returns-to-shadowfen-and-vvardenfell/#more-41831">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/12/08/in-which-marywth-returns-to-shadowfen-and-vvardenfell/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2044896" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2044615Surprise, there’s a new Skyrim update!2023-12-05T21:08:17Z2023-12-05T21:08:17Zpublic0<p>Got up this morning to the news that Bethesda has dropped a new significant update to Skyrim. The main point of this appears to be an enhancement to the Creation Club functionality, which they’re merging with the game’s previous in-game “Mods” menu. The idea here appears to be to enhance the ability of mod/creation authors to get their work out into the hands of other players.</p>
<p>However, there are also substantial bug fixes, mostly for PC players, but with a small number of fixes on consoles as well. I found a <a href="https://bethesda.net/en/article/4ORD7tshfmHUN8H4ULSgE4/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-special-edition-creations-update-patch-notes">full list of patch notes</a> on Bethesda’s Help site.</p>
<p>I see a bunch of fixes in there I’ve personally observed in my playthroughs, notably:</p>
<ol>
<li>Not being able to summon Arvak in the Forgotten Vale</li>
<li>The extra Emerald Paragon holder in Bloodchill Manor</li>
<li>The creation of Trueflame being broken on the Switch</li>
<li>Not being able to sell Dwarven Scrap Metal</li>
</ol>
<p>Of the fixes, I think the one I’m actually most happy about is the ability to summon Arvak in the Forgotten Vale <em>and</em> the Deadlands! This will certainly help me out when running the Vale in particular, since I do tend to get super overloaded running that part of the Dawnguard quest line.</p>
<p>What I do <em>not</em> see in this announcement, though, is any sign of when this patch will show up on the Switch. Fixing the creation of Trueflame is really nice, but there are also other significant bugs in Solstheim on the Switch in particular. I did check my Switch this morning and can confirm that there’s no sign of any update to Skyrim on that device. So for now, my recommendation for Switch owners still stands: do <em>not</em> run the full Anniversary Edition on that device if you can avoid it. Run the base Special Edition instead. You should still have access to Survival Mode, Fishing, Rare Curios, and Saints and Seducers if you do that.</p>
<p>I have also now done a sweep through my various load orders to check the status of my mods. The Skyrim Script Extender <em>has</em> dropped an update. So you should be able to pull that down from <a href="https://skse.silverlock.org">skse.silverlock.org</a> or <a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/30379">directly off of Nexus</a>.</p>
<p>Likewise, the <a href="https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/32444">Address Library for SKSE Plugins</a> has also updated. It is now on version 9.</p>
<p>However, both of my major modded playthroughs, Elessir and Kendeshel, are currently not loadable. A bunch of mods on their lists are now bitching at me about version mismatches with the SKSE. Notably, RaceMenu and moreHUD are unhappy. So a bunch more updates to mods need to come in before I can resume playing those characters.</p>
<p>I <em>can</em> however load my last Skyrim Together Reborn save. So the slow playthrough I’m doing with Dara and Mel on that should be able to proceed, we were hoping to play this weekend, more to come on whether that is successful!</p>
<p>And until more of my current load orders update, I’m going to focus probably for the rest of this week on playing Finds-The-Way. With possible diversions to Morrowind or Oblivion, and also additional ESO activity as well. I have plenty of things to play while I wait for the mods to all get caught up!</p>
<p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/12/05/surprise-theres-a-new-skyrim-update/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2044615" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2044093Gallery restoration status at 70 percent2023-11-25T10:05:44Z2023-11-25T10:05:44Zpublic0<p>I spent a good chunk of today trying to figure out if I could automate some of the work of rebuilding my galleries. Answer: yes, though it took some research to learn how to do!</p>
<p>Because here’s the thing y’all: I had several elements in place that would allow for at least <em>some</em> of the restoration work to be done in a scripted fashion rather than manually.</p>
<p>Namely:</p>
<ol>
<li>A known directory structure</li>
<li>One or more screenshot files in each directory in the structure</li>
<li>A known file called metadata.json in each directory, which contained the metadata for all of the screenshots in the same directory, and which contained a known structure that I should be able to parse</li>
</ol>
<p>And here’s the process I’ve been following to rebuild the galleries:</p>
<ol>
<li>Work my way forward in chronological order through the broken galleries</li>
<li>For each one, find the corresponding directory on the server</li>
<li>Manually import each screenshot in that directory into the WordPress media library</li>
<li>Review contents of metadata.json, and copy and paste all of the relevant data out of that file onto the files added to the media library</li>
<li>Using the FileBird plugin, create a new folder in the media library to contain the added files</li>
<li>Using the FooGallery plugin, create a new gallery using the files in the new FileBird folder</li>
<li>Add the newly created gallery to the relevant album of galleries, and remove the broken one</li>
<li>Update the gallery shortcode in the relevant playthrough post from the broken gallery to the new replacement</li>
</ol>
<p>So, a lot of steps here, right?</p>
<p>The problem I wanted to solve was automating steps 3 and 4, because the most time-consuming part of this process has been adding hundreds and hundreds of files into my media library, and copy and pasting the metadata in for them. (And as a reminder: these files weren’t in the media library already, because the broken galleries had been previously reading all the relevant files and data right off the server file structure. Since I can’t do that now, I have to pull all of this stuff directly into the WordPress media library.)</p>
<p>And solving this problem required doing these major things:</p>
<ol>
<li>Installing <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/guides/installing/">wp-cli</a>, the command line tool for managing WordPress installations</li>
<li>Learning how to use the <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/media/import/">wp media import</a> command, including how to make it work with a multi-site installation, which is what I have; Anna Plays Skyrim is part of a multi-site WordPress network</li>
<li>Learning how to use <a href="https://manpages.org/jq">jq</a>, which is a command line JSON parser</li>
</ol>
<p>I threw some threads out on Mastodon today on the WordPress hashtag, asking for recommendations on how to accomplish what I wanted to do. So now I have a two-command solution to do steps 3 and 4 above, like so.</p>
<p>For step 3, I’m running this scary-looking thing which basically chugs through metadata.json in the current working directory, and spits out a full “wp media import” command for every file covered in the JSON file. Then it saves that list into temp.sh.</p>
<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>jq -r '.items[] | @sh "wp media import \(.file) --caption=\(.caption) --title=\(.caption) --desc=\(.description) --alt=\(.alt) --url=https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/"' metadata.json > temp.sh</code></pre>
<p>Then I need to run those commands:</p>
<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>sh temp.sh</code></pre>
<p>Lastly, I pop into the media library and confirm that:</p>
<ol>
<li>All the files in the working directory now appear in the media library</li>
<li>All the metadata on the files is correct (and I’m correcting typos where I spot them)</li>
</ol>
<p>Then I can proceed to making the FileBird directories and the new galleries.</p>
<p>So this is still taking some effort; it’s not just a matter of doing a mass import of the entire directory structure. Which I’m actually okay with, on the grounds that having to go through each directory <em>is</em> letting me doublecheck that the files and their metadata are getting imported okay. <em>And</em> look for any typos I want to fix as well.</p>
<p>As of this writing, I’m now at about 70 percent complete on the restoration effort. The <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/faanshi-playthrough/" data-type="page" data-id="30942">Faanshi Playthrough</a> and <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/shenner-playthrough/" data-type="page" data-id="31002">Shenner Playthrough</a> galleries are now done.</p>
<p>Galleries now in active progress of being fixed are the ones for Gyllerah, Tembriel, Harrowhark, and Kendis.</p>
<p>More on this tomorrow. And thanks to everybody on Mastodon who offered advice!</p>
<p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/11/25/gallery-restoration-status-at-70-percent/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2044093" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2043385Ysani’s screenshots now restored2023-11-22T06:36:10Z2023-11-22T06:36:10Zpublic0<p>Gallery reconstruction work continues on Anna Plays Skryim, and now <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/screenshots/ysani-demers-screenshots/" data-type="page" data-id="30728">all galleries</a> for <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/ysani-playthrough/" data-type="page" data-id="29324">Ysani’s playthrough</a> have been restored.</p>
<p>I currently have 576 total galleries (because BOY HOWDY do I have a lot of screenshots for Skyrim, as well as Morrowind, Oblivion, and ESO). Of these, 227 are now confirmed functional. (Alarrah’s galleries never broke as I had never converted hers over to the gallery type I lost access to, but I’m counting hers in this count.)</p>
<p>Which means my galleries currently stand at about 40 percent restored.</p>
<p>For the time being I’m putting a pause on playing anything else, while I focus on restoring all these galleries and <em>then</em> working on writing backlogged posts. So it’ll be probably at least another week or so before I put up new content. Stand by, y’all!</p>
<p>The next round of updates will start working on three playthroughs at once, Faanshi’s, Shenner’s, and Tembriel’s. Because I’m working my way forward in chronological order through all the galleries as previously created, just because that seems the most orderly way to me to proceed.</p>
<p>And oh yes, one more aspect of interest to this:</p>
<p>When I started converting the impacted galleries back to the gallery type that pulls directly out of the WordPress media library, I had a non-zero level of worry that I’d repro the same problem that broke the galleries back in the middle of Delga’s playthrough. That issue was basically causing older galleries to lose track of their assigned screenshots.</p>
<p>I was worried, once I made it into Delga’s screenshots, that I’d repro that same issue. But as of this post I’ve just finished Ysani’s restoration, and I’m now well past the point (in terms of number of active galleries) at which the previous issue showed up.</p>
<p>So <em>so far</em> it looks like I’ll no longer reproduce the issue, which is good. Though I’m still a little nervous about this because I don’t know <em>what caused the issue in the first place</em>. And as a person whose career is software testing, a problem I don’t have a root cause for always makes me nervous.</p>
<p>Any number of things could have fixed it, though. Because all of these apply since the original problem occurred:</p>
<ul>
<li>We had a change in internet provider</li>
<li>Operating system updates on the server</li>
<li>Multiple updates to WordPress</li>
<li>Multiple updates to the FooGallery code</li>
<li>I just installed a plugin called FileBird to help me manage the media library for this site, because I have a few thousand screenshots at this point and this makes for a very large and unwieldy library to manage without some help</li>
</ul>
<p>Any one of these, or any combination of these, could have stabilized things enough that I no longer reproduce the earlier issue. What’ll <em>also</em> be interesting is whether a <em>different</em> issue I’ve been seeing on the site lately starts reproducing again–where galleries on older posts would render badly and I’d have to clear the site’s cached CSS data to make them work again.</p>
<p>Let’s hope things stay stable, anyway! Onward!</p>
<p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/11/21/ysanis-screenshots-now-restored/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2043385" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2042498Galleries on Anna Plays Skyrim are temporarily broken2023-11-15T05:19:23Z2023-11-15T05:19:23Zpublic9<p>Y’all, I had to downgrade the subscription plan I’m using on FooGallery, the plugin that manages to my screenshot galleries. The reason for this is, I’m <em>still</em> unemployed, and my unemployment benefits run out in January. So Dara and I had to start instituting some cost-cutting measures, and one of them was the subscription I’m paying for FooGallery.</p>
<p>I did <em>not</em> eliminate FooGallery completely from this site, but I downgraded to the cheapest option available for use on 5 sites.</p>
<p>But here’s the problem: I had forgotten that that tier of subscription removes a core piece of functionality I was using. Namely, creating galleries that read files directly off my server file structure and use a JSON file to get the metadata for them. I’d started using this functionality, longtime readers of this blog may recall, because I started running into issues with FooGallery being able to handle the huge media library this site uses by definition.</p>
<p>Now, though, I’m having to punt back to that previous functionality. Which is requiring me to manually recreate every single screenshot gallery from Merawen’s playthrough forward.</p>
<p>This, as you might imagine, is <em>tedious as fuck</em>. But it’s doable. It’ll just take me a while to fix.</p>
<p>Until I’m done with that, I’m putting a temporary hold on putting up new playthrough posts. I have <em>not</em> lost any actual screenshots or their associated data, but I will need to recreate all the galleries, and I want to do it in the same order they were originally created in. Which means not making any <em>new</em> galleries until that’s done.</p>
<p>And that by extension also means not putting up any new playthrough posts for a bit, just because I don’t want to put up posts and then forget which ones are missing their screenshots. It’ll be easier on me organization-wise if I do it this way.</p>
<p>One more thing: this <em>does</em> also raise the risk of my reproducing the earlier behavior of FooGallery breaking if I try to make it handle too large of a media library in WordPress. I’m going to try to fix this problem by seeing if I can save out a bunch of these files in smaller sizes, and maybe reduce the load on the library. Plus, I know the plugin’s gone through a bunch of revision since the last time I saw that issue. So the issue may or may not repro anyway.</p>
<p>I will post an all clear when I’ve fixed all the galleries and regular playthrough posts can resume.</p>
<p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/11/14/galleries-on-anna-plays-skyrim-are-temporarily-broken/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2042498" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2041519Review of Moon and Star mod (non-spoiler version)2023-11-06T22:31:28Z2023-11-06T22:31:28Zpublic0<p>Since Kendeshel’s next post is going to feature my running the Moon and Star mod, and therefore by definition will have major spoilers for that mod, <em>this</em> post is to do a non-spoilery review of the mod for anybody who hasn’t played it yet and thinks they might want to.</p>
<p>The TL;DR version: mixed feelings about this one, though not as strong as with Project AHO. It makes a few small but mostly nice additions to the overall game environment. But I feel like certain aspects of the story are kind of lacking. And after you finish the plot, there are side effects that are kind of annoying.</p>
<p>Details behind the fold. I’ll structure this similarly to <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/09/25/review-of-project-aho-mod-non-spoiler-version/" data-type="post" data-id="33981">how I reviewed Project AHO</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/11/06/review-of-moon-and-star-mod-non-spoiler-version/#more-34181">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/11/06/review-of-moon-and-star-mod-non-spoiler-version/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2041519" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2032498Needing to redo Kendeshel’s starting session2023-09-08T22:22:31Z2023-09-08T22:22:31Zpublic0<p>I tried to run Kendeshel last night to take her forward from level 5, only to discover a <em>problem</em>. I started running the quest In My Time of Need in Whiterun, the one where you have to decide between helping the Redguard fugitive Saadia, or the Alik’r warriors led by Kematu who are looking for her.</p>
<p>The problem: Saadia’s face was fucked up, showing the so-called “black face” bug I’ve seen a lot of references to in looking up how to mod Skyrim properly.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/09/08/needing-to-redo-kendeshels-starting-session/#more-33890">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/09/08/needing-to-redo-kendeshels-starting-session/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2032498" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-05-01:143160:2030586In Which Kendis Aids the Tribunal Cult on Solstheim2023-08-30T00:25:58Z2023-08-30T00:25:58Zpublic0<p>I’ve decided to go ahead and make a hard push through the rest of Kendis’ playthrough–to finish up Solstheim, and then to run her final confrontation with Alduin. I want to get her finished up so that I can free up my Skyrim cycles for Elessir and Finds-The-Way!</p>
<p>Also, I want to finish my confirmation of how much of Solstheim is still functional on the AE build on the Switch. So here’s a big ol’ round of that in this post.</p>
<p><a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/08/29/in-which-kendis-aids-the-tribunal-cult-on-solstheim/#more-33803">Read the rest of this entry »</a></p><p style="text-align: right"><small>Read more on <a href="https://skyrim.annathepiper.org/2023/08/29/in-which-kendis-aids-the-tribunal-cult-on-solstheim/" title="Read original post.">Anna Plays Skyrim</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=annathepiper&ditemid=2030586" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments