z929669

In your case, the STEP patches do not apply. You will either need to ignore any Bashed Patching errors or patch things yourself with TESEdit. Our patches mostly are used to forward USP fixes or to reduce the number of needed plugins. Hard to say if it matters much with your setup.

Really? Complaining that 35-45 FPS is 'terrible' is a bit ridiculous, especially for Skyrim. Not even the best gaming computer on Earth can deliver 60 FPS in all areas with a highly-modded setup Anything regularly exceeding 30 FPS is perfectly playable. Averaging 50+ is ideal, so I'd say you are in the 'ideal' category already. As neo says, this is one of the most taxing areas of the game. the other one is looking out over the landscape near the Solitude gate (a bit down the path). Another is in/around Riften.

No, you follow the STEP Guide, explicitly. If you only install the Core mods (marked according to the legend), then you have installed STEP:Core, and you will only install the Core patch (as noted in N. Patches section). If you install all STEP mods, then you have installed STEP:Extended and will need the Extended patch (as noted in N. Patches section). All the instructions are in the guide if you read it and follow along. Once you are finished installing STEP, you can install whatever texture mods you want in whatever way you want to get the desired effect (not supported). If you install other plugin mods, then things are a bit more complicated, but it should work out fine in the end unless there are plugin conflicts with your additions beyond STEP (again, not supported). If only textures, then there is no effect on the STEP patches, as they only relate to the plugins. Patches get installed at the end, so I am pretty sure you are not following the guide explicitly but likely taking shortcuts if you are installing the patches after the DLC way up front.

You need to install STEP:Core/Extended first on a clean vanilla Skyrim. Then install whatever customizations you want ... if they are only textures, and if you installed all of the relevant STEP mods, then use the Extended patch.

We have it under Packs because it is possible to configure SR:LE over STEP:Core, and it is a good location for builds hosted here that are not actually 'STEP'

Yes, I thought the slideshow was the key, too, but after loading a theme, the slideshow is not pointing to the theme images folder content. Removing the undesired images forces the behavior I want, but there is no way to increase/decrease the frequency of the background change (which I do not want anyway). I assume (like hidden dark Continuum UI), that theme config has yet to be finalized under Win 10. For now, it supports Win 7 themes with limited config. This is one good example of how the PC is being treated more like a mobile device instead of a PC ... not ideal, and I see no way of fixing issues like this unless there is an optional toggle/module that configures system apps for PC distinct from those for mobile. ... now I need to figure out why my RDP is not working under Win 10 ...

Yes, I know, but you will find no way of selecting which of the background images in a theme to use or not use, nor will you find any way to set the duration for the background to change. These all used to be under the Theme selection area in Win 7, but now there is no theme settings area in Win 10. Win 7 (all aspects of the theme are accessible via the GUI): Win 10 (no theme settings accessible from here & others inaccessible from anywhere):

I have been using WSUS for years now. Much better than hours-long install of Win 7, given all the time it takes to download and install the updates in something like 10 iterations. On another note, I finally did embark on a clean install of Win 10 on my own system (after imaging my Win 7 config). I will say that driver installs were very clean and seem to be pretty much trouble free in Win 10. The only '?' in my Device manager was for my old CanoScan scanner. All other drivers seem miraculously correct. I am also a bit happier after removing all of the useless bloatware using PowerShell. The hidden 'dark' theme also makes the 'mobile' system app a bit more tolerable. Overall, it seems to be a bit better than my update experience or my experience with my father-in-law's computer. I will say that there are some things lacking though in Win 10 ... like, where the heck do you control theme backgrounds? (I did find the background config settings, but they are now limited). In Win 7, you could go to 'personalization', select/download a theme, and customize the frequency with which the background changed (30 min by default) or tick/untick only the backgrounds of the theme that interest you ... even the screen saver settings (loading a theme wipes your screen saver if the theme does not define one, since this is part of the theme). These are all aspects of the theme config, which are missing in Win 10. Example: I use the Halo Reach theme. In Win 7, I normally do Personalization > "Get more themes online" > Install ... then I go to Desktop Background and untick all but the first and set the background change/rotation to "never". In Win 10, all is same, but the config settings for the theme itself are gone. The only way I could get it to work as i want was to move out all of the images in my theme directory except the one. Removing control functionality like this is really annoying. In most cases, the settings have either moved or changed a bit, but in this case, there appears to be no system settings at all.

Have a look at this OP ... as well as the link to the results from that.

I did NOT agree. We should be recommending Win 7 or greater

agree, that is significant. ... still vote we do not make Win 10 among the 'recommended' system requirements for STEP at this point though.

If we compare Win 10 indirectly to Win 7, then, Win 7 should still be a better pick for several important benchmarks (though not all) https://www.google.com/search?q=windows+8+versus+windows+7+performance&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Regardless of Win 7 extended support, I am almost certain that Win 10 will evolve into something more accommodating to PC-only users or users that do not want all of the mobile apps installed for use with a non-touch screen. I am also betting that they will reign in some of their oversteps when it all comes out in the wash. That should all happen sometime before support for Win 7 expires (i.e., in 2020). "desktop mode" is still too much like "tablet mode" in Win 10 currently, IMO. I will defer my 'complementary' Win 10 ISO download until June, 2016, thank you very much. PS: And what's with the cartoon icons in Win 10 and general lack of shadows in the whole OS? No doubt, this has much to do with perceived performance increases ... certainly not engineering improvements! ... and DY, yes, no doubt driver issues with Win 10 and relatively inefficient Win 10 drivers currently.

I'd have to say that Win 10 "performance increases" are part placebo and part fresh OS. I upgraded and disabled all the things alt3rn1ty mentions and found it to be quite sluggish. A fresh install is much better, performance-wise, but I cannot abide all the crap that comes with Win 10 in terms of needless system apps/software and infringements on my personal and administrative rights (and ongoing maintenance to keep it all 'tame' as forced 'updates' flood in constantly). I don't think this one will be a market success until they "update" Win 10 to accommodate a special flavor just for PCs (i.e., Win 7 with the relatively few improvement aspects that came with Wins 8-10). Another use case: My father-in-law asked me to downgrade his system back to Win 7 after he used Win 10 for a few days.

Google "camel case" What example? I have placed comments like this just after many settings in my INIs without issue: iPresentInterval=0 ; this controls blah, blah... affects only string settings? Like the archive setting? Maybe that is why I never noticed?

You You can follow the instructions posted earlier in this topic: The culprits ... after uninstalling those updates and hiding them in Windows Update, you will not see the annoying icon or waste any background resources supporting it. I uninstalled/hid them on all of our home computers.

... and if we laid out every single step and/or created a video doing the same, it would need to be modified and updated several times a week. It would be monstrous to maintain and even more confusing to all users ... not just those new to the project. The fact is that we provide a guide that really does provide detailed instructions on doing just about everything (or links to external refs). We rely on users' understanding the general principles and tactics though in order to follow along without issue. This requires time out for learning. Nevertheless, if even a complete n00b were to follow the guide from start to finish, it is not that hard to get STEP installed. Just read the guide ... completely from start to finish. If in doing so, any user is confused about an instruction or a method, then be specific about what is confusing. Give us specific feedback on what the specific instruction(s) is telling you and how you are interpreting that instruction(s). From there, we can rephrase or augment in some way to account for anything that may be unclear or misleading or even outdated. Just saying that N. Patches is too convoluted/difficult to follow tells us nothing. We just assume that the user is not reading carefully enough or inserting their own assumptions or just not following the instructions. I still await specifics to address on this thread with regard to instructions and how they are flawed or confusing.

Comments are valid in any INI and any position as long as you begin the comment with a semicolon. It can be on the same line as an INI setting itself without issue. INIs are case INsensitive, yes, but suggest using camel case for readability and consistency.

I agree completely. Why should I opt to disable all that system-level bloatware using a manual process? One should be able to tick a global setting to disable 'Continuum' (the revamped version of Metro it seems) ... bye, bye to the totally useless 'Settings' system app as well as all of those tablet-specific apps that expose settings to maps/location prefs, advertizing prefs and all those other useless mobile apps that have absolutely no place on a desktop OS. I have to type in search just to get at my damn screen saver settings! It's an offensive 'joke'. Once a script is written to disable and expunge all of the tablet-related crap as well as the invasive spyware, I may give it another try. There is a whole layer of system apps and services that are not needed and should be completely wiped for this OS to be useful for desktop systems. Win 10 = Win 8 with an altered Metro and some additional junk. EDIT: I found this useful and instructive.

OK, after allowing my Win 10 update to settle in and myself to become more acquainted, I can definitively say that the upgrade has some significant issues. I have no sound, my screen saver and some power management settings aren't working, and several other smaller bugs in previously-existing software and the windows environment persist. I just finished upgrading a family member's computer using a clean Win 10 install. This results in a much stabler system; however, the invasions of privacy, attempts to "make my life simpler" by taking a lot of the convenient control out of my hands, and the interface masking the underlying UI confirm that I cannot generate any interest in using Win 10 ... ever. A version of Metro still persists and is evident in the "Settings" UI that sits above the traditional settings UI (Control Panel items). This is an attempt to reconcile the UIs of Win 10 PC with Win 10 mobile. Totally useless baggage that only serves to bloat the system and discombobulate the UI. I couldn't care less about Win 10 now and have happily reverted back to Win 7 ... eventually, I will be moving to Linux!

I just imaged my Win7 to test drive Win10 (update version). The good thing about the update version is that you are able to see Win10 in the context of your preferred-environment setup --with some exceptions. UAC was back on, so disabling it was annoying, due to my initial lack of understanding at how to get to Control Panel ... and then finding that it is buried now inside User Settings. My initial impressions: I like the GUI changes with default 'desktop', icons, layouts, etc.I hate that Windows 10 assumes I have a Win tablet or phone ... a great many features attempt to integrate my non-existent Win mobile devicesI don't like that 'privacy' elements include so much more to monitor and tame ... and that they do not 'stick' between updates as alt3rn1ty mentionsI wish that the group-alphabetized "All Apps" menu moved to the group I want by just typing the letter (as in Explorer)Like the Xbox app, but still need to determine its efficacy and invasiveness, given my disabling of other ancillary 'convenience' servicesI have much more to explore though, so my first stop now is to decent websites that admonish Win 10, so that I can uncover all of the invasive and inconvenient 'convenience' aspects of this OS. Once I determine all of what I hate about Win 10, I will find Win 10 advocate info and try to reconcile the good with the bad and report back. EDIT: After reading more and playing more with the OS, I am not too excited about Win 10 ... Generally, there are too many over-steps of my personal preferences, especially since this is an upgrade that should at the very least retain all of my compatible personal preferences (security related or not).UAC - This was back on after upgrade, even though I had disabled it under Win 7. At lease Defender remained disabled.Forced updates - They will be a problem in the future at some point. I want to choose one way or the other. many updates under Win 7 were a total imposition that either hampered functionality, imposed restrictions, or added bloat. I don't trust MS to be "big brother"MS Account - I was initially signing in with my local account, but after launching and linking my Xbox Live account via the Xbox app, I was suddenly required to sign in with my MS account. Just setting up this app integrates my account into the OS (and the reverse, I assume ... not nice without advanced notification and details about this integration).MS Edge - lackluster and featureless. What's more, it cannot access the internet. FireFox works fine, and I have connectivity ... Edge just does not work for whatever reason. Maybe a driver issue, but only with respect to Edge. Nothing to Google on this topic that I found.Bloatware - Lots of useless/feature-poor junk installed (e.g., MS Mail). Lots of inherent software clearly not appropriate for a desktop env with no obvious way to remove this software.Privacy - This OS invites MS into your personal life. Major infringement of your personal information for the bad side of the dark web (as well as MS and its affiliates).Default software - Even the upgraded OS did not retain my default programs. I have to affirm each app that I prefer over the junk that MS offers at first launch.Settings/Control Panel/Computer Management - total mess. hodgepodge of needless nonsense mixed with hard-to-access basics. Very little customizability options.Perhaps some of these issues are related to the upgrade method. I will next try a clean install and really determine the strengths and weaknesses of this OS now that I have my proper Activation Key. Incidentally, for those wanting a clean install, here is a method: Allow the key updates if hidden according to this post then restart and click the taskbar icon to upgrade Windows ... alternatively download the upgrade for "another PC" (bootable media or ISO options available that work for both upgrade or clean install). Install the upgrade. Determine your new product key Whipe your drive and install again with a clean OS using the new product key.

I may test drive Win 10 for kicks (after imaging my win7 setup, of course) ... what I gather is that I have to upgrade to get it for free. Then I can use the tool to create a bootable USB and Belarc Advisor to grab my Win10 product key, then do a fresh install (I refuse OS upgrades). Found a good guide that I plan to shadow.

Agree that power supply needs to be at least 600+ W (I would go 800 Cooler Master for scaleability and assurance of amicable power leads for all future components). DX12 ... how many (relevant) games are written to DX12 standards? It would be nice to have the most relevant display adapter, but this is an easy future upgrade (whose price will constantly decrease). $450-ish seems way too pricey for me. I would go for the Radeon HD 7970, which is quite powerful, with 3 GB VRAM, and easily can accommodate all relevant games right now ... probably less than $200 at this time. Also, consider a full tower case for low noise and lots of room for upgrades ... I use and highly recommend CM HAF series, which accommodates anything and should be pretty future proof. You can also fit a huge fan in there (I use a V8) if you plan to OC.

That kw+color could be added, but I am not sure it wouldn't cause more confusion or would need to be explicitly defined at the beginning of every guide so that people would understand that text with this different format stands for the 'default' ... just seems a bit confusing outside of the context of a guide that uses this mechanic a lot and defines it up front.

We tell them to read the manual (RTM) ... that is why we wrote the ancillary guides, provide links to more information, and provide a forum for discussion (and all of the constant maintenance that goes into keeping all of this relevant). STEP (this site) never intended to allow those completely new to modding to mod their setup without prerequisite knowledge/experience. The expectation is that users RTM and learn the basics of modding before they expect to successfully tackle STEP or any other modding guide. We all started out knowing nothing about modding. Some of us did RTM (when there really wasn't any manual, BTW), and compiled what we learned. Nowadays, you will not find any comprehensive/consistent source of information about modding Skyrim (or any Bethesda games) outside of STEP (except maybe TESCosi, which was originally done by TomLong, but has since been revived by others). We have drastically simplified the process of learning how to mod, so we expect due diligence on the part of the user. It's a "right of passage" as much as a practicality with respect to an efficient use of our (the STEP maintainers') personal time. I wish those that felt modding was too complex had tried it back in 2006! Back then, Wrye Mash/Bash was what you used to install mods (or you simply copied them into skyrim/data) ... and Wrye's mod managers were far more complex to learn/use than MO. Modding is a technical learning experience, a pastime, a challenge, a culture ... it's a community effort here at STEP, and I think we have made modding methods/tools far more transparent than they ever were. You can use our resources to create the type of guides you want ... and on this site if you want.