Moving mods once installed? (1.2.20)

[AmydelABC]

Hey, I'm pretty new to Nexus/Vortex, and I've just read through the rules, etc., but I'm also half-asleep RN so I hope I'm doing everything right...feel free to let me know if not! (Also I'm doing my best to keep this at least a bit concise, but tbh I'm kind of terrible at that, so I apologize if there's too much said here.)

So I'm using Vortex for The Sims 4, among other games. For anyone who doesn't know, Sims 4 has 2 types of mods, .package files and .ts4script files. .ts4script files have to go in either the main Mods folder (e.g. C:\Users\[uSERNAME]\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\Mods) or a max of 1 subfolder deep. Since Vortex supports the game, it presumably has a way of making this work. However, there are also the questions of organization and load order, among other things.

Organization:
Most people who mod Sims 4 just do it manually--all you have to do is copy or move the files into the mods folder. But for those of us who have more than just a few mods, organization is a concern. People do it in different ways, but the upshot is that there are often a number of subfolders within the Mods folder for better organization. Vortex, however, appears to just dump everything in a folder called "Vortex Mods" within the main Mods folder. Tbh, it may be just me being overconcerned, but I'd kinda like to have my mods folder more organized than that.

Load order:
A more pressing concern than organization is the fact that according to someone I talked to with a fair bit of Sims/modding/troubleshooting experience, there is sometimes a load order for certain mods that people don't tell you about? Like, they tell you to put things in your Mods folder in a certain way and don't say why. I suppose I could put any mods with that type of instruction into my folder manually and use Vortex for others, but I'd rather be consistent if I can.

So, would it work to use Vortex to install mods but then move them out of the "Vortex Mods" folder into another subfolder in Mods? Or would Vortex freak out at some point because it couldn't find the mods, or would they disappear from the list of mods in Vortex, or...?

Please note that while I could just manage my Sims 4 mods manually, there are a number of reasons I'm wanting to use Vortex (including, among others, the metadata it keeps track of and also the profiles feature). So if you can avoid saying "Just ditch Vortex" without any other info, that'd be great haha. :)

Any help/info is appreciated, and let me know if you need more info!

[HadToRegister]

If you move the mods OUTSIDE of Vortex, then there's no possible way for Vortex to know that you moved the mods

The "Vortex Mods" folder you speak of, is just where Vortex Unzips and places the mods, then what vortex does, is makes LINKS from those mods in the Vortex MODS folder, to the appropriate Folders in your SIms 4 game.
Don't not move ANYTHING from the Vortex Mods folder, that's why it's called the STAGING Folder, the mods are unzipped there.

[AmydelABC]

I gotta go to bed in a sec, but thought I'd toss out an answer really fast. So if I understand you right--and I'm not totally sure I do--but would there be any way to go in and manually edit the links Vortex creates to point to a place of my choosing within C:\Users\[uSERNAME]\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\Mods so that I could organize that folder the way I want it? I mean, I know that's kinda messing with things, and I guess I wouldn't have to do it every time (that'd be a lot of work), but if I could at least do it for at least like mods that have specific install instructions so that I could still use them with Vortex and its metadata/profile/other features, rather than having to keep track of those mods separately...idk, that'd be really nice. I mean, I know it could be a bit risky, but I would imagine that if I changed something like a specific link the worst that could happen would be having to delete the mod from Vortex and/or redownload the mod or something? Idk. *sigh*

Alternatively, are there other options for management of this game? I did a bit of searching earlier and didn't find much that looked reasonably up-to-date. There is one other mod manager I've used that's specifically for Sims 4, but it's not nearly as full-featured as Vortex, and it just kinda doesn't seem worth the trouble to me to use that one probably.

Update: I found the page on modding Sims 4 in Vortex help, and also the one on deployment methods. Sounds to me like I maybe understood you wrong? IDK, I'm super tired still, but it says that with hardlinks "Mods are managed from their own folders, rather than the game mods folder." Given that, you'd think it would be easier to tell it where within the game mods folder to create a link back to the original folder...

Edited September 2, 2020 by AmydelABC

[HadToRegister]

I gotta go to bed in a sec, but thought I'd toss out an answer really fast. So if I understand you right--and I'm not totally sure I do--but would there be any way to go in and manually edit the links Vortex creates to point to a place of my choosing within C:\Users\[uSERNAME]\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\Mods so that I could organize that folder the way I want it? I mean, I know that's kinda messing with things, and I guess I wouldn't have to do it every time (that'd be a lot of work), but if I could at least do it for at least like mods that have specific install instructions so that I could still use them with Vortex and its metadata/profile/other features, rather than having to keep track of those mods separately...idk, that'd be really nice. I mean, I know it could be a bit risky, but I would imagine that if I changed something like a specific link the worst that could happen would be having to delete the mod from Vortex and/or redownload the mod or something? Idk. *sigh*

 

Alternatively, are there other options for management of this game? I did a bit of searching earlier and didn't find much that looked reasonably up-to-date. There is one other mod manager I've used that's specifically for Sims 4, but it's not nearly as full-featured as Vortex, and it just kinda doesn't seem worth the trouble to me to use that one probably.

 

Update: I found the page on modding Sims 4 in Vortex help, and also the one on deployment methods. Sounds to me like I maybe understood you wrong? IDK, I'm super tired still, but it says that with hardlinks "Mods are managed from their own folders, rather than the game mods folder." Given that, you'd think it would be easier to tell it where within the game mods folder to create a link back to the original folder...

 

 

You do NOT need to organize the Mod Staging Folder, it's just a receptacle for the Unzipped Mods.

 

Then Vortex creates links, from those mods, to wherever they're supposed to be in the Sims4 folder.

 

For instance, if I'm using Vortex to mod Skyrim Special Edition, and I install a bunch of mods (315 to be exact in my install), Vortex will install ALL of those mods to the Mod Staging\Skyrim SE folder, THEN, it will make links to the appropriate folders in my Skyrim SE folder such as putting MESH files in the MESHES folder, and SOUND files in the SOUNDS folder, and TEXTURES into the TEXTURES folder

 

I.E. Vortex just doesn't slap links into your game folder all Willy Nilly, it keeps the folder and file structure of the unzipped Mod

 

You are overthinking this big time.

 

Example using (Skyrim SE again)

 

The mod has a folder structure like this

 

Data\ <--------------------EVERYTHING inside the DATA folder goes in the DATA folder, such as ESM, ESP, etc.

 

Data\Textures\ <-------------------the TEXTURES go in the DATA\TEXTURES\ folder, such as DDS, JPG, PNG, TGA etc

 

Data\Meshes <--------------------The MESHES go in the DATA\MESHES\ folder, such as NIF etc

 

DATA\Sound\ <-------------------The sound files go in the DATA\SOUND\ folder , such as WAV, MP3, OGG etc

 

etc etc

 

It's not like Vortex just tosses

 

DDS, JPG, TGA, WAV, MP3, NIF, OGG, PNG, ESP, ESM into ONE folder and you have to manually edit them.

 

That's what a mod manager does, it organizes your Mods and files so you don't have to

[Pandoriaantje]

The sims4 mod manager pluging should have some more smart checks. Now one has to micromanage the Mod Staging Folder manually.

The sims4 mod manager pluging should warn/check when ts4script file is too deep, and should offer manual file selection/placement/management, for imported zips which have scripts and subfolders. it should also ignore unneeded file, and not symlink .url, .txt,.gif/png/jpeg, etc...

take this example:

somemod.zip
	|--------\modname\
	|		|-------- somescript.ts4script
	|		|-------- somemod.package
	|-------- someoptionalmod.package

So vortex will create into its Mod Staging Folder:

\somemod\
        |--------\modname\
	|		|-------- somescript.ts4script
	|		|-------- somemod.package
	|-------- someoptionalmod.package

then it will simlink into C:\Users\[uSERNAME]\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\Mods\

\Vortex Mods\

        |--------\modname\
	|		|-------- somescript.ts4script
	|		|-------- somemod.package
	|-------- someoptionalmod.package

which makes the .ts4script file 2 folders deep ("\Mods\

\Vortex Mods\modname\somescript.ts4script") in refference to the mods folder, which is not allowed. script files should be inside the 'Mods' folder, or maximum 1 folder deep. So the script will not work, and the mod will be non-functional.

[MaverickMartyn]

I'm currently dealing with this issue as well.
Some mods freak out when installed using Vortex, as they will be too many levels too deep.
There is no apparent reason for the "Vortex Mods" folder, unless you install mods manually outside of Vortex. Even then, non-nexus mods should and can still be installed through Vortex regardless.
I might sift through the code and suggest a fix on Github.

[HadToRegister]

I'm currently dealing with this issue as well.

Some mods freak out when installed using Vortex, as they will be too many levels too deep.

There is no apparent reason for the "Vortex Mods" folder, unless you install mods manually outside of Vortex. Even then, non-nexus mods should and can still be installed through Vortex regardless.

I might sift through the code and suggest a fix on Github.

 

 

The "Vortex Mods" folder is the actual folder that mods get extracted and Installed to, you also have the option of not creating that "Vortex MOds" folder on the SETTINGS------>MODS screen, you can just name it MODS, if you want

 

However, If you're saying your mods are many levels too deep, then where exactly do you have your "Vortex Mods" installed?

I sure hope it isn't something really wrong like

 

D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Skyrim Special Edition\Vortex Mods\Skyrimse

 

Also, non-nexus mods can be installed with Vortex if you simply download them to Vortex's DOWNLOADS folder, or drag them to the Nexus' MODS tab screen.