MrPerson
1821
NMM works fine for the Steam version of Skyrim. Steam Workshop for Skyrim mods isn’t a great way to go, as you have less control over mod updates that can break your playthrough.
I too picked up Skyrim (and have been putting a ton of hours into it). NMM seems to be fine for what I’m using, but I’m not using that many mods; Frostfall, SkyUI, Climates of Tamriel, Immersive Armor/Weapons, Cloaks, Inconsequential NPCs, and the improved world map.
Are there any other good mods that people would recommend?
Especially since I don’t think a non-Steam version of Skyrim exists, does it?
Someone very smart explain what “parallax” is in terms of Skyrim, ENB, and if I want to worry over it and see if it’s neat or not.
Pretend I’m, uh, dumb…;)
I think (though I’m not sure) that what they’re referring to might be simulated depth-of-field effect–if the center of your FOV is looking at something far away, something closer up will blur a bit.
Parallax is looking at the same thing from slightly different angles (which allows us to see in 3D), so in this context it may refer to something that only matters if you have 3d specs and a 3d monitor.
For anyone looking to mod skyrim at the moment, be aware NMM has been disabled from working in online mode, because clownshoes.
I didn’t dig into the details, but it turns out that during some recent site upgrades Nexus found that NMM was responsible for a huge amount of web and database requests, basically ddos-ing their infrastructure. For the moment they’ve disabled all logins for NMM, so it will only run in offline mode. That’s fine if you have everything you already want setup, but it can’t handle new mods or mod updates directly. It should be able to handle users downloading mods manually, then adding them to NMM as files.
godhugh
1830
To put it as simply as I can, parallax adds depth and a 3D feel to 2D textures. It requires ENB and parallax textures to be installed (Project Parallax Remastered & the Vivid Landscapes series are the packs you need). The roads, walls, rocks, trees, etc will actually look bumpy and rough. It’s a neat effect and comes at a minimal performance hit (especially since you’ll already be running ENB).
Yep, you can still manually download and add, but be warned a lot of the Nexus mirrors don’t seem to have synced properly. If I download mods from anywhere in Europe I get corrupt files, but if I download the same file from Washington DC the files fine.
Lovely. All in all, I’d say the best plan is to hold off on anything Nexus related for a few days.
Is ENB worth the hassle in getting it set up?
I tried installing Real Vision ENB and couldn’t start a new game, it hung at the loading screen. Eventually I gave up, but would be interested in trying again if people highly recommend it.
I’m not impressed by ENBs; I am quite happy with the “normal” look running with setting tweaks/lighting mods/texture mods/etc instead. Others love them. It’s very much a personal preference sort of thing. They can really do a lot to alter the mood of the game in a subtle way. I’d suggest checking out some good comparison reviews on youtube. I think Gopher did some good reviews of a few major ones a while back.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gopher+enb&sm=1
Here’s what I ran last time I played, more or less: http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?67860-Do-you-still-play-Skyrim&p=3419887&viewfull=1#post3419887
I figure I’ll play again soon, but the mod list will looks about the same. I’ll probably cut skyre in favor of sperg, as skyre is really poorly maintained at this point and sperg has released a new major version I want to check out. I’ll probably make some tweaks of my own as well, since having to dick around with the pain in the ass that is Fallout 3 mods has made me more comfortable with making my own micro mods.
Bateau
1836
Please write your impressions on Sperg after you try it, it sounds really interesting. I’ve always used Requiem in my Skyrim playthroughs because I felt SkyRE wasn’t difficult/hardcore enough.
As for the ENBs - for me it comes down to performance vs looks. With my current ENB preset I’m getting roughly 45-50 fps outside and while the game looks amazing it really bothers me since I’m used to 60 fps gaming which is the reason I might ditch the ENB and go back to standard settings or maybe Imaginator/Dynavision combination.
Dunqan
1838
godhugh–always my fact checkin’ cuz on Skyrim–and Dunqan and everyone else, thanks a ton. That helps on parallax.
I’m really gonna do this again, aren’t I?
Bateau
1840
I’ve played it on master, difficulty was the same as in vanilla - lower outgoing damage and bloated healthpools. I much prefer the way Requiem handles difficulty, with high incoming and outgoing damage which makes the fights more about reflexes than attrition.
