pack A Real Explorer's Guide to Skyrim

[Kelmych]

Great news, REGS has always been my favorite pack.

It's great that you like it so much

I am currently working on a SSE setup and packs for that, very much WIP. REGS has always been a great inspiration for quest/city/world mods for me so I'm very glad for this. I see you are keeping REGS compatible with ICAIO. I had personally decided to drop ICAIO to be able to use worldspace mods without issues, but seeing the mods currently on the list and that you will use ICAIO, I will add it back. How do you deal with worldspace conflicts where ICAIO and another mod edits the same object?

 

As Shurah explained in some posts on STEP, at least as I understand them, ICAIO is concerned with navmesh and navigation records for individual points in the worldspace. It uses scripts, and does not include direct replacements of objects in the ICAIO plugin itself. The scripts are very adaptive and change NPC behavior while the game runs. As described in the ICAIO article referenced on the Nexus page, for each location there are three levels of potential script coverage, and in the locations with more extensive script coverage it could be rather difficult to prevent compatibility problems. The current "lite" version of ICAIO, and the behaviors provided by the scripts for most locations in Skyrim (shown in yellow in the location list), are supposed to be compatible with almost any location mod. It includes only 3 behaviors, combat style for an NPC and two behaviors similar to those provided by the "Run for your Lives", "When Vampires Attack", and "Wet and Cold' . The updated REGS guide includes location mods for the "yellow" locations. REGS also includes a few location mods for the green locations (full ICAIO behavior support) but all of these are explicitly noted by the authors and/or the ICAIO compatibility list as being compatible with the full ICAIO capabilities.

 

Long answer; hope it helps.

 

Possible additions, artmoor's village mods? I haven't tried them myself. Beyond Skyrim - Bruma. Again, I haven't tried it.

 

Last question, do you have any plans on an SSE version?

 

There are many good location mods already available for SSE including some mods in the updated REGS guide, but currently they have limited gameplay (vs. visual and NPC script) improvements since SKSE isn't available and there is no SkyUI equivalent in part because it relies on SKSE. ETaC uses both of these as do a number of other REGS mods. I'm hoping that the SKSE developers haven't give up; after a while we may need to revisit this. 

[Kelmych]

It nice to see a REGS update.

Thanks. I also like the SRLE Extended LOTD guide, especially the detailed integration across the guide.

We did try and use as much as REGS as we could that didn't heavily impact on FPS.

I will just say that Apple Green was dropped from SRLE LOTD ages ago due to me not liking it all that much. However there is still a patch for CACO for it on our Nexus Page which I am happy for you to use it as you see fit I am sure Astakos wouldn't mind either (he was the original author of the patch best double check with him to make sure).

 

I use the CACO patch for Apple Garden. I also use and really like the mix of landscape mods in "Trees and Flora Merged.esp", but for REGS I'd rather include a version of the Apple Garden CACO patch with the individual master which I think is "Unique Flowers and Plants", but I'm not sure. I can change the master in Wrye Bash, but what is the actual master for the patch? Of course, once we start looking at what mods should be in REGS I don't know what happens with Apple Garden but at the moment it is in the guide.

 

Also just beware that our CR Subguide hasn't been updated since early March and is unlikely to be updated again (at least I wont. Darth wont nor Nozzer)

I found it useful as I was working on a REGS patch, and I referenced it since ELFX users will find some assistance in it even though it isn't complete.

[darkside]

Thanks for the update!!!

[DarkladyLexy]

 

I use the CACO patch for Apple Garden. I also use and really like the mix of landscape mods in "Trees and Flora Merged.esp", but for REGS I'd rather include a version of the Apple Garden CACO patch with the individual master which I think is "Unique Flowers and Plants", but I'm not sure. I can change the master in Wrye Bash, but what is the actual master for the patch? Of course, once we start looking at what mods should be in REGS I don't know what happens with Apple Garden but at the moment it is in the guide.

 

Sorry but i can't rightfully remember and I am unable to to check for you. Ataskos was the one who originally created that patch so he might know.

[Kelmych]

Fantastic! Thanks for the update. It's awesome to see that there is still life in REGS. It's always been one of my favourite packs.

 

 

Thanks for the update!!!

 

Thanks for the support. I'm looking to forward to your comments and discussions as we look at possible additions and changes.

 

 

[vidalia]

Glad to see REGS getting an update.

 

As for suggestions I am currently using the following (with ICAIO Lite)

 

Bells of Skyrim     (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/84740/?) - compatible with JK Lite/Superlite

Solitude Skyway  (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/77346/?) - requires a patch for Legacy

Northern Marsh and Bridges  (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/77476/?)

Windhelm Docks Pathways (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/75232/?)

Riften Docks Pathways (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/75521/?)

Settlements Expanded (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/78305/?) - compatible with Arthmoor's village mods, requires patches for No Snow and RS Children Overhaul

 

Bells of Skyrim may currently not be compatible with the full version of ICAIO

[Kelmych]

I am currently compiling the suggestions made over the past few years in the REGS discussions and building a spreadsheet for the mods covering existing locations such as the cities, towns, settlement, mines, etc that are supported by Immersive Citizens AI Overhaul, the vanilla locations that are not covered by ICAIO, new Skyrim or Solstheim locations, and new lands. I'm hoping this can be used to have some interesting discussions on what make sense to add or possibly remove from the guide. If there are other mods that should also be included let us know.

 

Suggestions for mods that are primarily quest mods are also being compiled, but the spreadsheet won't include these yet. So many of these have been suggested for addition or removal that it is hard to have good discussions since typically few of us have used any particular mod.

 

Choices of which enhancement mods to use are often highly dependent on each user's interests. A few of these that I have used (so their capabilities and limitations are understood) and find quite useful will be added as optional mods. All of the ones added to the REGS guide will be compatible with full ICAIO functionality.

[Kelmych]

Now that the guide is active again it's time for discussions on what should be added or removed. Some enhancement mods have been added, but little has been done with the location mods other than some editing to improve compatibility with Immersive Citizens AI Overhaul (ICAIO).

 

A REGS mod spreadsheet is now available on Google Docs here. It includes mods that have been recommended in this thread over the past few years plus a few recent mods that seem relevant. The location section is organized by locations, with one or more rows per location.  It shows which mods currently in REGS and those that have been recommended provide content for which locations. One of the discussion questions is how much coverage of these locations should be included in REGS. Currently REGS covers most of the vanilla locations, but there are still some for which location mods could be added. The spreadsheet shows which locations are covered by ICAIO and the extent of the coverage.

 

The main focus of nearterm efforts will be on location mods. The second tab includes other recommendations to be addressed later that have been made for possible inclusion in REGS. There are a lot of quest mods of course.

 

Comments on this topic and suggested additions (or removals) to the spreadsheet are encouraged.

[Kelmych]

Several mods for small vanilla or cut content locations have been added to the guide, and several more of these are being reviewed. These mods seem to work well and increase immersion without affecting other mods.

 

There haven't been many comments in the pack thread or elsewhere in the STEP forums on the larger mods like "Settlements Expanded", "Beyond Skyrim: Bruma", the 3 border area mods ("Folkstead", Haafstead", and "Nyhus"), or "Legendary Cities - TES Arena - Skyrim Frontier Fortress" that affect larger areas and may have some conflicts (although few have been reported in the Nexus threads for these mods).

[CJ2311]

I am currently compiling the suggestions made over the past few years in the REGS discussions and building a spreadsheet for the mods covering existing locations such as the cities, towns, settlement, mines, etc that are supported by Immersive Citizens AI Overhaul, the vanilla locations that are not covered by ICAIO, new Skyrim or Solstheim locations, and new lands. I'm hoping this can be used to have some interesting discussions on what make sense to add or possibly remove from the guide. If there are other mods that should also be included let us know.

 

Had I known that, I would not have discussed the majority of mods I tested in private messages only :|

I'll check out the list and try to point out which mods I might have tried and that turned out to be really bad and not worth the effort. :P

 

EDIT : Here's the feedback I can provide, I hope it'll help you a bit at least :

• Raven Rock Expanded : This actually used to be in my game before ETaC, but I felt like it didn't accomplish enough, plus iirc, it had a bad navmesh and other minor issues (don't quote me on that though)
• Books of Skyrim : Absolutely great mod, loved it. Just had to be patched to work with other solitude mods. I had it on my personal game too, and didn't uninstall it.
• Towns and Villages Enhanced - Villages : This one never made the cut for REGS, and since it was never updated, I'm quite sure the problems in it are still there (mismatched terrain textures, horrible navmeshes, crashes etc... )
• Windhelm/Riften Docks Pathways : In the old REGS versions those two wouldn't have been compatible with whatever mods affects the outskits of towns, but I'm guessing that's solved now.
• Darkwater Crossing : Tested and working just great (Well... It's an Arthmoor mod after all). I just personally preferred ETaC and its additions to the south side of the bridge.
• Volkihar : Arthmoor's version is clearly the superior one here, be it on the nexus or on the workshop. I had always hoped that this mod would be updated (had to jury rig it so it would work nicely on my game) but clearly that's not going to ever happen. :|
• Tes Arena Skyrim Frontier : Huh, this mod is still being updated? I remember testing it back when it was released and after a year but it wasn't up to par yet, I'm guessing all the kinks have been ironed out since anyway. Really nice to see this level of dedication.
• Stendarrs Beacon Enhanced : Don't remember why, but this mod definitely was considered for addition then removed from our list.

I know it's not much, but this is all the information I can recall from memory, and judging by the list, it looks like you've already weeded out the low quality or incompatible candidates.

Edited August 5, 2017 by CJ2311

[Kelmych]

Any suggestions or comments on mods on or not on the list I created would be helpful, especially from you since you created the pack. So far the only major change was to emphasize ICAIO compatibility and to add a few popular enhancement mods.

[CJ2311]

I edited my post after you posted your comment, so you might actually miss my reply

Sadly, most of the new mods I haven't even heard of, so I can't comment on those...

[Kelmych]

Thanks for the comments. I saw some posts on Nexus about Stendarrs Beacon being incompatible with Interesting NPCs, so it might not be a good addition. Like you I was surprised to see the recent efforts on TES Arena - Skyrim Frontier. It has 10K+ endorsements and some recent additions, and seems to be compatible with the mods in the guide. I was avoiding Darkwater Crossing since ICAIO has full scripting there. Arthmoor's mod is supposed to be compatible with ICAIO there, but I don't know what level of compatibility it achieves beyond basic since Arthmoor's mod adds scripts for the NPCs. I was also planning to add "Books of Skyrim" since ICAIO has only basic scripting in Solitude and it shouldn't cause any problems. I left the REGS version of Nernies mod and the Understone Keep mod since it doesn't seem like they should interfere with ICAIO.

 

Quest mods are hard to select since I haven't used most of the ones being recommended for addition.

[Kelmych]

The spreadsheet for REGS location mods has been updated.

[titanbass1]

That's it, exactly - but those are the steps for plugin from merged compatibility patches.

 

Yes, if only one of your compatibility patches contained the Navigation Mesh Info Map (NAVI) record, then that means none of the other patches merged contained Navigation data, and your NAVI does not need to be rebuilt, and so you don't need to load it into the CK.

 

The NAVI record is a bit of an anomaly in the way Skyrim handles it as compared to other kinds of records. Think of the NAVI as a kind of directory for all of the NavMesh data in the plugin. Every .esp plugin or .esm master in your load order that has any NavMesh data must also have its own NAVI record, unique to that plugin / master. When you run Skyrim, it essentially combines all of the NAVI records together, but also following the "rule of one" for any plugins that make edits to the same NavMesh records. The NAVI record is always the same FormID in any plugin that has it: 00012FB4.

 

CJ might be able to clarify on this, but if you are just opening a plugin created from merged compatibility patches to immediately save it to create the NAVI record, then I don't believe you need to unpack any BSA archives. Of course BSA archives would only go with any of the merged compatiblility patch's master plugins. I've never seen a compatibility patch that had an accompanying BSA.

 

However, if you are re-building the NAVI record for a merge of different mod's plugins, then yes - you should have all loose assets available for the CK to access.

 

In the case of re-building a new NAVI record for a plugin of merged compatibility patches, if you're worried about the BSA thing for their respective masters that also need to be available to the CK, then you can avoid having to unpack the BSA's by adding them to the CK's SkyrimEditor.ini file.

 

Just open SkyrimEditor.ini, and search for SResourceArchiveList2 and add all the BSA names to the end of the list, like this:

SResourceArchiveList2=Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Update.bsa, Dawnguard.bsa, HearthFires.bsa, Dragonborn.bsa, AdditionalMasterMod1.bsa, AdditionalMasterMod2.bsa 

This will tell the CK to load those BSAs when starting up. Make sure to check the EditorWarnings.txt file that there aren't any errors of assets not being loaded, which would indicate either you fogot to add a BSA, or you did something wrong.

 

If you're not sure what "normal" CK startup errors are, then fire up the CK and make the Active Plugin one from a really simple mod that doesn't have any BSA or loose files. Make a duplicate of the EditorWarnings.txt file after that so you can compare it to when you load any merged plugin for rebuilding the NAVI record.

 

Best of luck with it!

I apologize for not understanding this, but when I load the merged mod in CK, do I set it as the active file and then also check the boxes/load the Parent Masters of my merged mod that are stated on the right? If yes, do I also need to check the master files of the already checked master files? For example, I use Open Cities of Skyrim, and I was merging some compatibility patches. When I made the merge, one of the parent master files for my merge was Cutting Room Floor. The thing is, Cutting Room Floor includes it's own set of master files, which include all DLC, Update.esm, and The Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Patch. Should I also load up those files too? Again I'm sorry if I am missing something, but thanks so much for your assistance!