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]

I can walk you through it easy enough. You see/do it once or twice and you've got it down pat.

edit - I started writing a Dlod instruction page for the guide. I'll finish that this weekend

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1620519638

I fell in love with the bow the first time I saw it. The sleeker shaped swords as well

[cfs111]

Definitely a good looking bow. And I'm playing an archer this go round.

[cfs111]

6.9a beta 1/25/19 Updated WB Discord link in section 4.

[Greyhawke]

Since these "people know what they're doing", can any of them answer a simple question?

Is there any mod organizer that actually works with Skyrim SE as of 2019?

In the last two days:

I downloaded vortex as that seemed to be the mod organizer supported by the nexus website. After doing some reading before an attempt at installing it, I became seriously concerned that it would even work as I read so many bad things about it.

So after some more reading, I finally decided to download and install Mod Organizer 2. Guess what? After three hours of watching tutorials and then installing it and doing everything step by step following the MO2 installation tutorial on nexus, guess what? It won't even login into nexus via MO2 so that I can use it to download mods. To make matters worse, I soon realize that there are no MO2 or MO download options on nexus anymore, anyway.

Ok, so I download a mod manually, and extract the files into my MO2 downloads folder (which I set up exactly as directed by "gamerpoets", the author of the tutorial on the MO2 page on the nexus website).

Guess what? MO2 doesn't even see the mod I downloaded into it's downloads folder anyway!!!

Is there currently ANY mod organizer that works with this game? And don't tell me to use Vortex, I read as many bad things about it as I have NMM, Mod Organizer, and Mod Organizer 2 - all of which are either no longer supported, or not completely functional?

No way I'm going to spend more time getting my mods installed in this game than actually playing it. And this game needs mods, at the very least the unofficial patch, so that it is not full of bugs,and broken quests, to numerous to mention.

Fantastic that the "people who know what they are doing" are putting this mod list together. Can any of those same people explain how they are getting them to work and what mod organizer they are using to do so?

What a monumental waste of time. Maybe it is time to forget about Skyrim SE.

[Avrie]

Greyhawke님이 먼저 게시:

"Is there any mod organizer that actually works with Skyrim SE as of 2019?" [/quote]

Yes both MO2 and Vortex work just fine. Vortex is the easiest to learn, MO2 is the manager of choice. Windows is the loose canon in the mix.

... I'm not sure what's in Michael's video but he's usually very thorough. There is a Windows related glitch where security messes up file extraction. It is highly recommended to right click on you downloads and on the bottom of the general page you will see a check box for "Unblock" Make sure to to tick unblock before you extract it to a folder

It won't even login into nexus via MO2 so that I can use it to download mods.

... Navigate to your MO2 folder, and double click on nxmhandler.exe

... Inside MO2 click on the configure settings and workarounds. Click on the Nexus tab, enter your username and password for Nexus. make sure there's a tick in Automatically log-in to Nexus. It helps if you already have your browser open and logged in to Nexus.

[Greyhawke]

Thanks for your reply, I really do appreciate the effort. The things you have suggested, are all in the tutorial itself, the information on the nexus MO2 page, and/or in the posts about it in the appropriate nexus forum.

Indeed, Michael's tutorial is comprehensive, in fact, after reading many other sources and watching other tutorials for other mod managers, it was the thoroughness of Michael's tutorial which also seemed so professionally done, that was the deciding factor for me in choosing MO2.

Like I said in my post, "then installing it and doing everything step by step following the MO2 installation tutorial on nexus" . . .

Tell me, do the tabs for MO2 downloads on nexus only appear if you are successfully interfacing with nexus from within MO2? Because even if I log on to nexus outside of MO2, I'm not seeing any tabs for downloading from within MO2 (as shown in the tutorial), only tabs for manual or executable downloads.

If that's the case, then indeed you can't actually download mods from within the MO2 program itself, and you have to manually download them then extract them to the correct folder FOR MO2, which validates what I am saying.

MO2 may work with Skyrim SE, but it doesn't seem to be completely working with nexus from within the MO2 program itself (not to mention the fact that even when I try to do a manual download to place the mod files in the correct MO2 directory, MO2 still isn't even recognizing what's in my MO2 downloads folder anyway).

Sigh . . .

[Chef]

Go into your MO2 folder and run nxmhander.exe that should allow you to do what your talking about.

[Black Album]

Don't forget to leave a burnt offering for the Pixie King .... many people forget this important step.

[Greyhawke]

Black Album님이 먼저 게시:

Don't forget to leave a burnt offering for the Pixie King .... many people forget this important step.

I don't doubt it, not for a heartbeat.

In my frustration yesterday I deleted Skyrim SE figuring it was a lost cause. I'm almost certain that I ran nxmhandler.exe but now I can't remember if I actually did, or if I just remember reading about it but forgot to actually try it.

So . . . I'll try to install and get Skyrim SE and MO2 playing nice together one more time. will report back here with the results.

Again, thanks for the help, much appreciated . . .

. . .and fwiw, the "Pixie King" can kiss my bloody arse!

[Greyhawke]

No joy. Still won't log onto nexus via MO2.

Tried the manual download method again after running nexushandler as well, still no go.

Nothing shows in MO2 when the downloads tab is selected even though the path is correct and the files have been extracted to, and are present in, the C:\MO 2 Downloads folder I created.

Ok then, time to go play something else. another couple of hours gaming time wasted. No further help needed, giving up on it. Thank you all for trying.

[cfs111]

The mod should not be extracted before going into download folder. Put the unextracted mod in downloads folder. As for MO2 signing into Nexus, have you set up your username and password on the Nexus tab of the Settings dialogue? Sounds to me as if you simply misunderstand how some of these things work. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1636296338

[Greyhawke]

Don't recall reading or seeing anything about putting the unextracted mod in the MO2 downloads folder. All I recall from what I read about manually installing a mod into MO2, simply said to manually download the mod, then move the mod into my MO2 downloads folder. I can't misunderstand something I wasn't told to do. But I completely understand that there is a big difference between the single, unextracted mod file and all the folders and files of the mod after they've been extracted.

Entering my username, password, and selecting "associate files with mod manager" was some of the easiest part of this process. No misunderstanding about that.

I can manually log on to the nexus website no problem, yet when I am absolutely certain that my u/n and p/w are correct on the nexus tab of MO2 and select to associate the files with mod manager, MO2 still won't log onto the nexus website.

Maybe I'll give it a few days and try again, easy enough now that I've done it several times over. Just geting very frustrated at how non-intuitive this all seems to be.

Thanks and have a good w/e.

[cfs111]

When you install a mod through MO2 it takes care of extracting the files. My downloads folder...
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1636504168
As you can see, all mods are in archives. When you are on a mod's Nexus page and you hit the Download With Manager button does MO2 not start downloading the mod? If not any messages or just nothing happens?

[Greyhawke]

Did not know that MO2 takes care of extacting the files. So there is that to try (manually downloading the mod then moving it unextracted into my MO2 download folder).

"When you are on a mod's Nexus page and you hit the Download With Manager button does MO2 not start downloading the mod? If not any messages or just nothing happens?"

Exactly, it doesn't display the servers or start downloading the mod. No error messages, nothing happens.

[cfs111]

When you installed MO2 did you first unblock it? The following is from MO2's developers Discord channel...

Windows will sometimes block files downloaded from the internet without telling you, this means that executables might ask you if you are sure you want to run them and some libraries (dll files such as the MO2 plugins used to install different kinds of mods and the VFS itself with usvfs_x64.dll and usvfs_x86.dll) might simply be blocked from loading, making many parts of Mo2 not working correctly.
Because of this it's important to unblock the MO2 archive before it is extracted (this simply is the fastest method to be sure to unblock all the files at once).
To do that you need to to right click in the archive, select properties, go to the general tab and there you should find a checkbox marked with the "Unblock" label. Check it and press OK.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/458597400638914563/458726709748039682/unknown.png
Here is a video by one of the testers (zDasF1xer) following the procedure to install a Dev Build complete with the Unblocking step: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBurE8aLTxE&feature=youtu.be