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v2.2.6 Development


z929669

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My finals are next week' date=' and after that I'll basically be free for the summer.  I agree that perhaps 2 weeks was a bit ambitious given our number of active contributors and 3-4 weeks (plus hotfixes and whatnot) would be a better idea.  It'll take me a bit to get my game up to date and get back into the swing of things, but I'll be back soon :P[/quote']

 

QUEST STARTED: Final exams

 

 

[--->>---]

 

The final battle is at hand! I should probably hit the books and study hard if I'm to vanquish the vile Exam beast.

 

=======>] OBJECTIVES [

 

* (Optional) Study harder

* (Optional) Do practice tests

* Study

* Ponder on life

* Fight the evil Exam

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I updated the Nexus to reflect our revised release schedule to allow more time for infrastructure dev and RL priorities:

 

STEP has relaxed to (roughly) a monthly release schedule. The versioning is as follows:

{Major.Minor.Build{.revision}} - resolves to: #.#.#x

  • Specifically, Build version updates will occur every fourth weekend (usually on Sunday evening, United States time).
  • Build updates are optional for current STEP users, but should require very little effort.
  • Build updates are 'safe' to apply to existing characters and save games.
  • Minor version updates will occur irregularly as deemed appropriate, according to the more pronounced effect of cumulative Build changes (at least once every 10 months). Minor updates may or may not require starting a new game.
  • Major version updates will occur only as a result of a major paradigm shift either in Skyrim source code, mod development, or STEP itself. Major updates will almost definitely require a fresh STEP install and a brand new game.
We strongly recommend using Wrye Bash or Mod Organizer for mod management. The ability to easily re-order, add, and remove mods will be essential to keeping STEP up to date and getting the best results.
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Recent mods that have been accepted will be added into this update correct? They would be Duel Wield Parrying, Duel Wield Animations, Oblivion Gates and Trade & Barter. As it stands right now.

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I would still stay away from texture packs to avoid another TPC issue and so we have control over the textures installed. Unless the install for the mod is set up for each mod to be optionally installed, I'd say just use it as a reference for potential mod suggestions.

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TPC however was a different screnario, as it was an instruction to compile predetermined mods by many different authors. What we have here though is a collection of textures by one author, and as I said in the mod suggestion thread we do recommend other packs, Skyrim HD etc. This Ultra Pack could be installed along with those other big packs and then subsequently overwritten by better separate equivalents. That's a lot of testing and comparisons to do though...

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TPC however was a different screnario' date=' as it was an instruction to compile predetermined mods by many different authors. What we have here though is a collection of textures by one author, and as I said in the mod suggestion thread we do recommend other packs, Skyrim HD etc. This Ultra Pack could be installed along with those other big packs and then subsequently overwritten by better separate equivalents. That's a lot of testing and comparisons to do though...[/quote']

As it's been stated over in the MS thread, Skyrim HD, Serious HD, SRO, Book of Silence are overhauls. From Webster: "Pack - a bundle arranged for convenience". All of these previous mentioned overhauls aren't bundling anything. They're standalone texture overhauls (Book of Silence can be debated on this point). Back on topic (chasing rabbits there in debating what defines an overhaul from a pack)... I'm not against packs per se; as long as they cover things not already covered. However, this particular mod has a lot of redundant textures that are already covered elsewhere within STEP and those textuers have already been proven very good. That's why I said it would probably be best to pick the separate mods that aren't covered elsewhere (mainly...I don't like redundancy as it's inefficient). That is, unless you're willing to do the compares yourself in the MS thread (MS thread creators should be prepared to do this or they shouldn't be creating threads IMO because they are the ones suggesting and advocating the mod in the first place). If not, I'd put this one off for testing until someone is willing to cover all those compares. And like you said... "that's a lot of testing and comparisons to do". I darn sure know I don't have time! :psyduck: All my time is used up between work and my water mod comparison (and I've committed to do the compares for the flames optional on the HD Flames if someone else does the quick compare and we find it warrants a more in-depth look).

 

Just my 2 cents. :thumbsup:

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MS thread creators should be prepared to do this or they shouldn't be creating threads IMO because they are the ones suggesting and advocating the mod in the first place.

 

OT'ing a little, but I would strongly disagree. MS section is for anybody and the fact that someone is suggesting a mod should not mean they should be forced to test it, because:

 

1) Some users don't have sufficient knowledge to do proper testing (I certainly didn't have it, when I joined STEP forums and started suggesting mods - I learned a lot because of STEP though :) )

2) Time constraints - just because someone knows for sure they won't have time to do the testing should not be the reason not to recommend a mod, if it's worth it.

 

For example - nature of my work means that I can spend a lot of time on internet, if I'm not busy. That means I spend a lot of time at work browsing Nexus for mods - but I've got very busy RL (multiple time consuming project involvement), and I really don't have the time to commit to do proper mod testing and comparisons. That doesn't mean I should stop recommending mods, no?

 

Bottom line: everyone should have an opportunity to make a mod recommendation, and they should not feel they are expected to do the testing.

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I started out as a hard-liner like tech on this, but have setled more into a position similar to roots now. the way I see it is that mod suggestions can be made by anyone at any time. All we ask is that they:

  • search the MS forum before posting
  • post title as {Nexus mod name} {(by author)} (which is often NOT done :dry: )
  • include a Nexus link to mod in the OP
  • include a description of the mod in the OP
If anything more can be posted in the OP, that is a bonus, but the idea is that other posters and mod testers will eventually flesh this out if the mod gets enough attention. If not ... it will never make it into STEP.

 

This methodology is self-maintaining and allows STEP to be driven by consensus (and/or by the tenacity of a few).

 

RE overhauls:

If the mod in question is packed like XCE, but is composed of disparate items as in Skyrim Redesigned, this would not be ideal, and I would prefer separation either under a single dir structure or as separate downloads. If it addresses a particular theme though, then it makes sense to treat as a single overhaul.

 

I do agree with tech though that there is a difference between an overhaul and a bundle. The former usually focuses on one theme and may or may not be parsed into subs. The latter can address many disparate themes and are always parsed into subs (e.g., Skyrim Redesigned). Some are hybrids of the two, but are more overhauls IMO (e.g., XCE, aMBoS).

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