Skyrim gets HD texture pack, Portal 2 Space Sphere

Canny Steam users had spotted records indicating an official high-resolution texture pack might be the surprise teased for the launch of Skyrim’s PC mod Creation Kit, and it did indeed arrive today, but there’s something else too–Portal 2’s adorable Spac

February 7, 2012 11:30 AM37

Bethesda had promised a surprise alongside the launch of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim‘s PC mod Creation Kit, and it did indeed arrive today. The PC release now supports an official high-resolution texture pack. But there’s something else too–a new friend in the form of Portal 2‘s adorable Space Sphere. On top of that, Skyrim’s on sale on Steam, down to $40.

Fall of the Space Core, Vol. 1 is the very first Skyrim mod on the Skyrim Steam Workshop. The joint effort from Bethesda and Valve sees Portal 2’s friendly little orb following you around, doubtless dispensing space-y nuggets of joy.

In future, the Workshop will house the mods of anyone who fancies putting them there, where they can be viewed, rated, and easily downloaded. For now, though, it’s just that lonely little space-ball.

The high-resolution texture pack is actually released as free downloadable content, so you’ll need to head this-a-way to get it. The patch jazzes up Skyrim’s textures with bigger, prettier versions and as it’s official, you won’t have to worry about textures looking different, or resembly lumpy, over-sharp lava, as several community-made mods do. You’ll want a better PC than Skyrim’s recommended specs to use it, though, with Bethesda recommending at least 4GB of system RAM and a graphics card with 1GB of RAM.

If you don’t have Skyrim at all, you can snap it up for $39.99 (33% off) in the Steam mid-week sale.

To start making your own mods, grab the Creation Kit from the Tools section of your Steam library. Bethesda’s also kicking off a new video tutorial series to ease you into it, which you can see below.