NPC AI Improvements - Search Distance

More capable NPCs

Many NPCs in the game have activities that involve searching for a target, but might end up wandering instead, because they're unable to detect anything nearby. Their default search radius will not cover enough distance for them to complete their tasks reliably. This mod increases that distance, which makes NPCs more able to hunt deer, or loot dungeons.

One example is Carandial:

On the 2nd of each month, and again on the 16th, Carandial skips sleep to ride up to Anutwyll on his Bay Horse. He will wander near his camp until 8am when he plunges inside the ruin to explore. He is searching for melee weapons worth at least 10 gold (anything except rusty weapons), and is likely to be disappointed since the inhabitants are animals and almost none of them wield weapons: this typically means he spends the entire trip standing just inside the doorway. He emerges at 4pm, and returns to his camp for some more wandering. The next day he will follow the same schedule before finally returning to Bravil at midnight on the third day.

It is correct that the dungeon he explores has a low chance of having what he's looking for. Another issue is, that even if a chest happens to contain a weapon, it might be too far for Carandial to detect it. If he can't detect his target when entering the dungeon, he will remain by the door, wandering.

With this mod, if there is a weapon to be found, Carandial will go look for it.

There are other factors that influence how successful actors are at their tasks. For fun, I'm uploading an optional file, that makes Carandial more likely to explore the ruins he visits. It adds a guaranteed weapon at the other end of the dungeon for him to discover, and lets him open the locked door previously blocking his way. Carandial also levels up with the player, because otherwise he would remain as a level 4 character and certainly end up dead.

Possible issues

I haven't noticed any issues during testing and can't think of things that could go wrong, but you never know with Oblivion. This affects all NPCs, and might be relevant in some quests, but all it does is letting actors look for their targets farther away. Let me know if you encounter something weird.