I'm not really interested in injecting a buch of post-processing effects into the game, but the amount of unmotivated lighting in Skyrim can be quite annoying. I'm looking for something simple.

I've been looking for at installing a couple of lighting mods for a while now, but I was wondering if you all could help me better understand the difference between them. They are:

• ELFX
• RLO
• Relighting Skyrim

While I was initially drawn towards ELFX and RLO, I have some concerns about whether or not they add too much or change too much. Relighting Skyrim seems closest to what I am looking for (it just matches lights up with sources and removes lights without sources, as far as I can tell), but I am not sure if it is complete.

Are any of the above complete? Which is your favorite, and which would you reccomend? Thanks!

I highly recommend ELFX.

However, I should warn you that caves and Nordic ruins will be almost impossible to navigate through without torches or illumination spells.

Have you calibrated your monitor? The reason I ask is mine is calibrated and the game's lighting is much better with it.

I have tried a couple of lighting mods, and they all have the same issues that any lighting mod I have tried, they make things way too dark at night. The stock game can be a little too bright in some areas, but so dark I can't see the hand in front of my face is too dark. On my game, a slight gamma adjustment can make it almost too dark to play, which seems to be the goal of some of these mods. The other ones, I think the mod authors have their monitors in Torch or Game mode which is way too bright.

RCRN is pretty customizable. It comes with its own configurations executable where you can change a variety of settings.

I sort of like the idea of having to use a light source when underground. How do you feel about the way it impacts house or building interiors?

I don't think so, the settings are the standard ones I use for most applications. Do you mean adjusting the brightness and contrast?

I'm looking for something that will make me use torches in dungeons, but I think you should be able to at least navigate outdoors at night.

That one actually looks decent on night skies, I may try it. RLO, at least for interiors was way too dark for me.

ELFX and Relighting Skyrim fix the light sources (so light actually comes from the fireplaces and the torches and so on, rather than light coming from nowhere in the middle of the room, as you described). I read some time ago that the latter doesn't cover major cities yet, but it could have been updated. They unfortunately aren't compatible with RLO, nor with each other.

I went with RLO, which affects all the lighting instead of just light sources (which I don't think RLO focuses on fixing). With the Weathers module it affects...well, the weather, the exterior lighting, and darker nights (which are maybe a little too dark, but I couldn't find any better alternatives). It's not as simple as ELFX or RS, though, since it completely changes the game's lighting.

If you're wanting darker dungeons, I wanted things a little darker than what ELFX offered, so I went with RLO. You might have to just try them out and see.

Torch mode is the stock mode for monitors, and it's 100% Brightness and some level of contrast. Gaming mode is is usually just as bright, but the contrast is higher. Most of the time, when you calibrate your monitor, your going to be in the 45% to 55% range on brightness with whatever contrast looks right to you. Hopefully you also have a black level setting too, that can help. But, spend a few minutes calibrating your monitor and see what the game is like. I will tell you that dungeons are probably still too bright for those who like things dark, but I like to see where I am going in a game.

Here are a bunch of images you can use to calibrate the monitor

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/

Note, you can drop the electricity usage of your Monitor (or TV for that matter) by more than 50% by calibrating it. On an HDTV, that can have an impact on your electric bill.

I like ELFX for how dark and moody it is, but in my opinion it's lighting lacks warmth which is where I like RLO. I've pretty much stuck with RLO because I like how it's light sources just feel "warmer". You'd have to switch between the two to understand what I mean.

Agreed. For some reason I wasn't able to put that into words.

Just curious.

I use ELFX plus COT ... Is it generally better to let COT handle lighting for then dungeons and interiors or the ELFX Enhancer plugin for dungeons and interiors? Can anyone give feedback on the difference?

Thanks! I'll have to try that and then see about a mod.

Are either of them final or near final? I saw development goals on their nexus pages but it was a little confusing to be honest. I feel like it would be very jarring to have improved lighting in some areas and vanilla lighting in others.

I'll recommend ELE by JawZ, but it's still not completed.. Still very promising however.

http://enbdev.com/enbseries/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1930&sid=b262f334817e751b9c70b8f4e795b323