RexSeptim

Hello and thank you for the suggestion. I tried Atronach Crossing. For now at least, it is limited to a few stock buildings that are basically vanilla buildings that you can place wherever you want. Let me give you an example of what I imagine: There is an excellent mod called Nchuzrezzar. I'm sure the whole thing is excellent but there is a single part of it that I liked so much. In the quest to upgrade the house, you are sent into a dwemer ruin that is one big cube of a room. And that ruin is an excellent blank canvas in which I did build my own player house. It was awesome! But... there were problems. I found I could place decorative things like Namira's Altar but adding a room sometimes worked, sometimes not. Sometimes the add-on room would just disappear after quitting and loading the next day. It seems maybe Jaxonz is good at placing items in a room but building a room is taking it too far. Thus, I think perhaps if someone built something like Aemer's Refuge or Rayek's End or Legend of the Eagle's Nest but left it empty - that would be the perfect blank canvas. If the house/castle/hideout whatever was designed to be empty, then perhaps the issues I had with the Nchuzrezzar dwemer ruin would not happen. Maybe it could be Hearthfire compatible so the player could build furniture, sure, but mainly empty so the player can Jaxonz the whole place to their heart's content. Anyone...?

After all these years living in Skyrim, I have found one mod that makes a replay in Skyrim as fun as the first time: JAXONZ POSITIONER! Or the one or two other mods out there that do similar stuff, I forget their name. I see all these cool things like Namira's Altar when I'm out and about. I want that it in my house. A few keystrokes and it is! But I've never found a house mod that is really built with Jaxonz Positioner in mind. So, a new mod idea. How about a well designed house - thoughtful room placement, architectural detailing, a treasure vault to stash my loot and hide various legendary artifacts, a location with a cinematic view - but with no auto sort chests, treasure displays, static clutter models, etc. Maybe Hearthfire compatible or maybe not. Just beautifully designed empty rooms. The mod author provides the canvas and then let the player paint the picture, via a positioner type mod. Every player gets a chance to realize their dream with a truly custom house. Anyone interested?

Regarding "A mod...needs only to be spent time once to create, a modder does not have to spend another time to work on the same mod each time they make a sale. Paying for mods does not equate to paying for something in the real world." I agree, there are differences but when you get right down to it, "real world" or cyber-world, there isn't much difference at all. But - I'll take a wild guess that you typed that using a computer of some sort. Which is loaded with patented items the inventor spent their time and ingenuity creating and those patents figured into the end cost you paid to acquire that computer. The inventor didn't spend more time on the item just because you bought it. And said computer was built in a factory that was in turn built by a construction firm, and filled with machines built by manufacturers, and none of those companies had any additional cost or time spent just because you bought the computer. Look, all of it comes down to a trade. One person gives to another person something of value in exchange for that person's item of value. Money is convenient medium but not the only one. I'll give some of my money (which was itself given to me in exchange for my labor and applied ingenuity and creativity) in exchange for a select modder's labor and applied ingenuity and creativity. Just because a modder's cost in time, and money (they had to pay for their computer and software and electricity and whatever else) is already spent in anticipation of imminent downloads, does not lessen the value of the mod. The philosophical debate of free versus paid remains but as to value, the mod is worth something. What that is could be well decided in a fair and open market. Again, many mods should be free. But there are some, many point to Falskaar as one, that are, perhaps, worth something more than free. If so, I see benefits to a pay market.

I think the forces of economics - supply and demand - would take care of most of these concerns, all valid though they may be, if the market for it is kept open, honest and fair. And I think the Nexus is a proven venue for that. Haha, I'm volunteering the Nexus for something when I have no idea if they'd want to do it. That's just respect for a job well done. I really don't see a problem in a system for a supplier to offer something for sale to a consumer. The market will find an equilibrium point between them, i.e. something is worth what someone is wiling to give up to get it. I'd give up a micro-transaction - $.25, $1, $2, $10 for some of these mods - and I'd give not a cent for some of the others, even if I would download it. The modder in turn might be willing to let me have it for $.25, $1, $2, $10 or maybe for free, whatever their reasons may be. If I and they meet at a happy point, an exchange is made. I further don't see a problem in the Nexus and even Bethesda taking a commission on that sale. I do see a problem with Steam taking a cut but that's just because I don't like them so much, hahaa. Really, if Steam hosted a market, there'd be someone to shop there and that'd be their business. And I do think mods made for love, for pride, for artistic release, for whatever reason, by for free modders can coexist with a professional market. I don't see the two as the same thing. There is a difference between the oft cited Falskaar and a retexture of some vanilla clothing in five new colors that's otherwise the same thing as vanilla. I think we might see more Falskaars if there were a market for it. I think we might see no less retextures of vanilla clothes and such, if there remains a vibrant community for that. A market for modders and consumers is just an opportunity. No one has to take advantage of it. Perhaps no one would, which is to say the demand would not be there and the supply would go away, like any other market. Right now, the opportunity is just not there, donation system notwithstanding. The example of Falskaar is not an example of how good free can be. Falskaar was made for economic gain, i.e. that modder wants a job/paycheck. That modder offered something for a chance of something in return. That's a market. You have to applaud someone willing to put it on the line like that. Hope it works. One of the posts mentioned SKSE may not be able to charge because they are flirting with legal boundaries with the way their mod works. My point is especially prescient here - I think if Bethesda has a stake in this then they would work with someone like the SKSE team. As it is, Bethesda has allowed SKSE to stand and an incalculable number of mods now depend on it. Consider how much value SKSE adds to Skyrim and to Bethesda's coffers in turn. Consider what SKSE might be if the team behind it had Bethesda's cooperation and blessing. I am certain Bethesda is considering this, as well as the backlash from this Steam-powered brouhaha. I think the next TES could be built with modding like SKSE and SkyUI and Falskaar and etc. in mind. I think the Creation Kit could be more powerful and more intuitive if they did. I think modders could do even more if they had such superior tools and the knowledge Bethesda is working with them and not against. I think Bethesda would do that in the next TES if they stand to get a cut. Bethesda would not be evil for seeking another revenue stream. I am in no way complaining about free mods. I like getting something for nothing. And I can appreciate the value of gain that comes in other forms besides money. Like respect. Fame. Appreciation. Those can be very rewarding. Here's another - satisfaction for something done that adds to other's lives, makes the world a little better place to live. Volunteering does that for me. Picking up litter does that for me. But, I must admit, I'd pick up more litter if it were dollar bills.

Free has its benefits. Mainly, being free. In the case of the Nexus community, add to that a sense of family. Of being a part of something important, something that has become great, even unprecedented, as far as I know. As in my previous post, I think that could continue even in the presence of a paid system for mods. Imagine a professional modder. Able to put more of their talent into this stuff. Able to make a living at this. Imagine perusing the free mods like always. Cool stuff. New ideas. And then imagine heading to a "shop" hosted on the Nexus for an elite cadre of modders with a proven record of groundbreaking releases. Here we find the wizards of nifskope, the masters of code, the champions of creativity, who, because they can now make a living by their modding efforts, are able to pour their ingenuity and creativity beyond anything previous into astounding new creations. Imagine the coming release of Mod X Super Edition, offering never before seen DLC level awesome-ness. Imagine a special Greatest Hits by your favorite modder, refreshed with new content at a special price. Imagine an alliance of the best modders joining efforts like Avengers and creating something beyond anything seen before, ever. Imagine mods released with regularity with the kind of anticipation the next TES is beginning to generate! What if that could happen without killing off the variety offered by thousands upon thousands of free mods? For such a thing to work, consumers would need assurances of quality control. Compatibility. Standards would need to be in place to ensure compatibility. The page describing the mod would need to be better written than is often the case, and screenshots would need to be better. Shoppers have to be able to expect something more for their money. For modders, there would have to be some sort of system worked out to fairly compensate other modders whose resources are used. Someone would have to deal with inevitable refund requests, or perhaps a trial period. The market would have to be monitored to keep it fair and honest. Accounting for potentially thousands of micro-transactions when something big is released - that'd be a big job. All this would be a good bit of work for, say, Nexus to take on. And Nexus should get a cut for that. Certainly I'd rather see Nexus manage things with something perhaps built into NMM than to see a pay system managed by Steam. Nexus already shoulders a lot of expense hosting this site and, I think, has done an admirable job of it. I think they could do the same with a pay system and further think they should get a cut. With the coming next edition of TES, I've been thinking about how Bethesda might develop things with modding in mind. I've heard over the years that the Creation Kit is illogical, limited and downright infuriating to use. Perhaps Bethesda would put a bit more effort into polishing up the Creation Kit if they're getting a cut of a pay system. Perhaps a continuing revenue stream such a cut might offer would also prompt Bethesda to chase a few more bugs with the next TES as well. I really do believe a pay system for elite level mods could coexist alongside the free system we've enjoyed these past few years. And I do think this could offer tremendous benefit for everyone if it is done right. What do you think?

My thoughts on this mess Steam created are myriad and scattered. I think there will have to be a way for a pay system to coexist with the free model. As a user perusing the Nexus, I amazed to find how the free model has led to such an incredible array of creative, clever, thoughtful and artistic mods. But behind the curtain, I can't ignore that there are untold hours of labor going to creating, and updating, these mods. Yes, I would pay for some mods. Not all of them, but some. The micro-transaction model would need a platform online where mods could be found and considered in a market. Nexus, Steam, something. SKSE is the basis on which who knows how many mods work. They'd need to be paid. SkyUI has become a standard. They'd need to be paid. FNIS, the "Unofficials" - Unofficial Skyrim, Unofficial Dragonborn, etc. Those are standards too, for most people, I'd guess. I'd pay for something on that level. But what about houses, castles, abodes, for example? Reaper's the Dark Tower is a masterpiece, to my mind, and worthy of a fee, perhaps. Rayek's End is on an entirely different scale as an abode but also a wonderful addition to the game. What of Ethereal Elven Overhaul? Yeah, that's been in my game for years now. aMidianBorn? Oh yeah. Chesko, Gopher... the names of famed modders has become a long list. They don't know me, don't know I appreciate their work, other than an endorsement, but the value they've added to Skyrim for me is well worth a micro-transaction. I just discovered Jaxonz Positioner. That has made a whole new way for me to enjoy a four year old game - I'm building my own castle with textures found here and there, some vanilla, some mode originated! Indeed Chesko. Got burned by daring to dip a toe in this troubled water. Unfairly, I'd say. Nexus, it seems, had some sort of tangential backdoor agreement that would have netted some amount of revenue and Dark0ne got burned for that. Also unfairly, I'd say. Called out, sure, but the backlash was probably unfair. Folks, the next chapter of the Elder Scrolls is fast upon us, maybe this year, maybe next year, but soon in any case. Bethesda is a business. They have bills to pay. Their programmers don't work for free, their lights aren't on for free. I'll gladly ante up $59.99, $69.99, $79.99 when it comes out and I won't curse their name for the price - not them, nor the retailer who gets their cut, nor the shipping companies who distribute to retailers and get a cut, nor the cardboard company who supplied the packaging and get a cut, nor the - who knows how many companies supplied something of what it takes to get that game to my system. Plus tax too. The government gets their cut. What did they have to do with it? Supplied the road I took to get to the store and back, or else supplied the road UPS used to deliver it to me. If all of that is worth my bucks, I can't say these mods aren't. Surely Bethesda is considering what happened with this. Surely, the best and the brightest of modders, such as Chesko, are considering what happened with this. Surely Dark0ne is considering the investment of time and money that is the Nexus, and how few are the paid subscribers. They all have their bills to pay and only so much time to devote to something that can provide to me so much value. We, the hungry consumers, ought to well consider that value and not be so quick to despise a pay system that, if implemented in a thoughtful way considerate to modders, could mean we get to continue to enjoy all this clever creativity. Heated commentary against Steam and this mess they created is certainly deserved but we ought to be careful we keep it crystal clear - we appreciate what we have enjoyed and hope to continue to enjoy. Let us recognize too that Bethesda and Steam and the Nexus do have some part even in a mod. Bethesda created the backbone for all of this and Steam and the Nexus host, at expense, the mods for me to find and download. The balance must be that the free model also remain. I don't think anyone will want to pay for every new dagger, or new edit to some function within the game or whatever. For some things, the value is in their availability widespread, and not in a single transaction. A pay system must not kill that. Likewise, a pay system must not kill the network of inter-dependence that has built up between mods built up on assets and functionality of other mods. The internet has both free and paid models. They do coexist on the rest of the internet. Perhaps a pay system's time has come. Perhaps this is the TES mod community maturing. I think this can work. Let's find a way for a professional modder to emerge without killing the amateur who does it for the love of the game. I love my TES.

A specially forged dragon claw! Now that is just the sort of thing needed! I'll second that idea!

Wanted: Savior of NPCs and Defender of Nirn from all threats, daedric, aedric, vampiric and dovah-ish, seeks secure storage for piles of legendary clutter. Request elaborate entrance laden with Dwemer and Nordic traps and requiring the keenest mind, and a lockpicking fortification potion, to surpass such that no one, not even my friendly girl Karliah, could hope to burgle. No one except me, of course. Because I'm awesome. Request architecture and displays designed to inspire and intimidate. Inspire me, intimidate anyone else who is not a "tweaked" "awesome follower", that is. Request specific storage for myriad things I've torn from the bloodied, soul trapped, mauled and ash piled bodies of all of those who ever dared touch my sweetroll, all in the name of a Completionist's quest to do everythin last little thing. I've fed my pixel axe on the viscera of more pixel flesh than I can count. I've hauled off every little thing they held dear, everything from masks torn from the twice lifeless desiccated corpse of a dragon priest to the sort-of-priceless silver plate thing heirloom that Aretino kid was so eager to foist on anyone who would answer his prayer. Now, please some modder genius, take pity on a poor Dovahkiin, Werewolf, Vampire Lord, Archmage, Nerevar Reborn (yeah, I'm that too!) pitiful fellow nearing epic retirement. I need to rest these bones and feel safe and secure that the King of Worms, Mannimarco, won't show up and raise Mercer, who'd be wanting vengeance and come to haul off all my plunder. These damned Falmer eyes are staring at me! I need somewhere proper to display it all! Seriously, folks. I've been so amazed over the years at the stuff modders have made. Some places, like Reaper's Dark Tower, have become so integrated into my ideal of Skyrim, I can no longer imagine playing Skyrim without them. Rayek's End is as much a part of Skyrim to me as is High Hrothgar. But, I've never seen a vault for all the treasures one inevitably gathers playing this game that was on par with the complete concept houses, dungeons, castles and hideouts that are out there. Think of the danger an enormous collection of Daedric and magical artifacts would represent when they are gathered all in one place. Think of the security needed for that! Think of a display worthy of jojjo's Dread Knight weapon set! Where could I hide Nicoroshi's Creations and know Malkoran the Defiler could not come to claim them? There is a mod called "Nchuzzrezar - a dwemer mansion" by crgobi that comes closest to what I'm imagining (from what I've seen). The house has an inner vault within the display room that is accessed via a cool Dwemer mechanism sliding ring wall thing. I can imagine that would be an appropriate place for one to put all this plunder. Sadly, you can't put all your plunder in that vault, though. Isn't big enough. I tend to put stuff in Leveler's Tower's "Display Room" via teleportation from wherever my weary Dovahkiin is calling home in that play through. That sort of feels like what I'm after except not really. Anyone else long for such a vault? Any modder out there eager to bask in Nexus fame as the progenitor of a Mod of the Month? I am certain such a vault as this would find a gazillion downloads and endorsements. Who doesn't find themselves over-encumbered with treasures and nowhere to put them? A disclaimer often heard: I'm not capable of doing this myself. I still have next to no understanding of computers. Yes, I feel guilty requesting something when considering the outpouring of creativity one finds on the Nexus every single day. I am indebted to so many modders for making Skyrim more awesome by the day. And yet I thought this might be a grand idea to consider. Any takers?

Dear Santa, I miss my custom spell making altar I had in my forbidding Frostcrag Reborn tower in Oblivion. Yeah, I know those custom spells really amounted to nothing more than sliding effects ratios weighted against spell cost to come up with a variation on a spell I could have just bought from some spell merchant. Right? Well, actually they were something more than that. In two ways. One - they were immersive because I could name them. And I had some great spell names. Well, to me they were great spell names. And second - I did come up with some alternative uses for spells. For example I had one I called Wicked Lick. It was a huge fireball that did almost no damage. Great for stirring up the hornet's nest, so to speak. Every bad guy in a 300 feet radius of wherever I pointed my cursor (the diameter of the fireball) was instantly fighting mad. Disclaimer - do not use in cities! It was also fun to shoot this one from Frostcrag at the Imperial City. Surprising how far out the computer would fly that fireball. It was fun lobbing those from the top of my Frostcrag and imagine the imperial guards were running around, swearing and gearing up to come get that crazy wizard from up on the mountain. Then there was my Hemotap. That one took some finesse on those ratio sliders to get the intended effect just right. First, the bad guy would be staggered and brought to his knees (paralyze effect) then he would climb back to his feet (lingering damage health effect at so much per second) only to experience the coup de grace, a death blow via drain health effect. I think that was how that worked. I don't remember what the numbers were that made that happen. Fun to watch, though. I long for my custom spells. I miss them. I even had two spells that were named after my wife (based on the charm effect, of course). PLEASE MY MODDING FRIENDS OF THE NEXUS. PLEASE MAKE A CUSTOM SPELL MAKING MOD. I just don't feel like quite the wizard I used to be with these stock spells. Not even the modded spells added via mod (though I enjoy those spells too - thank you to those mod authors). Signed, Little Rex Septim, Wizard Extraordinaire

Well I had no thought this new thread would prompt a philosophical discussion of the arcane. But it is certainly interesting to consider spells beyond the utility and fun of zapping some monster within the game. Ever read "Liminal Bridges"? Now some author had a fit of imagination to come up with that! I agree with the idea of naming a spell based on the idea of how a spell works. Tempus Riven is such a name. But then some of the spell names I've used were, I'll admit, named more for funtion and result. I had one I called "Wicked Lick". I had a mod in Oblivion that let me make a fireball as large as 300 feet. So I made such a fireball spell but with little damage so I could use it at will - low magicka cost. The point wasn't to kill anything, it was really to just anger whoever was around when I threw that out there. Rather wicked of me, I thought. As for spell counters, that's another spell mod I'd love to see. Wouldn't it be something if I could counter a fireball coming at me with a specific counter like, say, a wall of ice? Or, with the now forgotten Mysticism school of magic (which should be brought back!), I might could recreate my old spell "Parabolic Intentioner". That one, I imagined, worked by redirecting the intentions of the mage casting something at me along a parabula such that it was aimed right back at them. It was always very magicka intensive and subject to precise timing but such fun when it worked. Of course, it was really just the stock Reflect Spell spell, or whatever booooooring name it came with. I think Reflect Spell is in the game now but it just isn't the same without Mysticism. As to the suggestion of using the CK to rename the spells, thanks for that, but a cyber illiterate like myself finds that learning curve just too steep. Much better to plead my case before the Nexus in hopes that someone proficient in the ways of computers might take pity upon me. I'm not kidding when I tell you I'm quite proud of myself for figuring out how to post on this Nexus. My talents run more toward tangible things such as wood and sawdust and things I can build and hold in my hands. I do love my adventures in Skyrim but I'm no code modifier, CK or otherwise. It was two frustrating months of wrestling with Wrye Bash back when I set myself to modifying Oblivion. I'm not eager to descend into that madness again. Yeah, I got it to work but I had no idea then and none now why it finally worked the last try but none of the previous tries. Sheogorath is hiding in my computer. I'll not tempt him again!

This is not meant to be a criticism of any modder. Anyone who can make these mysterious little boxes called computers do new things has my admiration. You should have seen how long it took me just to figure out how to post on this forum! I would like to offer to any modder who thinks they could benefit my assistance with wording, descriptions, grammar, etc. I'll help with anything - mod descriptions for the Nexus to dialogue, new spell descriptions, quests or whatever you'd like edited. You write what you want and I'll proofread it for you. Or even write for you. I've seen such amazing creativity in these few short months since the release of Skyrim. Every day, amazing new ideas show up on this Nexus. Alas, I have no skill or even understanding of how you modders do what you do. Even so, I'd like to be of some assistance. There have been a few mods, for example, that modified the skill perks constellations. I have two mods that modify my perks that are impressive and add so much to the game but, well, the descriptions of the new perks are barely comprehensible. I can eventually discover what these new perks do but it does make planning character development a bit less efficient. I've been a consumer of so much of the talent of so many modders. This is one thing I could do to contribute. Please respond here if you'd like some editorial help. If there are any others out there who don't comprehend things binary but do OK with English, join in! And if this post needs editing, well...

Busy requesting a mod to give spells a better name and here I've given this topic a poor choice of a name. Sorry about that. It was supposed to be something like I am an all powerful wizard so why can't I name my spells?

Someone on one of these threads stated that custom spellmaking, via altar or otherwise, is difficult. I'm hoping that isn't so because I love to make my own spells. Since there haven't been any custom spellmaking mods yet, though lots of cool new spells, I'm losing hope on seeing custom spellmaking in the game. However, I would like to request a mod that would allow me to at least change the names of spells. Please? "Fortify Speed", for example, is descriptive, sure, but it's far from creative. I think a mage so powerful as to be able to manipulate arcane powers to make leg muscles twitch faster would also be creative enough to come up with a better name. My Oblivion/Morrowind name for that spell has been various things but often it was "Deception of Atalanta". If you read Greek mythology, you'll get the reference to a foot race. I imagine that my character is not really running faster, but rather that it seems so - an illusion, if you will. Sometimes I called it "Tempus Riven" with the idea that through arcane means, my character has riven time such that it's moving faster in his or her immediate vicinity. Giving things my own names that way enhances the spell wielding experience in my opinion. Imagine that all your spells have some sort of backstory you've imagined. This is just the same as naming your weapons and amulets and such after enchanting them. New spell mods sometimes have some new names for some of the spells so is there a way to do this within the game as a mod? Any of you clever modders know of a way to do that? Thanks for reading. I'll keep hoping.

I read the books that are IN the game. Does that count? There are some great stories to be found in a tomb/dungeon/dilapidated old fort or wherever. I also end up carrying around books for times when I come across one I haven't read but I'm right in the middle of some action. Later, about the time I start wondering why I'm overencumbered - yup, there's ten books in my inventory - time to read! Outside the game? Well, I've been known to trip and slide trying to get out of the bed for the pile of "real" books piled up there. They kind of pile up for the same reason as in the game. Speaking of - yawning - I think I'll go read myself to sleep right now... Goodnight.

Just never know what you'll find at the nexus! I like the turn in the phrasing in the third and fifth stanzas. Imagery evokes a sort of mystical air, matches the times of the Dova rising. Thank you for this. Hey, I wonder if "malukah" (the girl with a gazillion hits for her cover of the Dragonborn song) could put this to music and sing this?

Pretty cool that a video game can offer a little ad hoc humor, serendipity, some character improvisational leeway in the code? OK, so I was on a mountainside taking on a dragon and I'm modded up so those things are TOUGH! Fus Ro Dah, cast Sparks, conjure another Flame Atronach and then run to some rocks to heal, repeat procedure. About a half hour of this and Lydia and I managed to take that wyrm down. I'm standing there looking at the corpse and catching my breath in the real world because this was the first dragon I'd managed to beat and this "Hired Thug" comes up, just appears right there beside me, looking at the dragon. He says "so the legends are true...". Coming down the mountain, his friends, the other two Hired Thugs, attacked me but that first guy was just so impressed, he never even drew his sword. Another time I was in Volskygge or one of those dungeons. There's a scripted Deathlord in there, way harder than I should have faced at that point. Level 16 or so, I think. He'd taken me out a couple of times so I gave up and reloaded, went to Dragonsreach to buy some potions and try again. I came back in there and just ran right through to where I just knew that Deathlord would be waiting. Turned the first corner and the first thing I saw was this greatsword whistling through the air, a beautiful arc to cut me in two. Deathlord took a two handed baseball swing at me and killed me in one shot. I jumped in my skin then about fell out of my chair laughing at myself. Served me right. About that jumping off high places thing - anyone else get that fluttering in the pit of stomach as you watch the ground come up at you so fast? I get that even jumping down past stairs. Not like my monitor is all that big! Good graphics, I guess.

I'll second that. Hate immersion breaking elements like this.

I really like JanusForebear's spell ideas. Those are excellent. I've always hoped the Telekinesis spell could be made more useful. I like stealth characters with some magic thrown in. What if a thief could snuff a torch next to a guard from afar, set the guard to searching? Big armored orc won't move from his post next to the only door that leads to the treasure? What if said thief could snatch his feet out from under him? Or, even better - what if said thief could oh so quietly ease his sword from the scabbard, levitating it away to a corner on the other side of the room, leave the orc to either go fetch it or fight unarmed? Snatch the quiver from an archer's back? Yeah, that would be good stuff. Really make playing stealth a unique game experience with strategies totally unlike being a mage or warrior.

Manshooter is working on "Total Realism Overhaul". If all that stuff mentioned in that one can be done, or even most of it, it would be an overhaul indeed. Or, a way to make custom spells. I do love the spells I design and get to name! Or, targeted combat. Let me take out someone's sword arm them watch them try to fight with the other arm - there are left handed people in the world, after all! Or take out a leg in a quick slashing attack, leave them crawling. Then a stealth character could move on to the treasure rather than having to hack and retreat when you don't wear a tin suit.

You've put a lot of thought into this. I'm all for every single item you listed and hope all of those things could be included. If TRO removed the compass and the quest line markers, I it would have to compensate by including more alternate methods to find your way. More road signs and more NPCs with answers to where things are. Otherwise you could end up wandering around with a huge load of quests in your journal. You'd end up just playing the game "regionally", clearing every dungeon in the region and seeing what quests that advanced before moving on to the next region.

First, let me thank Bethesda for their vision and the modders for the explosion of creativity since the arrival of Skyrim. Skyrim is an awesome platform and modders have responded! I see in Skyrim hints of what my dream mods are, already present to a degree. I want magic to be immersive, to feel like I am really doing something, as if my spells do indeed bend the world to my will. Hope was fired up in me when I discovered impassable spiderwebs in caves that I could burn out of the way by casting fire! Or Faralda's test to enter the college - cast the requisite spell upon the glyph which responds with a reactive glow. These things made me feel, a little, as if finally magic would be more than various glowing lights around my raised hand. Rather, magic would be something infused into the fabric of the land, the way of the mage something more of a real discipline, magic itself a tool to accomplish my goals by other means. I want more of that! I want to conjure daedra only after first researching the chosen daedra, meaning that I would have to know the plane where I would find that daedra - Coldharbour? Ashpit? Moonshadow? I then have to perform some incantation with a protective circle drawn and certain mundane and arcane ingredients found and placed, certain runes drawn, certain movements of my hands and certain words spoken, all to fit the daedra I wish to summon. Once summoned and bound, I could then call them as needed, bound to my will (and always with a chance they could escape to join my enemies!). With Destruction, I want to use the elements around me, drawing upon a storm to unleash and guide a blizzard! A forge becomes a source for ignition as the very air shutters around a gout of fire I wield. That kind of thing. I could perhaps cast frost on my own but be far stronger when guiding a fortuitous storm! Illusion - my mana pool should drain in proportion to the intensity, duration and magnitude of what I am trying to make the observer believe. Restoration should be something like triage. What sort of spell is needed should be determined by the sort of wound I am healing. And Alteration should perhaps be the most immersive school of them all. Alteration is, as I read in the lore, all about the possibilities of what might be and making it so. So let me alter reality, let my magicka pool drain as I hold back reality until, gasping, I can hold it back no more. Maybe my stamina pool drains too when engaging in Alteration - immersive and also game balancing for such power as this. Mysticism? Where did that one go? Perhaps mysticism should be brought back as a sort of master school of magic - the study of Mysticism should be empowerment for all the other schools and spells. It could be the way one can transcend merely spell casting to spell creation. Spell creation!!! I read from one modder's post that the removal of spell creation makes magic mods much easier. I don't understand code so perhaps that is so. I hope not! I miss my custom spells. Some of those spells go back a decade for me to the days of Morrowind. Kinetic Fist, Prostration of Worms, Slippery Glimmer, Glyph of Trodden Frost, Wicked Lick, Command Persona, Ward of the Realm, Pass of Hoarfrost, Gift of the Hebrides, and the Hemotap. You don't know what those spells did but I do. Yeah, they did something that was available at the spellmaking altar of course, which is to say they originate as a spell effect learned from a stock spell. But creating them made them mine. I had one I called Apotheosis of the Aedrakin - it was every effect I could put on my character all at once - shock, frost and fire damage for the visual, fortification effects for the lore I imagined and even some drain/damage effects for the pain (because magic must involve some sacrifice). I used it before boss battles as I drew upon my dual mortal/aedra nature (yeah, imagination overdrive) to summon a greater power than found on this plane alone. Kind of building the drama, just for fun. As a practical thing, Apotheosis was useless - cost too much magicka to sustain all that for long - but that wasn't the point. And the Hemotap? You didn't want to be hit by that one, trust me. Took all the magicka I had but it was the deliverance of pain like nothing else. Letting me make my own spells let me design these things and it made the game that much more intense. It also let me use spells in ways the spells weren't necessarily intended to be used. Skyrim has this new spell Magelight. Yesterday I "discovered" a cool use for that spell. I don't use it for illumination (currently playing a Khajiit, using a Dark Dungeon mod and limited Nighteye), I use it to find and provoke the enemy. I was standing on the cliff high up in Wolfskull Cave. I'm modded up for increased difficulty so I knew Potema's summoners were far too many and far too powerful to run down there with my little Level 16 thief. But I can stir them up, make them crawl out of their holes and pick them off with my bow and poisoned arrow! Hey, it's working and it's immersive and it's not the same old run down there, hit the mouse button as fast as I can and hope I survive. In Oblivion, I had a similar spell I called "Target Lock" - I'd light up the bad guy with a small area of effect that was nonetheless intense. While they ran around looking for me, I could hide around the corner, watch the changing light and step out at the most opportune moment and take them down. Custom spells do that for you. Makes your style of combat your very own. Oh yes. If ignite somebody with something like a Firestorm scroll, they ought to be writhing in pain, not continuing to fight until their red meter runs out and they drop dead. I dish out the pain. I want see that animation. There are such things I'd ask for with combat too. Targeted combat would be nice. Let me target their legs then run. I don't have to kill them, I just have to make them unable to pursue me. Leave them crawling and rethinking messing with that odd little Khajiit named Sugar Lips Habisi (a descendant of the doyenne for you Morrowinders). Again, let me thank all you modders. And the Forum folks for that matter. Awesome to be able to get together with so many Elder Scrolls enthusiasts!

A search of the words "thank you" didn't return anything. So here's a new topic. Here, on the eve of the coming of Skyrim, as I look back at years of running around Cyrodiil and the Isles, o b l i v i o u s of lesser games, I want to offer a thank you to Bethesda and to every technical genius who ever put a mod on tesnexus. You're all geniuses to me. I remember days of Vanilla wandering. Big world. Fun. Nice views. And then there's the world of limitless possiblities, endless goodies to be found on tesnexus, and amazing creativity. So my thanks first to the monkey god - Wrye Bash - the King Genius of them all whose foresight makes all things modded possible. I've got all these Better Cities, a Cyrodiil with No Borders, and I labor beneath Sorcery's Toll! I am armed with a Thieves Arsenal bought from that sleasy gutter dweller Basso the Magnificent or so I name him for he's got some awesome stuff! My Vows and Covenants I cannot break lest I suffer the wrath of my current patron deity! The art of Robert who makes my painstakingly created character come to life! And Slof, my gracious, the artistry of that one who makes my Facegened imaginings so much the more fun! I've delved into the world of an archaeology guild, eaten the psychedelic pepper, rebuilt Dwemer droids and found Lost Spires aplenty! I've run around with Ruined Tale and this Naked Nord and wondered at some Sentient Weapon talking to me! I've been to Moriarcris, the city of the dead! I've exchanged gold for arcane knowledge and shared a beer with Midas and his merry fraternal brethren! And aye, my Reflexes are Deadly despite my drunkenness whilst sampling, I don't know, a few hundred micro-brews I now find in Cyrodiil? And Darnified if I haven't seen the depths of Frostcrag Reborn, Revisited, Reimagined! Yeah, 'twas Elys who made my dreams of mortality Uncapped, made of me the godly juggernaut I knew I could be! Cheater's "Fast Travel"? Nay, I call an Akatosh Mount or a Necromancer's Mount or a Rideable Slaughterfish to me and travel as befits a wizard of my standing! My Magicka is Fearsome! My Resistance is Willful! My Enchanting is Skilled! And I, oh my, but the potions I can create as a Grandmaster of Alchemy! Kneel, fall, grovel before me ye Dremoran horde! I am Malevolent! I am a new recruit in the ImpeREAL Legion! I know how to get into the secret Sika's Dwemer Subways! (Did you know those Dwemer were digging about under there? Smart ones, those Dwemers.) My HotKeys are Expanded! My Motion is Blurred! I'm Pythoned, Puggy-ed, Nif-ed, BOSSed and TesLODed, and Really Almost Everything is Viewable when Distant! Amazing! If my Archive was ever Valid, I don't recall! And I can't see a thing beneath my blasted Helmet Head! Aaaaaarrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! And I've got every bit of it Steamsaved! Come on, y'all! Send a shout out to your favorite modder! Azura only knows how many labor hours all this modding totals and I have it, any of it, available for download any time, anywhere. Bring on Skyrim! And long live the Pantheon of Modders whose deserved apotheosis must only follow Tiber Septim himself! And my character, of course. Because you wouldn't want to cross that one when he's riding rough shod across the sky. Lightning is in his grasp and a trail of fire marks his comings and goings. I am Rex Septim, the true heir to the throne! I hear the trumpets in unison, calling for my coronation right now. Got to go. There's probably a mod for that, somewhere... Thank you. Thank all of you. Very much. The world you create is the battleground of my dreams.