So they tell me to roleplay...

[ApocNizmith]

Ok guys I have had 100s of hours in skyrim over many years. I still love the game but throughout the years 1 very glaring issue has sort of ruined it for me. After years and years I saw a video from Sinatar Gaming on modding oblivion to 4K, followed teh steps and replayed it after all these years. It was fun but now I step back into Skyrim and find myself thinking "vast game, shallow as a puddle".
Now I get Skyrim is what you make of it, with thousands of mods, entire game overhauls, and as many tweaks and do-dads as their are mindless NPCs. So I ask how do I enjoy it again after having the 9000th convo with Sven about a dragon leaving Helgen and him forgetting I just said something to him not 3 seconds later? People ansered me "Role Play"...

Issue 1: Role Playing requires a backstory, backstories require that you character has lived and trained doing something, and in skyrim you always start as a prisoner, at level 1, with no skills or knowledge of anything... So we fix this how? Live another life.

Issue 2: Live another life, while allowing you to semi RP a different path in game, starts you with no skills, less money in your pocket than the beggers in town mooched off of travelers in a single day, and you are still level 1 with 0 skills, or knowledge of anything. Example: Pick I am a soldier in an army. You pick your side, are tossed into the civil war, and neither side evidently bothered to train you in any fashion. You start at lvl 1 with basic faction armor, and they didn't so much as bother to teach you how to swing a sword. Why? If you are a soldier shouldn't you start with not only faction armor, but the training of at least 10-20 points higher in basic combat skills than the adverage joe that wanders town aimlessly? Now I get your not super trooper, but you would at least have a few basic skills like being able to srug off a bit more damage while wearing a specific armor type just from basic training. This and this alone prevents me from being able to effectively RP anything as it is unbelievable. Or pick "I am a necromancer in a secluded lair", but I am not. I have racial base in conjuration, no spells, and nthing at all that benifits me picking that begining as I am now deep in Blackreach, without a single way to defend myself against the onslaught of enemies on the way out. You'd think a necromancer would know how to summon/create undead, and would possess the magicka to do so at the start. SO how do we fix this? 1 way we cheat... The only basic way to make rp believable in a SP game is the characters backstory should match their starting stats somewhat, and the only way to acomplish this is through console commands or blatent cheating.

Issue 3: When we compare skyrim to Oblivion or Morrowind, we see a clear and defined lack of any real depth. The perk system is shallow, allowing for maybe 3-4 viable long term characters and basic variations of those: Sneaky Archer/Illusonist, Mage/Spellsword, Light Combatant, Heavy combatant. All of these being able to reach armor cap by level 20, making you a damage sponge negating any challenge we may have in game, and all our NPCs function on a 1-5 relationship system and are basically mindless outside of this. There are mods like Wildcat that can fix the combat, Ordinator that can fix the shallow build/perk trees, but nothing we can do to fix the idiot braindead AI/Relationship scripting shy of making every NPC in game function like Inigo or Sofia, where what you do actually matters in game. You can legit murder their spouse directly in front of them, pay 1000 gold, walk back into the store and they great you like nothing ever happened minus maybe 1 small dialog change. They wont refuse you service, they don't want revenge and they mysteriously forgot who you were after you murdered their loved on in cold blood as they watched. This has never been fixed, don't really think it can be other than making every NPC in the game "Smart". If we would have done that in Morrowind the shop keep would have chased us out at knife point if we ever tried to set foot in his shop again. So now we are Joe-Blow, with zero skill after say 3 months training in basic combat tactics, and every NPC has Altzhimers.

Issue 4: We are relentless terminators, that never sleep, eat, or suffer any type of consequence from swimming naked across water so cold it would drop you in rl in under 15 seconds, and hypothermia and frostbite would have taken you limbs. We can fix this issue with Frostfall/Campfires and iNeed or RND. But Skyrims basic engine basically makes these a uphill fight as on engaging the mod, you may have only a mages robe, 3 apples and zero firewood resulting in you freezing to death while walking from Winterhold to Sarthal, or dying of dehydration because the mod didn't even give you a basic filled water skin to start with. Great for RP right? Nope sorry, if you knew it was cold outside wouldn't you bundle up, bring a lunch and stop to get at least basic supplies before heading a days walk through frozen tundra, sure you would, but unless you already had some money in pocket or the resources to build a shelter and a fire your toast. Which leaves one option, cheating, or waiting to initialize mods like that until you have already earned enough money to buy basic supplies or murdered and chopped enough to have the materials to build them yourself. It is immersion killing and leaves you with the same results as Live another life, cheating to give yourself the few basics you will need to survive or the 300-500 gold via console to buy them.

So how do we RP in a world that completely negates any backstory of who I was before this event happened, regardless of mods, has NPCs that are basically scripted automatons with no brains, regardless of mods? I could get into it with just a slight bit more immersion, RPing would be cake, but any desire to do so is negated by the shallowness of the world that was created.

Edited January 24, 2019 by ApocNizmith

[Roadhouse699]

Well hey, that's just like, your opinion, man.

[Deleted54170User]

You've never been to the land of Nod. I can tell by your words. You can't imagine a place where it seems you exist in dreams.

 

I recommend you read a book. Not something about conflict or imagination of what a bunch of posies we all are. A book with some real meaningful information.

 

The Skyrim Construction Set awaits, for you to read a book. How about how a manual on how to build your first house in Skyrim. or MORROWIND.

 

Morrowind Mod Makers Manual, by Michael D. Edwards.

 

I can hardly wait to see the grandeur of your creative thinking appear in a game.

 

Michael shares words about life in his Modding manual that I think you might find amuses you.

[ApocNizmith]

You've never been to the land of Nod. I can tell by your words. You can't imagine a place where it seems you exist in dreams.

 

I recommend you read a book. Not something about conflict or imagination of what a bunch of posies we all are. A book with some real meaningful information.

 

The Skyrim Construction Set awaits, for you to read a book. How about how a manual on how to build your first house in Skyrim. or MORROWIND.

 

Morrowind Mod Makers Manual, by Michael D. Edwards.

 

I can hardly wait to see the grandeur of your creative thinking appear in a game.

 

Michael shares words about life in his Modding manual that I think you might find amuses you.

 

I already modified live another life in the CK by adding a few lines to each of the beginning scripts to advance your characters level to 10 and adding what I thought were appropriate perks for that specific beginning, a few spells etc.

Working on modifying my own copy of frostfall to provide a basic tent, campfire basic stone axe and a cooking pot on start up, and fixing RND so on start up it will give you 1 filling meal and 1 filled water skin. Problem is now I have to contact each mod creator, send them a copy and hope they allow the mod to be published with the modifications and in the case of Live another life that will never happen as the creator has abandoned oldrim and flat said they would not allow anyone to continue patching it to that platform.

As far as the npcs in game go, their is no fixing that.

[Roadhouse699]

Well, in like a year or so you'll be able to play Skyrim without actually being in Skyrim.

You can go to Morrowind, Cyrodiil, Hammerfell, High Rock, Elsweyr, Black Marsh, Atmora, and Roscrea. From what I've seen, Beyond Skyrim is built much more like a traditional RPG than Skyrim itself is, with speech checks and the like.

 

Also, just editing a few mods here and there... I don't think that's what our friend here is telling you to do. Don't take this the wrong way, but that's hardly scratching the surface of modding.

Edited January 24, 2019 by Roadhouse699

[WakahisaSensei]

In my opinion a great deal of RP rests in imagination. This game, maybe all games, will always have limits. In the rare moments when I role play, I rely less on mods and script and more on my own head. Think back to when you were a child, play pretend. Pretend there are more consequences than what the game has. Pretend the dialogue is different. Imagine your own backstory and then act like it. A series of bat files can help with stats, if needed. I have a few bat files I activate at the beginning of every new save, but some that are only activated for specific play styles.

 

Mods can help add some immersion to be sure, but the game can only go so far. Role Playing and games require a suspension of disbelief, much like any movie or book. You have to be willing to accept a few logical stretches and/or limits. The only thing as varied as life is life.

[Deleted54170User]

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You've never been to the land of Nod. I can tell by your words. You can't imagine a place where it seems you exist in dreams.

 

I recommend you read a book. Not something about conflict or imagination of what a bunch of posies we all are. A book with some real meaningful information.

 

The Skyrim Construction Set awaits, for you to read a book. How about how a manual on how to build your first house in Skyrim. or MORROWIND.

 

Morrowind Mod Makers Manual, by Michael D. Edwards.

 

I can hardly wait to see the grandeur of your creative thinking appear in a game.

 

Michael shares words about life in his Modding manual that I think you might find amuses you.

 

I already modified live another life in the CK by adding a few lines to each of the beginning scripts to advance your characters level to 10 and adding what I thought were appropriate perks for that specific beginning, a few spells etc.
Working on modifying my own copy of frostfall to provide a basic tent, campfire basic stone axe and a cooking pot on start up, and fixing RND so on start up it will give you 1 filling meal and 1 filled water skin. Problem is now I have to contact each mod creator, send them a copy and hope they allow the mod to be published with the modifications and in the case of Live another life that will never happen as the creator has abandoned oldrim and flat said they would not allow anyone to continue patching it to that platform.
As far as the npcs in game go, their is no fixing that.

 

 

Who ever it is that they are, saying to you to Role Play? What you're writing about reminds me of television shows where, who ever they are, are actors, who replace our real parents sharing thoughts about how they would like us to survive, but not at home anymore with them.

-----

The memories of my Mom and Dad giving me guidance for the next steps I have to take are back. I haven't thought of those words of advice in a long time.

 

I wonder. Have you words like the ones I am recalling? Those words your loved ones shared when you were taking your first steps away from the warmth of security.

 

Remember your tool kit! Put on your thinking cap, your coat, your galoshes. Stay warm. Don't forget to... Write!

[Deleted54170User]

In my opinion a great deal of RP rests in imagination. This game, maybe all games, will always have limits. In the rare moments when I role play, I rely less on mods and script and more on my own head. Think back to when you were a child, play pretend. Pretend there are more consequences than what the game has. Pretend the dialogue is different. Imagine your own backstory and then act like it. A series of bat files can help with stats, if needed. I have a few bat files I activate at the beginning of every new save, but some that are only activated for specific play styles.

 

Mods can help add some immersion to be sure, but the game can only go so far. Role Playing and games require a suspension of disbelief, much like any movie or book. You have to be willing to accept a few logical stretches and/or limits. The only thing as varied as life is life.

 

The way you describe Role play makes it seem like if I broke out of the way I have been playing I might get into RP myself.

 

I think I kind of have some of what you are describe in my gaming focus. I also seem to be able to start a new game and play it as if I had never played it just because I see it as though it were like a baseball game, mathematically the batters never hit the ball the same way twice. With allot of variables from the weather effecting the game too.

[Deleted54170User]

Well, in like a year or so you'll be able to play Skyrim without actually being in Skyrim.

You can go to Morrowind, Cyrodiil, Hammerfell, High Rock, Elsweyr, Black Marsh, Atmora, and Roscrea. From what I've seen, Beyond Skyrim is built much more like a traditional RPG than Skyrim itself is, with speech checks and the like.

 

Also, just editing a few mods here and there... I don't think that's what our friend here is telling you to do. Don't take this the wrong way, but that's hardly scratching the surface of modding.

 

After reading the Morrowind Manual for Mod Makers I realized that modding can be exciting, it's was a real stretch for my mind, Grumpy made it interesting, I thought, and with his style of guide I managed to get through the tedious work it takes just to learn to mod too. He describes some of life's problems. Let me just say; I had Grumpy's luck with computer parts too.

 

If you need a list of web sites related to modders he compiled all that were active Morrowind modders sites.

[Roadhouse699]

 

 

After reading the Morrowind Manual for Mod Makers I realized that modding can be exciting, it's was a real stretch for my mind, Grumpy made it interesting, I thought, and with his style of guide I managed to get through the tedious work it takes just to learn to mod too. He describes some of life's problems. Let me just say; I had Grumpy's luck with computer parts too.

 

If you need a list of web sites related to modders he compiled all that were active Morrowind modders sites.

 

 

 

Oh, it absolutely can be. I've spent more time modding Skyrim than I have playing Skyrim at this point (though it was a long time with both). I really have no interest in working with the Gamebryo Engine, though, as I'm much more used to the Creation Engine and find it more straightforward.