Retexture - Part 1 : Terrain

 Retexture - Terrain

Hi,

I'm starting a new serie about retextures.
Why?
Well, first, i like to retexture my game and maybe i can share with you this interest and some technics.
Second, your pleasure and your immersion in the game will be definitly better. Combined with an ENB, you definitly obtain another game.
Third, for screenarchers. Adding more details and avoid mistakes are always improvements.
Finally, i think characters are better in a good environement. And you use less  the Depth of field to hide ugly parts.
Personal note:  For my gameplay, i always remove the depth of field so i win precious fps. So, maybe i lose 1 or 2 fps for the terrain quality, but i win 10/15 fps without the depth of field. So, the deal is good in my opinion.

Let's be clear, this is for a detailled Skyrim, for gameplay, for your pleasure and for landscape screenshots.

This article is for Oldrim.....old Skyrim....Skyrim the first....Skyrim 2011 😁

This first article is about the terrain. All terrain textures can be found in Skyrim/data/textures/landscape.
Road textures are located in Skyrim/data/textures/landscape/roads.

The terrain is where you walk (lol...really)!. I speak about roads too because they are linked to the terrain.
I do not speak about interior grounds or city grounds because they are in another folder......another article later.
I'm not here to tell you which mods you should use. I'm speaking about methods. However, i have some recommendations of course. 
The final goal is a clean result for your eyes.
Interesting fact : Better is your skyrim, better are new places, towns or worlds that use these textures. (example : Summerset isles, Falskaar, Darkend, Beyond Reach, etc...)

1) Resolution
All resolutions are available for the terrain: 512, 1K, 2K, 4K, ...even 8K.
The goal is not to mix textures which don't work together.
If you use a majority of 2K textures, mix them with others 1K or 4K. Not 512, the difference is too much important.
If you use a majority of 4K textures, mix them with only others 2K. 512 or 1K is too far about quality.
If you use a majority of 1K, mix them with 2K.

My own experience is that quality texture doesn't affect FPS. For the terrain of course. Terrain can't create fps drops or stutterings. It's just flat and doesn't need a lot of ressources. So, you can be "generous " with the terrain.

2) Straight line
The illness of Skyrim. That's the first thing to avoid in the game. A straight line as a separation between 2 terrain textures must be corrected.
For immersion, it's necessary to clean the terrain as much as possible.
To avoid straight lines on the terrain, you must find and try textures with an alpha channel (transparency). With this alpha channel, you remove every ugly terrain transitions.
Some mods provide this alpha channel, some mods don't have it. No mods are perfect.
An easy solution to see if your textures have an alpha channel is to watch your landscape folder simply. 
Here is a part of mine:

Landscape folder

You can clearly see the transparency in the thumbnails, for main diffuse textures.
You can use programs like Gimp or Photoshop too. Open the texture with one of them and just watch if it has this transparency (alpha channel).
You don't need to edit them. Just select textures with a good percentage of transparency. So, try them in game and watch the result.

Examples in my game:

A perfect transparency with

Renthal 311 old flora and others pack (seashells)

Volcanic zone

3) Mods mix
Definitly. Using only one mod for terrain textures is a mistake in my opinion.
You have a lot of available free mods on Nexus.
Pick up, try, test, apply, watch in game. That's the best advice i can give you.
Of course you need to do it manualy. It's very fast. And when it's perfect, it's done.

Mineralpoolterrace.dds (2k) -Vivid Landscapes

For the terrain, i can recommand you several good mods and good modders. They do the job very well.
The goal is to create several named folders on your hard drive and  to extract each mods you download.
You create your own "textures library". Mix and match my friend!

Pfuscher https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/212132/? 
A master in terrain retexture. Lots of 2K or 4K...parallax too. I don't use all his work but some textures are just perfect. Very nice textures for wood materials, sea border, dirt, volcanic parts....and standard roads. Also, interesting textures for Whiterun.
Points of interest: dirt, volcanic zone. 

Noble Skyrim https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/45807/?
Big pack. 1K or 2K...no parallax. Can be used in some specific parts of the terrain. In Noble, the terrain is very dark...it's a style. Not my favorite. I prefer Noble Skyrim for its woods quality or interiors.
I use mainly noble for the glacier part and of course for all its wooden doors. Good selection for clutters and furniture. The textures folder "farmhouse" contains great textures. Very good fallforest roads. You can also find some of the best textures for bridges (and smim compatible 😎). Noble mountains are also superb. Noble changes a lot the athmosphere of the whole game.
It's just cleaner and sharper. A unique style.
Points of interest: fieldgrass, frozenmarsh, glacier, pineforest, tundra. Very good content for all the terrain zone of Riften.

Renthal https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/users/5851384/?tb=mods&pUp=1
Unfortunatly, Renthal removed all his old works. But you can find them easily on the internet.
He has done a lot of plants....but he provided some great terrain textures too. I use some of them. But Renthal is mainly a specialist for plants.
A must have. 2K or 4K
Points of interest: beach, rock border, riverside.


Update january 2018: You can still find some Renthal's textures on the Nexus https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/79929/? 
In this pack, you can find plants and landscape textures (2K and 4K). For example, if you like my seashells on the seaborder, they come from Renthal. So, download this pack and pick up textures you like or you want.
Seashells are coastoceanfloor01 and coastoceanfloor01_n in Renthal's pack.
Just copy/paste them in your landscape folder.
In my case, I rename them as coastbeachgrass01 and coastbeachgrass01_n becausethey fit better to this new place on beaches.
Thank you Dreamersteamer for this link.

Skyrim HD https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/607/?
Old pack, 1K or 2K. Don't smile....in this pack , you can find insane textures for the terrain. Somes 2K are better than 4K in other mods. Some textures resolved some problems for the terrain. Some nice textures for ponds and for the volcanic zone.
Points of interest: Glacier parallax, volcanic part,  riverbededge.

Tamriel reloaded HD https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/61995/?
 Let's be clear. The mod is not stable. You have CTD with Tamriel reloaded HD. So, i don't recommand to install it...fully...with the esp. But you can use it only for specific textures.....what i do (beaches, roads junction, Riften zone).
Points of interest: beach, fieldgrass, riverbottom.
Superb 1K, 2K or 4K and parallax. Some options for ultra performance textures too. The strong point of TR? The mod brings diversity to the landscape with specific meshes and textures.

Vivid Landscapes https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/49344/?
Great mod. Sometimes, this mod covers spaces that others don't do. So, it's neccesary.
I only picked up a few textures but they are very good. Can be used for some road junctions and for some volcanic parts. Good rocks borders too.Vivid is really good for the tundra region. Very mineral!
One of the best mod to have a terrain with relief.
1K, 2K or 4K. Parallax too.

Skyland https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/80157
I'm discovering the mod and I use some textures that may be a nice alternative. Sometimes pixelated or blurry, but sometimes very interesting like some forest grounds or some grass grounds.
Despite that the mod does not have a very good presentation on the Nexus, this mod hides a real HIDDEN GEM.... Indeed, Skyland has one of the best textures available for all glaciers (glacier parallax, glacierslab, glaciersubsurface and icefloes).....and in 4K. Really impressive.
If you want a nice snowy ground, Skyland is great too.
1K, 2K,........and real 4K (glacier) even if the modder do not tell it 😋

Skyrim Realist Overhaul https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-realistic-overhaul
A mix of 1K, 2K and 4K. An impressive pack. This pack covers all Skyrim and not only the terrain. So, a selection is necessary. I use it mainly for spaces those are not covered by all famous mods. Indeed, SRO covers the Soul Cairn and the Sky Haven Temple. Some little tiny details too like Alduin's wall and some secrets...
Textures are sometime superb and sometimes very pixelated. So, the selection is very long to choose only the best. Can be risky to install the mod fully because of some very heavy textures that may create FPS drops in strategic places. 
A mod you should explore to find rarities.
Note: the mod is for Oldrim and compatible SE.

Amidian Landscape https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/37865
A good 2K pack. I really like Cabal120's work for all his armor retextures. But he also made terrain textures. The mod covers the essential of Skyrim. Textures are logical and fits perfectly to the game. No parallax for the ground, and parallax for dirtcliffs and mountains. 
However, textures are a bit blurry compared to other mods.......for the same resolution/cost. Amidian Landscape is a bit flat too. For this reason, it's not my choice, but the mod is perfect for those who like the essential and an easy install....and of course for those who like the Amidian's touch. Finally, the mod has a lack of personality, especially about the rendering and blending.
The best part of the mod is mountain textures. They are really stylish and unique. But mountains are not the subject of this article.
Points of interest: Mountains, dirtcliff, glacier, all tundra textures, snow.

Y.A.L.O Yet Another Landscape Overhaul https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/78745/?tab=files 
I never tried it. The content is unknow to me. When I'll try it, I'll provide a feedback.

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I don't recommand the High resolution DLC.

You can find other mods of course. Some special mods focus only on specific parts. I'll update the list above...when i'll remember them.

Some examples in my game: As you can see, all junctions are clean. No straight lines. I mix mods above...to my taste 😋....and don't forget....transparency!!!!
Some textures are 2K, some are 4K. They are near about quality. It's visualy enjoyable and natural.

Beach: A perfect mix (4K)

Terrain transition

Icefloes (Noble Skyrim 2K)

Volcanic zone

River, mud and borders

Snowy path

3) Parallax or not Parallax
I use it on some parts. I don't really see the improvement. Sometimes, the result can be ugly too. Of course , you can mix textures and meshes with and without parallax.
It's up to you. Test and try. Don't forget, you must have meshes to activate parallax. The enb local must be changed too:
[FIX]
FixGameBugs=true
FixParallaxBugs=true          ⟸here
FixParallaxTerrain=false       ⟸here
FixAliasedTextures=true
IgnoreInventory=true
FixTintGamma=true
RemoveBlur=true
FixSubSurfaceScattering=true
FixSkyReflection=true
FixCursorVisibility=true
FixLag=false

 4) Roads
AHHH ...roads. You like them, i'm sure. We spend a lot of time on roads. So, they must be perfect.
And believe me, I rarely see clean roads and borders in random screenshots.

In my game:

So, i give you my solution. This is the cleanest result i can have actualy.

First, i use Real roads https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/55518/? 
It's only meshes (bsa). Now you have real 3D roads. Not an ugly flat road or a fake parallax. Textures will have a better result with these roads too. A patch exist for bridges of course. 
Now, roads are UUNP 7B 😄 (It's a joke.....don't try to put road meshes in the bodyslide studio........it doesn't work...........i tried.......i admit.)

then,

- For the main road (road01.dds and n.dds), choose Pfusher road texture (2K or 4K). Then choose his "dirt" texture for borders.
- For the fallforest roads (road01fallforest01.dds and n.dds), choose Tamriel reloaded HD roads (2K or 4K). Then, choose the Tamriel Reloaded HD "Fallforestdirt01" for border.
- For the Reach roads (road01reach01.dds and n.dds), choose again Tamriel reloaded HD roads (2K or 4K). Then, choose the Tamriel reloaded "reachdirt01" for borders.

Update 24 may 2018: Majestic mountains does a very good job on roads too https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/86292/ 
Especially for the Reach.Select only "road01reach" and "road01reach_n" for the road and paste into the landscape/roads folder.
Select "reachdirt01" and "reachdirt01_n" (for roadsides) and paste them in the landscape folder.

Your roads are clean now. Thanks who? Thanks Marmotte.

5) Feeling

A good retexture require some manual installation. I know, 97% of you, use automatic organisers (NMM or Mod organiser).
But precision requires sometimes some effort. This article allow you to have of course " A UNIQUE SKYRIM".....your own game, your own world.
So, you do your own creation.
I did that on terrain, rocks, mountains, cities, plants, trees, forts, ruins, interiors , exteriors, everything.

But remember, one it's done, it's done.....and your game will be enjoyable.

Of course , things can change. Sometimes i try new textures. I test them in game and i watch if they match to my actual game.

This article is not reserved to owners of big GPU. You can obtain a wonderfull game with only 1K textures. The goal is a very good balance between every parts. I think , it's better to have a very well balanced terrain in 1K rather than an illogical terrain in 4K.
My first GPU was a GTX 680 in 2011 and I was able to retex my game with very nice 1K textures.

So, choose your style, choose your textures and enjoy the game.

I hope this article was contructive for you. There are some english mistakes...sorry, i do my best as usual.
Maybe you have learned something today. If you have questions, you can ask in the commentary section. If i made a mistake, you can tell me too. If you need precisions, just ask.

Thank you

Marmotte