How can I remove CC Master requirements from Step Patch for 2.2.0 Guide?

[CCnoNed]

Hello,

I followed the Step Guide 2.2.0 down until the Performance Tuning section, however I can't open the game due to the Step Patches requiring missing masters pointing to CC content (doesn't even make it to the Menu). I prefer to play on skyrim 1.6.353 and don't want to pay the $20 for the newest version with all of the additional CC content. However, i enjoy the mod selections from the 2.2.0 version of the guide and so downloaded the old version of every mod in the list that works with 1.6.353 if it was necessary to.  Without being able to download the CC Mods to pull up in xEdit and remove the reference from the Step Patch - Resolution Conflict.esp, how can i edit the Step Patch so that it doesn't rely on CC content?

If i untick the Step Patches in my load order, then the game can load up to the Menu and allow me to start a new game, however i'll be missing the crucial patches from Step.

 

The solution I've tried is to download some empty ESL and ESP files and rename them to the required masters file. This at least allows me to select and load the Step Patch - Conflict Resolution.esp for editing (otherwise it's grayed and crossed out and i cannot select it to load and edit in xEdit).  However, i don't know what to do from there. Right clicking > Clean Masters on the Step Patch - Conflict Resolution.esp seems to take 00 seconds and still has the error if i remove the fake/empty required master files.

 

I appreciate any advice and help anyone can offer, especially since i deviated from the guide some.

[z929669]

8 minutes ago, CCnoNed said:

Hello,

I followed the Step Guide 2.2.0 down until the Performance Tuning section, however I can't open the game due to the Step Patches requiring missing masters pointing to CC content (doesn't even make it to the Menu). I prefer to play on skyrim 1.6.353 and don't want to pay the $20 for the newest version with all of the additional CC content. However, i enjoy the mod selections from the 2.2.0 version of the guide and so downloaded the old version of every mod in the list that works with 1.6.353 if it was necessary to.  Without being able to download the CC Mods to pull up in xEdit and remove the reference from the Step Patch - Resolution Conflict.esp, how can i edit the Step Patch so that it doesn't rely on CC content?

If i untick the Step Patches in my load order, then the game can load up to the Menu and allow me to start a new game, however i'll be missing the crucial patches from Step.

 

The solution I've tried is to download some empty ESL and ESP files and rename them to the required masters file. This at least allows me to select and load the Step Patch - Conflict Resolution.esp for editing (otherwise it's grayed and crossed out and i cannot select it to load and edit in xEdit).  However, i don't know what to do from there. Right clicking > Clean Masters on the Step Patch - Conflict Resolution.esp seems to take 00 seconds and still has the error if i remove the fake/empty required master files.

 

I appreciate any advice and help anyone can offer, especially since i deviated from the guide some.

The very top of the guide explains the requirements. You will need to purchase the AU update as instructed there. It's only $7 now I think.

See this for a technique to remove masters if you for some reason can't get the AU update. But we don't support running without it.

[CCnoNed]

I just checked to make sure, and it's still $20 on steam (for me at least).  I knew the requirements of the guide, but was hoping i could edit the necessary patches in the end to remove any Masters that i didn't need and keep those that i did need, though I'm not experienced in this realm.

 

Thank you for the link to the guide! I'll follow it and see if I can get it to work. Otherwise i'll consider waiting until another AU sale or perhaps rolling back to guide 2.1.0 completely.

 

Edited February 20, 2023 by CCnoNed

[CCnoNed]

To be clear, does that technique still require me having to download and have a copy of the CC content i want to remove the Master requirement for? For Example, i download AOS and rename the .esp to the name of say ccbgssse002-exoticarrows.esl.

Then would i be able to remove all of the references with Step Patch CR > save and that should remove the dependency to ccbgssse002-exoticarrows.esl (without messing up the patch for AOS)

Thanks for the answers!

[z929669]

24 minutes ago, CCnoNed said:

To be clear, does that technique still require me having to download and have a copy of the CC content i want to remove the Master requirement for? For Example, i download AOS and rename the .esp to the name of say ccbgssse002-exoticarrows.esl.

Then would i be able to remove all of the references with Step Patch CR > save and that should remove the dependency to ccbgssse002-exoticarrows.esl (without messing up the patch for AOS)

Thanks for the answers!

Yes, you would need the actual masters now that I think about it. The masters required are listed at the bottom of the changelog. You may be able to create dummy empty plugins and find the invalid references that way, but getting the AU update is the only way to do it with certainty.

[CCnoNed]

Understood, I'm currently fumbling around with the dummy empty plugin method to see if i can find any success. I'm not sure if the Step CR patch will actually show the references  if the dummy esp is empty (nothing to point to), but worth a shot.

Thanks for your response!

[z929669]

7 minutes ago, CCnoNed said:

Understood, I'm currently fumbling around with the dummy empty plugin method to see if i can find any success. I'm not sure if the Step CR patch will actually show the references  if the dummy esp is empty (nothing to point to), but worth a shot.

Thanks for your response!

I think it's kind of a waste of time though. Many mods in the 2.x.x lineup relate to CC content as well.

Look for editor IDs beginning with 'cc' in all the mods in our mod list. Those are the records you don't need, and there could be others. And some of those relate to the four free CC DLC.

This is why we don't support it. Too many references and patch variants to manage. You also need to modify other of the Step Patches, not just the CR patch.

[CCnoNed]

I see, i only have the 4 free CC mods and currently can't upgrade to AU.  I am being too stubborn and should accept the upgrade when i can. Then I can continue the guide since I've gotten this far already.

For now I'll kill the time by attempting this dummy esp method with a single master to see if i can remove it successfully. Thanks for the wisdom!

[nataliakitten]

Thank you.

Will it cause too much conflict if I create a dummy .esp for Vokrii?

[Greg]

5 hours ago, nataliakitten said:

Thank you.

Will it cause too much conflict if I create a dummy .esp for Vokrii?

Removing a master from patch should only be done if you know what you are doing and you know your way around xEdit. It is highly recommended that you have the original plugin (Vokrii) installed during this operation. Removing a patch using a dummy plugin to replace e.g. Vokrii can be difficult. In both cases you'll need to know whether to remove the record from the patch or to correct the record in the patch using data from another plugin.

[CCnoNed]

On 2/19/2023 at 7:54 PM, z929669 said:

I think it's kind of a waste of time though. Many mods in the 2.x.x lineup relate to CC content as well.

Look for editor IDs beginning with 'cc' in all the mods in our mod list. Those are the records you don't need, and there could be others. And some of those relate to the four free CC DLC.

This is why we don't support it. Too many references and patch variants to manage. You also need to modify other of the Step Patches, not just the CR patch.

 

I'm still unable purchase the full AE update as of yet, but i've manged to clear out almost all of the Step patch CC master references :). The only ones I can't seem to find get are the Step - Patch CR (ccbgssse002-exoticarrows.esl) and Step Patch - CR -CACO (ccbgssse003-zombies.esl & ccbgssse067-deadinv.esm). They're likely being referenced by multiple mods and I can't tell which reference belongs to which master file.

Fortunately for me, leaving those esl/esm dummies works for booting into the menu at least! So I'll continue the guide from here (performance tuning), being mindful of the potential issues in the future (I know this is going way off guide and not supported).

Besides, Bethesda already took enough of my monies and I'd much rather spend it at communities such as these :D.

[ButchDiavolo]

8 hours ago, CCnoNed said:

The only ones I can't seem to find get are the Step - Patch CR (ccbgssse002-exoticarrows.esl) and Step Patch - CR -CACO (ccbgssse003-zombies.esl & ccbgssse067-deadinv.esm). They're likely being referenced by multiple mods and I can't tell which reference belongs to which master file.

I had trouble finding these final references as well. Using Z's adjusted xEdit script I was finally able to find them. If I remember correctly these references are (sneakily) hidden in FormID and Level lists.

[CCnoNed]

On 2/22/2023 at 10:14 AM, ButchDiavolo said:

I had trouble finding these final references as well. Using Z's adjusted xEdit script I was finally able to find them. If I remember correctly these references are (sneakily) hidden in FormID and Level lists.

I think his edited script requires the actual mod to be installed :/.  I ran it with the dummy empty plugins i created matching the Master names and it doesn't seem to locate anything (probably because i'm pointing it to an empty masters file lol).

Alas, the inevitable error occured with the Step Patch - CR - CACO.esp master requirements. I cannot generate TexGen with just a dummy plugin of ccbgssse067-deadinv.esm since it is looking to generate (textures\creationclub\bgssse067\clutter\oblivion\oblivionstone01.dds) and i assume other associated terrain included with the mod. So if I'm to continue this way i have to start guessing at which of these might finally do the trick.

 

^{Unless a kind soul out there can tell me what those master references are in the Step Patch - CR - CACO.esp > ccbgssse067-deadinv.esm plugins}

Edited February 24, 2023 by CCnoNed

[ButchDiavolo]

1 hour ago, CCnoNed said:

^{Unless a kind soul out there can tell me what those master references are in the Step Patch - CR - CACO.esp > ccbgssse067-deadinv.esm plugins}

Remove: Leveled Item > CACO_IngrDamageHealth1st

[CCnoNed]

6 hours ago, ButchDiavolo said:

Remove: Leveled Item > CACO_IngrDamageHealth1st

You, you and the people on this forum bring niceness to the world. It worked, thank you!

Up until now, i was disabling my dummy plugins to generate the LODs lol, this is much better.