Installing mods for vanilla game level 50+ character

[n0mad23]

Hello,

 

After waiting for over 2.5 months for my dream laptop to arrive (MSI GT72 Dominator - 16 gigs RAM, GTX970M 8 gigs Vram) I've been playing Skryim with Hearthfire and Dragonborn DLCs on my wife's new Dell Inspiron.

 

Now my machine has arrived, I'm really looking forward to modding the game in ways that I'll find more enjoyable.

 

My question is this - I plan to use the STEP guide as my base (though I want to add a couple of things like Simply Bigger Trees which isn't on thier list) but really don't want to abandon the level 53 character that I've been playing with exclusively to this time.

 

Since I'll be installing mods over a vanilla install, will my current game saves still be usable?

 

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers - n0mad23

[duffman9465]

There's a lot that can be said here. So I'll try to be kind of short with it while being as descriptive as I can.

 

First off, here are my specs:

Dell XPS 8700

Intel i7 3.9GHz

12gb ram

Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4gb

 

I gave you my specs so that you know that I am not that far from how your system is save the only real differences are your GPU vram and the fact that you have a laptop

 

You shouldn't necessarily have to start over. Unless your current save from the other computer already has been modded. If you were running any texture mods, overhaul mods, mods with heavy scripting, or anything alike, then you should start a new game. Since your game save is vanilla then you should be fine to mod the game. Since the STEP, GEMS, and Skyrim Beautification Guide (although, STEP is a fantastic guide and I even used part of it to help me out with my mod configuration) never really helped me and just gave me more headaches and frustration than needed, I'm going to give you a list of things that ended up working for me. Here it goes:

 

Alright, firstly you're going to need a mod manager. There's one that I strongly recommend and one that I would really only count as optional. These are; MO (Mod Organizer) and NMM (Nexus Mod Manager). I recommend MO, it's way easier on your system (in my opinion) and handles everything way better. It's pretty much tailor fitted to Skyrim. NMM pretty much handles all of Bethesda's games. NMM may be a little simpler than it looks but it doesn't really handle the game and the mods very well.

 

Secondly, your textures/overhauls/necessities. Some are optional. Some definitely are not:

-Skyrim HD 2k Textures OR ENB's (Whichever is your preference. Some people don't like ENB's but Skyrim HD 2k gave me a lot of issues. ENB's look better anyways. Like I said, your choice)

-Towns and Villages Enhanced

-Lush Trees and Grass

-Skyrim Floral Overhaul (may cause some issues with other texture mods or overhauls. not my recommendation for my list though)

-Denser Grass

-Better Dynamic Snow

-The Eyes of Beauty

-Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Edition or DIMONIZED UNP female body (whichever is your preference. pay attention to armor mods though if you use these)

-Enhanced Distance Terrain

-WATER

-Climates of Tamriel

-Apachii Hair (pay attention to the files list. you'll probably need more than just the main file)

-Unofficial Patches (Skyrim, Dawnguard, Dragonborn, High Res [if you have the hi res dlc]. you'll need the ones that apply to you)

-SKSE (THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY EVEN IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO USE MODS)

-SSME (THIS IS ALSO NECESSARY IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE SKSE)

-SkyUI (not necessary. but really nice to have. it's very organized)

-SMIM (I strongly recommend this. It's just about necessary period)

-Skyrim Project Optimization (this is also necessary period)

There's a lot here. So don't get too mixed up. Practice good modding habits as well. Skyrim may have a mod cap of 255, but that never means that you should every try to run mods that you absolutely do not need or aren't using. I'll cover more about that later.

 

Third, you're going to need some tools and utilities. You can play without them. If you favor CTD's (CTD=Crash to Desktop), freezing, and a ton of issues. So here's a list of great utilities that have saved me from going too insane:

-Optimizer Textures (you can find this on Nexus. It's a great tool. some people have issues with it but I've never had a single problem. this tool will help unify and compress texture files and BSA's [bSA=a compressed part of a plugin file])

-SMCO (this will compress other parts of your mods as well as BSA's. I strongly recommend using it along with Optimizer Textures)

-Save Game Script Cleaner (this is used to clean up your save of orphan scripts that are bogging down or bloating your game. use it every once in a while. especially after uninstalling or removing a mod. this will possibly fix some bugs too that you'll experience that are mod related)

-Skyrim Save Cleaner (this will remove unnecessary form id's from your save. this will also help out some if you're having crashes and keep your save from bloating)

-SKSE (I'm restating this because it is absolutely necessary)

-LOOT or BOSS (either on is fine. LOOT in my opinion is better. but you get to choose. these tools will put all of your mods and plugins in a safe load order. but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't read the descriptions of any mod you download or are considering as the author of a mod may state that the mod needs to be in a specific order)

-TESVEdit (this is needed. LOOT or BOSS will let you know if any of your mods, plugin files, or master files have dirty edits. this tool is used to clean those dirty edits out and help keep your game stable)

-Wrye Bash (now I don't really have experience using this but this is used to make a bashed patch for your mods. it helps make your mods play nice with each other and helps with stability)

-Mod Organizer (I'm restating this one as well because of it's capabilities. its a great mod manager and should be used more. but then again, it's your preference which manager you use)

 

Alright. That was also a lot. But it does take a lot to get Skyrim running the way you intend and want it to. I'm now going to move on to other things here.

 

Fourth, make sure that you're computer's updated. What I mean by this is; Windows updates are current, and your graphics drivers are also current. It's important to stay updated so don't ignore your updates. Also, try your best to keep up to date on your mods too. New versions of mods come out all the time. I know. It's difficult to keep up with that. But mod managers can also let you know about updates. That being said, NMM is easier to read with it comes to that but can also be confusing because some mods have addons or patches with different version numbers. MO will help with being a little simpler with that. Another point, keep up to date with your mod manager as well. Your mod manager will let you know when there's an update.

 

Fifth, you can choose to play with either keyboard and mouse, an Xbox 360 controller, or a Playstation contoller (DS4 or DS3. It's easier with a DS3). The only things I have to say here is, if you're going to play with a Playstation controller, you'll need an emulation tool to play. Because Skyrim has an option to play with an Xbox 360 controller. Not Playstation. So you'll have to emulate the Playstation controller to Xinput using a tool. Tools that will be necessary for this: Motioninjoy for DS3 and SCP for DS4. Those are the best tools. SCP currently does not have bluetooth capabilities so you'd be tethered to a wire. Motioninjoy can be used wired or bluetooth. You can use your internal bluetooth module with Motioninjoy, but it can be buggy. So be prepared for that one. If you're going to use an Xbox 360 controller then you'll either have to use a wired controller or buy a special bluetooth dongle for a wireless controller. In my opinion, it's far easier and way more "affordable" to use a Playstation controller (if you already have one).

 

Sixth, do not, absolutely DO NOT neglect to read mod descriptions. The descriptions will tell you if there's any conflicts with other mods, give you important information, load order, and just all around all of it is important. So make sure you read them. Also, the 255 mod cap on Skyrim is it's ABSOLUTE cap. The game engine just can't run anymore than that. Over 100 mods cause a lot of problems anyway if you don't know what you're doing or even if you do just because of the nature of modding. Also, getting rid of or keeping yourself away from mods that you absolutely don't need (such as quest mods or adobe/home mods) are a good way to keep your game stable. There are a lot of script heavy mods out there that can bloat your game, cause crashes, cause shuttering/lag/and missing textures. So be sure that you want that mod before you get it. If you choose that you don't like a mod and uninstall it or deactivate it, then you'll want to run the save script cleaner tool. That way you can remain stable. There's a lot to learn about modding Skyrim. I've wrote this out because it's better to be helped with it rather than to go at it alone and figure everything out the hard way.

 

Now it would seem you've gotten to the end of this here. If you read all of it, thanks for reading. I'd give you a cookie. If they were transferable over the internet haha. But most of this I cannot stress enough. Good modding practices and are a must. I'm always happy to help, but common sense shouldn't be something neglected. If you are unclear about anything or need help with certain parts of this then let me know. Especially about the parts where you can choose 2 or more different things (textures, overhauls, and managers). Either post here (within time reason of course) or send me a message. Hope this all helps

 

 

NOTE: KEEP IN MIND, THIS IS REALLY JUST BASIC STUFF AND NOT A TOTAL AND COMPLETE "GUIDE." THERE'S STILL A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT CAN'T REALLY BE STATED BECAUSE THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE YOUR CHOICE. I AM NOT IMPLYING OR STATING THAT THIS "GUIDE" IS THE ONLY WAY TO DO IT. THIS IS JUST TO HELP ANYONE WHO COMES ACROSS THIS AND IS LOOKING FOR ANOTHER WAY TO MOD SKYRIM OTHER THAN USING STEP, GEMS, OR ANY OTHER GUIDE THAT JUST ISN'T DOING IT FOR THEM. I am not responsible if any of this is game breaking. I have been blamed before because of someone else's stupid mistakes and not paying attention. So don't bash on my advice. If it doesn't work for you then I'm sorry. Find another way, as my modding advice and suggestions are not the only way. Also, I am always glad to help but will not respond to rudeness. I understand frustration, irritation, and personal preferences or opinions. But I am not a doormat. Those are my conditions and my statement note. It's also what I put at the end of all my modding help posts. Please feel free to ask for help at any time

Edited February 20, 2015 by duffman9465

[n0mad23]

Above and beyone my expectations in your answer, duffman9465.

 

I'm totally appreciatve for this. I'll take your advice and begin to apply it post-haste.

 

Thank you kindly.

 

Edit:

 

Most of your suggestions I'd all ready downloaded manually and put on to an external hard drive in anticipation of modding on my new machine! Long story short - I've actually been waiting on my laptop (total fiasco not necessary to get into here) since early December so I've had ample time to look into many of the wonderful possibilities that modding offers. I've also spent quite a bit of time looking at the multitude of videos up on Youtube showcasing mods and many on mod installation.

 

The first on my list of things I wanted to do was try an ENB, however after actually playing for a few hours now with my vanilla install, I'm not convinced it's necessary. I'm quite blown away by how nice it looks with ultrahigh graphic settings all ready. I'm guessing that upgrading to actual hi-rez textures will be enough for me (but you never know, I might change my mind about this).

 

I've been wrestling whether to use Nexus Mod Manager (most of the videos I've followed have used this tool) or Mod Manager and it seems you and most others are now recommending the latter.

 

Is it possible for me to import my manually downloaded mods into Mod Manager similarly to how Nexus M.M. does this? It's really not a big deal, though I'm limited to a pretty crappy DSL for downloads and I can always download the mods again. Still, it'd be pretty disappointing to think that those 25 gigs of mods I've got waiting on my Ext. HD were downloaded for naught.

 

Again - Big thanks for your response here. It's proving to be most useful.

Edited February 20, 2015 by n0mad23

[duffman9465]

Of course. You are very welcome. There was one mod that I forgot to mention. Since you have Hearthfires, you'll need to get the Breezehome HF CTD fix. Without it, your game will crash every time you try to enter Breezehome. For some reason Hearthfires has a bug that makes the game crash in just that area.

 

In response to your edit:

 

MO has an option on the top left corner to install a mod to Skyrim. You can choose what mod can be installed from there. Just to make things a little more clarifying on what the true difference is between NMM and MO, MO doesn't directly install mods to your Skyrim folder. It creates a pseudo in it's own folder (wherever you have MO installed. that's where it will install the mods). NMM installs mods directly into the Skyrim folder. Each manager pretty much has the same basic functions and abilities while having their differences. So in short, MO will pick up on the mods you have installed in your Skyrim folder and run them while also running the mods you installed using MO (more complicated: MO runs both the Skyrim folder and it's pseudo folder at the same time when you play the game). If you downloaded the mods already them you have the files and can install them with the manager. You're never limited to just one way of downloading a mod. You can either download it separate from the manager, or you can download a mod with the manager. It's simpler to download with a manager in most cases and sometimes faster. But hey, welcome to the slow internet club haha nothing beats getting 1.2Mb/s capped speeds right? But since you have all of your preferred mods on an external hard drive, you should be fine to use them. Just connect your ext. disk and install. I would recommend though, copying your mods onto your computer though. That way you have a back up of everything and won't be pulling your hair out if you need to reinstall, something breaks, or accidentally gets deleted.

 

 

Also, if you choose not to go with any graphical textures, that's fine. You may give into the temptation in the future though. ENB's can be very intimidating and difficult, but it's nothing you can't handle. Half of it is just simple INI tweaking so that you can get it just right for your system. It's not too much tweaking either. So whichever way you decide to go is just fine. But keep in mind, if you choose to go with textures like Skyrim HD 2k, you have a larger chance of running into issues because of the file load and scripts that the game has to keep track of and run. So choose wisely

Edited February 21, 2015 by duffman9465

[mellophonist]

Sorry in advance if you know some of this I copy paste this to new modders >_<

"Is it possible for me to import my manually downloaded mods into Mod Manager similarly to how Nexus M.M. does this? It's really not a big deal, though I'm limited to a pretty crappy DSL for downloads and I can always download the mods again. Still, it'd be pretty disappointing to think that those 25 gigs of mods I've got waiting on my Ext. HD were downloaded for naught."

This is actually really easy all you'll need to do is transfer your saves folder located in your documents section and move it over to the same folder when you DL Skyrim on your new system. I go more into this below.

Before I get started on mod stability, as much as it would suck to lose a character so far along I would recommend doing a new character (adding mods to your current playthrough can be done but I'll explain why its better to start over)

Most of the better mods in my opinion are better when you use new saves like alternate start-live another life. This mod completely breathes new life into Skyrim because it lets you choose where you want to start your new playthrough, want to start of with a house? you can do that, wanna be a bandit? you can do that too. I've had this mod since it came out and I still haven't done all the possible starts. Another that I've been using is Perkus Maximus which completely overhauls combat, leveled lists, difficulty and most importantly Perks. It completely changes all the perks for the better and adds so much more like bow variants (longbow vs. crossbows vs. short bow) the one handed tree has like 5 different branches and that's just two of the trees. Anyway on to the load order tutorial!

Modding is a very finicky and hands on hobby. You really have to gain a knowledge of what works and what doesn't by trial and error.

I started a new play though recently after taking a break from inquisition and I'm currently at 176 plugins and a handful of loose files like texture files that were to small to get into my NMM page. I have that many mods and all my render distances are set at ultra, I've also tweaked shadow and ugrid settings in my .ini plus an ENB and I still get 60 fps and occasionally drop in some problem areas. (Falkreath forest for example)

Before I get started on app's, the number one most people skip and causes most CTD's is a very simple step, reading the mod description page. This may sound trivial but when your trying to go into 100's+ load order reading the compatibility section of mods is ESSENTIAL. This can save you a lot of headaches when modding by knowing ahead of time that your gonna have a problem. Every modder should get into the habit of doing this even if you have a small load order. If there are incompatibilities in some mods you use try doing a little research on Google sometimes people do compatibility patches even for some silly mods, one example I had on this play though I'm using ELFX as my lighting mod and I also use Immersive towns and settlements which drastically changes interior cells of all towns and settlements and even adds new buildings. This caused a problem since ELFX uses the default light sources but those were moved and by doing just a quick search I found that someone had the same problem and they made a patch that not only fixed the problem but added ELFX to the new buildings!

With that lecture out of the way :wink: Now you need to know all the small tricks that make such large load orders stable such as cleaning your master files in TES5Edit (Look up Gopher's video on this in YouTube)(Most mod authors have cleaned all their files by know from what I've noticed so you don't have to worry about those) This one tweak dramatically increases stability but this is just one step I use. You should also use WyreBash even if you use NMM due to fact that the later can create "bashed patches" that consolidate some mods to help them play better together. Next you should you use LOOT, its an updated version BOSS that is significantly better at sorting your load order which is probably the number one cause of most peoples CTD's. That's just a brief description of the three major tools you'll need, now if your using stuff like Auto variants, dual sheath redux, or Skyre/PerMa that gets into reproccer and that's a whole 'nother skeevers nest :tongue: If you want me to cover it just let me know.

Now this doesn't even take into consideration the fact that everyone's computer rigs are different but that shouldn't really matter I have a way out of date rig 660 geforce 16 gigs of RAM and a six core AMD and I can do what I described above relatively easily with the right knowledge.

Edited February 25, 2015 by mellophonist

[Rev11]

Please please do not install 100+ mods to find out you broke the game...

 

Install in small patches of like 5 and make sure your game still runs smooth before insalling more. It will save you much time.

 

Texture mods may be an exception and i highly recommend mod organizer as well.

[n0mad23]

Thanks Gang!

 

I've gone ahead with Mod Organizer and have been taking my time in doing so. I'm one of those that actually reads all mod descriptions (on mod page and every txt file in the packages, too) so the advice you're presenting is most useful.

 

So far I've cleaned all .esm files that have required it and installed all unofficial patches with the DLCs I've purchased and am running LOOT with every install. TES5Edit and Wyre Bash are part of my MO setup now. I've got SKSE installed and am now launching the game with that program as the front end. SkyUI is installed and working too.

 

With these things working as they're supposed to I've installed Simply Bigger Trees (I've been bothered by how Skyrim looks like clear cut logging happened across the last within 10 to 15 years before the game) and while the conifer needles look a bit large, I'm finding the old-growth forest vibe to be exactly what I've been missing. Wish there was a texture fix, but oh well.

 

I've also got Footprints (both snow and ash) installed and running (leading to that moment of wondering why Betheseda didn't do this themselves) and I've got Convenient Horses installed and working.

 

I've been going into Skyrim and playing for 20 minutes to 40 minutes after each successful MO mod installation to make sure everything is still working. My level 50+ character is what I'm testing with, and so far no problems at all.

 

So far I'm delighted at how well things are going, and at how great so much of the documentation for modding is.

 

I'm really feeling like I need to install ENBoost next and taking advantage of the video card I've got (GTX 970 M with 6 gigs of VRAM) then I can turn my attention to pushing the graphics to where they deserve to be. I suspect this is going to be as challenging and DREADFUL (original use of word here) as I've suspected based on the numerous forum posts I've read.

 

Thanks again for your thoughts and suggestions. I'm really grateful that this community is so helpful to us noobs.

 

Cheers.

Edited February 25, 2015 by n0mad23

[BlackRoseOfThorns]

With these things working as they're supposed to I've installed Simply Bigger Trees (I've been bothered by how Skyrim looks like clear cut logging happened across the last within 10 to 15 years before the game) and while the conifer needles look a bit large, I'm finding the old-growth forest vibe to be exactly what I've been missing. Wish there was a texture fix, but oh well.

 

The needles/branch texture is being upscaled on larger tree mesh and that's why it looks blurry. You can try installing higher resolution texture, but it will have impact on game performance. Check Trees HD and Tamriel Reloaded HD / Tamriel Reloaded Flora optional files.

 

 

I've also got Footprints (both snow and ash) installed and running (leading to that moment of wondering why Betheseda didn't do this themselves) and I've got Convenient Horses installed and working.

 

Skyrim was originally designed for previous generation consoles (xbox360), which couldn't handle better graphics or more processes running in the background. Also creation of most of the gameplay mods was possible thanks to SKSE (Skyrim Script Extender), which was developed at later date by independent party.

 

 

I'm really feeling like I need to install ENBoost next and taking advantage of the video card I've got (GTX 970 M with 6 gigs of VRAM) then I can turn my attention to pushing the graphics to where they deserve to be. I suspect this is going to be as challenging and DREADFUL (original use of word here) as I've suspected based on the numerous forum posts I've read.

 

With your gpu you should be able to run some light enb preset (0.192 binary and newer already incorporate enboost). Be sure to install injector version to avoid issues with Optimus. I used to run Z ENB preset on my laptop.

[mellophonist]

Try out Project ENB if your wanting to test one out, it has 3 presets and is by far the most widely accepted as a overall good ENB. If your wanting to get a little risky and adventurous I recommend Insomnia ENB its an acquired taste but it makes Skyrim look like your watching it as a movie! Anyway glad everything's working out so far don't hesitate to message back there's always someone on to help you out!

[duffman9465]

Project ENB is a good one. TrueVision ENB is another great one too. You can try your hand at RealVision ENB if you'd like. But you'd have to do more tweaking yourself than I think it's worth. But if you want to put the work into it then I say have at it!