This is why you save early, and save often. I learned this lesson years ago while playing Oblivion.

In the game, fast travelling means walking from where you are to your destination; you should also die on the way. Arthmoor should correct this in his mod.

I always kerp the HUD off, sometimes i turn off music. I'll only fast travel if im short on time or my game freezes.

Switch of the HUD. No 1 priority Sir.
And as a PC player I use the Realistic Lighting Overhaul mod.
Lighting is important to me as it create atmosphere.
And in so doing improves immersion and my overall experience.

The deactivation of the compass is good enough for me.

I leave the hud on so I don't accidently steal things when walking around a room.

But I don't fast travel, I hire a wagon.

I like music so I leave it on.

But I only carry weapons I use, I don't carry multiple swords. Only carry the one I use. I dump my inventory a LOT. I carry food more then potions.

My characters sleep at night and wake up with the dawn.

I have no way of removing the HUD as I'm on the xbox. I never fast-travel, however I can understand why some people do. For example, heading back to the Dawnguard whenever you need something. It's a long unnecessary journey from Riften and all the way back again. I would never force myself to do something I didn't want to do for immersions sake. Luckily for me I enjoy running from place to place. Bit if I didn't I would definitely fast travel. The music in TES adds so much to the game, why turn it off?

let's see if beth can get a clue and get the optional toggles correct on the hud and sound.

you know, simple things like being able to turn off the combat music only and being able to turn off specific aspects of the hud.

those options are very meaningful and greatly impact the actual gameplay. ie. excuses fly.

personally, those 4 immersion actions that the op listed are just basic staples of my gameplay. I have many more, since, I play on the 360.

edit: someidiot- I turn off the music because I don't like it letting me know that enemies are attacking and it's a great way for becoming more immersed in the game world. third, I've played enough so that I definitely don't need to hear the music to enjoy the game. in fact, nowadays I almost always turn off the music since I can still listen to it when others in my family play the games, lol.

as well, i'm on the 360 and you can turn the hud down or off completely.

I really wish their was on option to disable the compass on xbox, Seems such a simple feature to implement. I would never turn the music off, i don't think the natural ambiance of the game is immersive enough on its own for me.

No. 1 tip: Use your imagination.

I leave the compass on but use a mod to eliminate the red dots of enemy detection.

Here's a concept of Immersion. Instead of the player having to add it in, how about the DEVS add it in?

-No modern looking UI, bring back the parchment paper and journal

-Detailed Quest directions, no floating carrot to begin with [but I do turn off that carrot other than when to assern direction]

For example:

Red Eagle quest, activated it, saw I had to head east, turned it back off because details are lack worthy in this game

-Better written quest and NPCs

-Flat non 3D map

None of what you have stated in this thread, actually helps my immersion. I'm a writer, I am also a fan of movies. As a writer, I love music. I hear words in my head with tunes and tones. Actually music helps me feel atmosphere and immersion than no music oddly enough. Cause in my real life I am constantly listening to music.

1 - turn off the HUD, 100% transparent. (no compass, quest markers, or POI's)

I used to disable my compass. But I decided that is more unrealistic than having a compass. With all the Dwemer tech lying around and magical devices we encounter I have to assume there is some form of compass or some way of locating directions in Tamriel.

I use a mod that allows me to change to a slimmer, less eye-catching compass and I also use it to turn markers off. So I now play with a small compass that displays only east, west, north and south. I find this to be a nice compromise.

2 - turn music off (no combat warnings, hear the sounds of nature)

I use a mod that eliminates combat music only, allowing the exploring music to play uninterrupted. Like you, I hate being psychically alerted whenever an enemy spots my character. But I also love Skyrim's music, so this is a great compromise for me.

3 - only carry a realistic carry amount (no having 16 swords in your invent!)

I mod my characters to have beginning carry weights similar to the past games (in the 150 range). I rarely put points in Stamina on any of my characters, so they tend to stay with this carry weight for most of their games. In addition, my characters carry a Woodcutter's Axe (needed for making camp fires for the Frostfall mod) and a Miner's Pickaxe, which further reduces the amount they can carry. I also rarely take perks that reduce armor encumbrance.

4 - no fast travel unless necessary

I do not fast travel at all. Ever.

I don't know if this qualifies as "immersion" but one thing I have begun doing over the past year is avoid looking at my map. It's amazing how gigantic the game world feels when I don't see a miniature version of it every two minutes and when I need to navigate by studying the landmarks around me.

I only check the map as soon as I get a quest that my character will do as if she is marking it or the NPC is marking the location on her map. I don't look at the map any other time and I don't have quest markers active.

One of the things I find find most immersion-breaking about Skyrim is how your character can just jog from one end of the country to the other in about a day without getting tired at all.

For that reason, I make my character walk everywhere. Using a controller allows me to adjust the pace, and I usually walk slower than the NPCs in the game. The same applies with horses - they do walk a bit faster, which makes sense and provides a good reason for using them. This rule is great for several reasons:
1) It's more immersive than running/sprinting everywhere: your character moves at a realistic pace, and it's more believable to spend a day walking rather than running.
2) It makes the world seem larger: if you don't fast travel and you walk everywhere, it will take you longer to get to your destination. This means that you have to plan each journey carefully, and makes each one really seem like a cross-country trek. For example, a standard Whiterun - Riften journey takes about 3 days, and a Windhelm - Solitude journey takes 4 - 5 days, depending on the route you take.
3) It can make for some dramatic moments: so City X is under attack, and you have to defend it - so you have to power-walk your little legs off, leave the road and go cross-country in the hopes of cutting some time off your journey, and balance the amount of time you allow yourself to sleep, eat, drink, etc.
4) It can make the rest of the game make sense: always wondered how that NPC could write a letter, send it, and the courier could collect it, dash across the land and beat you into the next town to deliver it? Well if it takes you a day or two to get to said town, it seems more natural.

Now this does require quite a bit of patience and plenty of time to spend playing the game, so it's for everyone, but If you feel that your usual immersion rules aren't quite cutting it and you want to take it a step further, walking around Skyrim might be the answer.

I can't see myself playing without subtitles.