Recent Mod Crash Issues

[lambtonworm]

I've been having some very frustrating crashes and save game bugs with skyrim lately. First, it seems that almost every other mod crashes my game in a very specific way. I install a mod and it seems to be working fine until I move to certain areas in the game (which is no where near where the mods alter the game) which then crashes. Every time I go to that spot, the game crashes and I am unable to move passed it unless I uninstall the mod in question. This is not just one mod that is doing this, almost any mod that alters the world space (such as house mods) will cause a certain area of the game to crash once I enter into it.

The second bug that I encounter is that whenever I use NMM to load the game, it gets to the title screen and crashes. If I keep loading it, it will finally load properly, but only after a few crashes. Not a big issue but annoying. The third is that I have been having troubles with saved game bloating, where my save game will rise up to about 117 Mb and starts to stutter, but it does not seem to be related to the other mods crashing because those mods crash irregardless of the save game size.

 

What I want to know is if there is a specific flaw that causes most of these mods to fail such as the recent patch, because it does not seem like just one mod conflicting with another, its almost every other mod I download and install that seems to have this crashing issue. It's kinda making me paranoid about any mod that comes out. I am currently using the very latest patch available, and I'm not a stranger to using mods. For those interested here is my mod list. Let me know if you see something suspect:

 

 

Active Mod Files:

 

00  Skyrim.esm
01  JSwords.esm
02  Update.esm
03  Dragonbone Weapons.esp
++  Dragonbone Weapons - Tytanis Compatibility.esp
04  DeadlySpellImpacts.esp
05  WeaponsOf3E.esp
06  Realistic Running Speed.esp
07  College Of Winterhold Overhaul Release - V1.02.esp
08  JSwordsDistributionBalancePlugin.esp
09  Spousetocustomhome.esp
0A  Tytanis.esp
++  Lost Art of the Blacksmith.esp
0B  ValsCraftingMeltdownAlpha.esp
0C  MidasSkyrim.esp
0D  GHTapestries.esp
0E  HedgeKnight.esp
0F  TheEyesOfBeauty.esp
10  Cloaks.esp
11  Quest_NoMercy.esp
12  Quest_AndTheRealmsOfDaedra.esp
13  Quest_SeaOfGhosts.esp
14  Dr_Bandolier.esp
15  WATER.esp
16  WATER - Get Wet.esp
17  Lost Tower.esp
18  StaticMeshImprovementMod.esp
19  kimono's witcher silver swords.esp
1A  loners_sword.esp
1B  Unofficial Skyrim Patch.esp  [Version 1.0]
1C  Better Dynamic Snow.esp
1D  Realistic Lighting.esp
1E  Natural Skyrim Rain.esp
1F  Realistic Lighting Patcher.esp
20  Tim's Adjustments.esp
21  Mart's Savegame DeBloatifier.esp
22  Bashed Patch, Harthang.esp
23  Riften Riverside Home.esp
24  Breezehome_FullyUpgradable.esp
25  UFO - Ultimate Follower Overhaul.esp

 

[GrindedStone]

Make sure you don't have a bunch of unused mods in the data folder. You don't have to use NMM to launch skyrim. Once the load order is set you can launch it from steam or .exe. If you install an remove mods but keep using the same save game you are basicly rolling dice that the engine will auto correct itself. This is made worse by the lack of the ability to clean mods for this game as the tool doesn't exist yet. That means every single computer using the games with mods will already end up with random crashing to begin with. Changing the mods after the game has been started will only make things worse. Get a set of mods then start a new game an play that out till you get tired of it. Install something else, start a new game. Beyond that don't autosave, quicksave, overwrite any saves, or delete any saves. Make a new one each time, then don't delete them until you are ready to delete them all.

[Rennn]

It's not quite as serious as what GrindedStone said, but he is right. While you can install mods on an old save, you have to be careful, and make sure you don't overwrite your old saves unless you're certain that the new mod is not causing any problems after hours of playing. Although many mods won't crash Skyrim at all, as I have 60-odd mods without any crashing, many of the mods that haven't been cleaned will cause crashing. Cleaning a mod of duplicate references isn't too serious in mods that only affect simple, quick things, like making one dude killable, but larger mods will accumulate more dirt and lead to crashing unless they're cleaned.

 

Old saves often retain bits of uninstalled mods, and can probably cause problems with new mods. That's something to keep in mind. I usually have a backed-up unmodded save right after getting to Riverwood or something, so that I don't have to start totally over and remake my face if something breaks.

 

Texture mods and replacers shouldn't cause any problems with crashing, however.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Rennn