The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Best mods on the net thread

[schoolslave]

Is it still best to install the Bethesda HD Textures first and then the HD textures pack over those?
Because I thought there were a "few" textures that the HD pack didn't touch which were slightly better with the Bethesda HD textures.

[Ket]

All mods are still a WIP at this stage so any textures modders haven't done yet will surely get done in time. I wouldn't bother with the Bethesda "HD" texture pack at all as the textures aren't HD, they are just the source uncompressed files.

[Ket]

Just wondering, after about 64hrs of gameplay has anyone found that Skyrim turns into the most unstable POS ever? I can't do anything without randomly getting frequent CTDs. Oblivion was bad enough, Skyrim has turned 100x worse since it ticked over to the 64hr mark. If this is the kind of thing we can expect from Bethesda, those folk need to seriously consider a career change.

[zanzabar]

i have 2 saves at almsot 100hours each and they do not crash, i would expect a mod is to blame, or you ran out of vram and it crashed (also mod related)

[Ket]

Nah, I'm fine on both counts been playing with texture mods from the very start its only now its ticked over to 64hrs its got really unstable. I'll fiddle around a bit to see if I can isolate the problem. Also, as it isn't well known but well worth trying, a small mod called Skyboost. It does lots of cool stuff. Link: http://alexander.sannybuilder.com/?c...e=skyrim_boost

[Ket]

Cleaned up & categorised Skyrim modding guide. Much easier to follow now.

[Ket]

FYI I'll be updating 1st post when I can with (probably) the final revision to the tweak guide and some ini files I've been fiddling with for quite a while striking that balance between visuals and when the performance impact isn't worth the gain. Links for the very best mods will come when I can get them all organised.

[Manicdan]

thanks a bunch!, im really close to replaying the game with my new gpu and want to get a best experience a 500$ gpu can give me

[schoolslave]

All mods are still a WIP at this stage so any textures modders haven't done yet will surely get done in time. I wouldn't bother with the Bethesda "HD" texture pack at all as the textures aren't HD, they are just the source uncompressed files.

After reading up on this, I would say that in order to get the best possible textures at this time, the Beth HD DLC should be installed first.
Also, the hd dlc is in bsa form, and afaik a newer patch made it so that loose files (aka 2k HD textures) overwrite bsas.
This way, you would get all the 2K textures, but also the "HD" beth textures where needed.

[Ket]

I haven't bothered with the bethesda "HD" textures at all as they aren't HD by any stretch of the term, they are the same crappy resolution and splodgy mess as the shipping textures, just uncompressed. If you look at side by side comparisons even with the bethesda "HD" textures you will be REALLY hard pressed to see any difference at all.

[Ket]

1st post updated.

[Manicdan]

it looks like your aiming mostly for image quality, and not so much with gameplay changes, is that a correct assumption? cause i do want to hear about the best mods that make the game feel so much more in-depth and theres so many to filter through.

[Ket]

Yep, quality first, game changing mods come later. Skyrim is a game ruined by consoles.

[zanzabar]

it looks like your aiming mostly for image quality, and not so much with gameplay changes, is that a correct assumption? cause i do want to hear about the best mods that make the game feel so much more in-depth and theres so many to filter through.

i find that the game plays completely different with sky UI, it is just so much better than stock. there are also a couple 3rd party expansions like this one http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/9782

[Ket]

^ That mod looks fantastic I'll have to give it a go once I have sorted my Skyrim stability issues out. I keep crashing to desktop with no error at a certain point in the world map. My system is rock stable so I know I'm good there and it can't be any mods as they are just texture mods with the exception of SkyUI. I wish there was a non SKSE version of SkyUI though I just want a PC friendly UI not all the other bloat that comes with it.

If theres one thing I really hate about the modding community for TES games though its that they have absolutely ZERO communication with eachother which makes installing TES mods a real headache after a while. Its not like the stalker mod community where everybody is pretty well organised and keeps eachother updated, we try to make sure there aren't real headaches for people installing multiple mods.

[Ket]

Alright... that does it. I'm rebuilding the ini files from scratch. I'll let you know how "PC'd up" I can get things. Sick of this "for console" bollocks.

[Ket]

Ok, I have some new ini files (yeah I know that was fast). Who wants to be my little beta tester? Theres a LOT of changes and additions in these new files.

[El Mano]

Skyrim is a game ruined by consoles.

Or perhaps by PC players willing to buy a game made for consoles. If you don't want console ports, don't support them

[Manicdan]

Or perhaps by PC players willing to buy a game made for consoles. If you don't want console ports, don't support them

skyrim is like a hot chick thats got a few bruises on her face, you still want her cause you know shes got more potential.

[Ket]

skyrim is like a hot chick thats got a few bruises on her face, you still want her cause you know shes got more potential.

Exactly. REAL HD textures for Skyrim already show how good the game can look combined with insane ini mods. Bethesda still deserve a slap though. It would of been far easier to make Skyrim designed for PCs, then for console versions simply turn off the stuff consoles can't handle and put the PC HD textures through a batch command in Photoshop to resize them to "console friendly" (ie; crap resolution) textures.

[El Mano]

skyrim is like a hot chick thats got a few bruises on her face, you still want her cause you know shes got more potential.

Nice analogy

[Ket]

haha yea, i love hot chick analogies Hot chicks: Always relevent nomatter the topic

[Ket]

Has anyone else had random FPS drops in Skyrim? I can be playing the game, enter somewhere then exit and out of nowhere my FPS is shot to hell. Even more strangely if I save when I get these FPS issues then load the save the FPS problem goes away.. same happens when I fast travel. The last place this happen to me in was Whiterun, I was running around outside no FPS problems, I then broke into someones house to nick some stuff, when I exited the house my FPS had randomly got all shot to hell, entered the house then immediately exited and my FPS was fine again

[zanzabar]

i would guess that you graphics card is to blame, watch you ram use. when i go into a place that has the for textures to be streamed to the graphics card i get a bit of lag.

also do you mind posting your ini files as ziped attachments.

[Ket]

I'm not done with the ini files yet, they need refining. I doubt my GPU is the problem as I noticed the FPS lag happens when the game is autosaving, doesn't do it all the time, but the times it does thats when it slows and sometimes the FPS will pick right back up after the game is done autosaving. Amazing how Skyrim is at v1.6.89 and theres still a lot of fundamental issues unresolved.