Living Skyrim

Current version: 4/6/2020 v1.5.3

Preface

The Living Skyrim Modlist focuses heavily on adding highly interactive content. New questlines and world spaces are given high priority as well as mods that add NPCs, followers, and things to do. Some prominent examples are Interesting NPCs, Immersive Creatures, Legacy of the Dragonborn V5, VIGILANT, Falskaar, Animallica, and more. The core idea of Living Skyrim is to make the world feel full of life and activity in almost every area, whether it's a bandit patrol from OBIS or a conversation overheard between NPCs provided by Realistic Conversations. It is designed as a complete overhaul and expansion to many of the systems present in the game. It is aimed at providing a lore-friendly experience that enhances the core game rather than adding tedium and monotony to the game. Some mods are avoided intentionally so that unnecessary systems that slow down the game aren't included. The few inclusions that do slow things down are included for balance and pacing reasons.

Additionally, Living Skyrim is intended to provide replayability and roleplay potential. Classic Classes & Birthsigns, Ordinator, and other related mods allow for nearly infinite character customization to play the character you want, whether it be raving barbarian, paladin of Akatosh, archmage of Winterhold, or a hunter in the woods. The Take Notes mod allows you to chronicle your adventures and build a story that is uniquely yours. Sharing your stories with others is welcome and would be amazing to see.

All of this is on top of a high-quality graphics package intended for higher-end PCs. 4K textures and 2K normals have been given preference except in situations where there is little to no noticeable difference or a 4K option isn’t available. The ENB, Weather, and Flora/Fauna package are intended to ensure that your lighting, effects, and landscape are the highest quality possible without causing your computer to explode. See System Specifications for more details of a reasonable computer that can run this list consistently at 60 FPS.

As for stability and conflict resolution, Living Skyrim includes a number of patches, fixes, and compatibility resolutions including Bash and Smash Patches. Custom patches have also been created for certain awkward interactions between some mods (most notably, Awakened Magicka, Invested Magicka, and Ordinator.) It also includes DynDOLOD, TexGen, and SSELODGEN data pre-packaged for ease of install.

Lastly, Living Skyrim exists solely as a Wabbajack installer. A manual installation guide is not planned.

Warnings/Disclaimers

Wabbajack no longer requires that you have Nexus Premium to install the modlist, however, having Nexus Premium will cut your install time to a fraction of what it would be instead of downloading each mod individually (and save you a thousand clicks or so).

As of v1.5.0, the modlist requires ~125GB (41GB Downloads/84GB Mods) of hard drive space on top of the ~10GB Skyrim: Special Edition base files. Installing onto an SSD is not required, but strongly recommended. Download and installation times vary based on your computer and internet speeds but expect the entire process to take a couple of hours.

NSFW Warning: By default this modlist contains nude models for female NPCs. See the FAQ for more information about changing the list to NeverNude if that interests you.

Support is not provided for adding to, changing, or removing mods from the modlist. If you’re uncertain of how to use xEdit at a minimum, making any changes at all is a great way to have a Bad Time™.

Links

The Modlist Spreadsheet
Living Skyrim FAQ
Living Skyrim Bug & Suggestions Tracker
User Testimonials
Living Skyrim Discord

Screenshots: One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven

System Specifications

My computer is not the most powerful, but it can run this modlist at a consistent 60 FPS using the High preset. My specs are as follows. Please use this as a guideline to see if you are able to run this modlist. Anything better than what’s listed here should have no issues, anything worse may need to use the Medium or Low presets in the Skyrim graphics settings or go without ENB/use Re-shade instead. Support is not provided for Re-shade.

• CPU: Intel i5-8600K Overclocked to 4.2GHz
• RAM: 16GB (16299MB actual)
• GPU: nVidia GTX 1070 8GB (8192MB actual)
• Monitor: Dell S2716DGR 2560x1440 @ 144hz

Skyrim is very heavy on processors. Generally, anything above 3GHz should be fine but I can’t guarantee it. I would also recommend at least 8GB of RAM and 6GB of VRAM before considering installing this modlist. During my testing, this list averaged 3.2GB of RAM usage (9.2GB max) and 5.5GB of VRAM usage (7.9GB max).

Skyrim Setup

As with any modlist, it is strongly recommended that you start with a clean, unmodified installation of Skyrim: Special Edition. To get your Skyrim SE to this state, follow these steps:

1. In Steam, uninstall Skyrim: Special Edition (Right-click > Manage > Uninstall).
2. If there are any files leftover in the Skyrim Special Edition game folder (Right-click > Properties… > Local Files > Browse Local Files…), delete them.
3. Install Skyrim: Special Edition.
4. In Steam, set Skyrim: Special Edition to update only when opened. (Right-click > Properties… > Updates > Automatic updates > Only update this game when I launch it)
5. Launch Skyrim SE to create any INI or registry entries the game needs. Immediately exit after the launcher has successfully selected a graphics preset for your hardware. The INIs will be overwritten by the ones included in the Wabbajack installer.

Installation

1. Download the latest Wabbajack Installer. Do not run anything until instructed to do so.
2. Create a new folder in the root of the drive where you want Wabbajack to be installed. (C:\ will be used as an example, but it can be placed in any drive.) Name this folder “Wabbajack”. Important!: Wabbajack must be placed in a separate folder from where the installation will occur.
3. Create a second folder called C:\Living Skyrim. This folder is where everything will be installed.
4. Ensure that C:\Living Skyrim is completely empty.
5. Ensure that Wabbajack.exe and the .wabbajack file are in C:\Wabbajack.

Wabbajack Installation

1. Run Wabbajack.exe. At the bottom of the window, click Browse Modlists. Select Living Skyrim from the UI and download it.
2. Once downloaded, click the play button in the Living Skyrim panel to begin.
3. Set the Installation Location to C:\Living Skyrim. The download location does not need to be set manually unless you have drive space limitations. Downloading to a separate folder is fine (for example, on a HDD), but as before it is recommended that the actual install be placed on a SSD. Important!: Do not install the modlist to your Skyrim SE installation folder OR the folder that Wabbajack.exe is in.
4. Click Run.

With Nexus Premium

5. Wabbajack will walk you through logging into the Nexus and authorizing an API key so it can download mods if you have not done so previously.
6. Let Wabbajack do its thing. This will take a little while (usually 2-3 hours at most), so go get a snack and read a book for a bit. If you have good enough internet, YouTube is also your friend here.

Without Nexus Premium

5. Wabbajack will prompt you to click all the needed buttons to download the modlist. Be prepared for this to take a really long time, possibly more than one day. Also be aware that due to the amount of time required when installing this list manually, the list may update during the time it takes to install and you may need to start over if that happens. Put on some music or a TV show and make a day of it.

Once complete, Wabbajack will say “Installation complete! You may exit the program.” If it does not, visit the Wabbajack Discord server for assistance. Don’t forget to upload your log file!

If Wabbajack fails to download a particular mod, it means that the mod has likely been updated. This also means that an update to Living Skyrim is imminent. Be patient and wait for the new release. Do not ask other people to share older files as this is a violation of the Nexus ToS.

Post-Wabbajack Install

Game Folder Files

Now you have to copy some files to their correct locations. Navigate to C:\Living Skyrim\Game Folder Files. Copy all of these files into \steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\ and Overwrite if prompted.

Mod Organizer 2

1. Navigate to C:\Living Skyrim and open ModOrganizer.exe. Your Mod Organizer window will have the Wabbajack theme already selected. If it doesn’t, something has gone wrong and you’ll likely need to do the Wabbajack installation again.
2. A dialogue will appear and ask if you want to associate Mod Organizer with nxm links. Click Yes.

Configuration-Specific

1. If you are going to use a controller, make sure to enable Gamepad++ in the left pane of MO2. If you are not going to use a controller, make sure to disable Gamepad++ in the left pane of MO2.
2. If you are using a widescreen monitor, make sure to enable Complete Widescreen Fix for SkyUI 5.2 SE in the left pane of MO2. If you are not using a widescreen monitor, make sure to disable Complete Widescreen Fix for SkyUI 5.2 SE in the left pane of MO2.

ENB

ENB is not required to run Living Skyrim, but it is intended to be used with SkyrimSE Re-Engaged ENB. You may skip these instructions if you don’t want to use ENB. To install ENB, follow these steps:

1. Download the latest ENB Binary from http://enbdev.com/download_mod_tesskyrimse.htm
2. Open the .zip file, go into the WrapperVersion folder, and copy ONLY d3d11.dll and d3dcompiler_46e.dll into your Skyrim SE installation folder. (Usually located at C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition)
3. Go to SkyrimSE Re-Engaged ENB and download file A. Re-Engaged ENB for Obsidian (ENB Weather Supported) V8.5a.
4. Open the .zip file, go into the A. Re-Engaged ENB for Obsidian V8.5a folder, then the Main File (Install Folder). Ultimately which version you choose to use is up to you, but the Ultimate Edition version is recommended. Go into your chosen folder, and copy all of those files into your Skyrim SE installation folder.
5. (Optional) Then, go to the 2. Optional DOF Strengths folder and select your favorite. I prefer the Soft DOF. Go into your chosen folder and copy all of the files within into your Skyrim SE installation folder. Overwrite files when prompted.
6. Additional information and details can be found in the Re-Engaged ENB description if needed.

If you have issues using Re-Engaged ENB with Predator Vision, check the FAQ for more details on how to fix this.

Launching the Game

The hard part is now over. Carry on, the end is in sight!

1. In Mod Organizer 2, select SKSE from the drop-down menu next to the Run button and click Run. This is how Living Skyrim should always be launched. You can create a shortcut on your desktop if you wish using the Shortcut button under the Run button.
2. Once Skyrim starts, create a new game. Loading an old save at this point will corrupt that save, do not do this.
3. Create your character and name them whatever you’d like.
4. As soon as you gain control of your character, do nothing. The mods are loading and this can take a little bit of time. You’ll see a list of mods initializing in the top left of the screen.
5. Once you see that no more items are appearing in the list in the top left, you can proceed to the next steps.

The MCM Settings

1. If you want the true Living Skyrim experience, consult the Living Skyrim MCM Configuration document and follow all listed steps. Note that some settings in this document are required for certain mods to work properly, namely Hunterborn, Lock Overhaul, OBIS, Immersive HUD, and XPMSE.
2. Otherwise, configure the MCMs how you want. Feel free to experiment and turn the difficulty up/down to your preference.
3. Don’t forget to save your game after configuring the MCMs, I promise you don’t want to have to do this step more than once.

Final Thoughts & Best Practices

• If you are not familiar with the contents of this modlist, links are provided in the LS Spreadsheet to every mod so you can review their content/changes.
• Autosaves and Quicksaves are disabled. These save options are known to cause issues with heavily scripted games. Enable these at your own risk. Quicksaves are automatically turned into Manual Saves. It is recommended to save early and often. Every 15 minutes and before interacting with quest NPCs, quest objects, and entering new zones should be sufficient. Old saves can be deleted, but forgetting to save loses progress forever!
• Wabbajack supports updating/upgrading over an existing installation, but it will automatically delete any files that aren’t used for the modlist installation. This means if you have changed the modlist in any way, Wabbajack will delete those changes and may even delete your saves. Keep backups of any changes you do make (as ill-advised as making changes may be).
• NEVER save right after a loading screen. Wait 30 seconds before saving to let scripts finish executing.
• NEVER use autosaves. Autosaves are unpredictable at best, and save-corrupting at worst.

Credits & Thanks

• Living Skyrim created by ForgottenGlory
• Contributors & Beta Testers:
  • Patchier
  • DwarfDude
  • Qwerrecd
  • Timboman
  • NexxusDrako
  • Total
  • Dispo
  • Dracosaber
  • Sentrus
  • Nechrion
• Halgari & The Wabbajack Team
  • Thank you for creating Wabbajack, you’re amazing!
  • Halgari’s Patreon
• Special Thanks
  • The TUCO Modding Team - Their modlist is a great way to get a Vanilla+ experience with a tutorial that is extremely helpful for learning the basics of creating a modlist.
  • DarkLadyLexy - Her LotD list is an invaluable resource not only for an awesome modlist, but also for learning many fundamentals of modding and compiling a modlist.
  • EzioTheDeadPoet - For their SME(FT) modlist. The ability to start from scratch on a whim while building this list has been invaluable.
• Mod Authors
  • None of this would be possible without the people who make the quality content we’ve grown to know and love. Please endorse the authors’ works.