Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch [USLEEP]

[alt3rn1ty]

Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch [uSLEEP]

 

As many of you may remember, last year around this time we conducted a poll on whether or not it was the right time to consider unifying the unofficial patches into a single package. At the time, about 25% of those who responded to the poll were still in a position where they did not have all 3 DLCs for the game. So we decided against merging everything at that time.

 

Fast forward to today, it's become quite clear that that 25% is far less than it was, and more and more people have been asking when we're going to be doing this. This post is your answer. 

 

Shortly after the release of USKP 2.1.3, we will begin the process of unification to merge the vanilla USKP plus all of the DLC patches into one all encompassing mod, which will be known as "Unofficial Skyrim Legendary Edition Patch", or USLEEP for short. A mouthful, but a catchy acronym.

 

We have decided that the best course of action will be to rename the esp to match the mod's updated name. It will remain an ESP file flagged as an ESM as that makes the process of working on it less of a hassle for us and as has been proven, the game, CK, and existing mod management tools are completely fine with it. We have also verified that switching the ESP name will not cause any scripts modified by the project, or added new to the project, to throw Papyrus errors. The only side effect will be that the retroactive update scripts will all run again. That shouldn't cause any problems though and we'll make sure any scripts manipulating formlists are safeguarded against generating duplicate references in them.

 

The hi-res DLC patch will remain a separate entity as many people do not use it for one reason or another and it's not considered part of the "Legendary Edition" of the game either.

 

We estimate the time needed to do the work of merging everything together and then putting it through testing will take a few months. So we are not anticipating another release for the project between now and November while this work is done. Time commitments to other things are the main reason for this, so we figure giving ourselves enough time for that is prudent. Plus this also gives enough warning ahead of time that we're going forward with this.

 

As many existing issues as we could resolve for the 2.1.3 release cycle have now been cleared from the tracker and any issues remaining that are not feasible to fix have been closed appropriately. Any new issues submitted after this point will need to wait until the unification process is complete before we will even begin to consider touching them. Please, DO report them, just don't expect action for awhile. If it should become necessary (God forbid) for a hotfix to be released before the unification is done, then that will be the ONLY issue that will be addressed and will be handled only in whatever patch it may affect.

 

After the unification process is done, the existing separated patches will no longer receive updates. The files will remain up in their existing entries but will be frozen and the comment threads closed where possible. All future support will be handled on a single file entry for the unified project on each site it is hosted on.

 

Mods which rely on using the USKP/UDGP/UHFP/UDBP are strongly urged to make plans to switch over to the new master file when it's ready. Other mods which import fixes from the unofficial patches are also strongly urged to make sure they are up to date before November. It would also be best if any translated versions of the patches out there get synced up with 2.1.3 so that as many people as possible will have access to them while the unification is underway.

 

We will have a testing release at some point before the unified patch is ready to go live. The usual cautions against using beta copies on saves you intend to keep will apply. That step is going to last no less than a full month so that there's time enough to shake out any bugs that result from the process.

 

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Some of you may also be wondering what this means for my own projects that make use of the unofficial patches as masters. These will all be converted as needed to run using the unified patch file. Post-unification, I will not release mods that rely on the individual patch files. So things like Bring Out Your Dead, Cutting Room Floor, Ars Metallica, and other stuff, will all get taken care of on whatever schedule fits best as the process moves along. In the case of Cutting Room Floor, this will also open the door to adding cut DLC content that's been getting logged to the tracker. So it'll be worth it  Once I make these transitions, any old copies relying on the old patch files will be frozen.

 

Quoting this topic on behalf of Arthmoor who is not a member here on STEP forum

 

Edit : Beta testing of v2.1.3 of the last ever separate patches is still in progress if anyone wants to join in ( Details in the second post of each patch topic at the home of the Unofficial Patch Project. )

 

Edit : Beta Test version of USLEEP is now on the streets for anyone willing to participate / continue a playthrough while preserving a save point for after the beta test to go back to

https://afkmods.iguan...n-patch-usleep/

Edited October 18, 2015 by alt3rn1ty

[rootsrat]

Wow, that's really good news. Should have happened ages ago IMHO. 

[kryptopyr]

I'm very happy to hear this, but I wonder why they chose to rename the file.  There are mods that use the Unofficial Patch as a master, sometimes just to carry over one or two edits.  These mods will all need to be updated now, and if the authors aren't still around to do that, this decision will kill those mods. 

 

Keeping the name of the main file (and the FormIDs) the same would have allowed those mods to remain functional, and it would provide at least some potential for users to pick between using the legendary and separate versions (depending on the mod in question and what it's changing obviously).  I check for the presence of USKP in several of my mods via scripts.  Many of these mods would not have needed to be updated if they had instead merged the DLC patches into the main USKP file instead of renaming the file.

[TechAngel85]

Moved topic. Not support, but rather an announcement.

 

I'm glad they're doing it. Even if it'll cause some headache. This late in the game for modding Skryim, it's too much of a hassle maintaining separate files for each DLC. There's lil excuse not to have all DLCs by now because they go on sale for pocket change. Check the seat cushions on the couch, clean out your car, or dive into the penny jar and go purchase the ones you don't have people!

[Genius384]

Better to get the headache of making mods compatible now rather than having to do it too late down the road, imo.  Great news.

[Neovalen]

Great news, can't wait for the merged version. :)

[oqhansoloqo]

I'm very happy to hear this, but I wonder why they chose to rename the file.  There are mods that use the Unofficial Patch as a master, sometimes just to carry over one or two edits.  These mods will all need to be updated now, and if the authors aren't still around to do that, this decision will kill those mods. 

 

Keeping the name of the main file (and the FormIDs) the same would have allowed those mods to remain functional, and it would provide at least some potential for users to pick between using the legendary and separate versions (depending on the mod in question and what it's changing obviously).  I check for the presence of USKP in several of my mods via scripts.  Many of these mods would not have needed to be updated if they had instead merged the DLC patches into the main USKP file instead of renaming the file.

I agree - they should just stick with the USKP and say that every version past so and so is patching "Skyrim - Legendary Edition".  And then just leave a copy of the last USKP version where it was only Skyrim base game under "Old Versions".  This would improve compatibility with many older mods that no longer get updates.

[keithinhanoi]

I'm very happy to hear this, but I wonder why they chose to rename the file.  There are mods that use the Unofficial Patch as a master, sometimes just to carry over one or two edits.  These mods will all need to be updated now, and if the authors aren't still around to do that, this decision will kill those mods. 

 

Keeping the name of the main file (and the FormIDs) the same would have allowed those mods to remain functional, and it would provide at least some potential for users to pick between using the legendary and separate versions (depending on the mod in question and what it's changing obviously).  I check for the presence of USKP in several of my mods via scripts.  Many of these mods would not have needed to be updated if they had instead merged the DLC patches into the main USKP file instead of renaming the file.

Well, as long as the unified plugin doesn't have any scripts that refers to itself by name, the easy fix is for the user to simply rename it themselves.

 

But that doesn't help if you then have a mix of old mods and new mods that use USLEEP.esp (or whatever the new plugin will be named) as a master. In that case, you need to do a bit of "fancy footwork" in TES5Edit with both USKP & USLEEP loaded, and manually edit the entry in the masters list of the old mod's plugin in question. Voila - problem solved. Even better would be to open the plugin in a hex editor and just change the in the header for USKP.esp to USLEEP.esp, and then open it in TES5Edit to correctly sort masters (assuming that USLEEP.esp will be placed after all of the DLC .esm plugins.)

 

But then, I know how to use TES5Edit, which is why it seems like a small annoyance to me.

[oqhansoloqo]

It makes me wonder if the UP team is even aware of this potential issue, since the easiest solution would seem to be to just stick with calling it the USKP.

[GrantSP]

They might be thinking of how they are going to keep abreast of potential bug reports and other support and decided that a new name will isolate them from legacy issues from 'less than savvy' users. I'm with you though that naming it USKP will avoid a wealth of problems in mods.

[TechAngel85]

Well, as long as the unified plugin doesn't have any scripts that refers to itself by name, the easy fix is for the user to simply rename it themselves.

 

But that doesn't help if you then have a mix of old mods and new mods that use USLEEP.esp (or whatever the new plugin will be named) as a master. In that case, you need to do a bit of "fancy footwork" in TES5Edit with both USKP & USLEEP loaded, and manually edit the entry in the masters list of the old mod's plugin in question. Voila - problem solved. Even better would be to open the plugin in a hex editor and just change the in the header for USKP.esp to USLEEP.esp, and then open it in TES5Edit to correctly sort masters (assuming that USLEEP.esp will be placed after all of the DLC .esm plugins.)

 

But then, I know how to use TES5Edit, which is why it seems like a small annoyance to me.

I agree that this is an easy matter to fix on your own; however, Guides like STEP will now have to instruct users on this process or drop the mod. Personally, I think this is a good thing if we start having to teach users to do this. In the long run it could lessen support requests the threads if users start getting more comfortable with using xEdit because they will eventually start being able to patch their own setups or do it more easily with a bit of guidance. There are some users helping to write the xEdit Guide. Feel free to jump in there and help if you want.

 

They might be thinking of how they are going to keep abreast of potential bug reports and other support and decided that a new name will isolate them from legacy issues from 'less than savvy' users.

This sound very reasonable.

[dreadflopp]

Wrye bash has an easy to use function to switch master for a mod. The original USKP doesn't even have to be installed. Isn't this the easiest way to fix this and the most user friendly?

[kryptopyr]

 In that case, you need to do a bit of "fancy footwork" in TES5Edit with both USKP & USLEEP loaded, and manually edit the entry in the masters list of the old mod's plugin in question. Voila - problem solved.

Well that only works if the plugin is using USKP as a direct master.  What about mods like many of mine that check for USKP using scripts, then adjust things accordingly?  Determining which mods are checking for USKP in scripts is going to be a lot trickier and a bit difficult to fix.

 

And this is assuming the FormIds are still the same between USKP and USLP, which isn't a guarantee.

[oqhansoloqo]

Well that only works if the plugin is using USKP as a direct master.  What about mods like many of mine that check for USKP using scripts, then adjust things accordingly?  Determining which mods are checking for USKP in scripts is going to be a lot trickier and a bit difficult to fix.

 

And this is assuming the FormIds are still the same between USKP and USLP, which isn't a guarantee.

You should bring these ideas up to the UP team, especially since you are a well-recognized mod author who has made a ton of great mods that lots of people use.

[kryptopyr]

I posted on Arthmoor's original announcement page asking about this decision and pointing out the compatibility problems it would create.  My comment has received no response.