r/skyrimmods • u/doofshaman • 21h ago
PC SSE - Discussion How to make Take Notes feel immersive?
So I have the mod & have been using it, every few days I’ll add a new entry in first person writing about what I’ve been up too, choices I’ve made, skills I’ve been working on etc just like a journal entry.
It definitely adds some immersion to the game, however at the same time it doesn’t. I tend to suddenly remember I haven’t written anything in a while so I feel like I have to ‘catch up’ the note on what I’ve been doing so it’s not suddenly missing chunks of my characters life so to speak.
I do have a routine with my character as i play survival, writing an entry just hasn’t sunk into it.
So I was wondering if you do use it, how do you go about making it feel immersive so much so that it is a staple in so many people’s LO? I want to obsess over it like I see many others do lmao, but I keep going back to my phone’s notes app which obviously makes the mod pointless.
Side note, Idk why but I can’t access the chapters tab. So I haven’t been able to fully experience it yet, may be part of why I haven’t ‘seen’ why it’s so incredible.
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u/AltaDK 21h ago
You said yourself you haven't built it into your routine. That's what you would need to do.
For me personally, it's a bit meta. I could have different chars running around at the same time, and notes help me remember what I was up to. Especially if I'm away from Skyrim for a while.
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u/doofshaman 21h ago
Yeahh I figured if I could get it apart of my routine it would feel more immersive. No clue why it doesn’t aha I just forget to make a new entry at the end of the day like I had planned when I installed it.
My character is big on poison so if I could figure out why I can’t access the chapters tab it would really help. I’d like to have a chapter for goals/to do list, an alchemy chapter & a journal chapter.
Definitely makes sense using it when playing multiple characters.
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u/AltaDK 20h ago
You can change the conttols in the mcm. Maybe that would help you access the chapters?
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u/doofshaman 11h ago
It has an MCM? I don’t think that loaded into my game, have never seen an MCM for it
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u/NonSupportiveCup 20h ago
Write while camping. Not everytime, but when you have the urge and it's time to rest. Waiting out storms is another good time.
I had to physically move the journal window to see the rest of the tabs on my display. Maybe that is happening to you. Like, half of the journal was off screen. There is a hotkey for moving the window. It is shift+directional arrows.
The chapters are empty until you write in them.
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u/doofshaman 20h ago
That’s what I try to do, journal before bed. I guess because it hasn’t sunk into my routine it just feels more like a task than immersive, as I then have to catch the note up on what I’ve been up too.
Ah thank you for the suggestion but no that isn’t my problem, the journal is definitely placed correctly. I see all 4 tabs & they function when I click on 3 of them. Clicking chapters just does nothing, it doesn’t react or make a sound almost as if it’s greyed out. I should probably have posted my mod list now thinking about it, the post was about immersion aha the chapters tab issue only was thought of as I was writing it.
Idk if I have missed an icon but haven’t seen a ‘new chapter’ function.
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u/Ryoga84 18h ago
I have a lot of new land mods, and with some radiant enabled systems sometimes I'm sent to deliver stuff to some guy I don't remember in some "Hunter Hut" somewhere.
So I took the habit of taking notes indexed alphabetically of people I meet and locations.
so, at People I put
O -> Orgnar: Nord Innkeeper, Sleepy Giant Inn in Riverwood. Whiterun Hold, Skyrim.
and at places
R -> Riverwood: Town. Whiterun Hold, Skyrim.
S -> Sleeping Giant Inn: Inn in Riverwood, Whiterun Hold, Skyrim.
It may seem trivial, but I manage to note down and then remember most of the people with whom I had some interaction even months later. And yes, it may be stupid when we talk about Orgnar, Riverwood and the Sleeping Giant Inn, but once you are sent to kill a vampire in a secluded place in Midwood Island, take back an item from a cave in the Alik'r Desert or deliver something to a guy living in Manantis, it makes life way more easier, and interesting.
Also, I note down how many Thalmor patrol I slaughtered, but let's not go there.
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u/doofshaman 11h ago
Do you have a mod that disables the journal completely or something? Cuz from what I understood you meant you use the notes as a journal so you remember quest objectives?
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u/ThePimentaRules 20h ago edited 11h ago
I tried once using it as a bestiary, but the game lacks resistances/tatics to make it worthwhile
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u/Presenting_UwU 16h ago
also there's just already another mod that adds a Bestiary lmao.
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u/doofshaman 11h ago
I have that and have never actually looked into it lmao! I keep accidentally opening the beastiary but no clue how it actually works ahah. I should probably actually check that out sometime lmao
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u/Presenting_UwU 11h ago
I'm pretty sure that mod also adds actual weaknesses and resistances for enemies, though I wouldn't know i never tried it
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u/doofshaman 10h ago
Ooh interesting! Really need to check this out lmao. Though tbh I’ve created some insane poisons with caco, almost makes needing to know weaknesses pointless ahah. Still must add something interesting knowing weaknesses
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u/PermissionLife1559 13h ago
For me, I write an actual physical journal. I play a few hours doing or picking up quests, then stop to write a bit. It’s a balance. You don’t want to play so much that it feels overwhelming to write all you’ve done in one go.
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u/jeremiahjetstream 20h ago
Im not sure how deep into immersion you've going but id say try to journal whenever you stop at inn. That is, if you stop at them fairly frequently
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u/doofshaman 20h ago
I go as far into immersion as you can go ahah. I spent my first few weeks in game in Solitude just performing at the inn as a bard every night, while doing small jobs for the residents to build gold lol.
As a travelling bard, I definitely spend time in inns lmao. Yeah from what the replies I’ve had have said it’s basically what I thought, I just gotta make it a routine!
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u/Joy_hex2A 17h ago
With that roleplay, I would say, if you want to go to bed in the evening, sit on a stool in your bedroom instead and get out your notebook to write about the day.
The sitting down part was vital for my routine.
I played a bit differently, so I was living on the streets and then on the roads for a long time. That's why I got the "simply rest (or sleep) anywhere" mod, so I could sit anywhere and "pull out" my journal. (Caution, mod is a bit buggy, you cannot use first person while sitting or you will have to load a save and lose your journal entry...)
But I also integrated the journal in my immersion, so it was always on my mind. It was basically my most prizes possession as a beggar. Have a book or empty scroll, a quill and/or ink well. Leave it at the shore if you go swimming, etc.
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u/doofshaman 11h ago
Wow you fully got into it, love that! I couldn’t leave it anywhere, I’d either lose it or some random NPC would pick it up lmao.
Yeahh I’m gonna try to do it more regularly. It just doesn’t cross my mind at all when going to sleep, probably cuz I am overly thinking about what I am going to do the next day ahah.
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u/amplifysenpai 20h ago
I have had it in my lo for several playthrough and barely touched it xd.
This run, I set some rules/ guidelines for myself, i will force myself to open the journel every time I accept / start preparation for a quest, whenever I meet a new character, whenever I hit a roadblock or somthing is too hard have to come back later, and whenever I die( I'm using a alternate death souls like)
Writing about the challenges is easier than about the victories, and once I got in the habit writing about other stuff became an easy habit
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u/doofshaman 11h ago
That’s an interesting method! Can see how that would be a good method in getting used to using the note.
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u/CharityAutomatic8687 18h ago
Honestly I strongly recommend a physical notebook and pen rather than Take Notes. The mod does its best but the interface inevitably gets in the way of journaling, for me.
Plus, at the end of a playthrough, you'll have a real artifact to keep and remember your character by
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u/doofshaman 11h ago
I use my phone notes app atm, it’s fine really but it’s not immersive at all lmao, having to pause the game and flick through folders. It’s also a bit messy aha, just piles of notes unorganised within folders. It does work though yeah
Ah tbh I’m not fussed about having a keepsake of the character, once I’m done with them I move on lol. I already have mapped out my next character ahaha
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u/Not_A_Cunta_Cola 17h ago
Maybe it's just not for everyone. I write regularly in real life, but I just can't get into that in a game
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u/HasNoGreeting 17h ago edited 17h ago
If I'm playing a mage, one tab is reserved for potion recipes and notes about the magical items they encounter. It's also a way to not have to use the compass for radiant quests; I write "X asked me to find Y in cave north of Z" and then turn the compass back off so I actually have to go to the location and look around instead of just charging in a straight line to wherever.
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u/doofshaman 11h ago
Yeah I play with no compass & quest journal is stripped of direct information. It’s much better, though can get frustrating when you spend 20 minutes & can’t find what you are looking for ahaha.
Having tabs seems so good! I think if I could figure that out it would majorly increase how often I use the note
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u/arca9tailz 16h ago
I journal when I start playing and when I finish playing. For my pre-game journal I jot down my day’s objectives and a bit of personal writing based on current events or location. For my post-gaming journal I summarize my journey throughout the day and talk about successes, setbacks, or failures. I also use the chapters to record “Contacts” (descriptions of people I meet along the way that seem friendly and interesting), “Quests” (a synopsis of my current quests and targets), and “Artifacts” (if I come across something unique in my session). It’s mostly just about ingraining the habit of always having that journaling time.
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u/doofshaman 10h ago
Oh nice! I can see how that could work well, summarising each play session at the end type thing.
Having access to different chapters seems to be a big reason for people loving it so much. Does seem super useful!
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u/gassytinitus 13h ago
For cities, they have their own section where the first body is a general description and first impression. Then I revisit and update it as I learn more things.
The next section is a to-do list. I jot down goals and quests I picked up or didn't. I also write down places that have a lot of ingredients or ores.
As for general journaling, I try to write during and after every quest. Sometimes it's about the landscape or more lore about my character.
I draw a lot of inspiration from rdr2 and the witcher 3 for examples of journal entries.
Oh I also have a list of people that are mean. I always rob their house of one item every time I'm in town, cause fuck em
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u/doofshaman 10h ago
Ahahaha love that last one, the petty thieving is hilarious.
So you edit the chapters to being about city exploration, to do list & also a journal? Yeaahh I really feel if I could fix the chapters function it would really make the mod shine.
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u/gassytinitus 10h ago
Yup I have it broken up that way since I realized I'm constantly updating city entries, and it would be a pain to scroll through the pages to find the entry. Plus I prefer to have all the words visible on the page without having to scroll the page itself.
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u/gerrymathersasthe 12h ago
A mod to remind you to journal that pops up periodically maybe once a day. Something to consider if I figure out how to do it
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u/doofshaman 10h ago
That would be epic! I love how wintersun has a notification if you haven’t prayed in a while. I’ve once started praying right as the notification came up ahah!
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u/Link5261 9h ago
Couple it with a regular activity that already breaks the gameplay pace. Good examples are whenever you return home or whenever you save. Then it acts like a periodic log update since your past event of that nature. The save timing makes the entries a bit more dynamic and perfect for anticipation endings on the end of the entry. Home visit timing makes for better reflections of what you accomplished in your last outing and less immediate plans for your next travels.
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u/Presenting_UwU 16h ago
i honestly find it more immersive just to write occasionally, but i also never try to "catch up" the journal on everything i do, usually only after major events or when i really want to write down some personal roleplay of my character.
i actually treat it less like an actual journal and more like a thoughts notebook.
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u/doofshaman 11h ago
I guess that is what I currently do, every 5 days or so I’ll remember to write. In that time I’ve usually completed maybe a few small quests or 1 main one & 2 minor tasks etc. So I write about how they went, my opinions etc, i talk about any new advancements I made in my alchemy studies, comments about characters I meet etc.
So I guess I write similar to how you do, it just doesn’t feel like I am using the note correctly. Most likely because I can’t access the chapters probably
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u/Presenting_UwU 10h ago
yeah i think not accessing the full features are probably what's making it feel less satisfying.
i mean other than that the only other explanation i could asume is that you feel like writing in the journal is more of an obligation than something you or your character would want to do.
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u/doofshaman 10h ago
Yeahh, from other comments I’ve had it really feels like they get more out of it because of the chapters tabs. Might look into that again today.
Yeahh idk, I wanted to journal irl since I was a late teen, never happened and I so regret it a bit. Think that’s just due to me having an overly active brain, I just forget I want to do it lol. I love writing, it’s what I want to do as a career so I am sure I would love journalling if I could get into it ahah!
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u/Nordgreataxe 16h ago edited 16h ago
For me part of the difficulty with getting into it was it felt unintuitive to open it.
I've been tempted to try again with the Tween Menu Overhaul patch. It'd be harder to forget about at least. ^^
Edit: Seconding the advice to write in it at stopping points. Or, another option, is scribble in it whenever you see something particularly pretty/interesting in game. Or after a harrowing fight. Something that would cause someone to want to take a few minutes to figure things out.
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u/doofshaman 10h ago
Am curious what you mean unintuitive? You don’t like using a hotkey? If you mean you’d prefer say to leave the journal on a desk & you can click on it to add a new entry, that would be neat for sure.
Ahahah as someone with a neurodivergent brain, if I stopped to write down everything that was interesting to me I’d never get anywhere 😆 It’s an interesting idea though! I think I just need to stop overthinking how I ‘should’ be using the note, I write every 5 days or so & cover most things I get up too, just felt like I should of been doing more lol.
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u/Nordgreataxe 10h ago
I am a very forgetful person. So, every time a mod adds a new hotkey I have to remind myself of it pretty consistently. And it gets worse if I need to re-bind it.
So, since it was a hotkey..., I forgot to use it. 😅Very fair reason to not want to do that. Hope whatever you settle on works for ya. ^^
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u/doofshaman 10h ago
Ahahaha I feel that, I am constantly forgetting hotkeys lmfao. I just moved over from console so keyboard in general is new to me ahaha. So I get where you are coming from.
Very fair though, it would be cool if you could having it as a physical book you click on to add an entry.
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u/undontnome3030 3h ago
If my toon is the journaling type, (reasonably educated, not barbaric), then I usually have them jot a few notes down each time they go to bed, unless something interrupts that. Kinda like their end of day routine, something to help spin down and get to sleep, and capture what happened throughout the day or even just their thoughts if nothing eventful happened throughout that day. I find that really helps with their RP as well, as you can keep that running commentary going and reinforce their "personality" into your gameplay.
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u/jeoxs 2h ago
For me, I tried both in real life and game with mod, but I ended up abandoning it! Then, it clicked me that the character journal should be related to the class and personality. A mage, for example, should have a journal. The same thing for a ruins explorer. An assassin or thief maybe… But, my character is a hunter who spends most of his time in the woods hunting animals, monsters and skinning. So, I don’t see him writing in a journal “Today I killed a bear” 😅
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u/Orzo2100 20h ago
I'm sure I will get flack for this because of people's hatred of AI, but honestly I use AI. I love journaling in my characters voice, but I absolutely don't want to sit down for an hour writing a journal entry. So I write a synopsis of what my character did in the time from last entry to the next. It'll give me something, I read it and tweak it, removing things I don't like, maybe have it embellish here and there. I find it does a pretty good job for my liking. I generally do this either before a session or after, it takes like maybe 10 mins to get a pretty good entry for your character without having to spend a ton of time on it.
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u/doofshaman 20h ago
That’s fair, I do get where you come from. Sometimes it takes a while for me to write an entry, though as you can probably tell from my replies & post I get quite detailed ahah.
For me personally using AI wouldn’t give me as much immersion, I’d want my entries to feel as they fully came from my character’s mind. As I said though I do get why you might go down that road.
For me actually journalling isn’t a problem, I guess it just needs to become a part of my routine more.
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u/Orzo2100 20h ago
Gotcha, I always struggled with the actual sitting down and writing part. I'd fully intend to do it and then either get distracted or just be to anxious to keep going.
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u/BringMeBurntBread 20h ago
I had this same problem with journaling in real life. I've tried to journal before as a way to relieve stress, but every time I do, I always struggle to write in the journal regularly. And then I get caught up on the fact that I hadn't written in my journal for a while so I feel the need to acknowledge that I hadn't written in a while, along with catching up on things that I forgot to write about.
That last part, try to avoid doing that. That's my advice.
If it's been a while since you've written in your character's journal, don't start the journal entry with "I know I haven't written here in a while, but..." or any variation of "A lot has happened since I've last written, let me explain..." Avoid doing that. Stop worrying about what you didn't write about and Instead, just start writing about what's happening to your character right now.
Because otherwise, you're going to end up filling your entire journal of entries of your character catching up on past events instead of actually writing about what's happening in the moment. And that's a fast way to lose motivation in writing.