Hello,

It's been a long time since I played Skyrim, and I never actually finished the game. I recently purchased Dragonborn, and was thinking of simply starting anew, but I figured I might as well ask for some help specific to my situation.

I'm running on the following:

AMD Phenom™ II X6 1055T Processor (6 CPUs), ~2.8GHz

8GB RAM

Windows 7

ATI RADEON HD5850.

I previously installed some modifications via Steam Workshop to make the game look better, but then I figured I just simply needed the game to work better than to look better, so I sort of uninstalled the mods via Steam Workshop.

What I'd like is have a better UI for keyboard/mouse play, as well as bugfixes that haven't been officially implemented but are sorely needed. I would also like to maybe have some extra quests that add some extra gameplay time into the mix, as I intend to spend quite a bit of time exploring the world again.

From what I've read in this thread: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1466526-new-to-skyrim-mods-need-tips/

SkyUI and Unofficial Skyrim Patch seem to be the way to go. Then It seems mods by ThirteenOranges are nice to have.

My issue is I don't quite understand this process of scrubbing your game with TESEdit or the general process of adding mods now... as it's been years since I added stuff (last time i used a mod manager was New Vegas). I'm also wondering what that DDoS attack on Skyrim Nexus is about, and if I should hold on getting mods.

If you can offer some assistance, I'd appreciate it. If you also wanna be friends on Steam, lemme know! I could always use new folks to talk to!

EDITED TO ADD:

I have the three mods, by the way... and my friend said I should consider playing something called Falskaar. Erm... is that like a full replacement mod for Skyrim after I complete it?

TES5Edit - tutorial video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw3g_N1jcZQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOQO2S6HDBw

I'll refer you back to my post on the thread you linked to above - http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1466526-new-to-skyrim-mods-need-tips/?p=22845064 -

Load Order and BOSS tutorial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6MxLBcSgkc

SKSE tutorial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTGnQIiNVqA

NMM tutorial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClqtmSUsFhg

I'd strongly suggest taking the time to sit down and watch all these videos all the way through.

Is there anything in particular you don't understand?

SkyUI is the best (only?) UI mod

To run that you'll need the Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) which can be found at http://skse.silverlock.org/

Then there's the Unnoficial Patches by Arthmoor & Co, there's one for the main game and then one for each DLC. Just search the nexus for "Unofficial Patch" and they'll come up

I would've provided links, but the Nexus is suffering a DDoS attack at the moment. Once its back I'm sure you'll be able to find them in the search box

EDIT: I type too slow when distracted by customers at work...ninjas everywhere!



- Hypno

Thanks for being willing to help JackStarr and hypno88.

I've heard there were a ton of changes from early days of Skyrim, and I was guessing my visual mods being installed then taken out would mess with my games...

Anyway, I think my main concern is the order in which I do these actions.

I haven't checked the videos you linked yet, but my concern is not messing up my game and forcing myself to reinstall Skyrim.

Basically, do I use TES5 Edit cleaning of my install first, then pick mods off Nexus Mod Manager and the Script Extender stuff, and then install workshop questmods?

To be clear, I'd just like to bugfix the game, use SkyUI, and maybe either install that Falskaar thing or ThirteenOranges mods from Workshop.

1) Watch the videos

2) Install BOSS, SKSE and Tes5Edit.

3) Clean your master files (Update.esm, and the DLC).

4) Download SkyUI, the Unofficial Patches, and, if you like, the ThirteenOranges mods or Falskaar.

5) If you've played before I'd suggest also installing "Live Another Life" so you can skip the usual long Helgen intro and choose an appropriate start for your character. (You can go back to Helgen and kick off the main quest when you're ready to do so).

6) Clean ThirteenOranges mods in TES5Edit. I don't use these myself but have heard reports that his mods are dirty - but I can't confirm this.

7) Do NOT clean the Unofficial Patches - any edits that TES5Edit may warn you about are intentional and necessary for the mod to work as intended.

8) Run BOSS to sort your load order.

9) Launch Skyrim (via SKSE).

Also, make sure you have removed and unsubscribed to any previous mods you installed when playing Skyrim before.

Thanks Jackstarr. I'll likely do the Falskaar thing instead of the ThirteenOranges Quests for now since that seems to have more stuff in it anyway. Live another life sounds interesting too.

I'll just finish some work and watch the tutorials. Thanks again for the suggested order of activities!

Heh, yeah, that darn work thing that gets in the way of modding...

Just let us know if you have any more questions.