Okay. I'd like to first start by making it clear I enjoyed this mod. There were some hiccups, but overall, it was fun and I wouldn't go back and "unplay" it if I could.
However, there are some pretty glaring issues that I feel would be very easy to fix given just a bit of effort, and I feel they gravely detract from the enjoyment of the game. This is Skyrim, not Amnesia, and treating it like Amnesia causes some very unpleasant, unfun dissonance.
---SPOILERS BEGIN HERE--
1. The freeze at the dinner. It should be very easy to fix. Why even take control away? Give quest markers if you want people to talk in order, but that shouldn't be necessary either. 2. Calling the location things like "Mansion" and stuff is disconcerting, and changing it to "Balmer's Manor" would tighten this up. 3. Keys. They should almost always be in containers, to prevent the physics engine from breaking the quest. You can use activators, or make them unaffected by physics too. 4. Immersion. I know it's a horror mod, and I know I should suspend my disbelief, but there are some big issues related to my ability to do that: -Open the painting with a knife...I have a sword. And claws. Why do I need this knife? -Kill these people to proceed: bit of a bland moral choice, plus related to the ending. See later. -Balmer has you at his mercy, especially at the end: I can say three words and explode this man. I could tear his soul from his body with a thought. WHY is he dictating anything to me? It's obvious he's easily killed, thanks to... -The Endings. They're basically random choice. The good ending comes without any foreshadowing, and has nothing to do with your morals. The heroic and average endings are fine, but are utterly invalidated by the existence of the good ending. This also proves that Balmer can be killed by an explosion, so..why can't I look at him, hear him tell me to convince someone to die...and then burn his face off with my dragon's breath? 5. Puzzles: My gripe with the painting puzzle is above. The storage one with the bomb is also an issue.. It's got an obvious game-breaking bug in it thanks to it not working if you already have the items, and there's absolutely no signposting besides there being some rocks. It'd be very easy to, when you get near the rocks to have your character remember what the bomber said. You could also make the ingredients unique items. Shredded Ebony, an overcharged soul gem, a sturdy cup, a plated pot, and course bonemeal. This would signpost that they're important and would prevent them from being misused or causing issues with what you have in the inventory.
Overall, I give it a 6 out of 10. It's above average, it's fun, the atmosphere is great, the voice acting isn't bad, and the grammar issues can be fixed in editing. There is a lot holding the mod back from greatness, however
Nice horror quest mod. Endorsed. The multiple endings were cool.
But I also had the quest stall at the dinner table (and fixed with the console cmd as suggested on description page) There was also a bit too much running from objective to objective near the end. And could you lower the volume of the ending videos, seriously, I had to Ctrl+Alt+Del and reload with PC volume set way down to 5% so it was not too loud.
I can't get past the supply room, because I can't seem to be able to find the bone meal? I've watched walkthroughs and still can't manage to find it. Any tips?
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or can someone with more CK-fu convert it?
Okay. I'd like to first start by making it clear I enjoyed this mod. There were some hiccups, but overall, it was fun and I wouldn't go back and "unplay" it if I could.
However, there are some pretty glaring issues that I feel would be very easy to fix given just a bit of effort, and I feel they gravely detract from the enjoyment of the game. This is Skyrim, not Amnesia, and treating it like Amnesia causes some very unpleasant, unfun dissonance.
---SPOILERS BEGIN HERE--
1. The freeze at the dinner. It should be very easy to fix. Why even take control away? Give quest markers if you want people to talk in order, but that shouldn't be necessary either.
2. Calling the location things like "Mansion" and stuff is disconcerting, and changing it to "Balmer's Manor" would tighten this up.
3. Keys. They should almost always be in containers, to prevent the physics engine from breaking the quest. You can use activators, or make them unaffected by physics too.
4. Immersion. I know it's a horror mod, and I know I should suspend my disbelief, but there are some big issues related to my ability to do that:
-Open the painting with a knife...I have a sword. And claws. Why do I need this knife?
-Kill these people to proceed: bit of a bland moral choice, plus related to the ending. See later.
-Balmer has you at his mercy, especially at the end: I can say three words and explode this man. I could tear his soul from his body with a thought. WHY is he dictating anything to me? It's obvious he's easily killed, thanks to...
-The Endings. They're basically random choice. The good ending comes without any foreshadowing, and has nothing to do with your morals. The heroic and average endings are fine, but are utterly invalidated by the existence of the good ending. This also proves that Balmer can be killed by an explosion, so..why can't I look at him, hear him tell me to convince someone to die...and then burn his face off with my dragon's breath?
5. Puzzles: My gripe with the painting puzzle is above. The storage one with the bomb is also an issue.. It's got an obvious game-breaking bug in it thanks to it not working if you already have the items, and there's absolutely no signposting besides there being some rocks. It'd be very easy to, when you get near the rocks to have your character remember what the bomber said. You could also make the ingredients unique items. Shredded Ebony, an overcharged soul gem, a sturdy cup, a plated pot, and course bonemeal. This would signpost that they're important and would prevent them from being misused or causing issues with what you have in the inventory.
Overall, I give it a 6 out of 10. It's above average, it's fun, the atmosphere is great, the voice acting isn't bad, and the grammar issues can be fixed in editing. There is a lot holding the mod back from greatness, however
But I also had the quest stall at the dinner table (and fixed with the console cmd as suggested on description page)
There was also a bit too much running from objective to objective near the end.
And could you lower the volume of the ending videos, seriously, I had to Ctrl+Alt+Del and reload with PC volume set way down to 5% so it was not too loud.