Skyrim Special Edition

About this mod

This mod is an expansion and overhaul for the College of Winterhold, including two new towers, a re-imagined Arcanaeum and Hall of the Elements, revised set dressing and clutter in many areas, changes that appear over time, door signs to assist with navigation, support for many other mods, and not a trace of hay.

Requirements
Permissions and credits
Translations
  • Turkish
  • Spanish
  • Russian
  • Portuguese
  • Polish
  • Mandarin
  • Italian
  • German
Changelogs

The College of Winterhold as it existed in November of 2011 is very different from the one that lives in my memory. When I returned to Skyrim to try out the Special Edition, I immediately dove into the wealth of amazing mods, which came packed with imaginative and fascinating new features.  As time went on I grew nostalgic for the vanilla College, so I went back to basics.  Imagine my shock when I saw what I had forgotten: a small, lonely place, with hay and barrels everywhere.  I opened up the Creation Kit, (which I had only a rudimentary understanding of at that point) with a simple intention: clean the place up.  As I was working, I got in touch with the author of Immersive College NPCs, and a plan was hatched which evolved into:



To further develop of the College of Winterhold with additional and modified content that enriches the experience in ways that line up naturally with the intentions of the original design.  My objectives and self-imposed constraints are as follows:
▪  Balance between further developing existing content and introducing totally new content.
▪  Make all changes and additions blend into the game and feel completely contiguous.
▪  Maintain navigability and ease of orientation in light of the expanded scope.
▪  Ensure compatibility and offer integration with many other mods.
▪  Add quality of life features but eschew content that makes the game easier.
▪  Enhance and further develop the choices made by BGS's designers; never outright contradict them.
▪  Balance between removing "rustic" elements (bales of hay and barrels of food) while keeping the College "Nordic" by nature.



Version 1.5 is here! This update dramatically overhauls the interior of the great tower. Please read the updated Installation and Compatibility Guide, especially if you are updating from an older version or from any game in progress. Here's an excerpt from the new Features document.
Version 1.5 brings an entirely new Hall of the Elements to Winterhold. It has been re-imagined as a lecture hall with an entirely new lower floor featuring multiple amenities, such as stations to practice offensive and defensive spells, a spectral sparring partner, laboratory, and a recovery area if your practice got a little too deadly.

Version 1.5's proudest feature is the Arcanaeum, which has been rebuilt from scratch. It now spans multiple stories, filling the height of the College's great tower.  An upper level has been added featuring the Arcanaeum's private collection, which is only accessible to those who have passed the rank of apprentice. Within you may find the rarest books in all of Tamriel. The collection is incomplete, however. The vanilla quest "Fetch me that Book!" now puts each book you recover on display, allowing Urag to finally call this collection complete.

This version also presents a new take on the Arch-Mage's Quarters by adding the ability to transform the central dais into one of six variations, right before your eyes. Once you're Arch-Mage you may transform it into a laboratory, an office, a council chamber, a secret archive, aheated spa, or back into the original vanilla grove.


A comprehensive list of everything this mod does can be found here: Features.  This article is an overview, and does not contain patch notes, though it will be noted if certain features are introduced in later versions of the mod. Please be advised that there will be some spoilers.




Please read the article, Installation and Compatibility for detailed notes on how to install OCW and how it interacts with other mods.  This is particularly important if you are upgrading or installing mid-playthrough.  This page also contains recommendations for other mods to use with OCW.




I keep a list of Questions and Answers, which also contains a lot of information which didn't quite fit anywhere else.


▪ SSE CreationKit Fixes by Nukem/Nuukem which saved me a ton of time and headache while making this mod.
▪ I probably spend as much time in xEdit as I do the Creation Kit.
▪ My old friends 3ds Max and Photoshop
▪ Nif Plugin for 3ds Max by apenov
▪ NifSkope to ensure that my new and edited models work properly in Skyrim.
▪ Distant LOD created using DynDOLOD, and it onlya cost me my first born.
▪ The Voice File Reference Tool so I could find lines for Thelsa.
▪ The FOMOD Creation Tool helped me create the first versions of my FOMOD installer.  It's been rewritten since then, but I still recommend this tool.
▪ The script for the Disenchantment Font was created by XunAmarox.
▪ The Skyrim Fantasy Name Generator helped me to find names for my new NPCs.
▪ Parchment Texture by The Misguided Millennial.
▪ Fonts used: Bebas Neue, Felix Titling, Lombardic, and Luxembourg
▪ Mipmaps for Tintmasks created using DirectXTex.
▪ Tutorials by: Darkfox127Cgy95, and Seddon4494.
▪ The invaluable repositories: The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages and The Elder Scrolls Wiki.
▪ This mod uses Chesko's General Purpose Array Functions.


▪ VorpalRunner for Immersive College NPCs, the encouragement at the beginning of this project to go for it, and the feedback.
▪ Shiva182 for going above and beyond with assistance with the ESP-FE format, fomod installer, and quality face editing and exporting.
▪ Mannenyuki for being a hero and not only solving the College's LOD flickering bug, but putting together the fix for me.
▪ madvintage for the wonderful music, and all of the feedback and encouragement
▪ Dreifels, Soldierofwar, katbird, and Estuansis, for feedback, proofreading, and bug reports. 
▪ CptMcSplody for writing the LOOT rules for OCW and Finding Velehk Sain.
▪ Artmoor et al. for Cutting Room Floor and the Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.
▪ Grantyboy050 et al. for showing so much love to the College with Immersive College of Winterhold and giving me dozens of hours of enjoyment.
▪ Qwinn for fomod installer creation advice and additional insights on the ESP-FE format.
▪ The unprecedentedly lovely crew, particularly Mephala, Aradren, ryli, Simon Magus, Hypernova1912, MadVintage, and Thiana for the v1.5 bug reports.
▪ WiZkid for updating my candles to match the beautiful ones found in Rudy HQ Misc. by Rudy102.


Better Dynamic Snow with Fluffy Snow,  Book Covers Skyrim with Lost LibraryClimates of Tamriel,  Detailed Rugs, Enhanced Lights and FXEnnead Banners,  Immersive College NPCsImmersive Laundry,  NSUTRSkyrim HD SE, Skyrim Re-Engaged ENB, SMIM,  Ultimate HD Fire Effects, WACCF with Armor and Clothing Extension