peppergomez

Thanks all. I completed the cleaning process using TES5 edit ssuccessfully.

Howdy all, I am following the STEP install procedure and just came across DDS as a recommended utility (though it's not clean in the STEP instructions that using it is mandatory) Anyway, I've been reading about DDS in the guide and have a basic overview question: Is DDS designed more for mod maker to optimize the textures in their mods, or for everyone, mod maker and mod user alike, to optimize textures? Just curious if I should install it and then use it to optimize the textures of any (all?) appropriate STEP mods I install. If DDS will improve performance, then I will likely want to use it. As for the HOW to use it, well, I guess I've got a lot of reading to do. :-) Though it'd be helpful to know if I should be using it every time I install a mod, or if I can use it at the end of the STEP install. Thanks!

Do we want to install 1.6.9 or 1.6.11? I assume 1.6.9 if running 1.8.151.07, which is the version of Skyrim I am running. Which actually rasises the larger question- are most folks running the latest (beta) patch for Skyrim, version 1.9.29.0? It looks like a good patch, and will eventually be mandatory and incorporated into STEP. So I see no need not to install it now, unless installing beta patches is generally not a good idea when following the STEP process. Thanks.

PS- I am a bit confused by step 7 in the Mod Organizer guide: 7. Adding Executables. - I assume that Executables is the box with the drop down arrow that by default lists Skyrim. Correct? - I am not sure how to add BOSS to MO. I have BOSS isntalled. I clicked , which is the selection above Skyrim in that drop-down field. In the Binary field, I typed Boss.exe and clicked OK, which apparently did nothing since I reopened and the binary field is blank. Can someone advise how to add BOSS to MO? Thanks.

OK, thanks. I didn't see mention of whether we should install the NCC optional files (both v0 2_2 1334 and v0 2_1 source 1334) into our Mod Organizer directory. It's listed as optional in the MO guide: "optional) Download the NCC optional file and extract it to the ModOrganizer directory. This will provide more convenient installation of archives intended for the Nexus Mod Manager. This does require you to have the .Net-Framework installed. " I will not install them until some folks here confirm it's okay/advisable to do so. Thanks.

Trying to decide which to install and use, and curious if there's more or less a consensus about which is best (i.e., effective, updated/current, stable, user friendly, and robust). Since STEP no longer recommends updating mods on a singluar/piecemeal basis, I guess the fact that Wrye Bash doesn't update mods is a plus. (Though I don't think Mod Organizer auto updates them.) I seem to remember Wrye Bash (back in the Oblivion days) as being quite complicated and not very intuitive to use. What do folks think? I also noted on Nexus that Wrye Bash doesn't seem to be being worked on as much these days, since the creator is not currently active. Any risk that Wrye Bash will become outdated? Thanks.

Curious if folks here use it. I know it's not listed in the STEP series of things to isntall. Sharlikran mentioned that he uses it (in his TES5Edit tutorial video). It seems a handy tool since Skyrim likes to reset config & .ini settings periodically, like after verifying local game cache through Steam.

OK, will do. Thanks. Watching Sharlikran's Youtube tutorial now. In his TES5Edit tutorial video, Sharlikran recommends verifying the integrity of game cache. I did that in Steam and got "1 files failed to validate and will be reacquired." I tried the process again and got the same result. Is this significant and will it cause a problem with the TES5Edit cleaning process?

Just installed and ran BOSS and in the Recognized Plugins it flags Update.esm, Dawnguard.esm, and Dragonborn.esm as having "dirty edits" and tells me they need TES5Edit cleaning. Since my install is vanilla so far, I am assuming that everyone gets these notifications from BOSS. Do folks clean these three .esms using TES5Edit? Reading about the editing process, but thought i'd ask if there are any common or "must fix" aspects of the .esms that are standard for cleaning/removing. (I notice the only version of TES5Edit on NexusMods is labeled "Experimental" which doesn't exactly feel me with confidence re: its stability. Installing it anyway.)

Edit- I figured it out. It was a question of terminology. "Delimiter" was the key word there. Original post below, in case STEP folks decide to provide an explanation of how to accomplish the conversion process in Excel. Thanks again for answering. (Step 2 is the one that needs adjusting) ***original post*** Thanks for taking a shot at explaining this. I have the Text Import Wizard open (it opens when I click the small Clipboard icon that appears beneath the Notepad text that I pasted into Excel. (By the way, I am using the example Excel spreadsheet that I downloaded from STEP, after having removed the values that were there, and reordering the column headers to match what I will have.) However, I cannot match up your advice with what I am seeing on any of the 3 Text Import Wizard screens. I am not sure what you mean by "diversion"-- I assume you mean "division"? I am seeing "delimiter" appear several times in the below screens, in case that is something relevant to this process. Here are the three screens as they appear in Excel: These screens appear here: https://www.jkp-ads.com/articles/importtext.asp Sorry about this, but I think I'm going to need a bit more hand holding here. :-)

First off, I tried to post this in the Guides & Info forums (since they seemed more appropriate) but was unable to, receiving a "You do not have permission to post on this page." Just wondering if that forum is for more senior STEP forum users only to post in. OK, so a few questions about GPU-z and the GPU-z log process: 1. The 0.6.8 GPU-z that I downloaded from the STEP link doesn't have a "Memory Usage (Dedicated)" and "Memory Usage (Dynamic)" setting in the Sensors column. There is a "Memory Used" setting, which seems analogous, though I'm not sure if it encompasses both dynamic and dedicated. So for running GPU-z would I then have the following checked for "Log to File": GPU Core Clock GPU Temperature GPU Load Memory Used There are two other memory-related options that I haven't checked: GPU Memory Clock, Memory Controller Load 2. The GPU-z log outputs to a Notepad file. I cannot figure out how to paste this file into Excel in a way to results in the appropriate column formatting. An entire row of information gets pasted into a single cell, making editing and calculations pretty much impossible. I played around in Excel trying to get it to work, but with no success. It's not possible to edit it within Notepad or Word b/c neither application sees the information as columns. I did a search for "GPU-z log" in a few STEP forums but didn't find anything. What's the process I need to follow? Thanks very much for the help! :-)

OK. How would I be able to tell (visually) if HDR isn't working?

I don't know if this is relevant, but here are my specs: Mobo ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME (REV 3.0) Memory CORSAIR XMS3 8GB DDR3 GPU 2 x EVGA 680 FTW 4GB CPU Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz) Drives 2 HITACHI Deskstar 3TB 2 Crucial 256 GB SSD Displays 3 HP ZR30w 30" monitors (4800x2560) UPS Cyberpower PP2200SW PSU Antec High Current Pro HCP-1200 1200W Case COOLER MASTER CM Storm Trooper Drive LITE-ON Black 12X Blu-ray CPU cooler Noctua 6 Dual Heatpipe Fans COOLER MASTER SickleFlow 120 OS Windows 7 PremiumÂ

Great, thanks. Happy to help, and thanks for the guide!

Howdy all. A few questions and observations about the NVIDIA Inspector configuration for STEP. BTW I installed the latest NVIDIA INspector, 1.97. In my NVIDIA Inspector, SLI compatibility bits (DX1x) was set to 0x080116F5 (BF3, MoH: Warfighter)- I think this was as per an older STEP instruction. The current STEP Inspector guide has this set to NVIDIA default (0x0000000). https://wiki.step-project.com/images/8/84...bility.png Because I am running 2 x 680GTX cards in SLI, I just want to confirm with the resident STEP experts that this NVIDIA default is indeed correct. Thanks. I noticed a few inconsistencies in the STEP NVIDIA Inspector guide: The guide says to turn Antialiasing Gamma Correction OFF: https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:NVIDI...im_Profile But the corresponding screenshot has it ON: https://wiki.step-project.com/images/d/df...iasing.png Which is correct? I am assuming OFF. Ditto Texture Filtering- Anistropic sample optimization- Guide says OFF, corresponding screenshot has ON "Texture filtering - Anisotropic sampling optimization Sampling optimization should remain off for best quality." https://wiki.step-project.com/images/1/1a...xtures.png Also, the latest version of NVIDIA Inspector (1.97) now has a Texture Filtering - Driver Controlled LOD Bias right above Texture Filtering - LOD Bias. Guessing that didn't exist in the version that was written about in the STEP guide. I am leaving this at the default, which is ON Noticing other inconsistencies (7 for Maximum pre-rendered frames in screenshot when guide mentions 8) between the guide and the screenshots...maybe the screenshots weren't updated to match the guide? I won't mention anymore unless they seem like they could be significant.

I am hoping someone can help me solve this without having to fully uninstall and reinstall Skyrim, which is what I had to do in the past. I have 3 30" monitors in portrait mode, for a resolution of 5106x2560 (that's with bezel correction- 4800x2560 standard). When I first installed Skyrim, it would run fine on this (the menus ingame are difficult to read, but that's something to troubleshoot further down the line). A few days ago NVIDIA lost the signal of the side monitors and I had to redo the Surround option and re-add the side monitors. It's possible that my bezel corrected resolution now differs from what I had earlier. So, I am doing the STEP process from scratch, and restarted Skyrim. I get the error: Failed to initialize renderer. Your display doesn't support the selection resolution. Please set a different resolution in Skyrim's launcher under Display Settings. Thing is, there are no resolutions in the Resolution field that even come close to what I am using. I've usually just kept Resolution field blank. Can anyone advise me how I can get this working without doing a full uninstall and reinstall. Also, I am not interested in running the game in Windowed Mode. Thanks. Update- I searched for this issue on the Widescreen Gaming Forums, and apparently clicking "Default" on the Detail tab in the Skyrim Options box solves this problem. I just confirmed this. Trouble is, STEP calls for the following: 1.B.1. Launcher Settings Click the [ultra] button. Under Antialiasing, select 4 Samples, as the difference between 4 Samples and 8 Samples is very subtle and not worth the performance loss (per Tweakguides). Drop down to 2 Samples as a last-resort to improve performance. NOTE: If using SMAA, set this value to zero. Under Anisotropic Filtering, select 16 Samples (use 8 Samples for a very slight performance gain). Click the [Advanced] button and make sure FXAA is UN-checked. FXAA reduces the Anisotropic Filter effect as well as overall texture detail. It is a huge performance improvement over AA, but comes with a quality cost. For more information on FXAA, and to see if it is right for you, see this post. NOTE: SMAA is a superior alternative to FXAA. Consider setting shadow detail to 'High' rather than 'Ultra' for video cards with less than 1 GB VRAM (Performance STEP), or leave at 'Ultra' for Extreme STEP: Under [View Distance], make sure Object Detail Fade is UN-checked and adjust grass to 100% with all other settings around 50%.NOTE: High-end systems can handle max view distances just fine. Exit and click Play from the Skyrim Launcher. This will create the necessary configuration files, and registry settings required by downstream applications (contrary to popular belief, the INI files are created immediately, and the game does not need to launch). It seems that following these Skyrim Options settings messes up Skyrim's ability to launch on my triple monitor setup. Any advice?

Right. Re: waiting, I had in mind the STEP guide. I would wait a few weeks if 1.9's release will cause several changes in the STEP guide, to avoid the risk that I would have to redo siginificant amounts of the STEP install process and/or start a new game.

OK, thanks. Hopefully that will be the last Bethesda patch for awhile. PS- Will MO (which is what I use) be able to tell when a mod becomes incompatible with the 1.9 patch, once Steam installs it?

Was going to begin the install of the latest STEP, but then read about patch 1.9 being in beta. It looks like it offers a lot of fixes, so I'll install it once it's out of beta. I imagine there will be the usual period of time when the mod community will need to make adjustments (Script Dragon, SKSE, unofficial patches). Should I wait a few weeks or however long until this happens? As much as I want to resume playing a STEP Skyrim install, I don't want to begin only to have to reinstall a few weeks later. Thanks.