Vanilla Enhanced Gameplay Alternativeby Nearox
VEGA Vanilla Enhanced Gameplay Alternative

Skyrim the way it was meant to be played. New and different enemies are added by SIC, as well as random outdoor patrols and encounters. The combat system, player & enemy perks, potions and magick spells are defined by SkyRe. Bosses and special NPCs are provided by Enemy AI Overhaul. Riding horses is fun and immersive. Your followers are smart and you can have multiple. You will need to bring 1 or 2 followers (and some potions) in order to succeed at bosses, especially at low levels. Dragons are more difficult than city guards. Skyrim is now both challenging and rewarding, but it is not a hardcore experience. VEGA complements STEP:Core, and they work flawless together.
Forum Thread:
Required Packs:
Compatible Packs:
Required DLC(s):
Link to Forum


Dawnguard, Hearthfire, Dragonborn

VEGA Vanilla Enhanced Gameplay Alternative Pack for STEP:Core
Skyrim the way it was meant to be played. New and different enemies are added by SIC, as well as random outdoor patrols and encounters. The combat system, player & enemy perks, potions and magick spells are defined by SkyRe. Bosses and special NPCs are provided by Enemy AI Overhaul. Riding horses is fun and immersive. Your followers are smart and you can have multiple. You will need to bring 1 or 2 followers (and some potions) in order to succeed at bosses, especially at low levels. Dragons are more difficult than city guards. Skyrim is now both challenging and rewarding, but it is not a hardcore experience. VEGA complements STEP:Core, and they work flawless together. Included mods:

Skyrim Redone
Autosave Manager
Convenient Horses
Deadly Dragons
Enemy AI OverHaul - Revenge Of the Enemies
Extensible Follower Framework
High Level Enemies
Skyrim Immersive Creatures
Unofficial Skyrim Redone
VEGA Pack Information
No difficult TES5Edit compatibility patching required from you.
My compatibility patch is available for easy download and easy installation.
Hundreds of NPCs have been patched manually.
All NPCs edited by Revenge of the Enemies follow the level scaling and related health, magicka, stamina and skill points from SkyRe Enemy Scaling because Revenge of the Enemies is static instead of dynamic. The SIC extra added spawns are excluded from this because SIC has its own dynamic scaling system.
All bosses, leaders and special NPCs use the combined spells and the abilities from both SkyRe and Revenge of the Enemies. Some bosses have more than 15 different attack moves/spells now, which make for very interesting fights. They scale according to SkyRe plus the added boss health from Revenge of the Enemies. Get ready for epic dragon priests and master vampires. The way it was meant to be.
All 'standard' NPCs (e.g. a regular skeleton) have the perks from SkyRe and no or few perks from Revenge of the Enemies. The latter adds too much stuff to regular mobs, which can make normal fights last too long, too complex and too tedious.
Removed many of the lore-unfriendly non-sensical racial powers that were added by Revenge of the Enemies to regular NPCs. They just don't fit the Skyrim setting like that at all. I did this to the best of my knowledge, but I'm sure there are still many left. If you see a regular mob using a very powerful thu'um, that's Revenge of the Enemies at work.
Re-tweaked the Community Uncapper.ini. Normally, levelling above level 30 suddenly slows down a lot - even with SkyRe. But because SkyRe and HLE really encourage high-level play, I increased the speed at which skills contibute to levelling up. Starting from level 30, the leveling speed is increased by approximately 20% for every 10 levels. From level 81 onwards (the old vanilla limit) you will level at 2.5x speed of the Skyrim Redone Uncapper. Don't worry, you won't become overpowered at any time. It still takes ages to get to the next level. But this keeps the game interesting to play, giving you more of the excellent SkyRe perk choices. Unless you want to finish all quests and all expansions at level 60, not having had the fun of some of the most interesting SkyRe perks and enemy mobs/bosses? Enemies still scale with you no matter what, and some enemies become more difficult at higher level.
?Disclaimer: I tried to make the compatibility patch as complete as possible but I am sure I missed quite a few things because of the sheer number of edits that had to be made. I cannot guarantee that 100% of mobs are patched correctly, but you should not run into any game-breaking issues if you encounter any mob that hasn't been patched. At worst, the mob is overpowered or underpowerd. I will bring out updates to the compatibility patch in the near future. You can already start playing as you can simply replace the old with the new patch later.

VEGA Pre-Installation Setup
STEP:Core 2.2.7 mods as indicated by the green color bar next to the mod name. No other STEP mods, other than the ones in the VEGA pack.
STEP:Core 2.2.7 mods installed following either STEP baseline or performance instructions to the letter.
STEP:Core 2.2.7 INI tweaks. Shadows 2048 or less.
BOSS
BOSS Userlist Manager
Mod Organizer 1.x (I do not use Wrye Bash for organizing my mods so I can�t extend support to that but the install should also work with WB).
Wrye Bash (used for the bashed patch)
TES5Edit 3.0.31.

VEGA Installation
Edit Modlist
Mod Name Notes
Skyrim RedoneLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: 1.3
Run the installer
In options, select the following: Main, Races, Standing Stones, Combat, Enemy AI, Enemy Scaling & Skyrim Community Uncapper � custom INI file. Do not select Encounter Zones or Survivalism.
Finish the installer. Move SkyRe after When Vampires Attack in the install order, if it isn�t already.
Open the filtree of the newly added 'T3nd0s Skyrim Redone'.
Open SKSE/Plugins/SKSE_Elys_Uncapper.ini in notepad
Scroll down to to [PCLevelSkillExpMults\Alchemy] or press 'Ctrl+f' to find it quick.
On the line directly under [PCLevelSkillExpMults\Alchemy], copy/paste the following:
1=1.0
30=1.2
40=1.4
50=1.6
60=1.8
70=2.0
81=2.5
Do the same for all the [PCLevelSkillExpMults\xxx]. The last one should be [PCLevelSkillExpMults\TwoHanded].
Close and save.
Unofficial Skyrim Redone PatchLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: 1.6.02
Run the installer
Select all the 4 options
Finish the installer. Move Unofficial Skyrim Redone Patch below SkyRe in the install order, if it isn�t already.
ReproccerLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA:Reproccer 25
Run the installer.
Move reproccer below Unofficial Skyrim Redone Patch in the install order, if it isn�t already.
Balbors and Steelsouls SkyRe Reproccer PatchesLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: Balbor-and-Steelsouls ReProccer Patch V3-7
Run the installer
In options, select: 01 � SkyRe Crafting Fix, 03 Dragonborn armor fix, 08 Reproccer Dragonborn Fix. Do not install the other patches.
Finish the installer. Move Balbor-and-Steelsouls ReProccer Patch V3-7 below Reproccer in the install order, if it isn�t already.
SkyRe ReProccer Compatibility Patches qotsafanLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: All-in-One ReProccer Patches NMM and Wrye Bash Wizard and Mod Organizer Version 3.7.4
Mod Organizer users: All-in-One ReProccer Patches NMM and Wrye Bash Wizard and Mod Organizer Version
Wrye Bash users: I believe you can still use the Mod Organizer version of the installer, so use that to follow my directions. Correct me if I�m wrong, I don�t use WB.
Run the installer
In the first screen of the installer, make sure only �01. Stats XML + Changes XML +� � is selected. Do not select any of the other options. Click [next].
In the second screen of the installer, select �Miscellaneous Reproccer + Destruction Tweak Atronach 50 Patch� and �leveled List Patch�. Do not select any of the other optiosn. Click [next].
In the third screen of the installer, select only �Pre Reproccer WA Fixes Amidian SS Patch�. It is number 27 on my installer. Do not select any of the other options. Click [next]
In the fourth screen of the installer, select �Explosive Bolts Visualized�. Do not select any of the other options. Click [next]
In the fifth screen of the installer, select �Books Hearthfire� and �Ingestible Patch�. Do not select any of the other options. Click [next]
Click [finish]
Move All-in-One Reproccer Patches below Balbor-and-Steelsouls ReProccer in the install order, if it isn�t already.
High Level EnemiesLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: High Level Enemies 1.6 Unscaled
Make sure you download the unscaled version.
Run the installer
In the first screen of the installer, select �Normal Version�. Click [next]
In the second screen of the installer, select �normal version for dawnguard�. Click [next]
In the third screen of the installer, select �normal version for dragonborn�. Click [next]
In the fourth screen of the installer, select �no falskaar�. Click [next]
Finish the installer.
Skyrim Immersive CreaturesLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: Skyrim Immersive Creatures v6_1_3 NMM BAIN
Also Download the optional file Skyrim Immersive Creatures - SkyRe Crossbow Fix
Run the installer ( I had to use FOMOD in MO, BAIN installer was not able to finish for some rea
Select both the Main Plugin and the DLC2 Optional
Finish the installer
Install the SkyRe CrossBow Fix
Deadly DragonsLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: Deadly Dragons package v6-3-5
Run the installer
Choose between �normal� or �Loremonger� (I choose �normal� because all the dragons look like they fit in well, even though they are not 100% consistent with lore, IMO). Do not install Deadly Monsters.
Finish the installer
Extensible Follower FrameworkLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: Extensible Follower Framework v3-5-6
Install all the files that come with the download
Convenient HorsesLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: Convenient Horses v4_9
Install all the files that come with the download
Autosave ManagerLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: AutosaveManager121
Install all the files that come with the download
Revenge of the EnemiesLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: Revenge of the Enemies--SLIGHT Version 1.51
Make sure you have the SLIGHT version 1.51
Install the mod like any other
SUMLink to the mod's Wiki page. # Version used in VEGA: Sum program 1.2
Run the installer in MO (don�t know how it works in WB)
In the right pane, open the �Data� Tab. Go to Skyproc Patchers > SUM > SUM.jar. Right-click the file and select Add as Executable. Leave the default name SUM. Do not run SUM or the Reproccer now.
VEGA Post-Installation Configuration
VEGA Compatibility Patching
Download my patch here
Click the black text �Patch Nearox Overhaul - STEP Core.esp � to download, all the other stuff is bad crap
Use your explorer to go to your Mod Organizer/mods directory. Create a new folder called �Patch Nearox Overhaul � STEP Core�. Put the downloaded file in that folder
Open Mod Organizer and refresh the installed mod list.
Enable the mod in both the installed list and in the load order
Open Boss Userlist Manager. Select �Patch Nearox Overhaul - STEP Core.esp. Click the AFTER selection box and select BOTTOM. In the empty field next to it, type: Compatibility Patches. Click [save rule]. Close BUM and save changes when asked.
Run BOSS and make sure again that the patch is enabled in the load order. It should now be right above the bashed patch.
VEGA INI Tweaks
In Skyrim.ini, change the following lines

f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.64
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.64
In Skyrim.ini, remove the following lines

f1PBoltTiltUpAngle=0.7
f3PBoltTiltUpAngle=0.7
VEGA Load List Configuration
Run BOSS
Disable Explosive Bolts Visualized.esp from the load order (leave it enabled in the install order so you still get the textures and meshes)
Disable the Brawl Bugs Patch from the install order so that its esp and related scripts are disabled.
Use Wrye Bash to rebuild the Bashed Patch. If you are using MO, add Wrye Bash.exe to the executable menu and run it from within WB. Disable all mods below the Bashed Patch.esp in the load order before you rebuild it. I recommend NOT to Merge Patches (i.e. press Skip and then deselect merge Patches). Make sure Import Stats, Tweak Settings and Leveled Lists are selected. Click [Build Patch]. If it asks you to activate the bashed patch, click yes. Close Wrye Bash
Run SUM through MO. Make sure that the Bashed Patch.esp and the Pre Reproccer WA Fixes aMidianSS Patch.esp are enabled, and all others below it are disabled. In SUM, always check �Force All Patches�. Click [Patch] and exit SUM.
Enable all the patches below reproccer.esp
VEGA Optional SIC Tweaks
Only do this if you are having CTD/Freeze problems in outdoor areas! It will increase papyrus log spam by a bit (though not much). The tweaks completely remove extra spawns in the game, although via the MCM one can also reduce the extra spawns by about 80% so for most people this will not be necessary. It is a raw method which I MIGHT refine later if I find the time. You will still get like 90% of the SIC creatures through leveled lists, so you probably won�t notice the effect of this tweak in-game � apart from removing another instability factor of course!

Once again, you most likely won't need to do this. So many things can be the cause of issues so don�t do this �tweak� immediately. SIC spawns are there for a reason: they add livelihood to the game and an additional challenge in some areas. But if you think you do, follow these steps:

In TES5Edit, open Skyrim Immersive Creatures.esp and Skyrim Immersive Creatures DLC2.esp
Completely remove the �Worldspace� folders of both esps
Close TES5Edit, uncheck [backup plugins] and click [ok]
If you still experience CTDs/Freezes and still think they are related to cell spawns, follow these steps:

In TES5Edit, open Skyrim Immersive Creatures.esp and Skyrim Immersive Creatures DLC2.esp
Completely remove the �Cell� folders of both esps
Close TES5Edit, uncheck [backup plugins] and click [ok]
VEGA In-Game Configuration
Start a new game. No exceptions.

Skyrim Settings

Game difficulty: Adept. SkyRe is balanced around this. If you have troubles in the early game (lvl 1-8), put it on apprentice and then back to Adept again at level 8. Don't be a puss... Smile
Disable all savegame events: "Save on Rest", "Save on Wait", and "Save on Travel", "Save on Character Menu" and disable the autosave function. The game uses unsafe methods and we will be using Autosave Manager instead.
Keybind the quicksave button to something else than F5 (e.g. F6).
MCM Menu: Autosave Manager

Put autosave to 'every 5 minutes' and make the save type 'incremental'.
Keybind the manual save function to 'F5'.
MCM Menu: Deadly Dragons

Select the Expert preset.
MCM Menu: Immersive Creatures

Do these tweaks regardless if you did the optional worldspace/cell edits or not.
Optional: If you want only lore-friendly-monsters, select the 'purist' preset. Warning: You will not see many new creatures if you select this option.
Under General, disable the Random Cell Respawner.
Under General, set global difficulty to adept, if it isn't already.
Under General, disable all the options under �additional spawn system�.
Under advanced, put the resurrection chance at 20%.
Under Encounter, put Cliffracer to only spawn in Solstheim.
Save your game and start playing!

Miscellaneous Information
Stability tests done

Played a Character up till level 15. No CTD. No Freeze. No ILS.
The Aiyen/rootsrat test" (forgot who's it is, please remind me): Main menu --> coc riverwood --> player.setav speedmult 500 --> tgm. Run to all the major cities in a clock-wise circle. Amount of times succesfuly completed: 2x. No CTD. No Freeze. No ILS.
The "Vurt" test: Open save game (from my regular character for this setup) --> player.setav speedmult 1500 --> tgm -->tcl. Fly around for 10 minutes without crashing. Amount of times done: 2x. No CTD. No Freeze. No ILS.
Performance results from my system (i5 2500k, HD6950 2gb, SSD, 1680x1050)

Max VRAM observed during gameplay: 1985 MB
Min FPS observed during gameplay: 35 FPS (The Rift)
Average FPS during gameplay: 60FPS in 80% of outdoor areas. Only big drops appear in the Rift/Falkreath area, which are more related to STEP:Core than to this pack.
Script Latency Test: Most outdoor areas it is at 38 ms average (high 55ms, low 25ms). Some areas like Rift/Falkreath it is at 50ms average (high 72ms, low 28 ms). I've seen a rare spike to 90-100 ms (high, not average). A value between 50 and 100ms is regarded as safe.
Known issues
None
Conditions for Support and Assistance
Latest NVIDIA or AMD drivers (no beta).
No ENBs, ENBoost, SweetFX or any other post-processing software.
No INI tweaks other than the STEP tweaks.
No other mods, this also means no other STEP mods.
No overclocked GPU or CPU (if you still do this, be aware that freezes/ctds may be caused by overclocked hardware) (GPU overclocks tend to be more unstable than CPU).
No RadeonPro.
No STEP Extreme (too high texture mods cause instability when combined with this pack).
Your Skyrim is stable on your system running STEP:Core.
If you use BETA 2.0 versions of the Unofficial Skyrim Patches, I will not be able to support them (yet).
I will not be able to support deviations from this, sorry. If you must use ENB/ENBoost/SweetFX, only enable the tool after your game has been found stable. Of course, your game may and probably will still run well if you use these tools, but I can only support any instability issues you may have by excluding them.

Credits
STEP Community
STEP Team
Neovalen for the SR guide
Iroha for the SR+ASIS+SkyRe guide