Body replacer compatibility with SL and SL mods (query)

[walkingwounded]

<before anyone asks, I am using Skyrim Special Edition, hence why it is posted in this forum, so really hoping for responses relevant to SSE>

 

To date I have only used CBBE ("CBBE 3BA (3BBB)", curvy, C-cup) with SL and SL mods, primarily because I have been following the pinned example builds from the first page of these forums to get up and running, then adding stuff to it as catches my eye. I have had challenges getting the animations to look good depending on my characters body shape (eg: misalignments or clipping).  I am considering the viability of other body replacers (like the UNP variants), mostly due to clothing and armor mods that have caught my interest from time to time. I have also noticed a number of SL mods have CBBE compatibility 'patches', which sort of implies those mods are built around some other body type by default (likely mods converted from LE I suspect).

 

My observation is that CBBE (and the SMP or 3BA variant) bodies seem to be the 'standard' (as in 'highly recommended or popular') in Special Edition, while UNP bodies seem to be the 'standard' in the previous editions (with UNP mods getting CBBE variants added during conversion to SE in many cases).

 

This is mostly a thought exercise right now as I am content to stick with the 3BA body (since I know it works), but I am curious if I might be missing out on anything by only using CBBE.

 

Additional notes:

• I use mods that involve belly morphs (pregnancy/inflation mods), so that is a key feature I would be looking for in my characters (and NPC) body.
• I have a low spec machine (AMD 4650G processor/APU, no discreet GPU, 16GB ram), so SMP physics is 'optional', I can get 35-50fps at 720p depending on the ENB I select and the location, very playable, but not a lot of fps to spare
• I primarily play in first person view (so SMP on my character would largely be unnoticed outside of an SL animation)
• I normally just load the same body shape in bodyslide as I installed with CBBE (ie: curvy or fetish or special...) and batch build clothing and armor to make things 'fit' (seems to work okay)
  • I try to do two passes, one for soft clothing with physics, and one for stiff clothing (like armor) without physics
• I have not used the outfit studio for more than very minor adjustments (not in my skillset) although I have tried to 'unibody' some clothing pieces in the past
• no bash/smash patches (have had mixed results using either, likely due to not knowing/remembering what needs to be excluded from each rebuild cycle)
• I am considering a futa PC playthrough in the future (scenario: males sterile, futa's are rare and required to maintain the population, fun ensues, new take on community 'service')
  • incidentally, this could be why there are so few children in Skyrim, but it is a game, so I'll let it slide
• I am also considering a yiffy age playthrough, just for the anamorph experience

 

Questions follow:

 

1. Is CBBE actually the preferred body to use with SSE and SL?
2. If UNP worth pursuing in the SL context, or am I just asking for problems?

 

Other stuff:

1. Are non-cbbe bodies (TBD, UNP, UUNP, 7B...) fully supported by the SL engine/framework? If so, is there consensus on a variant/configuration to start with (for compatibility)?
   1. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/31126 BHUNP (the third image got me interested, clothing collision morphs?)
   2. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1699 UNP Female Body Renewal
   3. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/10151 SevenBase
   4. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20024 Touched By Dibella
   5. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/35575 Touched By Dibella SMP
   6. I'm sure there are more, these are just the ones I could find quickly, seems like BHUNP might be a good one to consider (popularity wise)
2. Are there any bodies known to have problems with SL, SL mods or SL animations (or special considerations)?
3. Are there mods/animations that are known to NOT work well with other body types?
   1. Just looking to avoid known issues or avoid a body/shape that is high maintenance to use.
4. Can you install more than one body replacer concurrently (ie: so followers and NPC's can have more variety)?
   1. I know you can only use one for your character, but I am looking for an option to give NPC's and followers more variety
   2. Another way to phrase this might be "is it okay to have multiple body replacers in a load order"
5. Regarding skins: is it okay to have multiple skins in a load order, or just one is the best/only option?
   1. eg: bijin +diamond +fair skin in same loadout (I presume the last to load would be a 'default', but maybe the rest would be available for NPC's and followers to use?)
6. I noticed there is multiple versions of CBBE bodies, but I'm not sure what the differences are (in terms of compatibility or features)
   1. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/198 CBBE
      1. okay, I think I know what this one is, but I am not clear on the next two, they both seems to be CBBE plus physics, but I'm not getting a compelling reason to use one versus the other. From the description the 3ba has better CBPC support if don't need all the jiggles (performance), but is otherwise based on the SMP. The SMP does state 6 breast bones, but the 3ba indicates 3 (so maybe SMP has more collision zones too?).
   2. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/30174 CBBE 3BA (3BBB)
   3. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/29023 CBBE SMP (3BBB)
7. When using CBBE (or a UNP) body, is there a baseline body shape that SL mods and animations are built around (ie: curvy vs fetish, E-cup vs F-Cup, etc)?
   1. I recall some user comments about animations being based upon the F-cup curvy body, I could be wrong, or maybe it was specific to whatever thread I saw it in

 

 

[Just Don't]

That's a lot of questions. A quick comment

• There is no standard body. Each animator will create their anims using the preferred body shapes as a basis. Using an average body shape will avoid most noticeable alignment issues, but in most cases you'll need to tweak things anyways.
• Only way to install multiple body models or skins at the same time is doing so with mods that allow individual bodies (some followers have an unique body, there are mods to enable player exclusive body, others allow separate bodies per race, custom races, etc.). If you go that route you'll need to manually move the files from the default location to each unique body folder. If you don't use any of these mods you can't use multiple mods for body/skins, you'd be replacing the same files in the default location. 
• About CBBE variants
  • CBBE - base sliders and features, can have physics if combined with CBP/CBPC and building the physic-enabled sets (CBBE physics, special).
  • CBBE SMP (3BBB) adds support for HDT-SMP physics and 3B animations (softer booba jiggle).
  • CBBE 3BA (3BBB) also adds support for HDT-SMP and 3B, but it can be combined with CBPC physics, has hotkeys/powers to switch between CBPC and SMP ingame.

[walkingwounded]

Thank you for the response.

Body: only one

Skin: only one

Followers/NPC's/mods: can include their own bodies (otherwise they use the player body)

 

I think I found at least one mod (follower) that listed CBBE as a requirement but no mention of UNP, presumably this means I'd have to use CBBE and NOT UNP, I will keep notes on any I find for my build and consider my options near the end.

 

Currently using the Sinitar build guide as a reference (well, as a list of inspirations anyway).

Once I get that running I'll tag on some LL stuff.

 

Additional Question (which I should post in a new thread probably):

• If I use the hotkey in the CBBE 3BA mod to toggle an NPC's body physics, is there a way to completely 'reset/undo' the change. A year or two ago I think I did this to one the Daedric B'tches ladies and their body got all weird after (not the same as before I modified them, boobas got shrunk and 'lumpy'). I ended up reloading the save from before I did this to restore the proper shape.

[Just Don't]

1 hour ago, walkingwounded said:

If I use the hotkey in the CBBE 3BA mod to toggle an NPC's body physics, is there a way to completely 'reset/undo' the change.

Use the hotkey again? Not sure what other modifications you're talking about. 3BA hotkeys/spells only switch between CBPC and SMP modes, this is the physic method these NPCs will use and nothing more. Body changes are an entirely different thing, you'll need to pinpoint the mods responsible for these changes and see how you can reset/undo said changes.

Edited June 6, 2021 by Just Don't

[walkingwounded]

On 6/6/2021 at 11:53 AM, Just Don&#x27;t said:

Use the hotkey again? Not sure what other modifications you're talking about. 3BA hotkeys/spells only switch between CBPC and SMP modes, this is the physic method these NPCs will use and nothing more. Body changes are an entirely different thing, you'll need to pinpoint the mods responsible for these changes and see how you can reset/undo said changes.

If I recall all I did was toggle the SMP with the hotkeys to see what they would do (jumping and crouching to see what the differences were). When I toggled off SMP (back to CBPC) I think things got all weird (saggy and lumpy). Regardless I was unable to return the DB back to its original form before the toggling experiment.

 

I was experimenting with this mod (MFBO) at the time as well I think, perhaps it interfered in some way with the toggle:

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/37765

 

I've decided SMP is a bit much for my machine specs, so I use it sparingly.