Fresh skyrim player and mod user, confused and lost

[bluetortoise]

So i just got myself skyrim yesterday, special edition, but i been watching some mod reviews on youtube here and there for years

 

so once i got the game, i came here immediately and grabbed me some mods that i always wanted to try

 

mainly follower mods, but im confused by all these terminologies like bodyslider, preset, CBBE, and all that, and i kinda feel like my follower mods havent been properly installed

 

i have installed the mod manager, can someone explain those terms to me and how to properly install them in a simple way that a total newbie like me could understand?

 

(i installed maybe 7 or 8 followers, some of them can be found in the same area, but i can always only encounter one in such case)

[anjenthedog]

1) Slow down. Installing too many mods simultaneously, especially for a newb, can easily result in hours or days or even weeks of frustration and lead to unnecessary dissatisfaction due to a variety of mod conflicts and other issues.

 

2) Bodyslide: when you encounter something that says it includes a "bodyslide" it means that it includes an XML specification for the body used for the follower, or for an armor or clothing mod. This XML specification is automatically added to CBBE Bodyslide and Outfit studio's list of Body/Outfits

 

This is used to both choose the type of body we're going to use (a static body like CBBE, or a phsyics enabled body like CBBE physics, CBBE special, 3BBB Amazing, Fantasy, Physics, or Special etc, AND to fit clothing/armor to our body.

 

"Bodyslide" is also often used to refer to the BodySlide portion of the Bodyslide and Outfit Studio application (Outfit Studio is the other portion)

 

*** It is important to note that you really must install Bodyslide and Outfit Studio prior, to take advantage of many (or all) of the "bodyslide" features, and AFAIK, any mod or other that has bodyslide info in it will need to be reinstalled if you haven't already installed Bodyslide and Outfit Studio, since there'd be nowhere for the bodyslide info to be deposited otherwise. (that is, AFAIK, that info won't be accessible if the Bodyslide and Outfit Studio application is installed AFTER you installed the bodyslide resource)

 

 

3) Preset: a preset is the XML spec (a definitions file) that defines a particular set of sliders for adjusting a unique body within Bodyslide and Outfit Studio. These adjustments will be used to either build the body itself or to fit armor clothing to the assigned body.

 

- in Bodyslide and Outfit Studio, the application used to create or modify the player body (among other uses I won't go into because...well I'm tired and cranky and impatient after a night without heat while recovering from a bout of assault related sciatica) we select a Body/Outfit and an accompanying Preset (the adjustors) which will act upon the chosen Body/Outfit element when we build the selected Body or Outfit resource.

 

 

4) CBBE is a type of body. The two standards (abbreviated since there are a wide variety of variants based on the fundamental types) are CBBE and UNP. UNP comes from the older Skyrim LE game and afaik was the original body type

 

CBBE is a more modern approach (although there are caveats to that statement based on the new BHUNP type, but I digress)

 

CBBE was, until recently, considered the "standard" for player body creation in Skyrim Special Edition (beyond using the vanilla body), an I guess it still is overall, (even though we continue to be flooded by ported LE UNP follower mods...and no I'm not complaining, and as I mentioned above, the new BHUNP spec brings new possibilities for UNP derivative body types.)

 

It is an abbreviation for "Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Edition"

 

In addition to CBBE, there is also 3BBB which adds more features, and 3BBB Advanced, which adds even more features beyond 3BBB

 

I hope this whets your appetite and gives you *some insight.

 

As well, there's BHUNP, which is the UNP analog to CBBE's "child", 3BBB advanced. I'll leave it to you to investigate by searching at nexus and reading the mod page descriptions and posts tab entries ... like I did. (homework do your own, blah blah... with all due respect)

[bluetortoise]

Thank you so much for the reply.

 

I guess i have this major misunderstanding that all these bodysliders, CBBE etc will affect the custom followers (since im really only using follower mods and dont plan to mod my own character)

 

i was troubled that when i give them vanilla armors, their body become vanilla again, which makes me wonder how did others take screenshots of them in outfits that didnt even came with the mod.

 

which is why i first downloaded + installed the follower, then later after some more looking around, installed bodyslider and preset mods, which didnt change anything apparently, so i got confused and started to tinker with the deploy order of the mods, and now my followers are just gone

 

(plus the issue that if 2 different stand-alone followers can be find at same location, only one will be present)

Edited February 2, 2020 by bluetortoise

[anjenthedog]

*SOME* followers are affected by bodyslide work. But only those that come with an accompanying bodyslide spec, or as you've probably seen it written, with out an accompanying "bodyslide".

 

In my experience, most follower mods have no such spec, So until you become well-versed in the whole muckety muck and can forge your way without said "bodyslides", you're going to have to be satisfied with whatever they are, AS IS.

 

Again, with all due respect, you should slow down a bit. As I noted, simultaneously installing multiple mods can AND OFTEN DOES have adverse affects, even for seasoned players. The general rule I use is to install a given mod, open the game, make sure the mod is working, then exit the game and install the next. it can be a bit tedious, but it's better than having a game that doesn't work.

 

I wasn't aware of that last thing. good to know, but then it probably wouldn't affect me anyway, since I never install multiple mods at once, unless they are a mod and it's dependencies, where I usually forgo caution. (that is, if a mod has some other mod(s) as a dependency. I'll install the dependency(s), then install my mod without intermediary testing)

 

regarding armor changing the body.. that's where bodyslides and fitting armor/clothing comes in. and again, it requires those XML specs for a unique follower to be able to fit to their body. Without that. you're humped. You also *need* to know whether they are a CBBE or UNP based follower, and the same goes for the armor/clothing.

 

It is extremely important to remember that with very few exceptions, when you put on a piece of clothing or armor, you're not just putting on clothing or armor, you're swapping bodies as well. You're actually putting on a new torso...one might be nude, one might be a body (possibly the nude body but not necessarily) with armor applied to it. That is, you're actually swapping your entire torso.

 

Each of the clothing/armors are fitted to specific body shapes, and they don't necessarily "morph" to the target body by themselves. If you simply put on "some armor" it may have been fitted to a body quite dissimilar to yours, or the same regarding a follower.

 

For instance, I have many CBBE based clothing/armor items. I also have several UNP based clothing/armor items. If I apply a fitted piece, it fits like a glove. If I apply a random piece that was never fitted, it might fit *almost*, might not fit well, ... , or it may not even fit at all (one symptom of that bad a fit is that the torso becomes invisible), depending on how different the armor/clothing author's body was (from ours) when he or she fitted the armor prior to submitting it to nexus for us to use. And note that I said I have both CBBE and UNP armor clothing. either can be applied, although if you are CBBE and apply UNP armor/clothing, you may get some very weird texture issues. (afaik or visa versa)

 

PS> I have a few other related reply posts in the first four or five Skyrim SE forums posted within the past week or two that touch on and expand upon some of these issues in more depth, so have a look around. It might be beneficial.

 

PS> in fact, the two threads following your post touch on related subjects. FWIW...

 

BTW, even if you don't *plan on modding your own character, if you seek to fit any armor or clothing for your character, you're going to need to know how to use Bodyslide.

 

Sorry for any redundant sentences. I'm trying to avoid leaving out important details that might confuse, not intentionally being banal.