Need some help modding Skyrim SE

[Stg-Flame]

I've been trying to get through at least the Skyrim main quest to check it off my backlog, but after just an hour of playing, I remember exactly why I never finished it when it was first released. The UI is absolute garbage and even after all these years, it's painfully obvious that Bethesda tailored this game for consoles. I tried to get SkyUI to work but the Nexus mod page is rather confusing since it only states it requires the script extender, but it also is completely devoid of installation instructions. It also mentions something about an unstable alpha build and if I need installation instructions to seek elsewhere. I've also found several threads among the Bethesda forums and Reddit which all recommend using different utilities (mod managers) but after looking into one of the recommended utilities, it said it's no longer supported for Skyrim SE.

I guess this is the problem when there's 35 different versions of the same game out there - the mods get really muddled and the cohesion goes out the door. So, can someone give me a hand getting SkyUI working? I'm not trying to add anything else - I just want to fix this horrendous UI.

 

[shortylickens]

The script extender is just plopped into the main directory as is.
I do not use the Mod Manager to download it or install it.

silverlock.org

Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE)

You want the Legacy SE build.
Just unzip and copy to the main Skyrim SE folder.

This is the only part I do manually. Everything else is thru the nexus site.

 

[Captante]

If the actual "modding" itself is a bit too much for you maybe consider dropping $20 on the most recent Skyrim SE "upgrade" which incorporates the Creators club and a crap-ton of mods in a mostly simple and stable format.

Be advised however that installing it will likely bork any existing mods you are using in the "vanilla" game so YMMV.

 

[Stg-Flame]

The script extender is just plopped into the main directory as is.
I do not use the Mod Manager to download it or install it.

silverlock.org

Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE)

You want the Legacy SE build.
Just unzip and copy to the main Skyrim SE folder.

This is the only part I do manually. Everything else is thru the nexus site.

I had the script extender part down but the SkyUI from Nexus appeared to be a different build altogether, even though I was searching through the Skyrim SE mod lists. Thanks for those links, I'll try to get everything set back up again and see how it works tonight.

The main issue I'm having is that the description on SkyUI says it's an unsupported alpha build and I can't find any information regarding if this is the right one or even how to install it: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/12604

Edit: I just tried it really quick. SKSE loads the game just fine, I went into the mod menu and enabled the SkyUI, I loaded my saved game, and the UI is still the same. I don't understand why it's not working right and why there's zero documentation within the mod.

If the actual "modding" itself is a bit too much for you maybe consider dropping $20 on the most recent Skyrim SE "upgrade" which incorporates the Creators club and a crap-ton of mods in a mostly simple and stable format.

I thought about it but I used to mod Morrowind and Oblivion like crazy back in the day. I'm just out of the loop and was confused by the lack of documentation for what appears to be the most popular UI mod for Skyrim. Maybe if I can fix the UI then I'll be more tempted to get the AE later down the road, but paying more money for a game I already own two copies of rubs me the wrong way.

 

[BFG10K]

Maybe if I can fix the UI then I'll be more tempted to get the AE later down the road...

You already have the engine upgrade to AE, everyone on Steam automatically got updated. The only difference is whether you have access to the paid mods, which is what buying the AE version does.

Any mods you use need to be compatible for AE.

 

[Stg-Flame]

You already have the engine upgrade to AE, everyone on Steam automatically got updated. The only difference is whether you have access to the paid mods, which is what buying the AE version does.

Any mods you use need to be compatible for AE.

That makes a lot more sense. So the $20 is just Bethesda trying their hand at making people pay for mods again (successfully it looks like). I think I finally got the mod working but I had to download and use the Mod Organizer utility. For whatever reason, launching the game from the organizer makes the mod work. Nothing was moved, nothing was redownloaded, nothing was added or removed. It just seems to work now after I added the organizer. Maybe just having the standalone bsa files were making it launch everything out of order since I remember Bethesda recognizes DLCs as mods when referring to load orders.