Mines of Moria
Release: V1.5
Original Mines of Moria Beta: Tomolyons
Revised & Expanded: Firehawk7171
Twenty-First Hall Models & Textures: Firehawk7171



Description:

Welcome! Some have dared to venture into the Mines of Moria, fewer have made it out alive. From it's deep breathtaking views from the entrance to the Twenty-First hall to the bridge of Khazad-dum. Moria is a fantastic, wonderous, and dangerous place to explore. Originally discovered by the Dwarves, and mined for its rich deposits of Quicksilver, the stories that surround the dark Mines of Moria are those of legend. The dwarves dug too greedily, too deep, and awoke an ancient evil in the dark of Khazad-dum. The dwarves of Moria were vanquished. Over the ages, orc's and goblins have taken Moria for their own. Balin, son of Fundin, has lead an expedition into the mines to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. Though, no one has heard from the expedition since.

A dark shadow wreathed in flame roams freely in Moria. The orc's and goblins avoid it. But for the brave adventurer, it's the last thing they'll ever see going into Moria.

This is the Revised & Expanded Edition of Tomolyons Mines of Moria Mod. It now includes new area's to explore in addition to the original 4 for a total of 40 area's. Do not despair over the canon that you know. This mod is the author's vision based off of the LotR Mines of Moria.

The entrance to the mine is located near Heartwood Mill in the Rift. However, you will have to defeat the Watcher in the Water to gain access to Moria!

Cleaned with TES5Edit.

News:

Just a note, I'm not sure I packed everything correctly in the 1.4 update :/ But I can safely say that now I have everything packed up correctly in the 1.5 update. Download the 1.5 update and install over the 1.4 version, overwrite everything.

Changelog:

V1.5
Added Mithral Dwarven Weapon Set 
Added Mithral Dwarven Armor Set 
Added Mithral ore, ingots and other craft related items
Added crafting recipes and temper recipes
Mithral Forge (in Dwarrowdelf - The Great Southern Abyss)

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V1.4
The version 1.4 update is massive. 
The West Gate Entrance has been expanded and detailed, with scenery, effects, lighting, traps, etc. 
The bridge of Khazad-dum has been updated with two new cutscenes, new lighting, effects, traps, and other eye candy. 
The Waterworks area has been updated with a few new effects, and scenery.
Appropriate Balrog has been added.
The Dwarrowdelf interior cell has been changed to a World Cell, added encounters, traps, effects, and lighting.
All Navmesh's have been updated
Updated the Silverlode cell with more scenery, effects, traps, and encounters
Updated the Mineshaft cell with more scenery, lighting, effects and encounters
Updated the Twenty-First Hall Cell with more scenery, lighting, effects, update the encounters, and added two cutscenes.
Updated the Dwarrowdelf world cell with more scenery, encounters, effects, and another sub-cell or two.
Updated the Khazad-dum Cravass with more scenery, lighting, and effects and added cutscenes.

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V1.3 - Removed "Ripper Sword" Reference for both versions.Removed "Bamboo Arrows Mod" and replaced the "Don't Twist The Arrow" Activator with the Elven Sunhallowed Arrow for both versions.
Bamboo Arrows Mod no longer required.

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1.2 - Reduced texture sizes for both versions. Changed the colors of the textures to more Earthly tones. Much smaller file size now!

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1.1 - There's now two version, the Monster Mod version and the Vanilla version. Only install one.
1.1 - There's now a lite textures version. I only needed to update the normals. The file size of one of the original normals was around 85MB, thenew normals average size now is around 16MB. - This "should" also solve any CTD issue you may experience with all the Falmer spawning inand running/sprinting across the hall. 

Requirements:

Moria_VA
All DLC's Required:
- Hearthfire
- Dawnguard
- Dragonborn
SKSE - Latest

Incompatibilities:

Explorer Dungeon Pack by Paperboat22

Installation:

Extract the contents of the data folder into your Skyrim directory folder. It should look something like this: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Skyrim

Overwrite everything!

Activate the Moria_VA.esp

Unintallation:

Open your Skyrim Launcher and deactivate the Moria_VA.esp. You can delete the Moria_VA.esp from your Data folder.

Known Issues & Troubleshooting:

1. Flickering Lights (Only notice this issue in The Mine Shaft).
Troubleshoot: Could be just my rig, but i still have no fix for this issue.

2. Running through the Twenty-First Hall from Balin's Tomb to the Khazad-Dum entrance may cause CTD.
Troubleshoot: This issue has been addressed and fixed by replacing the original texture normals of the custom 3D models. However, on low end machines this cell may still be problematic.

3. Sometimes the AI gets stupid and the enemies attack each other.
Troubleshoot: This issue has be addressed and fixed.

4. There appears to be a navmesh bug associated with esp's. Some forums have indicated that navmesh's could be the issue why followers won't enter a dungeon. I too on occasion have experienced this bug. Sometimes my followers will enter the dungeon, sometimes they will not. Those forums I've searched suggest converting the esp to an esm, which I will have to figure out how to do that. Others have suggested going two cells away, doing a little dance and singing a little song should help. I'm going to look into converting the esp's to esm's, and see if that helps. For now, I have a suggestion:Troubleshoot: As a short-term fix, Amazing Follower Tweaks offers a function that will allow you to spawn in your follower(s) or all of them, to your location. I like using AFT particularly for this reason. Not just for my dungeon but for other custom dungeons as well. I also like it because it gives me better Follower inventory and outfit control. 

Recommended Mods:

Climates of Tamriel By jjc71
ELFX By Anamorfus
Wearable Lanterns By Chesko
Amazing Follower Teaks By Dheuster

Special Thanks:

- Huge thank you goes out to Tomolyons for giving me permission to pick up on this mod where he left off.
- Special Thanks to Dogtown1 for allowing me to use his Balrog asset in this mod.
- Thank you to Bethesda for making Skyrim, and making it so awesome.

Tools:

- Skyrim
- Skyrim CK
- Autodesk 3DS Max 2014
- Adobe Photoshop CS6
- Nifskope
- TES5Edit

Notes:

- Lighting levels depends on your ENB and settings. I designed this mod to be dark, but playable. You should carry a lantern, torch, magelight or candlelight spell with you. This mod is designed for ENB use, but works just as well without.
- You will not encounter any Falmer if you take the Fellowship path through Moria until you enter Balin's Tomb. However, stick to the right in the Twenty-First Hall or you may inadvertently enter the Falmer spawn triggers. However, if you stray from that path by taking a different route, you will encounter other creatures.
- I have fixed the lighting issues with this mod that brightens the lighting in other dungeons/area's. This should no longer be an issue.

Please report bugs in the Comments section.

I'd also love to see your screenshots or video's!

Thank you for downloading!

My other mods:

HTTYD2 Astrid Armor
HTTYD2 Hiccups Armor