I have retired from modding Skyrim. I hereby give blanket permission for anyone to use, modify, rehost or port any of my content to Special Edition, provided proper credit is given.
It has been a blast being a part of this community and it makes me very happy that my work is still appreciated by so many. Have fun creating!
Update 25 June 2014 #2: New fomod installer is out, and it contains an .esp-free version of the original release! I got so annoyed at the people constantly nagging me about the .esp, I put my mind to devising some other way of making the DLC required. The requirement is now in the meshes themselves, they will not work without Dawnguard installed.
The idea is pretty simple: I added an extra bit of geometry to the meshes that is linked to a totally transparent spot on a Dawnguard texture. As long as the DLC is loaded, the cube will be completely invisible. But try to use it without the DLC installed, and the game will no longer know the texture is supposed to be transparent - you get a bright purple bar across the middle of the mesh. This is what it looks like:
As I said, as long as Dawnguard is installed the box is completely invisible, you will not notice that it is there. If you don't have the DLC, you can use the optional Non-DLC version included with the installer.
Update 25 June 2014: Published a new non-DLC version of the phial that does not include metal handle (thus, no Dawnguard assets). Available in both 1024 and 512 resolutions. Contains loose files, so no archive and pointless .esp to clutter up your load order. I do maintain that the Dawnguard version is prettier though, but people kept requesting this option so here it is.
I also added an optional file with scaled down versions of the bottle, as my original version is kinda large (though not so very large compared to vanilla potion bottles, see comparison screen). The available sizes are 80% and 50%, and come as both DLC and non-DLC versions. Meshes only, you will need one of the main files as well! Install manually by extracting the contents of the subfolder you want to your Skyrim data folder.
Oldrim, no ENB for now, a noobie about shder stuff - what i should looking for? Although i have Arri's Snow Elf Ruins Retexture and some retex of Auriel Bow i cant remember was taken from - thats the only thing i changed from vanilla in dat dlc.
Hm. Pretty sure the Snow Elf Retexture is the problem. I didn't anticipate that particular spot on the texture might not be transparent in modded version...
I'm also getting the cube showing even though I have Dawnguard loaded. I don't have any snow elf retexture installed however. I decided to look for the texture being loaded in nifskope and it seems you're pointing towards Auriel's Shield? If so then I have a replacer for it so I think it that be the issue.
I clearly remember the disappointment and huge "Huh...?" moment after discovering this magical phial for the very first time, way back, in a year marked as the eleventh in the second millennium of the Gregorian Calendar; for this supposedly enchanting looking receptacle for an enormously potent ministration didn't exactly live-up to the imaginings invoked by its description and content.
The original phial didn't only look suspiciously bland and of a highly uninspired design, but it was also small, smudgy and looked like it was made for the smallest of dwarves with a penchant for Scottish kilt broidery...
So, it is with enormous delight and inexpressable satisfaction that I will replace the-object-we-no-longer-shall-mention with Her Extreme Higness Saerileth's proposed replacement, which finally brings to us a White Phial worthy of awe and its illustrous legendary status.
In other words, thank you and very well done, Saerileth
Hahaha, I must say that is a clever integrated non-DLC harassment.
Also, since SuperNIFSkope came out, have you reconsidered an Ordered Node transparency setup or use of Multilayer Parallaxing now that it's more WYSIWYGy?
when i looked on the files section it said it was a "Fomod installer"... does that mean i can't use the NMM? D: do i have to go get some separate installer thing just for this mod?
It works with NMM or Mod Organizer. "Fomod" just means that it has a scripted installer that lets you choose from all the available installation options in one comfortable menu, instead of having to manually download and combine them. Lots of mods use them, I'm sure you've seen it before without realising.
Originally they got the name because they were invented for Fallout (FallOut Mod installer = FOMod-installer), but the file structures of Oblivion and Skyrim are so similar to Fallout that it was adopted by most of the other Elder Scrolls related mod managers. I should update the description to avoid further confusion, thanks for pointing it out.
I think Nazenn (the guy who remeshed the Bloodstone Chalice for Gamwich) is currently working on Azura's Star, at least we discussed some design ideas a while back. I don't know if he's made any progress, though.
Hah! I knew you would have to at least hear about it. Your mod creation perfectly fits Azuras Star = ) I never thought about it until I looked at an image of it last night. First thing that came into my mind, "Saerileth would make this so much better" lol. I'm curious to see what Gamwich does = ) Thanks for the reply. -Michael
This was such a beautiful addition to the game. It made me so sad to see it for such a short amount of time. But it was sooo pretty. Very awe inspiring as the story the old man told me about it implied it should be. Thank you.
I'm quite looking forward to getting it back... ^_^
Give Feedback
202 comments
It has been a blast being a part of this community and it makes me very happy that my work is still appreciated by so many. Have fun creating!
Love,
Saeri
New fomod installer is out, and it contains an .esp-free version of the original release! I got so annoyed at the people constantly nagging me about the .esp, I put my mind to devising some other way of making the DLC required. The requirement is now in the meshes themselves, they will not work without Dawnguard installed.
The idea is pretty simple: I added an extra bit of geometry to the meshes that is linked to a totally transparent spot on a Dawnguard texture. As long as the DLC is loaded, the cube will be completely invisible. But try to use it without the DLC installed, and the game will no longer know the texture is supposed to be transparent - you get a bright purple bar across the middle of the mesh.
This is what it looks like:
As I said, as long as Dawnguard is installed the box is completely invisible, you will not notice that it is there. If you don't have the DLC, you can use the optional Non-DLC version included with the installer.
Update 25 June 2014:
Published a new non-DLC version of the phial that does not include metal handle (thus, no Dawnguard assets). Available in both 1024 and 512 resolutions. Contains loose files, so no archive and pointless .esp to clutter up your load order. I do maintain that the Dawnguard version is prettier though, but people kept requesting this option so here it is.
I also added an optional file with scaled down versions of the bottle, as my original version is kinda large (though not so very large compared to vanilla potion bottles, see comparison screen). The available sizes are 80% and 50%, and come as both DLC and non-DLC versions. Meshes only, you will need one of the main files as well! Install manually by extracting the contents of the subfolder you want to your Skyrim data folder.
Although i have Arri's Snow Elf Ruins Retexture and some retex of Auriel Bow i cant remember was taken from - thats the only thing i changed from vanilla in dat dlc.
The original phial didn't only look suspiciously bland and of a highly uninspired design, but it was also small, smudgy and looked like it was made for the smallest of dwarves with a penchant for Scottish kilt broidery...
So, it is with enormous delight and inexpressable satisfaction that I will replace the-object-we-no-longer-shall-mention with Her Extreme Higness Saerileth's proposed replacement, which finally brings to us a White Phial worthy of awe and its illustrous legendary status.
In other words, thank you and very well done, Saerileth
Also, since SuperNIFSkope came out, have you reconsidered an Ordered Node transparency setup or use of Multilayer Parallaxing now that it's more WYSIWYGy?
I'd love to tinker with it some more, but can't at the moment due to severe lack of time. I might come back to it at some point, though.
- Michael
I think Nazenn (the guy who remeshed the Bloodstone Chalice for Gamwich) is currently working on Azura's Star, at least we discussed some design ideas a while back. I don't know if he's made any progress, though.
-Michael
I'm quite looking forward to getting it back... ^_^