SSE Mirrored Reflections in Skyrim?

[09jlardinois]

Hey, all,

I'd like to make some texture mods for Skyrim SE, but I'm not sure if it's possible to do what I want. I'm not very familiar with how texture mapping works in Skyrim, but is it possible to make mirrored reflective surfaces in Skyrim?

I see lots of "reflective" armor, dishware and vases in Skyrim, but they're all a very diffused, dull, and lackluster. I was wondering if the engine supports fully-mirrored reflections or not, or if there are some kinds of performance constraints that prevent them.

I'm hoping to make some truly reflective jewelry, silverware, and treasure pieces that have a reflective glow and sparkle to attract players to take them, steal them, or even just notice them better. I want to make a mod focused on treasure hunting and kleptomania, and having very tempting, shiny treasures is part of that goal.

Thanks for your help, friends.

[Ethreon]

Do you mean to reflect direct, real time, what's around them? Or just more clear versions of the ingame reflective maps?

[zilav]

There is environment mapping shader in Skyrim that reflects a texture you provide. No need to reflect the real environment around as noone will notice the difference unless you are trying to make a flat mirror.

[09jlardinois]

Ethreon, I'm not too familiar with texture mapping, so I'm not sure what it might be called. I'm more of a programmer and level designer. But I would imagine reflecting in real time the environment around the material. Like a mirror, but on the surface of a silver sword or elven armor.

Zilav, that's a good point. I think it might be noticed on armor and swords, but would that have too much of a performance impact? I'm looking to a similar effect of the hyper-reflective cars in some racing games and mods for racing games. I've never modded Grand Theft Auto, but I have seen mods for it where the metals are super reflective.

I think you're right that reflection on that level is probably not necessary for jewelry, trinkets, and silverware, but it could be really cool for weapons and armor - especially on swords in 1st person and armor in 3rd person.

[Ethreon]

Right now, I don't think there is any place where you'd want real time reflections. They are incredibly demanding.

[zilav]

Yes, there is no real reflections shader in Skyrim engine, and in Fallout 4 either.