Total Realism Overhaul

[Mansh00ter]

Very deep and interesting changes.

Do u have the knowhow on how to script AI as well?

And how to integrate stuff like bashing with dual weilding or staggering for various amounts of time? (by using existing animations)

 

I am a web programmer professionally, so scripting is no big deal to me. It will take me a little while to figure out the syntax, but from what I've seen of the mods for Oblivion, Fallout and F:NV, it isn't terribly complicated. I also have extensive experience in 3D modelling and know my way around animation so that's not a big issue. The biggest problem will be figuring out an easy to use way for dual wield block... as in so that it can be used quickly and intuitively, just like the rest of combat moves.

Naturally, all enhancements to combat moves need to be on the NPC side as well to make things complete and not OP - so AI will definitely have to be looked at for some of those changes.

 

Have you tried turning the brightness all the way to the left? Gets pretty dark then

 

Yep it does, but it messes up daytime as well. The idea is that, if you're going into this deep cave, there should be no glowing water/rocks/mysterious sources of light. Fighting monsters in the dark, that sort of thing. Plus you get to bash stuff with your torch. :)

 

Just a quick addition: make nothing invulnerable, not even story characters, dogs or childs, but make murder a real bad crime and the prize you have to pay when going to jail higher plus the escape a lot harder.

 

I'm all for making most NPC's killable - not sure about story NPC's though, might make it real easy to get stuck because of the way the game works (ie. a quest NPC gets killed by a bear without the player even knowing about it). But I don't see why not make it an option for those who like the uncertainty.

 

I love almost all of these changes! One question, though, if I may; will different races be more resistant to cold than others? A nord should obviously get a bonus in the weather resistance department, but would a wood-elf have to bundle up extra tight to keep his little pointy ears from freezing off?

 

Absolutely, Nords will be able to deal with the cold much easier than some other races. But I intend to be careful in maintaining the line between "realistic" and "plain annoying". So it may be that a big fur overcoat will be enough for all races not to freeze to death in a blizzard. Or there may be several types of protective clothing, maybe even spells, so that the player can have a greater range of counters and play styles to choose from. But I don't want to bog down the player with repetitive actions or overly drastic restrictions just because they happen to play a lizard, for example. ;) The idea is to make the game challenging, requiring planning and thinking ahead, but also not to diminish the fun factor.

[Btasty]

Playing as a ranged stealth character up to the mid 30's I have to agree that stealth definitely needs some reworking though it is pretty solid. Most of the things that need to fix shouldering revole around enemy detection. If an enemy gets hit or sees a dead ally the should become alert (doesn't mean they know where you are) making them harder to sneak up on. Sneaking in the light should become very hard if not impossible. If being attacked by ranged an enemy should try to take cover. Also if going for total realism you should always be able to attempt a melee "neck-slash" assassination which would be an autokill (provided you are using the right weapon). Just my two cents. Good luck with the mod!

[Stormcrown]

Love this idea. I'll be keeping my eyes open for this!

 

I like that you are trying to keep the line drawn between immersive+fun and annoying. realism mods too often are overdone and just become annoying.

 

This mod has just become #1 on my most anticapated list.

 

Edit: I second the "Stealth assassinations" mentioned above. I love the Dark brotherhood and thieves guild quests, but I found it annoying when I couldn't assassinate when I was stealthed behind someone who was sitting. (Always worked when they were standing) but if they are sitting its just a normal attack (With 15x damage bonus if you spec'd up stealth). Anyway, I'd like to see the stealth mechanic used to the fullest. It does get a bit easy when you cast muffle and invisiblity at the same time, but it should be :P

[Vyse08]

I haven't bought Skyrim yet, but this is the mod that will sell me on it. If there's anything I can do to ensure it's release, let me know.

 

Also, I'm definitely FOR making headshots lethal. I'd like to also request comprehensive modules that do NOT allow the user to change parameters. Like others, I don't like the temptation :]

 

EDIT: If you're going to make three arrows lethal, make sure that they only do so if they pierce the torso area. A process of removing arrows from your body would be cool too.

 

EDIT2: For water requirements, being able to melt down and boil snow would be nice. There's water everywhere.. it should be hard to die of thirst.

Edited November 16, 2011 by Vyse08

[ruthik]

Khajit scale walls like a real cat can. Other than that I love your ideas.

[theplagueman]

Wow I really like the ideas! My all-time favorite mods have been the realism ones. Good luck with this project, I'm curious to see how you implement a block/defensive ability for dual-wield (One reason why I dislike dual-wield in Skyrim is no defensive abilities whatsoever.)

[FonicStereo]

Awesome idea. I gotta admit I was about 20 minutes into the game before I was already missing New Vegas' hardcore mode (not to mention the Companion Wheel).

 

One suggestion I would make, as I didn't see it in your original post, is deteriorating armour and weapons from combat. Admittedly it was annoying as hell in Oblivion, but with the expanded crafting tools in Skyrim, I think it could be implemented in a way that reflects realism and not tedium. Maybe instead of breaking, a sword or axe will just dull, requiring a quick trip to the grinding wheel to sharpen it back up again.

 

I can only suggest New Vegas' hardcore mode as an initial benchmark. I found it to be a great addition, and balanced enough that the gameplay never suffered. Plus it gave you an incentive to raid every last refridgerator in the wasteland. At the moment Food is a bit of a joke in Skyrim. You can pause during combat and eat a whole pork roast and recover health instantly. It definately breaks the immersion.

[rob1101]

Awesome idea. I gotta admit I was about 20 minutes into the game before I was already missing New Vegas' hardcore mode (not to mention the Companion Wheel).

 

One suggestion I would make, as I didn't see it in your original post, is deteriorating armour and weapons from combat. Admittedly it was annoying as hell in Oblivion, but with the expanded crafting tools in Skyrim, I think it could be implemented in a way that reflects realism and not tedium. Maybe instead of breaking, a sword or axe will just dull, requiring a quick trip to the grinding wheel to sharpen it back up again.

 

I can only suggest New Vegas' hardcore mode as an initial benchmark. I found it to be a great addition, and balanced enough that the gameplay never suffered. Plus it gave you an incentive to raid every last refridgerator in the wasteland. At the moment Food is a bit of a joke in Skyrim. You can pause during combat and eat a whole pork roast and recover health instantly. It definately breaks the immersion.

 

 

Deteriorating armour and weapons from combat, I second this. However I do think they should have a chance to break eventually after they have become extremely dull and worn (by that point they would be pretty ineffective anyway). The addition of portable wet stones (which also has a wear value until it breaks) would be awesome so you can maintain your weapons to some level but still not as good as a grinding stone unless you unlock that perk in the smithing tree. To the same effect armor can be patched on the spot to an extent with leather or leather strips.

 

Also there needs to be an attribute for how wet the player or an NPC is. When wet the effects of leather armor is reduced, plate armor slowly deteriorates even when not in combat, and robes/cloth become much heavier. Also when wet you are more vulnerable to lighting attacks, ice attacks, hypothermia, but more resistant to fire. To get dry simply stand next to a fire, cast a fire spell on yourself, or just wait (time depends on region and time of day).

 

 

Khajit scale walls like a real cat can. Other than that I love your ideas.

 

 

This is one of the most important mods for me. It really breaks my immersion that im a 7ft tall lizzard that can jump over a table and lift trees over my head, but I can't climb over a wall thats chest high.

Edited November 16, 2011 by rob1101

[melifera]

I can just support the whole thing, and back up the two previous posts regarding armor deterioration.

Smithing has become interesting in a way, and less useful in another way, just because they removed this degradation effect.

And if rarely a piece of armor can break ... perfect ^^.

 

A question though: do you have a first ETA ? ^^ I'm asking, because as much as I already like this game, if I knew your mod could be out soon, I would refrain from playing too much :D

[Mansh00ter]

Some good suggestions, I added the following to the list:

 

Combat overhaul:

 

• (optional) all NPC's killable, including children and quest/story NPC's - to be kept strictly optional for those who like it
  
• ?blood splatter overhaul; add blood splatter after combat, proportional to amount of fighting done, complete with a custom shader. This will lower player's Speechraft (Charisma) until they clean themselves. Provide methods for cleaning (linen rags, bathing).
  

 

Inventory and Item changes:

 

• overhaul weight values for all ingame items according to a new formula: weight AND volume; this means that otherwise light but bulky items will have higher weight to simulate inability to carry 100 sacks of straw on your back. The goal is to make inventory management a gameplay mechanic - the player will no longer be able to haul twenty axes into battle
  
• carry weight addon items; rucksacks, knapsacks, carts, pack horses; items players can buy, complete with an ingame model, and which can make inventory management and dungeon raiding easier
  
• ?weapon and armor durability; bring back weapon and armor condition. Weapons to require periodic maintenance, using blacksmithing skill, actions and resources. As their condition deteriorates with use, so does their effectiveness. Items never break beyond repair.
  
• ?weapon maintenance tools; portable, craftable tools for field maintenance, such as sharpening stones. Some gear will always require a proper forge to repair/maintain (such as armor/shields)
  

 

I know blood splatter (aka Dragon Age) was possible in Oblivion, so there is every chance that it can be pulled off in Skyrim as well, but I have to see how the new engine works before I can make it a sure thing. Weapon and armor condition is similar, whether it can be done with scripting or not remains to be seen - the game obviously doesn't have weapon condition in, but hopefully its just something they turned off. If not, then I'll try to find a work around, because eternally sharp swords and axes just aren't doing it for me.

 

Pack horses are for sure going to be in, that's a relatively easy thing to script, at first with vanilla models, but I intend to add custom modeled pack horses, backpacks etc. later on when proper mod tools for importing new models are released. I'd like to offer players the ability to purchase a horse and cart too, but that would require custom animations, so I'll have to see about that.