ACCEPTED Skyrim Realistic Overhaul (by Starac)

[Besidilo]

 

 

  frihyland said:

Yeah that's actually a good question what are your top 6 graphics mods that you think complement SRO? I would guess SMIM and Vurts Flora Overhaul, not so sure about the rest.

He already mentioned SMIM, Flora Overhaul and WATER.

[Starac]

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You need only 5 mods and HD DLC to have HUGE graphical difference. This means simplicity and quality.

 

TPC requires about 50-60.  

Actually 40 mods, excluding Parallax mods (which not everyone uses) and the "big three" (SRO, HD2K and SHD).

 

Personally, I like your textures better than the other two, but I don't like the vanilla textures enough to not replace them with something else. Although it might be a good idea to just use SRO and exclude HD2K and SHD since they obviously aren't the same quality, but arguably, they are still an improvement over vanilla textures.

HD2K and SHD textures have better quality, but not artistically. Textures are not designed. You can not simply download a photo and throw it into the game.

 

That's not an improvement.

 

Of course some people don't care about this. But if you want to be a moder, to create mods, this is essential. 

 

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This is essentially what we are doing. Cestral's work is a good proof of concept for new mod users and is representative of where we are going with STEP; however, we will go further in expanding the idea.

 

Technically, Cestral is not redistributing your work, but rather suggesting a context to others for its use (just as we are in STEP). However, I would personally respect an author's wishes not to have their work suggested in a context that they dislike, so perhaps he will work with you aesthetically such that you can stomach the result. Else, he will not, and you will not be happy, and we will miss updates to SRO to be sure ....

 

... now, I for one would like to hear your suggestions for those 5 (more?) mods that you recommend for Skyrim PC.

You can create very big file-compilation, or a batch file that will do the same; install textures in particular order. It is the same, especially if it involves my mod.

 

About mods, you know them already. Though things have changed.

Combination of SRO, Water and Vurts flora will make the biggest visual difference.

One texture should be removed from Water (whroughgroundwet_n) cause this is normal map for vanilla color texture. Also i like vanilla tree barks more then Vurts. I use them in my mod; better versions from HD DLC but even more improved. While one would not make mistake with Vurts version, vanilla artistically looks better.

 

Next is SMIM and some lightning mod. But lightning mods can create problems with textures like snow - to bright. I use Realistic Lighting with my own template.

Those ENB over-saturated mods i can't stand. Like cartoons. People say that RCRN is good?

 

And i have forget to mention Better Dynamic Snow. Of course HD DLC is must have.

 

These are visual mods that i use. Only 6 mods but huge quality difference. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

[Besidilo]

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You need only 5 mods and HD DLC to have HUGE graphical difference. This means simplicity and quality.

 

TPC requires about 50-60.  

Actually 40 mods, excluding Parallax mods (which not everyone uses) and the "big three" (SRO, HD2K and SHD).

 

Personally, I like your textures better than the other two, but I don't like the vanilla textures enough to not replace them with something else. Although it might be a good idea to just use SRO and exclude HD2K and SHD since they obviously aren't the same quality, but arguably, they are still an improvement over vanilla textures.

HD2K and SHD textures have better quality, but not artistically. Textures are not designed. You can not simply download a photo and throw it into the game.

 

That's not an improvement.

 

Of course some people don't care about this. But if you want to be a moder, to create mods, this is essential. 

 

 

I agree with you, for the most part. I actually don't use SHD and only some textures from HD2K, but the TPC simpilified the compilation process for me and it's easier to just throw in all the smaller mods there and let it merge them into a simple archive. Much easier for me to see the conflicts too.

 

I'll take your advice and remove most of the obsolete mods, see if I like the more vanilla-like game better. It should save some VRAM too, after optimising the HD-DLC.

 

I think you'd find that most of the Optional Mods in TPC are still a huge improvement over vanilla game textures (even the HD-DLC pack), and therefore using TPC to combine them can still be a good idea.

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Optional mods:

 

AOF-DetailedMountains = AOF Detailed Mountains by AnOldFriend

AOF-Farmhouses = AOF Farmhouses by AnOldFriend

AshPileRetex = Ash Pile Retex by Raymond Murphy

BellyachesAnimalCreaturePack = Bellyaches Animal and Creature Pack by Bellyache

BetterDynamicSnow = Better Dynamic Snow by OpticShooter and Brumbek

BetterRocksMountains = Better Rocks and Mountains by Four Leaf Clover

DesignsOfTheNords = Designs Of The Nords by KEBW1144

DetailedChests = Detailed Chests by Clintmich

EnhancedDistantTerrain = Enhanced Distant Terrain by OpticShooter

EnhancedNightSkyrim = Enhanced Night Skyrim by CptJoker

HD-Linens = HD Linens by Rivybeast

HD-Misc = HD Misc by Calav3ra

HD-OreAndIngots = HD Ore And Ingots by BioProd

HD-Sacks = HD Sacks Retexture by Mazarin

HighQualityLODs = High Quality LODs by Ethatron

HQFoodIngredients = High Quality Food and Ingredients by Iraito

HQMilkyWayGalaxy = HQ Milky Way Galaxy by Manesse

HQSkyrimMapV2 = HQ Skyrim Map V2 by Grace Darkling and Paddyy

HybridsPlantsHerbs = Hybrids HD Plants and Herbs Retexture by Gabriel "Mystikhybrid" Gullbergh

IntricateSpiderWebs = Intricate Spider Webs by Isoku

LushGrass = Lush Grass by OpticShooter

LushTrees = Lush Trees by OpticShooter

ProjectParallax_HD2K = Project Parallax Solitude, Whiterun, Windhelm by Osmodius

ProjectParallax_SRO = Project Parallax Solitude, Whiterun, Windhelm by Osmodius

ProjectParallax_Markarth = Project Parallax Markath by Osmodius

RadiantUniquePotionsPoisons = Radiant and Unique Potions and Poisons HD by XRC

RealisticInstruments = Realistic Instruments by InwardScreams

RealisticSmokeEmbers = Realistic Smoke and Embers by Isoku

Re-DefinedDungeons = Re-Defined Dungeons WIP by Gizmo

RiftenHQTextures = Riften HQ Textures by Erik

RuinsClutterImprovement= Ruins Clutter Improvement HD by Raiserfx

SeptimHD = Septim HD by Crypton

SkyrimRedesigned = Skyrim Redesigned WIP by Dracomies

SkyrimSunglareV4 = Skyrim Sunglare V4 by Laast

SLOD = Silly Level of Detail - Potions and Poisons by Narmix

SMIM = Static Mesh Improvement Mod (SMIM) by Brumbek

SnowAndRocksTexturesHD = Snow and Rocks Textures HD by Darevix

SoulGemsDiffer = Soul Gems Differ - Full and Empty by Utopolyst

SuperRealisticOreTextures = Super Realistic Ore Textures by Kman420

TobesHighresTextures = Tobes Highres Textures by Mr Bravo aka Tobe

TreesHD = TreesHD Skyrim Variation by Namotep

WhiterunTrellisRedesigned = Whiterun Trellis Redesigned and HQ by Toby S

VisibleWindows = Visible Windows by Isoku

VurtsFlora = Skyrim Flora Overhaul by Vurt

[Starac]

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You need only 5 mods and HD DLC to have HUGE graphical difference. This means simplicity and quality.

 

TPC requires about 50-60.  

Actually 40 mods, excluding Parallax mods (which not everyone uses) and the "big three" (SRO, HD2K and SHD).

 

Personally, I like your textures better than the other two, but I don't like the vanilla textures enough to not replace them with something else. Although it might be a good idea to just use SRO and exclude HD2K and SHD since they obviously aren't the same quality, but arguably, they are still an improvement over vanilla textures.

HD2K and SHD textures have better quality, but not artistically. Textures are not designed. You can not simply download a photo and throw it into the game.

 

That's not an improvement.

 

Of course some people don't care about this. But if you want to be a moder, to create mods, this is essential. 

 

 

I agree with you, for the most part. I actually don't use SHD and only some textures from HD2K, but the TPC simpilified the compilation process for me and it's easier to just throw in all the smaller mods there and let it merge them into a simple archive. Much easier for me to see the conflicts too.

 

I'll take your advice and remove most of the obsolete mods, see if I like the more vanilla-like game better. It should save some VRAM too, after optimising the HD-DLC.

 

I think you'd find that most of the Optional Mods in TPC are still a huge improvement over vanilla game textures (even the HD-DLC pack), and therefore using TPC to combine them can still be a good idea.

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Optional mods:

 

AOF-DetailedMountains = AOF Detailed Mountains by AnOldFriend

AOF-Farmhouses = AOF Farmhouses by AnOldFriend

AshPileRetex = Ash Pile Retex by Raymond Murphy

BellyachesAnimalCreaturePack = Bellyaches Animal and Creature Pack by Bellyache

BetterDynamicSnow = Better Dynamic Snow by OpticShooter and Brumbek

BetterRocksMountains = Better Rocks and Mountains by Four Leaf Clover

DesignsOfTheNords = Designs Of The Nords by KEBW1144

DetailedChests = Detailed Chests by Clintmich

EnhancedDistantTerrain = Enhanced Distant Terrain by OpticShooter

EnhancedNightSkyrim = Enhanced Night Skyrim by CptJoker

HD-Linens = HD Linens by Rivybeast

HD-Misc = HD Misc by Calav3ra

HD-OreAndIngots = HD Ore And Ingots by BioProd

HD-Sacks = HD Sacks Retexture by Mazarin

HighQualityLODs = High Quality LODs by Ethatron

HQFoodIngredients = High Quality Food and Ingredients by Iraito

HQMilkyWayGalaxy = HQ Milky Way Galaxy by Manesse

HQSkyrimMapV2 = HQ Skyrim Map V2 by Grace Darkling and Paddyy

HybridsPlantsHerbs = Hybrids HD Plants and Herbs Retexture by Gabriel "Mystikhybrid" Gullbergh

IntricateSpiderWebs = Intricate Spider Webs by Isoku

LushGrass = Lush Grass by OpticShooter

LushTrees = Lush Trees by OpticShooter

ProjectParallax_HD2K = Project Parallax Solitude, Whiterun, Windhelm by Osmodius

ProjectParallax_SRO = Project Parallax Solitude, Whiterun, Windhelm by Osmodius

ProjectParallax_Markarth = Project Parallax Markath by Osmodius

RadiantUniquePotionsPoisons = Radiant and Unique Potions and Poisons HD by XRC

RealisticInstruments = Realistic Instruments by InwardScreams

RealisticSmokeEmbers = Realistic Smoke and Embers by Isoku

Re-DefinedDungeons = Re-Defined Dungeons WIP by Gizmo

RiftenHQTextures = Riften HQ Textures by Erik

RuinsClutterImprovement= Ruins Clutter Improvement HD by Raiserfx

SeptimHD = Septim HD by Crypton

SkyrimRedesigned = Skyrim Redesigned WIP by Dracomies

SkyrimSunglareV4 = Skyrim Sunglare V4 by Laast

SLOD = Silly Level of Detail - Potions and Poisons by Narmix

SMIM = Static Mesh Improvement Mod (SMIM) by Brumbek

SnowAndRocksTexturesHD = Snow and Rocks Textures HD by Darevix

SoulGemsDiffer = Soul Gems Differ - Full and Empty by Utopolyst

SuperRealisticOreTextures = Super Realistic Ore Textures by Kman420

TobesHighresTextures = Tobes Highres Textures by Mr Bravo aka Tobe

TreesHD = TreesHD Skyrim Variation by Namotep

WhiterunTrellisRedesigned = Whiterun Trellis Redesigned and HQ by Toby S

VisibleWindows = Visible Windows by Isoku

VurtsFlora = Skyrim Flora Overhaul by Vurt

I have just presented you what i use and what makes the biggest visual difference. Besides with 1gb of VRAM i cannot just throw mods inside. I'm at peak, 980-990 VRAM usage. And i prefer frame-rate to be around 60. Minimum is around 45.

 

And yes there are some very good mods in that list.

[Trexasle]

Starac sort of has a point, as a Modder for The Sims 3, it's damn there horrendous when you use photo's as textures, It clashes with the art style of the game, which while it may or may not LOOK better on it's own, if it's thrown into the game...well...It just looks like this.

 

 

 

That's NOT a good look.

 

When you create Textures for a game you HAVE to make sure it matches the art style. This is critical in all game design and modding. He also has a point on the mods he chose, not only are they good for overall use, but they don't eat that much VRAM and does just a good of job as Overhauling than others do.

[Starac]

Majority of people have VRAM problems with high-res textures.

 

I have combined 2048k and 1024k textures for my card. Landscape are high-res and Architecture is mixed. Dungeons, Caves, Mines are all high-res. Clutter is also mixed. What i did is this; textures that are stretched like Landscape or Dungeons use 2048k, some even 4096k. Textures that are not stretched like Clutter or Towns and Temples are mixed with 1024k.

 

Shorter explanation; for textures that are stretched i use 2048/4096 res, and for those that are not - 1024 res.

I have planned to release this performance/quality version of SRO. But file is very large and my upload speed slow.

 

Almost all HD DLC textures already look great, so i don't see the point of downloading 50 mods? Especially when i consider the fact that many mods have a lot of bad textures.

 

But people are strange? They want to see new textures and it doesn't matter if they look bad?

[Trexasle]

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But people are strange? They want to see new textures and it doesn't matter if they look bad?

Let's be fair Starac, not alot of people NOTICE these texture issues, because Skyrim is a Photorealistic game. This makes it EASY for Photoskinned textures (What we in the Sims 3 Mod Community call it.) To be passed off. Unless the person is FAMILIAR with actually drawing textures, they probably don't SEE that. Hell Until you told me, I didn't even see it, and retextures is mostly what I DO for the Sims 3.

[z929669]

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Majority of people have VRAM problems with high-res textures.

 

I have combined 2048k and 1024k textures for my card. Landscape are high-res and Architecture is mixed. Dungeons, Caves, Mines are all high-res. Clutter is also mixed. What i did is this; textures that are stretched like Landscape or Dungeons use 2048k, some even 4096k. Textures that are not stretched like Clutter or Towns and Temples are mixed with 1024k.

 

Shorter explanation; for textures that are stretched i use 2048/4096 res, and for those that are not - 1024 res.

I have planned to release this performance/quality version of SRO. But file is very large and my upload speed slow.

 

Almost all HD DLC textures already look great, so i don't see the point of downloading 50 mods? Especially when i consider the fact that many mods have a lot of bad textures.

 

But people are strange? They want to see new textures and it doesn't matter if they look bad?

Now THIS is some good advice (as well as your 6 mod suggestions in prev post). Thanks for the detail and taking the time to provide more constructive criticism ;)

 

@Trexasle

Your input adds good context to the conversation, thanks.

 

Ultimately, I agree that 'new' and 'more' is definitely not better. This is exactly where we are going with STEP; however, we have some growing pains right now, given the huge amount of mods to sort through and test. Some of our testing mods have ultimately made it to the final release(s), and development/refinement continues ...

[TheCompiler]

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Majority of people have VRAM problems with high-res textures.

 

I have combined 2048k and 1024k textures for my card. Landscape are high-res and Architecture is mixed. Dungeons, Caves, Mines are all high-res. Clutter is also mixed. What i did is this; textures that are stretched like Landscape or Dungeons use 2048k, some even 4096k. Textures that are not stretched like Clutter or Towns and Temples are mixed with 1024k.

 

Shorter explanation; for textures that are stretched i use 2048/4096 res, and for those that are not - 1024 res.

I have planned to release this performance/quality version of SRO. But file is very large and my upload speed slow.

 

Almost all HD DLC textures already look great, so i don't see the point of downloading 50 mods? Especially when i consider the fact that many mods have a lot of bad textures.

 

But people are strange? They want to see new textures and it doesn't matter if they look bad?

I agree 100%

[Besidilo]

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Majority of people have VRAM problems with high-res textures.

 

I have combined 2048k and 1024k textures for my card. Landscape are high-res and Architecture is mixed. Dungeons, Caves, Mines are all high-res. Clutter is also mixed. What i did is this; textures that are stretched like Landscape or Dungeons use 2048k, some even 4096k. Textures that are not stretched like Clutter or Towns and Temples are mixed with 1024k.

 

Shorter explanation; for textures that are stretched i use 2048/4096 res, and for those that are not - 1024 res.

I have planned to release this performance/quality version of SRO. But file is very large and my upload speed slow.

 

Almost all HD DLC textures already look great, so i don't see the point of downloading 50 mods? Especially when i consider the fact that many mods have a lot of bad textures.

 

But people are strange? They want to see new textures and it doesn't matter if they look bad?

Thanks for the advice mate, I've been doing it wrong the whole time. :facepalm:

 

Do your textures need DDSopt optimisation at all?

[frihyland]

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Majority of people have VRAM problems with high-res textures.

 

I have combined 2048k and 1024k textures for my card. Landscape are high-res and Architecture is mixed. Dungeons, Caves, Mines are all high-res. Clutter is also mixed. What i did is this; textures that are stretched like Landscape or Dungeons use 2048k, some even 4096k. Textures that are not stretched like Clutter or Towns and Temples are mixed with 1024k.

 

Shorter explanation; for textures that are stretched i use 2048/4096 res, and for those that are not - 1024 res.

I have been using this basic philosophy from the start, I probably got it from Starac on the beth forums, when he first released SRO I remember him talking about this.

 

I think we should incorporate this directly into our design of STEP as one of the foundation principles for choosing a base STEP version.

 

@Starac

 

If you have already put together such a package I would really appreciate you making the effort to upload it to Nexus, it would really make a large difference for people and be one more reason to keep SRO as the premiere texture overhaul.

[Starac]

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Majority of people have VRAM problems with high-res textures.

 

I have combined 2048k and 1024k textures for my card. Landscape are high-res and Architecture is mixed. Dungeons, Caves, Mines are all high-res. Clutter is also mixed. What i did is this; textures that are stretched like Landscape or Dungeons use 2048k, some even 4096k. Textures that are not stretched like Clutter or Towns and Temples are mixed with 1024k.

 

Shorter explanation; for textures that are stretched i use 2048/4096 res, and for those that are not - 1024 res.

I have planned to release this performance/quality version of SRO. But file is very large and my upload speed slow.

 

Almost all HD DLC textures already look great, so i don't see the point of downloading 50 mods? Especially when i consider the fact that many mods have a lot of bad textures.

 

But people are strange? They want to see new textures and it doesn't matter if they look bad?

Thanks for the advice mate, I've been doing it wrong the whole time. :facepalm:

 

Do your textures need DDSopt optimisation at all?

No. Everything is already optimized.

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@Starac

 

 If you have already put together such a package I would really appreciate you making the effort to upload it to Nexus, it would really make a large difference for people and be one more reason to keep SRO as the premiere texture overhaul.

To create package is easy. But to upload it is a problem with my speed and with errors that Nexus is full.

 

I have tried to re-upload 900mb file for 4-5 times. 1024k SRO version is in question.

But every time some error pops up in the middle of the upload and cancel it.

 

Now imagine a bigger file. 

[Besidilo]

Nexus sucks for that and a few other reasons. Perhaps you could try uploading it to TES Alliance or even Steam Workshop (even though I dislike the latter, it could prove an easier solution).

[frihyland]

Steam filesize limit is 100MB, but finding another home in addition to Nexus is a good idea. Tes Alliance and Dark Creations are both good alternates.

[z929669]

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Majority of people have VRAM problems with high-res textures.

 

I have combined 2048k and 1024k textures for my card. Landscape are high-res and Architecture is mixed. Dungeons, Caves, Mines are all high-res. Clutter is also mixed. What i did is this; textures that are stretched like Landscape or Dungeons use 2048k, some even 4096k. Textures that are not stretched like Clutter or Towns and Temples are mixed with 1024k.

 

Shorter explanation; for textures that are stretched i use 2048/4096 res, and for those that are not - 1024 res.

I have planned to release this performance/quality version of SRO. But file is very large and my upload speed slow.

 

Almost all HD DLC textures already look great, so i don't see the point of downloading 50 mods? Especially when i consider the fact that many mods have a lot of bad textures.

 

But people are strange? They want to see new textures and it doesn't matter if they look bad?

Thanks for the advice mate, I've been doing it wrong the whole time. :facepalm:

 

Do your textures need DDSopt optimisation at all?

No. Everything is already optimized.

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@Starac

 

 If you have already put together such a package I would really appreciate you making the effort to upload it to Nexus, it would really make a large difference for people and be one more reason to keep SRO as the premiere texture overhaul.

To create package is easy. But to upload it is a problem with my speed and with errors that Nexus is full.

 

I have tried to re-upload 900mb file for 4-5 times. 1024k SRO version is in question.

But every time some error pops up in the middle of the upload and cancel it.

 

Now imagine a bigger file. 

You can upload to my DropBox and I could try using my connection (I have a premium account, and fairly wide bandwidth, which both may have bearing on the Nexus)

 

Let me know if you would like me to try on your behalf and I will PM you details (of course you still need to upload, but Dropbox will not restrict, so set it before bed and it will be done before wake).