unclear STEP instructions: Extended & Core

[whismerhill]

So from what I understood, STEP : Extended is just a selectable collection of STEP : Packs, right ? no  ?

 

In the brawls bug patch detailed page here : https://wiki.step-project.com/Brawl_Bugs_Patch#Recommendations

it says : "Not necessary for Extended users that are installing Enhanced Blood Textures."

so the question is : what's an Extended user ? someone that has installed a STEP : Pack ???

if I understood this right, this should be reformulated to something like this :

"Not necessary for STEP: Pack users that would install Enhanced Blood Textures from one of their Packs." (I'm probably wrong though)

 

and now the 2nd issue : Enhanced Blood Textures is part of "2.J. Animations & Effects "

which is in the main guide, which as far as I understood is part of STEP: Core since it's in the STEP guide main page, though its dedicated page doesn't list it as "Core"

This is horribly confusing and I can't find any precise information on what's extended compared to core

And before you ask, yeah I read the page about your step mandate, doesn't help.

And what's an "extended patch" user too ? is this inside the STEP compilation ? because in the STEP compilation page I can't see any reference to such a thing.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

 

sidenote: I'm not really having any issues so far, just finished going through the "GAMEPLAY" section. it's mainly a question of understanding the whole thing, might not help that english is not my first language (though I generally don't have issues with english)

Edited December 7, 2015 by whismerhill

[z929669]

as I said that's natural for you because you know your stuff. It's not so natural for simple end users like me.

 

Anyway, what about "extended patch" ?

Actually, the details you want are in the guide itself. you just need to read the guide just as Tech pasted above:

https://wiki.step-project.com/STEP:2.2.9.2#Nomenclature

 

... this also links to a description of Core versus Extended. I added a bit of clarity to this section of the guide.

 

The guide table legend also specifies Core mods:

https://wiki.step-project.com/STEP:2.2.9.2#Mod_Tables_Legend

[TechAngel85]

Nomenclature

The following nomenclature is used throughout this guide and should be understood before proceeding.

• Core mods: Mods that are Core to the STEP Guide collectively known as STEP:Core.
• Extended mods: Mods that are not Core mods in the STEP Guide collectively known as STEP:Extended.
• Baseline STEP: A complete STEP setup using the recommended mod quality installation options. This is typically kept at 1024 resolution for most texture options.
• Performance STEP: A complete STEP setup using the low quality installation options where available.
• Extreme STEP: A complete STEP setup using the high quality installation options where available.

[whismerhill]

yeah well the nomenclature doesn't really help distinguish what's core & what's not

 

BUT

I think I got it

so are extended mods the mods without the green  bar at the beginning ?

if yes, then I really strongly suggest to add to the Legend that no green bar means extended

because I was searching for the word Extended through the page and it didn't help, so I resorted to google searching and found mostly nothing, for hours.

so yeah maybe I'm just an idiot xD

but the page is kinda long, I don't recall 100% of what I read over several days (because I spread out the installation process over my available free time)

and the fact that I couldn't precisely find what's extended by searching for the word is kinda meh.

 

because "Mods that are not Core mods in the STEP Guide" doesn't really help by itself and needs to be supported by the legend to be understandable

[TechAngel85]

Yes, green bar = Core mod... so naturally, no green bar would = Extended mod

 

It will make more sense when v2.3 arrives.

[whismerhill]

as I said that's natural for you because you know your stuff. It's not so natural for simple end users like me.

 

Anyway, what about "extended patch" ?

Edited December 7, 2015 by whismerhill

[TechAngel85]

End of the Guide: https://wiki.step-project.com/STEP_Compilation#Recommendations

[whismerhill]

yes that's the step compilation with the step patch ????

[DoubleYou]

Extended patch is included in the STEP Compilation.

[whismerhill]

ok, thanks a lot that clears stuff,

though I found no mention that the extended patch is IN the STEP compilation anywhere.

 

I must sound so dumb for you guyz xD

have a nice day.

[viper37]

ok, thanks a lot that clears stuff,

though I found no mention that the extended patch is IN the STEP compilation anywhere.

 

I must sound so dumb for you guyz xD

have a nice day.

It was called "Step patch" previously, they had seperate patches for Core and Extended.  I haven't re-read all the instructions, but it is possible there have been leftovers of the previous names.

 

Anyway, all you have to do is follow the guide from Step 1 to Step 2.O and you should be allright.  I know it is confusing for a new non-modder user, but they've done a good job of clarifying most aspect of the guide over time.  It takes time, trial and errors, but it's rewarding.

[whismerhill]

I'm sorry if I'm an annoyance but to me, there's a bucketload of text to read, absorb & understand, in a language I'm confortable enough but that is still not my native language.

And while now I understand the stuff, I still think the legend should directly indicate that non-green stuff is extended. EVEN If reading the nomenclature + legend should be clear enough.

The legend should actually be self-sufficient & not need to rely on other text located completely elsewhere to be completely understandable.

 

It's especially confusing to me because when you're trying to absorb that much information your brain actually process the data & sort through it marking some as :

-unneeded: only for short term memory

-or useful  and therefore stored in long term brain memory

 

and while core & Extended is actually something that you need to remember & understand because the guide refers to extended in some places (but not core mostly)

the other stuff in the nomenclature are pretty much not needed, I mean, low quality ? higher quality ? baseline ? ok that pretty much doesn't need any explanations

and the LQ & HQ icons are already self-sufficient for a guy like me. Therefore the whole nomenclature stuff is pretty much skipped through & forgotten the week after when you're finally processing *insert here X batch of mods*

 

And YES I should have read the whole guide better, but you know, with this mod construction I have about 40 tabs open, and opening & closing some all the time + handling a couple of windows, so yeah it's a mess in my brain ;) and real life actually interrupts me all the time so picking up where I left off is sometimes a challenge in itself.

 

Anyway, who cares...

you guyz already put out some amazing work here and I'm not gonna complain, I just wanted to explain my point of view.

and you guyz actually replied to all my questions so far which is even more amazing.

so hats off is all I have to say, I admire your dedication.

Edited December 7, 2015 by whismerhill

[viper37]

I think they have plans for the 2.3 version where STEP Core mods will be listed first, than all of the STEP Extended mods.  This would be a lot less confusing for newcommers, especially ones who may have some difficulties with english.  Also, maybe more notes on mods that could be incompatible with non english Skyrim (I see one, but I just realized that people who don't play english Skyrim are afraid that the mods would mess their experience) (this would likely require more feedback from non english Skyrim users though).

[whismerhill]

well I always have my dictionnary nearby if I need it, or the internet.

Myself I just install skyrim in english, having stuff half french, half english is not for me, + all the compatibility issues that arise that I don't wanna deal with

And on top of that French voices tend to suck  compared to english voice actors, except for a couple of games like say Half-Life 2 where Alyx is just so much more sexy sounding in French :p

 

and very good idea to separate extended from core

Edited December 8, 2015 by whismerhill

[whismerhill]

newsflash : when launching the Step patches installer itself it becomes very clear

"The last page of the installer will also allow you to install the STEP Mod Compilation version (Core, Extended, or both) of your choice. The recommended options will be selected for you, but you may change these if you like."

 

 

too bad I was actually trying to understand before doing :p

Edited December 8, 2015 by whismerhill

[Nirodha]

@whismerhill - Don't feel bad, I'm a native english speaker and I too was getting lost following the guide. The confusion comes when the guide first refers to STEP:Extended in the nomenclature section, which includes a hyperlink that links to the STEP:Mandate page. Here it describes Step:Extended ("aka the STEP Pack") as "STEP:Extended is a complete Expansion Pack". This leads you to expect STEP:Extended to appear on the STEP:Packs page, which it isn't. This is all just a misunderstanding of terms and old hyperlinks and old referrences. I think this will all be clarified in the next release, if I understand correctly.