Jump to content
  • 0

born-again newb is vexed


SmegmusMagnus

Question

Howdy all; I am returning from a lengthy sabbatical and have run into difficulties. 

 

I'll keep it brief;

 

     - I'm religiously following the guide, yet I find that my game wants to crash when (either/or/and) saving (through sleeping in bed), loading a save in new session, or making environmental   transitions (into/out of buildings, etc.)

     -This is happening currently, though I have stopped installations at Enchantment Reload fix

     -I installed all of STEP Extended, as per guide, this last weekend and experienced the same difficulties (CTDs)

     -I cannot get past the idea that it may have something to do with LOOT, which never seems to change any ordering at all.  When last I played BOSS was all the rage and I experienced no difficulties there; I am trying to get uo to speed with LOOT, so pleas don't think I'm trying to parasite my way through on your wisdom alone.

     -I had wondered if (in previous install last weekend) it may have had to do with the meta-data info, which I have no idea what to do with

     -I had also wondered if the 'hide files' requirement was involved, as I was deleting these files before it occured to me that they might still be functioning even though hidden (don't understand how to hide files in MO)

    

It should be noted, though, that at this point in my re-installation I have not yet been instructed to hide files, and the mod after Enchantment Reload fix (Enhabced Lighting for ENB-Lite) is the first that requires meta-data from me, so I fail to see any relevence to the problem from these directions.

 

I hope that my question is comprehensive enough without being overly broad.  Obviously, the dilemma is one of functionality/stability.

 

 

Thank you.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recommended Posts

  • 0

Disable all mods in MO left pane and verify you can start/load/save in all situations described (alternatively, try loading with the MO default profile (vanilla Skyrim). This ensures default INIs are used as well). Begin reenabling mods in MO left pane in blocks of, say, 10 (or by STEP sections) and continue verification process. Note that you will need to recreate your Bashed Patch and re-sort with LOOT each time before each startup. Also note LOOT notes and fix any issues with dependencies during this process.

 

Also, note that some mods in left pane are required or should not need to be verified (i.e., DLC, Skyrim Unofficial Patches).

 

Also, disable any ENB, etc. during this testing to exclude any issues related to that.

 

There are lots of things that can cause your issues, so we need to verify base game and work up to point of issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Screw it! I'm completely uninstalling and going to start from scratch.  I restarted w/ all mods deactivated; I restarted on default profile; I deleted both skyrim.prefs and the skyrim.ini.  Reloads of any previous save crashed; loads of new saves crashed.  Plus, besides the collective .ini files not regenerating upon starting a brand new game, I'd swear that I could detect better textures than I remember the vanilla game having (remember I said that I had done a complete STEP install this last weekend); this really should not be possible, as earlier I uninstalled MO and allowed the deletion of all related data.  I even searched through the appdata folders and the documents folders, etc.

 

I'm going to try and scour all traces of Skyrim from my system (save for the downloaded mods, thank god) and try over from the get-go.

 

Thank you for your help; I'll post back if I need help or if I figure out what happened. 

 

I may be asking for help regarding hiding files in MO, or setting meta-data in LOOT.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Yeah, I usually skip all of the troubleshooting when the install is really big and start again from scratch. Note the benchmark points in the guide: you should pause all modding at those points, tie up any loose ends and confirm a working config at each of those points so that you can catch any issues before they become confounded by a large build.
 
Also, keep in mind that save games can cause issues in and of themselves, so always save/reload fresh to confirma working config. If you do need to use an existing character, then you want to perform a 'clean' save using the desired savegame and use that and other saves derived directly from the resulting clean save. I think this procedure is still relevant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Now I'm completely flummoxed.  My re-install has been one of painstaking attention to detail:  Before doing anything STEPwise I generated my .ini files and carefully configured them when directed, I cleaned the update .esm, and arranged the left-hand pane as directed, and I completed the 2.C Extender section.  At this point I attempted to run the game through SKSE in MO:  First-it wants to say that Steam is not open, and would I like it to open it for me; Steam was in fact open - some Googling brought me to posts suggesting that this would be solved by closing Steam and letting MO do it's opening thang.  Fine, that worked.  However, now the SKSE loader opens the Steam Skyrim Launcher, which fills me with trepidation because I can't figure out why it is doing this (this ain't my first STEP rodeo, though it's been a long time since I rode) when it never has before, bar none.  Again, I Googled and found that others have experienced this, but found no useful suggestions, unless possibly moving all of Steam out of program files might work?

 

On the other hand, when I went ahead and launched through the Steam Skyrim launcher, the saves that magically reappeared (I'd deleted them, already) loaded without CTD; I take this as a personal insult from a hateful and petulant universe.

 

...as an afterthought, did launching through the Steam Skyrim launcher rewrite my STEP-configured .ini's?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Okay:  All is good regarding the specific problem(s) I had when posting yesterday, but I have a new problem to posit; I'm going to post it here, although it concerns LOOT (partially as it interacts with MO, however) as an attempt to limit post creation.

 

Anyhoo; now that I have my Steam located in my C: directory, rather than x86, LOOT doesn't want to recognize  my new Skyrim location.  I uninstalled it (from the installation from pre-move) and reinstalled/redirected thru MO, yet it still won't work properly.  When I run it I get a screen that asks me which game I want to run, and when I delete the alternatives (none of which I have installed anyway), it does not apparently default to Skyrim.  Also, it insists that the Skyrim directory is still the original x86 location.

 

I say 'apparently' and 'properly' because I noticed that when I closed LOOT, the load order in the MO left pane changed (which never happened when in x86), and I ran the game (midway thru Fixes install section) and all seems to run well.

 

Although it seems to be functioning, I can't peruse any results or info as I ought to be able to; any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Z, benchmark points need review. Some of them cause problems with last few releases of STEP with their placements.

Not sure how benchmark points could cause problems :ermm: What do you mean exactly?

another update:  moving Steam from x86 to C: got everything working!  No idea if it will hold true when I'm done STEPpin', and there's alot of shortcuts etc. to fix, but for now, I'm excited.

You might have had a Windows permissions issue from Program Files location. This is why we have instructions specifying that Steam install should be outside of this location (or change Win permissions for the relevant directory trees). Regardless, our setup instructions guide the user past these pain points if followed (but we don't necessarily address troubleshooting when instructions are not followed explicitly regarding install locations).

 

As to the rest of the issues, there are a lot of problems that can be encountered by existing registry entries for install locations when moving things around and changing install locations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Not sure how benchmark points could cause problems :ermm: What do you mean exactly?

Meaning some users have reported the points at which they are placed produces some issues due to the mods that are installed and "benchmarked" before supporting mods are installed (such as XMPS being installed without running FNIS). I've not looked into it in any detail, but was planning on doing so since there's at least one upcoming mod/update that will require a new game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

     I appreciate your attention to the dilemmas I've been having, z; you've been at this for a longtime and that comes through in your dedication.  It's not that the Steam directory issue was something that I ignored so much as it being a matter of having many games already installed in that default location; generally speaking it's not an issue.  I kept meaning to mention that I'm on Windows 10, and I wonder if that complicates matters; i know that I have noticed a few more permission issues than I have with previous Windows iterations.

 

At any rate, all is going swimmingly now; I have completed through the conflicting graphics section, and all is smooth like butter. 

 

However, in the interest of not cluttering other threads I do have a couple more questions, only one is specifically related to MO...

 

     - do I need to create a mod from overwrite everytime I run FNIS.  If yes, do I place it right below FNIS (which I put at very top right behind SKSE).  Also, if yes to all that, do I delete the previous overwrite mod so that there is always only 1 for FNIS?

 

 

     - in Fixes section, STEP texture pack didn't manifest a bsa in right pane archives - thus no unticking possible.  Also, when I installed it again down the list, I told it to merge - was that right?

 

     - am wondering why Improved Closed Face didn't ask if I wanted to merge

 

anyway; thanks for all interest and help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Meaning some users have reported the points at which they are placed produces some issues due to the mods that are installed and "benchmarked" before supporting mods are installed (such as XMPS being installed without running FNIS). I've not looked into it in any detail, but was planning on doing so since there's at least one upcoming mod/update that will require a new game.

Ahh, yes. There are certain 'finalization' procedures one must go through to tie up an 'unfinished' build (e.g., FNIS, LOOT, Bashed Patch, STEP Patches [n/a]), so I suppose these instructions should be added to benchmark point instructions. We can probably just point to relevant parts of the existing guide but will need to perform the install/benchmarking ourselves to catch all possible issues.

     I appreciate your attention to the dilemmas I've been having, z; you've been at this for a longtime and that comes through in your dedication.  It's not that the Steam directory issue was something that I ignored so much as it being a matter of having many games already installed in that default location; generally speaking it's not an issue.  I kept meaning to mention that I'm on Windows 10, and I wonder if that complicates matters; i know that I have noticed a few more permission issues than I have with previous Windows iterations.

 

At any rate, all is going swimmingly now; I have completed through the conflicting graphics section, and all is smooth like butter. 

 

However, in the interest of not cluttering other threads I do have a couple more questions, only one is specifically related to MO...

 

     - do I need to create a mod from overwrite everytime I run FNIS.  If yes, do I place it right below FNIS (which I put at very top right behind SKSE).  Also, if yes to all that, do I delete the previous overwrite mod so that there is always only 1 for FNIS?

This sounds right, but I have not had time to perform an install for some time now, so I will let Tech confirm for sure.

 

     - in Fixes section, STEP texture pack didn't manifest a bsa in right pane archives - thus no unticking possible.  Also, when I installed it again down the list, I told it to merge - was that right? I defer to Tech et al. on this as well. If the archive contains no BSA, then there isn't one, and our instructions may need to account for that.

 

     - am wondering why Improved Closed Face didn't ask if I wanted to merge Not sure on this one, because it depends on the existing/new MO mod name when you install. If the mod name already exists in left pane, then there will be an option to merge.

 

anyway; thanks for all interest and help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Thanks for the insights. 

 

I've got my installation complete and it kis running superbly.  I am, however, unable to solve the Dual Wield dilemma that has been the bane of so many installls.  I have searched the forums and the net in general, and i have tried the fixes that I have been able to find, yet no matter what I try I get either the missing masters warning, the Dual Wield must be installed warning, or the game tells me that the mod needs to be installed and activated.  I am certain that I followed the STEP guide accurately (in general; but, specifically as regards the Patches section).

 

So if I can get some help with that, my installation should be complete and perfect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Use.