2016 Skyrim Modding Guide Ep.23 - Talking About Texture Mods

Episode 23 of the 2016 Skyrim Modding Guide is "Talking about Texture Mods" We'll cover some essential mods,
give you some resources to help you make informed choices on your own, then cover some of my personal favorites.

Then I'll go over managing your texture mods using mod organizer, using some tips and tricks to fine tune things to your liking.

Introduction Music: "Tale of the Tongues" by Malukah

Links to mods covered in this video:
Static Mesh Improvement Mod (SMIM) on Nexus:

"Ye Olde List of Texture Mods" by Thalassa:

Skyrim Realistic Overhaul by Starac -
STEP Page:

Google Docs Download Page: (Get all three files)

Skyrim HD 2k on Nexus:

Noble Skyrim HD2k on Nexus:

Vivid Landscapes All-in-One on Nexus:

Chabal Video "What is Parallax":

Gamwich's Nexus Page:

Rustic Clothing by Gamwich on Nexus:

[zoozi]

thank you so much for the work man. helped me a lot. You, Gamerpoets and Gopher are really a gift to the modding community.

[couchwarriortv]

I am learning about things I didn't even know MO could do! The granular control over textures is amazing, I had no idea that was even possible.

[nickwiseman]

Great stuff Cal.. never realised you could compare textures and choose between them in MO. So absolute gem for me. Thank you

[Democromentor]

The Ruffled Feather IS available, on the STEP nexus page in the Files section.

[johngault]

Thank you for the tutorial and all the work you've put in to the guide. Greatly appreciated!

[Gndaf]

Cal, in this video you talk about how someone might not like one specific texture and you go over methods of managing that. But I was wondering how do you figure out what texture an item is using in the first place while in-game? Perhaps in-game viewing isn't the way of doing this but coming to this new, that's the first approach I could think of.

Indeed, in general I'd be interested in knowing the best method of comparing texture replacers. I'm currently comparing NPC replacers but it's a *lot* of time consuming work viewing all the various NPCs in-game for each mod. You did mention much the same thing about this time consuming work in one of your beauty mods videos so I don't know... perhaps I'm going about it the fastest, best way possible...

[couchwarriortv]

That was awesome! Learned so much, thanks again! Okay, what to watch next?

[geoffreyvanvugt]

I have a 4K 3D TV. Now i play @ 2K resolution and in 3D. Now i really can see difference in these mods you are covering in this video.

[DMofTheWorld]

Thank you so so so so *so* much for these videos.

[Gndaf]

FYI Cal, I noticed you actually downloaded the "Better Performance" BSA archive but said you downloaded the 2048 BSA. You can tell by comparing the size of the file in MO with the Nexus listing and the descriptive text that shows "BSA archive I use myself..." matches between MO and the Nexus. Obviously not a big issue, just thought I'd mention in case you wanted to put up a text popup note on the video.

[ChristopherMartone]

you missed the opportunity to call this 'talk about texure' and it disappoints me, Cal!

[hoboodinson]

I plan to upgrade my computer so this is going to be helpful.

[Gndaf]

Hi Cal. Don't mean to spam you, but another issue has come to my attention now that I've started installing some of these. Namely, the various mods that have SMIM patches don't necessarily have patches released for the latest SMIM version (i.e. Noble Skyrim).

For me, with the latest SMIM 1.94 and the Noble Skyrim SMIM patch, I notice a very significant performance hit (30 FPS vs the 60 FPS I usually have most places). Switching to an older SMIM (1.89) that was released just before the Noble Skyrim SMIM patch solves the performance issue, but then there are other mods with SMIM patches for different SMIM versions.

So it seems to me the best strategy here is to run the latest SMIM. Use any SMIM patches that are built for that version and not use the SMIM patches otherwise. Perhaps this is obvious but being relatively new I'm uncertain if I'm making a terrible choice so I though I'd ask.

[Brutestone]

totally worth every cent however using the step guide with ENB boost doesn't look like it's functioning so I will be doing some testing for the next few hours and see if the new drivers defy the 4064 setup

[MrHendrikje]

You sir are amazing! I was looking for SRO, couldn't find them. and the claimed download places didn't seem trust worthy to me.

[mattw]

This is just an observation but in all the years since sky-rims release it appears to be not one mod released thus far that has ice skating or any that add evidence of winter sports, not even a static mesh of make shift ski's been found?

[glenrkat]

Cal, Ruffled Feather and Sparrowprince's Enhanced Distant Terrain are now the last file linked on the STEP download page on Nexus.
There ya go. Version 4.3.0.

[PeonTheGrate]

Wonder if you will look into mods such as the people of skyrim

[coconutbun]

I've been trying to get Skyrim 2k textures to work but it crashes my game even when i put it at the top of my priority list

[YtseJammed]

Just wondering what's the plan for the next episode? I'm guessing it's creature textures because of modwatch.

Also are you going to be covering any perk overhauls in this guide?