STEP Core Patch .esp review

[beej175560]

After several tedious evenings of modding, I've installed the STEP Core as closely as I could to the recommended instructions. Afterward, I reviewed all of my .esp files in TES5Edit with a goal of auditing STEP Core Patch.esp. I'll start by saying that this patch is very impressive, and corrects many possible issues between STEP Core mods. What few problems I've found are most likely due to updates in various STEP mods that haven't yet been reflected in the Core Patch.

 

CAVEATS:

 

1. This is only Core mods and the Core patch -- no Extended mods were installed.

2. All mods were downloaded sometime between June 6th and 10th, 2014.

3. I'm using LOOT for load order, since BOSS has been branded "end of life" and LOOT is where STEP 2.2.9 is headed anyway. (I made sure the STEP Core Patch was last in my load order, of course.)

 

COMMENTS ON THE STEP CORE PATCH:

 

Soul Gems Differ is now compliant with USKP, but the STEP Core Patch conflicts with USKP for the Petty, Lesser, Common, and Greater soul gems (by incorrectly removing the "drop" sound). The only other Soul Gem entry in the Core Patch is Wylandriah's Soul Gem, where the data is now identical to Soul Gems Differ. I suggest removing all Soul Gem data from the Core Patch, as Soul Gems Differ now handles these changes correctly.

 

Fixes from WAF to various characteristics of the following weapons have not been forwarded into the STEP Core Patch: Elven Dagger, Elven Greatsword, Daedric Greatsword, Daedric Battleaxe, Daedric Dagger, Dragonbone Mace, Orcish Dagger.

 

The following weapons are missing from the STEP Core Patch and need data merged from multiple mods: Elven Sword, Daedric Sword, Dwarven Dagger, Daedric Dagger of Devouring, Elven Dagger of Fire, Ebony Dagger. (A few of these apparent conflicts depend on the load order.)

 

The NPC Runil (1364D) needs merging from Consistent Older People and Diverse Priests.

 

In the Quest "Innocence Lost" (1EA50), NonEssentialChildren.esp overwrites fixes from the USKP. This entry needs merging.

 

Under the Projectile heading, changes to the speed and gravity of the six exploding bolt projectiles (0x00F1B0-A and 0x010D8E-F) are not forwarded from WAF into STEP Core. This looks intentional, but I couldn't see why.

 

I'm ignoring Sound Descriptor, Cell, and Worldspace edits because the extremely minor conflicts aren't worth fixing.

 

IN ADDITION:

 

One mod in the STEP Core list stood out in TES5Edit: Distant DetailHF.esp has a very large number of ITM edits, and its cleaning is complicated by the presence of a wild edit and non-adherence to the USKP. It doesn't look like the author will ever clean and fix this mod, so its inclusion in the STEP Core list gives me pause. Some users report on this forum that cleaning this mod without fixing its bugs has caused CTDs. At the very least, the complex cleaning instructions should be displayed prominently, and USKP compliance should be forced by adding overrides to the Core Patch.

 

Very happy to be able to contribute to this amazing project. Keep up all the wonderful work!

[Kelmych]

With some mods the ITMs are intentional, but I'm not sure whether they are or are not for this mod.

[TechAngel85]

Thanks for the heads up. Many of these already are or will be fixed in the 2.2.9 patches.