Is there a mod to make followers follow closely?

[RyAnTi]

This has been bothering me since I've started playing skyrim, and I cannot stand it anymore after tried palworld recently. Is there a mod to make followers more responsive, instead of start following after you're already 20 feet away from them?

[RyAnTi]

I've tried NFF but I'd say the difference is minimal. The best I've tried is SDA when you tell Serana to follow beside you but this feature is usually broken and it only applies to Serana.

[Quevik]

There's a mod called "followers as companions 2"
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/41502

I've never used it myself so i cannot say how well it works but you might want to give it a try.

[Death Approaches]

What are you expecting, first? NFF is fantastic! As is AFT, EFF, etc.

It's a complex issue because It's only a single variable for each stat, like fFollowSpaceBetweenFollowers or fFollowerSpacingAtDoors... but what's "AtDoor" to bethesda? Someone could theoretically make an AI-like mod with lots of complex branching scripting, and rewrite the follower code completely to dynamically change this every second, check the navmesh dimensions, spread out when you can, get close when you need to, calculate pathing in realtime after each step, etc. but global script loops impacts the dated engine we're working in.

Most mods (as you've seen) do not set them "close" close, out of experience. Because it jams up interior navigation, 6' is much worse than 60' - and when they get in front of you, you literally cannot move or fight, your line-of-sight is blocked by your summons and followers, and their spells will hit you instead of flying to the target, or they won't cast/fire at all... it also makes it much easier for enemies to take out everyone at once, when you're in a "clump". Sometimes they'll trap you in a corridor, and you have to 'tcl' and clip through them to move again. This is why USSEP actually extends the default following distance not make it closer,

If you set them close, make sure to get a "shove" mod like GOOMW (get out of my way!, not get out of the way, with GOOTW you have to initiate dialog and politely ask them to move, with the other you can just shove em.) so getting through a doorway isn't a run-away-and-come-back ordeal each time that can take an actual minute for each door. If you have 3+ followers, may the Daedric Princes have mercy on your tortured soul, and it still won't help if the door is at the end of a narrow corridor.

This is why I ask what you're expecting. If you want them so close you can reach in their pockets, you're going to regret that and revert it the first time you come to a narrow doorway... the AI is just not AI "enough" to handle this well.

[RyAnTi]

Originally posted by Death Approaches:

What are you expecting, first? NFF is fantastic! As is AFT, EFF, etc.

It's a complex issue because It's only a single variable for each stat, like fFollowSpaceBetweenFollowers or fFollowerSpacingAtDoors... but what's "AtDoor" to bethesda? Someone could theoretically make an AI-like mod with lots of complex branching scripting, and rewrite the follower code completely to dynamically change this every second, check the navmesh dimensions, spread out when you can, get close when you need to, calculate pathing in realtime after each step, etc. but global script loops impacts the dated engine we're working in.

Most mods (as you've seen) do not set them "close" close, out of experience. Because it jams up interior navigation, 6' is much worse than 60' - and when they get in front of you, you literally cannot move or fight, your line-of-sight is blocked by your summons and followers, and their spells will hit you instead of flying to the target, or they won't cast/fire at all... it also makes it much easier for enemies to take out everyone at once, when you're in a "clump". Sometimes they'll trap you in a corridor, and you have to 'tcl' and clip through them to move again. This is why USSEP actually extends the default following distance not make it closer,

If you set them close, make sure to get a "shove" mod like GOOMW (get out of my way!, not get out of the way, with GOOTW you have to initiate dialog and politely ask them to move, with the other you can just shove em.) so getting through a doorway isn't a run-away-and-come-back ordeal each time that can take an actual minute for each door. If you have 3+ followers, may the Daedric Princes have mercy on your tortured soul, and it still won't help if the door is at the end of a narrow corridor.

This is why I ask what you're expecting. If you want them so close you can reach in their pockets, you're going to regret that and revert it the first time you come to a narrow doorway... the AI is just not AI "enough" to handle this well.

Thank you for this dedicated reply. Don't get me wrong, ofc NFF is amazing, I can't live without this mod. What I want is similar to the one mentioned by the first guy "followers as companions".

In terms of mod choices I go as immersive and realistic as possible. What really bugs me out is that followers are "dumb" in terms of following. They suddenly stop and stand there like a log for seconds for no reason, and they literally can't jump.

I usually just use a single follower most of the time and I generally stay away from conjuration (including my followers). I also have Disable Follower Collision so blocking the door shouldn't be a problem.

What I want is a modern following mechanism, with a outcome similar to Palworld and what's shown in the recent Dragon's Dogma 2 trailer, that followers kind of "read your input" so they are like shadows in racing games. After reading your explanation of the navmesh and scripting it seems like such mod does not exist. But thank you anyway, I'll try out the mod mentioned above and see if it's compatible with NFF.