Elder Scrolls Skyrim thread

[TheMix]

I fired this up to see the enhanced graphics and how it stands up over time (great). I'm playing a sneaky thief, no mods but I cheated some weapons and armor and money for a horse. Then I went to Falkreath to get the immortal dog quest from the blacksmith. To my surprise he did not offer it and the dog was nowhere to be found.

Instead I did some quests for the Jarl until he made me a thane. As a reward I got a warrior companion named Rayya - I don't remember that at all. So did they replace the dog exploit with a real companion?

I thought you had to run into the dog first, before you talk to the blacksmith? My vague recollection is that you find him outside of town on the road. I think either direction, so you may have to check both.

When you are a thane, I think you get a steward. I always immediately by the land and start building my house; and assign the steward to the house. Maybe if you don't do that, then the person becomes a follower? I've never run into that.

[Jaymann]

I searched up and down the road where I have found it before. If anyone gets the dog in a new game please post.

[Blackhawk]

Barbas? He appears in Falkreath after you've been in town. Try talking to the guards. He's still there - he's vital to a significant quest, so they wouldn't remove him. He is not, however, a good choice for a sneaky thief build. He's not actually a follower, so he doesn't know to ignore you sneaking and/or stealing. IE - you'll never be able to be in stealth because Barbas will see you, and he'll report your crimes, that son of a bitch.

[Daehawk]

I remember a talking dog but I think that was Morrowind. He was down in some vampires cave.

[dbt1949]

He was in Skyrim.

[Blackhawk]

I remember a talking dog but I think that was Morrowind. He was down in some vampires cave.

Barbas actually was in Morrowind, but he wasn't a talking dog.

Spoiler:

He was the scamp merchant.

There was, however, a talking mudcrab.

[Max Peck]

Barbas also shows up in ESO, iirc.

[Madmarcus]

Do you have to be at least a certain level for him to appear? I hate having him around and I vaguely remember trying to do everything I could in Falkreath really quickly to get out of there before he appeared. Sooner or later I always run into him though.

[Jaymann]

Funny, I couldn't get him to spawn. Probably just as well since Rayya will at least crouch with me. If he does show up I will just do his quest and be rid of him.

[Daehawk]

Imagine that someday soon you could just speak to a npc in game with your own voice and they would speak back to you normally.

[dbt1949]

This latest version of Skyrim has as many bugs as Fallout 4. It used to be so bug free.

[Carpet_pissr]

I would recommend at least the Static Mesh Improvement Mod and the Unofficial Patch for your version. They're must-haves, even on unmodded playthroughs.

I am FINALLY getting around to playing this (especially now that I finally have a card that can handle it), and installed the static mesh mod. I don't want to go mod crazy, but I also added Sky UI because I vaguely remember you guys singing its praises as a must have on here quite a while ago. I really am just looking for graphics uprgrades at this point (I have also installed the unofficial patch).

There are just SO many though, my God. Anyone have suggestions for like a "one and done" graphics overhaul mod?

Trying NOBLE SKYRIM and STATIC MESH but those two are apparently incompatible according to Vortex. Now maybe just need an NPC graphics mod. When I am playing with NOBLE, everything looks great EXCEPT the NPC's, so their low res textures really stand out in a high res surrounding world.

[TheMix]

There are just SO many though, my God. Anyone have suggestions for like a "one and done" graphics overhaul mod?

Check out Wabbajack. There might be one that fits your wishes. And you won't have to worry about compatibility issues (presumably). Though you likely will need to sign up for a month of Nexus.

Edit: There are some tags that might help. I see "Visual Overhaul" and "Visuals Only" options.

[Fardaza]

If you do decide to use Wabbajack (which I highly recommend), the Aurora list says it's a visual overhaul focusing on consistency. Could be just what you're looking for.

[Carpet_pissr]

I need to go back in this thread and read about Wabbajack. Currently using Vortex and it’s making things insanely easy (not that I’ve ever been a big modder, but self correcting mod order, self ‘healing’ issues and such seems like magic to me).

With the current mods I’m running I’m guessing I’ve improved the very janky vanilla looks by a good 70%, so I’m happy for now (really, I think it was the downright horrible hair that was distracting me initially, but one of the mods I installed fixed it).

[Daehawk]

[Scraper]

That looks really good, but just thinking about having to track down and install all of the mods to get the game in that state makes my head hurt.

[Carpet_pissr]

Whoa. Might have to try that unless it will take hours of modding to get there.

[Daehawk]

Even I would never bother with that many. But I posted it to show just what Skyrim can still do even now days.

[Skinypupy]

That looks really good, but just thinking about having to track down and install all of the mods to get the game in that state makes my head hurt.

My thoughts exactly.

[Blackhawk]

Whoa. Might have to try that unless it will take hours of modding to get there.

You get to choose.

A) Yes it will, but you'll know how everything works when you're done.

or

B) No it won't, but you won't understand what's happening under the hood.

Of note, from the video:

my modlist is a modified NOLVUS by vektor with CABBAGE ENB + Puredarks DLSS for ENB
https://www.nolvus.net/
**Installing this will not make your game exactly like mine. I am building a mod list on top of it and tweaking a lot of it. But it will get you close.

[Blackhawk]

But ugh, that camera makes my head swim, and games don't make me dizzy - at all. The character is too far off to the side and the camera is too low, and I swear it looks like they're using head-bob in a third-person camera.

[Carpet_pissr]

Personally I couldn’t care less what’s happening under the hood. If I could simply check a box in settings to get that, I totally would.

Do we know how many mods that takes? I assume…lots?

[Daehawk]

Personally I couldn’t care less what’s happening under the hood. If I could simply check a box in settings to get that, I totally would.

Do we know how many mods that takes? I assume…lots?

No idea.He lists this in his description as something he uses. I dont know what it is.

https://www.nolvus.net/

[Punisher]

I recently saw a video from someone on tiktok that had a bunch of graphic mods being used in the VR version, with full haptics and motion tracking, and, my favorite, full AI speech recognition. You could talk to the game with a mic and it responds.
I messaged them twice to get a list of everything, hardware included, but still haven't gotten a response.
I'll have to at least try finding that AI thing.
I used to care a bit about under the hoid, but now NEED point and click mod installs.
I also don't think I ever finished Skyrim...maybe even no Bethesda game except i feel like i did finish oblivion but with few side missions.

[Blackhawk]

Personally I couldn’t care less what’s happening under the hood. If I could simply check a box in settings to get that, I totally would.

Do we know how many mods that takes? I assume…lots?

It's not about understanding the game engine, it's about knowing what all of the new features and changes do. There's no manual for a game with tons of mods, and when you see unexpected icons, items, NPCs, locations, workbenches, or whatever, having installed manually means that you have an idea of what all of that stuff is for. With that said, installing something this big manually is not for the faint hearted. It would take many hours, possibly spread over multiple days (like when I've done the STEP project install by hand), and troubleshooting is a pain in the ass.

As to how many mods, this is the base set he used: I would estimate many hundreds, and depending on how you define 'mod' (is a single download that contains six different plugins with different effects one mod, or six?), likely well over a thousand.

[Blackhawk]

Also, note that Nolvus uses forced third-person combat. That is an absolute no-go for me. It is, of course, described as 'Souls-like.'

[Carpet_pissr]

Personally I couldn’t care less what’s happening under the hood. If I could simply check a box in settings to get that, I totally would.

Do we know how many mods that takes? I assume…lots?

It's not about understanding the game engine, it's about knowing what all of the new features and changes do. There's no manual for a game with tons of mods, and when you see unexpected icons, items, NPCs, locations, workbenches, or whatever, having installed manually means that you have an idea of what all of that stuff is for. With that said, installing something this big manually is not for the faint hearted. It would take many hours, possibly spread over multiple days (like when I've done the STEP project install by hand), and troubleshooting is a pain in the ass.

As to how many mods, this is the base set he used: I would estimate many hundreds, and depending on how you define 'mod' (is a single download that contains six different plugins with different effects one mod, or six?), likely well over a thousand.

Ah OK, I see what you meant. That makes sense, but I guess the very few mods I've installed over the years usually don't change things enough to require learning anything new like icons, gameplay, etc. They have always either been to make very old games playable on modern systems, or just texture and graphics mods to make things prettier.

[Blackhawk]

I recently saw a video from someone on tiktok that had a bunch of graphic mods being used in the VR version, with full haptics and motion tracking, and, my favorite, full AI speech recognition. You could talk to the game with a mic and it responds.
I messaged them twice to get a list of everything, hardware included, but still haven't gotten a response.
I'll have to at least try finding that AI thing.
I used to care a bit about under the hoid, but now NEED point and click mod installs.
I also don't think I ever finished Skyrim...maybe even no Bethesda game except i feel like i did finish oblivion but with few side missions.

It's not clear if you're looking for mods for Skyrim or Skyrim VR.

For most of that in VR, look at FUS. It uses Wabbajack, which is a 1-click installer (well, nothing is truly one-click, but it's still an auto-installer that only requires a few manual steps.) I've installed it, used it, and chatted with the author. It's good stuff.

For general speech recognition, Dragonborn Speaks Naturally, which I believe is included in FUS.
For AI interaction, the ones I know of are Herika and Mantella I just checked, and the author of FUS is considering adding some of these.

But beware that the AI mods (not speech recognition, full AI) are extremely complicated to set up, have high hardware demands, and if you want the top quality, or a decent sounding voice (over a robot voice or just text), you're also looking at a licensing fee of some sort for one of the AI APIs.

And just to show what you can do with it (in this case, Herika), here is some free Crusty.

[Blackhawk]

Personally I couldn’t care less what’s happening under the hood. If I could simply check a box in settings to get that, I totally would.

Do we know how many mods that takes? I assume…lots?

It's not about understanding the game engine, it's about knowing what all of the new features and changes do. There's no manual for a game with tons of mods, and when you see unexpected icons, items, NPCs, locations, workbenches, or whatever, having installed manually means that you have an idea of what all of that stuff is for. With that said, installing something this big manually is not for the faint hearted. It would take many hours, possibly spread over multiple days (like when I've done the STEP project install by hand), and troubleshooting is a pain in the ass.

As to how many mods, this is the base set he used: I would estimate many hundreds, and depending on how you define 'mod' (is a single download that contains six different plugins with different effects one mod, or six?), likely well over a thousand.

Ah OK, I see what you meant. That makes sense, but I guess the very few mods I've installed over the years usually don't change things enough to require learning anything new like icons, gameplay, etc. They have always either been to make very old games playable on modern systems, or just texture and graphics mods to make things prettier.

The last time I did a manual install (including the full STEP project plus Legacy of the Dragonborn), it took probably 14 hours of work from the time I started, resulted in 700-800 mods, and ended up with me printing out a 'manual' of all of the important bits that was several hundred pages in a binder (I'd be using OneNote for that now.) Things like what all of the skills had been changed to, what started what quest and when, how special features worked, etc.

Even I would go for a one-click installer (likely Wabbajack as long as they had something that suited me.)

[Punisher]

I recently saw a video from someone on tiktok that had a bunch of graphic mods being used in the VR version, with full haptics and motion tracking, and, my favorite, full AI speech recognition. You could talk to the game with a mic and it responds.
I messaged them twice to get a list of everything, hardware included, but still haven't gotten a response.
I'll have to at least try finding that AI thing.
I used to care a bit about under the hoid, but now NEED point and click mod installs.
I also don't think I ever finished Skyrim...maybe even no Bethesda game except i feel like i did finish oblivion but with few side missions.

It's not clear if you're looking for mods for Skyrim or Skyrim VR.

I don't think ive finished either Skyrim and not sure if I've even started the VR version but thats the version I saw the mods in.
I think that guy in the video might need to up his meds..

[Blackhawk]

Oh, that guy has lots of videos. He does Fallout 4 VR, too.

[Daehawk]

[Punisher]

I am almost positive that I never finished Skyrim.
I don't even tjink I got very far at all..
I do know that I staryed over, what felt like, a bazillion times tjough. Enough that the intro cart ride and whatnot started giving me literal headaches which meant even smaller play times.
Questions.
1. Does anyone have a link to a mod that lets you completely skip all intro movies ivies AND that cart ride? Basically I load and go right into playing.
2. Does anyone know if #1 above and the various graphics mods and whatnot also work in the VR version?

[TheMix]

Realm of Lorkhan - Freeform Alternate Start

That is the one my VR game is using. However, I never actually "played" the VR game. I set it up using Wabbajack. I just never got around to actually playing other than an initial login to take a quick look around.

[Blackhawk]

Realm of Lorkhan - Freeform Alternate Start

That is the one my VR game is using. However, I never actually "played" the VR game. I set it up using Wabbajack. I just never got around to actually playing other than an initial login to take a quick look around.

Everything he said (except that I actually played it - and Realm of Lorkhan was awesome.

My general recommendation for VR (due to how tricky it is to find the right mods) is to use a Wabbajack. My specific recommendation is to go with FUS off of that list.

If you aren't familiar, Wabbajack is a tool that installs a complete set of mods, including config files, settings, and everything else, just as if the author had come into your house and set it up on your PC for you.And FUS is written by some big names in Skyrim modding. You absolutely have to follow the instructions step by step. Don't skip steps, don't skip links you're supposed to follow. But it's still a hell of a lot simpler than doing it by hand, and should give you a rock-solid install.

[Punisher]

Realm of Lorkhan - Freeform Alternate Start

That is the one my VR game is using. However, I never actually "played" the VR game. I set it up using Wabbajack. I just never got around to actually playing other than an initial login to take a quick look around.

Everything he said (except that I actually played it - and Realm of Lorkhan was awesome.

My general recommendation for VR (due to how tricky it is to find the right mods) is to use a Wabbajack. My specific recommendation is to go with FUS off of that list.

If you aren't familiar, Wabbajack is a tool that installs a complete set of mods, including config files, settings, and everything else, just as if the author had come into your house and set it up on your PC for you.And FUS is written by some big names in Skyrim modding. You absolutely have to follow the instructions step by step. Don't skip steps, don't skip links you're supposed to follow. But it's still a hell of a lot simpler than doing it by hand, and should give you a rock-solid install.

Thanks.
Once I remember to look into it I'll give it a try. Really prefer a click, click and your done option because I have trouble following instructions now, but its only a game. Worst case I deleted everything and start from scratch.

[Blackhawk]

That is the closest you will come to click click done. Modding with Wabbajack requires following a set of instructions, but modding by hand requires doing exactly the same thing for every mod. And Wabbajack eliminates most of the compatibility research and troubleshooting.

Plus, the author has a dedicated Discord for it (and he's a nice person, too.)

[Punisher]

Ok. Sounds good. Its on my lust.

[Daehawk]

Ok. Sounds good. Its on my lust.

Gaming perv