I've seen a lot of talk recently about the different versions and which ones users prefer, only because I've stumbled through it while trying to work out if I should upgrade. I only asked myself this after SexLab Aroused Creatures updated, saying it only supports SexLab P+2.5.0 (currently offsite version at the time of writing), and version 2.5.0 has support for Skyirm 1.5.97 and 1.6.1130 versions (though it is said that the latter should work with 1.6.640, at least that's to my understanding). Trying to decide, though, has been like trying to escape the stocks in the sun to find the cool shade―do I take the risk or stay and avoid further trouble? 

I'm not writing this as a debate as to which version is better, but more just writing down my thoughts as something to return to later. I've seen the debates on which one is better, and I'm not about to enter that. I prefer to be on the version with the most up-to-date development, and if new versions of Skyrim come out, I don't want to fall behind or be on a version that isn't actively supported with enhancements. So moving to 1.6.1130 seems the way forward. 

The reason I have decided to move just to 1.6.1130 is because this is where the major improvement in the game was made by Bethesda. While there is 1170, and a majority of mods support it, there is a handful I want to use that is currently only supporting 1130, such as SexLab P+ (the only other version it supports is the last 1.5.x version). 1170 also only fixes issues in the Creations Market, an area I do not use on PC, but still supplies the forms and records enhancements, ESLify options, and an updated Creation Kit. None of this is enhanced by 1170.

If anyone is interested, here are the patch notes I used to come to my conclusion. 

ONE DLL OVER ANOTHER

I started the tedious task of filtering my mod list, going through all my SKSE plugin mods, and finding out which ones had multi-support (one-file-fits-all) or needed to upgrade to a specific version, including SKSE files. I've kept those archived versions and made clear notes in the organizer on the mods that need updating to a particular version. I know that from past experiences in the panic of upgrading, everything had gone to shit, which is also when I learned about various patching or downgrade tools at that point.

That was nearly four months ago, and since then, I've come a long way in my modding journey, not letting myself get overwhelmed and tackling things in a logical order. Now it's time to take that experience and move to a newer version, but not before checking everything I care about can be supported (this could be an excellent time to drop off any mods I'm not utilizing). My personal mods don't count on SKSE plugins (yet), so I'm confident those won't have any issues. 

The only mod I've yet to figure out is Schlongs of Skyrim. I am currently, and successfully, using the non-DLL version on 640, and currently, I feel that would be the best for 1130. While the DLL version is available, I've yet to find an explanation for why the DLL version would be better to use over the non-DLL version. I've seen the question asked, but unless I've missed it, yet to find any clear comparison or argument on why to use one or the other. I would suspect the DLL version may be better in the future based on what I've read in the patch notes and over on the Steam Community, but for now, I'm happy with the version I have,

STARTING AFRESH

The easiest way I found to do this was to set up an entirely new download of the game, renaming my existing 1.6.640 to something else. I got the files from Steam, got the rollback through the Steam Console commands, and set myself a fresh instance in Mod Organizer—a whole 150GB copy, but what can I say—I don't want to damage this setup in any way. Then, filtering out all the SKSE plugins, I set myself to go through and update them all first. 

One thing that I forgot about when I originally tried to use 1.6.1130 back in December 2023 was the issue around the engine turning off all plugins. There was an issue with a patch variable inside Engine Fixes that you had to turn off. It had been close to midnight when I asked the Citadel discord for help, trying to figure out when Acheron was throwing me an error, but some discussion and a bit of searching with the right keywords resulted in the link to the fix for Engine Fixes. 

Now, as simple as that, I'm on a 1.6.1130 setup. A little less stressful than I expected, but tedious enough for me to hope not to move to 1170 any time soon. I've decided for the time being to keep the 640 version as my main for modding and Creation Kit (I'm not ready to take that mind field yet) and 1130 for testing out new mods that require this version. At some point, I'll likely leave 640 behind, maybe shove it into a zip file and store it on a portal drive out the road for a while until I'm comfortable to delete, but I'll keep it for at least 6 months side by side (or at least until I get a working Creation Kit next to it) then get rid to save the disk space. 

Since that's done, I'm going to end this journal post here (as mentioned, they are more for my own thoughts to look back on). I might update it in the future if there is anything worth writing about from experience between both versions, but until then, I seem to be working, so it's time to get a fresh save and play with some new creations.

REVEALING ARMOR CONVERSION FROM SOS TO TGN REVEALING KEYWORDS

• Open SSEEdit5 and load the armor mod, the Schlongs Of Skyrim mod(if it is a master) as well as The New Gentleman mod

• Right click on the header and select Apply Scripts

• Select Report Masters script, which will give a list of all the ements where the master is used in the armor mod

• Right click the armor mod header and select Add Master. and set The New Gentleman as a master to the armor mod

• Selecting each module that needs changing, change the keyword from SOS_Revealing to TNG_Revealing

• Right click the armor mod header one more time and select Clean Master and this will remove all instances for Schlongs Of Skyrim as a master