Gooooooooood Morning Tamriel!
Ah'vrie wishes you well. It is Sundas the 26th of Frostfall, and a chilly predawn here on warm sands. The blessed moons have set, and it's once again time for this one to tend the inn. Excuse please while the fires are stoked, and fresh water is put to the flame...
Our brew of the day is still Kahawa ya Congo, and the biscuits are fudge Brownie cookies. (Because not only badgers love chocolate) Checking the hot sheets we have 44 new mods in the usual eclectic mix. Lets see what catches the eyes of an old cat over a fresh cuppa
Lets kick this off ugly but fitting
Grelod the Kind Refined by RedguardDiaspora
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/162700
"Even Riften’s most heartless headmistress deserves a makeover."
There's nothing about this the old cat doesn't like. Letting her inner 'beauty' shine through. Perfect for All hallows eve as well. If only the skin was green
That leads us straight to adoptable kids. The old cat still knows how to Segway...
Adoptable Argonian Hatchlings by WindreeKindheart
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/162528
"The mod adds two Argonian (Saxhleel) hatchling. One on the ship in Morthal and another in Windhelm docks." Because cold blooded doesn't have to mean heartless. Have a cookie
carpenihil released Azurite III Enhanced - Actually Darker Nights
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/162673
"Makes the nights of Azurite III Enhanced actually darker rather than just reducing overall brightness of lights" Well, it's... It's subtle. The old cat will assume it's more noticeable in game, but in all honesty not much of a change. Thanks
DEs4lar released Cathedral CS
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/162681
"A CS Visual Overhaul Version of Cathedral Weathers, Boosting Visuals for your eyes with HDR little to no Performance loss!"
Where to start... if this is about the weather shaders, then why are all the pictures clear blue skies? The PBR textures still look positively boring, but the old cat will admit that the shadows look a little better, and there is more depth to the distant terrain. CS is getting there. This is worth a look, it just doesn't seem to have anything to do with weather. It also doesn't support seasons. Um... Thanks?
Computerplayer1 High Quality Ivy - Nova Fall Recolour
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/162714
"Fall recolour of ivy.dds and ivy_autumn.dds from the excellent High Quality Ivy BOS mod by fxxkthisworld" Quite pretty and well done. Unfortunately Ivy doesn't actually change color, but this really does look good. Thanks
Ruins Chair and Tables Reforged and Upscaled by Blubbo
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/162755
"These textures were upscaled from the original vanilla textures using my comfyUI upscaling workflow. I recreated the normal maps traditionally, and the meshes are included because I had to make UV corrections to adjust them."
These look really good. Even zooming in, and not a tree in sight. Tracking for now. The old cat may add these today.
GeraldMods released More Wall Baskets
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/162291
"This mod adds new variations of Wall Baskets. The vanilla game has 10 different meshes, but all of them have only one pattern per mesh. I have created many variations of vanilla meshes with different patterns and distributed them across Skyrim via Model Swapper. These new models comes with 1K textures (vanilla has 512) and high-poly meshes."
This is something that was sorely needed in game. Adds a lot of variety to wall baskets and distributes them. Gerald spent a lot of time on this, and it shows. Requires Model Swapper, and SMIM, but definitely worth a look. Solid 2 cookie work. Well done.
Speaking of much needed variety... Hu,h huh, see what this one did there?
i329 released Torches Candlelight and Lanterns
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/162694
"23 unique lanterns with SMP physics for the player and NPCs including Dunmer lanterns, hold lanterns, faction lanterns, and more. Dynamic gameplay where lanterns start in hand and placed on hip in combat. MCM to manage the optional fuel system and hotkey."
The switching to hip during combat by pressing the hotkey could be smoother, and personally the old cat prefers hip mounted. But for NPCs this adds a lot of variety. Thanks
And finally well finish up with a new dungeon... Well it is Skyrim
The Bitter Claim - SE by Sons of Vuldur uploaded by venjhammet
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecial ... ods/162674
"Lying along the river northeast of Rorikstead, Skeldrun Barrow is an ancient Nordic ruin long forgotten by time."
This does not conflict with venjhammet's dungeon packs. The guardian was voiced with xVASynth, but uses no original voice assets. Worth a look, no idea what kind of enemies you'll face, but it looks well constructed. Thanks.
And that will do for today. The fires are stoked, the kettles scrubbed, and the floors were swept and mopped. Have a seat and the wenches will serve you. We-B-Open!