I tried to post a new message here from my phone, but it looks like it didn't take, so let me try again.
Started a new game, which I've not done in ages, to see how some work from a fresh start using a clean save game (only texture mods from Nexus and a handful of AF mods from Creations).
Let me preface this with the observation that Starfield is apparently messing up the Watchtower updates, so I'm not sure how much of this behavior may be addressed in 1.0.3. A couple weeks ago I noticed that 1.0.3 was pending so I checked my Creations Load Order and noticed that it was still reporting Watchtower as version 1.0.1rc2. This was strange as I know that I had run an update operation since 1.0.2v4 had been released. So to be safe, I deleted all three Watchtower files and did a clean download of Watchtower, and the load order was then reporting 1.0.2v4. Well, today, after seeing all this strange behavior, I went back and checked the Creations Load Order and it was again reporting that Watchtower was version 1.0.1rc2. No idea how this happened as I had explicitly downloaded 1.0.2v4 and checked the load order. Trying to update to 1.0.3 failed with a "file permissions" error, which again was inexplicable as all the file permissions were fine. Noticed that it had updated only the ESM file, not the two BA2 files, so I manually deleted all three and re-ran a Creations clean download. The load order is now reporting version 1.0.3. So I will resume to see if I continue to see the behavior from below:
First thing that happened is that I got attacked by Watchtower on my very first jump away from New Atlantis. I'm only level 9, have only 1 artifact and no Starborn powers and yet Watchtower is already attacking me. Story-wise doesn't really seem to fit. Also started seeing Watchtower ships landing on most planets, but oddly enough they would stay on the surface with their bay open. No Watchtower people that I could find and the ships were empty inside and could not be captured, but I've not seen the ships stay on the surface like this before.
As things went on, the Watchtower attacks got worse. By level 16 I was getting ganked by fleets of at least 10-15 Watchtower ships - still no Starborn powers and only 4 artifacts.
Just now I jumped away from another flash mob of Watchtower ships, only to apparently have them follow me through the jump. Jumped again, and again they followed me. Jumped again, immediately hit a single Drone which subsequently pulled in the entire fleet again in a few seconds. It took four jumps before I stopped finding Watchtower ships.
Started wondering about this as I thought this behavior had been addressed to some extent in 1.0.2v4. Went into the Creations menu and checked the load order, and Watchtower was reporting as version 1.0.1RC2. Very strange as I know for a fact that I deleted that version and did a clean download of the 1.0.2v4 version a couple weeks back when I discovered that the mod had failed to update before. But now it seems like it somehow reverted back.
Since 1.0.3 is now released, I tried to update again. It downloaded then failed with a message about lacking file permissions. Went and checked the files and all their permissions looked fine, but the update had only updated the ESM file, not the two BA2 files. So I manually deleted all three files and ran a fresh download operation from Creations. The load order is now reporting that it is version 1.0.3. I've seen reports that Creations update has problems, but I've never heard of it somehow reporting an old version after downloading a newer one.
I'm not sure how much of this behavior has been fixed in 1.0.3 - the release notes make it sound like some changes have been made to - but a couple observations on what I've seen here in my new game:
1) It seems incongruous with the story line that Watchtower would start going after me in a new game when I'm not Starborn and do not have even a single power yet. Seems like the Watchtower encounters should not start until one has acquired at least one Starborn power so that one is at least quasi-starborn.
2) It sounds like some of the ganking by 10-15 watchtower ships may be addressed in 1.0.3. Hopefully this is so because as it was behaving, it was making it pretty much impossible to do anything else other than run the Watchtower quest line to build a fleet to deal with the attacks.
3) The Watchtower attacks started very early - so early that I did not have enough levels to get the perks necessary to build the sorts of ships/fleets necessary to deal with Watchtower, nor the amount of credits necessary to build out a fleet and crew. I think that some sort of delay in starting the Watchtower attacks would be beneficial to give the player the time required to level up and gain skills and credits. At level 9 one simply does not have enough of either to deal with the Watchtower attacks.
Started a new game, which I've not done in ages, to see how some work from a fresh start using a clean save game (only texture mods from Nexus and a handful of AF mods from Creations).
Let me preface this with the observation that Starfield is apparently messing up the Watchtower updates, so I'm not sure how much of this behavior may be addressed in 1.0.3. A couple weeks ago I noticed that 1.0.3 was pending so I checked my Creations Load Order and noticed that it was still reporting Watchtower as version 1.0.1rc2. This was strange as I know that I had run an update operation since 1.0.2v4 had been released. So to be safe, I deleted all three Watchtower files and did a clean download of Watchtower, and the load order was then reporting 1.0.2v4. Well, today, after seeing all this strange behavior, I went back and checked the Creations Load Order and it was again reporting that Watchtower was version 1.0.1rc2. No idea how this happened as I had explicitly downloaded 1.0.2v4 and checked the load order. Trying to update to 1.0.3 failed with a "file permissions" error, which again was inexplicable as all the file permissions were fine. Noticed that it had updated only the ESM file, not the two BA2 files, so I manually deleted all three and re-ran a Creations clean download. The load order is now reporting version 1.0.3. So I will resume to see if I continue to see the behavior from below:
First thing that happened is that I got attacked by Watchtower on my very first jump away from New Atlantis. I'm only level 9, have only 1 artifact and no Starborn powers and yet Watchtower is already attacking me. Story-wise doesn't really seem to fit. Also started seeing Watchtower ships landing on most planets, but oddly enough they would stay on the surface with their bay open. No Watchtower people that I could find and the ships were empty inside and could not be captured, but I've not seen the ships stay on the surface like this before.
As things went on, the Watchtower attacks got worse. By level 16 I was getting ganked by fleets of at least 10-15 Watchtower ships - still no Starborn powers and only 4 artifacts.
Just now I jumped away from another flash mob of Watchtower ships, only to apparently have them follow me through the jump. Jumped again, and again they followed me. Jumped again, immediately hit a single Drone which subsequently pulled in the entire fleet again in a few seconds. It took four jumps before I stopped finding Watchtower ships.
Started wondering about this as I thought this behavior had been addressed to some extent in 1.0.2v4. Went into the Creations menu and checked the load order, and Watchtower was reporting as version 1.0.1RC2. Very strange as I know for a fact that I deleted that version and did a clean download of the 1.0.2v4 version a couple weeks back when I discovered that the mod had failed to update before. But now it seems like it somehow reverted back.
Since 1.0.3 is now released, I tried to update again. It downloaded then failed with a message about lacking file permissions. Went and checked the files and all their permissions looked fine, but the update had only updated the ESM file, not the two BA2 files. So I manually deleted all three files and ran a fresh download operation from Creations. The load order is now reporting that it is version 1.0.3. I've seen reports that Creations update has problems, but I've never heard of it somehow reporting an old version after downloading a newer one.
I'm not sure how much of this behavior has been fixed in 1.0.3 - the release notes make it sound like some changes have been made to - but a couple observations on what I've seen here in my new game:
1) It seems incongruous with the story line that Watchtower would start going after me in a new game when I'm not Starborn and do not have even a single power yet. Seems like the Watchtower encounters should not start until one has acquired at least one Starborn power so that one is at least quasi-starborn.
2) It sounds like some of the ganking by 10-15 watchtower ships may be addressed in 1.0.3. Hopefully this is so because as it was behaving, it was making it pretty much impossible to do anything else other than run the Watchtower quest line to build a fleet to deal with the attacks.
3) The Watchtower attacks started very early - so early that I did not have enough levels to get the perks necessary to build the sorts of ships/fleets necessary to deal with Watchtower, nor the amount of credits necessary to build out a fleet and crew. I think that some sort of delay in starting the Watchtower attacks would be beneficial to give the player the time required to level up and gain skills and credits. At level 9 one simply does not have enough of either to deal with the Watchtower attacks.
