Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[Gabe]

I own this on Steam so have the updated version is too, the one that was free - is it the Enhanced Edition? Anyway, I've never played it - is there a list of recommended mods? Many years ago I recall there was a website that suggested about 200 different mods, which seems extreme, but I assume there are a few that fix stuff/add stuff/make it look nice that people tend to get?

[dataDave]

11 hours ago, Gabe said:

I own this on Steam so have the updated version is too, the one that was free - is it the Enhanced Edition? Anyway, I've never played it - is there a list of recommended mods? Many years ago I recall there was a website that suggested about 200 different mods, which seems extreme, but I assume there are a few that fix stuff/add stuff/make it look nice that people tend to get?

 

Modding Skyrim can be very, very time consuming. I’ve been doing it once every two years since 2014.

 

Finding ‘good’ mods can be very subjective, and comes down to personal taste and whichever theme you’re going for. Even asking how to simply enhance the vanilla game is a barrel of fish for an answer (that’s not the right context for that phrase, but you get what I mean).

 

First of all you’ll want a clean installation of the game, and then Mod Organiser 2 somewhere else on your hard drive. After that you’re best rolling back the game to a pre-anniversary state so that all the best mods are compatible (AE brought nothing much of worth anyway). 

 

Once that’s done you need to clean the game files using SSEEdit and install SKSE. Then you can start adding mods.

 

Look for Gamer Poets’ tutorials for all of the above on YouTube. He’s by far the best tutor to follow when it comes to this stuff.

 

I can recommend a whole host of stability, system, and display mods which will only alter things under the hood. Handy if you want a stable game that runs above 60FPS before going crazy with whatever else.

[Mallet]

Check out wabbajack as well.

 

It's a program that will auto install mod lists for you and there are quite a few Skyrim lists to pick from. Everything from Skyrim plus type lists to full blown overhauls like Wildlander.

 

I had a full STEP list installed that the recent update fucked up, I'll have to see about rolling back maybe. I wouldn't mind the updates if they actually fixed the game but all they ever are is fixes to the paid dlc store

[marcus]

Played this on the 360, Switch and now Xbox Series X, its as good as ever.   Cant help but wonder why in around a decade no-one has been able to make a better game than this.

[Thor]

18 hours ago, marcus said:

Played this on the 360, Switch and now Xbox Series X, its as good as ever.   Cant help but wonder why in around a decade no-one has been able to make a better game than this.

Well, that's subjective, but at the same time I do agree, there's nothing quite like Skyrim. Its world, its characters, its many stories and adventures. It's just a wonderful game, and playing it again after a long hiatus always feels like coming home.  In fairness, Destiny does that as well for me when I take a long break. 

[womblingfree]

On 21/09/2022 at 23:03, Mars said:

I'm looking forward to my annual dabble with this - playing it in November & December when it's cold out and cosy inside is a ritual.  Just lovely.

Downloaded it again after reading this. I need a new endless open world to drag me away from Far Cry 5, and this is much more festive.

[SaintAnselm]

There is just something about this game that even today still hasn’t been beaten, it’s just so comforting to sit down and play and lose hours in its freezing tundra world.

[fat flatulent git]

For me, Skyrim's great strength is its accessibility and how easy it is to get into.

 

The combat is extremely easy, with very little in the way of memorising button and keypad combinations to pull off the moves.  So you can come back to Skyrim years later and get right back into it, without having to remind yourself how to pull off a block.  And the various forms of combat are sufficiently different from each other to keep the combat fresh.

 

Crafting doesn't involve any tedious minigames, and the ingredients you need can be bought easily all over the place, with the exception of Daedra hearts.  Plus they don't wear out - once you've made some armour it can only be improved, it won't decline.  Weapon enchantments run out but they are easily topped up anywhere on the map.

 

The quest log is easy to follow, and shows you where you have to go.  Also, there's a spell to point you in the right direction.  The only fly in the ointment is the tedious pillar and door puzzles, which I just look up online.

 

The main quest in underwhelming, certainly.  Nobody in Skyrim seemed remotely bothered once I killed Alduin and the threat of dragons was removed.  And it certainly doesn't feel like a "bitter civil war" is raging when you can traverse the entire map and barely see a soul.  It needs a much more populated world - I assume there are mods to take care of that.

 

Obviously some people will prefer the challenge of, say, Elden Ring, but for me the fact that it's so easy just to pick up and play Skyrim is a huge bonus.

[Jarik]

Got the PS5 upgrade for the PS4 Special (not Anniversary) edition and was rather surprised to find that my original PS4 modlist was not only still there but it all loaded and appeared to be working fine.  I take from that that the only real difference between the PS4 and PS5 versions is framerate and load times?

 

Nothing wrong with that of course.  In fact the faster loading and smoother visuals help keep me immersed in the world and the adventure.

[marcus]

Been ploughing my way through this again, this time on the XBox Series X and its still wonderful.  Visually, it is still one of the most beautiful games I have played, the weather effects in particular (I use some mods) are spectacular and it always looks to lush and gorgeous on my OLED screen.  

 

I am over level 40, and some bugs have started to appear.  I am unable to get into Jorrvaskr which is locked and noone has the key, in the quest Legends Lost I am unable to complete it because I already items Wraithguard and Sunder as I beat the centurion and got them both a while back, but it appears the game does not recognize this the quest highlight marker points towards using a valve which does nothing.   Most annoyingly, is that the battle music is on an infinitie loop for some reason, it took me a while to realise it but when it did register it became too annoying so now I just have the music off which actually works pretty well despite how much I love Skyrim music.   No doubt there will be more, but it does feel the further I get into the game, the more bugs appear.

[Mallet]

Like I said in the Starfield thread people like to bash Bethesda, and they do deserve some of it, but where else do you get games like this?

 

Did you install the unofficial patch?

[simms]

I'd thought I'd revisit for the first time Tamriel in VR.  To ease the burden of installing random mods which may conflict etc I'd thought I'd use a program called Wabbajack which allows you to install a bulk of mods which should all work nicely together and automate the whole process to minimise tinkering for days on end.  Within Wabbajack I downloaded a modlist called FUS (Fundamentals, Updates, and Stuff) which is specific to Skyrim VR.  Its been mostly painless and wow for the short time I've spent in Skyrim it looks amazing.  For more VR immersion it includes two important mods called HIGGS and VRIK.  HIGGS allows for collision detection which allows you to use your hands to interact with objects and npc's in VR.  you can push NPC's around and grab them, hold their hand to guide them where you want (although they will often refuse or threaten to hurt you).  VRIK gives you a body so you're not just a floating camera within VR.  The FUS modlist give loads of essential mods within range from important fixes, visual and audio upgrades and gameplay enhancements.  Can't wait to get properly stuck in.

 

https://github.com/Kvitekvist/FUS

 

 

[Gabe]

Hmm, this Wabbajack might mean I finally play this game, which I've had since release, for the first time! But how to pick which mod pack to go for? 

[dataDave]

That's the issue. You have to go with someone else's mod list; and there's always something not quite right, or something they've missed. I spent a good couple of weeks messing around with Wabbajack but then ended up going back to my separately customised profiles in Mod Organizer.

 

I could have been packaging my mod lists and providing them on here to save people time, but I'd never recommend anyone run with any of my mod lists.

[Simmy]

Speaking of Skyrim - I've got release Skyrim on PC.

 

I know there's been a string of releases since then and I'm wondering - do they add anything over the original Skyrim release? Is it worth upgrading?

 

Cheers!

[dataDave]

1 hour ago, Simmy said:

Speaking of Skyrim - I've got release Skyrim on PC.

 

I know there's been a string of releases since then and I'm wondering - do they add anything over the original Skyrim release? Is it worth upgrading?

 

Cheers!

Skyrim SE is 64bit, so it can handle a lot more stuff going on without shitting the bed. They were offering free upgrades around the release. I’m not sure if Skyrim owners can still download it for free.

[Simmy]

16 minutes ago, dataDave said:

Skyrim SE is 64bit, so it can handle a lot more stuff going on without shitting the bed. They were offering free upgrades around the release. I’m not sure if Skyrim owners can still download it for free.

 

Thanks, I don't think so - it's €9,99 for me currently in the store.

 

There's also the Anniversary upgrade which is €19,99 - I'm confused what the difference is between the two if any?

 

Sorry if it's obvious, I just can't really decipher from the descriptions.

[Mallet]

The anniversary edition comes with all of the creation club add ons included. You get the game, the official dlcs and a lot of 3rd party dlcs of varying quality. 

 

The SE is the game and the 3 dlcs Bethesda released themselves. 

[dataDave]

Stick to the SE. The additions from Anniversary are laughable. You’re force-fed ‘premium’ mods which are only premium because you normally have to pay for them. They’re actually dog shit.

 

SE for greater mod compatibility also.

[simms]

On 30/10/2022 at 19:38, dataDave said:

That's the issue. You have to go with someone else's mod list; and there's always something not quite right, or something they've missed. I spent a good couple of weeks messing around with Wabbajack but then ended up going back to my separately customised profiles in Mod Organizer.

 

I could have been packaging my mod lists and providing them on here to save people time, but I'd never recommend anyone run with any of my mod lists.

The mod list I’ve got has some 250 mods so I think it covers the main ones plus VR mods maybe different to flat screen mods which are most likely more mature.  To be honest I’m so wowed by the VRIK and HIGGS mods I’ll be happy with just those two mods never mind the rest 😂 

 

I believe you can add and remove mods from this mod list but granted it may cause issues.  

[dataDave]

2 hours ago, simms said:

The mod list I’ve got has some 250 mods so I think it covers the main ones plus VR mods maybe different to flat screen mods which are most likely more mature.  To be honest I’m so wowed by the VRIK and HIGGS mods I’ll be happy with just those two mods never mind the rest 😂 

 

I believe you can add and remove mods from this mod list but granted it may cause issues.  

 

Just jump in and lose yourself. If problems arise you can always look at alternatives later, or try to omit the problems manually. I try to tell myself that things can't end up any more worse than the base game alone.

[Monkeyboy]

I've started this again as I've never completed the main story, even though that's probably the least interesting thing about the game. So I'm playing the Anniversary edition on series S, with all of the Creation Club content and no mods so I can I get the achievements. And it's ace!

 

I've decided to go hardcore, survival mode, no fast travel and camping where I can. To be honest, survival mode isn't too harsh once you get used to it, a case of making sure you've got plenty of good grub cooked up before you head out. I started the Golden Plantations quest early on, so I now have a complete farm up and running which provides plenty of gold and produce when I stumble back from my adventures.

 

There's been one time when survival mode really got to me, and that's because I lost my horse. The worst time to lose it, as I hadn't prepared. I had no camping equipment, hardly any food or gold, so had to make the journey on foot back to my farm. I was fucked by the time I got back. Low health, low stamina, and magic at nearly zero (and not regenerating). I've never been more thankful to be able to do some cooking and hit the hay! Lesson learned!

 

For an old game, it still looks great, with a rock solid frame rate as well.

[George Clooney]

I’ve come back to this after a looooooong time.  I think I got about half way through the stuff in Solstheim, completed the Dawnguard stuff, and in the base game had finished the thieves, mage, legion, and dark brotherhood faction stories, hadn’t really done much with the companions (though that because at one part you get inflicted with something that I thought was pretty useful), think I’d done the “main” story that each of the towns had in them, was a thane in all the holds…..so thought I’d played a lot and seen most the game.  But Jesus, I’m coming across a fair bit of stuff I’d not seen before.  I know some of it has been added since, but some of it feels like stuff that was probably there from the off that I’d not noticed the note that stars the quest or something daft.

 

Im playing as a full caster, as I’ve never tried that before - I’ve specced a little into some if them before, but never gone full in.  My last 2 big play throughs, one was a heavy armour wearing dual wielder, the second was the sneaky archer that often gets memed about.  That said, now I’m about level 20, while I’m cosplaying emperor palpatine most the time running around dual casting sparks, I’ve got enough extra points to go into alteration for the bonus to armour spells and magic damage protection, and into conjuration to improve my conjoured weapon damage, which can make me a fairly tanky dual wielder again.  The bonus is though, you can make it so conjoured weapons soul trap enemies meaning it’s a good way to far soul gems, as long as your not running into super hard enemies.

[Monkeyboy]

I don't remember the game looking quite this nice when it first came out. Some screen grabs from playing on the Series S, no mods...