ray0071

Something strange going on, cause those links were not there in the detailed instructions I was looking at. I spent hours reading over the instructions, I would have surely noticed big red arrow on an otherwise colorless page. Were the links recently put up?

I was not aware that such videos were compatible with STEP - unless a link was provided for them in the guide. Am I mistaken?

How is that a solution for people with time availability issues or for those are not so tech/modding savvy? I think the best solution is one which makes STEP easier to understand and thereby accessible to more people. The only factor preventing this from happening is the time. The bottom line is that the people who developed STEP know it best. They are the experts and as such it would be far efficient for them to create an easier guide than it would be for people like me to learn more about modding. I am a reasonable person, and as such I would be willing to pay for this to be done. Consider - I just spent 30 plus hours trying to get through STEP and have nothing to show for it. If someone could offer me my 30 hours back for a price of say $50 - I would take that deal in a heartbeat! I would venture many others would feel as I do - that they do not have the time availability, the patience etc to make it through this guide. As we get older, it is tough balancing between work, family, and often by the time the weekend arrives we are exhausted both physically and mentally. I think it is unrealistic to ask these type of people to sit down for dozens or hours, engross themselves in such a tedious process. I do not believe my view is one of the minority. Among my friends there are those who have played Skyrim and would be very much interested in STEP. I guarantee you however, that if it meant going through what I just did - they would never do it. They would however pay if it was simpler and thus less time consuming. Perhaps there is a way to charge for a easier guide? Maybe charge for the video? Not sure the legalities but something to consider. I know my offer of $50-100 is not a lot - but it is a start. I think many others would also be willing to compensate you guys for your efforts.

I actually agree with much of what you stated. I just think the solution is to add more details to the guide, make it easier to understand or the best solution to create videos, especially for the difficulty/confusing parts.

Hi Greg, Thanks for the step by step instructions. You made the effort to write this, so I will point out areas I am having difficulty with - perhaps it can help others.

2.N Patches is a mind grind. My suggestion: Create a video for it, cause it is easily the most complicated part of the guide. Actually, many of the processes in the guide are repeated, so why not just do a video for one process and people can refer to it for all the others? Honestly, a handful of videos is all it would take to make STEP much easier to follow. Not sure what else I could offer in the form of a suggestion. I think without a detailed guide, or videos, many will encounter difficulties as I have. The only negative in my suggestion about creating videos is the time required to do them. To that end, I have already offered to donate money - and I think that is a fair trade cause time is money. I spent 20-30 plus hours trying to get through this guide and look what I have to show for it - nothing. Do you think I would spend another 30 hours doing this all over again? No - because I just don't have that time availability and so sadly, after waiting a year for this release, then spending many hours trying to get through STEP -my experience ends on a sour note. Anyway, this is where I make my exit. Happy Gaming. Ray

Some of you might not like what I have to say - but it is my honest opinion. STEP in its current state is one of the most confusing and frustrating guides I have ever come across in my life. The amount of time I have spent, struggled to work through this guide is ridiculous. Some of you state you are unwilling to hold people by the hand, insinuating that perhaps we are intellectually incapable or lazy. I found the statement to be insulting, and suspect it is done in order to cloud what the real issue here is - the shortcomings of the guide. And by the way in the past I have successfully installed FCOM, and even STEP a few times (when it was easier to understand) - so I don't think it is fair to say only those who are really green etc will have difficulty. In my view the guide is harder to understand and more confusing than previous versions. Perhaps those very familiar with all the mods etc might be able to navigate through it, but I would venture for the vast majority of people like myself this is far from the case. What I don't understand is why the pushback when people ask for more details. What exactly is the problem with you guys doing that? The only one I can see is: Time - but then how much time are we talking? Does it really take that long to go through the guide and make it more clear? I get that you guys are spending your free time to do this and to that end I am very appreciative. That said, my time is also valuable, and I don't think it is unreasonable for me to vent my frustration at the current state of the guide. Honestly, had I known from the start how difficult the guide had become to understand - I would never have even made the effort to begin with. Ray

I am having the same questions/issues. The rest of the guide is a cake-walk in comparison to 2.N Patches. Easily the most confusing part of the entire guide in my view.

You guys should have gotten me to write the tutorial. A 5 year old could have understand it. Not sure if that reflects positively or negatively on me? :P Money for a video guide? Honestly, I would gladly donate money for it. If it saves me time, then it is worth it.

Stuck again: File Tree: If Clothing & Clutter Fixes is also used hide the following file: scripts\WAF_ArmorSwapScript.pex How does one 'hide' a file? Is hiding a file a feature of Mod Organizer? - checked, but could find anything on it. Is it referring to an action specific to STEP? - checked, but could not find anything on it. Does it just mean to change the name or put the file in a different folder? - no idea. If it meant deleting the file - the guide would have said as much. If it means changing the name, the guide would have simply said rename the file etc. This is another example where the guide is not clear. I don't think putting a little more detail constitutes hand holding. I don't want to 'push' on something you guys do not want to do. It is your choice the degree of detail the guide provides. That said, what are we really talking about here? How much time? Someone could go through the guide and make it more detailed in a matter of hours. 2 to 3 hours tops. Tell you what - I will make it worth that person's while. Time is money, so it would be a good trade - especially considering the amount of time it would save me.

I think you offered excellent suggestions. I understand people like me without extensive modding experience must be a pain because we can easily misunderstand something, always require more detail etc - but if the aim of STEP is to be accessible to everyone then a more detailed guide is necessary. I went back and thought to try this one more time. Made some progress but on a number of occasions I assumed things, and whether or not that will come back to haunt me later - time will tell (my luck it probably will). Let me give an example of the kinds of issues I run into: I have no idea how to click 'start mod' in the MCM options. Should I know? Perhaps. But I don't. So I read the description in the mod itself - still not clear. I google it - still not clear. I search the guide for MCM it only shows up in one place (the step I am on now) - so still not clear. What am I supposed to do at this point? Probably there is a simple explanation, some silly oversight on my part maybe - but the bottom line is I am stuck and about to assume again in order to progress further. I really do appreciate the work that has gone into this guide, and I am not upset with anyone for my inability to work through it. That said, would I appreciate if it was more detailed and thus less confusing? Absolutely. So much so that I would even pay for it (not kidding).

Based on my comments it is clear that I am not an experienced modder. That the setup is taking long, and that I am encountering difficulties. So I don't really understand the purpose of stating that it can be completed in 2 hours? So what does it mean that it has taken me far far longer and I have yet to even pass the initial parts of the setup? Sounds like a veiled insult - perhaps deservedly so. Maybe I am getting too old and stupid.

When I see a video link to a step - instant sigh of relief. If there were videos for the entire guide - I would not be here to ask questions.

You hear from people who believe they can actually complete the guide, because when they encounter a problem, they ask questions. The ones like myself however, it is very likely they just give up and you never hear from them at all. You want helpful feedback? Here is the best solution: Create a video guide of the entire process - every single step.

It is not odd - the instructions were written with the assumption that people know everything. I agree with SynthetikHD, STEP is not friendly to modding newbies. The places I found myself in trouble were ones where the guide assumes I know something which I did not. Scouring the net trying to ensure I am doing the right thing is a tedious process. If I do something without being certain then I run the risk of making a bigger problem for myself (something I have done repeatedly). The time requirement to successfully go through the STEP guide is not small, and so imagine going through it and failing? I would consider myself an above average intelligent person. I do not suffer from ADD. I know how to follow instructions better than most. So if I have encountered difficulties then it is likely others have as well. That does not mean the guide should be changed, but know that there are some people struggling with it. Here is what is really odd - I installed STEP successfully in the past (more than a year ago). So why not now?

Actually forget my question. I am finding the installation process far too tedious. I don't have the time or energy for this. In my line of work, I go through so much data, pages and pages of spreadsheets - and just don't have the patience for what STEP requires. I can see spending up to 3-6 hours, but in my view STEP requires far more. Good gaming to the rest of you - if you managed to install STEP kudos to you.

Found some information online where someone else had the same questions - it helped me through the process a bit. I installed both extenders but with Stable uGridsToLoad the date is highlighted red - is that something I should be concerned about? Thanks

Regarding PapyrusUtil-Modders & Stable uGridsToLoad. Do I install them the same way I did SKSE by using Mod Manager? TO be sure is this what I do: 1. Put the zip files into Mod Manager Download folder. 2. Open MM, click install new mod from archive. 3. Select file, open, and then after it installs. Enable it and move it to the top of the mod list? Sorry if my questions seem stupid. I am really struggling with this - not sure why.

So deleting the Cleaned Updated ESM enabled that prompt window to appear. Good. I then dragged and dropped that file to the top of the modlist. So far so good I think. What about toggling it? It is currently unchecked. Thanks

9. At the prompt, checkmark Update.esm and Backup Plugins and click [OK]. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what prompt? When I close TES5Edit, SMO is open, and there is grayed out Update.esm under plugins, but i can't do anything with it. Not sure what I am doing wrong. The update.esm and the backup one are the same size which would indicate I wasn't successful. I now deleted the 'cleaned' updated file and going to try everything over again. Really frustrated here.

Verified integrity of Game Cache in Steam, but keep getting this message:

Question: I never made a backup of update.esm, and there is none in my data folder. I pretty much mangled this process, and am wondering is there a way I can undo anything I might have done wrong and start over? One step which I still find confusing: When I click 'x', TES5Edit closes completely. Leaving only MO open. The only place there is an update.esm visible in MO is under plugins. There is no option to checkmark update. The Update.esm along with Skyrim.esm are both shaded gray and neither have a box besides them to check. --- On a side note - I tried to donate again but was unsuccessful. I only use Mastercard, so not what other options there are? Error MessageYou cannot complete this action on the card you have selected. Please select another card.

Impressive response time! Thanks very much! How do I buy you people a beer? :) Tried donating money but got this message in Paypal: You cannot complete this action on the card you have selected. Please select another card.(I use Mastercard)

If I could make a suggestion it would be to make the guide easier to understand. Example: 2.B Clean the Update ESM - I got stuck on it because what the instruction were stating was not what I was encountering with Mod Organizer. When someone knowledgeable creates a guide, they can tend to skip over details which they assume others know. For those who rely heavily on the guide, this is a huge problem. To be clear - I appreciate the work everyone has put into this project. Huge respect to all of you. My comments are just my own personal views/feedback. RayT

Incredibly confusing, and I am embarrassed to state how much time I spent stuck on this step. Finally gave up. The instructions are not matching what I am encountering with the Mod Organizer.