easiest way to go about modding?

[darkfalz28]

so ive modded my skyrim up quite abit with sme things and iam running into alot of issues and problems, alot of them being issues with animations things not loading right and the like, iam wondering if anyone is working on like a mod browser or something like steam workshop? or if something else is around that could help me get basics installed quick,  i get this jist of it all and i managed todo alot but ai see these people with amazing setups and looks and there animation s and everything working almost perfectly so i wonder what iam doing wrong? edit: also if there is a modpack or something thats ok to use with all the prereqs set up and what not please let me know.

[Guest]

The whole site is full of mods.

You can ask general questions and ask for help in the main threads of each game. If you need help on a specific mod, go to the mod page, and click on "Get support".

 

Mod packs are impossible, because the contents will be from too many mod authors and so impossible to keep it updated.

[Psalam]

Spoiler

1 hour ago, darkfalz28 said:

so ive modded my skyrim up quite abit with sme things and iam running into alot of issues and problems, alot of them being issues with animations things not loading right and the like, iam wondering if anyone is working on like a mod browser or something like steam workshop? or if something else is around that could help me get basics installed quick,  i get this jist of it all and i managed todo alot but ai see these people with amazing setups and looks and there animation s and everything working almost perfectly so i wonder what iam doing wrong? edit: also if there is a modpack or something thats ok to use with all the prereqs set up and what not please let me know.

 

First, as I am often saying, if CPU gives you advice then follow it.

 

Second, here is some canned advice I put together for noobies.

Spoiler

Since you're here on Loverslab (which from now on you will only see as LL) I assume you know the very basics of modding. I assume you've loaded and tried a few things from Nexus or elsewhere. Now you're looking for some adult oriented stuff. Further, I assume you are interested in modding Skyrim specifically since this is where you posted. This site is very much like Nexus (I know, I'm already hearing the groans - ignore them, you'll get the differences with time) and if you're used to Nexus you will adapt here quickly.

If you have general questions you post them on the thread that is most appropriate under the Forums tab. Many of the things that you might want to know already have (or have had) a thread. You will find dozens, even hundreds of questions that have already been answered including some terrific walk-throughs. Skyrim General Discussion and Skyrim Technical Support will be your biggest help in this regard.

LL has just had a site upgrade which has significantly improved the Search engine. Don't be afraid to use it. Go up there and type in what you want and select from the drop down where you want to look. This is a big site and you can get hundreds of responses. So like any Search Engine, more specific is better. If you are looking for a type of mod, for instance, choose from the "files" category. Otherwise every reference from every thread will give you a hit. Pretty good chance you'll find what you're looking for there.

If that doesn't work then post a thread. There are a LOT of very smart people on this site who are willing to share their time. Do please be polite (I hope that you know how to say thank you - don't forget it with time). The people here do what they do because they love modding - they are not being paid - so please show them the courtesy they deserve.

Once you find a mod that interests you go that mod's page. There will be a download button - press it. There are often multiple versions of the mod listed - almost always the ONLY thing you need for the mod is the last one (lowest down) listed which will have the highest number associated with it. If you have a problem or question with the mod go back to the modpage and press the Get Support button which is just below the download button. It works the same way the threads do. Simply ask your question and wait. If you are patient and polite (or at least not rude) you are likely to get a (relatively) prompt  and (definitely) useful response. When you are responding to something that someone else has said please hit the quote button. That will give them a notification. If they get a notification they are more likely to respond and more likely to respond in a timely manner.

Anyway, this is the introduction that I wish I had gotten when I was still wet behind the ears here. Hope it helps.

If you have other questions feel free to contact me specifically off the threads. Just clicking on my (non-existent) avatar will take you to my profile. There is a box there where you can ask a public question specifically of me. Use it as a last resort. Don't let yourself get frustrated and overwhelmed (I did). This is meant to be fun and most of the people here understand and appreciate that. They also, like me, remember what it's like to be a noob.

Two things I would be remiss if I didn't mention. First, on the very bottom of every page in blue letters on the left is a note that says "View Community Rules." There is no rocket science in there but it is better to know early than late (like I did) what is and what is not allowed on this site. Second, on the very bottom of every page in blue letters on the right is a note that says "Help support LoverLab."

This will take you to Patreon where you can, if you want, give a donation that supports this website. Two things about that. One, the money goes to support this website. Not a penny goes to the many modders who put in countless hours making these mods so that we can play them for free. While they are a minority some modders will include a way to donate to them on their modpage. If you find something you love and they have that available, I would encourage you to use it. Two, there exists no other method to financially support LoversLab. There's no place to send a check or use a credit card. I don't make any of these rules but it took me months to find these out so this is all simply FYI. No one here cares whether you ever donate or not - I just want to make you aware of the mechanism should you desire to do so.

 

Third, people like CPU (and many, many others) make it look easy. It's not. Modding is mostly trial and error. In that regard it pays to add only a few mods to your load order at any one time. That way if you have a problem you don't have to wonder about which of the 200 mods you've loaded has caused the problem. While there are people who disagree with the following, get a mod manager. You can be your own mod manager by adding and removing files from Skyrim yourself if you have the skill and inclination. For most of us it is better to use a mod manager. Three are commonly used Nexus Mod Manager (NMM found on GitHub), Mod Organizer (found on Nexus, go figure) and Wrye Bash. There is also Vortex but it is still (I am told) very much in beta and is probably best avoided.

 

Fourth, there are a large number of tools that you will need in order to work with you load order. Of course SKSE, its memory patch, crash fixes and, at some point, ENBoost in Boost mode (at least until you're ready to play with ENB). Don't forget to get LOOT (Load Order Optimisation Tool (Google it, download it and run it). I hope that by now you are also familiar with FNIS. If not, it is another "must have" tool.

 

Hope that helps. It's the best I can do with stream of consciousness at 05:30.

[MadMansGun]

2 hours ago, darkfalz28 said:

.

and here's my automated response:

https://www.loverslab.com/files/file/3524-sexlab-more-nasty-critters-install-guide/

[Psalam]

Spoiler

2 hours ago, darkfalz28 said:

so ive modded my skyrim up quite abit with sme things and iam running into alot of issues and problems, alot of them being issues with animations things not loading right and the like, iam wondering if anyone is working on like a mod browser or something like steam workshop? or if something else is around that could help me get basics installed quick,  i get this jist of it all and i managed todo alot but ai see these people with amazing setups and looks and there animation s and everything working almost perfectly so i wonder what iam doing wrong? edit: also if there is a modpack or something thats ok to use with all the prereqs set up and what not please let me know.

 

And when it comes to animations especially - listen to MadMansGun.

[Allannaa]

Actually, you don't need any "tools" to get your mods working properly, and a lot of the time those so-called "tools" don't do anything but screw things up, confuse you, and prevent you from knowing exactly how your own game works.  I stay far, far away from LOOT, TesxEdit, NMM, and MO, and guess what?  I have no problems not directly related to something minor that I screwed up myself.

 

1.) Load Order is the MOST important thing to get right.  If that's wrong, all kinds of bad stuff happens.  Therefore, when you download and install a mod, READ where the mod author told you to put it in your load order.  Keep in mind also, some mods don't show up in your "Load order" but they have to be installed properly, and in the proper order.  For instance, FuzRoD'oh doesn't show up, but you have to have it for many mods which don't have voices, in order to see the subtitles for the dialogue.

 

Mods that depend on other mods always go BELOW those mods -- as an example:

Schlongs of Skyrim Core.esm

SchlongsofSkyrim.esp

VectorPlexusRegularAddOn.esp

 

That's their placement in the load order; any other way, and they don't work.

 

Another example is SexLab itself.  It has to be loaded before anything that depends on it to work, including, well, just about every mod on this site.  So your (again, just an example) load order would be:

SexLab

ZazAnimationPack

SexLab Aroused

SexLab Dangerously Nude

SexLab Mind Control

 

2.) The second most important thing to get right is FNIS.  Any time you have a mod which adds animations, YOU RUN GENERATE FNIS FOR USERS.  Period.  No matter what.  And you follow the directions for FNIS to the letter.  Doing that clears up about 99.99999999999% of animation glitches and crashes.

 

3.) A lot of people run into trouble trying to use several mods which all do the same thing.  For instance, you CANNOT use AFT and UFO both.  Your followers will lose their minds.  Pick ONE.  You may be able to use a variety of armor mods, but you can't, for instance, use (examples only, not real mods) SillyGlassArmor and NewGlassStuff both.  Pick ONE.  The same holds true for lighting mods, or smoke mods, or weather mods, or water mods.  Pick ONE.  You can't use a mod that changes the Ratway in Riften, if you're also going to use DestroyTheThievesGuild -- and so on.

 

4.) Another problem a lot of folks have is ENB settings, and for that, you will have to find an expert.  Just search the forums here at LL for ENB, and you should find guides and troubleshooting info that will help you.

 

5.)  When you install a mod, be very sure that you follow the mod author's instructions as to where it goes in your load order, but also, don't activate a lot of mods at once.  (Activate = tick the check box so they load).  For instance, you'd activate SOSCore, SOS, and VectorPlexus -- and test your game.  Then you'd activate Populated Cities, Dogs of Skyrim, and More Nasty Critters (and of course their requirements) -- and test your game.  That way, if something causes trouble, it's much easier to track down which mod had the issue or the compatibility problem.  Find it, fix it, and go on to the next set.

 

6.) And the final problem many people have, is that they're too shy, too stubborn, or too confused to ask for help.  Don't be.  ASK.  That's kinda what we're here for.  If you're so confused you don't even know what to ask, say so!  And remember, often you will need to give an example of your load order, or of your Papyrus log.  Sometimes that's all it takes for someone to figure out what's wrong and help you fix it.

 

Here's an example load order, from my own game, which works perfectly with no crashes, no issues, no problems, no save bloat.

 

 

Spoiler

 

Skyrim

Update

Dawnguard

Hearthfires

Dragonborn

HiResTexturePack 1

HiResTexturePack 2

HiResTexturePack 3

XPMSE

dD-RealisticRagdollForce

USLEEP (Unofficial Skyrim LEgendary Edition Patch)

Schlongs of Skyrim Core.esm

SchlongsofSkyrim.esp

VectorPlexusRegularAddOn.esp

SexLab

ZazAnimationPack

SexLab Aroused

SexLab Aroused Creatures

SexLab Dangerously Nude

PopulatedCities2

ImprovedClosedFaceHelmets

NippleRingsforMen

Skyrim_Strap_Ons

AutoUnEquipAmmo

PuppetMaster

SexLabMindControl (with PuppetMasterPatch)

DragonCombatOverhaulDragonborn

SkyTEST-RealisticAnimals&Predators

DogsOfSkyrim

QuieterDogs

AllaSkyrimHorseGen (personal mod, not uploaded here yet)

CuttingRoomFloor

The Paarthurnax Dilemma

DestroyTheThievesGuild (Loose version)

Hypothermia

HypothermiaDLC

iNeed

CWNeutral

FNIS

AllaSkyrimArmorWeapons (personal mod, not uploaded here yet)

AllaSecretIsland (personal mod, not uploaded here yet, but old version is available here)

AllaKedrisFollower01 (personal mod, not uploaded here yet)

AllaSkyrimMyWay (personal mod, not uploaded here yet)

SkyUI

 

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nazzzgul666]

I would disagree with Alanna that these tools aren't helpful, although i agree that they don't prevent errors. The point to use them is to fix the problem easier and faster, in other words: they allow me to be as lazy as i like to be. LOOT for example - i don't give a shit about load order, i run Loot and it's fine in 99%. For the other 1% i actually have to read a bit.

Similar reason for MO: using it i can download and install stuff in any order i want, if i made a mistake i can change it by drag & drop instead of starting from scratch and reinstall everything, and if something is weird it'll tell me which is overwritten by what so it's easy to find what i've messed up.

Since MO changes the way mods are installed, you really need to learn how this works, though. I'm not sure  what you mean by "something like steam workshop", if you want a tool to manage your mods, MO or NMM are what you want. NMM is easier to use/learn but less powerful. In both cases you'll need to search and download them from websites like LL or Nexus, though.

 

Tes5edit is rather a tool to change mods than managing them. It's recommended to use it because even the DLCs left some dirty edits which could be fixed by CK too, probably, but Tes5edit is less buggy.

[Grey Cloud]

Any tool is only as good as the person using it. The key to successfully modding Skyrim is reading and reading more.

I agree with Nazzzgul - use the tools. I have only ever over-ruled LOOT a couple of times in several years of using it. I use NMM because it does everything I need, (so I don't need the learning curve of using MO). Virtually the only time my game crashes is when I cause it.

 

Allannaa's mod list there has Realistic Ragdolls below XPMSE. RR isn't needed as XPMSE handles ragdolling and you don't need the XPMSE esp active unless you use the animations which come with it.

[Allannaa]

Nazz and GreyCloud put my first statement much better than I did myself -- Tools aren't necessary, BUT, used right, they can make things easier, and can help find problems.

 

GC -- good catch.  I mean, you know... I would never just start cussing when a computer dies and stick the old ancient "oh-shit-no" flash drive in the new computer to reinstall Skyrim and my mods without paying attention... Not me.... LOL

 

But Darkfalz, the big thing is, pick the mods you think look cool -- install them, and their requirements, the way the author says to -- test them a few at a time -- and never be afraid to ask for help! 

 

(And never be afraid to admit you screwed up, and thank the person who pointed out your error -- Thanks, GreyCloud!)

[KoolHndLuke]

It takes time and patience to build a stable mod load order. The tools like Loot, TESVEdit, and Wryebash are designed to help make your game stable. But, it is only through trial and error and going back and fixing things( with those tools) that will allow you to have a nearly perfectly running game eventually. The reason no one can give you a sure-fire way to fix your game up is because each and every person's mod list is at least somewhat different.