GUIDE [WIP] DDSopt & Texture Overhauls

[z929669]

Discussion thread:
DDSopt Guide by STEP
Wiki Link

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GET DDSopt:
Github Pre-release versions
Official Nexus versions (select pre-release update 4)

[frihyland]

Strange... Wrye Bash works fine with Skyrim - Textures.bsa but will not work for me with HighResTexturePack01.bsa or HighResTexturePack02.bsa

not sure what your talking about in the slightest, if I had to guess I'd say you repackaged them using oblivion bsa format, but more likely you have misstated the problem

[dunz]

Sorry for the bad explanation.

 

After running DSSopt on extracted files from Skyrim - Textures.bsa I then create a new .bsa file with the same name "Skyrim - Textures.bsa" then compress this 2nd file with 7zip and place that in Wrye Bash. Wrye Bash has no problem installing this over the original.

 

If I follow the same procedure with HighResTexturePack01.bsa and HighResTexturePack02.bsa Wrye Bash will not show them under ==Configured Files on the general tab and shows them under ==Skipped (Dir) on the Skipped tab. I also tried using the original unaltered DLC HighResTexturePack01.bsa and HighResTexturePack02.bsa and get the same result.

 

For now I am just installing them manually, I am just curious as to why Wrye Bash does this.

[frihyland]

No reason to package them back into bsa really, just use 7zip to archive the directory or dds files. The way I do it is I unpack textures.bsa and the Hi res bsa's. I apply the HR DLC fix and Tweaks mods with our custom bat file to the directories. Then I merge all three directories, pasting the fixed HR directories over the vanilla textures. Then I DDSopt that directory, archive with 7zip and name it Fixed Vanilla HR Textures.7z and keep it 2nd in my Wrye Bash bain tab right after my Vanilla Skyrim.7z (see SIG) and before USKP. I been waiting for DDSopt 8 to get out of beta before I put this into SIG fully fleshed out, been months now.

[Kelmych]

If you keep the Bethesda vanilla and HR texture files as loose files in a .7z archive then the installer (e.g., Wrye Bash) installs the textures as loose files in the Texture directory in Data. These particular collections of textures will be overwritten a lot, of course, with all the higher quality textures that STEP installs.

 

Which ends up being more (or less) compute and memory efficient in the TESV executable:

- dealing with three BSA files containing the vanilla and HR textures, or

- having a larger set of loose files in Data\Textures that includes all the textures from the BSAs?

My impression from some Bethesda forum discussions is that Bethesda considers the BSAs to be more efficient at least when only a small percentage files in the BSAs are not overwritten by loose files.

[jasonstory44]

Quick question on whether I'm doing things right...did a fresh skyrim install...used wrye bash to install STEP and some other mods. Opened DDSopt...directed it to my data folder for incoming. Used the suggested settings posted a ways back in this thread. DDSopt is currently running...seems like it may take 10 hours or so? Does this sound correct? I'm assuming this does a much better job with textures than Optimizer textures program hence the difference in time running the program or an I doing something drastically wrong? Usually running Optimizer textures would take like 15-30 minutes.

[frihyland]

Quick question on whether I'm doing things right...did a fresh skyrim install...used wrye bash to install STEP and some other mods. Opened DDSopt...directed it to my data folder for incoming. Used the suggested settings posted a ways back in this thread. DDSopt is currently running...seems like it may take 10 hours or so? Does this sound correct? I'm assuming this does a much better job with textures than Optimizer textures program hence the difference in time running the program or an I doing something drastically wrong? Usually running Optimizer textures would take like 15-30 minutes.

Doing it that way totally messes up your Wrye Bash, its gonna list all the mods as yellow now because the files have changed.  You need to ddsopt before you install with bash not after.

[jasonstory44]

So I would direct DDSopt to my BASH installers directory prior to running and installing my wyre bash packages?

 

I had always noticed this messed things up for wrye bash when I used Optimizer textures program

[Besidilo]

So I would direct DDSopt to my BASH installers directory prior to running and installing my wyre bash packages?

 

I had always noticed this messed things up for wrye bash when I used Optimizer textures program

That won't work either, because the mods are in an archive format. You need to extract, optimise and repack the textures that require optimisation.

[jasonstory44]

okay...thanks guys...looks like a have a lot more work in front of me...ugh

[frihyland]

Thats why I labeled it for hardcore modders only in SIG :P

[jasonstory44]

If in following the DDSopt instructions on the wiki and optimizing the the highres.bsa's into loose files, and then installing with wrye bash...do I then remove them from the skyrim ini?

 

I'm by no means a hardcore modder YET "fri" but certainly trying to learn and get better.  Lots of learning thru trial and error.  I'm light years ahead of where I was 3 months ago.  Certainly appreciate all the help and guidance you guys give us all.  I certainly don't mean to test anyones patience on here.

[z929669]

If you keep the Bethesda vanilla and HR texture files as loose files in a .7z archive then the installer (e.g., Wrye Bash) installs the textures as loose files in the Texture directory in Data. These particular collections of textures will be overwritten a lot, of course, with all the higher quality textures that STEP installs.

 

Which ends up being more (or less) compute and memory efficient in the TESV executable:

- dealing with three BSA files containing the vanilla and HR textures, or

- having a larger set of loose files in Data\Textures that includes all the textures from the BSAs?

My impression from some Bethesda forum discussions is that Bethesda considers the BSAs to be more efficient at least when only a small percentage files in the BSAs are not overwritten by loose files.

Loose files are more efficient in terms of reducing load times (since there is no extraction required). Loose files are also overwritten by other mod's loose files directly. With the BSAs, the entire BSA contents are extracted and many of these contents end up being overwritten anyway ... sort of a double-whammy waste of time. 

[z929669]

Sorry for the bad explanation.

 

After running DSSopt on extracted files from Skyrim - Textures.bsa I then create a new .bsa file with the same name "Skyrim - Textures.bsa" then compress this 2nd file with 7zip and place that in Wrye Bash. Wrye Bash has no problem installing this over the original.

 

If I follow the same procedure with HighResTexturePack01.bsa and HighResTexturePack02.bsa Wrye Bash will not show them under ==Configured Files on the general tab and shows them under ==Skipped (Dir) on the Skipped tab. I also tried using the original unaltered DLC HighResTexturePack01.bsa and HighResTexturePack02.bsa and get the same result.

 

For now I am just installing them manually, I am just curious as to why Wrye Bash does this.

Don't forget that there is a hard max files size for a BSA (2 Gb I think). This may be the issue tiwh the HRDLCs.  Proper compression format is also a factor as Fri says.

[z929669]

Quick question on whether I'm doing things right...did a fresh skyrim install...used wrye bash to install STEP and some other mods. Opened DDSopt...directed it to my data folder for incoming. Used the suggested settings posted a ways back in this thread. DDSopt is currently running...seems like it may take 10 hours or so? Does this sound correct? I'm assuming this does a much better job with textures than Optimizer textures program hence the difference in time running the program or an I doing something drastically wrong? Usually running Optimizer textures would take like 15-30 minutes.

DDSopt 8.0 pre release 3 runs very fast (about 30 minutes for all vanilla textures I think), so be certain that you are using the correct version of DDSopt.

[z929669]

No reason to package them back into bsa really' date=' just use 7zip to archive the directory or dds files. The way I do it is I unpack textures.bsa and the Hi res bsa's. I apply the HR DLC fix and Tweaks mods with our custom bat file to the directories. Then I merge all three directories, pasting the fixed HR directories over the vanilla textures. Then I DDSopt that directory, archive with 7zip and name it Fixed Vanilla HR Textures.7z and keep it 2nd in my Wrye Bash bain tab right after my Vanilla Skyrim.7z (see SIG) and before USKP. I been waiting for DDSopt 8 to get out of beta before I put this into SIG fully fleshed out, been months now.[/quote']

Ethatron has been out for quite awhile, so I would treat the pre-release as "final" for now ...