Skyrim

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DefJamV aka Omaeka

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defjamv

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About this mod

A very simple mod that works to bring an extreme amount of grass into Skyrim, giving it a more feral and natural look. Configurable based on your computers hardware, this mod & guide aims to give you the best possible fields & forests in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Permissions and credits







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1. Overview & Installation

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This mod makes several areas, especially those around Whiterun very dense and creates large consistent fields. To get the best and most realistic experience, consult the entire guide below. Failure to do so may cause large FPS drop and low framerates, you have been warned.

Install difficulty: 2/10 - no experience required.
NMM compatible: Yes.
FPS hit: Varies greatly, consult the Performance section below.
Load order: As low as possible, but not below your Wyrebashed patch (recommended when modding)

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2. Performance

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*BELOW THIS, IN SECTION 3 YOU WILL FIND THE REQUIRED TWEAKS AND MORE*

The way this works is quite simple, the further your grass distance, the more impact it will have on your fps depending on how low your iMinGrassSize= entry in your SkyrimPrefs.ini is. This means that you can choose between either thick grass with a short distance, or thinner grass that spans further. However if you have a powerful computer, you can have the best of both worlds!

*YOU MUST READ THIS SECTION*

Below is a detailed guilde on how to get the best FPS for your machine, I will include 4 example machines, configure your Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini files accordingly.

All FPS loss is calculated based on a drop from 60FPS. If you are running the game at 60fps and enter a demanding area (i.e Makarth) and your framerate drops to 40, due to poor memory management in the game, the drop from 60-40 will cause stutters and micro freezes. For this reason alone it is recommended to limit your frames to around 35-40fps for the best performance.

You should never go above 60FPS in Skyrim under any circumstance as it can cause wild physics and engine bugs.

To limit your frames either;

A) Enable V-Sync
B) Use an external program to limit your FPS
C) Use this: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/34 (NOT COMPATIBLE WITH ANY MOD THAT ALTERS d3d9.dll - I.E FXAA Post Process Enjector or any ENB)
D) If you are using an ENB, download the customizer: skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/17400 and under advanced, set the frame limiter to 60 and tick the box.

Misc. info: If you are using an ENB, you can easily monitor your FPS by hitting the * key on your numpad in game, after the ENBdev information has cleared in the top left.

This is an optional tweak that will greatly increase FPS even on the highest mod setting:

Add the following to Skyrim.ini under [Grass]

fGrassWindMagnitudeMin=0
fGrassWindMagnitudeMax=0

However, grass will no longer sway in the wind, but if your experiencing some FPS loss and want to keep the amount of grass you have, this will most likely fix your issue.

PC ONE - Low Spec

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 / Intel i3-2100
GPU: ATI Radeon HD6850 / Nvidia Geforce GTX 550Ti
RAM: 2GB

Max Settings & FPS loss: iMinGrassSize = 20 & fGrassStartFadeDistance=25000 ( 35FPS loss )

RECOMMENDED SETTINGS (3x vanilla grass distance, vanilla density with higher quality grass spread & field/forest simulation): iMinGrassSize=80 & fGrassStatFadeDistance=17000 ( 3-5FPS loss )
RECOMMENDED SETTINGS (vanilla grass distance, 2x density): iMinGrassSize=40 & fGrassStatFadeDistance=6000 ( 2-4FPS loss )

PC TWO - Medium Spec

CPU: AMD Bulldozer FX-8100 / Intel i5 2500k
GPU: ATI Radeon HD7850 / Nvidia Geforce GTX 560Ti
RAM: 4GB

Max Settings & FPS loss: iMinGrassSize=20 & fGrassStartFadeDistance=25000 ( 12-22FPS loss )

RECOMMENDED SETTINGS (3x vanilla grass distance, 0.5x extra density): iMinGrassSize=60 & fGrassStatFadeDistance=17000 ( 3-5FPS loss )
RECOMMENDED SETTINGS (0.3x extra grass distance, 3.75x density): iMinGrassSize=30 & fGrassStatFadeDistance=10000 ( 2-4FPS loss )

PC THREE - High Spec

CPU: **NO AMD PROCESSOR UP TO THIS SPEC** / Intel i5 3570k OC @ 4.5GHz
GPU: ATI Radeon HD7970 / Nvidia Geforce GTX 680
RAM: 8GB

Max Settings & FPS loss: iMinGrassSize=20 & fGrassStartFadeDistance=25000 ( 8-14FPS loss )

RECOMMENDED SETTINGS (3x vanilla grass distance, 2x vanilla density): iMinGrassSize=40 & fGrassStatFadeDistance=17000 ( 3-5FPS loss )
RECOMMENDED SETTINGS (2x vanilla grass distance, 4x vanilla density): iMinGrassSize=20 & fGrassStatFadeDistance=12000 ( 2-4FPS loss )

PC FOUR - Powerful enough to launch a full scale intergalactic space expedition out of your toilet (do not try this at home)

CPU: Intel i7 3960X OC @ 5.6Ghz
GPU: 2x SLI Nvidia Geforce GTX 690

You will run this mod at the absolute maximum settings with a maximum of 4-8FPS loss


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3. Recommended .ini tweaks:

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Skyrim.ini -

iMinGrassSize=20

Skyrimprefs.ini -

Recommended settings provided:

fGrassStartFadeDistance=10000 (low end)/17000 (mid range)/25000 (high spec)

fTreeLoadDistance=40000 (low end)/75000 (mid range)/150000 (high spec)

uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=20 (low end)/30 (mid range)/60 (high spec)

bTreesReceiveShadows=0 (low-mid range)/1 (high spec)

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4. Recommended Mods

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This mod is fantastic if you use Real Wildlife by Nedius, as the large amounts of grassy areas can hide predators such as small spiders and juvenile bears/wolves/saber cats.
Real Wildlife: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/9778

It goes without saying that this should be used in conjunction with Skyrim Flora Overhaul by Vert, as the large amount of grass can be an eyesore sometimes from the neon vanilla look, the Skyrim Flora Overhaul gives grass a realer and slightly duller look, while upping the overall texture quality, highly recommended.
Skyrim Flora Overhaul: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/141

Works perfectly alongside Lush Grass by Opticshooter, I recommend you download that, too.
Lush Grass: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/3288

For an even more natural and foresty look, download Lush Trees by Opticshooter.
Lush Trees: http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/3385

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5. Things to come

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Soon:
1) Several differing versions including Ancient (to give Skyrim an untouched, ancient feeling) and LITE (for higher performance).
2) Further Guide optimization, including guides for each variation of the main mod.

Future:
1) Integrating a way to allow the mod to add the grass related tweaks to your existing .ini files from different presets without overwriting them and changing your existing tweaks to default. Preferably with NMM.