Will you, my fellow PC gamer, be playing the majority of SKYRIM before considering downloading mods? For myself the game already looks damn good but of course right off from what I've seen the water is a bit to be desired. Albiet Todd did mention the PC is more optimised compared to console so I'll wait in the meantime and when I actually play to make decisions. Obviously there better be a Script Extender, Mod Manager and Archive Invalidator.
As I've noticed in another thread, many modders are going to play through the game and add their own little notations on various things they'd adjust. Since I won't be buying this for console as I had for MORROWIND and OBLIVION whatsoever, actually helped with mods I wanted to use before purchasing them for PC, I'll be giving SKYRIM a major playthrough and start posting ideas when the SKYRIM Mod sub-forum gets created.
Of course there're many mods from MORROWIND and OBLIVION I'd more than enjoy seeing ported over to the Creation engine for SKYRIM. But that'd be another thread.

For example, in OBLIVION I walk from x to y to z with many other distractions along the way. Sometimes I see a particular door or certain particular individual things I'd see changed. So in effect I download singular specific mods instead of bulk ones. My reasoning is keep it looking stock for Bethesda type stuff, very high resolution which would be 4096x4096 or greater and won't look largely out of place in the games environments. I have made my own collected mod packs out of the various ones I've downloaded since, as mentioned, I prefer to choose selectively as to which mod to download.
One greatest thing for OBLIVION is of course enabling the invisible walls/barriers on the game world to be turned off and creating the rest of the Tamriel continent beyond the game area. More for exploration of course since it is in fact one of the greatest things The Elder Scrolls series has had ever since ARENA.

I would like to have mods eventually I've just never used them before so I'd need major guidance.

Major altering mods i will probably not use in the first playthrough unless the game really needs it.

Smaller things like Ironside's weapon mod that he is working on i might use that cause it looks pretty cool

I think it's a waste to use mods before at least one full playthough (e.g, doing EVERYTHING you can do in the game). So I don't plan to use them at least until my second char.

90% of the mods I used in MW and OB were either to improve the graphics or fix bugs. I just don't like changing the vanilla game that much.

I will first play the game pure vanilla for a while though anyway, just so I can experience it as Bethesda intended.

I'll more than likely attempt to get at least one playthrough in before I mod the game. I typically like to use race and quest mods, and both of those typically take a good amount of time before the quality ones are released. OB of course is rather heavily modded but there are a lot of things in Skyrim that fix my main modding reasons so I don't think those will be quite as much of a problem.

Ditto

nvde mod as soon as it's released. can't wait to see my hulking nord warrior screaming naked down a snowy hillside with his battleaxe running straight at a dragon! bet the dragon turns and flies away. :biggrin:

tbh i'll just add small mods that i think add to the original game like weapons and spells, but only ones that would 'fit' into the game as it were

the only mods i use are graphic mods that make the game look better. I also might get something to make the map 2d and take away the compass.

I don't plan to mod it extensively at the first playthrough but from what we've seen so far an UI mod would be very welcomed.

I will play a major portion of Skyrim before I download mods or even make them

and considering im waiting for the goty edition for the PC i got some time till some of the good mods come out.

My first playthrough will be before the good mods come out, so it's really a non-issue.

Any subsequent playthroughs will be very mod heavy.

Probably at least 1 or 2 playthroughs before I start using mods.

A good crop of mods tend to come out no sooner than 6 mo to a year after a games release. Sure there may be some small mods and nudity mods within the first 24 hours, then anime godlike weapon mods within 36 hours. So I will be playing through vanilla. In about 6 months I will start looking to add a handful of mods and replay.

I believe what I'll be doing for my first character is looking around and seeing which certain objects could look better and others which don't need to be touched. Bug fixes would help and other minor things. Haven't looked up to see if the UI is adjustable or not but from what the game developers have mentioned it'll be different for PC compared to what it is for console.
Going in with a fresh mind, albiet knowing individually which mods work and which don't as a matter of preference, we the PC community can pick and choose which mods which would best suit our play-styles. Obviously this goes for me wanting to play through the majority of the game first to see what it has to offer. Different for MORROWIND and OBLIVION since we've had years upon years playing them.
My major preference for mods which add armors, clothing, weapons, etc. are the placement in the game world so I can explore to find them instead of instantly having them be added to my inventory. I greatly despise the latter and greatly prefer the former. Placement of certain things from mods in the game world, especially if there are a ton which I've downloaded, makes me forget where these items are (due to the sheer amount of them) gives me more of a reason for exploration. Not everything in a particular mod should be at a particular place, especially if it's a full set of armor along with weaponry. Make me the mod user actually go look for it while I'm exploring. It's better for immersion instead of "Oh here you go. I'm too lazy to place these objects around the game environment."
As a caveat, since I'm quite a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, I seem to be downloading a ton of Tolkien based mods. How about a mod where we could have a seperate install in which we could have more TES related mods and one which could essentially be Total Conversion? If I'm not mistaken there was a mod similar to this for perhaps MORROWIND and OBLIVION. My main install would obviously be for more lore-friendly and suitable mods of course.
A conversion I wouldn't mind seeing is a DMRA BBB one but of course when I use the mods is work on the character I play as then gradually add more stuff to the game world. So they won't conflict with each other.

EDIT: Of course for us we tend to prefer how the game is before wanting to add anything. As I've mentioned previously, I can't see where I'd need to mod anything, except DMRA BBB for SKYRIM. Other things look damn impressive so far.
As for the UI and compass, I'll again wait to see what the layout is while playing it first.

i will go the same way i did with oblivion and fallout first pass MQ without mods,cheats etc and then start having fun and roleplay with whatever means nessecery

I'll play through it and slowly add mods to change anything that bugs the hell out of me. Content wise, post first playthrough. Then it's all dungeons, critters and gear. I heart dungeon crawling.

Ha!.. Close enough..

I'll be playing a bit before I finish my mod.. mainly to get the feel of combat and to find the perfect spot for the town I'm building..

I do love the look.. and I'm not modding it cause I believe there's something missing.
This is more just a personal project, based around the wish to work in the Video Game Industry. And the need to flesh out my portfolio..

Besides.. I love working with the same tools that the Developers used to build the game originally.

I will definately be playing most of the game before I begin to add mods that change it drasticly.

-KC

Same for me about the things which tend to bug me. Especially true for wanting more dungeons, critters and gear. Especially hoping there're some very extensive and well thought out dungeons/caverns/ruins to explore. 100% agreed on dungeon crawling.
Majority of mods I've downloaded for MORROWIND, OBLIVION, FALLOUT 3 and NEW VEGAS are those which tend to fit the game setting instead of wildly looking out of place in it. The more immersive, especially the one in OBLIVION where there are lights emanating from interiors and the one where you can look out into the exteriors, the better. These are more of the mods I download, including the minor tweaks and bug fixes, for every single major title from The Elder Scrolls and Fallout through Bethesda.

EDIT: Mods which also help and add to the game setting is another thing I look for.

Depends how much the game svcks me in initially, if it's a lot then I won't have time to look for mods, but when I do the most likely ones will be atmospheric such as darker nights.

I'll load up and take a look and play for a bit. See what I like, what I can live with and adapt to and what I just feel is wrong or weak.

In Oblivion, things needed fixing right away on PC, like the menus. So I did that one day into it. Anything along those lines I will do ASAP. Subsequently Fallout and New Vegas were better menu wise, but I still followed that rule. And they still had issues to me.

Basically it depends on what is out there and what I feel needs tweaks. Once I buy it it is my game, if I feel something is wrong I will look to fix it. Since playing other games and downloading mods for them (Fallout, Oblivion, New vegas Morrowind), I do look for more people (crowded roads et all) and things that make the games more real. Even little things like Illuminated windows and the like. Makes a better looking game for me. Yeah nvde patch and more advlt mods if they are out. I prefer a more gritty real atmospheric game than they may provide, having to be safe and not offend people. Certainly anything bug or fix related I will look at.

Ben playing Bethesda games since Daggerfall, think they are one of the best companies out there, but they do make mistakes and/or drop the ball too. Luckily most mods fix that. So if it needs it, day one. If not, I will play through and see how it works during gameplay.

Certainly not the majority of Skyrim - unless the game is far better than I expect. And even if the game turns out to be super awesome there are always little things that bother me. So no, I would bet that I install the first mod after the first few hours of playtime. The big problems need a lot of time to fix anyway, so even if I wanted I couldn't fix them with mods shortly after installing the game.

Oblivion for example I stopped playing after a short while because it was so messed up, took no less than 4 years before I got all the mods I felt were needed to make it a fun experience. But I certainly hope Skyrim will not need such a huge amount of fixes to make it worth playing.

Depends on the mod. If there's a mod for darker nights while I'm still in my first playthrough, I might use it. Anything game changing, probably not. Cosmetic mods are mostly fine from the beginning.