pack A Real Explorer's Guide to Skyrim

[cstarkey42]

Footprints seems like it would be such a small addition ( and, by itself, I'm sure it is ) but when you start running a real heavy set up every little bit adds up.  Other recommend dropping Wet and Cold or enhanced blood textures but, personally, I think those add a lot more throughout all of skyrim than footprints does.  Also, I disable some of the additions of WC in the mcm and set it to update at 12 seconds ( which seemed to make an immediately noticable impact ) and I turn off the scripts of EBT via the mcm.  Footprints adds both decals and a small script to each npc so it adds enough to slow you down, especially in high traffic areas/events.  Plus, I found I barely even notice the footprints once I get used to them being there so I really don't miss it that much ( though I'd much rather have it than not but I had to cut back somewhere ).

 

I could be way off but it seems to me that JK only adds things and doesn't remove anything or move anything, unlike ETAC, which is why lots of mods are compatible with it out of the box.  BTT works great with it since it just uses an esp to change the textures used for certain buildings and doesn't conflict with JK since JK doesn't move those buildings.  What's really cool about BTT is that it also works great with RRR, changing the interiors of the inns while RRR changes the decor.  Like I said, new buildings that JK adds won't have the new textures since they're not a part of the BTT esp but I think it still works really well, adding a bit of variety in the buildings, especially since it's only like 1 or 2 new buildings anyway.  It's just too bad that the BTT author is done with the project.  I know he was working on something for the smaller towns but I think he's given up on modding.  Also be sure to check out his Better Mills Textures, which is also great and makes each mill match the surrounding town's textures ( Markarth's is particularly well done ).  If you use both BTT and BMT then he has special patches for NSUR and ELFX which combines the two so you only need 2 patches instead of 4.

[cstarkey42]

Here's a mod that should get way more love than it does.  It makes the surrounding area of Markarth way more chilling and unique:

 

Markarth Reach Environment Upgrade

[Teabag86]

If you use both BTT and BMT then he has special patches for NSUR and ELFX which combines the two so you only need 2 patches instead of 4.

Thanks for the recommend. I'll give this a try. Do you know if BTT, BMT, and the patches merge ok? I'd prefer to reduce the new esps from 4 to 1 :) Thanks

[cstarkey42]

Thanks for the recommend. I'll give this a try. Do you know if BTT, BMT, and the patches merge ok? I'd prefer to reduce the new esps from 4 to 1 :) Thanks

I think you got me there, Teabag.  I'm trying to remember if I've tried to merge them but I don't think I have.  I can't believe I let that one slip past me.  I just added BTT again after switching to JK so I guess it never occured to me but I'd be surprised if they didn't merge well.  The only problem might be the elfx patch.  Sometimes merging elfx patches causes flashing lights but it's worth a try.  I'll give it a try later when I have a chance and let you know how it works.

[Nearox]

Here's a mod that should get way more love than it does.  It makes the surrounding area of Markarth way more chilling and unique:

 

Markarth Reach Environment Upgrade

BCE already adds some things there, we thought it to be sufficient. There was also a bit of a FPS drop with MREU as I recall it adds quite some grass patches in the area. 

[cstarkey42]

Thanks for the recommend. I'll give this a try. Do you know if BTT, BMT, and the patches merge ok? I'd prefer to reduce the new esps from 4 to 1 :) Thanks

I tried merging them and it was strange.  They merge and don't show any errors but in game the textures were messed up, in Winterhold at least.  It was like it was a combination between vanilla and BTT's.  Also, the game would eventually crash so beats the hell out of me.

 

The more I ran around trying to figure out what the problem was, however, the more things I noticed that were out of place and it really started to bug me.  I'm dropping BTT from my game, unfortunately, because the awnings and other little additions that JK adds don't change to BTT's new textures and, while you won't really notice them at first, they eventually become an eyesore.  Inside the buildings other things stuck out too, such as walls still being wooden when the rest of the building is stone.  In T5E I see there are minor changes JK makes to the data and rotation.  It's only a few points here and there but I'm guessing he changed them for a reason.  I guess they're compatible enough if you really want the new textures, which I did and was willing to overlook things when I'd go through the towns the first time, but once you've passed through a couple times you'll really start to notice more and more incompatibilities and, if you're like me, it will slowly drive you crazy.  Hopefully JK will be too invested in his mod to leave it as is and will add a different texture for each town as well...and then he can do interiors for the stores...and then he can do...   :)

 

Sorry to get your hopes up.  I was really looking forward to using BTT again.  Oh well.

 

@Nearox  Sorry, didn't realize you guys had considered it already.  I was beginning to think I was one of the few people in the world who even knew of it.  I mainly like the stone columns he adds, they really give it an ancient, mystical sort of feel.  I forgot all about BCE so there's probably a few things there that I'm mistakenly attributing to MREU that are actually from BCE.

Edited January 9, 2015 by cstarkey42

[keithinhanoi]

Quick question

 

1) If I install ETaC complete without Dragon Bridge South, can I use Fight Against the Thalmor IV - South Dragon Bridge without conflict?

 

2) Can we still install FAtT I and FAtT III with REGS version 4.0.3 with old replacement esp(s) from REGS version 3?

 

I still have all 4 FAtT in my load order, and actually have already finished part IV first (oops.)

 

I've not had a chance to check it in CK, but I do have NavMesh issues at the southern end of the Dragon Bridge, and my follower(s) often get stuck at that end if I'm headed for Dragon Bridge (town). I can only assume it's FAtV IV, because I don't have anything else which modifies that area that I'm aware.

 

Probably more important to mention is that I've run into both of the major issues that people have mentioned in the comments thread for FAtV IV, and figured out fixes for both of them.

 

The first problem is that when you enter the mine that is part of the mod's quest, you may get a black screen after the loading screen finishes, and although you can hear your player's movements, there's no way to get our of the black screen. With the ENB preset I was using, I actually could see myself, but with a fog effect all over the screen, and things like trying to use my inventory or weapons wouldn't work properly. 

 

The fog effect was the clue I needed to figure out that the loading screen wasn't finishing upon entering the mine's first interior cell. I had two followers at the time (one vanilla and one from Interesting NPCs), and found out that if I told the followers to wait outside, most of the time I could enter without getting "stuck" in loading screen limbo. However, with the two followers still following, I could use the console coc command to enter the mine without getting stuck. From this I figured out the problem was related to the exact position of what's called the Teleport Destination coordinates that tell the game where to place you when you go from outside to inside (or vice versa).

 

So for that one, here's the fix, to be applied to DragonmournInn.esp in TES5Edit:

In FormID xx02f821, change the XTEL - Teleport Destination coordinates to X 1967.909058, Y 2335.874023, and Z 6810.511719. 
This changes the spot where your character appears inside the mine when you enter it from Skyrim.

In Form xx02F820, change the XTEL - Teleport Destination coordinates to X -115286.546875, Y 66846.140625, and Z -10837.288086. 
This changes the spot where your character appears in Skyrim outside when you exit the mine.

The other problem is that all in-game music stops playing for some people after going through one of the areas in the mine (which is quite large.)

 

This has to do with some Add Music Triggers set up to play certain kinds of musical cues (for example, Reveal, Combat boss, or Reward) in certain places. For some reason, the musical cue never finishes, so your normal in-game music doesn't come back. To be honest, I have not found out why this happens, and only sometimes for some people.

 

Anyhow, there are two fixes for this, and the first one just involves using TES5Edit to remove those Add Music Trigger records:

FormIDs
xx0569C6 - MUSReveal
xx0569C7 - MUSCombatBoss
xx0569C9 - MUSReward

Or, you can leave them in, and if your in-game music stops working, open the console, and type the following:

RemoveMusic MUSReveal
RemoveMusic MUSCombatBoss
RemoveMusic MUSReward

This should make sure that any of those three music cues are cleared out. You may have to exit whatever cell you are in via fast travel and/or re-load your game save after this, but it worked for me.

 

One last thing is that you should make sure to "clean" DragonmournInn.esp in TES5Edit, because there are a bunch of unneeded identical to Skyrim records that could cause overwrite "conflicts" with other mods. They are:

• 23 cell records which are identical to Skyrim.esm but had a Location Reference (XLCR) subrecord added by CK even though nothing was actually changed by DragonmournInn.esp. The CK adds the Location Reference to any cells that are edited, but even if the changes are reverted, the Location Reference stays in the mod plugin. You can read about this type of ITM here.

   

• 8 unnecessary NavMesh which are completely identical to Skyrim.esm

As for parts I to III of FAtT, I am in fact using the old REGS replacer .esp plugins, and haven't experienced any issues with those - even FatT III. I've been through 80% of Aldmeri Domain house (north of Solitude), and not experienced any CTDs as some others have reported. Perhaps I'm lucky?

Edited January 9, 2015 by keithinhanoi

[darkside]

keith,

 

Thanks for the info.

If I recall correctly, FAtT II is the one with reproducible CTD.

 

- Are you still using Skyrim Sewers? Any recommendation to make it compatible with REGS?

[Teabag86]

Does anyone know what the REGS BDGE esp replacer changes? Thanks

 

Edit* According to the FOMOD it is a "Replacer ESP to fix a conflict with the Unofficial Dawnguard Patch in this mod. Do not use if you are silly and do not have the UDGP...."

Edited January 12, 2015 by Teabag86

[phazer11]

Also I would update the guide to reflect that there is in fact a version 4.0.3 of the REGS - Patches, but sadly I can't :p

[darkside]

JK's Winterhold - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/61608/?

 

Need to compare it to ETaC + EWDR. EWDR added dungeon though.

[Pretendeavor]

For anyone using the REGS-SRLE Compatibility guide, its conflict resolution patch probably has ELE - Interior Lighting Merged as master (mine had, but I'm not entirely sure if I had made some changes in the patch myself). Neovalen just updated SR:LE and changed to the new ELE lite module that has been uploaded to the nexus, thus removing ELE - Interior Lighting Merged from the guide. So you'll have to manually change the REGS - SRLE Patch records and possibly change master dependencies.

 

I understand that the patch might be a bit outdated anyway, but this was a nice excuse for me to go through it and check it :p

[Nearox]

JK's Winterhold - https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/61608/?

 

Need to compare it to ETaC + EWDR. EWDR added dungeon though.

Yet another JK masterpiece. Winterhold was my least favorite ETaC modded town, happy that JK covered it now!

[MDarkbladeM]

First of all, a great pack. I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing more expanded locations in Skyrim.

 

A small problem though, I finally started Dawnguard questline today and when I tried to exit Dayspring Canyon back to Skyrim, there is an invisible wall blocking my access to the map change trigger. Is there an easy way to fix this? Toggling off collision every time is a bit immersion breaking.

[phazer11]

Yeah I noticed this as well meant to mention it. It's a conflict with More Immersive Dawnguard Entrances and something else as far as I can tell (I've been busy with making patches and such for PerMa and other things) I just disabled More Immersive Dawnguard Entrance for now.