Consistent CTD when near Meridia's Shrine

[jacobc62]

I've been trying to wrap up a couple of quests in my playthrough in the Haafingar area of Skyrim, but I've been running into an issue of a constant and consistent CTD whenever I'm near the area Meridia's Shrine is in.

 

This is my load order (Copied via LOOT):

0 0 Skyrim.esm
1 1 Update.esm
2 2 Dawnguard.esm
3 3 HearthFires.esm
4 4 Dragonborn.esm
5 5 unofficial skyrim special edition patch.esp
6 6 ApachiiHair.esm
7 7 ApachiiHairMales.esm
8 8 ApachiiHairFemales.esm
9 9 bsassets.esm (Beyond Skyrim: Bruma)
10 a bsheartland.esm (Beyond Skyrim: Bruma)
11 b bs_dlc_patch.esp (Beyond Skyrim: Bruma)
12 c Apachii_DivineEleganceStore.esm
static mesh improvement mod se.esp
13 d cloaks&capes.esp
14 e RLO - Exteriors.esp
15 f lamposts of skyrim.esp
16 10 50 more perk points.esp
17 11 dd - enhanced blood main.esp
18 12 Khajiit_Eyes_Extended.esp
19 13 Alduin78_StarWars.esp
20 14 RLO - Interiors.esp
21 15 Legendary Skyrim Crossbows.esp
22 16 dr_bandolier.esp
23 17 Vivid WeathersSE.esp
24 18 icepenguinworldmap.esp
25 19 mystic.esp
26 1a royaldaedric.esp
27 1b khajiitears.esp
28 1c dark brotherhood armor black 2k.esp
29 1d imperialrewards.esp
30 1e hereticarmorpub.esp
31 1f flameatronacharmor.esp
32 20 taloshousecarl.esp
33 21 LeatherBound Huntress Armor.esp
34 22 AsharaElvenKnight.esp
35 23 FollowerWander2.esp
36 24 imp_helm_legend.esp
37 25 Northgirl.esp
38 26 Hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp
39 27 point the way.esp
40 28 Pyro Armor.esp
41 29 ahzbetterdgentrancese.esp
42 2a sarcasticdragon's snarky loading screens.esp
43 2b Extra Guards.esp
44 2c immersive patrols ii.esp
Magicka Sabers Crystal.esp
45 2d immersive wenches.esp
46 2e Deus Mons.esp
47 2f extended character creation options.esp
48 30 Apachii_DivineEleganceStore_Patch.esp
49 31 prometheus_beastskeletons.esp
50 32 Plasma Blades.esp
51 33 the paarthurnax dilemma.esp
52 34 collegestudents.esp
53 35 haem projects snippy.esp
54 36 battlemagearmor.esp
55 37 adventurerMashupComp.esp
56 38 DragonCarvedArmorSet.esp
57 39 RLO - Illuminated Spells.esp
58 3a RLO - Effects.esp
59 3b wetandcold.esp
60 3c immersive sword draw sound effects.esp
61 3d dead body collision.esp
62 3e Hothtrooper44_Armor_Ecksstra.esp
63 3f bspatch.esp (Beyond Skyrim: Bruma)
64 40 lefthandrings.esp
65 41 sm_hf_staffenchanter.esp
66 42 frostbitefox.esp
67 43 flamesmining.esp
68 44 ESO Altmer Armor by NewrMind43.esp
69 45 Diverse Hold Guards.esp
70 46 guardsvariedhelmets.esp
71 47 sptdiverseguardsskyrimse.esp
72 48 Diverse Imperial Soldiers.esp
73 49 TheLily.esp
74 4a Diverse Stormcloak Soldiers.esp
75 4b UNP Vanilla Outfits.esp
76 4c Ember_Sword.esp
77 4d Boots of Waterwalking SE.esp
78 4e FNIS.esp
79 4f apocalypse - magic of skyrim.esp
80 50 lordamor.esp
81 51 yot - your own thoughts.esp
82 52 Cumulative Blessings.esp
83 53 LykaiosApachiiPatchFemale.esp
84 54 LykaiosApachiiPatchMale.esp
85 55 LykaiosApachiiPatchMain.esp
86 56 LykaiosRace.esp
87 57 aeskhajiitelvenglasshelmetfix.esp
88 58 skyrim colors.esp
89 59 sword_of_omens.esp
90 5a casey khajiit female.esp
91 5b forsworn dreadlocks for beast races.esp
92 5c visible favorited gear.esp
93 5d immersive citizens - ai overhaul.esp
94 5e immersive wenches -immersive citizens ai overhaul patch-.esp
95 5f alternate start - live another life.esp
96 60 realisticwatertwo.esp
97 61 relationship dialogue overhaul.esp
98 62 summermyst - enchantments of skyrim.esp

I originally disabled SMIM due to seeing that could be a possible cause, but the game still crashed. I disabled Immersive Patrols to see if it was causing the CTD, but no luck there either.

Edited January 28, 2018 by jacobc62

[TheWilloughbian]

Could be a bad texture.

[jacobc62]

Alright, so I tried to google the issue further, and saw something about the Unofficial patch, so I tried removing that, and the game still crashed in the same spot. I also tried disabling Lampposts of Skyrim but still had a crash.

 

I also decided to install the Coat of Paint texture overhauls for Whiterun and Solitude, suspecting Dragon Bridge (which iirc uses texture assets solitude) being a potential cause, but it still crashed.

 

Any other ideas than it being a bad texture?

[Algabar]

Claims that the Unofficial Patch crashes the game are almost certainly false. The game might crash with USSEP installed, but then there's something else not right. The Unofficial Patches are among the most professional and most thouroughly tested mods availabe for Skyrim.

 

To either verify or rule out the "bad texture" theory, you can use nifscan and let it check your textures: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/75916

 

Have you tried starting a new game? If not, try it and see, if the problem persists in a new game.

If so, it's a problem with the current mod setup. Else it's a problem with your savegame (e.g. data from uninstalled mods, that's still baked into the save game). In the latter case, using a savegame cleaner like "Fallrim tools" might help, in the former you will have to search for the cause of your crashes the hard way: Disable your mods one by one and test until the game doesn't CTD any more. The last mod you disabled probably was the culprit... OFC this is a very tedious and time consuming procedure - but the only way I can think of, unless someone else sees something obviously wrong in your load order.

 

BTW, you should use a bashed patch created with "Wrye Bash". This might also help to make your game more stable.

[sopmac45]

IMHO, it is related to some texture mods that you have in your game. Can you tell us what are those ?

 

For example, in my previous play through, I used Verdant, Open Cities ( which I do not like at all for all the trouble that causes ), Vivid Weathers, Vivid Landscapes, Whiterun Forest Overhaul, Skyrim Flora Overhaul, Better Trees + Skyrim 2017 Textures .... to make the story short, as soon as I deleted Verdant and Open Cities, no more CTD's. Verdant is known as a mod that causes CTD ( what a shame because I liked it ) and Open Cities in combination with other mods like the above mentioned + Realistic Water Two ( which I prefer to have in my game because I got more water than doors being opened by Open Cities which only open 4 doors - Solitude, Whiterun, Markarth and Windhelm - ) requires a lot of patches in your game and it is pain in the butt. But this is me.

 

I would advise you to find out which textures mods you have. Remember that textures apply to the entire game and when in combination with other mods, it might trigger a CTD.

 

In my current play through, I decided to only have one environmental mod : Vivid Weathers + one ENB and my game is very stable and no CTD so far. I still have Realistic Water Two but Verdant and Open Cities, are no longer in my load order and will never be.

 

In your load order I see a lot of Immersive mods. I remember that one time I used Immersive Citizens and Immersive Patrols and I did not like them at all because they were dropping my FPS and causing CTD's. As soon as I deleted them, I got back to normal.

 

Nevertheless, I am using Hateful Wenches with Genesis and a lot of spawns are happening in my game ( inside and outside ) but my game is stable, even though my Genesis is setup to 30% more spawns ( inside ) and 35% ( outside ). I think that you should review your load order and decide which ones to keep. It has been well documented that when having two or more mods doing the same thing, there will be a lot of conflicts between those mods that may lead to crash your game.

[Algabar]

 

I would advise you to find out which textures mods you have. Remember that textures apply to the entire game and when in combination with other mods, it might trigger a CTD.

 

 

Textures can and will crash your game, if the files are either generally corrupted or saved in a fromat not supported by Skyrim SE / DX 11. Nifscan (which I linked above) will tell you all these things.

Another cause for CTDs can be corrupt / unsupported meshes (.nif). These will also be indicated by Nifscan.

 

EDIT: If Nifscan complains about not being able to read certain textures, this deosn't necessarily mean "danger". NifScan can't read the e.g. the BC-7 texture format. AFAIK it is not used by Bethesda, but it is definitely supported by the Skyrim SE engine. I use some custom assets in BC-7 format (and OFC I know, what textures these are). So I can safely ignore any messages about them in NifScan.

 

So technically there's no need for trial and error. If Nifscan gives out warnings, take care of the, Otherwise, the cause of CTDs are neither textures nor meshes. BTW, even larger textures and high poly meshes, that are beyond the limits of your rig, usually won't cause the game to CTD. They will only slow it down.

Edited February 7, 2018 by Algabar

[jacobc62]

Alright, so I've moved away from the area a while ago because I had tried seeing if some of the mods I had were causing it with no luck. Now, I'm at my wits end because now whenever I look roughly West-Northwest from Shor's Watchtower, I get another consistent CTD, which is preventing me from continuing the Civil War questline.

 

I have tried going through and removing any texture mods that could cause the CTD, with no luck. I've removed any mods that could potentially add things to that area, with no luck. I don't have any landscape overhaul mods such as Verdant or Vivid Landscapes.

 

 

I'm at the point where I would rather go back and play Legendary Edition because I had less issues with Oldrim!

Edited February 13, 2018 by jacobc62

[Algabar]

Did you try with a completely new game? Just for testing. Would be interesting if the CTD occurs in a fresh game, too. If so, it's a mod problem. Else it's a problem with your save game.

[jacobc62]

Did you try with a completely new game? Just for testing. Would be interesting if the CTD occurs in a fresh game, too. If so, it's a mod problem. Else it's a problem with your save game.

And as it turns out, it's a problem with my save game! Went to both troublesome spots that I had with a fresh character and no CTD occured. I got so flustered with trying to see if it was a mod issue that trying a fresh character slipped my mind....

 

 

Welp, looks like I'll have to start fresh yet again. Thankfully, this will allow me to overview the mods I have and see what mods I want/need and what mods could/should be removed from my load order, so I got that going for me..... Thank you for the help.

 

 

*EDIT* I spoke too soon. Now I'm having a consistent CTD whenever I look west of the Falkreath Stormcloak camp on fresh characters.

 

New load order:

 

0 0 Skyrim.esm

1 1 Update.esm

2 2 Dawnguard.esm

3 3 HearthFires.esm

4 4 Dragonborn.esm

5 5 unofficial skyrim special edition patch.esp

6 6 ApachiiHair.esm

7 7 ApachiiHairMales.esm

8 8 ApachiiHairFemales.esm

9 9 Apachii_DivineEleganceStore.esm

10 a static mesh improvement mod se.esp

11 b cloaks&capes.esp

12 c RLO - Exteriors.esp

13 d lamposts of skyrim.esp

14 e 50 more perk points.esp

15 f dd - enhanced blood main.esp

16 10 Khajiit_Eyes_Extended.esp

17 11 RLO - Interiors.esp

18 12 Legendary Skyrim Crossbows.esp

19 13 dr_bandolier.esp

20 14 Vivid WeathersSE.esp

21 15 icepenguinworldmap.esp

22 16 royaldaedric.esp

23 17 khajiitears.esp

24 18 dark brotherhood armor black 2k.esp

25 19 imperialrewards.esp

26 1a hereticarmorpub.esp

27 1b flameatronacharmor.esp

28 1c taloshousecarl.esp

29 1d LeatherBound Huntress Armor.esp

30 1e AsharaElvenKnight.esp

31 1f FollowerWander2.esp

32 20 imp_helm_legend.esp

33 21 Northgirl.esp

34 22 LVM_library_redone.esp

35 23 Hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp

36 24 Pyro Armor.esp

37 25 LakeViewManorUpgrades.esp

38 26 point the way.esp

39 27 ahzbetterdgentrancese.esp

40 28 sarcasticdragon's snarky loading screens.esp

41 29 JKs Whiterun.esp

42 2a Extra Guards.esp

43 2b immersive patrols ii.esp

44 2c immersive wenches.esp

45 2d Shor's Stone.esp

46 2e Deus Mons.esp

47 2f extended character creation options.esp

48 30 Apachii_DivineEleganceStore_Patch.esp

49 31 prometheus_beastskeletons.esp

50 32 riften backdoor.esp

51 33 blacksmith forge water fix se.esp

52 34 sm_jobasha_bookshop.esp

53 35 Plasma Blades.esp

54 36 the paarthurnax dilemma.esp

55 37 JKs Whiterun exterior.esp

56 38 sm_winterholdgate.esp

57 39 holdborderbanners.esp

58 3a Equippable Tomes.esp

59 3b collegestudents.esp

60 3c battlemagearmor.esp

61 3d adventurerMashupComp.esp

62 3e DragonCarvedArmorSet.esp

63 3f RLO - Illuminated Spells.esp

64 40 RLO - Effects.esp

65 41 wetandcold.esp

66 42 immersive sword draw sound effects.esp

67 43 dead body collision.esp

68 44 Hothtrooper44_Armor_Ecksstra.esp

69 45 sm_hf_staffenchanter.esp

70 46 frostbitefox.esp

71 47 flamesmining.esp

72 48 ESO Altmer Armor by NewrMind43.esp

73 49 Master of Disguise - Special Edition.esp

74 4a Diverse Hold Guards.esp

75 4b guardsvariedhelmets.esp

76 4c sptdiverseguardsskyrimse.esp

77 4d Diverse Imperial Soldiers.esp

78 4e Diverse Stormcloak Soldiers.esp

79 4f UNP Vanilla Outfits.esp

80 50 Real Solitude Rocks.esp

81 51 giftsofakatosh.esp

82 52 TheLily.esp

83 53 Ember_Sword.esp

84 54 summermyst - enchantments of skyrim.esp

85 55 Boots of Waterwalking SE.esp

86 56 FNIS.esp

87 57 apocalypse - magic of skyrim.esp

88 58 lordamor.esp

89 59 yot - your own thoughts.esp

90 5a Cumulative Blessings.esp

91 5b LykaiosApachiiPatchFemale.esp

92 5c LykaiosApachiiPatchMale.esp

93 5d LykaiosApachiiPatchMain.esp

94 5e LykaiosRace.esp

95 5f aeskhajiitelvenglasshelmetfix.esp

96 60 skyrim colors.esp

97 61 sword_of_omens.esp

98 62 casey khajiit female.esp

99 63 forsworn dreadlocks for beast races.esp

100 64 visible favorited gear.esp

101 65 Smelt Gold SE.esp

102 66 More Weapons Please.esp

103 67 STAC.esp

104 68 Mystical_Continuum_Swords.esp

105 69 sm_passive_mudcrabs.esp

106 6a se_haste.esp

107 6b DemonHunterArmor.esp

108 6c JS Armored Circlets SE.esp

109 6d StarterTomesAS.esp

110 6e map - speech redesigned.esp

111 6f map - enchanting extended.esp

112 70 immersive citizens - ai overhaul.esp

113 71 immersive wenches -immersive citizens ai overhaul patch-.esp

114 72 alternate start - live another life.esp

115 73 realisticwatertwo.esp

116 74 relationship dialogue overhaul.esp

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by jacobc62