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OK, got it!

OK, now I see what you mean :P Still, there is no simple 2x or 4x SSAA setting. there are lots of variants, including 'combined'. Just want someone to tell me what the best quality/performance tradeoff is. No hurry, just want to add the correct verbatim choice to the guide.

... but why even have darker nights and darker dungeons at all then?? If we can simply carry around lanterns to obviate, there is just no point at all. Like I said, this is just a lazy-man's way of 'fixing' another 'fix' by essentially braking that 'fix'! If we want darker nights and darker dungeons then shouldn't we expect the need to deal with this self-imposed inconvenience in ways that were intended rather than completely negate the imposed realism with this mod, thereby adding convolution and unecessary fat to the game??

Actually, this is not about Transparency AA ... rather I am talking about AA Mode and AA setting (and not AF at all). AA mode is "app-controlled" but AA Setting should be some form of SSAA. Just want to confirm this:

Sometimes caching can impact ....

wow, that was fast ;)

OK, so leaving out transparency sampling methods: What Nvidia Inspector MODE/SETTING/iMultiSample settings yields the best performance/quality result (for AMD, it is MSAA="App Controlled"/SSAA set to "override"/iMultiSample=4)? I want to recommend two settings for best performance/quality tradeoff (one for better performance and one for better quality). Performance is setting App-controlled for all AA, but want to nail down quality and the exact SSAA method to use under SETTING: Antialiasing - Mode = Appllication-controlled Antialiasing - Setting = ? iMultiSample = 4

Sounds like a PHP-related error. Will need to involve s4n, as he can troubleshoot much faster than me and with higher degree of specificity.

OK, thanks for verifying that. I still have some questions for clarity though. Following is my rewrite of the relevant settings that you modified based on your findings. I am trying to make the wording as clear as possible in order to understand it myself (and for others, of course): NVIDIA Inspector AA settings: Antialiasing - Mode Mode should be set to "Application-controlled". Apparently, SkyrimPrefs.ini dictates the level of AA, but the video card drivers can dictate the ''method'' of AA, but this is not so for all video cards (see Antialiasing - Setting in the next note). The default Skyrim-engine-driven AA is Multisampling (MSAA), so "Application-controlled" yields MSAA. If set to "Override", AA will be turned off in Skyrim, regardless of the Skyrim INI setting! Antialiasing - Setting In general, this should also be set to "Application-controlled / Off" (for better performance), or set to use Sparse Grid Supersampling (SSAA) if the video graphics can override the default Skyrim MSAA and subsequently handle it without a debilitating frame drop. SSAA will ultimately yield superior quality and is recommended if it is able to override Skyrim's native MSAA. So, in my own AMD setup, AA MODE has no effect on Skyrim at all. Only AA SETTING affects Skyrim, and only if MODE is set to "Application Controlled". If MODE is set to "Override Application", then AA does not work at all from either source. Is the same true for Nvidia, and if so, what MODE/SETTING/iMultiSample settings yields the best performance/quality result (for AMD, it is MSAA="App Controlled"/SSAA set to "override"/iMultiSample=4)? It sounds like what you are saying is that the same is true for Nvidia cards, but not all of the time (how do you know if you did not test more than one card?); however, it is not clear to me when you are referring to AA MODE AA SETTING and what impacts and what does not. I'd like to make the wording above explicit. TIA

One of my arguments is the idea of 'wearing' a lantern. It is just not practical. Light would be completely occluded in one direction, casting a huge shadow of the wearer. Not to mention that a lantern swinging from your hip would be easily broken or detached or snuffed out during combat, regardless of the fuel. Held lanterns are fine, but they can be dropped and are much trickier to maintain than a simple torch. Magic is really the most 'practically explainable' method of lighting that is convenient and useful.

If MO is already installed and mods are already installed within MO, you can move all mods from your old MO/Mods directory to the new one.If you are talking about the MO downloads directory, the same can be done by moving from old downloads dir to new.Basically, MO needs a place to store the packages downloaded from the Nexus or it needs to know where to find the ones that you already downloaded (these are the 'source' packages). From these, MO 'installs' the packages into the virtual directory 'source', which is basically just the extraction of all necessary files from within each package from the MO downloads directory into the MO mods directory. Both can be moved wherever, but you need to point to those new locations within the MO settings. BOSS is absolutely essential for telling MO (i.e., Skyrim) how to order the plugin load hierarchy. MO only defines install order ... it does not define plugin load order, which is different. All programs should be launched from within MO, so you will need to configure those paths as well so that they may be launched (see the MO guide and post in the MO support forums for help).

Many thanks SRB, All of that would be a great help. Also, please read over the new Guide and any comments you find from me and vet them as you can if you are willing/able. I have some theories on AA, and I am not sure if they hold true for Nvidia. Generally also need to vet the new guide and behavior of links and ease of following the new guide format.

Thanks!

SR is not appropriate for new users, as there is way too much unnecessary information for those wishing to improve Skyrim without making it a huge, 1-6-month project (unless that is what the new user wants to do, which is definitely not the case most of the time). All users need is BOSS and MO and Skyrim and Steam ... and STEP. The 2.2.8 guide will be our simplest follow & play yet. We'll also be pointing users to Packs for the first time ;)

That would be great (PMing mod authors that we truly need to notify based on their mod-use instructions). Also, if you want to prepare the patch for the 2.2.8 STEP:Cor and Extended mod list, given the changes we are aware of for 2.2.8 (including the recent changes to 2.2.7), that would also be great. I mostly need Nvidia people to verify the Nvidia-setup blurb on the 2.2.8 Guide and the Nvidia Inspector Guide itself. The AMD guide needs a bit of an update (which I am handling), and the Nvidia Inspector guide needs to be validated by an 'expert' user and stripped down to the bare STEP/Skyrim-relevant essentials, keeping in mind that the application developer has created a definitive guide already (see links in STEP:2.2.8). We also need an Nvidia Control Center pictorial setup guide like we have for AMD. A key change to 2.2.8 is streamlining the guide to simplify a rock-solid and performance-friendly setup, and these graphics-related guides are not suitable for linking to at the moment, so that guide section is way too long at the moment.

This mod will need to be tested as compatible with the rest of STEP and that there are no surprises before it can be used with STEP. Although this is a good and well-done mod, I for one don't agree with it's concept. It is simply a contrived way of dealing with darker dungeons without having to be responsible for preparing for delves into darkness --which is really only necessary with a change to vanilla lighting, which is not part of STEP ... therefore, this is Pack material (but I personally will never use it) ... I cannot imagine wearing a lantern strapped to my belt. It would be awfully clunky and restrictive. There are plenty of lighting alternatives already built into the game. I vote we drop completely.

No "from scratch" install required, but the guide will be changing significantly, so recommend that users use Mod Organizer and follow the new guide using a brand new profile. Not mandatory though. 2.2.8 ETA is likely 1-2 weeks away, as I am working on the new guide now and verifying everything on my own system. I am not getting any help from the rest of the crew right now, so it will take longer if I am running solo the whole time. @SCarverOrne Thanks for the updates. Will fix the guide.

I love your Morrowind work to be sure ... and I have a healthy appreciation for mushrooms (Psilocybe azurescens)

Thanks, all fixed.

ahh, aspens are 'runners' then ... I did not know that. More fun facts: Other runners include: many plants (e.g., strawberry), some fungi (the largest organism in the world is a fungi), many species of Cnidaria ... and the alien lifeform from the first segment of Creepshow :P All that said, I agree that we need more saplings in Skyrim, preferably in clearings and areas where there could be intermittent disturbance.

Yep

ahh well. Whatever you can do is appreciated ... even if nothing but adding even more options ;) ... no complaints from me :D

Totally understand ... how about a list of suggested picks then? Or maybe just include as "Main Files" your comprehensive, all-in-one packages (your 'final', prepackaged, recommended, comprehensive single-install picks like Basic and Regular with your preferred options at the time) with all other viable and complementary options under "Optional Files" ... and old versions obviously under that heading (as well as outdated optional 3rd-party stuff like the LODs I created). "Updated Files" could be your own experimental, beta material that is not yet final. This would simplify user choice drastically. We all just want to know what you are (or would be) picking for yourself if you were playing

Firs usually tend to point up a bit at the ends of the branches, and spruce tend to not (but all upper branches tend to reach up to some degree, regardless of species). Norway spruce for example is like the weeping willow of conifers, and the Douglas-fir is more perky (even though it is not a true fir). Spruce cones also hang whereas fir cones point upwards (as with almost everything in biology, there may be some exceptions). Anxious to see the new stuff. I am liking 187 Basic quite a bit, and I am pretty far behind on this mod now ... just tested a run through of STEP with 187 though, and liking it a lot. @Vurt ... still waiting for you to pick through your mods and identify the best of the best for nice neat packaging or an installer with all viable options ... there is sooo much to choose from and so many variations that have good stuff with not so good. You are the best judge of what looks best in vanilla Skyrim background from a strictly aesthetic POV. ;) Maybe create an article on your Nexus mod asking for user input and screens?

We'd like some user input into the effects of the following [Display] INI settings that affect shadows (all eslse being equal!): Default SkyrimPrefs.ini settings (vanilla presets): iBlurDeferredShadowMask = 3 ;higher values 'blur' shadows and decrease resolution, but also decreases edge pixellation ... ideally, this should remainl rather low, but who knows for sure? fShadowLODStartFade = 200.0000 bShadowMaskZPrepass = 0 bDrawShadows = 1 bDeferredShadows = 1 fShadowBiasScale = 0.1500 iShadowMapResolution = 1024 iShadowFilter = 3 iShadowMode = 3 Problem: Skyrim shadows are bad, even on the default 'Ultra' settings. Outdoor sjadows have pixellated edjecs, so they appear as shadows of "Lego versions" of the actual ojects. There are limited known ways of enhancing shadows, especially outdoors. fShadowDistance also impacts outdoor shadow quality in that smaller values drastically improve shadow resolution, but also decrease the rendered shadow distance ... but edjes are clocky no matter what. Objective: Maximize shadow draw distance, resolution and edge smoothness ALL AT ONCE if possible. Testing conditions: Please establish the default INIs using the STEP-recommended Skyrim Launcher setup and the following INI adjustments. No other custom modifications to the base config please (it does not matter if you have mods installed or not as long as they are not altering the vanilla configuration files): bTreesReceiveShadows = 1 bDrawLandShadows = 1 fShadowDistance = 8000.0000 ;this is the 'ultra' value, 'high' is 4000.0000 Please only mess with the default INI settings indicated above and nothing else in the game or otherwise (monitor res, gamma, brightness, contrast, etc). The goal is to try and define settings that actually have a positive impact towards obtaining the Objective and to identify shadow settings that simply don't need to be messed with (have no impact or have a high performance impact). Thanks for helping out! Below is a recommendation based on testing for Skyrim shadows: Vanilla shadow users: SkyrimPrefs.ini [Display] bDeferredShadows=1 bShadowMaskZPrepass=0 fInteriorShadowDistance=4000.0000 fShadowBiasScale=1 fShadowDistance=4000.0000 ;May increase fShadowDistance to higher values iBlurDeferredShadowMask=4 iShadowFilter=3 iShadowMapResolution=2048 ;set iShadowMapResolution to 1024 (medium), 2048 (high), or 4096 (ultra) depending on the preset the Launcher assigned to you ENB shadow users: SkyrimPrefs.ini [Display] bDeferredShadows=1 bShadowMaskZPrepass=0 fInteriorShadowDistance=4000 fShadowBiasScale=0.4 ;Somewhere between 0.4 and 1.0 is best for fShadowBiasScale fShadowDistance=4000 ;May increase fShadowDistance to higher values iBlurDeferredShadowMask=1 ;Setting iBlurDeferredShadowMask to 0 will cause buggy ENB shadows. This may be increased at user discretion. iShadowFilter=3 iShadowMapResolution=2048 ;set iShadowMapResolution to 1024 (medium), 2048 (high), or 4096 (ultra) depending on the preset the Launcher assigned to you