STEP:Mod Testing

Template:Warning Template:Notice Mod Testing for S.T.E.P. -- by MadWizard25, the S.T.E.P. Team and Wiki Editors

Updated: 14:51:37 18 June 2012 (UTC)

This guide will attempt to lay out good practices for testing mods to recommend for S.T.E.P. as well as for testing mods should this be asked for or required by TC and S.T.E.P. team. With a guide as complex as S.T.E.P., it is beneficial to reduce as much variation as possible, since complexity can breed a host of issues. This guide will try to recommend standardized testing techniques. The approach will be bottom-up, meaning recommendations will begin at the hardware level, progressing to software and then to mods.

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A stable computer is crucial to testing a new mod. Without a stable computer, it will much harder to determine if the mod itself is incompatible or buggy with other mods or Skyrim, or if the mod is incompatible with your computer. Here are some tips to increase stability.

Overclocking

If you are currently overclocking your computer it is recommended setting everything to its default stock settings. This goes for the CPU, GPU, and RAM. Although the chances are low, it is possible for a new mod that is resource intensive to instigate stability issues, even if you previous overclock settings were stable. CPU and RAM overclocks can be managed from your motherboard's BIOS, and GPU overclocks are managed by a variety of programs. A recommended program for GPU overclock management is MSI Afterburner.

Ghosts in the Machine

Over time a computer will generate many redundant files that at the minimum will do nothing harmful, and at worst will cause stability issues. These files can include temporary files or redundant registry keys. It is recommended to use a program such as CCleaner to clear these files, as well as to fix registry issues.

Disk Fragmentation

Over time files that are regularly used by the computer will fragment, increasing read times and potentially causing stability issues. It is good practice to make sure the computers drives are defragmented before testing a mod. It is a good idea to defrag your computer after installing a new mod, especially with large mods such as texture overhauls. A recommended program is Defraggler, which allows full drive defragmenting or specific file and folder defragmenting.

Background Processes

Background processes will take up resources, also potentially introducing stability issues when playing or testing Skyrim. A great program for eliminating as many of these background processes as possible is Game Booster. This will close redundant programs as well as services, and is optimized towards games. Another program that is useful is Process Lasso, which acts as a much expanded task manager. This will allow you to set Skyrim's CPU and I/O priority to high.

TESV.exe Properties

These settings will ensure that when Skyrim runs, Windows Aero Theme will be disabled, freeing up VRAM, since Aero may use between 64 to 128MB of VRAM. To access these settings navigate to your skyrim folder, right click on TESV.exe, and then click on the Compatibility tab. Tick the Disable Visual Themes and Disable Desktop Composition boxes, as shown in the image below.

thumb:Figure 1. TESV.exe Properties Settings

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This section will describe best practices to ensure a stable Skyrim platform to work from. It will also detail various tips for debugging, error tracking, etc.

Launcher Settings

Choose Medium or High settings in the Launcher. Then select a screen resolution. If you can, try to select 1920x1080, as this may be the most common, at 25%, screen resolution at the moment. However, if you are unable to do so, do not worry. Full HD (1920x1080) users are by no means a large majority. Other common screen resolutions to test at are 1680x1050, 1366x768, and 1280x1024. AA should be set to 4x, and AF to 8x. All view distances can be maxed out apart from grass and item fade. These should be set to 8. Distant object detail should be high or medium, FXAA disabled (unchecked), and all water reflection options should be disabled (unchecked).

INI Settings

It is recommended to test a mod on medium or high settings, and once verified, test on ultra if possible. Testing on ultra may skew the results of the testing, especially if others may want to use the mod. The majority of Skyrim users will not have high end computer setups which are able to run on ultra settings.

The easiest way to achieve this is to use Wrye Bash's INI Edits function. Make sure you generate a default Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini. This can be done by deleting your current ini's (remember to back them up first) in your Documents folder. Once deleted, generate new inis by changing your settings to either medium or high in the Skyrim Launcher, as mentioned above. Once these default inis have been generated, back them up. Navigate to the INI Tweaks folder in Skyrim's Data folder. This folder will only be present if you have installed Wrye Bash. Create two new text files and name one Default Medium (or High) Mod Test Skyrim.ini, and the other Default Medium (or High) Mod Test SkyrimPrefs.ini. Make sure that you two text files change from .txt to .ini. Once these have been created, copy the contents of the newly generated ini's into their respective ini files you just created. The same should be done for you normal setting that you play Skyrim with, but name the resulting ini's differently, such as My Skyrim.ini, or My SkyrimPref.ini

This will allow you to easily switch between mod testing ini's and your normal ini settings. To apply the ini settings, right click on the ini file in Wrye Bash and chose apply. Be warned that if you would like to remove the applied ini settings, you cannot do so from Wrye Bash. For example, if you apply your normal ini settings to your mod testing ini setting, you will overwrite many ini settings. However, if you mod testing ini settings contain entries that do not exist in your normal inis, then these entries will remain. Only enteries that exist in both will be overwritten. It is easier just to copy your settings from your normal ini files, delete the text inside your Skyrim.ini and SkyrimPrefs.ini, and paste the copied text inside if you wish to revert back to your personal settings. This can also be done from your backups.

Note: Include pictures. Note 2: Potentially upload default ini files.

uGrids

This ini setting MUST be set to the default value of 5. For those of you who use a value of 7 and above, be warned that these higher values are 100% inherently unstable. It may be stable as a rock for you, but please don't test a mod with anything but the default value of 5. The chance that a new mod may cause stability issues with higher uGrids values is quite high, and again, most Skyrim players will be using the default value. To easily switch between uGrids values, create the relevant ini files in the INI Tweaks folder for WB as mentioned in the section above.

Should you attempt to test a mod on a save game that used to have a higher uGrids value, you will be unable to load it. There are three solutions. The first is to start a new game, which is highly preferred. The second is to use a Bat file to revert to the default value. These can be obtained from the DNA INI Generator site. The third option is to use a selection of vanilla saves and STEP complete saves that can be downloaded under the save game section.

Note: Include default values Note 2: potentially upload ini files for this as well. MAYBE even just upload my (MW25), entire ini tweaks folder?

Papyrus Logging

These ini tweaks will allow you to see if and mod issues are caused by errors in the mods scripts. Not all mods will contain scripts though. Again the easiest way to apply these is create a sperate ini file in Wrye Bash's INI Tweaks folder. This tweak is applied to the Skyrim.ini file. The log files can be found where your save games are, in the Scripts folder.

[Papyrus]

bEnableLogging=1

bEnableTrace=1

bLoadDebugInformation = 1

Mod Tracing

STILL NEEDS TO BE TESTED* This ini tweak is from Oblivion, and may work for Skyrim. If something is wrong while playing skyrim when testing the mod, such as a purple texture, floating object, naked NPC, etc, this tweak plus some console commands may generate a log file as to what mods are connected to object.

SBetaCommentFileName=

Save Files

Testing Locations

Console Commands

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- Camera mod

- DDSopt if testing texture mods, link to DDSopt guide.

- videos i. fraps ii. youtube

- gifs

-image galleries i. hosting sites

- compatebility checking i. tes5edit, tes5gecko when released ii. ck workarounds

- wrye bash i. esmfy esps to fix ctds/ tesvsnip.

- INI tweaks / WB ini tweaks i. medium default settings for stability a. maybe upload WB ini wteaks files. ii. papyrus logging iii. mod tracing (need to test)

- saves i. multiple save files from vanilla and STEP setup, heavy exterior areas, heavy interior. ii. link to total cell clear in troubleshooting guide iii. z92's suggestions for 60s run throughs.

- in game tools i. elysmeminfo ii. camera mod

- software tools i. nvidia inspector, skyrim performance monitor, gpu-z, FPS background booster.