The 418th Step

Author: Chesko

Contact: Forums - Chesko
E-mail - chesko.tesmod@gmail.com

DOWNLOADS

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/19107
Steam Workshop (Coming Soon)

SCREENSHOTS

http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/images/19107-1-1340215662.jpg
http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/images/19107-4-1340215036.jpg
http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/images/19107-3-1340215035.jpg
http://static.skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/images/19107-2-1340215035.jpg

DESCRIPTION

Upon the slopes of High Hrothgar sit the well-known and daunting 7,000 Steps, each of them weathered and truly ancient. One step in particular, however, is of special significance.

The second of http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Five_Songs_of_King_Wulfharth tells us that High King Wulfharth (Ysmir) rebuilt the 418th step of High Hrothgar some time in the sixth century of the 1st Era when it had been damaged by a dragon attack. There is no evidence of this in-game, however, which I thought was strange given Wulfharth's direct connection to Talos. Such a step should be honored as a treasured artifact of a place where Talos himself once walked amongst men.

This mod makes the 418th step (yes, I counted) of High Hrothgar unique in appearance and bears an inscription carved upon its surface. It is very hard to read (it is barely legible at even the highest texture resolution setting), but can be read clearly when clicked upon:

----====----


Here lies the step once more made whole

By King Wulfharth, Shor bless his name

Once cracked 'neath talon, scale, and flame

In sight of all the Gods of Old


----====----

KNOWN ISSUES

None.

REQUIREMENTS

None.

COMPATIBILITY

Incompatible with mods that edit the landscape of the path leading up High Hrothgar.

Incompatible with mods that edit the particular set of steps upon which the 418th step is situated.

FILES ADDED BY THIS MOD

Chesko_Step418.esp

meshes/
-----chesko/
----------_418_OtherSteps.nif
----------_418_Step418.nif

textures/
-----chesko/
----------_418_hhsteps02.dds

scripts/
-----_418_ACT_Script.pex
-----Source/
----------_418_ACT_Script.psc

readmes/
-----Chesko_Step418_Readme.txt

FORMS ADDED BY THIS MOD

Message: _418_Inscription
Static: _418_Step418
Static: _418_OtherSteps
Activator: _418_ACT

FORMS EDITED BY THIS MOD

Moved the set of steps that are part of the steps that include Step 418 down under the ground, and set them to "initially disabled".

NOTES

The texture for Step 418 is based on Bethesda's 1024x1024 texture from the official HD Texture Pack DLC.

There is some minor room for improvement by adding a proper normal map for the added text, or even a displacement map. If you are a texture artist that can do something like this, I'd love to hear from you.

FINAL WORDS

There's not much of anything to go wrong, so if clicking on the inscription doesn't work for you, there is something wrong with your installation, or a script extender is causing a problem for you. The script that brings up the inscription text contains only one event, with a single call to a message object. If that doesn't work, something is tragically wrong with your game.

I hope this tiny lore mod adds a little more immersion to your game. Thanks, and enjoy.

This is cute!
I'll be using this.

Looks interesting.

subtle, but full of meaning and history.

I feel like being a nitpicker today. The 7000 steps have about a tenth as many steps in game due to the scale of the world, so the whole 418th-step incident should have happened about where the 48th step is. That's quite a difference in geography.

Otherwise, sweet mod.

Todd Howard is quoted as saying that there are actually 7,000 steps, and that "they counted". Did he lie? (I know, shocking) Has anyone actually counted?

Based on what I've seen in the creation kit, each stone is considered a "step", and that's how I counted them. That small section is comprised of 13 steps. It's also just where the snowline starts, so it's not even halfway up I don't think. It wouldn't surprise me if there were at least 2 - 3 thousand. A tenth seems like a severe underestimation. Either way, whatevs.

Great idea for a little mod.!
There's a difference between a step (the physical structure,) and a footstep taken by a person. The game counts the stone steps as 7000, not how many times you move your feet.