To use ENB or not to use ENB?

[peppergomez]

Curious as to the reasons folks would either use ENB or not, and if it's a question of low frame rates when using it that causes folks to not use it. I'm encountering some mods in the STEP process that differ based on whether or not one is using ENB.

I'm about haflway though installing STEP and my frames are about at 40fps. As long as my frames don't go below say 25, I am fine.

 

Also, at what point during the STEP process do folks install ENB - beginning, end, middle, and are there reasons why one would choose a certain point?

 

Thanks.

[dem1an]

ENB makes a world of difference to the look and feel of the game. I install it right away. You can take advantage to it as long as you make the ini edits.

[TechAngel85]

Installation of an ENB has nothing to do with mod installations so you can install it at any point that you like. I usually install mine last because that just happens to be my workflow, but you could install it at any time.

 

ENBs provide enhanced features and coloration to the game. For example, I use SkyRealism ENB with the Cinematic preset which adds an overall saturation of +30% to the colors in the game. This makes for more vibrant and interesting colors; not just drab colors like vanilla has.

 

Some of the features of an ENB include: SSAO (very performance heavy), Detailed Shadows, control over game Bloom, Reflections (water), God rays (sun rays), Depth of Field options (DOF), etc. Each one of these you're able to "fine tune" if you know how.

[Sairven]

I've personally never been a fan of ENB. But I have used it. Like others have said, you can install it whenever.

 

I have installed it at the beginning of a full STEP install, the middle, end. Also long after a full STEP install.

 

 

If you don't wanna be grumpy about ENB like me, learn how to tweak the settings. I know how, but it'd be so much easier if I could do so in-game. Is that possible now? Been a long while since the last time I messed with ENB.

[TechAngel85]

There is a in-game menu now, but I have never messed with it so I don't know what settings are available to tweak using it.

 

My only complaint about my favorite and recommended ENB (SkyRealism), is with the Cinematic preset used in combination with RLO; the fires become too orange and become a bit unrealistic in their color. I haven't tried the other presets yet...real life and work has had me very busy lately.

[peppergomez]

Would using an ENB vairiant allow me to make the dungeons darker? I was surprised to notice no mod for this in the default STEP install. Currently the dungeons are way too bright, making torches and lanterns unneccessary.

[MontyMM]

You can indeed. I like to darken and tweak the interiors with ENB, and for me it's one of the most compelling reasons to use it. If you bring up the ingame tweaking menu, you'll find several options relating to interior lighting, curves, fog intensity, fire brightness, and so on. All the changes take effect dynamically, so it's very easy to experiment and get things to your liking.

 

I always tweak the presets heavily. In fact, I just consider them a starting point. I was recently playing around with a tweaked Phinix Natural preset on top of RCRN, and found it very pleasing.

[peppergomez]

OK, thanks. Just installed the ENB .dll and then SkyRealism ENB Evolved Cinematic. Made a few adjustments (got rid of depth of field, which I hate).

 

Haven't gotten to Riverwood yet but so far the frame rates seem acceptably high and the game looks great. More vibrant and less bleached of color. Might be a wee bit dark, but we'll see.

[dem1an]

I'm really happy with Far Off's ENB. I'm using 2.6 with a slight change to the Environment Section to AmbientLightingIntensityInteriorNight=0.9 which brightens the interior lighting a bit to my liking. The colors are also very natural (including reds -- it annoys me too when fires are too orange). I also use Mike Foxes Darker Nights and his Darker Dungeons. If it's storming and nighttime, you pretty much need to rest until daylight. It's pretty cool and immersive to try traveling at night and not be able to see more than 3 feet in front of you. You can adjust the ENB now with alt-enter I think.

[FMiller]

Personally I was close to giving up on enbs. I hate DoF with a passion and don't like bloom and blur effects either. I tried all the popular enbs and turned off DoF but it still felt to be too much. Then I stumbled upon the ClimatesOfTamriel enb (the no dof version) and loved it. Less saturation than vanilla and the cinematic grain effect is all I needed. Now I can't play without it.