STEP v2.2.8 Release

[EssArrBee]

Doubleyou has the enthusiasm of someone who doesn't work on mondays. I'm completely exhausted right now after the pounding my liver took over the weekend, meanwhile he's off doing full extended installs and fixing all the issues.

 

 

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[DoubleYou]

ROFL!!! It so happens that school is off this week, so I got some time ;)

 

Got some name changes:

Accingite Vos to Accingite Vos-Shields HQ Retextures

Enhanced Blood to Enhanced Blood Textures

Smaller Ice Spikes to Smaller Ice Spike and Ice Spear

Sounds of Skyrim-Dungeons to Sounds of Skyrim-The Dungeons

Ars Metallica-Smithing to Ars Metallica-Smithing Enhancement

Wet & Cold - Ashes to Wet & Cold-Ashes

[TechAngel85]

Yep, much like I am when I'm in the game!...and not working.

 

What did your liver ever do to you? Be nice!

 

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[z929669]

Ok, I think there are a few things we could fix:

 

As SRB has pointed out, it would make sense to move Skyrim Flora Overhaul and Bellyaches Creature pact to F - Conflicting graphics. This will entirely resolve the slight unalphabetical order now present in 2.G. Landscape & Environment and 2.H. Characters & Creatures. This fits with the F - Conflicting graphics definition of "Graphics mods that cannot be listed within their respective categories because they must be overwritten to achieve the desired result." SFO would go after SRO and Bellyaches after HQ Food & Ingredients.

OK, this is the prioritization for mod ordering:

• Assignment to correct section (based on form/function of mod) unless conflict precludes (if so, mod is placed within F - Conflicting Graphics)
• Alphabetical list within each section unless conflict precludes (place conflict group after alphabetical list or after preceding conflict group already existing within the section [this has not happened yet])

It sounds like the above proposal breaks the first priority in order to satisfy the second, so I think that we should keep as much as possible out of section F unless the conflict group reaches into other sections.

In STEP:Extended as it currently stands, you will get Mod Organizer's infamous Potential Mod Order problem, but that is not the only reason I want to propose the following change. Also, if you install STEP:Extended as it currently stands, and you install the optionals for Even Better Quest Objectives that we recommend in D - Fixes, you will CTD if you activate some of the patches before you finish the install for those mods all the way down in M - Gameplay. I would also say that I consider Even Better Quest Objectives to be more of a Gameplay mod than a vanilla fix, as the descriptions are more for people who want a more immersive experience by locating the places potentially without map markers. Therefore, to solve both these potential issues and to make more sense, I propose that we make the following moves:

 

Even Better Quest Objectives after When Vampires Attack

The Choice Is Yours after Even Better Quest Objectives

Thieves Guild Requirements after The Choice Is Yours

I agree. EBQO should be moved into section M, and prioritization #2 above apples (... make it so, number one :P )

Don't worry about the script conflict overwriting change between The Choice is Yours and Thieves Guild Requirements, as they are both by kryptopyr and he says on the mod page that they contain the same scripts (and I checked the filesizes and they are identical). Indeed, even if they weren't identical, this is the very thing that Mod Organizer's Potential Mod Order problem was built to indicate.

Not worried, glad to know this (probably better note it in fine print on the mod page somewhere)

ROFL!!! It so happens that school is off this week, so I got some time ;)

 

Got some name changes:

Accingite Vos to Accingite Vos-Shields HQ Retextures

Enhanced Blood to Enhanced Blood Textures

Smaller Ice Spikes to Smaller Ice Spike and Ice Spear

Sounds of Skyrim-Dungeons to Sounds of Skyrim-The Dungeons

Ars Metallica-Smithing to Ars Metallica-Smithing Enhancement

Wet & Cold - Ashes to Wet & Cold-Ashes

The goal here is to match the beginning of the Nexus name exactly to a point that the mod name is as descriptive as possible and unique. This effectively minimizes overly-long mod names --which mucks with the look of mod tables and URL-- whilst retaining the 'recognition factor' that is important to users. Given that:

 

"Accingite Vos-Shields" is best

 

"Smaller Ice Spike and Spear" is best

 

"Wet and Cold-Ashes" is best

 

the rest should be left alone, as they are already optimal.

 

One thing I have been wanting to do though is to move mods with the ampersand to the spelled out version ('&' becomes 'and'). This improves consistency and also prevents the %26 code in the URLs when copying.

 

If you want to do this stuff, it would be much appreciated, but I can take care of it too if you say the word.

[DoubleYou]

Mods to rename:

 

Trade & Barter to Trade and Barter

No Menu & Loading Smoke to No Menu and Loading Smoke

Realistic Smoke & Embers to Realistic Smoke and Embers

AMidianBorn Caves & Mines to AMidianBorn Caves and Mines

Birds & Flocks to Birds and Flocks /done to this point

Accingite Vos to Accingite Vos-Shields

Closer Quivers & Longer Arrows to Closer Quivers and Longer Arrows

Greatsword Sheaths & Scabbards to Greatsword Sheaths and Scabbards

Burn Freeze & Shock Effects to Burn Freeze and Shock Effects

Smaller Ice Spikes to Smaller Ice Spike and Spear

HD Ore & Ingots to HD Ore and Ingots

Radiant & Unique Potions & Poisons to Radiant and Unique Potions and Poisons

Smooth Blade Draw & Sheathe to Smooth Blade Draw and Sheathe

Wet & Cold to Wet and Cold

Wet & Cold - Ashes to Wet and Cold-Ashes

 

/snip

and prioritization #2 above apples (... make it so, number one

/snip

I totally haven't a clue what you mean here?

[Kelmych]

 

/snip

and prioritization #2 above apples (... make it so, number one

/snip

I totally haven't a clue what you mean here?

He is saying that the EBQO can be moved to M: Gameplay and within M it can be in alphabetic order.  The "make it so, number one" is what Captain Picard in Star Trek TNG said when he agreed with a suggestion by Riker (the first officer) to do something.

[z929669]

 

/snip

and prioritization #2 above apples (... make it so, number one

/snip

I totally haven't a clue what you mean here?

He is saying that the EBQO can be moved to M: Gameplay and within M it can be in alphabetic order.  The "make it so, number one" is what Captain Picard in Star Trek TNG said when he agreed with a suggestion by Riker (the first officer) to do something.

You don't miss a beat. Glad to find another TNG fan out there. One of my favs.

 

'apples' does sound confusing ... i meant 'applies' :P

 

@DY

That is some nice use of our color palette ;) I agree with all of your proposed renames

[DoubleYou]

We already have Non-Essential Children after When Vampires Attack, solving this in Core, but if we place this in alphabetical order, we still will have confused people opening posts about it (Indeed, we already have: https://forum.step-project.com/showthread.php?tid=4865). I think it is better to avoid the confusion, cut out the big red warning from our install order, which I think is in line with #2.

Alphabetical list within each section unless conflict precludes (place conflict group after alphabetical list or after preceding conflict group already existing within the section [this has not happened yet{Actually, this already exists in M as Non-Essential Children after When Vampires Attack}])

As for the use of the color spectrum, I got bored.

[Phyrre56]

I updated from 2.2.7 to 2.2.8 (both Core) last night. Took a few hours, but most of that was updating a handful of very large mods (e.g. SMIM) that had newer versions. 

 

I have to say that I really like the performance boost from changes like ENBoost. I don't track these things scientifically but I feel like I picked up 5-10 FPS in crowded environments. Not that it was ever bad but it's that much smoother now. 

 

A few minor questions/comments...

 

1. I've never understood why Main Font Replacement is considered a core mod. This is one of the few Core mods I always skip because it comes down to personal preference. Seems to me like the definition of an Extended mod. The alternate fonts are stylized but I don't see the point in trying to make an interface "authentic." It's not like HUDs existed in medieval times either. 

 

2. AMidianBorn Solstheim Landscape -- I understand that DLC is not "required" to run this mod, and it does alter assets that are in Vanilla/HRDLC, but does this mod offer any benefit at all to someone not using Dragonborn? If it only alters textures for a Dragonborn area, why not just list DB as required to avoid people installing a useless mod? If it does alter textures outside of Dragonborn then of course it's fine. 

 

3. The new INI tweak of fSunUpdateThreshold=0.01 caused shadows on buildings to flicker rapidly. I had to go back to the old setting of 2.0 because it was so distracting in cities. 

 

Lastly this has nothing to do with 2.2.8 but it's driving me crazy -- I'm missing a texture that probably got ruined by DDSOpt. I can't figure out what it is. It wraps around the edges of ledges in caves. I see the ledge, but the edge is texture-less purple. If anyone has advice on how to fix this other than spending hours reinstalling everything, I'd love to hear it. (It's not that bad that I'm willing to invest hours and hours on it but I don't know how to track down and fix a single texture.) 

[z929669]

We already have Non-Essential Children after When Vampires Attack, solving this in Core, but if we place this in alphabetical order, we still will have confused people opening posts about it (Indeed, we already have: https://forum.step-project.com/showthread.php?tid=4865). I think it is better to avoid the confusion, cut out the big red warning from our install order, which I think is in line with #2.

Alphabetical list within each section unless conflict precludes (place conflict group after alphabetical list or after preceding conflict group already existing within the section [this has not happened yet{Actually, this already exists in M as Non-Essential Children after When Vampires Attack}])

As for the use of the color spectrum, I got bored.

Perhaps I could have worded it better "place conflict group after the alphabetical list" is more properly stated as "place first out-of-order mod in the conflict group after the alphabetical list"

 

Take a look at the table, and it should be clearer (I made the change). This way, only one mod (rather than all in the conflict group) need be mis-ordered. This also treats all mods in the mod list equally (be they Core or Extended)

[DoubleYou]

Okay, I think I know what you mean now. Will change accordingly.

[z929669]

I updated from 2.2.7 to 2.2.8 (both Core) last night. Took a few hours, but most of that was updating a handful of very large mods (e.g. SMIM) that had newer versions. 

 

I have to say that I really like the performance boost from changes like ENBoost. I don't track these things scientifically but I feel like I picked up 5-10 FPS in crowded environments. Not that it was ever bad but it's that much smoother now. 

 

A few minor questions/comments...

 

1. I've never understood why Main Font Replacement is considered a core mod. This is one of the few Core mods I always skip because it comes down to personal preference. Seems to me like the definition of an Extended mod. The alternate fonts are stylized but I don't see the point in trying to make an interface "authentic." It's not like HUDs existed in medieval times either. 

This is a 'correction' to a "consensus-perceived" bad design that does not fit with any of the TES games. It is Core for this reason, just as any graphic enhancement is 'Core'. At the end of the day, most of what we change is subjective. This is just another example.

2. AMidianBorn Solstheim Landscape -- I understand that DLC is not "required" to run this mod, and it does alter assets that are in Vanilla/HRDLC, but does this mod offer any benefit at all to someone not using Dragonborn? If it only alters textures for a Dragonborn area, why not just list DB as required to avoid people installing a useless mod? If it does alter textures outside of Dragonborn then of course it's fine. 

STEP (like many mods now) supports only full DLC. We don't think that anyone using STEP should be running with out all DLC (many Nexus modders would also agree). If you do, then you will need to resolve certain indiosyncracies or deal with some redundancy. This mod simply does not require DB (but anybody would suspect that it applies only to DB by the title of the mod).

3. The new INI tweak of fSunUpdateThreshold=0.01 caused shadows on buildings to flicker rapidly. I had to go back to the old setting of 2.0 because it was so distracting in cities. 

This comes down to personal preference. Personally, I find it much more distracting to watch a shadow juxtapose by a big ***** every couple of seconds. A mildly jittery transition is superior, IMO (even more so under ENB).

Lastly this has nothing to do with 2.2.8 but it's driving me crazy -- I'm missing a texture that probably got ruined by DDSOpt. I can't figure out what it is. It wraps around the edges of ledges in caves. I see the ledge, but the edge is texture-less purple. If anyone has advice on how to fix this other than spending hours reinstalling everything, I'd love to hear it. (It's not that bad that I'm willing to invest hours and hours on it but I don't know how to track down and fix a single texture.) 

stand next to the texture in game, and open the consol. click on the model with the missing texture. This should give you a formID. Aiyen or kryptopyr can say more about looking it up in the CS, but hopefully you get the idea (and I am correct about clicking on the model to bring up the formID!).

[Phyrre56]

If S.T.E.P. requires all DLC, then why do you have the required DLC field at all? Why do you have instructions for how to install for different DLCs? I'm fine with you saying they're all required but that's not reflected in the current design of the guide. I think putting the DB emblem next to that mod is more consistent with the rest of the guide, that's why I was giving the feedback. 

 

Also the shadow problem was not "mildly jittery." Whole sides of buildings were essentially flickering. It might be something with my other configurations but I just wanted to point out that this problem arose from changing that one line of skyrim.ini and that maybe you should be aware in case it comes up in the future. I don't think it's personal preference to not want my buildings rapidly blinking between shaded and unshaded. 

 

I'll post the texture question in the support area to get more feedback. I've found the "use the console and point at the missing texture" advice before but no one's ever provided the additional instructions about what to actually do. 

[EssArrBee]

This is first version we have officially stop supporting skyrim without dlc. The guide is built off a template that we aren't going to change ATM.

 

 

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[z929669]

If S.T.E.P. requires all DLC' date=' then why do you have the required DLC field at all? Why do you have instructions for how to install for different DLCs? I'm fine with you saying they're all required but that's not reflected in the current design of the guide. I think putting the DB emblem next to that mod is more consistent with the rest of the guide, that's why I was giving the feedback. [/quote']

The guide is correct and the 'required' tag is implemented correctly as it currently stands, and changing that would be inconsistent with the rest of the guide.

Also the shadow problem was not "mildly jittery." Whole sides of buildings were essentially flickering. It might be something with my other configurations but I just wanted to point out that this problem arose from changing that one line of skyrim.ini and that maybe you should be aware in case it comes up in the future. I don't think it's personal preference to not want my buildings rapidly blinking between shaded and unshaded. 

Duly noted. I have not experienced this effect (and for those that do not, this is personal preference). Shadows are always a problem, so we'll watch for more complaints about this setting and consider revising if it applies broadly.

I'll post the texture question in the support area to get more feedback. I've found the "use the console and point at the missing texture" advice before but no one's ever provided the additional instructions about what to actually do. 

I suggest acquiring the formID as others have indicated ... then go into the CS and search for it. One must delve into the unknown just a little bit on their own, no? If for no more reason than to pose more specific questions?