SKYRIMLE Automatic Variants (by Leviathan1753)

[Besidilo]

This is one of these mods that I really want to install, but it always seems like too much of a bother. Plus it would require me to install a bunch of other mods and check compatibility for them to make the most out of it. I think.

[justjr]

Not bother at all. It's one click and wonders happen.

[EssArrBee]

Leviathan has started testing with weapons and armor variants, so this mod is really going to be essential soon.

[EssArrBee]

V2.0 just popped up in my tracked files. Looks like NPC mesh support was added along with support for weapons. Leviathan says armor variants are next.

 

EDIT: Doesn't look like weapons is included in this release, but it is finished. Guess I read the authors comment wrong.

[Aiyen]

Only real issue with AV at all is the simple following fact.

More variation = More memory used for textures!

 

If weapons and armor where added as well then the variation would properly force one away from most higher resolution textures.

Just 10 actors would be able to have a silly amount of variation when considering that every armor piece and weapon each require one unique texture with normal map!

[Neovalen]

Only real issue with AV at all is the simple following fact.

More variation = More memory used for textures!

 

If weapons and armor where added as well then the variation would properly force one away from most higher resolution textures.

Just 10 actors would be able to have a silly amount of variation when considering that every armor piece and weapon each require one unique texture with normal map!

Yes, but also consider how cool it looks to have a dozen different steel swords... (theoretically different blacksmiths making them). But your right, it's variety or high resolution textures, thats the real choice.

[EssArrBee]

Most AV packs are already 2k and it seems to run just fine to me. Also, normal maps can be set up so you don't have to have one for every individual texture, you can choose one that will always be chosen by AV for the NPC being spawned. The description is on the AV website not the nexus.

 

I'm more worried about my Skyrim and Bash Installers folders blowing up to some ridiculous size. I'm sure if you set up a bunch of NPC, weapon, and armor variants plus all the other mods it would be pushing 100 GB.

[Neovalen]

My Skyrim Revisited MO/mod dir...

 

36.5 GB (39,218,258,085 bytes)

89,261 Files, 6,863 Folders

 

Crazy already. ;)

[Aiyen]

Posted by EssArrBee - Today 12:44 AM

Most AV packs are already 2k and it seems to run just fine to me. Also, normal maps can be set up so you don't have to have one for every individual texture, you can choose one that will always be chosen by AV for the NPC being spawned.

This is true of course. But that means that you are only going to use stuff like altering the color of a texture... Anything that changes how a texture looks needs it own normal map or it will just look silly. 

[phazer11]

My Skyrim Revisited MO/mod dir...

 

36.5 GB (39,218,258,085 bytes)

89,261 Files, 6,863 Folders

 

Crazy already. ;)

Hence one of the reasons why I chose to buy two 240GB SSDs instead of the Skyrim DLC's

Most AV packs seem to be 2k but what I'm curious about is optimizing them. I've tried extracting them to folders and navigating to the textures but I don't think DDSOpt likes them being in so many folders or something as it doesn't seem to process them at all.

[Aiyen]

You need the folder structure ...\textures\... as input in DDSopt. Most mods have this structure, but not AV. So just copy every AV folder into one named that and run it like you normally would.

[phazer11]

That's what I did but it

1. Took about a second

2. No size increase or decrease

 

Edit: Wait a minute I made a spelling error on one of them let me retry it.

[SatyriconX]

According to Neovalen's guide, in the 'Creatures of Skyrim section' it instructs to hold off on installing Automatic Variants until a later.  What I'm a bit unsure of is whether I should hold off on installing all of the AV Packages (I.E. Bellyaches AV Package) until later on when Automatic Variants is finally installed.  It seems to me that this would be the case, but I'm not 100% sure.  Or perhaps it doesn't matter either way.  Can anyone shed any light on this?  Thanks :)

[statmonster]

You can install them in sequence just don't activate the mod until you activate AV via SUM. You can DDSOpt them when you first install them though. (This one is a little tricky in that you want to DDSOpt all the animals to 1K IIRC, except for big ones like mammoths, bears, etc. which can be 2K and maybe 1K normals.)

[EssArrBee]

AV is special as you first install the mod as you would any other mod, then you still have to run a SkyProc Patcher afterwards. It's much like Dual Sheath Redux. Install AV and the AV packs then run the SUM patcher after you are done installing all your mods.