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v2.0 is now live! I will also have a new video on the mod page soon to demo the new heavy storms. Many FormIDs have changed for the extra non-vanilla weathers, so any 3rd-party patches may need to be rebuilt.

Seems I should edit the title of this discussion because it looks like I will be using the Step CR Patch. I think I've managed to remove the need for the most of the Creations leaving just Survival and Saint's & Seducers. At Your Own Pace - College of Winterhold, Vrokii - Minimalistic Perks of Skyrim and Odin - Skyrim Magic Overhaul have also been cleaned from the patch after going through looking through it closely. Fingers crossed it'll hold up! I was planning to clean more but I learnt more about Atlas Map Markers so with the settings and a patch came to a way to use it. I also saw that with Alternate Start there is still an option to begin the game on the Wagon into Helgen... so if that's the case why am I trying to work to remove it just so I can start my next game that way? So far almost everything is Step Guide v2.3, except for a few skipped mods and none of the optional choices, and I loaded the game everything seems to be working. It is before Step 5 so there is no grass cache but everything looks good. I think the next steps before that are to now finish setting out the mods I'm going to use that come from outside the Step Guide, when that's all set up and my collection of Step Apocrypha is done and working together nicely I'll move on to Step 5.

Relationship Dialogue Overhaul Lite added an optional AI Overhaul Patch

No problem, That is why STEP is here. It is not only a modding guide for various games, but a repository of knowledge on what is needed to do it. Without the participation of the community it will never expand on that knowledge. All users from beginners to experts are treated a equals and with respect and welcome to ask questions no matter how simple or complex they are.

I've created a MO2 plugin to band-aid this issue. Thanks for information provided here. Plugin just redirects anything that goes to Documents/Skyrim.INI back to Documents/Skyrim Special Edition via MO2 VFS, it's not a real fix but enough to satisfy my OCD for now. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/144932

I really like Pandora compared to Nemesis. I belive Pandora will be the new standard.

Thanks for all the work in the guide, just wanted to mention that im following the changelog to update to 2.3 and noticed that "Moon and Star - CC Consistency and Immersion" and "Moon and Star - Cleaned Fixed and ESMed" are not in the changelog for Patches

The following time-saving procedure allows for adding new worldspaces to an existing grass cache, or for updating the current grass cache of specific worldspaces, without re-generating the cache of all worldspaces from scratch, which as we all know can be a very time-consuming process. This is not a guide about precaching grass from scratch with NGIO. It is assumed you have already precached grass with NGIO successfully at least once, and know how to repeat the operation. The procedure assumes Mod Organizer 2 is used as the mod manager. IMPORTANT: Grass Cache Helper NG is required for Skyrim SE/AE 1.6.x players. The existing grass cache must have been generated with Grass Cache Helper NG activated, and it must remain activated at all times for incremental precaching, and for playing. Step 1: Note the Editor ID of the worldspace(s) you want to add or update. Figuring out which worldspace(s) and their Editor ID is a task left up to the reader. See some suggestions at the end about finding out this information. Step 2: EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Disable your existing grass cache mod[1] on the left side of MO2. Failure to do so will wipe out the entire grass cache during the later steps, which will then need to be exhaustively re-generated from scratch, which would make this tip completely pointless. Step 3: Edit NGIO configuration and specify the list of worldspaces to add or update. The NGIO configuration file is [..]\NetScriptFramework\Plugins\GrassControl.config.txt. Edit it with a text editor. You may want to make a backup copy of that file before editing it. Search for 'OnlyPregenerateWorldSpaces' or scroll down until you see it. Then comment out the line by prepending it with a # character. Add a new line like this, containing the Editor IDs you gathered in Step 1: OnlyPregenerateWorldSpaces = "Worldspace1EditorID;Worldspace2EditorID;Worldspace3EditorID" The list of worldspace(s) to add or update must be enclosed in double quotes, multiple Editor IDs separated by semicolon. Example showing the result of editing and specifying only one worldspace: Step 4: Launch the NGIO precaching process from MO2 as usual. You may need to make preparations[2] specific to your mod setup before launching the process. The process should only take a few minutes[3], more or less depending on the number and size of specified worldspaces. Wait until it completes successfully. Step 5: Move the grass folder from MO2's Overwrite folder to your existing grass cache mod. If you are updating the grass cache of worldspace(s), you will be prompted to confirm replacing the existing cache files with the new ones. Step 6: Undo the NGIO configuration changes you made in Step 3. If you made a backup copy of GrassControl.config.txt as suggested, simply restore it. If you added new worldspace(s), don't forget to edit GrassControl.config.txt and append their Editor ID to the existing OnlyPregenerateWorldSpaces line. Otherwise they'll be missing the next time you re-generate the entire grass cache from scratch. Step 7: Re-enable your grass cache mod on the left side of MO2. That's it. Enjoy[4] your updated or added grass. Notes [1] Your existing grass cache mod is the mod containing the grass folder, not the mod containing NGIO (inside a NetScriptFramework folder). If you have merged both mods, then you're doing it wrong. Split them into two separate mods. [2] Preparations such as reducing Skyrim's display resolution, disabling mods that may interfere with the precaching process, switching environments/profiles... Anything that had to be done when generating from scratch. [3] If you're updating Tamriel (Skyrim's main worldspace), the largest of all worldspaces, it will take quite a while, but it will still be faster to process it individually than processing all worldspaces in the entire load order. [4] You're not yet completely done if you use the grass cache for grass LODs. You'll need to (re-)generate LODs with DynDOLOD for the specific worldspace(s) you added or updated. Refer to the official DynDOLOD documentation for details: Updating or Updating. How to find out the Editor ID of worldspace(s) with grass Method 1: Recommended when adding new worldspace(s) for its accuracy. Requires xEdit, basic knowledge of its operation, and Worldspaces with Grass SSEEdit Script for No Grass In Objects. Install 'Worldspaces with Grass SSEEdit Script for No Grass In Objects' as instructed on its mod page. Load up in xEdit the plugins of the mods adding new lands, as well as any grass/landscape mod plugins. Omit other plugins. Run the 'List worldspaces with grass' script. When it's done, copy the resulting list and paste it to some place where you can edit it. Remove all vanilla worldspaces from the list. The remaining worldspaces are the new ones with grass. Example with Wyrmstooth: AlftandWorld;Blackreach;BloatedMansGrottoWorld;BluePalaceWingWorld;DarkwaterWorld;DeepwoodRedoubtWorld;Dimfrost;EastEmpireWarehouse;FallowstoneCaveWorldEnd;FallowstoneCaveWorldStart;FrostmereCryptWorld;JaphetsFollyWorld;KarthspireRedoubtWorld;KatariahWorld;LabyrinthianWorld03;LabyrinthianWorld04;MarkarthWorld;RedEagleRedoubtWorld;RiftenWorld;ShadowgreenCavernWorld;SkuldafnWorld;SolitudeWorld;Sovngarde;Tamriel;WhiterunDragonsreachWorld;WhiterunWorld;WindhelmPitWorldspace;WindhelmWorld;WyrmstoothWorld Method 2: Suitable when adding or updating worldspace(s). Physically go to the place in-game where there is already grass to be updated or where there should be grass to be added. Use fast-travel, coc or cow console commands, whatever works to get there. Open the (More Informative) Console and press the Tab key until the Worldspace & Cell information card is displayed. Ctrl+Click the 'World Space' field in the information card, to display more details. Note the Editor ID. See following screenshot for illustration: Method 3: When adding new worldspace(s), less accurate than Method 1. Requires xEdit and basic knowledge of its operation. Load up the plugin of the mod adding new lands in xEdit. Expand the Worldspace node. Select a new worldspace entry (i.e. not vanilla), and check the 'DATA - Flags (sorted)' section on the right panel. If it contains 'No Grass' then skip it, go to step 6. Otherwise note its Editor ID. Repeat from step 3 for each new worldspace entry. Illustrated example showing the first two worldspaces from Beyond Reach:

Having played many many hours with this mod without any issues after dumping FIZZLE, I'd strongly recommend it. It's very lightweight compared to FIZZLE, as its script runs only when casting spells vs. FIZZLE's cloak spell script which runs "constantly". It doesn't have the various compatibility and performance issues carried by cloak spell-based distribution to NPCs. Its user experience for new users is also superior to FIZZLE: a spellcasting failure is indicated by a "puff" of colored smoke (different color depending on spell type) around the player (or the NPC), which is easily noticeable even in first-person view. Whereas with FIZZLE a failure is indicated by a small audio "click" and nothing else happens. I found that FIZZLE feedback quite confusing and it was difficult to notice what was happening when I started playing with FIZZLE. It has its own formula for calculating the chances of success/failure which is not the same as FIZZLE's so the experience may feel different at first for users accustomed to FIZZLE. But the idea is the same: trying to cast higher level spells than skill levels may fail, the chances of failure increasing the higher the level difference. I was using a different mod than EEOS in my playthroughs to distribute spells to NPCs so I can't speak to how well this mod works with EEOS in regards to NPCs trying and failing or succeeding to cast spells in a pure STEP setup. Note: I'm not currently playing or even running Skyrim these days, haven't been for the past 6 months or so, and don't intend to return to it for quite a while, if ever. I just thought I'd chime in in favor of this mod, which is quite underrated IMHO. There are not many mods that do this kind of thing it seems. Last I checked there were 3 mods: FIZZLE, this one and another one that I don't remember. This mod also exists in a "full featured" version by the same MA, with more options and features, and a much more "sophisticated" behavior (not recommended for STEP). My 2 cents, hope they help. Cheers.

Great work on getting that updated!

Good day good STEP-people! So we had a game update and there will be some problem follow the guide as is. - SKSE is updated. According to ianpatt on Nexus SKSE page BGS will update the game again soon so no hurry updating/reinstalling stuff. - The game update has caused some issues with SkyUI (same post on Nexus SKSE page as above) I am in the middle off an actuall playtrough so i will wait with the updates.

Illustrated practical demonstration of the engine's handling of temporary references in ESM vs. ESP plugins For mod authors and advanced mod users. TLDR: Skip to the Summary section further down. Part 1: The initial (vanilla) state We're in Markarth, in front of the stables. Let's look at a few objects: the door, a handcart, and a hay bale: Notice the console shows a Textures field for all the references. This indicates the textures are loaded and the object is rendered. The door is a persistent reference because it's used with navmeshes for NPCs, among other things. The other objects are temporary references. The door is only interesting as a point of temporary/persistent comparison later on. Part 2: The demonstration plugin Now let's make a simple plugin for an hypothetical mod. We're going to permanently disable the handcart, make the hay bale bigger, and place a new small hay bale: So the plugin overrides two vanilla references and adds a new reference. We've also given each reference an Editor ID to more easily look them up. Let's go take a look at the changes in-game with our new plugin enabled. The handcart is disabled and no longer visible, the existing hay bale has grown in size, and there is a new small hay bale not far from it: For the next tests, we'll be moving to Winterhold, far, far away at the opposite end of the map. In Winterhold, the cells we were in in Markarth (i.e. the active grid) won't be active any more. Part 3: Engine handling with an ESM plugin The demonstration plugin is ESM-flagged. This is how Bethesda intended things to be based on how the engine is designed and behaves in Skyrim SE. Let's look at our references from Winterhold. First the door. The door is still there, despite it being in Markarth and us in Wintherhold, as expected since it's a persistent reference. But note the Textures field is no longer present, meaning the door while still being loaded in the game, is no longer rendered. It all makes sense. As for all the other references, they can't be found. They're no longer loaded in the game at all. It all makes sense again, since they're temporary in a cell outside Markarth and we're in Winterhold: Part 4: Engine handling with an ESP plugin We remove the ESM flag from the demonstration plugin. This is how 99% of all mods made and released by mod authors are. Let's again look at our references from Winterhold: Surprise! They're all found. They're all loaded (but not rendered, as they have no Textures field). They're essentially treated like persistent references by the engine. Note that even though the handcart is permanently disabled, it's still loaded. An object that will never ever seen in-game is wasting engine resources. Also note that the hay bale originally defined in Skyrim.esm, but has been overridden by our plugin, is now always loaded. The hay bale is now wasting engine resources. We can even go into the Jar's Longhouse, an interior cell, and they're still there: Summary The Skyrim SE engine is designed to handle (object or actor) references in ESM plugins, not in ESP plugins. References in ESP plugins still "work" but not as intended by Bethesda. Temporary references in ESP plugins essentially behave like persistent references: always loaded in the game, available and reachable globally from anywhere. All temporary references in ESP plugins, whether they are overriding existing temporary references, or newly added references, are affected. Temporary references in ESP plugins contribute to the total amount of loaded references, which has a hard limit. Even though temporary references in ESP plugins don't waste rendering resources, they still consume engine resources, mainly memory. Miscellaneous Notes ESP plugins are bad not only because they're wasteful, but they also hide all the bugs in mods. Since all the references, temporary or persistent, are always loaded, there is no longer a meaningful distinction between persistent and temporary. A temporary reference may be used in the wrong context, it's all fine, it doesn't matter as it's always loaded, it always can be found. The same plugin would be a CTD crashfest if it were ESM, or some things wouldn't work correctly. All Creation Club modules, from the simplest gimmick to the largest content, are released by Bethesda as ESM plugins (.esl is the "light" version of .esm), for a simple reason: it's how plugins are expected to be in Skyrim SE. People can be confused by the term ESM which is commonly associated with game masters, i.e. the core game files (Skyrim.esm, Update.esm, etc.). And so they think it doesn't make sense for a mod or a patch to be ESM, to be a master. The two concepts must be disassociated. Game masters are the core game files, yes. But ESM is something else, it's just a small flag that has no relation with the nature or purpose of the plugin, but has big implications for the engine. Again, Creation Club modules are not core game files, they're Bethesda-approved mods, and yet they are all ESM. There is no downside to plugins being ESM, while ESP plugins exhibit proven disadvantages and deficiencies. Technically, ESM vs. ESP only matters for plugins that add new references or modify existing references. Those that don't can be ESP. Large references are not related to temporary or persistent references. They're a separate feature that is only available, and that is no coincidence, in ESM plugins. ESP plugins that override large references cause visual bugs, which is another reason ESP plugins are a bad idea. In our demonstration above, we only used static object references. The increased resource usage and waste caused by ESP plugins is worse with temporary NPC references (ACHR), because the engine must periodically evaluate and process their AI packages in case they might need to travel somewhere, or do something on a schedule. The engine is optimized to prioritize and refresh the most often the NPCs closest to the player, but it still must check all loaded NPCs from time to time. It's too late now to do anything about it. There's too much legacy with 99% of all existing mods using ESP plugins. Making existing ESP plugins into ESM can be trivial or extremely difficult. Even if some ESP plugins can be made ESM, there is the issue of sort orders and dependencies, particularly with automated sorting tools such as LOOT. This may require that other plugins be made ESM in order to satisfy the dependencies or sorting metarules. Nevertheless, certain kinds of mods which only deal with static (STAT/TREE/FLORA) or moveable static objects (MSTT) - such as tree mods; or landscape clutter mods - can and should be made ESM as they typically add or touch thousands of temporary references. Persistent Location There exists a sparely documented reference attribute named 'Persistent Location' which is extensively used by Bethesda in the vanilla plugins, but is apparently ignored or unknown by mod authors. It seems to be used exclusively with NPC references, so may only be intended to be used with them. It allows a temporary ACHR to become "temporarily" persistent as long as the player is in the specified location. As a reminder, a location (LCTN record) is a "tag" that is applied to specific cells, which together belong to, and form, a geographic location. The Persistent Location is an optimization feature: it avoids making an NPC reference persistent, which creates some overhead for the engine as discussed above, and instead keeps it as a temporary reference while allowing for some advanced NPC behavior across multiple cells, even across interior/exterior cells, while the player is in the geographic location. For example, Adisla, a farmer working at the Hlaalu farm near Windhelm: This minor NPC has advanced AI packages to make her sleep and eat inside, work and wander outside, on a specific schedule. She also has dialogue scenes with other NPCs on the farm. These features require her to be persistent. However her reference is temporary. But the Persistent Location attribute makes her persistent only when the player is in the Hlaalu Farm. Once the player exits the location the reference becomes temporary again, and completely unloads when the player moves further away. Obviously this is only meaningful in ESM plugins. It's completely useless in ESP plugins, since all temporary references are always and everywhere pseudo-persistent.

You may have noticed this mod displays a popup banner in the center of the main menu screen while the game starts, and a popup progress bar in the top-right corner of the screen while it loads animations, both using very bright coloring and style reminiscent of 1980s personal computers. I dislike both. What if every SKSE mod displayed its own banner on the screen, it would be a mess. They can be turned off by editing settings in [...]\SKSE\Plugins\OpenAnimationReplacer.ini: To turn off the popup banner, set bShowWelcomeBanner to false: bShowWelcomeBanner = false To turn off the popup progress bar, set bEnableAnimationQueueProgressBar to false: bEnableAnimationQueueProgressBar = false I'd recommend to leave them on (the default) initially, so you can see the mod is starting up properly. Once you've seen them a dozen times and you've had enough, you may want to turn them off.

The main theme in Fallout: New Vegas is letting go. And I have to let go. We are expecting our second child any day now and once the baby gets born I won't have the time to play and curate for quite some time. I can't say how long it will take, I can't even say if I'll make a comeback as a curator, but I know I would like to get back to it one day. On the practical side of things, the guide is currently still in working condition and would probably manage to stay in working order for 3 months or so. If someone wants to take it from here, they are free to do so. After all, that is the way Step modding works. I will keep reading the Feedback thread and providing advice when I can, but I can't make any promises on regularity. I don't want to saound too melodramatic. This is not goodbye, just a call for would-be curators willing to step in. Step is a great community and the FNV Guide has helped me get through taxing times, giving me something to do through the occasional bouts of insomnia. I want to thank the admins for giving me this opportunity (and encouraging my hobby), the guide users for the effort of installing ~300 mods (I hoipe it was worth it) and I hope that someday I will be able to contribute again. P.S. Should have given a longer notice, but I'm hooked up on gaming and was delaying the inevitable in self-denial.

I originally included these notes in my previous post under a spoiler tag, but I'll put them here without as I think they were missed (they included that bit about Bthardamz). In the Tool Setup table, xEdit.exe and xEditQuickAutoClean.exe should be named SSEEdit.exe and SSEEditQuickAutoClean. The collapsible here does refer to them by their original names, as does the System Setup Guide. If they should be renamed, the filename should be changed in both places. SPID no longer has a separate AE file, but instead, a FOMOD. May want to do a FOMOD table like you do for other mods with FOMODs (though it's an easy install, tbh--just the one choice of your game version). Same goes for Simple Offence Suppression. I recall the original version of the guide having instructions for adding mods from .zip, instead of Nexus. I know how to do this, but someone who doesn't might be confused when running into Skyrim Realistic Overhaul, Skyrim Redesigned WIP, and Arthmoor's mods. If these are elsewhere or I've overlooked them, ignore! Enhanced Vanilla Trees' FOMOD collapsible is missing the "Greener Pines" section of the custom FOMOD. Glacier LOD Meshes should have a note on it, like the other Skyrim LE mods, that it is compatible and the warning can be ignored. Reverb Interior Sounds Expansion does not ask me about Skyrim VR--unsure if FOMOD was updated or what. For Tempered Skins for Males, we're free to choose whatever we like. After choosing underwear option A2 however, the files I'm supposed to hide for underwear are not present. Will report back if this breaks something. Butterflies Unchained still lists the CACO patch as necessary--may want to note that it's unnecessary if you haven't installed CACO now that it's optional. Same thing goes for the Kryptopyrs Patch Hub--many of these are for CACO or CCOR or TCIY specifically and aren't necessary if those aren't installed. Could use some organization to reflect this. Same for Vokrii patch--unnecessary if you don't have CACO. It's clear to me, reading the ENBSeries collapsible, that the Step ENB preset files from Nexus should go straight into the root folder, but you may want to say this specifically. (Note from later: the guide does get to this, but it's at the end of the section, in the collapsible for the Post-Processing patch. Maybe have the files placed when the ENB preset is downloaded originally, in the ENBSeries collapsible itself?) All mods added! List of things that are currently listed as "redundant" in case that's helpful: the three DLCs, Majestic Mountains Double-Sided Patch, Battle Ready Candlelight Fixes, Rudy HQ - Bthardamz. Can provide overwrite reports if needed. Items that needed xEdit quick cleaning: SmoothShores.esp, imp_helm_legend.esp

Some notes: CACO has been updated for 1.6.640. Alandtse has developed an alternative to Crash Logger here, also supporting 1.6.640. I was thinking about downgrading to 1.6.353, but I worry that with the majority of these DLL-based mods updated, some will only have 1.6.640 versions available, so I will continue waiting. Thanks for maintaining this list!

Na, I really didn't mean you :) Reading my post again, I see that it can easily be understood that way. What I meant to say is that you are pouring your free time into the STEP project. For others to make passive aggressive statements about how you should best use that time seems inappropriate. Besides, it is also really counter productive. No one obligates you to contribute in a way you do not want to, that's how the Skyrim community works (*hopefully, *mostly, ect. ). You probably contributing to STEP because you are having fun sharing your expertise in the current modding process and building with others. That alone seems like a really good reason to keep things the way they are.

I've updated the mod with some additional customizable settings for the plume.

Hi, Hackfield here! First and foremost, thank you for accepting my mod, it's a huge honor to have a place in the list that taught me how to mod my game back in 2013. Second, a couple of news: I'll soon release version 0.9 of the mod, including the ability to set Confidence and Aggressiveness of owned horses in the MCM (defaults will be Cautious and Unaggressive, just like in vanilla) Also, in version 0.9, I'll be finally adding the ability for horses to equip given saddles. Nothing fancy tho, horses will equip the last saddle you place in their inventory, kinda like what followers do if you give them a better gear than what they have. This feature will require Keyword Item Distributor and Papyrus Extender to work, however, they're completely optional, in the case someone is not interested in saddles, they can just skip these two requirements and the mod will work as usual. I'm always open to feedback and suggestions, and thanks again for considering my little mod.

Keep it simple: just move the XPMSE.esp plugin to 'Optional' on MO2's 'Optional ESPs' tab. No need to hide anything but the plugin, which MO2's Optional conveniently does. The plugin starts hidden quests to set up the MCM and the whole cloak spell thingamajig, which run scripts. Without the plugin, the scripts and MCM interface resources are completely harmless and can stay where they are. If users want to use these features, they can just move the plugin back from 'Optional', without unhiding anything. That's it.

Starting with DynDOLOD Alpha-59 I updated the waterfall rule for Skyrim Special Edition so there is a static LOD model in object LOD Level 4 already. They are slightly moved down and back so it shouldn't z-fight with the full / dynamic LOD models.

It worked on the first try following your guidance. I can’t thank you enough it looks beautiful on the map. You’re the man, sheson shoutout from Brazil to you

What I like about the location of where the author of this mod, Dr Mabuse, placed the Dynamic Treasure Map Journal is that it is in a tent with a few other books where the bandits that drop Treasure Map 1 are. I used this mod in my last Skyrim play and picking up the treasure map from the bandit's corpse and then the Treasure Map Journal from the tent next to them made it seem like it was their journal and lore friendly in my eyes.

Soon after, I noticed that the Paarthurnax Dilemma mod (also by Arthmoor) entry in the guide would benefit from exactly the same edits to Alternate Start: Live Another Life. But I've just checked that both entries have been already updated conveniently in the guide. Thank you.

Everything is done. The mod replaced with the right version and the "Smoke Test" successfully passed. Thank you very much for the help and for updating the instructions for the SSE Engine Fixes mod so quickly.

This is a beta of [FNV|FO3|FO4|FO4VR|TES5|SSE|TES5VR|ENDERAL|ENDERALSE]LODGen with terrain LOD meshes and textures generation. This is for experienced mod authors and users that know how to use xEdit, xLODGen or DynDOLOD already. Installation and Setup Download xLODGen beta 132 - based on xEdit 4.1.6. See the xEdit Discord #xlodgen-builds channel for changelog. Unzip into a dedicated folder outside of any Steam, game or mod manager folders or special Windows folders like Program Files, Users, Desktop, Documents, Downloads etc. Rename xLODGenx64.exe to [game mode]LODGenx64.exe (TES5LODGenx64.exe for example) or start with command line parameter -fnv, -fo3, -fo4, -fo4vr, -tes5, tes5vr, -sse, -enderal, -enderalse Use -o:"c:\OutputPath\" command line parameter to change where files are generated to, default is the game folder. Then install output as a mod. Do not generate into any game, any mod manager folders or special Windows folder like Program Files x86, Users, Desktop, Documents, Downloads etc. If a mod manager is used, refer to its manual how to add tools and their command line arguments. Otherwise use a windows shortcut. If required, use command line arguments to set the paths to certain directories and files. For example: -m:"c:\Users\[USERNAME]\Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition GOG\" -p:"c:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\Skyrim Special Edition GOG\plugins.txt" -d:"c:\GOG Games\Skyrim Special Edition GOG\Data\" or -m:"c:\Users\[USERNAME]\Documents\My Games\Skyrim Special Edition MS\" -p:"%localappdata%\Packages\BethesdaSoftworks.SkyrimSE-PC_3275kfvn8vcwc\LocalCache\Local\Skyrim Special Edition MS\Plugins.txt" -d:"c:\Program Files\ModifiableWindowsApps\Skyrim Special Edition (PC)\Data\" Requirements Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017 and 2019 - Required by LODGen.exe/LODGenx64.exe and Texconv.exe/Texconvx64.exe. Get matching platform x86/x64 depending on which xLODGen.exe (x86) or xLODGenx64.exe (x64) is used. RTFM and Share Results See the included Skyrim-Occlusion-Readme.txt for a brief explanation of the Skyrim TVDT Occlusion data generation. Read the hints that are shown when the mouse pointer rests on a setting. Ask specific questions or give feedback in the dedicated Skyrim TVDT - Occlusion Data thread. See the included Terrain-LOD-Readme.txt for a brief explanation of the settings for terrain LOD generation. Read the hints that are shown when the mouse pointer rests on a setting. Ask specific questions about terrain LOD in this thread for a more in-depth explanation if required and share feedback (with screenshots) about results or problems. These tools generate LOD meshes and textures "exactly" like CK, but not like the meshes and textures which are shipping with the games (they are often manually edited). However, these tools provide more options and higher resolutions (use the x64 version if there are memory errors because you believe you require 4k or higher) and can be updated to add more useful features and options. I did some testing in the different games, but finding the best combinations of options and settings requires lots of testing and are a matter of personal opinion and which game is used, the load order, mods, even different worldspaces probably. That means, I am only able to give generic guidelines and hints to send you off to find and test for yourself and share your results. My main interested is that generations works correctly and without problems for now. This beta is about testing and reporting problems. Check out the thread xLODGen Terrain Settings Compare. Also refer to any modding guide which has a list of relevant mods close to your load order. The object and tree LOD generation is the same as the current versions of xEdit / xLODGen. Refer to their respective descriptions and explanations. Obviously, users of Skryim/Enderal/Skyrim SE/Skyrim VR/EnderalSE continue to use the easier and more comprehensive DynDOLOD for drastically improved object and tree LOD generation and only use xLODGen for terrain LOD (and maybe Occlusion) generation. See https://dyndolod.info/Help/xLODGen for terrain LOD generation instructions. First Time Here are suggestion to start without going crazy and that should be quick enough to generate: Set quality of meshes for LOD4 to 5 and then +5 for each next level. Or just set levels 8/16/32 to 10. Check protect cell borders (yes it fixes the ugly terrain drops at outer cell borders that still exist in Fallout 4). Use the max vertices setting only if you want to hard limit max file size. In Skyrim Special Edition or Skyrim VR, if you notice terrain briefly flickering when new areas are loading in, set [Display] bEnableLandFade=0 in Skyrim.INI Set Optimize Unseen to off for LOD4 for first generation. Start experimenting with a value of 550 with a quality setting of 10 or lower for LOD32 (used for map) and compare coastlines and file size to other settings. To quickly generate terrain LOD meshes just for the map, check only terrain LOD Meshes, check the Specific Chunk checkbox and set drop down to 32. Leave SW fields empty for complete map or set SW cell coordinates to same values as a *.btr filename to test a specific area with lots of water, river etc. Set texture sizes to 512 for a start. Larger sizes and large world spaces will take a considerable time (like 15 to 30 minutes or more easily). Each higher resolution means quadruple the work. Use DXT1 for diffuse and 565 (DXT1 if on Windows 7) for normal maps. If generating for Skyrim Special Edition and VRAM is not of concern use BC7. Uncheck mipmaps, raise steepness and Bake normal maps. For now, leave the Brightness, Contrast and Gamma at 0 and 1.0 respectively. If using PBR textures use a gamma of 0.6 ~ 0.7 to account for the sRGB to linear conversion. It seems that only Skyrim CK and Skyrim SE CK are manipulating the intensity of the textures to adjust for the noise.dds and the god awful "improved" snow shader of Skyrim SE (just turn that thing off, really) - Fallout does not do any of this. If textures seem too dark in the game, brighten the noise.dds instead or vice versa. That way you can get perfectly matching LOD textures that look just like the textures in the loaded cells. For Skyrim a good average color of the noise texture seems to be around #C0. See below for a couple noise texture downloads. If you want to test larger texture sizes, use the chunk option to limit the number of textures that need to be generated. For example, check [x] Specific chunk, leave the drop down empty and set WS to the lower left cell coordinate of an 32x32 area, like 0, 0. It will then generate all textures up to 31,31. Not all worldspaces have their origin at 0,0 so you will have to check already generated meshes/texture filenames for their lower left coordinates. Questions and Feedback Obliviously anything related to terrain LOD should be posted in this thread. Upload the [FNV|FO3|FO4|FO4VR|TES5|SSE|TES5VR|ENDERAL|ENDERALSE]LODGen_log.txt that is saved in the same folder were xLODGenx64.exe is after the tool is closed. Posts related to Occlusion should be made here. Recommended Optionals TES5-Terrain-Tamriel.esm (Mega), SSE-Terrain-Tamriel.esm (Mega) TES5-Terrain-Tamriel-Extend.esm (Mega), SSE-Terrain-Tamriel-Extend.esm (Mega) - These extend the sea of ghost further to the north (see screenshots) SSE-Terrain-Tamriel-Full-Extend.esm (Mega) - Entire map from -96,-96 to 95,96 with northern ocean extension. Useful for mod authors. Only use one at a time. Put in game data folder obviously. Adds back terrain for Skyrim (Tamriel worldspace) at the outer edges so there is no missing terrain meshes/textures when generating terrain LOD for Skyrim. Load as early with lowest priority as possible, so that any other plugins overwriting or adding land records or cells with the same coordinates take precedence. Only required to be loaded when generating terrain LOD. No harm done when loaded in-game but typically the player can not get close to these areas. There are no effects outside the far away added cells. Noise Single color flat noise, Adjusted vanilla noise, HD Terrain Noise Texture SE 1.0 Examples for Skyrim. Install to game folder like any other texture mod. The noise texture is applied in-game on top of terrain LOD textures, so no effect for LOD generation. Only the red channel is used in case the textures is not a grey channel format. MipMaps are ignored. The textures is tiled 3x3 per LOD quad, e.g. for LOD level 4, the noise texture is repeated 3 times to cover 4 cells, for LOD level 8, the noise texture is repeated 3 times to cover 8 cells and so on. Test-Terrain-Tamriel.7z For testing terrain LOD distances. Plain color terrain LOD textures for Tamriel with coordinates for every LOD quad. Green for LOD 4, yellow for LOD8, blue for LOD 16 and red for LOD 32.

FYI the recent update generates a couple of deleted record warnings in DynDOLOD. The author is looking into it. Error: Deleted reference Realistic Boat Bobbing.esp [REFR:000FF750] (in SolitudeDocks01 [CELL:000092BC] (in Tamriel "Skyrim" [WRLD:0000003C] at -16,23)) Error: Deleted reference Realistic Boat Bobbing.esp [REFR:000FF755] (in SolitudeDocks01 [CELL:000092BC] (in Tamriel "Skyrim" [WRLD:0000003C] at -16,23)) Update: This has been fixed in version 8.4. Thanks toostruus!

Actually anisotropic filtration not only fixed aspenleaf for me, but also this aqua-blue thing too. I didn't set anisotropic filtration in driver settings on skyrim, because I always thought Skyrim by default have anisotropic filtration, guess i was wrong. In fact, anisotropic filtration fixed all issues of complex grass for me. I suggest that enabling anisotropic filtration (because apparently it is not enabled in skyrim by default) maybe worth putting up in description of Complex Grass in guide.

The STEP install instructions should be updated to remove "2. Install Fixed Mesh Lighting - Creation Club Backpack as a separate mod to maintain version notification updates." because since version 1.9.0 the main file includes the optional file Fixed Mesh Lighting - Creation Club Backpacks. The STEP FOMOD instructions even show the new option - Other / Potions / Adventurer's Backpack - as ticked.

Animation in Skyrim is a rabbit hole of its own. This is an annotated list of the 'Animation and Physics' Mods currently in discussion on the SE forum, listing their respective forum links but also their (possible) prerequesites and dependencies with other mods. This is for me to keep track of developments and the mods i am already using in addition to Step as well as for others to add another perspective on how to test and play with different compilations of animation mods. Hopefully this also might restart some of the discussions on the forum and possibly contribute a bit to the next iteration of Step. The (yellow) color-coded annotations signify the mods I already play with as an extension to current Step 2.3 without any further conflicts or need for patches. Thank you. Open Animation Replacer The open-source successor to 'Dynamic Animation Replacer' which lets you organize, prioritize and replace animations based on configurable conditions. This is the suggested baseline mod for the following list to work. This would be set up in category '02 - Extenders'. Animation Queue Fix A prerequisite for 'Open Animation Replacer'. Since this mod also works independently to handle queueing large amounts of animations, this is set in category '09 - Fixes'. Paired Animation Improvements A second prerequisite for 'Open Animation Replacer'. This could be set up in category '02 - Extenders' as well as alphabetically in category '05 - Animation and Physics'. Category 05 - Animation and Physics Arm Movement Animations (OAR) Variants of NPC arm movements, gestures and animations. 'Open Animation Replacer' is required. (This is an example mod for altogether three mods by the same author expanding on NPC animations and idles, 'NPC Animation Remix' and 'Gesture Animation Remix', which can be used together or as separate mods.) Assorted Animation Fixes A variety of separate animation replacers. One module requires 'Open Animation Replacer' to function. Divines Prayer Animations Variety of prayer animations. Requires 'Open Animation Replacer' and 'Keyword Item Distributor' to function. Flute Animation Fix Fixes the wrong positioning of flutes played by bards via different animation replacers depending on the skeleton used. 'Open Animation Replacer' is required. Ice skating fixed for real - No more attack sliding movement Already in Step. Might be noteworthy that with its latest version the mod can function as a simple animation replacer without the need for 'Nemesis'. Jarl Sitting Animation Replacer Alternating and randomized animations for Jarls sitting. 'Open Animation Replacer' is required. No More Swimming In Air Simple 'SwimIdle.hkx' animation replacer. Open Animation Replacer - IED Conditions Prerequisite for 'Weapon Styles - Draw-Sheathe animations for IED'. 'Open Animation Replacer' is required. Stronger Swimming Animation SE Already in Step. In its latest version 'Open Animation Replacer' is required for alternating between different swimming animations. Take a Seat - New Sitting Animations for OAR or DAR New sitting animations for Player and NPC. 'Open Animation Replacer' is required. Weapon Styles - Draw-Sheathe animations for IED Style-fitting animations for 'Immersive Equipment Displays'. 'Open Animation Replacer' and 'Open Animation Replacer - IED Conditions' is required.

Hiding that file was not in previously there and it safe to go ahead and do now with the updated EBOQ patches provided. I do not see a issue to use those with a ongoing character.

In case anyone wants to move the oxygen meter widget... As a workaround until this mod gets updated to address the widget X and Y position values not working, I have downloaded and installed an older archived version of the Oxygen Meter 2 mod, 1.0.5. And then downloaded and installed the Oxygen Meter 2 - 1130-1170 Updated DLL mod. This allows me to modify the X and Y values in po3_OxygenMeter2.ini to reposition the widget.

MO2 updated to 2.5.0 Changelog: https://github.com/ModOrganizer2/modorganizer/releases

The FOMOD layout appears to have changed. Attached are screenshots of the new layout. The instructions may need tweaking to match the new layout.

Discussion topic: Clams and Oysters Clipping Fix by Diego2891 Wiki Link Improves positioning of clams and oysters in Skyrim and Solstheim. Compatibility: it should be compatible with everything because this mod only slightly modifies the position and rotation of clams and oysters. But one thing needs to be clarified: all the changes are based on the size and characteristics of vanilla meshes. Mods that replace original meshes may exhibit even worse clipping effects. My notes: This is based on and requires USSEP. USSEP fixes a few worst cases but this mod comprehensively adjusts the placement of every. single. clam. and. oyster. in the world. Well, not all of them. But many: 700, according to the MA (same MA as Fires and Embers Clipping Fix). That's quite a feat. Comes as a FOMOD with regular ESP or ESL-flagged ESP options. I'm not too bothered by shells sinking into the ground once harvested, which this mod prevents. But I'm annoyed by shells floating in the air or clipping with their surroundings, and this mod fixes that too. Compatibility is to be taken with a grain of salt. If another mod changes the terrain or objects around/under some shells, the results may not be as intended. Ideally that other mod should disable or move the affected shells to fit its own changes and prevent floating/clipping. So it's best to sort this mod high in the load order so that other mods may override it if needed without patching.

Can we please keep this conversation about the mod and not make it personal. There is no need for that. People have opinions and they don't always match your own. As (supposed) adults we can agree to disagree. On the topic: to me, whether or not SLaWF and USSEP overlap is a non-issue. Skyrim in all it's forms is flawed and both mods aim to fix the flaws. This is what modding the game is about in essence: getting the base game updated/ fixed/ working better. To me most mods that change the LOOK of the game are merely the cherry on top and a matter of personal preference. SLaWF may have started out as "just" a landscape fix, but over time wizkid probably saw other issues that weren't/ still aren't being addressed by USSEP. So he stepped in to fix them. Nothing at all wrong with that. More kudos to him I say. As for the overlap, using STEP as a mod guide and adding mods on top of it, invariably means USSEP/ SLaWF edits are being overwritten by other mods. In my modlist over half of USSEP edits are changed for various reasons, like I don't agree with what USSEP changed or another mod does it better. Again, a matter of personal preference. So in my opinion both these mods complement each other, despite the overlapping scope. Problems are fixed and the game benefits. As to how the overlap is handled is pretty much up to the player. Some will want to keep the USSEP edits and others the SWaLF ones. Everything is easily solved with xEdit, a merged patch and or a wrye bash. In my opinion people should really learn how to use Wrye Bash to fix issues. But that is a whole other discussion.

There's a whole 'Lines Expansion' series from the same MA: Bandit Lines Expansion (this mod) Civil War Lines Expansion Forsworn and Thalmor Lines Expansion Vampire Lines Expansion If you like this mod you may want to give the others a try.

I've been using this mod (Warm Text variant) ever since it was released. It set it up a while ago, so my memory is a bit rough. Installation Options FOMOD > Sleep-Wait Menu > Install Sleep-Wait Menu replacer? Yes. The configuration panel is shown twice in a row on the wiki page: FOMOD > HUD Menu > Install HUD? Yes. Should be 'No'. This option doesn't apply to STEP Guide, as it requires SkyHUD, which is currently not included in STEP Guide and is not even in Testing. I personally use it and would recommend it, though at this point I'd be hard pressed to tell you exactly what SkyHUD does and how it differs from/improves upon vanilla. FOMOD > Compass Navigation Overhaul > Yes, beige markers. Should be 'No'. This option doesn't apply to STEP Guide, as it requires Compass Navigation Overhaul, which is currently not included in STEP Guide. I see CNO is currently in 'Testing' though, so it could be considered. Beware however that DDDM is not compatible with CNO 2.x (the compass will be completely broken when both are used together, even with DDDM compatibility option). This can be fixed by borrowing the compass SWF from other DDDM-based mods, albeit with a vanilla-white style. I personally use CNO with DDDM, with the manual borrowed SWF overwrite hack, and would recommend it. FOMOD > Quick Loot Menu > Install QuickLootRE replacer? > Yes, Quick Loot EE. I don't use Quick Loot EE or RE so can't comment on that. FOMOD > Wheel Menu > Install Wheel Menu replacer? > Yes. Should be 'No'. This option doesn't apply to STEP Guide, as it requires UIExtensions, which is currently not included in STEP Guide and is not even in Testing. I don't use it so can't comment on that. Seems to be geared towards console controller users. FOMOD > Cursors > Replace the cursor? > Yes, static. The cursor replacers, even the static one, are too fancy/distracting for me and not in the same flat style as the overall design. I prefer the vanilla flat cursor style of Small Vanilla Cursors currently included in STEP Guide, even though they have different color (white vs. DDDM gold). FOMOD > Font > Replace the main font? > ENG (Latin). This will conflict with Font Overhaul. I don't care much for the main 'Friz Quadrata' font so I don't use it but I like the 'Consolas' font for the console so I kept it. Requires manual editing of fontconfig.txt to pick and choose fonts from DDDM vs. Font Overhaul. FOMOD > New UI Sounds > Install new UI sounds? > No. You may want to give the new UI sounds a try. I think they're nice. They're softer than the vanilla sounds. For example, vanilla has a loud 'whoosh-bang' sound for crafting potions at an alchemy table, while DDDM uses a more natural and subdued 'gurgle' sound. Conflicts As noted on the mod page, this should be installed dead last in the UI mod group and overwrite everything. Font Overhaul See previous point above. Icons For Skyrim Character Sheet Redundant, can be removed as DDDM provides its own complete set when the Skyrim Character Sheet option is selected in FOMOD. Wider MCM Menu for SkyUI Better Dialogue Controls Better MessageBox Controls Redundant, can be removed as DDDM fully incorporates them. Convenient Reading UI While DDDM incorporates the main reading UI from that mod (same MA), I'd recommend keeping and overwriting Convenient Reading UI for its other features that are not included, such as faster page turning animations and other stuff I can't think of at the moment. Other Oxygen Meter should be replaced by Oxygen Meter 2. The original Oxygen Meter uses the enchantment charge bar for its widget. Oxygen Meter 2 uses a custom widget. DDDM replaces the custom widget with its own DDDM-style widget, similar to Magik/Health/Stamina bars, integrating seamlessly with the UI theme. Final Words The 'Warm text' variant and its golden-colored theme may not be to everyone taste and may cause issues with vision-impaired users. While I prefer it over White, you may want to evaluate and consider the more neutral White option as the default. This mod is a beast with all its components and dependencies. Customizing it requires navigating a maze of configurations, and identifying the source of issues can be a hassle. This might create technical support headaches. Nevertheless I like this mod a lot and can't imagine playing without it. I made a few tweaks to the configuration, matter of personal preferences. Can be discussed later if needed, if I can find/remember what changes I made and why.

Thanks for everyone's work on this guide Just doing an upgrade from 2.1.0 -> 2.2.0 1. Retexture for The Scroll has an FOMOD with a bunch options and they aren't detailed in the guide. 2. Reverb Interior Sounds Expansion has FOMOD instructions with a Skyrim VR Users page. This doesn't exist in the current FOMOD installer. 3. Informed Mail Delivery has multiple main versions each with a FOMOD with multiple options. No instructions are given in the guide. 4. Oxygen Meter has an FOMOD which isn't detailed in the guide. It's just to select game version but you're trying to make this guide idiot-proof, right? 5. Show Player In Menu is in the Changelog but not in the guide.

For me this mod acting weird, some animals run on the bottom, some like running on the surface, some properly swimming.

I installed the updated HD Local Map mod the day before my save game crashes started occurring (HD Local Map has nothing to do with my crashes). The mod was working well for me. The unexplored areas were hidden.

Starting a list for all the mods in the current STEP guide, which are in need to be updated (or already are) to work with the current game version 1.6.640. I'm listing only relevant mods in each category (please correct me if i missed anything). For a more comprehensive view on SKSE dependencies please see https://modding.wiki/en/skyrim/users/skse-plugins

I can download both files added on patreon without an account ...

Just to add to the praise and to confirm that it works: I can now run TexGen using the 'working version' using the release version of MO2. Thank you for your help! What a fantastic and responsive dev!

Do not use texconv to generate mipmap for the LOD atlasses. It is the inferior method and will cause mipmap artifacts. A tree LOD texture atlas for which the TreeLODGenerateMipMaps is used and only created when generating standard tree LOD. Ultra tree LOD is LOD for trees done in object LOD, so the ObjectLODGenerateMipMaps applies. The alpha threshold of LOD is fixed to 128 and can not be changed. As explained in the documentation, the alpha threshold from LOD models is used to adjust the texture of the first mipmap / largest resolution of the texture. The mipmaps with lower resolution are derived from this adjusted texture and their alpha adjusted with the AlphaFactor. 0.25 (1/4) is the actual reduction of the resolution for each mipmap. It is the correct value. 3D tree LOD models (and any other other LOD model with alpha) included in DynDOLOD Resources SE expects this value. It also works correctly with the billboards added to the standard tree LOD atlas. Adjusting the alpha threshold in the NIF is the documented method to control "thickness" of alpha textures for ultra tree LOD since many years.

10 years later, they finally come to their sense and revert their ludicrous capitalization "fixes". Better late than never, I guess. LOL. Too bad many mods have been forwarding those changes. Wondering why it took so long for BGS to let the USSEP team know that, yes, in fact, the game's capitalization of words (mostly consistent throughout) was as intended, it wasn't broken and needn't be fixed.

Removing existing display drivers with DDU and reinstalling the most current version appears to have fixed the problem, as i've yet to reproduce the error in several hours of play. Hopefully this thread helps someone out in the future.

Or just Ctrl + double-click on the FormID in the report. Example from Enderal SE and SMIM, CTRL + double-click on the selected record:

Uploaded a new DynDOLOD DLL version for Skyrim Special Edition 1.6.353 (Anniversary Edition). It requires SKSE64 2.1.5 or higher.

Recreated and uploaded the Standalone archive again. Download Alpha-56 again unpack into new, empty folder.