RUSTIC STANDING STONES

[Sixxness]

I have checked the forum and nothing was posted on this release. Its worth including into the upcoming STEP update.

 

 

Nexus page:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/68493/?

[TechAngel85]

Marked for Testing.

[TechAngel85]

My vanilla profile has the follow mods active:

• Cleaned masters
• SKSE - for later mods in list and mod testing
• USLEEP - for all it's vanilla fixes
• UHRP
• STEP Vanilla Optimized Textures (Standard Version)
• Bug Fixes - for vanilla bug fixes not included in USLEEP
• SMIM - to maintain mesh consistency between compares
• Immersive HUD - makes taking screenshots super easy since it auto-hides the HUD
• ELE Lite - to maintain lighting consistency
• Relighting Skyrim - to maintain lighting consistency

All shots have ELEP active with the following effects enabled using default settings:

• Detailed Shadows
• Sun Rays
• Soft Particles
• Particle Lights
• Water
• Underwater
• Cloud Shadows
• Procedural Sun

Vanilla >> STEP >> RUSTIC >> RUSTIC without normals as a test

I have to say that I prefer STEP in this case.

[Sixxness]

Thanks for taking the time to produce such screenshots.

 

The "Rustic" version appears to look more like stone and be weathered, whists the vanilla and other are quite smooth looking. I've tried to search the lore on these, and how old they are etc., still searching.

[TechAngel85]

https://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Standing_Stones

https://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:University_Lectures

 

Not much is known about them other than they are magical in nature.

[TechAngel85]

One of the books says this:
 

The Standing Stones
by Anonymous
A brief history and description of The Shivering Isles' Obelisks of Order

Any visitor to the Shivering Isles will soon come across the dreadful shape of a tall, crystalline stone looming over them like an accusing finger. Variously known as standing stones or obelisks, they cannot be avoided in traveling the Shivering Isles, no matter how hard you might try.
 
There are many theories on the origin and purpose of these stones. (Purpose? Can a stone have a purpose? Is it a sentient being, or an inanimate object? Is it listening to you - watching you - whispering to you?). Some claim they are simply interesting geological formations. Not so. Not so. They cannot be chipped or cracked or even scorched. Believe me, I've tried. Nothing harms them. (Although perhaps they still feel the blows. They seemed angry for a while. I sang to them and that seemed to soothe them. I can't say why.) And if you've tried to dig one up, as I have, you know that they go down forever. (Months I spent, digging down. No matter how deep, there it was, still gleaming in the secret darkness beneath the earth. They know the secrets, even those that are buried deep.)
 
I have spent many years trying to understand these stones. (Avoiding doesn't work. As I said, they're everywhere. So try for understanding, as I have. What is the humming? What do the whispers mean?) I can't say that I know everything about them, but I have learned many things, some of which I can share with you. (But I don't know what they want. Not yet. Perhaps if I knew what they wanted, I wouldn't be so afraid. They whisper secrets to me, but I promised not to tell. They know many secrets. They're always watching. They never sleep. Not even at night, in the dark of the moon.)
 
I know they are old, older perhaps than the world itself. They have seen civilizations rise and fall. And they hate us. They are waiting for their master to return. (They won't tell me who, or when. If they hate me so, why do they tell me their secrets? Is it because they know my secrets already?)
 
You may not believe me. Most don't, but most have not spent the time that I have in trying to learn about these stones. I have spent days listening to their secret whispers and learning their language. (They talk, you know. To each other, mostly. But now to me.) At first it was just a humming, which you can hear if you lean against a stone and listen very closely. It may take hours, or days, but you will hear them. And once you hear the voice of the standing stones, you will never be able to shut it out.

I highlighted a rather interesting part which suggests they should not have any weathering since "Nothing harms them".

[Sixxness]

Interesting find; It makes sense something so unique would be near indestructible being magic-oriented. The reference to "Stone" could've lead Gamwich to provide a more stoney cover, although the lore and material-content appears to be different perhaps?

 

Those other (2) seem more lore friendly. It could explain why Bethesda used a smooth/clean texture, than re-applying the style used for the mountains. If you watch the above video the base/signs of the vanilla looks to be made out of clean wood, but is smooth stone - than to be weathered and damaged.

[Frushtek]

On the other hand it speaks of them as of living beings. In that case the wear of the stone could be seen as an aging effect of the living being (like the skin of a person), which is still damage but of a different kind. :)

[TechAngel85]

I would have to disagree because it also said that they've likely been there since the creation of Tamriel. This all indicates they're immortal/indestructible.

[JawZ]

I would go with the idea that they are like aluminum, copper or similar metals. They get oxidiation, but just as a layer on top of them and not the material itself. Kind of like what moss is to rocks.

So that is proably the only wear they would have on them I guess.

 

Still I prefer the STEP look over the RUSTIC look, to much noise. Not that rocks dosen't have it, it's just not that large speckled noise as in the pics above.

Also I think these stones should be unique or different looking comapred to mountain or boulder rock. They are unique in many ways.

[Frushtek]

First, immortal and indistructible are not the same thing.

Second, immortality is relative.

 

What is immortal to a human being doesn't really need to be immortal.

Humans may seem immortal to the fly that lives only a day, and so on for many other creatures. ;)

 

Or what if, maybe, the timeless stones have become tired of the "little flyes" buzzing around them and got themselves a few wrinkles. :P

 

Oh, yes by the way, I like the STEP configuration more. And maybe the rustic without normals seems nice, if the sones can age. :D.

 

I like most of Gamwich's work, but in my opinion he sometimes gets a little overboard with the rugged look. But that is just a matter of taste, not quality, obviously.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Frushtek

[sharrken]

The book quoted by TechAngel is referring to the Obelisks of Order present in the Shivering Isles, not to the Standing Stones present in Skyrim. They are crystalline structures of Daedric origin, completely unlike any Standing Stones in Tamriel.

 

They are waiting for their master to return.

Is a direct reference to Jyglagg, the Daedric Prince of Order. The Obelisks reactivate prior to his return during the Greymarch, spawning Knights of Order to aid in the destruction of his cursed alter-ego Sheogorath's realm.

 

On the UESP page for standing stones, all the screenshots show significant weathering and wear to the stones in the games previous to Skyrim, so I don't think that Gamwich's take on the Stones is necessarily lore unfriendly at all.

Edited September 14, 2016 by sharrken

[TechAngel85]

All this debate side, I still prefer STEP. Rustic stands out too much in this case, imo.