G.I.R.T.H. - Gildergreen Is Really Thicc HD - LE

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What This Mod Does

This mod replaces the Gildergreen tree in Whiterun with a new high poly photo-realistic model. It currently supports the following meshes:

WrTempleTree01 WrTempleTree02 WrTempleTreeSapling01 Roots (future update) Eldergleam Tree (future update)

Technical Details

The main mesh was ported from Sketchfab (see Credits). The sapling tree was made from scratch using Speed Trees. Here is the full production pipeline:

1. Decimation in Blender — Main mesh reduced from 30 000 polygons down to 14 000 polygons.
2. NIF export via NifSkope — Mesh converted to Skyrim's NIF format.
3. Texture conversion — Textures converted to Skyrim's DDS format using Photoshop, then edited by BoxCat to better fit the tree's look.
4. Creation Kit integration — Models imported to Creation Kit to control leaf amplitude and fix transforms (position, scaling, rotation) at the Whiterun plaza to prevent clipping with surrounding objects.

⚠ Still a work in progress — it might not be perfect in the first versions

Installation

Download and install the mod like any regular mod. Make sure it wins every conflict in order to work as intended. Sorting the plugin using LOOT should be fine.

Compatibility

Any mod that modifies the Gildergreen meshes is incompatible.

Compatible Gildergreen Regrown

Compatible Falling Gildergreen Petals fix planned for a better match

Credits

Thanks to BoxCat for helping with the porting of the base mesh.

Thanks to JarlBallin89 for the sapling model from his Treerific mod.

Thanks to Skyfall for the main idea.

Thanks to skytinerant for the support.

Thanks to BotondBencsik for making the main mesh. Source on Sketchfab.

Thanks to LeoMaximus for upscaling some textures to 4K.

If you'd like to support development:

☕ Ko-fi ❤ Patreon