LE Oblivion Lockpicking in Skyrim

[HEYT0M]

Okay. So.

 

after a bit of searching, ive not come up with anything, so I thought i'd ask here. Skip the next paragraph if you dont wanna hear my story-time.

So back in the old Oblivion days, I loved lockpicking in game. i was super proud of being able to pick level 100 locks at a low level without looking, and at times, even without listening.
then Fallout 3 came along and a new lockpicking mechanism was implemented. everyone liked it better, everyone thought it was the best thing ever and im here like "well s***, this is stupid; i dont want to pick like this! and why cant i pick this master lock without being level 100?" nevertheless, I was butthurt.

 

So here I am. i was wondering if someone could make a mod that brought back the old system. people have done some impressive stuff in bethesda games, mod wise, so why not a conversion/converge-en.

Is a "Oblivion Lockpicking In Skyrim" mod feasible?

also i found that a lot more people hated the Oblivion lockpicking.. so it may not be easy to find someone willing.

if Skyblivion was possible, why not the lockpicking?

Thanks in advance

-Tom

[iTurretOfficialGaming]

I definitely loved Oblivion's lock picking after playing it for the first time a little while back. Skyrim was too easy and never felt rewarding enough even if there was good loot. Oblivion had me sitting there quickloading for like 10 minutes and when I finally got it I would feel much more triumphant than in Skyrim. It probably had something to do with the fact that I could use one lockpick over and over if I only had one left and the "sweet spot" didn't change every time I quickloaded. Oblivion's was definitely the superior system. I, sadly, don't have the modding ability to bring the system into our beloved Skyrim.

[GrommashHellscream]

This is such a great idea. I have no idea why this is not already a mod. I think most people would love the Oblivion's lock picking system in Skyrim.

[EbrithilUmaroth]

The thing I really liked about Oblivion lockpicking was that it was actually skill based instead of just trial and error. I could pick any Master lock in Oblivion with only one or two tries with the minimum lockpicking level just because I'd done it so much that I could feel how the pins were reacting and when they would fall into place, but there's no skill to Skyrim lockpicking: like I said, it's nothing more than annoying, trivial, pointless trial and error. Plus Oblivions lockpicking was also much more realistic to how locks can actually be picked.

Edited July 6, 2015 by EbrithilUmaroth

[jakendrick3]

Speaking as someone who has picked a lock IRL, (my own, just to see if i could. Nothing illegal, no worries. I'm a skyrim thief, I steal sweatrolls not cars) I can attest Oblivion's lockpicking system is spot-on. It's the closest any game has gotten to the real thing IMO. And i was always good at it. Skyrim lockpicking sucks in comparison. I'm sorry but it does. But yeah please someone bring this back, and bethesda, TESVI had better have it!!!!!

[Madrias]

I'll also throw in my request for Oblivion's lockpicking. Skyrim's lockpicking, like Fallout New Vegas (and apparently Fallout 3 before it), is 90% pure luck and 10% frustration. Sure, the sweet-spot window narrows as you get harder locks, and sure, in Skyrim, you can theoretically pick master locks without putting a single extra point in lockpicking, but... I find Skyrim's lockpicking to be tedious and boring. So much so that I put a cheat mod in my load order specifically based around telling me where to put my pick to open the lock every time, because to be fair, I'm bored of the "flick the mouse around and mash buttons until picks don't break" minigame. It's not even fun, unlike Fallout New Vegas' terminal hacking, which the first couple times at least got a smile from me.

 

Oblivion, however, had an awesome lockpicking minigame. One, it was slightly challenging, which made sense. Want to be a thief? Better learn to lockpick. Harder locks had more pins to set (notice how some lore books still reference those? I want 'em back.) and screwing up reset your lock progress. I could see it easily tying into Skyrim's perk trees, too, forming a perfect blend of 'arcade' lockpicking (perks make things easier and reduce the chance of failure) with 'realistic' lockpicking (sticking an object in a lock doesn't always yield results without effort), while giving those of us who are feeling nostalgic a way to enjoy playing with pins in a skill-based minigame.

 

The way I see it, rather than Skyrim's default Lockpicking skill tree being useless other than to widen the 'sweet zone' for a pointless minigame, the perks could comfortably do something complimentary to the lockpicking effort.

 

If everyone will forgive me the long list, I'll just go through the perk tree and list what I think would be appropriate changes or additions to the perk tree.

 

Novice Locks - Novice Locks are easier to pick. (Good enough, honestly. It's basically a freebie.)

 

Apprentice Locks - Apprentice Locks are easier to pick. 50% chance to keep picking progress. (essentially, the last pin you got right, you get to keep. Sometimes.)

 

Quick Hands - Able to pick locks without being noticed. Pin fall speed slowed by 25% (25% may be too much or too little. The number doesn't matter right now, but the idea being that if you're quick with your hands, it should be reflected in game.)

 

Wax Key - Free key if you succeed at picking the lock. If wielding a torch, lockpicking is slightly easier. (I recall something being in one of the lore books regarding heat making lockpicking easier. Plus, risk vs. reward: Chance getting busted by the property owner, vs. easier picking.)

 

Adept Locks - Adept Locks are easier to pick. 50% chance to keep the last 2 pins. (Basically just continuing the scale here. Still only a 50% chance, and if possible, I'd love to see that 50% chance be per-pin, so you might lose a pin in the process anyway.)

 

Expert Locks - Expert Locks are easier to pick. 50% chance to keep the last 3 pins.

 

Golden Touch - Find more Gold in Chests. Pin fall speed slowed by 25% (Basically, this should be better than Quick Hands (it stacks), and should reward people for taking what, in Skyrim, was a purely worthless perk.)

 

Treasure Hunter - 50% greater chance of finding special treasure. 25% chance of finding pins stuck in the unlocked position. (Basically another reward for taking a chance at a normally junk perk.)

 

Locksmith - Pick starts close to the lock opening position. Pin fall speed slowed by 25%. Pins dramatically change color when in prime position. Auto-pick any lock level you have a perk for at the cost of 10 lockpicks. (Let's make this useful. Effectively, this opens up the 'easy mode' for lockpicking, once you've gotten through enough locks to earn it. Speed slows again (stacking to a total of 75% if you've taken Quick Hands and Golden touch as well), pins show up easily when in the right spot (like, say, turning blue), and if you're tired of lockpicking, you can sacrifice 10 lockpicks to unlock any chest you have the requisite perk for. (novice to novice, expert to expert, etc.) Basically, fixing the throwaway perk.)

 

Unbreakable - Lockpicks never break. Set pins no longer reset after breaking a pick. Breaking picks is more likely to get you noticed. (Let's not render a powerful Daedric Artifact totally useless, even if you don't get to keep it. Instead, let's make it to where choosing this is more strategic than the usual perk. Pins that are set stay set. Which, if you're good, won't be a problem anyway. Breaking a pick makes even more noise, alerting any enemies/authorities nearby to what you're doing. Great for those pesky dungeon chests after everything's cleared, where you can afford to break 200 picks to brute-force your way past that Master level lock, not so great for stealing things out of Belethor's Shop.)

 

Master Locks - Master Locks are easier to pick. 50% chance to keep all pin progress. (Effectively, the Counter to those who don't want the new Unbreakable. You still get to keep your pin progress, most of the time.)

 

I don't have the skill to do this, but maybe it'll inspire someone.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Madrias

[Shadyfan4500]

I know this post is slightly old, but I agree with all of you. Although maybe the lockpicking perks Madrias suggested can be a little too much. I liked how Oblivion did it. Journeyman in Lockpicking? Guess what, player. Now when lockpicking, two pins will stay up should you fail.

 

I never really mastered the system, but I got decently good at it, and that perk from leveling up to Journeyman really helped me out lmao. I'm starting up another Skyrim playthrough after finishing my first Oblivion playthrough, and honestly I like Oblivion more. Skyrim took a really strange turn and flipped the Elder Scrolls formula on its head. Standing Stones instead of a birthsign? I can't even create a class? I have a little bit of modding experience, but honestly I really believe this is out of my league. I'm going to look into it regardless though

[Shadyfan4500]

It would probably be pretty easy to replace the texture and mesh of the lockpick with the menu from Oblivion, but scripting it would be a whole different beast. I also can't seem to find the texture or mesh for the pick screen. The .bsa files are so large.

 

I found another forum post discussing a change in the screen - a change in how time operates when you're in the lockpicking screen. They mention in it that the minigame may be hardcoded into the game, and a change this drastic may not be possible unless completely by scratch.

https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/2845414-how-to-edit-lockpicking-interface/

[Shadyfan4500]

Is it possible to recreate the Oblivion Lockpicking from scratch using this? I found that the "whole minigame", according to some other forum post on gamesas I think, is in a .swf file called LockPickingMenu. I used a free tool I found to decompile it and got this. I have no idea what I'm doing,

Edited July 4, 2017 by Shadyfan4500

[DarkDragonMaster]

is this post dead? i really hope not because i want the lockpicking in skyrim