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mmurin

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mmurin

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About this mod

Many guides exists at Nexus and elsewhere, but a simple guide to add parallax to Skyrim does not.
This mod aims to correct this by proposing a list of mods to add parallax to most of Skyrim that will give you good visuals while staying easy to implement and only requiring a limited number of mods.
for Skyrim 1.5.97 and Anniversary

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While the chosen retexture mods stray quite a lot from Vanilla visuals, the intent is to stay close to the Vanilla Skyrim feel (i.e. harsh and nordic); the choice of Rudy ENB as the main lighting mod also follows this logic.
Concerning the retextures, Skyrim Realistic Overhaul and Skyland provide a base coat, and then Skurkbro's Retexture Project and Pfuscher are the main parallax enabled mods.
A good part of this list is the fixes that solve most of the typical problems of parallax retexture: seams, texture not blending, mismatched textures....
I chose Enhanced Vanilla Trees as the tree mod as it is simple and it works out of the box.
For grass I use and endorse Verdant, although other grass mods may work out of the box as well.

This list is meant to be played in 4k; as such it requires at least a 4070 super and 12 GB of VRAM and it is recommended to download the 4k versions of the texture packs listed below.
To play it on less VRAM and less powerful hardware just use VRAMr.

That is not a beginner's list and supposes you are familiar with a mod manager's use; it is recommended to use Mod Organizer 2.
Users of other mod organizers can just delete file/folders whenever in the modlist below it is mentioned to HIDE a file/folders.
When nothing is mentioned only download the main file.
For textures download the 4k files.


INSTRUCTIONS

1.FOUNDATION AND FIXES
Remember to install the mod version for your Skyrim version (1.5.97 or Anniversary)



2.LANDSCAPE, WEATHER, LIGHTING
Remember to install the mod version for your Skyrim version (1.5.97 or Anniversary)

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Cathedral Weathers and Seasons
Obsidian Mountain Fogs
Moons and Stars - Sky Overhaul SKSE
Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods
Vanilla Landscape Corrections - VLC
Enhanced Vanilla Trees SE
Skyland AIO - HIDE all esp files
Skyland Bits and Bobs - A Clutter Overhaul
NOTE : LUX mods are only used for the meshes.
Lux Via - only download the Optional Lux Resource Pack (ENB light)
Lux - HIDE all esp and esm files
Lux Orbis - HIDE all esp and esm files
Skyland - Solitude - Parallax
Skyland Whiterun Complex Parallax
Skyland Hrothgar Parallax
Skyland Landscapes Complex Parallax
Additional Skyland Parallax
Skyland Bits and Bobs Complex Material
Pfuscher's mods - AIO - download files 1a and 2b - HIDE :
Ducks_and_Swans.esp
wrthrone01.nif
files in \meshes\armor
files in \meshes\clothes
files in \textures\actors\character\female
files in \textures\smim\clutter\ruins
Skyrim 202X Complex Terrain Parallax - only download the linked mesh fixes file
Better Dirt Cliffs and Alphas
Skurkbro's Retexture Project AIO - download the 4k main files and hotfixes updates
Shaders of Solstheim - Ash and Moss - download both files
Pfuscher's mods - AIO - download file "7 Mountain Textures - with FOMod installer - 8K" and install option 5 as a separate mod
Icy Mesh Remaster - Ice Glaciers - LOD - other fixes - HIDE  files in \meshes\landscape\snowdrifts
Embers XD
Tamriel Master Lights - download the file Tamriel Master Lights - Cities version
Bright Waterfall Fix for ENB
ERM - Enhanced Rocks and Mountains - download the linked file "Enhanced Rocks and Mountains - Parallax"
ERM - Enhanced Rocks and Mountains - DynDOLOD Add-On
Majestic Mountains - HIDE everything except MajesticMountains_Landscape.esm
Rudy HQ - Nordic Ruins SE
Parallax Addon for Rudy's HQ Nordic Ruins
Simplicity of Snow - download main file and Simplicity of Snow - Parallax Meshes - HIDE  files in \meshes\landscape\bridges
Simple Snow Improvements - Skyrim Fixes (BOS) - download main file only



3.ENB
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Follow installation instructions at Rudy ENB SE for Cathedral Weathers, ELFX version (install the 2 main files) and among the mods listed at its Nexus page install as a minimum (pls note that following this guide you should already have installed some of the mods listed at RUDY ENB page):

Enhanced Volumetric Lighting and Shadows (EVLaS) - download the main file only
Mists of Tamriel - download main file Mists of Tamriel and optional file Mists of Tamriel for Rudy Cathedral v6.1
Water for ENB (Shades of Skyrim) OR,  in case you prefer to use Realistic Lighting Overhaul to ELFX and/or Realistic Water Two to Water for ENB, follow the instruction on How to use Rudy ENB with Realistic Lighting Overhaul and Realistic Water Two



4.Conflict resolution
To properly mix the best of SRP and Pfuscher mods.

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- In MO2 click on Skurkbro's Retexture Project AIO
- open the Information pane and go to the Conflicts tab
- open winning files tab

- filter the files for "dungeons" and hide all files that overwrite "Pfuscher's mods - AIO", except for the ones in "\textures\dungeons\caves"

- filter the files for "architecture" and hide all files that overwrite "Pfuscher's mods - AIO" except for the ones in
"\meshes\architecture\markarth"

- unhide the following files:
"dlc2dweclutterfirepot01.nif"
"sgrate_p.dds"
"smanhole.dds"
"smanhole_n.dds"
"strims02.dds"
"strims02_n.dds"
"cavemossshader01.dds"
"rocksedgetrim01_p.dds"

Now a fix for a very visible seam in Windhelm
- go to the mod Pfuscher's mods - AIO and open the folder textures\architecture\windhelm in explorer
- erase whgrayqmessystone.dds (and also the _n and _p versions)
- make a copy of wholdcrackedbrick.dds (and also the _n and _p versions) and rename it as whgrayqmessystone.dds (and also the _n and _p versions).


5.PATCHERS and final steps

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To fix overly bright snow look for SSE Engine Fixes (skse64 plugin)\skse\plugins\EngineFixes.toml
and set BSLightingShaderForceAlphaTest = false

Download and install from the files section "landscape parallax patch.zip" (forwards some edits from Vanilla Landscape Corrections mod and corrects the road in Southfringe Sanctum that would otherwise appear black with the parallax textures).

Download PGPatcher (there is also an official guide) and:
- add PGPatcher.exe to MO2 executables
- run it from MO2
- set it up as explained in the guide
- in Shader Patchers tick Parallax, Complex Material and untick True PBR
- start patching and wait
- copy the output in MO2 as a new mod

Download and install
Blended Roads
Skyrim 202X by Pfuscher - Blended Roads Retexture

Follow step 7 of the Step guide for xLODGen and DynDOLOD.
Please note that out of performance and aesthetic considerations I decided not to use grass LODs and only adjusted my extended drawing distance in No Grass In Objects to stay above 35 FPS (with an average of ~50 FPS).



6.Load order

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Mists of Tamriel.esp
Shaders of Solstheim.esp
FOLIP.esp
Enhanced Vanilla Trees SSE.esp
Particle Patch.esp
SMIM-SE-Merged-All.esp
MCMHelper.esp
Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods.esp
Landscape For Grass Mods - Military Camps.esp
Vanilla Landscape Corrections.esp
Dlizzio's Mesh Fixes.esp
MoonsAndStars.esp
Simple Snow Improvements - Skyrim.esp
Cathedral Weathers.esp
Embers XD.esp
Tamriel Master Lights.esp
Cathedral Weathers - Patch - Rudy ENB.esp
Mists of Tamriel for Rudy Cathedral.esp
landscape parallax patch.esp
Simplicity of Snow.esp
ParallaxGen.esp
PG_1.esp
BlendedRoads.esp
DynDOLOD.esp
Occlusion.esp



My mods

LE

Insomnia ENB

SE

Patch for Yggdrasil Music - The Elder Songs - Fantasy Soundtrack Project

A patch to have faster arrows for aMidianBorn Content Addon

How to use Rudy ENB with Realistic Lighting Overhaul and Realistic Water Two

Skyrim 4k parallax in under 100 mods - a guide