Activity

http://www.geek.com/articles/games/skyrim-running-100-graphics-mods-looks-next-gen-20121121/” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
^^click for screenies

If you thought Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was pretty, or were wondering what the next-gen consoles would look like now that the Wii U has arrived, a modder named Unreal has undertaken the project you’ve been waiting for. Any fan of the Elder Scrolls series knows that extensive modding communities quickly spring up around Bethesda’s games. From adding saddlebags to horses to help transport loot, to adding entire factions and elaborate campaigns to the world, the Elder Scrolls modding community chugs along. Unreal is one such community member, and started what is perhaps one of the most impressive gaming mods to date. He managed to get Skyrim to simultaneously run 100 graphics mods, creating a gorgeous graphics package that makes it looks like a next-gen game.

Unreal claims to have over 800 mods installed, but only uses up to 100 of them at a time to augment the game. Whatever the combinations of mods he ended up using, the resulting screenshots are beautiful.

Skyrim mods stump

Interestingly, the biggest detriment to the game’s framerate isn’t the sheer amount of mods mods running at once, it’s the grass. The grass mod Unreal is using is a work-in-progress, so he can’t provide a download link but he reports a measly 5fps when the mod is using the heaviest volume of grass. With the grass upgrade disabled, he achieves around 38fps with the rest of the 100 (or so) mods running.

Skyrim Mod Grass

If the characters look a little too Final Fantasy for your taste, Unreal notes that he simply tried out a bunch of character and face models, and suggests doing the same until you find a style you prefer.

Unreal is running the heavily modded game on a gaming rig that uses an overclocked Core i5-2500k and a GeForce GTX 670. Unfortunately for those that fancy a particular screenshot and want to recreate its settings, Unreal didn’t keep track of which combination of mods and in-game settings he used to achieve each one, though he does provide a lengthy FAQ over on his blog that can guide users in the right direction.

Skyrim Mod Sky

If you’re new to the Elder Scrolls modding scene and want to try your hand at customizing the game, head on over to the Skyrim Nexus. Grab yourself a mod manager before you get going, as it’ll greatly reduce the headache of managing and organizing your mods.

Unreal’s screenshots are gorgeous, and look like the graphical leap we’ve come to expect from the end of one generation to the beginning of the next. Luckily for us, when we do get to that new generation, it’ll come with hardware that can support all that luscious grass.

Hmm… Build a new rig in 2013?