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Organizing your plugins by category


SkunkMonkey

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I've found that I can successfully organize my plugins into groups using dummy plugins.

I created a set of empty plugins with names like -= Armor & Clothing =- and -= Patches =-, etc. Since these will ultimately be disabled in your load order, you can create as many as you like. Well, within the limits of available global priority values.

 

Enable the plugins and edit their Global Priority to the order you wish. Check to see what globals are already used by Vortex/LOOT for the game in question and find a usable range for yourself. In my case with Fallout 4, I used values from 1 to 70 since 80 is used by the Bashed Patch.

 

Once those values are set, hit the Sort button in Vortex then disable the plugins.

 

To categorize your plugins all you need to do is set them to load after the category plugin you wish to place it in. When you sort now, everything will be within it's own category and should be sorted properly among the plugins in that category.

 

CAVEAT: Obviously some plugins won't like being placed in some positions so you have to make sure your category order doesn't put plugins before any masters they reference. Having the Patches category at the top of your sort order would obviously a bad thing since almost all patch plugins need masters.

 

I've also used the Global Priority to fix all my .esm files in place. It seems like they can shift position when sorting because I get plugins with out of order masters sometimes after a sort. Now I know they will always sort into the positions I have set and I won't need to constantly sort masters.

 

These are the category plugins I am using:

 

 

-= Rules =-.esp
-= Miscellaneous =-.esp
-= User Interface =-.esp
-= Crafting =-.esp
-= Armor & Clothing =-.esp
-= Power Armor =-.esp
-= Cosmetics =-.esp
-= Body, Face & Hair =-.esp
-= Companions =-.esp
-= Environment & Weather =-.esp
-= Settlements - Managing =-.esp
-= Settlements - Building =-.esp
-= Patches =-.esp

 

The rules in my userlist.yaml for the category plugins:

 

 

- name: '-= Rules =-.esp'
global_priority: 1
- name: '-= Miscellaneous =-.esp'
global_priority: 5
- name: '-= User Interface =-.esp'
global_priority: 10
- name: '-= Crafting =-.esp'
global_priority: 20
- name: '-= Armor & Clothing =-.esp'
global_priority: 30
- name: '-= Power Armor =-.esp'
global_priority: 35
- name: '-= Cosmetics =-.esp'
global_priority: 37
- name: '-= Body, Face & Hair =-.esp'
global_priority: 40
- name: '-= Companions =-.esp'
global_priority: 45
- name: '-= Environment & Weather =-.esp'
global_priority: 50
- name: '-= Settlements - Managing =-.esp'
global_priority: 60
- name: '-= Settlements - Building =-.esp'
global_priority: 65
- name: '-= Patches =-.esp'
global_priority: 70

 

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Is there already a category field that one can set for mods. I thought I remembered seeing one.

 

If there is, why would you not use that, instead of messing with the lid order.

 

There is a category setting and you can sort the UI with it, but it doesn't affect the plugin load order. Using the above method will change the actual position in the load order.

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Is there already a category field that one can set for mods. I thought I remembered seeing one.

 

If there is, why would you not use that, instead of messing with the lid order.

 

There is a category setting and you can sort the UI with it, but it doesn't affect the plugin load order. Using the above method will change the actual position in the load order.

 

I don't understand some people's obsessive need to categorize their load order. It does absolutely nothing. I don't' even understand from an organizational standpoint for why it's needed.

Like I understand the need for categories for installs because that is what you are working with a majority of the time when modding. Load order is only something you do when you are trying to resolve conflicts, set dependencies and set priority on which mods win out over the other. How does having loadorder organized in category help you with any of that? Is this like an OCD thing? Cause that is what it sounds like to me.

Edited by Brabbit1987
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Like I understand the need for categories for installs because that is what you are working with a majority of the time when modding. Load order is only something you do when you are trying to resolve conflicts, set dependencies and set priority on which mods win out over the other. How does having loadorder organized in category help you with any of that? Is this like an OCD thing? Cause that is what it sounds like to me.I don't understand some people's obsessive need to categorize their load order. It does absolutely nothing. I don't' even understand from an organizational standpoint for why it's needed.

 

 

Some people just like the control. I find it also helps when locating where to put a new plugin. The sorting algorithm doesn't cover everything. I'd also like to point out that categories like Load Early and Load Late wouldn't be covered by the UI category sorting.

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Is there already a category field that one can set for mods. I thought I remembered seeing one.

 

If there is, why would you not use that, instead of messing with the lid order.

 

There is a category setting and you can sort the UI with it, but it doesn't affect the plugin load order. Using the above method will change the actual position in the load order.

 

 

also you can use local load order to manage order inside your categories if needed

 

 

I don't understand some people's obsessive need to categorize their load order. It does absolutely nothing. I don't' even understand from an organizational standpoint for why it's needed.

Like I understand the need for categories for installs because that is what you are working with a majority of the time when modding. Load order is only something you do when you are trying to resolve conflicts, set dependencies and set priority on which mods win out over the other. How does having loadorder organized in category help you with any of that? Is this like an OCD thing? Cause that is what it sounds like to me.

 

 

its like a feeling that you fully control this shi-, before MO life - its like u re Sgt or something, after - you are Mighty General

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its like a feeling that you fully control this shi-, before MO life - its like u re Sgt or something, after - you are Mighty General

 

LOL, if you say so. I don't really understand what it has to do with control though because it doesn't actually do anything. To me it's like someone saying, organizing skittle by their color is about control. Either way, I suppose it doesn't matter at the end of the day. If it works, it works. :P

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It would make it easier to figure out what mods you had already installed if you had not played in awhile.

Having several hundred mods installed and trying to figure out if you had say all the armor mods you use already installed being able to just look at one section would be very useful.

 

I still think Vortex should have a way to sort by mod type or category on the left hand side.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I wish the esm files would sort right. And I wish I didn't have to manually add the Fallout4.esm, DLCRobot.esm, etc. to the plugin list and load order each time I want to open fo4edit (it'll have the dlc files like half-way down my load order if I don't)

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