LE Horse (or mount) improvements

[Kairo29]

Okay so I did a search and I'm not sure if any real comprehensive focus has gone to MOUNTS in skyrim.

 

I hope there's somebody out there who actually enjoys riding one even though chances are it may get lost or killed. It's part of the immersion, right?

So a few things I think I'd like to see changed with horses in a mod are as follows:

 

1. Horsey needs to be a companion.

My horse dies because my horse doesn't know how to work with me as a team. I kind of want my horse to be like the ponies in Disney movies. Those mothereffers always understand English. So if my horse was like a companion, and I was able to give it orders in the same way, I could tell my horse to wait somewhere, or position itself right under that ledge so when I'm escaping a baddie, I can jump off, land on my horse (well...next to it lol) and execute a smooth getaway! As a companion, I could also put equipment on my horse in saddlebags. This would go nicely with a mod that gives mounts armor/bags n stuff.

 

Edit: in Fallout New Vegas, it was possible to have a humanoid follower and also have the canine follower at the same time. It would be nice if you could have a humanoid follower and your dog, or a hume follower and a horse...and best situation is the option to have a hume follower, a dog running behind, AND you riding your horse. Booyaaa.

 

2. A horse gotta eat.

For any hardcore mode lovers out there, it'd be cool if not only did YOU have to eat, but your horse did too. I'd love it if my horse could wander off to a farm and piss off the farmers by eating their crops. My horse does what it wants! Sometimes. It'd also be cool if you neglected the horse (by not putting some carrots in its inventory or something) you could eventually see it get weaker or slower. It wont be able to run for long. But if you're good to it, it could get stronger just like a player character. It might be asking too much to see a physical difference in your horse so you know you're doing well, but it'd be cool to see skins for bony starving horses lol. I think this idea would be cool because I always have spare carrots, cabbages, n stuff in my inventory. It'd be awesome to drop some of them down on the ground and watch my horse trot over and eat them.

 

3. My horse would so lose in a horse show

Because it can't jump over a fence to show off its strength and my control. Why can't my horse jump well? Sometimes on ledges or cliffs, the horse gets stuck in its jump animation as if its gliding without actually moving anywhere. Also, why can't my horse take a few steps backwards? Why must it only move forward? lol. More responsive acrobatics would help.

 

4. I want to win a horses heart

Sometimes I just don't got the cash to buy one. What if I stole one and it was resistant to you or ran/walked away like it does currently after you dismount, but a few good deeds like an apple here or an apple there could win its loyalty. Sometimes I find lonely horses out in the wild, their owners probably scooped up and fed to a mama dragon's young or something. I can be it's new master.

 

5. It doesn't just have to be about horses

There probably aren't too many choices in an elder scrolls game for mounts, but we can be creative. What kind of mounts would you like to see? Personally, I would love to make an Orc warrior berserker type character who rides an effing BULL. They already got the cow models in, a few tweaks and this shouldn't be too crazy, right? I'm sure there will be dragon riding mods out someday...but what about trolls? Hell...what if you could have a troll as companion? haha. Ok off topic.

 

6. My horse needs more education

My horse needs to know when to fight and when to run like hell. If a dragon plops down a few meters away, horsey needs to say "Yo, this is your stop. See you later...if you make it!" and head for a safe place. But if horsey has been well taken care of, those muscles in the hind legs might actually help me out, would be cool if the horse knew the difference. *shrug*

 

7. Companions/Followers need a ride too

Having my companion ride its own horse might be hard to deal with in terms of pathing and making that work, but can my company at least hop on the back with me?

 

8. Horse whistle

I've seen that idea said before. I want to reiterate its usefulness. Hardcore mode variant: if your horse isn't within a certain radius of you, horse doesn't come.

 

Edit: Having a permanent quest titled something like "Dude, where's my horse?" (jk...) that puts a locator on your steed could help too.

 

9. Horse downed state

just like how companions take a knee when they're bested, if the horse fell on its side or something but wasnt completely dead yet, that'd be cool. And probably less frustrating for those who don't want to reload saves to bring horsey back. Maybe if a dragon does the whole pick up your horse and drop it, it dies no matter what. Hardcore variant: no horse downed state. just...death.

 

10. Mounted combat

Even if it was simple like in dynasty warriors lol. Even if it was only archery that could be done on horseback. Anyone reminiscing about Link and Epona now? ha.

 

Edit: An idea by ZenMonkey47 for the horses mounted combat in a skill/perk line!

Spur 1-5: Move 20% faster on horseback

Trample: While sprinting, knock enemies prone (similar to shield rush)

Thoroughbred: Horse can sprint longer

Vicious Temperament: Horse more effective when attacking on own

Bond: While mounted, add your health and stamina to your horse's

Light Barding: Horse can equip light armor

Heavy Barding: Horse can equip heavy armor

 

11. Dragon comes down, I jump off and vice versa

This is random and not super priority...but it would be interesting if you could jump off the horse, which would obviously be faster than dismounting normally. Sometimes I gallop right into trouble, and need to bail fast so I can fight and hopefully not let baddies kill my horse. My horse is my friend.

 

Edit: this also goes for re-mounting for an escape. An animation of Dovahkiin quickly jumping onto the saddle for that heated getaway (picture dragon and horse chase scene lol).

 

12. Giddy up.

Ever considered an addition to just galloping? What about a full on burst of speed. The horse turns it up a notch, the scenery blurs a bit to indicate the speed, but the horse can't keep this up for as long as a normal sprint. But this helps in situations where you're escaping something very fast like the sabre cats. Or a flying dragon. (This also reminds me of Link and Epona in Zelda...the carrots indicated how many speed bursts you had...not that we need carrots on our screen or anything!)

 

Edit: A good idea to detail this (suggested by CampanaAliquanta)- "four gaits - walk, trot, canter and gallop. I'd also like it if nudging the W key starts it walking continuously, and each time you press W it moves to a faster gait (and vice versa with the A key). To go instantly to full gallop you could double tap W or press W + shift. This would be the equivalent of kicking your heels against its side, or reigning it in."

 

13. 1st person view

This is kind of necessary if mounted combat ever becomes a reality. For sword swingers, magic users, and archers alike. Plus, some ppl would just like to ride the horse using that view and I agree it adds more to the game.

 

14. Fast & Slow Travel Carriage Rides

Outside of towns theres that NPC that offers you carriage rides for septims. I'm actually pretty surprised with all the beauty to be seen in Skyrim that the devs didn't give us the option to "slow travel" and allow us to watch the carriage make its way to the destination like in Rockstar games (Red Dead Redemption). Sometimes I wonder what an Elder Scrolls game would be like if the NPCs fused with AI from games like GTA. We'd see NPCs travelling between towns, utilizing carriages, hopping into one with you. And then cue the epic dragon attack on a caravan where you can save the day. Or escape and let everybody burn. Whichever suits you.

 

15. Multiple horse breeds

There should be different breeds of horses to choose from. Specific breeds have specific qualities that either make them balanced or have an edge in one category over the other choices. Diff breeds could also have different physical builds. Some horses would be better suited for light weight adventurers, while some are extra meaty and can handle heavy armored ppl.

 

Edit: Being able to OWN more than one horse of different breeds would be in addition to this!

 

16. Mark it & Park it

Would be good to know where my horse wandered off to after a troll scared the living crap out of it. Show us on map. Also, should be able to tie your horse up to posts located in villages and towns. Just in case theres no stable. Or even simpler, just have an option to have the horse "wait here" and you can imagine tying the reigns to a post yourself. Ha.

 

17. Mounted functionality

While mounted, it would help to have the option to function beyond combat. Casting light source spells, using clairvoyance, even being able to hold a torch.

 

18. Summon Mount

At the Steed stone, what if we were able to gain the ability to summon a horse for a time? Regular or for bonus pts, summoning a spectral horse (Could be partially transparent or something, have a haunting whinny)? Might add a lil spice.

 

19. Horsey, why you crazy?

Updated horse physics are probably ideal lol. Currently they have some funky quirks, but then again some would argue thats part of the game's charm. *shrug*

 

Extra Ideas detailed by khbazur:

 

Riding horse

 

-o- With saddle, and can carry the player or thier companion

-o- Will run from battle and enemies but return automatically to dismount point after battle

-o- Can purchase any number but can only use one at a time.

-o- Extra horses can be ridden by companions. They will mount when you mount your own horse

-o- To specify which horse is your companion's, command your companion to use horse to bind it to them

-o- Bound horses will say "xxx's Horse" with your or your companion's name at the xxx

-o- Cannot fight while on horseback but will fight alongside the player if player is dismounted

-o- Will flee when at 1/2 hp in battle

-o- Will return only when at full hp while in battle

 

 

Pack horse

 

-o- Trained to carry a large amount of stuff (Done by pressing the action key on the packs, 600 capacity)

-o- Can purchase any number but can only lead one. (Done by pressing the action key at the horse's head)

-o- Extra pack horses can be led by a companion when you lead your own. (Direct companion to use horse's head to bind to them)

-o- Active Pack horses will automatically follow any riding or war horses you own when you mount (and companion's pack horses also)

-o--o- Active pack horses are labelled "xxx's pack horse" with xxx the name of the player or companion

-o--o- Owned but not active pack horses are labelled "your pack horse"

-o--o- To make active simply lead the horse.

-o--o- Only one horse can be active per character/companion

-o--o- Placid but dumb beasts they will run from danger but not return after the danger is past.

-o--o--o- (Just like vanilla horses. You'll have to hunt them down to retrieve them)

-o--o- You can use a skill to help you find the dumb things

-o--o- So long as you are riding the pack horses will follow, but will flee once you are in battle mode

-o--o--o- (By dismounting or drawing a weapon while on a war horse)

 

War Horse

 

-o- You can purchase a war horse by completing a quest at the Horse Farm (new location near Whiterun)

-o- Can be ridden just like a riding horse.

-o- If dismounted and in battle will fight the enemy alongside you.

-o- Will flee at 1/4 hp

-o- Will return when recovered at 1/2 hp or battle ends.

-o- If mounted and in battle, player can fight on horseback at 3rd person view only.

-o- Readying a weapon will put mount in battle mode.

-o--o- Right hand wields normal 1 handed weapon attacking enemies on the right and forward of the player.

-o--o- Left hand directs horse to attack enemies in front with a stomp

-o--o- Shout causes horse to attack enemies to the rear with a kick (shout disabled due to horse not trained to shouts)

-o--o- Standing left power attack causes the horse to trample on the enemy in front of it knocking them down.

-o--o- Back left power attack causes the horse to do a double rear kick that knocks the target away with stun.

-o--o- Right power attack causes the player to charge and do a power thrust on an enemy to the front.

-o--o- W, S is for forward back

-o--o- A, D is for side step

-o--o- Use mouse to change facing.

 

 

New Power/skill

 

Horse Whistle - causes nearby pack horses to whinny 0 sp 1 sec cooldown Novice skill

Call Horse - causes nearby riding or war horse to come to you 0 sp 1 sec cooldown Apprentice skill req. horse whistle

Trample - standing power attack causes horse to trample enemy doing damage and knockdown Adept skill

Double Kick - Rear power attack causes horse to headstand and kick back for damage and knockback Expert skill

Charge - pressing right weapon power attack causes the horse to charge and your character to stab your target for horse damage

and your own damage, plus knockdown and stun while riding past. 10 sec cooldown Master skill

 

 

 

***So yeah these are some of the quick ideas I came up with. I'd love to have a discussion with anyone who is interested about the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding the idea. I'd love to see other ideas too that I could update this list with. I've already seen a pretty sleek horse color enhancement mod. I'm sure horse armor will come around sometime. It'd be cool if the horrse or "mount overhaul" could go well with mods like that.

 

I know this is kinda a long one. Thanks for your time. :)

Edited December 9, 2011 by Kairo29

[eend123]

Some good ideas!

 

About 3: It's very realistic to turn around to go back, but I agree with you that it should be possible to walk backwards a few steps. The way it was in Oblivion was okay.

 

Also in my opinion 11 is one of the most important issues. Yesterday I tried to sneak up a mammoth, I got discovered and he tried to attack me so I ran away but I was way

too slow so I tried to jump on my horse. Which slowed me down even worse...

 

In these situations you should be able to just jump on the horse and run the hell out of there, without bothering about the right position of the saddle. Same for dismounting, nobody

dismounts that slow when under attack. If a sabretooth tiger is after you, you now you'll have to use the console to resurrect the horse 'cause the tiger is faster then you are and

he will kill the horse if you try to dismount.

Edited November 19, 2011 by eend123

[darkblayd]

I think it would be kind of cool if my horse didn't charge into combat with me constantly... >.>

 

-Get off horse

-Charge fire breath shout

-Horse: "For Narnia!!"

-Horse catches on fire from my shout

-Facepalm...

[sweathawgs]

Really great ideas. It's nice to have them all laid out like this. But I would also like to ride my horse 1st person sometimes...(add that to the list. 1st person horse riding)

 

However, I'm not too optimistic, horses in Skyrim seem pretty messed up as it stands.

Who knows though? Maybe we'll end up with an Agro from SotC type deal.

[Kairo29]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I'll update OP! Man I wish I knew how to mod. I'd choose something like these horses and just spend months on the project.

@eend, yeah its realistic haha but i when ur next to a wall and are turning around the horse takes step forward, making u slide against the wall or begin slanting the horse up steep slopes and stuff. I dunno how it would work in a homemade mod tho. I like ur idea about being able to jump onto the horse too. I imagine an animation where you kind of launch urself with legs outstretched over the back of the horse to land on the saddle and take off.

 

@Darkblayd seeeriously haha. I tried to cover that in #6. I feel your pain.

 

@sweathawgs, 1st person can def help, especially if mounted combat and archery found a way into this mod. Its pretty crucial in that situation. I'll add that. And I agree, I'm not too optimistic, but you never know. There are some really talented people out there. Maybe diff modders with diff specialities could tag team the idea. I'd love to see that.

[mazakala]

Companions with horses shouldn't be hard to implement, I think the devs just added horses in a hurry :D

 

I'd also like the horse carriages you can use to fast travel to actually "slow travel", it would be nice to sit back and enjoy the scenery :) I'm quite experienced with modding, so this might be one of the first things I'll look into...

[Kairo29]

That warms my heart, Mazakala! lol and yeah I think of taxi rides in Grand Theft Auto, or even carriage rides in Red Dead Redemption. At least I remember you being able to either fast travel through the carriage rides or sit back and enjoy the scenery. Actually I think horses were pretty well done in that game. Obviously for Elder Scrolls the horse is going to be a bit more involved though, but their style as a base wasn't too shabby.

 

I wish I knew how to mod, then I could say I'd help lol. But I'm worthless. I'll cheer you on tho :D

 

and ill add the idea to OP, I like that one

 

Edit: And I just imagined a dragon scooping up the horse(s) leading the carriage or even picking up the whole damn thing itself. That would make an awesome Skyrim death youtube vid...haha.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Kairo29

[Gilibran]

Totaly agree on 3. It was done much bettter in Oblivion. Though the horses in Skyrim are more farm working horses then riding horses it should still be able to turn almost on a dime and walk backwards. It's very annoying if you rode up a small path or narrow bridge and cannot turn around or move backwards.

 

I'd also like to see different breeds of horses. Light horses, medium horses, heavy horses perhaps even traditional "nordic horses" like the islandic ponies or Fjord horses. Also in such a way that you cant ride a "light" horse if you are waering Heavy armor. But if you are wearing Light armor or a caster just wearing robes you can ride a faster, nimbler horse.

[Sparzy]

I want the horse whistle or at least for ur horse to show up on the map, idk how many times he's run off when a dragon or something attacks, it takes me ages to find.

[Kairo29]

Good ideas, Gilibran and Sparzy! Yeah I hate having to spaz and run around the roads searching for that horse that wandered away. You just gave me another idea about tying our horses down. Park those suckers.