Kelmych

The spoiler tagged text lists all the differences between the original imp_helm_imp, the WAF imp_helm_imp, and the WAF legendary plugins. The difference between the WAF version of imp_helm_imp and the WAF legendary patch is that the latter has the Long Hair flag for the relevant armor addon records, and the Body Addon 2 flag for Argonians . This very small difference is why I've said that the additional WAF imp_helm_imp plugin isn't needed if the WAF legendary patch is used. If it is preferable to use the exact same Body Template flags as the original imp_helm_imp plugin then perhaps the armor addon records in the WAF legendary patch could be changed to use these, in which case the additional plugin would still not be needed.

I took the plugin files and installed them (NOT the entire mod) with MO to check the plugin headers with TES5Edit and Wrye Bash. I didn't see any problems, so the headers should be OK. Make sure you have the current Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable (including the 2012 update) as mentioned on the Nexus page for Wrye Bash. First, of course, you need to solve the problem of why it didn't install properly. There are some STEP posts about problems with external installers and the recent versions of MO that might help you.

If you load imp_helm_imp.esp and also Improved Closefaced Helmets_Legendary.esp and look at them in TES5Edit (I just did this to make sure), you will see that Improved Closefaced Helmets_Legendary.esp already includes the records needed for this patch. The wiki instructions (which I have since edited and should be easier to understand (I hope)) weren't quite correct; none of the individual patch plugins from WAF are needed if the WAF legendary plugin is used. The legendary patch from WAF actually seems to include the records for replacing five plugins, not just three. It also includes the records for replacing the plugin for the improved guard helm (which isn't one of the STEP suggested options) if that option is added. By the way, this is also consistent with the SR:LE instructions for Improved Closefaced Helmets. The FormIDs for Armor Addon records are in most cases not the same in the legendary plugin and the individual patch plugins, but the since this mod replaces vanilla armor the armor FormIDs are already defined by the Bethesda esm plugins. For those who want to verify an example of this compare the contents of the ImperialHelmetCWOR Armor Addon record in imp_helm_imp (FormID xx004B4B) with the contents of the ImperialHelmetCWOR Armor Addon record in Improved Closefaced Helmets_Legendary.esp (FormID xx05002B), or the StormcloakHelmOpen Armor Addon record in imp_guard_helm.esp (FormID xx000D62) with the contents of the StormcloakHelmOpen Armor Addon record in Improved Closefaced Helmets_Legendary.esp (FormID xx050000).

I'm using the new ETaC along with RRR and I installed ETaC with the recommended options including No Inns (but excluding Interesting NPCs). I'm not using ELFX. I don't have any problems with the Dawnstar Inn.

Automatic Variants adds a fair amount of script load. Some users may have problems when it is included depending on how many other script-intensive mods are also being used and the capabilities of the PC (CPU, RAM, GPU, VRAM).

Yes, that's usually true. For a few record types (like conditions) that can have multiple entries (vertically) you also need to check whether the unofficial patch change was forwarded but it is lower or higher within the same record type. Note that sometimes (but not often) the mod author didn't forward the unofficial patch entry intentionally because of other changes made by the mod.

I usually use BSAopt for extraction so I don't have to change DDSopt from the usual settings used for optimizing. I also set BSAopt as the default program for BSAs so when I double click on a BSA file BSAopt opens. If you are using DDSopt make sure that "Don't process any of the known file types" and "Copy unprocessed and ignored files (passthrough)" are both ticked with a checkmark. If they are not both ticked the BSA will not be extracted. The upper two settings don't matter if you are just extracting. The extraction instructions in the guide make some assumptions about the default values of the some of the Ignore options; we'll change the text to make it clearer in the Quickstart guide and Vanilla Texture Preparation tabs.

The only reported problems have been with repacked versions of the Bethesda BSAs with BSAopt and DDSopt. I haven't seen enough reports on splitting the contents into multiple BSAs, or repacking with other tools, to know whether this eliminates the problems. We don't know why Skyrim can't currently read the repacked BSAs, early versions of Skyrim did so without any problems.

For the initial version and updates of Skyrim, BSAs created by BSAopt or DDSopt were readable by the Skyrim executable (TESV.exe). Hpwever, there have been reported problems with reading these BSAs with the most recent versions of the Skyrim executable. You can use BSAs created by BSAopt/DDSopt with Mod Organnizer when you let MO unpack them.

EBT includes the Brawl Bug compatibility scripts, so if you are using it you don't need the Brawl Bug patch. For the mods related to Dual Sheath Redux, you indeed install them in the order shown in the guide and tick them when you install them. The basic mod has many meshes and scripts which are not overwritten by the mods installed later, and a few meshes that are overwritten. After the mods are installed, the SUM Patcher is used to produce a Dual Sheath Redux Patch plugin which loads after the bashed patch.

The batch files described in the DDSopt guide for optimizing mods were built to optimize a large set of mods at the same time. This should make using DDSopt for the STEP:Core or the combination of Core and Extended mods (or all the mods in a particular pack) simpler since all the optimization can be done in one "step" prior to installing these mods. DDSopt can of course be used with individual mods but it is less tedious IMO to optimize a set of mods together. An optional step such as this could be added to the guide (or mentioned) since it would only need to be in one place. Many mods don't need further optimization with DDSopt, so the set of mods to be optimized isn't usually very large.

Better Shaped Weapons was recently accepted for STEP; it was not previously part of STEP. Much of the BSW discussion on the Mods thread is about the installation order for BSW, DSR, the DSR patches (meshes) for other mods, and Close Quivers; I suggest you read the mod thread since there there some explanations for what the STEP recommendations for installation order will be.

We have been working on a video for using DDSopt to optimize textures, but it isn't complete yet.

DDSopt isn't especially easy to use and the instructions in the guide can be confusing. Unfortunately the version of DDSopt that you download includes a fairly generic default configuration, and since it was posted we have evolved an improved configuration. This same installation and configuration is used whether you follow the instructions in the SR:LE guide or the instructions in the DDSopt guide. We'll try to improve the instructions; please let us know if the revised instructions are easier to follow. If they aren't we will make further changes.

It's simpler but doesn't provide some of the advantages of following the DDSopt guide. For example, it changes all the uncompressed textures to compressed, reducing their quality. In addition, the SR:LE guide still requires that DDSopt be installed and configured properly; these instructions are only in the DDSopt guide. The part that Aoi_Chihiro mentioned as not being well explained is the installation and initial configuration of DDSopt. The QuickStart guide currently requires going to another tab for those instructions, which can be confusing. We'll add this to the QuickStart guide to try to make it easier to understand.

I've periodically had this problem also, and it was usually cured by running WB again, installing a new copy of the blank bashed patch, or reinstalling WB. Today I tried all of these, even turning off all mods except the unofficial patches. No matter what I do today, after the bashed patch is created WB initially shows a WB window with only the mods that are physically in the SkyrimData folder followed by a WB window with all mods misordered and disabled except the Bethesda plugins.

The text says " When the DDSopt vanilla texture optimization is complete, the "STD" and "HRDLC" folders in "Vanilla Optimized" should have the same number of files and folders as the corresponding folders in "Vanilla Extracted" ". It doesn't mention the DLC folders since only the textures are optimized for these and the DLC BSAs have non-texture files, so there are fewer files in these Optimized subfolders than are in the Extracted folder. The file tree screenshot figure at the bottom of the Optimize the Vanilla Textures subsection shows the same number of files in the Vanilla Optimized subfolders that you mention (except Dawnguard is 3122).

The Bethesda vanilla BSAs have a lot of duplicates and the internal structure of the files in these BSAs doesn't seem as cleanly done as ones with BSAopt or DDSopt. Perhaps this affected MO while SRB was extracting the vanilla BSAs.

The PN rebalance covers a few of what the PM mods do (partly why I don't use all the PM mods) but not all especially for the DLC. I particularly like most of the Lonesome Road and OWB mods such as the LR Tweaked Missile Base HQ mod that adds a campfire and bed, and the mod that reduces the notifications.

The neck seam in particular has been a problem with Bethesda bodies both in the Fallout and TES series. Typically there are mods that provide a necklace designed to cover this seam.

I'm the author of the Sortomatic patch for Tales, by the way. I find the player house in Tales to be more useful than the vanilla ones since it's larger and more centrally located when you take into account the quests in the south of the map and the difficulty (Deathclaws) in getting directly from Vegas to the Goodsprings area. Puce Moose also has a set of mods that change some game settings and loot as well as some aspects of the DLCs. I've found some of these useful, particular ones that primarily make the game loot less generous or that add some small amount of lore consistent content, and now that the Merge Script works with FNVEdit I'll be merging the ones I think are worth including.

The largest vanilla files are 2Kx2K so for vanilla files it doesn't matter. The 8Kx8K is just the default when DDSopt is installed. Some users with graphics cards with 3 or Gb VRAM and large monitors may be able to use the 4Kx4K textures provided by some mods; for most users 2Kx2K is as large as they will find useful.

I've been pleased with what you've done so far, so use the approach you think is best.

Great. One less plugin .

It probably makes sense to wait on installation until after the startup cart ride and trip through Helgen are complete. There are very few enchanted items in this early part of the game anyway.