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How long does it take you guys to set everything up?


Hedrite

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I'm by no means an expert regarding NSFW mods for Skyrim but got into it about 3 years ago, since then, I've been on and off, installing Skyrim, modding it and then forgetting about it after I do a fresh Windows install. Every time I get into the mud of reinstalling Skyrim (usually just for loverslab mods) it takes me an entire day to set everything up, find the mods that I want, etc etc.

 

Does it take you guys that long? How can I be more efficient?

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Don't reinstall your windows all the time? ?

Keep your base setup mods (as Backup), means mods you know that work together! ?

Sort your Backup mods (something I don't do but should ?)

Keep some savegames from Setups that worked to check the LO.

Keep LOs as txt.

Track Nexus mods via Account and you see right away which one got updated (non such function here ?)

 

10 minutes ago, Hedrite said:

it takes me an entire day to set everything up, find the mods that I want, etc etc.

If you build a complete LL/Nexus setup in 1 day from nothing you are already very, very fast ?

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6 minutes ago, Hedrite said:

I'm by no means an expert regarding NSFW mods for Skyrim but got into it about 3 years ago, since then, I've been on and off, installing Skyrim, modding it and then forgetting about it after I do a fresh Windows install. Every time I get into the mud of reinstalling Skyrim (usually just for loverslab mods) it takes me an entire day to set everything up, find the mods that I want, etc etc.

 

Does it take you guys that long? How can I be more efficient?

Depending on how many mods but if you getting close to the 254 limit then yes, a day would probably be right.

 

I generally install mods one at a time and then test them as best I can to make sure they are working. On top of that you have mods that need setting up in their MCM's and animations needing to be registered in SLAL etc.

If there is a more efficient way then I don't know it... Of course the list of things I don't know is pretty substantial ?

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19 minutes ago, Hedrite said:

I'm by no means an expert regarding NSFW mods for Skyrim but got into it about 3 years ago, since then, I've been on and off, installing Skyrim, modding it and then forgetting about it after I do a fresh Windows install. Every time I get into the mud of reinstalling Skyrim (usually just for loverslab mods) it takes me an entire day to set everything up, find the mods that I want, etc etc.

 

Does it take you guys that long? How can I be more efficient?

My method's pretty simple, I'm just running a portable installation of Mod Organizer from a different drive than Windows. All my mods are there, I think even the profiles and load orders and all that shizzle are stored in the same folder, just need to link it up again properly if I reinstall the game or something. I can also just copy paste the folder to a backup drive if for some reason I needed to wipe my entire PC.

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I've had to do full re-install multiple times, LE and SE. In both cases I have a solid base of mods (mainly from the Nexus site) that I always download no matter what. The full process takes between 4-6 hours, with the end result being a clean Skyrim install + MO profile with 200-400 installed mods. I don't recommend it tho. It becomes quite boring after the 3rd or 4th time. To cut time I'd recommend you to use your Nexus download history, download all the tools you'll be using first and setup a folder to have everything in one place. Download and install mod in batches, I usually do my first test when I'm near the end of the setup. Leave the patchers (DynDOLOD, xEdit/skyproc patchers for the final bit, when you're sure everything is in place.

 

And if course, using a portable instance of MO that you can save to an external HDD/SSD is the most easy way to avoid the need of a full re-install.

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I seem to spend 2-3 days setting up a new game.  

 

First, I always have a pretty good idea of all of the mods I want to install, but that list always ends up taking me way over the limit.  So then it's a process of figuring out what I can live without, and experimenting to see what I can safely merge.  Then making my merges.

 

Next, adjusting load order and checking for conflicts.

 

Then of course DYNDOLOD, merged patch and bashed patch.  Then a final check for conflicts, which usually involves having to carry over at least a few changes into my bashed patch.

 

Yes, it's a long process, but in my current Skyrim game, I have about 250 active esm/esp files, and at least 50 mods merged (probably double that), I'm hundreds of hours into the game with all of my extra quest mods and other extras, and I haven't had a single crash to disk, so all the work at the beginning was worth it.

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I actually reset my pc a few days ago and it took me about 6 hours to redo everything. It could have been less, but I also tried out SSE to see if it was finally worth upgrading from LE. The 3BBB stuff is cool, but ultimately I went back to LE. It took years to perfect my setup and my stuff is UUNP based, and I didn't want to start all over with CBBE.

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When installing everything from scratch, it is at least 1-3 days, or up to 24 hours, to be more precise.
And it can be pretty exhausting...

 

If there was a game update in the past, i need to let Steam download the game, then compare that to the previous version in my local repository to make sure they didn't add any new files, throw away all the CC garbage, and make clean versions of the DLC plugins using xEdit.
Then i need to start the stupid Bethesda launcher, so i can download the Crashion Kit to check if there was any update.
But this takes only about 30 minutes in total, after that it mostly depends on how many and which mods got an update.

 

For every updated mod, i need to compare the new version with the old one i have in my local repo, to see if any files got moved around or new files were added, in which case i need to update the "install.manifest" file that tells my custom manager how to install things.
That usually takes about 30 seconds for each updated mod, as most mods do not tend to add new files, or do not move/remove files when they get updated.
Except for Animation Packs - those obviously do add new files when updated.
Speaking of which, the animation packs can take a significant chunk of time if a lot of them got updated, because i customize all the packs, removing animations i dont like, sometimes adding/fixing keywords, etc., which means i need to check what new animations were added (finding previews can be often quite a timeconsuming chore), edit the SLAL txt source files to comment out the anims i dont want and add/fix keywords as needed, then i generate the SLAL *.json and FNIS *.txt files, and then i use FNIS for Modders to make new behavior files (aah... how i wish there would be a commandline version of the FNIS for Modders, so i could just rebuild all behaviors all at once, using a simple batch file).

 

Of course, if the updated mod in question is an LE mod which doesn't have SSE conversion (or not a good one), then i need to convert the updated version myself - fortunately, most mods do have an SSE version, or they dont get updated too often, so this is rare.

 

Then there are my private bug fixes and tweaks...

Even for mods that do have SSE version or conversions, i often have my private bug fixes or tweaks, so i need to compare the plugins to see if i need to recreate my plugin patches - check if any old bugs got fixed, or new bugs got added, and handle that accordingly.
For a few mods i have my own refactored versions, often with most of their scripts rewritten, so if any of those got updated, i need to compare all scripts to see if i need to carry over any new/changed functionality - fortunately, this usually concerns mods that are no longer maintained (therefore have no updates), or bigger mods that are not updated too often (and if they are, they dont change too much on the inside).


Apart from tweaks and personal modifications, i also cannot imagine playing the game without Open Cities, so i had to create compatibility patches for some mods that are not compatible with OC out of the box - if any of those mods got updated, i need to rebuild/recreate the corresponding patch.
 

Then i need to run BodySlide to build all outfits and whatnot.
This shouldn't normally deserve a mention, but when i am making a new installation from scratch, it is usually after quite some time of being "out of the loop", and i often find that OS/BS and CBBE got updated in the meantime, which triggers my "OCD" and i feel the need to check all of my BS files.
Or like the last time - i decided to go the CBBE SMP way, so i had to convert all my custom BodySlide files to CBBE SMP (that means almost all DD/DCL outfits and items, and about dozen of Vanilla outfits/items where i made some personal tweaks).
Also, when i am returning to the game after some time, i usually change my Bodyslide presets, and as a result i sometimes find clipping that needs fixing - that means BS files that came with some mod, so i need to create my own fixed version.
Depending on how many and which outfit BS files i need to fix, this alone can take one day (or about 8 hours).

 

 

That should be all, unless i forgot something.

And yes, i did forgot something, we're far from done still.
There is one more thing i need to do - make a first initial/base save.
It seems laughably simple, not worth mentioning, but i am always surprised how long this takes.

I start the game, wait for all mods to init themselves, let all their notification messages roll over, and when it all stops, i make a save and immediately load it - that is for those few mods that only properly init after loading a save.
And then i go over every mod's MCM, import settings (if the mod has that option) from config files i bundle with my custom game manager mod packages.
But even if i can import a mod's settings, i never trust it, so i am still compelled to check every option in the MCM, to make sure everything is set properly.

An hour, just for this, seems to be about right (actually i feel like it is probably a slight underestimation).

 

And when all that is done... i check the papyrus logs for any errors i am not used to seeing there.
If i find some, it forces me to go investiagte the mod the errors came from, to make sure they are not harmfull, or to fix whatever needs fixing - but i dont count that in the 1-3 days (24h) time estimate i mentioned at the beginning of this post.

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For me it takes between 4 and 6 days to set a Skyrim installation, because I have much more than SexLab here.

 

For this reason I dont update the game and I dont update SKSE. Most of the time, I also dont update the mods I have installed. I remember I have updated Beyond Reach, but cant recall any other mods (other than my own) I updated in this installation.

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Last base install 'Yashed guide' took 4 days approx 40hrs,

Reworking Yashed to make it more to my style. (Adding another 300 plugins.) about 100 hours so far.

adding LL mods, CTD, T posing,  balancing performance, finding "the PERFECT ENB!", testing, fixing, tweaking, rehashing, reyashing, pondering, doubting, questioning, comparing.  extracting, compressing, depressing, elating, yawning. crashing, working, Playing!.

So far 7 years 3 month's cause lets face it we are never truly done. 

 

and i'm still not happy with my current build it is so damn hard and realistic it is completely unplayable in its current state (main story wise) but functions as a R.Ping Unbound based Tamriel simulator (sometimes) all up about W.i.p 150 hours - 10 hours playing. 

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1) Create basic setup with skyrim you like...

for example basic setup for me is

- SKSE - RaceMenu ( all mods ) - BodySlide - Texture + Meshes for male / female - FNIS and some hair eye etc. mods

 

Spoiler

331.png.f342402cad91afab56d31eae29465e51.png

 

i have many versions of skyrim :x...

( if You dont want to waste space on your computer u can use for example Mega - 50GB free and u can make multiple accounts :) )

so 50 GB / ACC ^_^

 

2) Keep .zip files with mods on your computer - or just on Mega if u want to reinstall windows etc.

 

3) DO NOT DELETE YOUR SKYRIM

 

JUST RENAME IT !... once u rename Skyrim folder in Steam Folder Steam will lost it and u can just do:

Steam -> Games -> Properties -> LocalFiles ->Verify Game Files 

 

once u rename your Skyrim folder in Steam Folder and press Verify Game Files steam will reinstall Skyrim for You

 

and u don't lost your Skyrim... once u finish u can delete old skyrim if you are happy with new 

 

 

4) Dont use Vortex or any other shit... how much braindead ppl are...

this shit waste insane amount of time Your instalation takes sometimes 10 times more !...

 

99% Mods u can just drop to your Data Folder without any shit like NMM Vortex etc.

and this one 1% are hard to install mods where u can fuck something... then u use MO !... never Vortex never NMM only MO = Mod Organizer :x...

 

//Edit:

 

Ahh and answer for you Topic question...

around 2 / 3 hours ( with SexLab and all mods i need ) 

around 40 / 70 minutes ( wihtout SexLab and only most important mods )

 

//Edit2:

But i think its gonna be 30 / 40 min from now ... because 

1) im not gonna use SL Mods anymore... they are already boring... af...

2) im not gonna use 90% of mods i normaly use... because they are fking trash xD

 

for example. complete crafting overhaul - i already have my own way better mod...

and everything in single ESP, other example FaceLight :D i made ENB that dont need FL

 

because i add effect that change face colors if face is too dark :D

soon im gonna use only Camera and Texutre mods xD

example:

Spoiler

Light to Face:

Spoiler

72850_20200218160251_1.png.3ace0911c2afc1fe195153224a2554ed.png

Light to Back:

Spoiler

72850_20200218160256_1.png.72e74730c4c6f19dbd964de61d9b0b80.png

 

 

And hair style is from Hair Builder :o...

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When I switched over to SE a few weeks ago it took ~10 hours to get everything in that I wanted, but what I ended up with was a game that would crash constantly in Whiterun and Riverwood and probably anywhere else that any NPCs that are covered in both The Ordinary Women and Pandorable's NPCs hang out. What should have happened was that Pandorable's should have overwritten certain NPCs with its own meshes and textures, but what actually happened was that the goddamn thing got confused and kept stepping on its own dick trying to use both at the same time. Anytime I would stand near Ophelia Greymane or whatever the fuck Alvor's wife's name is for too long, guaranteed CTD. Never had that problem in LE, but it fucked SE's brains up bad, and I think it was largely due to NMM. I did a complete uninstall of the game, deleted all saves and the entire game directory, reinstalled, and then added my mods back with MO2 instead of NMM, which I should have done in the first place. Fortunately the second attempt only took about two or three hours because I still had most of everything already download from the first install, it was just a matter of moving it from the NMM download location to MO2's, installing, and running LOOT every so often.

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On 2/17/2020 at 9:23 AM, nemocdt said:

...cause lets face it we are never truly done. 

 

 

I have booted up a new character, have let Skyrim load all mods, set up all mods in mcm, all till tomorrow.

Because tomorrow I am gonna play all weekend in my new shiny, perfectly modded sandbox.

I am gonna close down vortex, not gonna visit LL or nexusmods and I am NOT gonna start thinking about how this or that can be better.

I will play it for once.... maybe.

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5 hours ago, mrdoodle said:

I have booted up a new character, have let Skyrim load all mods, set up all mods in mcm, all till tomorrow.

Because tomorrow I am gonna play all weekend in my new shiny, perfectly modded sandbox.

I am gonna close down vortex, not gonna visit LL or nexusmods and I am NOT gonna start thinking about how this or that can be better.

I will play it for once.... maybe.

i have only played 1 complete play through,  took me over a year...

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