STEP:Mandate

Core STEP [edit | edit source]

Core STEP Flowchart

Skyrim was originally created for the console, and while Bethesda has released official texture packs and patches to correct for the PC platform, they missed a great deal. Core STEP comprehensively enhances vanilla Skyrim for the PC in order to properly finish what Bethesda attempted. Specifically, ...

Core STEP is about ...

... bug fixes and corrections to malfunctioning aspects of vanilla Skyrim.
... HD asset replacements in the style of vanilla Skyrim.
... improvements to existing content that increases the consistency of vanilla Skyrim.
... new content that is indisputably missing from vanilla Skyrim.
... interface mods that improve the menus and UI for the PC.

Core STEP can be defined as a comprehensive assemblage of game modifications that are 100% consistent with the above bullets. This will maximize the stability of a core "fix" whilst minimizing the possibility of conflicts. Another way to think of Core STEP is that it simply takes the Unofficial Skyrim Patches a step further by integrating them all along with other miscellaneous fixes and vanilla asset enhancements. Template:Notice Small

Core STEP is NOT about ...

... content that conflicts with TES lore or vanilla Skyrim lore.
... mods that subjectively alter or contrast with the style of vanilla Skyrim.
... new content that is out-of-scope with vanilla Skyrim.
... mods that subjectively alter game settings (GMSTs) of vanilla Skyrim.

STEP Expanded (aka: the STEP Pack)[edit | edit source]

STEP Expanded is about ...

... content that is consistent with Skyrim and TES lore as established by Bethesda's creators and extrapolated on by the STEP community in accordance with the Imperial Library and the UESP.
... continuity and qualitative consistency of all in-game behaviors and assets (e.g., sounds, graphics, models, gameplay, etc.)
... new content, assets and effects that "fit" Skyrim and TES lore.

STEP Expanded is a somewhat subjectively creative extrapolation or the STEP community's vision of what vanilla Skyrim could and should be. Expanded STEP does come with a bit of a performance cost, but it is worth it for those that want to experience a more "realistic" style of play. In addition to adding upon the visual and acoustic enhancements of vanilla Skyrim, STEP Expanded modifies aspects of the vanilla game in terms of gameplay mechanics by using scripted mods that alter GMSTs and add or subtract specific functionality to yield an overall more immersive experience. The cost is paid in terms of a slight performance drop and a more advanced mod-maintenance overhead. STEP Expanded ultimately takes most of the vanilla-extraneous STEP experience of days past and adds the "best" options of Neovalen's Skyrim Revisited that adhere to the STEP Expanded Mandate, without the maintenance overhead of that Pack.

STEP Expanded is NOT about ...

... Sex mods, female body replacement mods or beauty mods that unrealistically affect or digress from the ambiance of the TES series.
... Music replacement mods or game style overhauls.
... Gameplay overhauls that affect a particular play style (i.e., gameplay alterations are chosen that affect all play styles without bias).