You can now update to the latest build (1.1.3) next time you open Vortex or manually install it from the Vortex download page.
So what's new? I've prepared a roundup of the most interesting new features added to Vortex since version 1.0.0.
New Games Page
In 1.0.0 Vortex had three different tabs on the games page to organise "managed", "discovered" and "supported" titles. We've revisited this design and added all games to a single scrollable page making it easier to see both your managed and other supported games in one place.
[img width=602,height=356]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1574176363-695424069.jpeg[/img]
Managed games appear at the top, discovered and supported games appear in the "unmanaged" section. Supported games will be greyscaled until they are detected. You can also hide games from this view or use the search box to find a game by name.
More power to Game Extensions with Harmony
Perhaps the most exciting change in this update. Our Vortex team have been working hard on integrating the Harmony library into Vortex, which will allow much more powerful mod manager support for games powered by Unity (and other engines).
Using Harmony, modders can inject C# code and assets into the assembly of a game. This is especially useful in Unity games where they do not support mod management natively. If you have a good working knowledge of C# and JavaScript, along with knowledge of how the engine in your favourite game works, you'll be right at home creating a Vortex extension to take advantage of Harmony.
We've made a couple of mods for Untitled Goose Game to give you a taste of what is possible using these new features. In addition, we'll be creating more extensions and updating support for existing games to take advantage of Harmony in the coming months. You can learn more about using Harmony in Vortex here.
[img width=602,height=339]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1574176370-2031893407.jpeg[/img]
As part of this project, you'll also be able to make use of the Vortex In-Game Overlay (VIGO, for short) in Unity games. VIGO displays information and toggleable options for your mods while the game is running.
Get extensions inside Vortex
With more and more developers creating new extensions for Vortex, we've made it much easier to browse and install themes, translations and other extensions.
[img width=602,height=356]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1574176368-1473073103.jpeg[/img]
In the Extensions tab, you'll see a new "Find more" button which will open a list of the approved extensions ready to download. Anything you install this way will be kept up to date automatically, meaning you won't have to wait for the next Vortex release for any fixes or enhancements to be available.
There is already a good range of localisations, themes, addons and community created game extensions. Here are some great examples of what is currently available.
Game Extensions:
- Red Dead Redemption 2? support by Tannin
- Final Fantasy XII support by ffgriever
- Fallout 76 support by wxMichael
- PayDay 2 support by Evanito
- Source Film Maker support by silveredgold
- Better Compact theme by tesnexus8
- VUIX theme by Bassforce86
- xEdit Cleaning Extension by Pickysaurus (shameless plug!)
- Fully Virtual Deployment by Tannin
As an added bonus, new games and translations will automatically appear in the games tab and settings menu respectively so you won't need to open the extension browser to find them.
If you've created an extension and would like to include it in the extension browser, please upload it here and get in touch with Pickysaurus or BigBizkit.
Mod and Plugin Grouping
A feature that many users in the community asked for is a way to group your mods by category, similar to the default view in Nexus Mod Manager. You can now group your mods (and plugins for Gamebryo games) by status, author, category and more. Each category can also be expanded and collapsed to help you keep things nice and tidy.
[img width=602,height=356]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/2295/images/26/26-1574176365-1983086562.jpeg[/img]
That's not all
Vortex 1.1.3 also includes several other smaller fixes and enhancements, including new options to hide or close Vortex when starting the game, mod installers (FOMODs) are now compatible with most supported games and 11 new games have been added.
We're excited about the future of Vortex, so please keep telling us what you love and what you think could be better in the Vortex Discussion forums, our Discord or through Vortex itself.