Caffeine ENB
Stimulate your brain! Caffeine ENB is a semi-realistic preset that combines the superb exteriors from Rudy ENB with the amazing interiors and skin handling of the Snap Dragon shaders and LUTs. Full weather support with Real Clouds and interior lighting from ELFX. And much more…
“An ENB, to me, is the window through which we see Skyrim. I am honored that I can be part of that.” – ZwabberdieBo
INTRODUCTION
This ENB preset was initially made for my personal enjoyment, just like my other preset Antique Dragon. After requests from other users, I decided to upload it to the Nexus. Like with my other mods and collaboration projects, I always use the principal: share the knowledge.
I made this particular ENB for two main reasons: I love the superb and highly balanced weathers (exteriors) of Rudy ENB and the endless possibilities of Snap Dragon ENB for screen arching. Why not combine both? The result: Caffeine is, in contrast to Antique Dragon ENB, less fantasy and more realistic. It is a more balanced ENB. That allows you to enjoy the game without much fuss. Of course, when you decide to do some screen archery, you have all the options of the in-game ENB menu available: lighting, DoF, different color schemes, etc.
One final word in this introduction: ENBs are probably as personal as they get. Everything depends on taste. The ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ comes to mind. Don’t criticize how I setup some things in this preset as they all have a purpose and don’t ask me to change them. In the past I have always tweaked ENBs to my liking. If you love this preset, but don’t like certain aspects of it.. tweak them. Google, experiment, learn, tweak, share 🙂
FEATURES
Caffeine ENB has the following features:
Vibrant colors in many different environments
No over-bloom on textures or skin
Fully working night vision
No adaptation in dark areas, where using a bright spell would cause everything else to go black
Atmospheric interior fog, giving you that creepy feeling when exploring caves
ELFX interior lighting for the best cinematics
The incredible DoF from Snapdragon (disabled by default for smooth game play)
The LUT palette switching ability from Snapdragon
Stunning exterior weathers thanks to the assets from Rudy ENB combined with Real Clouds
High quality and life-like skin texture handling
Multiple weather support to take full cinematic advantage of weathers/areas
Wet skin during rainy weathers
Other users report: looks and works great with NLA/NLVA, and with Enderal
SHOWCASE
A very big thanks to DonProtein (Sinitar Gaming) for this video:
Also a very big thanks to PhoenixFabricio for this video. The end of his video also shows the different LUTs (color schemas):
REQUIREMENTS
This ENB preset has been tweaked using the following mods, making them a requirement for this preset:
Enhanced Lights and FX, interiors only, without enhancer
Real Clouds
Be sure to also check out the recommended mods section below.
Keep in mind:
– The interiors are handled by ELFX. If you DO install the enhancer you LOSE the atmosphere.
– The exteriors are provided by Real Clouds. You can use other cloud mods, but it will change the lighting.
The installer of ELFX gives you several options too. Leave everything on the first page at default values. That will install only the regular ELFX interior plugin, without enhancer/weather/etc. Select any patches you want or need on the Patches page. On the last Optionals page: definitely do not check the ELFX Weathers option, but you can check the candle smoke.
INSTALLATION
Installation steps:
Tip: By default, Windows does not show extensions for known file types. So it is pretty common that where I say “enbhelper.dll” or “skyrimprefs.ini”, you will see “enbhelper” and “skyrimprefs”. You can enable them if you want. How, depends a bit on your Windows version. Do a Google on: how to show file extensions windows
1) Download and extract the Caffeine ENB from the files page. Extract everything in your Skyrim game folder:
Steam\SteamApps\common\Skyrim
2) Download the latest ENB and extract/copy the files d3d9.dll and enbhost.exe from the Wrapper directory to your Skyim game folder.
First time?
Make sure to download and install the DirectX 9 Runtimes. They are required by any ENB. For more info, check the STEP page. Look for (find) the section “CTD on game launch”.
Installing an ENB can be difficult, especially If this is your first. If it is, watch some videos on youtube, so you have an idea what to expect. To make this ENB preset work correctly, you should edit your skyrimprefs.ini and incorporate these values:
[Display]
fGamma=1.0000
iMaxAnisotropy=0
iMultiSample=0
bFloatPointRenderTarget=1
bShadowsjavascript-event-stripped1
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bDrawShadows=1
To complete the ENB package, I have included an optional file in the downloads section: my enblocal.ini. Use it for your reference. Of course, you should change the memory settings to your own hardware. See the STEP guide for that (sections ReservedMemorySizeMb and VideoMemorySizeMb). If you decide to use this enblocal, for example if it is your first ENB, copy this file to your Skyrim game folder, like in step 1 above.
Skyrim users should probably always have the SKSE (Skyrim Script Extender) installed. It is needed by many mods. If you do, make sure you have the memory patch installed too. That greatly increases the stability of your Skyrim. Check this page.
PERFORMANCE
This ENB is not very demanding. I am running this preset, with the normal settings, at 50+ FPS. I have the following hardware: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, Intel Core i7 4790K, 16GB RAM, Windows 10 64-bits. Keep in mind I run at a resolution of 2560×1440. But, as I like my game to be smooth, I have already tweaked the normal preset for optimal performance.
RECOMMENDED MODS
The following mods are not mandatory, but highly recommended as they have textures that further enhance this preset:
Face Light v2.0 – Darker, from the files section of Antique Dragon (much better on lighter skins)
Mindflux Particle Patch for ENB
Noble Skyrim
Serious HD Retexture DARK MOUNTAINS 4096px, from the optional files section
DynDOLOD, I recommend to use Advanced and set LOD darkness to -6 or -7
Verdant Grass, use the 1.6 version with the optional dark textures
Real Roads for Skyrim
Skyrim Flora Overhaul v2.5b, without trees (google it)
Skysight – Simply Bigger Trees
Vivid Landscapes – Volcanic Area
Realistic Aspen Trees 4K
Realistic Water Two
Ultimate HD Fire Effects
True Storms
For those interested in my personal mod list, check the Articles tab. It is always useful to browse and see how others have setup their Skyrim.
NOTE: In my own custom setup I use textures from Tamriel Reloaded HD for Dungeons and Farmhouses. I love those textures. If you want to do the same, only use the files from the folders:
\textures\dungeons
\textures\dungeons\imperial
\meshes\architecture\farmhouse\stonewall
\textures\architecture\farmhouse
If you want to “live on the edge” and have brighter, crispier skies and exteriors, or less distance fog, experiment with the following mods. I did so in a couple of my screen shots:
Natural Lighting and Atmospherics for ENB, only the .esp. Version 1.4 or 2. (I used the 1.4)
Remove Exterior Fog (if you don’t use NLA)
FAQ
Is this mod for Skyrim SE?
No, and I probably won’t make it available for SE too since the whole concept is different.
How do I enable/disable the ENB?
Use the key combination: Shift+F12
How do I open the in-game ENB menus?
By default it is: Shift+Enter. With my enblocal.ini from the optional files use: Shift+Backspace (I remapped as the enter key could trigger value editing).
How do I make a screen shot?
Use the print screen button. If you use my enblocal, you can also use F11.
The skin of my characters looks bright/dark/red/white/etc.?
Every skin texture and ENB combination requires a good sub-surface setting. You can configure them in the in-game ENB menus in the [subsurfacescattering] section. This is usually one of the first things you tweak for your personal setup. Also check the recommended section above for the face light mod.
How do I enable the DoF, sunglare and/or lens effects?
These effects are present (from Snapdragon), but are disabled by default for a smooth and immersive game play experience. To enable them, open the in-game ENB menus and enable each option in the [Effects] section.
How do I change palettes?
This preset is tuned using the Snapdragon palette. If you want to change it, for example to black and white, open the in-game ENB menu. Go to the enbeffects window and select it from the dropdown list.
How do I change the Depth of Field (DoF)?
Myself, I always play without DoF and just enable/tweak it when I make screen shots. So the DoF of Caffeine is disabled by default. But everyone is different. The DoF especially is hard on your framerate. If you want a good DoF for playing, that doesn’t have a lot of impact.. try this. Install the DoF from another ENB. Just copy the files enbeffectprepass.fx/enbeffectprepass.fx.ini from it to your own enbseries, overwriting those of Caffeine ENB.
My interiors/exteriors/nights are too dark or too bright. How do I change them?
Keep in mind that this alters ALL interiors/exteriors/nights. The value in my preset was tweaked during my play through and is a good average.
First, make sure all the prerequisites are ok according to the above sections. Also, make sure you have not installed the ELFX Enchancer. This darkens interiors too and also removes all interior fog.
Use the following steps to increase the brightness of interiors:
– Open the in-game ENB menu
– Go to the [enbeffect] menu
– Change the value: Interior CC: White Level (or exterior/night)
– Start by lowering (it works in reverse) it by 0.1
– If you like it, save the ENB settings
CREDITS AND PERMISSIONS
A lot of people in the Skyrim community have contributed their work in the past. Without them I would not have been able to make this preset, nor the wonderful images it renders.
First, and foremost I would like to thank:
Rudy102 for his superb work on many weather tweaks in Rudy ENB
Tetrodoxin for permission to use assets from Snapdragon ENB
A special thanks to:
prod80 for the enbeffect/enbbloom
kingeric1992 for the DoF/lens/sun sprite
Boris Vorontsov for making the ENB. Without you life would be a dull place!
and:
WidowPuppy for beta testing. We have a few more gray hairs now.. but thanks so much 🙂
I cannot give permission to others on the files, shaders and code involved, as they are courtesy of the people above.
My final words are to thank each and every modder for making Skyrim the best gaming environment ever. Without modders, experiencing Skyrim the way it looks now, would not have been possible.
