Content of the article: 'Skyrim SE Test/Prototype: Animated Horse Mane + Tail (HDT-SMP)'

1. Free Horse Animation

Hi! I'Ve been working on a little mod test/prototype to bring working mane & tail physics into Skyrim, similar to the physics hair mod KSHairdos and others and using HDT-SMP to get it working with Skyrim SE.

Video:

1. This mod adds a merchant into the game that allows you to summon different horses for both you AND your follower. Mod Link Summon Followers Horse: https://be.
2. About this mod This mod replaces horse riding animations with sidesaddle, a way of ladies riding. The subtle change provides you more immersions and helps your role playing.

Page 1 of 3 - 1st Person Horse View and Combat - posted in Skyrim Mod Requests: Probably the two things I want most right now. 1st-person view when riding horses and able to fight while on a horse. I stick to 1st person 100% of the time unless I want to see the armor I'm wearing, I hate how it forces me to go 3rd person with horses. Why not give us the option, makes no sense.

There is no published mod or anything yet, just this video, but essentially, this adds physics to the mane & tail on the horse mesh, using HDT-SMP. I use a simplified collision mesh for the hair to keep the performance hit minimal hopefully (the collision mesh for the mane, forelock and tail looks like this: https://imgur.com/a/GzL1ZQt the green mesh is used to calculate the collision as a proxy, this is then linked to the higher-res hair meshes). To have collision with the horses body, so the mane & tail dont just drop through the mesh, I currently just use an invisible copy of the vanilla horse mesh (grey-white in the screenshot).

One neat thing about using XMLs to define the physics is you can easily change some parameters on the fly without remodeling the mesh or anything, for example the length of the mane/tail: before vs after. You could also make the tail a little higher-set, for example.

If this works out, I would like to make the mod as compatible as possible (there are some limitations) and release it as a replacer for the vanilla model. I will likely need to make an .esp to add the different mane colors, as they are custom textures and don't use the vanilla ones. Also, the actual model itself is really WIP and I would like to redo the whole thing as there is awful clipping at points and this is more of a thrown together mess to test the concept rather than, uh .. clean topology and stuff, see the gap between the tail and the body 😛

Some infos:

• The horse texture mod used in the video / screenshots is Realistic Primitive Horse Breeds by KrittaKitty, https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/57456/ , this specific one is the Haflinger texture, I thought it fit well with the mane & tail 🙂 For comparision, here's what the normal mane/tail looks like in the mod: https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/110/images/57456-5-1408881939.jpg
• The model for the horse body itself is vanilla Skyrim, the mane, tail & forelock have been modeled by me (using 3ds MAX). The textures have been created and rendered in Blender.
• If you're interested in the collision models: the simplified collision mesh in the screenshot is skinned with additional bones added to the horse skeleton, they're at the same position the little nubs are in (they're actually just the 3ds MAX Bone objects converted to a mesh). HDT-SMP drives the physics on the bones, controlled by the simple collision mesh, and the bones are then skinned to the slightly more complex hair mesh. This is so there's no bugs and stuff with overlapping planes and to hopefully reduce the performance impact.
• The XML file used can be found here: https://pastebin.com/QjMirPuu

​

If you have any questions, tips, feedback, etc. go ahead!

One question: In the video before I use the command 'teofis', the bloom effects that Skyrim SE added make the tail and mane glow super bright. Does anyone have an idea how to fix that, besides making the texture darker or turning off Bloom in an ENB?

Source: reddit.com

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Owning horses is a sought-after task in Skyrim.

However looking at the game for variations, there’s really nothing of value that’s totally unique. Sure, the addition of riding dragons was probably a pretty cool one… but still.

Mounts seem to be a little too bleak for my taste, and it’s about time a few mods fixed that.

This list aims to collect the coolest mount mods that range from basic horse improvements to hellish creatures that you can ride through the plains of demise.

You’ll go from wondering why mounts are so boring, to wonder why the hell have you so many crazy mods installed!

In any case, just be sure to back up your save before installing most of these mods. And remember to unmount them first if you want to uninstall them, or your game might crash. Just some minor precautions to take before the fun begins.

15. Creatures of Hell

Creatures of Hell adds a whole new bunch of mounts that range from “chill” hellish beings to some of the most terrifying creatures that you’ll ever see.

You’ll get to ride over 60 new creatures, which is pretty cool on its own. But that’s not all that this mod does.

You will also have the chance to use them as followers, so whenever you decide to go into battle they will support you in your fight.

Hellish creatures don’t discriminate – they’ll kill other hellish beings or heavenly entities alike.

14. Warbound – Unique Horses

There’s nothing that says “I’m ready for war” like having your trusty steed wear armor that suspiciously looks like a giant pillow.

This mod adds a horse called “Warbound” to the game, which seems to be more than ready for war.

The horse’s textures look fantastically well done. And you’ll prefer riding this one into the battle over any other horse in the game.

I’m still unsure about its weird-looking armored saddle, but hey nothing’s perfect right?

13. Monsters Mounts Dragonborn

This might not be one of the best-rated mount mods, but holy crap. These look absolutely astounding.

These creatures aren’t hellish like the ones that come in the Creatures of Hell mod. But they are super creepy and they move in totally unique ways.

Some of the monsters you’ll be able to mount are absolute units too. Looking as massive as they can be without achieving the size of a dragon.

Do keep in mind, however, that you’ll need the Solstheim DLC if you wish to mount any of these mighty beasts. Try not to fall off while dismounting them, though!

12. Huskies and Co

Oh yeah, huskies!

Not only that – ARMORED HUSKEYS!

This amazing mod gives you the chance to own huskies that will go into battle with you. Or that you can actually ride into battle yourself!

The armored husky summoning technique has to be one of my favorite additions to the game that I’ve ever seen.

I mean, look at this thing. It’s so cute and deadly at the same time.

There are also other dogs on this mod to check out, but seriously – take a look at those huskies, man.

They are too damn cute to pass up.

11. Horses of Skyrim

One of the things I liked most about Red Dead Redemption 2 was its masterful horse system where horses came in various different races, colors, all that good stuff.

I can’t tell you that this mod adds something similar to Skyrim. But it does give you many more horses to find out in the wild.

There are also new saddles to spice things up and break away from the traditional look that the game has.

So overall, a must-have for horse lovers.

10. Mini Dragons

Sure, you can ride giant dragons across the skies of Skyrim. But have you ever given any thought to how cool you would look riding miniature dragons around as if they were horses?

I sure as hell never gave any thought to it. But when I came across this mod, I instantly knew this would be a keeper.

Just look at how a miniature Death Dragon looks and tell me this mod isn’t worth it. I dare you.

9. Bears Mounts and Followers

Nothing says “I’m a badass Nord” more than riding a damn bear into battle. Or even ride it around the towns of Skyrim.

This mod allows you to add bear mounts to the game, including the legendary Dovahbear which is basically a giant grizzly with the Dovahkin helmet from the cover.

Yes, seriously. Check it out yourself and see what you think.

8. New Armored Horses

Now this mod truly solves two issues at once.

The first is the horse variety in the game which is catastrophically low. New Armored Horses adds a whole bunch of new horses to the game (5 to be exact), and all of them have a cool-looking set of armor that ranges from iron to Daedric.

The second issue it solves is that, in order to obtain these horses, you need to summon them.

They come through a portal that you can call upon whenever you want. And you can just as easily dismiss them to avoid death in battle.

It’s by far one of the coolest horse mods for this game. But especially for the level of detail in gameplay and model design.

7. Frost Horse White Retexture

Do you like Frost? Well so do I.

And apparently, so does the creator of this mod.

This is a small mod that simply replaces the basic texture of Frost with a much more detailed one.

And it takes a spot on my list just because this trusty steed deserves some recognition for its special damage.

6. Forest Mounts and Followers

Man, this mod truly evokes some fantastic Druid vibes.

I feel so in touch with nature when riding some of these majestic creatures. And I absolutely love it.

Generally I’d say these mounts fit almost any playstyle, and they are made by the legend that brought us the Creatures of Hell mod to boot.

As you can imagine, the textures of these creatures are just as detailed as the Creatures of Hell.

I’m not sure what it is about some of these animals, but they just make me happy to boot up my game.

Is it the pretty colors maybe? Or the fact that they look super realistic yet magical at the same time?

5. Fully Flying Dragons

This mod allows you to fly virtually every single type of dragon in the game.

You can even fly Alduin if you want!

I mean, the creator of the mod went all-out with it.

He even added some dragons that you shouldn’t be able to see in the game(some of which are really buggy). In any case, the all look super cool and some of them have really unique redesigns.

I think you’ll want to try out this mod even if you’ve already settled for another mount.

Take over the skies with some of the best dragons in the game and you’ll never even bother with horses(well, not as much).

4. Monster Mounts

Killing skeletons is cool and all, but how come you can’t ride them into battle?

Why is logic a thing in Skyrim?

I want to get on the shoulders of an undead corpse and ride them around all day!

Monster Mounts allows you to live some of your craziest and stupidest fantasies in the fantastic world of Skyrim.

Take control of the most fearsome monsters in the game and diminish their roles to being nothing but your trusty steeds (or the undead equivalent of them).

I’m pretty sure this mod is not lore-friendly at all. But it’s just too much fun to let it pass without a solid ranking here.

3. Hale – Horse Retexture

My God, what are these damn HD horses doing in Skyrim?

The retextures shouldn’t even be possible, yet here we are.

If you want vanilla horses to look like photorealistic versions of the actual animals, then you might want to give this mod a try.

The textures are fantastic and almost put to shame a lot of the other detailed texture mods.

2. Big Cats and Mount Followers

Tigers, Lions, and other felines are now mount options in Skyrim thanks to this amazing mod.

It basically allows you to summon a bunch of creatures that would very well fit in World of Warcraft, but they don’t seem too out of place in Skyrim either.

Then you can ride them around like you broke out of the zoo. You know, a typical Sunday.

1. Ride Sharing

This #1 ranking is not exactly a typical mounting mod.

But it is one of the best additions that mounts can have in the game.

Ride Sharing allows your companion to ride into battle with you in the same horse!

There’s no need to buy an extra horse for that idiot you asked to follow you around. Insteadmake them hop onto yours and save some dough.

Your enemies won’t be to happy about it though.

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Free Horse Animation