Weird shadow issue. Googled it and couldn't find a solution, help please

[rentak]

My shadows on npc's seem to stretch to the horizon. Any idea what's causing this? I've tried editing my skyrim ini and skyrimprefs ini, nothing helps. Seems like they have two shadows, one beneath their feet and one that stretches to the horizon. It only occurs on NPC's. I've also tried turning the ENB off. They persist, so I'm guessing it's not anything to do with the ENB.

 

http://i63.tinypic.com/n6sw2v.jpg

 

 

Here's my load order and system specs:

 

 

Core i7-6700 3.40GHz

16 GB of Ram

64-bit OS (Windows 7)

nVidia GTX 970

0 0 Skyrim.esm

1 1 Update.esm

2 2 Dawnguard.esm

3 3 HearthFires.esm

4 4 Dragonborn.esm

5 5 Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch.esp

6 6 Skyrim Project Optimization - Full Version.esm

7 7 Falskaar.esm

8 8 Unofficial Skyrim Modders Patch.esp

9 9 EFFCore.esm

10 a WM Flora Fixes.esp

11 b ApachiiHair.esm

12 c ApachiiHairFemales.esm

13 d ApachiiHairMales.esm

14 e RSkyrimChildren.esm

15 f Campfire.esm

16 10 Schlongs of Skyrim - Core.esm

17 11 notice board.esp

18 12 OSA.esm

19 13 Cutting Room Floor.esp

20 14 EatingSleepingDrinking.esp

21 15 FISS.esp

22 16 Auto Unequip Ammo.esp

23 17 SkyCompleteLegendary.esp

24 18 SkyComplete3DNPC.esp

25 19 SkyCompleteFalskaar.esp

26 1a EasyWheel.esp

27 1b Extended UI.esp

28 1c SkyUI.esp

29 1d AMatterOfTime.esp

30 1e iHUD.esp

31 1f AHZmoreHUD.esp

32 20 RaceMenu.esp

33 21 RaceMenuPlugin.esp

34 22 UIExtensions.esp

35 23 towConversation.esp

36 24 Better Dynamic Snow.esp

37 25 Moss Rocks - Legendary.esp

38 26 EnhancedLightsandFX.esp

39 27 ELFX - Exteriors.esp

40 28 RUSTIC SOULGEMS - Unsorted.esp

41 29 SpiceOfLife - Barrels.esp

42 2a AshRocks.esp

43 2b SulfurRocks.esp

44 2c mintylightningmod.esp

45 2d MoonGlow.esp

46 2e WondersofWeather.esp

47 2f ORM-Arvak.esp

48 30 Beards.esp

49 31 Brows.esp

50 32 KS Hairdo's.esp

51 33 The Eyes Of Beauty - Elves Edition.esp

52 34 TheEyesOfBeauty.esp

53 35 NB-Scars.esp

54 36 XPMSE.esp

55 37 Schlongs of Skyrim.esp

56 38 SOS - VectorPlexus Muscular Addon.esp

57 39 DSAMG - Miraak Music Fixes.esp

58 3a FNIS.esp

59 3b RaceMenuMorphsUUNP.esp

60 3c dD-No Spinning Death Animation Merged.esp

61 3d dD - Realistic Ragdoll Force - Realistic.esp

62 3e SOSRaceMenu.esp

63 3f Hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp

64 40 Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp

65 41 SPTDiverseGuardsSkyrim.esp

66 42 Weapons & Armor Fixes_Remade.esp

67 43 Clothing & Clutter Fixes.esp

68 44 CollegeOfWinterholdImmersive.esp

69 45 College of Winterhold Entry Requirements (Normal).esp

70 46 CollegeApplication.esp

71 47 BetterQuestObjectives.esp

72 48 Wintermyst - Enchantments of Skyrim.esp

73 49 aMidianBorn_ContentAddon.esp

74 4a Worlds Dawn.esp

75 4b Complete Crafting Overhaul_Remade.esp

76 4c Point The Way.esp

77 4d Book Covers Skyrim.esp

78 4e WetandCold.esp

79 4f RealisticWaterTwo.esp

80 50 AOS.esp

81 51 DeadlySpellImpacts.esp

82 52 dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp

83 53 DeadlyDragons.esp

84 54 Skyrim Immersive Creatures.esp

85 55 SpiceOfLife - Fences.esp

86 56 Dynamic Dialogue Followers.esp

87 57 OBIS.esp

88 58 AnnaNPCs.esp

89 59 AnnaNPCs-AlternativeFaces.esp

90 5a Skyrim Immersive Creatures - DLC2.esp

91 5b True Dogs Of Skyrim.esp

92 5c MoonAndStar_MAS.esp

93 5d Holidays.esp

94 5e Thieves Guild Requirements.esp

95 5f RelightingSkyrim-FULL.esp

96 60 BFT Ships and Carriages.esp

97 61 Realistic Boat Bobbing.esp

98 62 TheChoiceIsYours.esp

99 63 Atlas Legendary.esp

100 64 Falskaar - Notice Board.esp

101 65 MoonAndStar_ImmersionPatch.esp

102 66 MoonAndStar_RSC_Patch.esp

103 67 Inigo.esp

104 68 Carry on Skyrim.esp

105 69 Frostfall.esp

106 6a SMIM-Merged-All.esp

107 6b SFO - Dragonborn.esp

108 6c Bring Out Your Dead - Legendary Edition.esp

109 6d Immersive Patrols II.esp

110 6e Immersive Horses.esp

CWIRLSPatch.esp

111 6f Craftable Horse Barding.esp

112 70 DynDOLOD - Addons.esp

113 71 Book Covers Skyrim - Lost Library.esp

114 72 Provincial Courier Service.esp

115 73 SexLab-AmorousAdventures.esp

116 74 Skyrim Flora Overhaul.esp

117 75 dD-DG-DB-Immersive Creatures EBT Patch.esp

118 76 Hearthfire IHO Compatibility Patch.esp

119 77 DSAMG - Greybeard Fix.esp

120 78 LPBards.esp

121 79 High Level Enemies - SIC.esp

122 7a High Level Enemies - SIC Falskaar.esp

123 7b LPBardsAnduniel.esp

124 7c OBISDB.esp

125 7d GuardAnimationsGDO.esp

126 7e WetandCold - Ashes.esp

127 7f Dual Sheath Redux.esp

128 80 Saeri_AetherialCrown.esp

129 81 LHRingsEnchStandalone.esp

GQJ_DG_vampireamuletfix.esp

130 82 WAF_CCF_SIC Patch.esp

131 83 imp_helm_legend.esp

132 84 NightingaleArrows.esp

133 85 Chesko_WearableLantern.esp

134 86 Dual Wield Parrying_SKSE.esp

135 87 NPC Knockout Overhaul.esp

136 88 Traps Are Dangerous.esp

137 89 VioLens.esp

138 8a WM Trap Fixes.esp

139 8b TradeBarter.esp

140 8c SimplyKnock.esp

141 8d Better Vampires.esp

142 8e Brevi_MoonlightTalesEssentials.esp

143 8f Vivid Weathers - Merged.esp

144 90 Aurora - Standing Stones of Skyrim.esp

145 91 SofiaFollower.esp

146 92 Aurlyn.esp

147 93 The Paarthurnax Dilemma.esp

148 94 PilgrimsDelight.esp

149 95 HoldBorderBanners.esp

150 96 EmbersHD.esp

151 97 RealisticRoomRental.esp

152 98 TimingIsEverything.esp

153 99 BooksOfSkyrim.esp

154 9a PreventsAccidentPickUp.esp

155 9b RRR_ELFX-Patch.esp

156 9c NSUTR - Merged.esp

157 9d Gildergreen Regrown.esp

158 9e Blowing in the Wind.esp

159 9f Ordinator - Perks of Skyrim.esp

160 a0 3DNPC.esp

161 a1 BFSEffects.esp

162 a2 EFFDialogue.esp

163 a3 3DNPCEFF.esp

164 a4 Clothing & Clutter_3DNPC_Patch.esp

165 a5 RRR_3DNPC-Patch.esp

166 a6 Hott Interesting NPCs.esp

167 a7 Legendary_NPC_Overhaul.esp

168 a8 Delphine Makeover.esp

169 a9 Venetia Serana.esp

170 aa Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul.esp

171 ab SkyrimCoinReplacerRedux.esp

172 ac WAFR_CCOR_Ordinator_Patch.esp

173 ad Bathing in Skyrim - Merged.esp

174 ae CACO - Patches.esp

175 af RSChildren_CompleteUSKP.esp

176 b0 PrinceandPauperRS.esp

177 b1 Apocalypse - The Spell Package.esp

178 b2 Apocalypse - Ordinator Compatibility Patch.esp

179 b3 Enhanced Familiars.esp

180 b4 Imperious - Races of Skyrim.esp

181 b5 MatureSkinComplexions.esp

182 b6 WSCO - OcciBetterPresets.esp

183 b7 StartingLoadouts.esp

184 b8 Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp

185 b9 Immersive Citizens - AI Overhaul.esp

186 ba ASLAL - City Guard Extension Example.esp

187 bb Escape the Cell.esp

188 bc Immersive Citizens - RRR patch.esp

189 bd BetterQuestObjectives - Patches.esp

190 be FarmhouseChimneys - Merged.esp

191 bf Immersive Citizens - CRF patch.esp

192 c0 ELE_Legendary_Fs_Lite.esp

193 c1 Auto Unequip Helmet.esp

Complete Crafting_TrueWeaponsLvlLists.esp

194 c2 SR Conflict Resolution.esp

195 c3 Bashed Patch, 0.esp

196 c4 ASIS-Dependency.esp

197 c5 ASIS.esp

198 c6 Automatic Variants.esp

199 c7 Dual Sheath Redux Patch.esp

200 c8 DynDOLOD.esp

 

 

 

skyrim ini:

 

 

 

[General]

sLanguage=ENGLISH

sIntroSequence=

fFlickeringLightDistance=8192

 

uExterior Cell Buffer=36

 

[Display]

fShadowLODMaxStartFade=1000.0

fSpecularLODMaxStartFade=2000.0

fLightLODMaxStartFade=3500.0

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048

bAllowScreenshot=1

fDefault1stPersonFOV=85.0

fDefaultWorldFOV=85.0

fSunShadowUpdateTime=0

fSunUpdateThreshold=2.0

 

[Audio]

fMusicDuckingSeconds=6.0

fMusicUnDuckingSeconds=8.0

fMenuModeFadeOutTime=3.0

fMenuModeFadeInTime=1.0

 

[Grass]

bAllowCreateGrass=1

bAllowLoadGrass=0

iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=7

 

[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

bInvalidateOlderFiles=0

SInvalidationFile=ArchiveInvalidation.txt

 

[Combat]

fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0

fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0

f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7

f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7

f1PBoltTiltUpAngle=0.7

f3PBoltTiltUpAngle=0.7

 

[Papyrus]

fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS=500.0

bEnableLogging=1

bEnableTrace=1

bLoadDebugInformation=1

fFlickeringLightDistance=8192

[Water]

bReflectLODObjects=1

bReflectLODLand=1

bReflectSky=1

bReflectLODTrees=1

 

 

 

skyrimprefs ini:

 

 

 

[General]

fBrightLightColorB=1.0000

fBrightLightColorG=1.0000

fBrightLightColorR=1.0000

iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1

bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0

[imagespace]

bDoDepthOfField=1

iRadialBlurLevel=2

[Display]

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3

fInteriorShadowDistance=4000.0000

fShadowDistance=4000.0000

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=2048

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048

iShadowSplitCount=2

iMaxAnisotropy=1

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=0

iShadowMode=4

bTreesReceiveShadows=1

bDrawLandShadows=1

bFull Screen=1

iSize H=1080

iSize W=1920

fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000

fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000

fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=2048.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=2844.0000

fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000

iScreenShotIndex=3

bShadowMaskZPrepass=0

bMainZPrepass=0

iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=250

iMaxDecalsPerFrame=800

bFloatPointRenderTarget=1

sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970"

bFXAAEnabled=0

iShadowMapResolution=4096

fShadowBiasScale=0.3500

iShadowMaskQuarter=4

iAdapter=0

iPresentInterval=1

iShadowFilter=3

bShadowsOnGrass=1

bTransparencyMultisampling=0

bDeferredShadows=1

bDrawShadows=1

[Grass]

b30GrassVS=1

fGrassStartFadeDistance=18000.0000

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=1

bGeneralSubtitles=1

fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000

bShowCompass=1

[Controls]

fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.0000

fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0125

bAlwaysRunByDefault=1

bInvertYValues=0

bGamePadRumble=1

bMouseAcceleration=0

bUseKinect=0

[Particles]

iMaxDesired=6000

[saveGame]

fAutosaveEveryXMins=60.0000

[AudioMenu]

fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000

fVal7=1.0000

uID7=1325605042

fVal6=1.0000

uID6=3954

fVal5=1.0000

uID5=1342593137

fVal4=1.0000

uID4=1342179421

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]

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]

bRenderSkinnedTrees=1

uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=20

[Decals]

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=3

[blurShaderHDR]

bDoHighDynamicRange=1

[blurShader]

bUseBlurShader=0

[Water]

iWaterReflectHeight=512

iWaterReflectWidth=512

bUseWaterDisplacements=1

bUseWaterRefractions=1

bUseWaterReflections=1

bUseWaterDepth=1

 

 

Edited August 3, 2016 by rentak

[Darkstyler35]

• Backup your ini files and delete them. Skyrim.ini / SkyrimCustom.ini / SkyrimPrefs.ini found in C:\Users\Utilisateur\Documents\My Games\Skyrim then use your vanilla launcher to autodetect and use best settings for your computer. Test in game.

If it worked, compare the backup with the new files.

[rentak]

 

• Backup your ini files and delete them. Skyrim.ini / SkyrimCustom.ini / SkyrimPrefs.ini found in C:\Users\Utilisateur\Documents\My Games\Skyrim then use your vanilla launcher to autodetect and use best settings for your computer. Test in game.
• If it worked, compare the backup with the new files.

 

 

Thank you for the quick reply :)

 

I've already done that, actually. My ini files are customized with a mix from the S.T.E.P. guide and my own tweaks. It's the same tweaks I've been using for years now, and this has never happened.

As an aside, my ini's aren't in the default location. I use Mod Organizer.

 

I suppose I should have stated, I've been doing this for a while. I customize many mods I use and make my own. This is the first time I've gone into modifying lighting effects (since I got a decent enough computer to enable me to run a good enb). My base loadout is from Neovalen's Skyrim Revisited guide on the STEP site. I altered a good bit of the guide but stuck to the enb and lighting mods as he instructed, since my knowledge of such things is limited.

 

I've fiddled with the ini settings backwards and forwards. Finally putting them back to a semblance of what Neovalen recommended. The settings the vanilla game recommends, by the way, are "Ultra".

 

When I go back to my vanilla profile in Mod Organizer the weird shadows aren't there, since I have no mods activated on that profile and the default, vanilla, ini's recommended by the game on initial startup.

Edited August 3, 2016 by rentak