GUIDE System Setup Guide (SSG)

[TechAngel85]

Discussion topic:
System Setup Guide (SSG) by Step Modifications
Prerequisite guide to installing any of the Step Game Guides.

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[Simondererste]

After changing 2 minor 'typos' i would like to ask,

(1)what is the reason to use a new Steam installation?

(2)Also, why does the place of Steam matter?

The steam instruction link under 'Moving Steam and Installed Games'(, which is great!,) already shows how to install a game in any location with the help of 'Steam Library Folders'.

 

I got a little confused under the section 'Steam Installation' by "...many users opt to install their games to a separate drive reserved for game installations." as the text is talking about games but refers to Steam.

Similarly this was odd for me too:

"Steam can be installed one of two ways:

1. Purchase the physical copy of the game from a retailer:"

but reading further it seems like there are game disks that still need steam and preinstall it with the games disk? So this might be ok. I never had this so it looked odd for me.

 

I feel like there is a lot of text that is not needed for me because i already have things like file extensions on and think that some steps are probably only optional, but it is probably a good amount for people who don't feel so confident in their pc/modding-knowledge and want something more in depth.

However it's not optimal for doing it fast(maybe i or someone can produce a "dumbed down" version).

 

i would suggest to add a (if applicable) to the "Overlays" section-title and an optional to "Display Calibration", "AMD" and "Nvidia". Please correct me if "Video Card Setup" is mandatory besides "Update Display Drivers". I think the specific settings are either optional or at least can be done after all the modding is done and it should be somewhere in the guide, so people can skip it first. At least i couldn't find something that is essential for a normal STEP install in Nvidia settings guide/Nvidia Inspector.

 

Clarification why i want some of those changes:

I think too much of a text-wall might deter people from going through with a STEP install, even so they can skip a lot and still be successful with it.

In addition i like to be able to get through it faster even when i already forgot which sections aren't important (for my setup).

[TechAngel85]

1) You can install Steam anywhere outside the UAC's area of control. We've chosen the C drive because a lot of users will not have an additional drive. This makes for simple and streamlined instructions as the STEP SE Guide uses the locations from the Setup Guide within the instructions.

2) Because if you install it within UAC control, you can have some issues with it comes to other modding programs. Steam, itself, could probably be installed within Program Files without concern, however, the game needs to be installed elsewhere.

 

3) Some users don't realize you can install Steam and games to separate locations, and that is likely where your confusing is coming in. Default Steam behavior is to install the games where Steam is installed. Our instructions reflect default behaviors. 

 

4) Most games that you purchase a physical copy of, that also require Steam, will have Steam on the game disk for pre-installation. 

 

Keep in mind the Setup Guide is written from a perspective that a user is starting fresh, without anything installed. We have to write it that way. Other users who have things already set up and skim and skip to areas that affect them. With that said, I agree that the Video Card section only needs the driver update portion. The rest is handled via BethINI in the Guide, itself, so I'll remove those.

 

The rest seems to be your personal preference for getting through things quicker. We used to have small "quick start" sections within the various Guides. However, I hated them because they led to more user support due to users not really knowing what they're doing and following the Quick Starts because of being impatient with the process...then then end up asking questions that are already answered in the information they skipped. I don't have patience for users like that anymore...and anything that reduces overhead and support is a win for us so the Quick Starts aren't coming back. Fact of the matter is, we have to cater to a very wide audience range, from noob to experienced, so I don't think we will reduce the Guides much, if any. I've already overhauled the STEP SE Guide to be far more streamlined vs previous LE versions. Unfortunately, it just takes time and users not willing to put in the time can look elsewhere, as far as I'm concerned. 

[Simondererste]

Thanks a lot for your explanations. It's really awesome to see all this great work that is put into STEP by all the members and especially the small staff.

I can totally understand your point and feel like you already did a really great job to get this wide of an audience on board!

 

It's kinda funny that physical copies nowadays have steam on it. Haven't purchased one in years. Still have a big backlog of games in my library  .

 

I also wasn't sure about the install path for MO2. My mindset was, that i wanted as little as possible on my SSD(s) and if possible nothing on my C drive, which should only include my OS and wouldn't have enough free space. I feared that MO2 needs to be on the OS drive. After asking in the MO2 Discord about it, i decided to put all my tools in F:\Modding_tools.

It's close to the root and structure is fine, as it is not the gamefolder and there are not a lot of other folders on the root of my F drive(which is on a different SSD than C). Skyrim is also on F. Only my downloads and backups are on an HDD.

[z929669]

@Tech

I think you could add spoilers to the more in-depth pieces that only apply to: (maybe: "Toggle additional info ..."):

 

{{Spoiler|shown=|hidden=}}

 

@Simondereste

You can also make these edits where you think extraneous text can be hidden. Sometimes making these kinds of edits works best if info is rearranged a bit first, so use your own judgement. If you are familiar with how wikis work, then you will know that reverting changes and seeing revisions/compares is simple. Page 'history' can be accessed from the top menu.

[TechAngel85]

Okay, so I've reduced it with the spoilers as much as possible. It's really just a bullet point read for advanced users to ensure they have things set up as expected. Any greater detail can be dived into by click on the spoilers to reveal the instructions.

[Simondererste]

Thanks, that looks good.

[viper37]

Okay, so I've reduced it with the spoilers as much as possible. It's really just a bullet point read for advanced users to ensure they have things set up as expected. Any greater detail can be dived into by click on the spoilers to reveal the instructions.

Sorry, but did you remove all driver configurations on purpose?  Reading this I thought it will be in a spoiler tag, not deleted.

 

If it is still needed, and depending on what is required, I could write the section about AMD settings for you, based on your instructions for previous versions of the drivers, as I am a (proud ;) ) AMD user :) .  If extensive testing with FPS measurements of each option is required though, I'm sorry, but I'll let someone else do it.

 

I could write it directly in the system's guide page, or create separate document if you feel it is safer.

Edited September 10, 2020 by viper37

[TechAngel85]

Sorry, but did you remove all driver configurations on purpose?  Reading this I thought it will be in a spoiler tag, not deleted.

 

If it is still needed, and depending on what is required, I could write the section about AMD settings for you, based on your instructions for previous versions of the drivers, as I am a (proud ;) ) AMD user :) .  If extensive testing with FPS measurements of each option is required though, I'm sorry, but I'll let someone else do it.

 

I could write it directly in the system's guide page, or create separate document if you feel it is safer.

Yeah, those two small things weren't really needed. There isn't anything users need to set on the drivers for SE. The links also just lead to other Guides that weren't really specific to STEP. BethINI does everything we need for the Guide so there is little reason to mess with driver-side stuff unless you just want to play.

[viper37]

Yeah, those two small things weren't really needed. There isn't anything users need to set on the drivers for SE. The links also just lead to other Guides that weren't really specific to STEP. BethINI does everything we need for the Guide so there is little reason to mess with driver-side stuff unless you just want to play.

Cool

Edited September 10, 2020 by viper37

[z929669]

Yes, please feel free to update the AMD guide. You will likely need to upload some relevant screens of the Adrenalin software or provide those for us to grab if you aren't sure how to do so. You should be able to do it all if you are comfortable with basic wiki markup and tools (top menu). Don't worry about making changes, as it's super easy to revert, since wikis track all changes and history using an internal diff algorithm.

[TechAngel85]

This Guide has been updated.

• A general review and update to the entirely of the Guide has been completed (grammar, formatting, etc.).
• Some updates where made to recommended folder structure help the support of standalone applications and multiple games.
• The common tools that will be used for most Game Guides have been moved to this Setup Guide to help eliminate repeating information on multiple Guides.

[DoubleYou]

Updated instructions for turning off the Discord Game Overlay (must have changed in a recent update).

[TechAngel85]

This Guide has been updated:

• Added missing download and installation information for MO2.
• Added relevant Alerts were added at breakpoints for NMS users.

[TechAngel85]

This Guide has been updated:

Beyond the usual cleanup, the folder structure has been updated throughout the Guide. The following changes are all due to us supporting more than Bethesda games, and to mainly incorporate No Man's Sky into into the Guide:

• Converted all forward slashes in paths back to backslashes:
  This was done due to discussions and the fact that some programs require backslashes for paths either due to their programming or root programming language limitations.
• Added new root folder, "Games", to our folder structure to support the following:
  • Step lacked recommendations for Steam install path. For the sake of consistency across all our guides, Steam is now instructed to be installed within the "Games" folder.
  • Likewise for consistency and organization, the "Modding" folder have been moved inside of the "Games" folder.
• "Tools" renamed to "Bethesda Tools"
  This was done due to the fact we are installing tools for more than just Bethesda games and piling all these tools for various games in a single folder can get confusing. Therefore, we're structuring the tools out between the various games. Since most of the Bethesda games use the same tools, we put them all together.
• MO installation has been moved inside the root "Modding" folder
  MO is not solely a manager for Bethesda game anymore; it supports many more games now. As such, MO has been moved out of the Bethesda Tool grouping and placed within the Modding folder, as it will be a core program used for all of Step's modding.
• New folder structure added to support NMS

As always, our installation paths are optional, however, keep in mind they are referenced through this and other guides. User who deviate will have to remember to correct the paths for their setups.