Missing Windows?

[Nazguli Tyvek]

I've been using vanilla lighting for a while now. I didn't want to mess with my game and cause crashing issues, so I've been sticking to the vanilla lighting. Also, I've been using some texture mods for a while now with no problem. I added the mod Enhanced Lights and FX at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com) along with a few additions that the mod supported with the hopes of trying out a lighting mod, I was unsure and tried to delete the mod. When I started a new game, I noticed the windows in Whiterun have gone missing. I tried to delete the mod, run SSEEdit and LOOT to make sure everything was clean. I even verified the game files. I know I have mods like Static Mesh Improvement Mod - SMIM at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com) and Noble Skyrim Mod HD-2K at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com) but I've been using them for a while with no issues. I've done my best to make sure everything from ELFX was gone yet the problem persists. At this point I'm unsure if ELFX would even cause this, I don't know what to do, any help would be appreciated.

[Humble21]

I have no idea what causing this, but just today author Monitor221hz dropped Asset doctor which looks like a cool plugin to find what causing textures and meshes to behave weird, hope it helps

[Nazguli Tyvek]

I went and tried out a mod named More Informative Console at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com) and now it's saying some of the references in Riften were altered by ELFX - Exteriors. However, when I tried it back in Whiterun it doesn't. I don't know what ELFX altered but I don't know how to get the textures and meshes to work properly. 

[Nazguli Tyvek]

7 minutes ago, Humble21 said:

I have no idea what causing this, but just today author Monitor221hz dropped Asset doctor which looks like a cool plugin to find what causing textures and meshes to behave weird, hope it helps

Thanks. I'll give it a shot when I have a chance. At his point I don't know what else to do. 

[Grey Cloud]

Try reinstalling ELFX and uninstalling it via your mod manager. If that doesn't help then try reinstalling Noble Skyrim and or SIMM.

[Nazguli Tyvek]

20 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

Try reinstalling ELFX and uninstalling it via your mod manager. If that doesn't help then try reinstalling Noble Skyrim and or SIMM.

I tried reinstalling the ELFX mod with vortex like I did the first time and when the mod was installed the problem went away however, after I uninstalled the mod, the problem came back. I already tried uninstalling/reinstalling Noble and SIMM but it didn't do anything. Other than uninstalling/reinstalling my entire game I don't know what else to do. 

Edited September 12, 2024 by Nazguli Tyvek

[Nazguli Tyvek]

I was looking at some of the mods related to ELFX and one of the additions I downloaded was ELFX - Exteriors Fixes at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com) apparently a couple of people had similar problems that I've been having. 

I'm tempted to let it go and just play the game with ELFX but I saw some people preferring Lux at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com) and I was tempted to give that a shot. I noticed that Lux looks like it's still being worked on while ELFX isn't or at the very least hasn't been updated in a while. I didn't want to try it out if I can't fix this problem so I'm wondering if it's worth it to just reinstall my game to try out a different lighting mod. 

Edited September 12, 2024 by Nazguli Tyvek

[Grey Cloud]

3 hours ago, Nazguli Tyvek said:

I was looking at some of the mods related to ELFX and one of the additions I downloaded was ELFX - Exteriors Fixes at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com) apparently a couple of people had similar problems that I've been having. 

I'm tempted to let it go and just play the game with ELFX but I saw some people preferring Lux at Skyrim Special Edition Nexus - Mods and Community (nexusmods.com) and I was tempted to give that a shot. I noticed that Lux looks like it's still being worked on while ELFX isn't or at the very least hasn't been updated in a while. I didn't want to try it out if I can't fix this problem so I'm wondering if it's worth it to just reinstall my game to try out a different lighting mod. 

Have you tried without ELFX on a new game? The problem may be baked into your save now.

Check that the files mentioned in your screenshots are physically present in the correct locations (RTBeeBarb01.nif, WRHouseStores01.nif etc.).

As a long shot, turn off your ENB to see if that helps. Also some ENBs have specific lighting mods as a requirement and some are incompatible with certain lighting mods.

 

 

LUX is alright but it requires a ton of compatibility patches. I used it briefly but changed to Skyrim Is Luminous which looks just as good at a fraction of the size and without a ton of patches.

[Nazguli Tyvek]

8 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

Have you tried without ELFX on a new game? The problem may be baked into your save now.

Check that the files mentioned in your screenshots are physically present in the correct locations (RTBeeBarb01.nif, WRHouseStores01.nif etc.).

As a long shot, turn off your ENB to see if that helps. Also some ENBs have specific lighting mods as a requirement and some are incompatible with certain lighting mods.

 

 

LUX is alright but it requires a ton of compatibility patches. I used it briefly but changed to Skyrim Is Luminous which looks just as good at a fraction of the size and without a ton of patches.

I tried it in several new games and it still persists. I haven't checked to make sure the files are in the proper folder but I did go I to steam and verify the game integrity. If the files are missing how exactly would I solve the issue?

 

I haven't heard of "Skyrim is Luminous" I'll look it up. One of the concerns I did have about Lux was the patches you mentioned. While I'm not new to modding skyrim, I'm not an expert and still consider myself a novice. I tend to avoid complicated mods for this very reason and prefer standalone versions with little conflict. One of the things that always bugged me though was the vanilla lighting. But trying to find a simple lighting mod that looks nice and/or realistic without having to download dozens of presets, patches, or additional content has been a hassle.

[Grey Cloud]

39 minutes ago, Nazguli Tyvek said:

If the files are missing how exactly would I solve the issue?

Manually copy them from, e.g. Noble Skyrim to Data\textures\architecture\whiterun\ etc.

 

I'm a little confused here. The images clearly show missing textures(.dds files) but ELFX only has mesh files (.nif). Noble Skyrim has only textures. If you uninstall ELFX (not disable) what does More Informative Console show?

If there isn't a mod providing the meshes or textures then they should be the vanilla Skyrim files which are in bsa archives so should always be available. [Data\Skyrim - Meshes0.bsa and Skyrim - Meshes1.bsa and Data\Skyrim - Textures0.bsa to Skyrim - Textures8.bsa] These archives should be there or Steam would said something.

[Nazguli Tyvek]

2 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

 

I'm a little confused here. The images clearly show missing textures(.dds files) but ELFX only has mesh files (.nif). Noble Skyrim has only textures. If you uninstall ELFX (not disable) what does More Informative Console show?

If there isn't a mod providing the meshes or textures then they should be the vanilla Skyrim files which are in bsa archives so should always be available. [Data\Skyrim - Meshes0.bsa and Skyrim - Meshes1.bsa and Data\Skyrim - Textures0.bsa to Skyrim - Textures8.bsa] These archives should be there or Steam would said something

You're not the only one... In every photo I uploaded above with the textures missing were from different new games and all without ELFX installed. The only thing I changed in the photo with the textures was installing ELFX. At no point in any photo or test run did I simply disable the mod. I don't know if the ELFX exteriors that can be installed with the main ELFX mod somehow messed it up. But I know I'm not the only one. I've checked out a few comment sections and there have been others reporting a similar problem. If I can't do a copy and paste solution like you mentioned I'll just reinstall the game. It'd probably be quicker then any more troubleshooting. 

[Nazguli Tyvek]

10 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

Manually copy them from, e.g. Noble Skyrim to Data\textures\architecture\whiterun\ etc.

 

I'm a little confused here. The images clearly show missing textures(.dds files) but ELFX only has mesh files (.nif). Noble Skyrim has only textures. If you uninstall ELFX (not disable) what does More Informative Console show?

If there isn't a mod providing the meshes or textures then they should be the vanilla Skyrim files which are in bsa archives so should always be available. [Data\Skyrim - Meshes0.bsa and Skyrim - Meshes1.bsa and Data\Skyrim - Textures0.bsa to Skyrim - Textures8.bsa] These archives should be there or Steam would said something.

I wanted to thank you for your help. I looked into the texture files for some of the window textures and they were all there. I was at a loss, so I just uninstalled then reinstalled the game. After starting a new game, the windows are working fine with no issue. I have no idea what caused the problem other than guessing it was ELFX somehow. After I get my mod folder back up and running, I'll probably check out that lighting mod you recommended. Hopefully this time I won't destroy my game... Thanks again for helping answer some of my questions.  

[Grey Cloud]

A mystery unsolved but at least you now have your windows back.

 

There are quite a few lighting mods out there. I like my game to be very bright, hence the 'luminous' part of the mod title but the mod has a couple of darker options.

The's a mod called 'Embers' which deals with fires and flames which is worth looking at.

[Nazguli Tyvek]

17 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

A mystery unsolved but at least you now have your windows back.

 

There are quite a few lighting mods out there. I like my game to be very bright, hence the 'luminous' part of the mod title but the mod has a couple of darker options.

The's a mod called 'Embers' which deals with fires and flames which is worth looking at.

I wanted something realistic but also brighter than ELFX. When I was using the ELFX mod I didn't like how some of the interiors looked. One corner of the room was a blinding bright light due to daytime yet almost 99% of the room was dark as all hell and I needed a torch just to see something. That's why I decided to uninstall the mod. 

While I was installing my mods, I did notice that the mod Immersive Citizens had patches for ELFX that I never installed since I had it long before I tested out ELFX. I've had Immersive citizens for a while, and I didn't have any warning or error message when I installed ELFX much later. I didn't even see a warning or information on the patch on the main mod site on nexus. I'm wondering since I didn't reinstall the mod after installing ELFX (since I forgot/didn't know about the patch) if that conflict caused the error. 

[Grey Cloud]

4 hours ago, Nazguli Tyvek said:

I'm wondering since I didn't reinstall the mod after installing ELFX (since I forgot/didn't know about the patch) if that conflict caused the error. 

I wouldn't think that IC touches windows. It's more likely it just moves or alters lights because of NPCs movements and the like.

[Nazguli Tyvek]

10 hours ago, Grey Cloud said:

I wouldn't think that IC touches windows. It's more likely it just moves or alters lights because of NPCs movements and the like.

Hey, I just wanted to say that I tried out that mod "Skyrim is Luminous" and "Embers HD" and so far, they look fantastic. Also, no missing windows 😁 Thanks for the recommendation.

[Grey Cloud]

50 minutes ago, Nazguli Tyvek said:

Hey, I just wanted to say that I tried out that mod "Skyrim is Luminous" and "Embers HD" and so far, they look fantastic. Also, no missing windows 😁 Thanks for the recommendation.

Nice one.

[libertyordeath]

May or may not be related, but in the year of 2024 you really should not be running ELFX. You should be running ELFX + ELFX Shadows, >and nothing else related to ELFX<.

 

Why? Original ELFX is a buggy mess, with a dozen conflicting patches made over the years. ELFX Shadows is an addon to ELFX, that combines every bugfix ever made for ELFX in a coherent and compatible package. Kinda like USSEP but for ELFX. Oh, and it also adds cool shadow effects, as the name suggests.

 

For reference here's my ELFX related loadorder. Notice that i put ELFX fairly late with regards to mesh and texture replacers. And then ELFX Shadows gets to overrule anything it wants.

 

Edited September 15, 2024 by libertyordeath

[Grey Cloud]

3 hours ago, libertyordeath said:

but in the year of 2024 you really should not be running ELFX. You should be running ELFX + ELFX Shadows, >and nothing else related to ELFX<.

The OP wasn't running just ELFX. He tried running ELFX plus ELFX Exterior Fixes. ELFX Exterior Fixes is by the same author as Shadows.

[Nazguli Tyvek]

5 hours ago, libertyordeath said:

May or may not be related, but in the year of 2024 you really should not be running ELFX. You should be running ELFX + ELFX Shadows, >and nothing else related to ELFX<.

 

Why? Original ELFX is a buggy mess, with a dozen conflicting patches made over the years. ELFX Shadows is an addon to ELFX, that combines every bugfix ever made for ELFX in a coherent and compatible package. Kinda like USSEP but for ELFX. Oh, and it also adds cool shadow effects, as the name suggests.

 

For reference here's my ELFX related loadorder. Notice that i put ELFX fairly late with regards to mesh and texture replacers. And then ELFX Shadows gets to overrule anything it wants.

 

I realized after looking into the comment section of the ELFX mod and the additional addons that it's a buggy mess. However, my issue wasn't getting ELFX to work, it was after uninstalling it that I realized I lost the textures to my windows. I'm pretty sure that I had the appropriate fixes overriding the original mod, but like I said, after uninstalling everything the textures went away. After reinstalling the mod, the textures came back. So basically, I was forced to either use the mod or uninstall/reinstall the game.