Aethernautics gives The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition a Dwemer spaceship

Image credit: Trainwiz / Aethernautics team.

You know you've been playing Skyrim for too long when exploring another Dwemer ruin doesn't sound particularly unusual anymore. Ancient machinery, suspiciously elaborate underground architecture, something mechanical trying to kill you... we've been through this before.

But how about finding a freakin' spaceship?

Trainwiz's Aethernautics, maintained for Special Edition by DarthVitrial and the Chronographer Maintenance Team, takes players through a gigantic Dwemer dungeon filled with traps, lava, and mechanical enemies before revealing the Aethership, a vessel you can restore and eventually call your own. It comes with living quarters, engineering facilities, cargo space, specialized equipment, and even the ability to launch orbital strikes. Yes, you heard us right, orbital strikes. In Skyrim. Because apparently shouting dragons out of the sky wasn't quite dramatic enough.

The ship can also travel to limited destinations including Masser and Sotha Sil, although these aren't massive new worlds waiting to be explored. The creator recommends a fresh save when upgrading from earlier versions, and travel to Masser does require an additional tweak.

All said, it's a wonderfully strange and ambitious project, and just the sort of thing that makes Skyrim's modding scene so entertaining. One minute you're wandering through a Dwemer ruin looking for treasure. The next? You're contemplating maniacal orbital bombardment.