HELP! Comprehensive & compatible (immersive) mod list?

[LaurenceG]

Hello friendly people of Nexus Forums,

Firstly, after a quick search, I found several similar threads to the one I'm creating, but none that really helped me answer my question, so sorry in advance if you are bored of reading threads like this (please ignore and carry on your angry troll hunting ways)! So to the point, I'm new to modding (well technically back from a break of about 10 years or so since I was a kid playing SS2 and morrowind - great games) so I really just wanted some help. Does anyone have a super-awesome, mind-blowingly comprehensive, immersive and (perhaps most importantly) completely compatible list of mods available through Nexus Mod Manager? Where I think this thread slightly differs from others is exactly what I consider important in a 'good mod'.

To quickly give you a run down, I downloaded NMM (WAY better than the steam workshop IMO) and started installing soooo many fantastic looking mods. I got a little addicted if I'm honest. Eventually I started running into "this mod requires this mod and this", "this mod requires this patch if also running", "this mod may have some conflicts with", etc, etc. Now don't get me wrong the NMM is VERY good at clearly displaying what mods you have, what versions are installed and even the load order, so I have no real excuse other than my own stupidity and eagerness to play for what happened next... After starting a new game I somehow ended up in the prisoner cart... upside down... several thousand feet above Skyrim... Initially I thought this was FANTASTIC. After another attempt to start a new game I soon changed my mind. I was standing outside the cart looking at a shovel, unable to move or advance in anyway. It wasn't even a nice high definition shovel. Removing a few mods I didn't mind losing or suspected were not functioning properly did nothing. The mods I had quickly tested out on other saves combined in a new game to destroy the very laws of time and space I sought so hard to advance and define in breathtakingly beautiful HD.

 

Long story short - I am currently rushed off my feet at work and have about 60-80 minutes each evening to relax at my computer before the responsibilities of adulthood call me away. At this rate it will take me weeks to create the Skyrim experience I am looking for and I know damn well that there are hundreds of hard working unemployed people (sure they exist!) who have already found the mod experience I am looking for. I'm just hoping one of them is willing to share it with me... Please? :blush:

 

The 'good mods' I already have are: SKSE, SkyUI, Immersive Armours, Weapons & Creatures (the 3 separate mods) as well as all the "Unofficial [base game or DLC] Patch" (+ all the official DLC of course).

The 'good mods' I really like the look of include, but are not restricted to: More Dynamic Snow, Footprints in snow, Cloaks of Skyrim, Craftable Crossbows and Bolts, Run for your lives, Stones and priests mask quest markers, unread books glow, when vampires attack, bandolier, HD fire effects, better embers, dynamic fires, etc. I could be here ALL DAY. But you can see they are often on their own quite insignificant mods that together help create a MUCH more varied, but lore friendly, immersive experience. I would also like things that work well with content adders such as Helgen Reborn, Falskaar and Wyrmstooth.

 

I was HUGELY impressed with things like Climates of Tamriel and Sounds of Skyrim, but there was some confusion over what file I needed to download, including which patches were needed for which versions of this and that. I also tried Pure waters with Pure weather which I liked a lot until I noticed at night the moonlight shines off the river rocks so brightly they look like Nirnroot and even during the day they didn't quite look right. In fact I struggled to find a really good combination of water/terrain/weather/sound enhancers that really worked well together! My PC is not vastly powerful but I can play the original game on maxed out settings well enough so some lovely visual mods wouldn't be turned down (perhaps not VERY taxing ones though).

 

Finally I am of course keen to try big game changers like frostfall, hunter, realistic needs, etc and am completely open to mod lists that include these things provided I can turn them off without breaking the mod lists feel (or literally breaking it so it no longer runs :pirate:). As it is my first play through in about two years I might want to stick to a more diversified and beautified vanilla experience (if that makes sense to you). Don't get me wrong I WILL try these mods in good time (maybe once I've done my favourite vanilla quests/story lines with all these extra shiny items and weather systems and want to try something different for the rest of my play through, or maybe for a completely new play through?).

I know this comes across as me being supremely lazy and not willing to put in the hard graft researching what makes the best combination of mods, but like I said, I'm working basically 7:30am to 6:30pm some days and would really like some lovely Nexus Forum member to save me loads of time so I can get to enjoying the game rather than pulling my hair out over it. I will of course try my best to return the favour if it is ever required :ninja:. So, anyone have an up to date and compatible list of NMM friendly mods they think fits this bill?

Yours truly (and forever if you help me),

Laurence :ohmy:

[Jupiter0026]

My mods:

 

Audio Overhaul 2

Better Dialogue Controls

Better MessageBox Controls

Enhanced Blood Textures

Enhanced Night Skyrim

Ethereal Clouds

High Definition Ivy

Hold Border Banners

Immersive Armors

Immersive Weapons

Point the Way

RaceMenu

Rainbows

Shooting Stars

SKSE Scripts

SkyFalls & SkyMills

Skyrim Better Roads

Skyrim Immersive Creatures

SkyUI

SMIM

Ultimate HD Fire Effects (Thanks for that one!)

Unique Flowers and Plants

Unique Grasses and Groundcovers

Unofficial Patches

VioLens

W.A.T.E.R

Wet and Cold

 

I don't have a single compatibility patch and everything works fine. Then again, I mostly have only visual and minor gameplay tweak mods. I don't have any overhauls or anything.

[LoneWolfEburg]

Interesting NPC's, aka 3dnpc is very (and deservingly) popular.

 

This initial carriage scene is quite buggy. If you don't want to go with it each time you start the game, try alternate start mods.

[Jupiter0026]

Interesting NPC's, aka 3dnpc is very (and deservingly) popular.

 

This initial carriage scene is quite buggy. If you don't want to go with it each time you start the game, try alternate start mods.

It's especially bad if you play above 60 Hz. Bethesda did a really bad job with their game clock. Physics bug the hell out.

[LaurenceG]

Thanks for feedback guys. I was just putting together a decent, stable game then a power cut broke NMM... :laugh: love my luck! Probably have to reinstall NMM and Skyrim and start from scratch (10-12 hours on my download speeds) hahahahahahaaaaa :cool: if I wasn't laughing I'd be crying :blush: