#Skyrim alternative start mods install#
#Skyrim alternative start mods mod#
#Skyrim alternative start mods free#

You can follow the modвЂ™s natural integration with SkyrimвЂ™s story or, if you prefer, use a mod like You Are Not The Dragonborn to turn off all the perks of being Dovahkiin and venture off to live the life of a relative nobody. Once you make your character and pick your start youвЂ™ll be deposited into the appropriate location with the appropriate gear. It lets you begin the game as a tavern patron, a necromancer in a hidden lair, a simple farmer, or a number of other interesting starting points in lieu of the scene at Helgen. Combined with TES V Savegame Manager (a 3rd party program that lets you easily switch between multiple character saves) Alternate Start is a good way to play Skyrim from a character-driven perspective. ItвЂ™s hard for me to keep myself from nudging Alternate Start higher on this list, purely because itвЂ™s such an important mod for my own play style.

#Skyrim alternative start mods install#

Better still, instead of having to select and install dozens of different individual armors and weapons, the Immersive mods each come with a variety of pieces and sets ready to be seamlessly integrated into the game. While there are hundreds of armor and weapon mods out there to get you out of your drab vanilla robes and plate, Hothtrooper44вЂ™s are known for their quality and, of course, their lore friendliness. If magic isnвЂ™t really your cup of mead, Hothtrooper44вЂ™s Immersive Armor and Immersive Weapons mods will add a much more tangible kind of variety to Skyrim. Of course all of these spells are lore-friendly, meaning that theyвЂ™re designed to complement the established tone and history of The Elder Scrolls seriesвЂ¦ Not to mention the fact that theyвЂ™re tremendously fun to play with. The Apocalypse spell package adds 140 spells, from practical-yet-mundane object summoning to magical tornadoes that suck up anything in their path. If you really want to roll up your sleeves and alter the guts of your game, youвЂ™ll be looking for some slightly more substantial razzle, and slightly more consequential dazzle. That said, True Vision ENB, Project ENB and RealVision ENB (pictured) are all popular choices for a reason.Д«ut honestly, the visual razzle-dazzle isnвЂ™t quite enough. The best way to sort out which one is for you is to spend an afternoon experimenting. The downside is that there are a lot of ENB configurations to choose from with varying impact on game performance. Even if you donвЂ™t consider yourself a graphics snob, once youвЂ™ve played Skyrim with a good ENB preset itвЂ™s practically impossible to go back to the gameвЂ™s vanilla lighting. ENBД®NB shaders and presets are the next step in getting Skyrim up to current visual standards.

#Skyrim alternative start mods free#

SMIM makes a lot of big changes to these smaller elements of the game, but when combined with a few texture and effect upgrades (like the free official High-Res Texture DLC, Skyrim Flora Overhaul, and Pure Waters) the overall effect is a tremendous improvement on the original.

If youвЂ™re returning from a jaunt through Dragon Age: Inquisition or any number of other slightly more recent next/current-gen games, the rough edges might just start to grate on you.

Round edges start looking more polygonal than you remember, and details much blurrier. Seams show when you focus too closely on mundane objects meant to hold up only at a generous distance. Though itвЂ™s not fair to call Skyrim ugly, time is rarely kind to game graphics. If nothing else, SkyUI might be the push you need to install Skyrim Script Extender (more commonly known as SKSE), a popular (and in some cases required) mod that expands what other mods are able to do. For example, thereвЂ™s a control panel in the Options menu that many recent mods plug into automatically, allowing players to fine-tune many of the more complex mod systems. While SkyUI changes a lot of things in favor of easier navigation (most notably SkyrimвЂ™s ridiculously cumbersome inventory) it adds a few new features too. When everything starts to feel a little too familiar, itвЂ™s time to take advantage of SkyrimвЂ™s robust modding scene for a total revamp. Before youвЂ™ve filled the basements of every one of your houses with wheel after wheel of firm yellow Eidar cheese. Before you have every title a character can have. Skyrim has been a constant presence on my hard drive since it was released just over 3 years ago, but as much as I love it I have to admit that there are only so many hours that you can spend playing before you know the map like the back of your hand. There are fewer new games coming out for players to sink their teeth into, but there is a moment of calm to dip into ever-deepening backlogs or return to time-tested favorites.

The winter release lull is a blessing and a curse.