TechAngel85

I agree with postponing it until all the mods mature more and are complete. Postponing it would give them time to do so while still allowing us to push this release out. It would be a great idea to suggest the authors check out this thread. STEP is fairly well respected so I don't seem any harm in our suggestions for each mod. It'll only provide them better feedback for improving their mods. I would agree that recommending a Baseline ENB wouldn't have the same outcome. I don't think that any could debate that SkyRealism - Vanilla Preset isn't the best option for STEP as it is...Vanilla...just with the added benefits of an ENB. Though the same troubleshooting issues could exists and it definitely shouldn't be core. However, I don't see an ENB being added at this time either. I think we're close now to a release. We (s4n mainly) have just been moving the included STEP mods over into the Anthology forum seeing that the mod list is pretty much locked in. (He is on a role)

I'm glad someone brought this up because I've been think it the whole time. So many modders follow STEP as a "step-by-step" guide and don't deviate from it (especially newcomers) that I see some potential troubleshooting headaches coming our way from this. It's great if they ignore the packs that are coming because then they get an even better looking game just from following STEP, but if not...troubleshooting city. This is why I mentioned earlier that I had thought this stuff was decided on to be put off until the next release to get this one out the door. We keep adding and adding and adding...this release is never going to be finished or it at least will deserve a bump up to "2.3.0".

I'm noticing a very clear pattern here. If you want my honest to God opinion, Relighting Skyrim should be your clear choice as it stays closes to vanilla but still fixes a lot of the issues in lighting and shadows. I'm even more against EL&FX after seeing these screenshots. This mod as a serious issue with "spotlight" lighting (something that RLO makes clear that they're against because it's unnatural)...in almost every shot I can notice a "spotlighted area" too! This "spotlight" is in most cases circular as well when the window is a different shape...? It may also have dynamic lighting coming through the windows at night; however, it has no ambient lighting from this light (even vanilla has some) which makes the light coming through appear completely fake (most noticeable in Temple of Kynareth shots). Bleak Falls Barrow...wth is that?...that too bright/blue issue I mention before is very apparent here and in many of the other shots. RLO is the most immersive of the mods, IMO. It provides realism and a warmth to the lighting which should exist seeing that the lighting sources are flames. Granted it may be a little too "warm" in some of its lighting, but not all. It also provides the ambient light from windows which EL&FX is missing. It draws you into the spaces without being over done. Though it may be young, it's doing it right for me. EL&FX + RLO...lets not even go there. OLSE is okay, but it's actually removing shadows from a lot of the scenes...which although could help performance, also provides a fakeness...you can sense that something is missing from the space and then you notice! The lights aren't casting the proper shadows. It's also kind of "drabby" in most scenes. Relighting Skyrim, if you're wanting a "close to vanilla as possible" but still an "enhanced vanilla lighting", is the clear winner. It stays very close to vanilla but still provides improvements. There were only a 2 or 3 shots overall that I didn't like with RS (too bright over vanilla). Main complaint? No lighting from windows. RLO is still my personal favorite and I would LOVE if STEP chose it because it's what I will be using (these shots just re-enforce this); however, for STEP purposes and following the Mandate, Relighting Skyrim is (probably) my solid vote.

A couple of your images aren't loading under Bleak Falls Borrow.

@MontyMM, I'm not saying it's evil or that the scripts would conflict. I am saying; however, that the potential for this is more present with EL&FX than it is with RLO because of the scripts and more added/removed lighting sources vs RLO. Anything that sticks within the games engine is going to be inheritedly more compatible in the long run. @Everyone, Personally, I agree with Neovalen to an extent. Lighting mods/weather mods/ENBs are so much of a personal choice that they should be left to packs (filled with complimenting mods). However, having a Baseline mod that fixes most issues isn't a bad thing either, regardless of how hard it might be to agree on a single "fix". If we can do it with a lighting mod there's no reason we can't do it with a weather mod and ENB as well to provide a complete and total package, IMO. However, I thought we all agreed to wait on this stuff until the next release so that we could push this one out?

This is also why I have chosen RLO. RLO sticks to the game engine. EL&FX is using scripts in some cases...yet another point of potential incompatibility and conflicts. STEP 2.2.1 is already running so many scripts that my console is slower than molasses.

If you're using Wrye Bash, simply put it last in your load order, install, and test (go swimming).

Thanks for doing this! I've been the only one maintaining that guide and I'm an NVIDIA user so there's no way for me to check the AMD information. I usually rely on Z for that stuff, but he says pretty busy so thanks again.

First, are you getting the issues that this mod fixes?

Discussion thread: Realistic Ragdolls and Force by dDefinder Wiki Link Just adding this thread. The mod is already included in STEP; however, there was no discussion thread for it.It's been updated:

Yes, it's a special needs case only. If you're getting the issues, then by all means use it and see if it works for you.

I looked at those before I posted above. The majority of the community seems to be voting for RLO and against EL&FX which you seem to be totally vise versa of. I'll await for S4N's screens before making a final decision. I would like to see some real comparisons to vanilla as it's been a while since I've tested EL&FX. I'm just the opposite. I don't notice any of RLO light source eliminations but do notice EL&FX eliminations....probably because as toshaka pointed out, they're fewer eliminations in RLO than that of EL&FX. I also think the shadow flicking is a little too pronounced, but I still don't notice it unless I'm standing around looking for it...at least RLO has some shadow play from fires.

I'm adding this in my agenda today.

SkyRealism Cinematic RLO 4.0 RLwC 3.5 weathers (might add in CoT...I'm waiting for RLO weathers before I decide)

Windows should have a fairly good one. Control Panel >> Color Management >> Advanced Tab >> Calibrate display button

Fair enough, but I think (at least from what I've seen) you have EL&FX and RLO backwards. In the areas I've been in (most major towns and inns) I have not seen RLO remove any vanilla lights or eliminate light sources. EL&FX does elimination light souces however or adds them and it's this that I don't really agree with. If RLO does it too, I haven't seen it yet. In all honesty, RLO does some things better than EL&FX and vise versa. Personally, from all the shots I've seen RLO is still the winner as many of EL&FX edits are too bright/blue/white even for an Enhanced Vanilla. However, on the other side of that coin, one could say that many of RLO edits are too dark/yellow. Though I do want to point out with RLO being modular and their efforts to stay lore friendly it seems like it would be much more compatible with other mods.

We'll debate about anything around here. :) I've cooked with rum before so it should be okay. Don't think I'll be trying the milky mixtures though. Been drinking green drinks, powerade, and green tea with honey.

I agree with this and will go out on a limb to say that this is the reason most people use lighting mods. Not to say that Z's rules aren't a valiant effort but I would say with those rules and his more recent explanation, he's only targeting a very small percentage of the users and the reason they use lighting mods. Most people want a change from vanilla, not an "enhanced vanilla". They're either looking for something more fantasy like or more realistic. I'm going with RLO because it doesn't add or remove lighting sources (candle horns, candles, lanterns, etc), it just simply changes the lighting from the vanilla sources to something that is more realistic and in-depth. I don't see anything "fantasy like" about the vanilla lighting and when comparing textures and mods we're always talking about realistic this and realistic that. I don't think we should change that view just for the sake of lighting.

Do you have Diverse Trees enabled and loaded after the main SFO ESP? That is suppose to be the fix for the shaking trees. I know my CTD problem isn't a driver issue because I was playing just fine the other day and now as soon as I run I get a CTD. Same mods, same ESPs, same drivers... This is weird... EDIT: Hold the phone! There was one thing I did! I optimized the BSAs. Restoring and checking now... EDIT: That was it! Now to narrow it done to which one... EDIT: Narrowed it down to Skyrim - Voices.bsa. I appears some else has reported the exact same issue over on the BSA Extraction and Optimization thread.

I'm now getting I CTD that I can reproduce on my machine and nothing in papyrus logs is helpful. It happens when I run. I can walk around all day but as soon as I press the Alt key to run...CTD. This is reproducible on all of my saves and the stranger thing is, I haven't changed anything since the last time I played.

According to the rules, neither RLO or EL&FX should be listed as they both change vanilla aspects. I haven't noticed it in RLO; however, in EL&FX it actually removes some light source (like candle horns) to achieve it's effects and anything that starts removing or moving objects in-game is bound to run into issues down the road. RLO just changes the lighting from these sources and makes dungeons and nights quite a bit darker. With that said, I'm 100% for RLO as well and that's saying something considering I'm a die hard RCRN fan. RLO brings the realism to a whole new level. I haven't tried Relighting Skyrim. And as for CoT, I don't think it's much of a lighting mod. I'd consider it more of a weather mod because during my testing with it I couldn't tell any difference between it and vanilla unless you used it's optional addons or it was around sunset/rise.

An interesting read.

I'm in my late 20s. The second one sounds a bit better. I thoroughly enjoy spiced rum and coke...so spiced rum would replace the lager.