Goooooooood Morning Tamriel!
Ah'vrie wishes you well. It is Loredas the 16th of Last Seed and a quiet predawn here on warm sands. Wage slaves rejoice the weekend has arrived. The blessed moons have set and it is once again time for this one to tend the inn for our most honored guests. Excuse please while the ash pits are emptied, the vents are cleaned and the fires rebuilt. Ah'vrie always likes to begin the weekend with happy fires, and a happy fire needs to breathe... There, much better no? A happy fire warms more then the room and As Ah'vrie's mother liked to say. Now to put fresh water to the flame while this one scrubs the kettles, sweeps and mops the floors. The life of an innkeeper is glamorous no?
Our brew of the day is pot luck as the old cat blends several previous roasts that he does not have quite enough of for a full pot of their own. Istanbul, Venice, and Miami. Now there's an eclectic blend but quite yummy. Pairs well with classic chocolate chip cookies.
Checking the hot sheets we have 38 new mods, and quite a few caught the eye today. Lets dive in over a fresh cuppa and see what we shall see.
A quick shoutout to Kulharin for The Xenophyte Must Grow
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/156922
"Add on for Grass Must Grow that distributes some plants and grasses to the Gray Cowl of the Noctural biomes." Not for old cat's but it's not the old cat's game. Thank you
kinamii released Wyrmstooth UniqueWeaponsReforged Comp for Modpocalypse NPCs
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/156964
It's a brownface bug fix for their load order. This one recommends you make your own if needed as it is extremely load order dependent. It is a first mod, so Welcome.
care4somegopher ported PopYurt Instant Hunter's Tent as a first mod. Welcome
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/156761
"A conjurable survival tent with beds, storage and more! Thank you HerrBaron for allowing me to upload this handy mod!" That brings back a few memories, thanks.
shazdeh2 released two today. Thanks, both are a bit nitch, but useful. Have a cookie
https://next.nexusmods.com/profile/shaz ... ameId=1704
Lorebox, A modders resource for adding additional descriptive text
Requiem Armor Insight, which displays the hidden traits added to armors.
nguyenthengoc13c released Marked for Death - Voice acting fix
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/156919
"This mod corrects the voice acting of Marked for Death when using the shout at 2nd rank or 3rd rank (Krii - Lun, instead of Lun-Lun; Krii - Lun - Aus, instead of Lun - Lun - Aus)."
Thanks, that's a shout the old cat has never used. Over a decade later we're still finding new, old bugs.
kott21 released Bonebound - Summonable Skeleton Variants
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/156866
"Adds new summonable skeletons vanilla-like based on PraedythXVI's models (optional version for Necromantic Grimoire)." Thanks, Good choice of models.
Switching to a bit of horticulture...
S4nguine released Seasonal Vanilla Mari Junipers
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/156911
"Simply Replaces the Juniper Plant from Seasonal Landscapes with textures from Mari."
We love choice, and Mari's work. Thank you
soul19reaper released Thickets and Dead Shrubs Swappers
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/156901
"This mod using Base Object Swapper replaces ugly dead shrubs, thickets and reach bush with plants or flora of choice. Highly compatible with all kinds of Flora retextures and covers DLCs as well."
There are many mods that 'deal' with the ugly dead shrub models, but before we committing this one to the pile, the old cat looked a little deeper, and has to admit that a lot of care went into the replacing them with flowers and ingredients appropriate to the locations. This one gets a cookie, and is definitely a worthy choice. Thanks
Valzryk released Draugr Upgrades and Improvements Upscale
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/156924
"Cleaned and Upscaled textures using latest engine. Saved in proper B7 format to try increase fps while looking nice."
The old cat is on the fence with this one. The up-scaling is minor at best, and it adds visual artifacts of its own. Thanks, but there are better choices already available. Pass
And that brings us finally to our mod of the day, and the return of an old friend to many.
Gleaming Glaciers - High Quality Glacier Meshes Textures and LOD by fadingsignal
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/156970
"GLEAMING GLACIERS adds high-poly glacier meshes with high-poly collision, HD textures, and high-poly seamless LOD, featuring dramatic, deep, refractive, colorful backlighting"
Where to begin LOL, the color balance, and consistency of the LODs and full textures really speaks to Fadingsignal's skill. Having worked and fished for several years among the Patagonian glaciers, it's nice to see the blue ice blue. The old cat wishes it was slightly more refractive and with a bit more sub surface scattering, but this is a massive improvement and you can immediately see the care that went into it's creation.
This is three cookie work, please watch the included video. Welcome back Fading, you've been sorely missed. Beautiful work as always.
And that will do for today. The ale was delivered on time and the new batch of mead is ready. We're serving mudcrab scrambles for the early meal, and we'll see whats fresh in the markets before planning the late meal. As always there will be a hearty stew simmering for those that need to ward the chill. We-B-Open!