Quick Reminder - Stable uGridsToLoad is NOT safe to use

[Nazenn]

So today Hodilton posted a video displaying his mod list and how to set it up and I noticed that he was still recommending Stable uGridsToLoad from the nexus. This is wrong.

If you still have this mod installed, DELETE IT!

Stable uGridsToLoad has a problem, acknowledged by the author of the file, that it has an infinite loop in its cell loading code which stacks up quickly and causes memory corruption.

Memory corruption, unlike most problems we deal with here, is not Skyrim specific, nor is it specific to Bethesda and Skyrims engine. It is a wider programming issue that can affect all badly built programs and can have huge concequinces on the program involved.

In the case of Skyrim memory corruption is likely behind inexplicable CTDs and may cause or influence the appearance of other bugs such as visual glitches, broken rendering, poor script performance etc. The reason why I say likely and may, instead of definitely, is because memory corruption in all programs is rarely reproducable in the same way each time and as such testing its exact symptoms is very hard. These sorts of issues I mention are those which are EXTREMEMLY common to all programs that suffer from memory corruption and are the ones most likely to appear.

For other mods which are known to be problematic, please see here:
Masterlist : Dangerous, Outdated and Superseded Mods
http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/523890681422555089/

[Entrohm]

Good to know. Yet, is it safe to uninstall for those who already have it installed? Or in other words... Will uninstalling it corrupt saves, break anything. Or more importantly, for those with it installed, whos' games work completely fine is it worth the chance, and is there any chance, of any problems from deleting it?

That being said, there are a lot of people using ugridstoload = 7/9/etc... in their .INIs. They are going to have problems if they uninstall it no doubt. switching from a higher ugrids to a lower one is going to have a huge impact itself. If you were pointlessly using stable ugridstoload mod with ugridstoload=5 setting then that be doable, yet any saves with the mod and ugrids set to 7 which are working completely fine are likely to be corrupted.

It's posts like this with a lack of detail that make the modding community miserable every time they break their game because of poor instructions.

I don't think higher ugrids should be used in the first place. Once you get rid of it though playing high than 5 isn't a thing anymore. Anyone already playing high than 5 who just deletes it is going to break their game.

ugridstoload=5 is fine for those who aren't super picky and understand they ARE playing a video game...

[Nazenn]

Should be fine, memory corruption isn't something that gets saved into your save file, its a dynamic thing that happens through a session as far as I know.

People should NOT be messing with their uGrids, while technically uGrids 7 is safe as far as it doesn't mess with quests, it is a HUGE increase in memory usage that will destalise your game.

uGrids about 7 will BREAK your game. uGrids isn't just about how much it renders, its how much of the world space is ACTIVE including scripts, quests, NPCs, AI etc. Having uGrids over 5 results in quests activating wrong, huge strain on the game engine and overall instability.

People wanting better rendering in the distance should instead be installing DynDOLOD

[Entrohm]

I agree on all of that.
I just think directing that point through the message "If you still have this mod installed, DELETE IT!" is a completely horrible way to make that point. They shouldn't be raising ugrids higher than the default (5) anyway. Yet to those who have already, "memory corruption isn't something that gets saved into your save file" yes, yet the ugrids being loaded themselves do get saved. Once they delete the stable ugrids mod, those saves are then unplayable. Once you raise it and save, from that point on there is no going back. The mod itself is removable yes. The setting however is not, and the mod allows players with that setting to play. Without the mod, at that setting the game doesn't play at all, and after the point where they've raised it and saved, all from that point on is lost if they remove it. That is what I'm saying.

I completely agree that it is awful and people should not raise their ugrids at all in the first place though. If at all, it should never be higher than 7.

[Nazenn]

Stable uGridsToLoad only helps if you raise your uGrids and then want to lower it. You don't need it just to raise it