Proud of my Mod List! Want to get advice and have some questions.

[haloodst39]

This is the first time I've been serious about modding for a long playthrough, one to keep me busy for a couple years I hope.

 

I'm sitting comfortably with everything right now, but have some other things I'd like to add, and at this point I'd like the communities advice on what more I could do, and how stable things should be.

 

https://modwat.ch/u/haloodst39 <- List of Mods on ModWatch.

 

Most my mods are very large, or very script heavy. I only have a small handful of clothing mods and NPC / Followers. I've cleaned all the followers and town mods in TES5Edit and CK to deconflict everything, and I've ran a few dungeons and outside areas / towns to ensure things are stable.

 

My questions for the mod list are;

 

1) I have really long load times. Anywhere from 60 seconds to 3 minutes. Is this okay as long as everything is stable? I get no CTD or errors. And as I play through quests and areas, will the load times risk getting longer?

 

2) Due to the long load times, how much more could I afford to add? I'd like to fill in some of the blank space in the world, and add some weapons and loot adjustments.

 

3) In regards to adding more weapons / items / loot adjustments, (I'd like to add Deviously Cursed Loot as well), would this Automated Leveled List Addon help with the process? https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/98170?tab=files

 

4) Does anyone see any potential problems with the mod list / order? Or any potential issues from any mods that you've played through?

 

5) Which is better to handle knockout states? Defeat or Sexlab Submit. I have SD+ installed as well, but I usually let all of them run at the same time, which doesn't conflict too much. But I know rule of thumb is to let only one handle it all. I would love to transition to Naked Defeat, but I think it conflicts with parts of the modlist right now.

 

Any other comments or advice are really appreciated! I've spent about 2-3 months tediously building this, testing mods, and getting it stable, and the modding is as fun for me as the playthrough.

 

If anyone has any questions about any of the setup! Or why I did / didn't pick certain mods, please ask!

 

Some screenshots! ? (No-Kink shaming)

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by haloodst39
Add Question

[Gukahn]

33 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

5) Which is better to handle knockout states? Defeat or Sexlab Submit.

Get rid of submit and get yourself Bakas version of Defeat. Its much more stable then the standart version and is faster. Also it is worked on, so updates are possible in the future. Submit is really old, might be a possible risk?

https://www.patreon.com/posts/sexlab-defeat-1-32912602

 

 

I am no expert and don't play LE so i can't say much about your loading times, but i would use every chance i can get to disable scripts i don't need at the moment and just toggle them on when i need them. Just my personal opinion and nothing to lose sleep over tho, if it works for you and you don't mind longer loading times, why change it but i would not add any more.. Cursed loot is kinda of a red flag for me cause it introduced CTD`s to my game (But that was entirely my own fault and stupid load order changing on my part, not the mod in itself. Once you add it, i wouldn't change the LO again before starting a new game.)

 

The red part is to be taken not too serous, i really am not sure

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by Gukahn

[alex77r4]

36 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

1) I have really long load times. Anywhere from 60 seconds to 3 minutes.

 

I see that very excessive, except when we talk about the first start of the game.

If your game need from 1 to 3 minutes each time you see a loading screen something is not correctly configured in your game or, maybe, in your machine.

 

47 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

Most my mods are very large, or very script heavy.

 

Not worry about the big mods, their big size only increase the time need to make the first start of the game. You can have Falskar, Hearland and FortNox installed but the game only read that files in the first start and when you travel to a location of the mod.

 

Not worry about the Script Heavy mods when the mod is good made. The game can run Sexlab +Aroused +SOS +Creature +DD +CursedLoot +Cumshot + .... any others good mods without any problem.

 

Finally, are you using SMP? Because that can tank your framerate...

[Grey Cloud]

This isn't a tech support issue so why post it here?

 

SexLab Nude Creatures shouldn't be there. You are either using the wrong version of MNC or did not uninstall the old version correctly. The version you want is:

https://www.loverslab.com/files/file/4130-more-nasty-critters-slal-edition/

 

Most people don't use the official Hi-Res Packs either.

[haloodst39]

50 minutes ago, Gukahn said:

Get rid of submit and get yourself Bakas version of Defeat. Its much more stable then the standart version and is faster. Also it is worked on, so updates are possible in the future. Submit is really old, might be a possible risk?

https://www.patreon.com/posts/sexlab-defeat-1-32912602

 

 

I am no expert and don't play LE so i can't say much about your loading times, but i would use every chance i can get to disable scripts i don't need at the moment and just toggle them on when i need them. Just my personal opinion and nothing to lose sleep over tho, if it works for you and you don't mind longer loading times, why change it but i would not add any more.. Cursed loot is kinda of a red flag for me cause it introduced CTD`s to my game (But that was entirely my own fault and stupid load order changing on my part, not the mod in itself. Once you add it, i wouldn't change the LO again before starting a new game.)

 

The red part is to be taken not too serous, i really am not sure

 

 

Thanks for the advice! I'll definately switch out Submit. And by disable scripts, do you mean you can toggle off ESPs and just enable them when you're ready to play them? And that won't mess with the install or how anything works or any items added by anything? I'm new to disabling ESPs / toggling them mid playthrough.

 

 

Edit: Should that Defeat that you linked replace both SL Defeat and Sexlab Submit? Or just Submit?

 

27 minutes ago, alex77r4 said:

 

I see that very excessive, except when we talk about the first start of the game.

If your game need from 1 to 3 minutes each time you see a loading screen something is not correctly configured in your game or, maybe, in your machine.

 

Not worry about the big mods, their big size only increase the time need to make the first start of the game. You can have Falskar, Hearland and FortNox installed but the game only read that files in the first start and when you travel to a location of the mod.

 

Not worry about the Script Heavy mods when the mod is good made. The game can run Sexlab +Aroused +SOS +Creature +DD +CursedLoot +Cumshot + .... any others good mods without any problem.

 

Finally, are you using SMP? Because that can tank your framerate...

Sometimes the load screens after the initial load can be 20-30 seconds, but transitioning from outdoors to cities / larger areas is almost always +1 minute. I've wondered if I configured something wrong. And I am running HDT (LE), and using HDT Hair and CBBE-HDT, but that's about it. I considered the HDT Equipment, but I know the toll that HDT has on any game. The biggest thing tanking framerate for me right now is actually fire effects from ENB, which I have a love-hate relationship with.

 

24 minutes ago, Grey Cloud said:

This isn't a tech support issue so why post it here?

 

SexLab Nude Creatures shouldn't be there. You are either using the wrong version of MNC or did not uninstall the old version correctly. The version you want is:

https://www.loverslab.com/files/file/4130-more-nasty-critters-slal-edition/

 

Most people don't use the official Hi-Res Packs either.

I went back and forth a few times on where I should post it. It was both a 'proud want to share' and 'need help going forward with it'. I figured since the help aspect was more important to me, that I'd post it here. Maybe if necessary a moderator can move it? 

 

And I appreciate the catch on MNC! That's good to know. Thank you for that! - Is there any specific reason people don't use the hi-res packs, or any alternative thing used in place do you know?

Edited June 21, 2021 by haloodst39

[Gukahn]

16 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

Thanks for the advice! I'll definately switch out Submit. And by disable scripts, do you mean you can toggle off ESPs and just enable them when you're ready to play them? And that won't mess with the install or how anything works or any items added by anything? I'm new to disabling ESPs / toggling them mid playthrough.

 

No no, biggest NO xD i mean if the mod gives you the possibilty to toggle the script off ingame, like some do, i have a couple of that, then use it if you don't need it at the moment. Never disable a mod mid play if you want to use it, that will definitely break stuff. 

 

16 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

Should that Defeat that you linked replace both SL Defeat and Sexlab Submit? Or just Submit?

 

" Got answered below" . And submit only if you don't need its consensual feature. i mean, having 3 combat sex mods is just overkill and a waste of space. Since naked defeat has features i understand you wanna have, i would set up Sexlab Defeat in a way where it only handles what naked doesn't handle.Never used naked defeat so that part is up to you.

Edited June 21, 2021 by Gukahn

[Seijin8]

16 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

Is there any specific reason people don't use the hi-res packs, or any alternative thing used in place do you know?

 

The esps are unnecessary and take up space they don't need to.  The esps only exist so the system knows to load the BSAs associated with them.  Many mod managers allow for including the BSA files without needing the esps active.  Alternatively, you could just unpack all the BSAs from those and put them into their own folder, then add that through file virtualization.  At this point though, there isn't much in there that other texture mods aren't replacing.

 

Regarding the long load times, there is a lot of missing info here that might put it into context:

 

1. Are you using an older computer?  If your system is higher-end, then this is a sign of problems with the setup.
2. Are you using the very many optimization tools around?  Crash Fixes, Bug Fixes, etc?
3. Have you made ini changes?  Most of these are ill-advised, and some commonly recommended (but utterly daft) tweaks to the papyrus section can lead to these kinds of load times.
4. What mod manager are you using?  Many allow for toggling off sections of your load order, and doing this with some benchmarking might save a lot of headaches in the future.

 

Sadly, alot of the deeper issues with a load order take a while to rear their heads.  I generally find with a sloppily built load order that play begins to destabilize around level 20-ish, and CTDs can start to "randomly" happen around level 30 or so.  It is worth taking the time to benchmark things and see where the issues may lie, but also understand that sometimes with a fresh load order that some issues will take a while to appear.

 

16 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

Should that Defeat that you linked replace both SL Defeat and Sexlab Submit? Or just Submit?

 

Baka's SL Defeat fully replaces Sexlab Defeat, and Submit is redundant with it regardless.  Dump Submit and replace Defeat with Baka's version.

Edited June 21, 2021 by Seijin8
Formatting

[haloodst39]

2 minutes ago, Gukahn said:

Just submit, you need the original defeat for it to work. And submit only if you don't need its consensual feature. i mean, having 3 combat sex mods is just overkill and a waste of space. Since naked defeat has features i understand you wanna have, i would set up Sexlab Defeat in a way where it only handles what naked doesn't handle, so the feature where you get raped. Never used naked defeat so that part is up to you.

That makes sense. I'm actually excited for that now. Thank you.

[haloodst39]

7 minutes ago, Seijin8 said:

 The esps only exist so the system knows to load the BSAs associated with them.  

 

Regarding the long load times, there is a lot of missing info here that might put it into context:

 

1. Are you using an older computer? 
2. Are you using the very many optimization tools around?  Crash Fixes, Bug Fixes, etc?
3. Have you made ini changes?  Most of these are ill-advised, and some commonly recommended (but utterly daft) tweaks to the papyrus section can lead to these kinds of load times.
4. What mod manager are you using?  

Baka's SL Defeat fully replaces Sexlab Defeat, and Submit is redundant with it regardless.  Dump Submit and replace Defeat with Baka's version.

 

I didn't know that about the ESPs. Good to know now! I'll go ahead and swap those out with a standard texture mod then.

 

Regarding your questions,

My computer is very new. Intel i9-9900K, 64GB Ram, and a Geforce RTX 2080 Super.

I'm using almost all the optimization tools I could find - Crash Fixes, Crash Log, Load Game CTD, and then some.

I've made ini changes only to Enblocal, Enbseries, and the Skyrim / Skyrimprefs to support that. 

 

And Gukahn had stated that I would in fact need the Sexlab Defeat, but I'll read into it and find out what's needed I guess.

Thank you for the tips and advice.

[alex77r4]

42 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

Sometimes the load screens after the initial load can be 20-30 seconds, but transitioning from outdoors to cities / larger areas is almost always +1 minute.

 

That can be normal when yours cities are modified with mods like JK's... but only the first time you enter the city because the game need load a lot of new assets. But if you enter the city, turn 180 degrees, exit the city, turn 180 degrees, enter the city... and you must wait the same  time... something is not correctly configured.

 

One option is use JK's Lite but with your supercomputer... i not see it necessary.

 

Verify again yours configuration files... specially the INI files that you have manually changed:

26 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

I've made ini changes only to Enblocal, Enbseries, and the Skyrim / Skyrimprefs to support that. 

 

Take a look to BethIni and use it to configure your INI files. Not change anything manually inside an INI file except when is strictly necessary.

 

Next verify your Enblocal.ini and be sure you have:

[MEMORY]
ExpandSystemMemoryX64=false
ReduceSystemMemoryUsage=true
DisableDriverMemoryManager=false
DisablePreloadToVRAM=false
EnableUnsafeMemoryHacks=false
ReservedMemorySizeMb=256
VideoMemorySizeMb=0
EnableCompression=false
AutodetectVideoMemorySize=true

 

Better take a detailed look to any good guide:

https://www.loverslab.com/blogs/entry/10715-2020-skyrim-le-stability-guide/

 

[Gukahn]

39 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

And Gukahn had stated that I would in fact need the Sexlab Defeat, but I'll read into it and find out what's needed I guess.

That's because it is stated as an requirement and installation description . I have it like that, of course Seijin could be right too if it works for him/her without the original. Never in my life will i say i am totally in the right when it comes to mods. ^^

[Grey Cloud]

1 hour ago, alex77r4 said:

One option is use JK's Lite but with your supercomputer... i not see it necessary.

I use that. It fixes some bugs in the original and removes a lot of the trees, plants and whatnot which I like. Personal thing but I prefer to use my resources on things like extra NPCs rather than tree or plant.

 

1 hour ago, alex77r4 said:

Take a look to BethIni and use it to configure your INI files. Not change anything manually inside an INI file except when is strictly necessary.

That would have been my recommendation if you hadn't got there first.

 

2 hours ago, haloodst39 said:

Is there any specific reason people don't use the hi-res packs,

They aren't particularly good in the looks department and they have a reputation for being inefficient with regards to resource usage. There are lots of alternatives on Nexus:

e.g.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/45807

Look through the 'models and textures' category. Which one you go for depends on the 'look' you prefer.

 

This is my Whiterun market with JK's Lite, CleverSharff's Whiterun and, I think, the wood textures from Noble Skyrim.

 

 

This is quite deserted compared with what it is most of the time.


 

 

What body preset are you using in your screenshots?

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2021 by Grey Cloud

[haloodst39]

17 minutes ago, Grey Cloud said:

There are lots of alternatives on Nexus:

e.g.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/45807

Look through the 'models and textures' category. Which one you go for depends on the 'look' you prefer.

 

 

 

I'm gonna give this a shot, thank you!

 

 

1 hour ago, alex77r4 said:

Take a look to BethIni and use it to configure your INI files. Not change anything manually inside an INI file except when is strictly necessary.

 

Next verify your Enblocal.ini and be sure you have:

 

 

Better take a detailed look to any good guide:

https://www.loverslab.com/blogs/entry/10715-2020-skyrim-le-stability-guide/

 

[MEMORY]
ExpandSystemMemoryX64=false
ReduceSystemMemoryUsage=true
DisableDriverMemoryManager=false
DisablePreloadToVRAM=false
EnableUnsafeMemoryHacks=false
ReservedMemorySizeMb=1024
VideoMemorySizeMb=40354
EnableCompression=false
AutodetectVideoMemorySize=false

This is mine currently. I configured all my ini files going through the guides from StepModification, but their content may be outdated, so I'll read through the guide you posted and see if I find anything contrasting with what I have. Is there a reason you set 0 under your VideoMemorySize?

 

Edit: Oo Gamerpoets uses Bethini too I guess. I watched a lot of his videos during the making of this.

Edited June 21, 2021 by haloodst39

[alex77r4]

10 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

VideoMemorySizeMb=40354
EnableCompression=false
AutodetectVideoMemorySize=false

 

Simply comodity....

VideoMemorySizeMb=xxxx (normally the value computed by VRamSizeTest)

AutodetectVideoMemorySize=false

 

is exactly the same as put 

VideoMemorySizeMb=0

AutodetectVideoMemorySize=true

because the value used is computed automatically by ENB.

 

Voris include the calculations used in VRamSizeTest inside the main ENB executable a lot of year ago but, of course, many guides use the old system and hundred and hundred of users continue recommending the old method.

 

But not worry, the result are exactly the same.

[Grey Cloud]

14 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

Is there a reason you set 0 under your VideoMemorySize?

I was wondering that myself but it is because he has AutodetectVideoMemorySize set to true.

 

17 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

VideoMemorySizeMb=40354

I was also wondering where you got this figure

VideoMemorySizeMb=40354

 

I have 32GB of RAM and an 8GB GPU and my setting is 24262 as per S.T.E.P. and the VRAM tool.

[Grey Cloud]

3 minutes ago, alex77r4 said:

Voris include the calculations used in VRamSizeTest inside the main ENB executable a lot of year ago

Thanks, I didn't know that.

[haloodst39]

4 minutes ago, alex77r4 said:

But not worry, the result are exactly the same.

Okay that's good to know! I was always a little nervous of what numbers to have there.

 

3 minutes ago, Grey Cloud said:

I was also wondering where you got this figure

VideoMemorySizeMb=40354

 

When I run the VRamSizeDX9 test from ENB, it gives me a Video Memory Available of 40704 MB. - Then I followed the instructions below from StepModification

 

Download Boris's VRamSizeTest tool, run VRamSizeDX9.exe, and note the number it shows after "Video memory available." Then, if you are running Windows 7, subtract 170 from that number; if you are running Windows 8/8.1, use the number provided by the tool; and if you are running Windows 10, subtract 350 from that number. Use the result as the variable here. (Example 1: If VRamSizeDX9.exe shows 10240, and you're running Windows 7, you should subtract 170 to get 10070. Example 2: If VRamSizeDX9.exe shows 4064, and you're running Windows 8, you should use 4064. Example 3: If VRamSizeDX9.exe shows 11168, and you're running Windows 10, you should subtract 350 to get 10818.)

 

So the 40704-350=40355... I must have fat fingered mine to a 40354 instead of 55.... Easy to fix though!

[Grey Cloud]

31 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

When I run the VRamSizeDX9 test from ENB, it gives me a Video Memory Available of 40704 MB. - Then I followed the instructions below from StepModification

 

Don't worry about it, it was me reading your RAM as 32GB instead of the 64B.

 

BTW I edited my post above (#12). I added a couple of screenshots and asked a question.

[alex77r4]

32 minutes ago, haloodst39 said:

When I run the VRamSizeDX9 test from ENB, it gives me a Video Memory Available of 40704 MB. - Then I followed the instructions below from StepModification

 

Stop worrying about that values, please...

 

That instruction was written 8 years ago, when the people have very old machines with 2 or 4 GB of RAM and older video cards with 1 GB or 512 Mb of Vram...

 

The value specified in VideoMemorySizeMb is the maximum RAM+Vram that ENB can use. When the Video Card only have 512 Mb and the computer only have 2GB you must compute that value in a very exact way.

 

But when the machine have 8GB of Ram and 4 GB of Vram that give you a maximum theoretical value of 8+4 = 12 GB = 12288 - 512Mb reseved by Operating System - variable part depending of your exact Os (Win7, 8, 10) = 11426

 

Theoretically, that is the maximum memory that ENB can use, launching multiple enbhost.exe, but to use half of that value you must use High Poly Mesh plus a big lot of HD texture mods in 4K and 8K, of course, playing a real resolution of 4K at 3840 x 2160 and, probably, you go to get an indecent frame rate before  reach half of the the maximum theoretical memory value.

 

Please, we are in 2020 playing an 8 years old game and seems that we are following the same instructions given 8 years ago when the first versions of ENB was published. The game can be the same but the utilities and the machines has advanced a lot. Today, we can make things in Skyrim that was imposible 8 years ago. 

[Grey Cloud]

38 minutes ago, alex77r4 said:

Please, we are in 2020 playing an 8 years old game

You may be but I'm in 2021 and playing a 9.5 year old game. ?

[haloodst39]

8 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

 

What body preset are you using in your screenshots?

 

Just CBBE Curvey and Fair Skin Complexion. Weight is set to 100 for Bodyslide and Melodic Outfit purposes. 

Hair is KS Hairdos - HDT Physics and the BBP Fix. Preset is my own tweaked version of the Willa Holland from https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/90820?tab=description. You'll need all the mods that they have listed as dependencies. That's it! 

 

The NPCs is a whole other story. Thieves Guild All in One (Sapphire Only), Bijin AIO, Bijin Warmaidens, Wives, Pan's Initiates, Bijin NPCs, Pure Girls Heroine Replacer, and Eola Servant of Namira. I had to go through TES5 edit and ensure for specific NPCs that subsequent mods weren't overlapping what I wanted. But for 95% of NPCs I just let the load order do the work nicely.

 

7 hours ago, alex77r4 said:

Theoretically, that is the maximum memory that ENB can use, launching multiple enbhost.exe, but to use half of that value you must use High Poly Mesh plus a big lot of HD texture mods in 4K and 8K, of course, playing a real resolution of 4K at 3840 x 2160 and, probably, you go to get an indecent frame rate before  reach half of the the maximum theoretical memory value.

 

Would the indecent frame rate be due to Graphics Card? Or Processor... That might be a dumb question but I'm curious. I've always felt like I had to be pretty die hard about how perfect each value was set.

 

Edit: Also do you recommend any good 2020-2021 relevant guides for setting up things like in files or enb presets?

 

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by haloodst39

[Grey Cloud]

1 hour ago, haloodst39 said:

Preset is my own tweaked version

My fault, I meant Bodyslide preset. I just liked the narrow look.

 

I have at least 12 NPC replacers on the go plus some individual NPC replacers. ? That's a new one for me though: Pure Girls Heroine Replacer

[haloodst39]

1 hour ago, Grey Cloud said:

My fault, I meant Bodyslide preset. I just liked the narrow look.

 

I have at least 12 NPC replacers on the go plus some individual NPC replacers. ? That's a new one for me though: Pure Girls Heroine Replacer

 

Just the standard CBBE Curvy, everything batch built for the Outfit/Body CBBE Body HDT.

 

Edit: I did adjust the BigBelly sliders to 20 each to support inflation, but that was the only change. I spent a lot of time trying to get COSIO to work around my outfits, but the HDT bone weights clipped pretty badly with my favorite outfits, so I had to pick one or the other (Not interested in reworking bone weights for outfits.)

Edited June 21, 2021 by haloodst39