Latest state of the project, v0.0.8 pre-beta release, now all in one package for easier install.
Most known bugs have been fixed and a few user requests have been integrated into it.

The faulty NIF for the foot wraps has been fixed.
The OBSE-check no longer fails when there is no OBSE present at all but instead complains about it exactly like it was always intended.
The default voice is now Argonian for all dragon races.
The missing string_var cleanups have been added, so there shouldn't be any savegame bloating anymore now.
And last but not least finally the nasty upperbody slot-control bug pestering this and all intended future versions of my scripts for ages has been identified and fixed once and for all. By default you're still allowed to wear any chest item you want, but if you don't wear anything anymore, the proper chest item will be equipped, removing any Imperial skin or similar oddities and giving female dragons flat chests, and the forced unequipping for this slot can be turned on at every time, disallowing equipping of unfitting items entirely.

If flat chests on female dragons is unwanted, simply replace the file "meshes/characters/DrakeDragon/female/DragonUpperbody_dcpart.nif" with whatever default upperbody you prefer instead. As long as it is a TFF-based mesh it will work.

When updating from a previous version, like v0.0.7 pre-beta, it is highly recommended to do a clean save without the mod active first, or the critical script changes and fixes likely won't apply.
To this purpose change your race via "showracemenu" in the console to something else than a dragon first, don't click the final button but open the console again so "save game" will no longer be grayed-out and save your new appearance while still in the race menu! This way when you load it now your stats won't have been reset, which would've happened by pressing the final button.

Official v0.0.8 pre-beta test-release intermediate readme:
*==========================================*

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Drake's Anthro-Dragon Race (v0.0.8 pre-beta)

by Drake the Dragon


You can read more about this topic and my other projects here:
http://www.drakeslair.net
or on the official BethSoft forums here:
http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1016468

*==========================================*


#############
# DESCRIPTION
#############

This is the race I'm working on since I started playing Oblivion. It's meant to resemble the race of the dragon from the stories of mine, which you might have stumbled across on my web page already.
They're anthropomorphic in shape, walking upright on their hindlegs to better blend in with humans and other humanoids, and are strong and agile fighters who use all their racial attributes and abilities to their benefit.

In this beta release you get 3 different color-schemes and can define their appearance through a config menu popping up when you first start the game with this mod enabled.
They're shape shifters, so any combination between draconic and human-like body shape is possible. Don't want wings? Choose to not use them. Prefer human-shaped feet? Choose so.

To not destroy their visual appearance when equipping clothing or armor items which can't be worn by them (were not yet adapted to be equippable without loosing draconic appearance) by default such items are forcefully unequipped or their visuals get replaced by a simple generic clothing item which is fitting.
However, you can also choose to not let this happen for every single equipment slot seperately. The resulting visual glitches and annoyances are something you have to deal with when deciding to override the default settings.

The wings are fully animateable, but in this beta release they're only statically posed into a rather neutral position for now so they won't clip that much with your movements.
It is now easily possible to have draconic NPCs or companions with this mod. As the wing posing is now done inside the skeleton itself there's no need anymore for an animation to neutralize their pose.

Also there is no ability to fly or breath fire yet. This will come later, once I got some time to start with it.

ATTENTION! This race requires you to replace your "_male/skeleton.nif" and "_male/skeletonbeast.nif" files as well as the "_1stperson/skeleton.nif" file. By doing so you might loose certain features from other mods. By all means make backups before installing this mod!

Further information about usage and installation can be found below.


#############
# KNOWN INCOMPATIBILITIES
#############

Basically all mods with their own 3rd- or 1st-person skeleton files "might" get issues after replacing those with mine.
However, "Chingari's and Ismelda's Demon Race" and I think also "Breeze's Seducers" and likewise all race mods using similar bones in their skeletons should be fine, as my skeletons contain the same bones their's contain, for compatibility's sake.
Most mods from Loup Sombre, like "3rd person animations in 1st person view" or "Immersive 1st person" might have issues with this. For the 1st I have a compatible 1st-person skeleton available which is now included in the release.
Including my bones in an other skeleton file turned out to take only a couple of minutes. So there might be other compatibility skeletons included in later releases, if anybody tells me of any.
The Universal Skeleton mod by Growlf also supports my bones, but only an outdated version, so I included a compatibility pack with this.

Mods using similar scripting approaches as mine might get issues when 2 scripts try to control the same actor.
However, my "Scripted Argonian Feet" won't cause any trouble, as it only controls Argonians, no Dragons. And what modder would I be, if I can't even provide compatibility between my own mods?
So far I don't know of any "released" others and have a close look at any in-development mods I heard of using a similar scripting approach to mine. Please notify me, if you find any.


#############
# REQUIRED PLUGINS/TOOLS/PATCHES
#############

Game version 1.2.0416 (Not properly patched games are known to kill my scripts without notice!)

Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE) v0020 or higher, else my scripts won't work! (The initial Quest Script should warn you though, should it be missing.)

Robert's Male Body V4 or V5 (Basically any version should work, but the meshes were created fitting to V4 muscular.)

Team FantasyFigures Female Body (Though letting my scripts control every slot and enforcing only fitting meshes via the config menu should enable you to use just about every body mod for other races while dragons will still have TFF bodies.)


#############
# MORE INFORMATION AND INSTALLATION
#############

The scripts are dependant on the presence of so-called adapted meshes (NIF files). Initially there won't be many, thus the race won't be able to wear many items or might loose its unique shape while wearing them otherwise.
However, the scripts are designed to detect the presence of such files and react accordingly, to make use of them ingame, once you added them to your folders.

If at any time certain newly added adapted meshes won't work ingame, I designed a simple user-issued Update process for this purpose. Just type "StartQuest DrakeDragonRaceUpdateQuest" into your console and wait a little while after you closed the console again till a message pops up, telling you all items were properly updated.

If you might happen to be using this mod for some time and then considering the usage of one of the great "overhauls", which will alter all stats of your items, keep in mind this won't affect the stats of the already adapted copies as well.
To this purpose there's yet another Update process available. Just type "StartQuest DrakeDragonRaceUpdateStatsQuest" into your console and again wait a short time outside of the console till you get a similar success message. This will make the stats of all already adapted copies match the stats of their respective source items.

There's also some rather primitive Debug Mechanism available to help me and you with bug-tracking.
Type "set DrakeDragonRaceQuest.debug to 1" to turn it on, set this back to "0" to turn it off again.
When this is enabled you can make all actors carrying dragon race control tokens (ideally should all be dragons) light up in green color by typing "set DrakeDragonRaceQuest.debugShowRaceToken to 1" into your console.
To light up all actors carrying reverter tokens (should be all others so they don't accidentally get dragon bodyparts by equipping an adapted item) in red type "set DrakeDragonRaceQuest.debugShowRevToken to 1" into your console.
This way you can see if all actors received their proper tokens and are under control by my scripts as they should be or not. To turn it off simply set these back to "0" again.

To fine-tune a potential FPS hit by my scripts you can set some waiting parameters individually:
"set DrakeDragonRaceQuest.framesToSkip to XXX" - define how many frames the control tokens should skip by doing nothing until they act again. Default is "10", so they basically execute only each 10th frame.
"set DrakeDragonRaceQuest.itemsRevertPerFrame to XXX" - define how many inventory items a reverter token should scan for the need of reversion in each run. Default is "100".

To re-access the initial configuration menu at all times just type "set DrakeDragonRaceQuest.doConfig to 1" and wait a few seconds for the menu to pop up. Keep in mind though that you might need to reequip your clothing for changes to take effect when doing this in a running game!

Here's a list of all current configuration variables of the main control quest script (DrakeDragonRaceQuest). Access them the same way as the others or via the ingame config menu:
"showclaws" - want dragon shape hands with claws instead of human? ("1" or "0")
"showfeet" - want dragon shape feet with bent legs? ("1" or "0")
"showtail" - want dragon tail? ("1" or "0")
"showwings" - want dragon wings? ("1" or "0"); Yes, you can select "only tail", "only wings" or "both".
"showhelmet" - currently of no use, best leave at "1".
"forcehelmet" - want forced unequipping of non-fitting helmets? ("1" or "0")
"forceupper" - want forced unequipping of non-fitting chest items? ("1" or "0")
"forcelower" - want forced unequipping of non-fitting leg items (removing the bent legs when worn)? ("1" or "0")
"forcehands" - want forced unequipping of non-fitting hand items (removing claws and armblades when worn)? ("1" or "0")
"forcefeet" - want forced unequipping of feet items (removing the dragon feet when worn)? ("1" or "0")
"forcetail" - want forced unequipping of items for the tail slot (removing tail and wings when worn)? ("1" or "0")
"forcecombined" - force the unequipping even for so-called combined-slot items, occupying more than 1 slot at once (like the Arena Raiment or the DB Armor)? This is for making an exception for this kind of items only. ("1" or "0")

These settings currently control all 3 races (color-schemes) at once.


---Manual Install:

The folder structure inside the archive's "00 Main" folder is identical to the folder structure inside your data folder.
Just take care all folders go into their respective counterparts.
I packed everything into my own sub-folders inside the folder structure, so nothing will get overwritten unless it's intended.
If asked to overwrite any folders, you can safely answer "yes". Contrary to what its title suggests it won't overwrite the folders but simply add the new files into them.

There are alternative lowerbody meshes for those of us who don't like the reptilian anatomy of my dragons or just want different underwear.
The files are inside "meshes/characters/DrakeDragon/male". Their names should be self-explanatory.
Simply replace "DragonLegs_dcpart.nif" with the one you prefer instead. Take care whichever one you prefer ends up with exactly this filename. And don't forget to make backups in case you reconsider later!

By default all you need is inside "00 Main". Just copy its contents into your data folder and you will be set.
- If you prefer the older, less-scaley, textures, they can be found inside "01 Old Textures". Just copy its contents into your data folder afterwards and let it overwrite when asked.
- If you happen to be using any of Loup Sombre's mods, "3rd Person Animations In 1st Person View" or "Immersive 1st Person", I think even "Deadly Reflex 6" or "Unneccessary Violence" are using his skeletons mainly, there's a compatibility patch adding my bones to his 1st person skeletons to be found inside "02 Loup Sombre". Just copy its contents into your data folder.
- For maximum compatibility I advise using Growlf's Universal Skeletons, as they include most mods' custom bones I know of. I updated Growlf's files to the latest state of my bones and included a complete compatibility package in an additional 7z. To use it right away simply copy the contents of either "03 Universal Skeleton - controllable" or "03 Universal Skeleton - total controllable" into your data folder. They contain the respective skeleton files according to Growlf's original package. Read up the instructions of his mod to know what's the difference between the two.


---BAIN:

This package should be completely BAIN-ready now, including optional sub-packages and alternatives.


---OBMM OMOD conversion:

The archive comes OMOD-ready with OMOD conversion data. In OBMM just click "create" in the bottom row of buttons and select "Add archive".
If you're asked to import the information from the conversion data, answer yes, and after this is finished and you see the fields filled in, click "Create omod".
If you activate the OMOD, all files will automatically go to their respective locations inside your data folder and you will be asked about optional features or replacement files.


If I used anything YOU created without your permission, it's definitely not on purpose. Just tell me if you want to get credits or if I even should remove your work from my mod immediately.


#############
# BONUS GIFT
#############

If you made it this far in reading my readme, then here's something you might enjoy as a reward. I think I'll keep adding these little gifts into my future releases' readmes from now on. Short stories from Drake's childhood memories:

### The Little Dragon And Roasted Apples ###

In his youth Drake was a little a loner, but he was of exceptional skills already, just because he practiced everything that much, only so the others simply would realize "he exists" and is of use to something, has a value. In many things he was way ahead of his comrades or colleagues in school, even of his nest-brothers and -sisters born around the same time as he was.

Controlling their inner fire is an important task for young dragons, so they got a special course dedicated to it with an Elder master telling them the backgrounds of this ability and all the tricks to master it. So in this "school" back then one day one of his colleagues came up with the question what's so important about "controlling" the fire, if it already serves a fine purpose just creating the strongest and hottest flame you can manage to strike down or injure your foes. The answer of course was, it's not all about power in life. Every dragon can manage to create a huge and devastating fire without much practice quite fine. But all you will get from that is destruction, nothing else. Your inner fire is not only a weapon, it is a tool. You can use it to warm yourself when in cold environments, by heating up your body, without exhausting all your resources in one blow and successively dying of the cold. You can use it to melt things or deform them, create something new from metal, like in smithing. With some use you can even cook with it, without ever burning your meal down to ashes, of course. But this needs a lot of practice. Then he let slip the key sentence of this little story: "Just imagine a legendary Elder dragon master could've been able to control his fire to an extent where he can balance an apple on the flame, keeping it in place while constantly turning it around and carefully roasting it from all sides through and through!"

This story got Drake curious and he started practicing, so one day, five and a half years later, he went up to his teacher in the middle of the lesson, the little innocent cutie he was, and just proudly told "Master? I thought about what you told us five years ago and started practicing it. May I demonstrate you how well I performed?". The teacher actually not knowing what the little one was even talking about just let him proceed and Drake demonstrated in front of the whole class to which extent he trained to control his inner fire already… by doing just like told in the story, spinning an apple spiked onto his claw while using another claw to peel away the skin in a spiral, then throwing it up into the air, keeping it balanced in the middle of a carefully maintained vertical blow of fire, making it spin around slowly and steadily roasting each side of it for pretty much the same amount through and through, until he finally let it drop into his teacher's hands, a perfectly roasted apple without any signs of burns anywhere to be found. After this task he was just standing there smiling, the proud little dragon he was, asking how he performed and if he did everything right, exactly how their master taught them back then… and didn't really understand the perplexed and even shocked expression in his teacher's face after the Elder master speechlessly was watching the little one do something not even the most-skilled legendary masters in existence were ever known to be able to!

The story was never meant to be taken seriously. It was just an example of what one "could" do with perfect control over one's inner fire "in theory"! Yet there he was, that little dragon who just performed the likely most-complicated task ever to be performed by a student of his class, putting to shame their very ancestors of legend who didn't even come close to that degree of control over their inner fire during their whole lives! And he wasn't even aware of how impossible a task he just performed, and with ease, after only five and a half years of practice! Now he was just sitting there smiling, a little proud of himself but still expecting everybody else to be able to do exactly the same, as they were told it could be done, and he just did.

Well, that's pretty much exactly the way Drake is, a little naive at times, not aware of how "exceptional" his own skills actually are, until he's finally told so by others, that doing these things really wasn't that "normal" for dragons in general as he thought it was. Oh, and this weakness for sweet apples roasted in his own fire that way becomes a returning feature throughout the whole story, just telling.

I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.


#############
# UPDATES
#############

v0.0.8 intermediate pre-beta release, now contains all packages in one, all files checked for fitting, NIF bugs fixed, OBSE and version check no longer fails, upperbody slot-control bug finally fixed, BAIN-ready, OMOD-ready

v0.0.7 intermediate pre-beta release, only 3 different color-schemes (races), now supporting Robert's Male Body V4 and Team FantasyFigures Female Body


#############
# CONTACT
#############

If you have questions, comments or suggestions for improving this mod, you can reach me by sending a PM to Drake the Dragon at the Bethesda Game Studios forums.


#############
# CREDITS
#############

For resources I used in creation:
AlienSlof - for the textures used on claws and blades. The Black Dragon color-scheme is a layered blending of my dragon textures, Slof's Xivilai textures and the curved lines from her Dremora textures, taken apart and reassembled with a fire shader applied. For the different layers used for blending all credits go to her.
Loth DeBonneville and SickleYield - for the claws meshes from Slof's Claws For Demons resource.
Chingari and Ismelda Lasombra - the skeleton I expanded by adding my own bones into most likely was from their awesome Demon Race. So in theory both races should be fully compatible as a beneficial side-product.
Breeze - the skeleton I expanded by adding my own bones into may as well have been from Breeze's Seducers, I can't remember anymore. The compatibility aspect should apply here, too.
Robert2 - for his awesome male body meshes I used the legs of as base for the dragon's bent legs and deformed the upperbody into hopefully anatomically-satisfying wings.
Corwyn and TeamFF - for the female body meshes I deformed into my female dragons.
Loup Sombre - for his 1st-person skeleton from 3rd-Person Animations In 1st-Person View I expanded to include my new bones into to make both mods compatible to each other.
Growlf - for his Universal Skeleton resource I expanded with latest-state custom bones and added in for compatibility.

The OBSE Team, ianpatt, behippo, scruggsywuggsy the ferret and all their contributors - for creating and maintaining their invaluable Script Extender, without which nothing of this race would ever be possible.

Bethesda Softworks - for creating this awesome game and giving us the possibility to mod the heck out of it. Also because I reshaped their Argonian head and accompanied meshes to create my dragon heads.


Special thanks to people who helped me during troublesome periods of development (and life):
Throttlekitty - for the invaluable help with knowledge, resources and advice I needed during creation of the new head mesh.
Scanti - for all the tools and scripts to create and edit EGM and TRI files like the famous Conformulator.
Kurtchekov (aka M1A2 ABRAMS) - for the constant suggestions on how to alter the wings' anatomy, which helped me in deciding on their new shape, and other inspiring suggestions to further improve this mod.
RatherInconsiderateFellow, Lordsoulstrike, CyberZeroX and other regular followers of my WIP threads, you know who you are - for helping me continue development by play-testing textures, meshes and my scripts in times when I couldn't play-test myself or even didn't have access to my files.

Fearil - for creating the first sets of adapted meshes for Vanilla clothing and armor for the masses.


#############
# LEGAL / USAGE OF MY STUFF
#############

I have a simple policy. I mod for myself first and foremost (though I do listen to requests and wishes in the process of course), and like to show off the results. If then anybody sees something he'd like to get hold of, he usually gets it. There's no point in holding back stuff I created. I'd rather be excited to see what others might create from it.
The feet, the tail, the armblades, the kneespikes, the horns, all spikes and blades down the spine and tail, all were created from scratch, starting with a cube in Blender. These are 100% my own work and I can grant their re-use in other works freely.
The base dragon textures and the Red-Golden color-scheme should be free of other modders' properties, free to use in any way one finds appropriate. The Black Dragon textures however consist mostly of textures from AlienSlof and I can't give permission for their re-use, if you don't ask Her previously. If you have Slof's permission, you have mine.

The highly sophisticated scripting used in this mod is something I'm working on right from the start of my modding phase. As this race should proof, it can be used to achieve just about every custom-shaped bodyparts one might imagine, acting as "real" bodyparts. So you can have a totally unique body shape on a per-race basis.
These scripts were meant to be a "modders' resource" right from the start, in the hopes to some day see an abundance of different and unique custom races in Oblivion... and not just all using one and the same body.
The work on them is not yet finished, as you might be able to tell, but still they're free to use to achieve similar things to this race.

In general it isn't even necessary to ask, though my inborn curiosity demands knowledge from me of what is done with my stuff. Politely asking is always appreciated, though as long as it's not for stuff that isn't mine my "yes" is granted.
Just in case, please refrain from running around, showing My stuff everywhere and telling it's Your's... don't make me reconsider my policy.