Skyrim lovers! Are you going to keep Skyrim SE, or will you buy the new Skyrim AE?

[mainer]

On November 11, 2021 Bethesda will release the Skyrim Anniversary Edition (that date is listed in an article on the Nexus, so I'm assuming it's accurate). It's not free, and it remains to be seen what Bethesda will actually charge, but if you buy it, it will replace your Skyrim SE installation. While the AE version does contain all the Creation Club content, any other mods you've downloaded & installed will no longer function. Here's the Nexus article:

Skyrim Anniversary Edition - Everything we know at Nexus mods and community

But the main problem with this new AE version, is that even if you don't buy it, your Skyrim SE is going to get a "free" update that contains 3 pieces of Creation Club content. And if you mod SE or have a modded playthrough installed, any script extender dependent mods, and many other mods will stop working. This is explained much better than I ever could by u/extrwi who is an SKSE developer:

[PC SSE] An important PSA regarding Skyrim: Anniversary Edition, SKSE, and other native code mods : skyrimmods (reddit.com)

If you own Skyrim on Steam, you can keep it from this new "update" by choosing "Only update this game when I launch it", and then start the game from a shortcut or from your mod manager. I do this for any game on Steam that I'm modding anyway, as any update will usually break the mods, and your game. Also, backup your Skyrim SE files just in case.

I think Bethesda has made 2 really big mistakes with this new AE version of Skyrim:

1-Having the AE version overwrite you SE installation. I think it should be and entirely separate game installation, especially since they're charging for it. If AE were a separate entity, and the price wasn't outrageous, I might try out the new content, but not at the cost of loosing access to my mods.

2-They should completely nix that "free" update to SE. Why is Skyrim SE so popular after all these years? Mods. The thousands of mods available, and the different things you can do with this game is nearly limitless. I refuse to give that up. Leave my Skyrim SE alone!

So, Skyrim lovers, what are you going to do (@Mazer I know you're one)? Keep your Skyrim SE intact? Get the "free" update? Or buy the full Skyrim AE version?

Edit: I just added a poll. Let me know if I should change the wording in those choices.

 

[Frindis]

5: I'm sticking to my already bought Skyrim editions because Todd Howard can go shove it!

 

[Alm]

I think, to me, it will depend on the price and what the performance upgrades will be. I have the special edition and don't really mod it but this looks like a trojan horse to me to allow Bethesda to charge for mods and take a cut.

 

[Mazer]

Bethesda have gotten so keen on re-releasing Skyrim that they're now forcing it on people, like U2 sneaking their albums into peoples pockets via iTunes (seven year old pop culture reference).

To be honest I'm mildly curious about the content of the creation club additions, given that things like horse-back combat and vampire lords started as personal projects from Bethesda staff working with the creation kit. But like many of us, at this point I couldn't go back to vanilla Skyrim. Even losing SkyUI would be too jarring. So I'm very sorry Todd Howard, but nowadays I much prefer the game your community has created over whatever official offering you've got in mind. And I can't very well abandon Groguk the complicated orc once finally cracking level 35 after a decade of abandoned playthroughs.

 

[ZedClampet]

Don't worry. There will be 5 more editions of Skyrim by the time the next Elder Scrolls comes out. I predict one of them will be called "Sparkly Game Title Edition", and that will be the only change. It will be a mandatory update that breaks all mods and automatically deducts $9.99 from your bank account.

 

[mainer]

5: I'm sticking to my already bought Skyrim editions because Todd Howard can go shove it!

I've got to agree. I love the Elder Scrolls series from Bethesda, but this move does seem to be more of a "cash grab" kind of move than anything else. But by choosing your category 5, you also default (whether you mod Skyrim or not) to category 2; you're going to get that "free update" with 3 creation club mods whether you want them or not, so any existing mods you might want to use, most likely won't function (unless you have the "don't update" option checked in Steam).

This relates to my dislike of how Bethesda is handling this AE version of Skyrim. It should, without any doubt in my mind, be a completely separate entry into our Steam libraries. First there was Skyrim. Then they released Skyrim SE, which was free for owners of the original Skyrim and all DLCs, and also updated from 32bit to 64bit which was more stable for modding. But even with that, it was a separate game entry in your game library. Then there was Skyrim VR, which for obvious reasons was also a separate game listing.

But with this AE version, it just overwrites nearly everything in Skyrim SE, essentially disabling all modding capability for the foreseeable future. This is just wrong. And I have to wonder, if all that "Creation Club" content they're including, which were previously mods you had to pay for; do those modders get any monetary compensation?

Bethesda have gotten so keen on re-releasing Skyrim that they're now forcing it on people,

To be honest I'm mildly curious about the content of the creation club additions, given that things like horse-back combat and vampire lords started as personal projects from Bethesda staff working with the creation kit. But like many of us, at this point I couldn't go back to vanilla Skyrim. Even losing SkyUI would be too jarring. So I'm very sorry Todd Howard, but nowadays I much prefer the game your community has created over whatever official offering you've got in mind.

I can't imagine playing Skyrim without SkyUI or many other mods that I always use. I could never go back to a vanilla Skyrim either at this point, and all the thousands of available mods as free content make a far better game than this AE version; and that "free AE update" will ruin our game by making current mods unusable. So I do feel also that it is being forced on us, even if we don't purchase the full AE Skyrim.

I am intrigued by some of the creation club content, and I would consider purchasing the AE version, IF, and only IF, it was a separate game. I refuse to coerced.

 

[Zloth]

If you didn't get all the DLC then you never got Skyrim SE, so no 64-bit, so no worries!

I rather doubt I'll play the game again, though. It was so wonderful with 3D Vision, I don't think I could bring myself to play it flat.

 

[Pifanjr]

I chose option 3, not because I love modding Skyrim, but because I want to be able to. I might just not play Skyrim again though, as I'll probably forget to use the launcher the next time I feel like playing and then it'll be too much effort to undo the patch and get mods working again.

 

[mainer]

If you didn't get all the DLC then you never got Skyrim SE, so no 64-bit, so no worries!

That's something I hadn't considered when originally posting. The original Skyrim (32bit) is no longer available for purchase, but myself, and many others already own it, so it is a viable option to experience Skyrim without worries of the AE update. And there are over 66 thousand mods available if you want to mod it. While many are no longer updated, there are still new mods being added weekly. There is also a script extender specific to the original Skyrim, SKSE, as opposed to the Skyrim SE version, SKSE64.

 

[Zloth]

No need to keep updating mods if the base game hasn't been updated! With 32-bit, you won't be able to load all 66K at once, but you can still load a fine set of mods... like this!

Skyrim: Week of Madness, Day 1: The World According To Sheogorath

What happens when we blindly, randomly install over 200 mods into Skyrim? Pure insanity.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[Sarafan]

It's enough of Skyrim for me. I spent more than 200 hours playing this game and don't feel the temptation to come back. I will even have problems to jump into TES6 or Stafield after all this. I'm tired with the formula of the game and it doesn't seem that it'll change in the near future. So I'm not voting in the poll. Skyrim is a great game, but everything has its limits.

 

[mainer]

I'm going to veer a bit on my own topic, though it's still related to the upcoming AE version update of Skyrim. I have concerns about how this will affect the massive mod projects Skywind and Skyblivion. I don't know if those projects will ever actually see release, as they've been in development for years. The work these teams have done is absolutely amazing (especially Skywind), and it would be terrible (in my opinion) if this free AE update to Skyrim SE completely derailed the ability to play these games.

TESR Skywind - Home and The Elder Scrolls Renewal - Skyblivion

Both those games/projects have a hard requirement of having Skyrim SE + DLC installed, as well as the associated games of Morrowind & Oblivion. Maybe those teams can adapt the code without much issue, but I can't help but think that this will further hinder development. I haven't heard or read anything about that yet, but thought I'd mention it for anyone interested.

No need to keep updating mods if the base game hasn't been updated!

That's not actually true. Some mods still get updated, not because the base code of the original Skyrim has been updated in years, but because mod authors will still fix bugs in their own mods, or add compatibility with other mods. It does occur more in Skyrim SE than in Skyrim, but it does still occur. But your are correct in that it is very possible to get a nice long mod list from available mods for the original Skyrim. I just prefer the SE version mostly because it's more stable for modding.

Skyrim: Week of Madness, Day 1: The World According To Sheogorath

What happens when we blindly, randomly install over 200 mods into Skyrim? Pure insanity.

www.pcgamer.com

It's strange, I actually remember reading that article back in 2012. Not something I would do, but it's certainly funny to see what happens when you load a bunch of mods sight unseen.

The Nexus is actually experimenting with a similar concept, that of mod collections, where you can install a whole group of mods at once without worrying about compatibility issues. The downside of that is the way they are implementing it, by not giving mod authors the choice of "opting out". Which has led to an increasing exodus of some very talented mod creators.
Collections - Preview and Tester Sign Up at Nexus mods and community

@Sarafan - I respect your opinion, as well as others, who have no desire to play Skyrim again, as well as those who've never played it. I get that Bethesda uses a basic formula for it's ES games, and some gamers just want something new. But that formula they use (as well as Piranha Bytes games) works for me. I love that whole open world of being who I want, go where I want; and just living in that world for hundreds or thousand of hours. I really don't want to see that change. But that's just me.

 

[Zloth]

When I was hunting down that article (which I still laugh at!), I ran into another one using those mod collections where you just pick out a collection and let the system download a huge pile of mods.

 

[Brian Boru]

let the system download a huge pile of mods

Cool idea, sounds like what Ninite does for general software.

not giving mod authors the choice of "opting out"

Total guess here, but I imagine some 'core' mods would be necessary for many others in a collection to work properly?

I seen many modders/teams put together collections themselves, eg a graphics pack or better AI pack etc. It's a big boon to payers without the time and/or inclination to figure out which mods will work with others, so without knowing any more, I'm in favor of the general idea..

 

[Sarafan]

@Sarafan - I respect your opinion, as well as others, who have no desire to play Skyrim again, as well as those who've never played it. I get that Bethesda uses a basic formula for it's ES games, and some gamers just want something new. But that formula they use (as well as Piranha Bytes games) works for me. I love that whole open world of being who I want, go where I want; and just living in that world for hundreds or thousand of hours. I really don't want to see that change. But that's just me.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against playing Skyrim if someone wants to do it It's a great game. I wouldn't spent 200 hours in it if it was bad. But it was simply enough for me. I hope that the Skyrim burn-out will settle down a bit before TES6 and Starfield are released, because I would really want to enjoy these games.

 

[mainer]

Total guess here, but I imagine some 'core' mods would be necessary for many others in a collection to work properly?

I seen many modders/teams put together collections themselves, eg a graphics pack or better AI pack etc. It's a big boon to payers without the time and/or inclination to figure out which mods will work with others, so without knowing any more, I'm in favor of the general idea..

I think it could be a huge boon to gamers who want to mod their game, like Skyrim, but don't want to spend days or weeks going through mods, checking for compatibilities, patches, & conflicts. Download & install a complete collection of mods, pre-tested, then play.

You're right that removing some "core" mods that others depend upon, would basically render that collection useless. The Nexus, by implementing that "no opt out", would circumvent that problem. But some mod authors took exception to that, and pulled their mods off the Nexus entirely. I can understand both viewpoints, but I just wish that those mod authors & the Nexus could come to a compromise.

 

[mainer]

Skyrim SE has arrived:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Upgrade on Steam

The Anniversary Upgrade includes pre-existing and new Creation Club content like quests, dungeons, bosses, weapons, spells, and more. With Creations, there is a lot more to discover. You must own Skyrim Special Edition to access this content.

store.steampowered.com

The new creation club content looks intriguing, and for $19.99 for SE owners, I'd buy it in a heartbeat if (IF) it were a separate game entry in my Steam library. But it's not. So I won't. My Skyrim SE sits in an "update needed" status, and will remain so for the foreseeable future; as the content available from mods is still better in my opinion, and I won't jeopardize that.

Some funny comments from the Steam reviews section:


POSTED: NOVEMBER 11
I better be a shareholder of bethesda at this point


POSTED: NOVEMBER 11
I've been buying Skyrim since the 2nd era.



POSTED: NOVEMBER 11
Bethesda can't keep doing this

POSTED: NOVEMBER 11

I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ bought Skyrim again in 2021 what the ♥♥♥♥ is wrong with me, at least it was only 20 bucks this time.

 

[Zloth]

Skyrim Anniversary Edition 'modpocalypse' partially averted by a key modder getting early access

Bethesda gave early access to Skyrim Anniversary Edition to the developer of the cornerstone Skyrim Script Extender.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[Brian Boru]

I'd buy it in a heartbeat if (IF) it were a separate game entry in my Steam library

Can you buy it elsewhere, and install that on a different drive?

 

[Pifanjr]

Skyrim Anniversary Edition 'modpocalypse' partially averted by a key modder getting early access

Bethesda gave early access to Skyrim Anniversary Edition to the developer of the cornerstone Skyrim Script Extender.

www.pcgamer.com

It's kind of sad how surprised I am that a developer would do this. It's also awesome that the mod developers have put so much time in making sure the SKSE is updated in time for the launch, at least as well as they could.

 

[mainer]

Skyrim Anniversary Edition 'modpocalypse' partially averted by a key modder getting early access

Bethesda gave early access to Skyrim Anniversary Edition to the developer of the cornerstone Skyrim Script Extender.

www.pcgamer.com

I read that article this morning, and while it's extremely encouraging that Bethesda actually reached out the the SKSE Team, my concern is that a lot of older mods still may not function, especially those dependent upon a specific build of the script extender.

Excerpt from Lauren's article:
"Due to the large amount of manual code rewrite required for this release, the possibility for bugs is higher than usual," they say. "That said, things seem to be working better than expected."

This is still a quick fix version, and Extrwi reiterates from last month's post that other plugin mods are still going to require work from their own creators to remain compatible.
"If you have an existing mod setup on pre-AE that you would like to keep working, this is not a sign that you should upgrade and start using this version of SKSE," Extrwi says. "However, if you have already upgraded to AE and are feeling adventurous, then try this out."

So definitely encouraging, but I'm still cautious, as so many of the mods I love & use haven't been updated in years. It's possible that updating might be done by someone other that the original mod author (with their permission of course), and it's not unusual to see over on the Nexus.

Can you buy it elsewhere, and install that on a different drive?

That's an excellent suggestion, and something that hadn't even occurred to me. I would think if I bought Skyrim AE on GOG, and even if I didn't install on another drive, that it would function separately from my Steam installation of Skyrim SE. The only downside to that is that the price would become $49.99 instead of $19.99 for Skyrim SE owners.

 

[Brian Boru]

it would function separately from my Steam installation

Definitely do a disk image beforehand. If new one makes registry entries, or overwrites old files like DLLs, or any other system shenanigans, you'd likely have problems.

It could be fine, of course, eg different versions of MS Office co-existed quite happily.

 

[Zloth]

Do games still use registry entries? This one is 10 years old so I suppose it's more likely, but it's been eons since I altered anything about a game in the registry.

 

[Brian Boru]

Do games still use registry entries?

I don't know, I haven't been in the Reg for a game for ages either. It's just better to do a disk image anyway, better be safe than sorry.

 

[mainer]

@Brian Boru & @Zloth - I hadn't considered registry entries, I really wasn't aware games even touched that. I haven't been in the registry in years, that whole environment scares the hell out of me, it's way too easy to mess something up.

I had assumed (and it's always bad to assume), that if a game installed in a different directory/folder structure, that it wouldn't affect any other installations of the same game. Like having the same game installed on Steam as well as GOG; different installation and location of files.

But I appreciate both of you mentioning that, it makes me even more hesitant to try it. Not that I would actually do it with the price difference, but it has raised those red caution flags.