ACCEPTED Static Mesh Improvement Mod - SMIM (by Brumbek)

[DoubleYou]

The smelter really looks good in-game.

[phryxolydian]

Hmm.. the dome does look much rounder but damn bro, 36mb? I wasn't ever much bothered by the smelter, really!

[Octopuss]

If Brumber didn't mention it, you wouldn't be able to tell a difference at all :P Just enjoy and don't care for numbers too much.

[DoubleYou]

I would have noticed, and did.

[TechAngel85]

Is it possible to use the new meshes without the new textures or would they look bad with vanilla textures?

[keithinhanoi]

First thing I did was halved the resolution of the normals in DDSopt.

 

I asked in the comments thread whether the new smelter textures will be included in the "half-size" option the next time the full FOMOD installer is updated.

 

No answer, but I would expect it.

[Octopuss]

I would have noticed, and did.

Wait, are you actually checking (V)RAM usage for even the smallest changes after you add or update a mod?

Edited June 7, 2014 by Octopuss

[TechAngel85]

Some users are only running with 1GB VRAM, Octo. These users will notice a difference. Every little bit helps in these situations.

[Octopuss]

Oh. Well, yes, I guess you're right. I am living in my weird little 4GB world where I don't need to think about compromises, so it's a bit difficult to imagine the difference it might make for others... :D

[redirishlord]

Some users are only running with 1GB VRAM, Octo. These users will notice a difference. Every little bit helps in these situations.

Does the enboost feature help in that regard? It seems to help my 2gb quite a bit, could it level the graphical playing field with regard to VRAM limits? Or do I misunderstand what it can do?

I do alright with 2gb & 2k textures, just want my 1gb friends to get the most out of their Skyrim, maybe compromise isn't as necessary in light of recent advances?

 

More on topic, does the group have opinions on the "half-sized option"? I wonder if I'm spending resources on something I ultimately won't see benefit from? In my case I play on a 22 inch monitor not something larger. I feel like 2k textures are a noticeable improvement from 1k, but I'm not as sure about SMIM half/full size options.  

[Tarvok]

I just finished S.T.E.P. 2.2.8, and BOSS isn't recognizing some SMIM esps, specifically:

 

 

 

• SMIM-DragonbornTernFix.esp Active
• SMIM-DungeonsCliffsIceSkirts.esp Active
• SMIM-FarmhouseFlickeringFix.esp Active
• SMIM-FurnitureChestSnowFix.esp Active
• SMIM-ShackRoofFixes.esp Active
• SMIM-ShackRoofFixesDragonborn.esp Active

Where should I be putting these in the load order?

[EssArrBee]

I just finished S.T.E.P. 2.2.8, and BOSS isn't recognizing some SMIM esps, specifically:

 

 

Where should I be putting these in the load order?

If you are using the STEP Patches from our Nexus page then remove SMIM-DragonbornTernFix.esp, SMIM-FarmhouseFlickeringFix.esp, and SMIM-FurnitureChestSnowFix.esp.

 

These plugins don't conflict with anything unless you are using Ars Metallica, then load the SMIM plugin after Ars. And just load them anywhere.

[EssArrBee]

Will need to change install instructions again for this one. NOT IT!!!

Version 1.72-Created new perfectly fitting collision for all the Shack Roof meshes for the sake of realism. Now you can shoot arrows through the roof slats instead of hitting invisible walls! Try shooting arrows randomly out the roof from the safety of your shack! Or try expertly shooting an arrow into a shack through the roof and killing a sleeping NPC! See my new video for LOLs and Learning (LOLAL): http://youtu.be/ehfMMsIuk2o. -Updated the non-DLC Shack Fix .esp to add boards to the exterior Abandoned Shack since the exterior version previously could be seen into, but the empty inside broke immersion. -Updated both Shack Fix .esp files to include a few more fixes and additional wood beams to eliminate vanilla gaps and issues that my SMIM meshes expose. -Updated smoothing on all wood pieces from the shackbrokewood series to change from faceted to smooth. How many times must I tell Bethesda that faceted uncut wood makes no sense! -Updated shack wood pieces to change UV mapping of beam ends to use beam ends instead of wrong wood chopping blocks. -Included shackroofmid02.nif in SMIM Shack Roof kit since Dragonborn uses it in one place. -Updated several of the Chandelier meshes to fix duplicate block names, which should have caused the game to crash but didn't...strangely. -Updated several of the Chandelier meshes to remove unnecessary shader controller blocks, which possibly caused major slowdowns for some users (or maybe slowdowns still exist). -Updated several of the Chandelier meshes to improve UV mapping on the chains, which I previously forgot to do. The chains will look more detailed now. -Added merged .esp files since the masses demanded it! Two version: All and No Dragonborn. If you don't have Dragonborn you want to use the one called No Dragonborn as it turns out! -Updated the NMM installer script to fix the missing FarmhouseFlickering .esp. Also changed the NMM installer to install only the single Merged ESP if you pick one of the two Install Everything install options. -Updated the BAIN script to remove Hawk from the Lite version to remove Dragonborn incompatibility. BAIN installer won't use the Merged plugins by the way. Copy them yourself from folders 95 if you want. -Minor UV improvements to vanilla rock block FarmInt2Hearth02:16 for farmint2hearth02.nif. -Slight changes to smelter materials to delete one unnecessary material and add vert colors to one. -Changed the default Smelter front blocks texture to double-size and removed the Ultra texture since this is now the default size. This makes the Smelter look good up close at 1080p.

I'm guess STEP will need to do custom install and choose a smaller size for the SMelter since Ultra is now the default size, plus all the other things we change up from default. Of course, the esps are changed again so I'll have to update some stuff, damn you Brumey!!!

[TechAngel85]

I update the instructions every time I download it, so I'll do it when I get around to downloading it again.

[DoubleYou]

Installation of 1.72 required some manual manipulation by me. The half size smelter textures aren't an option in the fomod, but they are in the Half Size Textures compilation. Extracted those and used them, and they really look okay to me. Had to extract the merged plugin as well.