textures and lighting

[bitdman]

Do the lighting mods have an effect on the textures in the game?

Will some texture mods look better with RCRN  than with ENB and vice versa?

 

If I'm a noob should I just decide on one lighting system and just stick with it for simplicity sake? 

[Farlo]

Textures are the designs and colors the objects in the world take on, while lighting mods (post-processing, ENB, RCRN, etc.) are more like the lens you view that world through. Sometimes different lighting effects can make certain areas or textures look different, but in general they're two separate processes to deal with. Unless you're hand-picking individual textures I'd suggest you develop your mod list without any lighting mods to get a feel for "default" and then decide on your post-processor.

[stoppingby4now]

Lighting mods will definitely affect how textures look as they all play with color space. ENB based configs modify the scene post process, whereas mods like Realistic Lighting work with the HDR in-game directly (same with Imaginator). Two different approaches, but the end result can alter how the textures look whether it be due to color saturation, brightness, contrast, color shifting, etc. These modifications can also cause detail to look sharper or more dull.

[bitdman]

That helps me understand lighting a little bit better. Thanks!