Sarinia

wax2k and Ethreon - Thank you both, once again. At this rate, I should just create a signature line that says that. :tongue:

Thank you both for the information. Sounds like I need to download FO4Edit and start figuring out how to do manual merge files. I also like the idea of being able to remove the few duplicate items I have run across in smaller mods. @Ethreon - The mods that I was thinking are generally not vanilla items. For example some of the alternate standalone beds, rugs, or posters which might only add from 1 to 10 items. While a few of them have some high res textures, the textures and meshes are separate from the .esp files. Also, I look forward to your snap system once you are ready to release it! It will make building settlements much easier. @wax2k - Just the thought of trying to merge Homemaker or Snap 'n' Build with anything else is enough to nearly make me panic. That being said, I am curious if it would be possible to change the menu mapping for items. I'm not suggesting non-SK menus. After all StuykGaming did a great job creating the menu structure and I just spent a lot of time installing all SK compatible versions. However, I might have an easier time finding a few specific items if they were organized under a different menu that is already part of SK. Is that possible or am I just asking for trouble?

@wax2k: Thanks for the feedback on the breadbox. You have saved me the embarrassment of sending a bug report that isn't actually a bug. For once, "it's not a bug, it's a feature" is actually true. :smile: The next part is for anyone who is willing to offer their opinion (trolls excluded, of course, but that hasn't really been a big problem on this forum topic, thank goodness). Back when I was playing FO New Vegas, I used Wryebash to combine some patches and small mods together to avoid hitting the 255 max plug-in limit. Since I'm up to almost 240 active plug-ins on my current Fallout 4 game, I was curious what similar options there are, if any. I would guess that close to 20 of those plug-ins, maybe more, are just patches to make different mods work together. I have noted lots of references to FO4Edit, but I've never used it. Will that do something similar or does it serve a different purpose? As I am not a mod author, I don't really have any reference for it. Also, if it does allow merging of patches and/or mods, is there a general consensus on the difficulty level of learning the application? I understand that everyone has varying levels of tech saavy and that will have an impact. In my case, I don't generally have too much difficulty learning new applications if there are at least a couple of semi-decent reference docs or tutorials and the UI is reasonable. That being said, while I work in a semi-tech job, I am not a coder, so if it requires extensive coding to make it work, I might not have as much luck. Finally, is it possible (in FO4Edit or anything else currently available) to fully merge multiple .esps/mods together and if so, are there any guidelines on doing that? I would obviously not be looking to post them as they belong to the original mod authors and anything I do would be strictly for my own use. I mention this because there are a lot of smaller mods that serve a similar purpose (such as adding just a few new items to the settlement build menus) or that all support the same purpose (such as the mods for enhancing your settlement stores) which I think would fit well together in a merged format. I wouldn't want to use new mods that are still working through bugs and getting stabilized. This might not be possible until later in the game's lifecycle, but it doesn't hurt to ask. :smile: Thanks again for any feedback.

Just wanted to add a note that after spending a few hours each evening (all I have available after work), I finally finished loading all my mods. Everything is working well together, no conflicts or CTDs. Everything I added to the build menus is showing up in the correct Settlement Keywords location except for one single item (the breadbox added by Business Settlements). Even though I am using v1.7 of that mod and have the SK framework version installed, this one item is out of order and shows up in a non-SK menu by itself. However, since it doesn't seem that this pushed me over the keyword limit, I'll leave it for now and just let the mod author know when I get a chance. I currently have 238 active plug-ins, which leaves me enough room for a couple more mod before I have to start seriously looking at combining them together to make more room. Thank you for all the help!

Thanks for the extra information! I just wanted to add that while I know you (wax2k), Ethreon, gambit77, and several other incredibly helpful people on the nexus have to keep repeating the same thing almost every day for new people, your patience and generousness in sharing your knowledge is incredibly helpful and greatly appreciated. You are all the true epitome of the phrase a scholar and a gentleman. Thank you.

Thanks for the quick response. To summarize, this means as long as I keep in mind what files may overwrite others and always make sure that required patches are installed for mods before testing them in game, it shouldn't matter if I install game bug fixes before or after high res textures or building mods?

Hello, wax2k. First, I wanted to say that I am very grateful for the information you've provided here. As one of the people that said I would read a tutorial from you on this subject if you chose to write one, I was very happy to see that you graciously took your free time to do so. My apologies if my question should be posted somewhere else, as it is not specifically about the settlement building mods, but more in general. I am about to start a new game and since there was a recent patch, I decided to do everything fresh from scratch. After backing up copies of my save games, ini files, prior mods, etc. I wiped and reloaded the game from steam, and allowed it to create a new set of associated docs: the three .ini files in the my docs folder plus the three files in the AppData folder (DLCList, loadorder, and plugins). I have installed the most recent version of the Fallout 4 Script extender and spent the last day or so downloading the most recent versions of the mods I wish to use. I have been referencing Gambit77's excellent example of his load order (thanks, Gambit77!) since I first saw it (Jan 20) and it has greatly helped me with manually adjusting my load order to minimize issues that are not immediately apparent. I already check for file dependencies, compatibility issues, up-to-date patches, and always install all mods that use one of the two keywords set first, then overwrite with the latest version of the keywords from the actual keywords mod page after so that I know I don't accidentally have an older version of the keywords. I am now ready to start loading the mods, and this is where my question comes in. Do you (or any of the other very helpful posters who reply to this sort of question on a regular basis such as Ethreon) have some suggestions on the order to add mods when starting with a new NMM profile? One reason I download all the mods before installing is to make sure I have all the patches, etc. ready to go and then I create my own custom categories so I can install the mods in groups (usually one or two associated mods at a time and then run the game to test and make sure there are no CTDs or issues). I feel fairly comfortable with troubleshooting issues when they come up, but I feel that I might be able to better optimize things if I had a clearer idea of what mods should be installed first (i.e. bug fixes, settlement expansions, hi-res textures, etc.) or if the initial install order even makes a difference apart from those mods that overwrite a similar texture, mesh, file, etc. from another mod. Thank you so much for any advice you can offer. It is much appreciated.