Would like help learning basics of modding please!

[FluidKittyCat]

Hi there! I bought skyrim for console a long time ago and bought it for pc after learning about being able to mod in extremely detailed textures/armors/weapons etc. but I don't know exactly how to extract files appropriately. If someone could just add me on steam and help me through the processes, I could buy you a 5$ game or something? Thanks!

[Varichi]

First, mods on console are for the Special Edition, so we won't be of as much help here.

 

While it's extremely generous to offer that, you won't have to buy anyone anything. Modding's got a kind of communal brotherhood/sisterhood about, as cheezy as that sounds. People make huge projects for free (many of which are better than the product of the people who are paid), and people help each other for free. You never know, one day a person you help or downloads your mod might make something you love or help you out with an issue. So it's all good.

 

As far as console modding goes, I don't know too much. But when it comes to modding on the PC, and modding in general, I know a little bit. There are numerous resources out there that can help fill you in written by much more accomplished modders than I. But I can give you a little bit on the basics and some pointers on my end.

 

First thing, as you know, modding takes a LOT of patience, no matter if you're producing mods or just using them. It takes a LOT of attention to detail when trying to get different things working right. And it's kind of taking medicine-mixing too many that do the same thing can cause problems, but when you get some that work, nothing feels better. It's like being Sheogorath's life coach, because Skyrim crashing sometimes makes about as much sense as an Indy car made of cheese wheels. And it's like herding cats-well, you get the idea.

 

Here and here are two articles with some basic info on console modding and some available mods. If you can give us a general kind of feel of what kind of mods you're interested in, that would be a good place to start too. Maybe some specific mods that look interesting? Unfortunately I personally cannot be of as much help when it comes to console modding, since many of the same resources are not available, but when to comes to compatibility and characteristics of certain mods, I hope I can offer some recommendations.

[FluidKittyCat]

Ah, sorry I didn't clarify. I'm looking to actually just pc mod. I got rid of my console, but just wanted to state that I have a couple thousand hours in game and such and know about the mods/abilities that come with console, and was not pleased by it. I realize that I come off with incredibly generalized statements, so my apologies. I am looking for modding help in pc.

[Varichi]

Alright, are you using original Skyrim or the Special Edition?

[FluidKittyCat]

This may seem like a dumb question, but I bought the original version but apparently in my steam library I have the special edition. Is there a dramatic difference in the special edition?

[Varichi]

There is. It's essentially a different type of game in even a basic sense, as it is a 64bit executable as opposed to a 32bit executable, along with other individual engine differences. The upgrade to the Special Edition was free for most users on Steam. The basics are not too different, but the Special Edition forum is much better for dealing with the game than this one is. I don't have the Special Edition so I don't want to say or suggest anything that may not be true. Most mods, for instance, have to be converted to the Special Edition from the original. Certain mods, like texture mods, will work, but differences in how the engine renders things like UV maps will make them look too shiny or off in some way.

 

The good thing is that converting mods is not exceedingly difficult (that is to say, that it is possible) and most popular mods have been converted already. The bad thing is that SKSE (Skyrim Script Extender) is not available for the Special Edition. SKSE is basically an extension of the original application that allows the game to use new script functions and opens up previously impossible things in modding. Most of the biggest mods have scripts, and most of those scripts rely on SKSE. Until it is available for the Special Edition, those mods will not be able to be converted, and there's not a solid timeline yet on when that will happen.

 

Good news, though, is that TES5Edit and LOOT are available for the Special Edition. Neither of these tools are mods. They are utilities that every person who wants to mod the game should use to help manage their mods. LOOT sorts the load order of mods (basically what it sounds like, the order in which mods are loaded into the game) according to how they affect the game assets, and puts them where they should go to avoid crashes and allow them to work properly (theoretically; it usually takes the user to look over the list in the end and move specific mods to places that LOOT doesn't know they should go, but it can handle most mods pretty well). TES5Edit allows users to analyze their mods in depth, to see what they actually change, and allows for plugins to be changed or managed by different script functions. For instance, you can pull an iron dagger in TES5Edit and it will tell you which plugins specifically make changes to it. You can run scripts that can merge different plugins together, clean out errors in plugins, or create a "Merged Patch" that attempts to merge multiple changes from multiple mods to allow them to work better together.

 

That's a basic intro to some of the aspects of modding. It's something you will definitely learn as you go for sure. I'm happy to help some more, but you should definitely head over to the Special Edition forum for better tips that are more specific to that game.