guide Skyrim AE for Beginners - V 3.1.0

[Guest]

1 hour ago, MirageTheStrange said:

I know what to do with the first few things but what do I do with DynDOLOD, ACMOS Road Generator, Wrye Bash, xEdit, and xLODGen?

To follow up:  Create a folder on your main drive.  Titled Modding Tools or similar. Once you download the mentioned mods, extract the contents to this folder.  You will link your tool in MO2 to the mods in this folder.  Don't add them to the base MO2 folder.

[jak3676]

My problem is that my game is still trying to load at 4k (I have a 4k monitor - 3 of them actually) - so I'm only getting about 20FPS in the open world and mid-30's inside buildings.  None of my attempts to change the resolution down to 2560*1440 are working.  I've tried changing the resolution in BethINI, SSE Display Tweaks and even editing the SkyrimPrefs.ini manually.  But the game always loads at 4k resolution regardless.  Anyone know what I'm missing?

 

(more detail if it helps)

I finally got through all the mods, even all the DynDOLOD stuff at the end.  Everything seems to work fine (but I haven't played beyond Riverwood, so we'll see how it goes).  But I can tell that my older Nvidia RTX 2080 GPU can't handle 4k resolution - its sitting at 99% 3D utilization and I'm using 9.4GB total GPU memory when my 2080 only has 8GB dedicated.  (At least my i9-9900K CPU utilization is still low, so a future GPU upgrade may be all I need to get back to 4K later).  But for now, I want to just lower my rendering resolution down to 2560*1440 (or maybe even 1920*1080 if needed).  But nothing I do in BethINI or SSE display tweaks seems to have any impact on the game when I load through SKSE through MO2.  If I launch through Steam directly (no mods), then I can change the resolution correctly on that initial pop up screen.

[MirageTheStrange]

2 hours ago, Miss Tee said:

I feel your pain if you are just getting started with the list.  Some things I encountered you may consider.  Game Version first, I guess.  What version are you using?  If 1.6.640, great.  Mod list is built for the latest version of the game. Next, Did the game start with no mods loaded?  If it did, next question.  If not, disable everything in the left pane and try again.  Next, and very important, the Required base items.  Aylis lists them in the "Required Mods and Updates" section.  If you are new to these and never used them before, some are computer things, some are mods that you load by hand.  Tools basically.  Start the game after these are added.  exit once the game loads.  Keep going. Bethini, CC mods and your CC selections if you don't want them all, and SKSE.  Version issues can trip you up in the SKSE section.  Careful to select the correct version.  All loaded, start game and test. Great.  Foundation next, then UI.  Continue as before.  Nothing so far should be skipped unless Aylis lists it as an option.  If you have done all of this and the game starts fine up until the UI section, disable all the UI and add them in sections.  5 or so until it the game no longer loads.  Narrow down which one is the issue.  Probably a version issue.  Reading mod descriptions will tell you to load them direct into MO2 or by hand.  Aylis describes very clearly that after you load a mod or a group of mods, the bold typed mods need to be moved to the top part of the load order, so all bold items are grouped together.  Example:  Load 5 mods, activate.  They now show in the plugins right pane.  If one is in bold faced type, move it up right after the last Bold-Faced Typed plugin in the right pane.  Make sure you have followed this.  I was new to MO2 and this was an early issue for me.  I'm sure this is wasted advice, but the mod list does work.  After you load 5 or so mods and activate them, always check the notifications triangle top right of MO2.  If you have a missing master, will have to resolve it.  This was another of my issues.  Not realizing MO2 was warning me.  If you are crashing, missing masters is my immediate thought. Check the red triangle, it will tell you.  I would be happy to share my mod lists, but I have well exceeded Aylis's list and also, I am on 1.5 instead of the latest version.  Stick to the list first.  All the way. Add to it after you have a stable game.  

Another thing, do I install the mods in the order they are listed or do I do something different? The mod sections are what I'm talking about btw - SKSE etc

Edited September 3, 2023 by MirageTheStrange

[jak3676]

4 minutes ago, MirageTheStrange said:

Another thing, do I install the mods in the order they are listed or do I do something different? The mod sections are what I'm talking about btw - SKSE etc

Install exactly as listed - in the order listed.

 

Only thing I would recommend that wasn't in the guide - make MO2 separators for every section in the guide.  Name them the same as the categories in the guide.  That makes it so much easier to make sure you're following exactly.  

[Guest]

2 hours ago, jak3676 said:

My problem is that my game is still trying to load at 4k (I have a 4k monitor - 3 of them actually) - so I'm only getting about 20FPS in the open world and mid-30's inside buildings.  None of my attempts to change the resolution down to 2560*1440 are working.  I've tried changing the resolution in BethINI, SSE Display Tweaks and even editing the SkyrimPrefs.ini manually.  But the game always loads at 4k resolution regardless.  Anyone know what I'm missing?

 

(more detail if it helps)

I finally got through all the mods, even all the DynDOLOD stuff at the end.  Everything seems to work fine (but I haven't played beyond Riverwood, so we'll see how it goes).  But I can tell that my older Nvidia RTX 2080 GPU can't handle 4k resolution - its sitting at 99% 3D utilization and I'm using 9.4GB total GPU memory when my 2080 only has 8GB dedicated.  (At least my i9-9900K CPU utilization is still low, so a future GPU upgrade may be all I need to get back to 4K later).  But for now, I want to just lower my rendering resolution down to 2560*1440 (or maybe even 1920*1080 if needed).  But nothing I do in BethINI or SSE display tweaks seems to have any impact on the game when I load through SKSE through MO2.  If I launch through Steam directly (no mods), then I can change the resolution correctly on that initial pop up screen.

You may consider using the Nvidia Image Scaling.  How to Enable NVIDIA Image Scaling | NVIDIA (custhelp.com)

 

You can also try this.  

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Miss Tee

[Bigglsby]

2 hours ago, jak3676 said:

My problem is that my game is still trying to load at 4k (I have a 4k monitor - 3 of them actually) - so I'm only getting about 20FPS in the open world and mid-30's inside buildings.  None of my attempts to change the resolution down to 2560*1440 are working.  I've tried changing the resolution in BethINI, SSE Display Tweaks and even editing the SkyrimPrefs.ini manually.  But the game always loads at 4k resolution regardless.  Anyone know what I'm missing?

 

(more detail if it helps)

I finally got through all the mods, even all the DynDOLOD stuff at the end.  Everything seems to work fine (but I haven't played beyond Riverwood, so we'll see how it goes).  But I can tell that my older Nvidia RTX 2080 GPU can't handle 4k resolution - its sitting at 99% 3D utilization and I'm using 9.4GB total GPU memory when my 2080 only has 8GB dedicated.  (At least my i9-9900K CPU utilization is still low, so a future GPU upgrade may be all I need to get back to 4K later).  But for now, I want to just lower my rendering resolution down to 2560*1440 (or maybe even 1920*1080 if needed).  But nothing I do in BethINI or SSE display tweaks seems to have any impact on the game when I load through SKSE through MO2.  If I launch through Steam directly (no mods), then I can change the resolution correctly on that initial pop up screen.

 

MO2 likes to keep its own ini files, and can ignore/revert changes made directly from your file system. 

 

On the tools icon (puzzle pieces) in MO2, open up the "ini editor".  Open up Skyrimprefs.ini and look for "iSize" settings.

  iSize H=1440
  iSize W=2560

 

(or 1920 and 1080 if preferred)

 

Save, and check.  Hopefully that covers it for you. 

[Jessica_Degurechaff]

one of the best Quality of life mods i have ever found: 

 

Summonable Voiced Ethereal Chest  (Dont get confused by the name, its really balanced)

 

[trgdolors]

The FOMOD for Animated Ice Floes, besides some patches for mods that don't seem to be in the list, has an Animated Ice Floes - Lod's for DynDOLOD . Should we select it? And generally, if the guide does not mention either way, do we want DynDOLOD files/patches or not?

 

Thanks!

[s06]

I'm new to all this modding stuff and was wondering: isn't there a 255 plug in limit when using MO2? i'm looking at all these recommended mods on Page 1 and that is WAY more than 255 plug-ins. What I missing here?

[jak3676]

3 minutes ago, s06 said:

I'm new to all this modding stuff and was wondering: isn't there a 255 plug in limit when using MO2? i'm looking at all these recommended mods on Page 1 and that is WAY more than 255 plug-ins. What I missing here?

Short version - No, that rule has been modified.  Everything in the guide "fits" well within the limit now and still leaves you room for hundreds more.

 

A more detailed explanation is still beyond my understanding.

 

[trgdolors]

In the guide there is Animated Potions - Blood Potions. I can't figure out what it is for or which one to get. I don't think those mods it is patching are in this guide. It is right after Animated Potions.

 

I am considering using FLipdeezy's new Ultimate Animated Potions NG instead of Animated Potions anyway. It seems to do more, perhaps better. Handles 1st person, SKSE dll plugin based so probably faster with no scripts, no ESP, potion affects at the right time... It is the spiritual successor to Zxlice's old mod, ultimate potion animation - ZUPA, but AE compatible.

 

The next update for Improved Camera will have a patch for it. But I can't really test it yet as I am between builds.

Edited September 4, 2023 by trgdolors

[trgdolors]

On 9/3/2023 at 2:14 AM, s06 said:

I'm new to all this modding stuff and was wondering: isn't there a 255 plug in limit when using MO2? i'm looking at all these recommended mods on Page 1 and that is WAY more than 255 plug-ins. What I missing here?

Welcome to the weird world of Skyrim modding! Another short version is that not all mods count against that hard plug-in limit. Most don't. Some mods don't have plug-ins at all, and some that do are ESL's or Esp-FEs that don't really count (well, technically there is a limit for those, but it is much higher). Many ESPs can be set with an ESL flag so they don't count. Still others can be first compacted, then set with that ESL flag (a little trickier, but not too bad).

 

Those of us with large load orders are always checking to make sure potential mods won't count against that limit. If it does, we have to decide if the mod is worth it.

 

This guide, as is, will be quite a bit under the limit. Aylis has kindly marked the ones that are easy to ESL flag. And many of the other mods that are not marked can be compacted/ESLed. Many of us use this : ESPFE Follower - Eslify facegen and voices

 

BUT, before you start changing any ESL stuff, you will need to read up on it since there are rules. For example, you have to make that compact/ESL "change" before you bake a mod into a save, Aylis has some info on the first page on ESLing mods.

Edited September 28, 2023 by trgdolors

[alaunus01]

12 hours ago, jak3676 said:

My problem is that my game is still trying to load at 4k [...]  Anyone know what I'm missing?

 

[...] when I load through SKSE through MO2.  If I launch through Steam directly (no mods), then I can change the resolution correctly on that initial pop up screen.

 

10 hours ago, Bigglsby said:

MO2 likes to keep its own ini files, and can ignore/revert changes made directly from your file system. 

 

On the tools icon (puzzle pieces) in MO2, open up the "ini editor".  Open up Skyrimprefs.ini and look for "iSize" settings.

  iSize H=1440
  iSize W=2560

 

(or 1920 and 1080 if preferred)

 

Save, and check.  Hopefully that covers it for you. 

 

As BiggIsby already mentioned you probably have set up your MO2 that it uses its own skyrim prefs.

I have one more recommendation to make. When using a 4k monitor do not step down to 1440p, go directly to 1080p. You will have a much better experience. 1080p is exactly half the height and width of 4k thus any pixel your gpu renders will display on four pixels of your monitor, if you use a 1440p resolution on a 4k monitor you will create pixel smudge making it an overall worse experience (because of the uneven upscaling there are a lot of monitor pixels that will display one rendered pixel on a frame and a different rendered pixel on the next).

And yes, that advice is game agnostic.

[markvarley]

16 hours ago, jak3676 said:

My problem is that my game is still trying to load at 4k (I have a 4k monitor - 3 of them actually) - so I'm only getting about 20FPS in the open world and mid-30's inside buildings.  None of my attempts to change the resolution down to 2560*1440 are working.  I've tried changing the resolution in BethINI, SSE Display Tweaks and even editing the SkyrimPrefs.ini manually.  But the game always loads at 4k resolution regardless.  Anyone know what I'm missing?

 

(more detail if it helps)

I finally got through all the mods, even all the DynDOLOD stuff at the end.  Everything seems to work fine (but I haven't played beyond Riverwood, so we'll see how it goes).  But I can tell that my older Nvidia RTX 2080 GPU can't handle 4k resolution - its sitting at 99% 3D utilization and I'm using 9.4GB total GPU memory when my 2080 only has 8GB dedicated.  (At least my i9-9900K CPU utilization is still low, so a future GPU upgrade may be all I need to get back to 4K later).  But for now, I want to just lower my rendering resolution down to 2560*1440 (or maybe even 1920*1080 if needed).  But nothing I do in BethINI or SSE display tweaks seems to have any impact on the game when I load through SKSE through MO2.  If I launch through Steam directly (no mods), then I can change the resolution correctly on that initial pop up screen.

I'm running a 4k screen on a 2080 also, I've chosen 1k and 2k textures throughout to get a reasonable framerate but 4k textures to a 4k screen is a heck of a lot for a 2080 (in case you didn't know, 4k texture choice has nothing to do with your running a 4k screen, how often will you see one of those 4k textures filling your 4k screen? you won't, so lower res textures will still look great, and a GPU upgrade will let you use 4k textures in the future) ?

Also dropping from 4k screen to 1080 will get you a great framerate boost and still look good (I prefer to stay at 4k res).

 

(extra info) for me and my system (AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, 32GB RAM, nVidia 2080), my framerate problem was running out of VRAM (8GB) as soon as that runs out it has to load it form elsewhere and you get stutters and pauses where the framerate drops through the floor for a moment, I mostly fixed that by dropping texture resolutions to 1k (or sometimes smaller) for smaller items and 2k for weapons, armour, people & creatures, as well as a lot of architecture, Aylis Tips & Tricks post mentions resolutions for different things, your post mentions running out of VRAM too so this could be a route to solving that, running at 1080 would help a lot too, that's easier to try and see if you like how it looks.

Edited September 4, 2023 by markvarley
added more waffle

[Jessica_Degurechaff]

7 hours ago, jak3676 said:

Short version - No, that rule has been modified.  Everything in the guide "fits" well within the limit now and still leaves you room for hundreds more.

 

A more detailed explanation is still beyond my understanding.

 

i had this issue since my screen its curved (but not 2k or anything, normal 1080P, just "fancier" 1080) that paired with my 3070 made so that 
NVDIA Geforce force apply a 4k config to the game, since based on my specs it should be a breeze to run it even with that scaling (not true 4k but the stuff that the GPU does) 
and while thats true, its only for vanilla game.

 

 

No matter how much you edit your INI config, or the Skyrim launcher, everything will be ignored since your GPU grabs the game and virtually scales it up to 2K-4K, and while useful for normal games where you are locked off of resolutions if your screen its not that res, and you can virtually scale it up (Halo MCC for example) in this case it will just add some input lag along with screw with shaders and stuff unless you also change your INI to that resolution.

 

Basically you need to go to your GPU config and manually turning off the scaling for Skyrim: (screenshot of my own skyrim, in green its the "vanilla" config from my gpu that i had to turn down to my screen size)

 

I mean, if you can run it on that scaling with no lag go for it lol, i did at first since i totally can even with a heavy modded list, but i feel its better to have stable normal HD rather than super fancy but "worry some" virtual 4k.

 

(hit the wrench simbol to custom it)

Spoiler

 

 

Pd: i have no clue how you do that on AMD, but in nvidia you can either use Geforce experience (the screenshot avobe, far easier if you ask me) or the "stock" driver config (nvidia control panel in my case), just go the gpu config, open the route for Skyrim.exe and turn off virtual scaling, then config the size to your screen by sliding the bar (or just turn it off.. its the very first option on the list) (i recommend you change your global config to off, so you can choose what games you want this feature, instead of the blanked "any game previous to 2016 that nvdia uses"): 

(the feature its called "image scaling")

Spoiler

 

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Jessica_Degurechaff

[DarthNyriss]

18 hours ago, Miss Tee said:

Embarrassing to say but I enjoy the creature sex.  These do work with FNIS and Nemesis in Vortex. They work with MO2 as well just trying to learn how.  Thanks for the comment.

 

Why embarassing?  A) It's only a game, and B) ain't no halos around here, love.  ?  What's embarassing is that I still use a Fallout 4 avatar even though I gae up on it nd fell down THIS rabbit hole.  Ah well.

[MirageTheStrange]

For people who have experienced crashes before you begin installing the UI section, I believe I have figured the problem out. Whenever you install a mod, and you activate support for a mod you do not yet have then once you reach a section where that mod will be called for it WILL crash to desktop. A good example would be installing Unique Skulls with support for LOTD but you do not yet have that installed. For me that was MY problem.

[Varithina]

Not too sure if anybody is interested, but here are a few screen shots from very early in wandering around the game, the cavern ones are bleak falls barrow, and I do run some mods that are not in this list, so if you see something that makes you go wtf, ask about it, I may even remember what does it.

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Varithina

[trgdolors]

2 hours ago, MirageTheStrange said:

Whenever you install a mod, and you activate support for a mod you do not yet have then once you reach a section where that mod will be called for it WILL crash to desktop.

 

How I handle this situation is I keep Notepad++ open when I am building the load order, and just keep notes. For a mod I am currently installing that has support for other mods I may install later, I still install it, but I do not activate the extra support yet. Then but I put mods like that in a "reinstall later" list. I keep at least two lists 1) Revisit for Patches - Just the Mod Page and 2) Revisit for Patches - In the Installer.

 

Aylis does include some notes on mods to revisit later in the guide, too, but it is a large task to keep up with. I do use a lot of mods not in the guide so a good note system is critical.

Edited September 4, 2023 by trgdolors

[jak3676]

Spoiler

JAK Mod List 8-27-23.xlsx

 

If it helps, back somewhere around page 80, one of the users here posted a google sheets file with all their mods.  I took that and made it into my own spreadsheet - then auto populated it from a .csv archive of my mods from MO2.  It took a little formatting to make it useable, but now I can just copy the mod list from the original and paste that into column F - makes it easy enough to figure out where I had put something in the wrong spot or moved something incorrectly.  

[jak3676]

To all above with helps on my resolution fix - TY!!!  I should have kept better notes about what exactly it was that fixed my issue.  I still don't actually know which of the various tools and mods is overriding which when it comes to modifying the game resolution.  But I made sure that between the Nvidia control panel and all my .ini files were set the same in BethINI, SSE Display Tweaks, MO2, users\Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition, and the SKSE folder.  Its working great now at 2560*1440.  I'm getting frame rates mostly mid-40's outdoors and solid 60 indoors.  On a good G-sync monitor anything above 30 is smooth enough for me.  Probably more to tweak still, but my GPU VRAM is hovering right around 7.5GB, so that's good too. 

 

I did try to get the Nvidia DLSS upscaler mod (Skyrim Upscaler - DLSS FSR2 XeSS at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com)) to work without any luck.  I can get the mod to load just fine, but enabling it freezes my display (until I hit ESC) and shows a recursion of 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc sized screen shots.  I haven't messed with trying to disable my ENB and getting into it more.  

 

I will try it again at 1080P just to see if I like that better - the 2:1 (4:1 really) scaling from 1080P to 4K does make it crisper - I just don't know enough to see if I like that better overall yet.

[Aylis]

Regarding Starfield

Space *loadingscreen* - The final frontier *loadingscreen*. Go *loadingscreen* wherever *loadingscreen* you like *loadingscreen*,

 

The bad

Spoiler

1. For a RPG set in space you spend an awful little time in space.

2. Preferred art of movement is fast travelling. You can jump across half of the galaxy with it and avoid lots of loadingscreens.

3. Loadingscreens everywhere.

4. Trains are always there and only move in the loadingscreen.

5. Everything worthwhile needs the activation of skills (and their improvements) in the skilltree.

6. You definitely want to wait for 'Racemenu' and body replacers.

7. Space combat is 'meh'.

8. Included 'wokeness'... Not always in your face, but often enough noticable and you get oop situations.

 

The good

Spoiler

1. Havn't got a bug (yet?).

2. Great for explorers. Lots of hidden crooks and spots.

3. You never know whats around the next corner.

4. Terrormorphs are scary! One alone is bad - several are a nightmare (we got a challenge)!

5. The interiors are good. Gone are the days when you immediately saw what was from Bethesda and what was added via mod.

I might find more things to say later. But i want to warn you in case you preordered.

 

It is not a really bad game, but i don't think it is worth the price they are asking now. Wait for it 'til its on sale...

Edited September 5, 2023 by Aylis

[markvarley]

18 hours ago, jak3676 said:

  Hide contents

JAK Mod List 8-27-23.xlsx 236.7 kB · 0 downloads

 

If it helps, back somewhere around page 80, one of the users here posted a google sheets file with all their mods.  I took that and made it into my own spreadsheet - then auto populated it from a .csv archive of my mods from MO2.  It took a little formatting to make it useable, but now I can just copy the mod list from the original and paste that into column F - makes it easy enough to figure out where I had put something in the wrong spot or moved something incorrectly.  

That was me, heres the link to my spreadsheet again for anyone who's interested, it includes most of this mod list (I've not bothered with most sex mods) and a lot of my own mods, I recently added links to updates in this thread (at the very end)

Edited September 5, 2023 by markvarley

[Jessica_Degurechaff]

13 hours ago, Aylis said:

Regarding Starfield

Space *loadingscreen* - The final frontier *loadingscreen*. Go *loadingscreen* wherever *loadingscreen* you like *loadingscreen*,

 

The bad

  Hide contents

1. For a RPG set in space you spend an awful little time in space.

2. Preferred art of movement is fast travelling. You can jump across half of the galaxy with it and avoid lots of loadingscreens.

3. Loadingscreens everywhere.

4. Trains are always there and only move in the loadingscreen.

5. Everything worthwhile needs the activation of skills (and their improvements) in the skilltree.

6. You definitely want to wait for 'Racemenu' and body replacers.

7. Space combat is 'meh'.

8. Included 'wokeness'... Not always in your face, but often enough noticable and you get oop situations.

 

The good

  Hide contents

1. Havn't got a bug (yet?).

2. Great for explorers. Lots of hidden crooks and spots.

3. You never know whats around the next corner.

4. Terrormorphs are scary! One alone is bad - several are a nightmare (we got a challenge)!

5. The interiors are good. Gone are the days when you immediately saw what was from Bethesda and what was added via mod.

I might find more things to say later. But i want to warn you in case you preordered.

 

It is not a really bad game, but i don't think it is worth the price they are asking now. Wait for it 'til its on sale...

 

Regarding the price: its also on game pass.

My main issue with the game its the characters, i dont really mind "woke" stuff when its made good (so a good character), for example Stormlight (and the cosmere in general) its pretty "modern" in the sense that you have gays, genderless people (in the literal sense btw), black main characters, etc etc, but they are FIRST good characters that "happen" to also have those things about them (so a realistic person who isnt a chronic twitter) but i do really mind when its "on your face" style writing (marvel, star wars, anything disney does) 

And while funny enough Bethesda has been open about those kind of things even since the early games in starfield it feels abit forced?, like someone took an already made character and shoehorned something to gain internet points on twitter, it dont really take out a lot of the game since the core experience its basically Skyrim in space (for good and bad) but it takes out from minute to minute gameplay where it just weirdly focuses on those "social issues" (that more than not are almost only an american thing), also the characters sometimes feel like a joke but in fact you are supposed to take them seriously. 

 

The loadscreens are annoying but honestly, ill take them over bug galore that is usually present on Bethesda games, specially this time around with how big (and honestly pretty) the game is.

 

TDLR: the game its worth trying, if you are unsure about the price just go for gamepass (or torrent it to test it), dont expect a 10/10, but its totally fun to play.

Mods are still green. 

 

 

Pd: does anyone knows if it uses the same engine as the other Beteshda games? if so mods will flood fast.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Jessica_Degurechaff

[kesryth]

@Jessica_Degurechaff I believe it uses the Creation Engine 2, which is an updated version of the engine that is also going to be used by TES 6. 
In theory that would make modding it similar to the Creation Engine, with some differences and likely allow for faster development barring whatever those diffs are.