ncotham

@thibaux - I'm not familiar with "manual download standlone character files", but if these files are mods, then a mod manager is the way to go. That's what threw me starting off - I downloaded and unzipped some of the mods and then had no clue where to put the files. Two of the most commonly used mod managers are the Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) and Mod Organizer 2 (MO2). If you're new at this like you mentioned, and like I was early on, then I think mod managers are essential. I used Mod Organizer 2 because it seemed to be much more flexible when it comes to changing up your mod setup after the fact. I used predcaliber's youtube videos as a guide to install the Skyrim SEPTIM mods, and he explains Mod Manager 2, LOOT and SSEedit and how to install them in the first video of an 11 part series showing how to install the SEPTIM mods: If you continue watching the other videos in the series, you'll see how he uses MO2 to check and install mods as he goes along. I found this VERY helpful when it comes to installing mods. Hope this helps you, too.

Hold everything! Just installed SKSE64, made it accessible from MO2, and THAT made all the difference! Everything is MUCH better. I'm suddenly feeling not so jaded!

Well folks, I took the plunge. I installed SEPTIM on top of SSE using predcaliber's videos as a guide, and got some good experience with MO2, LOOT, ENBs, etc... I more or less know what I'm doing now after 162 mods worth of downloading and installing, but, I was a bit disappointed with the end result. It's almost cruel that you have to wait until the very end to install the ENB to see what you've done. I see the mods and ENB loading at the start and at work afterwards, doing what they're supposed to do, but the AA and AF seem off, and character skin colors are off and rather cartoonish. It doesn't really look like the pictures of the SEPTIM gameplay, and I notice jaggies, for example, in the fences in Riverwood. They shimmer as you walk through town looking at them as you go, just as one example. And, there are a number of other visual cues that just weren't up to par with what I was expecting. Maybe I missed some things, but as far as I know, I followed the guide and videos to the letter, and ensured that no mods were installed without MO2's "looks good" blessing. Glitches and bugs abound. Black screen while fighting wolves, wasn't able to pick up some coin purses and other items (they're right there, can't get the game to see them when I move the crosshairs over them.) So, at this point, I'm rather jaded by the entire process. I may try again with different mods and ENBs, but not any time soon after putting in a couple week's work on and off only to be disappointed with the end result. Again, I want to thank everyone for the responses and suggestions however! At least now I have a foundation for installing mods going forward. You guys have been great!

I kinda figured that would be the answer. Well, there's nothing keeping me from installing and experimenting with both, is there? :-) I can say I've had issues with SSE that I never had with Oldrim, for instance, I've now lost 3 followers. No letters came, and I've fast travelled all over hell and back. They've just disappeared. In one instance, my follower's armor just showed up randomly with no follower inside! It was weird - the first thing she said was "I'm still here..." And this coming from a disembodied follower with no head was a little hard to take. Then the armor and apparel started to follow me around with no walking movement, just gliding about mysteriously. Restarted the game and she had disappeared again. This was with no mods at the time other than the "Unofficial Patch". Maybe cleaning the master files with TES5Edit from the beginning might have prevented that. I'll just have to play around with it.

TheWilloughbian, Herbiehv - Thanks so much for taking the time to respond and for the suggestions! I made a little progress by installing the Nexus Mod Manager. I had downloaded some mods, but then didn't know how to install them or where to put them. Now I see the Mod Manager handles all that for you, and if tweaks to Skyrim.ini or SkyrimPrefs.ini are required, the then instructions are usually provided in the mod description. So, I'm starting to wrap my head around all this a bit more. I played the 2011 version of Skyrim years ago, but never got into modding at the time. Then a few weeks ago I saw Skyrim SE (2017) was out there with "2017 graphics"! I thought wow, I'm getting that, and didn't bother reading the reviews. Like so many others, I was disappointed with the "improvements". 2017 graphics? *sigh* not so much, eh? That's when I figured I'd get into modding because some of the youtube videos I saw were exactly what I was after when I bought Skyrim SE, but did NOT get. This leads to another question - in the opinion of folks on the forum, am I better off just going back to the original Skyrim and modding it from scratch, or should I stay with Skyrim SE? If I'm going to put in the time and effort, I want to start with the best possible platform for modding. Been fiddling with Skyrim SE on and off for a couple weeks now, and have only made it to Level 16, so I'm not at a point where I'd be losing much by starting over if the original Skyrim is a better option for modding. The original Skyrim is lurking in my Steam games list ready to be installed. What do you guys think?

Hi everyone - I suspect you get these questions from nubes all the time, but if some of you expert modders out there can help me out I'd be forever in your debt. I've built a new machine that I think can likely handle almost anything I could throw at it in terms of mods for Skrim SE. Here are my specs: Windows 10 x64 Po Asus Maximus X Formula I7- 8700K (in testing, I found I could OC stable to 5.2 GHz with reasonable temps, but so far I don't need overclocking as stock defaults are fine for everything I run. It's there IF I need it for mods, though.) Kraken x62 cooling 32 GB DDR4@3200 nVidia Titan X Pascal C: Samsung 960 Pro PCIE nvme m.2 1T SSD D: Samsung 850 Pro SATA 1T SSD Currently running at 1080p Objectives: 1. Get RID that stupid blur effect. 2. Maximize the draw distance. 3. Incorporate high res textures. 4. Basically make Skyrim SE as photorealistic as possible with the equipment I have. I've read some of the guides, but they mostly seem geared toward folks who are already quite experienced in modding, and I don't understand a lot of the terminology. Plus, I fully understand that some of you have spent countless hours experimenting and testing to get the look you want, some of you running in excess of 200 mods. Is it possible to do what I want with maybe 10 or so mods plus modifications to the config file? I don't want to add anything new to the game - all I want to do is make the existing game's graphics much better and more realistic. Could someone could point me toward some simple instructions or a step by step guide to implementing the mods I need, and for someone who's never done this before? Thank you!