Grass Not Loading Properly

[Tovien]

Hi all! I just downloaded and ran the S.T.E.P. core guide. I like it so far, it seems like a great foundation for modding! I had one problem I wanted some feedback on. I haven't done any deep research on it yet, just noticed it yesterday night and started looking into it today.

 

It seems like the grass is loading in, but that it's loading as if the "landscapes" part of the Skyrim Landscape and Water Fixes mod wasn't active. It was active during my load order, and it still is active now. Both "Landscape and Water Fixes - Patch Relighting Skyrim.esp" and "Landscape and Water Fixes.esp" are under "Available ESPs", and no files are being overwritten by it. The only major deviations from the S.T.E.P. guide I've done so far is to install NEMESIS instead of FNIS, and I'm using the nemesis PCEA along with Combat Gameplay Overhaul and 360 movement (neither of which should mess up the grass, right?).

Context:

https://wiki.step-project.com/User:Tovien/SystemSpecs

name of your mod manager: MO2

LOOT load order:

 

  0  0     Skyrim.esm

  1  1     Update.esm
  2  2     Dawnguard.esm
  3  3     HearthFires.esm
  4  4     Dragonborn.esm
  5  5     ccbgssse016-umbra.esm
  6  6     Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp
254 FE   0 MajesticMountains_Moss.esp
254 FE   1 Landscape and Water Fixes.esp
  7  7     Skyrim Project Optimization - Full Version.esm
  8  8     FISS.esp
254 FE   2 UHDAP - en0.esp
254 FE   3 UHDAP - en1.esp
254 FE   4 UHDAP - en2.esp
254 FE   5 UHDAP - en3.esp
254 FE   6 UHDAP - en4.esp
254 FE   7 UHDAP - MusicHQ.esp
  9  9     MajesticMountains_Landscape.esm
254 FE   8 AHZmoreHUD.esl
254 FE   9 AHZmoreHUDInventory.esl
 10  a     Lanterns Of Skyrim II.esm
254 FE   a RealisticWaterTwo - Resources.esm
 11  b     FarmhouseChimneys.esp
           DynDOLOD.esm
 12  c     SkyUI_SE.esp
 13  d     dD - Enhanced Blood Main LITE.esp
 14  e     Enhanced Vanilla Trees SSE.esp
254 FE   b Butterflies.esp
 15  f     UnlimitedBookshelves.esp
 16 10     Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods.esp
 17 11     SkyrimImprovedPuddles-DG-HF-DB.esp
 18 12     SMIM-SE-Merged-All.esp
 19 13     Audio Overhaul Skyrim.esp
 20 14     Gildergreen Regrown.esp
 21 15     Better Dynamic Snow.esp
254 FE   c MajesticMountains.esp
 22 16     Cathedral Landscapes.esp
 23 17     Better Dynamic Ash.esp
254 FE   d Better Dynamic Snow - Snowy Farmhouses.esp
 24 18     RelightingSkyrim_SSE.esp
 25 19     SmoothShores.esp
 26 1a     Cutting Room Floor.esp
 27 1b     Book Covers Skyrim.esp
 28 1c     dD-No Screen Blood.esp
 29 1d     DeadlySpellImpacts.esp
 30 1e     DustEffectsSSE.esp
 31 1f     Elemental_Staffs.esp
 32 20     Footprints.esp
254 FE   e Frost Meshes Patch.esp
 33 21     GQJ_DG_vampireamuletfix.esp
 34 22     ORM-Arvak.esp
 35 23     SparklesSE.esp
 36 24     IHSS.esp
 37 25     CrittersAintSnitches.esp
 38 26     Dragon Stalking Fix.esp
254 FE   f Landscape and Water Fixes - Patch - Relighting Skyrim.esp
 39 27     ReasonableMovementSpeed.esp
 40 28     Waterbreathing Breathless Emerge SSE.esp
 41 29     GIST soul trap.esp
 42 2a     RUSTIC SOULGEMS - Sorted - GIST.esp
 43 2b     AI Overhaul.esp
 44 2c     Realistic Boat Bobbing.esp
 45 2d     Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp
 46 2e     Weapons Armor Clothing & Clutter Fixes.esp
 47 2f     ClavicusArgonianMasque.esp
 48 30     imp_helm_legend.esp
 49 31     WACCF_Armor and Clothing Extension.esp
254 FE  10 Hearthfires Houses Building Fix.esp
 50 32     Point The Way.esp
254 FE  11 BetterQuestObjectives.esp
 51 33     Oakwood.esp
 52 34     Thieves Guild Requirements.esp
 53 35     Run For Your Lives.esp
 54 36     Oblivion Gates Remade.esp
 55 37     EmbersHD.esp
 56 38     Bring Out Your Dead.esp
 57 39     Book Covers Skyrim - Lost Library.esp
 58 3a     Better Stealth AI for Followers.esp
 59 3b     Realistic AI Detection 2 SE - Medium Interior, Medium Exterior.esp
 60 3c     Simple AUA.esp
254 FE  12 TavernAIFix.esp
 61 3d     Disease Descriptions.esp
 62 3e     GoOnAhead.esp
 63 3f     Improved Traps.esp
 64 40     Snotgurg Simple Drop Lit Torches.esp
 65 41     Torches Ignite Oil - Shock Edition.esp
254 FE  13 BetterQuestObjectives - BCS Patch.esp
254 FE  14 BetterQuestObjectives-CRFPatch.esp
254 FE  15 BetterQuestObjectives-DBForevertoMisc.esp
 66 42     Helarchen Creek.esp
 67 43     PilgrimsDelight.esp
 68 44     NotSoFast-MainQuest.esp
 69 45     The Paarthurnax Dilemma.esp
254 FE  16 BetterQuestObjectives-PaarDilemmaPatch.esp
 70 46     TimingIsEverything.esp
 71 47     Lock_Overhaul.esp
 72 48     Beards.esp
 73 49     Brows.esp
 74 4a     NB-Scars.esp
 75 4b     SPTConsistentOlderPeopleSE.esp
 76 4c     TESIVLucienLachance.esp
 77 4d     VWA_VanillaWarpaintsAbsolution.esp
 78 4e     Chesko_LoreBasedLoadingScreens.esp
 79 4f     iHUD.esp
 80 50     RaceMenu.esp
 81 51     XPMSE.esp
 82 52     RaceMenuPlugin.esp
 83 53     ViewableFactionRanks.esp
254 FE  17 LoS II - Oakwood patch.esp
 84 54     Landscape For Grass Mods -Immersive Citizens PATCH.esp
254 FE  18 Oblivion Gates Remade - Mountain Texture with MM Shader.esp
 85 55     Cathedral Weathers.esp
 86 56     getSnowy.esp
254 FE  19 CathedralWeatherMCM.esp
254 FE  1a LoS II - Helarchen Creek patch.esp
 87 57     NotSoFast-MageGuild.esp
254 FE  1b LoS II - SMIM patch.esp
254 FE  1c Oblivion Gates Remade - Map Markers.esp
254 FE  1d StormLightning.esp
 88 58     WondersofWeather.esp
254 FE  1e BDS - MM Patch.esp
254 FE  1f imp_helm_legend_WACCF_Patch.esp
254 FE  20 Cutting Room Floor - Better Dynamic Snow Patch.esp
254 FE  21 Helarchen Creek - Better Dynamic Snow Patch.esp
254 FE  22 WACCF - CRF Consistency Patch.esp
 89 59     Nemesis PCEA.esp
 90 5a     DSer360MovementBehavior.esp
 91 5b     DSerCombatGameplayOverhaul.esp
           FNIS.esp
 92 5c     Trade & Barter.esp
 93 5d     Complete Crafting Overhaul_Remastered.esp
 94 5e     Smithing Perks Overhaul SE.esp
 95 5f     Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul.esp
254 FE  23 ButterfliesUnchained.esp
254 FE  24 ButterfliesUnchained(ESL) - CACO Patch.esp
254 FE  25 Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul_CCOR_Patch.esp
254 FE  26 CACO_USSEP_Patch.esp
 96 60     Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp
 97 61     Relationship Dialogue Overhaul.esp
 98 62     TheChoiceIsYours.esp
 99 63     Convenient Horses.esp
254 FE  27 BetterQuestObjectives-AlternateStartPatch.esp
254 FE  28 TCIY_CRF_Patch.esp
254 FE  29 Cutting Room Floor - Relationship Dialogue Overhaul Patch.esp
254 FE  2a The Choice is Yours - WACCF Consistency Patch.esp
100 64     Luminosity Lighting Overhaul.esp
101 65     RealisticWaterTwo.esp
102 66     Step Skyrim SE - CR Patch.esp
254 FE  2b Realistic Water Two - Landscape For Grass Mods Patch.esp
103 67     STEP Skyrim SE - L&W Patch.esp
104 68     Modern Brawl Bug Fix.esp
           DynDOLOD.esp
254 FE  2c Occlusion.esp

 

enb ini: NA, not using an ENB

Was using vanilla BETHini .ini settings when the error occurred (not the recommended ones, just "medium")

Screenshots: Lemme get some real quick
Description: I loaded in to the AS-LAL prison, broke out, and ran around the watch and up to Ivarstead. It was on the way to Ivarstead that I noticed grass all over the path and leaves covering the road in the town (those people really need to learn to rake! haha)

Thanks ahead of time for the responses and for the awesome guide, it's increased my modding knowledge tenfold!

[Tovien]

So I guess it won't let me post screenshots? but no matter! Here's Imgur to save the day: https://imgur.com/a/vzoY0J0

Edited June 28, 2020 by Tovien

[Tovien]

Ah! So I did some more digging, I got Skyrim Landscape and Water Fixes confused with Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods - the landscape fixes for grass mods mod is the one that I meant to refer to!

I found that I've had the Immersive Citizens patch turned on this whole time (installation, LOD generation, etc.), which I meant only to turn on once I had installed Immersive Citizens.

I'm going to disable that immersive citizens patch for Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods, re-sort my load order, and see if that fixes it, after which I will rerun my LOD generation if needed (big oof, because, I kid you not, that took over two hours on my HDD )

[Tovien]

Yea I turned that patch off and tried on a new save, got the same problem with the grass. Haven't re-run DynDoLoad - is grass part of the LOD in Skyrim? Could that Immersive Citizens patch have caused weird grass all the way in Ivarstead?

Edited June 29, 2020 by Tovien

[DoubleYou]

Post your Skyrim.ini.

[Tovien]

skyrim.ini as found in MO2:

[Actor]
bUseNavMeshForMovement=0

[Animation]
fMaxFrameCounterDifferenceToConsiderVisible=0.06666667

[Archive]
bLoadArchiveInMemory=1
sArchiveToLoadInMemoryList=Skyrim - Animations.bsa
sResourceArchiveList=Skyrim - Misc.bsa, Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Skyrim - Interface.bsa, Skyrim - Animations.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes0.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes1.bsa, Skyrim - Sounds.bsa
sResourceArchiveList2=Skyrim - Voices_en0.bsa, Skyrim - Textures0.bsa, Skyrim - Textures1.bsa, Skyrim - Textures2.bsa, Skyrim - Textures3.bsa, Skyrim - Textures4.bsa, Skyrim - Textures5.bsa, Skyrim - Textures6.bsa, Skyrim - Textures7.bsa, Skyrim - Textures8.bsa, Skyrim - Patch.bsa

[Audio]
fMenuModeFadeInTime=1.0
fMenuModeFadeOutTime=3.0
fMusicDuckingSeconds=6.0
fMusicUnDuckingSeconds=8.0

[Camera]
fMouseWheelZoomSpeed=10.00

[Combat]
f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.7
f1PBoltTiltUpAngle=0.7
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=2.5
fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0
fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0

[Controls]
fMouseHeadingSensitivityMax=0.0625
fMouseHeadingXScale=0.0200
fMouseHeadingYScale=0.8500

[Decals]
uMaxSkinDecalPerActor=20

[Display]
bEnableSnowMask=0
bEnableSnowRimLighting=0
bLockFrameRate=0
bVolumetricLightingDisableInterior=1
fDDOFFocusCenterweightExt=2
fDecalLifetime=240
fDefaultWorldFOV=80.00
fDOFMaxDepthParticipation=10000
fDynamicDOFFarBlur=0.4
fFirstSliceDistance=2000
fGlobalBrightnessBoost=0.0000
fGlobalContrastBoost=0.0000
fGlobalSaturationBoost=0.0000
fLightLODRange=9623
fLightLODStartFade=3500.0
fShadowDirectionalBiasScale=0.3
fSnowGeometrySpecPower=3.00
fSnowNormalSpecPower=2.00
fSnowRimLightIntensity=0.30
fSparklesDensity=0.85
fSparklesSize=6.00
fSunShadowUpdateTime=1
fSunUpdateThreshold=0.5
fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=9999999.0000
iLandscapeMultiNormalTilingFactor=1
sScreenShotBaseName=E:\2 Yoda Data I Want\Steam Games\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\ScreenShot

[General]
bBackgroundLoadVMData=1
bModManagerMenuEnabled=0
fEncumberedReminderTimer=300
fFlickeringLightDistance=8192
sIntroSequence=
sLanguage=ENGLISH
SLocalSavePath=__MO_Saves\
sTestFile1=Dawnguard.esm
sTestFile2=HearthFires.esm
sTestFile3=Dragonborn.esm
uExterior Cell Buffer=36
uGridsToLoad=5

[GeneralWarnings]
SGeneralMasterMismatchWarning=One or more plugins could not find the correct versions of the master files they depend on. Errors may occur during load or game play. Check the "Warnings.txt" file for more information.

[Grass]
bAllowCreateGrass=1
bAllowLoadGrass=0
bDrawShaderGrass=1
fGrassFadeRange=3000
fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000
fGrassWindMagnitudeMax=65
fGrassWindMagnitudeMin=5
iGrassCellRadius=2
iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=2
iMinGrassSize=40

[HAVOK]
fMaxTime=0.01666667
fMaxTimeComplex=0.03333333

[imagespace]
iRadialBlurLevel=2

[interface]
bShowTutorials=0

[Launcher]
bEnableFileSelection=1

[LightingShader]
fDecalLODFadeEnd=0.3
fDecalLODFadeStart=0.2
fEnvmapLODFadeEnd=0.4
fEnvmapLODFadeStart=0.3

[LOD]
fDistanceMultiplier=1.00

[MapMenu]
bWorldMapNoSkyDepthBlur=1
fMapWorldMaxPitch=90
fMapWorldMinPitch=0
fMapWorldYawRange=400
fWorldMapDepthBlurScale=0
fWorldMapMaximumDepthBlur=0
fWorldMapNearDepthBlurScale=0

[Menu]
iConsoleSizeScreenPercent=40
iConsoleTextSize=20

[Papyrus]
bEnableLogging=0
bEnableProfiling=0
bEnableTrace=0
bLoadDebugInformation=0
fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS=2000

[saveGame]
iAutoSaveCount=3

[Trees]
bEnableTreeAnimations=1
bEnableTrees=1
fUpdateBudget=1.5

[Water]
bReflectLODLand=1
bReflectLODObjects=0
bReflectLODTrees=1
bReflectSky=1

 

[DoubleYou]

I see that you have Skyrim installed inside a rather long file path. I think I have seen where this could cause strange bugs due to certain paths becoming longer than allowed by Mod Organizer. I am not certain if this is still a possibility with MO2. Your INI is fine, so that isn't the problem.

[Tovien]

I did some research, I'm troubleshooting by using a vanilla game (with only USSEP enabled) adding mods one by one. Ivarstead and surrounding roads looked fine with that vanilla base, so did Whiterun and other roads I ran by. After adding on only Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods to that base, I noticed *slight* oddities, like a bush right in the middle of the road in Ivarstead and some short grass kind of weirdly placed on the road.

However, is Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods causing the bug because of the current load order of S.T.E.P.?

 

On the mod's Nexus page for the Landscape Fixes mod, it says,
 

 

Load These mods after this mod.
Open Cities
Alternate Start
Immersive Citizens
Realistic Water Two

under "Load Order Information." Is it because Alternate Start loads after Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods that I'm seeing clipping? That's what I'm testing now.

[Tovien]

Ok I'm reinstalling Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods, following the S.T.E.P. guide instructions, to see if that fixes it.

[Tovien]

Yea I misspoke, I saw that it's OK that Alternate Start loads after Landscape Fixes two messages up. I just kept getting these messages:
 

• You seem to be using Alternate Start, but you have not enabled a compatibility patch for this mod. A compatibility patch is provided on this plugin's mod page.

• You seem to be using Cutting Room Floor, but you have not enabled a compatibility patch for this mod. A compatibility patch is provided on this plugin's mod page.

under Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods, so that's why I thought reinstalling that mod with the patches would work in the message directly above. I'm still getting those messages in LOOT though, so I don't know what to do exactly. It seems like I installed those patches correctly. The step patches don't touch that mod either.

[Tovien]

Aha! After extensive digging, the Cathedral Landscapes mod seems to be causing it. I'm not sure why though.

[Tovien]

Well I've tested with the latest Blended Roads (1.7, versus the 1.6 that comes with Cathedral Landscape 3.0.1) overwriting Cathedral Landscape 3.0.1, and even tested Cathedral Landscape 3.0.0 by itself (which came with Blended Roads 1.5). I tested these with and without other mods like LAL, SMIM, CRF, and Landscape Fixes for Grass Mods.

None of the above tests worked. I'm giving up on Cathedral Landscapes - until I can get it to stop covering roads and towns with grass, I'll either use Verdant or disable it, enable blended roads, and live with vanilla grass.

P.S. DoubleYou, I tried changing my directory as well, but ran into a weird problem where LOOT didn't recognize the new location of the directory, so I just went back to using the original directory.

[Tovien]

I stumbled upon No Grassias, and using it's ultimate version in conjunction with Landscape Fixes For Grass Mods helped slightly but didn't fix anything.

It definitely helped remove some grass and leaves on the roads, still had a lot of grass though.

[Tovien]

I tried using Verdant on a different load order and noticed the same problems. There's for some reason just grass everywhere, all over the roads and villages. This mod, Verdant no Road water grass and landscape edits, maybe could fix the problem, but it looks like it's for LE only. How is this not a bigger problem for everyone using these mods? There must be something I've done wrong, I just have no idea

[DoubleYou]

Could you open the console in game and enter the following:

getini "bAllowLoadGrass:Grass"

Let me know if it returns a 1 or a 0.