madduma Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Hi! I have been using Vortex like crazy! I love it and even used it to develop and test the new The Eyes Of Beauty Fallout Edition FOMOD installer. tl;dr I would like to help anyone working on Vortex extensions. I also wanted to share my ideas for some extensions having played with Vortex for a long time. These are NOT ideas intended for Vanilla Vortex. They are only helpful for advanced users and I trust Tannin42 and his Vortex Team are focusing efforts where they are most needed. With that said, here we go! For the first few days after Vortex Alpha was released, I flooded Feedback in Vortex with my immediate impressions because I figured it would help the Vortex Team get an uneducated user's take (sorry if that bugged folks, I meant the best really). Now I only report what look to be true bugs through Vortex. So, what I am posting here is an accumulation of random thoughts for extensions to enhance it. I have tried to read everything on this forum, apologies if I have forgotten anything announced by Tannin42 or repeated anything discussed elsewhere. First, I understand that one of the great features of Vortex is that extensions can be developed for it for enhancing it. I heard mention of a handful of people working on such extension projects. Who are these folks? Google was no help. If you are one of them, please ping me, I want to help in any way I can. Second, these are ideas to incorporate into extension(s). I want to help develop these, but I have little programming experience and don't know where to start. I'm certain some of these are on the horizon for upcoming Vortex releases. And I'm also certain that some of these suggestions may not be feasible (or reasonable while Vortex is in Alpha still). Regardless, I'm willing to work on these if any gurus out there want to direct me:Resizable Dashboard Widgets -- My Dashboard > Tools widget has (no joke) 16 items in it. I would love to stretch that widget out all the way and hide the other widgets. Show Running Tasks -- I like the little graphic in the bottom left for downloads. There is quite a bit of space there on my screen and think it could be used for showing other tasks that are processing as well. For instance, a timer that shows how long it will take to install a mod like CBBE (this one can get hung up for a while). Not really necessary, just cosmetic, but it helps my ADD to watch the little slider tick up. Page Columns -- Editable Columns -- an option to change the columns in the UI, such as shrink or grow them, change the order. We can already hide/show columns. Additional Columns -- along the same lines, allow the user to view all metadata that is tied to the object. For examples, columns for Nexus Link, Comments, Installation Time (in addition to the number of minutes ago), etc. Version Filter All Updated -- the current Mods > Version filter > Update Available only filters some of the mods (the ones where the author marked the upload as an update to a previous version in Nexus). However, there are other mods in the list that Vortex identifies as having a newer version available. It would be helpful to filter all the mods identified with an update. Default Sorting Option -- or option to remember the last sort. For example, on the Mods page, Vortex wants to sort the list by Install Order, but I prefer using Install Time. Additional Filters -- I see value in adding filters to the columns that currently have none. For instance, Mods > Dependencies could have filters for mods with green lightning bolts or red lightning bolts. Mods > Highlight could have a filter for one or more color. Metadata -- A button like NMM's Check for Missing Download IDs -- in Vortex, when you want to find the Nexus ID for a manually installed archive, you have to change the Source to Nexus and click Guess for each file. That method is the safest way to prevent a new user for getting in trouble because there are issues with the syntax of archive names (that even NMM has difficulties with). In a perfect world, a single button that looks through every archive without a Nexus ID, attempts to guess the Nexus page, and, if there is a page, edits Source to Nexus and fill in the Nexus ID would save a lot of time for advanced users. A button like NMM's Categories: Update and Reset to Nexus Site Defaults -- this was a feature in Nexus Mod Manager that I took advantage of whenever I had to manually install a file. I learned the hard way in Vortex that when I moved uninstalled downloaded archives from one location to another (by moving the Base Folder), all the metadata was erased and Categories could not be restored automatically even after linking to the correct Nexus page. Having a way to lookup categories in mass would have saved me a lot of time. Download Mod Name / Add Mod Author -- Not sure how possible this is, but with the check for missing download IDs (4-1), I would love to see an option to correct the name to the download name and also to add the mod author's name. Metadata Transfer -- I noticed that if I reinstall a mod where I made edits to metadata, I lose those changes. For instance, the default name for the file may be really unhelpful and I want to edit that, but when I reinstall, the name resets. Or let's say I want to note the mod's particular directions in the Comments, all lost on reinstall. There are times when I reinstall a mod a lot if I want to check out different options that I picked in the FOMOD (for instance Pip-Boy Flashlights). Also, if the mod is updated through Vortex's great update function, the metadata is overwritten. Make Notes Rich-Text -- make the Mods > notes text box a rich-text field with an option to pop open an external rich-text box. Then users can store complex instructions or notes with the file. Order Mod Enabled per Profile -- add a field / column for the order in which files were enabled within the particular profile. Allow this field to be editable. Additional Metadata -- this may be wishful thinking, but I would love to pull or generate more data (and columns per 3-2) about a file when I download it through the Download with Mod Manager button. This includes: Title on Mod Page -- for example, when I download and install 4 Percent on Smooth First Person Sprint - Less Jerkiness and Stutter, the Mod Name is simply "4 Percent." I double-click the mod, and see the title picture and description, but not the mod page's name. Name of Archive -- the name of the original archive that was installed. File Description -- the Nexus description with the file is helpful for reminding me what a particular file does when there are multiple ones on the same page. File Section -- it can be helpful to see whether the file is in Main, Update, Optional, etc. sections of the file page. Upload Date -- the date/time on the Nexus page when the file was uploaded. Last updated -- the date/time the mod page was last updated. I would find this helpful because I like to merge plugins and create .ba2s when I know a mod is unlikely to be updated. Bugs -- number of bugs and/or new bugs posted with a link to the bugs page if possible. Vortex Profiles -- a list of all Vortex profiles that the mod is installed on or plugin is enabled on. Non-Nexus Links -- if a file is downloaded outside of Nexus that does not have a metaserver, a spot to edit clickable link to go to the download page, like Tales from the Commonwealth. INI in File -- an indication if the mod has an INI in it. Scripted Installer in File -- an indication if the mod has an installer. Scripted Installer Options Selected -- this is REALLY wishful thinking but gosh it would be amazing for Vortex to store the options I picked during install. It would be great if this field was editable too, so that users can delete options they don't care to remember or add other notes. Install Group -- add a category for the mods that are being installed (for example, Textures Optimization, Patches). Install Group Order -- allow the user to select the order for the install group (for example, Textures Optimization is 1, Patches are 2). Required Indicator -- a checkbox that indicates the mod and/or plugin is required. As long as that box is ticked, Vortex locks the mod so it cannot be uninstalled or disabled while still allowing the user to reinstall and/or update it (e.g., Bashed Patch). Ignore Update Available -- if a mod version is not the most updated version on the page, allow the user the option to check a box to ignore the alert when that particular file does not need to be updated ever. Metaservers -- a pre-loaded list of common metaservers. I don't even know how to set up metaservers yet so that would be fantastic. Waiting on to learn that :happy: Metadata Reporting -- a button that will spit out a report of every mod and plugin I have installed in a profile. This is sort of like WryeBash's report after creating a Bashed Patch. Personally, I keep a lot of information in Excel sheets to keep my mods and notes organized. It would make it much easier to copy/ paste a report versus typing or copy/ pasting individual fields. Metadata Importing -- likewise, I would love a function where I can make a bunch of changes to the metadata at once. For example, if I wanted to add a highlight color to a group of mods, I could export metadata, edit that column, and then import it back in for Vortex to apply the changes. I would use this to update mod names because in Excel I now use a simple formula to append the name of the profile to the end of the Mod Name. Dependency Rule Import / Export -- the LOOT Master List does not include granular global priorities. Some mod orders are based on user preferences, but how do we share this info if it is not in LOOT? For instance, little things like having ffo.esp load after TrueStormsFO4.esp to have the wind set at optimal settings, is not (and probably shouldn't be) in the LOOT Master List. Obviously, I set a rule in Vortex for this case. But, it would save the entire community time if we could share dependency rules with each other. Separate Files -- provide an option to keep files separate on the Mods list. What I am currently doing within Vortex is building these three mod lists: BiRaitBec Mod List, Mortercotic's Way to the Lost, and Ape75's Crossing the great wastes. I want to contrast and compare the three so I can pick the one I prefer. There are several Mods that overlap between the three lists, but some of the scripted installer options do differ between them. For some mods, I would like to keep a separate install for all three so I can swap profiles quickly and have the FOMOD settings saved. However, I have had real trouble doing this within Vortex. I tried the Rename option but then Vortex unexpectedly combined them into one after a restart (and I could not tell which file was which in the version drop down). My workaround was to copy and rename the archive but that doubles up the space on my drive (not optimal). So it would be very helpful to have an option to keep files separate that I intended to install more than once. Perhaps this could be a checkbox in the metadata panel? Plugin List Editor -- I noticed that when I use Fallout4ConfigTool inside of Vortex to edit plugin lists, it locks Vortex out from being able to write to these lists. Then I have to navigate to the file and deselect read only to let Vortex back in. An extension that would allow users to edit plugin lists through Vortex may fix that issue. This may also be a simple stop-gap for mod ordering. For instance, the mod lists I'm using have a set plugin order and I'm copy/ pasting that order to loadOrder.txt to mirror that order rather than setting ALL dependency rules. INIs -- Profile INIs -- I noticed that when I swap between profiles in Vortex, my INI files do not appear to change (even when I have this profile has its own game settings turned on). Not too much of a problem for me because I am really using just commonly-recommended settings. But it would be nice for testing if INI files were linked to the profile. Game INI Editor -- I much prefer editing INI files inside the mod manager rather than going through a third-party program. This also may help Vortex recognize the INIs linked to a specific profile. Mod INI Editor -- if there is an INI or INIs in the file, perhaps there could be an option for the user to click one button and open all of them for editing? Plus, if users are editing through Vortex, Vortex would not need to ask the user if they want to apply or undo changes, and the user would not have to disable/re-enable the mod to apply changes. MO2 Configurator -- in Skyrim, I loved the Configurator. However, I imagine this would be a challenge to recreate (especially for new games). Perhaps Configurator extensions could be built on a game by game basis? File Comparisons -- I recall Tannin42 saying that they are currently working on a solution for users to select, file-by-file, which ones may be overwritten when there are mod conflicts. I'm definitely looking forward to this. Along with this, I was thinking how handy it would be to have a button that opens texture files and models to be visually compared side-by-side within Vortex. Perhaps something like Windows Texture Viewer and nifScope could be leveraged for this purpose, but I'm not sure about the permissions on those. Third-Party Tools -- Download Link -- it would be helpful to have a clickable link to the download page in the Dashboard > Tool metadata. Tools from Nexus -- several tools are on the Nexus site like Wrye Bash. Rather than managing tracking the versions of those tools through the Mod List, it would be excellent if it can be managed through the Tools widget. Version Checks -- perhaps for commonly-used non-Nexus tools (like F4SE) there could be a version check that alerts the user if a new version is available. Comment Field -- like what Vortex currently has with Mods, it would be helpful to have a rich-text comment box where users can add notes. ENB ENB Version Detection -- have a spot on the Dashboard to track the newest ENB binary and alert user when a new version is available on enbdev.com. ENB Manager Syncing -- it would be helpful if the ENB presets set up in external tools (e.g., ENB Man and ENB Organizer) could be somehow synced with the Vortex profile. Additionally, Vortex could pull the ENB version from the tool (as an alternative to 10.1). I'm not sure if that could work with either of these tools, or if it would require building an entirely new tool in a Vortex extension. Bashed Patches Tagged With Profile -- give user the option to save a Bashed Patch to a specific profile with one click. It would also be great to take advantage of the fact that Vortex checks the masters. Then the Vortex extension could have some kind of pop-up warning when starting the game if active plugins are missing in the Bashed Patch that are less than the global priority for patches in the game (i.e., Fallout 4 global priority less than 80). Generate Mod Lists -- it takes an incredible amount of time for mod list authors to put together and maintain their lists. There are over 20,000 Fallout 4 mods on the Nexus alone and the list grows every day! For someone like me who just started playing Fallout 4 again, mod lists are my lifeline. And there are only a handful of authors that have the fortitude for it right now (BiRaitBec, Mortercotic, and Ape75 to name a few). Tannin42 mentioned that he is working on a solution for mod lists. The solution is in its infancy and I am certain he will come up with something brilliant! In the meantime, I had a thought using some of the metadata and export suggestions above that may allow users to quickly generate a mod list that can be published with less effort out of Vortex. Certain tools and mods that are commonly used, can also come pre-loaded with directions in the comments to save authors time. I'm imagining an export that looks something like the spoiler below in a rich-text file. The only info manually added by the author are the comments. Everything else is interpreted by the mod and tools metadata. Fallout 4 [Profile Name] Mod ListTools1.1 Fallout 4 Configuration Tool - By Bilago Tweaks various INI settings with a few clicks!Comments:Installation(these are fictional instructions based on 9.2 above) a. In Vortex > Dashboard, click Add Tool+ > Import from Nexus b. Copy/ paste this download link to Source:https://www.nexusmods.com/Core/Libs/Common/Widgets/DownloadPopUp?id=71172&nmm=1&game_id=1151&source=FileExpander c. Set the Destination to your Fallout 4 game directoryRun Tool a. Click play button to right of Fallout4ConfigTool button b. Select No in the pop-up window c. Tweaks Menu: select Invalidate Archives d. Click save and close tool1.2 ENB Organizer ENB Organizer helps you manage and install your ENB/SweetFX/FXAA presets/binaries for any game. It is continuously being expanded to act as a comprehensive ENB tool suite. Comments: Installation a. In Vortex > Dashboard, click Add Tool+ > Import from Nexus b. Copy/paste this download link to Source:https://www.nexusmods.com/Core/Libs/Common/Widgets/DownloadPopUp?id=1000214338&game_id=110&source=FileExpander c. Set the Destination to a location of your choiceSet Up a. Click play button to right of ENB Organizer button b. Ignore the warning and click OK c. Confirm Fallout 4 is in the list (if not in list, click +, Browse, locate the game) Textures Optimization2.1 2. High Quality Textures - Repack From Fallout 4 Mod List and Load Order Guide (BiRaitBec Modlist) (click for description) Follow the Step 1 to know more about this file - This repack includes the textures listed at the bottom of the description.Comments: This is for those who want quality textures but less performance.2.2 (Required) Crows and Creatures Collection 1.4b From Crows and Creatures (click for description) FOMOD V1.4b installer which includes all creatures and options. No other files needed. Updated with all latest creatures. (CREDITS: fomod v1.4b is created by DeathMotif)Installer Selections: Vanilla > Vanilla > Crows > Selected Seagulls > Selected Brahmin > Wild Brahmin > SelectedMod Dependencies Rules: Crows and Creatures Collection 1.4b load after 2. High Quality Textures - Repack Leveled List Patch3.1 (Required) Bashed Patch, 0Comments: a. Run Wrye Bash b. Scroll to bottom of list c. Right-click Bashed Patch, 0.esp d. Select Build Patch(these are fictional instructions based on 11 above) e. Double-click Bashed Patch, 0 in Vortex>Plugins f. Click Save Bashed Patch to Profile button g. Bashed Patch, 0 mod is automatically activated ENB4.1 ENBSeries v0.323 for Fallout 4Comments:Install Binary in ENB Organizer a. Click triple bar in top-left b. Select Binaries c. Click + ADD d. Click Browse > Browse for Archive e. Navigate to and select the download f. Click Save4.2 BRB ENB - BETA V2 - Slightly fixed interiors darkness and colors. From Fallout 4 Mod List and Load Order Guide (BiRaitBec Modlist) (click for description) Follow the ENB & Graphic Section to know more about this file. This enb is made with Others free utilities and includes the mods listed in the bottom of the description.Comments:Install Presets in ENB Organizer a. Click triple bar in top-left b. Select Presets c. Click + ADD d. Click Import Folder or Archive e. Click Browse > Browse for Archive e. Navigate to and select the download f. Click SaveAdd Binary to Preset a. Click triple dots under preset > Edit b. Select Binary in drop down c. Click SaveToggle Slider to Enable PresetPlugin Dependency Rules Bashed Patch, 0 load after DOF Removal.esp All Mod Dependency Rules To import, select this document in Dashboard > Import > Mod Rules. Crows and Creatures Collection 1.4b load after 2. High Quality Textures - Repack All Plugin Dependency Rules To import, select this document in Dashboard > Import > Plugin Rules. Bashed Patch, 0 load after DOF Removal.esp Plugin PrioritiesPlugin_____________Glb_Loc Bashed Patch, 0 80 0 DOF Removal.esp 0 0 Load Order Bashed Patch, 0 DOF Removal.esp â Apologies for the huge upload of info. That took me forever to write and I know the moment I press Post New Topic I will think of something else. I've probably spent about 100 hours in Vortex at this point and want to help it become the best program it can be. I will give a kudos to anyone who lets me know they read through this whole thing! Added April 26, 2018: 13. Plugin dependencies: have plugins show a little lightning bolt when there are conflicts so that users can click to set up dependency rules (in a similar way to the mods page). 14. Profile-specific Dependencies/ Priorities: priorities and dependency rules that are are assigned to specific profile and are not global. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjor9000 Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 how about Manually Add Game button, or a Remove Game button? I uninstalled skyrim LE in favor of Skyrim SE, but can't get rid of SLE from vortex. I am also having issue where vortex can't seem to see my Oblivion install, and I can't add it, or thus mods for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadToRegister Posted January 8, 2019 Share Posted January 8, 2019 how about Manually Add Game button, or a Remove Game button? I uninstalled skyrim LE in favor of Skyrim SE, but can't get rid of SLE from vortex. I am also having issue where vortex can't seem to see my Oblivion install, and I can't add it, or thus mods for it When you click on the GAMES tab, if you click the little + sign in each game thumbnail you have the option of HIDING the game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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