ACCEPTED RUSTIC WINDOWS by Gamwich

Kuldebar · May 24, 2014

Discussion topic:

Think of this as a worthy alternative to the venerable Visible Windows by Isoku.

Quote> RUSTIC WINDOWS - A LORE-FRIENDLY RETEXTURING OF THE WINDOWS OF SKYRIM
RUSTIC WINDOWS expands on the concept that I started with the farmhouse windows in my RUSTIC FARMHOUSES mod. I've chosen to see the "opaque" windows of Skyrim not as a game engine limitation, but as a conscious design choice by the people of Skyrim. Living in a cold harsh climate, it is only natural that the Nords would've created glass that is thick and and insulating. This isn't modern "picture window" glass that we're talking about. It's glass that is made to hold up to the elements, while allowing light in, but is very sturdy and affords privacy for it's inhabitants.

The people of the cities of Skyrim live in cramp quarters and close proximity. Would such people want their belongings to to ogled by street urchins, pickpockets, and the Thieves Guild? I think not. It's bad enough that pompous busybodies like Nazeem pester you about going to the Cloud District... do you really want them peering through your windows too?

The windows of Skyrim may be opaque, but they have a purpose, to allow sunlight into dark dwellings lit by only candlelight and fireplaces. Thick textured glass is needed to insulate from the cold, provide strength, and shield the people's belongings from prying eyes. In this spirit, I retextured the windows of Skyrim in a lore-friendly way. I endeavored to retain as much of the original window design as possible. Sometimes that meant recreating the texture from scratch, but I tried to stay true to Bethesda's original esthetic.

These window textures are 1024x1024 for the most part. A few are smaller, but those are the exceptions. I designed this mod to be used by as many people as possible (myself included). People with 1GB of VRAM or more should have no trouble using these textures.

NOTE: Regarding the window colors.... I took all my screenshots with EFLX and ENB. Depending on what lightning mods you use, the color and appearance of the windows will vary. They will also look different at different times of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weEQbcischg

Edited February 3, 2021 by TechAngel85

Aiyen · May 24, 2014

Just finished testing, and I prefer it. It looks nice in most locations, and the places where it does not it is not really the textures fault.

Gonna leave it in for now and see what happens in the future!

But definitely worth trying out I would say!

EssArrBee · May 24, 2014

Those are quite nice. Going to have to look at visible windows again along side these.

Kuldebar · May 24, 2014

Those are quite nice. Going to have to look at visible windows again along side these.

I had always thought Isoku would go a bit further with his mod, but after using Gamwich's Farmhouse Mod, specifically for his windows (Visible Windows never replaced those, weird) I am very pleased he took the idea and expanded upon it.

He embraces the game's inherent design choice and makes it work:

I've chosen to see the "opaque" windows of Skyrim not as a game engine limitation, but as a conscious design choice by the people of Skyrim. Living in a cold harsh climate, it is only natural that the Nords would've created glass that is thick and and insulating. This isn't modern "picture window" glass that we're talking about. It's glass that is made to hold up to the elements, while allowing light in, but is very sturdy and affords privacy for it's inhabitants.

Kuldebar · May 25, 2014

Really good comparison video by Hodilton:

TES V - Skyrim Mods: RUSTIC WINDOWS

The mod is heading to Hot Files, I like to bask in the reflected glory! :)

Posted Image

Edited May 25, 2014 by Kuldebar

DoYouEvenModBro · May 27, 2014

This can't be combined with Visible Windows, right? It's either one or the other? This should be put into testing for 2.2.9

phryxolydian · May 27, 2014

They can be mismatch like all textures but they do overwrite each other. Someitimes I think you made an excellent choice for your username :lol:

Edited May 27, 2014 by phryxolydian

EssArrBee · May 27, 2014

You could pick and choose since they are textures.

phryxolydian · May 27, 2014

EssArrBee you :ninja: .

DoYouEvenModBro · May 27, 2014

I have no shame.

EssArrBee · May 27, 2014

EssArrBee you .

Never rule out ninjas.

I'll consider this for testing when we get some other stuff sorted out. It doesn't look like it would take that much testing.

phryxolydian · May 27, 2014

Ha! What a good laugh! Never heard of this guy, would be cool if the did a Skyrim Let's Play!

EssArrBee · May 28, 2014

Ha! What a good laugh! Never heard of this guy, would be cool if the did a Skyrim Let's Play!

Freeman's Mind is actually not a Let's Play. The entire thing is written by one guy and he does a bunch of stuff with console commands, I think, that you can't do in the game to make it seem a little more like a real dude. He also adds in motion blur since HL1 had none by recording at 180 fps and combining every three frames into one for a nice blur. I recommend #45 because Gordon Freeman sings Gilbert and Sullivan. https://www.accursedfarms.com

If anyone wants to take it upon them selves to take some vanilla, VW, and Rustic shots go right ahead. We love when other members help out. If we can goad enough people to do testing then we wouldn't have to do any ourselves. :devil:

hauntmedoitagain · May 28, 2014

I definitely prefer these over Visible Windows, though I'm still not sure I like them enough to keep in my game. I think it's the Farmhouse texture that bothers me the most with these, something about it just seems... odd?

phryxolydian · May 28, 2014

Gonna be the hero this time. :cool:

I took the shots with only Vanilla-HDLC optimized textures, the unofficial patches and SRO installed. Vanilla lightning. SRO only contributes to whwindowmaps.dds and it's normal so I didn't bother to hide the files. I'm using Visible Window's medium resolution with all of STEP's recommendations, though I prefer the green windows for Riften. Looking at it I might have kept the Default version for the Blue Palace.. : ^_^ :