Literally Stumped

[Commander19]

!WARNING THIS IS A VERY LONG POST THAT CONTAINS SPOILERS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

 

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Game Details and Load Order

3. Benchmarking and Testing Procedures

4. Information Regarding the 3.1GB RAM Allocation Constraint

5. Skyrim.ini, SkyrimPrefs.ini, and plugins.txt Tweaks

6. Closing Statements

 

Apologies in advance for the extraordinarily long book of a post and in the interest of time (for both you and me), the main issue I am experiencing is primarily located in section 3 where I explain what goes wrong. The rest of this is mainly reference material to take into account every variable that could possibly be amalgamating to this random closing of my game.

 

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

 

 

So, I have had the urge to revisit Skyrim as of late on account of all the fantastic mods released in the last 6 months since I have played, however, my game has been PLAGUED with issues. The main issue is randomly closing with no warning or any indication that there is a mod conflict present given that I receive no "TESV.exe has stopped working" (or something to that effect) error from Windows upon closing.

 

For reference purposes, here is my system specifications:

 

 

Essential Components:

ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z Motherboard

AMD FX-8350 @4GHz (stock clock speed) with an NZXT HAVIK 140 Cooler

8GB of G.SKILL Sniper Series Low Voltage DDR3 1600 1.35 Volts RAM

EVGA GeForce GTX 580 @772MHz (stock clock speed) with 1.5GB of GDDR5 VRAM

2TB Hitachi Deskstar 7200RPM 64MB Cache HDD

Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate; Service Pack 1 and all Windows Updates installed excluding language packs

 

Peripherals:

Generic Gateway Monitor; 1440x900 @75Hz*

Logitech G710+ Mechanical Keyboard

Microsoft Sidewinder 8 2000DPI Optical Mouse

Corsair Vengeance 2000 7.1 Audio Wireless Headset

Blue Yeti Microphone

 

*Yes, I am aware of the issue regarding HAVOK not playing nice with monitors above 60Hz, I have turned down the refresh to 60Hz while playing Skyrim.

 

All of my drivers are up to date including my UEFI BIOS, my PC is malware free (Protected by avast! Premier, HitmanPro, and Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware PRO), and when I am playing games, my machine is only using approximately 1.2GB of RAM collectively for essential background processes.

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 2: GAME DETAILS AND LOAD ORDER

 

 

At the time of this writing, I have the LATEST version of the following items:

• Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) - V0.45.5
• Skyrim (including Dawnguard, Dragonborn, HearthFires, and the High Resolution Textures DLC) - Whatever the latest version is, I let Steam automatically update so I don't have to concern myself with it.
• The Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) - V1.06.16
• TES5Edit - V3.0.30 EXPERIMENTAL

Once the master files were cleaned, I started a brand new game with no mods installed and created my characters that I was going to be using. After arriving at Riverwood and speaking with the appropriate people depending the path chosen during the prison escape, I saved just south of the road you arrive at save without Riverwood in sight (a safety precaution against CTD since I planned on installing a Riverwood enhancement mod). Slowly, but surely, I began adding mods and performing a "benchmark" so to speak; refer to section 3 for details.

 

Here is my current load order:

 

 

Skyrim.esm

Update.esm

Dawnguard.esm

HearthFires.esm

Dragonborn.esm

Skyrim Project Optimization - No Homes - Full Version.esm

SPIKE.esm

HighResTexturePack01.esp

HighResTexturePack02.esp

HighResTexturePack03.esp

Unofficial Skyrim Patch.esp

Unofficial Dawnguard Patch.esp

Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.esp

Unofficial Dragonborn Patch.esp

Unofficial High Resolution Patch.esp

Better Dynamic Snow.esp

IceBreaker's Improved Reverb-v0.02-Cleaned.esp

Improved Combat Sounds v2.2.esp

Remove Interior Fog V2 - Full Version.esp

fantasy music overhaul.esp

fantasy music overhaul - unique town music.esp

StaticMeshImprovementMod.esp

StaticMeshImprovementMod-FurnitureChestSnowFix.esp

Dead Body Collision.esp

Point The Way.esp

SignTown_by_YURIL_1o5.esp <---- BOSS has reported that there are some Identical To Master Records (ITM) dirty edits associated with this mod, but I've never had an issue before, so I've not cleaned it with TES5Edit.

SkyrimsUniqueTreasures.esp

Chesko_LoreBasedLoadingScreens.esp

RaceMenu.esp

RaceMenuPlugin.esp

SkyUI.esp

iHUD.esp

AMB Glass Variants Lore.esp

buildablehouse.esp

FSS-No pause between lines.esp

Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp

dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp

dD-Dragonborn-Dawnguard-EBT Patch.esp

aMidianborn_Skyforge_Weapons.esp

Purewaters.esp

PurewatersDG.esp

PurewatersDB.esp

BYOH-Bridge.esp

Riverwood Reborn.esp

ERSO 30 - Better Enemy AI Dawnguard&Dragonborn.esp

My Merge Patch.esp

 

 

I also have numerous graphical modifications, which I have listed below:

 

 

• A Quality World Map - High Resolution Meshes with all roads and no clear addon by IcePenguin
• aMidianBorn Book of Silence - All modules by CaBaL
• aMidianBorn Whiterun by CaBaL
• Business Ledger HD Retexture by LamboMan
• Divine Talos Statue - 4K Ultra HD by skyrimagua
• Frost Atronach HD Retexture by Yuril
• HD Stone Quarry and Clay Deposit for Hearthfire - Vanilla rock module (used to use Superior Rocks 2K HD Dark Grey Module)
• High Quality 3D Map - High Resolution Meshes by Ethatron
• Improved NPC Clothing - 2K HD More Dirt Module by BaronDavid
• Main Menu Replacer by BuzzDee84
• Map HUD Enhanced - With Time Module by IceKK
• Real Candle Effect - Softer Module by Yuril
• Real Ice - 2K HD Dark Ice with Parallax by Yuril
• Realistic Smoke and Embers Mod - 2K HD by isoku
• Realistic Smoke and Embers Mod - 4K Ultra HD by isoku - Removed for optimization/testing purposes
• Road Signs Redone by Hanaisse
• Ruins Clutter Improved by RaiserFX
• Skill Interface Retexture by Tko007
• Superior Rock Textures - 2K HD Dark Grey by skyrimagua - Removed for optimization/testing purposes
• Unique Dragon Priest Masks by skyrimagua

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 3: BENCHMARKING AND TESTING PROCEDURES

 

 

Listed below are the procedures for handling mod installation and "benchmarking" them by playing the game in the same manner as each mod is added.

Installation Procedure:

1. Download using NMM or by creating an archive that will work properly with NMM and add it manually to the list.
2. Verify that all of the requirements by the mod are fulfilled before proceeding with installation.
3. Activate using NMM & sort load order using BOSS.
4. Run TES5Edit and create a merge patch (delete any previous versions of said merge patch before proceeding)
5. Refresh NMM and toggle on merge patch
6. Run SKSE via the Nexus Mod Manager

Benchmarking Procedure:

1. Load save just outside of Riverwood
2. Venture to Whiterun to notify Jarl Bulgruuf of the dragon attack
3. Journey to Fort Greymoor and clear it
4. Journey to Bleak Falls Barrow and obtain the dragonstone
5. Return to Whiterun and give the dragonstone to Farengar
6. Head to Western Watchtower to investigate dragon attack
7. Kill dragon and return to Whiterun

Step 7 seems to be where I am having the issue, prior to making the INI and plugins.txt tweaks, the game would always randomly close whenever I begin walking back towards whiterun or try to fast travel there. After making the tweaks, I managed to fast travel back and actually start heading towards Ivarstead for the journey up the 7,000 steps to High Hrothgar. However, as I approached the gate to Helgen, the same result ensued. I did notice that each time I eliminated the dragon, the dialogue and NPCs seemed to be out of sync in terms of the dialogue, in other words they would be "behind" one another.

 

What has me stumped is the fact that Task Manager is reporting Skyrim only using around 1.3GB of RAM under the Memory (Private Working Set) category. So, the fact that it barely is using the RAM limit, but is still randomly closing is beyond me.

 

 

 

SECTION 4: INFORMATION REGARDING THE 3.1GB RAM ALLOCATION CONSTRAINT

 

 

I am aware that Skyrim (as with all 32-bit based programs) has a 3.1GB RAM constraint has a 3.1GB with no way to "fix" the issue without the intervention of Bethesda, which is unlikely as they are currently developing their next major project. The ENBoost mod created by Boris Vorontsov (creator of the ENBSeries) is a quite popular workaround that is very effective for many, however, I have doubts it will work very well for me. In the Introduction, I posted my system specifications and I only have 1.5GB of VRAM on my GTX 580; my understanding is that Boris's workaround saturates VRAM in order to reduce strain on the memory, but it just isn't an option for me.

 

 

 

SECTION 5: SKYRIM.INI, SKYRIMPREFS.INI, AND PLUGINS.TXT TWEAKS

 

 

At this point, I am very much frustrated and began researching methods for enhancing the game's performance and use the full potential of my hardware. I ran across two INI Tweaks Guide that is intended to increase the utilization of my PC and boost the performance. In addition, I altered the plugins.txt located in ...\Users\AppData\Local\Skyrim to include Skyrim.esm. Whether or not both of these methods were effective I am still unsure and ultimately resulted in the same outcome albeit lasting much longer.

 

Skyrim Tweak Guide 2.3

http://itcprosolutions.com/skyrimguides/tweak_guide.htm

 

Customized Categorized Favorites Menu (CCFM): .ini Tweaks - Improving Performance, Gameplay, and Visuals

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/articles/1153//?

 

For reference purposes, here are the INI Tweaks I have made:

 

 

I have backed up all of the original INI files as a safety precaution.

 

The following section contains tweaks from the aforementioned guide to the Skyrim.ini; changes are highlighted in bold:

 

 

[General]

sLanguage=ENGLISH

bUseThreadedTempEffects=1

bUseThreadedParticleSystem=1

bMultiThreadMovement=1

bUseThreadedMorpher=1

uExterior Cell Buffer=36

[backgroundLoad]

bBackgroundLoadLipFiles=1

bLoadBackgroundFaceGen=1

bUseMultiThreadedFaceGen=1

bBackgroundCellLoads=1

bLoadHelmetsInBackground=1

bUseMultiThreadedTrees=1

bUseBackgroundFileLoader=1

[Display]

fShadowLODMaxStartFade=1000.0

fSpecularLODMaxStartFade=2000.0

fLightLODMaxStartFade=3500.0

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048

bAllowScreenshot=1

[Audio]

fMusicDuckingSeconds=6.0

fMusicUnDuckingSeconds=8.0

fMenuModeFadeOutTime=3.0

fMenuModeFadeInTime=1.0

[HAVOK]

iNumThreads=4*

[Animation]

bMultiThreadBoneUpdate=1

[Decals]

bDecalMultithreaded=1

[Grass]

bAllowCreateGrass=1

bAllowLoadGrass=0

[GeneralWarnings]

SGeneralMasterMismatchWarning=One or more plugins could not find the correct versions of the master files they depend on. Errors may occur during load or game play. Check the "Warnings.txt" file for more information.

[Archive]

sResourceArchiveList=Skyrim - Misc.bsa, Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Skyrim - Textures.bsa, Skyrim - Interface.bsa, Skyrim - Animations.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes.bsa, Skyrim - Sounds.bsa

sResourceArchiveList2=Skyrim - Voices.bsa, Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa

[Combat]

fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0

fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0

[Papyrus]

fUpdateBudgetMS=800**

fExtraTaskletBudgetMS=800**

fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS=2000**

bEnableLogging=1

bEnableTrace=1

bLoadDebugInformation=0

iMinMemoryPageSize=256**

iMaxMemoryPageSize=512**

iMaxAllocatedMemoryBytes=2457600**

[Water]

bReflectLODObjects=1

bReflectLODLand=1

bReflectSky=1

bReflectLODTrees=1

*Despite having an eight core CPU, the INI guide recommends a maximum of 5 threads, I went with 4 since it's an even number and makes more sense.

**These tweaks were recommended in the second guide (CCFM) as a method of mitigating Papyrus script lag.

The following section contains tweaks from the aforementioned guide to the SkyrimPrefs.ini; changes are highlighted in bold:

[General]

fBrightLightColorB=1.0000

fBrightLightColorG=1.0000

fBrightLightColorR=1.0000

iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1

bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0

bUseThreadedParticleSystem=1

bUseThreadedBlood=1

bUseThreadedMorpher=1

bUseThreadedTempEffects=1

bUseThreadedTextures=1

bUseThreadedMeshes=1

bUseThreadedLOD=1

bUseThreadedAI=1

bUseThreadedMorpher=1

[backgroundLoad]

bBackgroundLoadLipFiles=1

bLoadBackgroundFaceGen=1

bUseMultiThreadedFaceGen=1

bBackgroundCellLoads=1

bLoadHelmetsInBackground=1

bUseMultiThreadedTrees=1

[imagespace]

bDoDepthOfField=1

iRadialBlurLevel=2

[Display]

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3

fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000

fShadowDistance=8000.0000

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048

iShadowSplitCount=2

iMaxAnisotropy=16

fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000

fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000

fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=10000000.0000

fGamma=1.0000

fDecalLOD2=1500.0000

fDecalLOD1=1000.0000

fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000

fShadowLODStartFade=200.0000

fLightLODStartFade=3500.0000

iTexMipMapMinimum=0

iTexMipMapSkip=0

iWaterMultiSamples=0

iMultiSample=8

iShadowMode=3

bTreesReceiveShadows=0

bDrawLandShadows=0

bFull Screen=1

iSize H=900

iSize W=1440

fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000

fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000

fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=2048.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=2844.0000

fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000

iScreenShotIndex=2

bShadowMaskZPrepass=0

bMainZPrepass=0

iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=25

iMaxDecalsPerFrame=100

bFloatPointRenderTarget=0

sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580"

bFXAAEnabled=0

iShadowMapResolution=4096

fShadowBiasScale=0.1500

iShadowMaskQuarter=4

iAdapter=0

iPresentInterval=1

iShadowFilter=3

bShadowsOnGrass=1

bTransparencyMultisampling=0

bDeferredShadows=1

bDrawShadows=1

[Grass]

b30GrassVS=1

fGrassStartFadeDistance=7000.0000

fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000

fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000

[MAIN]

bGamepadEnable=1

bCrosshairEnabled=1

fHUDOpacity=1.0000

bSaveOnPause=0

bSaveOnTravel=0

bSaveOnWait=0

bSaveOnRest=0

fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000

[GamePlay]

bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1

bShowQuestMarkers=1

iDifficulty=2

[interface]

bDialogueSubtitles=0

bGeneralSubtitles=0

fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000

bShowCompass=1

[Controls]

fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.0000

fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0125

bAlwaysRunByDefault=1

bInvertYValues=0

bGamePadRumble=1

bMouseAcceleration=1

bUseKinect=0

[Particles]

iMaxDesired=750

[saveGame]

fAutosaveEveryXMins=60.0000

[AudioMenu]

fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000

fVal7=1.0000

uID7=0

fVal6=1.0000

uID6=0

fVal5=1.0000

uID5=0

fVal4=1.0000

uID4=0

fVal3=1.0000

uID3=94881

fVal2=0.4000

uID2=466532

fVal1=1.0000

uID1=554685

fVal0=0.8000

uID0=1007612

[Clouds]

fCloudLevel2Distance=262144.0000

fCloudLevel1Distance=32768.0000

fCloudLevel0Distance=16384.0000

fCloudNearFadeDistance=9000.0000

[TerrainManager]

fTreeLoadDistance=75000.0000

fBlockMaximumDistance=250000.0000

fBlockLevel1Distance=70000.0000

fBlockLevel0Distance=35000.0000

fSplitDistanceMult=1.5000

bShowLODInEditor=0

[NavMesh]

bUseThreadedMeshes=1

fObstacleAlpha=0.5000

fCoverSideHighAlpha=0.8000

fCoverSideLowAlpha=0.6500

fEdgeFullAlpha=1.0000

fEdgeHighAlpha=0.7500

fEdgeLowAlpha=0.5000

fTriangleFullAlpha=0.7000

fTriangleHighAlpha=0.3500

fTriangleLowAlpha=0.2000

fLedgeBoxHalfHeight=25.0000

fEdgeDistFromVert=10.0000

fEdgeThickness=10.0000

fPointSize=2.5000

[Trees]

bUseMultiThreadedTrees=1

bShadowMaskZPrePass=1

bRenderSkinnedTrees=1

uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=20

[Decals]

bDecalMultithreaded=1

uMaxDecals=1000

bDecals=1

bSkinnedDecals=1

uMaxSkinDecals=100

uMaxSkinDecalsPerActor=60

[LOD]

fLODFadeOutMultObjects=15.0000

fLODFadeOutMultItems=15.0000

fLODFadeOutMultActors=15.0000

fLODFadeOutMultSkyCell=1.0000

[Launcher]

bEnableFileSelection=1

bShowAllResolutions=1

uLastAspectRatio=4

[blurShaderHDR]

bDoHighDynamicRange=1

[blurShader]

bUseBlurShader=0

[Water]

iWaterReflectHeight=512

iWaterReflectWidth=512

bUseWaterDisplacements=1

bUseWaterRefractions=1

bUseWaterReflections=1

bUseWaterDepth=1

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 6: CLOSING STATEMENTS

Apologies for the extraordinarily long book of a post, but it is about the only way I figure that with the help of the willing I can narrow down the issue. I have attempted to remove the very last few mods I installed before the issue started occurring, make INI tweaks and have the bare minimum running in the background, but nothing has worked. This is far from my first time modding any game (especially Bethesda's game franchises) and I am quite the experienced modder, but this has me literally stumped.

 

If there is a willing being out there to assist me in resolving this manner it would greatly appreciated, and thank you in advance. :smile:

[Eiries]

Just wanted to say, I have a GTX 560 (1 GB VRAM,) experienced a lot of crashing trying to get anywhere (be it exterior cell loads, fast traveling, interior to exterior, exterior to interior, etc etc.) No beefy retexture mods or location overhauls, nothing that should really come close to maxing my VRAM.

 

Despite that, ever since installing the .199 version of ENB my game has been smooth and crash-free. It really is a godsend, and I would highly recommend giving the new versions of ENB/ENBoost a try. Long story short, after a good few months of nothing but headaches, I can finally actually play the game again.

 

But before doing that, just humor me and temporarily disable the high res DLCs (if you haven't already.) See if that gets you anywhere.

 

I'm assuming by you saying "I have backed up all of the original INI files as a safety precaution," you mean you've already tried generating new ones and seeing if that helps. If not, that's always worth a try too.

 

I'll be tracking this thread. Oh, and nice opening post. I originally though I must have miss-clicked and I was viewing a well-formatted readme. :happy:

[Commander19]

Just wanted to say, I have a GTX 560 (1 GB VRAM,) experienced a lot of crashing trying to get anywhere (be it exterior cell loads, fast traveling, interior to exterior, exterior to interior, etc etc.) No beefy retexture mods or location overhauls, nothing that should really come close to maxing my VRAM.

 

First off, I would like to thank you for your input regarding this manner. :)

 

I am very much a PC enthusiast and a novice programmer although my knowledge is rather limited when it comes to understanding the exact interactions between the game engine, the operating system (Windows), RAM, and VRAM (I do understand what purpose each one serves however), which varies from game to game. I am often very cautious with regards to my VRAM as I assume that I am always pushing my hardware to the limits, I wish I would have waited a week later to buy my card, could have purchased a model with 3GB of VRAM for virtually the same price.

 

Despite that, ever since installing the .199 version of ENB my game has been smooth and crash-free. It really is a godsend, and I would highly recommend giving the new versions of ENB/ENBoost a try. Long story short, after a good few months of nothing but headaches, I can finally actually play the game again.

 

I may give this an attempt very soon, I am currently working on running my benchmark a couple more times and depending on the results I may or may not give this a shot.

 

But before doing that, just humor me and temporarily disable the high res DLCs (if you haven't already.) See if that gets you anywhere.

 

I actually did not even consider disabling since I generally had okay performance whilst using it. To my surprise, I noticed a MASSIVE reduction in stutter when loading various sections of the world. I actually managed to run through most of my benchmark and even got back to Whiterun without it randomly closing. Unfortunately, when I entered Dragonsreach, the same outcome occurred, however, I am more optimistic that this may be resolved after receiving such results and I actually forgot to disable the Unofficial High Resolution Patch, so perhaps that was another variable.

 

I'm assuming by you saying "I have backed up all of the original INI files as a safety precaution," you mean you've already tried generating new ones and seeing if that helps. If not, that's always worth a try too.

 

I have not actually done this, I have attempted to perform this procedure in the past and have had next to effect on the game, although I rarely altered the INIs anyway, but I will do this and see if it will be effective. Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

I'll be tracking this thread. Oh, and nice opening post. I originally though I must have miss-clicked and I was viewing a well-formatted readme. :happy:

 

Thanks again so much for your assistance in this manner, I spent a great deal of time writing and revising the opening to take into account virtually ever possible variable to narrow down the issue as much as possible. I will update the main post, once I have generate the new INIs, applied the tweaks, and run through another benchmark. Thanks again :)