LeddBate
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Posts posted by LeddBate
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We're looking into this issue. In the meantime, can you please tell us your browser versions? We recently renewed our HTTPS certificate and maybe older browsers still need to update the certificate database to the latest version.
Thanks for getting back to me. I use Firefox (currently 40.0.3) with the "No-Script" plug-in. However, I've told No-Script to not block anything from Nexusmods.com (I've had No-Script since long before my first Premium sign-up.)
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I see that your Skyrim version is ancient. The current build is 1.9.32.0.8 Have you checked your Steam to make sure that your "updates" are enabled? If not, then get that done and go ahead and update your Skyrim. Assuming that your SKSE installation is correct, that should solve your issue.
To enable (or check on) updating for Skyrim in Steam: Go to your Steam library and right-click on Skyrim. Click on "Properties". Click on the "Updates" tab. In the drop-down menu under "Automatic Updates" select "Always keep this game up to date". Now you will note that all the other choices seem to indicate that they will update Skyrim also. However, the "Only update this game when I launch it" option won't always update your game for a variety of reasons too numerous to go into here. So, enable the first choice, then restart Steam. As long as you have internet access at that time, Steam should start updating Skyrim.
Remember that to launch Skyrim from your SKSE shortcut, your Steam account must be up (whether in online or offline mode) as Skyrim uses Steam as its DRM.
Also, when you click your SKSE shortcut, you should NOT be sent to the launch menu. SKSE will load it's parameters and then launch Skyrim. The only way to get to the launch menu is to use one of the other shortcuts you mentioned, which means that SKSE will NOT have loaded. Which means that mods that need SKSE will either not work, will work incorrectly or cause CTDs.
Thus, the only reason to use any of the non-SKSE launch buttons is to get to the launch menu for the purpose of changing any graphics settings you want to tweak. You would then exit out of the launch menu and re-launch with the SKSE shortcut.
So, if the SKSE shortcut is causing the Skyrim launch menu to come up, there's probably a problem with your SKSE installation. One possibility is that your SKSE shortcut is simply sending you to your TESV.exe file. Have you watched the following video? If not, view it to see if you spot something you didn't do during your installation of SKSE.
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It's the weekend, hopefully someone will get back to us by Monday evening. I really want to become a premium member again.
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The following is actually a troubleshooting guide for people having CTD issues, but it might help you:
1) Do you have SKSE (SKyrim Script Extender) installed? If not, that's a major problem right there. Many mods require it for stability. Get it at: http://skse.silverlock.org/ Be sure to watch the linked video for explanation of what it does and how to install it.
2) You should have the Unofficial Skyrim patch as well as the unofficial patches for all DLC's you have. If you don't have them, that's a likely cause for crashing randomly. So get them at:
3) More mods that will help stabilize your game:
Stable uGridsToLoad Do NOT adjust the settings. Just use the default settings to help stabilize the loading of your cells (the areas your character can see from his vantage point.)
LOOT This utility will help you sort your load order for better performance. It will also tell you which mods have dirty edits, which you can clean with:
TES5EDIT The best utility for "cleaning up" the code in mods. WARNING: Some mods have "dirty" edits ON PURPOSE. Cleaning these edits can break the mod (and your save.) Read each mod thoroughly to see if they have any intentional dirty edits. If not, clean 'em up!
Skyrim Project Stability This isn't a mod but rather a complete guide to stabilizing your game and cleaning up your saves. It's a lot of reading, but this project is what helped transform my buggy game (that crashed every 3 to 5 minutes) into a smooth experience (with improved visuals) that hardly ever crashes. (Maybe once every 5 hours or so at worst.)
4) Troubleshooting.
After getting the above mods, LOOTing your load order and cleaning up your mods, you might still be experiencing crashes.
In your Nexus Mod Manager (you are using NMM, yes?) -click on the "Plugins" tab. You will now see your mod's plugins listed with a checkbox next to each one. Uncheck each one EXCEPT FOR THE FOLLOWING: Skyrim.esm, Update.esm, Unofficial Skyrim Patch.esp, Dawnguard.esm, Unofficial Dawnguard Patch.esp, Dragonborn.esm, Unofficial Dragonborn Patch.esp, Hearthfires.esm, Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.esp, SkyUI.esp.
Now restart your game. If you can play for (what seems to you) a reasonable amount of time without crashing, then you can rule out game settings as a problem. (See below for more on settings.)
Quit out of the game. Go back into NMM and choose one plugin and recheck mark it. Restart your game. Do you crash? Bingo! You just found at least one mod that is giving you a problem. Go to the Mod's page and carefully read it to see what it might be having a problem with. Chances are that you won't crash with the first couple of mods your re-enable. Most likely you will crash when two (or more) mods conflict. This is a tedious way to troubleshoot, true. But it will definitely help you pin-point mod conflicts. This is also why you should resist the urge to activate new mods you've downloaded in groups. Instead, install and activate just ONE mod at first. If you crash, well, you just saved yourself having to look through multiple mods trying to see which one(s) are causing you to crash.
Once you've figured out which mods won't work, check their pages to see WHY they won't work. It will usually (but not always) be a conflict with another mod. There may be a patch available to fix the conflict. Maybe the mod is modular and you simply need to re-install with some parts of the mod omitted to prevent a conflict. Read, read, READ the descriptions of each mod and save yourself guesswork.
Game Settings.
Since you didn't include your rig's info (especially what GPU you have) I don't know if you're pushing your system too hard. Skyrim may be over three years old, but it's still a pretty demanding game. If all of the above does not stop you from crashing, go into your options and turn settings down a notch (or two) and restart. See if that gives you more stability.
NOTE: If you are using SKSE (and you should be from now on) -you cannot get into your settings from the SKSE shortcut. instead, either start your game from your TESV.exe Or using the "Launch Skyrim" button in NMM. Either way, click on "Options", adjust your settings down a bit, then try restarting through SKSE again.
Now if the above troubleshooting actually solved all your crashing issues, and your GPU is rather beefy (2GB of GDDR5 memory or better) you might want to try turning up the settings a bit to make the game look better. Try just a few notches on a few settings then test the game. If it's still stable, try bumping up your settings a bit more.
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I wanted to become a premium member (again) and ran into the following warning:
So, should I ignore this? Or is there currently a security issue with the server handling premium sign-up? (I'd like the answer to be from a moderator or someone at Black Tree Gaming please.)
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$1,500 will get you a nice gaming (and general purpose) rig. See my post here for advice on a rig. Such a rig (with a GTX 980 as your GPU) will run you about $1,200 -so you've got a bit left over for further upgrades/extras.
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Yeah, Boombro is right. I'm afraid that (what little we know of) your current rig is a bit substandard for running today's games at even medium graphics detail.
Typically, you will see people "buy new / upgrade" in tick-tock cycles. That is, you buy (or assemble) a new rig. Then, two or three years down the road, you get a more powerful GPU, perhaps up the RAM amount and maybe even get a bigger and/or faster HDD (Whoops! Guess I just showed my age there. Everyone "knows" these days that an SSD is the way to go. HDDs are simply for bulk storage.) Then, two or three years later you get a new rig. (And, presumably, hand your old computer over to Aunt peg who is worried that she is going to blow up her current computer by playing too much Minesweeper.)
In the previous decade, I encouraged people to study up on putting together a rig and then order the parts from the various online retailers (Newegg, Tigerdirect, etc.) But nowadays I recommend that you buy a rig from one of the big-box stores (Best Buy, Tigerdirect, etc.) that is equipped closest to what you want and then see if you can swap in a few changes at their service desk (i.e. better GPU, more RAM, etc.) The reason why I advise going this route is that instead of individual warranties on each part, you get a basic service agreement on the whole rig (usually including the parts that you upgraded at the store) so that you can just bring in the whole rig to their service desk when something gets bollixed.
On a more specifically helpful note, here are the minimum recommended specs you should look for in a rig to run today's games at medium graphic settings or better and with a FPS of at least 45. (Note: I list the components below as if I were building a rig from separate parts, but this is simply to give you an idea of what to look for when you examine rigs at the various computer stores.)
MOBO: Should have USB 3. support as this has now become industry standard. It should have at least two lanes for video cards available in case you ever want to get a 2nd GPU as your "tick" upgrade. Whether you go AMD or Intel is up to you. Intel will (generally) offer you better performance (at a higher price, of course) while AMD's platforms can offer you some great "bang-for-your-buck" prices. Remember that choosing your motherboard locks you into whether you are going to use an AMD or Intel processor but NOT (usually) which video card(s) you want to use.
CPU: These days, 3.6GHz is the minimum you should get. 3.4GHz is (somewhat) acceptable, but expect your CPU to become your bottleneck. If you want to play it safe, consider replacing the default CPU air-cooler with a closed-loop water cooler -especially if you ever want to consider / risk overclocking.
RAM: 8GB is the standard these days. Lots of people (both users and the industry) argue a lot about how much a difference "faster" RAM makes, but some testing by the Maximum PC magazine techs surprisingly indicated that this is a much smaller factor than the AMOUNT of RAM you have. You can get by with 4GB, but expect THAT to become your data bottleneck in the very near future.
GPU: 4GB of GDDR5 memory buffer is now the recommended minimum. My current video card (Nvidia GTX 670) has only a 2GB buffer and I can tell you that I am starting to experience issues with running out of memory with newer games (and all the mods I love to slap on them.)
SSD: Solid state drive prices have now fallen to the point that they are a MUCH better choice than an the old hard drive tech. But, since many of us require bulk storage, I recommend getting a SSD in the 750GB range then getting a 2 or 3TB HDD for bulk storage. Put your OS, important programs and games on the SDD and store all your bulk files on the HDD.
Optical Drive: Unless you want to burn YouTube or personal videos to disc (so Aunt Peg can watch them on her old DVD player) -an optical drive really isn't needed these days. However, if you have a huge DVD collection that you would like to watch on your PC from time-to-time, then go ahead and get a nice CD/DVD/Blu-ray combo player/burner. Even the most elaborate ones won't run you much over $30. Seriously, you can almost get them free in a box of cereal.
PSU: Perhaps the most overlooked component in a PC build. Power supplies are very important if you want a stable rig. A bad PSU can cause you CTDs if the voltage is unstable. I once had a cheap one actually burnout on me (with a scary "POP" sound.) Luckily, it didn't send a surge through my components when it did, but it could have. Get yourself a PSU that is rated "80+" or better. Preferably with a "bronze" rating or better. Interestingly, one easy way to tell if a PSU is of quality build is to pick it up. A good PSU will be rather hefty while a cheap one will be light in weight. As to what wattage to get, simply look up what the components in your new (future) rig require, add them together and add on a good 200 watts minimum for operating head-room. Generally speaking, assuming average components (as described above) with your GPU being in the range of 150 to 200 watts or so (at peak power usage), I would recommend a minimum of a 550 watt PSU. 750 watts would be better if you're thinking of adding a 2nd GPU sometime later. Anything over 850 watts is overkill unless you're custom building a top-of-the-line rig. Note: Most PSUs have a "single" rail (that provides the voltage) as opposed to ones with multiple rails. There are no real world differences in which you use (unless you're custom building a very complicated rig) so just stick with the single rail models.
Extras:
1) Back in the old days (good grief, do I sound old or what?) I recommended getting a case that had a HDD "dock" built into the top of it. You could simply click a spare HDD into the dock and do a back-up of your data, then set the drive in a safe location for use if your rig ever went belly-up. Between cloud storage and VERY fast (and very spacious) USB sticks, this is no longer really needed. Instead, get a cloud account set up and do regular back-ups with both that and USB memory sticks.
2) Install extra fans in your case (unless you already have a plethora of them) as heat is a major enemy of your components. Removable dust shields in front of the fans are a major plus. On a related note: get a can of compressed air and periodically blow out the dust from the inside of your rig. Dust, pet hairs, etc. are the number one killer of PC components.
3) Secure your WiFi! If you have a WiFi modem connection (and use WiFi through your house) turn on the password and encryption. Otherwise, nearby homes might piggy-back on your WiFi. Do you really want to pay for your neighbors internet? Also, unencrypted WiFi is a security risk.
TL,DR: Go to big box store and grab a PC that is close in performance to what you want/need. Make sure that your primary drive is a SSD. Ask about component upgrades (more RAM, better GPU) and whether they will be covered by the rig's warranty if you buy / install them there at their store. Get a cloud account and back-up regularly. Secure your WiFi.
Hope this helps you.
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Not only do we have a procedure for reporting these illegal ads and getting them removed, ( see Drake's post) We also have a way to never see another ad - ever on a Nexus site. For a one time donation of about US$2 (based on current exchange rate) you can become a supporter. (That is less than a Grande (mid sized) cup of coffee at Starbucks :rolleyes: ) And never see another ad. A portion of that is to offset the lost revenue from you not having to look at ads. But wait, there's MORE! (Does this sound like Billy Mays? :tongue: ) you also get unlimited access to the supporter image share, AND an enlarged Private message box.
Yes, this is an ad, but it is an ad to end ads. Do you know of any other site anywhere that does this? :dance:
Direct link: http://www.nexusmods.com/games/users/supporter/?
snip (or maybe I should have said "sip") :laugh:
I had completely forgotten about this. I've been fiddling with my browser and A/V controls, trying to figure out why I couldn't see ads on the Nexus.
'Doh! Okay, time to go get myself another premium membership to show my support.
Nonetheless, bben46 is so very correct. I can't think of another site that gives you such a great deal on "no ads anymore" than the Nexus.
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I am going to presume that you've already added standard "improvement" mods (e.g. Unofficial patch(es), SkyUI, SKSE, etc.) Also, I'm going to skip "immersion" mods (Sounds of Skyrim, Interesting NPCs, Inconsequential NPCs, etc.) But if you WANT a list of these type of mods, I will happily list what I use.
So that leaves:
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I answered this in your other thread here.
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I have to agree with the bulk of the commenters above. You really need 4GB of memory buffer in your GPU these days. That said, the GTX 970 is well within your stated budget (current street at $349 give-or-take a little depending on your area.) And you can probably find it on sale at one of the major online suppliers at nearly any given time.
Now you may have heard about Nvidia's little PR problem with the 970 concerning the fact that it's 4GB of speedy mem is actually only 3.5GB and that the remaining 512MB is a lower speed. And that's true. You can read some details here. But the lower speed memory buffer doesn't kick in until the 3.5GB of speedier mem is filled up. And even then the performance hit is minimal. See the chart in the article I linked. So I still think the 970 is worthwhile at the price point.
However, the new 980Ti just hit the market. And the next-gen of cards is just around the corner. So if you can hold off for a few months, I believe you will see the GTX980 fall down to within your budget. Of course, if you can find a bit of extra scratch, that 980Ti is pure awesome sauce. It's like having a mini-me GTX Titan.
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get ENBOOST , random crashes are often caused by lack of memory, it will help you a lot
True, that.
Also, I forgot Safety Load. Another good one.
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You're welcome. You will find that the vast majority of people here will gladly help you when you ask earnestly and politely (like you did.)
And, I don't see anything wrong with your English at all. But then, admittedly, we often see pleas for help like this:
HELP PLZ I DONT KNOW WTH IMM DONG BUT MAH GMA KEPS CRASHNG AND FREZNG AND I HAEVNT GOT A CLU3 WUT 2 DO SO H3LP M3 PLZ!!11 OMG LOL :facepalm:
So, yeah. Don't worry about your English. It's just fine.
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It's not just you. The amount of times I've built my "perfect" Skyrim and played it for a few hours and then thought I wonder if there's a mod for that?" and then done a complete rebuild and restart is unbelievable.Does anyone else find it hard to even finish a play through because they keep discovering more mods they just have to have, or is this just me?!? :D
Damn mod authors being so good!
lol. Me too! My first playthrough was simply with most of the "top 100" mods here at the Nexus. Most of them to increase immersion (Sounds of Skyrim, etc.) But my 2nd playthrough got loaded up with tons of mods. I'm up to 224 now. Getting close to the max limit. (Unless I start merging mods. Yuch. I don't want to deal with that.)
Concerning the topic: If you console to get your character out of "stuck" situation due to a bug/glitch in the game, that's definitely not cheating. If you console because you're bored and/or in a hurry, that's cheating, -but it's only bad if you feel like you've let yourself down later. As to mods that alter the game mechanics... -Oof, that's a bit of a gray area to me. By way of example, I'm now in my 4th playthrough. I installed the Leveler's Tower mod and went in and pumped up certain skills for my character right after I got out of Helgen. I didn't do this to "cheat" but rather because I had a specific plan to role-play this playthrough and I wanted my character to "start off" at lvl 15. This didn't feel like cheating to me since I planned it in advance. I'm having a blast on this playthrough as a result. Now other mods that alter specific mechanics in the game, by way of example: Bandoliers, Bags and Pouches -may be considered cheating, but I rationalized this mod by way of the old D&D "Bags of Holding". I guess it really comes down to how you feel about cheating and what you consider "cheating" to be. Cheating in a multi-player game is, obviously, wrong. Because your cheating gets you an unfair advantage over another player. But cheating in a single-player game really comes down to "Did I WANT to do this? Am I satisfied with the results?"
@ Daiyus: You work on "Beyond Skyrim"? That's awesome! I am so looking forward to that project's completion.
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1) Do you have SKSE (SKyrim Script Extender) installed? If not, that's a major problem right there. Many mods require it for stability. Get it at: http://skse.silverlock.org/ Be sure to watch the linked video for explanation of what it does and how to install it.
2) I see you have all the DLC (Dragonborn, Dawnguard, Hearthguard) so missing assets for mods shouldn't be a problem. However, some mods specify that they are ONLY for vanilla Skyrim. Check your mod descriptions and see if that is the case for any of them. On a related note, I see that you have the Unofficial Skyrim patch (which is good) but I don't see the entries for the Unofficial patches for the DLCs. If you don't have them, that's a likely cause for crashing randomly. So get them at:
3) More mods that will help stabilize your game:
Stable uGridsToLoad Do NOT adjust the settings. Just use the default settings to help stabilize the loading of your cells (the areas your character can see from his vantage point.)
LOOT This utility will help you sort your load order for better performance. It will also tell you which mods have dirty edits, which you can clean with:
TES5EDIT The best utility for "cleaning up" the code in mods. WARNING: Some mods have "dirty" edits ON PURPOSE. Cleaning these edits can break the mod (and your save.) Read each mod thoroughly to see if they have any intentional dirty edits. If not, clean 'em up!
Skyrim Project Stability This isn't a mod but rather a complete guide to stabilizing your game and cleaning up your saves. It's a lot of reading, but this project is what helped transform my buggy game (that crashed every 3 to 5 minutes) into a smooth experience (with improved visuals) that hardly ever crashes. (Maybe once every 5 hours or so at worst.)
4) Troubleshooting.
After getting the above mods, LOOTing your load order and cleaning up your mods, you might still be experiencing crashes.
In your Nexus Mod Manager (you are using NMM, yes?) -click on the "Plugins" tab. You will now see your mod's plugins listed with a checkbox next to each one. Uncheck each one EXCEPT FOR THE FOLLOWING: Skyrim.esm, Update.esm, Unofficial Skyrim Patch.esp, Dawnguard.esm, Unofficial Dawnguard Patch.esp, Dragonborn.esm, Unofficial Dragonborn Patch.esp, Hearthfires.esm, Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.esp, SkyUI.esp.
Now restart your game. If you can play for (what seems to you) a reasonable amount of time without crashing, then you can rule out game settings as a problem. (See below for more on settings.)
Quit out of the game. Go back into NMM and choose one plugin and recheck mark it. Restart your game. Do you crash? Bingo! You just found at least one mod that is giving you a problem. Go to the Mod's page and carefully read it to see what it might be having a problem with. Chances are that you won't crash with the first couple of mods your re-enable. Most likely you will crash when two (or more) mods conflict. This is a tedious way to troubleshoot, true. But it will definitely help you pin-point mod conflicts. This is also why you should resist the urge to activate new mods you've downloaded in groups. Instead, install and activate just ONE mod at first. If you crash, well, you just saved yourself having to look through multiple mods trying to see which one(s) are causing you to crash.
Once you've figured out which mods won't work, check their pages to see WHY they won't work. It will usually (but not always) be a conflict with another mod. There may be a patch available to fix the conflict. Maybe the mod is modular and you simply need to re-install with some parts of the mod omitted to prevent a conflict. Read, read, READ the descriptions of each mod and save yourself guesswork.
Game Settings.
Since you didn't include your rig's info (especially what GPU you have) I don't know if you're pushing your system too hard. Skyrim may be over three years old, but it's still a pretty demanding game. If all of the above does not stop you from crashing, go into your options and turn settings down a notch (or two) and restart. See if that gives you more stability.
NOTE: If you are using SKSE (and you should be from now on) -you cannot get into your settings from the SKSE shortcut. instead, either start your game from your TESV.exe Or using the "Launch Skyrim" button in NMM. Either way, click on "Options", adjust your settings down a bit, then try restarting through SKSE again.
Now if the above troubleshooting actually solved all your crashing issues, and your GPU is rather beefy (2GB of GDDR5 memory or better) you might want to try turning up the settings a bit to make the game look better. Try just a few notches on a few settings then test the game. If it's still stable, try bumping up your settings a bit more.
Edited for spelling.
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The evidence in Skyrim is that the shrines are similarly out of cities. It may be that Skyrim's policy is more 'they are ok as long as they aren't in plain sight of the masses' but even so. The Boethiah shrine might not be that hard to find if you are a typical dragonborn, checking out anything that looks interesting but merchants and normal travellers are the opposite. The roads are risky enough as they are.
Don't forget the whole "world/game scale" thing. That temple to Boethiah might look like it's less than a quarter of a mile away from Windhelm from our point of view, but in game scale that's probably (roughly) equal to five or more miles away. Given that it's pretty far up the mountain to boot, that is a heck of a long way from Windhelm. And likely not really visible (or even widely known.)
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The Underforge part is kinda, sorta corrupted by Hircine now, yes?
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I am personally always hesitant to base any evaluation on 'they can just add new information if they want'. While technically true, it's bad argumentation, shakey reasoning and rather bad writing.
And will make most of us throw our hands up and say, "Okay, you know what? Just forget it. Fallout 4 is almost here. At least that world makes sense to me..."
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Here's a few:
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/34497/?
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/23310/?
But if you really hate Nazeem (and let's be honest, who doesn't?) Why not try: No One Cares About Nazeem. I mean, you get to marry his wife and beat the crap out of him all while the town guards and citizens will simply stand around and smirk.
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Wow. Never expected this old thread to keep going so long. Eat that, Energizer Bunny...
Seriously though, -I've always considered Balgruuf a bit of a tragic figure. Not weak mind you, quite the opposite in fact. He is simply in the midst of a no-win situation where his honor and heritage are pulling him in opposite directions. His elderscrolls wikia (http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Balgruuf_the_Greater) pretty much lays bare the dilemma he faces. Balgruuf is also one of the primary reasons I chose to side with the Imperials. I simply cannot stand deposing him (or rather, helping to depose him) as Jarl of Whiterun. I don't have anything specific against Vignar Gray-mane (other than I think he's a bit too opportunistic) but I respect Balgruuf a helluva lot more than him. Like Balgruuf, I hate the Thalmor and I worship Talos. But I also believe that, like it or not (and I don't like it) the WG concordant must be obeyed (at least to the letter if not the full intent.)
Er, when I say "I" above, I mean my character, not me personally. Obviously.
Ironically, there are opportunities built right into the game for characters who "go Imperial" but still are enemies of the Thalmor and want to worship Talos. The whole party sequence at the Thalmor embassy (Diplomatic Immunity) as well as the side quest that leads you to an underground Talos worshipping sect -which is run, by all people, by a high-elf! (I should note here that I cannot find any mention of this side-quest in the wikia. Can't even remember what it was called. Unfortunately, I erased all the saves from my earlier character during a clean-up of my game. Might have been added by a mod.) Those and other quests let your character be imperial-allied, yet still allow you to worship Talos and "put one in the eye" of the Thalmor in general.
Someday I will "go Stormcloak" in another playthrough, just to experience it. But I feel certain my heart won't be in it.
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To the best of my knowledge (and anyone more knowledgeable, please don't hesitate to jump in and correct me) NMM requires .NET Framework 4.5.2 to operate properly on WIN 8/8.1.
If you already have .NET framework 4.5.2, then you might have a corruption issue. Using the Microsoft .NET Framework Repair Tool will often work when you cannot get the installation/re-installation of your .NET frameworks to work. Get it here: www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30135
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Skyrim just can't depict a county 1200 miles across and populated by half a million people. Not if you want your computer to survive the ordeal.Yep. Ten years ago you could not have had a game world as large as Skyrim (with anywhere even vaguely near the graphics.) Yes, yes, I know earlier TES games had even larger worlds, but they didn't have anywhere near the graphic immersion of Skyrim (or Oblivion for that matter.) Daggerfall, for example, relied a lot on randomly generated terrain in between the cities, towns and other "named" places.
I would wager that in ten more years we will have PCs capable of handling an open game world with the breadth and length of Daggerfall and even better graphics -probably with true 3D and voice synthesized responses by NPCs (instead of a limited number of prerecorded lines.) THEN we will see countries, cities and organizations much closer to the 1:1 level.
On topic: I was sad when Kodlak died. Glad I offed the Glamoril (spelling?) witches so that he could rest in peace. The companions are indeed a rough bunch. So whether you like them or not will be a purely personal decision. They certainly fit the "rough-and-ready" Nord image. As to whether to go all the way and get "hairy"... That's another personal decision. I'd rather not be a werewolf -but then it does make life interesting.
EDIT: If I do decide to become a werewolf -does it become mandatory that I have to chase Khajiit? I mean, it seems logical. I'm a dog, they're cats...
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...If mods count, I guess all Dragons look like Randy SavageCould be worse. They might all look like MLPs...
Sorry, sorry. I know... -off topic. I just couldn't resist.
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I realize this thread's a few months old, but it has good info that others should get a chance to see. Here's what I use:
Avast (free version.) If you do nothing more than game and casual browsing, the free version is all you need. However, I must confess that the paid version is reasonably priced. If you do a lot of online banking and purchasing, then you should consider it.
MalwareBytes AntiMalware aka "MBAM" (free version.) Good for scanning your system regularly with to see if anything "slipped past" Avast. Also good for troubleshooting if you get suspicious of your PC's performance. I don't really see any reason to upgrade to the paid version. Note that MBAM is an "on-demand" scanner only (in its free version) and will not monitor your PC or browser while you are surfing/downloading.
Microsoft Security Essentials (or Microsoft Defender, depending on your OS.) Does not conflict with Avast or Spybot Search & Destroy. Good 2nd-line of defense after Avast. This is the minimum defense your PC should have. If you don't at least have MSE, then you should not venture out onto the internet.
Spybot Search & Destroy (free version.) While Avast and MSE protect you while you surf from direct attacks attempting to execute on your system, SS&D looks for spyware and other types of malware attempting to slip in. Spybot's "Tea Timer" browser integration is a pretty good constant monitor against illicit activity attempting to execute from a website. WARNING: Although I love SS&D and still use it, the latest version does have a bug that has yet to be rectified. It turns on "Windows Explorer Integration" by default -which will cause your Windows Explorer to crash every time you right-click to bring up a context menu in Explorer. This is easily bypassed by turning off the integration in the options, but be sure to do so.
My preferred browser is:
Firefox (with "No-Script" add-on.) The No-Script add-on for Firefox will stop almost every flash and java-based attack for occurring. This, combined with Avast for vetting websites and SS&D's "Tea Timer" stopping other types of spyware/malware intrusions will give you good protection without impacting your system unduly.
Sudden FPS Drop Problem
in Skyrim LE
Posted
Well, your system is a bit dated, but is actually adequate given that Skyrim is a three and a half year old game. However, your GPU's memory buffer of only 1GB is a bit low when you start adding mods. Especially texture packs and the like.
Following is my generic "troubleshooting" guide. It is gleaned from several years of valuable advice from others here on the Nexus.
START PASTE
1) Do you have SKSE (SKyrim Script Extender) installed? If not, that's a major problem right there. Many mods require it for stability. Get it at: http://skse.silverlock.org/ Be sure to watch the linked video for explanation of what it does and how to install it.
2) You should have the Unofficial Skyrim patch as well as the unofficial patches for all DLC's you have. If you don't have them, that's a likely cause for crashing randomly. So get them at:
Unofficial Skyrim Patch
Unofficial Dragonborn Patch
Unofficial Dawnguard Patch
Unofficial Hearthfire Patch
3) More mods that will help stabilize your game:
Stable uGridsToLoad Do NOT adjust the settings. Just use the default settings to help stabilize the loading of your cells (the areas your character can see from his vantage point.)
LOOT This utility will help you sort your load order for better performance. It will also tell you which mods have dirty edits, which you can clean with:
TES5EDIT The best utility for "cleaning up" the code in mods. WARNING: Some mods have "dirty" edits ON PURPOSE. Cleaning these edits can break the mod (and your save.) Read each mod thoroughly to see if they have any intentional dirty edits. If not, clean 'em up!
Skyrim Project Stability This isn't a mod but rather a complete guide to stabilizing your game and cleaning up your saves. It's a lot of reading, but this project is what helped transform my buggy game (that crashed every 3 to 5 minutes) into a smooth experience (with improved visuals) that hardly ever crashes. (Maybe once every 5 hours or so at worst.)
4) Troubleshooting.
After getting the above mods, LOOTing your load order and cleaning up your mods, you might still be experiencing crashes.
In your Nexus Mod Manager (you are using NMM, yes?) -click on the "Plugins" tab. You will now see your mod's plugins listed with a checkbox next to each one. Uncheck each one EXCEPT FOR THE FOLLOWING: Skyrim.esm, Update.esm, Unofficial Skyrim Patch.esp, Dawnguard.esm, Unofficial Dawnguard Patch.esp, Dragonborn.esm, Unofficial Dragonborn Patch.esp, Hearthfires.esm, Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.esp, SkyUI.esp.
Now restart your game. If you can play for (what seems to you) a reasonable amount of time without crashing, then you can rule out game settings as a problem. (See below for more on settings.)
Quit out of the game. Go back into NMM and choose one plugin and recheck mark it. Restart your game. Do you crash? Bingo! You just found at least one mod that is giving you a problem. Go to the Mod's page and carefully read it to see what it might be having a problem with. Chances are that you won't crash with the first couple of mods your re-enable. Most likely you will crash when two (or more) mods conflict. This is a tedious way to troubleshoot, true. But it will definitely help you pin-point mod conflicts. This is also why you should resist the urge to activate new mods you've downloaded in groups. Instead, install and activate just ONE mod at first. If you crash, well, you just saved yourself having to look through multiple mods trying to see which one(s) are causing you to crash.
Once you've figured out which mods won't work, check their pages to see WHY they won't work. It will usually (but not always) be a conflict with another mod. There may be a patch available to fix the conflict. Maybe the mod is modular and you simply need to re-install with some parts of the mod omitted to prevent a conflict. Read, read, READ the descriptions of each mod and save yourself guesswork.
Game Settings.
Since you didn't include your rig's info (especially what GPU you have) I don't know if you're pushing your system too hard. Skyrim may be over three years old, but it's still a pretty demanding game. If all of the above does not stop you from crashing, go into your options and turn settings down a notch (or two) and restart. See if that gives you more stability.
NOTE: If you are using SKSE (and you should be from now on) -you cannot get into your settings from the SKSE shortcut. instead, either start your game from your TESV.exe Or using the "Launch Skyrim" button in NMM. Either way, click on "Options", adjust your settings down a bit, then try restarting through SKSE again.
Now if the above troubleshooting actually solved all your crashing issues, and your GPU is rather beefy (2GB of GDDR5 memory or better) you might want to try turning up the settings a bit to make the game look better. Try just a few notches on a few settings then test the game. If it's still stable, try bumping up your settings a bit more.
FINISH PASTE
Hope this helps you. One final note, you may be forced to start a new game if your saves have been corrupted by adding and deleting mods.