Skyrim Special Edition mod overhauls and enhances the entire opening sequence

Today on the Mod Roundup, we've got a mod for the Skyrim Special Edition that overhauls, changes, and enhances the opening sequence, restoring dialogue and scenes and even allowing you to escape Helgen with Ulfric at your side. Plus, a mod for Civilization 6 lets you zoom much farther in and out, giving you a better look at the map. Lastly, a mod for Fallout 4 makes a logical and welcome tweak to the RPG's radiant quests.

Opening Scene Overhaul, for Skyrim Special Edition

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Preparing to dive into Skyrim Special Edition for another go-round? Commonly, the advice is to use an Alternate Start mod to completely skip the opening sequence and play as someone other than the Dragonborn, but what if you're still interested in being the fabled dragonslayer? The Opening Scene Overhaul mod by elderscrolliangamer should be at the top of your list.

The mod changes and enhances the opening sequence in a number of ways by restoring lots of dialogue that Bethesda cut to streamline the sequence, but which is still present in the game files. With that content restored, you'll learn more about the world you're preparing to inhabit by listening in on additional conversations and seeing full sequences that were removed before release.

Best of all, if you choose to side with the Stormcloaks, you'll actually be able to escape Helgen with Ulfric himself at your side! Not only will this make escape a bit easier, but far, far cooler. Ulfric is fully voiced, so he'll even speak to you as you both battle your way to freedom. If you're starting Skyrim SE over again as the Dragonborn, this is a fantastic way to do it. This was a mod for the original Skyrim, so you can use it there too.

Farther Zoom, for Civilization 6

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Not a major reworking of the game, but certainly an extremely welcome one. Zoom farther out while playing Civ 6 to see more of the sprawling map. And, you can zoom in closer to better admire the strategy game's finer details. As you move in close, it also tilts your view slightly for a better look. Lovely.

Commonwealth Radiant Quests, for Fallout 4

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Sometimes mods are created just so the base game makes a bit more sense. This mod, called "Keep Commonwealth Radiant quests within the Commonwealth" introduces a bit of logic: "A patch mod to prevent Vanilla Radiants from the Brotherhood, Institute, Railroad, and Minutemen from sending you to Nuka World or Far Harbor locations."

Because, as modder rylassin asks: "Why in the world would the Railroad give a crap about a courser running around in a Raider-Controlled theme park? In fact, why would the Institute even send one there in the first place? How does the BOS know enough about Far Harbor to know when there's ghouls that need exterminating in a bowling alley, yet don't know that Arcadia exists? Same goes with the Institute. Why would settlers in Murkwater care about some ghouls running around in a locked building in Nuka world?"

That all makes sense to me. Now, radiant quests given the Commonweath won't send you to DLC locations.

Looking for more mods? Feast your eyes on the best mods for Civilization 6 and the best mods for the Skyrim Special Edition.

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.