Getting of replaying the beginning of the game over and over.

[InDarkestNight]

I've been having issues with my game freezing lately. I did a tweak to safety load and also removed one of Mihail's stupid mods, because I've heard those things are highly unstable. Removed some other unnecessary things too just to be safe (besides, I figured removing a few plugins would've helped anyway, because apparently issues that can arise tend to occur far more often when you have more mods installed, even though everything not related to LotD is simply either a graphics mod or a bug fix).

 

Problem is, I'm getting sick of re-doing the beginning of my playthrough over and over. Run through helgen, do bleak falls, start LotD quests, then have to abandon the whole playthrough before I even finish that due to relentless freezes outside of solitude and some of the other major cities.

 

The problem is this issue doesn't manifest until I've played the game for a while. I can't get it to happen for the life of me using a fresh character. This makes weeding out the problem extremely difficult. I wish I could come up with some way to make the beginning of this game more interesting.

 

What can I do about this, if anything? As I said, I may not have fully found a solution to the freezing, because I have to play the damned game for a couple of days before it arises. Fml... I don't have much faith my latest fixes will help at all, given my past track record.

 

edit: also, you really need to be able to edit titles, because I keep making stupid typos all the bloody time. Fml...

Edited July 31, 2023 by InDarkestNight

[IsharaMeradin]

Alternate Start: Live Another Life (link goes to the AFK Mods forum page where the mod is explained and download links are available)

 

I recommend saving the game after making the character, set up any mods with MCM menus, save the game again and then proceed to pick your start option.

 

If you are looking for a 100% completion run, some starts due to certain quests needing to be completed for that start to make sense may potentially cause some items to not be available.

[InDarkestNight]

I do actually have Alternate Start installed, though only for an item it adds. I've been choosing the vanilla start, mainly because none of the starts it offers gives me the items I want to use.

 

Also, I have already run into the issue of missing an item.

 

 

After completing the companion's quest-line I tried to retrieve an ax kept by one of the members. Turns out, the display case can't be picked. Looking it up, I found that I had to take the key from a certain npc before they died. This meant I could not collect that item, and I didn't have a save from before their death that I could go back to, forcing me to restart again.

 

 

This stupid challenge has proven to be a nightmare. I've actually started devising ways to speedrun the beginning just so I can get to the freezing parts faster. So far, I'm not having an issue, but I've only been to Solitude once so far, and haven't been to Markarth yet (where I've also experienced freezes).

 

Regarding the thing of saving before I actually start the game, maybe that would be a good idea. Though that part isn't much of a hassle, but I guess it could save me re-making my character and setting all the mcms over and over again.

 

As for right now, I sorta think I may have already screwed up. I recently found out that Silent Moons Camp has a decreasing chance of spawning iron moon weapons once you pass level 4. I haven't been going there early on though, because you're sent there later on in the introductory quest for LotD anyway. Thinking though that may not be such a wise idea.

 

Either way, I've since wondered into a level 18 falmer dungeon at level 8 due to an unmarked quest from one of the mods telling me to go there. I've spent all my healing potions, and already used my racial power (i'm an orc) near the beginning thinking it was the final boss fight. Keep in mind, I don't think I've ever been in this specific cave before. I had to look up online to see if it was part of the vanilla game or not. Also, for some reason I decided to take a detour and do mara's quest from Riften even though I have to walk all the way to Ivarstead and back for its first part. Thinking now I shouldn't have done that and just focused on speedrunning the starting solitude quests to see if I can get a freeze or not.

 

I really don't have much for a clear plan on what quests I need to do in what order. I tried to come up with one, but it ran into all sorts of problems and I realized that my plan simply wasn't doable. I kept coming up with new ones, but they just never panned out. I ended up just making a list of what quests had to be done before others, and otherwise just free-wheeling it. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. I tried to find someone doing the same thing online, but I can't find one. Fml...