Skyrim

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Skyrimaguas

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skyrimaguas

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About this mod

Improves the weather system and lighting in Solstheim - while keeping its volcanic-ash-enchanted theme.

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Have a look at this amazing video produced by Brodual




Solstheim vanilla weather has always been dull, monotonous and gloomy - with an occasional ashstorm or snowfall once in a while - that's all to it.
This mod will change that and make your Dragonborn DLC experience more worthwhile.


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Description
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Solstheim Climate Overhaul improves the weather and lighting system of Dragonborn DLC by enhancing and diversifying weather-types available for Solstheim. New unique weather systems were created which are based on the volcanic-ash theme of Solstheim. These weather systems will take advantage of the new assets provided by the DLC. Also, the weather systems were redistributed in the island to reflect its diverse regions.

Redistribution of weather systems reflecting region diversity
* The Southern Areas will have generally more chances of milder weather
* Ashfalls are more frequent on the Eastern part close to the volcano
* The mountain areas will have more extreme weathers - heavy snows, extrerme ashfalls, and blizzards
* Northern Tundra will have more snow and rain
* Ravenrock area will generally have more pleasant weather compared to the rest of the island

Expand Solstheim's weather with new unique weather-types and implement existing ones from Skyrim mainland
* Adds more variations of ashfall weather-types
* Adds extreme weather conditions like blizzards, extreme ashfall and rainstorms
* Adds a small chance for sunny days (with and without ash)
* Adds a slim chance for rainy weather (very minimal as Solstheim is supposed to be dry and barren)
* New unique weather types: Volcanic Ashfall with embers, Emberstorms, Cloudless rain, cloudless snowstorm, strong sun and lots more!)

Enhanced visual effects and Lighting improvements
- Nights are now darker
- Applied several particle effects (like ash, fog, rain, etc.) for enhanced immersion
- Improved overall exterior colors and lighting for the whole island of Solstheim
- Enhanced existing weather templates

Solstheim Climate Overhaul is still a work-in-progress so kindly report to the author any issues encountered. Thank you.

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OPTIONAL ADD-ONS
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There are two optional add-ons with unbalanced weather distribution which turn Solstheim into completely new environments:

* Extreme Wasteland Optional Patch:
Exaggerates the lore and turns Solstheim into a real unforgiving wasteland - more harsh ashfalls, emberstorms and blizzards. Perfect for reality-immersion freaks and those who just want greater challenge.


* Paradise Island Optional Patch:
A not-so-lore-friendly climate overhaul which gives Solstheim a temperate climate. Perfect for those who love taking screenshots with blue skies and sunny days - while enjoying the lovely view of the bay with a volcano in the background. :)

These are optional patches and both require the main Solstheim Climate Overhaul esm file. You may use only 1 optional patch at a time.


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Installation
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Copy the esm file in your skyrim data folder

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Requirements
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You must have the Dragonborn DLC

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Compatibility & Load Order
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Since this mod affects only the Solstheim worldspace, It should be compatible with most other mods.

This mod is fully compatible with Climates of Tamriel v3.1 (COTv3.1) - you have to turn-off/disable CoT's Dragonborn patch to fully implement the SCO's unique weather systems in Solstheim.

SCO main esm file must be placed directly after CoT.

Solstheim Climate Overhaul - COT v3.1 Compatibility patch
This is an optional patch for those who want to have BOTH SCO and COTv3.1 weathers in Solstheim.This patch requires SCO main esm, COTv3.1 esm and COT Dragonborn patch.
* The compatibility patch must be placed right AFTER COTv3.1's Dragonborn patch.
* Optional Add-on patches - "Extreme Wasteland" and "Paradise Island" are not advised to be used with the SCO-COTv3.1 Compatibility patch as they are designed to have unbalanced settings leaning the odds towards the extreme harsh and extreme pleasant SCO weather settings.


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VERSION UPDATE LOG:
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0.8 - Improved and refined version
- Rebalanced color consistency between different weather types
- Tweaked some nights that appear "too dark" with some ENBs
- fixed some over saturated weather-types
- edited some imagespaces
- Some minor tweaks based on user feedback
NEW - SCO-COTv3.1 compatibility patch

0.7
- More unique Volcanic weathers - like Emberstorms, strong sun and others (you'll discover it along the way)
- enhanced sunsets
- enhanced night time color corrections
- visibility tweaks and distant fog fixes
- re-balanced the weather distribution
New - Wasteland Edition Optional Add-on
New - Paradise Island Edition Optional Add-on

0.6
- Implemented major tweaks based on feedback and playtesting
- Weather Redistribution implemented
- Added a new weather type: volcanic ash with embers
- Minimized the chances of rainy weathers (Solstheim is supposed to be dry and barren)
- Improved the Ashfall weather systems to be more realistic
- Fixed some issues regarding visibility in certain weather systems
- Other minor lighting tweaks and color adjustment

0.51
- fixed a weird discoloration glitch that appears sometimes when transitioning between 2 weather systems
- fixed a phenomenon where boxy polygons appear in the night sky when auroras are out.
0.5 - Initial Release Beta Version


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Check out my other mods:


Solstheim Wasteland - transform Solstheim into a barren wasteland environment inspired by the Bethesda's Fallout 3

Grass on Steroids - Thick, tall and overgrown grass - A grass density enhancement mod that increases your FPS instead of slowing you down!

Beautiful Landscapes: Skyrim Grassification Project - Turn Skyrim into one big beautiful landscaped garden!

Bigger, Better Sun (and moons) improves the appearance of the sun and increases its size