- LevelSkip»
- RPGs»
- How To Manually Install Skyrim Se Mods Dark Souls Regular Knight Unpb
- How To Manually Install Nexus Mods Skyrim Special Edition
- Install Mods Skyrim Special Edition
- How To Manually Install Skyrim Special Edition Mods Pc
How to manually install, partially install, use and test Skyrim mods downloaded from Nexus or other locations
How To Manually Install Skyrim Se Mods Dark Souls Regular Knight Unpb
Apr 07, 2013 Install the first mod manually, install the second mod manually. NMM, piece of shit that it is, wasn't designed with overwriting data from another mod in mind. If you want to modify content from a mod, you'll have to install both mods manually. Welcome to my latest hub on Skyrim, the fifth game in my favourite series the Elder Scrolls. Today, I am going to look at how to best install mods manually. Mods allow you to enhance the original game, fixing bugs, add new content and upgrade the graphics. Install the first mod manually, install the second mod manually. NMM, piece of shit that it is, wasn't designed with overwriting data from another mod in mind. If you want to modify content from a mod, you'll have to install both mods manually. So I did the whole NMM deal where I use the '.' For Skyrim Special Edition and got all the way past that, but when I try to install mods NMM tells me that 'NMM is not set up for skyrim' or something or other. I have NMM in the same directory as Skyrim VR and I'm not sure how to make this work.
Welcome to my latest hub on Skyrim, the fifth game in my favourite series the Elder Scrolls. Today, I am going to look at how to best install mods manually. Mods allow you to enhance the original game, fixing bugs, add new content and upgrade the graphics. You can add new land masses, quests, in fact pretty much anything you could possibly think of can be added, changed or tweaked using mods. You can see an example of how mods can improve the look of Skyrim in the picture below.
Manually installing mods gives you a number of advantages over using Mod Management tools:
- Using my system, it is more accurate
- You can install parts of mods rather than the entire mod (you may for example, really like the iron armour from an armour replacement mod but not like the rest)
- You can pick and choose what you use from mods, installing just the parts you want to use
- You become more familiar with how mods work by installing them manually
The best place to find mods is the Skyrim Nexus website which can be found here: http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim. A good place to start is the Top Files section which can be found by clicking on the Files button and select Top Files. It will give you an idea of what is popular and also show you some of the best mods made.
Preparing your Skyrim mods for installation
Before you install mods, it is a good idea to organise the mods that you have and any that you download. This is true whether you use Mod Management tools or choose to install your mods manually.
- Ensure that the mods are renamed if the original zip file has a name that doesn’t match the mod itself. So for example, Sounds of Skyrim has patches for popular mods. The zip file is called Compatibility Patches-20193-1-02 so I renamed it Sounds of Skyrim – Compatibility patches. Otherwise in a few months time you may have no idea what the mod is
- Next, create a folder and copy all your correctly named mods into it. Also create a folder called Installed and a folder called New. We will use the folders during the mod installation process.
- If you are using Skyrim Nexus, it is also a good idea to mirror their categories to make mods easier to sort and also to find
- Finally, and most importantly copy your entire Skyrim folder so that you have a backup. That way if something goes wrong you can roll back without re-installing the game.
How to check mods for patches, dependencies and conflicts when installing Skyrim mods to make your game more stable
Now that we have all our mods appropriately named and tidied into one folder, we need to check for any conflicts, dependencies or patches for our mods. Again, this is a step that you should perform for all mods regardless of the installation method. First:
- On Skyrim Nexus, read the mods description (Desc) tab thoroughly for any installation advice from the modder.
- Next, on the Files tab, check for any patches that the modder has created to allow the mod to run well alongside other mods that may conflict with it
- You can also message the mod creator and also talk to other gamers playing Skyrim and discuss or ask questions about the mod on the Posts tab
- Finally, check the readme files that come with the mod, looking for conflicts, installation recommendations and also where in the load order the mod should go
It is important to always read the instructions closely. Even mods that you wouldn't expect to cause issues can and will cause problems, including the dreaded Crash to Desktop (CTD).
How To Manually Install Nexus Mods Skyrim Special Edition
An example is ApachiiSkyHair by the talented modder Apachii. This mod can cause CTDs when you change hair, sex or race when selecting your character at the beginning of the game. The modder on the Description tab in Skyrim Nexus tells you exactly how to fix this problem (install Show Race Menu Options by MojoDaJojo and voila, no more issues with this mod).
How to Manually install Skyrim mods
Installing mods manually once you have checked the installation instructions and downloaded any patches is fairly straightforward. Even if you use a Mod Manager, installing mods manually gives you a greater understanding of how the files fit together and what they do.
- Cut and Paste the zip file into the New folder we created above
- Open the zip file of the mod you are about to install (I have expanded the folders so you can see the folders in the mod structure below)
- Now open your Skyrim game folder and have the Data folder so you can see it
- Collapse the tree view and drag the folder (or folders) below the Data folder from the zip to Data folder in your game installation folder.
Typically, you will copy one or all of three folders: Hacker evolution download.
Install Mods Skyrim Special Edition
- Textures - add detail and surface texture to all objects you see in game
- Meshes - control the shape of all the objects in game
- Scripts - changes how things behave in the game
There may also be other files .bsa, .esp in the Data folder. Copy all of these to your Data folder. Windows may ask you to overwrite files in the game directory, typically you would say yes, unless there is a reason that you don’t want a specific file overwritten (for example, overwrite a larger (and more detailed) texture file with a smaller one).
Once you have installed the mod, continue to install mods until you have installed five to ten mods (depending on the type of mod). If you are installing texture replacers or mods that add small amounts of new content such as new weapons or armour, you can install more mods at once. If the change game play or make more significant changes to balance or objects in the game then install fewer.
How to test your installed Skyrim mods to reduce bugs, glitches and crashes
The next and most important phase is testing. You need to make sure that the mods you have just added have not introduced bugs, crashes or other problems. The reason that you install them in small batches is that this way it is easier to determine which mod is causing the problem. If you look at my load order below, imagine if I had installed them all at once and then I found there was a problem! I would never be able to figure out which mod was causing it.
If I only installed five to ten mods, it is much simpler to find that out. If you do introduce a bug to your game, deselect all the mods you just added and add them back one at a time (testing the game before adding another mod) until you come to the one that causes the issue.
Important:If you find a mod that causes issues, immediately install it and move the mod to another folder so you don’t accidentally install it again later on.
Testing itself is simple enough.
First, load up BOSS. If you don’t have this tool installed or are unsure how to use it, check out my hub that introduces this excellent tool:
BOSS does a number of things that are crucial to keeping your game stable
- It checks mods for any missing dependencies
- BOSS ensures that you don’t have the problems with the mods you have installed
- You will be advised if you need to clean any mods using TES5edit (also introduced in my hub on BOSS)
Most importantly, it fixes your load order to ensure that the mods are loaded in the optimal order
Most game crashes occur on loading new areas into the game (or when the game starts). So to test this, start a new game in a city and go to some shops and fast travel a few times. Also check out how the mods you just installed look in game. If you just replaced all the armour sets in Skyrim, go to a place with lots of soldiers and check out how the armour looks. If you are happy and the game is stable it is time to install some more mods!
Before you do; some final steps.
- First, empty the New folder you created moving the mods into the Installed folder
- Now, copy the Skyrim game folder so that you have a backup of your current stable game
How to partially install Skyrim mods
Suppose you are surfing a website looking at mods and you see a screen shot of a particularly cool object that you really want see in your game. The trouble is, the rest of the objects included in the mod you really don’t like. If you are using a Mod Manager, this is a problem as you can only install the whole mod. You could try to removing the parts that you don’t like, but this could cause instability or game crashes.
To manually install specific parts of a mod, you need to identify where they are in the mod itself. To do this:
- Down load XnView from www.xnview.com
- Install using the simple installer
- Click OK on the Configuration Menu (below)
The main application window looks quite complicated, but never fear, we are not going to use any of the buttons or options
Before beginning, a couple of limitations with XnView
- First, the mod needs to be extracted (use WinZip or WinRar)
- Second, XnView cannot look inside .bsa or .esp files (this is not an issue as it is not recommended to split these)
Click File and then Open and browse to the location of the mod. Choose the Textures folder you are interested in, select all the textures and click OK
XnView will load each texture and display it on screen
To view them, you can either click through them, or click on the Browser button on the left hand end of the tool bar to see them all in tiles
When you click the Browser button, you see all the files in the directory as small tiled icons (below). You can see a small preview in the bottom grey pane. To see this full size, double click on the icon.
Now I know the name of the texture file that corresponds to the plant I like (load_49), I can copy this from the mod into my Skyrim textures folder enabling this beautiful loading screen to be seen in game.
Note:Pay particular attention to the folder structure of the mod. You can see from the screenshot below that the Load Screen textures from the VictoriaG Load Screens Skyrim mod go into the folder:
/Textures/interfaceLoadScreen_Textures
So ensure that you mirror the folder structure in your Skyrim game folder to ensure that they install correctly. If you are installing new content such as this mod, install any .esp files contained in the mod folder.
Conclusion
Mods are synonymous with the Elder Scrolls series. The best decision that Bethesda made when making the Elder Scrolls III Morrowind, was including the Construction Set which was used to create the game itself. This gave modders unparalleled access to the game and allowed them to make mods to change literally anything in game as well as adding tonnes and tonnes of new content.
![How To Manually Install Skyrim Se Mods How To Manually Install Skyrim Se Mods](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124861987/622776149.jpg)
In my hub today, I looked at installing mods manually. We covered:
Preparing mods for installation
Checking the readme documents and the Skyrim Nexus site for information on load order advice, installation instructions, dependencies and also mod conflicts
We then looked at how best to manually install mods
How To Manually Install Skyrim Special Edition Mods Pc
Then we examined mod testing
Finally, we looked at partially installing mods using XnView to identify individual textures
Following through my system, you will be able to install all the mods you like (I currently run 250+) and the game should be stable and perform well. Of course, manually installing mods is not for everyone. I review two excellent Mod Organiser tools, Nexus Mod Manager (designed for beginners to modding with a simple to use interface and one click mod installation) and Mod Organiser (a more advanced tool with features such as profiles and a more granular installation process).
My hub on Nexus Mod Manager can be found here: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-use-Nexus-Mod-Manager-to-download-install-uninstall-and-manage-Skyrim-Oblivion-Morrowind-and-Witcher-2-mods
My hub on Mod Organiser can be found here: http://robbiecwilson.hubpages.com/hub/Mod-Organizer-an-advanced-Skyrim-utility-to-manage-install-detect-and-fix-mod-conflicts-and-update-all-your-mods
Many thanks for reading, I do hope that you have found this hub useful and informative and you are enjoying your heavily modded but stable Skyrim game!
No comments yet.
Posted byVive
1 year agoEDIT: I've added stuff to this, and some views on Vortex vs MO2. I placed those at the end of the post so we can get straight to the guide. Also, u/FlyingWaffleED has found some helpful youtube guides for Vortex: Link
Activating Mods: (If you have already activated mods with the ini tweak than you can skip to this section.)
![How to manually install skyrim se mods online How to manually install skyrim se mods online](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124861987/967888557.jpg)
- Be sure you've launched the game for the first time, and it runs (then quit).
- Navigate to:
Documents>My Games>Skyrim VR
and openSkyrimPrefs.ini
(You can get to this directory quickly by pasting this into the address bar in Windows Explorer:C:Users%USERPROFILE%DocumentsMy GamesSkyrim VR
) - Add the heading
[Launcher]
. right under it add the line:bEnableFileSelection=1
then save.
Looks like this:
[Launcher]
bEnableFileSelection=1
Vortex
The following guide is very detailed to help everyone, and if you're well-versed in stuff like this I'll summarize: Download and install Vortex (< Github release), open it, and activate Skyrim VR (& FO4VR if you want), have Vortex handle your downloads in Settings:Download (pic), and then download your mods. Here's a video guide by Gopher if it helps.
Detailed Guide:
- Download and install: Link (Click the .exe download link, as of the writing of this guide, it's called
vortex-setup-0.14.0.exe
, but you may see a more updated version). - Run Vortex
- Click 'Games' in the left pane (pic), and click on the 'Discovered' tab (pic).
- Hover over the target game (in this case Skyrim VR, but FO4VR should show up too) and click 'Manage'
- Click 'Settings' on the left pane (pic)
- You should be on the 'Interface' tab. I recommend disabling 'Deploy mods immediately when..' because I've had them mess up with this active (pic). With this off you'll simply have to push the 'Deploy' button when you're done managing your mods. NOTE: if you're planning on attempting to import your mods from NMM or MO you'll want to do that now, see Importing from MO/NMM below.
- Click the 'Mods' tab (pic). If you see red text you'll need to set up the mod directory. In the 'Base Path' box, put where you want your mods to be stored. Be sure you have
/{GAME}
at the end (pic). - Now, click the 'Download' tab. At the top activate 'Handle Download With Manager' (pic).
- Now, go to the Skyrim Special Edition Nexus (Link here)and download your mods. When downloading, you'll click the 'Mod Manager Download' (pic) instead of 'Manual Download'. (NOTE: if you're choosing to download not on from the 'files' tab on the mods page, the button you want to hit has 'NMM' on it) (pic)
- As your mods finish downloading, they'll show up in the 'Downloads' pane on the left. Hit the orange 'Install' button on the right (pic). Note that you can highlight multiple downloaded mods and hit the 'Install' button on the bottom that shows up (pic). Because these mods are technically Skyrim SE it'll say it can't find Skyrim SE and ask if you want to install for Skyrim VR, click 'Install for Skyrim VR' (pic).
- After you've installed, go to the 'Mods' pane on the left. When a Mod is done installing you'll have to first enable it but hitting 'Enable' on the left (pic), or you can highlight multiple mods and hit the 'Enable' button on the bottom (pic).
- If there are file conflicts or missing dependencies (and if you're worried about your load order) Vortex will warn you about them as they are enabled (pic). With conflicting mods, make sure the mod you want more is loaded last. If you'r missing a required mod, find it on the Nexus and download it. I recommend reinstalling the dependent mod after you install the one that's required. You can also manually set load order by clicking and dragging the little dependency icon for the mod to the same icon on a different mod (pic). It'll then ask you which you want loaded first (pic), but sure you've selected the higher priority or the mod that depends on the other to load last.
- When you've got what you need hit the 'Deploy Mods' button at the top. (pic)
You're done unless you have files that conflicting files, or missing dependencies, both of which Vortex recognizes and asks you about. You can close Vortex after you've deployed.
Importing from MO/NMM
I've never actually used these features, so I cannot speak to how well they're imported. When I switched from NMM, I just dragged my mods into the 'Drop File' pane at the bottom. When Vortex imports your mods, it will keep your setup for those programs in tact (with the obvious exception of editing the
plugins.txt
). Because of that it'll make a copy of all your mods, and if you have some big ones it'll take a little time.Troubleshooting
'Missing dependent mods or conflicting files'
Vortex will warn you if you have any missing masters or any file conflicts and will prompt you to take action. That's pretty much all you have to worry about. If you do want to dictate a particular mod's priority in the order than follow these steps:
- Click 'Plugins' (pic)
- Then look over on the right (pic)
- Click on the mod you want, and you can set the mod priority. (pic)
More on this: In the past, some mod programs didn't help too much with mods that try to use the same texture/material/mesh, and they didn't alert you when you're missing a required mod (some mods are built on other mods, like this penguin reskin is only used if you already have this penguin companion.). Vortex will warn you about these conflicts/problems with the notification 'bell' at the top. If it says there are missing dependencies, then you need to find the mod back on the Nexus. You can always choose to disable or uninstall the mod if you don't want what it depends on. Now, if you have mods that conflict or are on based upon each other, Vortex may ask you which one you prefer over the other. You'll want the mod you want more to load last when you're asked.
'No deployment..'
Apparently there are a lot of people who are getting the 'No deployment' error when switching over. This just means that vortex doesn't have it's file structure set up right (I think it may have something to do with NMM being installed).
- Click on 'Settings' (pic) on the left pane
- Click the 'Mods' (pic) tab near the top
- In the 'Base Path' select your general mods folder then put
{GAME}
after that. Mine looks like this:
C:Users(yourusername)DocumentsMods{GAME}
So your mod file structure will be in folders in this 'Mods' folder named after each game. FO4VR will be
fallout4vr
can Skyrim VR will be skyrimvr
.If that doesn't work, you may not have selected your game yet? Click 'Games' on the left pane (pic). Click the 'Discovered' tab (pic), and mouse over Skyrim VR and select 'Manage'.
EDIT: There's a user here that says they couldn't get mods to deploy unless they set their mods directory to the game install directory in the steam folder.
'Vortex won't handle Nexus downloads?'
I assume you activated Vortex as described in the guide above (Settings:Download:Handle..). Apparently, there's a problem with chrome that Vortex fixes for you. You have to click the button (pic).
'Mods stored on other drives?'
I don't really know much about this, but some people are complaining that mods stored on other drives (i.e. game on SSD, mods on HDD) are having problems. Vortex uses 'hardlinks' for your mods instead of making copies of them. This makes it so it's easier to manage mods, makes the deployment much faster, and makes it so you can have multiple profiles (i.e. stealth build mods, heavy combat mods, etc., super cheating sith mods). See if putting your mod folder on the same drive fixes your problem.
Mod Organizer 2?
Vortex does some cool stuff including supporting both Fallout 4 VR and Skyrim VR officially (EDIT: MO2 has recently updated to directly support both as well!). It's also consistently updated (about every week) and the new official program of The Nexus (replacing NMM which is no longer supported). Vortex also has integration with LOOT (though you don't need it as Vortex handles load order and conflicts by itself. It creates 'hardlinks' for your mods instead of making copies (here's an explanation on how that works). This makes the deployment much faster, and lets Vortex offer different mod 'profiles' (i.e. archer/stealth mods, Mage mods, SkyTOON, etc.). Couple this with the fact that Vortex has an integrated tool to import your mods from MO/NMM it's a good choice. Oh, and don't forget that Vortex is being developed by the developer of Mod Organizer with the intention of making a better program to replace both MO and NMM.
That's all I got. If you continue to have trouble, you can post here, and I'll try to help you out between my (long) gaming sessions.
405 comments