Project:Community portal

The STEP Mantra

Help us foster an environment that leverages your enthusiasm within a culture of good humor ... and rigorous analysis!

STEP is about enhancing vanilla Skyrim

• Texture replacements at minimized performance cost and true to vanilla Skyrim
• Continuity of all in-game textures, reducing immersion-breaking variation in texture quality (i.e., comparable resolution and style across all armors, weapons, clutter, terrain, etc.).
• Graphical mods (ESPs) including new content that "fits" vanilla Skyrim
• Gameplay mods that improve the consistency and the authors' perceived intent of vanilla Skyrim
• Interface mods which improve the menus and UI for the PC interface
• Sound mods that enhance the authors' perceived intent of vanilla Skyrim
• Fix mods that truly "fix" malfunctioning aspects of vanilla Skyrim

STEP is NOT about ...

• Content mods that conflict with vanilla Skyrim and/or TES lore
• Mods that change the authors' perceived intent of vanilla Skyrim
• Graphics mods that contrast with vanilla Skyrim in terms of appearance and practicality
• Music replacement mods
• Gameplay overhauls (unless they truly enhance the authors' perceived intent of vanilla Skyrim)

Performance, Baseline & Extreme STEP

Step provides a stable foundation or for an enhanced vanilla experience. STEP consists of a minimum or “Core” set of game enhancements adhering to the original vanilla feel of the game according to the STEP Mandate. All Core mods are considered essential to STEP. Non-Core mods are optional but highly recommended. STEP is delineated at three levels according to relative performance:

Performance STEP: ALL Core mods only; performance options wherever possible; My poor box needs all of the mercy that I can spare it, but I must have STEP!

Baseline STEP: ALL Core and non-Core mods; performance/quality and balanced options wherever possible; My box is nice but I hate FPS drops and stuttering!

Extreme STEP: ALL Core and non-Core mods; highest-quality options wherever possible; My box is omnipotent!

This creates a stable STEP foundation, and optional STEP "Packs" designed with specific themes (e.g., a "Hardcore Pack") can easily be added to this base. A Pack will be a set of mods selected to work together and with STEP to achieve a specific goal (in some cases, following less strict guidelines than those listed above).

STEP will remain a template or a base for a more complex modded Skyrim ... a tested and complete experience in and of itself.

To-do

Make mod pages.