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Modding Beginner's Guide by tony971

Skyrim Modders resources and tutorials
Added: 11/08/2014 12:52AM
Updated: 02/10/2014 10:23PM

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Last updated at 22:23, 2 Oct 2014

Uploaded at 0:52, 11 Aug 2014

ModdingBeginnersGuide
WelcometoNexus!Thisguidewillhelpsetupyourgameformodding.
Itwillgiveabasicunderstandingofthetools,mods,andsettingsneededtohaveastablemoddedgame.
Sorrythatit'ssolong.I'mtryingtomakeyouanexpert)

InfobelowiscourtesyofGopher,BorisVorontsov,Sheson,andTheSTEPProject.

1.MakeYourGameBethesdaVanilla

Moddingisverytempermentalandyou'llwanttostartoffwithacleangame.
MixingSteamWorkshopandNexusmodsisabadidea.

1.UnsubscribefromallofyourSteamWorkshopmods.
2.GotoSteam/SteamApps/common/Skyrim.
3.DeleteallofthefilesandfoldersEXCEPT:
Data(folder)
DirectX10(folder)
DotNetFX(folder)
Skyrim(folder)
VCRedist(folder)
atimgpud.dll
binkw32.dll
high.ini
installscript.vdf
low.ini
medium.ini
readme.txt
Skyrim_default.ini
SkyrimLauncher.exe

steam_api.dll
TESV.exe
VeryHigh.ini
4.OpentheSkyrim/Datafolder.
5.DeleteallofthefilesandfoldersEXCEPT:
Youmaynothaveallofthese.Thatisokay.
Interface(folder)
Strings(folder)
Video(folder)
Dawnguard.bsa
Dawnguard.esm
Dragonborn.bsa
Dragonborn.esm
HearthFires.bsa
HearthFires.esm
HighResTexturePack01.bsa
HighResTexturePack01.esp
HighResTexturePack02.bsa
HighResTexturePack02.esp
HighResTexturePack03.bsa
HighResTexturePack03.esp
SkyrimAnimations.bsa
SkyrimInterface.bsa
SkyrimMeshes.bsa
SkyrimMisc.bsa
SkyrimShaders.bsa
SkyrimSounds.bsa
SkyrimTextures.bsa
SkyrimVoices.bsa
SkyrimVoicesExtra.bsa
Skyrim.esm
Update.bsa
Update.esm
6.OpentheData/Interfacefolder.
7.DeleteeverythingEXCEPTTranslate_[yourlanguage].txt.
8.OpentheData/Stringsfolder.
9.DeleteeverythingEXCEPT:
Skyrim_[yourlanguage].DLSTRINGS
Skyrim_[yourlanguage].ILSTRINGS
Skyrim_[yourlanguage].STRINGS
Update_[yourlanguage].DLSTRINGS
Update_[yourlanguage].ILSTRINGS
Update_[yourlanguage].STRINGS
10.OpentheData/Videofolder.
11.DeleteeverythingEXCEPTBGS_Logo.bik.
12.GotoDocuments/MyGames/Skyrim.
13.DeleteEverything.
Thiswilldeleteyoursaves.Ifyouwanttokeepthem,don'tdeleteyourSavesfolder.Justknowthatmoddedsavesareunstablewhenyouremovemodsfromyour
modlistthewaywejustdid.
14.RightclickonSkyriminSteamandselect"Properties."
15.Underthe"LocalFiles"tab,select"VerifyIntegrityofGameCache..."
Younowhaveaperfectlyvanillagame.

2.MoveSteamOutOfProgramFiles.

There'sgonnabeawholebunchofpermissionissuesifyouleaveitthereandstartmodding.
(Yes,evenifyourunasadministrator.)
Inordertofixthis,we'regoingtotakeSteam,andmoveitsomewhereelse.

1.ExitcompletelyoutofSteambyrightclickingonitinthetaskbarandselecting"ExitSteam."
2.GotoC:/ProgramFiles(x86)/Steam/.
3.DeleteeverythingexcepttheSteamAppsfolderandSteam.exe.
4.CreateanewfoldersomewherelikeC:/Games/Steam/orD:/Games/Steam/.
5.CopytheSteamAppsfolderandSteam.exefiletothenewdirectory.
6.DeletetheoriginalsandlaunchSteam.exe.Youwillneedtoverifyyouraccountagain.
7.Verifytheintegrityofgamecacheforallofyourinstalledgames.
YouhavenowsuccessfullymovedyourSteaminstallation.

3.MakeYourGameModdingVanilla

AlthoughBethesdaallowtheirgamestobemodded,theydon'tcleantheirfilestodoso.
Iguessthat'sourjob.Thisisknownas"cleaningyourmasters."

1.Nowwouldbeagoodtimetomakeafolderforyourmoddingtools.I'musingC:/Games/ModdingTools/.
2.DownloadandinstallTES5EdittoyourModdingToolsfolder.
3.StartSkyrimviaSteamandexitafteryourgraphicssettingshavebeendetermined.
4.RunTES5EditandONLYcheckUpdate.esm.
Skyrim.esmwillloadwithUpdate.esmthisisfine.OnlycleanUpdate.esm.
5.Whenitfinishesloading,rightclickUpdate.esmandselect"ApplyFilterforCleaning."
6.Rightclickagainandselect"Remove'IdenticaltoMaster'Records."(Yes,you'resure.)
7.Rightclickagainandselect"UndeleteandDisableReferences."
8.CloseTES5Editandsave.(No,Ididn'tmessuptheorderonthat.Thesavedialogpopsupwhenyouhittheclosebutton.)
9.Repeatsteps48forDawnguard.esm,Dragonborn.esm,andHearthFires.esmifyouhavethem.ONEATATIMEBECAUSETHEYSAYSO.
Dawnguard.esmwillneedtobecleanedtwice
Younowhaveacleangametostartmoddingwith.

4.MakeACleanSave

TheopeningsceneofSkyrimisthebiggestscriptmessinthewholegame.
Ifyoutrytoplayitonaheavilymoddedgame,you'relikelytoseebugs.
Whenyoufinishwiththissection,youwillhaveeverythingpreparedtostartaddingmodstoyourgame.

1.DownloadandinstallLOOTtoyourModdingToolsfolder.
LOOT0.6requiresInternetExplorer11inordertogenerateitsreports.ThisrequirementwillgoawayonceLOOT0.7isreleased.
2.RunLOOTforSkyrimandselect"SortPlugins"followedby"Apply"whenitfinishes.
3.Inthe"Details"tabofyourreport,you'llseethedifferentpluginsyouhaverunning.ThereshouldnotbeanynotestocleanyourfileswithTES5Editbecause
you'vejustdoneso.
4.StartSkyrimviaSteamandselect"DataFiles."
5.DeactivatetheHighResTexturePack.espfiles(ifyouhavetheHiResDLC)andstartanewgame.
6.Playuntilyoucompletethequest"Unbound"andsavethegame.
7.ExitthegameandgotoDocuments/MyGames/Skyrim/Saves/.
8.Renameyoursavefileto"CleanSave.ess"
9.StartSkyrimviaSteamagainandturntheHighResTexturePack.espfilesbackon(ifyouhavethem).
10.MakeabackupofyourSteam/SteamApps/common/SkyrimandDocuments/MyGames/Skyrimfolders.
Thesearethebackupstoyourperfectlyworking,vanillagameandsave.Whenallelsefailsandyou'vebrokenSkyrim,thesewillbewaitingforyou.Thinkofthese
backupsasyourhappyplace.YouwillstarteverynewgamefromyourCleanSave.Ifyouwantyourcharactertolookdifferentlyorhaveadifferentname,we'lltalk
aboutsomemodsforthatlater.Remember,CleanSaveandvanillabackup=happyplace.

5.ActuallyStartModding

Nowthatwe'vegotanicecleangameandsavetostartfrom,let'sstartmodding.
Inordertosetourselvesuptocausetheleastamountofdamage,we'llbeusingModOrganizer.

Let'stakeasecondtotalkaboutthewaythatSkyrimworks.We'renotgoingtobetalkingcode,don'tworry.Thesearejustbasicthingsthatyoushouldknowif
you'regoingtobeusingmods.
TheSteam/SteamApps/common/Skyrimfolder(alsoknownasyourmainSkyrimdirectory)containsyourexecutablefiles.ThefilesinthisfolderareMAJOR
gamechangingfiles.They'lleffectthewaythatSkyrimlaunches.Modmanagerswon'tevenconsiderhandlingthingsthatgoherebecause,justlikeanyother
executable,theyhavetheabilitytocontainvirusesormesswithyourcomputer.Ifamodsaystoputthingsintothisdirectory,youMUSTbewaryofthesource.

Mostmodswillinstalltothe"Data"folderwithinthemainSkyrimdirectory.Thingsinthisfoldercanaffectyourgame,butdon'thavemuchrealpoweroutsideof
that.Thisiswhereyou'llfindthecontentsofyourgame.You'llfindthescripts,audio,textures,...yougetit.It'sallintheDatafolder.Threetypesoffilesthat
you'llfindinthisfolderareESM,ESP,andBSAfiles.ESMandESPfiles(alsoknownasplugins)areyourgamechangingfiles.Theyholdthecontentthatwill
changethewaythegameworks.BSAfilesarebasicallytheBethesda.zipfile.They'rezippedupfilesoftextures,meshes,sounds,oranythingelsethattheESPor
ESMfileswantstoloadintothegame.ABSAfilecannotbeloadedintothegameunlessanESPorESMfile(plugin)tellsSkyrimtoloadit.
Noteverymodhasaplugin,though.Somejusthavefoldersoftextures,scripts,oranythingelsethatitwantsloaded.Theseareknownasloosefiles.UnlikeBSA
files,loosefilescanbeloadedintothegamewithoutaplugintellingthemto.Forinstance,SkyrimTextures.bsacontainsallofyourvanillatextures.Ifyouinstall
atexturereplacerforironswords,it'llprobablyjusthaveafoldercontainingtheironswordtexture.Ifthefolderisputintherightplacewiththerightfilename,
Skyrimwillknowtoloadit.TheironswordtexturefromthatmodwillbeloadedinsteadoftheironswordtexturefromSkyrimTextures.bsa.Loosefileswill
ALWAYSgetloadedovertopofBSAfiles.
Nowlet'stalkabouthowwe'regoingtomanagethesefiles.ModOrganizeristhecleanest,mostversatilewayofhandlingmods.We'llrefertoitasMOfromnow
on.WhenyouinstallmodswithMO,themodsdon'tactuallyinstallintoyourDatafolder.MOmakesapseudoDatafolderforthatmod.ThispseudoDatafolder
onlycontainsthecontentsofthatmod.EverymodinstalledviaMOhastheirownfolderlikethis.YoutellMOwhichmodstoload,anditloadsupthosepseudo
Datafoldersalongwiththerealone.AsfarasSkyrimisconcerned,allofthemodsareintherealDatafolder.Theadvantageofthisisthatinordertouninstalla
mod,youjusthavetotellMOnottoloadit.ThatpseudoDatafoldersimplywon'tbeloaded.YourrealDatafolderwillremaincleanforever.
AnotheradvantageofMOisthatyoucansetittoautomaticallyextractallBSAfilesintotheirloosefolders.Thisway,youcanseeeachindividualfilethatyour
modsareoverwriting.Youcanevenseewhentwomodsaretryingtooverwritethesamefile.Thisgivesyoucompletecontrolofwhichmod"wins."Iftwomodsare
tryingtoreplacetheirondaggertexture,yougettopickwhichonegetsloaded.JusttellMOtoloadyourfavoriteonelast.
MOdoeshavesomedisadvantages,though.Sinceyourmodsaren'tactuallyintheDatafolder,yourtoolswon'tknowthatthesemodsexistunlessMOtellsthem
thattheydo.You'llhavetorunallofyourtoolsthroughMOsothatMOcantellyourtoolsthatthemodsarethere.Also,MOusesit'sownsettingsfiles.Sowhena
modtellsyoutochangesomethinginyourskyrim.iniorskyrimprefs.ini,yourswillbeinadifferentplace.You'llhavetoremembertoeditthecorrectone.
Alright,readytostartusingit?Let'sbegin.

1.DownloadandinstallModOrganizerinyourModdingToolsfolder.Besuretochecktheboxfor"HandleNexusLinks"duringinstallation.
2.RunMOandselectyourSkyrimgamedirectoryasthegametomanage.
3.Clickonthewrenchandscrewdrivericoninthetoptoolbar.
4.Underthe"Nexus"tab,check"AutomaticallyLogIntoNexus"andenteryourNexusinfo.
5.Hitthe"Associatewith'Downloadwithmanager'links."
6.Underthe"Plugins"tab,selectthe"BSAExtractor"pluginandsetenabledtotrue.
7.Underthe"Workarounds"tab,changetheNMMversionto0.52.2andhit"BackdateBSAs."
8.GotoyourMOinstalldirectoryandrunnxmhandler.exe.
9.Select"RegisterActive"andhitOK.
MOisnowsetuptoinstallmodsfromNexus.Nowlet'sinstallyourfirstmod.Thisfirstoneisessentialandgivesyoupracticewithallofyourmodinstallation
skills.It'stheSkyrimScriptExtender,orSKSEforshort.Thismodreportsmoregameinfoforyourmodstouse.Thisisoneofthoseraremodsthathasfilesthatgo
intoboththemainSkyrimdirectoryandDatafolder.Payattentiontohowwehandleit.
10.DownloadtheSKSE.7zarchive,NOTtheinstaller,andextractitsomewhereusing7ziporWinRAR.Inside,youwillseeadirectorythatlookslikethis:
Data(folder)
src(folder)
skse_1_9_32.dll
skse_docs.txt
skse_loader.exe
skse_papyrus_docs.txt
skse_readme.txt
skse_steam_loader.dll
skse_whatsnew.txt
AllofthisissupposedtogointoyourmainSkyrimdirectory,butremember:MOletsuskeepourDatafoldervanillaforever.Sowe'llinstalltheDatafolderstuff
withMO.
11.MoveeverythingbuttheDatafoldertoSteam/SteamApps/common/Skyrim/.
12.GobacktothatDatafolderthatyouleftbehind.Insideyouwillfindafoldernamed"scripts."
13.Rightclickonthescriptsfolderandarchiveitintoa.7zor.rarfileusing7ziporWinRAR.NameitSKSE.
14.Makeafolderforallofyourmanuallydownloadedmods.I'musingC:/Games/ManuallyDownloadedMods.
15.MovetheSKSEarchivethatyoujustmadeintoyourManuallyDownloadedModsfolder.
16.InMO,clickthetoplefticoninthetoolbar.ItlookslikeaCDinfrontofabox.
17.PointittotheSKSEarchiveyoujustmadeandhitOK.
TheDatafolderportionofSKSEhasjustbeeninstalledwithMO.Let'stakealook.RightclickonSKSEinthelefthandpaneofMOandselect"Openinexplorer."
HereyoucanseethepseudoDatafolderthatMOcreatedforSKSE.ItcontainsthescriptsthatwouldhavegoneinyourrealDatafolder.TherealDatafolderstill
getstostayclean)
18.RestartMOandyou'llseethatSKSEhasbecomethedefaultoptionforMOtorun.Goaheadandclickthe"Run"button.
Asyoucansee,thisstartedyourSkyrimgamewithSKSE.ThisisgoingtobethewayyoustartSkyrimfromnowon.
19.ClickontheSKSEversionnumberinMOtochangeitfromtheinstalldatetothecurrentversion.Thecurrentversionis1.7.1asofthispublication.

6.PatchYourGame

Skyrimisprettyawfulwithmemoryallocation.Luckilythemoddingcommunityhasitcovered.

Thefirstpatchwe'regoingtoinstallis"Sheson'sMemoryPatch."ThispatchmakesSkyrim'smemoryblocksbigger.It'susefulbecauseifthememoryblocks
becomefull,Skyrimusuallycrashestryingtomakeanother.ThispatchisalreadyintegratedintoSKSEwejusthavetoactivateit.Toactivateit,we'llbeusingan
INIfile.INIfilesaretextfilesfullofsettings.Becausewe'reactivatingthispatchwithSKSE,youshouldnotuseSSME.Itisthesamepatch.
1.InMO,hittheglobeiconinthetoolbar.ThiswilltakeyoutoNexusandfinishtheprocessofgettingyour"DownloadwithManager"buttontowork.
2.DownloadtheSKSE.iniinthedownloadssectionofthisguide.Usethe"DownloadwithManager"button.
3.Itwillshowupinthe"Downloads"taboftherighthandpanelofMO.Doubleclicktoinstall.
4.Renameitfrom"ModdingBeginnersGuide"to"SKSEini."
Sheson'smemorypatchisnowactivated.Thenextpatchwe'lluseisENBoost.ThismovesyourprocessesfromRAMtoVRAMbecauseVRAMisfaster.Any
processesthatdon'tfitintheVRAMareexecutedintheRAM.Thiswillhelpoutwiththe3.1GBRAMcapthat32bitapplicationshave.
5.DownloadthelatestENBSeries.
Thedownloadbuttonisinadumbplace.First,clickonthelatestversionnumber(0.264asofOct2,2014).Thedownloadbuttonisattheverybottomofthe
versionpage.
6.Extractitwith7ziporWinRARandopenthe"WrapperVersion"folder.
7.Takethed3d9.dll,enbhost.exe,andenblocal.inifilesandplacetheminSteam/SteamApps/common/Skyrim/.

8.Openenblocal.iniwithNotepadorNotepad++(preferred)andsetthefollowingvalues:
[GLOBAL]
UsePatchSpeedhackWithoutGraphics=true
ThissettingdisableseverythinginENBexceptENBoost.IfyoudecidelateronthatyouwanttouseanENB,setthistofalse,installyourfavoritepreset,andhead
overtomySpeedandStabilityGuideforENB.
[MEMORY]
ExpandSystemMemoryX64=true
ReduceSystemMemoryUsage=true
DisableDriverMemoryManager=false
DisablePreloadToVRAM=false
EnableUnsafeMemoryHacks=false
ReservedMemorySizeMb=XXX
YouonlyNEEDittobesetto64.Usershaveseenbetterperformancewithitbeingsetto256or512.Onlysetto512ifyouhaveatleasta2GBgraphicscard.
VideoMemorySizeMb=XXXX
YouonlyNEEDitsetto(VRAM128).Usershaveseenbetterperformancewith(RAM+VRAM2048).1GB=1024.
EnableCompression=true
Falseifyouexperiencestuttering.
AutodetectVideoMemorySize=false
Becauseitkeepsguessingwrong.
[ENGINE]
ForceAnisotropicFiltering=true
MaxAnisotropy=XX
SettotheiMaxAnisotropyvalueinyourskyrimprefs.inilocatedinModOrganizer/profiles/Default/.
AddDisplaySuperSamplingResolutions=false
EnableVSync=true
VSyncSkipNumFrames=0
[LIMITER]
WaitBusyRenderer=false
TrueifyouexperiencestutteringandcantaketheFPShit.
EnableFPSLimit=true
FPSLimit=60.0
DONOTdownloadENBoostfromNexus.Whatyou'vejustinstalledisamoreupdatedversion.
9.GotoModOrganizer/profiles/Default.
10.Openskyrimprefs.iniwithNotepadorNotepad++(preferred)andsetthefollowingvalues:
[Display]
iMaxAnisotropy=1
Setthisto1AFTERyousetMaxAnisotropyinenblocal.initothissetting'soriginalvalue.
iPresentInterval=0
11.GotoyourNvidiaControlPanelorCatalystControlCenterandturnvsyncandanisotropicfilteringto"applicationcontrolled"forSkyrim.
Intelgraphicsusersarealreadyconfiguredcorrectlybydefault.
Younowhavethememorypatchesneededtohavefunwithhighendmods.

7.InstallNexusMods

Nowwe'regettingsomewhere!WecaninstallthemodsthatYOUwantnow.
Let'spracticewiththeUnofficialpatches.Prettymucheverymodassumesthatyouhavetheseinstalled.

1.DownloadtheUnofficialSkyrimPatchviaMOandinstall.
2.IfyouhavetheseDLC,downloadtheunofficialpatchesforDawnguard,HearthFires,Dragonborn,andtheHiResDLC.
DONOTinstallunofficialpatchesforDLCthatyoudonothaveinstalled.
RememberwhenIsaidthatpluginscontaininfothatchangesthewaythegameworks?Well,pluginscan,anddoconflictlikethecontentsoftheBSAfiles.
However,thecorrectorderoftheseisnotamatterofuserpreference.Theyhavetobeinaspecificorderforyourgametofunctionproperly.It'snolongerdeciding
whichirondaggertexturegetsloaded.It'sdeterminingwhatworldspaceedittomakeorwhichscripttorun.Inordertodeterminetheloadorderofourplugins,
we'llbeusingLOOTagain.RememberthatLOOTwillnotknowthatthesemodsexistunlessit'srunwithinMO.
3.InMO,clickonthegreenandbluegearsiconinthetaskbar.
4.Clickthe"..."buttonnextto"Binary"andpointittoyourLOOT.exefile.
5.ChangethetitletoLOOTanduntick"CloseMOwhenstarted."
6.Hit"Add,"then"Close."
7.Takealookattheloadorderunderthe"Plugins"tabintherightsidepanelofMO.Thisiswrong.LOOTwillfixit.
8.Inthedropdownmenuofprogramsnexttothe"Run"button,youshouldnowhaveabuttonforLOOT.SelectitandhitRun.
9.Click"SortPlugins"andthen"Apply"whenit'sfinished.
10.Afterreviewingthereport,takealookattheneworderofthe"Plugins"tab.Everythingisnowinthecorrectorder.
TheleftpanelofMOshowstheloosefileloadorder.Wheneveryouseealightningboltwithaplusorminussignunderthe"Flags"column,thismeansthatthere
aremodsfightingoverwhichonegetsthelastoverwriteonfiles.TakealookattheUnofficialSkyrimPatch.ThereisalightningboltundertheFlagscolumnfor
thismod.Toseetheconflictingfiles,doubleclickontheUnofficialSkyrimPatchandlookatthe"Conflicts"tab.Youwillseewhichfilesareconflicting,which
modsare"fighting,"andwhichmod"wins."Forthesakeofmatchingthepluginloadorderwiththeloosefileloadorder,let'srearrangetheloosefileorderto
matchthePluginloadorder.Whenyou'redone,yourleftpanelshouldlooklikethis:
SKSE
SKSEini
UnofficialSkyrimPatch
Dawnguard
UnofficialDawnguardPatch
HearthFires
UnofficialHearthfirePatch
Dragonborn
UnofficialDragonbornPatch
HighResTexturePack01

HighResTexturePack02
HighResTexturePack03
UnofficialHighResolutionPatch
AndyourPluginstabshouldlooklikethis:
Skyrim.esm
Update.esm
UnofficialSkyrimPatch.esp
Dawnguard.esm
UnofficialDawnguardPatch.esp
HearthFires.esm
UnofficialHearthfirePatch.esp
Dragonborn.esm
UnofficialDragonbornPatch.esp
HighResTexturePack01.esp
HighResTexturePack02.esp
HighResTexturePack03.esp
UnofficialHighResolutionPatch.esp
InthePluginstab,nexttotheHiResDLCrelatedthings,therearebroomicons.Thisindicatesthatthepluginsaredummyfiles.RememberwhenIsaidthatBSA
filescanonlygetloadedintothegameifaplugintellsSkyrimtoloadthem?WelldummypluginsarepluginsthatonlyexisttotellSkyrimtoloadtheirBSAfile.
Theyhavenogamealteringcontentoftheirown.MOcantellSkyrimtoloadthesefilesinsteadofthedummyplugin,sowecanturnthepluginsoff.Justmake
surethatthearchivesarecheckedunderthe"Archives"tab.Thisishelpfulbecauseyou'reonlyallowedtohave255pluginsforSkyrim.Anypluginsthatcanbe
turnedoffshouldbeturnedoff.
RunLOOTagain.Thistime,let'stakealookatthereport.LOOTreportsareagreattroubleshootingtool.Takealookat"UnofficialSkyrimPatch.esp"inthe
Detailstab.Therearegreentagsforit(Delev,Names,Relev,Stats).Thesetagsareforyoumergeinfofromyourpluginsintoonegiantlist.Thisallowsthingslike
NPCswearingcustomleveledarmor.We'llimplementthesegreentagsusingaBashedPatchfromWryeBash.
11.DownloadtheinstallerversionofWryeBashandinstallittoyourModdingToolsfolder.
12.AddWryeBashtothelistoftoolstoruninMOthesamewayyoudidforLOOT.
13.RunWryeBashviaMOandfind"BashedPatch,0.esp"atthebottomofyourpluginslist.
14.Rightclickitandselect"RebuildPatch"followedby"BuildPatch."
15.HitOK,activatethebashedpatch,andcloseWryeBash.
WryeBashcreatedourBashedPatch,butithasmadeitinour"overwrite"folder.YoucantellbecauseinMO,the"Overwrite"rowinourlefthandpanelhasred
lettering.ThereisalsoawarningsymbolinthetoprightcornerofMO.Clickingonitwillshowthattherearefilesinyouroverwritemod.Thingsgoinour
overwritemodifafilegetsinstalledanyotherwaythanyouinstallingitwithMO.Wedon'tlikethingsinouroverwritemod.Let'sgetitoutofthere.
16.Rightclickon"Overwrite"andselect"CreateMod."
17.Nameit"BashedPatch"andactivateitinyourmodlist.
Youroverwritefileisnowempty.Thebashedpatchgotmovedintoaregularmodslot.Let'stakealookatwhathappenswhenwerebuildthepatch.Youwillhave
torebuildyourBashedPatcheverytimeyouaddorremoveamodthatLOOTgivesagreentagsuggestion.
18.ReopenWryeBashandrebuildtheBashedPatch.
Look!There'sanotherBashedPatchinyourOverwritemod.IfyourestartMO,youcanalsoseethatthereisnowagraylightningboltintheFlagscolumnofyour
BashedPatchmod.Agraylightingboltmeansthateverysinglefileofthatmodisbeingoverwrittenbyothermods.Thismakessensebecausewejustmadeanew
BashedPatch.WewanttousethismoreupdatedBashedPatchinsteadoftheoneweinstalledearlier.Let'stakecareofthat.
19.Rightclickon"Overwrite"andselect"CreateMod."
20.Nameit"BashedPatch"andapopupwillappearthatthere'salreadyamodwiththatsamename.
21.Tofixthis,doubleclickonOverwrite.YouwillfindtheupdatedBashedPatch,0.espfile.Dragittothe"BashedPatch"modintheleftpanel.
22.Select"MoveandReplace"inthefollowingpopup.
YouhavesuccessfullyupdatedyourBashedPatch.

8.PracticeInstallingYourAverageMod

We'vebeendoingsomeofthemostcomplicatedstuffyou'llbedoingasamoduser.
Sorryaboutthat.Itwasallnecessaryinordertohaveagoodbasetostartinstallingmodswith.
Let'spracticeinstallingaverage,everydaymods.

Let'sinstallsomemodstomakeitsothatyoucanchangeyourcharacter'snameandappearanceatanytime.Thisway,youcanstilluseyourCleanSavetostart
newgamesANDhavedifferentcharacterseverytime.
1.DownloadandinstallRaceMenuusingthe"DownloadwithManager"button.
NoticethatpopupthatsaysthatSKSEisrequired?Aren'tyougladweinstalledthatfirst?
2.DownloadandinstallShowRaceMenuAlternativeusingthe"DownloadwithManager"button.
3.ActivatebothofthesemodsintheleftpanelofMO.
Therearenow3newpluginsinyourPluginstab.WeknowthatweshoulduseLOOTtosorttheorderofthese.
4.RunLOOTviaMOandsortplugins.
TheLOOTreportdidn'tgiveanygreentagsuggestionsforthesemodssowedon'thavetorebuildourBashedPatch.TheleftpanelofMOdoesn'tshowanyfile
conflictsbetweenthesemodsandanythingelse,sotheloosefileorderdoesn'tmatter.Bothourpluginsandloosefilesareinorder.Let'sseehowthemodswork
ingame.
5.RunSKSEviaMOtostartplaying.
6.LoadupyourCleanSave.Youshouldhaveanewpowernamed"ShowRaceMenuAlternative."Useitandselect"Openracemenu."
Youcannowedityourcharacter'srace,sex,appearance,andname.ThisallowsyoutomakenewcharactersandstilluseyourCleanSavetostartnewgames.
7.Whenyou'redoneeditingyourcharacter,savethegametoanewslot.Remember,wedon'twanttooverwriteourCleanSave.
8.OpenupMOagain.
Uhoh.ItlooksliketherearefilesinOverwriteagain.Let'sfindoutwhattheyare.
9.DoubleclickonOverwritetoseewhatfileswentinthere.
Itlookslikeit'sjustanemptycachefolder.RaceMenumusthaveuseditwhileyouwereeditingyourcharacter.
10.DeletethefoldersinOverwritebecausethey'renotnecessary.

Lookatallofthisprogresswe'remaking!You'reabletoinstallthemodsyouwant,usethemeffectively,andmanagethemproperly.You'realreadyaheadofhalfof
Nexus.

9.PracticeMessingUp

Asamoduser,you'regoingtomessup.It'skindofourthing.Let'sfindouthowtofixit.

Alright,let'spracticeinstallingsomethingthatyoushouldn't.We'redoingthissothatyoucanseewhathappensandhowtofixit.
1.DownloadAudioOverhaulforSkyrim2usingthe"DownloadwithManager"button.
Thisisactuallyafantasticmod.We'rejustgoingtoinstallitincorrectlytoseewhathappens.
2.Whileinstalling,installthepatchforPureWeather.
Webothknowthatyoudon'thavePureWeather,butinstallthepatchanyway.
3.ActivateAudioOverhaulforSkyrim2intheleftpanel.
Inyourpluginstab,you'llseetwonewplugins.Noticethat"Pureweather_AOS2Patch.esp"hasawarningflagnexttoit.Ifyouhoveryourmouseoverthewarning
flag,you'llsee"MissingMasters:Pureweather.esp."Thisiswarningyouthat"Pureweather_AOS2Patch.esp"needs"Pureweather.esp"tofunction.Youdon'thave
PureWeathersoyoudon'thavePureweather.esp.Let'spretendthatwemissedthiswarning.ThenextstepafterinstallinganewmodistouseLOOT.Let'sdo
that.
4.RunLOOTviaMOandsortplugins.
5.Lookat"Pureweather_AOS2Patch.esp"intheLOOTreport.
Onceagain,you'llgetawarning"Error:Thispluginrequires'Pureweather.esp'tobeinstalled,butitismissing."Butonceagain,we'llignoreit.Wedon'thaveany
greentagsuggestionssowedon'tneedtorebuildourBashedPatch.We'rereadytoplay.
6.RunSKSEviaMOtostartyourgame.
Lookatthat.Itcrashedrightafterthelogo.Iguessweshouldhavelistenedwhenitsaidweneeded"Pureweather.esp."Sonowlet'sfixit.Wecaneitherrunthe
AOS2installeragain,uncheckthepatchpluginfromthePluginstab,orinstallPureWeather.It'sreallyyourchoice.Let'skeepAOS2installedforthenext
demonstration.Justdon'tkeepthepatchwithouthavingPureWeather.
7.Fixit.

10.PracticePickingALooseFileOrder
Sofar,wehaven'thadtomesswithourloosefileloadorderthatmuch.
Thethreemodsthatwe'veinstalleddon'thaveanyloosefileconflicts.
Let'sgetonethatdoes.

1.DownloadandinstallImmersiveSoundsCompendiumusingthe"DownloadwithManager"button.
2.Don'tforgettoinstalltheAudioOverhaulforSkyrimpatchduringinstall.
3.MakesurethatbothImmersiveSoundsandAOSareactivatedinyourleftpanel.
Withbothmodsactive,you'llseelightningboltsappearinthe"Flags"columnforthesetwomods.Let'sfindoutwhichfilesareconflicting.
4.DoubleclickonImmersiveSoundsCompendium.
Underthe"Conflicts"tab,you'llseethatImmersiveSoundsisoverwritingtwoofAOS'sfiles.WehavetodecidewhethertohaveImmersiveSoundsorAOS"win."
5.LookatthecompatibilitysectionoftheImmersiveSoundsNexuspage.
Asitturnsout,ImmersiveSoundshasbeenmadewithAOSinmind.TheauthorsaystojusthaveImmersiveSoundsoverwriteAOS.Therefore,weshouldleave
ImmersiveSoundslowerontheleftpanelofMOthanAOS.IfwewantedAOStooverwriteImmersiveSounds,wewoulddragImmersiveSoundshigherthanAOS
intheleftpanel.
6.SortyourpluginswithLOOTtokeepyourpluginloadorderuptodate.

11.PracticeInstallingModsWithIncorrectFileTreesAndDirtyEdits
Asyouknow,MOcreatespseudoDatafoldersforallofyourmods.
Butwhatifamodisuploadedwithanincorrectfiletree?Let'stakealook.
Also,sometimesmodshavedirtyeditsjustlikethemasterfiles.We'llfixthattoo.

1.DownloadandinstallEtherealElvenOverhaulusingthe"DownloadwithManager"button.
Ilovethismod.Wejustneedtofixitupabit.
Youwillgetanerrorthatsays"Nogamedataontoplevel."ThisMeansthatitwasuploadedtoNexuswiththewrongfiletree.Wehavetofixthis.Inthepopup,
you'llseethisfiletree:
<data>
>DATA
>README.txt
Asyoucansee,theDATAfolderissupposedtobetheDatafolderusedforthismod.
2.RightclickontheDATAfolderandselect"Setdatadirectory."
Themessagenowsays"Looksgood"soyouarereadytoinstall.
3.Finishinstallingandactivatethemod.
4.RunLOOTviaMOandlookat"ethereal_elven_overhaul.esp"intheDetailstabofthereport.
You'llseeawarningthatsays"Warning:Contains6ITMrecords.CleanwithTES5Edit."
5.AddTES5EdittoMOthesamewayyoudidLOOTandWryeBash.
6.RunTES5EditviaMOandcleanethereal_elven_overhaul.espthesamewaythatyoudidUpdate.esm.

12.PracticeInstallingModsWithDisorderedMasters
RemembersayingthatLOOThelpsdeterminetherightpluginorder?

Havingtherightloadorderisimportant.Modsthatrequiremultiplemastersalsoneedthecorrectloadorder.
We'regoingtotakealookatamodthathasanincorrectloadorderonitsdependencies.
SorrynonDawnguardandDragonbornusers,butyou'regoingtohavetositthisoneout.

1.DownloadandinstallEnhancedBetterSorting.Besuretocheckthe"Ammo"module.
2.ActivateitandrunLOOT.
Everythinglooksnormalsofar,butwhathappenswhenwelookinWryeBash?
3.RunWryeBashviaMO.
TheEBSammo.esphasanorangecheckbox.Lookinginthe"Masters:"sectionoftherightpanel,youcanseethatit'sexpectingtoloadDawnguard.esmand
Dragonborn.esmbeforeUpdate.esm.Weknowthatthisiswrong.Let'sfixthat.
4.RunTES5EditviaMOandonlycheckEBSAmmo.esp.
5.Whenit'sfinishedloading,rightclickonEBSAmmo.espandselect"SortMasters."
6.ExitTES5Editandsave.
EBSAmmo.esp'sexpectedloadorderwillnowmatchouractualloadorder.

13.AcknowledgeTheDownsideOfMO

RememberthatyourtoolswillhavenoideathatanyofyourmodsareinstalledunlessMOsaystheyare.
Thisextendstoyourmods.

1.DownloadandinstallSkyUI.
You'llgetabigpopupwarningfromSkyui'sinstallersayingthattheSKSEscriptsaremissing.Weknowthatthey'renotmissing.They'rejustnotintherealData
folder.
2.Ignorethewarningandinstallanyway.
3.ActivateandrunLOOT.
What?Youexpectedmore?

14.OptimizeYourTextures

ConvertingyourtexturestomoreefficientformatsisagreatfreesourceofFPS.
ThisportionoftheguideiscomingalmostdirectlyfromtheSTEPproject.Gothankthemwhenyougetthechance.
Yes,IknowaboutOptimizerTexturesandSMCO.No,Iwillnotbediscussingthem.
ThissectionTAKESTIMEandisCOMPLETELYSKIPPABLE.
However,MySkyrimfoldershrank2.69GBfromoptimizingthevanillatexturesandcompressingtheirBSAsalone.

NoneofthetoolsinthissectionneedtoberunthroughMO.We'rechangingthefilesintheirrealdirectories.Wedon'thavetotrickthetoolsintothinkingthey're
intheDatafolder.
1.I'vemadeoptimizedversionsofthevanillatexturesforyou.Youcandownloadthemhere.
2.DownloadallofthefullorlitemodulesofSkyrimHD2KTexturesusingthe"DownloadwithManager"button.
3.Installallofthemandselect"Merge"duringthe"ModExists"popup.
4.Makeafolderdirectorythatlookslikethissomewhere.IchoseC:/Games/:
Thesefoldernamesmustmatchexactly.
Working
>ModExtracted
>>SkyrimHD2KTextures
ThisiswhereyourHD2Ktextureswillbeplacedtobeoptimized.
5.RightclickonSkyrimHD2KTexturesintheleftpanelofMOandselect"Openinexplorer."
6.Copythetexturesfolderandpasteitintothe"SkyrimHD2KTextures"folderthatyoumadeinyourWorkingdirectory.
7.Extractthesebatchfilesintoyour"Working"folder.
YourWorkingfoldershouldnowcontainthosebatchfilesandyour"ModExtracted"folder.
6.Run"4_Mod_Sorting_Preoptimization_2.75.bat"andclickanybuttonsittellsyoutountilitclosesitself.
Yes,wedowanttoseparateexteriortextures.
YouwillnowhavethefollowingnewfoldersinyourWorkingdirectory:
ModBodyTextures
ModExteriorNormalMaps
ModExteriorTextures
ModNormalMaps
ModOrdinaryTextures
Thesedon'tallnecessarilyhavefilesinthem.Forinstance,SkyrimHD2KTexturesdoesn'thaveanyBodyTextures.Thatfolderwillbeempty.
7.DownloadandinstallDDSoptprereleaseupdate4toyourModdingToolsfolder.
8.CopytheselinesofcodeandreplacethecontentsofyourDDSopt.iniwiththem.
9.StartDDSoptandchangethegametoSkyriminthe"Game"tab.
10.Hitthe"Browse"buttonnextto".\in,"pointittoWorking/ModExteriorNormalMaps/,andhit"UseFolder."
11.Hitthe"Browse"buttonnextto".\out,"pointittoWorking/ModOptimized/,andhit"UseFolder."
12.Inthe"Ignore"menu,untick"Copyunprocessedandignoredfiles(passthrough)."
13.Inthe"Constraints"tab,changeallofthefiletypestolosslessandsetbothResolutionlimitstoyourpreference.
Personally,IusetheseResolutionlimits:
ModBodyTextures2048x2048
ModExteriorNormalMaps1024x1024
ModExteriorTextures1024x1024
ModNormalMaps2048x2048
ModOrdinaryTextures2048x2048

14.Tick"ShowRecursive"inthe"Browser"tabandhit"Process."
15.Repeatsteps1014foreachofthesefolders.
16.GotoWorking/ModOptimized/SkyrimHD2KTextures/andcopythetexturesfolder.
17.PasteitbackintoMO'sSkyrimHD2KTextures'pseudoDatafoldertoreplacetheoriginals.Overwritewhenasked.
18.DeletethefoldersinyourWorkingdirectory.
YouhavenowoptimizedSkyrimHD2KTextures.Youcanoptimizeasmanymodsasyouwantatatime.Justgivethemtheirownfoldersunder"ModExtracted."
Allmodsthatyouwanttooptimizeneedtohaveloosefiles.DDSoptcannotoptimizeBSAfiles.

15.DoWhatYouWant!

Younowhaveallthetoolsandunderstandingyouneedtobeasuccessfulmoduser!
Goonanddownloadwhatevermodsyouwant.Uploadscreenshotsofyourgamehere.Iwanttoseewhatyou'vedone)
Thisguideisaworkinprogress.Savegamecleaningwillbecomingnext.

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