Special Edition mod status

[Lobo89]

How is the mod scene on the Special Edition version of Skyrim? Last time I played (about nine months ago), several of the mods I use had not been converted to the new version, so I just continued to play on the original. Now, it looks like I will have to upgrade to Mod Organizer 2, so I'm considering changing over to SE as well. 

[Curse]

I’m still using the original Mod Organizer and Legendary Edition and I’m pretty happy with both. I haven’t felt a need to upgrade. From what I heard from others who have tried MO 2 it’s still got some bugs to work out.

[Lobo89]

See, I knew I'd get the best information here!

It does look like the connection to nmm.nexusmods.com has changed or something, as I'm getting errors when I open MO 1. I probably just need to do some digging to figure it out...

[Teccam]

I don't think there are many major LE mods that aren't either already ported to SE, or easily ported yourself. Basically other than mods that affect navmeshes or that include skse plugins, just about anything can be ported within a minute or two. The only programs you *might* need are:

1. Special Edition Creation Kit: Available as a free download from the official bethesda.net launcher. You can add this as an executable in MO2. Any LE mod that includes an ESP plugin needs to have the plugin resaved in the SE CK, since SE plugins use a different form header. This is as easy as opening the CK, selecting the LE ESP file (File > Data), and saving (File > Save). That's all.
2. SSE NIF Optimizer: This is a free standalone program you can download from the Nexus. You need to run it to process any LE mods with meshes, since SE requires different properties in its meshes. Luckily, this tool makes that a one-click process. If you want to port an LE mod that includes a "meshes" folder in its Data directory, just load it into your MO2 setup, then launch SSE Nif Optimizer. Point it to that mod's meshes folder (<your MO2 directory>\mods\<mod name>\meshes) and click Run. Wait for it to finish (should take less than five seconds.) Exit. That's all.
3. Bethesda Archive Extractor (BAE): Some mods include BSA archives to package various data elements. BSAs packaged for LE will not work properly in SE, but this tool can quickly and easily unpack the BSA archive into loose files that sit in the mod's Data folder. All you need to do is launch BAE, find the mod in your MO2 folder, right-click to Open in Windows Explorer, drag the BSA archive into the BAE window, and press Extract. Point it to the same folder in your MO2 mods directory (<your MO2 directory>\mods\<mod name>). When it's done, close BAE, and delete the BSA file from the mod folder.

So yeah, it took me longer to type that out than it will take to actually do even in a worst case. And generally, not many mods have meshes (only some visual mods) and even fewer have BSA archives. So if you can't find something from LE on the SE Nexus, porting yourself is generally quick and painless (notwithstanding the exceptions I mentioned above).

 

That being said, I can only think of a couple of major mods that haven't been ported anyway. The big ones are Requiem (I believe the team is working on a 2.0 release that will be available for both LE and SE, but not for a long time) and Enhanced Camera (there are lesser alternatives for SE, such as Joy of Perpsective; also, there have been rumblings of a port coming soon). QuickLoot and RaceMenu have been ported, but have some kinks being worked out, and may not work properly/fully and/or may not be available for all versions of Skyrim SE / SKSE 2.x. That's pretty much all the big ones I can think of.

SE also has some great mods that aren't available for LE, by the way: Obsidian Weathers, 3D Trees and Plants, Economy Overhaul and Speechcraft Improvements, etc. Also several upcoming SE projects to keep an eye on, such as the trees and plants module of Cathedral Project, the WICO 2.0 update, and iEQUIP. Not to mention, it runs much better and can support a lot more under the hood.

So yeah, I'd say it's a good time to switch. But if you're comfortable with your LE setup, that's your prerogative. Of course, you can always keep ytour old LE setup separate from your new SE setup, and go back and forth at will.

[Irissa]

I finally got around to installing Skyrim SE today, but some of the small little mods that I used to use for Skyrim via the Steam workshop haven't been ported to SE, so I'm not going to play it because the aesthetic of my character is very important to me.  There are some equivalents via the Nexus, but they are not available in the mod section via the game launcher, so that's not going to work for me (I don't use the Nexus Mod Manager).  As a result, I'm going to try running Skyrim standard edition on my 64 bit PC, as my old 32bit PC finally stopped working during the summer, so that I can use my vampire and Breton face mods, and see what happens.

It does seem that most of the major mods that many players use are now available via the Nexus though.  As a result, I'm sure that you would probably benefit from playing Skyrim SE.