Posted October 02, 2022
DesertRose92: MO2 = Mod Organizer 2
It is a mod manager, though. :P
Still, what I haven't been able to figure out if the GOG Skyrim SE (Special Edition) is version 1.5.59 (or can be downgraded to that version), thus requiring the SE version so SKSE, and thus being compatible with SE mods,
or if it is version 1.6.XX, thus actually being the Anniversary version, and requiring the AE version of SKSE, and not being compatible with a lot of SE mods.
Ah, darn :) I wanted to type Organizer but did Manager with all the naming confusion. Corrected that ;) It is a mod manager, though. :P
Still, what I haven't been able to figure out if the GOG Skyrim SE (Special Edition) is version 1.5.59 (or can be downgraded to that version), thus requiring the SE version so SKSE, and thus being compatible with SE mods,
or if it is version 1.6.XX, thus actually being the Anniversary version, and requiring the AE version of SKSE, and not being compatible with a lot of SE mods.
As for your versioning question:
GOG Skyrim SE is the latest game version 1.6.659.0.8 - the same as for Anniversary Edition, as the AE is only SSE + Creation Club DLC mods bundled currently. (ah! There, paladin181 was a bit quicker: same what he said)
There is no downgrade option below that as this is the first release iteration I guess. GOG is offering a downgrade functionality that will be usable from here on out, unless Bethesda is preventing it.
So if you currently want to run version 1.5.97 for Mod compatibility, you have to install the latest build from GOG, get the Downgrade Mod (e.g. from Nexus Mods) and downgrade with that to the older version.
You can also do that with AE but that may break the CC mods included in that (not sure).
As usual it is being worked on to upgrade and move along in time, so this is a current statement.
- There is a SKSE for the current version of AE that also is compatible and works with the current version of SE since they are the same build, but that might break some of the older mods that you wanted to apply.
- For better compatibility with older mods, the sweet-spot currently is somewhere at version 1.5.97. You can downgrade both game editions SSE and AE with the downgrade mod and get the older version of SKSE that is compatible with 1.5.97.
I would currently do the second option for greater choice of mods, not just the graphical ones but also mechanics and AI.
If you are going for visual mods only, you can stick to the first option.
Post edited October 02, 2022 by fil-cat