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Announcing Devious Devices 5.0
🕑 Added 2020-09-04 17:17:16 +0000 UTCI have some exciting news today for you all: A new major version of Devious Devices is on the way and since it is going to be a major version, you can expect some great new features.
I will start by announcing that DD5 will no longer ship as separate modules. All components of Devious Devices have been merged in one single download, bringing DD5 for Skyrim LE on par with how the SE version and DD for Fallout 4 are already distributed. The reason for this is simple: With the addition of DD Contraptions, the framework now has FOUR core components, resulting in FOUR separate places users had to download stuff from, and FOUR support threads I had to check. It was not only inconvenient for users, but also became more and more unmanageable for me. A Kimy still doesn't scale. Now, people can download everything DD related in one-go and install it in one go as well, and there is one central place to find support and report bugs.
"Wait, did you say EVERYTHING DD-related?"
Yes, I did.
The DD5 All-in-One downloader will also contain both the DD For Him and the Beast Races Refit expansions (as optional but recommended components), adding official support for male characters and beast races to DD. This is not only convenient for users, but should also give these components a bit more deserved exposure. Maybe we will see some male submissive followers, soon? And last, but not least, gag voices for sex scenes also have been integrated, so no 3rd party mods are required for this any longer.
If Devious Devices was not the most comprehensive bondage framework for Skyrim (and I believe, any game) before, it is certainly now!
And that's only the start of what DD5 will bring to the table.
For a long time, DD had a reputation of being an awesome bondage framework, but also for being a bit of a performance hog. Devices were equipped and unequipped reliably, but the code making this happen was slow and didn't scale well, because to work around certain quirks with Skyrim's engine, it iterated through a character's entire inventory upon each and every device operation, which tended to make equipping or unequipping devices a slide-show at times.
So I had a look at these core functions and re-implemented them from scratch (based on the one I used for Fallout 4 DD). Let's just say that the difference is noticeable. I would love to run a profiler on the code to get the actual number, but the new code feels at least 5 times faster than the old. And the best thing is that device operations no longer require passing the rendered device and keyword to the API in most cases - which in real life DD use-cases often have to be determined for a given inventory device and are very CPU-expensive to compute. The total performance gain from both effects are absolutely significant, particularly in the many situations when multiple devices are being equipped or unequipped at the same time.
Ok, to get that elephant out of the room, the changes caused some regressions. While the new implementation is 99.5% backwards compatible with older DD versions, a few details have changed. This is largely due to Skyrim being a buggy mess. I suppose said buggy mess was the reason why the device code was written the way it was written, because it works around certain engine issues. I just guess back in the days it didn't matter so much that the code was slow, because it was first written for chastity belts and these only (DD has over a dozen different device types these days, so speed is much more a factor now). What the existing system did was guaranteeing consistent equip states for NPCs, which is otherwise broken in Skyrim (NPCs tend not to register equipped gear as actually equipped in the inventory). The new code no longer makes that guarantee, so I had to work around this in several places. As an unwelcome side-effect, certain events (such as OnRemoveDevice() ) are no longer getting reliably fired when a NPC unequips a device. I checked all DD content mods I have in my load order and didn't find a single one actually listening to these events for NPCs, including my own DCL. They do for the player only, which still works reliably. But of course I cannot rule it out that there is a mod out that does it.
Another thing that no longer works is the corset code (for the same reason). I solved that by doing what I should have done years ago: I deleted it. It always was problematic because it broke a central DD design paradigm, where each inventory device maps to exactly one rendered device, resulting in a plethora of bugs where corsets were not removed from a character (I wish a had a dollar for every bug report I got related to the corset code!) What happens now is that if a belt is worn, a corset will be worn over it, showing the bottom part of the belt (the corset model is drawn over the belt because it has a higher priority). Which is what you'd expect anyway? There is no clipping otherwise. In hindsight, I wonder which problem the corset code was even trying to solve...
Now, for the sake of being open, while I ran quite a number of test scenarios on the new code (with satisfying results) the new implementation has not yet seen large-scale testing. So there is still room for unpleasant surprises, given that what I did to the code was equivalent to performing open-heart surgery. But I am quite confident that any problems people might experience can be fixed or worked around without having to revert to the old implementation. A very similar implementation has been in use for Fallout 4 DD for years, at least (albeit FO4 is not as much of a buggy mess as Skyrim, so there is that)
So, what else is new?
Did I mention the over hundred new straitjacket variants made by UnevenSteven? Or that quite a few device events now feature sexy moan sounds? Oh, and the manipulate lock feature has been overhauled, so the manipulated flag can now be checked and altered by script. Some people apparently have ideas for some fun with that!
Oh, and I saved the best news for last: DD5 is mostly completed. No need to wait for it for years! I might recruit beta testers for it fairly soon!
For those of you in North America, I wish you a great Labor Day weekend. For everyone else, have a great regular weekend, and see you in the DD5 beta soon! :)
Comments
See today's post! :)
Mbaker356
as far as a release date goes, what time frame are we looking at?
I need to double-check, but I think the 5.0 version has all the items adapted for beast races that need to be adapted.
Tiger9099
With the integration of the beast races are you also working on getting more items converted for them as well?
I would like that, too. I will put it on the to-do list. :)
One of the things i love about this announcement is that straitjackets (which is my favorite restraints of all time) is finally getting tons of love! 100+ new straitjacket variants??? That's way more than what anyone has asked for! I've previewed the catsuit, the formal and the elegant variants, will there be more variant as well more material/color? (Other than ebonite the black, red and white ebonite, as well as the leather?
I am not merging the ESMs. I will just put them together in one download archive. Except for regressions caused by the change to the core code I mentioned, DD5 should be very much backwards compatible with existing mods.
Kimy, I'm wondering how to solve the problem that most DD content mods need dda, ddi and ddx as requirement after Devious Devices merging in one module. Will those mods be incompatible with the new Devious Devices? honestly I can't wait to see DD5 and DCL9, amazing change :)
Slacker
The creator of the new straitjackets posted some previews on LoversLab. You can see them for yourself here: https://www.loverslab.com/topic/21484-devious-devices-integration-43a-2019-09-10/page/480/?tab=comments#comment-3025557 https://www.loverslab.com/topic/21484-devious-devices-integration-43a-2019-09-10/page/481/?tab=comments#comment-3026838
Merlin1941
Oh shit, I almost forgot... The DCL shock collar (and possibly a few other similar devices) look for armor/clothing properties and not DD properties. Obviously this isn't a DD and is a DCL issue, but I need to declare it before I forget. Is there a simple way to either disable that or overwrite it? I can't have an armored DD mod if devices check item properties before clearing DD properties and perpetually shocking the player to death because they have an armored chastity bra or some such thing equipped and don't have the key... Basically, I'd need DD/DCL (especially DCL) to check player damage and other detrimental effects based on DD item status *before* determining they're clothing or armor and thus deserve penalties. I'm tired - I hope this all makes sense... :D
Merlin1941
There's so much here, I had to gather my thoughts for a bit, and... it's lovely! Straitjackets should be fun, and I love the consolidation. I honestly thought that last bit would've come sooner since it's a huge dev time-gain, but better late than never. :) Having said that, I think I'll also be a "complainer" here and ask if Tin's teased and modular upgrades to the bodysuits are anywhere in the future pipeline. If they are, I might actually be able to push a mod or two (armored DDs and a follower mod) within a reasonable timeframe. I mean, this is all amazing, but that would be the sweetest icing on the cake ever. Not demanding, just invested. What's here is superb and gives me a lot of ideas. I love it! :)
I plan to release DD5 and DCL9 at the same time. DCL9 needs DD5, so there is that. :)
Not sure what you mean, but you still can wear one device of each type. It's kinda hard to wear two gags at once, I'd think? :D
Dawn Rice
Sounds awesome! Looking forward to seeing this and DCL 9.0.
Hello , can we multiple pieces of equipment in the same department?
Silence
Definitely looking forward to seeing this in the wild :D
jcdragon
As someone who loves the ingame straightjackets cant wait to trigger some new cursed traps :) :) How will this effect DCL 9? will dcl 9 be coming before or will you be getting the new DD out first? thank you for all the work you put in. probably wouldnt play skyrim nearly as much if it wasnt for cursed loot and DD
Throwcat2
This is brilliant work. Your talent relay shows.
Tarmandan
Oh, this is such great news! I remember you talking about how you regret that the system for oldrim DD is so convoluted and how you would love to do it the same way you implemented it in Fallout 4 but that it would just be to much work to be worth it. This makes me doubly happy you not only decided to go through with it but actually managed to find the time for it! I am hyped!
Awww, thank you! :)
It absolutely will require a new game, no matter what. I hope to release DD5 together with DCL 9 (which also will need a new game) for that reason.
I will let you guys know when the beta version is ready!
Hungvipbcsok
This is absolutely amazing to hear but i wonder how many mods of my current list compative with dd5. Anyway where can i sign for beta test?
BlitzAceRush
This is awesome news, very much looking forward to this.
Eggnogui
This all sounds amazing! I'm strongly doubting this won't require a new game which always sucks but damm, the performance improvements alone are likely worth it! Looking forward!
Oh. My. God. It's happening, skyrim will finally be a proper feature rich bdsm game . I believe compiling everything into one will form the foundation for exciting future updates! And i'm SO looking forward with that over 100 new straitjacket variation!!! It's like a dream come true! Thank you Kimy you are the best! You have no idea you have made so many people happy! ❤
It did cost me several weeks of near full-time work to make the changes and fix all the stuff I broke by changing it, indeed. :D
I think UnevenSteven posted picture in one of the DD threads. I believe it was Expansion. As in not sure, haha! I am SO looking forward to see all these support threads merged. lol
Míša
Kimy, that is such wonderful news! Kimy, that is such wonderful news! The changes and new features sound absolutely amazing. I've played a devious FO4 a little while ago (until I got bored with the game's lackluster story) and also did some experimenting with FO4 DD in xEdit and found it very convenient to use indeed. I'm sure it will be a great benefit to devious Skyrim modding to bring these scripting advances into that game, too. Thanks so much for doing whis -- it must no doubt have been a massive undertaking!
Slacker
Are there any previews of the new straitjacket variations?
