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New version released which packages everything into one FOMOD installer.

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.

I noticed a slight issue with this mod, for which I created a patch. When wielding magic, movement speeds revert to vanilla which is slightly faster than the modded values. The patch I made changes the "NPC_Magic_MT" values to match the values from the mod, so now the movement speed is consistent when wielding magic.

Discussion topic: Stockades of Skyrim 3D by wSkeever Wiki Link I came across this mod while installing others and it caught my attention as I plan to play as an orc with the next list of mods. The pictures of the improvement it makes to the orc's stockades are great: The only conflict against 06-Models and Textures is \meshes\clutter\stockade\stockadetower01.nif - Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch USSEP. There are 15 meshes\clutter\stockade that nothing else has touched so I'm definitely going to be using this

https://dyndolod.info#DynDOLOD-3-Alpha Certain things may be incomplete, not work as expected or change considerably between versions. Use the official DynDOLOD support forum to provide feedback https://dyndolod.info/Official-DynDOLOD-Support-Forum Report the actual problem or error message or provide feedback without making unverified assumptions or asking leading questions. For example: "It would be nice if the grass density setting could just be changed in the expert interface when Executing LODGen instead of having to edit the export file." Let me worry about how to implement things. The instructions exist, because that is how things work with xEdit and the LODGen command line tool. I have not yet spend any of my free time to make it more convenient for non experts. If you want to contribute, contribute to https://github.com/TES5Edit/TES5Edit.

xavbio's mod page does include screenshots that shows the before and after comparisons. (vanilla textures vs modded textures) Granted STEP's lighting/ENB might affect how the textures looks in game so the colors might differ slightly. I can probably post the comparisons in a bit if it'd help.

Some screenshots to show Community Shaders with the Step Guide Post-Processing: It looks good and it's a lot brighter than the ENB. Outside the Frozen Hearth in the day and in the night: Inside the Frozen Hearth was much brighter than the ENB for me. A comparison between the ENB and Community Shaders renting a room: ENB also needed to be tinkered with to get shadows working. Community Shaders had shadows working without any tinkering: The shadow from the college was much less for Community Shaders, it was the same time of day but I forgot to check for the weather when I took the screenshot. Some interior screenshots, the fireplace in the Frozen Hearth looks good with the Community Shaders and the students rooms in the College are very nice. The lights from the staff and the chaurus eggs by the student do seem a little off though so CS Light and the Light Placer might be a better thing to investigate.

The latest community shaders version doesn't support particle lights anymore, cs light in combination with light placer would replace most of the enb particle light mods in the step guide.

Finally able to take a screenshot and show how the 2K option looks for Aspens Ablaze. Taken on the Ivarstead bridge at about 11am game time with the Step's Cathedral Weather and ENB. I haven't played with Aspens Ablaze's default 4K but I think it's new 2K option looks great

All redone over the week and hopefully I paid more attention getting things set up. I also thought to try ENB for the first time if I'm giving this much effort to it and the performance test looks very good inside and outside Whiterun with the Step ENB - Heavy selection. After the cow tamriel -40 24 it was a little stranger outside Riften. I'm not sure if it's something with the ENB or if it's because I have not yet run DynDOLOD or if it's something with the precached grass but the ground looked like it wasn't up to it like it was outside Whiterun... maybe I'm just too critical here. I know I need to track down these because I'm learning that ENB needs more attention. I checked them with More Informative Console /Meshes/clutter/upperclass/upperbench01.nif /Meshes/clutter/upperclass/uppercupboard01.nif /Meshes/clutter/upperclass/upperendtable01.nif all had a blue showing like that and I could only find them with a mesh in SMIM - Quality Addon and no texture anywhere. Not sure if I should hide these meshes or if I should look for a mod with textures. I'll have to think about that while I double check everything is done right and then I'll run DynDOLOD and hopefully I'll have a good game to play over Christmas and New Years Edit: Loaded grass has purple hue at a distance this thread has given me some ideas to test out and see what I can do instead of turning off ENB Edit again: And another thread Weird ground textures in Riften before step 5 gives me some answers as I've been doing the performance tests before the DynDOLOD generation so Cathedral Landscapes (Temp) xLODGen is active. I'm just too nervous!

Another update: Starting from the beginning and reading through everything as I install it again I think I've found what may have been causing CTD Animation Motion Revolution It was installed because a couple of the other mods list it as a requirement, EVG Animated Traversal being the first since I am most interested in trying the "Ascend - Hidden Peaks of Skyrim" quest. I did not read the details closely enough when I installed it or I might have noticed it's a mod like Backported Extended ESL Support and is a requirement for older versions. Lesson of the day: Read everything before installing a mod.

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

Swapped to GE-proton9-27 and the game now launches Sorry for the slight waste of your time, and thank you for your help

I'm blaming x929669 that my whole weekend has gone to going over what I've now named Step Skyrim SE v2.3 Apocrypha because how much I'm deviating from the guide has put me many hours researching all the mods I'm using, skipping, cleaning from Step Patch - Conflict Resolution and looking for patches for holes that will be left. Not to mention loosing a few hours work when notepad closed before being saved! Or how Voices EN - Part 1 keeps aborting the download at around 40% because of an internal server error (401) and Nexus support email instructing me to instead open a forum discussion about that. These two short and direct YouTube guides from biggie_boss along with those forums threads have been helpful! Now I'm trying to alter things as well because even with Odin cleared as a Master for the Step Patch it is still referenced in a lot of places with Audible Overhaul... Honestly Thankyou to x929669 as much as it has given me headaches and confusion over the weekend it has helped me remember some of these things and learn some new ones. Also Thankyou Mercury71 for reminding me it's not just the CR patch I'll have to look over. This is the most work I've done since I had brain surgery a few years ago and it's taken quite some time to recover. I don't think I'll ever be able to do what I used to but it's good to try.

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.

Discussion topic: Footprints - Alternative Design by ArtistoMods Wiki Link Setting up Footprints and SPID for Footprints I read through the Step forum threads about some possible issues with the decals or meshes and ENB. I'm not sure if these are still questions as I don't think I've ever played with ENB but my memory isn't great... anyway I saw this when I was looking at those two mods on Nexus and it seems to be a very good thing to add with them. I'll be putting it after SPID for Footprints to see how it goes on the list I'm making following (mostly) Step's Guide v2.3.

What the rules does is use the full model (in this case from EmbersXD) for LOD instead of the usual dynamic LOD model included in DynDOLOD Resources, since that is for the vanilla model and doesn't match well. Typically there is no need to switch from the full model to the same full model used for LOD, so that is why the rule uses "Replace", to use the "LOD" reference continuously. For now, change the rule from "Replace" to "Unchanged", so the original reference is used in the active cells and the LOD reference in the LOD area. See https://dyndolod.info/Help/Mesh-Mask-Reference-Rules. I will see if I can add support for FireHurts to automatically create a proper JSON file for it if a new base record added is added in the DynDOLOD plugins. Check the changelog of the next couple alpha release for support. Then you can use the EmbersXD rule with "Replace" again.

I see, thanks. You are right. My character was wearing all four pieces of the Dark Brotherhood light armor set. I'm glad to know that what's happened here makes sense. That was actually my only worry: that maybe my mod setup was "malfunctioning" somehow. And yes, you're also right: I've noticed that my light armor skill gained several levels early in the game. It felt like I was slowly gaining XP just for wearing light armor, which again, kinda makes sense. I'm having a blast with the modded STEP setup, by the way. It also runs fine and so far I haven't experienced a single CTD. It feels so good replaying the game after these last few years.

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.

MO2s Associate with "Download with manager" link is in settings, Nexus tab and in the middle right of the page. This will then direct the Nexus download with manager link to use MO2. This may cause a bit of frustration if you actively use both mod managers as it is there can be only one at a time.

This is an issue with cross game category mapping. The mod categories of SkyrimLE do not match with those of SkyrimSE. This mod is in the "Audio - SFX, Music, and Voice" which has 61 assigned to the category, whick MO2 uses to map them. SkyrimSE does not have any category with that index. I was able to reproduce the problem you described above. When you get to this dialog: You press "Stop & configure" and get this next dialog: You select the audio name and click OK to assign the category, but this is not the purpose of this interaction. It is to import the game categories from the current game managed by MO2. A better option is to just press the "Proceed" button as seen in the first image, install the mod and assign the category from the mods configuration page. If you are going to do this a lot on this install you can also make your own custom category in MO2 settings, Configure Mod Categories.

Report if this versions makes a difference or not https://mega.nz/file/MMoVBALb#hh9JAE9NwZWN9AvdH2GikQnsnqxPeI5JOLRkAjFtcuk

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!

I can also confirm that this fixes collision issues with Manic Elytra Nymph that are not addressed by IWHN. Seems to work fine as a drop-in replacement for the original.

It's no problem at all! I didn't really detect any hostility - I know all the STEP guys are good people. 🙏 The old version is going to be left up for this reason, so please recommend what version best for your guide. I just can't promise any of the lighting patches are good. The latest version has an installer, the USSEP overwrites have been moved to their own plugin (though I need to reupload it because I forgot the BASH Tag), and I will be improving the wording in the sticky post and description to help people decide what's best for them. Thanks for all you guys do as well. Sorry again for the confusion...!

Some potentially relevant tips from the top comments/bugs on Nexus:

Here is how setting AF looks in Nvidia control panel.

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.

We have all been there

As a workaround, I ended up increasing the "Mass" value of the involved lanterns. Most had a mass of 30. I increased this value to 170. Works well so far in my game.

Looks more consistent. You could keep the "PineTree02_branches" that are attached to the bottom of the trunk in the trunk nif so they are rendered as part of the billboard. Visually negligible in this case, but probably good to keep in mind that this is a possibility for other trees with similar features that are more visually obvious.

I installed Enhanced Vanilla Trees SE-Basic 2.2.2 with default options and then Pine Branches Redone 8k 4.0 which have black backgrounds. My DynDOLOD_SSE_Object_Report.txt matches yours from the default-modified-8k-Logs.7z for every tree using textures\landscape\trees\treepineforestbranchcomp.dds, so we have the same full and LOD models and texture paths. I have a different CRC32 for treepineforestbranchcomp.dds, since I have the one from the mod with black background and not your modified versions you used back then. My and your debug log from default-modified-8k-Logs.7z both show two lines like this while the object LOD atlas is generated for Tamriel: [PrepareImageColorFix] <Debug: Textures\landscape\trees\treepineforestbranchcomp.dds force False> which means that the black background is being replaced. There are two lines because one version is for the alpha threshold 90 and the other one for 112. As expected, the background color for those branch textures in the object LOD atlas texture are not black anymore since they got replaced by the average color: There is nothing in your debug log that indicates why it would be still black instead. When I run the same setup with your 16k versions overwriting the ones from Pine Branches Redone, their proper background is kept as it is supposed to: Get the latest test version from https://dyndolod.info/Downloads/Test-Versions and run the default setup with textures that have black backgrounds and upload new DynDOLOD log and debug log. Those log lines for PrepareImageColorFix will now show few numbers I am interested in.

Discussion topic: Leather Armors Retexture SE by xavbio I think this mod might be a good addition since it covers CC leather armors which can fill the gap in the current STEP list. One thing to note this mod does replace the fur armor from Rustic Clothing. This probably isn't an issue since the Leather Armors FOMOD has an option to pick and choose the armors to replace. Other than that there aren't any new conflicts with other mods. Overall I think the designs blend in well with the current STEP armor mods based on the mod page's screenshots.

Read https://dyndolod.info/Official-DynDOLOD-Support-Forum#Post-Logs which DynDOLOD log and debug log to upload. Dynamic LOD using PapyrusUtil stores state data for every encountered cell and dynamic LOD object in the co-save. Dynamic LOD using DynDOLOD stores state data for every encountered cell and dynamic LOD object in the save. Those are the mentioned script instances. The data can be removed by following the https://dyndolod.info/Help/Clean-Save. There are probably several 1,000s cells and maybe 10,000 dynamic LOD objects depending on mods, settings etc. I would not be surprised if each requires a couple hundreds bytes, more for each cell with dynamic LOD objects. Once every cell and dynamic LOD object has been encountered once, it should not increase anymore as all the data/instances have been created. Save bloat is exponential growth, where in a matter of hours it reaches dozens if not hundreds of MBs. If you already worry about 71kb and 1MB after several days, reaching the typical expected file sizes of several MBs for the co-save and 10, 20 MB or more for the game save after playing for weeks/months is probably going to give you a heat attack. DynDOLOD and its scripts have been developed, improved and scrutinized for over a decade. They never used any of the techniques that cause save bloat. DynDOLOD is used by millions of people and is part of hundreds of modding guides. You can search the 10s of thousands of feedback posts, supports queries and troubleshooting to actual fix queries.

Yeeees, it seems to work!! I did a quick test with just Tamriel LOD (without occlusion) and I'm getting perfect results with LOOT/autosort, no cyclic rules whatsoever! Thank you so much!!

Lets try this: Download these shaders https://mega.nz/file/tdYCjKpJ#SxhmH9iQ-5bi7b6MNDSanhGNg9JXRbN_U75SXQ0WuHw and replace the files in D:\Games\[Tools]\skyrim Tools\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\shaders\ Edit D:\Games\[Tools]\skyrim Tools\DynDOLOD\Edit Scripts\DynDOLOD\TexGen_SSE.ini and change sRGBGamma=1.412 as a new starting point. Start TexGen and only check Rendered Object OD Textures and click the Start button to generate them. Install output as a second TexGen output mod that overwrites the first so it replaces the old rendered LOD textures. Start DynDOLOD in Expert Mode and select only the Tamriel worldspace and click the Rebuild Atlas button. Install output as a second DynDOLOD output mod or merge with the existing one so it overwrite the old atlas textures. Compare in game if the LOD for the roof now matches better and that the rest of Solitude that was fine before still matches as well. Also compare the the LOD of copper roofs and doors of Markarth and Dwemer ruins before/after. Report results.

When I saw this file in the 'Testing Mods for Step SkyrimSE Guide' it reminded me to fill in the Favourite Mod(s) part of my profile. I used it to quickly look at Dynamic Treasure Map Journal by (by DrMabusetheRambler) and other maps while searching for treasure. It also works perfectly with Sweeping Organizes Stuff - Use Broom to Clean Mess (by wSkeever) so using the broom to clean an area is wonderful! Definitely a mod I'll add to the Step Skyrim v2.3+ that I'm putting together

Get the latest test version from https://dyndolod.info/Downloads/Test-Versions and generate new output. The preview should match the generated texture for the same resolution. The preview typically starts at 512x512. The problem was a mipmap issue were it might have randomly used the largest mipmap (similar to setting UseMipmaps=0 in TexGen INI) instead of filtering the appropriate mipmap levels. Note that the snow01_n.dds in Skyrim LE has mipmap that go basically flat, so if you render smaller output resolution it will become even flatter, which should match further away full models better.

Run this text version of TexGen https://mega.nz/file/AVR1XbDR#3qG0LCKOWW_uFixyuD3xw4LF43QwLAuuNWozt7qxR-I Upload new log, debug log and bugreport.txt.

SMIM meshes are now an option in the FOMOD installer as well as an USSEP patch.

I have never used Rudy with Step but with other setups. Just try it! I have tried probably over 100 ENB presets over the years. ENB Preset is a very personal thing. I have never ever found a perfect one for me. The requirements for most ENB is not mandatory, it is just the mods the preset maker uses.

1. First install the main Conflict Resolution patch. 2. Then install all four (4) CR Modular extension patches. Make sure you dont merge them! 3. Then install one (1) of the Combo Extension patches. With a full Step guide install, that is a total of six (six) patches. You can see HERE under modlist step 20 how it should be with a full guide install.

https://dyndolod.info/Help/Grass-LOD, https://dyndolod.info/Updating LOD for grass is part of object LOD and can not really be separate. If you already have an existing LOD mod you want to keep but also be able to switch back to, make a copy of it into a new LOD mod. Deactivate the old LOD mod to be kept as is and activate the new LOD mod to be updated. Start DynDOLOD, select the desired worldspaces, check grass LOD and generate as usual. Merge the new output into the new LOD mod. Overwrite existing files.

Simon Magus is a great mod author who has sort of followed in the footsteps of EnaiSiaion, making mods very similar to Ordinator, Apocalypse, etc. But Simon's are much more lightweight and closer to the mechanics and implementation of vanilla. At least, that's how he (and users) describe his mods. I can't honestly say much more about them as I've never used them; only discovered recently, and I'm in the middle of a play-through. Mysticism I never understood why so many people seem to feel magic is underpowered in Skyrim. I've played through as many builds of vanilla Skyrim characters as I could possibly think to make, and mages were usually the most over-powered. The very beginning can be a little tricky, yeah; conjuration will help a lot with that, and grab a follower. I have found that most of the time when people say stuff like that; they weren't actually playing a 'straight' mage. They don't trust the magic system or something, so they wind up wearing armor, and using swords or bows or whatever. If you're going to play a pure mage, you want to be wearing clothing; ie the outfit they give you in the very beginning of the game that is perfect for a mage character. You want to take perks in whatever school of magic you want to build your mage around (alteration mage armor perks are essentially a necessity) and you don't want to use other skills too much. One thing to remember always in Skyrim; anytime you are using skills that are not your main combat skills, or directly supporting those skills, you are by proxy making yourself weaker. You level up, the world levels up with you, and you have not increased your ability to deal with the challenges of the world.