Extending S.T.E.P.: Extended - ENB and More

[Pheyne]

I have finished installing S.T.E.P.: Extended. It is now complete exactly according to the guide provided by S.T.E.P. The game runs perfectly without any issues.
However, I would now like to continue with some more modding and I've run into some things I am not sure about. I want everything to work as intented so I decided to ask for some advice from the experienced modders

I'll start with the S.T.E.P. Compilation. I do not know what are all the things this mod pack does, apart from installing all the listed mods in the description, and thus want make some things clear. S.T.E.P., in the 2-D section, contains these two lightning mods: Enhanced Lightning for ENB - Lite (Interior Lighning) and Relighting Skyrim (No JIT) in this load order - RS is loaded after ELE. Now one thing I definitely want is good ENB preset. I have my favourite ones and as far as compatibility goes, they both say the same:

All ENB presets are compatible with ELFX (interiors only), Relighting Skyrim, and More Dynamic Shadows. ELE - Interion Lightning is optional, and presets are compatible. The ELE - Interior Lighting module(s) should be used in conjunction with ELFX (interiors only, without the enhancer), Relighting Skyrim, More Dynamic Shadows, and RLO (interiors only). Choose one, and load the ELE - Interior Lighting module(s) last in your load order!!!

We already have the second part sorted since we would be using ELE in conjunction with RS, but the load orded is different than in S.T.E.P.
Here, the two mods are swaped. My question is, how should I proceed.. Especially since both ELE and RS in S.T.E.P. contain the custom Meta Rules that specify their priority.

Another thing related to ENB... Before I install it, I would like to tweak my audiovisual side of the game a little bit more. The water mod used in S.T.E.P. is RWT. What would I need to do, if I wanted to replace this with W.A.T.E.R? Is it enought to just uninstall RWT, install W.A.T.E.R as a part of The Ruffled Feather mod and then just put it at the RWT spot in the load order? Also, The Ruffled Feather is already installed as a part of S.T.E.P with the custom install option "Install for S.T.E.P." which doesn't include W.A.T.E.R. Would installing it with W.A.T.E.R. mess with S.T.E.P. Compilation or anything else included?

 

How about waterfalls now? I'd like to go with Pure Waters - Waterfalls but they are not compatible with SkyMills and SkyFalls. But, from what I understand, I should be pretty much safe to disable SkyMills and SkyFalls since I've got DynDOLOD installed which does all its job for it, right? (Apart from the windmill sails, which are no big deal.)

The same thing with weather systems... I want CoT 3.1, Supreme Storms, CoT Weather Patch and True Storms.
Where do I place them in the load order and are there any other specific instructions to get all of this working properly together? (Wonders of Weather shouldn't interfere, should it?)

Next I have a general question.. If I install a mod that has no conflicts, should I worry at all about it's placements or is it then completely arbitrary? Same applies to mods that have intended conflicts. Let's say I now want to install Immersive Animations. This mod needs to be placed before XP32 Maximum Skeleton, other than that it should not conflict with anything in S.T.E.P. Do I just place it before XPMS and done? Providing I sort all the plugins with LOOT and run the Dual Sheat Redux patch afterwards of course...

I will list all the extra mods I would like to use alongside complete S.T.E.P. here. I will be greatfull for all the tips. Whether is is where to put these mods, if some require special attention or if something seems seems like a bad idea to even begin with :)

CoT 3.1

Supreme Storms
CoT Weather Patch
True Storms
Natural Grass Texture Floor
Verdant - A Skyrim Grass Plugin

W.A.T.E.R

Pure Waters - Waterfalls

Lorkhans Vision - Night Sky V2
Moon Glow
Mornig Fogs Refined
Real_Snow_Flakes
Skygazer - Constellation HD 2K
SNOW

DYNAVISION
Better Fast Travel - Carruages and Ships - Overhauled
Fast Travel Timescale Fix
Dungeon Quest Awareness

YOT - Your Own Thoughts
Same Walk and Run Speed
No More Glowing Edges Mod
VioLens
Animations

Immersive Animations
Run Sprint and Jump

Badass Dual Wielding

Better Torches
Fences of Skyrim

Immersive Fallen Trees

Cloaks of Skyrim

Winter is Coming - Cloaks
Immersive Creatures (is it safe to reinstall Enhanced Blood Textures with IC compatibility?)
Immersive Weapons
Immersive Armors
aMidianBorn Textures for Immersive Armors
Left Hand Rings
Skyrim Immersive Creatures
Deadly Dragons
Immersive Roads
RUGNAROK
High Definition Ivy

Can I for example reinstall Dual Sheat Redux with the sword on back option so I can use it with Dual Wielding? In S.T.E.P. guide, it is without it.
Would I need to reinstall DynDOLOD after installing any of these mods? And what about S.T.E.P. Compilation, I should probably reinstall that at the end as well, shouldn't I?

Thank you all.
 

 

I've moved this to the General area as this has moved past a discussion of how MO is used with the STEP guide.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Pheyne

[Nebulous112]

Next I have a general question.. If I install a mod that has no conflicts, should I worry at all about it's placements or is it then completely arbitrary? Same applies to mods that have intended conflicts. Let's say I now want to install Immersive Animations. This mod needs to be placed before XP32 Maximum Skeleton, other than that it should not conflict with anything in S.T.E.P. Do I just place it before XPMS and done? Providing I sort all the plugins with LOOT and run the Dual Sheat Redux patch afterwards of course...

 

Correct.

 

As far as the rest of it...I have no idea. I use a few mods added on top of STEP Extended, but you want to add a whole bunch, some with sizeable conflicts. It's doable, but not easy.

 

Good luck!

[Pheyne]

Thanks. I can do without some of the mods there of course. I don't really need 4K ivy textures...
But some of the mods, especially the weather mods and mods that add/modify weapons/armors/creatures, are something I would really like to have. I just don't want to mess it up since the game is running flawlessly right now.

[TechAngel85]

Best advice it is to copy your good profile and add on top of the copy. That way if something goes wrong, you'll have a good profile to fall back on.

[Pheyne]

Yes, I have already done that. The problem is, I might not know if something did go wrong straight away, and so I wanted get some tips here first ;)

Edited January 15, 2016 by Pheyne

[TechAngel85]

Tis the joys of modding! :)

[Pheyne]

I believe I can manage with some of the less complex mods but I would really apreciate some input about the stuff I mentioned at the begining of my first post. Especially all the mods that require some different settings in the FOMOD installers of some S.T.E.P. mods. For example with W.A.T.E.R., there is an option for it in SkyFalls and SkyMills installer but it was left unchecked in S.T.E.P., because it uses RWT. Since I haven't got full understanding of how S.T.E.P. patches (Compilation) work, I don't know if I can modify this and not break something by doing it.
And I would need to shine some light on that ENB matter as well.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Pheyne

[Pheyne]

Looking forward to it and thanks in advance. I'll one more simple question in the meantime. With MO and profiles.. I have created a copy of S.T.E.P. Extended that I want to try mod a bit more but I noticed that when I switch to the copy of the profile some conflicts appear that are not present in the original profile.
To give an example, the mod Cutting Room Floor has no conflicts shown (left pane of MO) in my main profile, then I switch and is suddenly overwriting several files from USLEEP and is being overwritten by some files from The Choice Is Yours and SkyFalls + SkyMills at the same time. I thought it was something like hidden files from the original profile, that the hidden status doesn't transfer but I've checket that and it is not the case. So what are all the things I should be looking out for when switching profiles? Is there something that doesn't save?

[TechAngel85]

I'll start with the S.T.E.P. Compilation. I do not know what are all the things this mod pack does, apart from installing all the listed mods in the description, and thus want make some things clear. S.T.E.P., in the 2-D section, contains these two lightning mods: Enhanced Lightning for ENB - Lite (Interior Lighning) and Relighting Skyrim (No JIT) in this load order - RS is loaded after ELE. Now one thing I definitely want is good ENB preset. I have my favourite ones and as far as compatibility goes, they both say the same:

 

All ENB presets are compatible with ELFX (interiors only), Relighting Skyrim, and More Dynamic Shadows. ELE - Interion Lightning is optional, and presets are compatible. The ELE - Interior Lighting module(s) should be used in conjunction with ELFX (interiors only, without the enhancer), Relighting Skyrim, More Dynamic Shadows, and RLO (interiors only). Choose one, and load the ELE - Interior Lighting module(s) last in your load order!!!

 

We already have the second part sorted since we would be using ELE in conjunction with RS, but the load orded is different than in S.T.E.P.

Here, the two mods are swaped. My question is, how should I proceed.. Especially since both ELE and RS in S.T.E.P. contain the custom Meta Rules that specify their priority.

We're talking about load order here (plugins) not mod order (left MO pane). So there shouldn't be any issues. Just make sure they are listed in the order they should be when running LOOT. If they are not, make a Meta Rule so they are.

 

Another thing related to ENB... Before I install it, I would like to tweak my audiovisual side of the game a little bit more. The water mod used in S.T.E.P. is RWT. What would I need to do, if I wanted to replace this with W.A.T.E.R? Is it enought to just uninstall RWT, install W.A.T.E.R as a part of The Ruffled Feather mod and then just put it at the RWT spot in the load order? Also, The Ruffled Feather is already installed as a part of S.T.E.P with the custom install option "Install for S.T.E.P." which doesn't include W.A.T.E.R. Would installing it with W.A.T.E.R. mess with S.T.E.P. Compilation or anything else included?

RWT is a requirement of the STEP Patches so you can not remove it without removing the forwards from the Patches first. The good thing about WATER is that it's been made to be compatible with the other water mods. Visit this article and scroll down until you see the "Other Water Mods" section.

 

How about waterfalls now? I'd like to go with Pure Waters - Waterfalls but they are not compatible with SkyMills and SkyFalls. But, from what I understand, I should be pretty much safe to disable SkyMills and SkyFalls since I've got DynDOLOD installed which does all its job for it, right? (Apart from the windmill sails, which are no big deal.)

You can leave our SM&SF without issue.

 

The same thing with weather systems... I want CoT 3.1, Supreme Storms, CoT Weather Patch and True Storms.

Where do I place them in the load order and are there any other specific instructions to get all of this working properly together? (Wonders of Weather shouldn't interfere, should it?)

It'd place these at the bottom of 2.J. Animations & Effects. You're going to have to dig in and do some work in xEdit to get everything perfectly sorted out, though.

 

Next I have a general question.. If I install a mod that has no conflicts, should I worry at all about it's placements or is it then completely arbitrary? Same applies to mods that have intended conflicts. Let's say I now want to install Immersive Animations. This mod needs to be placed before XP32 Maximum Skeleton, other than that it should not conflict with anything in S.T.E.P. Do I just place it before XPMS and done? Providing I sort all the plugins with LOOT and run the Dual Sheat Redux patch afterwards of course...

If there are no asset conflicts, then you can really place it anywhere you want. As for animations, I'm not sure on the order those mods need to be in, but you'll need to re-run DSR and FNIS when adding new animations.

 

I will list all the extra mods I would like to use alongside complete S.T.E.P. here. I will be greatfull for all the tips. Whether is is where to put these mods, if some require special attention or if something seems seems like a bad idea to even begin with :)

 

CoT 3.1

Supreme Storms

CoT Weather Patch

True Storms

Natural Grass Texture Floor

Verdant - A Skyrim Grass Plugin

W.A.T.E.R

Pure Waters - Waterfalls

Lorkhans Vision - Night Sky V2

Moon Glow

Mornig Fogs Refined

Real_Snow_Flakes

Skygazer - Constellation HD 2K

SNOW

DYNAVISION

Better Fast Travel - Carruages and Ships - Overhauled

Fast Travel Timescale Fix

Dungeon Quest Awareness

YOT - Your Own Thoughts

Same Walk and Run Speed

No More Glowing Edges Mod

VioLens

Animations

Immersive Animations

Run Sprint and Jump

Badass Dual Wielding

Better Torches

Fences of Skyrim

Immersive Fallen Trees

Cloaks of Skyrim

Winter is Coming - Cloaks

Immersive Creatures (is it safe to reinstall Enhanced Blood Textures with IC compatibility?)

Immersive Weapons

Immersive Armors

aMidianBorn Textures for Immersive Armors

Left Hand Rings

Skyrim Immersive Creatures

Deadly Dragons

Immersive Roads

RUGNAROK

High Definition Ivy

Can I for example reinstall Dual Sheat Redux with the sword on back option so I can use it with Dual Wielding? In S.T.E.P. guide, it is without it.

Would I need to reinstall DynDOLOD after installing any of these mods? And what about S.T.E.P. Compilation, I should probably reinstall that at the end as well, shouldn't I?

 

Thank you all.

Basically, all these mods can work together, but as I mentioned above. You're going to have to do some custom patching in xEdit (TES5Edit).

[Pheyne]

Thank you for taking the time to do this.
As for the "custom patching in TES5Edit".. All I've ever done in that program was cleaning and applying some scripts (and merging patches but in WB is used for that in S.T.E.P.) so will I need to do anything extra?
And what mods are making it necessary to reinstall DynDOLOD here?

[TechAngel85]

Yes, you'll need to forward records into a custom patch to make sure everything is working properly.

 

Fences, fallen tree,... anything that is going to add objects to the game which would potentially have different or new textures of LODs will require to re-run DynDOLOD.

[Pheyne]

Thought so.. I'll look into creating the custom patch, but isn't that basicly what merged patch is already doing?
Going back to SF+SM, you said I can leave it out, did you mean the whole mod or should I just disable the plugin?

https://wiki.step-project.com/Basics_of_Resolving_Conflicts

Is it enought to follow this guide? Ater S.T.E.P. installation, there are plenty of conflicts but those don't need any special care so how can you tell which ones actually need adressing?

Edited January 16, 2016 by Pheyne

[TechAngel85]

If you're using a merged patch from the script or Mator Smash, then custom patching isn't needed. Though to get the right results with that tool might take some tweaking from what I hear. You can leave the entire SFSM mod out. It's not really needed with DynDOLOD. The only benefit it is really providing are some placements of the windmills on the mills so that they don't clip/hit NPCs.

 

That page hasn't been updated in nearly two years so I don't know how accurate it will still be.

[Pheyne]

I've recently started using Mod Plugin Standalone. Neovalen is using it in his SR:LE and this is the description what should one do after creating the merge: "Uncheck the source mods in the left pane of Mod Organizer as they are now included in the new mod folder. If there are other plugin files in those mods not included the merge they must be manually copied to the new merged mod."

 

Isn't that a little odd? Why would you uncheck the mods in the left pane? They often provide more than just the plugins, don't they? I can see why would you then wanted to manually move all the plugins not included in your merge inside but again, wouldn't it be just better to move all the plugins that are used in the new merge in the Optional ESPs in MO and deactivate them this way? Now you shouldn't have to manually transfer anything, no?
Also, is it necessary to load the new merge after all the mods it includes in the left pane? One example from SR:LE page is this:

 

Files to merge:

• ClimatesOfTamriel-Dawnguard-Patch.esp (Project Reality - Climates Of Tamriel)
• ClimatesOfTamriel-Dragonborn-Patch.esp (Project Reality - Climates Of Tamriel)
• ClimatesOfTamriel Falskaar.esp (Falskaar - Climates of Tamriel Patch)
• MintyLightningMod_COT_Patch.esp (Lightning During Thunder Storms - Climates of Tamriel Patch)

Left pane placement:

• Bottom of Weather Systems section.

 

The bottom of weather system is higher in mod orded than Lightning During Thunder Storms - CoT Patch which is furter down the line in the guide and as a result the merge would be loaded after CoT but before Lightning During Thunder Storms. Is that not a problem?

[TechAngel85]

I have no idea. I've never used that tool because it's not used for STEP.

[Neovalen]

I've recently started using Mod Plugin Standalone. Neovalen is using it in his SR:LE and this is the description what should one do after creating the merge: "Uncheck the source mods in the left pane of Mod Organizer as they are now included in the new mod folder. If there are other plugin files in those mods not included the merge they must be manually copied to the new merged mod."

 

Isn't that a little odd? Why would you uncheck the mods in the left pane? They often provide more than just the plugins, don't they? I can see why would you then wanted to manually move all the plugins not included in your merge inside but again, wouldn't it be just better to move all the plugins that are used in the new merge in the Optional ESPs in MO and deactivate them this way? Now you shouldn't have to manually transfer anything, no?

Also, is it necessary to load the new merge after all the mods it includes in the left pane? One example from SR:LE page is this:

 

Files to merge:

• ClimatesOfTamriel-Dawnguard-Patch.esp (Project Reality - Climates Of Tamriel)
• ClimatesOfTamriel-Dragonborn-Patch.esp (Project Reality - Climates Of Tamriel)
• ClimatesOfTamriel Falskaar.esp (Falskaar - Climates of Tamriel Patch)
• MintyLightningMod_COT_Patch.esp (Lightning During Thunder Storms - Climates of Tamriel Patch)

Left pane placement:

• Bottom of Weather Systems section.

The bottom of weather system is higher in mod orded than Lightning During Thunder Storms - CoT Patch which is furter down the line in the guide and as a result the merge would be loaded after CoT but before Lightning During Thunder Storms. Is that not a problem?

The answer is simple. All the mod assets (textures, scripts, meshes, etc) are copied into the new merge mod. Therefore the original mods are no longer required.

 

The only exception is ESM or ESP files that are not auto-copied from the base mods. Therefore if there is a plugin not included, such as the Cot esm, then it needs to be copied in to keep things together.

 

As far as the install order vs load order, it does not matter in this case as it's simply a plugin file.