SkyPatcher applies changes to NPCs through rules at runtime instead of editing the base records directly. That lets my replacers change a vanilla NPC's appearance without fighting every other mod that touches that NPC, which makes them far more compatible. Install SkyPatcher and its own requirements, and keep it updated.
Autosaves can fire while scripts are still running and bake a half finished state into the save, which can make it refuse to load later. On a heavy list that is a matter of when, not if. Save deliberately with a quicksave or a manual save instead, and never right after a loading screen or in the middle of combat.
A script corrupted save usually cannot be fully repaired, but a save from a few minutes earlier often loads fine. This is exactly why rotating saves matter: keep several recent slots instead of overwriting one. If even older saves fail to load, the cause is usually a mod that was removed mid playthrough.
Save bloat is when your save file grows huge because scripts and orphaned data pile up, leading to slow saves and instability. Avoid it by not adding or removing script heavy mods mid playthrough, not spamming autosaves, and letting the game settle for a few seconds after a load before you save. If a save is already bloated, the cleanest fix is usually a new game on a stable list.
Load order is the sequence your plugins load in, and later plugins win conflicts over earlier ones. Masters load first. Manage it by hand: follow the order the mod page or modlist gives you, and place compatibility patches after the mods they patch, usually near the bottom. Do not run LOOT or any other auto-sorter on a large or curated load order. Auto-sorters reshuffle everything at once, and on a list with hundreds or thousands of plugins that can wreck carefully placed patches in ways that cannot be undone without starting over. When two mods edit the same record, put the one you want to win lower.
For plugin records, the one lower in the load order wins. For assets like meshes and textures, the one lower in Mod Organizer 2's left pane wins. So if you want a specific replacer to win an NPC, let both its plugin and its files sit below the mod it competes with. Decide which look you want, and make that one win in both panes.
Yes. My followers use the standard follower system, so the common frameworks (NFF, AFT, EFF, Horde) manage them fine. Romantasy in particular only listens to vanilla statistics and writes to its own factions, so it never fights your framework. Pick one framework and stick to it rather than running several at once, which is what actually causes follower conflicts.
Either works, but I build and test everything in Mod Organizer 2, so my notes assume it. MO2 keeps every mod in its own folder and never touches your real Data directory, which makes problems easy to isolate and undo. Starting fresh? Use MO2. Already comfortable in Vortex? You do not need to switch, just translate the steps.
Yes, start clean. Verify your Skyrim Special Edition files through Steam, remove any leftover mods or ENB from the game folder, and launch the game once to the main menu so it writes its initial config. A clean base is the difference between a five minute fix and a five hour one later.
Always launch through SKSE, never the Steam Play button. In Mod Organizer 2, set SKSE as the run target in the top right and press Run. Launched any other way, SKSE mods silently do nothing, which looks like a broken mod when it is really a launch problem.
With Mod Organizer 2 each mod lives in its own folder, and the game only sees them through a virtual file system at launch. Your real Data folder stays clean. That is the point: you can enable, disable, and reorder mods without ever leaving junk behind in the game install.
Requirements first (script extender, libraries, body, skeleton), then the mod itself, then any patches it needs. Install order in the left pane of Mod Organizer 2 decides which files win when two mods touch the same asset, so the one you want to win goes lower.
SKSE (the Skyrim Script Extender) adds scripting the base game does not expose, and a large share of modern mods depend on it, including most of mine. Install the build that matches your game version, then launch through MO2 with SKSE set as the run target. If a mod insists it needs SKSE and nothing happens in game, you are almost always launching the wrong way.
Address Library is a small SKSE plugin that lets other SKSE plugins find the right memory addresses across different game versions. Without it, a plugin built for one version breaks on another. It is a near universal requirement, mine included, and it does nothing on its own, so install it and forget about it.
Yes. My followers are built on a body (CBBE or 3BA, or BHUNP) and the XP32 Maximum Skeleton Special Extended (XPMSSE). Each follower's page states which body it expects. Install the matching body and the skeleton before the follower, or you will get a mismatched or broken body.
PrismaUI is the UI framework Romantasy's dashboard is built on. Romantasy needs only PrismaUI and Address Library, no SkyUI and no MCM. Install both with your mod manager, enable the Romantasy plugin, and the dashboard opens on its hotkey in game.
A crash on load is almost always a missing requirement or a missing asset. Install Crash Logger SSE, reproduce the crash once, and open the newest log in Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition\SKSE. The first lines usually name the plugin or file at fault. Most often it is a requirement you skipped (Address Library, a body, a skeleton) or a plugin loading above its master. Fix the named item before you change anything else.
Install Crash Logger SSE, reproduce the crash, and open the newest file in Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition\SKSE. Read top to bottom. The first block names the probable cause, and the lists below show the plugins and files involved at the moment it crashed. You are looking for a name you recognize, usually a missing requirement or an asset from one specific mod. Search that name on the mod's page or in the Discord before changing anything.
That is the FaceGen mismatch: the NPC's head model and its skin are coming from different places, usually because the FaceGen files for that NPC are missing or are being overwritten. In Mod Organizer 2, make sure the mod that should own that NPC wins in the left pane, and confirm its plugin is present with all its masters. It is an asset conflict, not a sort problem.
Purple means a missing texture. The mesh loads but the texture file it points to is not installed or is in the wrong path. Reinstall the mod that adds that item, and make sure you also installed any texture or asset pack it requires. Purple is almost always a skipped requirement or an incomplete install.
A master is a plugin another plugin depends on. The missing master message means you enabled a mod but not the thing it is built on. Find the named master (it is listed in the mod's requirements), install and enable it, and make sure it loads before the mod that needs it. Never delete the dependent plugin just to silence the warning.
Start with the ENB, since it is usually the biggest cost. Open it in game and lower or disable the heaviest effects first (ambient occlusion, depth of field, complex particle lights). Then check that you are not over your VRAM with 4K textures everywhere. Most large lists are GPU bound, so the screen effects and texture sizes are where the frames hide.
An ENB is a graphics layer that adds lighting, depth, and post effects on top of the game, and it is often the single most expensive thing running. If your frames are low, open the ENB menu and turn down ambient occlusion and depth of field before touching anything else. You can keep most of the look while getting a lot of the cost back.
Often, yes. Busy cities load the most at once, and if your card runs out of video memory you get stutter, texture pop, or a crash. Match your memory settings to your card, and consider 2K textures instead of 4K on older cards. Watch your VRAM use while walking through a city and you will usually see it max out right before the trouble.
That is an ENB setting, not a bug. Open the ENB menu in game, find the night or interior lighting value for the preset, and adjust it down for brighter or up for darker. Save the configuration from inside the menu so the change sticks, rather than letting it reload from disk.
I'm very interested in hearing your voice work. If you want to audition for a role in one of my mods, head over to projects and see if there is a project that interests you. There is a link to voice auditions there (and on many other places in the sidebar). I can't promise to accept all auditions, but I promise to listen to all of them.
While there are countless things that could cause this, it is often that you have reached your plugin limit (254 non-ESL flagged mods). You must either find a mod to ESL Flag or you must remove a mod. Keep in mind that Skyrim.esm and the DLCs count as plugins in your load order!!! This means the true number is more like 250.
You need to download the asset pack for for the follower or replacer you downloaded. If you did, check that the asset pack loads before the follower or replacer. If you did that, re-download the asset pack just in case it somehow got corrupted. If that fails, send me a Help Request.
Other than the obviously smaller scale of Recast, it uses Skyrim's own templing system built into the game instead of creating a whole new system like SkyPatcher does. This leads to more reliable application of the faces at a fraction of the code.
Sometimes. These days I'm just very busy with many of my own projects that I want to deliver to my users as quickly as I can. If I open commissions, I'll post something about it on this website.
I have in the past, but only on my Patreon. That said, I did make a Character Presets section here on the new site, so hopefully I'll release some here soon.