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I don't like Langleys versions in the most recent compares above. Cast iron is way too bumpy and brownish. I think the spelter desperately needs a retex, but I think that Langley should have stayed more to the mesh improvement following the vanilla style ... same with the texture. Vanilla concept is better (IMO), but the mesh/textures are pretty bad. I like the STEP pots and ladle (Tobes).

I posted a compare gallery in the OP. I really like this mod with SFO except for the snowy pines (see compare #12)

I agree with you and Kelmych ... Distant Terrain & Tree LOD unfortunately combines the noise texture with the tree LODs, and the latter are nice but for a single glaring issue (IMO). The compares in the OP use only the DTTL noise texture and not the tree LODs. I'll be posting another compare over on the DTTL thread to illustrate.

Updated the compare screens in the OP, since I had neglected to use SFO in the background (which really changes the tree LODs and affects the overall context a lot). I also added Distant Terrain & Tree LOD to the mix and omitted the HD LODs SFO textures, since they were completely redundant. Same 7 scenes compared. Please review the gallery link in the OP. Focus on the first (vanilla) and last three compares in each of the 7 scene sets (EDT2 with a couple of noise-map variations) I can't decide if I like the within-set 7 or 8 compare best. Both contain EDT2, which has problems with snow terrain, but is otherwise a great improvement, IMO. Note:Â In terms of noise map only (within-set compares 1-5), I like EDT-Earth best, but DTTS is a very close second. The first 6 compares (0-5) pertain to the EDT thread, but are included in this same gallery.

Updated the compare screens in the OP, since I had neglected to use SFO in the background (which really changes the tree LODs and affects the overall context a lot). I also added Distant Terrain & Tree LOD to the mix and omitted the HD LODs SFO textures, since they were completely redundant. Same 7 scenes compared. Please review the gallery link in the OP, focusing on compares 0-5. In terms of noise map only (within-set compares 1-5), I like EDT-Earth best, but DTTS is a very close second. Note: I can't decide if I like the within-set 7 or 8 compare best. Both contain EDT2, which has problems with snow terrain, but is otherwise a great improvement, IMO. The last three compares (6-8) pertain to the EDT2 thread, but are included in this same gallery.

I know how to use NifSkope to locate a texture associated with a mesh (assume same can be done in CK). The problem is that I don't even know what the mesh is, and there are tons of possibilities. :P

If the guide settings are capable to cause any weird results, I don't have any chance to know that. I'm not experiment with things which don't know how work and can mess up. I'm sure that do the steps properly as they explained.OK, I have confirmed that the ice LODs in the background are messed up and that it is likely a DDSopt issue. I also have the purple textures for those. Trying to find it now, but it is a pita. The strangely-colored snowy pine LODs look to be caused by Detailed Terrain & Tree LOD, which is not currently a STEP mod (please confirm that you have this installed). I will contact the author and ask him to fix the color issue with that specific LOD.

I do like the STEP versions of these as well ... no strong feelings other than that Langley's is a bit too far from vanilla in most cases.

The last shot (compare #7) is Enhanced Distant Terrain with the LODs from HQ LODs (hi meshes, SRO-512 textures). I think that the 6th compare is best (EDT-Earth+EDT2), particularly with respect to the first set over Whiterun. Notice how much better the LOD matches the foreground terrain color with grass. It is difficult to see where grass ends and LOD begins. Very nice blending I think. This would mean that you do not prefer EDT2 then? EDIT: Just noticed that I had neglected to install SFO Basic before creating these compares ... I will need to redo them ALL. I will also be adding in Detailed Terrain & Tree LOD, which conflicts with EDT noise and SFO. Stay tuned.

The gallery link in the OP now provides a much more comprehensive gallery of compares across landscapes. Note that this mod (EDT2) appears as the 6th image in each set. I think that this mod makes the terrain blend better with the near-distant terrain (evidenced by the first set (06) and the 6th set (56)). The only issue is those snow LODs that Sparrow has already conceded. I have included a list of installed background mods in the gallery. I think that these are necessary to fairly judge all distance mods for Core. EDIT: I see not that I had Tobes active. This is not necessary. I just forgot to uninstall it. Also meant to have Realistic Tundra Moss installed, but forgot that too :P

The gallery link in the OP now provides a much more comprehensive gallery of compares across landscapes. I still prefer EDT-Earth in all shots. I have included a list of installed background mods in the gallery. I think that these are necessary to fairly judge all distance mods for Core. EDIT: I see not that I had Tobes active. This is not necessary. I just forgot to uninstall it. Also meant to have Realistic Tundra Moss installed, but forgot that too :P

Langley's bloody rag is definitely the best. I also prefer Langley's display case but for the embellishments on the corners. Otherwise, prefer vanilla.

Nice compares ;) I will sound like a broken record, but I just like vanilla best for Core. Langley's is very good though (aside from some bump map work needed on the embossed ?dragons?) ... just not for Core. I am tentatively thinking that we need to strip furniture and some clutter from Tobes for Core.

Correct. Evolutionarily, all trout are likely relics of salmon populations in ages past ... they just never returned to the ocean after hatching. Agree that if you remove the spots, the trout would be better salmon. I actually dislike the Food & Ingredients salmon retex and prefer Tobes (or vanilla). In fact, I prefer Tobes in most cases over F&I (I'll go dig up the compares for these two and post back).

I did the compares using vanilla with some of the proposed Core mods for context (No Stretching, SMIM, SRO, AOF Mountains, Terrain Bump, TreesHD). I have been doing a lot of compares recently and keeping notes in the dev changelog. They are limited and not based on standard protocol, but I do think that they illustrate the differences pretty well (there is only so much distant terrain that can be captured in a landscape screen). Definitely put up some better compares ... I was only stoking the flames a bit. Recent Core compare galleries (these are based on pure vanilla with Sec D 'fixes' only): https://forum.step-project.com/showthread.php?tid=3223&pid=48277#pid48277 https://forum.step-project.com/showthread.php?tid=3223&pid=48284#pid48284 EDIT: I wnet in and tried to get some screens without the added mods proposed for Core, and the snow textures had a lot of undesireable tiling ... this goes to show that we will need to get screens for some compares in the proper context. Therefore, I think that LOD, terrain and landscape-based mods should be tested against the background of our best estimate of STEP:Core, which can be referenced by looking at the current guide, current changelog and dev changelog. I am getting more screens now for this one. EDIT2: SRO fixes the snow tiling. EDIT3: This mod also completely overwrites "A Quality World Map", so we'll want to account for that in the load order if we pick this one up (unless we simply instruct users to remove those textures from this mod) @Sparrow Thanks for responding to this ;) We'll keep an eye on this one.

Just keep your eye out and jump in wherever you want (same goes for everybody)

I'd have to agree and yet disagree. I agree with the pond fish. They are fine in vanilla, albeit, a bit low res. However, I disagree in saying they are fine for Extended as the replacers do not have to stick to what vanilla pond fish look like. Hence how Pond Fish mod ever made it into STEP in the first place. As for salmon, it appears to me that the authors are simply using different species for their inspiration. Vanilla and this mod look like Steelhead and STEP's current mod (Food & Ingredients, i think) looks like Pink Salmon, but all still salmon. I still think this mod is closer to vanilla than what STEP is currently using as seen in the OP and wouldn't be a bad replacement for the current mod, Pond Fish.All MTs should be using Imgur to host there shots. This is the best service for STEP's purposes. If another service is used, please do not use the gallery/image function here on the forums. Instead, provide a link to the gallery hosted on your service. Please feel free to use the gallery on these forums only if posting JPG format. Other formats are just too large and cause tremendous thread lag. Use whatever service you want, but make sure that the images are labeled and that compares can be done using fast switching with the arrow keys. I have been using DropBox, and it seems to work well for our purposes. Thanks The salmon retex from this mod are rainbow trout ... NOT salmon. I like the pond fish for Extended, but not the *salmon*.

AOF is Core now, but I am saying that it should not be. I don't think that these compares are what we ought to be using for judgement. I don't trust the char renderer and would much rather see in-game render in vanilla lighting. Close-ups and arms length would be best (using two different standard vanilla hair styles, one blond and another brunette). Based on the OP screens, vanilla is far superior, IMO. Greasy, unwashed (with soap anyway), uncombed (or finger combed) ... Skyrim.

Looking at these, I think that it is an improvement in most cases; however, this change does not work for some terrain (e.g., snow) ... see compares in the OP.

See OP for new compare images for v1.65. I think that we should go with EDT-Earth for this one. It is noticeable yet more subtle than the other options. The grain is neither too coarse or too fine.

This is actually a different version than EDT. Marking for testing.

I currently use Mod Organizer and Wrye Bash to merge esps. It could be some corruption with this file after the optimization because i tried twice and got the same as result. You could check yourself if this appears or not to be sure that isn't a particular case. I am referring more to your weird textures and LODs. However, Kelmych said that he corrected an error in the BAT, so that likely resolves the missing texture issue.The error in the batch file didn't affect the texture files in Vanilla Optimized. The error was in not deleting a file in HRDLC2 that was also in STD; I expect DDSopt ignored the 2nd one since it was already present in the output. The texture error is still an issue. I suppose taht your DDSopt settings could cause some strange distant textures if you have the Behave options way off. The guide suggests the best options though. But this is ultimately handled by the BAT though, and the BAT should be able to account for this to prevent the undesired outcome ... ? Just have the BAT delete the STD optimized version (or the STD source version) before DDSopt is run. Has anyone isolated the texture yet?