guide Skyrim AE for Beginners - V 2.0.0 (3BA / HDT-SMP / HPH)

[krzp]

Wheeler - Quick Action Wheel Of Skyrim

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/97345

 

been playing with this one for some time, really like it.

[dacendale]

Thanks @Aylis, I've been waiting for you to do a guide for AE for a while. I love the work you did for the SE guide; it really taught me how to use MO and modding in general.

[hitmanh]

I'm running P+and it's fine so far, have you added/registered animations in SLAL?

[Aylis]

Been through JK's Outskirt mods. 

 

Sorry Ryn, but i think JK offers a better version (and i might have to get rid of the farms too). Windhelm is great and even incorporates some of the things from Lux Via. Whiterun is very nice too and, once we get more patches for it, will integrate with Whiterun Metropolis (see video). But Markarth blows everything out of the water. A hugely expanded entrance area which makes sense (the carriage has a path that would actually work), defenses and smaller ways to get around. I love what JK did there.

 

And this combination seems to work well:

Vanilla hair remake (SMP)

Vanilla hair remake - SMP NPCs

SMP-NPC crash fix

Had no issues so far and i can finally readd it to the guide.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Aylis

[Guest]

2 hours ago, hitmanh said:

I'm running P+and it's fine so far, have you added/registered animations in SLAL?

Thank  you for responding.  I deleted my posts as I forgot the guide supported base installs only.  I have exceeded that and will look for assistance in the appropriate mod forums.  Thank you for your time.

[Ashra XIII]

So, I am in need of help once again because I have tried everything that I can think of, multiple times, and this same problem just keeps coming back.

 

Spoiler

 

In this image, where the road stones are, there are clearly low-res textures which, in my game, are also flashing. This doesn't happen at the start of my game... everything looks really good for a while, but eventually, EVENTUALLY this problem begins and once it does... that's it.

 

If I exit the game (to desktop) and go back in it will be fine for a very short time, but it will come back within a minute or two and it's all over every road and some other rocks.

 

I really, really can't figure out why this specific issue is happening... I'm guessing it has something to do with parallax but I've checked and double-checked the guide to make sure my install is accurate. I have to be missing something but for the life of me, I can't figure out what.,

[Bigglsby]

39 minutes ago, Ashra XIII said:

So, I am in need of help once again because I have tried everything that I can think of, multiple times, and this same problem just keeps coming back.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

In this image, where the road stones are, there are clearly low-res textures which, in my game, are also flashing. This doesn't happen at the start of my game... everything looks really good for a while, but eventually, EVENTUALLY this problem begins and once it does... that's it.

 

If I exit the game (to desktop) and go back in it will be fine for a very short time, but it will come back within a minute or two and it's all over every road and some other rocks.

 

I really, really can't figure out why this specific issue is happening... I'm guessing it has something to do with parallax but I've checked and double-checked the guide to make sure my install is accurate. I have to be missing something but for the life of me, I can't figure out what.,

 

The never-ending LOD unloading issue - but this is the first time I've seen it on a landscape/ground texture.  It's not a parallax issue you're seeing there.

 

The reason it seems fine at first, and bad later, is that initially, you're not seeing a loaded LOD texture.  It would go away if you entered a building and came back out.  But it will come back to any affected location anytime you walk to it from a distance... the LOD textures never get unloaded.  The flashing is kind of you seeing the real textures underneath the blocky LOD textures.

 

Specific fixes are dependent on the location/cause.  Sometimes a patch or load order change will fix - due to conflict for example.  For me, I fought with LOD unloading without resolving, until I went to a non-seasons build...certainly not the fix for most people here.  Part of the problem I think is that there are essentially 4x (5x for some, as it makes "default" as well) the texture sets for seasons LODs, and some things just don't like that.

 

At least identifying the problem may help better hunt a solution... I couldn't fix mine directly, just went around what I figure was causing my problem (at least my game problem, I still have ample others).

 

There is a mod on Nexus - LOD unloading fix or similar.  It does kinda help, but not really.  What it does is allows you to fast-travel to the place you're currently standing on.  Forces the game to reload from your current location.  While it does clean up your local LOD unload issue, you're also blowing the time of reloading to your location.  If it's just a run-by, seems like a waste of time. 

[Ashra XIII]

1 hour ago, Bigglsby said:

 

The never-ending LOD unloading issue - but this is the first time I've seen it on a landscape/ground texture.  It's not a parallax issue you're seeing there.

 

The reason it seems fine at first, and bad later, is that initially, you're not seeing a loaded LOD texture.  It would go away if you entered a building and came back out.  But it will come back to any affected location anytime you walk to it from a distance... the LOD textures never get unloaded.  The flashing is kind of you seeing the real textures underneath the blocky LOD textures.

 

Specific fixes are dependent on the location/cause.  Sometimes a patch or load order change will fix - due to conflict for example.  For me, I fought with LOD unloading without resolving, until I went to a non-seasons build...certainly not the fix for most people here.  Part of the problem I think is that there are essentially 4x (5x for some, as it makes "default" as well) the texture sets for seasons LODs, and some things just don't like that.

 

At least identifying the problem may help better hunt a solution... I couldn't fix mine directly, just went around what I figure was causing my problem (at least my game problem, I still have ample others).

 

There is a mod on Nexus - LOD unloading fix or similar.  It does kinda help, but not really.  What it does is allows you to fast-travel to the place you're currently standing on.  Forces the game to reload from your current location.  While it does clean up your local LOD unload issue, you're also blowing the time of reloading to your location.  If it's just a run-by, seems like a waste of time. 

 

Thank you for the reply and shedding light on the actual issue!

 

Okay.. so the problem seems to occur in several places, but as best I can tell it's specific to rock textures.... or the textures around rocks as in the screenshot I posted. I did try a build without seasons and thought I had it fixed, but all that did was delay the start of the flickering by a zone or two. I removed all 'Seasons' mods in the list, then rebuilt all the DynDOLOD stuff with no seasons... no luck.

 

I also tried not having DynDOLOD at all, but that didn't fix the problem either. I then tried a very basic DynDOLOD setup without the xLODgen and roads... still ended up getting flickers.

 

I just can't figure out what's getting stuck.

 

Edit: I guess I should mention that this screenshot was taken on the little road between Riverwood and Whiterun, just before the part where the Imperials with the prisoner usually show up.

 

I also have had the issue over near Falkreath, as well as a ways past Valtheim Tower on the road from Whiterun to Ivarstead (or Windhelm). It's all kind of in the same area but this is as far as I get in a play-through before stuff starts breaking and I quit game to start taking stuff apart again.

 

Edit 2:

 

Okay that LOD Unloading mod is pretty great, but I fear it may not be enough if the limited testing I just did is any indication.

 

I loaded in at the point where I took the last screenshot, on the road back to Riverwood. Everything looks great!

 

By the time I got to the Riverwood bridge, however, the flickering began.  No problem, used the MCM fix and bam, everything's good again.

 

But! As I continued up the path towards Bleakfalls Barrow, I came upon that bandit tower and, once again, the flickering started with the addition that the entryway of the tower itself had that low-res opaque texture so you can't see inside. I shoulda taken another picture but I hope it's clear what I mean. Anyways, had to use the MCM button again to fix the issue.

 

I then made it to Bleakfalls Barrow without any further flickering which was nice, but two times on that short journey does seem worrying.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Ashra XIII

[Bigglsby]

41 minutes ago, Ashra XIII said:

 

Thank you for the reply and shedding light on the actual issue!

 

Okay.. so the problem seems to occur in several places, but as best I can tell it's specific to rock textures.... or the textures around rocks as in the screenshot I posted. I did try a build without seasons and thought I had it fixed, but all that did was delay the start of the flickering by a zone or two. I removed all 'Seasons' mods in the list, then rebuilt all the DynDOLOD stuff with no seasons... no luck.

 

I also tried not having DynDOLOD at all, but that didn't fix the problem either. I then tried a very basic DynDOLOD setup without the xLODgen and roads... still ended up getting flickers.

 

I just can't figure out what's getting stuck.

 

Edit: I guess I should mention that this screenshot was taken on the little road between Riverwood and Whiterun, just before the part where the Imperials with the prisoner usually show up.

 

I also have had the issue over near Falkreath, as well as a ways past Valtheim Tower on the road from Whiterun to Ivarstead (or Windhelm). It's all kind of in the same area but this is as far as I get in a play-through before stuff starts breaking and I quit game to start taking stuff apart again.

 

If it's happening when you don't even have DynDOLOD enabled, then it isn't LOD unloading issues, or seasons related (likely).

 

If it's limited to roads that you're seeing it on, it's likely a conflict - or something is referencing something incorrectly.  Try disabling your bash patch, and seeing if that fixes it.  Could also be blended roads has a load order/overwrite problem going on somewhere.

 

But I truly feel your pain.  I started my AE skyrim setup this February and poked and prodded, fixed and broke, until I burnt out on the process around mid-May.  Really never leaving Whiterun area in my starts until something bugged me enough to restart and "fix" something.  :)  I've been poking around and updating stuff again recently, likely to start the self-flagellation process all over.

 

Good luck, and I hope that helps get you closer.

[alaunus01]

@Ashra XIII You might want to monitor your VRAM utilization as well. This modlist can easily use 16GB VRAM when played on 1440p resolution (especially if you downloaded the highest resolution textures. That would roughly translate to 11-12GB VRAM usage on 1080p. On a GPU with less VRAM that means at the very least noticable framerate issues. And a couple steps further textures will fail to load.

[markvarley]

@Ashra XIII I started using this recently for having a similar occasional issue, might be worth a look for diagnostics at least ?

[Ashra XIII]

6 hours ago, Bigglsby said:

 

If it's happening when you don't even have DynDOLOD enabled, then it isn't LOD unloading issues, or seasons related (likely).

 

If it's limited to roads that you're seeing it on, it's likely a conflict - or something is referencing something incorrectly.  Try disabling your bash patch, and seeing if that fixes it.  Could also be blended roads has a load order/overwrite problem going on somewhere.

 

But I truly feel your pain.  I started my AE skyrim setup this February and poked and prodded, fixed and broke, until I burnt out on the process around mid-May.  Really never leaving Whiterun area in my starts until something bugged me enough to restart and "fix" something.  I've been poking around and updating stuff again recently, likely to start the self-flagellation process all over.

 

Good luck, and I hope that helps get you closer.

 

 

I think you actually hit it right on the head with this... it might just be a conflict and I found something after searching around on that LOD Unloader's Nexus page.

 

Someone in the comments, replying to a person who (like me) continues to have flashing textures even after running the unloader, mentions a couple entries in the Skyrim.ini which can cause problems:

 

uLockedObjectMapLOD=32
uLockedTerrainLOD=32

 

I checked my own files and didn't find these entries, but people helpfully mention that there are other mods which have their own .ini files so I went hunting. It turns out that the mod "A clear map of Skyrim" just so happens to be such a mod and... what do you know? I found those entries in its .ini file. I commented them out and loaded up my game at the point where my current play-through started having flashing textures... I was just outside Whiterun, heading towards Bleak Falls Barrow.

 

Load in? All good.

Run to Riverwood? Woah, everything's still good!

 

In fact I went all the way to Bleak Falls Barrow (and inside) without a single incident of flashing textures, whereas just yesterday I had them at least THREE TIMES on this exact trip.

 

It's a bit too early to celebrate of course, but holy shit if nothing else it's an improvement! I wouldn't have found it without you directing me to that page, so all the hearts! ❤️❤️❤️

 

 

 

[markvarley]

58 minutes ago, Ashra XIII said:

 

It's a bit too early to celebrate of course, but holy shit if nothing else it's an improvement! I wouldn't have found it without you directing me to that page, so all the hearts! ❤️❤️❤️

 

 

 

Was that to me? ??
I'll have a look into that myself as I'm having some similar issues!

[Ashra XIII]

10 minutes ago, markvarley said:

Was that to me? ??
I'll have a look into that myself as I'm having some similar issues!

 

Oh I'm sorry! I was speaking to @Bigglsby as he mentioned the unloader in his first response to me, but you actually did link to it later so thank you as well!  ❤️

 

But I've played another couple hours after making the .ini changes and am happy to report that I continue to be LOD-flashing free. Apparently those two entries are a problem because the particular LOD Clear Maps is looking for wasn't generated, but after disabling them I don't see a difference at all in the map quality and of course, there's no flashing textures.

 

I do still have the LOD Unloader mod running as well even if I'm not sure that I need it... things look so good though, I don't wanna change anything. 

[markvarley]

3 hours ago, Ashra XIII said:

 

Oh I'm sorry! I was speaking to @Bigglsby as he mentioned the unloader in his first response to me, but you actually did link to it later so thank you as well!  ❤️

 

But I've played another couple hours after making the .ini changes and am happy to report that I continue to be LOD-flashing free. Apparently those two entries are a problem because the particular LOD Clear Maps is looking for wasn't generated, but after disabling them I don't see a difference at all in the map quality and of course, there's no flashing textures.

 

I do still have the LOD Unloader mod running as well even if I'm not sure that I need it... things look so good though, I don't wanna change anything. 

Ah ok, I didn't read their post so didn't realise we'd both mentioned it ?

 

Glad you seen to be fixed though.

 

Did you check the settings in DynDOLOD ini mentioned on the world map mod page? Mine were already set as suggested but the setting is required for those settings you disabled to work.

Edited August 4, 2023 by markvarley

[Ashra XIII]

14 minutes ago, markvarley said:

Ah ok, I didn't read their post so didn't realise we'd both mentioned it ?

 

Glad you seen to be fixed though.

 

Did you check the settings in DynDOLOD ini mentioned on the world map mid page? Mine were already set as suggested but the setting is required for those settings you disabled to work.

 

Aylis specifically mentions this in the guide, but as I had followed this guide some time ago (quite successfully) there are things I took for granted when I came back to do it again.

 

One of them was this very .ini as, in my vast dumbness, I didn't think about the fact that I had re-installed DynDOLOD at some point which means the .ini file I had copied in from the guide had gotten wiped. This may very well be the key to my entire issue, and possibly I could re-enable those features in 'A Clear Map' without flickering.

 

Buuuuut yeah. I think I'm gonna leave them disabled.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Ashra XIII said:

 

Aylis specifically mentions this in the guide, but as I had followed this guide some time ago (quite successfully) there are things I took for granted when I came back to do it again.

 

One of them was this very .ini as, in my vast dumbness, I didn't think about the fact that I had re-installed DynDOLOD at some point which means the .ini file I had copied in from the guide had gotten wiped. This may very well be the key to my entire issue, and possibly I could re-enable those features in 'A Clear Map' without flickering.

 

Buuuuut yeah. I think I'm gonna leave them disabled.

A warm hug from me to you (and Aylis) for your hard work on this.  My other game has this very issue although not the game using Aylis build.  Had no idea this was the cause.  Something to monitor carefully from now on.  Thank you.  

[Aylis]

I'm working on those flickering textures. 

 

Surprisingly 'Seasons' is not the issue (was my first thought).

Going through all textures now...

   Using 'Atlantean Landscape' didn't fix all, only some issues and got better parallax.

Spoiler

   Sadly the version for 'Terrain Parallax Blending Fix' didn't improve on that.

 

OK got it. Reading the last few posts gave me the solution. But i think we only need to change one setting:

Using 'uLockedObjectMapLOD=16' in the ini of 'A clear map of Skyrim' completely fixed the issue. 

 

But there will be some changes. I simply don't want to skip the textures i found...

Spoiler

 

But, as usual, i have to rerun DynDOLOD. You have no idea how much i hate having to do that...

Edited August 4, 2023 by Aylis

[Ashra XIII]

8 hours ago, Miss Tee said:

A warm hug from me to you (and Aylis) for your hard work on this.  My other game has this very issue although not the game using Aylis build.  Had no idea this was the cause.  Something to monitor carefully from now on.  Thank you.  

 

It's nice when our struggles end up helping someone else... I've actually gotten insight from your posts as well, so thank you in return! ❤️

 

5 hours ago, Aylis said:

I'm working on those flickering textures. 

 

Surprisingly 'Seasons' is not the issue (was my first thought).

Going through all textures now...

   Using 'Atlantean Landscape' didn't fix all, only some issues and got better parallax.

  Reveal hidden contents

   Sadly the version for 'Terrain Parallax Blending Fix' didn't improve on that.

 

OK got it. Reading the last few posts gave me the solution. But i think we only need to change one setting:

Using 'uLockedObjectMapLOD=16' in the ini of 'A clear map of Skyrim' completely fixed the issue. 

 

But there will be some changes. I simply don't want to skip the textures i found...

  Reveal hidden contents

 

But, as usual, i have to rerun DynDOLOD. You have no idea how much i hate having to do that...

 

As someone who has been running and re-running DynDOLOD a whole lot while trying to figure out my flashing texture issues, I deeply sympathize. 

 

I'm glad all these LOD issues came to something positive at least!

[billymandy]

Thank you for this guide. It helped me set up skyrim with loverslab content. 
My only confusion is in regards to the Obody mod. 
I may be misreading this but the idea is that I add all the provided preset files in the guide and activate them to get the job done. 
However, I'm confused in how I'd then open up Obody and select bodytypes. 
I'm fairly new to Obody and from the MCM menu I could only see the option to enable Orefirt, randomized nipples and genitals, and the edit preset hotkey. 
From the Obody tutorial video, there seems to be a separate button intended to select the various bodies installed for this mod. Am I mistaken in some way?

Edit: Tinkered around such as creating a zeroed slider in studio but pressing the button O doesn't seem to do anything after booting up a new Player Character. I am fully aware I must have done something incredibly wrong but I'd really appreciate any advice on the matter. 

Edited August 4, 2023 by billymandy

[wollboi]

@billymandy I believe it's the letter O be default. I'm actually messing with it right now (coincidentally enough), so I'll get back if that doesn't work.

Edit - Correction, F10. It says in the MCM. If you're having trouble, did you edit the RaceMenu config file?

 

@Aylis or whoever: This might be worth a look for anyone like me that's had the issue. TrueHUD and Alternate Perspective clash somewhat in that your HUD will disappear after you enter the keep with Ralof or the other guy that's not Ralof. I have to quit the game and load back in and it fixes it. I have noticed, however, that if you do the default Dragonborn start (riding in the carriage) that this doesn't happen. Which would make sense, I guess, given that it's skipping all the other alternate starts.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/79479

Edited August 4, 2023 by wollboi

[Bigglsby]

12 hours ago, Ashra XIII said:

 

 

I think you actually hit it right on the head with this... it might just be a conflict and I found something after searching around on that LOD Unloader's Nexus page.

 

Someone in the comments, replying to a person who (like me) continues to have flashing textures even after running the unloader, mentions a couple entries in the Skyrim.ini which can cause problems:

 

uLockedObjectMapLOD=32
uLockedTerrainLOD=32

 

I checked my own files and didn't find these entries, but people helpfully mention that there are other mods which have their own .ini files so I went hunting. It turns out that the mod "A clear map of Skyrim" just so happens to be such a mod and... what do you know? I found those entries in its .ini file. I commented them out and loaded up my game at the point where my current play-through started having flashing textures... I was just outside Whiterun, heading towards Bleak Falls Barrow.

 

Load in? All good.

Run to Riverwood? Woah, everything's still good!

 

In fact I went all the way to Bleak Falls Barrow (and inside) without a single incident of flashing textures, whereas just yesterday I had them at least THREE TIMES on this exact trip.

 

It's a bit too early to celebrate of course, but holy shit if nothing else it's an improvement! I wouldn't have found it without you directing me to that page, so all the hearts! ❤️❤️❤️

 

 

 

 

I'm glad you got to a solution, particularly coming back and confirming for others (sounds like it'll help @markvarley at least too).

 

I remember seeing lots of references to that map mod when I was hunting down my LOD unload issues... I never used that mod though.  It's a shame that even now it hasn't been resolved or at least warned about from the MA side..

[kesryth]

34 minutes ago, wollboi said:

This might be worth a look for anyone like me that's had the issue. TrueHUD and Alternate Perspective clash somewhat in that your HUD will disappear after you enter the keep with Ralof or the other guy that's not Ralof. I have to quit the game and load back in and it fixes it. I have noticed, however, that if you do the default Dragonborn start (riding in the carriage) that this doesn't happen. Which would make sense, I guess, given that it's skipping all the other alternate starts.

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/79479

Edited 25 minutes ago by wollboi

Can confirm this worked for me. Was such an annoyance too and very grateful for the fix

[Aylis]

Collecting some links...

Spoiler

Skyrim Parallax

Moss Rocks - Rocks Patch

Driftwood

Carrot Cake (Base Object Swapper)

Garlic - A Garlic Mod

Mora Tapinella

Riften Trellis and Roofs

JK's Markarth Outskirts

Spoiler

 

JK's Riften Outskirts

Spoiler

 

JK's Whiterun Outskirts

Spoiler

JK's Windhelm Outskirts

Markarth - Outskirts

Markarth - Trees

Ryn's Hollyfrost and Hlaalu Farms

Ryn's Merryfair Farm

Ryn's Snow Shod Farm

Whiterun CIty Limits

Whiterun Outskirts Market - Main

Whiterun Outskirts Market - Outskirts Patch

Vanilla hair remake - SMP

Vanilla hair remake - SMP NPCs

SMP-NPC crash fix

Horses

Lux Via - Repaired Whiterun Bridge Add-on

Improved Puddles

Snowflakes                                                                                           New link

ISC Integration Patches - Windruler Armor

Carriages and Stables Dialogue Bundle

To Your Face

Atlantean Landscape

ERM - Enhanced Rocks and Mountains                                          Moved from 'Foundation'

ERM - Enhanced Rocks and Mountains - DynDOLOD Add-On     Moved from 'Foundation'

YAR - Yuril's Additional Resources

FYX - Barrels

FYX - Candlehearth Hall Chimney

FYX - Dock Ramp

FYX - Farmhouse Walkway (SMIM - Round Posts - Parallax)

FYX - Farmhouse Walkway - Simplicity of Snow Parallax

FYX - Honeyside Deck Floor

FYX - Whiterun Tree Circle

FYX - Windhelm Stable Roof

Ryn's Farm

Standing Stones AIO - Farms AIO PATCH

Whiterun Exteriors Patch Collection

?Instructions required

Whiterun City Limits - Bleakwind Basin PATCH

JK's Markarth Outskirts Patch Collection

JK's Riften Outskirts Patch Collection

JK's Windhelm Outskirts Patch Collection

Compatibility Patches Collection for Little Touches Whiterun

Terrain Parallax Blending Fix

Parallax Occlusion Mapping

 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Aylis

[Ashra XIII]

2 hours ago, billymandy said:

Thank you for this guide. It helped me set up skyrim with loverslab content. 
My only confusion is in regards to the Obody mod. 
I may be misreading this but the idea is that I add all the provided preset files in the guide and activate them to get the job done. 
However, I'm confused in how I'd then open up Obody and select bodytypes. 
I'm fairly new to Obody and from the MCM menu I could only see the option to enable Orefirt, randomized nipples and genitals, and the edit preset hotkey. 
From the Obody tutorial video, there seems to be a separate button intended to select the various bodies installed for this mod. Am I mistaken in some way?

Edit: Tinkered around such as creating a zeroed slider in studio but pressing the button O doesn't seem to do anything after booting up a new Player Character. I am fully aware I must have done something incredibly wrong but I'd really appreciate any advice on the matter. 

 

Basically, Obody sorta distributes all the different body presets you have activated, though obviously you still have to have one for your character to start (either building your own in Bodyslide or using the ones from this guide).

 

Once you are in game though, you can press the F10 key which will bring up the body select menu. Here you can change your character's body, or the body of whichever NPC you were targeting.