Heaven’s Edge is home to many NPCs, who should soon seem more alive than ever thanks to a mod for the VR version of the role-playing game.
Hey, you there! You’re awake at last! You wanted to cross the border, right?
Those who, on the 156th playthrough of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim only sigh in annoyance when Ralof asks us the same question over and over again on the way to the gallows, should now pay attention.
Because ChatGPT is preparing to make its mischief in Himmelsrand soon. A not yet freely available mod for Skyrim VR could show for the first time what especially role-playing game fans can look forward to in the future.
Dynamic conversations for more immersion
Let’s be clear right away: The current state of the mod can be described as experimental
. The NPCs still need a fair amount of time to respond to the player’s questions, and when they do open their mouths, what they say sounds very much like a robot.
But that doesn’t make the gameplay footage released so far any less worth watching in our eyes:
How does the mod work? The ChatGPT function is started via spell. Sounds logical, who doesn’t remember the yellowed leather cover with the inscription ChatAI
in the Mages Guild in Winterfest?! All kidding aside, this approach is quite handy in Skyrim’s VR mode, as it allows you to quickly start a conversation without lengthy keystrokes.
What can the mod already do? The NPCs can ask us about our day, tell us the correct date including time, and know where they are. They even react to our worn equipment, as seen in the above video, where the weaponsmith inspects our iron sword more closely.
A particularly cool detail: The voice output is already lip-synchronized! For this, besides ChatGPT, the tools xVASynth
(text-to-speech) and Whisper
(speech-to-text) are used.
Where is the problem? As already mentioned at the beginning, we are not yet dealing with fluent conversations, as the NPCs still take too long to answer. There is also still some work to be done on the voice output.
It is not known if and when the mod will be released to the general public. Also, keep in mind that this is explicitly talking about the VR version of Skyrim!
Will Ralof finally listen and remember our answer in the future, or just shut up and nod his head knowingly? We’re looking forward to finding out! But what do you think of what we’ve seen? Does the AI mod already knock your socks off or would the voice output rather creep you out while wandering around in the edge of heaven? Feel free to write us your opinion on the subject in the comments!
