[Cameron Garrod]

[WIP] Pluto's Improved Skyrim Experience.
WIP means work in progress! Back up your save games before installing!
Current Version: v0.80.

Nexus page:
http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1269

Progress and future page:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiAQSMjBQ6EQdHp6Rk9sU1VubmZkVUhnTmhhUkctenc



Basics
This mod, as its name indicates, aims at making Skyrim a more challenging and rewarding game without changing the feel of vanilla Skyrim. The changes made by this mod can be divided into different categories. This section deals with the changes in the main PISE.esp; for a list of changes in the optional .esps, see file list below. (note: more detailed gameplay changelog visible at:)

Basically, the main PISE.esp features:
- More spawns
- Harder enemies (deleveled dragons, mages make use of healing spells, bosses shout sooner and more accurately, humanoids have and use potions)
- Overhauled enemy AI (blocking more often, power attacks, better aiming, faster reaction times)
- Harder battles (enemies detect you easier when looking directly at you, mages may heal their allies)
- Less leveled loot

I strongly recommend that you check out the gameplay changelog for a list of all changes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bmmloY_UGalbMvpoYLwhuF4bb4RXwg5cp4ykxAgC7KY/edit


Full Description (including installation, file list, etc):

Spoiler

[WIP] Pluto's Improved Skyrim Experience.
WIP means work in progress! Back up your save games before installing!
Current Version: v0.80.

Frequently Asked Questions
Question: V. 0.80 is broken and causes CTDs! Can you fix it?
Answer: Make sure the "Strings" folder (located in the zip file) is in your "Data" folder, just like other files. Look at the ReadMe for more information.

Question: The Skyrim launcher keeps unchecking PISE components! Is it a Thalmor conspiracy to keep me from playing?
Answer: No! Although my main character IS a high elf... jokes aside though, for some reason the Skyrim launcher doesn't do very well with files containing a "-" (such as PISE-vendors.esp, for example). Simply rename files from PISE-[name].esp to PISE_[name].esp and that should fix the problem (so for PISE-vendors.esp, you would change it to PISE_vendors.esp).

Returning users:
*If you liked it, endorse it! I put a lot of time working on this and would like as many people as possible to enjoy my mod.

*If you have NOT removed Darker Dungeons, please do so. It has been removed from this mod. If you keep using it, you should acknowledge the fact that it is bugged and will break radiant AI story quests. I am trying to fix it, but I'm currently waiting to hear back from a programmer - the Bethesda Community Manager graciously passed on my plugin and some save files to one. However, it is the holidays - so don't expect any immediate changes.

*The default level scaling on PISE is easier now. This means that as of v0.68, the mod is, by default, easier. If you want to return to the original difficulty I had in the mod, load the more intense level scaling optional after the main mod.

*If you use the compatibility plugin for Weapons of the Third Era, there's an updated version of it. It's a replacement plugin - use it instead of his, and replace my old one with it.

*My AI update is now integrated into the mod as of v0.70. Enjoy! You'll also need the Strings folder - place it in the Data folder just as you would other files. This was necessary for multi-lingual compatibility and for fixed subtitles.

*The encounter zone changes will have the best effect with a new game!

*The Weapons of the Third Era compatibility plugin currently only contains vendor changes. Others will come.

Basics
This mod, as its name indicates, aims at making Skyrim a more challenging and rewarding game without changing the feel of vanilla Skyrim. The changes made by this mod can be divided into different categories. This section deals with the changes in the main PISE.esp; for a list of changes in the optional .esps, see file list below. (note: more detailed gameplay changelog visible at:)

Basically, the main PISE.esp features:
- More spawns
- Harder enemies (deleveled dragons, mages make use of healing spells, bosses shout sooner and more accurately, humanoids have and use potions)
- Overhauled enemy AI (blocking more often, power attacks, better aiming, faster reaction times)
- Harder battles (enemies detect you easier when looking directly at you, mages may heal their allies)
- Less leveled loot

I strongly recommend that you check out the gameplay changelog for a list of all changes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bmmloY_UGalbMvpoYLwhuF4bb4RXwg5cp4ykxAgC7KY/edit


Installation:
Note: Nexus Mod Manager is recommended for running this mod

Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) Installation (www.skyrimnexus.com/content/modmanager/) (for main files only):
a) Download through NMM, and activate there.
Follow below as from 3).

Manual Installation:
1) Unzip the files to a directory of your choosing.
2) Move the ESP files of your choosing inside the Data directory of your Skyrim installation (located inside the steam folder, under steamapps/common/skyrim). Check the bottom of this readme for the file list to decide which features you want. Some files may require the Strings folder (the folder goes in the same place - inside it you should have the PISE_english strings AND the Skyrim_english strings), otherwise the game will crash.
3) Use the Nexus Mod Manager (www.skyrimnexus.com/content/modmanager) to arrange the load order; put all the optionals after the main PISE.esp, or after all separated components. If an optional without an associated main file is loaded, I bear no responsibility for what happens (such as loading reduced potions without the main file or NPC Spell Lists and Potions separate component).
4) When starting Skyrim, click on data files, and make sure the '[name].esp' is checked.
5) Run Skyrim!

Alternate Language Installation:
1) Check if the language has a downloadable strings file associated with it.
2) If the language is listed, download and replace the PISE strings. If you use one of the separated files, the current approach is to rename the PISE_[language] strings to the [plugin]_[language] strings as they are identical. This may change in the future - so check here when updating!
3) If not, duplicate the Skyrim_[language] string files and rename them to PISE_[language] with the same extensions (so three files in total). If using a separated or optional plugin that requires strings, do the same with the [plugin name]_[language] for other copies.

Optionals and updates
File structure and what to install
During the creation of this mod, I realized that it was quickly becoming bigger than I had imagined. I also realized that not everyone would want to use all the changes to gameplay that PISE offers. The main PISE.esp contains changes highlighted in the "Basics" section above; however, all the changes available in the PISE.esp are also available as standalone, separate .esps. There are other optional .esps that can be used in addition to PISE.esp or to any of the separate .esps. However, some of them depend on another plugin to work properly, so read the file list below carefully!

In a nutshell:
- "Separate" .esps allow you to pick and choose which components of PISE you want. If you want all the changes brought by PISE, get the main PISE.esp. If not, pick and choose.
- "Optional" .esps are changes that are NOT included in the main PISE.esp. Some can be used independently, others require another plugin to work. Read the description in the file list below.

How to update
If you used the old file, simply get the new one, delete the old. It'll include the same changes, so there's no issues. Of course I take no responsibility if anything happens to your save game, but nothing should.

Author's note:
Before you ask: there's much that I cannot do without the CK. There's a lot of AI issues that I'd like to address, that are currently unavailable to me. This mod is a work in progress. If you're interested in where I am headed, this is the thread to go to: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1328810-wiprelz-pise-plutos-improved-skyrim-experience-thread-2/

I also have a progress page on google documents: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiAQSMjBQ6EQdHp6Rk9sU1VubmZkVUhnTmhhUkctenc
I'll be expanding this list with exactly *what* I'm working on, what I'll be working on next, and the completion stage of all components.

Thanks! Feedback is always welcome.

Btw; If you haven't already, check out DLL on the tesnexus. I'm working with the author quite extensively for future mods.

Contact
Via nexus @ Plutoman101 or the gamesas forums @ Plutoman

Credits
Thanks to everyone who's helped me.

esoterism - my amazing girlfriend, she created my documentation
Omnomnom25 - tons of ai settings tests
iladrion - german translation
antaurus - russian translation
I can't remember offhand the names of who did the other translations, but thanks!
Everyone who's given me feedback!


File list
*Main:
-PISE.esp - includes every change described in ***BASIC*** above. Requires the associated Strings folder; replace if using an alternate language.

*Separated:
-PISE-AI Tweaks Only.esp - includes AI tweaks, minus sneak modifications.
-PISE-Increased Level Scales.esp - includes modification to level scaling for difficulty.
-PISE-Increased Spawns Only.esp - only includes increased spawns.
-PISE-Loot Tweaks Only.esp - only includes the modifications to loot.
-PISE-NPC Tweaks and Potions.esp - only includes addition of spells to NPC's, flags changed, and potions for humanoids.
-PISE-Sneak Tweaks Only.esp - only includes the changes to sneak detection.
-PISE-Dragon Weighting Only.esp - only includes the de-leveling and weighting to dragon spawns.
-PISE-Gold Tweaks Only.esp - only includes the changes to gold levels.
-PISE-NPC Equipment Tweaks Only.esp - only includes the changes to NPC equipment.
-PISE-Vendor Tweaks Only.esp - only includes the changes to vendors.
-PISE-Bartering Tweaks.esp - Modifies the merchant bartering to make selling/buying more expensive for the player.

*Optionals:
-PISE-More Intense Level Scaling - a more drastic change to level scaling. Load in after the main PISE.esp or in alternative to the PISE-Increased Level Scales.esp.
-PISE-Reduced Potions.esp - potions have 4 chances at 10% each to appear, from 20%. Load after main or NPC Tweaks and Potions.
-Darker Nights and Bright Skies.esp - Reduces light while retaining a brighter sky, and mildly reduces overall nighttime brightness settings.
-----I recommend using http://skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4323 instead! It includes the brighter lights optional if you want that.
-WeaponsOf3E Pise Compatibility Plugin.esp - Adds all of the Weapons of a Third Era new weapons to the de-leveled vendor lists with proper rarities. Load after PISE.esp or PISE-Vendor Tweaks Only.esp and use this .esp instead of the original Weapons of a Third Era esp. NOTE: YOU STILL HAVE TO DOWNLOAD THE MOD.

[Latino HeaT]

I just went in a dungeon that is suppose to be a wolf lair and a random sabre cat was in there. Does your mod cause this?

[Catharine Krupinski]

Most leveled wolf lists spawn sabre cats at some point. It's unrelated to my mod, just if you had gone through it in a previous game, it would have a lower set level. That's what I'd assume, anyhow. I know my mod doesn't change the contents of lists except for the vendor items in the optional.

[Cameron Wood]

Ok I'll ask core to change this in his mod. I'd rather a new much more powerful wolf, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSvBr4Qa-Fs maybe.

[Elisabete Gaspar]

I just went in a dungeon that is suppose to be a wolf lair and a random sabre cat was in there. Does your mod cause this?

Do you remember what the name of the dungeon was so that I check things on my side and adjust list has needed ..

[jesse villaneda]

Do you remember what the name of the dungeon was so that I check things on my side and adjust list has needed ..

It's called Greywater Grotto by Helgen. I'll let you know if anything else like this comes up.

But on topic Pluto did you implement the darker nights and dungeons yet?

[Gemma Archer]

Pluto you need to fix you Skyrim Nexus link's..it is broken for me..and I will send you a updated SCA

It's called Greywater Grotto by Helgen. I'll let you know if anything else like this comes up.

I tracked the cell down the list that are placed outdoors and inside are both the same (LCharAnimalMountainSnowPredator) which spawn normal wolves, ice wolves, snow sabre cat's, ice wraith, snow bear, frost troll's..

With PISE or PISE Increased Spawn plugin placement of creatures is Same has above

With Creatures Alive loaded after PISE the only change is Normal Wolves get removed and Snow Wolf replace them at lvl 1..Else list are the Same Pretty Much..

I will visit it in game and see for myself..

Just got ambushed along the coast by lvl 8 Grey Wolf during a blizzard..

[Joe Bonney]

Pluto, w3e has a new version up...

[Crystal Clarke]

Between you and Corepc when the CK comes out I would love to see more diverse enemy behavior in general... such as enemies who make use of sprinting, dual spell casting spells together and more spells/shouts in general that you don't see being used. It always disappointed me that the only dragon I've seen use a shout is Alduin in the scripted opening encounter of the game. Better AI in general is amazing, but more diversity in general would go along way into keep the game interesting. I will be following both mods with much enthusiasm!

[Robert Jackson]

I keep having questions or comments that I forget by the time I get to the forum.

A couple of comments:
Combat seems better now, and I haven't seen a bizarre difficulty spike in a long time. (Not sure if it was caused by this mod, but worth a mention.)
I seem to be getting more reasonable loot from expert/master chests. Not sure if this is luck or this mod, but I like it.

Some trivial requests:
I'd like to see high-level enemies occasionally get stronger healing potions (or get them more frequently if this is already set).
I recently went into a gambler's cave, and all of the mead barrels had a single item. Really not a big deal, but it would be nice to see more items in mead barrels.

Thanks for a great mod Plutoman, and keep it up, please!

[Helen Quill]

Fixed the link, I'll respond to questions tomorrow - just finished a nice long movie, been a long day, and I need my sleep.

[Elle H]

The night sky in the "Darker Nights and Bright Skies" still seems a little too dim. The stars and moons should look quite bright with the lack of terrestrial ambient light near the player. I don't know if it's a complication with how lighting works or not, but look up at the sky in the middle of a city and then look up in the woods. You'll notice a huge difference in what you can see. Also the aurora are a lot dimmer than I would expect with so little ambient light around.

Other than that, I am loving this mod, and I can't wait for more updates!

[Frank Firefly]

Reposting from last thread, in response to "not noticing many changes"...

Wellp switched to expert then went to Skallfhalden (or whatever it is called) near the end of the main quest...

Oh. My. God. So many deathlords its insane. I kind of love how hard they are, and I kind of love the dragon I ran into was a legit challenge. I literally ran out of potions to heal with - great. Its kind of crazy still though how many deathlords are here though proba:Pbly supposed to be for the purposes of the MQ that they are all boss level creatures.sdfsdfs

Its slightly irrating that Restless Dragur now take somewhere like 5-6 hits to take down including power attackswith and equisite ebony greatsword though... I'm level 27, 97 in twohanded, and these bastards are way below me level. One of the reason I avoided turning up the difficulty - I hate arbitrary difficulty increases. Wish I could just have the super hard big guys but normal everything else for things that are supposed to be normal.

[celebrity]

But on topic Pluto did you implement the darker nights and dungeons yet?

Check out Realistic Lighting without Post-Processing.

Pluto, w3e has a new version up...

Will get to it.

Between you and Corepc when the CK comes out I would love to see more diverse enemy behavior in general... such as enemies who make use of sprinting, dual spell casting spells together and more spells/shouts in general that you don't see being used. It always disappointed me that the only dragon I've seen use a shout is Alduin in the scripted opening encounter of the game. Better AI in general is amazing, but more diversity in general would go along way into keep the game interesting. I will be following both mods with much enthusiasm!

Already in progress. It's going to take some tuning with the CK, and scripting in general. Definitely going to happen, though. Technically, the fire breaths and etc are shouts, but that's the only ones they use generally.. adding more shouts doesn't actually get them to use them. So some AI package changes are needed, and that's impossible at the moment to do effectively.

I keep having questions or comments that I forget by the time I get to the forum.

A couple of comments:
Combat seems better now, and I haven't seen a bizarre difficulty spike in a long time. (Not sure if it was caused by this mod, but worth a mention.)
I seem to be getting more reasonable loot from expert/master chests. Not sure if this is luck or this mod, but I like it.

Some trivial requests:
I'd like to see high-level enemies occasionally get stronger healing potions (or get them more frequently if this is already set).
I recently went into a gambler's cave, and all of the mead barrels had a single item. Really not a big deal, but it would be nice to see more items in mead barrels.

Thanks for a great mod Plutoman, and keep it up, please!

Thanks! Should be pretty balanced. Any bizarre difficulty spikes should only occur if you enter an area with a higher minimum level. Watch, though, as I'm intending to implement changes to that; so you will have difficulty increases as you get farther away from civilization, and farther through the quests - but the rewards will be proportional, too. The increases will be done through a minimum level, though, so if you explore at level 50-60, it won't be any more of a challenge, but exploring at level 10..

The night sky in the "Darker Nights and Bright Skies" still seems a little too dim. The stars and moons should look quite bright with the lack of terrestrial ambient light near the player. I don't know if it's a complication with how lighting works or not, but look up at the sky in the middle of a city and then look up in the woods. You'll notice a huge difference in what you can see. Also the aurora are a lot dimmer than I would expect with so little ambient light around.

Other than that, I am loving this mod, and I can't wait for more updates!

Check out Realistic lighting. Working with the author, 747823, and I've done quite a few implements into that.

Reposting from last thread, in response to "not noticing many changes"...

Wellp switched to expert then went to Skallfhalden (or whatever it is called) near the end of the main quest...

Oh. My. God. So many deathlords its insane. I kind of love how hard they are, and I kind of love the dragon I ran into was a legit challenge. I literally ran out of potions to heal with - great. Its kind of crazy still though how many deathlords are here though proba:Pbly supposed to be for the purposes of the MQ that they are all boss level creatures.sdfsdfs

Its slightly irrating that Restless Dragur now take somewhere like 5-6 hits to take down including power attackswith and equisite ebony greatsword though... I'm level 27, 97 in twohanded, and these bastards are way below me level. One of the reason I avoided turning up the difficulty - I hate arbitrary difficulty increases. Wish I could just have the super hard big guys but normal everything else for things that are supposed to be normal.

That shouldn't be affected, Korjax. Restless draugr will be identical in both my mod and vanilla. Only the chances of higher level enemies spawning is changed. Otherwise, sounds good.

[Celestine Stardust]

@Korjax: It is rather annoying that in Skyrim increased difficulty lowers your damage output across the board. I picked up the Custom Difficulty mod to go with PISE and it seems to help out some since you can set your damage% and have it not be modified by difficulty level. Be prepared to get hit a lot harder if using that mod however. I'm playing with PISE, Custom Difficulty, a slower xp mod and a few other tweaks I use from AutoPerks (stats/leveling but not the actual auto perks) and play on adept and it's quite challenging. I like having randomish dragon spawns because I encounter some that I clearly have no chance at beating and have to run for it or die. Makes Skyrim feel more like the dangerous place it is supposed to be imo.

[liz barnes]

@Korjax: It is rather annoying that in Skyrim increased difficulty lowers your damage output across the board. I picked up the Custom Difficulty mod to go with PISE and it seems to help out some since you can set your damage% and have it not be modified by difficulty level. Be prepared to get hit a lot harder if using that mod however. I'm playing with PISE, Custom Difficulty, a slower xp mod and a few other tweaks I use from AutoPerks (stats/leveling but not the actual auto perks) and play on adept and it's quite challenging. I like having randomish dragon spawns because I encounter some that I clearly have no chance at beating and have to run for it or die. Makes Skyrim feel more like the dangerous place it is supposed to be imo.

What mod do you use if you don't mind me asking? It is a shame that switching to expert makes me do less damage overall. I like that I do less damage twoard boss enemies, but don't like how it also affects even small fry stuff. Does the mod have control over that, or is it pretty much the same thing, but I can just set my own damage multiplier instead of having the difficulty determine it?

[Michelle Chau]

Korjax, the mod is called Custom Difficulty as my previous post stated. It has different esp's for different damage multipliers for the player that do NOT change regardless of the difficulty you are playing the game on (excluding novice i think). However, the mod also increases enemy damage done to you by a significant amount depending on the difficulty you choose. Its all in the mod's description I believe. Imo it makes for a game where weaker enemies still can pose a threat in great numbers but can also be dispatched fairly easily at higher difficulties. It basically rewards good combat preperation and punishes poor combat prep. It has no bearing on damage towards higher level enemies that I know of but considering they get the damage boost as well, they can become incredibly deadly.

edit: also increases trap damage player takes as well, which imo is much needed.

edit#2: (lol) I do NOT recommend using PISE's More Intense Level Scaling optional along with Custom Difficulty at higher difficulties. That is suicide.

[Janine Rose]

Wow the realistic lighting mod is a must have! No performance hit, but very good lighting! So I went to the giant camp by whiterun and waited until night saved and activated the mod. When I got back in the game it was almost pitch black with only the giant's fire clearly visible. I started to run around hoping to run into something, while I didnt run into any creatures I did run into something that looked like one and it scared the crap out of me lol. So I went to whiterun and waited until day and I must say that this mod makes the shadows really stand out and it looks amazing! So I wanted to see how the city looked at night and it was darker but less darker than I expected. So I started thinking, maybe its just because there is more fire and lights in the city. But I realized there was an aurora in the sky mostly covered by clouds. So I wondered if thats why the city was brighter than expected so I went back to the same giant camp and everything was a little brighter. So the sky at night really effects how bright or dark it will be. At the end a dragon roar scared the crap out of me because I didnt even see him. I will do a vid tomorrow for that mod because I like it so much.

Here are pictures I took, I didnt get the scene with the aurora because I forgot to take pics

Dark Giant camp: http://www.consolecontrollus.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/TESV-2012-01-05-19-59-15-88.jpg

Bright City with Nice Shadows: http://www.consolecontrollus.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/TESV-2012-01-05-20-00-14-26.jpg

[Hilm Music]

just wait until you are in a dungeon crypt and figure out too late what those 2 shiny blue floating lights in front of you are

[Jonny]

just wait until you are in a dungeon crypt and figure out too late what those 2 shiny blue floating lights in front of you are

Lmao I just went back in because I forgot to test out dungeons so I went to bleak falls and it was a blizzard and dark as heck lol I had to bring out a torch. Really creepy. I went up inside and anything in the shadows is very hard to see(just how I like it) I finally felt the horror that I felt in Oblivion because of the dark lighting. Wow just wow!

[adame]

But I realized there was an aurora in the sky mostly covered by clouds. So I wondered if thats why the city was brighter than expected so I went back to the same giant camp and everything was a little brighter. So the sky at night really effects how bright or dark it will be.

That was done intentionally - had to be hand edited.

Glad it looks good! The picture at night looks a bit dark, but in my experience that's been caused by steam's high compression. Carrying a torch is good though. I know I can see at night reasonably well. Make sure the monitor's calibrated, and the brightness is set properly.

[alicia hillier]

I'm quite tempted by this mod. I have been playing on master for my first and second playthrough, but it's disheartening that all the higher difficulty does is boost mob damage and slash PC output. Also my 63 sneak has become grossly overpowered, even on master. Can't wait to see what you can achieve with the CK!

One question: I have been using the Real Nights HDR mod for the darker nights (actually need night vision now). I don't know if anyone has experience with both so I may have to fiddle, but does anyone have a comparison that has tried the PISE night mod vs the Real Nights HDR mod?

EDIT: I'm referring to aLaa's mod, Realistic Colors and Real Nights.

[Stu Clarke]

My night mod inside PISE is rather simplistic compared to both Realistic Colors and Real Nights & the Realistic Lighting without Post-Processing. I'd recommend either of them over mine. I've worked on the latter and it integrates quite a lot of my work, so I'm a bit biased towards it - also because my computer can barely play skyrim, let alone use post-processing.. but both are good.

[Del Arte]

Thanks for the response pluto. So there are at least THREE options for darker nights, and they use varying methods to achieve their results. WOW. I can't wait until you get the CK, kudos to all that you have done without it so far. great community all around.

[Victoria Vasileva]

Hey Plutoman, I may be using an old version of "PISE-Loot Tweaks Only" (haven't re-downloaded it in a few weeks) but I have encountered a problem; I found a Dragonscale Shield in a bandit chest. I am fairly certain it was from Loot Tweaks since after removing the mod and reloading to before I entered the cell, I then found diferent items in the same chest.

Is this something that got changed in more recent versions? (And this can never happen in vanilla Skyrim, right?)