Havent played for a looong time, so thought I would hold off for the Special Edition.

From what ive been hearing the graphics are still subpar compared to a modded Skyrim (original).

So just wondering if there are any graphics mods that will work on the Special Edition.

Looking for something that is suitable for my setup.

Specs are as follows:-

Windows 10 x64a

i5-6500K

8GB DDR4

Asus STRIX GTX 970 DirectCU II OC 4GB

2TB Caviar Black HDD

BENQ 24" 144hz Monitor

Thanks in advance

If I were you, I'd play modded original Skyrim following the http://wiki.step-project.com/STEP:2.2.9.2 as a base (at least for graphics, if not everything else). There's nothing in the Special Edition for you.. yet. There are some bugs, and the graphics are a big step down from modded Skyrim circa 2012 (or early 2013 at the latest). Performance sounds like it might have significantly improved, though. (I can't tell, because my comparison is vs 70 GB of mods and a beefy ENB).

For example:

• textures are just upscaled (or not even that) from the High-Res texture pack, and that pack wasn't even truly high resolution by PC standards. Most mod textures are superior.


• ENB is much better/more powerful than the engine updates, plus there are a large number of different presets to choose from different styles: realistic, atmospheric, cinematic, artistic, or cartoony and over-saturated with insane contrast. You choose what you prefer (or cycle through several like I do).


• LOD is as awful as always. Modern mod optons like DyndoLOD depend on SKSE, which won't be available until SKSE is ported.


• Beth added some grass and foliage, but it's nothing compared to Skyrim Flora Overhaul, Unbelievable Grass, etc.

Skyrim Remastered is a downgrade for PC players who mod. The advantage is that it's 64-bit, but that isn't worth anything until the surrounding ecosystem gets sorted, which is probably months off. When a fair number of mods (especially SKSE & SkyUI) get ported and the new bugs get fixed, then it will be worth checking out.

But if you really want to trade features for bugginess and a graphical downgrade: some of the old texture packs from the nexus already work (well, maybe not landscape textures). Look for ones that are plugin-free (no esp) replacers that are just loose files, which is most of them. Also keep in mind that ambient colors have been tweaked in SE, so textures will not look quite the same. For some textures it won't make a difference, for others it will look bad.

There's an active, detailed discussion on https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/comments/59va9l/skyrim_se_texture_report/.