GUIDE [WIP] DDSopt & Texture Overhauls

[z929669]

Discussion thread:
DDSopt Guide by STEP
Wiki Link

---

 

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

[z929669]

Nice work on the Guide Kelmych!

[Kelmych]

Nice work on the Guide Kelmych!

Z, I appreciate all the work you have been doing on lighting mods and landscape mods lately (and in getting STEP 2.2.1 ready for release); it's helping me a lot to determine which mods to use and how to configure them.

[Zayvion]

I appreciate all the work you have been doing on lighting mods and landscape mods lately (and in getting STEP 2.2.1 ready for release); it's helping me a lot to determine which mods to use and how to configure them.

I think you quoted the wrong guy :P

[Kelmych]

I did; oops

[Kelmych]

Here is the beta version of the batch files that can be used to remove extraneous files in the 3 HRDLC. Its use is described in the DDSopt and Texture Optimization Guide. Make sure you look at the readme before running the HRDLC_Removal_Fix-START.bat file I didn't have any errors when running it.

 

When a few people have used them and they seem to work I'll put a reference to them in the DDSopt and Texture Optimization guide.

[EssArrBee]

The virtual drive q: didn't work, said invalid parameter. And now the drive is still showing in explorer, will a reboot remove it?

 

EDIT: I have no clue why drive q: didn't work, I'm not using it for anything else, changed it to t: and it worked fine.

[Kelmych]

It's sometimes hard to know what virtual drives are being used by the system because some are dynamically assigned to devices you plug in to your systems (e.g., USB drives) unless you have assigned a static drive letter to that particular device. Some software also uses virtual drives, and there is no standard for which drive letter they use. Q: is one that Microsoft software apparently sometimes uses as a virtual drive. I'll change the default virtual drives in the batch file to avoid Q: since that might be commonly used by software. Reboots always eliminate any temporary drive assignments; if a program is commonly using a drive letter such as Q: it might get reassigned again after the computer starts up again and the application using it is active.

[Zayvion]

Hey Kelmych, I've followed the steps to the letter. Making the HRDLC1/2/3 and STD folders into .7z archives and installing them through Wrye Bash.

Yet I'm quite confused about the stats I'm getting.

the HRDLC 7z's are marked yellow, and on the right side it says there's conflicts.

 

 

I'm not sure what to do?

Would it be possible/safe, to just take all the texture folders, merge them together and pop that into a single .7z and use that?

Letting the HRDLC's over-write anything from STD?

 

ALSO! (Sorry for so much.. xD)

With using Wrye Bash and 7zip archives, I'm taking it that I disable the HRDLC bsa/esp's from the load-order, and remove "Skyrim - Textures.bsa" from my ini file(which is there by default)?

 

Edit:

Additonally, here is a pastebin of the listed conflicts STD has with the HRDLC 7z's that I've got. https://pastebin.com/P3qUw30E

[EssArrBee]

Hey Kelmych, I've followed the steps to the letter. Making the HRDLC1/2/3 and STD folders into .7z archives and installing them through Wrye Bash.

Yet I'm quite confused about the stats I'm getting.

the HRDLC 7z's are marked yellow, and on the right side it says there's conflicts.

 

https://i.imgur.com/G3lx0pn.png

 

I'm not sure what to do?

Would it be possible/safe, to just take all the texture folders, merge them together and pop that into a single .7z and use that?

Letting the HRDLC's over-write anything from STD?

 

ALSO! (Sorry for so much.. xD)

With using Wrye Bash and 7zip archives, I'm taking it that I disable the HRDLC bsa/esp's from the load-order, and remove "Skyrim - Textures.bsa" from my ini file(which is there by default)?

 

Edit:

Additonally, here is a pastebin of the listed conflicts STD has with the HRDLC 7z's that I've got. https://pastebin.com/P3qUw30E

The STD textures are the vanilla low res textures, so install those first then put the HRDLC1, 2, 3 after the STD so those high res textures can overwrite the low res textures. Wrye Bash will always overwrite the files that are put higher.

[Garpov]

I'm not sure what to do?Would it be possible/safe, to just take all the texture folders, merge them together and pop that into a single .7z and use that?

Letting the HRDLC's over-write anything from STD?

 

ALSO! (Sorry for so much.. xD)

With using Wrye Bash and 7zip archives, I'm taking it that I disable the HRDLC bsa/esp's from the load-order, and remove "Skyrim - Textures.bsa" from my ini file(which is there by default).

Yes it is safe to merge all textures into one .7z, just make sure you overwrite STD with HRDLC1, 2 and 3.

 

Its advisable to use "Non-solid" under the "Solid Block size" option of 7zip, this allows decompression in small chunks rather than having to unzip the entire archive.

 

Yes, disable the HRDLC bsa/esp`s and remove "Skyrim - Textures.bsa" from .ini

[Kelmych]

Hey Kelmych, I've followed the steps to the letter. Making the HRDLC1/2/3 and STD folders into .7z archives and installing them through Wrye Bash.

Yet I'm quite confused about the stats I'm getting.

the HRDLC 7z's are marked yellow, and on the right side it says there's conflicts.

 

https://i.imgur.com/G3lx0pn.png

 

I'm not sure what to do?

Would it be possible/safe, to just take all the texture folders, merge them together and pop that into a single .7z and use that?

Letting the HRDLC's over-write anything from STD?

 

ALSO! (Sorry for so much.. xD)

With using Wrye Bash and 7zip archives, I'm taking it that I disable the HRDLC bsa/esp's from the load-order, and remove "Skyrim - Textures.bsa" from my ini file(which is there by default)?

 

Edit:

Additonally, here is a pastebin of the listed conflicts STD has with the HRDLC 7z's that I've got. https://pastebin.com/P3qUw30E

The STD textures are the vanilla low res textures, so install those first then put the HRDLC1, 2, 3 after the STD so those high res textures can overwrite the low res textures. Wrye Bash will always overwrite the files that are put higher.

Right. One of the reasons for the step that Moves the original BSAs to another folder (Original Vanilla BSAs) is that it removes them from loading by Skyrim. You can also move the esp files to the same folder as they are no longer needed.

 

We included several options for how to use the optimized textures, but it can be confusing since the choices affect other steps later in installation. I'll try to add a little more text for each option explaining some of the implications.

 

In the installation order after the STD textures and those from the HRDLC files you would load the Unofficial High Resolution Patch (UHRP).

 

Wrye Bash shows you the overwrites. The HRDLC textures intentionally overwrite some of the STD ones, and the UHRP textures intentionally overwrite a small set of the textures in the combination of the STD and HRDLC. 

[enhasa]

I'm confused at this part of the guide: https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:DDSopt_%26_Texture_Overhauls#tab=Using_DDSopt

Since there is no installer, DDSopt is completely portable and can be run in any location (but please make certain that the most recent version of the DDSopt.ini file is located adjacent to the executable). Also be certain that DDSopt is run with administrative privileges or the chosen settings will not "stick" between sessions.Texture optimization is accomplished by using the default settings of DDSopt. The default settings are Ethatron's recommendations, and he is an expert with regard to texture compression and texture optimization in general. The application should be pre-configured optimally, but be certain to select the correct game of interest to which the textures to be processed belong from the [Game] menu. The following screenshots are provided for reference.

My settings look nothing like these reference images (Main Menu Settings & Behave Menu Settings).  Shouldn't the INI file I downloaded make the settings appear as the images, or do I have to manually change all the settings to match those shown in the images regardless?..  Or are those images are from an outdated INI?

 

Can I safely use these same settings for optimizing all of these BSA files below:

• Skyrim - Animations.bsa
• Skyrim - Interface.bsa
• Skyrim - Meshes.bsa
• Skyrim - Misc.bsa
• Skyrim - Shaders.bsa
• Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa

• Skyrim - Textures.bsa

• HighResTexturePack01.bsa
• HighResTexturePack02.bsa
• HighResTexturePack03.bsa

• Dawnguard.bsa
• Dragonborn.bsa
• HearthFires.bsa

Or do some of these require different settings individually? 

 

I'm sorry for all the questions, but I have to be sure (hopefully it'll help someone else too)..  It's a pain for me to use DDSopt because it isn't compatible with my home computer (Windows XP).  I have to bring the BSA files with me to work and do the DDSoptimization there.  :><:

[haelfix]

Skyrim - Textures.bsa

HighResTexturePack01.bsa

HighResTexturePack02.bsa

HighResTexturePack03.bsa

Dawnguard.bsa

Dragonborn.bsa

HearthFires.bsa

 

Are the only textures you really should unpack and DDSOPT (the .dds files in particular)

[enhasa]

Skyrim - Textures.bsa

HighResTexturePack01.bsa

HighResTexturePack02.bsa

HighResTexturePack03.bsa

Dawnguard.bsa

Dragonborn.bsa

HearthFires.bsa

 

Are the only textures you really should unpack and DDSOPT (the .dds files in particular)

This guide says you can optimize 6 out of 8 of the non-textures BSAs:  https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:BSA_Extraction_and_Optimization#tab=Optimizing_Vanilla_BSAs

[Kelmych]

I'm confused at this part of the guide: https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:DDSopt_%26_Texture_Overhauls#tab=Using_DDSopt

Since there is no installer, DDSopt is completely portable and can be run in any location (but please make certain that the most recent version of the DDSopt.ini file is located adjacent to the executable). Also be certain that DDSopt is run with administrative privileges or the chosen settings will not "stick" between sessions.Texture optimization is accomplished by using the default settings of DDSopt. The default settings are Ethatron's recommendations, and he is an expert with regard to texture compression and texture optimization in general. The application should be pre-configured optimally, but be certain to select the correct game of interest to which the textures to be processed belong from the [Game] menu. The following screenshots are provided for reference.

My settings look nothing like these reference images (Main Menu Settings & Behave Menu Settings).  Shouldn't the INI file I downloaded make the settings appear as the images, or do I have to manually change all the settings to match those shown in the images regardless?..  Or are those images are from an outdated INI?

 

Can I safely use these same settings for optimizing all of these BSA files below:

• Skyrim - Animations.bsa
• Skyrim - Interface.bsa
• Skyrim - Meshes.bsa
• Skyrim - Misc.bsa
• Skyrim - Shaders.bsa
• Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa

• Skyrim - Textures.bsa

• HighResTexturePack01.bsa
• HighResTexturePack02.bsa
• HighResTexturePack03.bsa

• Dawnguard.bsa
• Dragonborn.bsa
• HearthFires.bsa

Or do some of these require different settings individually? 

 

I'm sorry for all the questions, but I have to be sure (hopefully it'll help someone else too)..  It's a pain for me to use DDSopt because it isn't compatible with my home computer (Windows XP).  I have to bring the BSA files with me to work and do the DDSoptimization there.  :><:

The DDSopt.ini file is described in the Appendix to the guide. It is used to tell DDSopt about properties of individual textures; it is not used to configure the GUI. 

 

What version of DDSopt are you using? If you get the most recent version from the Skyrim Nexus it should look like the pictures. Which parameters do not look like the picture?

 

The configuration parameters in DDSopt are for processing textures (files with an extension of .dds). You can use DDSopt on BSAs with multiple types of resources, and the configuration parameters (other than compression that affects the entire file if you create a BSA) affect only the textures in the BSA. For other resources such as meshes DDSopt just copies the resource, it doesn't actually "process" it. For resources other than textures, DDSopt provides the same capabilities as BSAopt. You can use DDSopt for all of the files you list.