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Version 2.2
Change Log | 2
Table of Contents
CHANGE LOG LATEST CHANGES Guide Changes Mod changes ABOUT S.T.E.P. IMPORTANT S.T.E.P. MANDATE STEP IS ABOUT ENHANCING VANILLA SKYRIM STEP IS NOT ABOUT... PERFORMANCE, BASELINE & EXTREME STEP Performance STEP Baseline STEP Extreme STEP STEP PACKS S.T.E.P. 1 REQUIREMENTS BASELINE SYSTEM 1.A. INSTALL STEAM & SKYRIM 1.B. SKYRIM LAUNCHER OPTIONS 1.B.1. Launcher Settings 1.B.2. Establish Baseline Vanilla Performance 1.C. INSTALL UTILITIES 1.C.1. Skyrim Unplugged 1.C.2. BOSS 1.C.3. BOSS Userlist Manager (BUM) 1.C.4. Mod Manager(s) 1.C.5. SKSE 1.C.6. Script Dragon 1.D. INI TWEAKS 1.D.1. Skyrim INI 1.D.2. SkyrimPrefs INI 1.E. VIDEO CARD SETTINGS 1.E.1. NVIDIA Users 1.E.2. ATI Users FINAL NOTES (IMPORTANT!) AND FINALLY .... S.T.E.P. 2 2.A. FIXES 2.B. CONFLICTING GRAPHICS 2.C. NON-CONFLICTING GRAPHICS 2.D. INTERFACE 2.E. SOUNDS MODS 2.F. GAMEPLAY POST-INSTALLATION HOUSEKEEPING S.T.E.P. 3 3.A. TECHNICAL TIPS 3.A.1. Using BOSS to easily sort ESMs/ESPs 3.A.2. Maximizing STEP 3.A.3. Fix game launch crash after installing S.T.E.P. 3.A.4. Defrag your Hard Drive with a proper defrag tool 3.A.5. Semi-Invisible People & Misbehaving Walls (ATI) 3.A.6. Using Windowed Mode (ATI) S.T.E.P. Guide - Version 2.2 | Skyrim 1.7.7.0 | 9/24/2012 5 5 5 5 8 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 13 13 13 14 14 15 16 16 16 17 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 24 25 26 26 26 26 26 26 27 27
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3.A.7. Increase Overall Performance 3.A.8. Texture Shimmering, Etc. 3.B. IN-GAME TIPS 3.B.1. Optimize Field of View (FOV) 3.B.2. Downgraded Skill 3.B.3. BIG Frame Drops During Cell Loading USER CONTRIBUTIONS HOW YOU CAN HELP SPECIAL CREDITS
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Change Log
LATEST CHANGES
For a full history refer to the Wikis Changelog article.
Guide Changes
Updated to v2.2.0a to reflect recent findings concerning a small number of 2.2.0 mods New format! Read our announcement for more information. Updated installation instructions, INI tweaks, and utilities. Easy to read tables for the mod list. Revised mod list order
Mod changes
Fixes
Removed Arrow Pickup Fix Fixed Mannequins Added Barrow Button Fix Blacksmith Forge Water Fix Closer Quivers and Longer Arrows Fuz Ro D'oh Nitpick Unofficial Dawnguard Patch
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Dragon Priest Masks Ancient Nord Armor Glass Armor and Weapons Hvergelmir's Armor Hvergelmir's Shields Millenia Weapon Project Nightingale Prime Armor Perfect Legionnaire Razor Scale & Cannibal Lord Shield of Ysgramor
Removed all the mods that are incorporated in Texture Pack Combiner Replaced Alternate Sunglare with Skyrim Sunglare in TPC Better Decapitation Gore with Enhanced Blood Crimson Tide -Blood with Enhanced Blood Natural Eyes with Eyes of Beauty Guard Shields & Banners and Tattered Banners with Designs of the Nords in TPC Added Antz in my Pantz Better Beast Races Better Shadowmarks Birds and Flocks Breathing Idles Chimneys for Skyrim Climates of Tamriel Countervibe ENB Cover Khajiits Elemental Staffs Enhanced Vanilla ENB Eye Reflection Extender HQ Beards Illuminated Tree LoD No Spinning Death Animation Project ENB Quality Snowflakes Real Effect Candle Running With Bows Skyrim Performance Plus Texture Pack Combiner Thinner Weapon Blades
Interface
Removed Immersive HUD Small Crosshair Replaced CFM-Extreme Compatibility Config with CFM-Oni Edition Necessary Map Markers with Cartographer's Map Markers Added Altar Descriptions Better Book Names Colored Map Markers Dungeon Quest Awareness Lore-Based Loading Screens
S.T.E.P. Guide - Version 2.2 | Skyrim 1.7.7.0 | 9/24/2012
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Removed Sounds of Skyrim: missing from Nexus Added Better Weapon Swings Roosters At Dawn Waterbreathing Breathless Emerge
Gameplay
Removed Centered Third Person Camera: added to INI tweaks Increased Character Height Instant Camera POV Switching: added to INI tweaks People Have Torches Proper Third Person Horse Camera: added to INI tweaks Skyrim Uncapper Replaced Back Off Barbas with Less Annoying Barbas Cowardly Horses with Convenient Horses Paarthurnax Choices with Paarthurnax Dilemma Added Deja Vu Dynamic Fires Follower Trap Safety Gildergreen Regrown More Salt Please More Village Animals Wearable Lanterns
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About S.T.E.P.
STEP is an extensive, STEP-by-STEP, guide to enhancing TESV Skyrim with the some of the best, tested mods, tweaks and settings. The focus is quality not quantity. STEP tries to stay as close to vanilla Skyrim as possible while improving visual quality as well as fixing game-play mechanics. Created by TheCompiler, STEP is a collaboration of community members, technical volunteers, and project administrators. The goal is to provide tested and validated instructions for establishing and maintaining an enhanced modded Skyrim. Thus, the guide represents a confirmed tested/compatible and playable template. New modders can follow STEP explicitly, or more experienced modders can use it as general guide. The STEP team collects mod suggestions from the community. Detailed reviews, feedback, suggestions and general input are exchanged on the STEP Community Forums. Posting rules apply, so be sure to read and follow the posting rules and enjoy a warm welcome and plenty of highquality support from a large community of experienced STEPers.
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Important
Alterations suggested by this guide WORK. Many modding guides speculate, suggesting experimental or often pointless tweaks, leading only to placebo effects or even game issues. Tweaks listed here are tested and verified, and more tweaks are discovered or invented and added if they are confirmed to be useful and dependable. Check out the comparison screenshots on the Nexus. But remember: the only way to experience STEP ... is to actually experience STEP. NOTE: Don't forget to visit the Step Forums and provide feedback related to STEP. Also visit The STEP Facebook page. Assistance and feedback are what is needed in order for STEP to grow and improve. To support hosting and maintenance of the STEP Community Project, contributions are most welcome.
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S.T.E.P. Mandate
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
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!
STEP Packs
Optional "STEP Packs", designed with specific themes are now in development. A pack will be a set of mods selected to work together and with STEP to achieve a specific goal (in some cases possibly following less strict guidelines than those listed above). For example, a "Hardcore pack" can easily be added to the STEP base. STEP Packs will be released as they become available after sufficient compatibility testing.
S.T.E.P. Guide - Version 2.2 | Skyrim 1.7.7.0 | 9/24/2012
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S.T.E.P. 1
Pre-Installation Setup Requirements
Official Patch v1.7 Familiarity with the Skyrim Installation Guide Patience and diligence
Baseline System
The STEP Guide is written with the following system (or comparable) in mind, and performancefriendly versions of mods are considered default Baseline STEP. Performance cost relative to vanilla is between 10 - 30 FPS, depending on location in-game: Windows 7 64-bit Intel i5/i7 quad core 4+Gb DDR3 system RAM 1 Gb Resolution: 1440x900 1920x1200 Note for users with a less powerful system: Install only the essential mods indicated as Core. Select the most performance-friendly mod versions.
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1.C.2. BOSS
Better Oblivion Sorting Software (BOSS) is the recommended utility for managing mod plugins for Skyrim. Download BOSS and install according to the instructions provided by the author.
S.T.E.P. Guide - Version 2.2 | Skyrim 1.7.7.0 | 9/24/2012
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1.C.5. SKSE
Skyrim Script Extender is a mod utility required for STEP. SKSE is an app that exposes console commands and the internal scripting language (Papyrus) to modders. Follow the instructions in the ReadMe to install. NOTE: It may be necessary to create a new directory called SKSE in skyrim\Data and an additional subdirectory in SKSE called plugins ( skyrim\Data\skse\plugins is where all SKSE plugins must be installed).
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These tweaks fix the shadow flickering issue. Shadow flickering is caused by updating sun shadows. This will increase the time that blood decals remain visible (tweak from Enhanced Blood Textures mod).
fDecalLifetime=750.0
Add the following under [General]: This will disable the annoying intro sequence.
iLargeIntRefCount=999999 sIntroSequence=
This prevents crashes when loading into a large interior area. This helps prevent lighting pop-in by pushing back the distance at which the flicker/pulse animation loops begin.
fFlickeringLightDistance=8192
This will shift the point of aim to the center of the aiming reticule for arrows and crossbows (with this setting targets will be hit where the cursor is placed at approximately 100 feet from the target).
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These settings put the camera just above your character's head in third-person view. (From "Centered Third Person Camera".)
fOverShoulderHorseAddY=-72.0 fOverShoulderHorsePosZ=50.0 fOverShoulderHorsePosX=35.0 fActorFadeOutLimit=-100
This corrects the camera angle in third-person view while on horseback. (From "Third Person Horse Camera".)
fMouseWheelZoomSpeed=60.0 f1st3rdSwitchDelay=0.95 iHorseTransitionMillis=001
This provides instant camera-angle switching when switching view types or when mounting/dismounting your horse. (from "Instant Camera POV Switching") Save the file and exit. NOTE: If one of these sections is not present in your INIs, add it at the end of the file.
NVIDIA users ONLY! Improves Anisotropic Filter quality if you force AF from your NVIDIA card. If you are not going to force AF from the video card (see 1.E.1. NVIDIA Users), do not use this tweak, and leave it to 16! Improves tree shadowing by enabling (fake but nice) shadows on trees.
bDrawLandShadows=1 bTreesReceiveShadows=1
ENB users ONLY (see section 2.B)! Enabling this setting without an ENB will add land shadowing, which means two things: more shadow striping bug, and less performance (2-3 FPS drop). If using an ENB then shadow striping is no longer an issue. Together with setting shadow quality set to High in Step-1, this tweak will improve shadows resolution at a huge performance cost. Shadow quality on Ultra already sets this to 4096. This will improve the blood decals number per scene (from Enhanced Blood Textures).
iWaterReflectHeight=1024 iWaterReflectWidth=1024 iMaxDecalsPerFrame=350 iShadowMapResolution=4096
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If this is not present in the INI, add it under [Launcher]. This will allow selection of plug-ins from the Data folder (even if mod manager programs can do it instead), but more importantly, it will prevent Skyrim Launcher from un-checking all previously checked ESPs. If this is not present in your INI, just add it under [Controls]. This will disable mouse acceleration. Save the file and exit.
bMouseAcceleration=0
bEnableFileSelection=1
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S.T.E.P. 2
Mod Installation
INSTALLATION TABLE-HEADER DEFINITIONS
Core Mod Mod Name Baseline Impact Core mods are indicated by the presence of a blue bar in the row at the immediate left-hand column of the table. Nexus mod name (where applicable) presented as a link links to Nexus for download. Mods with colored text (other than standard blue) indicate problematic mods according to TES5Edit. This notes the STEP Baseline version or option of the corresponding mod. Denotes if there is a performance impact associated with the corresponding mod. A performance-"friendlier" version also exists as another option. A performance-"costing" version also exists as another option. Both performance friendlier and costing versions of the mod exist. Brief notes that apply to the mod or installation.
Notes
Installation Tables
WARNING: Continuing on from this point without reading all of the previous content of this guide, and all recommended literature, will likely result in a problematic STEP installation, as well as needless queries for assistance on the Nexus and Community Forum. Please revisit the preceding pages and any pertinent links therein before moving forward and BEFORE asking for help. Thanks! IMPORTANT NOTE: Loose File (non-BSA) versions should be used whenever available. All mods should be installed in the order listed. It is intentional that as you progress many mods will overwrite previous mods.
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2.A. Fixes
Essential fixes and tweaks.
Mod Name
Skyrim Script Extender 1st Person Armor Fix Ancient Nord Armor Fix Barrow Button Fix Blacksmith Forge Water Fix Bowlegged Jump Fix Closer Quivers and Longer Arrows Fuz Ro D'oh Invincible Hawk Fix Nitpick Trainer Gold Exploit Fix Unofficial Skyrim Patch Unofficial Dawnguard Patch
Baseline
Impact
Notes
Extract all files & folders into the Skyrim/ directory.
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Mod Name
High Resolution Texture Pack Hi-Res DLC Optimized Texture Pack Combiner Better Beast Races Better Bedrolls Better Circlets Better Turn Animation Cover Khajiits Dragon Glyphs Golden Gods Shrines
Baseline
Impact
FPS
Notes
Refer to the Skyrim Installation Guide. Follow instructions on STEP Wiki. Follow instructions on STEP Wiki. NOTE: Soul Gems Differ has minor issues and is not recommended at this time.
MD 1K
FPS FPS
Illuminated Tree Lod Realistic Hair Running With Bows Skyrim Performance Plus That's Ice
Vurt's option(s)
FPS
Also install the Skyrim Flora Overhaul option(s) . If using an ENB, ONLY install the optional ENB version. If not using an ENB, ONLY install the optional No ENB version.
Use all four Main files: Pine Needles, Rainfall, Snowfall, and RiftSuper Performance. Wrye Bash users can use the BCF + wizard to install. Select the Get Wet, Reduced Splash, and Wet Rocks options. With less than 1GB of VRAM, also install the optional Medium Resolution Add-on. Don't use any optional files.
FPS FPS
See notes
WATER Xenius Character Enhancement Yuril Rings AOF Believable Hair Eyes of Beauty
Gold Circle MD Female & Male FPS FPS FPS FPS
Don't use any optional files. Install both NPC and Player files.
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Mod Name
Quality Snowflakes
Baseline
Alternative
Impact
FPS
Notes
Mod Name
Animated Weapon Enchants Antz in my Pantz Better Bones Better Freckles Better Shadowmarks Birds & Flocks Breathing Idles Burn Freeze & Shock Effects Chimneys for Skyrim Cinematic Fire Effects Climates of Tamriel Deadly Spell Impacts Distant Detail Elemental Staffs Enchantment Effect Replacer Enhanced Blood Eyebrows Match Hair Eye Reflection Extender Finer Dust HD Baskets
Baseline Impact
Notes
FPS See notes Fire No options Medium FPS FPS FPS 2K Combined FPS Closer match FPS FPS FPS
If NOT using Dawnguard, also install the optional Non-Dawnguard ESP. NOTE: Mod has 247 structural issues; not recommended at this time. Use the ChimneysForSkyrimRW file. Do not use embers Do NOT install if you have Dawnguard, they are incompatible. NOTE: Dungeons option has 2459 structural issues.
Also install optional Blurry Screen Blood and Darker Brighter Blood, then pick darker version if using an ENB. Has Dawnguard support!
512x1024
FPS
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Mod Name
HQ Beards Improved Foot Wraps Improved Torches Improved Weapon Impact Effects Lanterns Of Skyrim
Baseline Impact
Light FPS FPS
Notes
FPS
CoT Preset
FPS
Install the main ESM as well as either: The Climates of Tamriel preset if CoT is installed. Choose ONLY the matching lighting ESP. The Default preset if CoT isnt installed.
Legible Road Signs Lockpick Inventory Remodel Moon Size Tweaks New Children New Thinner Torch No Spinning Death Animation Not Really HD-Display Case Not Really HD-Keys Not Really HD-Mask of Clavicus Vile Pilgrims Delight Pond Fish Projectile Soul Trap Rabbits Plus Real Effect Candle Realistic Paper Sweet Mother Thinner Weapon Blades Vibrant Auroras Warmer Magic Lights
Worn Text
FPS
x0.5 (both)
FPS
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2.D. Interface
Mods that modify games menus, UI and interface settings.
Mod Name
Altar Descriptions Better Book Names Cartographers Map Markers Categorized Favorites Menu CFM-Oni Edition Colored Map Markers Dungeon Quest Awareness High Quality 3D Map Interface Key Tweaks Lockpicking Interface Lore-Based Loading Screens Main Font Replacement No Menu & Loading Smoke Quality World Map Skill Interface SkyUI Smaller Cursor Spinning Skyrim Emblem Thinner Compass Time On Loading Screen
Baseline Impact
Notes
Requires SKSE. Cannot be configured in-game due to minor incompatibility with Skyrim v1.7
Standard
Don't use any optional files. Warning: can cause very minor spoilers.
Hi-Res Meshes & Normals Standard Tweaks only v1.2 (Without Wings) FPS
All Roads
FPS FPS
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Mod Name
Activate Fail Noise Removal Ambient Seagulls Better Bards Better Horse Pain Sounds Better Weapon Swings Immersive Skyrim Thunder Improved Combat Sounds Roosters At Dawn Smooth Blade Draw & Sheathe Sounds of Nature-Redux Waterbreathing Breathless Emerge
Baseline Impact
Notes
Don't use any optional file. Use this only if NOT using Climates of Tamriel.
2.F. Gameplay
Mods listed here are not overhauls and only slightly affect game balance. These mods are vanilla-friendly and are intended to address specific flaws of the original game rather than change it.
Mod Name
Ars Metallica-Smithing Auto Unequip Ammo Better Quest Objectives Bring Out Your Dead Clams Drop Pearls Convenient Horses Dark Brotherhood to Misc
Baseline Impact
Notes
If not using Dawnguard, ONLY install v3.0. NOTE: Mod has 25 structural issues; not recommended at this time.
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Mod Name
Death Cam Duration Options Deja Vu Drop Lit Torches Dynamic Fires Follower Trap Safety Gildergreen Regrown Killable Children Less Annoying Barbas More Interactive Items More Salt Please More Village Animals Move It Dammit No NPC Greetings Paarthurnax Dilemma Realistic Crime Radius Realistic Ragdolls & Force Skyrim Coin Replacer Smart Souls Wearable Lanterns
Baseline Impact
Notes
Reduced
NOTE: Mod has 72 structural issues; not recommended at this time. Requires SKSE. Also install the optional Lanterns for Guards.
Post-Installation Housekeeping
Once all mods have been installed and ready to play, be certain to either: Start a new game, or Load an existing game, and Save the game including all of the new mod info Sleep within an interior cell for 31 days, and ... Save AGAIN (this will be the new modded save to fall back to)
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S.T.E.P. 3
Hints & Common Issues 3.A. Technical Tips
All of the following may be helpful, but be certain to also check the STEP Troubleshooting Guide on the Wiki.
Some plugins might not be recognized by BOSS and will be positioned at the very end of the load order (the BOSS report will show them). This is not an issue, and plugins can always be manually reordered.
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NOTE: REDUCE THE VIEW DISTANCE SETTINGS FROM THE GAME LAUNCHER (REVISIT THE LAUNCHER TWEAKS SECTION ABOVE).
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... and hit Enter Use a number from 66-100, depending on resolution and screen ratio. Default is 65 (4:3 screens), but 70-75 works nicely for 16:10 screens and 75-80 works nicely for 16:9 screens. This change will be permanent in the saved game. Other INI FOV tweaks don't require opening the console, but they dont 'stick' and can corrupt the game. Also note that high FOV can cause a performance drop for some configurations.
... and hit Enter Hit the tilde key again Done.
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User Contributions
How YOU can help
STEP can only get bigger and better with help from the STEP-wide user community. Even simply maintaining the current STEP is too much work for a single person to ensure that the highest quality is maintained. We need people to help us identify mods that are thought to improve Skyrim while adhering to the STEP Mandate. We also need ongoing reviews and updates on mods that may be causing problems or stray from the STEP philosophy. STEP has always been about creating a better Skyrim through community resources. More detail is presented in the Mod Testing Guide now in development. NOTE: In order to suggest a mod, visit the MOD SUGGESTIONS section in the STEP Forums.
Special Credits
Roogal for the darker PDF theme concept MontyMM for the guide's dragon logo and z929669 for the new STEP-brand logo Authors of mods recommended in STEP The core STEP Community for feedback, suggestions and input The STEP beta testers for their good humor ... & rigorous analyses The Nexus community Bethesda Softworks for Skyrim (and TES overall) The STEP Community administrators for establishing the STEP community & specifically ... Farlo for mod informatics and wiki development frihyland for workflow solutions and general application development Stoppingby4now for forum operations/development and wiki skinning z929669 for the major PDF content rewrites TheCompiler (Daniel) for creating STEP!
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