User:Neovalen/Skyrim Revisited

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Skyrim Revisisted

A STEP-based mod guide created and maintained by Neovalen.
Last Update: 5:11:57 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 my personal choice. With that in mind, you may need to tailor it to your specific CPU/GPU setup. Generally I use the most graphically intensive versions of all mods.
My setup 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 you have questions, please feel free to message me on the Nexus or STEP forums.

Prerequisites

Software

Script Extenders

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.

First Steps

Run The Launcher

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

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

Run The Game

Simply 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 you are able to access the menu by pressing "ESC". This is generally after the SKYRIM logo has faded away. Once there, I recommend to set the following options: 

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

These settings will be saved to your ini file.

Backup Your 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 the worst should happen.

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