Glanzer

This effort gets my thumbs up too. Would definitely use it.

I've used RLO for nearly a year and I love it. I use it with CoT, CoT Weather Patch, and Project ENB. A perfect combination. My dungeons are pitch black except for the light sources (just the way I like them), which forces me to use lanterns (using Wearable Lanterns). For inns and houses the interiors duing the day are bright and cheery (assuming there are windows), but get very dark at night except near the fires/candles. I love setting the timescale to 800 just to watch the day/night light changes. They go from nearly pitch black inside to bright and cheery when the sun comes up. AWESOME. Outside is very bright with dark shadows during the day and very dark at night (can't almost see). Since I use RnD and Frostfall I have to set up camp before it gets too dark and sleep in my cozy tent by the fire. SO MUCH FUN!

I came here to post about the new DLL and already there are 8 pages of posts about it. LOL FWIW I played for about an hour last night with the updated DLL (sheson's version) and had no problems. But I don't usually have problems until I've played an hour or two.

I had the same problem with Mining Makes Noise and it was cleared up by removing it. Have you tried actually striking the ore with a pick manually? That should work as a workaround.

Don't confuse the mod load order with the plugin order. Yes the mods should be in at least some kind of load order within MO, e.g. all the official patches should be first. For the plugins (.esp and .esm files) you need to use BOSS. BOSS will create a load order for those that will be completely separate from the mod order list. In other words you won't be able to see the plugin load order unless you look at it in BOSS. Unless there's a way of seeing it in MO that I'm not aware of.

That's your mod load order, what's more important is your ESP load order as shown in BOSS. In any case here, if that is really your mod load order why aren't the unofficial patches at the top?

This error happens to me all the time, and I also use Firefox. I found that the problem is MO says "Downloaded" long before Firefox is actually done with the download. So keep an eye on the download INSIDE FIREFOX before attempting to double click the downloaded file in MO.

Yes, what EssArrBee said. Keep everything related to Skyrim out of Program Files unless you really know what you're doing and want to start everything as Administrator, etc. which can be a headache...

When I optimized the vanilla textures I used Neovalen's guide exactly as his instructions told me to. So yes, set MO to extract all BSAs. And yes, you should use the ddsopt.ini file that he says to use (he links to the one here: https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:DDSopt_%26_Texture_Overhauls/DDSoptINI). btw, if you decide to zip or 7z any textures for import into MO, be sure you choose to just STORE them in the compressed file, DO NOT compress because that's where errors could get introduced.

I've used a combination of the original guide and the Legendary guide to clean and resolve conflicts in the mods I've installed. Since the new guide doesn't use RLO or CoT I decided to use a hybrid. I know I have way too many mods installed for my current playthrough, and I already get a few CTDs and frozen screens even at level 7. I think I have about 250 mods installed and 240 ESPs. But even if I don't make it to level 40 I have to say that I ABSOLUTELY ENJOY each and every mod I've been using and they make the game very enjoyable. Every hour I play is so so much fun. And that's enough for me this playthrough!

I've been using Hunterborn for a couple months along with Frostfall, RnD, and "Hunting in Skyrim". There are a few gotchas for Hunting in Skyrim but they're detailed on that mod's description page. Hunterborn just had a big update last week I think. The upgrade process required a clean save which loses all your skinning and foraging experience. Not a problem for me since I'm only level 7.

So we all know that uninstalling mods on a current savegame is "bad", at least for scripted mods. This is supposedly because the script (or a reference to the script?) gets embedded into your savegame file. So couldn't someone create an application that would allow any mod to be removed from any savegame? I'm thinking the application would be like this: Application name: Remove Any Mod Application description: This application safely removes any mod from an existing savegame. Application requirements: This application requires Mod Organizer. The mod folder has to currently exist in MO's "mods" folder area Application functionality: Run this application for each mod you want to uninstall. This mod will examine the contents of the mod, and will create "dummy" ESP file(s) (one for each ESP it finds) and will name the ESP the same name as the one(s) it finds. Also, this application will create a "dummy" script for each script it finds, and it will name the script the same name. The "dummy" ESP(s) will have nothing in them and will not conflict with any other ESP, and the "dummy" scripts will basically be "no op" scripts that do nothing other than return a successful execution to the calling routine. This application will then package up the ESP(s) and script(s) and will install them into a zip file in the "downloads" folder in MO. This allows you to install the replacement mod normally. The default name of the mod will be the original name of the mod its replacing with "-UNINSTALLED" on the end of its name (e.g. Frostfall-UNINSTALLED). Be sure to uninstall (or at least disable) the mod you're replacing before you enable the replacement mod. OK, someone tell me this is a really stupid idea.

Adding my own experience to this thread.... I used NMM for months until I decided to finally try MO since I kept reading how much better it is. Now I would NEVER go back to NMM. MO does have a bit of a learning curve, but once you understand the concepts you'll see how much more flexible it is. If you only have a dozen mods or so, then using NMM is probably fine. But if you want to install the STEP mods or have 250 different mods (like myself) MO is a requirement. Otherwise you will have a NIGHTMARE when organizing and configuring your mods. Here is the basic fundamental difference between NMM and MO: --Â NMM installs files directly into the Skyrim game folders. If files conflict you will be prompted to overwrite them. Period. --Â MO installs files into SEPARATE folders (one folder for each mod) OUTSIDE the Skyrim game folders, and since the files are separated they NEVER OVERWRITE any other mod's files. How does it do this? MO does this by making the files only appear to exist inside the Skyrim game folders when the game is started. In other words, MO is basically a VIRTUAL FILE SYSTEM that is created dynamically when the game starts. That's why you have to start MO first, then start Skyrim from inside MO. What about conflicting files? MO resolves conflicts by "masking" conflicting files (files that have the same name and location in different MO mod folders) according to the load order of the mod. So if mod one has /textures/blah.dds and mod two has /textures/blah.dds, mod two will take precedence and that's what the game will use (assuming mod two comes later in the load order). This allows gamers to simply move mods around in the load order to choose which mod's files should be used in cases where there are conflicts. But what about ESP load order? That is handled SEPARATELY from the mod load order. You have to run BOSS from MO too so that it can see all the ESPs inside all the different MO mod folders. So when BOSS runs it will create its load order list for the ESPs and Skyrim will use that load order when the game is started. All the above info is just the TIP OF THE ICEBERG about how much better MO is than NMM when it comes to mod management. There are LOTS more advantages. Let me mention just one more advantage: The installation process. During the installation of a mod MO allows you to use the regular FOMOD installer, i.e. the GUI "wizard" that modders use to allow you to choose mod features during the install. That works perfectly. BUT in addition to that you can also use a Manual install method that allows you to look at all the files and folders in the installation package, and YOU can choose what you want included and what you don't want included. For example, a lot of times the mod author will make a mistake like misnaming the Texture folder or something like that. MO allows you to RENAME that folder on the fly during the install. Or sometimes an author will include a readme file which wouldn't get installed normally because it's not in the Data folder; but MO allows you to drag/drop the files around in the folder structure however you want, so you can drag that readme file into the Data folder before you install it. Sometime I'm going to create a youtube video comparing and contrasting NMM with MO.

I've used Project ENB almost exclusively. But I use it with CoT, RLO, and CoT Weather Patch (Night Level 2). With those combinations they give me pretty much what I want: Pretty dark outside nights, without making PointLighting (e.g. torches, lamps) too dim. Dark interiors (for shops/inns) during the night and noticeably MUCH lighter interiors during the day. Really pitch dark dungeons apart from lighted areas. I use Project ENB's "Further Dark Dungeons.esp" to achieve this. I use Wearable Lanterns to crawl dungeons. Nice clear days with lots of sharpness. I tried RealVision but the interiors were way too bright (for me). And there was little or no difference between day and night lightness in shops/inns. Not realistic to me. I've had to tweak a few of the Project ENB settings to give me what I want. These are from memory: [ENVIRONMENT] AmbientLightingIntensityDay: I reduced this a bit (from 1.06 to 0.76?) to make the shadows deeper and darker during the day. AmbientLightingIntensityInteriorDay: Boosted this a bit. AmbientLightingIntensityInteriorNight: Reduced this a bit. [WINDOWLIGHT ?] DirectLightingIntensityInteriorDay: Changed from 2.0 to 2.6 I think. DirectLightingIntensityInteriorNight: Changed from 1.6 to 1.0 I think. After making those changes it is AWESOME to see the interior changes. When I go to bed at night (I use RnD so I have to sleep) it is so dark inside that only the candlelight gives me light. The windows are completely dark and the corners are completely dark. When I wake up in the morning the windows are really bright and the room is well lit with ambient light just like IRL. Also, when you're inside Dragonsreach (the keep in Whiterun) at night and you set timescale to something like 800, it is AWESOME to watch the room slowly turn from really dark to really bright as the sun comes up.

@jhonnyas: Awesome writeup on your CTD experience, that is very helpful to the rest of us! A couple comments: I use Alternate Start to "camp in the woods" which puts you just outside the exit of the Helgen cave. About 1/2 the time I'll get a freeze walking down the path BEFORE I get to the standing stones. It seems to help if I WALK (holding shift) rather than running. I have external textures set to 2k, and on my new games I do get a few freezes and CTDs (with 250 mods and 240 ESPs) but I'm still tweaking things. I still have room to disable features in existing mods and also to DDSOpt my textures to 1k on my existing savegame if needed. I use Wet and Cold but I purposefully disable all the shader stuff and ashes on clothes options, and I disable the 2 optional items on the last page (the ones that make scripts run less). Since I play 1st person almost exclusively those options don't matter to me. Here are the MCM changes I make on a new game for W&C: --Wet tab: o Drips: Disabled (for Player and NPCs) o Soggy Feet: Disabled (for Player and NPCs) o Umbrellas: Enabled --Cold tab: o Breaths: Disabled (for Player and NPCs) o Blizzard Blind: FULL o Snowy: Disabled (for Player and NPCs) --Ashes tab: o Dusty: Disabled (for Player and NPCs) o Water Eyes: Enabled --System tab: o Heat Detection: Disabled o Shelter Detection: Disabled o Cloak Spell: Disabled You mentioned 3000+ saves. I hope you're not keeping all of those in the default location? I've heard that can make the Skyrim engine unhappy. One last thought: Some of the major mods have been updated during this Christmas break. For example Wearable Lanterns. You should see which ones have been updated, that might help. For example, Chesko wrote this about the new version of Wearable Lanterns (v. 3.0a): "Greatly optimized script code. Many thousands of lines of code were cut, and many functions were moved to condition statements, leading to much faster and error-free execution. The mod has been almost entirely rewritten. The main script is 1/5th the size it once was." btw, I just read somewhere (can't find the reference) that having too many mods that add items to leveled lists can be the straw that breaks the Skyrim's back. After all, the engine has to go through all the items whenever you open certain menus to display weights, prices, etc. Not sure if that's true but I thought I'd throw it out there for discussion.

I'm using Project ENB - Realistic and I find that NV works well outside. I have my nights so to almost pitch black, but with RnD I'm usually ASLEEP during the night which is what a true immersionist SHOULD be doing. :P But in dungeons, pubs, and houses NV doesn't work very well for me for some reason. Probably because I'm using RLO for all internal lighting. But for me that's exactly the way I want it because dungeons are supposed to be HARD and want to be forced to use my wearable lanterns to make my way through. And since I'm sleeping during the night I don't care if NV doesn't work in pubs and houses.

I'm using Project ENB with ENB version 0.236 and I don't have any problems. In fact Bronze316 (creator of Project ENB) has given his official "thumbs up" for 0.236 in his mod's post area. I use: Project ENB - Realistic Climates of Tamriel Supreme Storms CoT Weather Patch Realistic Lighting Overhaul (for INTERNAL lighting only, and NO weathers enabled) This combination has proved to make my game AWESOME. A few changes I've made include darkening the lights (via AmbientLightingIntensityNight 0.76 --> 0.20) and increasing lamp/torch lights at night (via PointLightingIntensityNight 1.13 --> 1.80). I also darken the shadows during the day (via AmbientLightingIntensityDay 1.37 --> 1.06). A few other minor tweaks too.

I was thinking the same thing. If you do use Safety Load you should try enabling the EnableOnlyLoading in the SafetyLoad.ini config file: EnableOnlyLoading = true

As torminator stated, it's the scripts that run constantly that will give you the most problems. You could have 10,000 scripts installed and have no problems at all as long as they are event driven and not too many are triggered for a specific event. For example, Wet and Cold, Frostfall, and RnD in your list run scripts constantly. Why? Because they have to constantly check the environment you're in and how close you are to wet or cold or fire, and how sleepy you are, etc. Do I use these mods myself? ABSOLUTELY. I wouldn't play the game without them. But I've also LESSENED the number of scripts in Wet and Cold by UNchecking some of its options in the MCM. Since I always play first person why should I need to see the snow or ashes on my character? So here's what I've disabled: WetDrips: Disabled (for Player and NPCs)Soggy Feet: Disabled (for Player and NPCs) ColdBreaths: Disabled (for Player and NPCs)Snowy: Disabled (for Player and NPCs) AshesDusty: Disabled (for Player and NPCs) SystemHeat Detection: DisabledShelter Detection: Disabled Cloak Spell: Disabled Regarding Footprints in your list... Can you do without this? I LOVE Footprints too, but I removed it because I play in first person mod, so I don't care about seeing other people's footprints, nor do I care about seeing my horse's footprints. Regarding SkyBirds in your list... I love that mod and I played with it for a while until I got my first game CTDs. Read through the posts in the mod and see the directions for uninstalling it, that will give you a clue. I use AFT and love it. I used to use UFO but I found AFT to work better and it seems more compatible with special followers like Inigo. Lastly let me say that you really have to decide what you like most in the game, and concentrate only on that and lose the other stuff. For me I like playability, that is I want to be able to DO more things in the game. So SkyTest got dropped from my game early on because it doesn't offer more playability (except maybe for the animal AI when fighting). In its place I've added more quest mods. In fact I bet I have more questing mods installed than all of you. :P

Yes I agree, there's too much stuff in the game already, I just try to pretty up what is there. So I don't use any mods that add new items to the game either. This is the first I've heard of problems with too many items though. Interesting. So now I've added a 5th general category to my list of problems that cause CTDs: 1. Too many Scripts 2. Too many Spawns 3. Too many HD textures 4. Badly written or conflicting mods 5. Too many items!

That's actually a very small mod list. The only comment I have is about Brawls Bug Patch: I thought that bug was fixed in the new Unofficial Patches (version 2.0+) and is no longer needed?

@deathneko11: Thanks for that suggestion! I am using SafetyLoad and I too have had 3 or 4 "menu CTDs" with an absolutely clean load and fresh game. If that's the answer to my problem then I salute you sir! I would never have thought about it. :-) @Sniflheim: Please post your plugin list from BOSS, I've done tons of research on most of the popular survival mods and maybe I'll see something that could be helpful.

85 views so far but no takers huh? OK, then what do you think about this answer... I'm thinking BOTH approaches should be followed. Rationale: It's important to see if you are able to get a playable game as you go along. In addition, as sets of mods are tested, you should keep track of any anomalies you have to fix or tweak. For example, MCM entries that need to be changed to prevent mod conflict. Once all the testing is done, then you should finally start a brand NEW game and use your previous install/tweak notes to configure and tweak the MCM menus, set your timescale, change the default keyboard shortcuts for the mods you use, whatever... Sound good to anyone?

Thanks for the feedback Aiyen, I appreciate it! I was finally able to make a good compromise by using Skyrim Configurator (SC) to apply some of the standard out-of-the-box values to my .ini files instead of trying to tweak things myself. When I looked at my shadow settings in SC they were set to "custom" which told me that I had a mix of possibly med/high/ultra settings and that might be bad. So I simply chose "Very High" (as opposed to High or Ultra), and saved the settings. This resulted in almost NO aura at all around characters (YIPPEE!) and acceptable shadows. I hope this helps someone else. I compared my .ini files before and after... In case you're curious, here are the values that were actually changed: skyrim.ini: iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048 --> changed to 4096 skyrimprefs.ini: iBlurDeferredShadowMask=3 --> changed to 1 fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000 --> changed to 4000 (with no decimals, curious...) fShadowDistance=8000.0000 --> changed to 6000 (again, no decimals) iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024 --> changed to 4096 iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=2048 --> changed to 4096 iMaxAnisotropy=2 --> changed to 1 iShadowMapResolution=2048 --> changed to 4096 fShadowBiasScale=0.1500 --> changed to 0.35 iShadowMaskQuarter=4 --> changed to 8 iShadowFilter=3 --> changed to 4

I'm still struggling with the best setup for shadows. To be honest the shadows look really blocky and blotchy. I've tried high and ultra settings as well as the distance settings and the blur and mask settings, but haven't found a good mix yet. I wish I could get rid of the silhouette auras, and have acceptable looking shadows, and keep shadows at the default 8000 distance. sigh. I'd love to hear from any of you that have achieved that. I'm guessing that the aura thing is something you see too? Or maybe it's only present under certain circumstances? I'm using the latest approved nVidia driver.