No world edits, all bugs are fixed, light weight, highly compatible, still no scripts, and no new animals only improved vanilla animals. This is SkyTEST Lite, animals have improved AI behavior, and will forage for food and water daily, and hunt in packs. I will be supporting this work indefinitely.
Requirements
This mod does not have any known dependencies other than the base game.
Patches, fixes, and updates that require my main file do not need my permission - upload and earn 100% of the donation points and live your best life. I am very laid back about permissions but If you want to use my assets in your mod just ask me first. I am very quick to respond to messages as well.
File credits
Special thanks to EtaYorius for giving me permission to post this mod. Thats insanely cool of you man. Thank you for making the community what it is today. We really appreciate you and everything you have done.
Donation Points system
Please log in to find out whether this mod is receiving Donation Points
Edmond's SkyTEST - Realistic Animals and Predators - Lite - Turkish Translation
Changelogs
Version v4.2
Insanely small update - I was made aware that the cave bear you first see in the beginning of the game (MQ101CaveBear) Which is a single unique instance cave bear was dead due to removing edits to the bear in the last update. I didnt immediately see a reason to edit the bear hence why I previously removed it but the reason is because you have to adjust the health due to racial edits changing bear baseline health. Really silly small update. Safe to update any time. This update is only in the primary main file and is not included in the legacy edition.
Version v4.1
Please be sure to check out the v4.0 update if you are on a version prior to it. In version 4.1 only the ESL main file was updated NOT the Legacy version. That said this update is very small but fun. I have made it so all Clams have a 60% chance to drop pearls. Large Clams will only drop Pearls, Large Thin Clams will have a chance to drop either a regular pearl or a small pearl, and regular clams have a chance to only drop a small pearl. No other changes were made. Clams are a stationary living creature but a creature none the less so I felt like it was still within the scope of the project to include this change. Please note that by vanilla Clams do NOT drop any pearls in Skyrim.
Version v4.0
****LARGE UPDATE****
I took a fine comb over ever single edit in the mod. Specifically the goal here was to remove vestigial edits from the original SkyTEST mod I no longer needed, or remove edits that I felt like didn't need to exist thus increasing compatibility, fine tune new AI and abilities I have given to specifically Sabre Cats which can now hunt mammoths, and add lore friendly improvements. that said I did the following:
ORIGINAL SKYTEST MOD FIXES AND REMOVALS -The ActorTypeCreature keyword was removed from both the Rabbit Race and the Chicken Race in the original SkyTEST mod, after re-review of this edit I believe it to be in error and have added back the keyword to these races. This also resolves a issue with some SPID list distribution that relied on the keyword to swap chicken or rabits for various versions of the animals. -The Chicken Race was named rabbit. I updated this to Chicken its a backend update but helps mod authors and users better see what they are editing and reviewing. -The Elk Race was named Deer same as the Reindeer Race I updated this to Elk its a backend update but helps mod authors and users better see what they are editing and reviewing. -The MQ101 Cave Bear does not need a SkyTEST edit. It is a injured special 1 time use Cave Bear in the tutorial. There is no value to editing it and few edits means fewer conflicts. -All 6 Texture Set Edits from the Original SkyTEST mod are not used in my mod and are vestigial I have removed them making the mod even lighter. -Horse Default, Horse Sprint, Horse Swim, Goat Run, Fox Default, Fox Run, Troll Sprint are all Movement Sets that were not used and have been deleted from the mod. -The SkyTEST Swim Movement Type was updated to match default swim movements like bears - that said this change appears to have done very little to affect swimming but keeps things consistent. -Vestigial dialog topics no longer used were removed which include, Bear Cub Dialog, Sabre Cat Cub Dialog, Puppy Dialog, Dear Fawn Dialog, Elk Calf Dialog, Goat Kid Dialog, Goose Dialog, Mammoth Baby Dialog, Piggy Dialog, Chick Dialog - resulting in approximately 54+ less edits in the mod file making it smaller -Vestigial Dialog Quests for everything mentioned directly above was also removed resulting in 6 few edits. -5 Food keywords were never used in the original SkyTEST mod I have removed them again resulting in a lighter mod. -Removed numerous spells that were never used, and removed 3 magic effects that not only were not used but under their description EtYours Details that the effect never worked in the first place resulting in another 10 fewer edits. -Removed 40+ unused Sound Descriptors and Voice Types -I re-reviewed the non-playing character (actor) records to ensure every single actor has their scale set to 1.0 to ensure that the hit box for the NPC matches them as a 1 to 1 ratio. -Skeevers had the ability to spread disease removed from a number of their attacks. I have re-added this ability back to some of them.
NEW FEATURES -Irish Elk, Sabre Cats, Steppe Mammoths, and Cave Bears are all extinct Mega Fauna that once lived. That said the sizes Bethesda originally used for these creatures reflects the size of the existing creature we have today aka Irish Elk = North American Elk Size, Cave Bear = Grizzle Bear Size, etc. I have resized all the animals to be the exact realistic size that they were in life. That said they are all significantly bigger. I also did this in a way to ensure that the hit boxes would also scale with the size so you will not have a issue with arrows flying threw them. Now they are a 1 to 1 match with their extinct counter part. This also means that a patch between my mod and Bears of the North is no longer required since I have sized them up similarly -I also resized the Snow Bear which is based on the polar bear to match the size of a real life polar bear which is slightly larger then the default size. Also I gave a small size boost the the "Large Mudcrab" which was no bigger in size from the default mud crab instead it was mainly just taller. This also fixes minor hitbox issues that would have existed by vanilla. -Deer in Skyrim are actually "Reindeer" and on the back end tables Bethesda even designated them as such in a few places. That said I have renamed the in game name of the deer to Reindeer. Caribou and Reindeer are the same species but in North America they call Reindeer, Caribou. I have decided to go along with the system name Bethesda gave them aka Reindeer which is technically more European centric but I think this is the most lore friendly way to do it. -Male Irish Elk no longer have a 50% chance to drop antlers, instead you will always get antlers from them. You can see them on their head they physically are there it makes no sense that you get antlers on a coin flip. -The extra damage to mammoths perk that Sabre Cats get has been dialed back by half. I didnt realize they were able to 1 hit kill mammoths. That said after play testing it at half strength its PERFECT! They have a epic battle thats lasts about 20 seconds get knocked around and eventually kill the mammoth. -Mammoths by vanilla are basically level 40 which makes sense but eventually the player will level to a point that they can kill a mammoth in a single shot. That said I have made mammoths scale with the player but gave them a cap. This wont fully stop the player from eventually being able to 1 hit mammoths like in vanilla and in the original SkyTEST but it does allow mammoths to really put up a fight if the player goes head to head with one hopefully at any level. -Mammoths now have a thick skin perk that helps them reduce critical hit damage due to their thick skin, layer of fat, and thick muscle mass which protects their vital organs -The fixed wolf howl animation file is now natively part of the mod - by vanilla following the Dawngaurd update wolves no longer howled, this animation file fixes this bug and allows them to howl again.
NEW NAME WHO DIS -I am now offering the mod in 2 versions. The primary version contains everything in this update and re-names the .esp "SkyTEST Realistic Animals Lite - ESL" the second version is identical to the primary version but has the old original SkyTEST name. Moving forward I will be using the new name but for the time being I will support both the new and old name. The reason for this change is because users keep on using original SkyTEST patches with my mod which is a compressed ESL mod. This causes users to CTD and although this is caused by user error and I detail not to do this, renaming the .esp will completely avoid this issue.
Version v3.6
First I removed USSEP as a master file since it wasn't actually required. Please note however that all* of the fixes USSEP provides are forwarded and included in the mod file. Additionally while reviewing edits I found some vanilla defects not already caught specifically concerning Goats and the player horse. If sneaking in front of a goat or your own horse they would count to your detection meter making it impossible to sneak around your own horse or a goat. This is worse yet because is you are trying to surprise a Bandit Camp or Storm Cloak/Imperial Camp and there were wild goats or your horse nearby they would detect you and raise the alarm to the hostiles in the area. This is now resolved. Please note however that wild horses and unbridled horses will still count to your stealth check and this is because they are placed in areas were if you spooked the horse it could sound a alarm or cause a herd of wild horses to flee from you.
Version v3.5
Added a optional ESL version of SkyTEST Lite please note that you cannot go from using a mod flagged as a .esp to a mod flagged as a .esl on the same save - you have to make a new game.
-Reviewed edits of animals and resolved a number of minor bugs were USSEP fixes were not forwarded or values were overlooked
-Recreated the One With Nature Patch from scratch. The original was good but was missing a lot of values and fixes - name has been updated as well to be in line with my naming convention
-improved the AI and dynamic attack nature between bears and wolves - basically I made there be more of a difference between bear types this also includes their size. I used real life models to ensure the bear sizes matches the correct size for the bear compared to a human depending on its type - their attacks are more dynamic now and not static as well so a Cave bear will have a .50 increase to damage for certain attack types but a regular bear will have no bonus and a Polar Bear will have a .25.
-Sabre cats have improved AI to hunt and successfully kill Mammoths - to this end they have a unique set of perks that make them incredible tough against mammoths and make them do a ton of damage to a mammoth. In real life they hunted and killed mammoths regularly - but in game this was never possible - I have improved them so that against specifically mammoths they have a affinity and edge to killing them. They will now be able to hunt them again - mammoth is back on the menu boys.
Updated mod page to move ESP version of SkyTEST Lite and all ESP version compatible patches to the Miscellaneous files section. Moving forward the ESL version of the mod will be the main one supported. Currently however both ESL and ESP versions of the mod are the same and provide the same features - future updates will only be for ESL however.
Added support for the mod "Real Wildlife Improved" which is for the ESL version of the mod NOT the ESP version of the mod*
Version v2.3
Made USSEP a master and patched for any differences - In a number of cases EtYours fixed the same issues already in his own way in other cases he did not and I made sure USSEP fixes carried through. I also re- did EtYours fixes around specifically bears and changed his fix to be in line with USSEP - no real point to do this other then being OCD but I did it. you wont notice a difference the fix is the same using his method or USSEPs method.
Version v1.2
After reviewing the mod file I found a wild edit to slaughter fish (no biggy just means the slaughterfish record was included in the mod file but didnt actually edit anything so it should be removed thats all) and I found another defect with the original SkyTEST mod which I fixed in my version of the mod which prevented horses from dropping horse meat. The "Use All" flag was not checked on the horse item death thats all its a minor update but fixes another little bug I found with the original mod file.
Version V1.1
No .esp edits at all in this update - I only deleted Audio files out of the audio folder that I reviewed and ensured were no longer required. Also thanks to Disitinerant who initally reviewed the audio file for me and created the patch between my mod and One With Nature.
Description This mod is stand alone and does not require the original mod to work. The mod itself is only a .esp and a couple sound files so it can be installed and uninstalled at any time. This is a light weight alternative to SkyTEST and includes all of the benefits of sky test to include improved animal behavior and AI but nixes additional features like additionally placed animals, world edits, or new animals, etc. This is a highly compatible version of SkyTEST and only includes edits to vanilla animals. I have also gone through the entire bugs tab of the original SkyTEST mod and fixed all of the bugs as well to include the rag-doll CTD bug and wolf faction infighting bug +others.
Join the Noir Development Discord
Whats Included This is a simple mod that does a simple thing. Animals in skryim will search for water during the day, will forage for food, and will hunt. They fear fire, and predators will hunt in a pack attempting to wear their pray down. Additionally due to the faction system predators will not attack in tandem so you wont get saber cats and wolves teaming up against you. They are as likely to attack each other as they are to attack you.
As of version 3.5 the mod now is offered in ESL in addition to ESP as well.
Compatibility As stated previously this mod is highly compatible and is based on the original most recent version of SkyTEST. That said everything the original SkyTEST is compatible with this mod is compatible with as well, and it should honestly be more compatible then the original. I have open permissions to make patches to this mod if any are required no need to ask just make sure they require this mod to work because I will be updating/supporting this mod.
Note: Because this mod is now ESL you must remove all previous SkyTEST patches that you were using and only use the patches hosted on this mod page or patches that specifically state that they are for the .ESL version of this mod.
Required Files and Installation -Only Skyrim is Required (Any Version) -Install on a Existing Game or a New Game Doesn't matter
Known Issues -None
Special thanks Special thanks to EtaYorius for giving me permission to post this mod. That's insanely cool of you man. Thank you for making the community what it is today. We really appreciate you and everything you have done.