Least Gameplay Changing, Best Graphics Mods

[tibarion]

I took my Xbox save and transferred over to my PC to play Skyrim (all 3 add-ons) and I've been trying to gather some graphics mods to make Skyrim look better WITHOUT changing things lore or gameplay wise.

 

I still haven't won it after 300+ hours because of side-quests so I'm trying to keep it as close to the original as possible, but with updated graphics.

 

These are the mods I've been installing with NMM and I was hoping for some more critiques or suggestions:

 

Skyrim HD

WATER - Water And Terrain Enhancement Redux

Skyrim Flora Overhaul basic with Lush Trees and Grass

RIS - Real Ice and Snow

SMIM(Static Mesh Improvement Mod)

HD Enhance Terrain

Better Snow and Rocks but with just the Rocks since I'm getting RIS

aMidianborn Book of Silence this one I'm not sure about because it could make them look TOO different. What do you all think?

 

Also thinking of a weather mod but I'm not sure. Basically I'm just trying to play Skyrim the way the developers wanted but with it looking better if they had the time and money.

 

***I can handle all these mods as well so throw them at me if you can think of some more, which would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

[jet4571]

Bethesda did not use low res and poor graphics because they didn't have time or money to do better. they did it because of consoles and low end PC's. They have to cater to the larger audience to make the most money while mods do not have to worry about that and any that improves the graphics by adding higher poly mesh or larger resolution textures specifically target the upper end of the hardware spectrum.

[tibarion]

Ok, good to know.

 

I'm sticking with Skyrim HD, W.A.T.E.R, and Skyrim Flora Overhaul basic + Lush Trees and Grass.

 

I picked RCRN over Climates of Tamriel because people say it looks better (but lacks the amount of weather changes). I'm trying out the rest but if anybody knows any other graphics mods that'll be great, especially lighting ones.

[Rennn]

First, are you sure your PC can handle graphics mods?

Avoid HD textures unless you have at least 8GB of RAM and a good graphics card with at least 2GB of VRAM.

And, of course, make sure you have Anisotropic Filtering set to at least 8x in your Skyrim graphics options. Otherwise HD textures are pointless.

Download either the latest alpha version of SKSE, or get SSME. Either one will fix Skyrim's memory management to allow more HD textures without crashing.

Aside from that...

 

You should use the Official HD DLC (along with the Unofficial HD DLC Patch).

Because of how it's set up, the HD DLC won't override the HD mods you already have. Instead, it will just affect any textures that you haven't already replaced, so you can use it at the same time as your other HD textures. The Official HD DLC is best for character graphics (it fixes the blocky faces and stuff) and clothing (it doubles the resolution and detail of most of the clothing and armor).

 

Meh... Personally I wouldn't use Book of Silence. Some of the things change the vanilla style a lot. The Official HD DLC is the same resolution as Book of Silence on most of the equipment anyway.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Rennn

[tibarion]

Thanks for the response. I'll go ahead and get the Official HD DLC then with the unofficial patch. I already installed SKSE.

 

And here are some of my specs:

Intel i5-4670k @ 3.40 GHz

8Gb RAM

And I have a Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 which has 2 Gb of VRAM

 

I've been running half these mods without too many hiccups (RCRN works great).

 

And thanks for the headsup on Book of Silence. I don't want to change the vanilla style too much. Are there any other graphic mods to know about?

[calfurius]

I HIGHLY recommend to use Amidianborn Book of Silence mod, while it does change a bit from the original design of the armors, it's changes are SUPERIOR to the original design. To be perfectly honest Amidianborn makes the best looking armor and weapon textures you'll even find, even better then the official HD DLC.

[Drax8]

I agree with calfurius, after using the AmidianBorn Book of Silence mods, there is no way I could go back to using vanilla textures. It just blows them away. The difference, in my opinion, is staggering.

 

Again, just my opinion.

[Rennn]

We have a clear difference of opinion, I really don't like the Book of Silence style.

*shrug*

Try them in game. If you don't like it you can always delete the textures. All the author's screens have a crappy ENB on them, so they're hardly representative of the final quality.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Rennn

[Drax8]

Nothing wrong with that Rennn :) Just like you said, try them in game, won't break anything or hurt to try. Find what you like and enjoy!

[BeastlyBeast]

I know it's old, but you could try imaginator. It doesn't really change the graphical quality, but it allows you to change the look of skyrim to whatever you want. If you think sky rims a bit bland and needs more vibrant colors or more contrast, you can add that with imaginator. You can also add bloom, change the brightness of the sky and sun, change the brightness overall, pretty much all of the simple things. Believe it or not, I think it's great. Add some bloom, contrast, so e green and yellow and skyrim looks fantastic, cuz the foliage really pops when you walk outside.