Hi guys, I would like to point out that Skyrim is my first ES game and I have been playing it on Xbox 360, I played several hundred hours from December until now. Until recently I had no idea modding was real or that the game could be so unique in that it allows its played to create their own quests, houses, weapons, armor, etc. So I decided to purchase Skyrim via Steam for my laptop, in addition, I downloaded the Creation Kit. My first test for a plugin and mod was creating a weapon.

It went okay playing with the damage and weight and type of weapon was okay, I just really thought I could change the look of the weapon (color wise or even its orientation as in deadric swords have more spikes than lets say an iron sword) a little easier. I went under the art and sound tab of the weapon which I thought might have some different colors or patterns I could change in order to make a slight appearance. I was just looking for something simple to play with to see if I could do it myself. After watching some videos on modeling and texturing I realized it was much more advanced than I thought, so I don't think I really think I'll mess with it for now. What I am wondering is if there is some other packages of weapons textures or different color schemes out there that I could download so I could speed up the process of just not making a bunch of plain iron swords that look the same.

I also was wondering where all the other mod download files were that I could use? For instance I have noticed a lot of people have files on Skyrim Nexus, I can see the files to download, if I wanted and like several different files, could I download a bunch and use them all in my Skyrim game at the same time?

Two I like right now are the Frostfall and Hunting in Skyrim, so could I go to Nexus select both files and download them and then use them on my copy of Skyrim on Steam?

How many plugins are too much Can I go crazy downloading a bunch of mods for magic, armor, perks, etc. and will they all work together?


As you can see I'm very new to it all and I'm not really sure where to start, should I start going at mods myself and creating things, or try a bunch of already created mods and use those downloads as starters to see how I like the game, theres a lot of information to take in I guess. It's so weird because I played so much of the game now that I have these different capabilities I feel like its a brand new game I've never played before.

Thanks in advance the advice and help will be much appreciated!

You can download and use many mods - I'm not sure if they still have a cap in place. The only thing to be careful of is that your mods do not 'conflict' with each other, which means that two objects are being modified at the same time, as that could result in multiple unwanted behaviors, including a Crash To Desktop (CTD). Luckily Bethesda has set up modding such that conflicts can be easily avoided. I'd say download whatever you wish and then, should you run into problems, come back and tell us what is wrong.

lol, understood. Basically meaning if I download a warrior perk mod, I cannot use other mods that deal with other warrior perks, however, if it were only a mod fixing or adding to magic and not touching warrior perks, than that would be acceptable, is this correct?

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL20E326325BADAE44&feature=plcp

First, I am glad to welcome you to the mod community. This link is to a series of 3 videos, that will get you started in becoming an efficient mod user. That can easily download and manage mods safely.

I wish these were around for FO3. I spent three days of reading seemingly endless amounts of material to find out. That was a great foundation, but something like this will accomplish the same thing a lot faster.

The best advice for using mods, is to "READ" every bit of info on the mod "BEFORE" you actually do anything with it. The README files, provided by the author as well as the front page of the mod, on the Nexus, will tell about any conflicts...usually.

Be weary about using mods that change the same thing or add things in the same physical place of the game.

EDIT : Also, some starting advice, would be to...NOT just download everything that catches your eye and start downloading willy-nilly and see what happens. That is a prime recipe for disaster. Since you have played the game, think about what you want to add or change in the game, then go looking for it.

Okay this is good advice, and I didn't think that downloading five mods right away was a good idea. However, what are some good mods to download right away that are a have to have mod, for instance I notice some mods improve textures for higher quality presentation, seems like a safe must-have mod is this true and are there other general safe must have mods to download as well?

As you can see there will be a lot of questions to answer and I guarantee this will be mainly for my reference, so it probably wont have any direction, please do not lock this thread at least for now

These are a few I would highly recommend to start with.

Immersive HUD http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/3222
SkyUI http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/3863
Natural Favorites Expanded http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/5229
Skill Interface Retexture http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/7308 ( not an essential, but pretty amazing )

Then, if you are a controller user like me, this will be of great benefit. http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/12964 I use the "My Config" option. This will allow you to have 8 hotkeys in lieu of the lame 2.

I am a controller person and still trying to figure that one out, I just created a thread in the software issue section under PC, I can't seem to get my Xbox controller working with my laptop

The controller should be just a plug-n-play option. windows should automatically pick up on the controller and Skyrim is 100% compatible with it. Just plug into a USB port and you are playing.

While NMM is a good start to managing your mods, WryeBash http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1395353-rel-wrye-bash/ is a very powerful tool. Sadly, I lack the mental function to use it. But a bright young user should have no problem.

Then you will need to have BOSS http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1395580-relz-boss-for-skyrim/ installed and a shortcut on the desktop. This is a feature to have no matter if you use NMM or Wrye.

Even with NMM, I do not "Download with Manager". I like to archive my mods in a Mod Library Folder, on my desktop. I will download the files manually, the open them and review any README files. I can then create a FOMOD into a compressed folder to be used by NMM. While most mods on the Nexus are set up to be used by the DwM button, some are not. No matter, ANYTHING that adds files to your "Data" folder should be managed through a Mod Manager. Besides, I like to download once.

This also allows me to organize mods into folders per favorites, must haves, and per character. Doing this keeps the NMM neat and clean.

By the way I still haven't figured out how to actually download files yet, I did create a Skyrim Nexus account, however, when I click downloads and then click download with manager nothing happens not even a loading symbol or anything...

Watch the videos, from the link in post 4. That will explain everything.

apparently I need a wired controller, which I dont have so i'll have to grab one, I have all wireless controllers,

I think your last post went in one ear and out the other... what is NMM and what is Wrye bash? are these in addition to Creation Kit/Steam/Nexus?

Right now Steam powers my Skyrim and Creation kit programs, I'm not sure what Nexus really is yet other than like a forum where most of the mod files are located for downloading, after that I'm lost

oh wow I apologize I will watch them lol

Ha! You will be fine. No need to be apologetic. Gopher is well spoken and a great teacher. I would also review his YouTube channel for a slew of series on Skyrim mods.

Again, welcome and good luck. This forum is full of very learned members that will always be helpful, should you need the assistance.

EDIT : Oh! There is a wireless adapter that can be used for the USB port to support a wireless Xbox controller.

good to know lol, I will watch those videos and then post up any questions I have, hopefully some others can get involved in this thread as well, i'd eventually like to create new unique weapons and a house, but I'd like to get the basics down first and the controller situation figured out