Yingerman Posted October 22, 2013 Posted October 22, 2013 I've been modding Skyrim for a while now, but it seems like every time I make a new game I always get CTDs. I'm starting a new play through and I want to make the most stable game possible. I was wondering what types of mods will not cause Skyrim to CTD. I'm guessing Texture mods are one, but what about animations? Sound mods? I'd love any input. Thanks everyone!
dwiss Posted October 23, 2013 Posted October 23, 2013 Basically any mod can cause CTDs if things are not setup properly according to the game engines desires. Texture mods put heavy load on the engine if its high scale textures and your machine will not commit to that anymore at some point. The limitation is mainly in the engine itself and not the PC gear you use. Setups in the ini, heavy texture loading, heavy script execution , wrong load orders etc etc etc - this list can be very long. Simple approach to a stable system is: Keep it clean to start with, dont fiddle with ini settings just because its posted on a ton of sites (who just copyied it mostly from other sites anyway) and use a char purely for testing your system for a while before you begin a serious game. The STEP group provides excellent guidance regarding a clean system and also recommends some mods - but keep in mind that it is only a recommendation and not a guarantee that it will work for your particular setup. As for testing: Add mods one at a time, put them to test and vary between common load and heavy load on your system. As a example you could fight a single dragon and then add a full dozen via console. If your system starts behaving obviously stressed remember that setting etc and revert if it cant be easily adjusted/fixed. Leave out mods if they cause YOU trouble - a mod can run for 1000 users fine and might cause trouble for another 1000. Be strict about it on your personal system and dont try to force your setup into a configuration that wont really work - actually that simple. PC stands for personal computer for a reason - you will/might have a very unique system setup already on OS level that no one else in the world has (the mix of your chip, memory chips, graphic cards chip etc already produce a very unique mix to start with). Define a clear goal you want to achieve with the mods. Decide if you want immersion and what your definition of it is and limit yourself to excatly those mods you really need and dont just leave a ton of mods in the loadorder because you might need them one day. Keep your hands of loose files unless you are willing to make yourself notes about what is going to be replaced and why. I like to compare it a bit to tuning a car: You might have the ability to actually raise those extra horsepowers out of your standard engine - but are you certain you understand the implication of those extra horsepowers on the chasis or breaks as well? If you feel just slightly uncomfortable with a description or what a mod does - dont install it. Your own ability is the ruling line for the mods you are capable to install and support.
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