Awakened Magicka 3.0 Beta has been released! This represents a significant rewrite of all of the major scripts in order to remove the dependency on SKSE. This will allow me to release the mod for Skyrim SE in the near future (I may even release it for the XB1). In addition, I've finally added support for USLEEP, which is now a requirement for the mod. The MCM is still present, and can be used if you have SKSE and SkyUI. For those running without SKSE, I've provided a new in-game menu system that can be accessed via spell or at the statue of Shalidor in the college of Winterhold. The menu isn't perfect, but I think it's reasonable enough for this first release. Note that this menu is disabled (it cannot be accessed at the statue, and the spell is removed from the player's inventory) if SKSE and SkyUI are both present when the new version of the mod is first installed. They can, however, be re-enabled by using the console, and I'll post instructions later in an FAQ.
Unfortunately, the scope of this update means that anyone running an old version of the mod will need to uninstall it completely prior to upgrading. I've listing specific instructions in the post below.
I want to mention that the uploaded only contains the full version of the mod. I haven't updated the installer yet, or prepared the .esp files for the other versions. These will be forthcoming, but for now I wanted to get this out there. The balance tweaks .esp has also been updated and uploaded separately.
I hope this update works well for each of you. Besides what I've already mentioned, I've included a number of bugfixes, optimizations, and other improvements that work behind the scenes to make the mod better. Although I consider this to be a beta release, the mod is in a polished state and there are no known bugs. That said, please provide feedback and any constructive criticism on things that need to be fixed or improved.
If you are already using version 3.0Beta or later, simply remove the old version and install the new version of the mod. No special actions or precautions are needed.
There are three possibilities when upgrading from an old version (pre-3.0beta). The first, most favorable option is to start a new game/save. The second best option is to completely uninstall the old version of Awakened Magicka prior to upgrading. The third is to ignore these first options, upgrade without regard to the massive differences between the old and new mods, and then try and fix the mod after the fact. Since option one is straightforward I will describe option two below.
If you plan to continue an existing save with an old version of Awakened Magicka, the old version must be completely uninstalled prior to installing Awakened Magicka 3.0. Follow these steps exactly:
1) If you are using the optional balance tweaks, and plan on continuing to use them after upgrading, disable that .esp in your mod manager.
2) For each saved game you plan on continuing, do the following:
2a) Load the save and enter Awakened Magicka's MCM.
2b) Select the NPC Buffs submenu, and set the NPC Buff Mode to idle. If it is already set this way, skip to step 2d.
2c) Exit all menus, and wait for about 10-20 seconds in game. Then, open up Awakened Magicka's MCM again.
2d) Enter the Setup submenu, and click the option Prepare For Removal.
2e) Follow any instructions given. Once finished, immediately save the game and exit. Do not worry about removing NPC Buffs or disabling the AwakenedMagickaNPCPerksFix.esp.
3) Download and activate the new AwakenedMagicka.esp in your mod manager. If you are using the balance tweaks, download the new version of that .esp and activate it as well.
Following these steps helps to stop certain running scripts that are baked into your save file. Because these scripts are no longer a part of Awakened Magicka 3.0, it is better to do this prior to upgrading. Either way, references to the scripts will still exist in your saves. However, because I'm careful about how each script is run, this will not cause papyrus log spam or other problems. You will continue to notice warnings in your papyrus logs (if you have logging enabled) that certain referenced objects or scripts cannot be loaded from the save. This should not cause any errors in your game, save game bloat, or instability. If you installed Awakened Magicka 3.0 without following these steps, your game should continue to operate as well as before, but you may get a number of errors in your papyrus logs at first. These will clear up in subsequent saves, but its better if they not occur at all.
If you didn't follow the instructions:
In my testing, this did not cause any major issues in the game. As mentioned above, some of the scripts that are no longer present will try to run at first, and you will experience a number of errors in your papyrus logs. These will clear up over time, though, and you shouldn't have any instability in game or problems with your save.
However, you will have problems with the spell power/cost buffs being improperly applied. To fix this, you must recalibrate the buffs: Remove all items that grant any spell power increases or cost reductions; wait for any temporary effects to expire that increase spell power or reduce spell cost, such as those that come from potions; then go to the Setup section of the MCM and click the option that reads Recalibrate Buffs.
If you are bothered by the warnings in the papyrus logs, you may attempt to clean your save using one of the tools available on the Nexus. I would only recommend doing this if you are comfortable with the procedure. And, as I said before, the warnings don't represent any problems with your save. You can safely ignore them.
The driving force behind most of the work leading up to version 2.0 of Awakened Magicka was getting NPC buffs to work. This was not an easy task, by any means, and was the main reason why the new version was delayed so much. It is also a non-trivial addition for user's of my mod.
Besides requiring a SkyProc patch, the NPC buffs rely of an invisible cloak effect added to the player. I know that a lot of people are uncomfortable with these kinds of effects and the scripts involved, which is one of the reasons why I am bringing it up here. It is also the reason why NPC buffs are disabled by default. Until you enable them, there is no cloak effect applying scripts to any Actors, and so you will not need to give this aspect of the mod any thought.
Why am I using a cloak effect? After giving it a lot of thought and exploring several options, this was the best method I was able to find that produced the results I wanted in a reliable manner.
However, I have gone to extensive lengths to minimize the impact this will have on the game. The cloak is only active on the player for 1 out of every 5 seconds. The script that runs on NPCs is designed to have a low impact. It will run quickly, determine the strength of the buff to apply, and then stop. It will not run again until a buff update occurs, which happens every 60 seconds by default, but can be set to occur less frequently if desired. The NPC script does not use OnUpdate() events, and will not persist in save games if the mod is properly removed. The Magic Effect also filters out a lot of invalid targets, so that the script will only run on NPCs that may actually benefit from the buff. Additionally, the number of threads that papyrus can queue to simultaneously apply NPC buffs can be configured from 1 to 10, with lower options producing less of a strain on the papyrus scripting engine in exchange for applying buffs to NPCs a little bit more slowly.
Concerning the brawl bug, I have implemented all of the suggested steps to prevent its occurrence. I have also included jonwd7's Brawl Bugs Patch modder's resource files in the .bsa, so that the bug should never occur. I have also included an option in the MCM to disable the cloaking effect, and there is even the possibility of setting a hotkey to toggle the cloak on and off from outside the menu.
To enable NPC buffs, change the NPC Buff Mode to "Apply Buffs." You will notice that there is another mod available: "Remove Buffs." This is provided as a kind of removal procedure for any players who try out the NPC buffs in their game, and decide that they would rather not use them, or for players that are going to uninstall Awakened Magicka altogether. When the buffs are applied, they remain on the Actor until the game resets them. For some Actors this occurs quickly, but for other's it may not. The Remove Buffs mode is a way for the player to revisit areas with buffed NPCs and remove any spell buffs they may have. Another option, Remove Buff On Effect End, is available and can optionally be enabled in order to remove NPC buffs whenever a buffed Actor and the player move sufficiently far away from each other. This option is not enabled by default because, in early testing, it did occasionally cause Papyrus to output errors to its log when the game removed an Actor from memory before the script finished removing the buffs. Later builds did not seem to have this problem, but as a precaution I left the option disabled by default. This may not have been necessary as the particular errors are not significant, will not cause save game bloat or corruption, and can be safely ignored. However, I felt it best to leave this in the hands of the player. Note that none of these removal options are required if you disable any mod that adds the PerkSkillBoosts and AlchemySkillBoosts Perks to NPCs, including my SkyProc patch, as NPC buffs are completely ineffective without these perks.
Ultimately, you should not feel dissuaded from trying out the NPC buffs! Particularly, don't be concerned too much about the cloak spell or other scripts involved! I have taken great care to make sure that the procedures I use are safe and efficient. The scripts are stable, will not corrupt or bloat your saves, and should not cause performance issues for the majority of players. I understand why some people are wary of scripts like this, but in all honesty you are more likely to experience lag and crashes because you are loading too many high quality textures, than you are to experience any problems at all by using a scripted mod, so long as the scripts are designed well.
Hello there, I was wondering if there is a way to reverse the changes done to Enchanting and Alchemy. You see I use Summermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim by EnaiSiaion, and this mod already includes enchantments that increase magnitude and duration so I get the same enchatments twice, It would be awesome if there is a way reverse the effects to vanilla since I want to use both mods.
I was trying to do it myself but I don't understand how to change the effects on the creation kit since I´m still learning how to use it. sorry if my english was bad.
I honestly get what you're saying and i use summermyst as well! Sadly this mod seems to make builds that emphasize spell cost reductions tricky to follow at the very least. I also wish to see a version that doesn't implement the mentioned changes to enchanting and alchemy.
It seems the requirement for the unofficial patch isn't labeled correctly. Loot says it requires it but I don't have it, but the requirement listed doesn't have "legendary" in the name, but the mod does. This is probably due to being this mod being several years behind the latest update for the unofficial patch, but either way this causes the game to instantly crash on startup (I'm assuming it's causing the crash, as it only crashes when I have this mod enabled).
You need to download version 3.0.1a to have the correct dependencies. Version 2.2, which you downloaded, was only left on the download page for compatibility with anyone who didn't have Dawnguard/Dragonborn or was still using the old unofficial patch for some reason.
I just downloaded the main file that let me choose what parts to get. It didn't show a version number, and it was in main files. The description for it also said "Installer containing all options and patches."
The main vortex file is 3.0.1a. All of this information is clearly presented (including version numbers), and version 2.2 clearly states it's dependencies. The sticky posts also explain which version to use. Nothing is misleading if you take the time to read the file descriptions.
At the time 3.0.1a was uploaded, many users still didn't have the DLC and still used USKP. Having the alternate main file admittedly makes less sense today than it did then, but I have no sympathy for someone who doesn't take the time to read the description. A thank you for helping instead of a criticism based on your own failings would have been more appropriate.
Hey there. Mod looks good, especially since it covers a few aspects. I have my concerns about no % mana cost reduction enchantments (I think they should be just significantly reduced to, let's say, 50% max).
I'll try out this mod with NCGD. Since I can nowhere see any references about the compatibility, I'll come back here and mention it.
A few suggestions on mana cost. In vanilla, mana cost in absolutely broken for enchanting -100% cost, but simply removing them is also not a good solution. The key problem is that the base cost of most spells are ridiculously high. A typical mage stat should be like 300MP/150HP in 20+ level, or 50~100 higher at 30+. Meanwhile, the base cost of expert spell like ebony flesh is 341, meaning with no MPR, a simple "pre-battle" buff will completely deplete all MP. Paralyze has 450 base cost, which means without MPR, you cannot even cast this. Paralyze is a control spell, not damage spell, it never really kills anything, so the idea should be after using a control spell, you should still have enough MP to use your damage spell to kill the target, but the vanilla game definitely doesn't follow this idea. lets take a look at the damage spells. at the beginning, you have flame spell, at the cost of 14/s to deal 8/s damage, which means you spend you MP at a ratio of 7:4 to deal damage. While typical humanoid targets have 100 HP, means without MPR you cannot really kill any target. Even if with half MPR, 2 enemies will deplete your MP. Higher level damage spells have much worse MP/damage ratio. At adapt lv, the ratio is approximately 4:1, expert lv is 8:1, master lv is 12:1. This means that you must have at least 90% MPR so that you can hardly kill 1 target. If there are more than 1 target, or you want to use some other spells, or both, you must have 97~98% or more MPR. Then we have the key problem, 97% and 100% have only 3% small difference, why not just have 100% MPR?
What I say here is a reference for you. Simply removing the enchantment of 100% MPR without modifying the base cost of spell will make the game worse, making mages do not have enough MP to handle even the most simple situation.
We can just look at the picture you posted. Fire storm spent 900+ MP to deal 130 damage, No mage have 900+ MP, and 130 damage can only kill very lesser creatures.
Your concern is certainly valid, but I think the situations you describe fail to factor in a number of Magicka cost reductions already present in the game in combination with those provided by the mod. I've also given a bit of thought into the high base Magicka costs of certain spells, and the difficulty of casting those spells, but ultimately determined that the situation wasn't as dire as I at first feared.
In Skyrim, the cost of a spell is computed using the following:
You've already mentioned the high base costs of some spells. Lets take Fire Storm as an example, since you brought that up specifically. I agree that a spell which consumes 900+ Magicka should not be considered castable. In fact, Fire Storm has an actual base cost of 1426 which makes the situation far worse. Of course, no one ever actually sees that number... The reason why is likely a combination of the skill multiplier and the perk multiplier.
The skill multiplier works behind the scenes, and I suspect that most people aren't even aware of it. It essentially lowers casting cost for spells in a school based on the skill level in that school. The equation is:
skill multiplier = 1 - (skill level/400)^0.65
Which works out to be about 0.59 at a skill level of 100.
The perk multiplier is the 50% cost reduction you get for casting spells of a certain mastery level in a certain school when you take the mastery perk in that school. Obviously, some perk overhauls change or remove this but Awakened Magicka was designed with the Vanilla perks in mind. Taking the highest level perk gives a perk multiplier of 0.5 in our case.
The equipment multiplier refers to cost reductions on enchanted equipment in the vanilla game. In Awakened Magicka, these reductions are instead available on potions. In addition, they are available by features added by the mod: You get up to a 5% spell cost reduction for each armor slot for which you aren't wearing armor, and another 3% cost reduction per spell mastery perk, for a maximum total of 35% (not counting the use of potions). Note that all sources of spell cost reduction that fall in this category are additive with each other, so a potion that reduces destruction spell costs by 20% would give a total reduction of 55% in combination with those mentioned above. Anyway, not counting potions, the equipment multiplier should be (1-0.35)=0.65 here.
Although the spell in question uses both hands, it is not considered to be dual cast so the dual cast multiplier is 1.0
Therefore, the cost to cast the spell is 1426 × 0.59 × 0.5 × 0.65 × 1 = 275 Magicka. Note that this is one of the most, if not the most, expensive spells to cast in the game. I consider 275 Magicka to be a high but reasonable cost to cast this spell, particularly considering it is one of the most destructive spells in the game, and it can be reduced more by the use of potions. Additionally, there are a few special items such as the Archmage's Robes that retain their ability to reduce spell costs, bringing the difficulty of casting this or any spell down even further. Finally, the spell cost reductions provided by the mod can be adjusted in the MCM.
Another thing to consider is that the Magicka regeneration rate is a percentage of your total Magicka restored per second, so a character with more Magicka to start will gain back more Magicka per second, even in combat. Consequently, following a high Magicka play style will make it even harder to run out of Magicka than you expect (although not impossible).
At the end of the day, the premise of the mod is that casting spells for free doesn't really reward players for investing in Magicka. It also doesn't feel great in practice, at least in my opinion. However, needing to be deliberate in the spells you cast and when you cast them, using all of your Magicka efficiently and effectively, adds to the tension of combat and feels much more rewarding to me. If this premise and the consequent effects don't suit your interests in playing the game, that's totally fine. But in that case, I would suggest that Awakened Magicka might not be suited for you.
Edit: Updated the spell cost calculation above to fix a math error, so that it shows the correct Magicka cost.
I think I should probably acknowledge a point you make about damage ratios; It is true that higher level spells generally have worse damage ratios than their lower level equivalents, at least when cast against single enemies. However, there are a few things to consider which makes them more appealing under certain circumstances:
Many higher level spells deal damage faster. If you need to kill enemies quickly, you may be willing to expend Magicka at a worse rate. This is in keeping with other parts of Skyrim's design for casting spells, such as dual casting which is less efficient but increases the rate at which damage is dealt.
Many higher level spells deal AOE damage. Each enemy hit is essentially a multiplier to the damage dealt, bumping the ratios up significantly.
None of this is to dismiss the damage to Magicka ratios you mention, just to point out some of the nuance in spell scaling and how different situations really do call for different spells; perhaps even lower level spells.
Give Feedback
388 comments
Unfortunately, the scope of this update means that anyone running an old version of the mod will need to uninstall it completely prior to upgrading. I've listing specific instructions in the post below.
I want to mention that the uploaded only contains the full version of the mod. I haven't updated the installer yet, or prepared the .esp files for the other versions. These will be forthcoming, but for now I wanted to get this out there. The balance tweaks .esp has also been updated and uploaded separately.
I hope this update works well for each of you. Besides what I've already mentioned, I've included a number of bugfixes, optimizations, and other improvements that work behind the scenes to make the mod better. Although I consider this to be a beta release, the mod is in a polished state and there are no known bugs. That said, please provide feedback and any constructive criticism on things that need to be fixed or improved.
If you are already using version 3.0Beta or later, simply remove the old version and install the new version of the mod. No special actions or precautions are needed.
There are three possibilities when upgrading from an old version (pre-3.0beta). The first, most favorable option is to start a new game/save. The second best option is to completely uninstall the old version of Awakened Magicka prior to upgrading. The third is to ignore these first options, upgrade without regard to the massive differences between the old and new mods, and then try and fix the mod after the fact. Since option one is straightforward I will describe option two below.
If you plan to continue an existing save with an old version of Awakened Magicka, the old version must be completely uninstalled prior to installing Awakened Magicka 3.0. Follow these steps exactly:
1) If you are using the optional balance tweaks, and plan on continuing to use them after upgrading, disable that .esp in your mod manager.
2) For each saved game you plan on continuing, do the following:
2a) Load the save and enter Awakened Magicka's MCM.
2b) Select the NPC Buffs submenu, and set the NPC Buff Mode to idle. If it is already set this way, skip to step 2d.
2c) Exit all menus, and wait for about 10-20 seconds in game. Then, open up Awakened Magicka's MCM again.
2d) Enter the Setup submenu, and click the option Prepare For Removal.
2e) Follow any instructions given. Once finished, immediately save the game and exit. Do not worry about removing NPC Buffs or disabling the AwakenedMagickaNPCPerksFix.esp.
3) Download and activate the new AwakenedMagicka.esp in your mod manager. If you are using the balance tweaks, download the new version of that .esp and activate it as well.
Following these steps helps to stop certain running scripts that are baked into your save file. Because these scripts are no longer a part of Awakened Magicka 3.0, it is better to do this prior to upgrading. Either way, references to the scripts will still exist in your saves. However, because I'm careful about how each script is run, this will not cause papyrus log spam or other problems. You will continue to notice warnings in your papyrus logs (if you have logging enabled) that certain referenced objects or scripts cannot be loaded from the save. This should not cause any errors in your game, save game bloat, or instability. If you installed Awakened Magicka 3.0 without following these steps, your game should continue to operate as well as before, but you may get a number of errors in your papyrus logs at first. These will clear up in subsequent saves, but its better if they not occur at all.
If you didn't follow the instructions:
In my testing, this did not cause any major issues in the game. As mentioned above, some of the scripts that are no longer present will try to run at first, and you will experience a number of errors in your papyrus logs. These will clear up over time, though, and you shouldn't have any instability in game or problems with your save.
However, you will have problems with the spell power/cost buffs being improperly applied. To fix this, you must recalibrate the buffs: Remove all items that grant any spell power increases or cost reductions; wait for any temporary effects to expire that increase spell power or reduce spell cost, such as those that come from potions; then go to the Setup section of the MCM and click the option that reads Recalibrate Buffs.
If you are bothered by the warnings in the papyrus logs, you may attempt to clean your save using one of the tools available on the Nexus. I would only recommend doing this if you are comfortable with the procedure. And, as I said before, the warnings don't represent any problems with your save. You can safely ignore them.
The driving force behind most of the work leading up to version 2.0 of Awakened Magicka was getting NPC buffs to work. This was not an easy task, by any means, and was the main reason why the new version was delayed so much. It is also a non-trivial addition for user's of my mod.
Besides requiring a SkyProc patch, the NPC buffs rely of an invisible cloak effect added to the player. I know that a lot of people are uncomfortable with these kinds of effects and the scripts involved, which is one of the reasons why I am bringing it up here. It is also the reason why NPC buffs are disabled by default. Until you enable them, there is no cloak effect applying scripts to any Actors, and so you will not need to give this aspect of the mod any thought.
Why am I using a cloak effect? After giving it a lot of thought and exploring several options, this was the best method I was able to find that produced the results I wanted in a reliable manner.
However, I have gone to extensive lengths to minimize the impact this will have on the game. The cloak is only active on the player for 1 out of every 5 seconds. The script that runs on NPCs is designed to have a low impact. It will run quickly, determine the strength of the buff to apply, and then stop. It will not run again until a buff update occurs, which happens every 60 seconds by default, but can be set to occur less frequently if desired. The NPC script does not use OnUpdate() events, and will not persist in save games if the mod is properly removed. The Magic Effect also filters out a lot of invalid targets, so that the script will only run on NPCs that may actually benefit from the buff. Additionally, the number of threads that papyrus can queue to simultaneously apply NPC buffs can be configured from 1 to 10, with lower options producing less of a strain on the papyrus scripting engine in exchange for applying buffs to NPCs a little bit more slowly.
Concerning the brawl bug, I have implemented all of the suggested steps to prevent its occurrence. I have also included jonwd7's Brawl Bugs Patch modder's resource files in the .bsa, so that the bug should never occur. I have also included an option in the MCM to disable the cloaking effect, and there is even the possibility of setting a hotkey to toggle the cloak on and off from outside the menu.
To enable NPC buffs, change the NPC Buff Mode to "Apply Buffs." You will notice that there is another mod available: "Remove Buffs." This is provided as a kind of removal procedure for any players who try out the NPC buffs in their game, and decide that they would rather not use them, or for players that are going to uninstall Awakened Magicka altogether. When the buffs are applied, they remain on the Actor until the game resets them. For some Actors this occurs quickly, but for other's it may not. The Remove Buffs mode is a way for the player to revisit areas with buffed NPCs and remove any spell buffs they may have. Another option, Remove Buff On Effect End, is available and can optionally be enabled in order to remove NPC buffs whenever a buffed Actor and the player move sufficiently far away from each other. This option is not enabled by default because, in early testing, it did occasionally cause Papyrus to output errors to its log when the game removed an Actor from memory before the script finished removing the buffs. Later builds did not seem to have this problem, but as a precaution I left the option disabled by default. This may not have been necessary as the particular errors are not significant, will not cause save game bloat or corruption, and can be safely ignored. However, I felt it best to leave this in the hands of the player. Note that none of these removal options are required if you disable any mod that adds the PerkSkillBoosts and AlchemySkillBoosts Perks to NPCs, including my SkyProc patch, as NPC buffs are completely ineffective without these perks.
Ultimately, you should not feel dissuaded from trying out the NPC buffs! Particularly, don't be concerned too much about the cloak spell or other scripts involved! I have taken great care to make sure that the procedures I use are safe and efficient. The scripts are stable, will not corrupt or bloat your saves, and should not cause performance issues for the majority of players. I understand why some people are wary of scripts like this, but in all honesty you are more likely to experience lag and crashes because you are loading too many high quality textures, than you are to experience any problems at all by using a scripted mod, so long as the scripts are designed well.
I was trying to do it myself but I don't understand how to change the effects on the creation kit since I´m still learning how to use it.
sorry if my english was bad.
At the time 3.0.1a was uploaded, many users still didn't have the DLC and still used USKP. Having the alternate main file admittedly makes less sense today than it did then, but I have no sympathy for someone who doesn't take the time to read the description. A thank you for helping instead of a criticism based on your own failings would have been more appropriate.
I'll try out this mod with NCGD. Since I can nowhere see any references about the compatibility, I'll come back here and mention it.
unfortunately i dont understand your mod what to do
my English is so poor and i use google translator but machine translate not so good at least for my language
i hope you create video and show what is it this mod and what to do for us
In vanilla, mana cost in absolutely broken for enchanting -100% cost, but simply removing them is also not a good solution. The key problem is that the base cost of most spells are ridiculously high. A typical mage stat should be like 300MP/150HP in 20+ level, or 50~100 higher at 30+. Meanwhile, the base cost of expert spell like ebony flesh is 341, meaning with no MPR, a simple "pre-battle" buff will completely deplete all MP. Paralyze has 450 base cost, which means without MPR, you cannot even cast this. Paralyze is a control spell, not damage spell, it never really kills anything, so the idea should be after using a control spell, you should still have enough MP to use your damage spell to kill the target, but the vanilla game definitely doesn't follow this idea.
lets take a look at the damage spells. at the beginning, you have flame spell, at the cost of 14/s to deal 8/s damage, which means you spend you MP at a ratio of 7:4 to deal damage. While typical humanoid targets have 100 HP, means without MPR you cannot really kill any target. Even if with half MPR, 2 enemies will deplete your MP. Higher level damage spells have much worse MP/damage ratio. At adapt lv, the ratio is approximately 4:1, expert lv is 8:1, master lv is 12:1. This means that you must have at least 90% MPR so that you can hardly kill 1 target. If there are more than 1 target, or you want to use some other spells, or both, you must have 97~98% or more MPR. Then we have the key problem, 97% and 100% have only 3% small difference, why not just have 100% MPR?
What I say here is a reference for you. Simply removing the enchantment of 100% MPR without modifying the base cost of spell will make the game worse, making mages do not have enough MP to handle even the most simple situation.
In Skyrim, the cost of a spell is computed using the following:
Cost = base cost × skill multiplier × perk multiplier × equipment multiplier × dual cast multiplier
You've already mentioned the high base costs of some spells. Lets take Fire Storm as an example, since you brought that up specifically. I agree that a spell which consumes 900+ Magicka should not be considered castable. In fact, Fire Storm has an actual base cost of 1426 which makes the situation far worse. Of course, no one ever actually sees that number... The reason why is likely a combination of the skill multiplier and the perk multiplier.
The skill multiplier works behind the scenes, and I suspect that most people aren't even aware of it. It essentially lowers casting cost for spells in a school based on the skill level in that school. The equation is:
skill multiplier = 1 - (skill level/400)^0.65
Which works out to be about 0.59 at a skill level of 100.
The perk multiplier is the 50% cost reduction you get for casting spells of a certain mastery level in a certain school when you take the mastery perk in that school. Obviously, some perk overhauls change or remove this but Awakened Magicka was designed with the Vanilla perks in mind. Taking the highest level perk gives a perk multiplier of 0.5 in our case.
The equipment multiplier refers to cost reductions on enchanted equipment in the vanilla game. In Awakened Magicka, these reductions are instead available on potions. In addition, they are available by features added by the mod: You get up to a 5% spell cost reduction for each armor slot for which you aren't wearing armor, and another 3% cost reduction per spell mastery perk, for a maximum total of 35% (not counting the use of potions). Note that all sources of spell cost reduction that fall in this category are additive with each other, so a potion that reduces destruction spell costs by 20% would give a total reduction of 55% in combination with those mentioned above. Anyway, not counting potions, the equipment multiplier should be (1-0.35)=0.65 here.
Although the spell in question uses both hands, it is not considered to be dual cast so the dual cast multiplier is 1.0
Therefore, the cost to cast the spell is 1426 × 0.59 × 0.5 × 0.65 × 1 = 275 Magicka. Note that this is one of the most, if not the most, expensive spells to cast in the game. I consider 275 Magicka to be a high but reasonable cost to cast this spell, particularly considering it is one of the most destructive spells in the game, and it can be reduced more by the use of potions. Additionally, there are a few special items such as the Archmage's Robes that retain their ability to reduce spell costs, bringing the difficulty of casting this or any spell down even further. Finally, the spell cost reductions provided by the mod can be adjusted in the MCM.
Another thing to consider is that the Magicka regeneration rate is a percentage of your total Magicka restored per second, so a character with more Magicka to start will gain back more Magicka per second, even in combat. Consequently, following a high Magicka play style will make it even harder to run out of Magicka than you expect (although not impossible).
At the end of the day, the premise of the mod is that casting spells for free doesn't really reward players for investing in Magicka. It also doesn't feel great in practice, at least in my opinion. However, needing to be deliberate in the spells you cast and when you cast them, using all of your Magicka efficiently and effectively, adds to the tension of combat and feels much more rewarding to me. If this premise and the consequent effects don't suit your interests in playing the game, that's totally fine. But in that case, I would suggest that Awakened Magicka might not be suited for you.
Edit: Updated the spell cost calculation above to fix a math error, so that it shows the correct Magicka cost.
Many higher level spells deal damage faster. If you need to kill enemies quickly, you may be willing to expend Magicka at a worse rate. This is in keeping with other parts of Skyrim's design for casting spells, such as dual casting which is less efficient but increases the rate at which damage is dealt.
Many higher level spells deal AOE damage. Each enemy hit is essentially a multiplier to the damage dealt, bumping the ratios up significantly.
None of this is to dismiss the damage to Magicka ratios you mention, just to point out some of the nuance in spell scaling and how different situations really do call for different spells; perhaps even lower level spells.