Ever feel like the Oxygen meter was just a glorified stamina bar? Other space games make you keep track of your suit's oxygen when you're in vacuum. This mod overhauls the oxygen meter to work like a suit O2 meter. This is similar to other space games, and like the Subnautica series, but it is balanced for the speed of Starfield's gameplay.
Requirements
This mod does not have any known dependencies other than the base game.
Other user's assetsAll the assets in this file belong to the author, or are from free-to-use modder's resources
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Modification permissionYou are allowed to modify my files and release bug fixes or improve on the features so long as you credit me as the original creator
Conversion permissionYou can convert this file to work with other games as long as you credit me as the creator of the file
Asset use permissionYou must get permission from me before you are allowed to use any of the assets in this file
Asset use permission in mods/files that are being soldYou are not allowed to use assets from this file in any mods/files that are being sold, for money, on Steam Workshop or other platforms
Asset use permission in mods/files that earn donation pointsYou are not allowed to earn Donation Points for your mods if they use my assets
Author notes
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The mod does several things to accomplish the goal of transforming your oxygen meter into a proper oxygen meter. These changes are largely only active when you're in a vacuum or when you're in a thin atmosphere. When you're in a pressurized area, or when you're in atmosphere, the game will mostly treat your O2 meter as it did in vanilla, except running will cause it to drain slower.
When you are in a vacuum, you will slowly lose oxygen as your breath from your suit's stores. When you run out of oxygen, your suit's CO2 meter will fill, and when it is full you will rapidly lose health and die of asphyxiation. (You cannot die in atmosphere.)
Running, jumping, carrying too much in your inventory, and power attacking will all drain your O2 meter quicker than regular activity.
Thin atmospheres have enough O2 to keep your suit's stores from draining, but you will also not regain oxygen in thin atmospheres. You can still lose O2 from strenuous activity in thin atmosphere. (The Personal Atmosphere power creates a thin atmosphere, and prevents airborn environmental damage.)
Holding your breath to steady your aim no longer drains O2 from your suit, but it does cause CO2 to build up in your blood.
Passive O2 Drain and CO2 Buildup can be modified in the Gameplay Options menu, as well as how effective your Oxygen Tanks are, and how quickly physical activity drains O2.
You will show/hide your suit/helmet when appropriate, from putting on your helmet in combat (if your suit was already on) to keeping your suit on when the outside atmosphere is dangerous, or your ship is in space. Best of all, your follower, crew members, and most NPCs in the wild will also be more mindful of safety, following the same rules.
Gameplay Options exist for advanced suit visibility as well as advanced pack visibility for a more immersive experience.
Not all hope is lost in the black of space though, because you will be able to stock up on O2 Tanks to keep with you to give you more time exploring before you need to come back and fill up your O2 tanks again!
O2 Tanks and Large O2 Tanks can be crafted at a Pharmaceutical Lab.
If you install the optional file for Oxygen Tanks in the Wild, the oxygen tanks you normally find around the map in certain areas will be replaced with the usable O2 tanks from the mod.
O2 Tanks can be found on enemies as loot.
O2 Tanks can also be purchased from certain vendors.
Emergency Oxygen Masks can be found in first aid containers.
Oxygen Refill Panels are scattered around the world which can refill your O2 meter without using up a tank with the patch.
Place Oxygen Refill Panels in your outpost too!
Craft new armor mods like the CO2 Scrubber for your helmet, and the Pressurized Tanks for your pack.
Everything to do with Oxygen is rebalanced for the mod. Legendaries and armor mods which give bonus oxygen will give a lot more of it, since you're not going to be gaining it back all of the time. Perks have been slightly altered so they play fair with the new oxygen mechanics as well. If you feel like any of the balance of the mod needs to be tweaked, be sure to leave a comment!
The two patches: You can choose to use one of the two patches included with the mod, either "Tanks in the Wild" or "Automatic Tank Replacer". The tanks in the wild patch uses cell overrides to replace all of the oxygen tanks, rescue masks, and oxygen panels with usable versions. The Automatic Tank Replacer patch instead uses scripts to replace them at runtime, however fewer oxygen panels are handled due to how Static objects work. Each have their pros and cons, and you can check the comments section for more information. However, only use one patch at a time.
If you want a better explanation of the mod, please see my video on Strange's channel:
WARNING: Back up your save before installing. The active spell effects this mod gives you require extra steps to be taken before you uninstall the mod. Please see the uninstalling section for further instructions.
Installation:
Unzip the archive and put TNProperOxygen.esm and (If using the optional file) TN_Oxygen_Tanks_Wild.esm into your Starfield/Data folder (most likely under Documents/My Games/Starfield/Data), or let your mod manager install the file.
Ensure that archive invalidation is enabled in your StarfieldCustom.ini. (Look below if you don't)
