Hi Everyone,

Well, next gen consoles are here, and the vanilla Skyrim on PS3 (which I was playing) was aging poorly aesthetically. I decided to invest time and money to buy a gaming rig, Skyrim on PC, and learn all I can about modding to help make Skyrim my "go to" game throughout the new console generation. Thanks to Gopher's YouTube series, I have a good (even if limited) understanding of load order and utilities available to help shape my upcoming several year Skyrim journey.

I'm very excited for the experience to come. But, I am also VERY fearful moving forward, and I was hoping some of you may be able to assist with some advice?

Firstly, I am not the type to constantly add and remove mods. I don't even care to update them. I'm content with a consistent experience throughout my life in Skyrim. The reason I'm fearful however, is that I know if I'm 200 hours into a game, and then end up having to start the game over due to any kind of save corruption, I'll probably just end up shelving the game. I'm just not the replaying type, usually.

So... The fear.

My fear is in looking around and seeing terms like "Save Bloating" and difficulties removing mods that cause these issues leaving some with no option but to start their games over.

I plan to start straight away with all the mods (and it's quite a few) that I'll be using for my singular playthrough. But, should I be concerned about bloating? Is there a way to combat it or prevent it? Is there a way to ensure I won't have to sacrifice my progress a year from now if I make no changes or updates?

Also, I would like to conduct a stress test before I begin. I bumped into a console command that someone mentioned they used to stress test for performance. Basically they flew through the world at a very fast speed to test performance. Can anyone guide me on how I can do that as well?

Sorry for the long read. And thank you in advance (SO MUCH) for any help you provide here.

Save bloat is a result (at least in 99% of the cases) of deactivating a mod. Unlike previous games, in Skyrim simply cannot remove a mod once it's activated. If a mod needs to be deactivated, it is then also necessary to revert to an older save.

That's great to hear

Anyone have any ideas on a console command that will allow me to fly through the world in faster speed with collision off so I can't be hit? I would like to use that method to stress test all the aesthetic mods I have running, if possible?

TFC = Toggle Free Camera

SUCSM X = Where X is the camera speed, so perhaps 30 or something

Another advice regarding saves: only rely on hard saves, i.e. saves made via the menu or console. Avoid autosaves and quicksaves.

You rock! \m/

Thanks!

I have never heard this before and I've never had a problem with autosaves or quicksaves. What is the reasoning for this advice?

According to Boris Vorontsov (the creator of ENB) the only time there are no running processes in the game is when the menu is open (or, I surmise, the console is open), so it's only then it is 100% safe to make saves. Personally, I have no idea about the technicalities, but I trust Boris on this, as he seems very knowledgeable about stuff like that.

Agreed.

This method for saving has been referenced in several places as I looked up mods, tweaks, and researched how I can help ensure I have a stable experience.

Truth be told, even in several console games I played, auto-save was usually the culprit for corrupted saves. So, it's a habit I certainly plan to bring with me, especially with a modded PC game.

Also with autosaves and quicksaves, it does not always save all mod added variables so it can result in corrupted saves. However they are both safe to use in a vanilla (mod free) environment.