A place to discuss Modded Skyrim SE guide

[cfs111]

I am making a guide for SE and need a place for discussion. The guide is currently beta and only visible to friends.

READY FOR TESTING --- TESTERS NEEDED

Changelog in post 1 of this thread.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=929828423

Section Progress Report

Posted guide sections may or may not be updated to match the guide's current state. If you wish to install and test the guide as I build it and are not on my friends list, send me an invite and I will add you.

1. Getting Skyrim SE and Your System Ready --- Completed

2. Install Mod Organizer 2 --- Complete

3. Installing xEdit and Cleaning the Master Files --- Complete

4. Install the Tools --- Complete

5a. UI / Initial Fixes --- Complete -- Testing

5b. UI / Initial Fixes --- Complete -- Testing

6a. Bug Fixes / Tweaks --- Complete -- Testing

6b. Bug Fixes / Tweaks --- Complete -- Testing

7a. World Space / Immersion --- Complete -- Testing

7b. World Space / Immersion --- Complete -- Testing

7c. Worldspace / Immersion Complete -- Testing

8a. Textures / Effects --- Complete -- Testing

8b. Textures / Effects --- Complete -- Testing

8c. Textures / Effects --- Complete -- Testing

9. Lighting / Weather --- Complete -- Testing

10a. Character Creation --- Complete -- Testing

10b. Character Creation --- Complete -- Testing

11a. Animations / Magic --- Complete --Testing

11b. Animations / Magic --- Complete -- Testing

12a. NPCs / Followers --- Complete -- Testing

12b. NPCs / Followers -- Complete -- Testing

12c. NPCs / Followers -- Complete -- Testing

13a. Clothing / Armor / Weapons --- Complete -- Testing

13b. Clothing / Armor / Weapons --- Complete -- Testing

13c. Clothing / Armor / Weapons --- Complete -- Testing

14a. Final Patches --- Complete -- Testing

14b Final Patches --- Complete -- Testing

15. Setting Up MCM --- Complete

16. Updates / Updating --- Not started

Appendix A. Converting a Mod to Form Version 44 --- Complete

Appendix B. Converting a Mod to ESL flagged ESP or .esl --- Complete

Appendix C. Sorting Master Files within a Plugin --- Complete

Appendix D. Creating a FNIS Patch --- Complete

Appendix E. Creating a Bashed Patch --- Complete

Appendix F. Setting Metadata for a Plugin in LOOT --- Complete

Appendix G. Bodyslide --- WIP

[Avrie]

@Steve ... LOL I don't type that fast

The left "pain" is the order you choose to install the mods in. That's all it is. A way to see the order your merges will load in, nothing more. It's the part of NMM you've never had access to. All you ever see in NMM is the right pane. The order the game loads the plugins.

Now that Archive invalidation is ancient history, MO2 loads the BSAs exactly the same way NMM or Vortex do. At the time of installation.

In essence the Left pane would let you see at a glance your merged file installation order, and correct it on the fly without needing to reload if something changes. Not voodoo, just a better way of presenting the data.

The real voodoo is in having an empty data folder at all times, Simple to back up, simple to restore, and the use of profiles you can change on the fly, with seperate saves. It's just... More Better LOL Did I say that?

[Avrie]

Początkowo opublikowane przez cfs111:

if you have a mod that needs to be installed before other mods already installed you only need to move the mod's position in the left pane, not reinstall all affected mods in the proper sequence to allow for the correct overwrite order of assets.

Ohhhhh, Shiny. I never realized that Charles thank you. You can make the assets available before the game loads the mod... It's obvious in hind sight but I never looked at it that way before. That is a useful trick to know.

[smr1957]

Well, not going to get into a discussion and arguement with my friends over it. Anything I say is apt to be interpreted the wrong way.

[Black Album]

Yep ... That's kinda what I said ... That's why I don't get the reference to "left pane BS" because ail the LP is showing is the order of my mods ... And if I don't like the way one thing overwrites another thing then I just change it.
It even tells me exactly what is being overwritten should I wish to dig deeper

[cfs111]

MO is what it is... useful for those who play with a lot of mods and mod lists. For the average user NMM and Vortex (Kortex being too new still) are fine. Bu the left pane and profiles is really the thing that sets MO apart.

[Avrie]

@BA, Back in the MO1 days in oldrim you could choose to over write loose files with BSAs or vice a versa in the left pane, and making absolutely sure the left side actually HAD the correct files available when they were needed was an art in itself, "Matching" (Resource Priorities) left to right incorrectly could break things big time. But that's not a feature of MO2. Things are much more straight forward seeing as all the managers handle BSAs the same way now.

[rallicknom]

I did not read through all the posts to the end so if this question has been asked before I apologise. I did not see Vortex in the mod tools section. As it is now officialy out of Alpha and replaced NMM on the Nexus download heading I would think a guide to installing and using Vortex would be an essential part of your mod tools section. Then again maybe I just missed it.

[cfs111]

This guide is for the use of MO2 and the instructions will relate to that. While Vortex seems to be a good program for modding a lot of games for BGS (Bethesda) games it is not quite there for larger mod lists such as the guide will cover.

Also, I am a bit lazy and do not want to maintain a guide with multiple instructions for different mod managers. Just way too much work and would require me to maintain 2 or more mod managers managing the same game, a nightmare in and of itself considering Vortex and NMM install the mods into the Data folder.

[Avrie]

The guide using MO2 not Vortex, though the point is well taken ... We're all Solidly in the MO2 camp here, but at some point a basic explanation of why Vortex was not chosen would not be remiss.

Ninja'd :)

[Black Album]

Jack ... For me ... the 2 MO's are exactly the same ... I just follow the same rules of matching LP and RP and continue on my merry way ... You all taught me to do that.
So when I install a mod that changes the texture of a gun and then later on install a mod that changes loads of other textures, including the gun, then I just move the gun mod below the new mod ... If it wasn't for MO then I wouldn't know how to do it quickly and probably wouldn't care anyway.

It's like in F4 .... The rust colours are a little too red but I'm also standing next to a 2 headed cow with a super mutant running towards me ... Having rust that's a couple of shades too bright doesn't cause me a lot of grief because ... Well ... That cow has 2 heads and no-one seems to mind that.

Oh ... And I still think that a BSA is a moterbike ... So I try not to worry about that either ... There's two types of mods in my world ... Mods with an esp and mods without an esp ... MO shows me both of them and let's m move them around and keeps my data folder all clean and shiny.
If I filled it up with mods they'd just be in alphabetical order as far as I'm concerned.

Not only that .... Esl's are pixie magic just dropped into the mix to confuse me ... Luckily, someone will always write a guide.

[rallicknom]

Thank you for your replies.

Actually I tried Vortex and was dissapointed with the way it handled over writes.

[cfs111]

Updated op with mod list so far. Still ordering left pane and filling in section 7 of guide. 195 mods so far, and I still have not perused the textures category of nexus yet.

[Edouy]

You cant get LH mods no more. and am sad.

[cfs111]

ohhh, that will suck. Let me check.

[Mephitic]

Looking awesome so far!

Where did you find the LH ships and towers mods? Nexus search (poor as it is) came up empty for me and I couldn't even find them by author. I am loving the dungeons mod and want to try others.

It may not be to your taste but I've installed Covered Carriages[www.nexusmods.com] and it is better than vanilla but I'm missing the oldrim option for removing the shinyness of the cover.

[edit] just saw Edouy's post -- that's very sad indeed.