SKYRIMSE Audio Issues w/ Sound Related Mods

[DragonFire]

Hello,
 
I've tinkered with STEP over the years but this is the first time I have actually run across an issue when following the Baseline. To summarize, when I load into the main menu, the rumbling of the main menu music starts up but after a few seconds it just stops, nothing more. Furthermore, footsteps, combat/magicka audio and most likely other sounds fail to play once I am loaded into a game. I haven't tested all the related sounds that STEP mods modify but I have been able to confirm that when I disable sound mods (AOS UHDAP etc) vanilla audio does play. Prime exampling being the main menu music playing correctly with UHDAP unloaded. I did some trolling around to see if this was something widespread but it looks like it isn't and of what I have found, was post several years ago: https://forum.step-project.com/topic/5729-audio-overhaul-for-skyrim-not-working-with-mo/ https://forum.step-project.com/topic/9079-magic-sounds-fire-and-lightning-not-working/ I don't think I've missed anything when it comes to STEP but if so, I apologize in advance for wasting everyone's time. Here are the specifics of my setup/configs:

 
PC Specs
----------
Ryzen R9 3900X
32GB RAM
Onboard Sound via Realtek
Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti
2x2TB SSDs (Striped using Windows Storage Spaces | D: drive)
Windows 10 x64 Pro 1909
 
Folder Structure
----------
Skyrim SE - D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition
Mod Organizer 2 v2.2.1 - D:\Modding\Skyrim SE\Mod Organizer 2
 
Loot
----------
[spoiler=Loot Order]
0 0 Skyrim.esm
1 1 Update.esm
2 2 Dawnguard.esm
3 3 HearthFires.esm
4 4 Dragonborn.esm
5 5 Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp
254 FE 0 MajesticMountains_Moss.esp
254 FE 1 Landscape and Water Fixes.esp
6 6 Skyrim Project Optimization - Full Version.esm
7 7 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
254 FE 8 BetterContainerControls.esl
254 FE 9 AHZmoreHUDInventory.esl
254 FE a AHZmoreHUD.esl
8 8 MajesticMountains_Landscape.esm
9 9 Lanterns Of Skyrim II.esm
254 FE b RealisticWaterTwo - Resources.esm
10 a FarmhouseChimneys.esp
11 b DynDOLOD.esm
12 c SkyUI_SE.esp
13 d dD - Enhanced Blood Main LITE.esp
14 e Enhanced Vanilla Trees SSE.esp
254 FE c 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 d MajesticMountains.esp
22 16 Cathedral Landscapes.esp
23 17 Better Dynamic Ash.esp
254 FE e Better Dynamic Snow - Snowy Farmhouses.esp
24 18 RelightingSkyrim_SSE.esp
25 19 SmoothShores.esp
26 1a Cutting Room Floor.esp
27 1b DeadlySpellImpacts.esp
254 FE f Frost Meshes Patch.esp
28 1c DustEffectsSSE.esp
29 1d Elemental_Staffs.esp
30 1e dD-No Screen Blood.esp
31 1f Footprints.esp
32 20 GQJ_DG_vampireamuletfix.esp
33 21 SparklesSE.esp
34 22 ORM-Arvak.esp
35 23 IHSS.esp
36 24 Beards.esp
37 25 Brows.esp
38 26 TESIVLucienLachance.esp
39 27 NB-Scars.esp
40 28 VWA_VanillaWarpaintsAbsolution.esp
41 29 CrittersAintSnitches.esp
42 2a Dragon Stalking Fix.esp
43 2b ReasonableMovementSpeed.esp
254 FE 10 Landscape and Water Fixes - Patch - Relighting Skyrim.esp
44 2c Waterbreathing Breathless Emerge SSE.esp
45 2d GIST soul trap.esp
46 2e RUSTIC SOULGEMS - Sorted - GIST.esp
47 2f Book Covers Skyrim.esp
48 30 AI Overhaul.esp
49 31 Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp
50 32 Weapons Armor Clothing & Clutter Fixes.esp
51 33 Realistic Boat Bobbing.esp
52 34 WACCF_Armor and Clothing Extension.esp
53 35 ClavicusArgonianMasque.esp
54 36 SPTConsistentOlderPeopleSE.esp
254 FE 11 Hearthfires Houses Building Fix.esp
254 FE 12 TavernAIFix.esp
55 37 Point The Way.esp
254 FE 13 BetterQuestObjectives.esp
56 38 Oakwood.esp
57 39 Thieves Guild Requirements.esp
58 3a Run For Your Lives.esp
59 3b Oblivion Gates Remade.esp
60 3c EmbersHD.esp
61 3d Bring Out Your Dead.esp
62 3e Better Stealth AI for Followers.esp
63 3f Realistic AI Detection 2 SE - Medium Interior, Medium Exterior.esp
64 40 Simple AUA.esp
65 41 Disease Descriptions.esp
66 42 GoOnAhead.esp
67 43 Improved Traps.esp
68 44 Snotgurg Simple Drop Lit Torches.esp
69 45 Torches Ignite Oil - Shock Edition.esp
254 FE 14 BetterQuestObjectives-CRFPatch.esp
254 FE 15 BetterQuestObjectives-DBForevertoMisc.esp
70 46 Book Covers Skyrim - Lost Library.esp
71 47 Helarchen Creek.esp
254 FE 16 Landscape Fixes For Grass mods - Cutting Room Floor Locations.esp
254 FE 17 Landscape For Grass Mods - Oakwood PATCH.esp
72 48 PilgrimsDelight.esp
73 49 NotSoFast-MainQuest.esp
74 4a The Paarthurnax Dilemma.esp
254 FE 18 BetterQuestObjectives-PaarDilemmaPatch.esp
75 4b TimingIsEverything.esp
76 4c Lock_Overhaul.esp
77 4d iHUD.esp
78 4e Chesko_LoreBasedLoadingScreens.esp
79 4f RaceMenu.esp
80 50 XPMSE.esp
81 51 RaceMenuPlugin.esp
82 52 ViewableFactionRanks.esp
254 FE 19 Oblivion Gates Remade - Mountain Texture with MM Shader.esp
83 53 Cathedral Weathers.esp
84 54 getSnowy.esp
254 FE 1a CathedralWeatherMCM.esp
254 FE 1b StormLightning.esp
85 55 WondersofWeather.esp
86 56 FNIS.esp
254 FE 1c BDS - MM Patch.esp
87 57 imp_helm_legend.esp
254 FE 1d imp_helm_legend_WACCF_Patch.esp
254 FE 1e Cutting Room Floor - Better Dynamic Snow Patch.esp
254 FE 1f Helarchen Creek - Better Dynamic Snow Patch.esp
254 FE 20 WACCF - CRF Consistency Patch.esp
254 FE 21 LoS II - Oakwood patch.esp
254 FE 22 LoS II - Helarchen Creek patch.esp
88 58 NotSoFast-MageGuild.esp
254 FE 23 LoS II - SMIM patch.esp
254 FE 24 RBB - Oakwood Patch.esp
254 FE 25 RBB - USSEP Patch.esp
254 FE 26 Oblivion Gates Remade - Map Markers.esp
89 59 Shiva's Beautiful Presets Vanilla Hair.esp
90 5a Trade & Barter.esp
91 5b Complete Crafting Overhaul_Remastered.esp
92 5c Smithing Perks Overhaul SE.esp
93 5d Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul.esp
254 FE 27 ButterfliesUnchained.esp
254 FE 28 ButterfliesUnchained(ESL) - CACO Patch.esp
254 FE 29 Complete Alchemy & Cooking Overhaul_CCOR_Patch.esp
254 FE 2a CACO_USSEP_Patch.esp
94 5e Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp
95 5f Relationship Dialogue Overhaul.esp
96 60 TheChoiceIsYours.esp
97 61 Convenient Horses.esp
254 FE 2b BetterQuestObjectives-AlternateStartPatch.esp
254 FE 2c Landscape Fixes For Grass mods - Alternate start Locations.esp
254 FE 2d TCIY_CRF_Patch.esp
254 FE 2e Cutting Room Floor - Relationship Dialogue Overhaul Patch.esp
254 FE 2f The Choice is Yours - WACCF Consistency Patch.esp
98 62 Luminosity Lighting Overhaul.esp
99 63 RealisticWaterTwo.esp
100 64 Step Skyrim SE - CR Patch.esp
254 FE 30 Realistic Water Two - Landscape For Grass Mods Patch.esp
101 65 STEP Skyrim SE - L&W Patch.esp
102 66 Modern Brawl Bug Fix.esp
103 67 DynDOLOD.esp
254 FE 31 Occlusion.esp

 
INIs
----------

[spoiler=skyrim.ini][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=60

[Display]
bEnableSnowMask=0
bEnableSnowRimLighting=0
bVolumetricLightingDisableInterior=1
fDDOFFocusCenterweightExt=2
fDecalLifetime=300
fDOFMaxDepthParticipation=10000
fDynamicDOFFarBlur=0.4
fFirstSliceDistance=3500
fGlobalBrightnessBoost=0.0000
fGlobalContrastBoost=0.0000
fGlobalSaturationBoost=0.0000
fLightLODRange=45000
fLightLODStartFade=3500.0
fShadowDirectionalBiasScale=0.15
fSnowGeometrySpecPower=3.00
fSnowNormalSpecPower=2.00
fSnowRimLightIntensity=0.30
fSparklesDensity=0.85
fSparklesSize=6.00
fSunShadowUpdateTime=1
fSunUpdateThreshold=0.5
fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=9999999.0000
sScreenShotBaseName=D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\ScreenShot

[General]
bBackgroundLoadVMData=1
fFlickeringLightDistance=8192
sIntroSequence=
sLanguage=ENGLISH
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=10500
fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7000.0000
fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000
fGrassWindMagnitudeMax=125
fGrassWindMagnitudeMin=5
iGrassCellRadius=2
iMaxGrassTypesPerTexure=3
iMinGrassSize=40

[HAVOK]
fMaxTime=0.01666667
fMaxTimeComplex=0.03333333

[imagespace]
iRadialBlurLevel=2

[interface]
bShowTutorials=0

[LightingShader]
fDecalLODFadeEnd=1.1
fDecalLODFadeStart=1
fEnvmapLODFadeEnd=1.1
fEnvmapLODFadeStart=1

[LOD]
fDistanceMultiplier=1.00

[MapMenu]
fMapWorldMaxPitch=90
fMapWorldMinPitch=0
fMapWorldYawRange=400

[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=1
bReflectLODTrees=1
bReflectSky=0
[Launcher]
bEnableFileSelection=1

 

 

[spoiler=skyrimprefs.ini][AudioMenu]
fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000
fVal0=1.0000
fVal1=0.8500
fVal2=0.8500
fVal3=0.7500
fVal4=0.5000
fVal5=1.0000
fVal6=1.0000
fVal7=0.5000
uID0=94881
uID1=1007612
uID2=554685
uID3=466532
uID4=522251
uID5=410705
uID6=106685
uID7=319182961

[bethesda.net]
uPersistentUuidData0=3083594216
uPersistentUuidData1=1299401294
uPersistentUuidData2=3150035472
uPersistentUuidData3=2209417888

[Clouds]
fCloudLevel0Distance=16384.0000
fCloudLevel1Distance=32768.0000
fCloudLevel2Distance=262144.0000
fCloudNearFadeDistance=9000.0000

[Controls]
bAlwaysRunByDefault=1
bGamePadRumble=1
bInvertYValues=0
bUseKinect=0
fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=0.6667
fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0125

[Decals]
bDecals=1
bSkinnedDecals=1
uMaxDecals=350
uMaxSkinDecals=100

[Display]
bBorderless=1
bDrawLandShadows=1
bEnableImprovedSnow=0
bEnableProjecteUVDiffuseNormals=0
bForceCreateTarget=0
bFull Screen=0
bFXAAEnabled=0
bIBLFEnable=1
bIndEnable=0
bSAO_CS_Enable=0
bSAOEnable=1
bScreenSpaceReflectionEnabled=1
bToggleSparkles=0
bTreesReceiveShadows=1
bUse64bitsHDRRenderTarget=1
bUsePrecipitationOcclusion=1
bUseTAA=1
bVolumetricLightingEnable=1
fDynamicDOFBlurMultiplier=0.8000
ffocusShadowMapDoubleEveryXUnit=450.0000
fGamma=1.0000
fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000
fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000
fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000
fLightLODStartFade=5000.0000
fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000
fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=16896.0000
fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=16896.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=16896.0000
fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=16896.0000
fProjectedUVDiffuseNormalTilingScale=0.2000
fProjectedUVNormalDetailTilingScale=0.8000
fShadowDistance=10000.0000
fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=16896.0000
iMaxDecalsPerFrame=250
iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=100
iNumFocusShadow=4
iNumSplits=2
iReflectionResolutionDivider=2
iSaveGameScreenShotHeight=192
iSaveGameScreenShotHeighWSt=192
iSaveGameScreenShotWidth=256
iSaveGameScreenShotWidthWS=320
iScreenShotIndex=0
iShadowMapResolution=4096
iShadowMaskQuarter=4
iSize H=1440
iSize W=2560
iVolumetricLightingQuality=2
iVSyncPresentInterval=1
uBookRatio=2

[GamePlay]
bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1
bShowQuestMarkers=1
iDifficulty=3

[General]
bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0
fLightingOutputColourClampPostEnv=1.0000
fLightingOutputColourClampPostLit=1.0000
fLightingOutputColourClampPostSpec=1.0000
iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1
uLargeRefLODGridSize=11

[Grass]
fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=7500.0000
fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=0.0000
fGrassStartFadeDistance=7500.0000

[imagespace]
bDoDepthOfField=1
bLensFlare=1

[interface]
bDialogueSubtitles=1
bGeneralSubtitles=1
bShowCompass=1
fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000

[Launcher]
sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti"

[LOD]
fLODFadeOutMultActors=15.0000
fLODFadeOutMultItems=10.0000
fLODFadeOutMultObjects=30.0000
fLODFadeOutMultSkyCell=1.0000

[MAIN]
bCrosshairEnabled=1
bGamepadEnable=1
bSaveOnPause=0
bSaveOnRest=1
bSaveOnTravel=1
bSaveOnWait=1
fHUDOpacity=1.0000
fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=600000.0000

[NavMesh]
fCoverSideHighAlpha=0.8000
fCoverSideLowAlpha=0.6500
fEdgeDistFromVert=10.0000
fEdgeFullAlpha=1.0000
fEdgeHighAlpha=0.7500
fEdgeLowAlpha=0.5000
fEdgeThickness=10.0000
fLedgeBoxHalfHeight=25.0000
fObstacleAlpha=0.5000
fPointSize=2.5000
fTriangleFullAlpha=0.7000
fTriangleHighAlpha=0.3500
fTriangleLowAlpha=0.2000

[Particles]
iMaxDesired=6000

[saveGame]
fAutosaveEveryXMins=15.0000

[TerrainManager]
bShowLODInEditor=1
fBlockLevel0Distance=50000.0000
fBlockLevel1Distance=72500.0000
fBlockMaximumDistance=94000.0000
fSplitDistanceMult=4.0000
fTreeLoadDistance=72500.0000

[Trees]
bRenderSkinnedTrees=1
uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=200

[Water]
bUseWaterDepth=1
bUseWaterDisplacements=1
bUseWaterReflections=1
bUseWaterRefractions=1

 

 

Thanks for any insight given, it's appreciated!

[DragonFire]

Well, it turns out that not all my sounds were working, even with a fresh wipe and load of Skyrim SE. Turns out that Vanilla audio issues have been a thing for years and I guess up until recently I have avoid this issue. From reading: https://steamcommunity.com/app/489830/discussions/0/1621726179581938992/ https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/6575951-skyrim-no-sound-effects-fix/ and several others, not only does this game dislike external hard drives but it must also dislike virtual drives like my 4TB Windows 10 Storage Space consisting of 2x2TB 2.5" SSDs acting like a RAID0. So, like was suggested in the posts I found, I did a symbolic link setup with both Skyrim - Voices_en0.bsa and Skyrim - Sounds.bsa and low and behold, sound works. Wow Bethesda, just wow but it's not like anyone is too surprised since it takes the modding community to fix their released products anyways 

 

TL;DR: If you use Windows 10 Storage Spaces to make a virtual drive and you store Skyrim SE on it, you'll need to move Skyrim - Voices_en0.bsa and Skyrim - Sounds.bsa to your C:\ drive and symbolic link it back to the directory Skyrim SE is installed. Directions are in both links mentioned in the body of my post.

 

I hope this is useful to anyone else out there and sorry to post it here in STEP Support. If a mod feels this should be moved to a more appropriate location, no hurt feelings here. Thanks for your time!