Guide:Skyrim Configuration Settings

Template:Notice
Suggest first reading: Skyrim Installation Guide, Skyrim Launcher Guide

INI Tweaks

The Skyrim INI files are located in %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\Skyrim\, and this guide assumes that the user has either followed the current STEP Guide or has jumped over to this guide whilst following the main guide. Note that this guide is comprehensive, and includes all INI tweaks recommended by STEP, including those in the STEP Guide.

The following instructions expect the unedited default INIs! If the INI files have already been edited, please delete them from %userprofile%\My Documents\my games\skyrim and .\Mod Organizer\profiles\

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The Skyrim INI files are located in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Skyrim\ ... for anyone not using Mod Organizer (MO).

Some of the tweaks are only relevant to the STEP "Recommended System". For tweaks that affect game performance the potential performance impact is indicated. Create the following at the end of each of the indicated INI sections. Sections are marked by names within square brackets '[ ]', and some of these sections may already exist, but for those that do not, create the section. Carefully check that ...

1. no duplicate entries are created,
2. that all entries are placed into the correct section, and
3. that all sections are properly defined:

Some Informative External Resources

• HardOCP shadow tweaks (and performance impact)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Tweak Guide

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Skyrim INI

Each of the following entries can be pasted directly into the INI (if editing manually). The entry descriptions are commented, so they will not be interpreted by the game at startup. Alternatively, these descriptions can be omitted.

[General]
sIntroSequence=    ;Disables the intro sequence for a faster startup
fFlickeringLightDistance=8192    ;Helps prevent lighting pop-in

[Display]
;Improves shadow changes as the sun moves through the sky
fSunShadowUpdateTime=0.25    ;Transition time of sun-shadow movement
fSunUpdateThreshold=1.5    ;Time between sun-shadow movement

iPresentInterval = 0/1 ;this setting should not be in this location! If it is, DELETE it! - vsync should be handled in enblocal.ini (see ENBoost mod instructions)

[Grass]
iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=3       ;increase grass diversity with a small cost to performance (yes, 'texure' and not 'texture'). Consider set to 7 if using SFO.

[Combat]
;Shift the point of aim to the center of the aiming reticule for arrows and crossbows.
f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7 
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7 
f1PBoltTiltUpAngle=0.7 
f3PBoltTiltUpAngle=0.7      ;this tweak is not present in the default INI and needs to be entered manually

[Actor]
fVisibleNavmeshMoveDist=12288.0000       ;Increases the distance arrows fly.  (From "Arrows and Bolts Tweaks").

[Camera]
;Place the camera just above the character's head in third-person view, and correct the camera angle in third-person view while on horseback (from "Third Person Horse Camera")
fOverShoulderAddY=0.0
fOverShoulderPosZ=18.0
fOverShoulderPosX=0.0
fOverShoulderCombatAddY=0.0
fOverShoulderCombatPosZ=24.0
fOverShoulderCombatPosX=0.0
fOverShoulderHorseAddY=-72.0
fOverShoulderHorsePosZ=50.0
fOverShoulderHorsePosX=35.0
fActorFadeOutLimit=-100
fMouseWheelZoomSpeed=60.0
;instant camera-angle switching when switching view types or when mounting/dismounting horse  (from "Instant Camera POV Switching")
f1st3rdSwitchDelay=0.95
iHorseTransitionMillis=001

[Interface]
fBookOpenTime=200.0       ;speeds up the book-opening animation
;move the HUD elements closer to the borders of the screen
fSafeZoneX=10
fSafeZoneY=10 
fSafeZoneXWide=10 
fSafeZoneYWide=10

[VATS] 
;Increase ranged killcam frequency (or disable killcams)
fVATSCastingAfterKillDelay=1.2000
uVATSRangedPercentSneak=100
uVATSRangedPercentGlobal=100
bVATSMultipleCombatants=1
bVATSForceRanged=1
bVATSDisable=1       ;enable(0) or disable (1) killcams

SkyrimPrefs INI

YOU CAN HELP!

[Display]
iMaxAnisotropy = 0    ;Anisotropic Filtering - set this to zero, as it should be controlled via the graphics driver.
iMultiSample = 4    ;Antialiasing - keep the value set by the Skyrim Launcher for now
iPresentInterval = 0/1    ;this setting has no apparent impact and should be DELETED - vsync should be handled in enblocal.ini (see ENBoost mod instructions)
bTreesReceiveShadows=1    ;Enables shadows rendering on trees (insignificant performance impact)
bDrawLandShadows=1    ;Enables shadows rendering on land (insignificant performance impact)
bFloatPointRenderTarget=0    ;Set to 'one' if using deferred shader rendering ENB lighting (NOT supported by STEP). 

NOTE: ENB lighting (not supported by STEP) is not the same as using ENBoost (supported by STEP)!

[Decals]
bDecalsOnSkinnedGeometry=1    ;Enable higher-res blood on NPCs (insignificant performance impact)
iMaxDecalsPerFrame=256    ;increases the number of blood decals per scene (from "Enhanced Blood Textures")

[Controls]
bMouseAcceleration=0    ;Disables mouse acceleration

[Grass]
fGrassStartFadeDistance=18000    ;push back the distance for grasses to fade (minor performance hit)

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