Starting a New Playthrough - Tips for Stability?

[mikegray]

Hi you guys!

 

I'm coming back to Skyrim after giving up high-level character in a pretty heavily modded game. I have a decent PC: i5 2500K OC'd to 4.5 GHZ, 8gig Ram, Radeon 6950 (modest OC) with 2gig VRAM, everything running from SSDs. I'm running a big screen: 2560 x 1440. Windows 7.

 

I currently have a complete and up-to-date version of Texture Pack Combiner - not quite the same as STEP/SR, but similar in many respects. (I also built it with a GUI designed for TPC - that automatically puts TPC's output through DDSopt.)

 

Here are my main (most demanding) mods: CoT+ RLO, More Hotkeys Please, SkyUI, SkyRe, FrostFall, SkyTest, Convenient Horses, Amazing Followers, Vilja, Dynamic Things, General Stores/Craftable CloudStorage, Footprints, Wet and Cold, Realistic Needs and Diseases, Economics of Skyrim. I have ENB Boost running, but no ENBs.

 

I played the game for a few months and had a lot of fun - but I made waaaaay too many changes along the way, definitely removed some stuff I should have left alone, and by now (somewhere around level 60) the CTDs are just too obnoxious. So, I'm planing a new game and studying up. I'd like a little more stability this time through. (I'm also hoping to replace the Economics of Skyrim mod and The General Stores/cloud Storage mods with mods that are still being updates and are less scripty.)

 

After spending a while studying Neo's SR, I have now cleaned all the vanilla .esm files (including DLC) with tes5edit and cleaned all of my mods. I also just finished putting all the vanilla, HRDLC and DLC files through DDSopt (with 1kx1k normals), storing the new files in Mod Organizer folders.

 

I'm wondering about 2 things:

 

First, are any of the mods above particularly dangerous? Any I should just drop for good or replace with something else?

 

 

Second, in studying Neo's list, I noticed four kinds of warning that are completely new to me:

 

Warning:This mod does not forward some fixes from the unofficial patches

Warning:This mod has an ESP conflict with ...

Warning:This mod does not carry forward changes from the various DLCs ...

Warning:This mod does not forward some fixes from the unofficial patches ...

 

How important are these warnings? All four warnings apply, at various points, to mods I would like to run! Quite a few of them even apply to Vilja! At this point, I would actually like to stop modding and start playing, and the solutions look pretty cumbersome. OTOH, I'd like to end up with a savefile I can keep using for a while!

[Smile44]

If you look closer you will see that the warnings are then followed by instructions to fix said mod - it's all about making mods play nice with each other. No dangerous mods, all of these work and this set up works well.

 

An as yet unproven but highly probable fix for the whole game is to DDSOpt all textures (*.dds) to 1024 x 1024 and all Normals (*_n.dds and *_msn.dds) to 512 x 512. Not really needed for SR as it stands but necessary if you are thinking about adding more script intensive mods later.

 

:)

[mikegray]

Heya Smile!

 

Thanks for the friendly lines!

 

Two Questions:

 

1) Would you happen to have a link to a step-by-step explanation of that whole game DDSOpt fix? (And maybe a few remarks pros and cons!) I found the instructions for my current fix (all Normals to 1024 x 1024) very clear - though following them did entail a lot of work!

 

2) About the four warnings I mentioned above. To choose an example, the Vilja thread in this area of the forum lists practically every one of them, including conflicts with mods like RLO, which I do run! (Link: https://forum.step-project.com/showthread.php?tid=2507)

 

I'm just wondering ... how bad are the consequences of leaving the mod as is? For example, is this more like fixing an "Identical to Master" issue in tes5edit (to optimize some more) - or like fixing a deleted record issue (potentially catastrophic)?

 

I ask in particular because a lot of these mods are still in development. I could spend hours fixing all my mods in tes5edit only to discover a week later that three of them have been updated. (For example, the Vilja team is currently working on a new version with considerably expanded content.) Now, if the fixes will make the difference between a bombed savefile and a clean game, it'll be time well spent. But if it's a question of getting a couple extra FPS, I'd rather spend my time playing! ;-)

[kryptopyr]

As far as the consequences for not fixing the conflicts, it varies; there isn't a single answer. Many of the conflicts are incredibly minor things. For example, a mod might not carry through a spelling error that USKP corrected in the dialogue subtitles. You would never notice in game whether or not this conflict was present (and chances are you've never even noticed the bug to begin with). Not having a conflict like this resolved isn't going to create any problems in your game.

 

On the other hand, there are certainly other conflicts that could create problems with how your game functions. I'm not sure any of the warnings and patches are there for, or will result in, gaining extra FPS. They aren't there to optimize the game in that way. Mostly the patches are there to help make sure that all of the mods installed are working as they should. If one mod overwrites changes that another makes to a quest or a script property or perk or even something as seemingly minor as a keyword placed on an object (or any one of many, many other things), then the conflict could result in problems. One of the mods may not work correctly. This could be a minor thing like a mod feature (perk bonus, extra effect, etc) not applying to a specific weapon or piece of armor. Or the lighting in a room may revert fully or partially back to vanilla instead of being it's intended modded appearance (this unintended result may not be noticeable or it could end up looking really odd). Or you could end up with a script that keeps running and finding missing properties and throwing out log errors (and possibly crashing your game). Or conflicts with cell edits that the game doesn't resolve well on it's own (again, possibly causing crashes).

 

You'll have to decide if it's worth your time to resolve these conflicts. For the most part, you would probably get away with ignoring them, but you may notice some oddities in your game and experience a slightly less stable build than you would otherwise.

[Smile44]

It's not a whole game fix in that sense (would be cool if it were) the ideal is to resize and optimize every texture mod by mod, but set the *.dds files to 1024/1024 and the normals *_n.dds and *_msn.dds files to 512/512. Do this to everything (except water files). Long and boring I know I'm currently doing this to try it out but I am using Skyrim Revisited Legendary Edition (latest edition) - far less mods. It is working well and no real drop in quality (sure it is there but not in any way obvious). The plan is to add mods (textures and environment mods at first) to build up a very stable and workable skyrim that is well under any strain on the creaky old game engine before adding companion and gameplay mods - these are more important to me than extra butterflies / birds etc...

 

Anyway sorry but there is no easy fix. The optimization guide on the new (unfinished guide) is very clear and easy to follow.

 

:)

[Moragg]

I thought Economics of SKyrim was supposed to cause issues...

 

Additionally Wet&Cold is (I believe) quite CPU-intensive. I plan to remove it in my next run because a) my CPU isn't the best and b) It annoys me to no end. Setting myself or the world on fire doesn't increase exposure, and it's too much effort having to find big fires to warm myself by.

 

Maybe try SkyRe as well if you're restarting. I know it's a must-have on my next playthrough, along with Civil War Overhaul.

[mikegray]

I thought Economics of SKyrim was supposed to cause issues...

 

Additionally Wet&Cold is (I believe) quite CPU-intensive. I plan to remove it in my next run because a) my CPU isn't the best and b) It annoys me to no end. Setting myself or the world on fire doesn't increase exposure, and it's too much effort having to find big fires to warm myself by.

 

Maybe try SkyRe as well if you're restarting. I know it's a must-have on my next playthrough, along with Civil War Overhaul.

Heya!

 

Helpful comments, thanks!

 

- Yeah, I've been using Economics of Skyrim for a while now, and I didn't trust it much even before it hidden on Nexus. It seems to generate an aweful LOT of verbiage in logs. I know that doesn't necessarily mean anything, but I just don't trust the thing. It certainly runs scripts all the time.

 

OTOH, EoS - particularly when used with the SkyPRoc recipe generator - has this awesome function I don't want to do without: 

 

For a lot of money, you can have Smiths (a) make any custom weapons and armor set in Skyrim and (b) improve your weapons and armor. I *really* like that feature - in particular because you have to use the console to manually set the smithing level of NPC smiths for them to be able to do much improving. So ... I set Alvor to, say, 50, Eorland to 100, etc. The whole scenario just makes sense. I don't invest many perks in Smithing, 'cause I don't see my PC (who is a mage) as a smith. But I still want to be able to get nice armor and weapons for my followers, sometimes even for myself. If I want high end stuff, I save up some coin, then buy something nice.

 

I really wish there were a newer mod to replicate this and advance it further! For example, it would cool if you could get the same options from potion-makers and enchanters. (Say, order that one, specific kind of potion you need - at 50% markup ... )  Also, as the mod stands the smiths can custom build literally anything - including one-of-a-kind daedric artifacts ...

 

(BTW, EoS also does enchanters - but there's always been something wrong with their prices - waaaay to low!)

 

 

- Do you mean Wet & Cold or Frostfall? Anyway, I have both - Wet & Cold pretty much sticks to visual effects, and I HAVE heard that it's pretty scripty. And I'm learning to be suspicious of scripts ... OTOH, I really like the way people put on hoods and/or go inside when it rains. Tres cool. Unless I hear about savegame corruption caused by it, I'd like to leave it in.

 

- Oh yeah! I forgot SkyRe. Of course. No way I'd play without it! 

 

- 

[mikegray]

It's not a whole game fix in that sense (would be cool if it were) the ideal is to resize and optimize every texture mod by mod' date=' but set the *.dds files to 1024/1024 and the normals *_n.dds and *_msn.dds files to 512/512. Do this to everything (except water files). Long and boring I know I'm currently doing this to try it out but I am using Skyrim Revisited Legendary Edition (latest edition) - far less mods. It is working well and no real drop in quality (sure it is there but not in any way obvious). The plan is to add mods (textures and environment mods at first) to build up a very stable and workable skyrim that is well under any strain on the creaky old game engine before adding companion and gameplay mods - these are more important to me than extra butterflies / birds etc...

 

Anyway sorry but there is no easy fix. The optimization guide on the new (unfinished guide) is very clear and easy to follow.

 

:)

Thanks, Smile!

 

It looks like you're taking the optimizations recommended in the current guide a bit further than recommended in the current pre-release version of SR/LE guide. (I followed that guide to the letter to optimize all of my Bethesda content.) That's interesting. I'll have to read up a little more ... I would like to run some fairly script intensive mods, so I'm interested in finding the right level of prettiness.

---

...SNIP...

 

You'll have to decide if it's worth your time to resolve these conflicts. For the most part, you would probably get away with ignoring them, but you may notice some oddities in your game and experience a slightly less stable build than you would otherwise.

Thanks for giving it to me straight, Kryto!

 

Like most things in modding, it sounds like it's hard to predict. 

 

(Hey - ummm - aren't you the mod author I was just bugging about SkyProc stuff on Nexus?? [Checked] Yeah, you are! Cool!)