50 replies to this topic

[ramccoid]

Mod Source:
SNOW by ramccoid
Wiki Link
 

 

{Mod Author, please insert OP text}

 

 

 

Original OP (below) by Kuldebar

If over a minute of unmodded is too much, skip to the modded snow at 1:12 in the video

 

A mod for Skyrim which changes the blowing snow effects in the game.

 

 

It looks impressive, I'm taking a look at the files involved right now.

 

This is one of those mods that you have absolutely nothing to lose by trying it out. Compatibility with the ENB Particle Patch has been added by the author.

 

I have elected to use the 512k version.

 

UPDATE:

 

I trekked up to High Hrothgar with SNOW (cool name, eh?) installed and have to say, I like it. The snow that gusts around is heavier now and more crystalline. I can better imagine the stinging of the ice crystals as the wind propels about.

 

Now, some folks may not like coarse snow or snow that falls more rapidly as it blows over rocks and other obstructions...there's no accounting for taste and ENB's :)

Edited by z929669, 20 May 2015 - 09:59 AM.

[Garfink]

I must be blind, the difference is very subtle. There seems to less snow blown with the mod. Not sure if it actually looks better.

[Kuldebar]

I must be blind, the difference is very subtle. There seems to less snow blown with the mod. Not sure if it actually looks better.

The difference is in the overall coarseness of the blown snow but the change I like the most can be found in the moving drifts (the background upper right in the video) they are heavier and more pronounced than vanilla.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

Is this compatible with 'Snow FX for ENB'?

 

https://enbseries.en....php?f=6&t=1908

[Kuldebar]

I can't say with 100% certainty from first hand knowledge because I don't use Snow FX for ENB anymore...but  Mindflux states that it "should be compatible with all texture replacers."

 

Assuming there's no overwrite, I'd suppose. :)

[redirishlord]

Kuldebar, on 15 Apr 2014 - 10:18 AM, said:

I can't say with 100% certainty from first hand knowledge because I don't use Snow FX for ENB anymore...but  Mindflux states that it "should be compatible with all texture replacers."

 

Assuming there's no overwrite, I'd suppose. :)

Wrye/BAIN shows no conflicts with Snow FX for ENB's 3 meshes (& the conflicts with the particle patch for enb are resolved by SNOW's compatibility patch). The snow on the ground outside the Helgen intro dungeon looked good with this under Serenity's lighting (still tweaking my load order/patches before actually seriously playing).

 

Edit: after reading your next post I see that I missed the SNOW 1024 flakes are overwriting Skyrim Performance Plus' snowflakes textures. Once I get up to Bleak Barrow I'll see how my performance fares and decide whether to keep the 1024 flakes, or the high performance texture.

Edited by redirishlord, 15 April 2014 - 01:02 PM.

[Kuldebar]

I remember I really like Snow FX for ENB but it got purged from my mod list when I went on an ESP reduction spree.  The ESP slot versus return value kind of thing. I actually went the Super Performance route further proving my unsophisticated taste in texture (I guess) [example: I run HD Vanilla Landscape Textures + parallax...I save all the pricey "good" stuff for indoors and go crazy 2k+]

 

Skyrim Performance PLUS by VirusType2 aka Vergis

 

Now, (perhaps somewhat) paradoxically the vanilla stuff that SNOW by ramccoid changes bugs me more...I'm guessing because it's far more noticeable being that it's animated and will often be present on clear sunny sky days.

 

Darken and blur the screen and set the snow falling, well, then I don't care if the snow is "detailed" but get it blowing across the path and cliff faces on a cobalt sky bright day...now it can't be ignored even by a man who likes discount, performance snow.

Edited by Kuldebar, 15 April 2014 - 12:55 PM.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

Kuldebar, any chance you could do a quick compare? I'm having trouble understanding what this mod does. The screenshots on the mod page are not showing me. 

[Kuldebar]

DoYouEvenModBro, on 15 Apr 2014 - 10:58 AM, said:

Kuldebar, any chance you could do a quick compare? I'm having trouble understanding what this mod does. The screenshots on the mod page are not showing me. 

Since the mod is changing animated texture/mesh items (windblown snow), screenshots aren't going to be of very much informational value. It's in the movement and how the light catches them and their material properties.

 

[color=rgb(255,140,0);]Dusty Powder versus ice crystals, light smoke like "snow" versus small windblown flakes of ice...that's how I would frame the comparison between vanilla and SNOW respectively.[/color]

 

The video linked above (watch it in HD) should give you an idea, I found it useful to watch the Vanilla segment and focus on one particular area and THEN forward to right before the MODDED segment begins @1.12...

 

Here's some links to the separate segments...

Vanilla: https://www.youtube....QgYIoAoAP4#t=13

Modded: https://www.youtube....QgYIoAoAP4#t=73

 

Two particular things to watch out for:

• the effect when snow is blown over an object, like a rock, notice how fast/heavily it falls (my favorite part of the mod)
• the granularity of the wind driven snow

Now, having said all this, nothing beats in game viewing of the effect because you can pan your view, clear days are best to see the mod without other weather effects masking it.

 

Of course, since it's a simple texture/mesh replacer there's no potential for damaged saves if you remove it.

 

If this mod required an ESP, I'd not use it because the benefit it brings is fairly subtle most of the time and not worth an ESP slot.

Edited by Kuldebar, 15 April 2014 - 02:24 PM.

[ramccoid]

This main difference between the modded version and vanilla, is that I've changed the effect from being purely gusting vapour to snow and ice particles being blown with force. To me, it causes the snowy areas to feel colder, even to me personally sat in a warm room, which the vanilla effect never did. When I first saw the effect, I thought that isn't how I have experienced it, sweeping the landscape of the North Yorkshire Moors, so I set about trying to make it more like that. I was hoping more talented texture artists would cover it but no one ever did. I'm not saying that I have made a good job of it because I know I'm not that good at texturing, I was even going to delete it because I just can't get it to look exactly like the real thing but I thought someone might like it on the Nexus, so I uploaded it.

[Kuldebar]

ramccoid, on 15 Apr 2014 - 12:51 PM, said:

This main difference between the modded version and vanilla, is that I've changed the effect from being purely gusting vapour to snow and ice particles being blown with force. To me, it causes the snowy areas to feel colder, even to me personally sat in a warm room, which the vanilla effect never did. When I first saw the effect, I thought that isn't how I have experienced it, sweeping the landscape of the North Yorkshire Moors, so I set about trying to make it more like that. I was hoping more talented texture artists would cover it but no one ever did. I'm not saying that I have made a good job of it because I know I'm not that good at texturing, I was even going to delete it because I just can't get it to look exactly like the real thing but I thought someone might like it on the Nexus, so I uploaded it.

I really like it and how you implemented it. I also believe wind driven snow should have a more granular/grit quality and not be treated like "smoke" as vanilla tends to do.

Edited by Kuldebar, 15 April 2014 - 03:05 PM.

[Kuldebar]

Edit: after reading your next post I see that I missed the SNOW 1024 flakes are overwriting Skyrim Performance Plus' snowflakes textures. Once I get up to Bleak Barrow I'll see how my performance fares and decide whether to keep the 1024 flakes, or the high performance texture.

Yeah, you are right, completely forgot that part...yes I have it overwriting mine as well, I had no noticeable performance issues walking up the Throat of the World. A 5kb file is replaced by a 341kb file.

[redirishlord]

Excellent news, I'll remove Skyrim Performance Plus snow module and keep the others so the Rift stays manageable.

[Kuldebar]

Excellent news, I'll remove Skyrim Performance Plus snow module and keep the others so the Rift stays manageable.

I am using the 512 version which is 2x bigger than vanilla. I elected not to use a higher resolution one just to keep my VRAM usage in check.

[ramccoid]

"I really like it and how you implemented it. I also believe wind driven snow should have a more granular/grit quality and not be treated like "smoke" as vanilla tends to do." Thank you, so very much, it's very much appreciated. "I am using the 512 version which is 2x bigger than vanilla. I elected not to use a higher resolution one just to keep my VRAM usage in check." There is also a 256 version available, which is only 8k in file size per texture, uploaded for the performance conscious.

Edited by ramccoid, 15 April 2014 - 04:02 PM.