guide Skyrim SE for Beginners - V 3.2.6 (Outdated)

[Aylis]

@wollboi

Thank you too.

[trgdolors]

To all of you wrestling with AE, thanks for all the work and reporting. I am not using AE yet, but am hoping my next play though will have it, Some thoughts and extra notes in case Aylis or anyone is collecting this info:

 

-I haven't tested it yet, but Proteus works in AE and I read somewhere that it can replace additemmenu (and obviously a LOT more). I tested an earlier version and it was pretty impressive. And not as buggy as one would guess. If you have an earlier version of Project Proteus you need a new game,

 

-Improved Camera: the MA recently said IC is getting first updated for SE, then to AE.

The recent Reddit post

GitHub

I am happy with SmoothCam, but want the better first person that Improved Camera has. Hope I can use both. I have not delved into really customizing SmoothCam itself yet as the presets have been pretty good. SmoothCam would need the separate AE download.

 

-For the UI stuff, Dear Diary Dark Mode as a highly configurable all-in-one is compatible with AE. I think it would need to be reinstalled for AE, though.

 

-Here is my running list of mods that got an AE specific update and I thought at the time they would not get anymore SE updates (sorry for the unedited copy/paste dump. Some of these I no longer use.):

Spoiler

ConsoleUtilSSE
MCM Helper
Encounter Zones Unlocked SE
Lucien - Immersive Fully Voiced Male Follower - updates MAY work for both AE and SE
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch
Face Discoloration Fix
Better Jumping SE
Quick Loot RE
JContainers SE
Classic Sprinting Redone (SKSE64)
Fuz Ro D-oh - Silent Voice
HIGH POLY NPC 2.0 PATCH for AI OVERHAUL CUTTING ROOM
Mfg Fix
Dynamic Animation Replacer
Yes Im Sure
Scaleform Translation Plus Plus
Oxygen Meter - SSE
Splashes Of Skyrim
Name Those Ash Piles
Horse Stamina HUD - Script-Free
JKs Skyrim - AI Overhaul SSE Patch
Classic Sprinting Redone (SKSE64)
Dialogue Movement Enabler
I'm Walkin' Here

 

Here is my unedited list of mods that got an AE update, but I thought at the time that they might still be getting SE updates:

 

Spoiler

Address Library for SKSE Plugins
Dialogue Movement Enabler
Cleaned Skyrim SE Textures
More Informative Console
moreHUD Inventory Edition
Enemy Friendly Fire
FileAccess Interface for Skyrim SE Scripts - FISSES
RaceMenu
PapyrusUtil SE - Modders Scripting Utility Functions
Land of Vominheim - updates may have reduced quests. MA says people complained they are too hard.
Ancient Dwemer Metal - My patches - FINAL SE VERSION
Go To Bed - DAR patch (not regular go to bed, it got an se update)

Edit: Dear Diary achieves the same effect as Stay At The System Page, so there is that.

Edited March 6, 2022 by trgdolors

[safado]

5 hours ago, wollboi said:

* JContainers - The mod has been removed due to the Ukraine/Russia war. While I support the mod author (and Ukraine) entirely, this will completely invalidate the load order. JContainers was one of the mods that I was waiting for the longest to be updated. For a while, you had to download the beta version on the author's website (or Patreon? I can't remember). The beta version worked fine, so if that's still available then I'd go for that. Like I said, I respect the author's wishes of course, but the load order will be dead in the water without the update. Off the top of my head, Aroused Creatures, SlaveTats, and of course XP32 will not work without it.

 

 

What about Github release page instead of Nexus?

Spoiler

https://github.com/ryobg/JContainers/releases

 

[DarkDragoon197]

for JContainers i use the github link its more up to date, however if that one goes down aswell ill share the version i have.

as for SOS  me and my freinds on a diffrent site made a version that does not need the dll and it works.  it uses papyrus Ulti for AE

 

[Varithina]

This just popped on nexus, it may well make a nice replacement for addallitems https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64653?tab=description

[wollboi]

@safado Thanks, that's what I was thinking about. And that's the version I'm using on AE too, so we can grab it from there instead of Nexus if the author keeps it down for a while.

[asebw]

Anyone know a good alternative to armor rating redux (If there is one that is). Armor rating isn't happy with AE, at least with my attempts to get it working so far.

[asebw]

@wollboi

 

Just went through your AE list. JContainer page on the nexus is still up, or back up if it was down. Both the links to nexus and github on the conversion thread page work.

[safado]

15 hours ago, asebw said:

Anyone know a good alternative to armor rating redux (If there is one that is). Armor rating isn't happy with AE, at least with my attempts to get it working so far.

 

 

Have you tried Armor Rating Rescaled SKSE Remake?  Also, The compatibility tracking list have Resistances Rescaled as possible substitute,

Spoiler

This mod replaces Skyrim's armor formula. This changes how effective different armor ratings will protect from damage.

Generally speaking differences between low armor ratings are more important and differences between high armor ratings less important than before.

The formula
  DamageReduction = ArmorRating * constant + HiddenReduction
is replaced with:
  DamageReduction = ArmorRating * constant / (1 + ArmorRating * constant) + RemainingDamagePercentage * HiddenReduction

That means, looking at how many hits an (N)PC can take:
- With the original formula the value increases faster the higher the armor rating is.
- With the mod the value increases linearly.
You can find a full overview of the original armor rating system in the UESP Article.

Terms used:
DamageResist: Actor Value that equals the sum of the armor ratings from armor and armor spells.
Damage Reduction: The part of damage that is averted.
Hidden Damage Reduction: Skyrim applies this based on the number of armor items worn (3% per piece, up to 15%).
Armor Cap: The maximum Damage Reduction in percent. Game setting fMaxArmorRating (80 by default).
Effective Health: The health needed to get the same protection that is provided by the armor. This value is proportional to the number of hits an actor can take.

Images: All images show the mod curves with Armor Cap disabled (set to 100). For the images and the interactive diagram all game settings are at default values. Where Hidden Damage Reduction is included the diagrams show the values for fully equipped actors. The x-axis shows DamageResist values.

With this mod weak armor is generally slightly stronger than without. When the Armor Cap is set to 100 the Damge Reduction approaches 100% but only reaches it for very high DamageResist values and only because of rounding. Hidden Damage Reduction is no longer directly added to the regular Damage Reduction but instead multiplied with the remaining damage beforehand, decreasing its impact for higher DamageResist values.

Formulas:
HiddenResist = CountWornArmorCategories(Head Body Arms Legs Shield) * fArmorBaseFactor (game setting; default 0.03)
VanillaResist = ArmorRating/100 * fArmorScalingFactor (game setting; default 0.12)
r1 = VanillaResist * 5.0 * ScalingFactor (json setting; default 1.0)
r2 = r1 / (1 + r1)
r3 = r2 + (1 - r2) * HiddenResist
Damage Reduction = min(r3, fMaxArmorRating (game setting; default 80) or OverrideArmorCap (json setting)).

 

 

Edited March 9, 2022 by safado

[asebw]

3 hours ago, safado said:

 

 

Have you tried Armor Rating Rescaled SKSE Remake?  Also, The compatibility tracking list have Resistances Rescaled as possible substitute,

  Reveal hidden contents

This mod replaces Skyrim's armor formula. This changes how effective different armor ratings will protect from damage.

Generally speaking differences between low armor ratings are more important and differences between high armor ratings less important than before.

The formula
  DamageReduction = ArmorRating * constant + HiddenReduction
is replaced with:
  DamageReduction = ArmorRating * constant / (1 + ArmorRating * constant) + RemainingDamagePercentage * HiddenReduction

That means, looking at how many hits an (N)PC can take:
- With the original formula the value increases faster the higher the armor rating is.
- With the mod the value increases linearly.
You can find a full overview of the original armor rating system in the UESP Article.

Terms used:
DamageResist: Actor Value that equals the sum of the armor ratings from armor and armor spells.
Damage Reduction: The part of damage that is averted.
Hidden Damage Reduction: Skyrim applies this based on the number of armor items worn (3% per piece, up to 15%).
Armor Cap: The maximum Damage Reduction in percent. Game setting fMaxArmorRating (80 by default).
Effective Health: The health needed to get the same protection that is provided by the armor. This value is proportional to the number of hits an actor can take.

Images: All images show the mod curves with Armor Cap disabled (set to 100). For the images and the interactive diagram all game settings are at default values. Where Hidden Damage Reduction is included the diagrams show the values for fully equipped actors. The x-axis shows DamageResist values.

With this mod weak armor is generally slightly stronger than without. When the Armor Cap is set to 100 the Damge Reduction approaches 100% but only reaches it for very high DamageResist values and only because of rounding. Hidden Damage Reduction is no longer directly added to the regular Damage Reduction but instead multiplied with the remaining damage beforehand, decreasing its impact for higher DamageResist values.

Formulas:
HiddenResist = CountWornArmorCategories(Head Body Arms Legs Shield) * fArmorBaseFactor (game setting; default 0.03)
VanillaResist = ArmorRating/100 * fArmorScalingFactor (game setting; default 0.12)
r1 = VanillaResist * 5.0 * ScalingFactor (json setting; default 1.0)
r2 = r1 / (1 + r1)
r3 = r2 + (1 - r2) * HiddenResist
Damage Reduction = min(r3, fMaxArmorRating (game setting; default 80) or OverrideArmorCap (json setting)).

 

 

 

Huh, I don't know why, but I just assumed resistances rescaled was more for magic and whatnot, and meant to be a companion to armor rating redux. Go figure. Will give them both a try. Thank you.

[neneXgod]

Hello, everyone. Should I get an AMD GPU to play modded Skyrim or should I get an Nvidia GPU? I can only afford an RX 6600 (NON-XT) or an RTX 3050. Other cards like the RTX 3060 or RX 6600 XT are out of my budget. I have never owned an AMD GPU before and I know nothing about it (like whether it is compatible / stable performance with modded Skyrim or not). I only know that the RX 6600 has better raw performance than the RTX 3050 and I don't really care about DLSS or raytracing. Sorry for any grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language. Thanks for reading.

[asebw]

11 hours ago, neneXgod said:

Hello, everyone. Should I get an AMD GPU to play modded Skyrim or should I get an Nvidia GPU? I can only afford an RX 6600 (NON-XT) or an RTX 3050. Other cards like the RTX 3060 or RX 6600 XT are out of my budget. I have never owned an AMD GPU before and I know nothing about it (like whether it is compatible / stable performance with modded Skyrim or not). I only know that the RX 6600 has better raw performance than the RTX 3050 and I don't really care about DLSS or raytracing. Sorry for any grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language. Thanks for reading.

 

I have been using a NVDIA Geforce GTX 1070 for a few years now, and it's never given me any issue with Skyrim or Fallout 4 (regular or modded).

 

I used a few Radeons back in the day, and I was never impressed by them really (DIablo 2 had a hand in killing one of them if memory serves). My last few cards have been Nvidia, and I have had no reason come yet to make me want to switch.

 

Honestly, as far as I am aware, both card types are good for skyrim. I would probably just go with the one your more comfortable with.

[wollboi]

Just found out today (probably because I can't read) that Bug Fixes doesn't work with AE yet. Might explain some of the issues I've been having.

[alaunus01]

14 hours ago, neneXgod said:

Hello, everyone. Should I get an AMD GPU to play modded Skyrim or should I get an Nvidia GPU? I can only afford an RX 6600 (NON-XT) or an RTX 3050. Other cards like the RTX 3060 or RX 6600 XT are out of my budget. I have never owned an AMD GPU before and I know nothing about it (like whether it is compatible / stable performance with modded Skyrim or not). I only know that the RX 6600 has better raw performance than the RTX 3050 and I don't really care about DLSS or raytracing. Sorry for any grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language. Thanks for reading.

 

What is your current GPU? What monitor resolution are you using?

 

Between the 6600 and the 3050 I would pick the 6600.

 

But unless your current GPU just died and you really need a card right NOW I would buy neither of them. If your current GPU still has a few weeks of life in it you have options.

 

1) Intel Arc Alchemist GPUs should finally be available around May, and while the top model might be out of your price range the 3060 equivalent alchemist card could end up in your budget. Which would be a whole tier of better performance for the same price you are paying now.

 

2) AMD is releasing refreshed RDNA2 cards in May too. And while only the 6950xt has been confirmed so far (not an option for you) rumors mention a possible 6650(xt?) too.

 

 

Basically any 8gb VRAM GPU you can make work with 1080p modded skyrim if you are careful. It will only start to get unpleasant once you exceed the dedicated GPU VRAM and skyrim starts swapping with your regular system ram.

Are you still with me? Here is something that will blow your mind.

 

Unless stuff really goes wrong in ~six months both nvidia 4000 series and amd 7000 series will release. With an expected performance increase of at least 75% over current gen. Which is a HUGE generational leap. huuuuuuuugggeee

Here is what I would do:
If I had a 1000 series card with 4gb or more vram - Suck it up and try to make it last until I can get an AMD 7000 series card for my budget (scuttlebut says AMD will be the smarter buy next gen)

Less than 4gb VRAM card and/or 700 series or older - Get the Intel Arc Alchemist 8gb VRAM card when it releases.

[alaunus01]

37 minutes ago, wollboi said:

[...](probably because I can't read)[...]

 

Don't write yourself off. Learn reading and writing. ?

[Vortec]

17 hours ago, neneXgod said:

Hello, everyone. Should I get an AMD GPU to play modded Skyrim or should I get an Nvidia GPU? I can only afford an RX 6600 (NON-XT) or an RTX 3050. Other cards like the RTX 3060 or RX 6600 XT are out of my budget. I have never owned an AMD GPU before and I know nothing about it (like whether it is compatible / stable performance with modded Skyrim or not). I only know that the RX 6600 has better raw performance than the RTX 3050 and I don't really care about DLSS or raytracing. Sorry for any grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language. Thanks for reading.

  I would choose AMD as they tend to have more Vram, which is much needed for Skyrim, you can see lots of texture Mods at Nexus at 4K resolution- those resolutions eats up your Vram. So keep that consideration in mind, I have AMD 580 at 8gb and don't download texture mods over 2K, can't really tell that much of a difference, but you will room out Vram if you keep adding to high of resolutions of texture mods.

  Like the gentleman above stated, wait a bit, GPU prices are coming down and new cards will be introduced withing coming couple of months.

[asebw]

6 hours ago, wollboi said:

Just found out today (probably because I can't read) that Bug Fixes doesn't work with AE yet. Might explain some of the issues I've been having.

 

Heh, if it makes you feel any better, I spent several hours not too long ago trying to run the game with the LE version of SKSE. Kept thinking it was a problem with a pre-AE mod. . . 

[neneXgod]

12 hours ago, alaunus01 said:

 

What is your current GPU? What monitor resolution are you using?

 

Between the 6600 and the 3050 I would pick the 6600.

 

But unless your current GPU just died and you really need a card right NOW I would buy neither of them. If your current GPU still has a few weeks of life in it you have options.

 

1) Intel Arc Alchemist GPUs should finally be available around May, and while the top model might be out of your price range the 3060 equivalent alchemist card could end up in your budget. Which would be a whole tier of better performance for the same price you are paying now.

 

2) AMD is releasing refreshed RDNA2 cards in May too. And while only the 6950xt has been confirmed so far (not an option for you) rumors mention a possible 6650(xt?) too.

 

 

Basically any 8gb VRAM GPU you can make work with 1080p modded skyrim if you are careful. It will only start to get unpleasant once you exceed the dedicated GPU VRAM and skyrim starts swapping with your regular system ram.

Are you still with me? Here is something that will blow your mind.

 

Unless stuff really goes wrong in ~six months both nvidia 4000 series and amd 7000 series will release. With an expected performance increase of at least 75% over current gen. Which is a HUGE generational leap. huuuuuuuugggeee

Here is what I would do:
If I had a 1000 series card with 4gb or more vram - Suck it up and try to make it last until I can get an AMD 7000 series card for my budget (scuttlebut says AMD will be the smarter buy next gen)

Less than 4gb VRAM card and/or 700 series or older - Get the Intel Arc Alchemist 8gb VRAM card when it releases.

 

My current GPU is a GTX 1050 Ti ( I have been using it since 2016 ) and I'm only playing at 1080p. Thank you for the recommendation. In my country, I usually have to wait about 2-3 months after the new generation's release to let the price drop down a bit (we don't have a microcenter, Best Buy, or an EVGA queue system where I can buy GPU at msrp). Retailers here always raise the price about 20-30% more than msrp ( even if there is no shortage or gpu mining boom ).

[akadeadpool]

18 hours ago, wollboi said:

Just found out today (probably because I can't read) that Bug Fixes doesn't work with AE yet. Might explain some of the issues I've been having.

Good news is that the author recently rewrote the mod to be Netscript Framework independant so we can look forward to an AE version soon.

[alaunus01]

6 hours ago, neneXgod said:

My current GPU is a GTX 1050 Ti [...] and I'm only playing at 1080p. [...]

 

Stick with 1k texture packs and this guide can be 'playable' on a 4gb vram card. Make sure to use a sufficiently small TexGen size when running DynDOLOD too. However if your CPU is from 2016 too some game areas where there is lots of stuff going on (i.e. riften market) might not be exactly 'smooth'.

[X0darklord0X]

I have been out of the skyrim loop for about 2 years, I have seen that the anniversary edition breaks a lot mods, is it still worth downgrading now, or does mods like racemenu now work with AE?

[safado]

5 hours ago, X0darklord0X said:

I have been out of the skyrim loop for about 2 years, I have seen that the anniversary edition breaks a lot mods, is it still worth downgrading now, or does mods like racemenu now work with AE?

 

The SkyrimSE racemenu  page in nexus will answer your question about it.  Personaly, I'm waiting a little longer and choose the downgrade hybrid path "Best-of-both-worlds" option. Because of pain making my mod load list work "properly" on SkyrimSE 1.5.x.  You probably can start in AE if what you want is in the compatibility list or the mod page has the compatible version. You basically need compatibility if the mod has SKSE64 dll files or has a master/requirement that does.  If it does not have SKSE64 DLL files or requirement for it, and it runs in SkyrimSE it should be compatible in AE without need to explicitly state it in description.  (ESP only mods, mesh or texture mods, creative kit mods)

Better read about the downgrader patch in the description.

SKSE plugins compatibility status list

 

Better check this post for mod compatibility community testing.

Spoiler

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2022 by safado

[wollboi]

@X0darklord0X If you look back a few pages you'll find a list I threw together of changes I had to make to get the list to work with AE. IMO, I would go with AE. The list works pretty much fine after the tweaks and you're going to be using AE going forward anyway when the list gets updated. RaceMenu works with AE.

[asebw]

I am having a very, very strange issue that I could use some input on. For reasons I do not understand, Remodeled Armor for CBBE SSE and Immersive Sounds Compendium are having, pants, issues. For Example (Ignore the T-pose, that's a different issue):

 

Without the compendium

Spoiler

 

 

With the compendium

Spoiler

 

There's no conflicts between the two mods that MO2 can detect, and I have yet to see something else that could be causing this. I know it's the compendium causing the problem, as when I move it up above remolded armor, you get the first picture again. 

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[wollboi]

@asebw Are you sure it's that armor mod and not Guard Armor Replacer? For some reason since I switched to AE, GAR armors are fubar on female characters but work fine on male ones. Like shoulder pads appearing on chests and weird stuff like that. I think other people have had the same issue.

 

---

 

Unrelated 1 - For those on AE, you'll want this. I just noticed this, but Bone Colossi will t-pose without it. Something to do with HDT-SMP not seeing that their supposed to use the same skeleton mesh as Lurkers or something. I dunno.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/63167?tab=files

 

Unrelated 2 - This mod is SO ****ing good! Makes character seem so much more alive. No idea how it works, but like everything to do with DAR I assume the answer is faerie dust and unicorn sperm.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/64420

 

Unrelated 3 - Has anyone tried out Immersive Equipment Displays? I'm halfway through a playthrough, but I think I'm going to try it out over AllGUD for my next one.