Skyrim

Mod articles

  • Frostfall 3.2 and Campfire 1.9 Now Available

    Hey folks,

    Very happy to announce that Frostfall 3.2 and Campfire 1.9 are now available. A redesigned Exposure system, massive UI improvements, and tons of bug fixes await.

    You can check the post here for most of the details.

    Download Frostfall 3.2 from the Nexus

    Download Campfire 1.9 from the Nexus

    I now switch gears to decoupling both mods from SKSE and SkyUI in order to support the Special Edition at the end of this month. More on that soon.

    Enjoy,

    -- Chesko...

  • Frostfall 3.0 Now Available

    Frostfall 3.0 is now available!


    New in 3.0:
    Much better performance and architecture. The entire mod was rebuilt from the bottom up.
    Refreshed UI
    An optional Frostfall SkyUI Add-On will allow you to see the Warmth and Coverage provided by every piece of gear, along with your totals at the bottom.
    A new stand-alone perk system (which will not conflict existing perk mods) was introduced to provide a progression arc for your character to last an entire playthrough. Build campfires to earn Camping skill points. Spend time in harsh weather to earn Endurance skill points.

    A new ability, Inner Fire, is gained at the top level perk of the Endurance skill. Enter a kneel and enter a meditative state to completely ignore the effects of ex...

  • Frostfall 2.5 Now Available

    Frostfall 2.5 is here, and adds a host of new features like spells, meters, lightable fires, and more. A full change log is below. Enjoy!

    ===========================================
    Frostfall 2.5 Change Log
    ===========================================

    FEATURES
    ==============

    * I have put together a new suite of spells for mages that feel balanced, lore-friendly, and help you cope with the cold in unique ways while still managing to make you feel more powerful in some ways than your spell-less brethren. The link above summarizes the spells pretty well. Click each one to learn a bit more about how it works. Most of them should feel pretty natural and self-explanatory.
    * SkyUI: Exposure meter (right) and Wetness meter (...

  • Frostfall 2.5 Preview

    Hey guys. Here is a mostly-complete set of patch notes for the next update to Frostfall, which will be out "soon".

    Mages finally get some Love
    I have put together a new suite of spells for mages that feel balanced, lore-friendly, and help you cope with the cold in unique ways while still managing to make you feel more powerful in some ways than your spell-less brethren. The link above summarizes the spells pretty well. Click each one to learn a bit more about how it works. Most of them should feel pretty natural and self-explanatory.

    Here's a brief overview of the spells:

    Skin spells: These behave very much like the normal Armor spells from Alteration. Except these increase your Exposure Protection, by as much as 90 if you take the Mage Armo...

  • Interview with Videogamer.com

    I had a chat with Chris Bratt over at Videogamer.com over the weekend about the future of Skyrim, now that all of the DLC are complete. There are a couple of new screenshots of Arissa in there, too. Enjoy. (Interview starts at 3:00) ((And yes, I know it's Vil-ya. Oops.))

    h1f0qB4M0wk...

  • Arissa - The Wandering Rogue

    Hey everyone. Today, I'd like to take the lid off of my next major project. This is a very different kind of mod for me, so your feedback is very appreciated.


    Arissa
    ~ The Wandering Rogue ~

    WHAT IS "ARISSA - THE WANDERING ROGUE"?

    Arissa is a new companion character for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. She is being designed as a game-long companion that can accompany you from start to finish. She is inspired by Emma and Amgepo's Vilja, Bethesda's Serana from Dawnguard, and the kinds of characters found in Bioware games. She will be fully voiced by Nikkita, and is being co-written by Chesko and Nikkita.

    Her main “town” outfit is a custom version of the Rogue Sorceress Outfit graciously provided by TheRoadStroker, an...

  • March Update - What's Keeping Me Busy

    Hey everyone. A short (well, 6 minute) video discussing current events, and what I'm working on next.

    exD1k9I_7ZY...

  • Frostfall 2.0: Appreciation, Looking Ahead to 2.1 and Dragonborn

    Hey everyone. I haven't posted an article since Frostfall 2.0 was released earlier this month. What a hectic, crazy, and rewarding time it's been since then. I'd like to just quickly go over what's been happening recently, and where we go from here. If you play with Frostfall but don't read my forums that closely, this should bring you up to speed.

    * As probably everyone already knows, Frostfall 2.0 was released on January 6th, which marked a major shift in the direction of the mod, and was in a sense a re-release. I'm very happy to say that no major bugs were encountered, due in large part to the amazing level of testing that was done on the several Beta and Release Candidate builds that I made available ahead of its release. THANK YOU TESTERS!

  • Frostfall 2.0: New Website, and 2.0 Release Information

    After about a month's worth of work, Frostfall's new website is ready to go. This will be the new documentation hub for Frostfall, and for the Skyrim Survivor Series as a whole.

    I opted for building this site for several reasons:

    1) Frostfall is a big mod. I don't want to make a long front-page even longer.

    2) I'd like to attract more new players to give Frostfall a try. Most players associate "realism" with "really complicated" and I'm trying to get away from that mindset; while Frostfall is big, it works on simple concepts, and I hope the new How To Play page gets that across better.

    3) At the same time, I don't want to cheapen my documentation by not telling you everything. And, there is nothing more intimidatin...

  • Frostfall 2.0: New Technology

    Frostfall required me to solve some challenging problems, and the solutions to some of those problems I have made available freely as a resource on the Bethesda forums. I hope others get to use them in their own mods to make them even better. I'd like to go over how some of these solutions got developed.

    Managing Large Data Sets
    I have had a love-hate relationship with a feature that I initially said I would never work on: the W.E.A.R. system, which gives you more or less exposure protection depending on what you wear. When all I had to worry about was the base game, things were good; I had a list of less than 128 armor items in each armor piece category (hands, feet, head, body), and mod support was non-existent.

    Then mod support came. Then Winter is Co...

  • Frostfall 2.0: Contributor Spotlight

    Frostfall 2.0 has been a long, long time coming. Today I'd like to go over the best-of-breed talent that has contributed to making this next version of Frostfall something very special. This has been a monsterous collaborative effort but I think it's been well worth it.

    jjc71 of Climates of Tamriel. I'm very happy to support CoT completely in Frostfall 2.0. This has been my #1 compatibility support request and I'm glad it's finally almost here.

    T3nd0 of Skyrim Redone is revamping the entire Wayfarer perk tree to revolve around Frostfall and Last Seed. The perk tree will be named Survivalism going forward, and I'm really honored for being featured in SkyRe in such a major way. Let me tell you, T3nd0 is a tough customer to please; and I mean ...

  • Frostfall 2.0 Developer Preview 1: Tents

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    With Frostfall 2.0's beta test right around the corner, I've started to put together a series of developer previews to let show everyone the new direction Frostfall is moving in.

    This preview is all about tents, and the robust set of features that come with them....

  • Frostfall 2.0 Developer Preview 2: Dynamic Backpacks

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    With Frostfall 2.0's beta test right around the corner, I've started to put together a series of developer previews to let show everyone the new direction Frostfall is moving in.

    This preview covers dynamic backpacks, how to craft them, and the wide array of visual customization available to you....

  • Announcing - Sun's Height

    So a few days ago I mentioned that I was planning work on a collaboration project that I'm very excited about; one that will turn Frostfall as you know it upside-down. I'd like to talk about it now since I hate keeping secrets!

    http://i.imgur.com/XDlFy.png?1
    For Moonpath to Elsweyr by Muppetpuppet and future desert landmass mods

    Some general information:
    What is it? Sun's Height will be an add-on to Frostfall to bring heat exposure to the table when venturing in desert landscapes, such as those added by Moonpath to Elsweyr. Frostfall will be required for Sun's Height to work. It will not (and will never) be offered as stand-alone. It will, however, be a separate download.

    How will it work? Sun's Height will open the...

  • Frostfall 1.6.1 Status Update 4 - Dyanamic Campfire Demo

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    Here's a short tech demo of Dynamic Campfires just to give you an idea of where things are headed and also to show that I haven't been resting on my laurels ^^; For the most part, if it's made of wood, paper, or clothing, you can burn it. Not much to look at yet, but you can at least see how you would add fuel to the fire and how it gets dropped into the fire ring. This is with Dynamic Campfires turned on, and Manual Campfire Lighting turned off. You also don't see the placement visualization because I haven't hooked them together yet.

    The item drop's positions and rotations are randomized and paced such that they fall and rest more naturally instead of "stacking". There is a collision box to prevent them from leaving the fire ...

  • Frostfall 1.6.1 Status Update 3

    Starting to settle up the details on the new dynamic campfire system. Some details aren't completely worked out yet. This is the one feature that has put me through the most hair-wringing trying to balance and get right. Here are the things I'm thinking about:

    There will be two campfire modes that you will be able to select between: "Classic" and "Dynamic".

    Classic

    Use the new "Build Campfire" power to invoke a transparent fire ring that moves where you look. When you're happy with the placement, click it and 5 firewood will be subtracted from your inventory and the campfire will be built. It will start lit if Manual Lighting is Off. If you don't have 5 firewood, you can't use the power. Your campfire will last 6 hours.

  • Frostfall 1.6.1 Status Update 2

    What I worked on over the weekend:


    The new method of taking shelter from the rain is in, and seems to work really well. You will be able to step under any stoop, outcropping, ledge, porch, or anything else that covers your head to get in out of the rain, including large tents. This will allow you to reduce your Wetness level, and not increase it as long as you're underneath the shelter. This will not stop the visual effect of rain coming through whatever object is above you; I've looked into it, and because of how Bethesda's particle volumes work, this will be either impossible or require a very clever trick to make it look correct. This issue dates back to Morrowind. A feature for blocking rain was added to the Morrowind Code Patch, which required an execut...

  • Frostfall Status Update

    Hey, everyone. I'd like to go over where the next Frostfall update is heading, and what you can expect. I'd like to start publishing these kinds of posts in this new space (thanks, Skyrim Nexus!) to help keep everyone abreast of what's going on with Frostfall.

    If you'd like to look at the entire task list for Frostfall 1.6.1, click here.


    A major change in the next version sure to confuse a few people is a change in terminology. I am ditching the term "Exposure Points", in favor of the more succinct "Exposure". The system will also work in the opposite direction; your objective will be to reduce exposure, not increase it. 0 is good, 100 is death. I feel that this brings the terms more in line with Bethesda's way of using resources ("h...