2020 TPF Survey Responses

So a few months back I launched a survey for all TPF users. At the time, the next update was still supposed 3.6 so it's somewhat outdated. Nevertheless, I found the results interested and also wanted to take the time to respond to various comments and questions. The survey had 341 individual responses with 52 additional comments.

General Questions

• So apparently the Wabbajack version is almost twice as popular as the manual guide. This shouldn't have surprised me - but it did. (Results)
• Over 90% of users said they'd continue to use TPF even when optional mods are removed (which is happening in 4.0). (Results)
• 55% of all users consider the current (3.6) TPF visuals "good" and 33% think they are "great". Less than 1% believe the visuals are below average. (Results)
• Almost 70% are happy with Cathedral Weathers as TPF's weather overhaul. We will stick with Cath unless a miracle happens and MD updates my beloved Visceral ENB. (Results)
• Being able to use Night Eye is relevant to 43% of users which means there will always be the option to install a compatible ENB preset. (Results)
• Over two thirds of all users play at 1080p with another 21% playing at 1440p. The percentages of other resolutions are very small. (Results)
• The average framerate for around two thirds of all users is 60FPS or higher. Less than 5% attain a framerate of only 30+ FPS. (Results)
• About 35% of users are looking for balance between visuals and performance. There is a slight trend toward visuals over performance, however. (Results)
• Almost 60% of users are happy with the current combat difficulty with those voting for "too easy" or "too hard" being balanced out. (Results)

Individual Comments

I will not be responding to every comment. Massive thanks to everyone who simply left words of appreciation and encouragement, each one made my day!

Brightness and Nighteye

Thank you for TPF. I would personally prefer to have a darker ambiance in the game. Right now, the weathers and lighting are pretty bright, even with the mcm settings set to their darkest. I don't use the nighteye ability you asked about because things are just too bright. The brightness might be due to changes I incorporated or maybe from my monitor with its low contrast rating, but its the most noticeable issue that I run into with TPF.

Fair point! TPF is only slightly darker than vanilla. If you use Serio's ENB and didn't follow the instructions to adjust interior brightness for Luminosity, the game will be way too bright. Otherwise, the brightness should be similar to vanilla (depending on your ENB choice). I believe a V+ setup should prioritise playability over realism so this will not change. Interior brightness can be adjusted easily in most ENB presets to suit everyone's personal preferences. =)

As for the question regarding Night Eye, I'd argue that it should still be supported with ENB regardless of how many people actually use it. I think it might be weird for a vanilla-focused guide to end up breaking a vanilla feature, even a small one in this case. If the goal is to expand on and improve the vanilla experience, then nothing should be worsened if it can be avoided.

I absolutely agree with you.

Creation Club

I have at times wished for CC integration

It is being considered although I am torn on the subject. On the one hand, some of them look interesting (especially in the V+ context). On the other hand, I really don't want to support microtransactions in a singleplayer game (or paid modding for that matter).

Please add X mod

• Mihail Monsters: Absolutely not. Sorry. Not V+, subpar implementation.
• Reliquary of Myth: It's back in TPF 4.0!
• Some daedric artifact overhaul: ROM, see above.
• Insects Begone: Definitely could see myself adding it at some point.
• Pandorable: No. They stick out like sore thumbs. I want NPCs to blend in.
• Diversity - A Character Overhaul: Yes, I had a look. TPF 4.0 has Cath NPCs.
• HDT equipment/hair: Not happening. Sorry!
• Lock Overhaul: It's on my list.
• Honed Metal: I don't like unvoiced dialogue. Also it adds a completely new system.

Water mod

Is it worth considering Water for ENB instead of RW2?

No, RW2 is simply more complete. It has so many more features that it's really invaluable. Plus there is ENB water textures available for RW2!

Texture choice

The streets especially in Whiterun and Solitude need attention.

I actually really like MD's Whiterun street textures. I agree about Solitude though.

Add content (quests, followers, player homes)

None of these things are V+. I am following a fairly strict concept when considering mods for TPF. The setup is supposed to be strictly an improvement of the vanilla game, and while there are many good content mods out there, I will not add any of them to TPF. They are outside the scope of the guide.

This includes LOTD, 3DNPC, etc.

However: Many follower and player home mods are VERY easy to add. They are also completely down to user preferences so it's better overall if people add these themselves to their own setups.

Additionally, I welcome any inofficial or official forks of the TPF setup with whatever changes you envision. The easiest way to share them would be via Wabbajack.

Combat and Difficulty

Sneaking is a bit too easy. Feels like enemies are blind

It is not much harder than Vanilla so I can see where you are coming from. You can try installing a higher difficulty version of Realistic AI Detection (TPF currently uses the Lite version).

Combat is not satisfying. It is too easy.

Not much I can say here since the majority of people find combat difficulty to be just right. It's never going to be MUCH harder than vanilla although with Blade and Blunt the difficulty is increased a good deal. If you are still not happy, turn up the incoming and outgoing damage multipliers.

I don't like the movement speed penalties from blade and blunt while casting a spell or shouting (for attacking physicaly its ok), The duration is to long. The penalty should end with releasing the spell, but it continues till the end of the animation. It is impossible to cast/shout and then attack or dodge immediately after releasing the effect.

Feedback noted. I'll have to play a little more with B&B as I've still been using Wildcat on my personal save.

Every Nordic crypt is filled with nothing but dragur deathlords.

This may happen when reaching a certain level (in vanilla and TPF). All the spawns marked as "hard" will spawn the enemy type with the highest level available which is eventually Draugr death lords. There should be "easy" and "medium" level spawns as well though.

Combat was tough pre-level 20 it seemed and got very easy after. There are still some mobs that are tough but in general its pretty easy

Again, the difficulty is not much harder than vanilla but it depends a lot on your playstyle and the amount of companions that are trailing you. Upping the damage multipliers is a quick way to increase difficulty as mentioned.

Bottom line: I am personally not interested in difficult combat at all. Nor is vanilla particularly difficult. The way combat works in Skyrim makes it borderline impossible to increase the challenge without becoming tedious or frustrating.

The inevitable memes

I love Lively

And the Wabbajack meme train has arrived.

I think lively is cute

I'm seeing a trend here.

I like trains

I've heard that's a popular sentiment.

trump 2020

This aged very poorly indeed.

Closing notes

I believe I responded to most of the actual questions now and hopefully this will clear up some questions floating around. Currently, we are still working on 4.0 which is nearing release and making good progress!

Have a nice day, and happy modding!

Phoenix