which game to play/mod

[techstepman]

I havent played for a long time.....watched a vid of a guy about mods and stuff in 2023 and got a bit jealous. Now that i have a superior pc im thinking of wondering through Skyrim once more with a ton of mods. So...the main problem is the different editions. Ive played and modded the original one. Then the special came and stopeed playing , fallout 4 was around so i focused there. Now theres this anniversary edition. What edition do you guys play and mod? Do i stick with the special? Should i bother with the anniversary one? Which one is the more stable one? Which one has the most mod support (cause i'll be looking for all the good old mods i used back in the day)? You guys got any advice?

[sansee]

There's really only two versions of Skyrrim; Oldrim (unstable 32 bit), and the new Special Edition (stable, 64 bit). Then there's the big DLC edition called Anniversary with +70 small mods included, with Special Edition as the base.

When modding, you only need to look at the game version, which on Steam is 1.6.640 for the SE (which again, is the modern base game).

And no, many of the mods from the "old days" has unfortunately been abandoned, however, I find the new ones better. The Anniversary Edition isn't exactly worth it in my mind unless you can get it a really good price.

PS: The SE already comes with 3 of the first main DLCs and also 4 big ones:
Saints and Seducers - A couple of new quests.
Rare Curios - New items that can be used in alchemy.
Survival Mode.
Fishing.

[Fear2288]

Short Answer:

When looking for mods, if you encounter multiple versions of the same file, you want to use ones for “AE” and/or game version 1.6.640. Also check the mod’s description page to see if it indicates what version it’s made for.


Long Answer:

There are only two real versions of Skyrim: the original 2011 release (aka “LE” or “Oldrim”), and the 2016 Skyrim Special Edition release (aka “SSE” or “SE”).

In 2021, the Anniversary Edition was released, but this is just an update/upgrade for Special Edition.

All copies of Special Edition got a patch/update through Steam that changed the game version to 1.6xx and added the Survival, Fishing, Saints and Seducers, and Rare Curios content from the Creation Club free of charge.

Additionally, owners of Special Edition could purchase the Anniversary Upgrade DLC which gave you all of the remaining content from the Creation Club.

Since 2021, Skyrim Special Edition has been updated/patched a couple times - the most infamous being the September 2022 update - and now the most recent and up-to-date game version is 1.6.640.

Unless you have knowingly downgraded your game, you own Skyrim Special Edition 1.6.640.

When you go looking for mods; however, you may come across multiple versions of the same mod to download.

You may see terms like “SSE”, “SE”, and “AE” as well as different game version numbers including variations of 1.5xx and 1.6xx.

What “SSE”, “SE”, and “AE” actually mean is subjective to the mod creator, unfortunately. Some will use SSE/SE to refer to game version 1.5xx (pre-Anniversary Edition), while others will use it to simply refer to the current 1.6.640 version.

Generally though, if a mod offers an SSE/SE version and an AE version, your best bet is to download the AE version.

If a mod offers different versions based on variations of 1.5xx and 1.6xx, you’ll want the 1.6.640 version.

If a mod only offers a version that is below 1.6.640, or says something like 1.6.xx+, it may mean that either the creator updated it after the Anniversary Edition released but hasn’t updated it since then, or that it will work with 1.6.640. Check the mod’s description, posts, and bugs pages to see if anyone has indicated that the mod does or doesn’t work with 1.6.640.

If you see a mod offering a version that is above 1.6.640 - this is specifically for the GOG version of Skyrim Special Edition that was released at the end of September 2022. You don’t want that file unless you own, play, and mod the GOG version of the game.


Additional notes:

1) Game version is irrelevant for certain kinds of mods. Most if not all mods that deal with textures, items, weapons/armor, etc can be freely used by any version unless the creator states otherwise.

2) Unless you seriously want to and know what you’re doing, don’t downgrade your game. The practice became popular in the wake of the September 2022 update, and some people are staunch supporters of keeping their version at 1.5xx because they are just THAT opposed to having the free CC content in their game, but doing this means you will have to find the appropriate downgraded versions of mods and will have to pass up on mods made after the release of the Anniversary Edition unless the creator actually made downgraded versions available.

3) Most mods have been updated to function with or are made for 1.6.640 by now. The September 2022 update threw things out of whack, and some mods took weeks or months to be updated, but now a majority of them have been - either due to the creator themselves updating them, or someone else coming along and doing it for them.

4) If you encounter a mod that looks like it isn’t made for 1.6.640, don’t lose hope. Check the mod page’s “Requirements” and look under the section for other mod’s requiring it, sometimes when another person makes an updated version they’ll make the updated version dependent on the original. You can also try searching the Nexus for a possible updated version by name or browse the mod’s comments to see if anyone provides workarounds, links to updated versions made by someone else, or suggests another mod that does something similar.

5) Don’t worry about there being any difference between owning the Anniversary Update DLC or not. Owning it does not change the game version, and the only mods that would require you own it (or specific pieces of Creation Club content) are mods that change/alter those specific additions.

[techstepman]

thanks a lot guys! so AE is just the extra stuff that beth wanted to sell. Got it. I always take my time to read the mods descriptions and comments to have an idea of what issues i might encounter and decide if the mods is for me. So its business as usual for me.