Modding Skyrim: The Basics

For my first post I am going to go over some essential tips and tools for creating a stable modded Skyrim. Without learning and doing any of this first, creating mods might not be a good idea. Now I know there are multiple tutorials on these things out there that I will be covering, but I'm doing it here for convenience's sake. For starter's you'll obviously need Skyrim installed. Once your game is installed, the first thing you'll need is TES5Edit, LOOT, SKSE and possibly Wrye Bash (I'll get into that later). You can also choose to grab a mod manager, but I'll only be covering manual installation, since it is absolutely essential for anyone modding this game to know how to do that, before playing around with mod managers. Before beginning make sure to download TES5Edit, LOOT, and SKSE. 

TES5Edit and Cleaning Mods

To begin cleaning click on TES5Edit.exe, and right click, then Select None. Check on Update.esm, and click okay. Wait for it to load. After it finishes loading, right click on Update.esm and choose Apply Filter for Cleaning. Wait until it says [Filtering done] at the bottom before right clicking on it again, and selecting Remove "Identical to Master" Records. A box will come up asking if you are sure. Hit yes and wait for it to finish. Then right click on it one last time and select Undelete and Disable References. Once its finished hit the X to close, and a box saying "Save changed files" will pop up, hit okay, and the changes will be saved. This will need to be repeated for Dawnguad, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn if one has them, and eventually any mods that LOOT mentions having ITM's and deleted references. Also to make this clear, you do not clean Skyrim.esm.

The first thing I'm going to cover is TES5Edit and cleaning mods. After a fresh install Update.esm, and any DLC's one might have, will need cleaning with TES5Edit. So one might ask, why does a mod need cleaning? There are two simple reasons: ITM's and deleted references. ITM's, or identical to master's, are what they sound like. When one hits okay after viewing a form (for example a weapon), and saves their mod they create an identical to master. This means that if there is a mod that changes weapon stats, and a mod with an ITM on a weapon form loads below it, that ITM is what's going to take effect in game, instead of the changes from the weapon stat mod. 

A deleted reference is something that perhaps another mod depends on, and because another mod (or the master files like Update.esm), has deleted it, the game most likely or definitely will crash because it was deleted. Disabling something that one does not want in their mod is much safer in comparison, as it is still there and "hidden", in case the other mod relies on it. For example, one mod deletes an apple on a table. Another mod moves that apple on the table that loads below the one that deleted it, and chances are, its going to crash, because that mod that moved the apple can't "find" it anymore. These may not be perfect examples, but I hope it gets the point across that it is extremely important to remember to clean mods that have ITM's and deleted references (unless stated otherwise, like mods that have intentionally made ITM's). 

Installing Mods

In order to begin modding, you'll of course need some mods. What is a mod? A mod is any modification to the game, from simple texture replacers, to more complex new quest or lands mods, etc. There are several places to download them, but the one I recommend to use is nexusmods. 

Before one begins though, get SKSE installed. You can either install it, or extract it from an archive, and drag the files into the Skyrim directory (for an example on how to find it, go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim, assuming one installed it there). Most mods will be installed into the Data folder inside the Skyrim folder. I usually just have the Data folder open when installing mods manually, and after getting SKSE installed, I create a shortcut to the skse_loader on my desktop for quick access to it. After getting SKSE installed, download this: SKSE ini. This will help fix an issue with how memory works with Skyrim and can help prevent memory related crashes.

For manually installing mods, mods are generally saved inside archives (.rar, .zip, etc) that will need extracting, and may contain anything from an esp file, a bsa, a meshes and/or textures folder, etc depending on the mod. There are programs such as winrar and 7-zip that can extract them. Make sure to install such a program, if you do not have any.

For some first time recommendations, I recommend the Unofficial Patches which fix nearly every bug with Skyrim (thousands I think), and its DLC, and also SkyUI. SkyUI needs SKSE to run, and it also includes the MCM (Mod Configuration Menu) which a number of mods use. It also has a number of UI fixes, and generally looks nicer to most people. There's of course SkyUI Away if one likes the default UI included with Skyrim. Lastly I recommend Alternate Start - Live Another Life , in case one gets tired of the lengthy default Helgen start, though there are other start mods as well. To install these mods, after extracting the archive, just drag the esp, bsa, etc, into the Data folder.

Update 12/14/15: I would highly recommend using the Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch if you have all three DLC, since the original patches are not being supported now. 

From there you are on your own with choosing mods, since everyone has their own preferences, likes, and dislikes. If you are on nexusmods, remember you can choose to block certain tags, and even block certain author's mods from showing up into your searches, to hide what you don't like. What I will make mention of is to absolutely read the mod's description and any sticky's in the comments section before downloading and using any mod. I would say it is rude to not read any description's or sticky's and then to make a comment claiming "Your mod crashed my game" (which is also quite a ridiculous claim to make without substantial evidence, anyways), especially if you install hundreds of mods right off the bat. Start off small, with a couple of mods, and if the game is stable, then gradually add more mods. I would also recommend checking out the comments section on any mod for any possible bugs or issues a mod may have.
Another piece of crucial advice is that if you install a mod with scripts, and unless a mod author has made some way to turn off or stop their mod's scripts to uninstall it, you cannot uninstall it in the middle of a save/playthrough/character/etc, and expect that save to keep working. You will most likely get crashes and possibly corrupt the save by doing so. Just don't do it. Make sure to keep multiple manual saves, and to always try a mod out before continuing on with a save (or character). If you don't like it, you can simply uninstall it and go back to a previous save before the mod was installed.

LOOT and Load Order

The next topic I will cover is load order, and LOOT which will automatically sort your load order, based on the mods one is using. While more experienced users can fine tune their load order, I recommend beginners to start off with what LOOT suggests, since its pretty good. From reading above, one can begin to get an understanding on why load order is important. Yet what is load order? It is the order of your mods and master files, and determines what changes from mods show up in effect in game. If you have two mods that do the same thing, then whatever is loaded last is what will be the one to take effect. 

So the next thing to do is to run LOOT. After it's opened hit the button that says Sort Plugins. Give it a bit, and then hit Apply. You will now see your rearranged load order. There are also various filters such as hiding inactive plugins and more. After sorting, close it out. Remember to clean any additional mods that need cleaning (ITM's and/or deleted references).

Additional Program Recommendations

As above I have mentioned Wrye Bash. You should get this if you get several mods that change the leveled lists and make a bashed patch. A leveled list is what determines how loot shows up in the game, through a merchant's inventory, chests, or determines what enemy's you can encounter. You can also merge mods that make edits to existing forms (but not mods that make new forms) into the bashed patch.

If you want to look at dds files (which are included with texture mods, etc, since dds is the file format the game uses for texture mods) then get install IrfanView and its plugins. If you want to look at nif files (the games mesh files, or models), then install Nifskope.