How to mod the correct way (Newbie)

[ilikecheese1337]

IMAGINATOR is a mod that lets you summon an IMAGINATOR helper who will let you set the game's saturation, colour tint, contrast, bloom, sunlight, sky, etc. It is indeed on Nexus, and here is the link:

 

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/13049

 

Just download it with NMM and when next you load your save the "Summon IMAGINATOR Helper" spell will be added to your spellbook.

[RavageTheEarth]

So excited guys!! Just purchased the first half of my gaming rig!! MSI Twin Frozr III 7950, Seasonic M12II 620 Watt Power Supply, Cooler Master HAF 912 Case, ASUS DVD burner. Pumped!!! Too bad for my $500 credit limit, I couldn't buy everything. Its fine though, it will give me more time to research modding. Now just waiting to pay off my bill and buy the rest! Going to sell my ps3 games right now and buy Skyrim for the PC!

[LargeStyle]

Holy crap! and you run all of those mods? What graphics settings are you playing on?

 

Yeah, it's all a bit of a push for my system, but mainly only really the GPU. I used Skyrim Performance Monitor the other day and the CPU was only using 25%-30%, system RAM usage went no higher than 1.6Gb, but both my GPU RAM and usage were totally maxed out all the time. All the textures I use are "medium" resolution quality (higher than standard Bethesda resolution, all texture packs running Lite or equivalent versions). The only mods that have a major impact on fps for me are, Glorious Grasses, Skyrim Bigger Trees, and ENBseries. That said I've just had a day of playing around with absolutely everything running all at 1080p (I normally play @ 1366x768) and it's performed surprisingly well. I only target 30 frames per second anyway (I'm a console gamer at heart).

 

Can I combine Lush Trees with Skyrim Bigger Trees?

I believe that you can! I perhaps wouldn't get too exited about Skyrim Bigger Trees - when the mod is installing it'll ask if you want big trees or smaller trees (but are still bigger than standard size). The "smaller trees" are a good improvement over standard, but they're not really that big, and the big tree version should be called the seriously massive version - they're huge. I was walking around / near Riften earlier and got properly lost in the forest. I think the mod actually needs an imbetween version or something.

 

I see in bigger trees there is a lot of detail to them. Is that from a texture pack or from the Bigger Trees mod itself?

I don't really know about this. All I do know is that the Lush Aspen Trees mod (which does the same thing that Lush Trees does to pine trees) has a more leaves type mod to compensate for everything being scaled up to a huge size.

 

Also, would I be able to use Pure Waters with WATER? Should I just install Pure Waters after I install WATER so it will overwrite the right files?

I've never combined water mods, but I'm almost certain that you shouldn't really install 2 at the same time - they'll both no doubt do the same thing. I've always used Realistic Water Textures and Terrain which is ultimately turned into the WATER - Water And Terrain Enhancement Redux mod. I recently decided to have a change and use Pure Waters, and it is good, but I find the water to be too transparent / clear, therefore too unrealistic for me, so WATER is back in again!

 

As your for list of chosen mods, it looks absolutely fine! Skyrim will look great with that setup. The only thing that I will change is Climates of Tamriel - it's perhaps the best / most popular weather lighting mod at the moment, but it looks like there will be 2 more weather and lighting mods coming out soon that will be worth a look - Realistic Lighting Overhaul, and the other being my very own mod!!

 

You may also want to think about running ENBseries too - it's a rather love / hate type mod, but just put a search into Nexis for ENB and if you're unaware about it then have a look at a few. It has good and slightly bad points about it, but it's definitely worth checking out.

 

I've been taking quite a few images today, and I've tried to capture different scenes that each demonstrate certain aspects which mods cover i.e. one picture will be focused on water, one on snow etc. I've used my own non-ENB weather and lighting mod and Vandr Delicate ENB (with sepia effect turned off). Images taken at 1920 x 810 (cinematic widescreen) resolution.

 

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/1576/tesv2013012616093791.jpg

 

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4622/tesv2013012617260002.jpg

 

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/4909/tesv2013012617553331.jpg

 

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/7544/tesv2013012619565846.jpg

 

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/3577/tesv2013012621241579.jpg

 

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/9855/tesv2013012618304178.jpg

 

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/1738/tesv2013012620395318.jpg

 

I also have these images plus 10 extra images uploaded into a "proper" collection, if interested download it here: My link

 

Hope you like them!

 

I'd better stop taking pictures now and get back to my modding, I've got a fair bit of work to finish off and I want it done before Dragonborn DLC arrives! Ask away though if you have any questions.

 

Just thought I'd also add...

 

Skyrim is on sale in Steam at the moment - 50% off!!

Edited January 27, 2013 by LargeStyle

[RavageTheEarth]

Wow cool pics man!! Would I be able to buy Skyrim on Steam through my GF's laptop and download it and play it when I get my PC put together?? I just bought the GPU and some other components today (jumping out of my skin with excitement), but I still have to go to micro center and buy the CPU, MOBO, SSD, and HDD. One more question. I have been checking out some ENB's on nexus and I can't seem to find something on the page that tells me where to download the...umm... root ENB?? I don't know what its called but you said the ENB's on nexus are just presets and it will tell me where to find the correct ENB to download. Idk maybe I'm just stupid, but if you could give me an example of where I could find it, it would be really helpful. I just want to say that you have been absolutely awesome with helping me out and I really appreciate that more than words can describe!

[RavageTheEarth]

Oh nevermind I found it with some more investigation. I'm still getting used to the layout of this website. So I'm going to go with the True Vision ENB ( http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/15983#content ) that runs on the ENB version 0.119 One question, can I download all these texture packs on a flash drive now and then install them through NMM when I get my computer or can I only install using NMM by clicking the "Download with NMM" on the mod page?

[RavageTheEarth]

Another question. What the heck is SKSE and how do I get it?? lol

[LargeStyle]

Would I be able to buy Skyrim on Steam through my GF's laptop and download it and play it when I get my PC put together??

Yes, you can log into your own Steam account on any computer and buy it and Skyrim will be associated with your account. Then just download it on your pc when you're ready.

 

One question, can I download all these texture packs on a flash drive now and then install them through NMM when I get my computer or can I only install using NMM by clicking the "Download with NMM" on the mod page?

You can download mods without using NMM at all and manually add them to NMM at a later date. All you need to do is download the mods manually, then when you have NMM setup and ready just copy the mods into NMM assigned mod download folder. Next time NMM is launched it'll recognise the mods as if they had beed downloaded by NMM itself.

 

Another question. What the heck is SKSE and how do I get it??

I don't know the true definition os SKSE, well apart from Skyrim Script Extender, and I normally don't use it. All I do know is that it can allow mods to have assignable key-press controls (something that the game can't deal with by itself) and it is generally required for some mods that have "advanced" functions / effects. The SkyUI interface requires SKSE so you'll need to install it. Generally speaking SKSE is a small collection of files that you'll have to copy into Skyrims main directory, then when you launch Skyrim you'll have to use SKSEs SKSE loader executable file. You can find SKSE here: My link. The current version is 1.06.06, and you will always have to ensure that SKSE is running the required version that supports the Skyrim patch version that you are using otherwise Skyrim won't run at all - so when Skyrim gets patched your SKSE based mods won't work until SKSE is updated, but they're always onto releasing the updated SKSE very quickly so you won't go without for long. Also to note, as of SkyUI version 3.0, SkyUI has a built in Mod Configuration Tool that has been integrated into Skyrims menu system, so if mod authors support it (and they no doubt will now it's available) peoples mods can have customisable features that can easily be setup within Skyrims interface - therefore if people that like modding have shied away from SKSE until now, then they'll probably start using it very soon!

 

EDIT: I've just seen this link to a video that explains SKSE much better than I did:

. In fact I highly recommend watching ALL of Gophers Skyrim Mod Sanctuary videos, he will be the perfect guide for Skyrim mods!

 

I just want to say that you have been absolutely awesome with helping me out and I really appreciate that more than words can describe!

You're welcome. I love Skyrim, Skyrim modding, and helping others, so it's all good :biggrin: Like I said though, I'm going to be on a mission with finishing my mod this coming week so I'll be busy, but ask away if you want more help. Otherwise I hope you enjoy your new pc and Skyrim when you're all sorted.

Edited January 27, 2013 by LargeStyle

[RavageTheEarth]

Thank you! Good luck on your mod I will definely check it out when you release it :thumbsup:

[RavageTheEarth]

Hey guys, so does anyone have any idea if I will be able to run that whole list of mods that I want with my 7950 GPU and 3570k CPU? Is anyone else here using a 7950!

[ilikecheese1337]

Back up your saves, grab Fraps and give it a go - you can't really know how well your system will handle it until you've tried, so download them all, activate and see what happens! If your FPS keels over, then optimise Skyrim (fiddle with SkyrimPrefs.ini, get performance improving mods like Skyrim Performance Plus and ATTK Power Loader - which requires SKSE, but then what doesn't) and start getting rid of the more performance-heavy mods until you're happy with Skyrim. With NMM and BOSS, playing with mods is relatively safe and migraine-free.