Have you ever wanted to virtually explore the city of Chicago, but you don't particularly want to ever play the first Watch Dogs game again? If so, you're in luck. Thanks to the efforts of a couple of determined modders, the entirety of the Windy City has been recreated within Grand Theft Auto 5.
Dashcam V is a RageHook plugin that simulates emergency vehicle dashcams used in real life. Note: An unfortunate downside to the method of centering the camera is that you cannot freely rotate it. In terms of immersion, however, it makes sense because most dashcams do not rotate. In light of this, the dashcam no longer replaces the first person vehicle view, so you can use it whenever you desire. Jan 03, 2015 This is only a handful of the mods that fall in to the 'realism/immersion' type, but these I think take the cake for quality as of right now. Other mods like Arrest Warrant by Guadmaz and Realistic Blood Mod by Heisenberg21 look promising, but they don't seem fleshed out enough to be featured in this particular write-up. The goal of this mod is to bring about more action oriented events and eventually callouts that are more in the spirit of Grand Theft Auto. This initial release features 5 calls: Active Shooter Ambulance Hijacking - Chase down a hijacked ambulance.
There have been some wild GTA mods over the years. Some of these mods have allowed gamers to do some truly bizarre things, like patrol the streets of Los Santos as British police officers or play the game as Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. However, modders FV Design and Lozano have leaned in a decidedly more artistic direction, with their goal being to bring a city they love to life. That project is the aptly-titled GTA 5: Chicago.
According to FV Design's notes on their videos concerning the mod, the goal of this mod is to be able to 'showcase' the city of Chicago with the same level of detail and graphical fidelity as the maps in Grand Theft Auto 5.
Exploring GTA 5: Chicago
FV Design's YouTube channel features several videos showing off the impressive work in progress. In a video titled 'DEV Update 3', FV Design guided players through the city by land and by sea.
GTA 5: Chicago was eerily quiet when compared to the official games, at least in this clip. There's something kind of creepy about running through the rain-slicked streets of Chicago in total silence, the only sounds being the splashing of puddles beneath your feet. For all intents and purposes, this update video seemed to portray a normal afternoon in the Windy City. This video featured plenty of traffic, but seemingly no pedestrians.
Still, that didn't detract from just how impressive this mod is, particularly considering the fact that it's the work of only two people. FV Design and Lozano most likely want to focus on building the city before populating it with maniacs. It should also be noted that FV Design seemingly threatens to blow up a helicopter at one point on the demo, so clearly this is still the same GTA 5 that fans know and love.
Something felt a bit off about this video, but fans' fears were quickly laid to rest.
The people of GTA 5: Chicago
Shortly after GTA 5: Chicago began to receive attention from news outlets, FV Design released another update video. This one showcased a virtual Chicago with a significantly larger population. Titled 'DEV Update 4.5,' this video began with GTA 5 protagonist Franklin stealing a car and going for a joyride through the city. FV Design gave viewers a look at some of the NPCs in his version of Chicago by nearly running them over — because that's just how you roll in a GTA game.
In addition, the notes attached to this update video list multiple tweaks and additions made to GTA 5: Chicago. These include train tracks, ferris wheels, and a collision fix that keeps boats from coasting straight through the shoreline.
The reactions to GTA 5: Chicago have been very positive. More than a few commenters have mentioned that they live in Chicago and feel FV Design and Lozano nailed it. Others have been curious to see how FV Design and Lozano's work could benefit an older title like Grand Theft Auto 4. A few fans have quipped that GTA 5: Chicago is likely to be finished before the official GTA 6.
2020 has been a big year for GTA mods
GTA 5: Chicago is just one of the many exciting mods to be created for GTA 5 this year. Back in May, modder Digital Dreams uploaded footage of a mod they had been working on that brought Grand Theft Auto 4's Liberty City into the next generation. Not only did Digital Dreams recreate the map from GTA 4 inside of Grand Theft Auto 5, but they also added ray tracing-style effects to everything in the game. The realistic lighting in this mod gave gamers their closest look at what a remake of GTA 4 might look like on the PS5 or Series X.
Grand Theft Auto 5 also made the jump to VR this year, thanks to another mod. Developer LukeRoss00 used a method called 'alternate eye rendering' to approximate a 3D effect. This had the effect of making the first-person camera of GTA 5 feel more immersive than ever.
If you're interested in checking out GTA 5: Chicago for yourself, the early build for the mod is currently available through FV Design's Patreon page, which also gives patrons early and exclusive access to several of their other projects.
Have you ever wanted to feel more immersed in the Skyrim world?
Well I can certainly relate. It’s a world in which you could get lost for hours if you just let your imagination fly.
And the modding community has come together to create some of the greatest immersion mods that you could ever wish for. Some of these mods are not compatible with each other, but most should work well to help you create a lore-friendly environment where everything seems to come to life better than in the base game.
Just keep in mind that some of these mods will take up a lot of space and may cause bugs if they don’t play well together.
You should always create a backup save just in case something goes wrong. Worry not, though – I’ve tried most of them and they work almost flawlessly. Warzones can cause a bit of trouble, but I’ve included it here because it’s an amazing mod nonetheless.
20. Immersive Detection of NPC
This incredible mod helps you to correct an issue that many players seem to hate – you can easily get detected and shot at night just as if it was daytime, which makes no sense and breaks the immersion that the game can create.
Using this mod, which should be compatible with any other mod on this list, makes it so that enemies aren’t capable of seeing you as easily in the night as they do in the base game.
And it also makes it so they lose accuracy when shooting during the night.
It really adds a new layer of depth to the assassin playstyle that we all love so much!
19. Immersive Beds
Have you ever wondered why no one in Bethesda assumed that it would be a good idea to animate your character going to sleep when you select a bed?
It sometimes feels like beds don’t really serve their purpose in the base game, which is where this mod comes in – it adds the option to use sleepwear as well as extra animations when you go to bed and get up from it.
18. Immersive Jewelry
Immersive jewelry adds a massive number of new jewels to the game, most of which are designed to look unique and represent the classes and races to which they belong.
It’s an awesome mod and very detailed, considering that it has over 4000 pieces of jewelry to date. Crazy!
17. Immersive Saturation Boost
Base game Skyrim didn’t look too good when it was first released.
But it’s understandable given the year and the technological limitations of the PS3 and Xbox 360. With the release of the Special Edition things changed for the better and the game now looks better than ever.
However there still seems to be something off with the saturation levels of the camera.
This mod makes everything look like as if you were really in the locations that the game takes you to.
It emphasizes the way shadows look and adds a necessary grade of saturation that the base game was missing. It’s a spectacular mod, and one you should try out with shaders too.
16. Dragon Combat Overhaul
It truly is a shame that this mod was removed from the Nexus because the owner had some personal issues to work through.
However it still remains as one of the best Skyrim mods of all time, not only in terms of immersive mods, but in general.
It really didn’t take a better spot on this list solely because of the fact that it isn’t being updated anymore and you can’t find it on the Nexus(but there are downloads out there, for example in this thread).
This mod improves the way you fight dragons and makes everything feel more natural.
If you feel like the dragon combat is a bit bland in the base game then I really encourage you to give this one a try.
15. Warzones – Civil Unrest
Warzones is an incredible mod which truly brings you the sense of war that Skyrim is supposed to be under into the game.
It adds thousands of NPCs, all of which are ready to fight one another in a blood bath like no other Elder Scrolls game has ever seen.
It does require you to have a powerful computer or you might experience crashes – it takes a lot of resources to keep everything running!
But it does make Skyrim feel like it’s actually at war, like it’s supposed to be in the story.
Everything just feels a bit too calm to be true in times of war so this mod is a great fix for that.
14. The Joy of Perspective
The Joy of Perspective is an amazing mod for those who love to play in first person.
In fact, first-person gameplay is a crucial part of immersion. And base game Skyrim fails at delivering a good experience to players who want that FPS point of view.
With this mod you won’t feel like you’re floating around when playing in first person and you’ll be able to look around in a much more natural manner.
13. Real Shelter
It’s honestly ridiculous how rain falls through the roof even when you’re below a shelter.
This mod, although rather simple, gets rid of that small little detail that breaks the sense of reality that you would take to cover yourself from a storm. Often times it is the little things that matter.
12. Hunterborn
If you’re into hunting, boy you’re going to absolutely love this mod.
This makes it so hunting feels way more realistic, as you’ll have to properly kill animals and skin them if you wish to collect their resources.
No more looting their corpses as if they were carrying stuff in their imaginary pockets.
11. Frostfall
Some people really shouldn’t be walking around in the cold and acting as if nothing happened to them.
Frostfall adds the element of surviving the cold into a major core mechanic in the game.
You’ll have to take care and try not to freeze to death when roaming around Skyrim. Keep your torches and campfires ready – you’ll need them if you want to venture into a blizzard.
10. Immersive HUD
It really doesn’t feel too realistic to keep your HUD around as if it was part of your robotic interface.
This mod is a complete rework to the base game interface which makes it look far more realistic in every sense of the word.
It doesn’t entirely remove it, but it does change it to a point where it doesn’t get in the way mid-game and allows you to play as if it wasn’t there.
It’s really cool – especially if you play in first person.
9. Skyrim Immersive Creatures
It doesn’t really take a lot of time playing Skyrim to get to know all the mobs in the game.
It gets really boring sooner rather than later, and it breaks the feeling of immersion knowing that there are only a handful of animal types in such a gigantic region.
This mod adds dozens of new creatures to correct that. And I can vouch for its quality – the creatures look really good.
8. Immersive College of Winterhold
The College of Winterhold is one of the major frustrations of mages in the game.
It feels like it has so much to offer than what the original game had in store for us, but thankfully modders have managed to get the best out of it.
This completely changes the way the college looks as well as some of the people who live in it. Again, small but useful details.
7. Convenient Horses
Honestly this is the best horse mod that exists for Skyrim. Period.
It’s just too good and makes horses feel like they are actually alive for once.
You can even create and manages your own herd of horses, bringing them around Skyrim in your adventures or making them stay in one place.
You can make customizations to your followers too and which horses they use. It’s really in-depth and you can spend hours at a time just micromanaging your horses.
The mod also adds a ton of new items like horse whistles, new horse armor, and many other features that will improve the quality of life of every rider on the region.
You’ll even get the ability to harvest plants from the back of your horse – with no need to get down from that saddle.
6. Beyond Skyrim
I have already featured this amazing mod in other lists before, but it has truly earned another place in this post too.
Beyond Skyrim looks to add new locations beyond the borders of Skyrim.
And even though the mod currently only adds Bruma, it does make Skyrim feel more connected with the reality of Tamriel by letting you visit a fan-favorite location of Oblivion.
5. Perkus Maximus
Perkus Maximus doesn’t add a single element into the game.
Instead it overhauls the complete perk system adding hundreds of new perks to the game as well as countless spells.
Everything added with this mod is lore-friendly and fits perfectly into the Elder Scrolls universe, which only adds a bit more of the essence that the game sometimes feels like its missing.
4. Alternate Start – Live Another Life
The beginning of Skyrim is one of the most iconic moments in gaming history.
However the intro sequence is as long as it gets. And with each playthrough it gets more and more repetitive.
This mod adds new ways for you to start the game and lets you choose what your character was before you create them.
You’ll be able to select many things for their background, and the creator of the mod has made sure to keep things relevant by making every decision that you take have an impact on how the story develops.
The new storyline created for the mod is very cool too and fits perfectly with Skyrim’s main questline!
3. Interesting NPCs
Tired of those boring ass folks just hanging around mindlessly? Me too. And this mod is as professional as it gets.
It adds over 250 new NPCs as well as countless new followers. And guess what, all of them are fully voiced.
The level of immersion that these new NPCs provided doesn’t only come in numbers – the quality of the dialog is just something else. It clearly shows that there was a lot of work put into this mod by the team.
Best of all is that with new NPCs come tons of new quests. The mod includes over 50 new missions for you to complete and help out these countless new strangers.
2. Immersive Patrols
This is an incredible mod for those of you who own Solstheim.
It adds faction patrols to the realm which can even trigger civil war encounters when they cross paths with each other.
In fact, if you happen to stumble upon a patrol that belongs to the enemy faction in relation to the one you’ve selected, you’ll be in instant danger as they will try to kill you on sight.
This mod completely overhauls the Solstheim experience and makes the DLC a hundred times better than it already is.
1. Sounds of Skyrim
It’s the little things that matter most. And those small details are what makes the Sounds of Skyrim such a unique, game-changing experience.
This mod adds over 100 new sounds to the game, and I’m not placing it in the first spot lightly.
The mod really changes the way you perceive the environment in the game. You’ll notice a lot of differences if you’ve been playing the game for a few years now.
Even if you’re a new player, Sounds of Skyrim does an amazing job at integrating you and transporting you deep into the world of Tamriel.
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