The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Mod Thread

ZaneRockfist wrote:
BlackSabre wrote:

Mod theft?

I don't really have a problem with the nexus. Like I said, I used it extensively for Fallout 3 and New Vegas. I'm just enjoying the simplicity of the workshop.

People on the Workshop uploading mods that are not their own and taking credit for them.

Seems odd... not like there's any money in it.

Weird people doing weird things I guess...

I caved in and started using the Nexus myself. It's suprisingly simple, but I can understand where BlackSabre is coming from, any extra level of interface I need to put between myself and my game is something I generally try to avoid.

Redwing wrote:

I caved in and started using the Nexus myself. It's suprisingly simple, but I can understand where BlackSabre is coming from, any extra level of interface I need to put between myself and my game is something I generally try to avoid.

In this instance, that extra level of interface helps tremendously in installing and manipulating mods. It ultimately saves you time and effort. And it works much better than the workshop does.

Not trying to be a pain, but how exactly does the nexus save you time and effort.

Case 1: Nexus

1. Download Mod Manager.
2. Install Mod Manager.
3. Visit Nexus and find mod
4. Download Mod
5. Install mod using mod manager
6. Launch game
7. Have Fun.

Case 2: Workshop

1. Find Mod
2. Click Subscribe
3. Launch game
4. Have fun

Like I said, I'm experienced with using the mod manager for F3 and FNV. How exactly is that supposed to be simpler than the Workshop?

You can download straight into the Nexus Mod Manager, so for ease of use, it's about the same as the Workshop. The "simpler" aspect is more to do with conflict management (which is almost inevitable) and overall post-install management. If you're sticking to 10-15 mods, you shouldn't have a problem using the Workshop.

But, if you're gnawing at the beginnings of 100 mods - which is certainly possible, it's god damn addicting - the NMM will be a veritable treasure trove of helpfulness.

And to revise your step list, it's more like this (assuming NMM is downloaded and installed, as you only need to do that once):

1. Find mod
2. Download mod (1 click)
3. Install mod (1 click)
4. Launch game
5. Have fun

In actuality, it's just one more step.

Edit: Also, unless they changed it, the Skyrim launcher checks every mod, step by step, for updates. NMM does not. As I said, if you're not using a *lot* of mods, like some of us, this won't be an issue for you.

But you gotta use a lot of mods. Come on now.

Edit 2: NMM also makes it a hell of a lot easier to view changelogs. That's a big plus for me.

Hmm, maybe. So far I'm at 14 mods which are mostly cosmetic stuff. There are 2 on the nexus that I can't get on the workshop, so that would bring it to 16... yeah, maybe. Not sure.

Hyetal wrote:

You can download straight into the Nexus Mod Manager, so for ease of use, it's about the same as the Workshop. The "simpler" aspect is more to do with conflict management (which is almost inevitable) and overall post-install management. If you're sticking to 10-15 mods, you shouldn't have a problem using the Workshop.

But, if you're gnawing at the beginnings of 100 mods - which is certainly possible, it's god damn addicting - the NMM will be a veritable treasure trove of helpfulness.

And to revise your step list, it's more like this (assuming NMM is downloaded and installed, as you only need to do that once):

1. Find mod
2. Download mod (1 click)
3. Install mod (1 click)
4. Launch game
5. Have fun

In actuality, it's just one more step.

Edit: Also, unless they changed it, the Skyrim launcher checks every mod, step by step, for updates. NMM does not. As I said, if you're not using a *lot* of mods, like some of us, this won't be an issue for you.

But you gotta use a lot of mods. Come on now.

Edit 2: NMM also makes it a hell of a lot easier to view changelogs. That's a big plus for me.

I don't really use NMM but it dos check for mod updates. I use Mod Organizer which I think is far better than NMM and workshop. However, the big differences between workshop and NMM are Workshop requires mods to be in certain format that I forget the name of but basically all the assets are in one file. The problem is many mods are way to complex to use this format so they can not be put on workshop. The next problem with workshop is since the mods are in this format you have no control over how different mods edit the same objects. With workshop you can not just download the mod to a mod location, instead the mod is installed to skyrim directory. So lets say you have two mods that edit the dark brotherhood clothes. You like the female clothes from one mod and the male clothes from the other. You can not use both with workshop but with NMM you could edit the files of one mod and use both of them. Then the last problem with workshop is the subscription system can break other mods or your game and since it is automatic you'll have no idea which mod broke the game.

In my opinion workshop should not be used at all and if you do use it only use cosmetic mods for it.

PaladinTom: Hang on, I never said that! It is true, however.

Baron Of Hell wrote:

I don't really use NMM but it dos check for mod updates.

Right, I meant that NMM doesn't use the slow, laborious process of checking each individual mod for an update. It does them all at once.

Hyetal wrote:

PaladinTom: Hang on, I never said that!

Err... hmm? Not sure what you mean there...

Seriously though: Sorry 'bout that! Fixed my earlier post.

Completely off topic, but I never before considered the mayhem that can be caused simply by mis-using the quote tags. Chaos!!!

Baron Of Hell wrote:

Then the last problem with workshop is the subscription system can break other mods or your game and since it is automatic you'll have no idea which mod broke the game.

This was my biggest concern with the Workshop when I started using it. It hasn't bitten me yet, but I am always afraid it will.

Are there tools that work with the Nexus mods that provide easy install/priority/uninstall AND also allow granular auto-updating?

Edit: Fixed quote attribution.

PaladinTom wrote:
Baron Of Hell wrote:

Then the last problem with workshop is the subscription system can break other mods or your game and since it is automatic you'll have no idea which mod broke the game.

This was my biggest concern with the Workshop when I started using it. It hasn't bitten me yet, but I am always afraid it will.

Are there tools that work with the Nexus mods that provide easy install/priority/uninstall AND also allow granular auto-updating?

Edit: Fixed quote attribution.

You're looking for a program called wrye bash. it makes all your mods work together by merging levelled lists and sorting load orders.

SkyUI is perhaps the greatest mod ever created. Seriously, it's awesome. Unbelievably awesome.

I'm probably going to stick with the workshop for now as everything seems to work perfectly and I've got the mods I want. I'm going to download the mod manager too though and look at getting the nexus mods that I want ready so that I can make the change a bit later.

Poke: So, looking to get back into this game now that I've upgraded my processor and GPU. What are the top 6 mods I should get up and running? Top 12?

Anyone know of any good resources for modding the crafting menus? I've found some decent stuff in the SkyUI github account. I'm looking to make a simple Alchemy mod that'll auto-create the most expensive potions it can with the ingredients you have.

Anyone check out Interesting NPCs yet? Seem nice to liven up the world a bit...

For a gig of mod, I think I'll wait until I get around to starting another playthrough to get the most out of it, and it seems to be getting new versions reasonably frequently at the moment, not something I'd want to redownload too often with the prospect of Bethesda potentially updating the game with the next expansion and breaking a few things in 3rd party mods.

PaladinTom wrote:

Anyone check out Interesting NPCs yet? Seem nice to liven up the world a bit...

must have mod. I love it.

TheWanderer wrote:

Poke: So, looking to get back into this game now that I've upgraded my processor and GPU. What are the top 6 mods I should get up and running? Top 12?

Skyrim Redone
SkyUI
Guard Dialogue Overhaul
XCE - Xenius Character Enhancement
Project Reality - Climates of Tamriel
Alternate Start - Live Another Life
Immersive Armors
Enhanced Night Skyrim
A Quality World Map with Roads
Unofficial patches for dawnguard and hearthfire
Imaginator

I've used all of these together without any problems so I know they work well together.

If you're starting a new character, you need to get Alternate Start, like ZaneRockfist mentioned.

That way, you can choose not to be a prisoner of war! Hooray!

Climates of Tamriel isn't compatible with Dawnguard as it breaks some environment effects that occur during the Dawnguard story line. I'm waiting to install that one despite it looking awesome.

complexmath wrote:

Climates of Tamriel isn't compatible with Dawnguard as it breaks some environment effects that occur during the Dawnguard story line. I'm waiting to install that one despite it looking awesome.

That is no longer true. You just need to use the dawnguard patch.

Oh my. I know what I'm doing tonight.

Edit: SkyUi says I need Skyrim Script Extender?

It will run without it; all SKSE is really needed for in SkyUI is the search function.

Cool. And these are all in the Steam Workshop thing? Sorry, lazy posting from behind the firewall at work.

SKSE is at skse.silverlock.org - You extract it into your skyrim main directory (not data directory like most mods) so that skse_loader.exe is in the same directory as TESV.exe, and all the subdirectories go in with it. From then on you launch with skse_loader, which then loads TESV.

To download/update steam workshop mods you'll still need to open the normal launcher, but not use it to run the game. The other major place to find mods is skyrim.nexusmods.com

tanstaafl wrote:

It will run without it; all SKSE is really needed for in SkyUI is the search function.

You also need it for the MCM function and I think the color coding if you want to change it.

Most are. I think there's a size limit on Steam Workshop mods, so some of the larger ones are either only on the Nexus or have a better version on the Nexus. But I've found that there are some mods I like that are only in Steam Workshop and not on the Nexus, so you really can't rely on using just one. I prefer Steam Workshop but use the Nexus Mod Manager for a few of the mods that either don't exist on Steam Workshop or that have fancier Nexus versions. Climates of Tamriel is one such mod, I believe. The Steam Workshop description for such mods will mention this if so.

Depending on what number you use, there's double or 6 times the amounts of mods/files on nexus.

Cripes. Well... Clear as mud then.

Workshop has the virtue of convenience. As long as you run the Skyrim launcher, you'll get auto updates.

Nexus has the virtue of flexibility. Its site searching is a little better in my experience. It has an interface to change your mod load order, which can be necessary in order to resolve mod conflicts. It's easier for mod makers to build packages for Nexus, and it gives them more control over the installation process. For example, it's possible to build it so that Nexus installer can pop up a dialog for the user to customize the install. Can't do that with Workshop.