Kelmych

Following steps 4 and 5 should have produced a list of all the textures in the file in the DDSopt window with the check boxes all unchecked. If this isn't what you see then try these steps again. Then step 6 should show only the normal map textures which are then checked. If steps 4 and 5 didn't work properly, or if the "Copy unprocessed and Ignored" line was still checked after doing step 8, then you would get the result you describe.

Skyrim Installation Swapper is a good way to create an archive since it includes ancillary directories, in addition to the Skyrim directory, that have a few data files that need to be preserved. It doesn't include the vanilla Skyrim files thus saving some disk space in the backup copy. The core vanilla Skyrim files are easily restored from Steam or from a separate archive copy of the core Skyrim files.

Since it is intended as a replacer I was a little surprised it has an esp.

I've been using the following that change the perk trees: Stealth Skills Rebalanced (Sneak, Lockpicking, and Pickpocket trees (I don't actually care much about Pickpocket tree since I'm not a thief character))ACE (I use the ACE modules that change light armor, heavy armor, one handed weapons, two handed weapons, smithing, enchanting)Mighty Magic (I use almost all the esp files; it changes the novice perk in all magic schools)

Folders work with WB; for efficiency I usually make archive files for them after I create them.

It's a good idea to copy the cleaned esm files somewhere; I use the Vanilla Optimized BSA folder for this.

I guess I'll need to get busy writing some BAIN wizards :D.

You would probably get more response in the Skyrim thread since you are not looking for STEP mods.

The TES5Edit description page has pointers for two documents that describe using the editor. I typically use this pdf file from FNVEdit . Red background indicates a conflict (at least two different overrides) and yellow indicates an override (only one). This is described on pages 23-24 in section 4. Orange designates a conflict winner (page 28).

It's always better to clean the Bethesda esm files early but it's still much better to clean them even if they aren't cleaned first. The colors are explained in section 4e in the readme that you access when you press the "?" icon at the bottom. Orange boxes in the Mods tab often mean that the masters are not in order and isn't usually a critical problem; if there were red boxes in the Mod tab you wouldn't be able to load the game. Â In the Installers tab you can usually fix red or orange backgrounds by doing a Reinstall or Anneal of the mod.

Merge Patches is useful as it can save using a few esp files. I have three STEP mods which have esp files that WB can use as merge patches. If there are any tweak settings you feel might be useful use that box, and you certainly want to check Leveled Lists.

The two choices for useful mod managers are Mod Organizer and Wrye Bash; Nexus Mod Manager has a lot of issues and we don't recommend it. I use Wrye Bash. We don't recommend doing the installations without a manager because it is much too tedious to maintain the mods without a manager.

I did see the previous post on difficulties working with the CK. I still haven't loaded Skyrim 1.9; I use Fuz Ro Doh in a couple of mods and I've been hoping I won't need to replace these with versions that add all the unspoken voice files (although I'm not going to wait too much longer). I wanted to wait until I move to Skyrim 1.9 to use the new CK. I was going to look at them in the game for now since I don't want to use the CK for right now.

Yes, STD need to be first or the HRDLC won't overwrite it. After the HRDLC in installation order comes the Unofficial High Resolution Patch (extracted into an archive of loose files), and then the rest of the STEP mods.

There are load order suggestions for many of these in the Skyrim Revisited guide by Neovalen.

What are the choices you used for this set; they aren't in the post?

A number of STEP mods overwrite textures in Skyrim - textures and the 3 HRDLC, so WB will show these with a light yellow box. If you look a the Conflicts tab in WB you can see exactly which textures from which mods overwrote these. If you click the Order column in the Installers tab, the STD textures should at or very near the beginning (low installation order number; e.g., 1) and the archive files with the HRDLC textures should be just after STD (installation order number just larger than that of STD textures). Note that BOSS changes the load order of esp files as shown in the Mods tab, it does not change the installation order shown in the Installers tab. You do not need to do any additional integration of BOSS with WB. The integration happens using files that are automatically written in the \AppData\Local\Skyrim directory. If you use SKSE you launch Skyrim with the SKSE launcher vs. the Skyrim launcher. You do not need to integrate SKSE with WB (if you want you can add the SKSE launcher to bash.ini so the launcher icon shows up in WB in the icons at the bottom, but it isn't necessary and doesn't provide any additional integration). MO and WB are roughly comparable, although MO does not have the ability to create a bash patch like WB. If you use WB for managing installation of mods then you have no need for MO. Â If you use MO you can still use WB to create a bash patch but this is a little more complicated. In addition to the Wrye Bash guide on the STEP Wiki, the help file (click the question mark at the bottom) has a lot of useful information about WB, but it isn't aimed at a first time user. There are some older pdf files here describing an earlier version of WB you might find useful.

Thanks; I hadn't seen these.

I really like your new black souls texture; IMO it's the best match between what a soul looks like and it's "role". I still like a more variation among the souls than you use in your BAIN default for the rest of the souls (the lesser and grand are more similar than I prefer). For example, I like to use some of the different variations you didn't use, particularly at least one metal and one transparent, as possible. I am a little confused since the images for the Bain Default and what you showed as your choice in the comparison image with Neo's choices are different. I prefer what you had in that image (SGD-z.jpg) vs. the new BAIN default (SGD.jpg).

Have you run the Skyrim launcher yet? Among other tasks, this installs keys into the registry that tell where the Skyrim game is located. Until you do this WB and TES5Edit don't know where to look except for default directories. After you do this you will probably need to edit bash_default.ini in the Mopy folder (where WB is located) in the Skyrim Directory; you would do this only if WB doesn't find all the directories you are using. I'm assuming you already configured Steam so it looks in the right place.

It doesn't matter whether you use MO or WB. The Mod Organizer guide discusses where files are located for MO.

You don't need a Dawnguard folder, just the folders with resources. If you use an archive file with loose resources (vs. a BSA) then make sure that any mods that override these Dawnguard resources are also archives of loose files (vs. a using a BSA).

Since you won't need the HRDLC esp files, you might want to move them into the same folder as you put the original vanilla HRDLC BSAs.

The author commented in the Nexus mod forums for these two mods that he was very busy and it would be a while before they are updated. When Skyrim 1.8 came out it took it took a month or so before these were updated.

Yes, the interface is quite basic and very different than other programs. It is the only mod we are aware of that provides the capabilities that it offers. There are no interface choices other than what you've seen.