About this mod
Completely merges all audio and effects of True Storm's stormy weathers into Vivid's weather system, provided in two different versions for your visual preference.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
NOTE: For those who are trying to decide between the original versions and the Water's Edge Fix versions, please check the screenshots provided to see how it will affect the look of your storms, especially if you like the added fogginess of the original Ominous version. The water's edge fix works by drastically reducing the fog in all weathers, so keep in mind that you will lose that added effect. I've also included comparisons of the water's edge in foggy weather between both versions, to help you decide. I hope that helps :) Enjoy!
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Vivid Weathers was my very first weather mod when I first started out as a new modder, and I have many fond memories from many many playthroughs with it in my load order. When I grew curious and started looking into other weather mods I eventually discovered True Storms, and it all went downhill from there :) I love True Storms, the atmosphere it creates is totally unique, and it's become my goal to make it compatible with as many weather mods as possible so that more people can share in the experience. So here's my own (yet another, I know) version of a compatibility patch, I hope you'll enjoy!
Features
-Completely merges all audio and effects from True Storms into ALL of Vivid's stormy and rainy weathers, including the 30+ thunder sounds, as well as all ambient and interior rain sounds. Special care was taken in distributing the sounds throughout Vivid's weathers to provide as much variety as possible, so no two storms should look or sound alike.
-Redistributes all of True Storm's unique weathers into Vivid's region data without overwriting any other weathers, and tweaks their rarity to help them blend in seamlessly with Vivid's unique weather system.
-Includes two separate sliders to adjust audio levels for both mods.
-Tweaks the Solstheim regional data to include all variations of ash storms from both Vivid Weathers and True Storms, and tweaks the rarity of all Solstheim weathers added by Vivid Weathers to be a bit more lore friendly. Solstheim unique weathers like ash storms will now be more prominent throughout the region, and Skyrim weathers will appear a bit less often.
-Comes in two versions for visual preference. Both versions contain all of the above features, they simply change the "aesthetic" of your stormy weathers purely by tweaking things like ambient lighting, coloring, fog settings, etc. None of Vivid's volumetric lighting or other distinct features have been altered.
It's a lot more than just a drag and drop compatibility patch, most of the work went into blending the aesthetic of these two mods and incorporating them into the two different versions. As weather mods, both Vivid Weathers and True Storms have their own distinct aesthetic that create totally different atmospheres, so I tried my best to hopefully cater to everyone's visual preferences with these blends. Here's an overview of what both versions do:
-Ominous-
This version makes very few changes to Vivid's aesthetic, meaning that it retains the touch of "gloominess" that all of Vivid's storms have. With the addition of True Storms rainy/snowy effects and audio, it amps the gloominess up to feel more intense and a bit more ominous, hence the name. If you were looking for a version that only carried over True Storm's effects and audio without touching anything else from Vivid, then this is the version for you.
-Surreal-
This is my own personal take on a perfect blended midpoint between the aesthetics of the two weathers, making stormy/rainy weather a bit more clear and colorful while also keeping that touch of gloominess from Vivid's original style to ensure that transitions between its other weathers aren't overly harsh. I was very selective about which settings I choose to tweak, and spent a ton of time testing every single weather at every time of day to make sure that they didn't feel out of place. I personally enjoy the new aesthetic, but I know that it probably won't be everyone's cup of tea, so I'm waiting to see what you guys think :)
The video below compares both versions in action to help you decide on a preference. I was using a lighting overhaul (ELFX) and an ENB (SkyrimSE Re-Engaged) for both the video and the screenshots, so please keep in mind that your version might look different depending on your own ENB and mod setup. Unfortunately the audio didn't turn out that great, as I don't have the best editing software, so it's a bit hard to hear the added thunder and rain sounds from True Storms in the patch versions. But I promise that they are there in game :)
Installation and Load Order
The patch requires both Vivid Weathers and TrueStorms to be loaded, and they should be loaded like this in your load order:
Vivid WeathersSE.esp
Vivid Weathers SE - Classic.esp **If you are using this optional add-on.
TrueStormsSE.esp
Vivid_TS_Patch_Ominous.esp
OR
Vivid_TS_Patch_Surreal.esp
If you are updating to a newer version, simply uninstall the old one and install the newer version. This is completely safe to do mid-game.
Make sure you only choose one of the four versions provided. The optional Water's Edge Fix versions are identical to the original main files, they simply directly incorporate LoD7995's fix in with the merge for those users that were still getting the blocky water edges. If you are using one of those versions, you no longer need to load his Water's Edge Fix patch.
Compatibility
This patch basically combines Vivid Weathers and True Storms into a single weather mod, so it will not be compatible with any mods that alter region or weather records. A few good examples are:
-All other weather mods.
-Darker Nights - An official patch is now available as an option with the Darker Nights download, covering all versions. Thanks a ton Unforbidable for making an official patch :)
-Water's Edge Fix - Two extra versions are included as optional files that are identical to the two main versions, only they also directly incorporate LoD7995's Water's Edge Fix. The only reason I've included two more separate versions instead of including the fix directly into the original versions is because, as stated in LoD's description, the water's edge fix works by drastically decreasing the amount of fog in all weathers. So, for those that don't mind losing the foggy aesthetic in a lot of their stormy/foggy weathers, then this is a great option. However, I know that a lot of people are willing to deal with that blocky water edge in order to keep their foggy weathers (myself included), so I made sure to keep the original files untouched with all their fogginess intact :)
-Wet & Cold - Almost fully compatible, it only changes weather records for ash storms in Solstheim. I've created a compatibility patch to ensure that Wet & Cold's effects will be registered in all of Vivid's and True Storm's unique Solstheim weathers, which can be found here.
-Minty's Lightning - 100% compatible with everything, as it only adds its own new effects into the game. However, there are quite a few unique stormy weathers in Vivid and a few in True Storms that would not receive the new lightning effects without a patch, so I've created one here to carry those over.
-Audio Overhaul - Incompatible due to some sound edits AOS makes to the region data, but I've included a compatibility patch to remedy this. This patch can safely replace all other AOS patches that you might have been previously using for Vivid Weathers, True Storms, or both.
-Sounds of Skyrim - All versions - All Sounds of Skyrim plugins are incompatible due to some sound edits that they also make to the region data. I've included a compatibility patch for Sounds of Skyrim Complete, but please do keep in mind that this patch will not work for any of the standalone SoS versions (like The Wilds). This patch can safely replace all other SoS patches that you might have been previously using for Vivid Weathers, True Storms, or both.
-Vivid's Extended Rain and Snow - To achieve the "extended" effect, both of Vivid's extended rain and snow options actually edit weather records on top of adding new particles, so unfortunately they conflict with a few of the vanilla stormy weathers. As such, they would need their own patches to work with this patch, so don't install them with Vivid Weathers if you are planning on using this patch. The rain/snow particles and effects from True Storm's included in this patch aim to achieve the same visuals as the extended rain and snow effects from Vivid, so they shouldn't be necessary here.
-Vivid's Winter and Summer Season Add-ons - These are both currently incompatible with this patch, as they make direct edits to regional data in order to add more wintry/summery weathers. I am currently looking into the best way to make compatibility patches for them, as I hate to throw even more plugins into your load orders, but hopefully this will be an available option soon.
Highly Recommended Mods
Storm Lightning for SSE and VR (Minty Lightning 2019)(Minty lightning)
Wonders of Weather
ETHEREAL CLOUDS - Special Edition
ETHEREAL COSMOS - Special Edition
Obsidian Mountain Fogs
My Other Mods
Aequinoctium - TrueStorms Merged Compatibility SSE
Dolomite - TrueStorms Merged Compatibility SSE
NAT - TrueStorms Merged Compatibility SSE
MythicalAges - TrueStorms Merged Compatibility SSE
RusticWeathers - TrueStorms Merged Compatibility SSE
Obsidian - TrueStorms Merged Compatibility SSE
ELFXWeathers - TrueStorms Merged Compatibility SSE
Of course, huge thanks to Mangaclub and fadingsignal for the fantastic weather mods!
And another HUGE thanks to LoD7995 for figuring out the water's edge fix and allowing me to incorporate it directly into my patches! You're awesome!