NGVO - A Visual Baseline Modlist

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Wabbajack Modlist Installer by biggie_boss.

Nexus Page Download on Wabbajack Load Order Library Discord

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Preamble

NGVO NGVO (Next Generation Visual Overhaul) is a comprehensive visual baseline list designed around the philosophy as making it as moddable as possible while offering the absolute best visuals you can find. As such, the plugin count is under 300 with less than 40 ESP/ESM’s, giving you over 210 ESP/ESM slots to work with.

System Requirements

Disclaimer

Owing to the need to clean master files and certain errors with Wabbajack, NGVO only supports English Steam versions of Skyrim Special Edition. GOG and other Languages are not supported.

NGVO REQUIRES YOUR SKYRIM VERSION TO BE UPDATED TO 1.6.1170 AND THIS IS THE GAME VERSION THAT THE MODLIST RUNS ON

Only, Windows 10 and 11 work with Wabbajack fully. LTSC, special variants, lightened editions or any other modified variant WILL NOT WORK. Your windows version must be 21H2 or newer to run both Wabbajack and NGVO.

Running the list from Hard Disk Drives or external drives is STRONGLY ADVISED AGAINST. A lot of content is swapped at game run time and, as a result, fast storage and RAM are needed.

NGVO requires a mid-tier modern system to run to its fullest potential. The recommended specs given below are based on utilizing the ENB in the list. For community shaders, you can subtract a little bit from them. Users have reported being able to run on hardware slightly lower than this, however your mileage may vary.

Component Recommended for 1080p
CPU 10th Generation i5 or better/equivalent
Ram 16GB DDR4 Ram + 40GB Pagefile
Storage SATA SSD or higher
GPU RTX 3060 or better/equivalent
Component Recommended for 1440p
CPU 12th Generation i7 or better/equivalent
Ram 32GB DDR4 Ram + 40GB Pagefile
Storage M.2 SSD
GPU RTX 4070 or better/equivalent

Space required: ~150GB Download Size ~100GB install Size ~250GB Total

See how to setup a page file here: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/how-to-manage-virtual-memory-pagefile-windows-10,36929.html

NOTE: AMD RX 580 and older cards are not supported.

Installation

Installing NGVO is relatively easy and, if you have Nexus Premium, will be a simple waiting game. If you are updating the modlist, you can safely skip to the updating section.

Pre-Installation

Prior to installing NGVO, please complete the following steps.

  1. Install Visual C++ x64 & .Net Runtime v5 desktop x64
  2. Change Skyrim so it does not automatically update.
  3. Fully uninstall Skyrim by deleting the folder and the Skyrim Special edition folder inside \Documents\My Games.
  4. Fully disable OneDrive and any other programs which hook into user file areas.
  5. Reinstall Skyrim into a location that is not Program files. Somewhere like C:\Games is a good location. If you only have one drive, look into LostDragonist’s SteamLibrary tool.
  6. Start the game once and let it do the graphics check. Do not worry about the settings as it will be replaced during installation.
  7. Launch the game to the main menu and allow it to download the free creation club addon files. DO NOT VERIFY YOUR GAME FILES
  8. Remove/Disable any 3rd party antivirus such as MalwareBytes or Webroot. These will mess with the installation and, in the case of the latter, causes more problems than it solves.
  9. Install the Skyrim Special Edition: Creation Kit on Steam and run it at least once.

Wabbajack Installation

Installing Wabbajack

Once you have completed pre-installation, download the latest version of Wabbajack and place it in a folder such as C:\Games\Wabbajack. Do not place it in program files, on your desktop or in your downloads folder. I recommend placing it on an SSD as it will work quicker on there.

NOTE: NGVO will always require the latest version of Wabbajack UNLESS IT IS SPECIFICALLY STATED HERE.

Downloading and Installing NGVO

Downloading and installing NGVO can take a while depending on your internet connection and computer. To install NGVO, complete the following steps.

  1. Open Wabbajack and click on browse modlists.
  2. Press the download button on NGVO and wait for it to download.
  3. Set the installation folder to be somewhere like C:\NGVO. Do not install it to your desktop or downloads folder.
  4. The download location does not need to be on a SSD but it makes installing a bit faster.
  5. Press the play button to begin.
  6. Go and pet your nearest fluffy animal whilst Wabbajack does its thing. Alternatively read through this readme again.
  7. If the installation is successful, jump for joy and move onto post installation. If the installation is unsuccessful, follow what is below.
Problems with installation

It is possible that you may encounter an error with Wabbajack when installing. Some common issues are listed below.

  • Could not download x:
    • Big files can fail to download due to connection issues. You can either run Wabbajack again or download the file manually. If you decide to manually download it, make sure to place it in the same place as the other downloads.
      • Make sure you have downloaded all the Paid AE update content!
    • Make sure you have the Creation Kit installed. Go back to Pre-Installation and read it properly this time.

  • x is not a whitelisted download:

    • This will happen when I update the modlist. Please check if there is a new update or wait until you see a release ping.

  • Wabbajack could not find my game folder:

  • Antivirus reports a virus:

Post-Installation

Stock Game & Root Builder

NGVO utilizes a Wabbajack technology called Stock Game. What this essentially does is create a copy of your Skyrim installation within the installation location of the list. This enables greater compatibility with other mod-lists.

NGVO also utilizes Root Builder alongside Stock Game to enable easier management of hooks such as ENB, Reshade and Engine Fixes. Please see our guide to Root Builder for more details. ***

NOTE: Screenshots save to Overwrite\Stock Game.

Starting up the list

Open the installation folder and double-click on the program called ModOrganizer.exe.

Make sure the dropdown box on the right is set to NGVO and press the Run button.

In-game MCM options

NGVO has no required MCM options to be selected; however, you can load the smoothcam preset if you wish to do so.

You are welcome to change any others to achieve your desired setup.

Known Bugs/Crashes

If you are using an AMD GPU, you need to disable DLAA and enable TAA in the SkyrimPrefs.ini located in the profile folder. Otherwise, you WILL crash.

Dying and then reloading CAN cause crashes with Dyndolod DLL NG. The alternative is to disable Dyndolod DLL NG and re-run Dyndolod. This will enable Dyndolod via papyrus scripts which resolves this issue but is heavier FPS-wise and has worse lods.

Updating the modlist

Before updating, please check the changelog and back up your saves. You may need to start a new game after certain updates.

Updating is like installing the list. Simply make sure your paths are the same and tick the overwrite existing modlist button. Note: Any mods you have added will be deleted when updating.

Removing the Modlist

Simply delete the folder, and you have uninstalled it.

Credits and Thanks

  • YOU for reading this.
  • Althro & Ylikollikas for answering all my questions.
  • ShadowSorcery for creating NGVO’s awesome logo.
  • Halgari and everyone on the WJ Team - Wabbajack is awesome and so are you.
  • All of the amazing mod authors whose work made this modlist possible.