Quick question about NMM behavior

[mewwwkittytt]

When using the Nexus Mod Manager (NMM), if I:

1. install a first mod

2. install a second mod that overwrites files from the first mod

 

and then if i

 

3. uninstall the second mod that overwrote the first mod's files

 

will the overwritten files that were removed with the second mod be replaced with the first mod's files??

 

It would be interesting if there were a whitepaper or some kind of document describing the file management going on with NMM somewhere.

Ostensibly one could manage to keep track of each individual file, and be able to do the kind of things listed above. It might even be a neat way to share details for specific mod packages incorporating files from many different mods.

 

It may be supremely useful to keep a "working set" of mod files useable by the game separate from all of the mod packages (zip files)--which in my opinion would imply that entire mod packages need not be added to the working set (installed) in their entirety.

 

Are there any potential problems with such a system?

[BlackRoseOfThorns]

NMM remembers your installed previously loose files and .esp/.bsa's. This won't work for anything you have copied manualy to skyrim data folder. NMM works only with .zip files (extracts from those into skyrim data folder) and stores original backup .zip's in a separate folder. You won't have any double identical files in your Data folder (unless those are packed into .esp/.bsa), all lose files with same names gets overriden by latest added, NMM just remebers which one should be reinstalled in case you remove one of the files. There is somewhere data on your installed mods, but I have never looked into that and can't tell you where that file is.

 

Skyrim always uses files that were loaded last, so if you have same file packed (for examample new iron armor look and stats) into two or more .esp the latest in load order will override everything else. Lets say you downloaded riften texture overhaul in .esp and then added mara statue .esp. Your Riften will look the same, only Mara statue will change it's mesh and texture. Now if you add loose file texture (not packed into .esp or .bsa) it will always load last, no matter what. So if you drop Mara statue texture into Data/Textures/etc you will end up with new texture for statue mesh from .esp (as long .esp didn't alter texture file path and kept vanilla one).

 

I strongly recommend using ~ModOrganizer + LOOT + TES5Edit instead of NMM. MO uses it's own file structure allowing you to create different mod list profiles without reinstalling anything. The biggest advantage of it is that you can plug LOOT into it (auto organizes your load order list to avoid any unecessary issues). TES5Edit is for cleaning skyrim master files and mods from dirty edits, which may cause problems for mods depending on them.

Download links are in vid desription. What works for me is: MO v1_2_14 installer + LOOT v7 aplha 4 + TES5Edit 3_0_32.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2014 by BlackRoseOfThorns

[mewwwkittytt]

Okay so my answer to:

>will the overwritten files that were removed with the second mod be replaced with the first mod's files??

 

is: yes

 

thank you.