CTD when entering Helgen (beginning of the game)

[KermitTheGreen]

Hi,

 

Post is divided into 3 parts.

• Intro + results of benchmarking.
• Changing uGridsToLoad to 5 and avoiding CTD. Explanation needed.
• System specs, load order etc.

I am following STEP guide and currently i just finished step 2.F - Conflicting graphics. Up to this point i didn't receive any CTD's. I tested my game everytime I finished one of the steps. Test area is the same as in the guide. CTD is happening when I'm passing the gate ("general Tuli..."NOPE! CTD). Moreover I the prison carts were moving differently. It's like they were bouncing on invisible rocks sometimes. Bouncing pretty heavily to the sides. It was a fluent animation, it's just I am sure there was no rocks on the road. Anyway here are the results (GL - uGridsToLoad):

 

Benchmark - ultra + GL 7 + mod ready + optimized Vanilla:

 

            Memory Used [MB]      GPU Load [%]      FPS

AVG     816,76                        74,38                  48,46

STD     49,69                          13,32                  6,71

 

Benchmark - ultra + GL 7 + optimized Vanilla + fixes + interfaces:

 

            Memory Used [MB]      GPU Load [%]      FPS

AVG      843,33                       72,77                  46,78

STD      49,06                         13,1                    6,98

 

Benchmark - ultra + GL 7 + optimized Vanilla + fixes + interfaces + conflicting_graphics:

 

            Memory Used [MB]      GPU Load [%]     FPS

AVG      1410,27                     79,66                 45,5

STD       73,87                        12,32                 6,5

 

And here i experienced CTD. I did some research and checked if I exceed the limit of 3.1 GB RAM using Skyrim Performance Monitor. Results:

 

Nothing fancy, it was ~2000 MB and lower.

 

I decided not to use ENBoost just yet, since it's apparently not needed.

---

At this point i changed GL to the value of 5 (and this other related value to 32 - exteriorBuffer something, I don't remember right now). Results:

 

No CTD. The thing is - VRAM usage went down like 100 MB, so did RAM. I honestly do not understand it. Values seems more than alright. Could someone explain it? I understand that i can leave it at 5 through Helgen playthrough and then change it to 7 and do some more testing but still I would like an explanation.

---

System spec:

 

Intel Core i5 - 3350P ~3.2GHz

GeForce GTX 760 2GB

8 GB RAM

 

Used manager:

 

Wrye Bash.

 

Load order:

 

00  Skyrim.esm

01  Update.esm

02  Unofficial Skyrim Patch.esp  [Version 2.0.0a]

03  Skyrim Project Optimization.esm

04  SPIKE.esm

05  HighResTexturePack01.esp

06  HighResTexturePack02.esp

07  HighResTexturePack03.esp

08  Brawl Bugs CE.esp

09  Unofficial High Resolution Patch.esp  [Version 1.1.4]

0A  Weapons & Armor Fixes_Remade.esp

0B  StaticMeshImprovementMod.esp

0C  TradeBarter.esp

0D  BLESSINGS - Altar Descriptions.esp

0E  Dead Body Collision.esp

0F  Disease Descriptions.esp

10  Dual Sheath Redux.esp

11  DungeonQuestAwareness.esp

12  fFastTravelSpeedMult_4.esp  [Version 1.0]

13  Chesko_LoreBasedLoadingScreens.esp

14  NoxUE2.00.esp

15  RaceMenu.esp

16  RaceMenuPlugin.esp

17  SkyUI.esp

18  iHUD.esp

19  Acquisitive Soul Gems.esp

1A  Appropriately Attired Jarls Redux.esp

1B  BetterQuestObjectives.esp

1C  BetterQuestObjectives-DBForevertoMisc.esp

1D  Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp

1E  WeaponsArmorFixes_GuardDialogueOverhaul_Patch.esp

1F  SPTConsistentOlderPeople.esp  [Version 1.7]

20  dD - Realistic Ragdoll Force - Realistic.esp

21  Bashed Patch, 0.esp

22  Dual Sheath Redux Patch.esp

 

Inactive plugins:

 

3 (compatiblity/whatever) patches for Better Quest Objectives.

 

STEP Build:

 

Extreme. I was using high not ultra preset when optimizing with DDSopt though.

 

DDSopt optimization:

 

Vanilla optimization and recomended mods optimization.

 

INI changes:

 

Apart from standard tweaking (following tweak guide) I changed one thing about shadows. iShadowMaskQuarter. I set it to 10. Didn't test it with default but I don't think it would change anything.

---

That's about it.

 

Cheers

[Aiyen]

First off.... hats off to the nice setup of the post! I really did like that you had standard deviations!

 

Now to the ugrids issue.

Helgen intro is a B*** since it is so detailed. It is by far one of the most detailed sequences in the entire game. This also is why you should NEVER have any mods activated at this time in the game at all. Most mods are disabled through the MCM menu, but any amount of scripting etc. will cause all sorts of problems, since the game is already running in overdrive on that account.

 

Increaseing the ugrids means that even more scripts have to run since more cells are loaded! This is most likely the cause for the CTD.

 

Memory wise you would not notice much of a drop, since most resources are already loaded in and the diversity in cells in the region is not that large.

 

Hope that helps and once again! Nice post!

[KermitTheGreen]

Many thanks, now everything is clear. I think I will just leave GL at 5 and keep testing new mods in the same test area (until/unless i get CTD again). It's very covenient since it's always the same. Once I'm done with all the steps I will add mod that lets you start at alternative location. And of course set GL to 7 if it will be stable.

 

I have one more question though: are there any more specific locations (apart from Helgen) where it is advised to turn all mods off? I imagine that if I would experience CTD I'd just turn them off but knowing those locations would tell me if there is a problem with that particluar location I'm in or my game is unstable/hate me/something.

 

Thanks again for reply! Really nice to see my post setup being appreciated :)

[Aiyen]

In terms of complexity then only a few civil war quest line areas come to mind where you would properly have some issues... but as for just running about in the game and playing the odd quest line then not really. Also if you experience issues then you can most likely just disable the a few script based mod via their menu until you are past the area.

 

If you want to test general game stability with your ugrid settings just use the console command "coc" to enter a cell from the main menu and test out your mod list.

In general you can test out memory swapping by setting your move speed up by alot and then run about the world until you CTD or freeze.

in the console then its "player.setav speedmult 500" for a 500% increase in movespeed... after you hit run one time.

Do not go much higher then that... since then you pass cells so fast that nothing even loads ;)

[deathneko11]

I'm against coc from main menu for mod profile testing. It is unreliable because there are many scripts that are initiated in the dungeon intro that have an affect in several areas throughout the skyrim world that can affect stability.

[Aiyen]

You can just activate those mods via the console... they all have a quest you can activate in order to have them on.

Most can be activated via MCM these days too.

 

Everything can be done via the console! Master it and it saves ya weeks of testing time! :)

[phryxolydian]

Hmm I had that issue in the openning sequence when I was testing Touring Carriages. Never could really fix it so I was left with no choice but to uninstall it :-(

[deathneko11]

Hmm I had that issue in the openning sequence when I was testing Touring Carriages. Never could really fix it so I was left with no choice but to uninstall it :-(

That mod is really worth using for immersion.  It can however get a bit buggy if used in a large load order, but I would definitely try installing it again once you are past the helgen dungeon.  A must have in my opinion.

[phryxolydian]

Oh I definitely will now that you've suggested! I was so bummed when I couldn't get it to work. Immersion is what it's all about for me.. I never fast travel for one.

 

I've been taking it slow with adding mods to avoid making the game unstable so, how much is a large load order? I know the max is 255, right? I have 70 plugins right now without any real issues but, in the past, I've never been able to get a stable game with more than 80-85 mods, sadly. That was before I found STEP, though! I'll give it a go!

[deathneko11]

Oh don't worry, you might get the occasional bug or hiccup even in large load orders but it will usually default to a fast travel mode if the mod does get screwey. I'm using it with 166 plugins and roughly 210 mods installed, and I don't often see it screw up.