Dawnguard Released

[Sir Slash]

I got Skyrim through Steam and so all my mods through Steam. It's very easy to use there, all mods available are listed and rated by popularity or most recent and you just suscribe to the mods you like. They're installed and run automatically the next time you play the game. You can even post comments on the mods yourself or check-out what others have to say about them. There's well over 500 posted. I check them out every couple of days to see what new mods are listed. I got several that improve the game map and one that allows you to craft belts that double your carrying capacity and of course a secret player house to stash my stash.

[Kushan]

^Thanks Kushan. I am guessing you don't use the Steam mod library.

The problem with steam is that it auto updates mods. Some mods, for example convenient horses, have specific steps that need to be followed whe you upgrade versions in order for it to work. In Convenient Horses case you need to stop a hidden quest via the console, upgrade, then restart the hidden quest. If you don't notice steam updated a mod then you can really screw up your game. And some mods are best upgrade and installed at the start of a new game. Nexus Mod Manager IMO is allows more control over your mods then steam. It can set up your load order as well as download and install mods.

The second reason I don't use steam is that it just doesn't have the library the nexus does, as of the last time I checked. I found a lot more mods on nexus that are not on steam.

[Gusington]

Cool. I've only used the mod library for Civ V so far, but I like it. Sure there are a lot of superfluous sounding mods but users just have to search for the wheat in the chaff.

<open's Pandora's mod box> What are some of your favorite Skyrim mods? <open's Pandora's mod box>

[Fighting Farmer]

Thanks guys. My resistance is slowly crumbling.

That said, playing a regular vampire [not a lord] in the original game a while back drove me nuts and was not nearly as fun as I had hoped. I wanted to play as a werewolf when I came back to the game but of course the promise of this DLC now has me in a quandary.

Toonces the high price is not making you hesitate?

Gus, save your $20 on Dawnguard and instead spend it on this: http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-KOAR/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning
It will be a fresh experience and I guarantee you will get a hell of a lot more gaming for you $20 with Kingdoms than Dawnquard. I had 180 hours into it when I put it up in fear of getting burned out.

[Gusington]

I've read a little about Amalur but not much...what tickles your fancy about it?

[Fighting Farmer]

I've read a little about Amalur but not much...what tickles your fancy about it?

Its a RPG that someone with limited coordination skills such as I can play.  Here are some links that can explain it better than I can:

http://www.gamesradar.com/5-things-kingdoms-amalur-does-better-skyrim/

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/elder-scrolls-v/1219600p1.html

Did I mention the game is a blast to play?

[Kushan]

Cool. I've only used the mod library for Civ V so far, but I like it. Sure there are a lot of superfluous sounding mods but users just have to search for the wheat in the chaff.

<open's Pandora's mod box> What are some of your favorite Skyrim mods? <open's Pandora's mod box>

You really want to open Pandora's box, I'll try and keep the list short and the ones I consider essential:

1: SkyRe - Skyrim Redone (Gameplay balance, race, perks, etc.)
2: Project Reality - Climates of Tamriel (Weather and Lighting)
3: W.A.T.E.R
4: Skyrim Flora Overhaul
5: Lush Trees
6: Lush Grass
7: Ultimate Follower Overhaul
8: Convenient Horses
9: Deadly Dragons
10: Phendrix's Magic Evolved
11: SkyUI
12: ImmersiveHUD
13: A thinner Compass
14: ASIS
15: The Imaginator
16: Dynavision
17: Skyrim Monster Mod with Lorefriendly Purist Replacer
18: SkyTest (Realistic Animal Behavior)
19: Warzones - Civil Unrest
20: Claralux - More and Brighter Lights
21: JaySuS Swords
22: Omegared99's Armor Compilation
23: Immersive Armors by hothtrooper44
24: Extended Vanilla Weapons
25: A Quality World Map - With Roads
26: Categorized Favorites Menu
27: Calientes Female Body Mod Big Bottom Edition -CBBE (Adult Mod, but much better female bodies)
28: Better Females by Bella (Improved female face textures)
29: Static Mesh Improvement Mod
30: 83Willows 102 Bugs HD
31: Birds of Skyrim
32: Skyrim HD, Skyrim Realistic Overhaul, Texture Pack Combiner (I prefer Skyrim HD)
33: Enhanced Night
34: Enhanced Distant Terrain
35: DSAMG - Dragon Soul Absorb More Glorious

These are the 35 that I consider essential, that I have installed permanently. I haven't included armor or weapon mods in order to keep the list somewhat reasonable in length.

Edit: Just in case any is planning on downloading mods from the nexus over the next couple days, they are having some issue with their site since the release of Dawnguard. http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/news/158/. In short a lot of people came back to the game and the servers got overloaded all while the site admin was out of town. So if you try and download with the Nexus Mod Manager, you may get a file not found message. The file exist, where just stuck either downloading manually or waiting for the site to stabilize.

[Gusington]

^Damn! I can make a career out of modding Skryim. And thanks for the above on Amalur, FF...checking it out. Weird thing with the age gate at GG yesterday, it wouldn't let me through. Maybe at 38 I am still too young?

[Kushan]

Couple of Vampire mods for those that chose the vampire path in Dawnguard.

Vampire Predator Vision: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/22274 - Modifies the default minor power you get upon being turned into a vampire.
Better Vampires: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/9717

[Gusington]

^You are a haunting PC gaming temptress.

[Toonces]

Ok, I finished Dawnguard.

Total play time was 16 hours.  I had to seriously backtrack a few times so I think a "good" Skyrim player could knock this out in 10-15 hours (using fast travel).  If you walk everywhere it will take considerably longer.

Now that I've completed it, my feelings are mixed.  The whole adventure taken as a whole was not nearly as epic as I expected.  Way not enough vampire killing.  The new areas were very cool, and I did enjoy that aspect of it.  The story was good.  The end was very lame. 

Overall, now that it's over I feel like I got my money's worth but I definitely think that if you're sitting on the fence it's not worth it right now. 

I have to say that I'm sort of shocked at how quickly it wrapped up.  I don't know what I'm going to do now....maybe play with some mods or else move on to CK2 for a while.  There's a big hole in my life that Dawnguard has left now that it's over.

[LongBlade]

I don't know what I'm going to do now....maybe play with some mods or else move on to CK2 for a while.  There's a big hole in my life that Dawnguard has left now that it's over.

Well, that's high praise in and of itself.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Kushan]

The next DLC has been announced

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/08/28/skyrim-hearthfire-trailer/

· Choose Your Land – Choose from property in the salt marshes of Hjaalmarch, the forests of Falkreath, or the vast tundra of The Pale. For the more ambitious landowner, purchase multiple plots and start building a real estate empire.

    - Customize Your Home – Expand your home with a variety of room combinations including an armory, alchemy tower, kitchen, trophy room and more. Grow plants in your new greenhouse, cultivate slaughterfish in the fish hatchery, house your Arcane Enchanter in the enchanting tower, or display your latest conquest in the trophy room. Add additional features like stables, mills, smelters, gardens and more.

    - New Objectives and Interactions – Guard your home from unwanted visitors like marauding kidnappers, armed bandits, and skeever infestations. Turn almost any follower into your personal steward to improve and protect your home. Or if you require more help, hire a personal bard or carriage driver to ease the burdens of home ownership.

    - Adoption – Transform your house into a home with Hearthfire's all-new adoption system. Adopt children and discover new ways to interact with your family. Play games with the kids, allow them to have pets and gain new bonuses from having a family.

They basically copied the "Build Your Own Home" and turned it into DLC. So this will probably be a lackluster DLC for PC players, but for console players it could be pretty cool.

As far as them copying modders work, its in the EULA that they can copy/re-use your work without permission. Most of the additions to Fallout New Vegas were copied from Fallout 3 mods. Given the fact that Bethesda is one of the few companies that really supports its modding community, I don't think them copying work is that big of deal. Its free research for them.

[Gusington]

Support is a good start...look at Total War Center to see what happens when there is none.

But I can see a lot of gamers starting a big ol' sh*storm over something like using mods without proper 'credit.'

As far as the new DLC, if it's free I may try it out. If not, that sort of thing is not something I would pay for. Still waiting for a sale on Dawnguard too.

[Nefaro]

As far as them copying modders work, its in the EULA that they can copy/re-use your work without permission. Most of the additions to Fallout New Vegas were copied from Fallout 3 mods. Given the fact that Bethesda is one of the few companies that really supports its modding community, I don't think them copying work is that big of deal. Its free research for them.

Using other people's mods is in many EULAs.  Another reason I laugh pretty hard when people try to claim copyrights and such on their mods and tell people not to use them.  Hahaha.  They basically belong to the the game company, as claimed in the agreement.