macabre

1. STEP: Core mods are the ones with the green bars. So yes. 2. STEP: Extended mods are the ones with no green bars. They are also included in the mod list on the STEP 2.2.8 wiki page, yes. 3. STEP: Core is meant to be a general enhancement of Skyrim, eliminating bugs, adding features, and enhancing the graphics while remaining true to the original vanilla feel of Skyrim. It does not significantly overhaul the leveling experience, perks, experience gain, monsters, quests, etc. etc. There is a nice page explaining what STEP is meant to do but the link eludes me at the moment. If you want to install STEP, in my opinion, you should ditch Wrye Bash and use Mod Organizer. Mod Organizer makes installing STEP and other mods extremely easy once you learn how it works and what it can do. It also helps game stability and results in less bugs due to the unique Virtual Filing System and priority sorting system that it uses. IMO, before installing STEP, you really should create a clean install of Skyrim, guide here: https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Make_Skyrim_Vanilla_Again I followed this guide and it worked perfectly, no need to re-download any of the stuff from Steam, quite a timesaver.

Hey Crippler, I was in the same boat as you maybe a week and a half ago. I had a modest modded Skyrim install with 68 mods using NMM and wanted to install STEP. I ended up finding this guide on the STEP wiki: https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Make_Skyrim_Vanilla_Again Just follow the steps, should take no more than 5-10 minutes, and you have a clean Skyrim install again. Then you can proceed with installing STEP. I did this and installed STEP and I have only had one CTD so far in about ~20 hours of playing on my STEP Core install + other mods. It works.

Requiem's lower levels are SUPPOSED to be brutal... you are supposed to feel as weak as a kitten, working hard for every victory, and dying a lot (that's why it's called REQUIEM, folks!) In contrast, vanilla Skyrim's progression was meant for more casual gamers who did not have the time or inclination to invest many many hours in building up their character. Requiem rebalances Skyrim's progression curve to be much more brutal and take much longer. Now I'm not a masochist, I hate being so weak that a mudcrab can give me a hard time, but conversely... you enjoy the game a hell of a lot more once you finally start to snowball in power. You feel as if you've legit earned the right to be a powerful Dragonborn badass in the later levels (and you have!) This is, of course, what is meant by oldschool RPG. Requiem turns Skyrim into one of those, with very pretty graphics. It's great. A short update on my Requiem experience for anyone interested: after getting a feel for the early patterns of Requiem and leveling a thief and warrior to mid teens, I decided I really wanted to try out a mage for my first playthrough. Got some magic mods (including Apocalypse - highly recommended!) and I'm even more into the grip of Requiem now. After an excruciating ~10 levels of furiously backpedaling, running around in circles trying to kite, and also being one shot by arrows, I'm level 12 (still being one shot by arrows, alas) and finally starting to feel a tad more powerful. Scored some Black Mage Robes and Hood last night after coming across a rather macabre scene at an altar in the Whiterun wilderness. There was a neat little self contained, implicit storyline there. I think I remember the altar from previous games of Skyrim, but I believe Requiem may have fleshed the unspoken story out a bit more (see whut I did there), which was a really nice immersive touch. At this point, bandits are still tough, especially in large groups, but I can mostly deal with them if I position correctly and use my skills cleverly. Archers remain a pain in the ass. I've taken to getting their attention and then retreating to max range and letting them waste all their arrows trying to hit me, although they still make some lucky shots. I'm planning on working on my crafting skills for the next few levels and then making the journey to the College of Winterhold to see if I can take on some of the beginning quests. Overall I feel much more satisfied with Skyrim than ever before. Yes it's effing hard in the beginning but I see glimmers of insane power lurking here and there. For example, I've come across some dueling mages hurling fireballs at each other (hell yeah) and I'm looking forward to being able to do that as well and more. ATM though as soon as one of the mages is dead the other usually turns around and one shots me with another fireball to the face. That's OK. I know at some point I'll be able to nuke both of 'em at once. Bwahaha.

The problem is that Nexus is the go-to site for Skyrim modding, it is specifically set up to facilitate mod developers and endusers in modding Skyrim. So you can't just ignore Nexus. I wish they would change their policy on removing the mods of banned users, I feel like everyone loses out that way. A lot of great mods would still be on the Nexus if this policy was changed, and why not have them on there! To remove them is just punishing everyone else as well.

That is what I did after reading a bit more about profiles and what they do. If you get a messed up install, all you have to do is switch back to your pristine STEP: Core profile and start over. Very handy. I love Mod Organizer, such a fantastic program.

I finished setting everything up last night. I'm playing with STEP: Core 2.2.8, the Weather and Lighting Pack, and the Base Requiem Pack. I think I've installed everything correctly, no freezes and only one CTD early on in Riverwood when opening the world map. I reloaded a previous save and opened the map, worked fine and have had no CTDs since. First impressions: I'm only a few hours into Requiem now but.. holy crap.. Requiem is the RPG Skyrim should have been. I've always felt like Skyrim was way, way too easy and unrealistic, even with various mods installed. But Requiem's changes make it really feel like you're just another adventurer/sellsword/mage in the wide world of Skyrim. It is definitely a challenge (I'm playing with Hard Times installed as well!) but that challenge is exactly what sucks you into the character building and progression the most. With Vanilla Skyrim, you can ignore so many aspects of the game and still be fine. Not so with Requiem. You basically need to use everything at your disposal and think realistically about what your next step is. Example: figured I'd clear out the small bandit cave on the side of Whiterun. There were two bandits: an archer and a guy with a sword and board (maybe an axe, don't exactly remember). I managed to take out the archer first, but the second bandit was just too strong for me. I'd try to swing with my sword and he'd back off or block, then do a power attack right afterwards while my guard was down. Bam. Dead in 2-3 hits despite wearing heavy armor (my character is going to be a mercenary, I've decided. Right now he's learning the trade.) After dying a few times, I studied the camp before going in and noticed the horse they had. DING DING DING. Ran over to the horse and rode around the area of the camp, making the archer waste all his ammo trying to hit me. Then I pulled out my two swords and commenced charging the bandits on horseback, swinging the sword at the right moment to hit them. A minute or so later they were both dead, though the guy with the shield took longer since he managed to block a lot of my swings. This small encounter really impressed me, since I NEVER would have thought to use the horse in Vanilla. Even with some combat mods installed you can still generally just charge in and win. But at level 1 this was almost impossible (or just very damn hard) and so I actually had to sit back and think to find a winning solution. To say I am looking forward to playing more would be an understatement, I finally feel as if I am playing SKYRIM and not some generic casual RPG. Effing awesome. EDIT: I have a question. I installed Dual Wielding Parry mod along with Dual Wielding Block Animation. I am wondering if the block perks work properly with this mod. This is the mod. Works with SKSE. Perhaps a more experienced modder or mod author could comment on this?

Sounds great, Skyrim would be an absolutely amazing RPG with all of those combined together! And wow.. this undertaking would be impossible without Mod Organizer for sure. The more I use that program the more impressed I am. It makes installing 200+ mods a breeze. I remember struggling with 60 or so mods with NMM where if I wanted to install a new mod I'd have to basically uninstall every other mod first.. talk about a pain.. and even then there were serious conflicts.

Thanks for the comment, Nearox, it really cleared up my confusion about STEP: Core and packs as well as other mods. :) I've now installed the Weather and Base Requiem patches, and added a few other mods of my own. I'm a few hours into a new save and loving it. Only one CTD thus far as well. So, fingers crossed! I expect I'll be pretty busy the next few nights (at the least!) playing it. :D

Thanks for the response, Smile. Just installed STEP: Core successfully yesterday (or so I think..) and read up on Requiem. Looks like a lot of fun, especially since Skyrim gameplay always felt.. odd.. for an RPG.. simplistic combat and a bunch of unrealistic stuff that had no place in an RPG game. So looking forward to the challenge of Requiem. Hopefully with the info I've gathered above, and a look at the various load orders posted in the thread, I'll be able to get a working installation. Thank goodness for Mod Organizer or else none of this would be possible!

So is Base Requiem compatible with STEP: Core 2.2.8 or not? From reading the last few pages it seems more than a few mods in STEP: Core are either already included in Requiem or incompatible.. would be nice if the wiki was updated with this information. The wiki only mentions Lockpicking Interface and Soul Gems Differ. Is there a definitive list of unnecessary/incompatible STEP: Core mods as of 2.2.8? Also, if I have STEP: Core 2.2.8 installed, do I need to download and install the Guard Dialogue Overhaul and Trade and Barter compatibility patches or no? Again, the STEP: Pack page for Base Requiem does not mention either of these compatibility patches. EDIT: I decided to go through the thread starting on page 9-10 (roughly corresponding to the last edit date of the Base Requiem wiki page in December '13) and make a list of mod redundancy or incompatibility between STEP: Core 2.2.8 and Base Requiem. So far this is what I've got. Smile or people familiar with Requiem feel free to correct me or add on. I really think some of this stuff should be included in the wiki page, which appears to be out of date. Redundant STEP: Core 2.2.8 mods (already included in Requiem, remove or disable them): Lockpicking InterfaceClams Drop PearlsWhen Vampires AttackNon Essential ChildrenMain Font ReplacementNo NPC GreetingsRun for your LivesSoul Gems Differ Probable STEP: 2.2.8 & Requiem mod conflicts & patches (link to patch if available; red title if not): Audio Overhaul for Skyrim (patch available)Guard Dialogue Overhaul (patch available)Weapons and Armor Fixes (patch available NOTE: this is also for the Clothing and Clutter Fixes mod, which you need to have installed. Credits to Spock for the info.)The Paarthurnax Dilemma (needs a patch made, or alternatively, a manual mod edit, see this post) NOTE: Even though Trade and Barter is installed with STEP: Core 2.2.8 and Requiem has a patch for it, since 2.2.8 instructs STEP users to just install Trade and Barter without actually activating it, no compatibility patch for Requiem is needed. Requiem 1.7.3 Patches (do not use if you did not install the 1.7.3 update and are using 1.7) Heavy Shield Fix for Requiem 1.7.3 (see this post, patch is available)

Exactly how to install packs and how they work is what I am wondering as well.. and I don't think it has been fully articulated yet in the wiki. There should be a generalized explanation of how to install a STEP Pack that is applicable to all packs.

Greetings all, I've recently returned to Skyrim with a better rig and found the STEP Project. Great idea! Reminds me of FCOM: Convergence for Oblivion, same deal... overhaul a TES game by testing and integrating a bunch of mods. Anyway, I took a whack at installing FCOM back in the day and managed to do it, so I figured STEP wouldn't be a problem. And it mostly wasn't! After careful reading and downloading (double and triple checking all the while!) I've managed to install STEP: Core. No CTDs, freeze, etc. in ~2 hours of gameplay. Early days yet, maybe, we'll see. Any idea how long it will take before any major problems arise? Now I am wondering about STEP Packs. I have a rough grasp of the idea: packs are meant to build on STEP: Core. But as for the actual MECHANICS of installing new STEP Packs, I am at a loss. Am I supposed to install them in a different profile from STEP: Core? But then what about load order? Should I copy STEP Core's profile and make a new profile including it, then install the packs? Etc. Questions like these. My opinion is that that there is not sufficient explanation of just HOW Packs are supposed to be installed, in general. I would love some clarification, or perhaps someone can point me to a page on the wiki that I missed. I guess this would also apply to any other mods I might want to install that are not in STEP packs. Are there any guidelines or "best practices" for modding on top of STEP: Core? Installing, testing, etc. I'll probably be told to look around the forums, but just looking for general opinions on modding on top of STEP: Core. Thanks for your time!