Vortex needs to NOT install mods to Data folder, period.

[Dark1Nova]

Nexus/Tannin have been clear that Vortex would use the data folder and that returning to a virtual file system would not happen anytime soon, if at all.

It technically does use a virtual file system with symlinks being used. If you delete a file in the mod install folder, then go to your skyrim data directory and try to open the same file, it will tell you it cannot find it.

So while yes, "files" do show up in your data folder, they are just redirections to where the file is really installed.

[Qwinn]

There are a few things about Vortex I'm not happy with (and it's still alpha so no final judgments yet) but this isn't one of them. If you install a crapton of mods and hit the "purge" button (don't worry, you can reverse it by hitting "deploy") and literally a couple of seconds later you see that all mods have disappeared from the game directories completely, it becomes pretty clear that what Vortex is putting in the games folders probably doesn't amount to more than a few kilobytes - just links. It just LOOKS like the files are all there, but they're not, and the links can all be removed instantly at any time. And it apparently resolves a number of issues this way. Seems a fine design to me.

[VaultBoyAM]

Vortex also supports separate profiles with separate mod installations and saves. There are other problems with Vortex, but virtualisation and profiles are not two of them.

[HalfLazy]

That's really the worse method to try to convince anyone about your point of view.

 

Said so, bypassing all the discussion about how it work / how should it work:

I used NMM, MO, MO2 and Vortex, to play the games AND to mod them, without any problem... and my "contingency plan" was always the same: create a backup of the "pristine" Game folder, JUST IN CASE.

 

And

 

[...]I will NOT use this useless piece of garbage[...]

 

Feel free to go 'back' to the Mod manager created by the same guy who created this "piece of garbage". Why we should care about, considering how you talk about the other's work? [Rhetorical].

[kamikatze13]

Just a heads-up on how hardlinks (which is how vortex is advertised to function) work.

 

Also a reminder that your average-joe-"file" you see is not a file, but rather a hardlink to a certain space where the file resides on the drive (the `inode` in the graphic. yes it's linux but windows is basically the same in this regard), with a reference counter of 1. Deleting the last hardlink is semantically equal with deleting the file. But if you have two hardlinks to the same file and delete only one, the file still exists.

 

This is also the reason why we need to have our mod folders on the same drive as our /data directory - hardlinks only work on the same physical drive.

Aaaand it's the reason the /data directory seems to grow while the space on the drive isn't shrinking - a hardlink is a representation of a file, so windows' explorer treats them as files.

 

 

Nexus/Tannin have been clear that Vortex would use the data folder and that returning to a virtual file system would not happen anytime soon, if at all.

It technically does use a virtual file system with symlinks being used. If you delete a file in the mod install folder, then go to your skyrim data directory and try to open the same file, it will tell you it cannot find it.

So while yes, "files" do show up in your data folder, they are just redirections to where the file is really installed.

Are you sure? Cause i'm fairly confident vortex uses NTFS hard linking.

 

 

@Qwinn please let me know if you find a way to get 3dvision running.

Edited February 5, 2018 by kamikatze13

[azraal]

I really don't mind having my data folder cluttered at all, as long as I can purge or deploy fast (which is the case).

I don't know what happens when you create a totally new file (like logs). Does it remain in the data folder? Is it added to a kind of "override" container that is part of the profile?

What about tools like bodyslide.

 

Because in the end, the real reason why I want something such as a clean folder is to start over clean.

For now vortex is a bit rough around the edges and the way you order mods is unpractical for me.

 

I still test vortex but for gaming purposes I still uses MO2 for now. Well vortex IS an alpha after all.

[Tannin42]

It technically does use a virtual file system with symlinks being used. If you delete a file in the mod install folder, then go to your skyrim data directory and try to open the same file, it will tell you it cannot find it.

So while yes, "files" do show up in your data folder, they are just redirections to where the file is really installed.

This is true for "symlink" deployment, which is an option for non-gamebryo games.

For bethesda games vortex has to use hard links and those won't break when you delete the "original". (because with hard links there isn't technically an original, just two names for the same file)

[Sibbs99]

i know this post is old but ol well...

 

Me and a lot of other people feel the exact opposite, we want a way to disable virtual install, my reason for that is, i have the gog versions of fallout 3 , new vegas , and oblivion, i want a good stable mod organizer that installs to my data folder, so i can work towards a nice stable mod install, and when i find it, I COMPRESS MY WHOLE GAME FOLDER< AND BURN IT TO DVDS, (with the other necessary folders of course) so i always have that awesome mod install and nothing can ruin it, if i mess up my game, or my hard drive fails, boom i pop in the discs and voila i got an awesome setup again, then down the road when i feel like enough new good mods came out or newer versions of mods, i can work towards a even better setup and burn that, thats why i want the option to disable virtual install, SO I CAN BURN MY GAMES EASILY!!, for now i have to use unstable Nexus Mod Manager v0.56.1 to install my mods or use newer crappy virtual install version, and only use it for loose file mods, then i have to go into virtual folder and manually open every single folder and drag and drop to my data folder, i dont see how nexus mod manager doesn't have an option to disable virtual install, SINCE THE PROGRAM STARTED WITHOUT IT TO BEGIN WITH.. Vortex is worthless its just more of the same, why use it when it's trying to be exactly like Mod Organizer, we need options not more of the same, so w/e ive said my peace, i wont be back to read anybodies two cents

Edited August 24, 2018 by Sibbs99

[HadToRegister]

With Mod Organizer, and MO2, I can mod to my heart's content, and play with several different mods, for different play throughs, and enjoy the game.

 

Funny, you can do that with NMM and Vortex too.

So your point it moot.

Also, MO2 has the most users asking on the most mod pages how to get it to work with <insert mod here>

 

[AugustaCalidia]

@Sibbs99. I'm puzzled as to why you think you need to "disable virtual install, SO I CAN BURN MY GAMES EASILY!!" (my virtual ears are now ringing). I use Vortex and have no trouble easily saving entire game setups to backup hard drives and then reusing those setups when the need arises. In fact, I do the same thing with MO, and it works beautifully. In my case, I have not only repaired broken game setups this way, but I have also used this method to transfer several different Vortex and MO game setups to other gaming computers. It's fast and efficient, and I don't have to waste time burning a bunch of DVDs.