FO4 can't find F4SE when launching from Vortex

[HadToRegister]

I just re-read the Knowledgebase article on Script Extenders. It's a good explanation. Had I read it, the likelihood of correctly installing F4SE as a mod would have been much higher.

 

What is also clear from reading the article -- to HadToRegister's point -- it takes a lot of steps to install a script extender through Vortex. To make it worth the effort, are there user benefits later on to taking that approach? Would it be fewer steps or less error-prone for less knowledgeable users (like me) to install the new version with Vortex when an update becomes available?

 

Maybe a short, step 1, 2, 3 at the beginning would be helpful for the impatient, followed by the longer explanation like what is there now for those who want or need to understand what to do on a more in-depth basis.

 

Even more user-friendly would be if the script extender could be downloaded as a 7zip archive with something inside it that told Vortex to install it as a dinput mod sort of like what is done with FOMODs. That is probably a longer term development project, but it would be easier to accomplish than getting knuckleheads like me to read the instructions before doing anything.

 

 

Personally I always install the script extender manually, it takes probably about 45 seconds.

 

I think it's pointless to do all that work to make it a mod, especially considering how often it gets updated thanks to the CC Updates.

 

[jaydawg55]

Thanks Augusta for explaining the potential user benefits of installing script extenders with Vortex. I hope that ability is never taken away, but to HadTo's point it is very easy to do it manually -- provided you know what you are doing. That would always be an option for users to take if they want.

 

Having F4SE installed as a mod might have helped me avoid the issues described earlier in this thread (that HadTo and rmm200 helped me correct). When I manually installed an updated version of F4SE I failed to remove an old DLL from the previous version that may have contributed to my problems. Using Vortex to install it would probably have forced me to discard all files associated the old version because the two versions would be presented as conflicting files, right?

 

I will stop after this because it seems that all possible angles to this issue have been explored. Thank you all.

[Rattledagger]

 

"Top Level" contains...

 

F4SE_Loader.exe

f4se_<version>.dll

f4se_steam_loader.dll

f4se_readme.txt

f4se_whatsnew.txt

CustomControllerMap.txt

DATA (folder)

 

 

While you can re-package the 7-zip file to have this setup, you're overlooking the critical point - when Vortex extract the files it REMOVES the data-folder, meaning you're suddenly sitting with

 

 

F4SE_Loader.exe

f4se_<version>.dll

f4se_steam_loader.dll

f4se_readme.txt

f4se_whatsnew.txt

CustomControllerMap.txt

Scripts (folder)

When you now uses "dinput" the exe-files and dll-files are correctly put into the games root folder, but so is the Scripts-folder, meaning the script extender can't find the Scripts since they're not residing under data.

[AugustaCalidia]

Rattledagger is correct. Vortex extraction removes the Data folder, leaving behind a "naked" Scripts folder and the other elements in the script extender package. That's why assigning the mod type "dinput" is not of itself sufficient to get the script extender mod properly installed. In the unpacked script extender in the Mod Staging Folder you also need to create a top level Data folder as a home for the Scripts folder. Then, when you enable the mod, the Scripts folder will be placed in the game data folder where it belongs.

 

Given all this, the procedure described in the Knowledge Base is the most efficient way to transform a script extender into a mod. That procedure requires only that the script extender be unpacked by Vortex, allowing you to make the necessary changes in the Mod Staging Folder before enabling. No repackaging is necessary.

[HadToRegister]

 

 

"Top Level" contains...

 

F4SE_Loader.exe

f4se_<version>.dll

f4se_steam_loader.dll

f4se_readme.txt

f4se_whatsnew.txt

CustomControllerMap.txt

DATA (folder)

 

 

While you can re-package the 7-zip file to have this setup, you're overlooking the critical point - when Vortex extract the files it REMOVES the data-folder, meaning you're suddenly sitting with

 

 

F4SE_Loader.exe

f4se_<version>.dll

f4se_steam_loader.dll

f4se_readme.txt

f4se_whatsnew.txt

CustomControllerMap.txt

Scripts (folder)

When you now uses "dinput" the exe-files and dll-files are correctly put into the games root folder, but so is the Scripts-folder, meaning the script extender can't find the Scripts since they're not residing under data.

 

 

 

Try setting it up using my method again, but DO NOT add the D-INPUT to it.

If it doesn't work, then it's a flaw because all other mod managers have had the intelligence to install anything that was purposely left OUTSIDE the Data folder in a zip file, to the Game Root Directory.

Also, Honestly, the people who this [intermediate] Knowledge Base tutorial is aimed at, don't need it, and never will, because they've already installed the Script Extender by their own means, in a lot less steps that in the tutorial, by reading the installation instructions in the 7z file, and will already know how to make the script extender a mod.

 

At this point, the only thing this [intermediate] tutorial is serving is to cause more [beginner] help threads because they've tried to use this tutorial to make a script extender a mod, which, thanks to Bethesda's monthly releases is just so tediously unnecessary to run through all of those steps, when a simple tutorial (like the installation instructions in the Script Extender Archives includes) is far simpler than the steps and terminology used in the Knowledge Base setup.

 

As I pointed out before, the confusion is that people who the tutorial isn't aimed at, are having problems with terms such as "Top Level" etc, because the tutorial was written by someone with the knowledge of the terms, and is assuming that the people reading it also understand those terms. (Again, the people who DO understand those terms however, don't NEED the tutorial in the first place)

 

The Install Instructions included with the Script Extenders are far easier to follow, and don't include difficult con

[rmm200]

I have to put in one last final plug for my method.

Don'y repackage anything.

Follow the instructions included with F4SE to install it. Copy all the DLLs and the exe to the game root.

Install the downloaded F4SE archive as a mod. I do this mostly for documentation, so I know what version is running. It also installs the script files - in the right place.

I always have been a sucker for simple...

[HadToRegister]

I have to put in one last final plug for my method.

Don'y repackage anything.

Follow the instructions included with F4SE to install it. Copy all the DLLs and the exe to the game root.

Install the downloaded F4SE archive as a mod. I do this mostly for documentation, so I know what version is running. It also installs the script files - in the right place.

I always have been a sucker for simple...

 

EXACTLY

That's what I've been pushing.

It's far easier, and much less steps to install manually.

The tutorial just adds to the confusion.

 

The [intermediate] tutorial is meant for people who ALREADY KNOW how to manually install a script extender, and it only Confuses people who don't

[AugustaCalidia]

 

Try setting it up using my method again, but DO NOT add the D-INPUT to it.

If it doesn't work, then it's a flaw because all other mod managers have had the intelligence to install anything that was purposely left OUTSIDE the Data folder in a zip file, to the Game Root Directory.

Au contraire, it is not a flaw. Using "dinput" is what allows Vortex to install to the game root directory as well as to the game data directory. While I do not know about other mod managers, I know that MO and MO2 do not have that capability. They install only to the game data directory and not to the game root directory. When installing a script extender, you first have to unpack the file and manually place the .dll and .exe files into the game root directory. Once that's done, then you can use MO and MO2 to install the Scripts folder to the game data directory.

 

Although Vortex has the unique capability of transforming a script extender into a full-blown mod, I do agree that it's much, much easier simply to install the script extender manually. And I do agree that the Knowledge Base article needs revision in order to reduce the number of distress signals received in this forum.

Edited February 23, 2019 by Augusta Calidia