Kelmych

Ethatron has been inactive on most forums for a while since he started a new job earlier this year. I don't think it matters which tool you use to extract the files from BSAs; I'd use whichever one takes the least time including the UI parameter entry.

If the mod has multiple resolutions available then it should be better to select the one with proper resolution. It depends on how the mod author created the lower resolution textures; if they were done with a high quality tool then they are preferable (of course, you typically have no way of knowing this). DDSopt also recreates all the mipmaps, and the ones it creates are better than those of many of the texture creation tools. One way that DDSopt can increase file size is when the original textures don't have all the mipmaps needed; DDSOpt will add the missing ones. By the way, there is some discussion of this in the DDSopt Technical FAQ.

I haven't tried optimizing Fallout texture files with DDSopt. DDS is a Microsoft file format so it may be possible to optimize Fallout textures with DDSopt. There is a version of Optimizer Textures for Fallout New Vegas, but I haven't looked to see how it differs from the Skyrim version. BSA files for Bethesda games have different formats for each game, so if you are going to try to optimize Fallout textures with DDSopt make sure they are loose files.

Should we create a list of the affected mods for inclusion in the guide or add to the notes section of each of the affected mods on the Wiki?

There are several ways you can determine which files are missing, but one of the easiest ways is to use TES5Edit. Start it and hit the OK button to load all esp/esm files. As it loads it will let you know if there are missing esp or esm files.

I keep seeing people talk about "half sizing normals" but I really have no idea what that means. I get resizing textures down to 2048 if they're higher with something like Skyrim Texture Optimizer, but I haven't seen anything about "normals" yet. Any explanation or link to one for a graphics dummy? In addition to the example in the Appendix, this section discusses the rationale for resizing the normal maps.

A small update was released that fixes the rooster spawning issue I mentioned in an earlier post.

I uninstalled Roosters at Dawn and I installed this mod. I noticed more rooster crowing than I expected. There are several comments on the Nexus mod page about spawning too many roosters, and the author is looking to see if there is a problem. I expect it will be resolved fairly soon.

I added (including uploading) the BCF but it doesn't how up on the mod page. Any idea of what I did wrong?

Open TES5Edit and when it is done loading select a mod, then right click and select "Apply Script", and select the "Bash tags Autodetection" script. It doesn't necessarily list all the appropriate tags, but it is a good start. It also includes some tags that I don't think have been added to WB yet.

Here is the BCF for version 2.2 which improves compatibility with other mods since it no longer alters the master records that they might use.

The author commented on Nexus that the value changes were not intentional and apparently introduced when using the Creation Kit. These were changed back to the vanilla values, and version 2.01 was posted with these fixes. I suggested that the two small Unofficial Skyrim patch changes also be included in a future release. Here is the BCF for version 2.01 of Unknown Enchants. All of the magic college robes include an improvement in one of the magic type effects (e.g., Fortify Restoration) and also a improvement in the Magicka regeneration rate. However, other robe enchantment effects do not typically include both improvements. The names of robe enhancement effects in Skyrim.esm are incomplete since they only include the name of the improved magic type effects even when the robe enchantment effect includes both improvements. This mod provides a fix in that it renames any robe enchantment effects that include both improvements to include the names of both of the improvements (e.g., Fortify Restoration & Magicka Regen).

My concern with the book is where it is located, not with what it does. I would greatly prefer that the book be placed somewhere like the Whiterun castle which is never changed by mods vs. Breezehome which is often changed by mods. If the mod is changing the enchantment cost/amount values to what they should be (i.e., part of the mod acts as a fix for incorrect robe enhancement values), then USKP should ideally have all of the same (or similar) changes vs. having only two. If the approach taken in this mod is correct, then perhaps we should post the list of enchantments that should be changed on the UKSP bugtrack list. This would also strengthen the case for including it in STEP.

I looked at the mod in TES5Edit and I was surprised that it adds a book in Breezehome and has a large set of records about magic school robes, some of which change the enchantment cost and amount. I can't see why the mod needs any records about magic school robe effects or needs a book. I posted a question about this on the Nexus page. I'm currently loading it before the Unofficial Skyrim Patch in the mod list so most of the robe effect changes that Unknown Enchants adds won't be used.

Previous Mod Suggestion posts have discussed Mystery Modder textures including the torture and tanning racks and bear trap, and other posts compared the metal cages in this mod with vanilla and Langley's.

Version 2.0 of this mod has been released with improved, rewritten scripts. A BCF for version 2 of this mod is available here.

You can have one staff. Typically they are considered two handed weapons so if you have a staff you can't equip anything else in your hands. You can have different hotkeys so you can switch between staves.

I'm not completely certain which skeleton variant in this mod to use. STEP includes Dual Sheath Redux and Skyrim Revisited adds Frostfall. For example, with all of the back hip dagger options there are several options some of which have two (one for Frostfall and one that apparently isn't). The issue is which body slots are being used by the weapons, and I'm not sure which is the recommended skeleton that includes compatibility with both Dual Sheath Redux and Frostfall.

Start TES5Edit and click OK (which includes all mods). Find the BFS effects mod and click the plus sign next to the name (which opens up the list of record types in the mod). You can then click on the plus sign next to each record type and see whether there are conflicts (red background on a record). When I looked at my game and did this all the records had the generic white background indicating that there were't any mods that changed records that BFS effects uses. There can still be problems, of course, with the scripts that BFS effects uses. TES5Edit doesn't check these.

I used the original version of this previously and I never had problems with the first two Sounds of Skyrim mods. The biggest issue for me was the lack of compatibility with Climates of Tamriel; my solution then was to use another weather mod. Since CoT is in the Skyrim Revisited list, I wonder whether there is a straightforward fix for this incompatibility using TES5Edit or if it is more fundamental in the CoT implementation?

I've been using this mod for a while, supporting animations in several of the mods I use. I haven't had any problems with it.

It's bothered me for a long time that Climates of Tamriel was incompatible with a number of good sound mods (e.g., Sounds of Nature, Sounds of Skyrim); I always felt that CoT was not inherently a sound mod and I'd prefer to be able to eliminate it's sounds if that would allow CoT compatibility with some of the good sound mods. It sounds promising that there might actually be compatibility between CoT and at least one of the major sound mods.

I doubt it will affect pop-in, but I wanted to let you know what DDSopt does with mipmaps.

No, you can't edit existing hotkeys in More Hotkeys Please. However, with the MCM menu rebuilding a hotkey that has multiple steps is pretty quick.