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It's time to celebrate the 14 years of making games last forever. We're doing that by releasing one of the most anticipated games by the community – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The game is widely considered one of the best video games of all time and has received credit for popularizing large open-world role-playing games. After many requests from our users and being released on almost every appliance that is able to run the game, the acclaimed RPG is available on GOG in two versions – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition (-50%) and Special Edition (-67%).

It is worth mentioning that Skyrim on GOG comes with a dedicated build, to give users the best possible adventure in Tamriel. The game is entirely playable offline thanks to GOG’s DRM-free nature and gives users the Anniversary Edition content without the need for Creation Club access.

As the game is recognized as one of the most modded titles in the history of video games, support for community-created content in Skyrim was one of our top priorities. The GOG version is compatible out of the box with most modifications mods via Nexus Mods Vortex v1.6.12 and newer. Support for mods requiring Skyrim Script Extender will be added later today. Additionally, GOG is preparing something special to provide an even smoother experience with mods – expect more details soon.

Take the chance to travel to Tamriel before the discounts on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim editions end on 13th October, 10 PM UTC. Also, join us in celebration of the 14th GOG Anniversary which will last until October 9th, 2022, at 10 PM UTC.
Wow. Just wow.
high rated
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skeletonbow: Wow. Just wow.
Yeah, I guess it would be nice if WoW appeared on GOG as well.

But in the meantime, I might just as well play Skyrim.
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Ancient-Red-Dragon: As I do more research about this game and modding it, I seem to have discovered a contradiction between the sentiment behind this statement which I will now quote from the Nexus Mod announcement about this GOG version, and actual reality which is much less rosey than the quotation makes it sound.

The Nexus Mod announcement says:

Rollback easily* - Don't you just hate it when Skyrim gets updated and you either have to wait for all your favourite SKSE dependant mods to be updated or mess about trying to roll back? This is quite difficult on Steam or Xbox but GOG has got you covered. Through the GOG Galaxy app, you can easily roll back to an older version of the game or turn off updates entirely to keep modding without interruption.
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Ancient-Red-Dragon: But given that GOG/Bethesda won't offer their customers the option to use versions prior version to 1.6 if they want to, then that creates the situation wherein the "don't you hate it when" part of that quotation is already applicable to this brand new GOG release, and the proposed solution to that problem as given in the quoted statement cannot be applied.

For example, I found a bundle of many hundreds of mods put together on Nexus Mods that I would want to use with the GOG version, but I cannot do so, because not all of those mods are compatible with version 1.6. That's really annoying!

Moreover, the situation is also less rosey than the quoted statement makes it sound because the words "have to wait" is a loaded statement that carries within it the highly incorrect and untrue assertion that all mods will eventually be updated to work with new versions sooner or later.

But in reality, that is not so, and some mods will never be updated, and therefore never be usable with the GOG version, in the event that GOG & Bethesda continue not to offer GOG customers who bought the game the option to choose which version of the game that they want to use.

In order to resolve all these very aggravating problems, GOG & Bethesda should let customers who bought the game choose exactly which version of the game that they want to download, including all the versions that have come out for all the years prior to Skyrim's release day on GOG.

And it shouldn't just be a "Galaxy rollback" feature either. Rather, GOG should allow customers to download the original installer files for the previous versions, with no "rollback" required. They could keep the "rollback" option too as well, but that's not a good reason to withhold also offering the full offline installers of older versions of the game.
While I agree we should always have access to older versions here, in reality there can be one or more older DRM versions, and we wouldn't want them here, and unreasonable to expect GOG to include them. So in reality, the first DRM-Free version at GOG would be the oldest you can roll back to.
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Timboli: For those who haven't seen the following link for the Creation Club DLCs list.

https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/6852264113309?product=gog

And specifics can be found here.

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Creation_Club
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lazydog: Many thanks Timboli.

Was quickly able to decide which version to buy based on that list.
Glad I could help. :)
I needed to use both those lists myself to be informed well enough to make the best decision.
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Ancient-Red-Dragon: As I do more research about this game and modding it, I seem to have discovered a contradiction between the sentiment behind this statement which I will now quote from the Nexus Mod announcement about this GOG version, and actual reality which is much less rosey than the quotation makes it sound.

The Nexus Mod announcement says:

But given that GOG/Bethesda won't offer their customers the option to use versions prior version to 1.6 if they want to, then that creates the situation wherein the "don't you hate it when" part of that quotation is already applicable to this brand new GOG release, and the proposed solution to that problem as given in the quoted statement cannot be applied.

For example, I found a bundle of many hundreds of mods put together on Nexus Mods that I would want to use with the GOG version, but I cannot do so, because not all of those mods are compatible with version 1.6. That's really annoying!

Moreover, the situation is also less rosey than the quoted statement makes it sound because the words "have to wait" is a loaded statement that carries within it the highly incorrect and untrue assertion that all mods will eventually be updated to work with new versions sooner or later.

But in reality, that is not so, and some mods will never be updated, and therefore never be usable with the GOG version, in the event that GOG & Bethesda continue not to offer GOG customers who bought the game the option to choose which version of the game that they want to use.

In order to resolve all these very aggravating problems, GOG & Bethesda should let customers who bought the game choose exactly which version of the game that they want to download, including all the versions that have come out for all the years prior to Skyrim's release day on GOG.

And it shouldn't just be a "Galaxy rollback" feature either. Rather, GOG should allow customers to download the original installer files for the previous versions, with no "rollback" required. They could keep the "rollback" option too as well, but that's not a good reason to withhold also offering the full offline installers of older versions of the game.
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Timboli: While I agree we should always have access to older versions here, in reality there can be one or more older DRM versions, and we wouldn't want them here, and unreasonable to expect GOG to include them. So in reality, the first DRM-Free version at GOG would be the oldest you can roll back to.
And above all, you need the logistics behind it. Because in addition if you have to do it for a lot of play. Gog should have multiplied its infrastructure. What is not realistic especially with the benefits they. Gog is not a charity, they have to make money.
Huh. Now this was very unpredictable. Well done Gog.

I don't think I'll buy this game for a long while, but I gotta admit you're giving what your customers wanted and you even had a lot of work making it DRM-free instead of trying the easy route that would blow in your face (again). That certainly counts as a plus in my eyes.
I haven't played Skyrim and I'm not intending to buy it any time soon. One question I have though: does it have enemy level scaling? I'm a big fan of Morrowind, but I found the level scaling largely sucked all the fun and immersion out of Oblivion for me.
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SeduceMePlz: 1. Is there a simple OFFLINE menu to enable and disable mods in the GOG version? So that mods can be manually installed if preferred and switched on and off WITHOUT needing GOG Galaxy/Bethesda login/Nexus Mods Vortex? This option was present in the original release of the game.
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ncameron: Not within Skyrim that I'm aware of - not easily, anyway. If you're not averse to messing with .ini files, you would probably be able to add mods by editing the proper .ini. Don't ask me which one, though, I haven't investigated.

I recommend, though, unless you seriously hate using mod managers, Mod Organiser 2 is a wonderful little tool. The thing which I most like about it is that it allows you to keep mod files away from the Skyrim install itself, so you don't have the mess of files where you're not sure which are original Skyrim files and which are mods
It's been a long time since I messed around with Oldrim, but I recall it having a "Data Files" menu option in the launcher. This file selector had simple check boxes to enable or disable plugins (DLC and mods) - quite similar to previous games. Access to the file selector did require changing a single INI setting IIRC. Was this feature removed from newer versions of the game?

I'm not interested in mod launchers/managers unless they're capable of working offline. I've manually installed hundreds of mods for these games over the years, and while it's fine to offer additional features that require online resources (mod load orders, checking for updates, etc), there is no good reason for these programs to *require* being online to perform basic installation and management.

But thank you for the recommendation - I'll check it out.

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SeduceMePlz: 2. Is the Creation Kit coming to the GOG version? I created my own homes and companions in previous ES games - not being able to do so in the GOG version of Skyrim would significantly detract from its appeal.
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ncameron: There was a post from a blue earlier saying they were working on getting it.
Good to hear - hopefully it happens sooner rather than later.
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Time4Tea: I haven't played Skyrim and I'm not intending to buy it any time soon. One question I have though: does it have enemy level scaling? I'm a big fan of Morrowind, but I found the level scaling largely sucked all the fun and immersion out of Oblivion for me.
No level scaling in Skyrim! You actually get more powerful as you should. I hated that in Oblivion too.
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SeduceMePlz: It's been a long time since I messed around with Oldrim, but I recall it having a "Data Files" menu option in the launcher. This file selector had simple check boxes to enable or disable plugins (DLC and mods) - quite similar to previous games. Access to the file selector did require changing a single INI setting IIRC. Was this feature removed from newer versions of the game?
I can't recall whether it was or wasn't an option in the steam version, but other people have mentioned (and I have now seen myself) that there doesn't appear to be any way of selecting mods in the launcher or game proper.\

*Edit - to clarify, there's supposed to be an ini option to allow it, but setting the ini option appears not to work.
(the setting is
bEnableFileSelection=1
under the [Launcher] heading in SkyrimPrefs.ini)

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SeduceMePlz: I'm not interested in mod launchers/managers unless they're capable of working offline. I've manually installed hundreds of mods for these games over the years, and while it's fine to offer additional features that require online resources (mod load orders, checking for updates, etc), there is no good reason for these programs to *require* being online to perform basic installation and management.
It's *capable* of working online, and arguably easiest to use that way, but it works perfectly fine offline (that's the only way I use it myself.)
Post edited September 30, 2022 by ncameron
Never delved into CC stuff outside of Survival Mode, to see how much cool stuff that folks made over the years that I missed out on is crazy. Absolutely awesome that GOG finally wrangled this now I don't need to keep Steam on in the background to launch it - worth it. ^_^
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Time4Tea: I haven't played Skyrim and I'm not intending to buy it any time soon. One question I have though: does it have enemy level scaling? I'm a big fan of Morrowind, but I found the level scaling largely sucked all the fun and immersion out of Oblivion for me.
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InSaintMonoxide: No level scaling in Skyrim! You actually get more powerful as you should. I hated that in Oblivion too.
Ah... not quite. There is level scaling, but it's done a lot better than it was in Oblivion. Yes, you do get to feel more powerful, as you should.

Another recommendation, if there is anyone that is absolutely opposed to level scaling, is a total overhaul called Requiem. It removes all level scaling. Be warned though, it makes the game much harder. As in 'be afraid of wolves' harder.
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Time4Tea: but I found the level scaling largely sucked all the fun and immersion out of Oblivion for me.
Playing Oblivion without Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (OOO) is like admiring a diamond ring while it's covered in dirt ;). It vastly changes how scaling works in the sense that it sometimes caps it outright (no more villagers in ebony armor!) and limits other monsters to certain levels (both min and max), so much so that you can think of it as (mostly) the classical static approach. That and a ton of improvements such as opened container textures are really a must these days and greatly improve the experience. Can't imagine playing the game without it.
Post edited September 30, 2022 by WinterSnowfall
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SeduceMePlz: It's been a long time since I messed around with Oldrim, but I recall it having a "Data Files" menu option in the launcher. This file selector had simple check boxes to enable or disable plugins (DLC and mods) - quite similar to previous games. Access to the file selector did require changing a single INI setting IIRC. Was this feature removed from newer versions of the game?
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ncameron: I can't recall whether it was or wasn't an option in the steam version, but other people have mentioned (and I have now seen myself) that there doesn't appear to be any way of selecting mods in the launcher or game proper.\

*Edit - to clarify, there's supposed to be an ini option to allow it, but setting the ini option appears not to work.
(the setting is
bEnableFileSelection=1
under the [Launcher] heading in SkyrimPrefs.ini)
Thank you for checking.

Please restore this feature if possible, GOG.

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SeduceMePlz: I'm not interested in mod launchers/managers unless they're capable of working offline. I've manually installed hundreds of mods for these games over the years, and while it's fine to offer additional features that require online resources (mod load orders, checking for updates, etc), there is no good reason for these programs to *require* being online to perform basic installation and management.
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ncameron: It's *capable* of working online, and arguably easiest to use that way, but it works perfectly fine offline (that's the only way I use it myself.)
Sweet - perhaps it'll work for me, then. It seems like some external program is required now, unless the Data Files selector is restored. Even after a potential fix, keeping mod files separate from the install directory is quite nice, as you mentioned. Thanks again.
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Time4Tea: I haven't played Skyrim and I'm not intending to buy it any time soon. One question I have though: does it have enemy level scaling? I'm a big fan of Morrowind, but I found the level scaling largely sucked all the fun and immersion out of Oblivion for me.
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InSaintMonoxide: No level scaling in Skyrim! You actually get more powerful as you should. I hated that in Oblivion too.
I get the impression that there is some enemy level scaling in Skyrim, just like there is in Morrowind.