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About this mod
This ENB is designed for users of Vanilla weather Skyrim SE who want the darkest nights possible, while just barely being able to see without light assistance. It is based on SkyrimSE Re-Engaged ENB by firemanaf. After receiving preliminary approval, I am releasing this beta version to see if there is purpose and interest in the community.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
- Donations
Installation
When you start Skyrim with the new ENB files, a folder called ENB cache should be created which may cause the main menu to load slowly while created the ENB cache files, and loading should faster in the future.
Purpose
Vanilla Skyrim isn't dark. There really isn't a recurring gameplay purpose for torches and the Alteration's school light spells during the night and in dungeons.
I found SkyrimSE Re-Engaged ENB by firemanaf, and was very pleased with it overall, link below.
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1089?tab=files
Re-Engaged has a darker setting for nights under the ENB Effects preset menu that helps, but I wanted to take it further, without making the player completely blind in the dark, because that is equally as frustrating.
It took me multiple times to get close to something I was happy with, and I wanted to share it because the reason I made it was that I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.
Why vanilla? Other than an ENB, I am doing an unmodded playthrough to help identify changes/mods I would like to make to the base game. The ENB has helped add atmosphere to my playthrough and given more purpose to player lighting mechanics.
Design
The ENB design is based on a couple constraints:
The result, was that environmental fog was used to obscure vision at night alongside balancing other lighting parameters to produce an effect that doesn't look completely dark, doesn't look completely foggy, but somewhere in between to simulate how our vision is reduced at night while retaining the ability to play the game.
Release Information
At this time, my release is based on the Ultimate version of Re-Engaged ENB. I intend to follow up with more performance friendly versions and I would like to optimize this Ultimate version.
FAQ
Q-1. This ENB is too dark, is there a lighter version?
A-1. First, I would recommend that your monitor is properly calibrated (see the bottom of the page below the Bugs section). Second, try using thebuilt-in "Nights & Interior Adjustments" settings in the file "enbeffect.fx.ini". The easiest way to access this is by using the ENB editor in-game. The default shortcut is "shift+enter", navigate to the ENBEFFECT.FX drop down menu in the right panel, and the settings for Nights and Interiors by default should be set to 2.0. Lower this value in increments of 0.5 until you find a setting you are happy with.
Q-2. Does Nighteye work?
A-2. Nighteye should work well enough to enhance your vision at night, but I think it still needs optimization.
Q-3. Is there a more performance friendly version?
A-3. Not yet. Please see the link above to the Re-Engaged ENB for information on how to improve performance. I want to spend time evaluating this, I play Skyrim at 144 fps, and the performance hit is larger than if you play at 60 fps since modern hardware can handle lower frame rates more easily.
Bugs
Other: Regarding monitor calibration and correct color viewing
I recommend making sure your monitor is calibrated for optimal viewing : http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/
This is important since a monitor that is not calibrated to properly distinguish the full range of darker colors, may result in an image that is too dark for viewing.
The final image is based on the factory settings of my primary monitor, a ASUS ROG PG279Q, on Scenery Mode after calibration. In retrospect, sRBG mode might have been the way to go, but it seems like everyone ends up with a slightly different result anyway.
Even after calibration, there is no guarantee that the image on my screen regarding color, brightness, tint, gamma, etc. will be the same as yours. I was comparing my screenshots on my primary monitor (my best one) to my secondary, and realized even my secondary came out of factory with different color settings than my primary even after calibration. They were too dark! I used Nvidia control panel to adjust my secondary to my primary for consistency. It seems like without a "perfect" reference image you don't really know if your color is "correct", but I'm satisfied with my overall results, for now.
- Download the latest ENB binary from the ENB series website: http://enbdev.com/download_mod_tesskyrimse.html
- Copy the files d3d11.dll and d3dcompiler_46e.dll to your main Skyrim SE directory (default ?:\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition).
- Copy this mods files to your main Skyrim SE directory.
When you start Skyrim with the new ENB files, a folder called ENB cache should be created which may cause the main menu to load slowly while created the ENB cache files, and loading should faster in the future.
Purpose
Vanilla Skyrim isn't dark. There really isn't a recurring gameplay purpose for torches and the Alteration's school light spells during the night and in dungeons.
I found SkyrimSE Re-Engaged ENB by firemanaf, and was very pleased with it overall, link below.
https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/1089?tab=files
Re-Engaged has a darker setting for nights under the ENB Effects preset menu that helps, but I wanted to take it further, without making the player completely blind in the dark, because that is equally as frustrating.
It took me multiple times to get close to something I was happy with, and I wanted to share it because the reason I made it was that I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.
Why vanilla? Other than an ENB, I am doing an unmodded playthrough to help identify changes/mods I would like to make to the base game. The ENB has helped add atmosphere to my playthrough and given more purpose to player lighting mechanics.
Design
The ENB design is based on a couple constraints:
- Make nights as dark as possible to give reason to use torches and light spells, but not so dark the player is unable to navigate and see objects.
- The ambient and direct lighting need to be high enough so that the grass shader does not lose all color, because point lighting from the player's light sources do not affect the grass shaders.
The result, was that environmental fog was used to obscure vision at night alongside balancing other lighting parameters to produce an effect that doesn't look completely dark, doesn't look completely foggy, but somewhere in between to simulate how our vision is reduced at night while retaining the ability to play the game.
Release Information
At this time, my release is based on the Ultimate version of Re-Engaged ENB. I intend to follow up with more performance friendly versions and I would like to optimize this Ultimate version.
FAQ
Q-1. This ENB is too dark, is there a lighter version?
A-1. First, I would recommend that your monitor is properly calibrated (see the bottom of the page below the Bugs section). Second, try using thebuilt-in "Nights & Interior Adjustments" settings in the file "enbeffect.fx.ini". The easiest way to access this is by using the ENB editor in-game. The default shortcut is "shift+enter", navigate to the ENBEFFECT.FX drop down menu in the right panel, and the settings for Nights and Interiors by default should be set to 2.0. Lower this value in increments of 0.5 until you find a setting you are happy with.
Q-2. Does Nighteye work?
A-2. Nighteye should work well enough to enhance your vision at night, but I think it still needs optimization.
Q-3. Is there a more performance friendly version?
A-3. Not yet. Please see the link above to the Re-Engaged ENB for information on how to improve performance. I want to spend time evaluating this, I play Skyrim at 144 fps, and the performance hit is larger than if you play at 60 fps since modern hardware can handle lower frame rates more easily.
Bugs
- It is harder to see some meshes that have no light sources when up close to them than it is from a distance. You may notice this when you go to walk up to a door and suddenly the door gets much darker than it used to be. I believe this how the "fog" works with the ENB Environment's interaction with the game. I think there is a curve setting that affects how close the fog is to the player, which helps to simulate the dark night but also enables navigation. The issue is that this disappears when up close to especially dark areas and I don't recall setting the fog too close to the player helping the overall look either. It's not a major issue to me, but it is not a design intention either, if you find a work around let me know, I will update it if I come across a solution.
Other: Regarding monitor calibration and correct color viewing
I recommend making sure your monitor is calibrated for optimal viewing : http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/
This is important since a monitor that is not calibrated to properly distinguish the full range of darker colors, may result in an image that is too dark for viewing.
The final image is based on the factory settings of my primary monitor, a ASUS ROG PG279Q, on Scenery Mode after calibration. In retrospect, sRBG mode might have been the way to go, but it seems like everyone ends up with a slightly different result anyway.
Even after calibration, there is no guarantee that the image on my screen regarding color, brightness, tint, gamma, etc. will be the same as yours. I was comparing my screenshots on my primary monitor (my best one) to my secondary, and realized even my secondary came out of factory with different color settings than my primary even after calibration. They were too dark! I used Nvidia control panel to adjust my secondary to my primary for consistency. It seems like without a "perfect" reference image you don't really know if your color is "correct", but I'm satisfied with my overall results, for now.