Very Interested In Skyrim LE (preliminary discussion)

[Arlodon]

Hello, I would like to get my LE up and in shape, first off, are we all on v1.9.32 here? That is my latest from Steam.

I am currently running a degraded capacity Skyrim v1.6.1130.0.8 and see a lot of good modding support here and SKSE is still alive, imagine that...

I would like to play LE and see how that seves me instead of GOG, or downgrading, It really looks good here... you must really like it to support it so well.

I have no objection to 32bit.

Here is my status: Loaded a fresh copy of LE from Steam, it ran ok but I then just packed it full of mods and now it just crashed on startup. So, I am thinking to start over and add mods slowly and methodically so I do not go past a good point.

So, TESV: Skyrim is LE?  just asking for confirmation and if any caveats. I have never looked back at LE before, this is quite a thriving community! Played this so long ago. Not as good as this though!

[IsharaMeradin]

In the 32-bit family of Skyrim we have:

• Skyrim base game only
• Skyrim + any combination of one or two DLC (Dawnguard, Hearthfires, Dragonborn)
• Skyrim + all DLC  <-- for non-LE purchasers (those who bought all DLC pre-LE), this is an equivalent setup to LE
• Skyrim Legendary Edition

All of these possibilities are considered the same game, have the same version number and is up to the individual user to determine whether a mod will work for their particular DLC combination.  Given the game's age, most mods are now configured for an LE setup. 

If you crash before reaching the main menu, you have installed a mod that has a missing master file.  This could be a mod that requires a DLC you do not have.  It could also be a mod that requires another mod to be present.

[InDarkestNight]

LE was last updated long, long before the AE update happened, so you don't have any of that garbage in your game.

That said, LE does come with limitations. For one, you can't use any textures above 2k, because it'll cause an overflow error. I learned this the hard way when I replicated my graphics (most of them were re-texture mods, which I thought at the time were compatible with both versions) from SE in LE. My game lagged however. Keep in mind, in SE I was running 4k parralax textures and any enb I wanted. Now, I can't run anything higher than 2k, and I can't handle any enb or any textures with parallax. I should note though this may be due to my graphics card; I only have 2gb of vram but the game can in theory handle at least 4gb, so I've been thinking upgrading my graphics card may help but I can't seem to find anyone who knows anything about that.

Then there's also the issue with rain occlusion. You know how rain and snow don't fall through roofs in SE? That's actually a feature added in SE that has never been brought to LE. So you're going to see rain falling through structures, snow coming into your tents, and there's not much you can do about it. There used to be a mod called real shelter, though it was never perfect and it would seem no one can get it to run anymore. You can get rain collusion through enb, but good luck running one (even the most performance friendly ones take off 10~15 fps). Also, enb rain looks terrible. It looks like goo raining from the sky and there's nothing you can do to change that. Besides, enb wasn't made specifically with Skyrim in mind, so the rain occlusion is rather glitchy. It can't always tell what it can and can't fall through.

Don't get me wrong, its still worth it. Its far more performance friendly (even base SE was far more unstable on my system than modded LE). You don't have to worry about updates ruining your games and forcing you to abandon playthroughs. You can also run any mod completely regardless of when it was made. Arguably, LE has far more playable mods than SE, even though SE is clearly getting them at a far higher rate lately (though LE isn't really much worse than it was in its prime, and lately it seems to be getting better, probably due to users like you and me switching to it just to escape bethesda's (to hell with them) updates).

[Arlodon]

On 12/19/2023 at 9:14 PM, IsharaMeradin said:

In the 32-bit family of Skyrim we have:

• Skyrim base game only
• Skyrim + any combination of one or two DLC (Dawnguard, Hearthfires, Dragonborn)
• Skyrim + all DLC  <-- for non-LE purchasers (those who bought all DLC pre-LE), this is an equivalent setup to LE
• Skyrim Legendary Edition

All of these possibilities are considered the same game, have the same version number and is up to the individual user to determine whether a mod will work for their particular DLC combination.  Given the game's age, most mods are now configured for an LE setup. 

If you crash before reaching the main menu, you have installed a mod that has a missing master file.  This could be a mod that requires a DLC you do not have.  It could also be a mod that requires another mod to be present.

Thank you for the quick answer, I am off and running...   Things are looking good and friendly vs. the other... whatever that is becoming. Limbo, waiting uncertainty..

Yeah mine has all the DLCs including texture packs. I think I will fit in real good here, thanks again.

11 hours ago, InDarkestNight said:

LE was last updated long, long before the AE update happened, so you don't have any of that garbage in your game.

That said, LE does come with limitations. For one, you can't use any textures above 2k, because it'll cause an overflow error. I learned this the hard way when I replicated my graphics (most of them were re-texture mods, which I thought at the time were compatible with both versions) from SE in LE. My game lagged however. Keep in mind, in SE I was running 4k parralax textures and any enb I wanted. Now, I can't run anything higher than 2k, and I can't handle any enb or any textures with parallax. I should note though this may be due to my graphics card; I only have 2gb of vram but the game can in theory handle at least 4gb, so I've been thinking upgrading my graphics card may help but I can't seem to find anyone who knows anything about that.

Then there's also the issue with rain occlusion. You know how rain and snow don't fall through roofs in SE? That's actually a feature added in SE that has never been brought to LE. So you're going to see rain falling through structures, snow coming into your tents, and there's not much you can do about it. There used to be a mod called real shelter, though it was never perfect and it would seem no one can get it to run anymore. You can get rain collusion through enb, but good luck running one (even the most performance friendly ones take off 10~15 fps). Also, enb rain looks terrible. It looks like goo raining from the sky and there's nothing you can do to change that. Besides, enb wasn't made specifically with Skyrim in mind, so the rain occlusion is rather glitchy. It can't always tell what it can and can't fall through.

Don't get me wrong, its still worth it. Its far more performance friendly (even base SE was far more unstable on my system than modded LE). You don't have to worry about updates ruining your games and forcing you to abandon playthroughs. You can also run any mod completely regardless of when it was made. Arguably, LE has far more playable mods than SE, even though SE is clearly getting them at a far higher rate lately (though LE isn't really much worse than it was in its prime, and lately it seems to be getting better, probably due to users like you and me switching to it just to escape bethesda's (to hell with them) updates).

"Garbage"  I do not have to ask, I know exactly what you mean.  This is all great information, I sure appreciate your help. I think LE will serve me well. ( I sound like Star Wars) Maybe I can just get sunny days. Wasn't there a mod for just nice sunny days? Oh wow great on not worrying about my game being ruined.  That is an extremely significant inclusion for me. Thanks again, I'm off carefully loading and testing.

All is well.