"Engine Injector" setting and "downgrading" Skyrim AE/SE

[Algabar]

Hello,

 

sorry if this post gets a bit longer. But I think I should explain what I'm trying to do: I'm playing (and modding) the current version of Skyrim ("AE").

Unfortunately, one really useful mod won't work in AE: "No grass in objects" (NGIO). NGIO needs a "SE" (1.5.97) environment.

 

I know how to "downgrade" manually and all. But I thought it would be convenient to be able to switch to a downgraded version of Skyrim in case I need to use NGIO and (re)create a grass cache (which is also useful in AE, among other things for creating grass LOD in Dyndolod).

 

So, my idea was to create a new Vortex profile for a downgraded Skyrim. I was hoping, this way I only needed to change profiles in Vortex to switch between AE and SE. And here comes my problem: This approach almost works - but not entirely.

 

Somehow I'm unable to tell Vortex to switch between different versions of "SkyrimSE.exe". Everything else (inluding changing SKSE and Bethesda's assets in the "Data" folder) works. But I can't find a way to properly install / change "SkyrimSE.exe" (which is in the "root directory" of the Skyrim SE folder).

 

What I did so far: I created a folder, named it something like "Skyrim 1.5.97 exe". Then I copied the "downgraded" SkyrimSE.exe file into that folder. No subfolders or anything. I zipped it and added the zip archive to Vortex. Since I want the "SkyrimSE.exe" to go directly in my Skyrim SE folder, not in the "Data" folder, I set the mod status to "Engine Injector". And that's the point where I'm stuck. Vortex always installs the file like a normal mod into the "Data" folder. Looks like Vortex disregards the "Engine Injector" flag in this special case.

 

Maybe I did something wrong with the folder structure? Or is there something else I'm missing?

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Zanderat]

I get what you are trying to do. It's a good idea. Curious what the answer is. For now, you could manually swap out the .exe's. You don't really need a whole new profile.

[Pickysaurus]

There's more differences between 1.5 and 1.6 than just the EXE, so you may want to collect up all changed files. I spoke to Halgari about allowing users to create a mod from the downgrade tool rather than overwriting the content in your game folder, not sure if he did that though.

 

I just did what you are saying you did and it worked as intended:

 

 

 

*** Vortex mod report for: SkyrimSE.7z
<This report was automatically generated by Vortex using the information from the reporter's installation, including any alterations - intentional or otherwise - they may have made to the data.>
**************************************************
* Mod details
**************************************************
Mod name: SkyrimSE.7z
Version: N/A
Archive: SkyrimSE.7z
Mod type: dinput
Managed game: skyrimse
Mod intended for: skyrimse
MD5 checksum: e18582db681022da7b0d2a227da27499
Download source: N/A (mod N/A, file N/A)
Last deployment: Tue, 05 Apr 2022 12:19:11 GMT
Deployment method: hardlink_activator

**************************************************
* Deployed files
**************************************************
SkyrimSE.exe (3f1b530e51986d490d6724a56775cd8a)

**************************************************
* Files overwritten by other mod
**************************************************
<None>

**************************************************
* Files not deployed
**************************************************
<None>

**************************************************
* Files that are supposed to be deployed but weren't found
**************************************************
<None>

**************************************************
* Files that are present but couldn't be read
**************************************************
<None>

**************************************************
* Plugins
**************************************************
<None>
 

 

 

 

Try right clicking the mod and choosing "Create Report", then paste it here as I have to see if we can see what the problem is.

[Algabar]

First of all: Thank you both for your kind and fast replies! Especially @Pickysaurus: That's what I'd call "support". Thank you very much!


Since you both asked for feedback, I'll try to answer. Please bear with me - this a somewhat longer story:


Good news is: I got it working! I can switch between SE and AE at will now, simply by clicking on a Vortex profile - which is really great. I had to use some workarounds though.

What worked:

1. I redownloaded SE, version 1.5.97, with the downgrade patcher. I already had a backup I made before, but you never know. I let the downgrade patcher save the files to a custom location outside my actual game folder. And @Pickysaurus: You're right, there's much more than just the "SkyrimSE.exe" file...

 

2. IMPORTANT: I finally had to split up the downloaded files into 3 7zip archives:

Part A: Everything, that goes directly into the Skyrim SE folder (basically .exe, .dll files and some config files, which probably aren't really needed).

Part B: Everything, that goes into the "Data" folder (.esm and .bsa files) EXCEPT for "Skyrim - Interface.bsa". Vortex refused to install that file normally (see below).

Part C: An unpacked and then zipped version of "Skyrim - Interface.bsa". One might argue if this is really necessary. But I wanted to make sure to have no remnants of AE at all in my SE profile. Stability is all - esppecially when creating a grass cache....

Part B and C were installed normally, Part A as "Engine Injector".

So, that's how it works - at least for me.

====================================================

 

Now to the (possible) bugs:

1. I tried to zip up the whole Skyrim SE folder first and then install it as "Engine Injector". Unfortunately, this didn't work. Vortex put the files into the wrong folder. I tried several times, always the same result.

2. Vortex refused to deploy "Skyrim - Interface.bsa". It always said that the file was used by another application. This was probably not the case: The file wasn't used elsewhere, I even turned my AV temporarily off.

Here's the report after trying to install all SE files at once as "Engine Injector"

 

*** Vortex mod report for: SkyrimSE.7z
<This report was automatically generated by Vortex using the information from the reporter's installation, including any alterations - intentional or otherwise - they may have made to the data.>
**************************************************
* Mod details
**************************************************
Mod name: SkyrimSE.7z
Version: N/A
Archive: SkyrimSE.7z
Mod type: dinput
Managed game: skyrimse
Mod intended for: skyrimse
MD5 checksum: 5e1e9d3dcbb919968820b60a3bcd2214
Download source: N/A (mod N/A, file N/A)
Last deployment: Tue, 05 Apr 2022 18:00:43 GMT
Deployment method: hardlink_activator

**************************************************
* Deployed files
**************************************************
Dawnguard.esm (546a9937f6a533212e3be3132ebfce8d)
Dragonborn.esm (43efaeac5c89625e9429d2bdd2dc762a)
HearthFires.esm (575b3b380b970365856b3a7bc72d9b05)
Skyrim - Animations.bsa (35b41b1e053a1862b5e8405a08ed31a7)
Skyrim - Interface.bsa (a036515b50237aa3f59ef986f5474bfb)
Skyrim - Meshes0.bsa (630f4ce7260f3c24a363e279a36affad)
Skyrim - Meshes1.bsa (dbcd3344111b3f65ce480cf8eaf9f2e9)
Skyrim - Misc.bsa (6564c5ff60116ea6dc3f0c1fa071c828)
Skyrim - Patch.bsa (e866d6c2119af2d2534a79984c7503af)
Skyrim - Shaders.bsa (c71dd1d97b8e2da36227f26f1737047b)
Skyrim - Sounds.bsa (07d589774818ceec79f09757581c69af)
Skyrim - Textures0.bsa (e8e50b993b058805a31bfbbe44f9e7e8)
Skyrim - Textures1.bsa (f20ec5f45922b82bcbe02d463b7f5843)
Skyrim - Textures2.bsa (45ee4fc6b7769156fa6f86402354257d)
Skyrim - Textures3.bsa (6fca87b198652059a73373d3bb4b5dfe)
Skyrim - Textures4.bsa (537097a4c2907a6aa3b5719f0e2353b0)
Skyrim - Textures5.bsa (8da2dd219ea18dc65ca06f997f501816)
Skyrim - Textures6.bsa (fa10a66677cad1ea65f7d0c52a8cbe1c)
Skyrim - Textures7.bsa (a1d495a659de7b353d008095aa41d07d)
Skyrim - Textures8.bsa (3ca6cbfcfca7b41f3939352d4cb27717)
Skyrim - Voices_en0.bsa (1ec81267ef781dda5abb0b5902be8568)
Skyrim.esm (b3409b0be461fdd74436a7811402b1ff)
Update.esm (9cf69bce07877163c5c569cb7fa76cb0)
SkyrimSE\binkw64.dll (8217a9a4ef0e6308ca56b1bdf31cd55e)
SkyrimSE\high.ini (6bca813f028d5c0d6771ed4323014a2a)
SkyrimSE\installscript.vdf (3732fa78b629abe59133bde7bd6076d7)
SkyrimSE\low.ini (86adfca30ee2bd97b540dbafaae31a90)
SkyrimSE\medium.ini (6528292d51461dbdf8e4f80645650b81)
SkyrimSE\Skyrim.ccc (4f27de96b66ceea816ed8e84c7ecf406)
SkyrimSE\SkyrimSE.exe (3f1b530e51986d490d6724a56775cd8a)
SkyrimSE\SkyrimSELauncher.exe (302d27549b1cad8bbb71efbfc54c3358)
SkyrimSE\Skyrim_Default.ini (6a7993cb690367e23a4787c79bfa53b4)
SkyrimSE\steam_api64.dll (c23fae46b9a6475a665cbe20949fd632)
SkyrimSE\ultra.ini (8a197f434b81aa7d3f929016bd19bda3)
SkyrimSE\Skyrim\SkyrimPrefs.ini (0e144ae20f0628566b4a16a88dfe5b40)
Video\BGS_Logo.bik (35bca1057c59b3d285c06df629dd8d8c)

**************************************************
* Files overwritten by other mod
**************************************************
<None>

**************************************************
* Files not deployed
**************************************************
<None>

**************************************************
* Files that are supposed to be deployed but weren't found
**************************************************
<None>

**************************************************
* Files that are present but couldn't be read
**************************************************
<None>

**************************************************
* Plugins
**************************************************
Dawnguard.esm (Enabled)
Dragonborn.esm (Enabled)
HearthFires.esm (Enabled)
Skyrim.esm (Enabled)
Update.esm (Enabled)

**************************************************
* Load order
**************************************************

And here are three screenshots to illustrate the issues:
https://imgur.com/a/c9gu26J

 

I hope, this information is somewhat helpful.

 

Again, thank you for your replies!!

 

 

EDIT: @Pickysaurus: Thanks for testing yourself! But if I understand the report you provided correctly, you only tried to make Vortex install the single "SkyrimSE.exe" file into the Skyrim SE root folder. This works for me, too. From my experience, the problem arises when you try to install single files AND files within folders (in this case the "Data") folder as "Engine Injector". That's what went wrong for me.

 

Interestingly enough, SKSE also has a structure with folders and subfolders. Part of SKSE goes to the Skyrim SE folder, part goes to the "Data" folder. Vortex CAN install SKSE correctly though. But I assume there's some predefined setting: Vortex seems to "recognize" SKSE and then knows what to do with it. So, maybe that's a different story.

[Pickysaurus]

If you look at the "Deployed Files" in that report you can see the paths in the staging folder are wrong. You would either need to fix those manually or use the "Unpack (as-is)" option on the archive which bypasses any installer logic.

[Algabar]

If you look at the "Deployed Files" in that report you can see the paths in the staging folder are wrong. You would either need to fix those manually or use the "Unpack (as-is)" option on the archive which bypasses any installer logic.

Thanks for replying! Where do I find that "Unpack (as-is)" option? In Vortex? Or in 7zip?

[dizietemblesssma]

@Algabar I also had the problem with Vortex refusing to install the skyrim - interface.bsa with the same message, are you saying that it installed sucessfully as a standalone mod?

Also look out for Vortex messages saying the game has changed and giving odd version numbers:)

You will also need to install various mods as variants for your new profile, SKSE64 for example and the unofficial patch - which can still be found for 1.5.97.

 

diziet

[Algabar]

@Algabar I also had the problem with Vortex refusing to install the skyrim - interface.bsa with the same message, are you saying that it installed sucessfully as a standalone mod?

Not really. Vortex refuses to deploy "Skyrim - Interface.bsa", no matter what I tried. But because it's a .bsa file, you can unpack it and zip up the unpacked content of that file. Since loose files always win over .bsa archives, that's technically the same as deploying the .bsa file as it is. So far, it seems to work.

 

 

Also look out for Vortex messages saying the game has changed and giving odd version numbers:)

You will also need to install various mods as variants for your new profile, SKSE64 for example and the unofficial patch - which can still be found for 1.5.97.

 

diziet

 

Yep, Vortex warns about the version number. You can savely ignore that - or see it as proof, that the downgrading (or re-upgrading) via Vortex profiles works. Sometimes XEdit might also complain about the game not being propperly installed or something. In this case, simply start the game launcher once, and everything will be okay.

 

OFC you're right - mods have to be downgraded as well. But that's the advantage of the profile solution: You can easily enable the SE mods in your "downgraded" profile and use the upgraded ones in an AE profile.

 

TBH, I don't really want to play SE. I just needed a stable installation of SE so that I can use "No grass in objects" to create a grass cache. For that purpose, it's most important to have all mods, that make changes to grass or landscape, in both profiles.

[Pickysaurus]

I can verify the issue with Skyrim - Interface.bsa.

 

To the best of my knowledge. Vortex does a check on deployment that the fonts listed in the BSA all exist on the user's system. I suspect that check is locking the file.

[Pickysaurus]

I did a bit of digging and raised a ticket for this: https://github.com/Nexus-Mods/Vortex/issues/11672