Better Beast Races Hidden on Nexus

[mentaltyranny]

Better Beast Races by Xenius has, accordingly to my research, disappeared since at least May 5th.  Considering that this is STEP Core, I am in trouble. I hope it isn't required for STEP Patches.  I managed to find v2.00 on fileplanet of all places, its 99.5 MB.  However the STEP wiki page says to use the "lite" version, and I don't think that is it.  Does anybody know where else to find this file or can anyone send it to me?  Any help is appreciated!

 

Also, I have a feeling that this is not the only STEP Core or Extended mod by Xenius.  If anybody knows where to get the others, again, I would be greatfull!

 

Finally, if I mis-posted in the wrong subforum, thanks in advance for moving my topic! 

[Nebulous112]

The only thing this mod was providing was argonians. Here are two alternatives:

 

Better Argonian 4K

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/58745/?

 

JazzJR Argonian retexture

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/7712/?

I would suggest FAR - Forgotten Argonian Roots. https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/42043/?

[TechAngel85]

It's just textures so you're fine skipping it. We'll look for a replacement for the next release.

[mentaltyranny]

Wow... that's so disappointing. I absolutely love his work. Looking further down, it looks like XCE - Xenius Character Enhancement is available but XCE-Dawnguard is hidden. No idea why there is inconsistency. Why would someone do this? I have a tiny FO3 mod on nexus, and I think it would take more time than it is worth to take it down. Ugh, it is his work so it is his decision, I was just hoping that this was a mistake. Is there really no way else to get this? Do anybody know the file sizes for Better Beast Races (Lite) and XCE-Dawnguard? I am pretty resourceful with the right information...

[TechAngel85]

Probably not. Xenius hasn't done any modding in years. He's probably tired of people bugging him, but I don't understand why he'd take them down either.

[mentaltyranny]

I actually found a couple sites with his mods. However, I am not sure which is the "Lite" version. If any one with STEP installed can get me the file size for the Lite version, I will host a Dropbox link for it until you guys figure out a replacement.

[TechAngel85]

We don't allow mods to be hosted by other users and links provided unless the author has given express permission.

[mentaltyranny]

Okay, I understand. I am not trying to be difficult, and fact I am trying to help. I have been following and endorsing you guys since you were .pdf guide, and I want you to succeed. I loved the community work on FO3 & FONV as well.

 

If you look at XCE - Xenius Character Enhancement, the one mod still available on Nexus, it says the following in the readme:

 

>> Distribution Permission

 

The content of this mod is open source and can be used freely on the following conditions:

 

- You will credit me

- You will notify me

 

- You will only use it for Skyrim

 

For XCE - Dawnguard I found, it says the same.

 

For version Better Beast Races I found it says: 

 

>> Distribution Permission

 

- You may use the content for your own mods, permission from me is required.

- You may not redistribute this mod in any way or claim it as your own.

 

So I guess that one is out of the question, but again this appears to be an un-Lite, possibly older, version. So I think we are OK posting XCE - Dawnguard & XCE - Xenius Character Enhancement, as back up - if we can come up with a way to notify him. Unfortunately, his premium user account on Nexus doesn't accept messages. Is he a member here? 

 

Can someone please tell me some more about the Lite version? Maybe what files were removed? Again, file size and even file name help; as you can see above I am pretty savvy with Google...

 

Please let me know if I can at least post XCE - Dawnguard.

 

 

[TechAngel85]

The lite version was simply lower resolution. 2K, I think. File size unpacked is 129MBs.

 

If he's taken the mod down from Nexus, you should assume he no longer wants to distribute the mod and, thus, has revoked permissions.

[TechAngel85]

The only thing this mod was providing was argonians. Here are two alternatives:

 

Better Argonian 4K

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/58745/?

 

JazzJR Argonian retexture

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/7712/?

[mentaltyranny]

Ok. I am trying not to be a jerk, hope I have not breached protocol here. BTW: I noticed some inconsistency in Texture Resolutions for baseline STEP. Some recommended mods are 1k, other 2k, and I believe Realistic Water Two was 512 resolution. What is the working theory here?

[TechAngel85]

Your fine. :)

 

Baseline is 1K for exteriors and 2K for interiors. Mostly we like to match the vanilla asset resolution so performance is not altered too much.

[mentaltyranny]

Hey I know it probably won't happen, but I wanted to add that I found both Better_Beast_Races-2_00-Lite-944-2-0L.7z and XCED-1_00-21839-1-0.7z off a torrent with all the STEP mods as of a few versions back, if anyone ever gets Xenius's permission to host them elsewhere. Don't worry, I won't share or host them myself!

[Shadriss]

Torrents are no goes... we did that once for a specific mod for a bit, and among other reasons, the fact it was a torrent was one of the reasons that mod was eventually dropped. Thanks for the efforts though... I use FAR myself, and between that and Cover Khajits, BBM just isn't needed anymore.

[Tobi]

Welp, XCE and its dawnguard addon have also been removed. Guess he took down or hid all of his mods. Any suggestions as a replacement for that?

[Shadriss]

Well, at this point, XCE only really gives us stuffs for the womens, since Better Males overwrites it all. I know that there was a big discussion about a year ago in here about developing an 'in-house' female replacer, but I'm not sure what happened with that. So at the moment, BBR is replaced by Cover Khajits and (if you choose) FAR, the males by Better Males, and the women are left dry, assuming that the replacer I mentioned didn't pan out.