A Few Questions about Installing STEP

[spizone]

Hi All

Just want to clarify a few pointers while im installing STEP...

 

1) Mods with extra mods that go with it, as stated on most of your instructions, will be merged or not, but not all of them state this.

Will i merge all mods that have other mods associated, or do i load it with a different name ? - Mods that are not instructed to do so.

2) And finally on the Nexus STEP Page, those links, are they patches that i apply after installing STEP, or how do i go by installing them. I understand the STEP Optimized VANTEX part, but not the main file link - STEP CompIns HR 2292i.

 

Thx

SpiZ

[Nebulous112]

Hi spizone, welcome to STEP.

 

1) I usually merge optional files. There are a few exceptions, like the STEP Optimized Vanilla Textures and the STEP Compilation, which are separate mods and should not be merged.

 

See here: https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Mod_Organizer#Installing

 

2) Install the Optimized Vanilla Textures during part 2.D of the guide.

 

Install the STEP Compilation during part 2.N. of the guide.

[spizone]

Thanks for clarifying. One last question the official High Res DLC - three of them. MO says they are dummy plugings and i can safely de-activate them in the right hand pane. Then make sure there is a tick next to them in the ARCHIVE pane, but when i do this MO indicates a problem. If i re-activate them in the right hand pane, then MO is fine again.

At work now but can attached screens when im at home tonight.........

spiZ

[shaunlewis]

Spizone,

 

It sounds like you might be confusing the Archive pane in MO with the left-hand Mod pane. The pane you are looking for is also on the right-hand side, under the tab labelled "Archive". If I am mistaken, and you are using this, make sure you remember to tick "Have MO Manage Archives" at the top of that pane on the right, with the correct tab selected. You want them ticked on the left, and on the right under "Archives", and unticked on the right under "Plugins". 

[spizone]

Hi all.

Well finished installing this weekend past, and firstly must say game looks so much better an more alive, thx STEP team and all modders involved.......

All went well till i goto Whiterun, firstly The main Quest Dragon Rising i think the name is, would not trigger, have started Skyrim many times before, of course different mod setup, but never had this problem before.....

No matter what i did, would not work, even loaded a save game few hours back, but to no avail.....

 

I think my problem is with setting up STEP, so will start over again, my question is all those mods i downloaded, are those archives still on my PC, or do i need to re-download again?

 

spiZ

Edited February 29, 2016 by spizone

[Nebulous112]

They are all still there. If you downloaded with manager, you can find them in the downloads tab of MO's right pane. In Windows File Explorer, you can find them in the downloads folder wherever you installed Mod Organizer.

[Greg]

The Not So Fast Main Quest mod delays the start of Dragon Rising. When you initially speak to the Jarl of Whiterun, you'll get the quest to retrieve the dragonstone. When you return with the dragonstone, you'll need to wait eight days for Dragon Rising to trigger.

[spizone]

The Not So Fast Main Quest mod delays the start of Dragon Rising. When you initially speak to the Jarl of Whiterun, you'll get the quest to retrieve the dragonstone. When you return with the dragonstone, you'll need to wait eight days for Dragon Rising to trigger.

Ok in that case, will play a bit more...Did not know the mod does that, i should of read carefully mod description......Thx 4 the tip......

Only play on weekends - will see how it go's and give update next week.

[Core]

Hi spizone, welcome to STEP.

 

1) I usually merge optional files. There are a few exceptions, like the STEP Optimized Vanilla Textures and the STEP Compilation, which are separate mods and should not be merged.

 

See here: https://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Mod_Organizer#Installing

 

2) Install the Optimized Vanilla Textures during part 2.D of the guide.

 

Install the STEP Compilation during part 2.N. of the guide.

Can this be added to the guide? I spent quite a while trying to find this information.

[Nebulous112]

Hi Core,

 

To what part are you referring when you say it should be added to the guide? Answer 1 or 2? Or both?

 

All the info is in the guide...that is what I linked to. However, if there is a better way to phrase it for people not familiar with STEP or modding, please let us know.

[Core]

Never mind, I'm blind. I thought the mod compilation was a replacement to the guide, then I tried to search the guide for step mod compilation but it was step compilation.

[skanderbeg53]

I'm going through the STEP guide, and am down to the last section (finally - it's taken many many hours to go through this, thanks to quirky internet). I'm pseudo-benchmarking after every section by starting a new game and noticing the fps as well as the general performance. Kudos to the people who put this together - my game has never run faster. I still have micro stutter, despite all efforts to smooth it out - but it's not terrible. I'm looking forward to an actual playthrough, though I must say I enjoy killing that bloodthirsty Imperial Captain again and again, like a bad Groundhog Day scene.

 

And now the fun/confusion. The guide says to load all the mods in, in the order they're listed in order to avoid conflicts and load order problems. Which is all well and good, until I get to the part about running LOOT, which invariably suggests a different load order. Should I go with the LOOT order, which is generated, or the STEP order, which I assume was arrived at via painstaking testing?

 

In one particular case, with Smooth Blade Draw and Sheathe, there's a LOOT Meta Rule Instruction that says AOS.esp needs to load *after* ADS.esp. If that's the case, why did AOS get installed and loaded before ADS in the first place, and why would you create a LOOP Meta Rule to fix what seems to me could be avoided altogether by simply having loaded ADS before AOS in the first place. 

 

Where does an ENB fit into all this?

 

Finally, I want to add mods like Caliente's Better Body, hair and skin mods, eyes, and custom armors. If I the STEP order is what is best, and I run LOOT, then my whole mod order is going to be messed up. Help! I know it's a lot of questions, but I've tried to answer most of them myself; just got stuck on these basic issues.

 

And thanks again!

Edited March 15, 2016 by skanderbeg53

[Kelmych]

The installation order affects which resources like textures overwrite other resources. Load order is completely different. This is the order for the plugins (esp and esm files). LOOT is used for plugin load order.

 

What you are calling STEP order is installation order. Yes, installing new plugins can change the plugin load order when LOOT is run. STEP includes instructions for any special LOOT rules needed.

[skanderbeg53]

Thanks, Dragon King.

[Kelmych]

Dragon King it a title that depends on how many posts you have had; Kelmych is the name I'm using. Hope you enjoy Skyrim.