How to mod the correct way (Newbie)

[RavageTheEarth]

Hey guys. Let me start off by saying that I've been looking these forums for about a week now and have come to the conclusion that this a great community filled with great people. I am going to be starting my first gaming computer build soon almost exclusively to play Skyrim w/ mods. I will be using a Intel core i5 3570k OC'd along with a MSI Twin Frozr III Radeon HD 7950 OC'd. I want to mod the correct way right off the bat and I really have no idea how to start. I want to mod with software that will run smoothly and be able to place them in the correct order. I have already decided that I am going to strictly use nexus and not steam for my mods. I really can't find a detailed walkthrough on how to mod from start to finish. I want to install some texture packs, lush grass, etc. Just make the game more beautiful than it already is and also install some gameplay enhancement mods (not too many of those though). Also I have no idea what an ENB is, but is there a version that runs smoother than another? As you can tell I'm totally lost and overwhelmed with all of this so if someone can take a little time to walk me through what to do and how to manage my mods I really would appreciate that so much. Thanks guys! -Josh

[Eckss]

Hey guys. Let me start off by saying that I've been looking these forums for about a week now and have come to the conclusion that this a great community filled with great people. I am going to be starting my first gaming computer build soon almost exclusively to play Skyrim w/ mods. I will be using a Intel core i5 3570k OC'd along with a MSI Twin Frozr III Radeon HD 7950 OC'd. I want to mod the correct way right off the bat and I really have no idea how to start. I want to mod with software that will run smoothly and be able to place them in the correct order. I have already decided that I am going to strictly use nexus and not steam for my mods. I really can't find a detailed walkthrough on how to mod from start to finish. I want to install some texture packs, lush grass, etc. Just make the game more beautiful than it already is and also install some gameplay enhancement mods (not too many of those though). Also I have no idea what an ENB is, but is there a version that runs smoother than another? As you can tell I'm totally lost and overwhelmed with all of this so if someone can take a little time to walk me through what to do and how to manage my mods I really would appreciate that so much. Thanks guys! -Josh

There's plenty of information on the Nexus, you just have to look. The Forum's search function will usually give you an answer quicker than asking a question, however, when you do ask, using a good title that lets others know the basic question like 'How to mod the correct way (Newbie)' is definitely the right way to go.

 

The Nexus Wiki isn't just for Mod Authors, it's got information that's usefull to you as well, like This Article on how to install Mods, or This Article on Load Order.

 

If you haven't already, become familiar with the Forum Rules, they're not that complicated and every member is expected to have at least read them (A lot don't, and that's how they find trouble for themselves).

 

If you're using Nexus Mod Manager, installing Mods is so easy that it seems too simple, that's why some people go nuts and install 100 Mods at once without checking how they work and end up with a mess that needs a full Skyrim re-install to get back in working order.

 

Install 1 Mod at a time, then play with it for a bit to see how you like it before you install another.

 

Before installing a Mod, read the description carefully, I can't stress this enough; there's nothing that's more likely to annoy a Mod author (at least without breaking the site rules) than posting a question on a Mod's comment thread that's already answered in the Mod's description or ReadMe file. Also, learn to search the comment threads for answers before you ask - Mod authors also don't like getting asked the same questions over and over.

 

An ENB is one of those 'love it or hate it' kind of graphics enhancements, I don't use 1 personally, so someone else'll have to explain that to you (you could try the chat, but read the chat rules before you ask, and if no-one wants to answer you, just try again later, don't ever be rude).

 

I need to go now, if I haven't answered something, ask a specific question; I'll keep an eye on this thread and answer if I can. Read the articles I've linked to first, they might answer your questions.

 

Welcome.

Eck. :D

[bben46]

There is no one right way to install mods. And no possible way to guarantee that a particular mod will work with your setup.

 

Each game will be a bit different - because they use different game engines. Even the Bethesda game engine evolves with each game - so what worked in Oblivion or Fallout3 may not work in Skyrim or Fallout New Vegas. And installing mods for games using totally different game engines - such as Witcher will be totally different.

 

Currently, most, but not all Skyrim mods will install properly with the Nexus Mod Manager. This is because the modding of Skyrim has evolved along side of the NMM. If you use Oblivion, some mods will work fine with NMM, while others will not. - that is because when Oblivion modding was started there were no mod managers at all. and as mod managers became available, some older mods and especially those with multiple options still had to be installed manually.

 

Recommendations - some have been posted already

Back up everything before starting to add mods

Whenever you have a stable game - make another back up.

Do not start installing mods until after you have started the game and made at least one save - the game needs to start before actually finishing it's installation.

Start the game and play a while with no mods - then you will have a better idea of what mods you want.

Not everyone likes the same mods, so always consider your own taste before taking someone's advice on a mod.

Always read the documentation before installing - it could save you a lot of time and aggravation.

install one mod - test to be sure it works before adding the next one. Installing a bunch of mods all at once is almost sure to cause problems - the time you thought you would save will be more than lost in trying to figure out what went wrong.

If there is a problem - remove the last mod and test to be sure the game works

When you have more than a dozen mods be sure to get and use BOSS to set load order (Bethesda games only)

If you use NMM, you still may have to install some mods manually - so learn how.

 

Always uninstall using the same method you used to install. NMM will not properly uninstall a mod that was installed manually, by a different manager or from steam. :thumbsup:

[RavageTheEarth]

Thank you so much guys! Things are starting to get a little less foggy for me :biggrin: So is ENB one of those wierd mods that messes with the focus and lighting and stuff like that? Also, how do I back-up a game? Does that process consist of just copying the save files themselves onto a flash drive?

[LargeStyle]

Right, I'll be somewhat thorough here so it's as complete a guide as you'll need....

 

There are several ways in which to apply mods to Skyrim - each way ultimately installs each mod but depending on your approach and the amount of time you're willing to spend customizing your mod collection then the results can vary between correct and tidy installations to incorrect and messy installations. I therefore think that the installation and organisation of mods should never overlooked as not only as when this process is done "properly" then you'll obtain a mod collection that'll be correctly installed, conveniently installed, cleanly installed, have no conflicts / unwanted mod file mismatches, and arguably better loading times and general game performance if not improved / better game stability too.

 

I want to mod with software that will run smoothly

Personally speaking, I find the Nexus Mod Manager application to be all you need to manage mods properly. Just go to Skyrim Nexus website and there'll be a "Mod Manager" link at the top of the screen - follow that to obtain the application. Nexus Mod Manager (or NMM) works together with Skyrim Nexus website - find a mod on the website and click the "Download with Manager" button and it'll launch NMM application (if it's not already running) and automatically start to download the mod). Upon installation of NMM it will ask you to chose a folder in which mods are downloaded into, so it will keep all the mod files organised for you. Upon running NMM for the first time it will scan your computer for installed games (NMM can manage several games) - simply confirm Skyrims directory once NMM has found it by clicking the green tick and either wait for or cancel the other games' search. Once your folder(s) have been confirmed then you're all setup and good to start installing mods via NMM.

 

... be able to place them in the correct order.

NMM is currently unable to automatically organise mod load order. There is an application / mod called "Boss" (found here) that will do this for you. Bear in mind that some mod such as texture mod don't necessarily install files that NMM and / or BOSS will recognise so it will be to you to manually manage these files. More on that later....

 

Moddiing Basics:

 

- Generally speaking, for mods to work then the "Data Files" option within Skyrims launcher needs to be active (not greyed out). If this is greyed out then navigate to your SkyrimPrefs.ini file (normally located in C:\Users\*your name*\Documents\My Games\Skyrim), open the .ini file with any text editor (notepad will do) and scroll down to the "[Launcher]" section and ensure that the following line looks like this: "bEnableFileSelection=1" (1 means enabled and 0 means disabled). Adjust the line if required, save the file and problem solved.

 

- Always read the mod descriptions Nexus page as it may contain specific installation / general use instructions. More often than not the mod description page will contain mod compatibility information so you should be made aware of (potential) conflicts before you download anything.

 

- Look into what each mod changes - some mods change just one file while others are more sizable and may change several / a lot of files - some of which you may want left untouched. The most thorough way of determining what each mod adjusts is to download a mod (either via NMM or manually to a custom destination on your computer) and open the mod file which is normally in the form of either a .rar / .zip / .7z file. What you'll find in the mod file will obviously vary depending on each mod, but there are multiple ways / file structures in which mods are made and provided in (more on this later too). Once you understand this entire process you'll be able to open all provided files and determine exactly what each mod changes therefore you will be able to organise mods in regards to either compatibility and / or personal custiomisation.

 

- Install one mod at a time and assess it for its features (don't add mulitple mods as it'll potentially make it harder / impossible to determine what changes each mod has made, or even to troubleshoot any problems that a mod / multiple mods may create.

 

 

Skyrim file types / formats:

 

There are 3 "main" types of Skyrim file: .esm .esp. and .bsa. Skyrims file structure works using a "parent" and "child" relationship system - the .esm file(s) are the parents and the .esp files(s) are the children. Parent file(s) are essential for Skyrim to actually run, and Children files are optional "extensions" / modifications of the Parent(s).

 

The main Skyrim.esm file contains a raw data set of instructions / settings that define everything; the coordinates of all environmental features, armour and weapon statistics, all quests, lighting and weather, and so on. Skyrim therefore absolutely needs Skyrim.esm present to run! When official downloadable content such as Dawngaurd is installed, there will be a Dawngaurd.esm which again just adds the raw data settings side of the expansion to Skyrim.

 

The actual data assets for Skyrim are located within .bsa files. These files are a Bethesda-specific archive format which Skyrim will use when loading certain information into the game. By default there are several .bsa archives installed as standard, and their names are really self-explanatory: "Skyrim - Textures.bsa" obviously contains all the textures Skyrim will need, "Skyrim - Meshes.bsa" will contain all 3D generated mesh objects, and so on.

 

Lastly there are the .esp files, which in basic terms are modification (mod) files. These files are made by Bethesdas Creation Kit application. The Creation Kit (or CK) is an officiall application provided by Bethesda via Steams "Tools" services. If a mod changes say the location of an item or the statistic of an item then the Skyrim master would be loaded into CK, the relevant mod adjustments are made and when saved created the .esp file containing the instructions to Skyrim to make the required adjustments. If a mod changes say the appearance of an item (be it shape and / or texture) then further / alternative data would be used instead - and this requires further explanation...

 

Regardless of if you chose to use NMM or install mods manually, the mod files can be installed in several different ways - and this is where what I regard to be "the correct" or at least "the proper" way to install mods takes place. The different ways are:

 

Loose files: this is perhaps the most frequently used method to change asset files within Skyrim. If a .bsa archive file is unarchived / extracted to its official location (for example Skyrim - Textures.bsa) then a folder called "textures" will be made in Skyrims "Data" directory. However, as mentioned before the .bsa file itself is used to load these assest - but if a mod file is placed into the correct location that the .bsa folder structure would've used if it had been extracted into the data folder then this mod file will be loaded into the game once the .bsa files have been loaded. This is a quick and easy way to simply overwrite / change the priority in which files are loaded into the game.

 

..esp and .bsa files: mod authors can chose to collect all their mod files and make a .bsa archive file. The .esp file is simply there just to tell Skyrim to load the files from the .bsa archive. This approach is arguably better than loose files because it results in less loose files being added to Skyrims directories, therefore making it a much cleaner installation. It has also been commented that having too many loose files present within your data folder can slow down loading times, and archiving the mod files into a / multiple .bsa files may improve / restore loading times back to normal.

 

 

If you do use NMM then there are other factors to mention regardng installing and / or combining mods...

 

NMM keeps tracks of not only which mods you have downloaded, but their version number and even if there's a newer version available. If a new version is available then a yellow triangle warning symbol will be present in the mods window. If you update a mod it will download the new mod and ask if you want to update the old mod or add the newly downloaded update, If you click yes to the prompt it will make the old version inactive and activate the new mod. If you click no to the prompt then it will leave the original mod active and activate the newly downloaded mod too. Therefore If a mod has an update which replaces the original mod then you should let NMM update the files, but if a mod has an update which requires the original file to be active too then you would select no to the upgrade prompt and have both mods / files active.

 

In terms of "advanced" mod basics (if that makes sense) then...

 

Priorities / file overwrites: the general rule of thumb is to install the biggest mod first going down to the smallest mod last. For example, if you're giving Skyrim a visual overhaul then you may download a major texture mod such as "Skyrim 2K Textures" and activate it in NMM. Then you want different flora so you then install "Skyrim Flora Overhaul", but when installing this mod NMM will recognise the Flora Overhaul mod will overwrite some files that 2K Textures has installed. You confirm that you want files overwriting and it will install Flora Overhaul mod over 2K Textures mod, ultimately combining the 2 mods together. You then may want to change just certain tree elements so you install "Trees HD Variation" which just replaces a few tree files, so again you overwrite any files that NMM states that you would be overwriting and you have a third mod installed / combined.

 

Although this approach suits many people, it's not entirely perfect as a newly installed mod overwrites certain parts of another mod that you wanted to keep. If this is the case then you'll have to customise the mod files yourself outside of NMM, and here's how...

 

Download your desired mods either with NMM or "download manually" option in Nexus. As mentioned earlier, these mods will normally be in either .rar / .zip / .7z format. Use the required archive program (WinRar, 7zip etc.) to extract each mod into their own folders onto say your desktop. Now it's simply a case of making a new folder and manually picking and chosing which parts of which mods to place into the new folder. Obviously ensure that the folder structure in the new folder is the same as how Skyrims Data directory is setup otherwise the game won't read the files - i.e. ensure all textures are placed in the textures folder, meshes for meshes etc!

 

Now you have a few options here...

 

The quickest, but perhaps worst way to apply your customised mod is to simply place these loose files into Skyrims data directory (normally located at C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim\Data if on 32bit Windows, or C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim\Data if using 64bit Windows). Providing you've replicated the chosen mod files into the correct folders then this should now load your mod combination into the game, but because you've made a custom collection of loose files you will no longer be able to use NMM to manage these mods. This obviously isn't ideal so you can go one step further to improve things...

 

Once you have collected your customised mod files on your desktop, simply convert these files into a (Windows) archive file, again using .rar / .zip / .7z format. The archive file can then be added to NMMs assigned mod directory / folder, relaunch NMM and it will show up in the mod list. You can then install and uninstall the customised mod via NMM. However, although this manages the installation and uninstallation better than using just loose files, using the Windows archive option will still install loose files into Skyrims directory. So this can be improved yet again...

 

Instead of archiving your desktops mod collection files within .rar / .zip / .7z, archive these desktop files using Bethesdas archive file. To do this navigate to Skyrims main directory (the one with SkyrimLauncher.exe and TESV.exe files) and run "Archive.exe". Now move your mod collection files in the ROOT directory of your hard drive (this is only a temporary process so it won't mess anything up) - once again ensuring that the folders are named correctly (treat the root of say c:\ drive as the same as Skyrims "Data" directory) so the folders start at "texutres" / "meshes" etc. Go back to the Archive program and click "Edit" and then "Add Directory" - add your directories from your root drive (but leave out any .esp / .esm file for now) and once the folders / files have been added then go to "File" and "Save As" - name your .bsa archive file. Once the archive program is done then you'll end up with a singular .bsa file. Now load Creation Kit, select "Data" option, double click the Skyrim.esm file and load it. It'll take a short while to load and you'll no doubt get some errors pop up too, don't worry about them and just click yes to all. Once it's loaded simply go to "Data" and "Save" and make an .esp with the exact same filename as your newly made .bsa file (this .esp file will tell Skyrim to use the .bsa file). The new .esp file will be saved into Skyrims "Data" directory, locate this file and move it to your desktop. Now place the new .bsa file onto your desktop along with any .esp / .esm files then make a .rar / .zip / .7z that contains the all .esp / .esm and .bsa files. Once done, place that .rar / .zip / .7z file into NMMs assigned mod directory. It will then show up in your mods list, and when you activate and install it then it'll simply place the .esm / .esp / .bsa files into the Data directory and not have any loose files anywhere - much cleaner. Note that this approach is only really recommended for advanced / experience Skyrim users, and only really required to do when making a base-level collection of mods. For everyday experimentations / trials of mod just install them however they're designed to be installed and combine them at a later date if you wish to make the mod a permanent addition to you game then make your own archive.

 

Lastly, as for ENBs - it add pre and post processing graphics effects to the game including better Depth of Field (DOF) , screen / engine variables such as HDR / tonemapping, general lighting variables, reflections, and various "little" tweaks such as camera effects. It's undoubtly the most comprehensive visual modding mod / tool for Skyrim and it's designed to be very versatile if offering a near unlimited different ways in which Skyrim visuals can be setup. The "main" variables of ENB can be adjusted via either using .ini file manual adjustments of by use of its new GUI (graphical user interface) - even the ENB HLSL code can be replaced / rewritten leading to more change / improvements. The only downside of using ENB is the performance hit - depending on your pc you may not be able to run it at all, or run it with some features disabled. I currently have an ageing Q6600 CPU @ 2.4Ghz, GTX 260, and 8Gb DDR2 RAM - running an optimised ENB slows my game down to approximately 60% to 70% of its non-ENB performance. Some ENBs can be more demanding than others, but you'll often find that ENB preset authors will release a performance version along with the "full-on" version.

 

 

I've probably left out tons of information about Skyrim modding, but it should give you a start to the world of modding.

[RavageTheEarth]

and thorough you were! You have made my first steps onto an alien planet a lot less confusing. I want to learn as much as possible before I do this. Thanks!!! Edited January 24, 2013 by RavageTheEarth

[RavageTheEarth]

So as a first time modder would you guys just reccommend me to start off installing mods with the NMM for now? So I should just stick to installing them from largest first to smallest last? And just make sure I read the complete description of the mod first? anything else I should do? So should I install, from first to last, 2k textures, lush trees, lush grass, enb, and then small gameplay mods like having satchels next to every alchemy area in all the houses. Would that be the correct way to install those? Edited January 24, 2013 by RavageTheEarth

[ilikecheese1337]

Yes, none of those mods should conflict, but be warned that the ENB could ruin your game performance. I use IMAGINATOR instead.

[LargeStyle]

As ilikecheese1337 said, providing you are certain that mods don't conflict with each other then you can install them in whatever order, and yes while you're getting an understanding and experimenting with mods then basically chuck whatever mods at the game via NMM. I stated the long-arse method as once you have an understanding of which mods you want and don't want then you can do a better installation and setup. It still doesn't harm to install bigger mods first anyway.

[RavageTheEarth]

What is IMAGINATOR?? Is that a nexus mod? Could u provide a link to which one u use?