AddictedxGamer

How many hotkeys do you get when using the Chatpad?

Hi, I've begun making my way through your guide, and so far, it's very well-written. However, when using the DDSopt tool to optimize the vanilla textures per the guide's instructions, I ran into a problem. I didn't discover this problem until I had a look inside this topic. The problem was that each folder I created during the process (Vanilla Optimized, Dawnguard Optimized, etc) contained nothing but BSA files. Apparently, you're supposed to end up with loose files! One of the replies in that topic was able to clear up what I did wrong so I could go about it the right way this time, but in light of that, I have a suggestion. You may want to edit the instructions in your guide to be more clear and concise as to how the process is done, and what the end result should be. This way, nobody runs into this problem in the future. Might I suggest something like this for your DDSopt instructions instead of what's currently there? Let me know what you think, please! As I said, your guide is very well-written. But, in light of the mistake that I and the creator of the aforementioned linked topic made, a change may prove beneficial to others in the future.

I'd just like to chime in and say that this was extremely helpful, Kelmych! Like the creator of this topic, I too had completed the process incorrectly, extracting and optimizing everything into "out.bsa" files. Neovalen; should happen to read this, you may wish to amend your DDSopt instructions to be a bit more clear and concise. May I suggest something like the following? 1) Open the DDSopt tool. *Note: DO NOT run this through Mod Organizer. DO run this as an Administrator.*2) In DDSopt click the [browse] button near the top text-box and select the "Skyrim - Textures.bsa" file in the SkyrimData folder.3) Navigate to Mod Organizer's mod directory (for example: C:Program Files (x86)Mod OrganizerMods) and create a new folder named "Vanilla Optimized."4) In DDSopt click the [browse] button near the bottom text-box and find the folder you just created. Select it, clear the "File Name" text-box, then click [use Folder]. *Note: DO NOT forget to clear the "File Name" text-box. DO NOT click [save]. Doing so will output the optimized files into a BSA file instead of loose files. Your "Vanilla Optimized" folder should contain a folder named "Textures" with a bunch of sub-directories containing DDS files. If you have a BSA, you did it wrong!)5) Check the "Show Recursive" box below the center text-box.6) Click the red [X] to deselect all files.7) In the center text-box, type ".dds" and then click [Apply].8) Click the green checkmark to select all filtered files.9) Clear the center text-box and click [Apply].10) Click the [Process] button in the bottom right corner and wait for the process to complete.11) Verify in your "Vanilla Optimized" folder that you have only a folder named "Textures," containing sub-directories filled with DDS files. You should NOT have a BSA.

No problem! Good luck.

My replies are in orange.

It would appear I was worrying for no reason. The priority of a mod does not change when using different categories, filters, etc. The only way it does change is if you change it yourself, either by dragging and dropping the mod to a new location, or changing the number. That being said, I still think it would be nice to be able to remove mods from one profile without it being removed from every other profile it's associated with. I've currently got the Mod Organizer installed on my system twice, but in different locations. One is for STEP and the other is for SRLE, because the two use a multitude of the same mods, but with different versions, options, etc. It would still be doable to use one installation of the program and use profiles to install both guides. When working with the SRLE Profile you would just disable the mods installed by STEP and install those used by SRLE. When you come to a mod that's already been installed, you would just change the name of it. For example, "SkyFalls and SkyMills" is already installed by your STEP Profile, so when you install it (with different optionals) for SRLE, rename it to "SkyFalls and SkyMills SRLE." Since the previous version is disabled in the SRLE Profile, there won't be any file conflicts between the two (they obviously share a lot of the same files; ESM, ESPs, meshes, etc). All in all, it can be done, but I fear it might cause me undue confusion by cluttering my mod list in the Mod Organizer. If the ability to remove mods from one profile without removing them from another can be added, that'd be awesome! If not, then no hard feelings! I imagine it might be impossible due to how the program's virtual filing system operates.

Oh, I know they're not. But they can be used as if they were.Take a look at this picture, posted in another topic of mine. He's created custom categories in the filter panel on the far left side, then grouped his mods into those newly created categories. Then he changed the option in the bottom drop-down menu to "Categories," and a bunch of expandable "groups" appear.I was thinking that by changing the category of a mod so that it fit into a certain category, or "group," you'd ultimately be changing the installation order, thus affecting mod priority. Aren't they supposed to be in the exact order of the STEP Guide? That's how I was doing it before, but I was doing it that way because I didn't know about setting it up the way I mentioned in my above reply to DoubleYou. However, now I'm wondering about how changing the category of a mod and using the "Category" view in the bottom drop-down menu affects mod priority. Seeing as they are to be installed in the exact order presented in the guide, if changing their category and viewing them in "groups" changes their priority, perhaps it can negatively affect the STEP installation. Or, and more likely, I'm just over-thinking this and confusing myself/others for no reason.

I actually figured this out with some help from someone in one of my other topics, and through the Mod Organizer Wikipedia page. It's a neat feature!The reason I was doing it the way that I was before is for two reasons. First, I didn't know that I could add categories and then view them in groups through the left pane. Second, I'm under the impression that the order of the mods in the left pane has to match the order of the mods in the guide. If I view by category and install mods into those categories, won't that mess up the order, which has to match the STEP Guide?

How did you get the left pane to look like that? With the expandable categories containing the respective mods that go in each one, I mean. I want mine to look like that!EDIT: Oh, I got it. I went back to the Mod Organizer Wikipedia page and found out how to do it. I was able to set the categories using your post, but the guide showed me how to get the groups to display like that. Thanks! So there's really no definitive answer? :O_o: That's annoying, lol. Maybe I'll just run a series of tests and record how long I go for on each one, then figure out the average time I was able to go. I generally end up starting a lot of conflicts when I stress test, as I don't just fly around high up in the sky like a lot of people do. I actually fly down on locations to discover them, and to trigger any enemies in the area.I have no idea how to use the feature of Convenient Horses that you're talking about though. :confused:

I'm not sure I understand... Are you saying that it's alright to crash, or that you should never crash with a stable game, no matter what? It sounds like the latter of the two, but I'm not sure.In the past when I've done some testing, I crashed even with a completely vanilla game. It wouldn't always happen, but when it did, the time it took to happen would vary. Sometimes it was 5 minutes, others it was 15, and sometimes I got bored after 20 and stopped on my own. Does that mean that even my completely vanilla game isn't stable?

Frostfall and either iNeed or Realistic Needs are mods that I consider essential. Skyrim Immersive Creatures is nice, but if I have to drop it in order to use the others, I guess I could do that. Deadly Combat, Deadly Dragons and Dragon Combat Overhaul are also mods that I really want to use, as the vanilla game fighting and enemy AI are rather terrible, LOL.

I know that the process is going to be trial and error, but I'm hoping to shorten the process as much as I can. In the past when I've tried to follow the proper procedure, I've always ended up growing impatient and rushing into installing mod after mod without a care in the world. Then I'd get angry at the game when I was crashing all of the time, when it was my own fault. That's what I want to avoid this time around, but I don't want it to be months before I can actually PLAY the game...Like you, I've set up categories within the Mod Organizer. To do this, I created "Dummy Mods" inside the Mod OrganizerMods directory with the name of each category. Inside each folder is an empty text document of the same name, which is then zipped into an archive and installed into the Mod Organizer. This will allow me to easily place non-STEP mods within the appropriate category without much fuss.When I installed the mods from the STEP Guide (2.2.9), I installed them in the exact order listed, as I was told this is how it's meant to be done. I didn't install all of the Core mods first, then install all of the Extended mods; I installed them in the exact order presented, Core or Extended. I also installed all of the patches in section 2.N. as directed.I'm at the point now where I need to determine whether or not my game is stable. I've read mixed reviews on whether or not STEP actually creates a stable game, but I have hopes that I won't be crashing or having problems as of now, after completing the installation. The only thing that's been stopping me is trying to determine how I should actually go about testing for stability. I could play the main quest up to a certain point, play random side-quests and explore random locations, or I could stress test the game by running/flying around with the speedmult console command.Speaking of the stress test, I've read mixed reports on what defines stable during these tests. Some say that you should never crash with a stable game, no matter how long you test for. Others say that as long as you went for a certain amount of time before crashing, that you've still got a stable game. Which is it? If I can go at least 5 minutes every time before crashing, do I have a stable game, or is something still broken? This is why I get so frustrated with this process; variables.Another thing that's confusing me is where and how I should go about installing non-STEP mods after I've gotten a stable game. Do I disable all active mods and then add mods into the categories I've configured in the Mod Organizer, mixing them in with the STEP mods? Or, do I begin adding all of these non-STEP mods underneath all of the STEP mods (in the left pane of the Mod Organizer, I mean)? I don't the proper procedure, and wouldn't want to break what would be, at the time, my newly stable game.I realize I'm asking a lot of questions, and doing so in long-winded paragraphs, but that's just the kind of person I am. Being informed is the only way to be sure you're doing things right, and I'm a naturally well-written person. Hopefully you guys can bear with me until I'm all squared away.Thanks!

I couldn't agree more. I myself use Sometimes Pick-Up Books; it's a mod that I consider essential to the game. The vanilla system of picking up books is incredibly annoying. Especially when I'm role-playing a character that likes to read, and books that I pick up get marked as already having been read just because it was opened when I picked it up! That's so frustrating! The Sometimes Pick-Up Books mod is a godsend! Real Time Reading seems like a great concept, but seeing as most of the books in the game take only a few minutes to read, it's unrealistic that a few hours of in-game time would pass per book. Having a customizable MCM menu where we could adjust the time would be great. That, or bringing the time down to something more reasonable; say 20-30 in-game minutes or so. This would work very well alongside something like SkyRealism - Time and Travel that changes how fast time passes in-game.

I actually got the idea when making an Excel spreadsheet showing my entire list of desired mods, and where they can be found throughout STEP (Core, Extended, one or more of the Packs, etc). It gave me the idea of making dummy mods to use as category markers within the Mod Organizer. This way, when I start installing non-STEP mods, I can place them in the categories used within the STEP guide with extreme ease.

Do you mean that it shouldn't crash the game? You said that it should, and from what I've heard and read, that isn't true; a stable game shouldn't crash while running a stress test. Also, I've already configured all of the mods in their respective MCM menus, so I know they all appeared as they should have.

Could you elaborate on this, please? I'm interested to know how I would go about doing this. Currently I've got categories set up within the Mod Organizer already. I created them as I went through the installation of STEP Extended. Before I started installing the mods in each category, I would create a dummy mod inside the Mod Organizer Mods directory using the category name. Inside each folder is a blank text document with the category name, zipped into an archive using, again, the category name. Then I activate that in the Mod Organizer so that I know which mods belong to which category. Essentially, it looks something like this in the left pane of the Mod Organizer. This, however, I fear would be insufficient to handle the installation of two entirely different guides, i.e. STEP Extended vs Skyrim Revisited. I'd get confused as to which mods were which, especially because both guides share a number of the same mods, but with different installation options (files, plugins, etc). That's why I was planning to use two separate installations of the program after DoubleYou told me that it could be done. But, if you're suggesting you know of a way to get this to work in a way that doesn't cause me any confusion, then I'm all for hearing it! Please; elaborate!

What's the best way to test an installation of STEP Extended for stability? Should I actually play the game for a while (do some random quests, explore some dungeons, etc), or should I do some Stress testing (TGM, Speedmult 400)?

Alright. I don't have any additional mods loaded at present, so I'll ignore the error. Thanks!

Alright, that's what I'll do. Thanks! You can separate your saves through different profiles by checking the local savegame option in the profile manager.

So I should just ignore the error then?

Thanks again for looking! If there are no objections from any of the STEP Staff to suggest that there is in fact a load order problem that needs to be corrected, I'll mark this as solved using your answer, Nozzer!

Hey, everyone. I've just got a quick question. Can you not remove mods from the left pane for just a single profile? I just finished installing STEP Extended, but decided I also wanted to install and test Skyrim Revisited: Legendary Edition. So, I made a new profile and started removing mods from the left pane in the new profile. I didn't realize until a little ways in that this was removing them from the completed STEP Extended profile too! :O_o: Is there a way to remove mods from one profile without removing them from another, or do I need to have separate installations of the program? I know if you want to use Mod Organizer for both Skyrim and Fallout, or any other game that it supports, you need to have multiple installations of the program, which is easy enough to do. Is this the case for this situation as well? Furthermore, can I even have two installations of the Mod Organizer that handle the same game, or would that cause issues? It would make sense if it did, as they'd be installed in different locations, but grabbing mods from the same place and installing them for the same game. Although, they'd still have their own virtual directories, as they'd be installed in different locations... Sorry; I'm rambling! Anyways; I hope someone can clear this up for me! Thanks!

Nice find! Thanks! Too bad there's no way to get rid of the error message. I tried closing the application and opening it again, but the button is still lit up, and there doesn't appear to be an option to ignore the error. It's annoying seeing it lit up constantly. No worries though; I'll deal. Unless anyone (preferably STEP Staff) has any reason to suggest that I do in fact need to rearrange some of the mods mentioned in the error, then I'll mark this as solved!

I didn't find a definitive answer via search, which is why I created this topic. Hopefully one of the STEP Staff will have one so I can continue!

It says right inside the error message not to ignore it, which is why I'm asking.