When modding Skyrim you are always going to run into "issues." Some of these are going to be more of a problem than others. This post details some of the things I've learned to do (or others have learned to do and suggested to me) in order to make hunting my problems down a lot easier. The reader is likely to note that any number of the suggestions given here were also given for other purposes on other posts. Be that as it may, all of these suggestions are made with the idea that, when the time comes to hunt down the problem and fix it, I want the path to the solution to be as simple and straightforward as possible. 

1. First, and foremost, once you have a stable load order (or starting from scratch have just finished following Donttouchmethere's guide) only add a few mods at a time!

More specifically, try not to add more than 5-10 mods onto a stable load order at any one time. This keeps the number of potential culprits down when things go south. When you have something happen, you will have only a small pool of mods to look at for the cause making finding the problem much simpler.

So, you ask, which is it, five mods or ten? It depends largely on the type of mod that you are loading. As a general rule, and to avoid controversy using terms like "resource heavy", I suggest that you look at the number of lines of dialogue that the mods add. So, bearing in mind that there are further guidelines that deal with this below, if a mod adds no dialogue at all (like an armor or weapon mod) I would be looking at going for the upper limit and maybe even a couple more. If, on the other hand, I am looking at a mod that has several thousand lines of dialogue (oh yes, these exist) I would suggest loading only that mod and the mods it requires (if you don't already have them). In my experience, the more lines of dialogue a mod has, the more complex the mod is in general and the more likely it is that something will go wrong (not so much with the mod itself but with the manner in which it interacts with other mods). And with those in between and with a mix of mod types I would suggest going for a number of mods somewhere in the middle.

2. Check for mod updates.

Whenever a mod that you are using does an update you will want to update to the newer version because your other mods are going to update and may depend on the newer material.

On the other hand, unless you are a masochist or enjoy being a beta tester, I encourage you to wait until the mod's support thread indicates that any issues with the update have been resolved. This typically takes 2-4 weeks.

2a. Early releases.

Stay away from mods that are in alpha unless testing mods and solving problems is something that gives you joy. I also generally recommend against beta versions of mods except where the author is evidently a perfectionist and is not going to call the mod complete until given a medal for extraordinary mod development for it. It is not hard to find out how long the author has had the mod in beta (shoot, Nexus Mod Manager is still officially in beta, for example).

A special piece of advice that Donttouchmethere asked me to add: "for nexus mods: if it needs more than 3 patches ruuuuuuuuuuuuun!"

3. Be certain that any mod you add has had a recent update and still has someone monitoring it (so there is support thread help) or has proven to be extremely stable (this last may be difficult to come by).

Recent is, of course, with a game that has only been out a few years, a relative term. Again, to be more specific, I would avoid any mod that has not had an update within the last three years. The presence of the mod's author on the support thread (or someone who has taken over that role from the author) would make me more comfortable with using that mod. If I go to the support thread and the last post by anyone is over a year old or the author (or their delegate) hasn't been on for 2 years I would stay far away from that mod. Having said that, there will always be exceptions and, if you have a strong recommendation from someone you trust, go for it. You can always go back to the person whose recommendation you took and ask them what went wrong.

4. Limit the number of mods that do the same thing.

While you may want to add many mods that do the same thing eventually in order to get just the effects that you want, it is prudent to add them one at a time. In that manner, if an issue arises, you will have a much better idea from where it comes. Mods types that fit this include:

> one weather mod

> one light mod

> one NPC replacer

> one AI overhaul

> one armor/weapon replacer

> one water mod

> spell mod

> idle replacer

5. A couple of last thoughts (Miscellany).

If you add a mod that has soft requirements it is a good idea to load at least one of those requirements. Some mods need at least one (any one) of their soft requirements in order to work properly. While this is not always true, loading one is prudent.

Be very, very careful when loading any mod that might overwrite your skeleton. In general, this should be considered as a mortal blow against using the mod if it says it will do this. However, a good mod author can overwrite the skeleton but you should be aware that you may very well be asking for problems if you use it.

I feel, as I did in my first blog post, like some disclaimers are needed. This time I'm going to keep them simple though.

#1) There is no such thing as a right way to solve modding issues. This is mine. Many other people with good intentions and more sense may do this another way. I say, "more power to them." 

#2) This post, like this blog, is LoversLab (LL)-centric. There is nothing that I am doing here that could not be done on other sites (such as Nexus) although the particulars will be different.

#3) This post is not meant to minimize the value of a Google search. My experience in using Google Search with Skyrim is that its algorithm brings back a very broad range of results. Sometimes it will have just the thing for which I have been searching. More commonly, I feel like I need a search engine to go through the search engine results for the things that are truly relevant. If you want to use Google that is your prerogative and once again I say, "more power to you."

#4) This blog post is intentionally about the easiest case in solving problems. That is, the problem is with a single mod and that mod can be easily identified. I did this in order to put the emphasis on the techniques (which will be needed for more complex issues later). I have also chosen for my example a well-known and well-worked-out issue. Most of you reading this post will scream out "the answer" as soon as I pose the question. Please remember, this post isn't about solving an issue for anyone but for helping people discover a path by which they can solve their own issues.

With all that in mind let's tackle a perennial question, "why is/are my character/NPCs invisible when I put Devious Devices on them?"

Step 1 - Reread (or read for the first time) the modpage.

I have mentioned this in other posts on this blog but it deserves to be reemphasized. Most of the common questions eventually wind up either corrected by the mod author (where that is possible) or addressed on the mod page. Simply go to the page where you downloaded the mod and read the text. In this case (from Devious Devices - Integration, specifically) you will find, about halfway down, this line:

IF THE DEVICES ARE INVISIBLE IN GAME, YOU FORGOT TO RUN BODYSLIDE AND BATCH BUILD THE DEVICES!!!

The emphasis is the author's, not mine. Here the solution is noted and the "fix" is clear cut. All that needs to be done is to follow the instructions.

But what if there was nothing on the modpage to explain the issue. Then you go to the next step.

Step 2 - Search the Mod's Support thread.

When you are on the modpage (in LL), in the upper right hand corner is the green "download" button. Directly below it, and much more humble in appearance, is the gray "get support" button. Click on this. As of the time I am writing this, there are currently 436 pages of support thread for DDi. In many cases, finding your answer is as simple as looking through the LAST several pages (say 430-436). There is a reasonable chance that the issue that you are experiencing will be mentioned there. However, the thought of going through over 400 pages to look for a solution is understandably intimidating. So, instead, this is where the Search function comes in.

Go to the top right hand corner of the page to the box that says Search. Choose what you want to put in, I chose simply "invisible". Then, don't search, rather look at the drop down menu and choose "this topic". Failure to perform this simple step is likely to result in an overwhelming number of hits. However, when I did it I still got 212 hits over 9 pages. Fortunately, scrolling down the list I discovered the sixth entry looked like exactly what I wanted to know:

As a result, I, once more, discovered that my problem was a failure to run Bodyslide.

But what if it isn't available here either? What if this question is neither addressed on the modpage or answered in the mod's Support Thread. Then you have to cast a wider net.

Step 3 - Search the Skyrim Support Thread

I'm going to go through this a step at a time. For those of you familiar with this I apologize for wasting your time. 

Go to the "Forums" button found at the top of most pages that include the LoversLab title. Click that and choose "Skyrim". You will have several choices but only the last two count. If you are using Skyrim LE (Oldrim, Legendary Edition) go to the next to the last listing "Skyrim Technical Support" and click on it. For Skyrim Special Edition Users (SE, Newrim) go to the last listing. Carefully choose the "Technical Support Thread" listing subforum found within the larger forum.

Once there (in either case) go back to the handy Search box in the upper right hand corner. Enter whatever you like to discover your issue. When you type it, again, don't hit search. From the drop down menu carefully select "This Forum" and then hit Search. When I did this with "invisible" I got 107 results over 5 pages. Once again, I was fortunate in that my third result was the issue for which I was looking and it was marked [Solved].

And so, once again, I found that I needed to build my DD items in Bodyslide before use or face this issue.

As I said at the beginning, the problem I chose was simple and well-known. However, I hope that the reader now has some tools for discovering their own answers to issues that they might have with mods. The mechanics are different, but I promise that you can do the same thing elsewhere (I've done it on Nexus - which makes me grateful for LL). I hope to try using these tools with a more difficult issue in a future blog post.

- Source disputed

99% of all problems (in modded Skyrim) are user caused.

-Grey Cloud (in the Skyrim Technical Threads)

As I have already mentioned this blog speaks to my experience in following the Skyrim Technical Thread here on LoversLab. While it is unpleasant to consider, a large number of those problems could have been avoided by reading the instructions given by mod authors. This blog entry is going to focus on the basics of what you absolutely must check on the page where the mod is described when you decide to download a mod. While this is SkyrimLE and LoversLab specific, the principles involved cover other games and other web sites (can anyone spell Nexus?) as well. I intend to cover other material that should be checked in the next blog entry.

Before I plunge in let me deal with the objection I know is on the lips of people who are looking at this now: "the instructions are unintelligible!" I admit that I have some sympathy with this. The quality of the instructions and description varies widely across mods. There are some excellent ones out there and I intend to use one of those for my example for this blog. I know there are some that truly are incomprehensible and/or appear to contradict themselves. However, it is your choice whether or not you download and use a mod. You can go on the mod's support thread and ask specific questions (more on this in the next blog entry) if you are unsure of what you are getting. From my perspective, however, let me ask this question, "would you try to climb into an airplane and fly it if you didn't understand what it was or how to do it?" With the exception of a few people (there have always got to be some in every crowd) the answer is no. In a like manner let me encourage you to NOT download and use a mod that you really don't understand. I've seen it and it isn't pretty.

Additionally, before complaining too much about the poor documentation let me ask you to consider this. Mod authors are just people. As such they only have a limited amount of time and energy for doing everything that they do with their mods. Most of them (if not all of them) spend significant amounts of time doing "things" in Real Life (like eating, sleeping, spending time with families,  working for a living, etc.). So, when you look at a mod whose documentation may leave something to be desired ask yourself this, "if I got to choose, would I really rather have this mod author spend more time on the documentation or would I rather they continue to improve this mod and/or make other great mods?" And, before you answer "both", let me remind you that these men and women are volunteers. They do not have to put any of these mods up here for us to use. I am grateful for those who take the time to try to keep their descriptions up to date. I am more grateful that they continue to make improvements to those mods so that the documentation gets out-of date.

Finally, let me start in on the actual material. There are many mods with great documentation here on LoversLab. I am going to use "Home Sweet Home" by Musje as my example because I am very familiar with this mod. In doing so I do not mean to denigrate the work of other mod authors or imply that their work is by any means "less."

1. Check the requirements

There are two locations (on an LL mod) for checking requirements. There is a handy box on the mod page and the requirements are also placed in the text.

Screenshot from HSH:

Note that on the right side of the page there is a green "Download this file" button above a gray "Get support" button above a box entitled File Information. Everything in that box is important and I hope to get through all of it in my blog. Right now, however, I want to focus on the section that says Requires (the last part just above "Special Edition Compatible"). This is the listing of all the mods that you must also have in order to run HSH. 

There is another place to find the requirements as well, After going through what the mod is about and how to use it, Musje then gives this text:

Please note that the Requirements are the same in both places. Unfortunately, this will not always be true. When in doubt, and when there is no additional clarification in the text, always assume the worst. That is, assume that you need the larger list. 

Next, Hard and Soft Requirements. Hard requirements are what I have been talking about up until now. These are mods without which THIS mod won't run (and you will likely get a CTD when you try to start your game). Soft requirements are generally mods that allow for additional functions but are not required for the mod. Musje has listed these (in the spoiler above) as Optional/recommended. Other mod authors will list these as soft requirements. In the case of HSH let me give you an example. If you have Heretical Resources (HR) loaded with HSH you are able to place individual HDT chains on your slaves (obviously through HR). If you do not have HR loaded you can still load your game and use the other functions of HSH but you will be unable to access this feature. No HDT chains for you! In short, a soft requirement is a mod that is required in order to access a feature, not one needed to actually run the mod.

Last, Musje has clearly designated that the DLC "Hearthfires" is a hard requirement for her mod. It is in your best interest to assume that all three DLCs are required for any mod that does not mention NOT needing them. They are, with the main game, what actually makes the Legendary Edition (LE). They have been out long enough that most mod authors are assuming that you have all that material and do not hesitate to draw from it (thereby making it a hard requirement) when they make their mods.

2. Make sure you have the right version

This blog is dedicated to fixing problems with Legendary Edition. A fairly common error is to load a mod designed for Special Edition (SE) in your load order. As a general rule of thumb this will give you a problem frequently including CTDs. In the box I showed in the first spoiler you may remember (or you can look back at it now). As is common with this box on LL you will see that it is blank. In an ideal world this box would have either a "Yes" or a "No" in it. When the box is left blank it is safe to assume that it is an LE only mod unless the title of the mod or the text specifically tell you otherwise. So, if the mod says "ABC - SE" and that box is blank it likely means that the mod is for SE.

3. Read the text

I know that many mods have an extraordinary amount of description on the modpage. I also know that I like to PLAY modded Skyrim and not read books about it. However, if you want to save yourself a lot of pain (and potentially CTDs and infinite loading screens) take the time to read the text.

On the Technical thread I have seen multiple examples of people complaining about a "bug" they had with a particular mod. When I went back and read the text, lo and behold, their "problem" was not a "bug" but a feature that the mod author designed for that mod. In one case the OP (original presenter on that thread) could not be convinced until the mod's author actually posted that their problem was a feature that the author was proud to have added. Try not to just read those parts that catch your attention, read ALL of the text.

Similarly, most mod authors try to post any mod that is known to be incompatible with their mod or even cause some issues. If you check these out before you load both mods you will not be surprised when you enter the Bannered Mare and your game consistently CTDs. You will have been able to prevent it.

4. Watch what you mix together

Here is a quote from the comments section from Ernest Lemmingway. While I may have phrased it a bit differently his warning is valid as is.

"If you make another entry on improving performance, there's a step I'd recommend: avoiding too many resource-heavy mods. Not just script-heavy but mesh- and texture-heavy as well. For years I used SMIM (Static Mesh Improvement Mod) and I still love it. But it consumes system resources to the point of dropping FPS and more CTDs even if you have a high-end computer and use ENBoost. I've recently removed it and, despite some cringe-worthy vanilla meshes returning, it's more stable than it's been for years.

Since a great deal of the major mods on LL tend to be script-heavy, users should prioritize what they want most."

I am not going to try to reinvent the wheel here. This is the definitive guide to making technical improvements for performance in your Skyrim game::

https://wiki.step-project.com/STEP:2.10.0

The Skyrim Total Enhancement Program (or STEP) guide is the product of a lot of dedicated work by a lot of people. All the recommendations listed have been tested extensively in game and can be thoroughly trusted. I admit that it looks very intimidating at first glance. However, the very fact that it is comprehensive and, dare I say, exhaustive is what makes it the definitive go-to guide. Do not expect to go through it in an hour. It will take time to read and understand but, if you are needing a technical fix for your Skyrim performance this is where you will find it.

1a. Ini files

One of the major reasons to go through the STEP wiki is to optimize your .ini files. These will have an impact on your performance as pointed out by Worik in the comments on this blog. While it is a good and useful thing to become familiar with the files, and while it is very important to try to optimize them for best performance, let me once again mention Bethini (found on Nexus, the link is in my first post on this blog). This is the method for getting the best results for your .ini files for those who just want to play Skyrim and don't want to become Skyrim nerds. I've chosen to place this here because Bethini is brought to you by the same good people who brought you the STEP program in the first place.

2. Skyrim Zen

I am placing this here because simply giving the STEP program reference seems like too little for a blog entry yet going into another major topic might short change one or the other. So, let me give you a way of looking at adding mods to Skyrim LE.

At first I though of modding as something like barnacles that have accreted onto the ship (the Skyrim engine). With this perspective each mod could then be considered as something that should be expected to slow (and eventually with enough barnacles stop) the movement of the ship. Because of size and location each barnacle might have greater or lesser impact on the ship's movement but all of them had some. While there is some truth in this I believe I have come to a better analogy.

The Skyrim engine is like a water pump. For this purpose it is a closed loop system requiring the water that is pumped to return to the pump eventually. This might be like the water in a fish pond where the pumping action aerates the water. When you add mods it is like adding filters or screens to the water flow. Some are very porous and make almost no difference to the flow. Others have major impacts and can even change where in the pipes that water flows. So, depending on the filters (mods) that are added you can decrease your performance and even crash your game with just a dozen or so mods (even with all the requirements - not talking missing masters here) or you can have hundreds of mods (not plug-ins but mods) and have a very stable and playable game. This change in analogy is important for a reason. Skyrim modding isn't about just avoiding "bad" mods. There are a few of these but not as many as you would think from the complaints that are out there. There is also the interaction of one mod with another. Back to the filter analogy. If one filter closes off the flow on the right side of the pipe and the following filter closes off the left side of the pipe you will have a problem. Similar things can, and do, happen with mods. There are plenty of mods that work just fine by themselves and with many other mods but are incompatible with a handful of other mods. Where possible, most mod authors note known incompatibilities on their modpage. However, they can only publish what they know and many of these incompatibilities are not made known to them.

Why is any of this philosophical bullshit of any importance to you? The mindset can keep you from falling into a trap. You have 150 mods loaded and start noticing a problem (slowing, stuttering CTD, etc.). You stumble across the fact that eliminating #100 in your load order fixes your problem and conclude that #100 is a "bad" mod. No, you have proven that #100 has been a significant part of your problem but there may be one or more other mods with which it is interacting that is causing the problem. It may be that if you had removed #78 first you would have fixed the problem equally well and thought that #78 was the problem. So, when you have a problem, and when you think that you have "fixed" a problem by removing a mod keep your mind open (especially if this was a mod you really wanted in the first place) that you may have found only part of "the problem." There may be, and often is, another solution that will allow you to keep your "problem" mod.

From the Creation Kit:

Papyrus is an entirely new scripting system created specifically for the Creation Kit. Like any scripting environment, Papyrus can be a daunting system, especially for those who are unfamiliar with other scripting or programming languages. This page is intended to serve as your portal to all things Papyrus, and there are several ways to use it, depending on expertise level.

This means that a Papyrus log is a list (log) of steps taken by Bethesda's scripting system (Papyrus) while your Skyrim game is running. As such it can be useful in the detection of all types of errors, including crashes (CTDs). Sounds good so far but many of my readers will have played Skyrim for years now and never run across a Papyrus log on their computer. There is a good reason for that; Skyrim's default setting for papyrus logging is "off". So, the first step in doing anything with it is turning it "on".

1. Turning on papyrus logging

There are two ways to do this and I have done them both at different times. The easy method is to turn it on in Bethini (mentioned in my last blog post) and found here:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/69787

To turn on papyrus logging with Bethini simply start the tool.

Once there, press the "General" tab listed across the top. Tick "on" the buttons that say "logging" and "debug info". Save your changes and exit. The next time you play Skyrim you will generate a papyrus log.

The other way to turn on papyrus logging is the harder, technosavvy way. First, you have to find your Skyrim.ini file. Mine can be found here: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim. However, in the Technical Threads the path given is My Documents > My Games > Skyrim > skyrim.ini. From my reading it appears that you can find Skyrim.ini in one or the other place and sometimes both. I would suggest that you use your computer's Search engine to find it and, when you do, make yourself a note (because when we're done you're going to want to go back there).

Having found Skyrim.ini and opened it in your favorite editor (I've always just used Notepad), you should be able to scroll down until you reach a section that looks very much like this:

[Papyrus]

fUpdateBudgetMS = 1.6

fExtraTaskletBudgetMS = 1.6

fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS = 2000.0

iMinMemoryPageSize = 128

iMaxMemoryPageSize = 512

iMaxAllocatedMemoryBytes = 76800

bEnableLogging = 0

bEnableTrace = 0

bLoadDebugInformation = 0

bEnableProfiling = 0

This example was also taken from the Technical threads. Mine was in alphabetical order when I found it. Do not worry about the order and do not worry if all the entries listed here are not in your Skyrim.ini. This one has been tweaked, a lot. To enable logging change the three settings (bEnableLogging, bEnableTrace and BLoadDebugInformation) from 0 to 1 (this is what Bethini did for you). Make certain that you save your changes and exit your editor.

2. Finding you papyrus logs

Before you go looking for your papyrus logs you must first play some Skyrim. To this point you have had nothing for the script editor to log since you just turned it on. So, go back to Skyrim and, for a change, try to make the game break in the manner that is bothering you. Whether this is misbehaving NPCs, strange happenings in Whiterun or CTDs, you want it to occur. As soon as it does happen close your game and exit.

Now, you can use your computer's Search engine to find your papyrus logs also. The default for finding the logs though is this: C:\Users\Owner\Documents\My Games\Skyrim\Logs\Script. This folder will, eventually have four logs in it. Papyrus.0.log will always be the most recent with 1,2 and 3 following. Here is an example of a papyrus log:

Papyrus.0.log

3. Using the papyrus log

To the best of my knowledge there is no definitive guide to using papyrus logs. When I first started looking at them I thought that they were called papyrus logs because they might as well have been written in hieroglyphics. It's not quite that bad.

Aside:

It is not my intention, therefore, to make anyone an expert in papyrus log debugging. If you look at one that has been run during a Skyrim "problem" you are likely to find things listed as issues of various sorts. You'll see things like "VM freezing." Sounds ominous right? Actually, it's normal and expected. However, with some time and inclination you will discover that you can make more and better diagnoses for yourself. At the very least, you now know how to turn it on and make it available to others if you need to.

A few things I've learned that I would like to leave you with:

1) Whatever your problem is, it is not likely the last thing listed in the log. Logically, you would expect it to be so since you shut the game off after "discovering" the problem but the editor is too fast for you. You are likely going to have to look back several lines before you find your issue.

2) If you have a lot of warnings and issues at the very beginning of your log you likely have a mod or mods that do not want to play nice. It may be that your next step is to isolate and remove those mods and see if your problem doesn't resolve, and

3) The obvious answer is not always the right one. I worked hard to debug a modded Skyrim game and the log kept throwing up SlaveTats as the seeming culprit. Eliminating it didn't solve my problem it simply moved on to blaming a different mod. I did eventually work out the issue but my lesson was learned.

Here is an (old but reliable) guide to some of the things that you can find in your Skyrim log:

https://afkmods.iguanadons.net/index.php?/topic/4129-skyrim-interpreting-papyrus-log-errors/

Last note on papyrus logs. As I mentioned, the default for papyrus logging is "off". There is actually a very good reason for that. Doing the logging causes a significant performance hit. As a result, when you are satisfied that your problem is resolved, be certain to return logging to "off" (either with Bethini or manually). Otherwise, you may find that your game is significantly slowed down.

Hopefully, performance improvement hints next.

Disclaimers:

Disclaimer 1 (please read this prior to telling me what a moron I am)

Disclaimer 2 (I know that this is derivative)

Disclaimer 3 (when are you going to finish?)

Section 1 - CTDs

The first question when you are getting CTDs is when are you getting CTDs? This can be split in three parts: before the main screen (or a split second thereafter), after the main screen but before the game loads (or a split second thereafter) or during the game.

This is the main screen to which I allude:

1) The crash is occurring before the main screen.

This is almost always a result of a missing master. If you have this problem you should run LOOT (Load Order Optimisation Tool) found here: 

https://loot.github.io/

Your mod manager can also tell you if you have a missing master but it is simpler to give one tried and tested tool to work with rather than explaining several different ones. If you have already read Donttouchmethere's blog you already have this tool. LOOT is very intuitive and a great deal of explanation should not be needed. Here is an example of what LOOT looks like in use:

Please note what is wrong with this (I assure you I did this intentionally, believe it or not). Just to the right of center at the top, you will note that LOOT says that I have 1 warning and 5 errors. The warnings can generally be disregarded but this one is highlighted in yellow - I have not sorted my load order. Before starting any Skyrim game in which you have changed your load order (added or deleted mods) you should run LOOT. Make it a habit. In the long haul you will not regret it.

Back to the matter at hand, if I were to scroll down this page of LOOT it would show me in red those files which are causing an error. In this case it is because I have a master that I have turned off. Were I to try to load this order right now my game would crash to desktop (CTD). I need to replace the missing master (LOOT will indicate which files need masters and what they are). In this case I happen to know that it is paradise_halls.esm (note that there is no number next to it in the left hand column of the screen) - this means that I loaded it but it has been ticked "off". When I go back and tick paradise halls back on and run LOOT the errors disappear and my game will load.

Before leaving LOOT I want to point out one other thing. On the top right hand, in the blue bar, there is an icon that looks like three vertical buttons or dots. If you click on that you will get options including being able to copy your load order. In my opinion, LOOT is the best source for sharing your load order for two reasons. First, LOOT gives the numbers to each of your mods. So, if you were writing to me you could say why is Devious Devices - Assets.esm (0a) so much higher in your load order than the other DD mods? Thus, it allows clearer communication. Second, LOOT lists your load order in the actual order in which it is loaded. So, it is easier to see if you have one or more mods that may be overwriting an earlier mod. In some cases knowing that and changing the load order is all that's necessary to fix a problem.

2) The crash is happening after the main screen but before the game loads.

The most common cause of this problem is too many animations for the crummy Bugthesda engine to handle with your modded Skyrim game.

===================================================================================================================

The material between the double lines is outdated but I am leaving it for reference purposes.

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The material between these lines is outdated but I am leaving it for reference purposes.

The limits of what constitutes too many animations vary from one set of mods to another. Fore (of FNIS fame) will attest that he can run 20k animations but admits that those animations make up virtually all his mods. Most people can safely run10k-12k animations. Some can run more, some less. When you run FNIS you should get something that looks like this:

This indicates that I have 6850 + 3212 = 10062 animations running at the current time (well below the limit and, I assure you, little enough to avoid issues with CTD).

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Updated information on animation limits

As of today (1/11/2019) there is no information on calculating how many animations you can safely load. This information is from Fore (of FNIS fame) originally and verified by GenioMaestro.

The limitations on animations appear to be related to character animations and alternate animations. The good news is that if you can get FNIS to load your creature animations they should not cause a CTD. The bad news is that calculating the limit is just a little harder. I will still use the FNIS output above (in the outdated section) for my example.

The newer information indicates that you need to calculate the total number of character animations and THREE TIMES the number of alternate animations. That total should not exceed 14k. So, using the information above my "effective" animations are:  2949 (983 * 3) + 6850 = 9799 animations. This is well below the 14000 animations limit. Even this limit can be exceeded if you use poser mods which seem to have less effect.

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Sadly, the einformation between these double lines is also outdated.

The most up-to-date information about animation CTDs (from Fore as of 8/15/2019) can be found here:

If you have more animations than you can load you effectively have 3 choices. First, and simplest is to remove animation packs.That would reduce the total number and, hopefully, allow the game to load (if you couldn't previously). Second choice is to use older versions of mods that you am currently running. Each iteration of a mod that contains animations (whether Devious Devices (DD) or Zaz Animation Pack (ZAP) contains more "stuff" including more animations. So, if you have too many animations with ZAP 8+ you could try loading with ZAP7 (similarly with DD). This only works if 1) you can find an older version of the mod and 2) the mods that you run that use the mod you are changing will actually run with the older version. Third, you can go to one of the Support Threads for mods that "do" animations. For my purposes I highly recommend going to the support thread for SexLab Animation Loader (SLAL) by Orxx. This issue is discussed at length on that site. There are many suggestions listed on how you can go about picking and choosing animations out of packs so as to reduce the total animations while leaving you the ones you feel that you absolutely have to have,

FNIS is very important to modded Skyrim. Be certain that you run it every time you change your load order. You might be surprised to discover that a mod that you loaded has animations in it even though "Animations" is NOT in its title.

Before I leave this topic I want to say two more things about FNIS. First, and most importantly. neither warnings nor errors should be ignored. Unlike LOOT (where warnings can usually be safely ignored) it is critically important that you resolve all warnings and errors that you receive from FNIS before starting your modded Skyrim game. Second, what Fore's excellent tool tells you is how many animations that FNIS can handle, not how many Bugthesda's engine can handle. It is the rule, rather than the exception, that people who have CTDs from too many animations get no warning from FNIS. That is because FNIS CAN handle that number of animations, it is the game's engine that can't! (This second point should be made void by the release of FNIS 7.5 XXL Beta-6. It should tell you if you are trying to load too many animations).

For more information on animation limits look at this article:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/articles/1168

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If you are having a crash due to too many animations then you need this:

3) I get my crashes at some other place and time

There are too many possibilities for this category to list all of them so I am going to stick with some recurrent themes.

First, do you have the tools?

Many tools have been developed to help stabilize and improve the modded Skyrim experience. In my opinion, among the most important are:

1) Crash fixes. Found here and fairly self-explanatory (as always, do read the directions):

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/72725

2) ENBoost. This one is more difficult and I hope to do a walkthrough at some point in the future. It is VERY important if you have less than 4GB of VRAM. If you have 8GB or more you probably don't need it. At 4GB it's your call (I have 4GB and I use it). Anyway, you will need to look in more than one place in order to complete this (although it will take you through it). Start here:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/73618

As if ENBoost is not difficult enough MicroSoft has chosen to throw some additional glitches in for users of Windows 10. If you have problems getting ENBoost to work and you run Windows 10 take a look at this (I had to):

https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/3089504-fix-for-skyrim-crashing-instantly-with-enb-on-windows-10/?p=56131491

3) SKSE. ini. The SKSE program does not come with this. As a result you do not get all the benefits of SKSE. While you can make your own version this one is already complete and optimized.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/51038?tab=files

4) SKSE plugin preloader. Helps organize SKSE so as to improve management.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/75795

5) Bethini. Skyrim's .ini files give it directions on how to handle your game. Problems with .ini files can cause all sorts of problems. While it is entirely possible to deal with these files by yourself Bethini gives you a tool with which to handle them safely. It is also much more intuitive than editing the files by yourself. It can be found here:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/69787

Then, have you done things correctly?

There are very many ways to do Skyrim correctly. Sadly there are even more ways in which to foul it up. Let me start with my favorite analogy for this. Modding Skyrim correctly (that is ending up with a stable game) is like good cooking. First, it requires the right ingredients (this is all the things that have been mentioned up to this point). Second, it takes patience (when I first came to LL I thought that the people giving me advice were brilliant and that their modded games just flowed from their genius. Now I know that they worked their asses off to make their game work, just like I did). Good food and a stable Skyrim game can not be rushed. Third, it can be seasoned to taste, There is no such thing as THE right set of mods or load order. Finally, no matter how much you may love two things individually sometimes they do not go together (some mods will just NOT place nice with other mods, I'm sorry at times you will just have to choose). 

Another common place to get CTDs is on loading a saved game. While many things, like bloat, can cause this issue it often can be resolved by adding another simple tool found here:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/85443

Bloat is more complex and beyond what I intend to do in this blog at this time.

A special case I'd like to mention is the corrupted mesh. If you find yourself unable to enter a particular cell (this usually occurs when you try to go through a doorway) you may have a corrupted mesh. If you attempt to use the console coc command and crash that way as well it makes the likelihood higher, frankly, close to 100%. So, now you know the cause you still have to go through your mods and see which one(s) is corrupting the mesh. While mods that say that they affect that cell should come high on your list of suspects my experience has been that the culprit is often something that doesn't come to mind as affecting that space.

Using the console/coc command:

VirginMarie (the author of the excellent mod Shout Like a Virgin) lists this as her "golden rule" on her modpage: 

Golden Rule:  To avoid corrupting your save... Never change sort order or remove mods mid-play-through. You can only safely upgrade a mod, or add mods to the end of your load order.

Rule is in general, not just for this mod. Breaking this rule is the #1 cause for a wide range of problems. Save cleaning tools help but won't remove all corruption. The so called "clean save" procedure breaks this rule... instead, start a new game when unable to follow the rule (new game means really a new game, not some early save).

While I freely admit that there are exceptions to this rule and I have violated it without a problem a time or two, it is best to abide by this as outstanding advice. If you have a save that has fouled up for whatever reason, be prepared to start over again. Fix whatever your issue was, run LOOT and FNIS and START A NEW GAME!

As a general principle, avoid mods that have had no updates in the last 3 years. Not all older mods are game breakers but many are. If you feel that you just have to try an older mod go to it's support thread and read the last 2-3 pages. If the posts are old or someone has clearly abandoned the mod, just don't load it.

Next, let's look at papyrus logs!