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About this mod
New gameplay mechanics: modular, configurable, and immersive
Combat: parrying, dodging, aim shake
Magic: new spells, necromancy, potion toxicity
Stealth: disguises, knockouts, lock level requirements, lock smashing, un/lock spells
Speechcraft: yielding, persuasion, multiple followers
Crafting: Dwarven Automata, traps
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
SUMMER: Skyrim Universally ‘Mursive Mechanical Expansion & Recalibration
Modular gameplay expansion that adds new mechanics, restores ones from previous Elder Scrolls games, and balances existing ones in Skyrim. It is designed to allow total customization, blend in with the vanilla game, & maximize compatibility with other mods. It is completely modular and includes:
- New combat mechanics: parrying, dodging, aim shake with cross/bows
- New magic mechanics: new lore-friendly spells, spells from previous Elder Scrolls games, a new necromancy system, potion toxicity
- New stealth mechanics: disguises, knockouts, lockpicking level requirements, lock smashing with weapons, un/lock spells
- New speechcraft mechanics: non-lethal yielding, expanded persuasion with begging, brawling, & robbery, a multi-follower party system
- New crafting mechanics: craftable, deployable, & poisonable traps, and craftable & controllable Dwarven Automata
- A 'recalibration' module with simple tweaks to gameplay settings to balance abilities from other modules
My mods:
SUMMER gameplay mechanics expansion: Legendary / Special Edition
SPIES secret city entrances: Legendary / Special Edition
Soundtracks from previous Elder Scrolls games: Legendary / Special Edition
Dawn of Hope Redux soundtrack addition: Legendary / Special Edition
MODULES
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Combat Modules
SUMMER adds parrying and dodging make combat more dynamic, add an element of timing, create differentiation between heavy and light weapons, and open up defensive options besides shields. It makes archery less overpowered by adding aim shake and requiring stamina management.
Parrying
Parry enemies' attacks with carefully-timed counterattacks, opening up defensive options for characters who dual wield or keep spells in hand:
- Parry by swinging at the same time as an enemy.
- The default window for parrying is about 1/3 second (configurable).
- Parries are animated: characters' weapons will bounce off each other and a sound effect will play.
- Parries are treated as blocking for the purpose of damage calculation, and will level the Block skill.
- Trying to parry a 2-handed weapon with a 1-handed weapon will stagger the actor using the 1-handed weapon.
- Enemies will parry each other's attacks if SPID is installed; if not, parrying will just take place between the player and enemies.
- Your character will not be able to parry in VR, though enemies will still be able to parry each other if you using SPID. I recommend using HIGGS instead or alongside this mod, which adds weapon collision mechanics that are a better fit for VR.
Dodging
Dodge attacks using the sprint button, creating a new defensive option for characters that don't use shields:
- Dodge by tapping sprint while moving sideways or backwards while holding a weapon, fist, spell, or staff.
- Characters take no damage during a brief window while dodging (configurable).
- Dodging uses unused animations from the game.
- Successful dodges (being hit during the animation) level Block.
- Dodging costs stamina equivalent to the cost sprinting for duration of the animation.
- Enemies will dodge each other's attacks if SPID is installed; if not, enemies will only try to dodge the player's attacks. The chance that they will try to dodge is configurable.
- The 'Recalibration' module (below) incorporates the mod 'Mortal Enemies' by Center05, which makes enemies commit to their attacks by turning more slowly during their swing, making dodging viable even without the invulnerability feature active.
Aim Shake & Archery Stamina Costs
You stamina will drain and your screen will shake while drawing bows and crossbows to make aiming more difficult and encourage careful shot timing and stamina management:
- Shaking starts gently and gets more intense the longer you draw the bow.
- Shaking intensity decreases with higher Marksman skill levels, and is configurable.
- Stamina will drain at a similar rate as it does using the Eagle Eye perk. The normal stamina drain from the Eagle Eye perk will take over when zooming in, i.e. the stamina drain from this mod does not stack on top of it.
- When your stamina runs out, you will be unable to fully draw until your stamina regenerates, and trying to fire will result in weak innacurate shots. This makes archery significantly more challenging and requires investment before it's viable as a primary combat skill (configurable).
- Whether shaking is dependent on stamina, archery skill, or both is configurable (both by default).
- Shaking can be turned off to just use the stamina drain feature.
- Enemies' stamina will also drain when drawing bows if SPID is installed.
- Aim shake will work in VR if Scrambled Bugs VR is installed. Your screen will not shake to prevent motion sickness, but stamina will drain and your controllers will vibrate. If you use SPID in VR, enemies will experience stamina drain regardless of whether Scrambled Bugs VR is installed.
Magic Modules
SUMMER adds more than 150 new spells, including legacy spells from Morrowind and Oblivion and new spells based on Skyrim's shouts to add complexity to the magic system and make all magic types accessible even if not doing the main quest. Spells appear in the world as staves, tomes, and scrolls, and NPCs will use new spells if Spell Perk Item Distributor is installed. It adds a new necromancy system that let you harvest flesh and bones from corpses to create undead thralls and lead an army of the dead, to open up new 'evil' gameplay styles and make Necromancy better fit Skyrim's lore. A potion toxicity feature encourages thoughtful potion consumption and investment in the Alchemy skill, better balancing combat between the player and enemies so that you can't just spam potions from the menu.
Magic: Destruction
New & legacy Destruction spells have been added, including:
- Touch-range offensive spells that cast quickly and do slightly more damage per second than ranged spells, giving mages an option and reason to get up close and personal.
- Touch-range and wide-area debuffs to enemies' elemental resistances.
- Projectile spells to inflict pure non-elemental damage on enemies.
- Spells to degrade or destroy enemies' armor and weapons, decreasing their damage resistance or output, and destroying lower-quality weapons (non-enchanged and steel or lower-tier).
- Spell forms of the Unrelenting Force and Cyclone shouts to toss enemies through the air.
- Powerful master-level spells that can be cast only outdoors to instantly change the weather, conjure a storm of lighting, hail, or brimstone, and decrease nearby enemies' resistance to the corresponding element (adapted from Alduin's Firestorm shout).
Magic: Alteration
New & legacy Alteration spells have been added, including:
- Teleportation spells that instantly teleport the caster to a targeted spot in their vicinity.
- Mark & Recall that function as they did in Morrowind and Oblivion, with Skyrim-inspired visual portal effects.
- Spells to slow time, including ones that work like the Slow Time shouts and a powerful Master-level Grip Time spell that almost stops time for enemies and lets you move faster when maintained.
- Spells to increase or decrease the game world's timescale (how quickly days pass) to serve as an in-game alternative to console commands (Speed/Slow Clock).
- Spells to pull enemies toward you from a distance and throw them through the air (Telekinetic Grip, adapted from Dawnguard's Vampiric Grip spell).
- Spells to increase jump height (Hoptoad) and decrease fall damage (Slowfall). If PowerOfThree's Tweaks is installed, the jump will be smooth and similar to the vanilla jump animation. Without it, it will look more floaty and "magical."
- Spells to walk on water (Waterwalking) and swim faster (Swift Swim).
- Spells to raise the caster's carrying capacity (Ease Burden/Pack Mule), or decrease others' (Burden) to slow their movement.
- Spell to disarm enemies of their weapons and shields (adapted from Disarm shout).
- Spells to create elemental shields that reduce incoming damage and inflict it to enemies in melee range, based on spells from Morrowind & Oblivion so that Alteration mages can also interact with the elemental system that is core to Skyrim's Destruction magic (Fire/Frost/Shock Shield).
- Spells to lock and unlock doors and containers from a distance or up close (in the Un/Lock module below).
Magic: Illusion
New & legacy Illusion spells have been added, including:
- Spells to blind actors, decreasing their ability to detect the caster. If PowerOfThree's Papyrus Extender is installed, blinded actors will behave more realistically, losing sight of the caster if they have already spotted them. If not, it will simply be harder for them to detect you initially.
- A spell that creates a noise (Diversion) at its impact location that will distract enemies to allow you to sneak up on them or around them.
- A spell to briefly conjure phantom copies of the caster to distract enemies (Phantom Form). These will match the caster's appearance and equipment, shout lines from the vanilla Throw Voice spell to draw enemy attention, and attack enemies, but do not deal damage.
- Spells to silence mages (Silence), preventing them from casting spells.
- New Night-Eye spells, including toggleable ones that can be turned on/off by recasting, and one that can be cast continuously and released for times when you need to switch quickly between dark and light vision.
- A Sanctuary spell that renders the caster unable to deal or take damage while it's being cast.
- Runes to calm and demoralize enemies, expanding on the vanilla Frenzy' and Paralysis runes.
- Command spells to put people and creatures below a certain skill level under the caster's command, expanding on the 'Command Daedra' spell from Skyrim. Includes multiple tiers that scale to 50/100/150% of the caster's level, since the Command spells in the vanilla game cap at low levels making them less-useful for higher-level characters.
Magic: Restoration
New & legacy Restoration spells have been added, including:
- New offensive Poison spells including touch, projectile, cloak, and spray spells: these were classified as Destruction spells in Morrowind, but are included for parallelism with Skyrim's 'Poison Rune' spell which is classified as Restoration, and to add offensive options for Restoration-focused mages.
- Spells to absorb others' health/magic/stamina.
- Spells to fortify or regenerate health, magic, & stamina (Regeneration/Invigoration).
- Spells to dispel magic effects on the caster, others, or a wide area around the caster. Dispels both helpful and harmful magic effects, allowing it to be used offensively or defensively and create tradeoffs to use. Does not affect Alchemy or Enchantment effects (Dispel).
- Spells to increase resistance to or cure poison and diseases (Poison/Disease Resistance).
- Spells to increase resistance to the elements, poison, and all magic (Resist Fire/Frost/Shock/Poison/Magic).
- Spells to reflect damage at attackers (Reflect).
- Spells to absorb magic from incoming spells (Spelldrinker).
- An Analyze spell that will reveal the target's resistances to magic, poison, and the elements, which are normally only accessible through console commands or a mod like TrueHUD.
- A Resurrect spell that will revive dead actors by channeling your health into them, which can kill you if cast when your health is too low. They will be resurrected with their full AI rather than as thralls. This is designed as a Master-level end-game spell and may result in odd behaviors if used on characters who die as part of quests. It will not work on 'essential' actors.
- Spells to non-lethally knock out actors (in 'Knockout' module below).
Magic: Conjuration & Necromancy
New & legacy Conjuration spells have been added, including:
- Conjured weapon types missing from the vanilla game (war axe, warhammer, greatsword, and mace).
- Conjured armors that behave like in Morrowind and Oblivion: appear instantly, replace currently equipped armor, are weightless but treated as heavy armor, disappear when the spell expires or they're unequipped in the menu, and automatically re-equip the previously-equipped armor. They are affected by the Mystic Binding perk. This includes spells for each individual piece (Cuirass, Helmet, Gauntlets, Boots, and Shield), and a high-level spell that conjures the entire set at once.
- A spell to put Undead below a certain skill level under the caster's command.
- An area-of-effect version of Soul Trap.
- New spells use bones, flesh, and blood to create undead thralls that don't expire like summons and don't count toward the caster's summon limit.
- Flesh, bones, and blood can be harvested from corpses by activating when holding a dagger, or with the torture tools or embalming knife items in the inventory. Corpses that have already been fed on as a cannibal or werewolf cannot be harvested.
- Harvesting corpses is treated as a crime and carries the same bounty as cannibalism if you are spotted.
- Thralls include skeletons and Draugr.
- More powerful thralls require more ingredients: skeletons require a basic set of bones and leather strips to bind them, while Draugr require additional flesh and blood.
- Thralls can be given weapons and will use them, and can carry things like a regular follower.
- Each thrall decreases the caster's total available magicka while they are animated to balance their potentially unlimited number.
- Thralls will attack most actors on sight even in towns and cities, and this will be treated as an assault by the player. This is to reflect Skyrim's lore that says Necromancy is frowned on outside the College of Winterhold and to add an 'evil' gameplay option with social costs. Regular Conjuration and Reanimation can still be used as normal.
- Thralls will follow you through doors and fast travel, but may not be able to go everywhere in the game; if you need to go somewhere they can't follow, they can be killed to recoup some of their materials.
- Thralls will be 3/4 of the caster's level. This makes them generally as or slightly more powerful than regular conjuration spells, to reflect their high material costs, bounties if you're caught harvesting corpses, and risks of using them in cities.
Potion Toxicity
Toxic aftereffects will follow after drinking a potion, encouraging careful timing and strategic consumption.
- Toxicity takes effect shortly after a positive potion effect expires.
- Toxicity affects the same attributes or skills buffed by the potion taken: e.g., taking a health potion will cause health regeneration to slow, taking a potion of fire resistance will cause weakness to fire, etc.
- The Alchemy skill and Poison Resistance stat will both decrease the effects of potion toxicity, so leveling up Alchemy and using poison resist enchantments will let you use potions more effectively.
- Because of this, poison resistance potions can be used as a 'buffer' before using other potions to decrease their toxicity. However, poison resistance potions also cause toxicity that will decrease poison resistance after they expire, making other potions more toxic during this period. This makes poison resistance a much more important stat, where in the vanilla game it just served to protect against an effect not many enemy used.
- The intensity of potion toxicity and the effectiveness of skill and poison resistance on reducing it are fully configurable.
- The toxicity system is fully compatible with mods that change how vanilla potions work (e.g., making all potions restore over time or changing the effects of vanilla potions) or rebalance potions without a patch, since effects are calibrated when the game is loaded; new effect types from other mods may not cause toxicity without a patch.
- Enemies will also experience potion toxicity if SPID is installed and if using a mod like NPCs Use Potions.
Stealth Modules
SUMMER expands the disguise mechanic introduced at one point of the main quest to work throughout the game and with a wide variety of factions and equipment, allowing you to use armor, clothing, and your speechcraft skill as an alternative to sneaking. It adds new ways to non-lethally knock out actors, creating new options to roleplay as a pacifist and complete objectives non-lethally. It adds new requirements to open locks to make lockpicking a skill to invest in rather than a requirement to play the game.
Disguises
Disguises provide an alternative to sneaking:
- Actors will recognize you as a member of various factions when wearing enough pieces from a set of their armor or clothing.
- Requirements are noted in the configuration menu and partially configurable; most disguises require both a body and head covering, as well as either gloves or boots (configurable).
- Disguises must be donned out of sight of others (except for followers), and won't take effect until a short time passes without being witnessed undisguised.
- Actors have a chance see through disguises, with the chance of detection based on Speechcraft skill and distance.
- You will see alerts when you are being watched by someone who can see through your disguise (configurable).
- Crimes committed in disguise are removed if the wearer escapes unrecognized or manages to kill all witnesses.
- Clothing must be chosen more carefully in public; walking into a city in armor from an opposing war faction may cause a conflict, and guards may treat actors from factions like the Forsworn, Dark Brotherhood, etc. as hostile (configurable).
- Actors who are only hostile to the wearer because of the disguise will stop combat after seeing through the disguise, but aggressive actors will not, and fighting back while disguised will make witnesses hostile even after the disguise is broken.
- Imperials (Light/Heavy Legion Armor)
- Stormcloaks (Stormcloak/Officer armor)
- Thalmor (Hooded Thalmor Robes and clothing, Elven Armor)
- Guards (hold-specific helmets and cuirasses)
- Companions (Wolf Armor)
- Thieves Guild (Thieves Guild, Improved, and Guildmaster Armor)
- Dark Brotherhood (Shrouded Armor and Robes)
- Forsworn (Forsworn Armor and Armor of the Old Gods)
- Penitus Oculatus (Penitus Oculatus Armor)
- Dawnguard (Light/Heavy Dawnguard Armor)
- Dragonborn Cultists (Cultist Mask, Robes, and clothing)
- Vigilants of Stendarr (Amulet of Stendarr with hooded robes and steel gauntlets & boots; implemented, but has no practical use)
- Greybeards (Greybeard robes and clothing; implemented, but has no practical use)
- Psijic Order (Psijic robes and clothing; implemented, but has no practical use)
- Mythic Dawn (Mythic Dawn robes and clothing; implemented, but has no practical use)
Non-Lethal Knockouts
Knock out enemies to sneak by them more easily or complete quests non-lethally:
- Actors will be knocked out if you hit them with a fist or weapon bash while undetected or when they are below a configurable health threshold (10% by default).
- A new spell in the Restoration school can be used for silent knockouts from a short distance, and staff and scroll versions will appear in the game.
- Unconscious actors can be looted and dragged around to hide bodies, and can die if dropped from a tall height (defined as the distance you have to fall to take damage).
- Unconscious actors will wake up after a random configurable period of several hours, or when struck by another weapon or spell.
- Actors will search for the person who attacked them when they wake up, and will call the guards or attack if they find them.
- Actors wearing helmets will be invulnerable to knockouts (configurable).
Lockpicking Requirements, Lock Smashing, and Un/Lock Spells
Lockpicking requirements, un/lock spells, and lock smashing make Lockpicking optional and reward specialization:
- Locks require a minimum Lockpicking skill level to pick based on their level (configurable, by default: 15/30/45/60/75).
- New Alteration spells open or create locks based on Alteration skill (configurable, by default: 20/40/60/80/100), including touch-range spells which are silent and ranged spells which cause noise on impact.
- Locks can be smashed with power attacks based on One-Handed or Two-Handed skill depending on the weapon used (configurable, by default: 25/50/75/100/120).
- Each approach to opening locks levels the appropriate skill.
- Level requirements are fully configurable, but are balanced out of the box to encourage training & specialization: lockpicking as a specialized skill has the lowest requirements for each lock level, smashing has the highest, and Alteration spells are in-between. Master-level locks fall outside the level cap for smashing so will only be unlockable with picks or magic, and only Master-level Alteration mages will be able to open Master-level locks, while characters who have invested in lockpicking will be able to open Master-level locks with Expert-level lockpicking skills.
- If using the 'Recalibration' module, your lockpicking skill will start at 10, below the level requirement of 15 needed to pick locks and train the skill, unless you have a racial bonus to lockpicking (Argonian, Khajiit, or Bosmer). You'll need to find a trainer, skill book, or fortification potion to get started, creating a new early game milestone for thief characters. The skill limit is configurable if you don't like this dynamic.
- Staffs and scrolls that will open locks of up to Adept level can be found and purchased, as a backup for characters who don't want to invest in any of these skills.
- Actors who see a lock being smashed or magically unlocked will sound an alarm unless you are the owner or they are your ally, and the crime penalty is treated as trespassing.
Speechcraft Modules
Speechcraft in Skyrim offers few advantages in the way you interact with the world beyond lowering prices and ensuring success in the few minimally-consequential persuasion opportunities throughout the game’s quests. Mechanics like yielding that could allow playing as a pacifist are broken and do not provide an alternative to killing. SUMMER offers new speechcraft options to give reasons to invest in the skill, including non-lethal approaches to deal with yielding enemies (who will now actually yield). It allows you to recruit a party of multiple followers and animals for support in the more-challenging gameworld this mod creates, and direct them with shouted commands.
Yielding & Persuasion
Persuasion opportunities open up new gameplay options and roleplaying possibilities:
- Downed enemies now actually yield. Yielding characters can now be robbed for their equipment, recruited as followers (only non-essential non-unique actors with voice types from the base game for compatibility reasons and to ensure they have follower dialogue), or told to flee.
- If a character is the target of a bounty quest, telling them to flee or recruiting them will count as completing the quest and clearing the location where they were found (only works on vanilla radiant and faction quests).
- Yielding enemies will remain passive for a day, after which they will revert to normal. Recruited enemies will additionally remain passive for a day, or longer until you dismiss them, so be careful about letting bandits out of your service in towns or leaving them waiting around while you're not watching them.
- Beg for money while wearing ragged clothing, with a configurable chance of success.
- Rob passers-by with a weapon drawn, with your chance of success depending on your "threat ratio" (requires 2:1 player vs. target by default - for an explanation of threat ratios, see this mod's description page).
- Instigate a brawl with raised fists. Actors with high Confidence stats may accept, allowing you to train your combat skills non-lethally, but weaker or less-confident ones may take it as a threat and call the guards.
Recruit multiple followers and animals, up to 7 of each (3 by default):
- As your party grows you will learn shouted commands that can direct all followers in a growing radius simultaneously.
- You can set a maximum party limit that applies jointly to followers and animals, or separate limits for followers and animals.
- The follower last spoken to will be the one recognized by vanilla quests, like recruitment for the Blades, following into quest areas like Japhet's Folly, etc.
- Tweaks in the Recalibration module (below) like decreasing carry weight and giving gold weight incentivize the use of followers.
Crafting Modules
SUMMER adds new systems for using traps and controllable Dwarven Automata, to create new uses for resources you'll find in dungeons and ruins and create offensive applications for the Smithing skill.
Traps
Traps can now be crafted, picked up, and deployed from your inventory, including the bear traps, pressure plates, tripwires, and explosive jars found throughout Skyrim's dungeons and forts:
- Traps can now be purchased at merchants, found as loot on bandits, and crafted with the Steel Smithing perk.
- Traps can be picked up in the gameworld, deployed by dropping from the inventory, and can be picked back up until they are triggered by an enemy, at which point they will break.
- Pressure plates can be turned into mines infused with offensive properties such as Frenzy, Paralysis, Poison gas, & elemental explosions; those that explode will also knock actors who step on them.
- Bear traps will damage actors who step in them and slow their movement for a short time (configurable), and can be imbued with other effects like poison or elemental weakness by dropping a poison (or even helpful potions) into their jaws.
- Hanging jars in dungeons can be grabbed before they break or crafted from clay, and infused with explosive oils or gasses with effects like Frenzy, Calm, Fear, Paralysis, and Poison gas. The base jars in dungeons will leak a pool of oil which can be ignited.
- Tripwires will trip actors who run through them.
- Actors with the Light Foot perk will not trigger most traps.
- Actors who walk into a trap will become hostile to whoever laid it if they are within view.
- With the optional Recalibration module (see below), traps are also deadlier and apply their full damage at any level (they scale up to levels 35/40 in the vanilla game), and are more likely to cause diseases.
Dwarven Automata
Dwarven materials can be used to craft Dwarven Automata with the right knowledge and Smithing skills, giving new reasons to collect and explore, and a reason to gather soul gems for non-Enchanter characters:
- Automata can be crafted at forges with the Dwarven Smithing perk and specific combinations of Dwarven scrap, weapons, and a filled soul gem of appropriate strength, with more powerful automata having the highest requirements.
- Control rods for these crafted automata cannot be crafted, and must be found in high-level chests in Dwarven ruins.
- Casting the rod at a crafted automaton will take control of it. It will start following the caster and will automatically fight enemies who attack the caster.
- Controlling automata requires the Elder Knowledge perk obtained through a quest in the game (configurable).
- Casting the rod at a location will make the automaton inspect to the location before returning to the caster.
- Casting the rod at an actor will make the automaton attack.
- Casting the rod at the ground beneath your feet will transport the automaton back to you if it gets stuck/distracted.
- Automata will follow you through doors and fast travel, but may not be able to go everywhere in the game; if you need to go somewhere they can't follow, they can be killed to recoup some of their materials
- The system is based on a system used in a quest in the vanilla game: it does not work on regular automata found in the gameworld, only on ones crafted at the forge added by this mod.
Recalibration Module
Gameplay adjustments that incentivize using features from the modules and offset some of their more-overpowered benefits. Unlike the other modules, this module consumers a load order space and cannot be flagged as ESL since it makes direct edits to the base game's files.
- More-challenging progression: All skills start at level 10 (down from 15), plus any racial bonuses. Skills will level quickly in the early game, but you will struggle to survive for the first few hours and ultimately have slightly lower skills and fewer perks relative to your overall level, so your characters will end playthroughs a little more specialized than they would without this module. If the Un/Lock module is installed, lockpicking will be unavailable at the start of the game to characters without a racial bonus, since the starting skill level of 10 will fall below the minimum level to pick novice locks and gain experience (15 by default, but this is configurable if you don't like the challenge). This creates story reasons to seek out trainers and skill books, or to invest in the Alteration skill to use Un/Lock spells. You no longer start the game with 'Flames' and 'Healing' spells, so magic is a choice you make rather than a default.
- More thoughtful resource management: Carry weight starts at a base of 150. To increase this, use mods like Campfire or Bandolier that add storage options, invest in the Unburden spells/staves/scrolls from the magic module to boost carry weight, or consider getting multiple followers or undead thralls to carry your burdens. Gold has weight (0.01/piece): this makes it less-valuable per unit weight than jewels to give you a reason to save those as a store of value, but more-valuable than most non-enchanted equipment, so you'll want to sell what you don't use.
- Slower but more-dynamic movement: Running, sneaking, swimming, and horse movement speeds have been decreased, making the world feel larger, combat more deliberate, and spells like Mark & Recall and Teleport from the Magic module more valuable for quick travel. Walking speed has been slightly increased. You and enemies will 'commit' to attacks and can't turn as fast while swinging a weapon, making the Dodge module useful even if not using the invulnerability setting. This was adapted from the mod 'Mortal Enemies' by Center05. Fall damage scales more realistically: characters take enough damage from short falls to prevent them from easily jumping down mountains, and most will die from falling or being thrown from a height of more than a few stories. This gives a reason to use the Slowfall spells from the Magic module.
- More-realistic NPCs: Animals and creatures are less aggressive, and you can get closer to them without being attacked. This makes the Command spells less of a gamble early in the game, and makes naturalist/shaman type playstyles more feasible. Light and noise have a greater effect on stealth and detection levels, and enemies search longer when alerted, creating areas where stealth will be harder, creating reasons to use one of the new Throw Noise or Blind spells and disguises. Animals, monsters, bandits, spouses, and housecarls won't report crimes, and the crime alarm radius has been decreased, so it will be a little easier to practice your lockpicking or get away with harvesting corpses for Necromancy. More actors will now buy stolen goods.
- Harder transactions: Travel, lodging, and companion animals cost more. Speech checks are harder, and now tend to require a skill level matching the 'Novice/Apprentice/Adept/Expert/Master' system, so you'll be noticeably more persuasive after hitting level 25, 50, etc.
- Deadlier traps: Traps now deal their maximum damage regardless of the player's level, while they previously only maxed out around level 35. This makes them a great early-game offensive option if using the Traps module.
- Other: Dead bodies can now be moved around as physical objects, which can be used as an alternative to the Knockout module's drag feature if you don't like the implementation of that.
HOW IT WORKS
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- Modular: SUMMER is totally modular. Download the main file and any modules you want. Ignore the rest. Most features are customizable in-game through a configuration menu.
- Compatible: SUMMER makes minimal edits to the base game and is widely compatible with other mods. Spells and items it adds will be added to NPCs, loot, and vendor lists when you load the game, minimizing need for patches and leveled list merging.
- Lore-friendly: SUMMER is makes nods to previous Elder Scrolls games while improving upon the new mechanics that Skyrim adds. Most spells and gameplay elements are from previous games, and those that aren’t fit in through naming conventions and use of Skyrim's visual assets. New assets are will be affected by texture replacers.
- Universal: SUMMER's mechanics are implemented in ways that allow NPCs to use them, apart from inherently player-centric features like experience, screen effects, etc.. Features from many modules will work for NPCs if Spell Perk Item Distributor is installed, and I hope users will try this out in developing mods like Skyrim Together Reborn.
INSTALLATION & USE
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Requirements
- SKSE
- Optional but recommended: SkyUI for the Mod Configuration Menu
- Optional: SPID, to distribute spells from the Magic module to enemies, allow enemies to dodge and parry when not in combat with the player directly, and experience aim shake and potion toxicity
- Optional: PowerOfThree's Tweaks and/or Papyrus Extender to enhance certain features of the Magic module; the spells still work and the module can be used with or without them, no patch or separate version is needed
SUMMER is compatible with Skyrim VR
- All features work in VR, with caveats and requirements noted below:
- Parry: Your character will not be able to parry in VR, though enemies will still be able to parry each other if you using SPID. I recommend using HIGGS instead, which adds weapon collision mechanics that are a better fit for VR.
- Aim shake will work in VR if Scrambled Bugs VR is installed. Your screen will not shake to prevent motion sickness, but stamina will drain and your controllers will vibrate. If you use SPID in VR, enemies will experience stamina drain regardless of whether Scrambled Bugs VR is installed.
- Magic: If you want the extended functionality from PowerOfThree's Tweaks and/or Papyrus Extender in the Magic module, install the VR versions of those mods.
- Knockout: works, but KOed enemies may not be lootable or draggable depending on your keybinds.
Installation
- Download the main SU'MMER.esp file. This contains the configuration menu, and adds the abilities from the modules to you and other characters in the game world.
- Download whichever modules you want to use. All can be used independently. Load order does not matter.
- If installing for the first time through Mod Organizer 2, it may shorten the module file names when you try to install them and ask if you want them to overwrite the main module. To work around this, just type the module name while installing.
- If building a bashed patch for other mods that edit leveled lists, you don't need to include SUMMER - all edits to leveled lists are triggered when you load the mod and do not require patches.
- If you want to test features of the mod, use the testing functions in the configuration menu to add items, perks, and spells directly to your character.
Updating & Modules
- Any modules with version 2.# are compatible with each other
- Any modules with the same main version (2.0, 2.1, 2.5.1, etc.) are safe to update to the latest version on an existing save - any exceptions will be noted in the change log.
- Modules can be installed mid save. Some of the changes from Recalibration will not take effect on existing saves, but the module works regardless. Do not install the Traps module if you're in a cell where traps are currently loaded. Do not install the Followers module if you have a follower.
- Like with any mod, I don't recommend removing modules from an existing save. Most modules contain options to deactivate their features which can be accessed through the configuration menu.
Compatibility and Conflicts
- Survival Mode+Recalibration: Both mods decrease carry weight by different means, so they stack on each other in a way that will give you zero carrying capacity at beginning of game if you use both. Survival mode also constantly drains stamina when overencumbered, so I would not recommend playing with these 2 together. All other modules are fine to use with Survival Mode.
- Animation mods (not animation replacers, ones that add animations to actions in the game) may create incompatibilities with the Dodge and Parry modules. True Directional Animation has been reported incompatible. Mods like TK Dodge will be redundant.
- Trap mods that edit vanilla objects like the bear trap, pressure plate, spike traps, etc. either to change their damage values or add detection events will be overwrite or be overwritten by SUMMER. The Recalibration module includes damage changes to traps which are fully compatible and will not overwrite the behavior changes in the main mod.
- Perk mods will be compatible, unless they remove 2 perks from the game: the 'Dwarven Smithing' perk, which will prevent crafting Automata or the 'Steel Smithing' perk that allows trap crafting. Most perk mods simply edit and expand on these perks, and can generally be used with SUMMER without a patch.
- Combat mods like Ultimate Combat, Vigor, Smilodon, etc. may add conflicting features like parrying or stamina drain. In those cases, don't use these modules or deactivate the conflicting feature in SUMMER's configuration menu.
- Magic mods that add new systems around existing spells like Spell Research and Spell Crafting will not be compatible with spells from the Magic module without a patch. Ones that simply add new spells to the world or add new perks that interact with spellcasting should be compatible without a patch, as all SUMMER spells are integrated with vanilla perk keywords, and all changes to magic-related leveled lists are done at runtime and do not require a patch.
- Stealth mods that change values like noise multipliers, light multipliers, and AI detection settings are fine to use but will be redundant with the Recalibration module - if you want their changes to overwrite SUMMER's, load them below Recalibration.
Bugs and Troubleshooting
- I have a bug or conflict not mentioned below: Please submit a bug report here, and share your mod list and a copy of your Papyrus log from a play session where you encountered the bug. Info on how to enable Papyrus logging can be found here.
- Dodge animations are not playing properly: This may be due to a conflict with another animation mod or a mod that edits sprinting. Dodging is controlled by a script, so if you experience have long script lag or cannot run Skyrim at a framerate of at least ~20-30 fps, its animations may not play properly with the default settings. You can use the 'Dodge Timing' slider in the configuration menu to adjust this. Users who have problems with this may want to ignore the Dodge module and use a dll-based alternative like TKDodge. True Directional Movement has been reported incompatible since it can prevent the player from moving in a way that allows the dodge to trigger.
- People keep attacking me after I take off a disguise: Under most circumstances, enemies will stop attacking you if they see through your disguise and wouldn't normally be hostile. E.g., if you walk into Markarth wearing Forsworn armor, guards will attack, but if you remove it or they see through your disguise, they'll stop attacking. However, this only applies to NPCs within the Crime Detection Distance (a vanilla game setting that can be altered by mods), so actors farther away when your disguise is broken may continue to attack you until you approach them. To fix this, approach them or leave the area. Wintersun Faith has been reported to have a bug where features from that mod will treat removing a disguise as a penalty, since you can be temporarily added to and removed from factions with this mod.
- My undead thralls or dwarven automata are getting stuck or having trouble navigating: Thralls and automata from this mod use a simple custom AI framework for compatibility reasons and so that NPCs could (theoretically) use them. They'll follow you closely and through load doors, but you might need to guide them around obstacles on the ground. If they get permanently stuck, you can also kill them and recoup some of their parts to re-use later.
- New persuasion topics aren't appearing: Not every character can be begged from, robbed, or brawled with. For begging, make sure that your clothing actually has the 'ClothingPoor' keyword. Clothes with this keyword include the Ragged Robes, but not the 'Roughspun' items. The Unofficial Patch adds it to several other clothes as well. Some NPCs like guards can not be begged from. Speechcraft options are not available with actors in the middle of pre-scripted scenes.
- I made a bounty/assassination/intimidation quest target yield and told them to flee or recruited them, but the quest doesn't update unless I actually kill them: This feature only supports vanilla quests, and not certain ones where the target needs to be dead for story/script reasons. This does support mod-added NPCs, but only if they're the target of vanilla radiant quests.
- Casting the Bound Shield spell removes my gauntlets: This only occurs for certain items (just the Fur Gauntlets, as far as I know) since they occupy the same slot on the character's body. It would be outside the scope of this mod to edit a vanilla item for compatibility. Weapons and Armor Fixes Remade and Weapon AF may solve this.
- I'm trying to turn down the lockpick level requirements, but it still says I can't pick the lock: Lock requirements apply by script when you first interact with a given lock, so you'll need to leave the cell and allow the lock to reset for them to update on any locks you've already touched. The lock smashing and lock spell level requirements do not behave this way: if you change the level requirements on those they will update immediately.
- I see errors about animation events in my papyrus log when using the Aimshake module: These are harmless and can be ignored. The module uses a mix of engine-level condition checks and scripted condition checks to be able to quickly track when characters are drawing bows. If one of the engine-level checks ends the shaking effect before the script is done with one of its checks it may log an error, but the game engine cleans these up automatically.
PERMISSIONS
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Permissions are open. Anyone who wishes to use part or whole of this mod in their own creations is welcome to do so.