Is Vortex truly ready to replace NMM?

[nexodexo]

So I installed Vortex and am glad I did. It took me a few hours to rebuild, but this was due to issues outside the control of Vortex.

 

• Figuring out the UI took only a few minutes. I didn't even need the video tutorial, so it's intuitive enough for that task.
• Registering the mods was easy. I just opened my NMM mod archive folder and dragged/dropped them all into my Vortex window.
• Installing was also easy. I figured out that you could hold CTRL+click to select a group of individual mods or CTRL+A to select all. Once one or more mods are selected, click the Install icon, and they will all install in a batch operation. You just need to attend to the installation to respond to various prompts and menus.
• I then enabled them the same way with CTRL+A > Enable.

 

Overall, easy install. Not sure what any of the fuss is about. Some mods like Atlas map mods actually look better and more zoomed-out now, whereas before the map looked zoomed in even further than vanilla. I experience my fair share of crashes, so I am hoping Vortex will help mitigate some of that.

[Tannin42]

Unfortunately, you are asking a question in a place that will always be biased one way or the other.

 

Asking is Vortex ready on the vortex forums probably isn't the right place if you want a truly neutral opinion answer.

Because the people here are actually using Vortex?

Sure, people using Vortex tend to be people who like it, otherwise they would have moved to another Mod Manager, that makes them biased in a way, can't deny that.

You can go to reddit of other modding pages to get more negative opinions but most of the people replying there have never even touched Vortex - are they then less biased?

 

A neutral opinion you will never get, the best you can do is take what you read with a grain of salt and know who you're talking to to classify their responses.

 

But since your asking IMO, no it isn't ready. Although it is very powerful in its options, I don't believe that it is simple enough for your average person to use or to move to.

From my very limited use, and from what I have read, it has a fair way to go. Adding a load of tutorial videos isn't the answer. If you need to add a video showing how to do something, then it is too complicated for the average person.

 

Edit:- Forgot to mention the sheer number of bugs atm, but they will get sorted with time.

There are videos for every mod manager. By your logic that means no Mod Manager is simple enough for the average person - and then Vortex may still be the least worst solution. :wink:

The only difference is that we made the tutorial videos more available, how that means Vortex is harder to use I don't understand.

[Guest deleted34304850]

its a brave (I think foolish, but I'm being poilite) to think that one person speaks for all "average" users out there.

If you are an "average" user, by that label I am going to assume someone who can use Windows, but doesn't care about HOW it works as long as it works - then vortex is for you. If you don't really care about hard links and directory paths, then as an average user, all you need to do is tell vortex where your games are and where to install mods. everything after that, as an average user, you don't care about.

if you, as an average user have auto-deploy enabled and auto-sort enabled, then as an average user, vortex has taken all the heavy lifting from you. you don't need to invoke LOOT, it does it for you. You don't need to worry about mod x overwriting mod y because it will tell you and you can deal with it.

 

if you are an "average" user then vortex is for you - all you need to do is not be a clown and dive right in and mess up your system - be sensible, take backups, understand what you're trying to do, read stuff, watch the videos.

 

ignore the people on here blaming everything wrong on their systems on vortex. its a mod manager, nothing more, nothing less. it doesn't wreck your graphics drivers, or your sound cards, it doesn't delete your windows folder it doesn't uninstall programs or steal your data. understand what it does and how it interacts and you'll be good. ignore the crud on here, and focus on those who have put up legitimate issues and recieved validated and legitimate solutions and you will be happier for it.

[Ataxia]

its a brave (I think foolish, but I'm being poilite) to think that one person speaks for all "average" users out there.

If you are an "average" user, by that label I am going to assume someone who can use Windows, but doesn't care about HOW it works as long as it works - then vortex is for you. If you don't really care about hard links and directory paths, then as an average user, all you need to do is tell vortex where your games are and where to install mods. everything after that, as an average user, you don't care about.

if you, as an average user have auto-deploy enabled and auto-sort enabled, then as an average user, vortex has taken all the heavy lifting from you. you don't need to invoke LOOT, it does it for you. You don't need to worry about mod x overwriting mod y because it will tell you and you can deal with it.

 

if you are an "average" user then vortex is for you - all you need to do is not be a clown and dive right in and mess up your system - be sensible, take backups, understand what you're trying to do, read stuff, watch the videos.

 

ignore the people on here blaming everything wrong on their systems on vortex. its a mod manager, nothing more, nothing less. it doesn't wreck your graphics drivers, or your sound cards, it doesn't delete your windows folder it doesn't uninstall programs or steal your data. understand what it does and how it interacts and you'll be good. ignore the crud on here, and focus on those who have put up legitimate issues and recieved validated and legitimate solutions and you will be happier for it.

 

 

 

The problem with your statement is that Vortex doesn't work well, hence all the posts made by people having problems.

It isn't simple to use hence 6 yes SIX videos, not one or two SIX, that's too many.

 

Oh and I never said I speak for every average person out there you did so imo you are the foolish one.

Edited October 23, 2018 by Ataxia

[Guest deleted34304850]

Hi,

 

I take it then you've never looked on product support sites for bugs and fixes and remediations? Take a look at any Windows site - Microsoft or third party, or any product you care to mention and you'll see there what you see here. Or, if you don't like Microsoft, try Suse, or Red Hat, or Debian or Ubuntu. Or, go for the big boys, Oracle, IBM, Hitachi.

 

It's how you interpret what you see.

 

I interpret it as follows;

 

the perfect program has yet to be written

 

you may disagree with my interpretation. you'd be wrong to do so, but you can disagree with it. I'm all for independent thought, even if that thought is wrong.

 

What you see here is a program, in BETA, that costs you NOTHING, being used, tested and reported on in a positive way to make it BETTER.

 

This is a good thing.

 

You have a bias, which is fine, you're entitled to it, but your bias is from a perspective that is fundamentally flawed.

 

If we were to go off your own standard of judgement then there isn't a program, anywhere, in the history of computers that's good enough because they contain bugs. At this point, your argument is stated, and we can accept it for what it is, and move on.

 

In terms of your argument about the number of videos available, well firstly, no-one forces you to watch them, but trust me on this, you cannot have too much documentation or too many examples of how to use a program correctly.

 

Having 6 videos (btw do you include independent you tube videos in your sample?) does not indicate in any way, shape or form, that Vortex is not ready for users. It does however, indicate that the team behind it are trying to give - again - for free - as much information to the user base as they can. They are being extremely open and engaging with Vortex, and trying extremely hard to deal with a variety of issues. Again, this is a good thing.

 

Of course, its much easier to stand on the sidelines and come up with crass arguments such as 6 videos means vortex is not suitable, but seriously, only a moron would make such a link between the number of videos they've watched and how good a program is. The same kind of moron who would state that the support sites contain posts from people with problems, as if that's a bad thing. Hint here, it's the SOLE REASON these Vortex forums exist.

 

Anyway, I'm getting bored by this stupidity, so I'll leave this here;

 

If there were no videos available, no documentation available and no forums for people to post issues - that would - going on your own logic - prove beyond all doubt that Vortex would be absolutely brilliant and problem free to use because you would have no evidence of issues.

 

Sounds crazy doesn't it? Much love my friend.

[HadToRegister]

 

The problem with your statement is that Vortex doesn't work well, hence all the posts made by people having problems.

It isn't simple to use hence 6 yes SIX videos, not one or two SIX, that's too many.

 

Oh and I never said I speak for every average person out there you did so imo you are the foolish one.

 

 

Go take a look at the NMM forums and see all of the posts made by "people having problems™."

 

I'm sorry your minimal attention span demands that you'd much rather have a random-reward based Skinner box-type Mod Manager where you can just frantically hammer away at a lever and are occasionally rewarded with a mod download.

[chanchan05]

 

its a brave (I think foolish, but I'm being poilite) to think that one person speaks for all "average" users out there.

If you are an "average" user, by that label I am going to assume someone who can use Windows, but doesn't care about HOW it works as long as it works - then vortex is for you. If you don't really care about hard links and directory paths, then as an average user, all you need to do is tell vortex where your games are and where to install mods. everything after that, as an average user, you don't care about.

if you, as an average user have auto-deploy enabled and auto-sort enabled, then as an average user, vortex has taken all the heavy lifting from you. you don't need to invoke LOOT, it does it for you. You don't need to worry about mod x overwriting mod y because it will tell you and you can deal with it.

 

if you are an "average" user then vortex is for you - all you need to do is not be a clown and dive right in and mess up your system - be sensible, take backups, understand what you're trying to do, read stuff, watch the videos.

 

ignore the people on here blaming everything wrong on their systems on vortex. its a mod manager, nothing more, nothing less. it doesn't wreck your graphics drivers, or your sound cards, it doesn't delete your windows folder it doesn't uninstall programs or steal your data. understand what it does and how it interacts and you'll be good. ignore the crud on here, and focus on those who have put up legitimate issues and recieved validated and legitimate solutions and you will be happier for it.

 

 

 

The problem with your statement is that Vortex doesn't work well, hence all the posts made by people having problems.

It isn't simple to use hence 6 yes SIX videos, not one or two SIX, that's too many.

 

Oh and I never said I speak for every average person out there you did so imo you are the foolish one.

 

 

The problem with your statement is that Vortex does work well. The post count in support sites is irrelevant. You could go to any support website for any product and you will see thousands of posts made by people where their product isn't working well. It doesn't matter if it's Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, Google, or whatever. Because that's what support sites are for. Places where people who need support go to. This is like looking at the trashcan and saying you see nothing but trash, hence you conclude the entire city is trash.

 

And for the record, the guy who made the tutorial for Vortex that had six videos? His NMM tutorial also had six videos. So by your logic, NMM is as difficult to use as Vortex, and works worse because there are more posts in the NMM forums of the program not working well.

Edited October 23, 2018 by chanchan05

[sopmac45]

@ Ataxia ….

 

… six videos are too many ? How so ? I can bet my head that you spend the majority of your 24 hours looking down at your cell screen reading stupidities and watching YouTube videos, aren't you ? And still you are not used to reading or watching videos ?

 

You need to go to Tibet and have a focusing and relaxing brain / body therapy so perhaps you know how to read and/or watch videos and learn. Cell phones are not allowed though !!

[darksharke]

Vortex>NMM hands down.

 

The only ones who refuse that are those who didn't bother to read instructions before diving into Vortex and expected it would work the same way when the site documentation clearly stated it doesn't and even has a phrase saying that if you're fine with how your mod manager is working you could consider now switching over at all.

 

It took me all of a couple hours to watch through the instruction videos (which is kind of pointless to watch everything because it was intended for modding beginners so there was a lot of stuff I already knew) and explore the program before I was modding my way to a 500mod Skyrim build that was more stable than anything I've ever managed with 300mods on NMM.

 

My only advice is DO NOT IMPORT from NMM. Start from scratch. You can import mod archives so you won't have to redownload, but DO NOT IMPORT AN EXISTING MOD BUILD. Most of the problems you see here come from that. In fact, a number here would agree with me that it's best to reinstall from scratch because Vortex works fundamentally different from NMM.

 

Hi thanks for this good advice, I am new to mod use with original Skyrim V and have been using NMM for 2 weeks maybe and have about 140 mods all working adequately with LOOT and FINIS but increasingly now getting CTDs and freezes, mostly on opening gates to cities or on exit, so I am interested to see if Vortex will irmprove this. Can you or someone please explain exactly what you mean by 'start from scratch'? … will I lose my game as it is and all I have built up using NMM? How do you start.. ? download Vortex, then .. what? Make a list of all the mods I have installed and go back to each mod page and download again from each modder's nexus or loverslab pages using Vortex? Do I need to uninstall NMM and if so what happens to my game data as it is now?... is this literally starting a new game or will I somehow preserve all my character, followers and preferences as they are now?

 

Really not sure exactly what is meant by 'start from scratch and 'import mod archives''?

[AugustaCalidia]

 

Hi thanks for this good advice, I am new to mod use with original Skyrim V and have been using NMM for 2 weeks maybe and have about 140 mods all working adequately with LOOT and FINIS but increasingly now getting CTDs and freezes, mostly on opening gates to cities or on exit, so I am interested to see if Vortex will irmprove this. Can you or someone please explain exactly what you mean by 'start from scratch'? … will I lose my game as it is and all I have built up using NMM? How do you start.. ? download Vortex, then .. what? Make a list of all the mods I have installed and go back to each mod page and download again from each modder's nexus or loverslab pages using Vortex? Do I need to uninstall NMM and if so what happens to my game data as it is now?... is this literally starting a new game or will I somehow preserve all my character, followers and preferences as they are now?

 

Really not sure exactly what is meant by 'start from scratch and 'import mod archives''?

 

 

"Start from scratch" means start over with a new game. However, it does not mean you have to download your mods all over again.

 

Before you do anything else, spend some quality time with the Vortex introductory videos and Knowledge Base. Then follow these steps:

1. Close NMM, if open.
2. Install the latest version of Vortex. Vortex will automatically generate all the folders needed for mod storage.
3. Scan for games and activate Skyrim once it's discovered.
4. Use Vortex to import (i.e., transfer) your mod archives from NMM. Mod archives are mods in their zipped forms (*.7z. *.zip, *.rar, etc.).
5. If import fails (as it will if NMM has not kept a clean installation log), then manually import the mods
6. To transfer manually, first locate the NMM folder containing the 140 mod archives you mentioned.
7. Select all of the mods and drag them to and drop them into the Drop File(s) box at the bottom of the Vortex mods page. (The mods will be copied into an automatically generated Skyrim download folder. The mods in the NMM folder will not be deleted.)
8. Be sure that Vortex auto-sort and auto-deploy are selected.
9. Install and enable one by one the mods listed on the mods page.
10. Configure your tools dashboard (SKSE, FNIS, etc.).
11. Start a new game.

Let us know what happens.