User:Neovalen/Skyrim Revisited

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Skyrim Revisited

A STEP-based mod guide created and maintained by Neovalen.
Last Update: 17:54:38 12 December 2012 (UTC)

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Introduction

Skyrim Revisited is a STEP-based guide designed to keep up with the ever changing Skyrim DLC/Mod landscape. It will be updated with more frequency than STEP proper and decisions are based completely upon the creators personal choices. With that in mind, it may require tailoring it to the users specific CPU/GPU setup. Generally the most graphically intensive versions of all mods are used by default.
The system used for the creation of this guide is as follows: 

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K @ 4.5Ghz
MOBO: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER 3
RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU: EVGA 670GTX Superclocked 4GB (SLI)

Should there be any questions or concerns, please feel free to message Neovalen on the Nexus or STEP forums.

Prerequisites

Software

Script Extenders

  • Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) v1.06.05 *Note: Do NOT install the script files manually. Follow the instructions in the Creating A Skyrim Revisited Profile section.*

Tools

For my mod install, I will be using Mod Organizer as the mod manager of choice. The reasons for doing so are hereby given: 

1. Profiles allows us to have multiple configurations set up per character/function and does so cleanly by NOT touching the Skyrim data folder or ini files.
2. Mod Downloading via NXM allows us to download mods directly into the tool using the "Download With Manager" button on the nexus web site.
3. Mod Version Tracking allows us to leverage the power of the nexus to track MAJOR mod updates. *This is not a replacement for the track file option on the actual site for optionals!*
4. NMM Installer Compatibility allows us to use Nexus Mod Manager installers.
5. BAIN Installer Compatibility allows us to use BAIN packages.
6. Manual Installation Option allows us to select the data folder in an archive manually, allowing us to fix path problems at install time.
7. Sort By Category allows us to easily sort through a mass number of mods easily.
8. Run Executables allows us to use tools such as BOSS, BUM, Wrye Bash, and TES5Edit without physically touching the data folder.

The primary function of this tool for the purposes of this guide is to create Bashed Patches which will merge the leveled lists of the various installed mods.

The primary function of this tool is to provide a default ordering between various mods and to help identify mods that require cleaning with TES5Edit.

The primary function of this tool is to assist BOSS with ordering mods not currently in the BOSS master list and to override any improper ordering.

The primary function of this tool is to clean dirty edits and UDRs from the .ESMs and .ESPs that Skyrim will be loading, including the game ESMs.

The primary function of this tool is to optimize and re-mip the vanilla and high res DLC textures. Selected mods may also fall into this category.

The First Steps / Setting Up The Environment

Run The Launcher

Simply start "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" through steam to open the launcher.
If this is the first run, it will auto-detect the video card on the system and generate a default state ini file based on the systems hardware configuration.
Once this is done, click "Options" to open the dialog and do the following in order: 

Click the [Ultra] button.
Set Aspect Ratio and Resolution. For most users this will be 16:9 Widescreen and 1920x1080.
Set Antialiasing Level to Off.
Set Anisotropic Filtering to Off.
Click the [OK] button to close the dialog and save.

Run The Game

Click "Play" on the launcher splash screen. Once the game has loaded to the main menu, select "New Game" and allow the game to run until the menu is accessible by pressing "ESC". This is generally after the SKYRIM logo has faded away. Once there, set the following options: 

Enable dialogue subtitles.
Enable general subtitles.
Disable all autosave options.

These settings will be saved to the ini file by the game automatically. Exit the game.

Backup The Fresh INI Files

Go to C:\Users\<Username>\Documents\My Games\Skyrim and save Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini to a backup folder in case something bad should happen.

Configuring The Graphics Driver / Modify INI

Start Mod Organizer. If this is the first run, a Profiles dialog box should appear. Make sure "Automatic Archive Invalidation" is unchecked and the Savegame Filter is blank. Click [Create] and type a name for this profile, for now call it "Vanilla Skyrim". Do NOT check the box that says "Default Game Settings". This creates a local Mod Organizer copy of the current ini files among other things. Now close the dialog box by clicking [Close]. Verify that "Vanilla Skyrim" is the currently selected Profile at the top of the Mod Organizer window, if it is not, then click the bar and select "Vanilla Skyrim". Once this is done, click the [Edit Ini] button on the top bar to bring up the ini editor and follow the steps below based on the systems graphics card manufacturer. *Note: This only edits the local Mod Organizer copy, NOT the one in the user directory!*

Nvidia Users

Download and install Nvidia Inspector. Run the program and click the tool icon next to the Driver Version information box. Once the dialog box is up, go to the profiles text box and type "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" (autocomplete will likely kick in early). Set the following options: 

Anisotropic filtering mode = User-defined/Off
Anisotropic filtering setting = 16x
Texture filtering - Negative LOD bias = Clamp

If using SLI, also set the following: 

SLI compatibility bits (DX1x) = 0x080116F5 (Battlefield 3, Medal of Honor: Warfighter)

Finally, click [Apply Changes] and exit the program. This has enabled driver level Anistropic Filtering which is superior to the in game filtering. No INI file changes are required for an Nvidia graphics card.

ATI Users

Open the Catalyst Control Center that was installed with the ATI video drivers and configure as specified here. Additionally, click the [SkyrimPrefs.ini] tab in Mod Organizer and change the following lines (they should already exist with different values after the =):

iMaxAnisotropy=16

This will enable Anistropic Filtering through the game engine as it is not enabled via the driver as with an Nvidia card.

Configuring Mod Organizer

Close the modify ini dialog from the previous step.
On the Mod Organizer main window, click [Settings]. Click the [Nexus] tab and check "Automatically Log-In to Nexus" and input a valid nexus username and password. Also check "Handle NXM Links" and "Prefer external browser" then hit [OK] to save.
Next, click [Executables]. Some tools may be configured by default such as Skyrim, Creation Kit, and SKSE. To set up an executable, fill in the text fields appropriately then click the [+ Add] button.
For example, BOSS is configured as follows: 

Title = BOSS
Binary = <BOSS Install Path>\BOSS.exe
None of the optional check boxes should be checked.

Do this also for all installed tools such as Wrye Bash, TES5Edit, and BUM.

As a note, when using Mod Organizer to manage mods these programs MUST be run through Mod Organizer to see the virtualized data directory. Shortcuts can be created for this function on the desktop by pressing the [+ Desktop Shortcut] button on the main mod organizer window with the desired tool selected.

By default the load order in Mod Organizer is slightly scrambled. This can be fixed by running BOSS to do a quick sort. Select "BOSS" from the drop down box under the "Start" heading. Now click the [Run] push button. BOSS should load through the Mod Organizer interface and sort the current ESMs/ESPs which now only consist of the base game and DLCs. The default browser will open and display the modified load order among other data from BOSS. Note that in the Mod Organizer window that the load order has been corrected and only "Skyrim.esm" and "Update.esm" are greyed and checked. Mark the check boxes next to all of the DLCs so they are loaded with the "Vanilla Skyrim" profile.

Creating A Skyrim Revisited Profile

Now that an established a clean "Vanilla Skyrim" profile has been created vanilla Skyrim may be run at any time with the click of a button. Next a new profile must be established that will contain "Skyrim Revisisted" and its collection of installed mods.

Click the [Profiles] icon at the top of the main Mod Organizer window. Now select "Vanilla Skyrim" by clicking on it and hit [Copy]. In the following dialog, type in "Skyrim Revisited" and hit [OK]. Mod Organizer has just created an exact copy of the "Vanilla Skyrim" profile (including ini files and load order) into a new profile named "Skyrim Revisisted". Now click [Close] to exit the window. Click the drop down box labelled "Profile" and select "Skyrim Revisisted". Note that in the load order the DLCs are once again unchecked but in the proper order, re-check them now.

In the prerequisites area SKSE was installed without the required script files, this was done to preserve a pristine Skyrim data directory so that Skyrim may run vanilla at any time. This guide will now go through the process of adding this essential part of Skyrim modding to the game. First, right click anywhere in the Mod window and select "Install Mod...". Navigate to the SKSE archive and click [Open]. An "Install Mods" dialog box will be displayed. In the "Name" text box replace the default text with "Skyrim Script Extender". This name will be displayed in the mod window after installation. In the file tree, the contents of the archive with a list of check marks is displayed. Find the data directory inside the archive, right click and select "Set Data Directory". Most of the items will disappear and only the contents of that folder will be displayed. Note that there should be a green "Looks good" notification at the bottom left of the window. Now leave everything checked and hit [OK]. The mod will now be displayed with an empty checkbox in the mod window. This mod is now visible to Mod Organizer but not yet used/visible to the game.

Right click the mod and select "Information...". Under the "Categories" tab, check the box next to "Patches" so that this mod will appear when filtering on patches. Additionally, on the "Nexus Info" tab set the version number to the installed SKSE version number but leave Mod ID as -1. This will set the proper version number and indicate that SKSE is not available on the Nexus. Any mods downloaded into Mod Organizer directly from the Nexus will have one or more of these fields automatically filled. Optionally, look at the file tree tab to see the contents of the directory that will be virtually placed inside the Skyrim/Data directory. Note that there is a meta.ini which Mod Organizer uses to store all the data for the mod inside, it will not be visible to the game when executed. With that completed, click [Close] to save. Note the version number next to the mod is now visible and black. The color annotates that it is a non-nexus mod and it's version cannot be confirmed. Mods that can be verified will be either Green (Current+) or Red (Out Of Date). Click the box next to the mod to activate it. Now that it is activated, when the game is executed through Mod Organizer, the contents of that directory are now visible to the Skyrim game the same as if they were in the Data directory. Any conflicts are handled by Mod Organizer in priority order (higher priority overwrites lower priority). Give this a try now by selecting "SKSE" from the drop down box under the "Start" header and click [Run]. Note the Mod Organizer window will close as SKSE is pre-configured this way, the data directory is still being virtualized properly for the game to see it. This has installed the first of many mods to come, now close the game.

With this configuration Mod Organizer may swap between an SKSE enabled profile "Skyrim Revisited" and a non-SKSE vanilla profile "Vanilla Skyrim". If it is desired to play the game in a pristine vanilla form at any time simply select the "Vanilla Skyrim" profile then select and run "Skyrim" in the run drop down or run the game directly from Steam.

Clean The Bethesda ESMs

The next step to a stable and clean Skyrim run is to use TES5Edit to clean ITMs and UDRs. This improves compatibility between mods and lessens the chance of instability in Skyrim. The steps are as defined below: 

1. Select "TES5Edit" from the drop down box below the "Start" heading and click [Run].
2. The Master/Plugin selection window of TES5Edit should appear, right click and select "None".
3. Tick the check box next to Update.esm and click [OK] and wait for it to load with the message "Background Loader: finished" in the right pane.
4. Right click Update.esm and select "Apply Filter For Cleaning", wait for the message "[Filtering Done]" to appear on the right pane.
5. Right click Update.esm and select "Remove Identical To Master Records", wait for the message "[Removing Identical to Master records done]".
6. Right click Update.esm and select "Undelete and Disable References", wait for the message "[Undeleting and Disabling References done]". *Note: Ignore any messages about remaining Nav meshes.
7. Exit the program by clicking the [X] at the top right hand corner of the window, the "Save Changed Files" dialog box should appear.
8. Make sure Update.esm is checked and also that "Backup Plugins" is also checked then click [OK].

What this process has done is removed any improperly removed records or edited records that were identical to the base Skyrim.esm file. Do the same process for all of the DLC ESMs. Do NOT attempt to clean Skyrim.esm itself.

Once this is done an additional step is required when using Mod Organizer. Navigate to <Mod Organizer Path>/overwrite, here will be all of the Bethesda ESMs that were cleaned as well as a new folder named TES5Edit Backups. Mod Organizer while running TES5Edit identified files that were modified by the program and moved them into this directory and out of the Skyrim/Data directory to maintain a pristine install. Unfortunately in the case of modifying base game files, this is not desirable as the data directory is now missing the base ESMs. To fix this, do the following: 

1. Go into <Mod Organizer Path>/overwrite/TES5Edit Backups and copy all three backup files for the ESMs.
2. Go to <Skyrim Directory/Data and paste these files into the directory.
3. Rename the files back to the original names Update.esm, Dawnguard.esm and so on.

This process has restored the original files to allow the game to run in a pristine vanilla state via Steam. When a profile is run through Mod Organizer the contents of the overwrite folder will take over and it will use the cleaned versions of the base files. Since cleaning will not affect the game folders or functionality negatively in any way, these do not have to move into a mod folder like we did for the SKSE script files and will be used for ALL profiles.

Let The Modding Begin!

In the previous section we created a profile named "Skyrim Revisisted", select it now. This is the profile that will be used for the remainder of the guide.

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